A Snapshot Of Drug Use Perceptions At A US Substance Abuse Conference I:
Overview: The state of Michigan had its 5th Annual Substance Abuse Conference September 13th & 14th 2004. Speakers included: the state ‘Drug Czar’ Yvonne Blackmond, Director, MDCH Office of Drug Control Policy; Beverly Watts Davis, Director, SAMHSA CSAP; Stephanie W. Colston, Senior Advisor for the Administrator of SAMHSA and the Director’s Senior Advisor for Demand Reduction, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; Detective First Lieutenant Luke Davis, Team Commander, OMNI, Michigan State Police; and other local presenters in the fields of Mental Health, Prevention, Addiction, & Recovery. Attitudes expressed ranged from a few surprising positive comments on the place of Harm Reduction in the treatment of co-occurring disorders to outright fabricated statistics. Harsh words about Dance Safe, Marijuana Legalization, Club Drugs, and the need to crackdown on Raves and Recreational Users were all in evidence. The words God, Morals, Values, & Perversions were used on multiple occasions by various speakers. Below is a snapshot of the then current views, quotes, and sentiments expressed by feature presenters, vendors, attendees, and other persons present. All below quotations were verified by 1st person observation and/or a review of video tape.
CLINICIANS: Most clinicians toed the standard line about the evils of drugs and alcohol. Most preached classic sermons about primary prevention and the need to be rid of drugs in general. Some surprising comments came from mental health professionals treating co-occurring disorders. They related that their primary aim was to improve functioning, limit problem behaviors, and educate their consumers. They admitted that complete cessation of use was secondary to improving functioning and reducing problem behaviors. When asked point blank they related that they favored a Harm Reduction approach to treatment. Other clinicians either asked questions related to, or made reference to, the fact the MDMA was originally used for couples therapy and was originally a therapeutic tool. Such comments were quickly dismissed generally.
BEVERLY WATTS DAVIS, Director, SAMHSA, CSAP: Ms. Davis focused primarily on the prevention aspect and the need for targeting of resources. God & Values were included in her speech. She referred to the “perversions” of drugs and drug users. She also briefly mentioned the use of the US Military to assist in the demolition of crack houses in Texas. She also talked of possible opportunities for integrating Faith Based Initiatives. Most of her talk was either ‘feel good’ troop rallying or a call for “data-driven decision making at all stages.”
YVONNE BLACKMOND, Director (Michigan’s) Office of Drug Control Policy: Ms. Blackmond proudly related that she had previously spent 14 years as an LA police officer. Ms. Blackmond primarily outlined the 5-year strategic plan for MI ODCP. The plan was tentative with the opportunity for input at various upcoming sessions around the state. Per Ms. Blackmon, the mandate of MI ODCP is to “reduce the use and abuse of illicit drugs and related violence.” When an audience member asked why alcohol and nicotine were conspicuously absent, Ms. Blackmond admitted alcohol was a much bigger problem than all illicit drugs put together “alcohol abuse eclipses everything.” The model for the strategic plan came from Florida. Club Drugs were specifically listed as an emerging drug trend. It was revealed that funding for some of the anti-drug initiatives was coming from funds through ‘No Child Left Behind’ and that Faith Based Initiatives would clearly play a role in implementation. Recommended approaches included promoting “Zero Tolerance for drugs… Drug-free workplace programs… & Reducing the supply of illicit drugs.” Ms. Blackmond also said that every time she speaks with Gov. Granholm she hears: “Drug courts.” When asked a follow up question, she related: “Jail just is not working.”
DETECTIVE FIRST LIEUTENANT LUKE DAVIS, Team Commander, OMNI, Michigan State Police ( davisluke@michigan.gov ): Mr. Davis brought actual samples of drugs to educate clinicians with {when is the last time you got to handle a kilo of pure cocaine or a bag of MDMA tablets?}. He was clearly knowledgeable about current trends, but was the cliché ‘hawk.’ Mr. Davis made statements such as “marijuana kills brain cells” and he maligned Dance Safe for letting people know if they “just made a good buy.” When asked about psychotherapeutic uses of MDMA he gave the party line that any benefits achieved through MDMA therapy were only hallucinations that wore off when the drug did. Mr. Davis passed out a great deal of literature {if you have the courage to e-mail him he would likely be more than willing to mail you some}. Titles included ones such as: “CLUB DRUGS: From Rave to the Grave” & “Hallucinogens out of your mind.” Many of the pamphlets had misleading and/or outright falsehoods in them. For example, the CLUB DRUGS pamphlet lists the overdose effects for LSD as: “Longer and more intense trip, psychosis and possible death.” The Detective related a story in which he was visiting a home for sale and saw a marijuana stem in the ashtray. He proudly recounted how he snatched it in order to get a search warrant to come back later… one wonders if the home went for auction cheap due to asset forfeiture laws…
STEPHANIE W. COLSTON, Senior Advisor for Substance Abuse for the Administrator of SAMHSA and the Director’s Senior Advisor for Demand Reduction, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP):in a presentation entitled “Encouraging Words from Washington,” Ms. Colston outlined a truly disturbing picture of where the present administration would like to go. She outlined a ‘3 I’s’ approach; 1) stopping Initiation into drug use, 2) early Intervention for non-dependent users, & 3) Initiating treatment. Ms. Colston went out of her way to state that getting non-dependent users arrested was the “key to stopping drug abuse” because “non-dependence fuels epidemics.” She made an argument, not unlike one previously put forward by Bill Bennett, that people who can use drugs w/o problems are like plague carriers who infect others. She made it clear that since these persons are “not responsive to prevention” they need to be addressed through criminal justice options. She went out of her way to attack legalization efforts and medical marijuana, referring to the latter as “medical excuse marijuana.” She stated that: “We must resist calls to legalize.” She then went on to claim that drug use tripled in the Netherlands and that “Today’s marijuana is up to 30% THC.” She also tried to imply that 60% of addicts overall, are marijuana dependent. She encouraged school wide drug testing be implemented vigorously, insisting that federal dollars would flow to meet the additional demands for treatment of identified users. She also tried to paint drugs as enemy #1 stating that their eradication “is essential to the preservation of this great nation.”
ERRATA: Saliva drug tests appear to be on the increase. New pamphlets with the old discredited picture of a ‘normal brain’ and a ‘brain on ecstasy’ are still being printed. Old ‘this is not your father’s pot’ lines are quoted with regularity. There was less discussion of the ‘gateway theory.’ There were overt calls to political action against any drug use or any attempts at legalization… a rally is scheduled for Ford Field for September 16th 2005, ODCP would like to get 10-20,000 people in attendance. They have tentatively invited “The Rock.”
Originally posted by me in 2004 on another board. A similar thread about the next year’s Substance Abuse Conference can be found HERE:
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Last edited by ~lostgurl~; 05-12-2007 at 01:39.
Reason: merged double up
Looking at the linked "Exploding Drug Myths" I found these two apparently contradictory 'facts":
Quote:
Marijuana is not addicting. According to the latest (DSM) accepted diagnostic criteria, an unknown percentage of the population can become dependent ("addicted") to marijuana. Caffeine is addicting. Actually, caffeine probably is not addicting, according to DSM criteria. While people have marked withdrawal symptoms from using too much caffeine, withdrawal alone is not sufficient to diagnose dependence ("addiction"). Also, caffeine does not have a significant effect on the "addiction pathway" (medial forebrain bundle) of the brain.
I confess this loses me! I'm not a sceintist so perhaps I don't understand, but I had always thought that a substance which produces 'marked withdrawal syptoms' must be addictive and one that does not isn't!
Last edited by enquirewithin; 04-07-2006 at 12:11.
I confess this loses me! I'm not a sceintist so perhaps I don't understand, but I had always thought that a substance which priduces 'marked withdrawal syptoms' must be addictive and one that does not isn't!
Not when 2billion(something like that?) users use the drug every day
Ms. Solberg simply stated that marijuana was the #1 drug of abuse in the United States. She did not give any statistics or discuss how she arrived at this conclusion.
I remember a story once.. (I dont remember where I heard it) but there was a gathering of drug treatment professionals in some city somewhere. And that morning the organizer did not put out coffee for the guests and speakers. Only orange juice and such. Well the attendees were in an uproar it being 8 or 9am and needed their daily fix of caffine. The said they wouldnt join the conference until coffee was served. The organizer had made his/her point and started out the conference talking about that very thing. That we are all addicted to something.. whether we like to admit it or not.
I think caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are incredibly more addictive than marijauna or many other drugs (especially psychedelics).. but then again those drugs dont have billion dollar lobbyists... financing these studys.
Hypocrites!
02-07-2006, 01:40
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