20 Burst results for "Drug Policy Alliance"
Simply Bitcoin
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Simply Bitcoin
"Oh man, oh man oh man oh man. Yeah. You can rush it in the chat, bro all right, all right, all right, let's pull this back in 'cause this one, this one is a little serious, guys. So as I mentioned, coin bits dropped this really good thread. I'll probably cover most of the thread, but they brought to my attention and that today, January 2012 years since the launch of Silk Road, and so if you're a bit corner, you've probably heard or seen the hashtag free Ross, and if you spent any time in Bitcoin circles, then do you know exactly what happened. So they dropped a whole thread, kind of recapping the saga and also relating it to what is going on right now. And so here's some of the facts, here's the infamous website getting seas by the FBI and so here we go is a Bitcoin and he's currently serving a double life sentence with no parole in Tucson. He was convicted in 2015 and has had multiple unsuccessful appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's his initial intent. It says Ross kept a diary where he outlined his idea for a quote unquote website where people can buy anything anonymously with no trail. Whatsoever that could lead back to them or on linked. He discussed his wish to use economic theory as a means to establish or to abolish the use of coercion. What do we tell you guys consistently in regards to Bitcoin? It is a permissionless, a coercion list money and the money that you are being forced to use is literally backed by coercion. And you can see here there's even like a meme shouts out the coin bits apps crew. They continuously kill it. But let me keep going on this thread. So the Silk Road was an ideological experiment for us, and he goes, quote, I am creating an economic simulation to give people a firsthand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force by all accounts he was successful at doing this. So Megan ralston, a former Harmon reduction manager for the drug policy alliance, was quoted as saying that Silk Road was a peaceable alternative to the often deadly violence. So commonly associated with the global drug war and street drug transactions in particular. And here's some of the numbers Silk Road service, a 146,946 buyers from February 2011 to July 2013, there was approximately 1 million 229 465 transactions completed on the site, total revenue of 9 million 519 664 Bitcoin are roughly a 183 million U.S. dollars at the time. And silk roads commission was 614,304 Bitcoin. But for Ross, it wasn't about the money. We know this because even as a success, that Silk Road had rosted and owned a car, he showed a house with roommates. He had very few possessions, and even before Silk Road, he donated 10% of its earnings of a used book business to mentor inner city youth. Silk Road ran as an onion service on the Tor network, but law enforcement's were able to identify the site through an undercut operation, becoming a site admin on the site's operation monitoring Ross chats, time on and narrowing down his likely location that way. That infiltration also helped them seize a server in Iceland, but the breakthrough on the case was made in mid 2013 when Ross identity was connected to dread pirate Roberts. So computer science experts consider to this be considered this to be Ross only liesl mistake and in the early days Ross used a username all toyed
WABE 90.1 FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on WABE 90.1 FM
"A probiotic strain developed by gastroenterologists with 20 years of research More at a line probiotics dot com And from C three AI C three AI software enables organizations to use artificial intelligence at enterprise scale solving previously unsolvable problems C three AI is enterprise AI This is all things considered from NPR news I'm Adrian And I know such a overdose deaths in the U.S. rose to a record high in 2021 That is according to a preliminary estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the vast majority of these deaths were caused by illegally made fentanyl NPR health correspondent Ritu channel G joins us now to tell us more about this new data highly too Hey Elsa So how many people died from overdoses last year We're talking about over a 107,000 people and that was the highest number of overdose deaths that the U.S. has seen in any given year in the entire two decades that this drug epidemic is going has been going on for And here's Frida Ahmad she's a researcher at the CDC's national center for health statistics Over 80,000 of those deaths involved opioids which was about a 15% increase And the vast majority of those opioid related deaths were caused by fentanyl Right and we're talking about illicit fentanyl right That's right but the difference is that several years ago fentanyl was primarily combined with heroin but since the last three years other illicit drugs cocaine methamphetamine even illegally made prescription drugs like oxycodone are being contaminated with fentanyl Doctor Nora Volkov directs the national institute on drug abuse and she says that this has put many more people at risk of overdosing Now people that have using cocaine are at risk of overdosing from fentanyl similarly people taking methamphetamine are arteries for overdosing and very tragically people that may be using illicit prescriptions And I say very tragically because in many instances these may be people that take just one peel And die if that pills contaminated Volkov says a lot of people using these drugs don't even suspect that the drugs may contain fentanyl and you can't tell by looking at a drug that it is contaminated And there's a lot of people taking these drugs for various reasons His vocal again People take illicit prescription drugs because they have pain they can not sleep properly They are anxious And they don't get them from their doctors so they go to the illicit market So it's affecting a bigger swath of drug users who aren't necessarily aware of their risks Well what's being done to curb this pattern So you know the Biden administration has made investments in expanding access to harm reduction measures like naloxone which reverses overdoses clean needles and fentanyl test strips to test if a drug is contaminated and just last month the administration announced its plans to address this crisis with harm reduction being a key component Sheila vicaria is with the drug policy alliance and she says she's heartened by this federal investment Harm reduction has historically been incredibly underfunded and have been relegated to state and local funding or private funding But she also adds that the existing efforts clearly aren't enough We're seeing a rise in debts and she says that access to home reduction measures still remain sporty To date we only have two legally operating above ground harm reduction overdose prevention centers in the country And we need to see these in communities across the country because people are also dying of overdose alone and not having a place to go or not having people around them to be able to adequately respond So you know she says despite all these great investments this clearly more that needs to be done to make these kinds of things available to more people to save lives Absolutely That is Ampere's reto Chatterjee Thank you so much me too Thanks also my pleasure In New Mexico the largest wildfire in the U.S. continues to grow rapidly in the mountains east of Santa Fe Nearly 2000 firefighters are trying to stop the blaze from moving closer to mountain resort towns like Taos Tens of thousands of people are under evacuation orders From member station Ku and M Alice fordham reports many have questions about how this fire started The adventure camp at glorieta just outside Santa Fe is usually full of kids biking in the mountains or swimming in the Lake Right now though it's dining room is full of evacuees from the worst fire anyone hears ever.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Good morning For the first time ever the United States may top 100,000 overdose deaths in a single 12 month period A big culprit here is black market fentanyl It's a powerful synthetic opioid and it now contaminates most street drugs NPR addictions correspondent Brian man has been tracking this Brian good morning Good morning Steve And we're also joined by Madeline back of the mountain west news bureau in Boise Idaho Good morning to you Good morning Thanks for getting up early Brian I want to start with you I keep thinking we've got our hands around this problem as a country the public is paying attention People know about it People are trying to address it Lawmakers try to address it Things seem to be getting better How's it actually getting worse Yeah public health expert Steve pointed two big factors the pandemic of course which put a lot of new stress on millions of Americans who struggle with addiction the pandemic complicated the ability of people in recovery to find treatment and that left people deeply vulnerable And on top of that we've seen this rapid spread of fentanyl this synthetic opioid which Mexican drug cartels now cook into almost every drug sold on the street including fake pain pills I spoke about this with doctor Bradley Stein who sounded really scared by these trends I think it's going in one direction I think the increase in overdose deaths is tragic Stein is a researcher at the Rand corporation and heads ran opioid policy center and Steve he points out the devastation caused by fentanyl goes way beyond these fatal overdoses The harms on families The harms on individuals being able to get and keep jobs With the headline grabbing numbers of the deaths sometimes we don't pay enough attention to those things too So when we talk about that devastating 100,000 death milestone that we're approaching that's really just kind of the tip of very painful iceberg Yeah ripple effect you could talk about millions and of course that's a 100,000 deaths in one year and it's an ongoing problem Now Madeleine Beck it's been especially bad in Colorado Nevada New Mexico where fentanyl related deaths more than doubled Last year do we know why it's getting so much worse where you are So one reason is over prescriptions like everywhere else painkillers were overprescribed people developed an addiction Now because of pressure from federal regulators there's fewer prescriptions being written so as Brian alluded to though Mexican cartels are meeting people's needs with fake pills They look like OxyContin and other opioids but they're fentanyl which is way cheaper And unfortunately easier to overdose on Jonathan Ellington developed an addiction after having a knee injury in high school in Kentucky He got over that addiction but when he got hurt again living in Colorado years later he ended up buying OxyContin looking pills from the wrong person They were fentanyl and he died Dave Ellington is his father It was in a bottle that was a medication bottle as if it came from a pharmacy It had a person's name on it The person that actually sold him that his story isn't unique unfortunately the DEA says about a quarter of fentanyl pills they sees have enough of the drug to kill And they say the amount of fentanyl coming from Mexico has doubled every year for the last four years That's a delicate question because of course one way to avoid being killed by illegal drugs is not to take them but people do buy them people do take them And if they're in that situation is there a way they can tell if the drugs are contaminated So starting in April states could start using federal grants to pay for things called fentanyl test strips to stem those overdoses Those can be dipped into a solution of drag residue and water and they act kind of like a pregnancy test where one line means it likely contains fentanyl two means it likely doesn't Jacqueline Goldman a researcher at Brown university says they can actually change people's behavior We found overwhelmingly that people found the test strips to be a really important tool And that many of them took subsequent overdose prevention steps because of knowing that fentanyl was in their drugs Drug deaths have ravaged whole communities in many parts of the U.S. the frontline response to this crisis is still police and prisons not healthcare providers and hospitals Madeline is that true in the mountain west where you are I mean definitely there are police in the mountain west who've told me that they've started to look at suspected fentanyl overdoses specifically as homicides And that way they stay longer at a scene collect more evidence that they give to prosecutors who in the last couple of years have started giving fentanyl dealers mandatory minimum sentences of 20 to life Now groups like the drug policy alliance think that's just a continuation of the drug war The people of color and people in poverty will be impacted the most They largely just argue if there's a demand there will be supply But just about every source I talk to police and groups like the drug policy alliance included support more addiction treatment mental health resources and education Andrea Thomas 32 year old daughter died from a pill with fentanyl in it She says her daughter left behind in 8 year old son You hear about overdoses all the time but the difference between what happened to my daughter and all of those stories that I heard about overdose before is that she didn't overdose She was poisoned Thomas wants it to be talked about everywhere including schools and colleges groups like song for Charlie have sprung up specifically to highlight the risks to young people Brian how does the country address what is clearly a nationwide problem Yeah the Biden administration has asked Congress for more than $10 billion to boost drug treatment programs like the ones Madeleine was talking about They've also made it easier for doctors to prescribe buprenorphine This is a medication that eases opioid cravings for people in recovery There are efforts around the country to improve addiction treatment and get more mainstream doctors into this field But you know Steve there's no quick fix There's no equivalent of.
NPR News Now
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on NPR News Now
"More at code for america dot org lie from npr news. I'm janine herbst. A million customers of louisiana's largest utility are still without power a week after hurricane item made landfall leaving at least thirteen people dead as stephen bizarre from member station. Wb reports power has been restored though to about three hundred fifty thousand customers. Energy says getting power back is taking so long because of the unprecedented amount of damage caused by the storm. More power poles are taken down by ida than hurricanes doda zita in katrina combined. The power company predicted some of the worst areas of the gulf would have to wait until september twenty ninth for electricity but now that's completed assessing the damage. It says some people might have to wait even longer. Power is slowly coming back on in new orleans with most of the city expected to have services restored by wednesday for npr news. I'm steven ba. Saw the biden administration is urging congress to permanently ban. Fenton all related drugs. Npr's carrie johnson reports. A temporary ban is set to expire in late october. Federal drug control officials say lawmakers need to take decisive action to restrict the fastest driver of overdoses in the country. They're asking congress to permanently list substances related to no as schedule one drugs the most restricted category under federal law but civil rights groups warn that plan echoes. The failed drug control policies of the past five decades. The leadership conference as the proposal will expose some people too harsh prison terms. Even though president biden promised to end mandatory minimums before the twenty twenty election the drug policy alliance which is fighting to end the war on drugs says it wants to see less punishment and more resources for public. Health carrie johnson. Npr news washington global air. Quality improves slightly. During last year's cova nineteen lockdowns. According to a new report from the united nations on air pollution and climate change but azan brash from colorado public radio reports a warming planet makes for a more dismal long-term forecast the report shows the pandemic did lead debris improvements in air quality in many places but owned cooper and atmospheric scientists at the university of colorado boulder. Who worked on the un's bulletin says it clearly shows that the hotter the planet gets the more people will breathe unhealthy air increase in heatwaves and along with heat waves comes a stagnant air masses will equal higher levels of the surface. Cooper says aggressive climate policies to reduce carbon emissions would bring longer-lasting improvements for npr news. I'm sam brash. In denver this labor day could be a tough one for millions of people around the country. As to anchors of the government's covert relief package are ending or have recently ended. The three hundred dollar weekly jobless benefit boost ends tomorrow about seven million people are poised to lose all unemployment benefits. Nearly three million will lose that additional three hundred dollars. This is npr an apparent coup in guinea as soldiers in the west african nation. Detained president alpha conde video of the president in military custody was released hours after heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace appearing live on state. Tv military members of the country's government was dissolved and the constitution was invalid and that regional governors have been replaced by military commanders condie in power for more than a decade saw his popularity plummet since he sought a third term last year saying term limits. Didn't apply to him. Washington state ferries the biggest ferry system in the country is bracing for a threatened work slowdown by some workers resistant to getting the covert vaccine. Npr's martin kosti has more from seattle. Some ferry system workers have been protesting online and in person saying the state is infringing on their liberties by trying to force them to get kovic shots. System spokesman ian stirling says. He's heard what he calls the rumors of a work slowdown but he's not convinced it'll be widespread we understand. There's lots of strong feelings out there about the vaccine requirements that are coming up for state employees but the job is to keep the boats moving back and forth and our employees have done a great job of being out there on the front lines is essential employees and if kept the system moving throughout the pandemic even without anti vaccine protests sterling says the washington state ferries are short of workers partly because of a worldwide shortage of qualified mariners. Martin kosti npr news seattle. And i'm janine herbst and you're listening to npr news..
KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM
"And Chris Sullivan. We've been shamelessly cannibalizing the Washington Post Series about reimagining, public safety and one of the guest columnist As Cassandra Frederick, who is the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. And Cassandra, You're saying it's time to Once and for all. And the war on drugs. A lot of people have called for this. We've basically done it in Seattle already. Uh, why are you saying this now because we are in the middle of harrowing overdose crisis. We are in the middle of a racial reckoning, a conversation and a movement around changing policing in this country, and we know all those things are influenced. By our choices around drugs, and so we are pushing to end the drug war. And for us, that means not just ending the arrest for simple possession and the level sales but US happening of meaningful conversation about How do we disrupt the logic and the assumptions that undergird so much of our infrastructure from people losing custody of their Children? From people losing jobs are not being able to get jobs because of drug tests. We want to remove the drug war whole sale from our lives and actually put something much more meaningful E about support. Starting from the root of this, I immediately think about. You know the dare program that I grew up with Dave. I'm sure your generation had its own education about drugs are bad. How do you balance the message to younger generations that no. You should not do drugs while also sending the message of even if you do, we're going to help you and we're going to get you some social services and housing. You know, I think about that as a parent. About giving young people education and information and having real conversations about what the risks are. Currently, young people are dying of overdose don't have any idea how to make sure they can make their choices less risky. And there's a lot of stigma so people aren't willing to share or ask questions. And so what we're offering is giving parents a tool set that's actually probably more useful and will only strengthen relationships. So you talking about delisting drugs like heroin, taking them off the controlled substances list so that they would just be as legal as any other drugs? I think there are two things here that we have to separate. How do we remove criminalization and punishment and surveillance and stigma from drugs? And then there's another conversation that's about how do we actually deal with drugs in our community and build a community that's not beast? In stigma, but it's actually based on science, compassion and human rights. For example, here in Washington state are Supreme Court basically declared unconstitutional law, which said you could be arrested for the mere possession of drugs. But that law was being used to offer a drug court option to people who were caught with small amounts of drugs so that they would be offered. Basically, um Therapy. On pain of going to jail. They didn't go and some people not everybody have credited this with finally getting them to break the habit because they were given this choice and basically forced them into rehab and when it works. That's a good thing. If you take away that tool Aren't you worried that you might lose some people? I think one of the things that we often say is that we put so much money in the criminal justice system that if we actually took that money out of the criminal justice system, we'd actually have more options, as opposed to last. You know, I'm a social worker, and one of things that I will say is that love is not supposed to hurt. You know for us. We don't believe in forcing people into treatment. And I think that's a cop out far larger conversation in our society. Why we have to force people into treatment. Why's and treatment and we have something that's incentivized for people. Why did we have to force them into something? That's good for them? I think it's about giving people actions. It's And and making it more attractive to people. And I think that that's what we have to be striving for. Because if you force people sometimes it doesn't work. And in most cases it doesn't right. Yeah, we know, you know, even just, you know, go into therapy or going to a A. You can't force somebody to go do that They have to decide for themselves, but If we do that, with all drugs, you're betting on that That person is not going to hurt anyone before they make the choice for themselves. The conversation about community public safety is a conversation about community, right? The hard stuff around drugs is a lot of that has to do with shame and stigma and punishment and surveillance. And so part of it is if we removed Sigma if we remove shame. Is there a way for us to build conversation where harm goes down? I'm not saying any of this stuff is easy, but that harm happens already. Even with everything that we're doing, So why can't we try something else? Where we might lower the risk of that happening. You know So many people talk to us, and they're like, what you're doing is going more people are going to be using drugs. More people going to, you know, hurt people, more people, and I'm like more people are already doing that. Where else that we've been in over those prices. This bag. Where else have we been in such mass incarceration? What is clear about the situation We're in right now. Is that what we're doing? Does not work. I think one of the things that will determine whether this flies or not is Whether we start seeing some of these homeless encampments disappear, which are disproportionately populated by people who have addiction problems, I I will guarantee you If if you can promise that your plan will mean that people who were addicted to drugs will no longer be living in public parks and leaving needles around. You'll get widespread support from the American public. Can you envision a scenario where that actually happens? I think it's important to recognize that drugs are not the reason why we have homeless encampment. Housing is unaffordable. People are losing their jobs. Right. Drugs are being used as an excuse for structural issues around poverty and incarceration. Right And it's like, okay, well, let's remove drugs. We will still have a homeless problem. So we have to have a fundamental conversation about how we support people in this community and how we want to deal with public safety and how we want to do what public health Ending the drug war is not going to end homelessness. It will help But our community needs to have a full conversation as to why so many people are falling within the cracks. Are there any test cases out there other than Oregon? It hasn't been going on long enough in Oregon, for us to know the actual outcome can use site anywhere else in the world where this happened and had a positive outcome. Yeah, so the country of Portugal decriminalised drugs in 2000 and one they saw all their behavioral health measures like Addiction, crime, all these things going down and we saw that people actually went more to treatment. So you probably have a sympathetic ear in the White House now with Joe Biden. Uh, what do you think you're lobbying for this? You see any chance of it happening? Well, the president currently says that he does not believe people should go to jail for drug possession. And we agree with that. The president also things that people shouldn't go to jail because they should be forced into treatment, and we don't believe in that. And so I think there's a conversation for us to have with this nation around. What? We should offer people as help. I'm gonna help should not come with handcuffs. And so we have to figure out ways to give people the resources that they need and build the communities that can take on and be responsive to complex human behavior..
Behind the Bastards
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Behind the Bastards
"Nadelmann hosted a new podcast psychoactive. I founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana and ended up broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drugs and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and politicians celebrities and activists about all things drugs why do we have receptors in their brain. That fit molecules made by poppy plants. You know. I think ecstasy saved my marriage drugs or something. I recommend to long-term couples. We had to adopt this idea that there's this disease called alcoholism no matter how many drugs this particular person was selling. You shouldn't be able to kick someone's door down and then murdered them. Psychoactive is out now listeners. Psychoactive on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Who wherever you get your podcasts. We're back so in the almost ten years that followed i police report which is again two thousand six. The duggar family grew more popular and more powerful within right wing political circles mike. Huckabee former governor and presidential candidate attorney was regularly seen with both jim bob and joshua they were very tight end with huckabee in two thousand eight..
The Ron Burgundy Podcast
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on The Ron Burgundy Podcast
"That's very generous of you okay. So i believe ron is finished with sabrina. And the cool. Ron phone number didn't work out. But that's okay. Because what did work out for. Some bunnies in. Florida is going to melt your heart. I don't why am i still even trying to do this. We're not going to get to the bunnies. We didn't get any of the other animals. I'm going crazy. I don't sabrina. Are we set up with my unlimited. Five g-go data plan plus love boat channel thing. Great okay we're all set. Then there we go. Oh my god. Ron all set. We are going to recoil me more about this professional heirarchy league. How good do you have to be to get in all right. We're gonna be right back after this. I'm so sorry. Oh hi i'm ethan. Edelman hosted the new podcast psychoactive founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana and end the broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drugs and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and politicians celebrities and activists about all things drugs why do we have receptors. They're bringing that fit. Molecules made poppy plants. You know. I think ecstasy. Save my marriage drugs or something. I recommend to long-term couples. We had to adopt this idea that there's this disease called alcoholism no matter how many drugs this particular person was selling. You shouldn't be able to kick someone's door down and then murdered them. Psychoactive is out. Now listen to psychoactive on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Whoever you get your podcasts. Hey it's roy. Junior from the daily show with trevor noah and host of the new podcast beyond the scenes in each episode..
The Drug Science Podcast
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on The Drug Science Podcast
"Also form of painkillers. Asian and alternative is what we call devotion where instead of being sent through the justice system given a charge a criminal conviction one can be diverted to services for education treatment. No support something that a few police forces in england is being done for example in the checkpoints game in durham. It's been done extensively in australia. Every australian state has a system for developing people away from criminalization full. Possession ended some. Us states some show silicon testify a barrel skating split diversion such as enforcing or assisted wgn which started in seattle and many us states have now up decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis on one of them has even decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs. Which is oregon. Several is off. The portugal did something similar in two hundred one. He'll give us your take on And how you see decriminalization in the states and how you see the The oregon vote. Do you think that's going to be. Some kind of major. Transition is opening a door to something very fundamental. Yes absolutely thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about it. you know we at the drug policy alliance. In partnership with a number of leading coalition groups. in acce- partners in oregon were thrilled at our success. In oregon decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs an all drugs. I think that this is a huge step forward for us as a country. As i mentioned earlier we are one nation but we are fifty states and oftentimes what this allows us to do is to have policy experimentation on the state level and to be able to to see what a a model policy can look you and then decide whether we want to adapt adjust or replicate that in some way our own context and environments and so we are incredibly excited. I the prospect of moving forward with decriminalization in oregon. Because we're really going to be doing really important work here or foremost we're actually going to build a more robust treatment continuum of care in the state actually oregon out of all states in the union ranked among the lowest states in terms of access to care and access to a robust treatment system in so there was a reason why you know oregon seem like a great place to go because it gave us an opportunity to you very much through what portugal look like in the united states. Yes you don't have nationalized healthcare. Yes aaron number of components things that we have no control over but one thing we could have control over is developing a more robust At infrastructure you provide people with that safety net and access to services including harm reduction services medication.
The Dan Patrick Show
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on The Dan Patrick Show
"Crashed news reports just coming in the death and life of kobe. Bryant includes exclusive content and a look at the legacy number twenty four leaves behind never wanted to rest on laurels of. Hey just a sports star anything that he was going to put his name to anything. He was going to help with he. Vanessa we're gonna give it their all. Listen to the death and life of kobe. Bryant on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi i'm ethan. Edelman host of the new podcast psychoactive founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana end the broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drugs and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and politicians celebrities and activists about all things drugs why do we have receptors brain. That fit molecules made by poppy plants. You know i think ecstasy saved my marriage. Drugs are something. I recommend to long-term couples. We had to adopt this idea that there's this disease called alcoholism about how many drugs this particular person was selling. You shouldn't be able to kick someone's door down and then murdered. Psychoactive is out now listeners. Psychoactive on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Whoever you get your bike casts we spent a lot of time yesterday and part of today talking about simone biles took her self out of the team competition. She's taken herself out of the individual. All around competition that will be thursday. Don't know if she's gonna compete over the weekend and we thought about dale jr. For a variety of reasons we love having junior on by the way season. Two of loss speedway's on peacock looking at great racing cathedrals of the past. Really long forgotten racecourses now abandoned overtaken by nature. I really loved it. I thought it was great. And we're going to have junior on to talk about that. But then i thought everything that he went through when he was racing from when his dad died to getting in the car the next week the expectations you inherited a fan base. He wasn't winning just the mental side of that in dale jr. joins us now and i know it's a long time ago but that that mental part of preparing for race. How many times do you think you went into a race where mentally you weren't in a good place when you're doing it every single week. You certainly had your good days and bad days when you could tell where you are last week mentally and where you were this week and it was happening and such repetitive process. That you you know there were days when he got up and you felt really great. You feel like man. I'm this is going to be a great day. I can feel it or you know you just had a great disposition and could handle adversity better and then there were days when you got about a bed and you had no motivation or you had no confidence You maybe had some going on your personal life. That was that had you down and depressed And then when you were faced with any adversity during that day or that race you didn't handle it well and you didn't overcome it and you can't fail part I had you definitely going to experience that in sports When you're when you're competing on regular basis you're going to have those days when you mentally just habit together and then those moments when they're just you just saying you're just overwhelmed and I was always affected. You know my personal life and my home. Life was the driving factor for me and so the things were good. And i you know. I was if things were smooth for. May at home Things were going thing. We're going to go pretty well at the racetrack. I think that might have been the other way around to. Sometimes if things didn't go well the race track and bad at home. That's for sure. If if i failed and i had stretches of failure you know where just. I was a miserable miserable person every day of the week. But how many times did you get into a car and say. I shouldn't be in this car. Never never did add. Just i was interested job. I was just showing up to work and supposed to be there. Felt like i belonged there but there were days when you look around. And you just knew didn't have that same confidence as the guy next to you. So when we go to the drivers introduction all the drivers are forced into this little space together. And we're going get introduced to the crowd and so you are exposed to all the competition right there in that moment before you're going to go compete and you can see guys that are that are that are Ready to get ready to get after it. You guys that are just you know. They're not they're not fired up to be air. I don't know everybody kinda approaches it differently but Can you say anything to anybody. Could you tell your crew chief for doubts. Or i'm just not there or did you just suppress it. Yeah you say that because you don't want your team to hear you didn't want your crew chief for anybody to think that you weren't you weren't allowed in you know and you weren't there heavy. Every with the most sports racing is a is a team effort. and nobody. you definitely don't want you know your personal issues or anything you've got going on. I guess were you. Did you know that that wasn't the jack man's problem that you know that he showed up there. He's he's in. he's prepared all week. And so you suppressed been saying they now after the rights you might note your crew chief and say hey man. I'm sorry as you could probably tell. I wouldn with it. This week i wouldn't today This is why. I'm going to try to fix that. How can you help me fix that. And you know you try to you. Try to do a better job than next week. But you had a big fan base like the pressure at a young age of living up to what they wanted. The other drivers didn't have that you can say that's good and bad but like be didn't want to let them down now. You didn't and i had a hard time. Feel hard time feeling like a victim there because i felt like the fan base was super That fan base was absolutely the reason why i was able to keep my job in certain situations when probably mixed guy got fired. There was a stretch where knowledge is going Pretty things are going bad with my job at rick hendrick In anyone else would have got. Let go but my fan base and the support that i had from the fans is the reason why i was. Let go and so you know being the most popular driver.
AP News Radio
50-Year War on Drugs Imprisoned Millions of Black Americans
"Fifty years after president Nixon declared a war on drugs some are questioning whether anyone won the war mandatory minimum sentences were key weapon in the war on drugs but the war's toll wasn't even an Associated Press analysis of incarceration data found that between nineteen seventy in two thousand the incarceration rates for whites doubled but the rates for black and Latinos roughly triple anti drug policies were widely accepted or like get these drugs out of our community and Cassandra Frederik the executive director of the drug policy alliance says the heavy hand of law enforcement came without addiction prevention resources help us out with that ask for tanks Eugene Hey would senior is a truck driver and a former crack dealer they used to prior charges head to enhance me up to a mandatory license after fourteen years his sentence was commuted by president Obama a lot of people who they've locked up for drugs they have turned around and legalize those same exact drugs sadly this cycle of incarceration continues Hey what's only son was convicted of a federal murder charge in connection with a drug gang in Peoria Illinois Jennifer king Washington
The Breakfast Club
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on The Breakfast Club
"You can't woman refund see. No email could decode. What's your cash out. Could deco we're going to make right now. Oh i want this k. E. e. d. e. k. After that's the cash was ray fine. How many people was it about eight years. I got in the receipt. We're gonna make sure envy refunds. You could okay do the. Dm the breakfast club. We'll make sure vega back to the second now because they only make sure you get that money. So don't worry about it joe money. Could you miss the flight with eighties. We how you how you even spa she got you have fifteen thousand people show up. You can't get back. Don't let him be played with you. Like i bought tickets for me my friends and my into hurts on everybody from where you coming atlanta if dj you don't pay atlanta atlanta no review envy. Don't pay you back you. Just make sure that his new name is. Dj scam off. Okay gotta give it back better. Could you let us know. Let me ask you questions charlemagne. yes late young lady out times a hard right now but if you to a game right and you'll fly gives cancel the nba. Give you back sticks. I didn't even hear what she got. What happened. I didn't hear watching. What was your refund. What was your refund palace refunds. There's no refunds. no there's no. It was used complaining about it. I'm just siding with her to the car show flight was kansas. She missed a flight. Yes what had happened to me. I bought tickets to the super bowl games. And i paid for. This is not the damn super bowl. I got cancelled. And i still have to pay to eat that. I had to eat that both. What would you say shoulder. You absolutely right. But i can't if you're going to get your mind off right anytime i can make spend money. We'll make him spend some goddamn money. Even if he's not even posted cindy give became two thousand dollars but they boxing candy. And you got it you got it. Envy don't okay. Forget that her flight got cancelled and it's her fault you pay them back journal rich person. I'm not. I'm not reached her. I'm slander the breakfast club now. Did he cost you some money. More how much we gotta go through it because this free see. Vip tickets says this is what the cauti-. oh yes. Dan m takes one hundred dollars a piece. I asked if she got the first thousand tickets. There were nine hundred ninety nine mix turn around and cough. Okay folks who got their money right but all tickets asi had got the package for the real estate seminar package. Shut up jobs are. That's not that's not a does not your fault is you're not. You're not entitled the pay. Her back yeah right. But i have emailed her back though. Envy got sixteen thousand emails a planning another costs so we we definitely reply to everybody. We haven't seen people we probably did. We probably somebody. Bobby said no. That's why she called. But anyway we got one way. Es let's talk about. richard sherman. You know he's been hit with five charges. We'll tell you what those are and what he had to say about it. And i guess a good time to tell you about my car show august fourteenth in atlantic city. It's a weekend so that way you won't miss your flight so you can come friday for the all white party saturday for the cau- show and sunday for the real estate seminar your favorite celebrity my flight right now number no refunds. Sammy 'cause from fabulous fifty cent french montana. Little who's evert and little. Kim and of course tons of others would love to see you there and rooms on up next. Is the breakfast club. Commodity the breakfast club. Hi i'm ethan. Nadelmann hosted a new podcast psychoactive founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana and ended up broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drunks and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and politicians celebrities and activists about all things drugs why do we have receptors in their brain. That fit molecules made by poppy plants. You know. I think ecstasy saved my marriage. Drugs are something. I recommend to long-term couples. We had to adopt this idea that there's this disease called alcoholism no matter how many drugs this particular person was selling. You shouldn't be able to kick someone's door down and then murdered them. Psychoactive is out. Now listen to psychoactive on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Whoever you get your podcasts. Do i propose. Vote based off what we just heard in slanted breakfast club from could nico. Dj envy old. Could could three hundred sixty two dollars and forty cents. Could deka center tickets. She bought eight tickets for envy's cars showing now. She wants her money back because she missed her flight. I think tomorrow we do breakfast club court and asked the people if they think you should pay sites were cancelled and they couldn't make it. Does he have to refund. All of no there's no refunds and this is the thing if you go to if you bought tickets for anything concert rolling loud or you buy tickets to anything powerhouse or an nba game nfl game. Nhl game a major league baseball game in. You missed the flight. They don't fly cancelled or the flight is cancelled. They don't they. Don't give you your money back. A lot of times you can go to the airlines and the airlines will try to compensate. Those people aren't their best friend in their head. They don't wake up to that voice every morning. Wake up to the voice of the nba the nfl. You're their best friend in their head. You know what else do i was gonna say if somebody barrows something from you and never gives it back and then breaks it. Do they owe you money. Talk the headphones of mine. You're wearing right now. did you broke so you should. We found out when we have money. Because you can't be standing on his high moral ground must kid rock no. Let's do breakfast club. Okay personally. I want to get her money. 'cause i like when mvsa spend money. But i don't think you have to to. I want my money back talking about you. You got it then. We talk about shoot. That's right you got it. Stop worrying about it and you free. But you know wha- what we'll talk about it. The two thousand dollars we have other family can go so you better line up to call in the deka two in brooklyn cub court..
Murder in Oregon
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Murder in Oregon
"Hi i'm ethan. Nadelmann hosted a new podcast psychoactive. I founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana and ended up broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drugs and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and politicians celebrities and activists about all things drugs why do we have receptors in their brain. That fit molecules made by poppy plants. You know. I think ecstasy saved my marriage drugs or something. I recommend to long-term couples. We had to adopt this idea that there's this disease called alcoholism no matter how many drugs this particular person was selling. You shouldn't be able to kick someone's door down and then murdered. The psychoactive is out. Now listen to psychoactive on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Whoever you get your podcasts this podcast tells the story of pilot who using a clandestine cell phone from inside a prison in north carolina claims to have worked as an entrepreneur and air logistics coordinator and the international drug trade for some thirty years. I'm these that's what i am. My name is john gabler. Journalists based in mexico was approached. To see if i would be interested in looking to this pilot story. Yeah said i'm interested. Contacted a number of reporters who had either met interviewed or reported on this pilot. Tell the truth you wanted to sell the and began.
Drugs and Stuff
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Drugs and Stuff
"To drugs phrase printed on the bath and if you wanna take it even further than like a fake reproduction of the original you can even get a charity like this is how popular the dare shirt was people beyond the original dear shirt with its intended meaning it was beyond appropriating the original your shirt to say like i do drugs now. You got a shirt that says c. a. r. e. care about me please or. Dare throats are really expensive. My personal favorite was the one that side vape or vip and the little acronym at the bottom was very addictive piece of equipment. Yeah though they're also funny like you can. All you have to do is the will dare shirt parody rain google images you can spend probably ours living through those in having a laugh in. They get super randolph. Bizarre during each very niche and. I think it's absolutely hilarious to the urban outfitters. Their shirt that you mentioned that it comes distressed for you. Give me the whole. I wore this through the eighties and nineties vibe without actually having to have been through the program the eighties and nineties berry authentic vibes but yeah we wanted to definitely wrap up this conversation as hilarious as it is with one slightly serious point which is really important to know why these Ironies are popular in the first place as marissa's said earlier a lot of it is rooted in the fact that this really was a drug education program and the failure of the program itself is what actually led to our ability to laugh at it to where it as a sign of something opposite of. What actually is you would think that a drug education model top cops. I was only teaching preventative. Model would be a no brainer for. It's not work like an abstinence based sex education program assuming that no one is going to want to experiment with drugs especially teams will probably actually cause more harm than preventing it because not only are students not learning how to use safely but also not learning a tricks end ways of helping their friends or family members might need some help they all so don't get any tools or like learn any ways to not use drugs in a non problematic or non chaotic way. And not only that also isolates students who've either had experiences using or know someone close to them does along the same vein. A students aren't done. Kids aren't dumb when you teach absence based program kids are gonna know that you're hiding something from them actually comes across as really Which we conceive as the root of the whole boomerang effect that we talked about in the beginning of this episode overall we just want to end with. What can we learn from the failure of dare. We believe that a harm reduction approach is so much other than abstinence. Space approach and the drug policy alliance actually developed their very own safety model as a drug education curriculum. Bat is reality based and has a lot of tools and strategies for parents to talk to their kids to help. Protect them from problematic in chaotic drug. Use you can actually. I'm the safety first. Booklet which is available in over seven languages on drug policy dot org forward slash resources. And yeah even though. It's really fun to poke fun. This failure of drug education program and where these shirts It's also important to note that are so a lot of work to be done in educating our communities about drugs drug use definitely. Yeah i mean it's crazy to think about there. That was like thirty forty years ago. And it's so obvious that it hasn't worked It's it's definitely time. You're overdue for the harvard Approach at this point absolutely we are so overdue but yeah we wanna thank you for joining us on this awesome episode of puffer pass eighth. You out was super fun indefinitely. Remember to make sure to check out at their shirt parodies. Never know when you need it. Air shirt addition to wasn't absolutely i second many. Thanks tumorous into lara for what might be the most entertaining discussion of deir. I've ever heard and for all of their incredible work. As dp interns they will be missed to learn more about effective drug education. Checkout safety i a free harm reduction based curriculum available at drug policy dot org slash safety i. I also just wanted to note that the opinions on puffer pass are the guests own and don't necessarily represent the official position of epa. So that's it for today's episode. If you have an idea for a new episode of puffer pass we would love to hear it. Tweet us at drugs and stuff. Dpa thanks for listening and hope you'll tune in next time drugs and stuff is brought to you by the drug policy alliance. If you like what you hear on the podcast favourite rate the show on i tunes gave it five stars and a nice review. Also love to hear from. You tweeted us at drugs and stuff. Dpa use the hashtag drugs and stuff and check out our website drug policy dot org to see the other work. We do for our emails and donate special. Thanks to our producer. Catherine heller and the hard working staff of the drug policy alliance for all of their work. Thanks for listening..
Straight Outta Vegas with RJ Bell
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Straight Outta Vegas with RJ Bell
"Expert. How does that resonate. Yeah no i think. That's that's perfectly said because if milwaukee wins this game any series in the nba if you were to tell me all right. It's the best of three and one teams got by far and away the best player in the series. I mean that that to me would feel like you'd like milwaukee in the series like milwaukee wins this game. I love milwaukee in the series. I i would wonder if milwaukee does win this. What does the series series price goto see. That's interesting when there's three games left. Typically there would be even more of an advantage for homecourt advantage and my gut feeling they were considered to be even teams would be about one. Sixty one seventy Mackenzie we've had a couple of those instances this year Y this year was the typical number in that spot. One second let me pull up that data so let's take our first break when we come back and we've had a long segment. We'll look at that and say what would it be. But i'm also going to tell you right off the go that whoever loses game four there had a bigger disadvantage than you might even think. I don't care if it's phoenix or milwaukee. There's a specific reason with each of these teams that losing game four means big big travel. He's rj bell. I'm jonas knocks the pre-game show you've always wanted right here. On fox sports radio be sure to catch live editions of straight outta vegas weekdays at six pm eastern three. Pm pacific on fox sports radio. And the i heart radio app paper. Ghosts returns with an investigation into a tragedy. That took place deep in america's heartland in tucked away ohio town where a massive farmhouse belonging to a wealthy family erupted in flames. The finder everywhere. All four residents inside were dead and not a single person died from the flames or smoke so the question becomes what killed them or more importantly who my brother says carol. Something's op. there is too much blood this season. I'm not chasing a missing persons flyer. I'm chasing a wanted poster and how the mob works. Say don't leave anybody. I didn't want nobody to know what i was what i was doing. How's the did. I wouldn't have to next day. Listened to paper ghosts on the iheartradio app apple podcasts. Or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi i'm ethan. Edelman hosted a new podcast psychoactive. I founded the drug policy alliance which has been at the forefront of the effort to legalize marijuana and end the broader war on drugs. But what's next. What's the future of drugs and psychoactive. I'll be talking with scientists and.
Curtis Sliwa
Final bill introduced to legalize marijuana in New York
"Since late February vote could come as early as tomorrow to legalize recreational marijuana in New York state. Under this deal in Albany, those 21 older would be able to buy up to three ounces of weed. People would also be able To grow a small number of marijuana plants at home, and there would be an expungement or re sentencing. For those with the marijuana conviction. Melissa Moore is with the drug policy alliance. This bill would actually lock in community reinvestment from the candidates tax revenue to the communities that have been the hardest hit by criminalization. The deal estimated to bring in 350
Talk 1260 KTRC
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on Talk 1260 KTRC
"Gonna stand my ground 25 minutes after one o'clock back down the men in black 57 degrees in stand up. It's warm, very windy wins. Easy, pretty steady. It's 30 ish dusting of 40 ish two hands on the wheel, whether humanity 6% Windy, warm and super dry. Extreme fire weather. Please be careful. Please be careful. Lawnmowers. Whatever you're smoking these days, please, Please be careful. Don't spark anything. 31 degrees tonight tomorrow pretty much warm as well. About 56 degrees tomorrow. 50 on Wednesday and partly sunny Thursday. 51 chance of rain on Friday. Snow on Saturday and Sunday. 60% chance of snow is Sunday with the high only 37 degrees, which is What the weather should be like. It should be wet and cold, getting super cold. Minus numbers across the Midwest and Upper Midwest, talked with Chris Winter round from the department of Aging, Long term services that 2 to 30 Day If you want a job It is Christopher Brownley from the New Mexico Department workforce connections here every two weeks, services and jobs we will get you a job. Money back guarantee if you want to go to work. Emily called Tin Box from the Drug Policy Alliance of 33 30 Today, Dr Eileen Barrett from University of New Mexico..
WIBC 93.1FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on WIBC 93.1FM
"Radio. No, I've never done heroin. No, I have not. Good Lord, that sounds crazy. Not sure where this is going to move. Um Organ. The best is the executive director of the drug Policy Alliance. Today, The first domino of are cruel and inhumane War on drugs has fallen, setting off what we expect to be a cascade of other efforts centering health over criminalization. That That's the argument, okay? That's the argument. You. You, you got it. It seems to be an argument of The things that we think shouldn't be criminalized should be criminalized like it seems to be more of a woke anus. But if it leads till you know less officers having to deal with with arrests, and now we're not gonna have overcrowded jails. Okay? Sure. Sure, Let's find out. It's the same thing the same way I feel about defunding the police. I don't think it's a good idea. But now that places like Seattle, Minneapolis, they're going are moving forward in the ways of moving forward. Let's see what happens. Let's see if they've got it right. Now we should get into a whole conversation. What happened here with the General Orders Committee? And some of the placements that I've been going on there. I will get to that story. Soon enough, but the popcorn moment let's do the thing. It's the story you have to hear to believe. Then grab your popcorn because there is more a brought.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Is clearly failing in the war on drugs, and advocates say it's because we've gone about it completely the wrong way by focusing on the criminal element of drug use. Instead of seeing it through a lens of health care, access and social justice. To talk about this issue. We're joined by Marie, it's up. It is who's the director of the Office of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D. C. She leads the organization's federal work. To end the war on drugs. Marie, It's up. It is welcome to Latino USA. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here with you today. So recently. A lot has been happening with drug decriminalization. But before we get into that, let's take a few steps back and, you know, set the picture for how we got to this place. And this is a place where, for example, Someone could be caught in possession of a small amount of marijuana and they could be sentenced to spend the rest of their life in prison in some parts of the country Still Yes, Sadly, that's the case. Drug enforcement continues to be a driver of mass incarceration. In fact, one person is arrested every 23 seconds for simple drug possession. So it continues to be a big theater into not just the criminal justice system. But you have to think of all of the collateral consequences. For instance, a conviction can make it harder for you to put your life back on track to go to school to obtain or even get a job in the first place to keep a roof over your head to feed your family s so it continues to be something that is a huge detriment in a lot of people's lives. Many drugs that are illegal today, such as marijuana, opium, coca psychedelics. They've been used for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes. But we also know that this country has a long history of perpetuating a racialized drug war. I think that's something that a lot of people might not know is that the first anti drug laws in the United States were actually built? Specifically to criminalize people of color. Starting with the 18 seventies, We saw laws targeting Chinese immigrants in California. This is the first time we saw anti opium laws, Papa rounds. Are you saying that basically opium was around and used Once you had the arrival of men and women from China who were actually working on the railroad that that's when it becomes a problem. Yeah, So what we started to see around the 18 hundreds was that anti drug law started to pop up specifically created to target certain communities of color. In the 18 seventies, we saw the rise of the first anti drug laws in those drugs were entire opium laws that were targeted at Chinese immigrants. Soon after that, in the 19 hundreds in the South, we saw that cocaine became illegal, and that was related target African American men who were using the substance. And then, of course, in the 19 thirties, you saw that Mexican Mexican Americans were criminalized for marijuana use. Of course, you know when we talk about marijuana We can't ignore the fact that marijuana itself was a term that was developed to criminalize Mexican Americans and Mexicans who were who were using the plant. This happened the first individual who was responsible for drug enforcement in the US, But these were all intentional decisions by the government to criminalize communities of color to really dejected people who were not wanted in this society and, you know, unfortunately, this policy decisions still play out today because drug use continues to be something that there's a lot of hysteria around and people of color continued to be disproportionately enforced for drug use and drug activity. Even though all the data tells us that black and brown individuals use drugs at similar rates and sometimes even lower rates than what individuals for a moment I want to speak specifically about what you just alluded to, which is the term marijuana. And the racism behind the rebranding of the cannabis plant as marijuana. So what's what's the relationship here? You know the actual scientific name for the plant that we know as marijuana is cannabis. But in the 19 thirties, three government changed the federal code to label cannabis as marijuana. And that's when we started to first. See this thieves, marijuana laws get on the books and the decision behind that was made because folks wanted TOC women allies. Mexican Americans in Mexican migrants Who were using the plant, right? I was in high school when I watched Reefer Madness. These.
Latino USA
Decriminalizing The War On Drugs
"In the summer of nineteen seventy one president richard. Nixon declared a so-called. You're on drugs. But i consider this problem so urgent. I also found that it was scattered so much throughout the government with so much conflict without coordination that it had to be brought into the white house so that we have not only the responsibility but the authorities to see that we wages defensive effectively an coordinated way the goal was to curb the use of illicit substances by levying increased. Police presence classifying a number of drugs at the federal level and by making longer prison sentences. Mandatory for the use and distribution of narcotics nearing the fiftieth anniversary of that decision. The war on drugs is still very much alive. Millions of people have been incarcerated from windows policing and the advent of stop and frisk to no knock warrants and the militarization of local police departments. All of this born from the so called war on drugs and all have been used primarily target communities of color advocates for reform have long that punitive policies have not only failed to reduce the flow of drugs across the country but also strengthen illicit drug markets creating risky and unhealthy conditions for people who choose to use drugs. Meanwhile more than seventy thousand people died last year alone as a result of drug. Overdoses is clearly failing in the war on drugs and advocates. Say it's because we've gone about it completely. The wrong way by focusing on the criminal element of drug use instead of seeing it through the lens of healthcare access and social justice to talk about this issue. We're joined by muddied sep it is. Who's the director of the national affairs at the drug policy alliance in washington d. c. leads the organization's federal work to end the war on drugs. Mighty snap is welcome to letting you. usa inc you. I'm so excited to be here with you today. So recently a lot has been happening with drug decriminalization but before we get into that. Let's take a few steps back and you know. Set the picture for how we got to this place and this is a place where for example someone could be caught in possession of a small amount of marijuana and they could be sentenced to spend the rest of their life in prison in some parts of the country. Still yes sadly. That's the case. Drug enforcement continues to be a driver of mass incarceration. In fact one person is arrested every twenty three seconds for simple drug possession so it continues to be a a big feeder into not just the criminal justice system but you have to think of all of the collateral consequences for instance a conviction can make it harder for you to put your life back on track to go to school to obtain even get a job in the first place to keep a roof over your head to feed your family so it continues to be something. That is a huge detriment. In a lot of people's lives many drugs that are illegal today such as marijuana opium coca psychedelics if unused for thousands of years for both medical and spiritual purposes but we also know that this country has a long history of pech waiting racialized drug war. I think something that a lot of people might not know is that the first anti-drug laws in the united states were actually built specifically to criminalize people of color. Starting with the eighteen seventies we saw laws targeting chinese immigrants in california. This is the first time we saw anti opium laws pop around. Are you saying that basically opium was around and used once you had the arrival of men and women from china who were actually working on the railroad that that's when it becomes a problem. Yeah so what. We started to see around. the eighteen. Hundreds was that anti drug laws started to pop up. Civically created to target certain communities of color and the eighteen seventies saw the rise of the first anti-drug laws in those drugs were anti opium laws that were targeted at chinese immigrants. Soon after that in the nineteen hundreds in the south we saw that mccain became illegal in that was related target african american men Who were using the substance and then of course in the nineteen thirties. That mexican mexican americans were criminalised for marijuana use. Of course you know when we talk about. Marijuana can't ignore the fact that marijuana itself was a term that was developed to criminalise mexican americans and mexicans who were who were using the plant and this happened with the first individual who was responsible for drug enforcement in the us but these were all intentional decisions by the government to criminalise communities of color to really dejected. People who were not wanted in the society and you know unfortunately those policy decisions still play out today because drug use continues to be something that there is a lot of hysteria around and people of color continued to be disproportionately enforced for drug use and drug activity even though all the data tells us that black and brown individuals use drugs at similar rates and sometimes even lower rates than white individuals.
WNYC 93.9 FM
"drug policy alliance" Discussed on WNYC 93.9 FM
"Documentary that looked at the history of the crack epidemic in the United States, and it got us thinking about the current drug crisis in the US Gone overlooked in the past year. Before the pandemic overtook the news cycle. The opioid crisis dominated the news. Understandably, opioid related deaths tripled in the last decade, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. With a new administration in place and a president with firsthand experience of drug issues within his own family. We thought we check in with the drug policy Alliance, the drug policy Alliance has a raft of recommendations for the bite administration from harm reduction strategies, such as refraining from prosecuting overdose prevention centers and passing the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act. Drug law reforms such as ending mandatory minimums and retroactively reducing drug sentences for those currently in prison. Teresa Perez is the national director of the Drug Alliance Policy Drug Policy Alliance, and she joins us now reads a thanks for being with us. Hi. Thank you for having me happy to be here. What is something that has happened during the pandemic that will have long term effects on drug related issues in the United States. That's a really great question. Well, two things really come to mind for me, and both are issues that our organization has been working on. First as you mentioned the Oprah opioid epidemic has, you know we've seen the numbers increasing every year and unfortunately, the pandemic really increased the overdose numbers as well for a number of reasons. Including the fact that people you know are going through a really hard time. A lot of people may be suffering on your emotional distress and mental distress because of the pandemic, which could affect a person to use. Then individuals have also had a harder time accessing medication and other things they might need to live. Really, Um, so you know, we've been spending a lot of time on the hill in Congress advocating for harm reduction treatment in service is making sure that harm reduction providers have the funding baby to support people. On with opioid within opioid addiction. In addition to that we've all too big fighting to release people from correctional facilities, individuals who are in jails and prisons, many of them for drug sentences. Um, you know, the pandemic has definitely hit vulnerable populations and incarcerated populations are no exception to that. We all know that it's you know, it's it's not possible to socially distance and follow the other CDC CDC guidance around, Um, Cove it in a correctional setting we're talking about. People spending most of their days and Selves, people not having access to cleaning supplies and PPE. Not to the extent that people on the outside has. So we've also been, um Really pushing hard with members of Congress asking that individuals, especially people, who are medically vulnerable people who are older people who have served the majority of their sentence already Babe released given the dire conditions You know, we were talking to Stanley Nelson about his documentary earlier. We were talking about the 1994 crime bill, and you've heard various political levers say now? Well, at the time, we thought we were doing a good thing. We thought we were doing the right thing, but obviously it led Tonto. Very, very dire outcomes. Is there something in our current drug policy? People think is doing something positive but is actually doing more harm than good when it comes to addressing the drug crisis. Yeah, That's a great question. I think the example that pops to mind right now is but no. Um so that no listen synthetic opioid and because of the opioid crisis that we were just talking about Lawmakers their silvery authority into that tough on crime mentality when it comes to addressing the Sentinel crisis. I? As I said, we've been pushing really hard for harm reduction services and making sure the providers have what they need to help people. Um, but, you know, unfortunately, it's still much easier for lawmakers to resort to the punitive approach saying that no, we need to go tough on crime. We need to get the people who are probably needs drugs, right? But that's just hasn't proved effective. I mean from the documentary we saw that that's not an effective strategy. We have more people incarcerated than ever before. Um and Congress choosing to take a punitive approach. The Sentinel is going to result in more of the same. Um, So it's been a big debate in Congress. I would be the last few years whether or not to impose, you know, uh, more harsh punishment for Cardinal on. We have seen that they have, in fact passed laws to do so. And what we're seeing is that its people again on the low levels of the distribution chain who are being incarcerated. Majority people of color because we know that you know any punitive criminal justice policy falls harder on people of color. So we've been pushing back against that and saying, you know, instead of going to punitive route that we always choose to take. We really just need to support Treatment, substance issues, treatment and harm reduction funding is keen on making sure that people have what they need to survive because we know that we cannot incarcerate incarcerate ourselves out of a public health issue. What in the Biden agenda. Has you hopeful And what is something you think is misguided around your policy. That's a really great question. Um so You know, we all know that Joe Biden has a really terrible record on criminal justice issues. He would probably say that he's a man of his time because, as a documentary showed us in the eighties and nineties, the response was, Let's go all in. On jails and prisons. Kim Tonto address. Address the war on drugs and drug issues, But I think because of his background, I really do believe that he's learned from his experiences. I think he's listening to folks on the ground. And I think, because he you know did carry the mantle for being tough on crime guy that he feels that he has to do something for communities of color and people who are behind bars on, you know for ridiculously long sentences. Um, you know, I we have learned that he intends to introduce On some executive orders. I know that at least one executive order will address sentencing. I imagine it'll have something to do with drug sentencing. It's not broader than that. On DI. I think that's just the beginning. I do think with you know this new Democratic majority that we have in the House and Senate Plus Abidin administration will hopefully Seymour criminal justice reform bills come down the pike, including sentencing reform bills. Um You know? So so that's the area that I find hope. And then I also find a lot of hope in Vice President Harris. So as a senator, she has been a leader in criminal justice reform. Particularly around marijuana, legalization and record of justice for communities have been most harmed by the word drugs, so the fact that she has Ah, lot of discretion, and the fact that she's at such an elevated position within the administration also get some help. I've been speaking with Marisa Perez, director of the Office of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D. C. Rita, thanks for being with us Thank you..