Deeper into the Weeds on Hard/Soft Drugs, etc

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Please press here for the Discussion Outline.

Although our focus will be Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields by Charles Bowden, our policy has always been that everyone is welcome to attend and participate, even if s/he hasn't had time to read the suggested materials. This is especially true this time (please read on!!!) --

Utah Owl (aka June Taylor), who recommended Murder City, has written the Discussion Outline.

Her 2.5-page discussion outline is really a CALL TO ACTION on three policy questions = (1) whether to halt the war on drugs as having been a disaster, (2) whether to re-negotiate the North-American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as having been a disaster, and (3) whether to change U.S. immigration policy to ameliorate the effects on the Mexican population of Items 1 and 2.

There is a good chance that our discussion will result in one of our SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION e-mail campaigns. And although some of us may be skeptics, there is no question that the Democratic Party would not be in the sad shape it is in today if President Obama had decided to accept one of our dozen SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION e-mail campaigns since he took office = Eliminating Unemployment With A National-Security Work Force (12/12/2009).

That recommendation last year would have REDUCED UNEMPLOYMENT TO ZERO. The simple Roosevelt-style concept was to extend unemployment benefits so that there would be no time limits at all –- but recipients would work for those benefits by manufacturing solar panels. Recipients would also be granted unlimited time off for job interviews to rejoin the private economy.

Ask yourself whether you think President Obama, Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi would admit that the current election outlook would be much brighter IF THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAD BEEN REDUCED TO ZERO!!!

And then join us this coming Wednesday evening to discuss June’s just-as-vital issues facing our nation.

[If you would like to inspect our 12/12/2009 recommendation for Eliminating Unemployment With A National-Security Work Force or any of our other dozen or so SIX-DEGREES-OF-SEPARATION e-mail campaigns, please scroll below.]
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UtahOwl
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Deeper into the Weeds on Hard/Soft Drugs, etc

Post by UtahOwl »

Tom Chancellor and John Karls raised interesting, oft-heard reservations about removing marijuana or other drugs from the illegal category. It seems useful to pursue the matter deeper.

First, below is a link to the October 15 Science Friday hour with a psychiatrist who thinks (a)some forms of cannabis have potential psychiatric uses; (b) makes the point that its labelling as a Schedule 1 drug has virtually shut down scientific research on cannabinoids (active components in cannabis); and (c) points out that the effect of putting a substance on Schedule I - making any use of it illegal - effectively leaves the substance unregulated if it is widely available "on the street," as cannabis and heroin are. It is the latter point that I espoused in our discussion last Wednesday - that with respect to cannabis and heroin, at least, we are in a very similar position that the country was in with respect to alcohol in the Prohibition era. I do not deny the destructive potential of heroin or cannabis. Rather, I think that we need to be pro-active in regulating these substances. I would further propose that we think beyond the simplistic "business model" we currently have for trafficking in alcohol and nicotine - that is, regulation only by state taxes and underage prohibitions, while making the substances widely commercially available ( which leads to easy circumvention of the age restrictions). It should be quite possible to make controlled substances legally available under much more restrictive conditions. For example, there are legal precedents for requiring patients to come in to a medical facility and take their medications under observation, and I see no reason this could not be extended to include the most lucrative street drugs. This would allow access to these substances without criminalization, but in circumstances under which minors could not have access. Currently, any kid can get cannibis, and most know where to get cocaine, heroin, and meth - not to mention ethyl alcohol and nicotine. [No, the latter two cannot be controlled substances; alcohol in fact is defined as a "food"...in case you were thinking it was possible to define the Schedules strictly on a scientific basis :roll: ]

Second, there is a considerable body of scientific studies showing that taking an addictive substance (including alcohol and nicotine) before the age of 20 greatly increases the risk of addiction to the substance. The biological mechanism is thought to be related to the fact that during adolescence the brain is "re-wiring" itself substantially, particularly in the frontal/pre-frontal cortical regions where so-called executive functions(attention control, judgement, self-control, abstract thinking, and planning) are carried out; intake of addictive substances during this window of brain development somehow predisposes the brain to be altered in such a way as to manifest addictive behaviors. There is also substantial evidence that in addiction there is actual alteration in brain function; whether this is reversible in part or in whole is not clear. Also, it is not clear whether alcoholism is a valid model for all addictions. IMHO, since the brain biological alterations in various addictions are likely to be similar (Nature is parsimonious), it would be prudent to assume that alcoholism is the default model for addiction, until proven otherwise. It is imperative to focus more effort on educating everyone on the scientifically-established risks of under-age use, and shift away from moralistic demonization of street drugs - which can make them attractive "forbidden fruit" for youth who love risk, and which blocks scientific investigation of these substances for medical uses. BTW, it seems blindingly obvious to me that there ARE some medical uses for these substances, at least for some people, or why would so many adults use them at least some of the time??? :P

Thank you for taking the time to read this, my attempt to clarify what I was trying to say in our Discussion on Wednesday!
June
FYI,SciFri link & info on the classification of drugs by Schedules
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201010155 - no transcript, you have to listen.
The Pot Book A new book collects essays on the science, history, politics, and medicine of marijuana. With medical marijuana legislation spreading around the country, we'll talk with the editor of "The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis." Guest Julie Holland, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine. Editor: "The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis" (Inner Traditions, 2010)
I really do not understand the phrases "hard drug" and "soft drug". As a scientist, I am familiar with the pharmacology classification of drugs - which also links to legal regulations - as Schedule I - V drugs. FYI:
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was enacted into law by ...Congress ...as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain substances is regulated. The Act also served as the national implementing legislation for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The legislation created five Schedules (classifications), with varying qualifications for a substance to be included in each. Two federal agencies, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, determine which substances are added to or removed from the various schedules, though the statute passed by Congress created the initial listing, and Congress has sometimes scheduled other substances through legislation .... Classification decisions are required to be made on criteria including potential for abuse (an undefined term), currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and international treaties.
NB: "potential for abuse" has a definition, but not a scientific/medical one.

The best reference I have for the 5 schedules is the DEA webpage
http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/abuse/1-csa.htm. You can find the list of substances on each schedule in excruciating detail there. FYI, here's a summary of the 5 schedules:
Schedule I
• The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
• The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
• There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
• Examples of Schedule I substances include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana, and methaqualone.

Schedule II
• The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
• The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
• Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
• Examples of Schedule II substances include morphine, phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine, methadone, and methamphetamine.

Schedule III
• The drug or other substance has less potential for abuse than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II.
• The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
• Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.
• Anabolic steroids, codeine and hydrocodone with aspirin or Tylenol®, and some barbiturates are examples of Schedule III substances.

Schedule IV
• The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III.
• The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
• Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule III.
• Examples of drugs included in schedule IV are Darvon®, Talwin®, Equanil®, Valium®, and Xanax®.

Schedule V
• The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV.
• The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
• Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in Schedule IV.
• Cough medicines with codeine are examples of Schedule V drugs.

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