Daily Archives: June 1, 2017

The War On Drugs Dustin Condren hide caption

The War On Drugs will release A Deeper Understanding, its fourth full-length, late this summer, coming three years after the band's previous album, Lost In The Dream.

In announcing A Deeper Understanding today the band has shared a new single from the record, "Holding On," a pulsing jam that sounds deeply inspired by '80s-era Bruce Springsteen, with glockenspiel chimes set against gritty guitars and synths. It's the second track the band has shared from the upcoming album, after the release in April of a moody, 11-minute opus called "Thinking Of A Place."

A Deeper Understanding is out Aug. 25 on Atlantic Records. Full track listing below:

1. Up All Night 2. Pain 3. Holding On 4. Strangest Thing 5. Knocked Down 6. Nothing To Find 7. Thinking of a Place 8. In Chains 9. Clean Living 10. You Don't Have To Go

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Hear 'Holding On,' The New Song By The War On Drugs : All Songs ... - NPR

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines announced martial law over the entire island of Mindanao May 23 in alleged response to terrorist groups fighting in Marawi City. Despite the claimed response to terrorist activitynow a tired catch-all for any unpopular, authoritarian actionthe timing underscores a more ominous possibility: that the Duterte government is hunkering down in the event that the peace talks with the National Democratic Front fail.

Those peace talks have been underway in earnest for nearly two years,reflecting the progress of the progressive, anti-imperialist NationalDemocratic Movement, parts of which have engaged in armed struggle againstsuccessive right-wing governments in the Philippines. Though the peace talksoffer a major breakthrough for the Filipino peoples struggle againstcolonial underdevelopment, oppression and occupation, there remains apossibility that the Duterte government will abandon the talks.

The declaration of martial law in particular is ominous not only because ofMindanaos significance for the National Democratic Movement: it is one ofthe most materially rich regions in the Philippines, yet one of the poorestand most radical, as well as the site of an active resistance movement bythe oppressed Moro people. But that declaration also came with the openthreat of martial law beyond Mindanao and all across the Philippines.

The risk of the talks failure stems chiefly from the composition of theDuterte government: Like previous administrations, the military holdssignificant power and influence. Itmakes up some of the most backward-looking,reactionary elements in Filipino society and depends heavily on continuedU.S. support and occupation.

Dutertes ruling coalition has also been driving a vicious war on drugsin the Philippines, which to date has claimed up to 9,000 lives. Many ofthose killed were extra-judicial killingsvigilante actions that Duterte himself has praised. The war on drugs, like its counterpart inthe United States, has focused primarily on the Philippines poorestcommunities who have turned to emigration and the black market due towidespreadlandlessness, unemployment and low pay. As of 2012, forexample, 19.2 percent of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty, making onlyabout $1.25 per day.

What binds the two conflicts together is the continued occupation andsubjugation of the Philippines by the United States. Though the extremepoverty that drives Filipino communities to resist and support themselvesby whatever means necessary has its origins in Spanish colonialism, U.S.imperialism today is the driver at the most basic levels of the conflictstearing at Filipino society. From trade agreements thatamount towholesale robbery to continued occupation by U.S. forcesinterruptedonly by the Japanese occupation in World War IIthe Philippines has allthe hallmarks of an oppressed colonized nation.

Yet, as everywhere, repression breeds resistance, and the peace talks arejust the latest chapter of that resistances long history in thePhilippines. In the United States, it is the duty of progressive people to support the Filipino nations right to self-determination. No people can be free under occupation.

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War and peace in the Philippines: martial law, the war on drugs and US occupation - Liberation

While American foreign policy has for years fixated on the conflict in Syria and the Middle East, just across the border in Mexico and throughout Central America tens of thousands of people lost their lives last year because of the conflict between drug cartels competing to deliver illicit drugs into the United States.

According to a recent report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, whereas approximately 50,000 lives were lost in Syria last year, approximately 39,000 were killed in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, much of which is attributable to drug-war violence.

Mexicos homicide total of 23,000 for 2016 is second only to Syrias, and is only the latest development in a conflict which stretches back to 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed the military to combat drug cartels.

Although the exact number of people killed because of the drug war in Mexico is unlikely to ever be known, a recent report from the Congressional Research Service cited estimates from 80,000 to more than 100,000 in that country alone.

The cause of this violence is obvious, and it is a direct, predictable consequence of our failed policy of drug prohibition. In the near-half century since President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs, hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been killed in conflicts fueled by a lucrative illicit drug trade made possible by our prohibition of drugs.

This is an insight a certain New York developer possessed 27 years ago. Were losing badly the war on drugs, Donald Trump said in 1990. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars.

While Trump may have since lost this insight, the fact remains that the war on drugs does more harm than drugs themselves.

Last year, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos used his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech to call for a rethink of the drug war, which contributed to decades of conflict in Colombia that killed hundreds of thousands.

Rather than squander more lives and resources fighting a War on Drugs that cannot be won including in our inner cities the United States must recognize the futility and harm of its drug policies.

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War on Drugs is costing thousands of lives - LA Daily News

Three years after2014s standout Lost in the Dream, Philadelphia favorites The War On Drugs are looking for new terrain. Spinning classic riffs into a melancholic hazeof classic radio rock, the band has long locked-in on a lush, synth-drenched formula spanning their trio of past releases on the indie labelSecretly Canadian. But after signing to a major and unveiling their dreamy and crystalline new singleThinking of a Place, the band seems set on something bigger this time.

The second track from their forthcoming album A Deeper Understanding, Holding On stretchesthe bands meditativeformula into crisp, streamlined hi-fi. The 6-minute track starts with a splash of stoned synths, quickly teasing in slide guitar and glockenspiel cut straight from Born to Run or Tunnel of Love. Adam Granduciel voice has the haunting low-end grovel, which slaps against the staccato bassline with a bright, up-beat bounce. As the chorus hits, the track ascends to a soaring, anthemic spiralwith voice and guitar overlapping in a messy, monophonic ecstasy.

What once began as a bit of a simple Springsteen plus reverb punchline, the band has nowexpanded the palette into something transformative and newly striking. Years after 2011s Slave Ambient betrayed its namesake with a liberating hypnogogia, Holding On lets go of the past with an elegy of mutatingsoundscapes. But as it slowly drops back into its last wisps of spectral echo, the track pangswith something familiar, the future takingshape through reflective introspection.

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The War On Drugs Find a New Spingsteen High on "Holding On" - SPIN

The uncertainty of the legal landscape of marijuana is dizzying. Especially lately, as the war-on-drugs rhetoric ramps up in Washington under the guidance of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the growing legal cannabis industry prepares for battle. This scene has played out before, beginning in 1970 with the passing of the Controlled Substances Act and Nixons later declaration that drugs are Americas public enemy number one.

Below is a timeline of drug-related events occurring in Boulder between 1965 and 1975 as reported by the Daily Camera, offered in hopes of providing a moment of reflection.

1965: Twelve people are arrested for dope in Boulder County.

1967: Police estimate there are 500 drug users in the City of Boulder.

In August, an article titled Boulder, a Home for Drug Users and Displaced Hippies? opens with: Boulder, once a sleepy little town where a Saturday night hayride was the cats meow, is fast becoming a home for displaced hippies and a crossroads of the nations drug traffic, according to Boulders police.

1969: More than 400 people are arrested for dope in Boulder County.

On Sept. 29, Boulder County District Attorney Stanley Johnson says at a U.S. Senate hearing in Denver that drug activity is the single biggest criminal problem in Boulder.

On Nov. 2, it is reported that Boulder has become the main heroin, cocaine and dope supplier for three major U.S. cities: St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. But as illegal activity rises, citizens rally to call for alternative approaches to criminalization.

1970: On Feb. 25, more than 200 people gather in the Boulder Public Library for a panel discussion on drugs. The event, sponsored by Boulder Human Relations as an effort to create dialogue between hip and straight communities, showcases spokespeople arguing both for and against prohibition. Notably, the conversation is rife with the lexicon of the war on drugs even though it is still six months before the campaign officially launches.

Speaking on behalf of criminalization, District Attorney Johnson, says: We can debate all night whether marijuana is evil or good and still not be sure. Im not interested in creating a crime record for anyone, but when I took this job I said Id uphold the law and I know the majority of the people in this County expect me to do it, adding, the police department doesnt make the laws, it enforces them.

Against the issue is guru John Link, among others, who says: I am not interested in talking about whether or not marijuana is harmful, theres enough literature available to prove that it isnt. After his remarks, the room erupts into cheers before entering into a two-and-a-half-hour freewheeling discussion during which both a Kiwani and an old woman say theyd like to try pot.

On Nov. 13, an article about heroin use quotes Gordon Black as saying, Smack (heroin) is a destroyer and killer, and dealers of smack are not brothers. These people are killers, and their drugs kill and turn people into vegetables. Dealing smack is human exploitation.

In response, Dr. Robert McFarland, who ran the citys methadone clinic, says: I dont believe prison helps anyone, and suggests abuse could be better understood as a psychological sickness.

1971: There are 817 narcotics arrests in the City of Boulder.

In January, the Camera runs a series exploring Boulders drug problem, including the following articles: Courts Overburdened with Huge Increase in Cases, Officials Cite Various Causes, Cures for Drug Scene, and City Officials Cite Action Program to Control Problem.

Solutions offered by the action plan includes the establishment of a runaway home and treatment centers, plans to increase the trust between police and citizens, newfangled drug education in public schools and legislative amendments to oppressive drug laws.

Local law enforcement and judicial officials show alignment with hardline federal drug policies as indicated by articles like: DA Opposed to Reducing Pot Possession Charges and Judge Scott Advocates Firm View on Drug Sales, Sentences Youth.

1971 1973: Until 1970, articles about drugs are few and far between and usually reserved for pressing political coverage or breaking news. Between 1971 and 1973, coverage becomes frequent, almost a daily occurrence, and a significant portion is dedicated to police blotter-style articles, while bigger headlines are reserved for big money and smuggling busts.

1974: In January, Boulder officials and concerned citizens begin looking into reformatory sentences as an alternative to mandatory sentences.

1975: Boulders rising drug arrest rates are found to fit a national pattern, revealing that what was experienced as a local problem is, in fact, a national one.

Boulder police find that teen drug use is declining.

Colorado State Legislature works to liberalize grass laws, enacting legislation that removes jail terms from small marijuana possession charges.

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How the original war on drugs went down in Boulder - Boulder Weekly

The Impact on Public Health & Mass Incarceration

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has emerged as the most malignant figure in the Trump administration. His role in the burgeoning Russian investigation aside, Sessions efforts to aggressively renew the War on Drugs has grave consequences for the overall health of our nation and the disparities therein. Sessions has already demonstrated concerning and regressive stances on various issues of public health, including gun control, LGBTQ rights, sexual assault, abortion, and protections for individuals with disabilities.

On May 12, Sessions released a policy memooverturning Former Attorney General Eric Holders efforts to reduce sentencing for lower-level drug offenders. In this memo, Sessions calls for thousands of U.S. attorneys across the nation to charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense, limiting the ability of prosecutors to use their discretion in cases where mandatory minimums would be triggered. This move builds upon his decision to reverse the federal ban against using private prisons for federal inmates and his ongoing review of police reform efforts.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Civil rights organizations continue to speak out against the efforts of the Justice Department. Eric Holder describes Sessions policy change as cookie cutter. He argues it will exacerbate unfairly long sentences without a benefit in public safety or reduction in federal spending.

The development of an apartheid-like criminal justice system is methodically described by Michelle Alexander in her 2010 book The New Jim Crow. In short, over the past 35 years, the number of incarcerated individuals has risen to over 2.2 million with serious racial disparities. She notes that the majority of illegal drug users are White. The majority of the incarcerated are African-American or Hispanic-American. In fact, White students were found to use cocaine at a rate 7x higher, crack cocaine 8x higher, and heroin 7x higher than African-American students.

The disproportionate incarceration of minorities in the United States has serious implications for social justice, but it also represents a public health crisis that will worsen under the Trump administration. Incarcerated individuals suffer higher rates of medical disease, across the spectrum, including substance use disorders, infectious disease, and chronic disease.

Vera Institute of Justice, 2014

Special attention should be given to substance use disorders. The Trump Administration has already stood in the way of adequately addressing the opioid crisis in several ways. Most recently, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, dangerously disregarded the evidence-based use of medication-assisted treatment by incorrectly claiming that it is akin to substituting one opioid for another.

The quality of healthcare delivered in correctional facilities is also of great concern. Many correctional facilities do not meet the same accreditation standards that regular hospitals uphold. Moreover, Sessions seeks to increase the use of private prisons. There have been hundreds of lawsuits filed against private, for-profit prisons claiming substandard care. There is indeed evidence that such arrangements are associated with higher mortality.

Moreover, private prisons are even worse in terms of perpetuating racial disparities. African-American males are overrepresented in private prisons compared to public prisons. To run a profit, these prisons try to keep healthcare costs as low as possible. Young, relatively healthy, African-American men are viewed as high-profit compared to older, more unhealthy White men. Perhaps it is unsurprising that a man who was denied federal judgeship because of statements in support of the Ku Klux Klan would seek to commodify African-Americans as Attorney General.

Whether in a public or private prison, multiple studies also indicate that the health implications of incarceration propagate throughout the community. Children with incarcerated parents have higher rates of poverty, grow up to have higher rates of disease in adulthood, and incarceration is associated with greater racial disparity in infant mortality. More broadly, individuals with felony convictions and their families often face loss of federal housing and food stamps, Medicaid termination, and difficulty finding employment. Finally, creating incentives to arrest and prosecute more individuals would likely increase aggressive policing tactics, which has been associated with higher rates of mortality for minorities. The further decimation and disregard of minority communities keeps with the overall tenor of the Trump administration.

The evidence shows that the health consequences of an individuals imprisonment extend beyond that individual and beyond the time of incarceration. The data we have from the past 50+ years demonstrate health consequences for entire communities with real racial disparities in arrests, prosecutions and sentencing lengths. The evidence fails to show that returning to aggressive policing and prosecution for minor drug offenses would improve public safety yet alone public health. There is simply no merit for Mr. Sessions failed approach.

The chaotic nature of the Trump administration only serves to mask the concerted assault on public health by his appointees. While there is a high degree of awareness and outrage by the public and the medical community regarding the AHCA, these lesser known efforts by the Justice Department must be a focus of coordinated response.

It is rare to find areas of bipartisan agreement in Washington, but it seems like opposing Mr. Sessions plans may be an opportunity for unity. The medical community has historically played a significant role in the establishment of our punitive, racially unjust criminal justice system. Now, we must speak out and organize against its perpetuation.

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Jeff Sessions' Malignant War On Drugs - HuffPost

The Cannabist

To understand the Trump administration, look at their renewed war on drugs The Cannabist This adherence unifies his policy actions: not only the appointment of drug-war hard-liner Jeff Sessions as attorney general but also his approach to immigration and the wall, his calls for a revival of stop and frisk and law and order policies ...

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To understand the Trump administration, look at their renewed war on drugs - The Cannabist