XPost: alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics, rec.drugs.cannabis
From: bliss@mouse-potato.com

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1080 -- 9/20/19
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1080

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. FENTANYL ISN'T ABOUT TO GO AWAY. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? [FEATURE]
In the most thorough review yet of the powerful synthetic opioid
fentanyl, a new study from the RAND Corporation warns that its arrival
heralds a new dynamic in illicit drug markets -- and that is going to
require new approaches for dealing with the dangerous drug. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/16/fentanyl_isnt_about_go_away_what

2. COURT FINDS PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT LED TO A DRUG CONSPIRACY
CONVICTION, BUT LETS 30-YEAR SENTENCE STAND ANYWAY [FEATURE]
A public defender's failure to object in a timely fashion to
prosecutorial misconduct cost Oscar Sosa dearly. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/18/fifth_circuit_cites

3. APPEAL: HELP US RESPOND TO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND THE CRISES StoptheDrugWar.org needs your support to help us stay on the move at a
time of both opportunity and crisis in drug policy. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/20/appeal_help_us_respond

4. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A rogue DEA agent cops a plea, a former Detroit cop gets nailed as a
dope dealer, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/18/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

5. CHRONICLE AM: TENTATIVE OXYCONTIN SETTLEMENT, PHILIPPINES SAYS NO TO
UN INVESTIGATORS, MORE... (9/12/19)
It looks like the thousands of lawsuits against Purdue Pharma over
Oxycontin are about to be settled, a new audit finds California's
unlicensed pot shops greatly outnumber licensed ones, Florida's attorney general seeks to block a marijuana legalization initiative, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/12/chronicle_am_tentative_oxycontin

6. CHRONICLE AM: JOE BIDEN'S MUDDY MARIJUANA POLICY MESSAGE, PERU COCA ERADICATION GEARING UP, MORE... (9/13/19)
Joe Biden muddies the waters on his marijuana policy, Copenhagen is
moving toward a pilot progeram of legal marijuana sales, Peru prepares
to go after coca crops in a lawless region, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/13/chronicle_am_joe_bidens_muddy

7. CHRONICLE AM: HOUSE MJ BANKING BILL TO GET FLOOR VOTE, PURDUE PHARMA
FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY, MORE... (9/16/19)
A bill to open up financial services for the marijuana industry will get
a House floor vote this month, the maker of OxyContin files for
bankruptcy, the marijuana industry places the blame for vaping deaths on marijuana prohibition, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/16/chronicle_am_house_pot_banking_0

8. CHRONICLE AM: DEA TAKES AIM AT FENTANYL PRECURSORS, CA GOVERNOR TAKES
AIM AT VAPING CRISIS, MORE... (9/17/19)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issues an executive order on vaping,
the DEA designates some fentanyl precursors as controlled substances,
and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/17/chronicle_am_dea_takes_aim

9. CHRONICLE AM: COALITION URGES DELAY IN HOUSE POT BANKING VOTE,
CHICAGO MAYOR: NO POT SHOPS DOWNTOWN, MORE... (9/18/19)
Civil rights and drug policy groups fearing a loss of momentum in ending federal pot prohibition are urging a delay in a marijuana banking bill
vote, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn't want pot shops downtown, and
more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/18/chronicle_am_coalition_urges_4

10. CHRONICLE AM: BETO SAYS USE MJ TAXES FOR DRUG WAR REPARATIONS, YANG
SAYS DECRIMINALIZE OPIATES, MORE... (9/19/19)
Democratic presidential contenders make dramatic policy proposals, DC
loosens up on marijuana, Michigan lawmakers move toward sentencing
reform, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/19/chronicle_am_beto_says_use_mj

(Not subscribed? Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up today!)

================

1. FENTANYL ISN'T ABOUT TO GO AWAY. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/sep/16/fentanyl_isnt_about_go_away_what

In the most thorough review yet of the powerful synthetic opioid
fentanyl, a new study
(https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3117.html) from the RAND Corporation warns that its arrival heralds a new dynamic in illicit drug markets -- and that is going to require new approaches for dealing with
the dangerous drug.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked
the synthetic opioid, which is roughly 50 times as powerful as heroin,
to more than 31,000 overdose deaths last year (https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-drugs-20190706-story.html),
a little less than half of all drug overdose deaths registered in 2018,
and the most people killed by a single drug in a single year in United
States history.

Those fentanyl-linked deaths were 10 times the number of synthetic
opioid deaths just five years ago. That's because a reliable supply
chain has been established. Whether it's coming via DHL or Fedex
packages ordered on the dark web direct from under-regulated Chinese pharmaceutical labs or being cooked up from precursor chemicals in
informal Mexican labs and then smuggled across the border, fentanyl is
pouring into the country.

In addition to its extreme lethality, what makes the rise of fentanyl
different from previous drug epidemics is that very few users seek it
out. Only the heaviest opioid users with the highest tolerance levels
might seek fentanyl. The drug is here, rather, because it works better
for drug dealing syndicates. It is cheap and relatively easy to produce,
it does not require the control of extensive territories to produce drug
crops, and because it is so potent, massive quantities of the drug can
be smuggled in small packages, making it more attractive to traffickers.

"This crisis is different because the spread of synthetic opioids is
largely driven by suppliers' decisions, not by user demand," RAND
researcher Bryce Pardo, lead author of the study, said in a press
release (https://www.rand.org/news/press/2019/08/29.html). "Most people
who use opioids are not asking for fentanyl and would prefer to avoid exposure."

The fentanyl crisis is largely regional, the RAND researchers found.
Deaths related to the drug are clustered in Appalachia, the mid-Atlantic
and New England.

"While synthetic opioids have not yet become entrenched in illicit drug
markets west of the Mississippi River, authorities must remain
vigilant," said Jirka Taylor (https://www.rand.org/about/people/t/taylor_jirka.html), study coauthor
and senior policy analyst at RAND. "Even delaying the onset in these
markets by a few years could save thousands of lives."

While the RAND report said "nontraditional strategies may be required"
to address fentanyl, it did not make any specific policy
recommendations. Instead, the authors urged consideration of a number of innovative approaches, many of which are tenets of harm reduction. They include:

* supervised consumption sites (or safe injection sites)
* drug content testing
* providing prescription heroin to addicts (heroin-assisted treatment)
* creative supply disruption

"Indeed, it might be that the synthetic opioid problem will eventually
be resolved with approaches or technologies that do not currently exist
or have yet to be tested," said Beau Kilmer, study coauthor and director
of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center. "Limiting policy responses to
existing approaches will likely be insufficient and may condemn many
people to early deaths."

In other words, traditional drug war strategies when it comes to
fentanyl are not only unlikely to succeed, but people will die. While tough-on-drugs politicians and prosecutors are quick to embrace harsher penalties, the researchers note there is little reason to believe
tougher sentences, such as drug-induced murder laws applied to low-level retailers and couriers, will make any difference.

On the other hand, RAND does advocate for short but swift punishments as
a deterrent. The one supply-side intervention RAND discussed in this
report is efforts to disrupt dark web drug marketing of fentanyl,
because the market is driven by suppliers, not users. "It makes sense,"
they wrote, "to consider supply disruption as one piece of a
comprehensive response, particularly where that supply is not yet firmly entrenched."

That's particularly urgent, the researchers explained, because their
study, which also examined fentanyl outbreaks in other countries, found
that once the drug gains a prominent place in a local drug market, it
doesn't go away.

But fentanyl is clearly already entrenched in parts of the US. The RAND
report points the way to smarter approaches to dealing with the crisis
-- approaches that focus on saving lives.

This article was produced by Drug Reporter (https://independentmediainstitute.org/drug-reporter/), a project of the Independent Media Institute.

================ ...
___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>
Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: www.darkrealms.ca (1:229/2)