(WHITE) FAMILIES MATTER - A SHIFT IN THE WAR ON DRUGS

In America, the use of heroin and its destructive deadly consequences has moved up the social ladder to put a stranglehold now on white middle class families.

The odd thing about this tragedy is that these are people with access to power and voices that know how to be raised.

At long last, public policy is changing.

Read this thorough and extensive New York Times article complete with videos, photos and the harsh numbers.

MONEY SPEAKS

If Donald Trump can think he is a legitimate contender for the Presidency, than why shouldn't Richard Branson feel that he is an expert on drug policy.

Richard Branson Leaks U.N. Draft Paper on Decriminalizing Drugs

BY STAV ZIV 10/19/15 AT 3:05 PM

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has publicly shared an unpublished draft policy document on drugs from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that says decriminalizing drugs would be consistent with international law. 

The UNODC quickly said the document was neither finished nor formal. Branson has long called for the decriminalization of drug use and the possession of all drugs for personal consumption and is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy—a group that fosters international discussionabout humane and effective ways to reduce harm caused by drugs. He reiterated his stance on the war on drugs when he published the UNODC briefing paper along with a short essay on his blog Monday.

The mandate of the UNODC, established in 1997, is to help member states fight against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism. The office’s briefing paper, posted in full beneath Branson’s essay as well as in a tweet he sent, “clarifies” the body’s position on how countries should approach drug policies, saying that decriminalizing drug use and possession for personal consumption “is consistent with international drug control conventions and may be required to meet obligations under international human rights law.”

“My colleagues on the Global Commission on Drug Policy and I could not be more delighted,” Branson wrote about the document, which he called “an as-yet-unreleased statement circulated to the BBC, myself and others.” He added that “together with countless other tireless advocates, I’ve for years argued that we should treat drug use as a health issue, not as a crime. While the vast majority of recreational drug users never experience any problems, people who struggle with drug addiction deserve access to treatment, not a prison cell.”

As of midday Monday (ET), the post—titled “Finally—a change in course on drug policy”—had been shared more than 9,000 times. The entrepreneur has also written at least seven tweets discussing the document and promoting his blog post.

But UNODC never meant for this draft to be circulated publicly, it says. It responded to Branson’s essay with a statement Monday saying the briefing paper was under review and should not be considered a formal document or statement.

"The briefing paper on decriminalization mentioned in many of today's media reports, and intended for dissemination and discussion at a conference in Kuala Lumpur, is neither a final nor formal document from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, and cannot be read as a statement of UNODC policy,” a UNODC spokesman said.

Branson claimed in his essay that “at least one government is putting an inordinate amount of pressure on the UNODC. Let us hope the UNODC, a global organisation that is part of the UN and supposed to do what is right for the people of the world, does not do a remarkable volte-face at the last possible moment and bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move.”

Calling interpretations of the paper’s intent an “unfortunate misunderstanding,” UNODC denied that it was under pressure to withdraw the report. “It is not possible to withdraw what is not yet ready,” the statement said. “Overall, UNODC remains committed to the balanced approach that, in particular, promotes alternatives to incarceration in line with international human rights standards.”

Branson, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $5 billion, has spoken out frequently about the war on drugs. In 2012, for example, he penned an opinion piece for CNN under the headline, “War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure.” In 2013, he wrote, “War on Drugs a Costly Fiasco” for Politico and the following year, he penned “The War on Drugs Has Failed, so Let’s Shut It Down,” for theHuffington Post and “Time to Change California Drug Laws” for the San Francisco Chronicle. He has written similar op-eds this year for outlets including The Guardian and otherwise spoken about the topic, like at a conference panel on U.S. drug policy in Las Vegas in May.

The British billionaire concluded his post Monday by saying that “the war on drugs has done too much damage to too many people already.” He followed it with an invitation to join the Stop the Harm campaign, a movement of nongovernmental organizations (of which the Global Commission on Drug Policy is an ally) whose motto calls on people to “demand drug policy reform.”

MORE CLARITY ON THE POT FRONT

And here is another website from the U.K.

Please look at the next item below as well.

NOT EVERYONE IS BUYING IN TO THE POT B.S.

Lest you think despairingly that everyone and his uncle is accepting the mad rush to legalize and normalize marijuana use, here is some excellent proof that this is not the case.

POP - Parents Opposed to Pot is a very thorough and engaging website offering some real home front truths, scientific realities and cogent arguments.

Check it out here.http://www.poppot.org/

Get Them Young by Pamela McColl

 

Pam McColl is a well known advocate in the fight to resist the normalization of marijuana. She is the spokesperson for SAM CANADA, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which proposes neither incarceration nor legalization, but a reasonable and healthy policy in between those two extremes.

The Liberal Party of Canada has decidedly inflamed the marijuana debate to excite young adult voters and an electorate who have bought hook, line and sinker into the propaganda that marijuana is safer than alcohol or tobacco.

Those that argue that tobacco is far worse should be asking why it is that the Liberal Party did not take on the tobacco industry, or the Conservative Government’s record on tobacco control. 

If tobacco is the true public villain why is it that the Liberal Party has remained silent on he biggest drain on Canada's health care costs and a product that kills one in five Canadians. 

Where is the Liberal Party of Canada on the pending action to take on tobacco for $100 billion in damages? Why talk of running a $10 billion deficit when $100 billion is sitting there waiting for this country to collect off tobacco, making a true difference in the lives of Canadians and saving our public health care system tremendously? 

The NDP say they will not agree to the ratification of the TPP which includes long fought for measures to curtain the tobacco industry, a major victory for public health and could positively impact Canada's ability to collect the $100 billion, bringing the tobacco industry to its knees. The USA Government claimed and received $247 billion in the Master Settlement of 1998.  

Liberal marijuana policy would see those who give marijuana to kids receive more severe penalties at an increase cost of law enforcement and hardship to families. It is a policy position that would increase the punitive nature of marijuana control. 23% of kids report receiving marijuana from a parent. What would the Liberal Party do with these parents found to be offering marijuana to their kids, surely not put them in prison ? How would they enforce their policies ? Between 30-53%, region dependent, grade 12 students in this country report regularly using marijuana. That makes for a great many parents facing harsh consequences considering they have been grossly misinformed. Many hold to the belief that marijuana is a safer choice, some even accepting the preposterous idea that it is an "exit drug".   

The way to reduce the rate of use marijuana is to either embark on a massive education campaign to effect a reduction in the demand for this psychotropic drug, or the other option is we wait until the damage becomes abundantly apparent and the public elects representatives who will be charged with correcting the problem. 

Entrenching use by adopting legalization with further normalization would be a gross mistake. It would serve only a small elite of adult users while allowing for predatory Big Pot to industrialize marijuana cigarettes. There will be no easy retreat. We continue to struggle to curtail the advance of tobacco or alcohol from reaching out to and securing the youth market to this day. 

The current youth market for marijuana is 2.5 times that for adults. Legalization addresses supply for the adult market, a small elite of less than 10% of the Canadian population. It

fails completely to address a reduction in demand.  

We are in a fight to defend our children’s brains. In this context it becomes a human rights battle and sadly both opposition parties blew the opportunity to offer up sound public health policies on this crucially important issue.

Pamela McColl