Daily Archives: April 23, 2023

Hilary Agro is a PhD candidate in the department of anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Im going to state a basic fact that will make some people very angry: Drug dealers are human beings.

That this statement upsets some people, or that it is controversial at all, is a problem that those of us who work in drug policy constantly face. On Twitter earlier this month, Michelle Tandler a former venture capitalist and wealthy anti-San Francisco influencer publicly bemoaned the lack of vigilante groups in the Bay area as she mused about whether or not fentanyl sellers should be lynched. As a researcher who studies drug prohibition, I responded by pointing out that not only is this kind of bloodthirsty rhetoric abhorrent, but drug sellers are, for the most part, workers entrapped in a violent system of marginalization, trying to survive where they have been denied functional access (often through systemic racism) to the licit job market. I pointed out, as my colleagues and I often do, that prohibition is in fact a root cause of most of the harm and chaos stemming from the drug trade. Legalization and regulation would save many lives. Even Twitter owner Elon Musk weighed in on this contentious discussion, surprising many with his stance in favour of the legalization of fentanyl. Despite this, I received dozens of threats and harassing messages for stating a position backed up by evidence.

I understand that, for many people, the overdose crisis is very personal. More than 34,000 Canadians have lost their lives to opioid toxicity since 2016. Grieving communities are looking for answers, and blaming people who sell drugs is a common default. It makes sense in the context of what weve been told by the proponents of the War on Drugs: Drugs are extremely dangerous and bad (except for alcohol, tobacco and caffeine, of course), and dealers are all amoral drug pushers who get people hooked and then take advantage of their addictions.

But is this view accurate? Is it helpful for understanding the complexities of the current crisis? Or does it feed into the stigma that is causing us to use the same ineffective and punitive methods of control, over and over again?

The reality of the drug trade is much more complex. Prohibition isnt fighting the fentanyl crisis it helped create it in the first place. The more the police crack down while little is done to address the root question of why so many people want painkillers the more they push it underground. Drug busts incentivize the flooding of the market with more compact, stronger drugs. More potent drugs are easier to transport and hide, but theyre also more dangerous as theyre difficult to properly dose. It happens every time prohibition is implemented, from the banning of alcohol in the U.S. in the 1920s and 30s, which had the unintended consequence of displacing beer and wine with the consumption of harder liquors, all the way up to the present day, where fentanyl has largely replaced heroin which replaced morphine, which replaced opium (which was made illegal in Canada in 1908).

Despite countless aggressive attempts, no amount of surveillance or state violence has been able to stamp out drugs, which are available even in prisons, the most heavily guarded places on Earth. This is not to say we should give up the fight to keep people safe from overdoses. Quite the opposite. It means we need to let go of old, punitive, ineffective methods and start trying approaches that actually make practical sense. We have to respect the dignity of our fellow human beings who are struggling and in pain.

Drug sellers are not a monolith. Just like bartenders and retail cannabis sellers, they have different reasons for doing what they do. But unlike those working in legal drug industries, illicit drug sellers do not have access to a regulated supply of the substances they sell, nor to worker protections.

Some are trapped, doing drug work as survival work, to make rent and keep themselves alive. Some enjoy the work; some hate it. Some are entrepreneurs; some are employees. Many use fentanyl themselves. We know that street-level sellers, the ones interacting with their customers who are often their friends do not want people dying of overdoses, and care deeply about the crisis. A study of fentanyl sellers in Vancouver found that they were actively embedded in their communities. When they were given drug-checking resources, they actively wove practices of community care and ethics into their work, such as by returning dangerous batches and modifying fentanyl in order to make it safer to consume.

Challenging ones preconceived beliefs about a contentious social issue is an uncomfortable process. But the continued propagation of fear, anger and inaccurate stereotypes only benefits the proponents of the failed War on Drugs. This framing gets them votes and funds bloated police departments rather than community services, housing and health care. An approach that focuses on addressing the reasons why so many people turn to illicit drugs in the first place trauma, untreated chronic pain, housing insecurity is not only more compassionate, its more effective. To keep those who are actively using alive, we should provide access to a safe, regulated supply of heroin and fentanyl just as those struggling with alcohol addiction have access to (although the policies for each drug should look different). Increasingly, groups of people who have lost loved ones to overdoses, such as Moms Stop The Harm, are advocating for these approaches.

The primary goal of acknowledging drug sellers as workers within a system is not to sympathize with them, but to understand why they exist in the first place and to understand the system itself. A problem cannot be solved unless it is first understood.

Prohibition created the fentanyl crisis. More of it will just make things worse.

Excerpt from:

Opinion: In defence of drug dealers' humanity - The Globe and Mail

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O

n March 21, New York state legalized marijuana, following 23 other states that have decriminalized or legalized its use. While this great leap by the legislature is progressive, it is important to recognize the communities of color that are still being persecuted as a result of harsh, outdated drug laws.

Since President Richard Nixons declaration of drug abuse as public enemy number one at the start of the War on Drugs in 1971, the United States has seen a critical increase in mass incarceration. The incarcerated population has increased by 700 percent since 1970. Primarily, those ending up behind bars are Black and Brown men from low-income communities. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, despite the roughly equal usage rates, Black people are 3.73 times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana.

Draconian laws on drugs enacted after Nixons era intentionally targeted marginalized communities. The War on Drugs was declared to stop the use of illicit drugs, but targeting drug abuse was a mere front for incarcerating members of Black and Brown communities. For example, the establishment of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, established mandatory minimum sentences for the possession of five grams of crack cocaine, primarily used by Black and Brown communities, but 500 grams of powder cocaine, which was used by the white population.

Across ethnic groups, the use of illicit drugs is the same; white people possess and use illegal drugs as well, but the ones continuously incarcerated are Black and Latino men. Though Black and Latino populations together only make up 40 percent of the U.S. population, 60 percent of state prison populations and 80 percent of federal prison populations for drug offenses consist of Black and Latino people.

Mandatory minimum sentencing and high incarceration rates further contribute to the poverty of these communities of color by creating employment barriers, reducing earnings and decreasing economic security through criminal debt, among many other disturbances. Without measures to provide help and structure relief, the government handled the issues through mass incarceration, only adding to the cycle of abuse that affects generation after generation, all for a drug that has little research to back up its assumed risk, in comparison to harsher drugs.

If these 23 states are willing to open weed shops and allow recreational use, why is marijuana designated as a schedule one substance, meaning felony charges if an individual is found in possession? In New York alone, the penalty for possession of 16 ounces of marijuana is equivalent to illegally selling a firearm, or for possessing an explosive bomb or machine gun. Such unequal comparisons do nothing to alleviate the mass incarceration rate in the U.S., which has the highest rate in the world and does little to keep communities safer.

The matter of for-profit prisons needs to be addressed when talking about the war on drugs, as well. Private prisons have financial incentives to incarcerate individuals and meet maximum occupancy resulting in for-profit prisons leading to higher incarceration rates rather than effective rehabilitation of prisoners. In 2022, Republican governors rejected a new White House call to pardon low-level marijuana offenders due to big campaign donations nearly $8.5 million on state lobbying in the last three years from higher ups in the private prison industry who reap financial incentives from continuing the drug war.

Even with some mandatory minimum sentencing reduced for marjuana and other drug offenses, incarceration still impacts communities of color disproportionately, with for-profit prisons keeping these communities behind bars. Those in cohorts with for-profit prisons continually lobby for harsher sentencing laws or support policies that maintain high incarceration rates with the goal of producing a profit.

To address the disproportionality in drug offenses, there needs to focus on rehabilitation in the communities affected by drugs and violence. There can be community-based drug abuse treatment programs, and support research for cannabis use. Choosing to penalize instead of providing support is an intentional decision by our government, that once again puts profit over its people.

There also needs to be reform in law enforcement practices to offer accountability by addressing racial biases. Imprisonment does not lead to the betterment of local communities, and those imprisoned cannot lead better lives after they get out with a record that makes it harder to meet their basic needs. Looking for housing or finding a job often involves a background check, and a criminal record will prevent an individual from gaining either. Whats more discouraging for them is seeing marijuana being legalized all around the country, but having to suffer from outdated laws regardless.

The U.S. criminal justice systems treatment of people of color has been unfair for decades. Although the legalization of marijuana calls for celebration, marginalized communities paid the price of imprisonment by law enforcement and the system. Beyond legalization, we need to move to decriminalization and pardoning those convicted of marijuana charges.

Rainu George is a sophomore double major in policy studies and classics with Latin emphasis. She can be reached at [emailprotected].

Published on April 19, 2023 at 9:32 pm

Link:

DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: Incarceration for marijuana needs to ... - The Daily Orange

Today is Sunday, April 23, the 113th day of 2023. There are 252 days left in the year.

Todays Highlight in History:

On April 23, 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, Me at the Zoo, which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.

On this date:

In 1616 (Old Style calendar), William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on what has traditionally been regarded as the 52nd anniversary of his birth in 1564.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.

In 1940, about 200 people died in the Rhythm Night Club Fire in Natchez, Mississippi.

In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)

In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)

In 1971, hundreds of Vietnam War veterans opposed to the conflict protested by tossing their medals and ribbons over a wire fence in front of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1988, a federal ban on smoking during domestic airline flights of two hours or less went into effect.

In 1992, McDonalds opened its first fast-food restaurant in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

In 1993, labor leader Cesar Chavez died in San Luis, Arizona, at age 66.

In 1998, James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and then insisted hed been framed, died at a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital at age 70.

In 2007, Boris Yeltsin, Russias first freely elected president, died in Moscow at age 76.

In 2020, at a White House briefing, President Donald Trump noted that researchers were looking at the effects of disinfectants on the coronavirus, and wondered aloud whether they could be injected into people.

Ten years ago: France legalized same-sex marriage after a wrenching national debate that exposed deep conservatism in the nations heartland and triggered huge demonstrations. Mullah Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, died in a Pakistani hospital. (News of Omars death would not reach the United States for more than two years.) A car bomb exploded outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, wounding three people and partially setting the building on fire.

Five years ago: A man plowed a rental van into crowds of pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 people and leaving 16 others hurt; police said the suspect, Alek Minassian, had posted a Facebook message indicating anger toward women. (Minassian is due to go to trial in February 2020.) French President Emmanuel Macron began a three-day state visit to Washington by visiting George Washingtons Mount Vernon estate with his host, President Donald Trump, and their wives. The Duchess of Cambridge, formerly known as Kate Middleton, gave birth to a new prince who was fifth in line to the British throne; Louis Arthur Charles was the third child for the duchess and her husband, Prince William.

One year ago: Russian forces in Ukraine tried to storm a steel plant housing soldiers and civilians in the southern city of Mariupol while attempting to crush the last corner of resistance in a location of high symbolic and strategic value to Moscow. More than 100 people were killed in southeast Nigeria in an explosion that rocked an illegal oil refinery. A California man who was part of a child exploitation ring in which members filmed themselves sexually abusing more than 20 children and then distributed the footage on the dark web was sentenced to life in prison.

Todays Birthdays: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 93. Actor Lee Majors is 84. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey is 76. Actor Blair Brown is 76. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 74. Actor Joyce DeWitt is 74. Actor James Russo is 70. Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 69. Actor Judy Davis is 68. Actor Valerie Bertinelli is 63. Actor Craig Sheffer is 63. Actor-comedian-talk show host George Lopez is 62. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier Donna Weinbrecht is 58. Actor Melina Kanakaredes (kah-nah-KAH-ree-deez) is 56. Rock musician Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray) is 55. Actor Scott Bairstow (BEHR-stow) is 53. Actor-writer John Lutz is 50. Actor Barry Watson is 49. Rock musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner (The National) are 47. Professional wrestler/actor John Cena is 46. Actor-writer-comedian John Oliver is 46. Actor Kal Penn is 46. Retired MLB All-Star Andruw Jones is 46. Actor Jaime King is 44. Pop singer Taio (TY-oh) Cruz is 40. Actor Aaron Hill is 40. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer is 39. Actor Rachel Skarsten is 38. Rock musician Anthony LaMarca (The War on Drugs) is 36. Singer-songwriter John Fullbright is 35. Actor Dev Patel is 33. Actor Matthew Underwood is 33. Model Gigi Hadid is 28. Rock musicians Jake and Josh Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet) are 27. Actor Charlie Rowe (TV: Salvation) is 27. Retired tennis player Ashleigh Barty is 27. U.S. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim is 23.

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Today in History: April 23, Hank Aaron's first home run - Sent-trib - Sentinel-Tribune

Last week in the Colorado Legislature, HB 23-1164, the Opioid Harm Reduction Act, was killed by the House Judiciary Committee.

As we know, opioid drugs, including fentanyl, have waged war on our communities, putting our children at risk, ripping families apart and taking lives at an alarming rate.

Sadly, opioids are a drug with high accessibility and the risk of addiction and death.

In 2021, more than 900 Coloradans died from a fentanyl overdose, according to state health department data, including four children under 1 and 35 people between the ages of 10 and 18.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine. It can be lethal in doses of about 2 or 3 milligrams.

That is as small of a dose as the point of a ballpoint pen.

Since its arrival on the illegal drug scene, drug traffickers often mix fentanyl into other drugs because it is cheap to manufacture, and a small amount goes a long way.

It is now common practice to make these drugs appear like candy, with bright colors, intending to attract school-aged children to this dangerous, highly addictive and often fatal drug.

HB 23-1164 would have eliminated the requirement a person had to knowingly possess fentanyl and other similar illegal drugs, allowing felony charges to be applied.

HB 23-1164 would have increased funding and access to Narcan for schools. Additionally, this bill would extend civil and criminal immunity to the Department of Education, or a person acting on behalf of the department, for acting in good faith to furnish an opioid antagonist to eligible schools, further protecting our children.

Passing this legislation would be a positive step toward preventing fentanyl from getting to our children and punishing criminals for possessing and selling these deadly drugs.

As your sheriff, I strongly supported this legislation, and I am disappointed our legislators did not act in the interest of public safety, pass this bill through committee, and get it to the governors desk to sign into law.

I urge Coloradans to contact their representatives at the Colorado Legislature and demand HB 23-1164, the Opioid Harm Reduction Act, be put back on the table.

I thank Minority Leader Mike Lynch for his leadership on this important legislation and urge our elected officials across Colorado to do more when it comes to the fight against the fentanyl epidemic.

Joe Roybal is the sheriff of El Paso County.

Joe Roybal is the Sheriff of El Paso County.

Read more here:

GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would have helped war on opioids - Colorado Springs Gazette

A nonprofit organization that helps formerly incarcerated citizens re-enter society and a local community college have partnered with cannabis education programs to provide seed-to-sale learning opportunities in the fast-growing industry.

United Returning Citizens already has placed one graduate of the Cleveland School of Cannabis with a local state-licensed cultivator for work, and Eastern Gateway Community College has had five students graduate its certificate program in partnership with Ventura, Calif.-based Green Flower.

Both programs offer relatively quick pathways into the industry. Heres what you should know about them, and the personal story of a woman who spent time in prison on drug-related charges to get out and flourish with an education.

UNITED RETURNING CITIZENS

Initially designed exclusively to help people re-enter society after being incarcerated, many of URCs programs now serve the greater Mahoning Valley community, from entrepreneurial guidance to programs that empower women to URC Grows, an agriculture-based educational and employment program that provides education, employment and social justice for individuals who have been incarcerated for marijuana-related charges.

The cannabis program with CSC serves as an entry point into the industry for entrepreneurs and professionals.

So far, two have graduated the program and one woman has been placed at Riviera Creek, a medical marijuana cultivator in Youngstown. Another three people are taking courses now, Dionne Dowdy-Lacey, URCs executive director, said.

The agencys relationship with CSC goes back about two years and the partnership with Riviera Creek started in 2022.

Successfully completing the educational program is life changing, she said.

It gives them hope and gives them some self-stability, some self-sufficiency knowing you can have that or do something that you love to do, I think that is just a winning situation for anyone, Dowdy-Lacey said. Anyone doing something they love to do and getting paid for that is just awesome.

URC applied for and received a grant from The Hawthorne Collective, a subsidiary of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company that focuses on minority investments in areas in the cannabis industry.

The three-year grant was for $200,000, Dowdy-Lacey said, noting it costs almost $15,000 per student for URC.

CSC, based in Independence, offers a variety of programs, from cannabis horticulture, extraction and dispensary courses, as well as courses in CBD and hemp. Upon completion, there is also help with job placement.

The courses are 150 hours each, and the school has an executive program that contains a combination of core classes from across the various courses that is 300 hours.

Kevin Greene is vice president.

The significance of graduating and placing one student from URC with a firm in the Valley cant be understated.

It shows there is a direct road map to helping individuals who have been affected by the war on drugs, specifically cannabis itself, that have had convictions, that have served time and are now re-entering society and are in a position to succeed, he said.

The reason why I say put into a position to succeed is because the cannabis industry is going to give them so much opportunity to grow a real career. I say that because working with re-entry organizations in the state of Pennsylvania as well I have seen many individuals come out and re-enter society, but not be able to attain quality jobs with upward mobility that is going to change their circumstances for the future, Greene said.

Dan Kessler, CEO of Riviera Creek, said his company and URC were introduced through a consultant, and after meeting with Dowdy-Lacey to learn about the program, we are thrilled to be a part of it.

It was an exciting opportunity, Kessler said. We loved the idea of being able to bring formerly incarcerated citizens in once they have gone through the full training and the state provides the approval to bring them in as employees. Its such a win-win.

PERSONAL STORY

Bianca Pressley, of Youngstown, was told about URC through a friend while she was staying in a Community Corrections Association-run halfway house in 2019. It wasnt until about two years later she was presented with the opportunity to attend the Cleveland School of Cannabis.

She enrolled in the schools 300-hour executive program that combines core classes from across various courses, from horticulture to business to law and policy, graduating in August 2022.

Pressley, who said she served about 2.5 years in prison on drug possession charges, was drawn to the industry because of her interest in urban agriculture and plants and because of her entrepreneurial spirit; she said shes working to open a holistic wellness center.

I loved it, said of the schooling, which she did fully online.

She started her job at Riviera Creek in January as part of the post harvest team, which processes the medical marijuana after its done drying. Her goal with the company, however, is she wants to be a grower.

Her success, Greene said, shows education is empowering and creates a path for others to follow.

This is the road that I can travel to get to that goal because this person has been in my shoes, and that I think is inspirational, that individuals will see that there is a great opportunity and roadmap I can take, he said.

EASTERN GATEWAY

Five people so far have graduated Eastern Gateways program, but Art Daly, senior vice president and chief development officer for the college, said the plan is to pump that up, and sooner rather than later.

Weve had a ton of interest and we continue to enroll students, but they are enrolling at a small clip, he said. Its probably a couple different reasons why. I think on our end we havent promoted it as well as we need to and were going to be ramping that up We just let it take off at first, let it grow organically, but we think we need to pus some horsepower behind it to get that grow a little more.

The eight-week courses, which are offered fully online, are for cultivation technician, manufacturing agency and dispensary associate certificates. They are part of the community colleges career accelerator program.

Our goal is to hopefully in the future is to have an educational center where we grow and manage the horticultural part of this, and doing it at both our Youngstown campus and our Steubenville campus, he said of the hands-on aspect needed for students.

Daly believes the school will align with a partner in the near future to start the process of opening the training centers. The hope is for it to open in early 2024 if not the end of 2023.

Thats going to open a lot of doors, he said.

Once completed, graduates will have access to Green Flowers partnership with careersincannabis.com, a job placement platform for the industry.

The community college also offers an associate degree in business management with a cannabis certificate. Its scope includes cannabis policy and law, management and customer service and understanding the medical purposes of the plant.

It launched in 2022, Daly said.

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Positioned to succeed: Organization offers educational program for ... - Youngstown Vindicator

The spring concert season continues to be hot and heavy, and this week there are sort of sold out shows you can still get tickets to, and a couple very Sold Out shows that youll have to experience vicariously through your friends who got their tickets sooner. Were talking about 100 gecs at Franklin Music Hall, and Indigo Girls at the Appell Centers Strand Theatre, which have no tickets available, and havent for weeks. But theres plenty going on; here are 18 concerts to see in the next seven days, all around Philly. Tickets and information can be found at WXPNs Concerts and Events page.

Newgrass icons Nickel Creek are back with Celebrants, their first new album in a decade, and one they told World Cafe was inspired by the community that Chris Thile, Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins have connected with over the years. They make their first of two Philly stops this spring (look out, NON-COMM) tonight at the Fillmore. // 7 p.m., $41.50, AA

Emotive Nashville outfit Michigander the project of singer and songwriter Jason Singer recently raised the Free At Noon roof with soaring, uplifting modern rock. Theyre back tonight to headline at The Foundry with songs from the new EP It Will Never Be The Same. // 8 p.m., $18, AA

Speaking of Free At Noon, Dr. Dogs Scott McMicken and his solo band THE EVER-EXPANDING killed at this past weeks midday concert. Their everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to eclectic psychedelic folk keeps crowds on their toes, delightfully so, and The TLA tonight is the perfect place for an encore. // 8 p.m., $22, AA

Philly native Rachel Gagliardi has been based in California for much of the past decade, making music and starting a family and being a generally creative person on the left coast. But she returns to her roots often, like when she made a new album with her band Pouty and long running Philly DIY scene producers Evan Bernard and Chris Baglivo. Shell play some of the new songs Monday at PhilaMOCA, supporting Shana Cleveland of La Luz. // 7:30, $15, AA

Once again, its a good week for recent Free At Noon stars headlining in Philly. Overcoats played an acoustic set a couple months back to preview their new record. Tuesday well hear it in all its synth-dipped, dancefloor-ready glory at Johnny Brendas. // 8 p.m., $18, 21+

After decades fronting modern rock bands like The Caufileds, Ike, and Those Meddling Kids, Philly music vet John Kim Faye has put his story to the page. The Yin And Yang Of It All: Rock And Roll Memories From The Cusp As Told By A Mixed-Up Mixed-Race Kid is out now, and it finds Faye not just reflecting on his time in bands, but on themes of family, his Korean-Irish heritage, pop culture, and the very specific experience of growing up in Delaware in the 70s and 80s. He celebrates the book release by playing with The Caulfields, as well as many of his other longtime musical collaborators and new ones, like Sug Daniels Tuesday at Ardmore Music Hall. // 7:30 p.m., $18, 21+

A favorite of cynics and sentimentalists alike, Josh Tillmans Father John Misty released his gorgeous fifth studio album Chlo and the Next 20th Century last year. Another lap of touring in support of it comes to the Jersey Shore Tuesday night, and though face-value tickets are sold out, you can still get to the gig through LiveNations verified resale at a bit of a markup. // 7 p.m., $75 (verified resale), AA

Malian singer-songwriter and charismatic performer Fatoumata Diawara graces the Leigh Valleys Williams Center For The Arts in Easton tonight. Her latest album, LONDON KO, is out next month and was co-produced by Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, with whom she previously worked on Dsol from the multimedia pop bands Song Machine project. // 8 p.m., $29, AA

Held at Germantowns pastoral Rigby Mansion, the Sweet Juice Summer Fest was one of last years most positive musical events. The queer- and femme-centered day-long show is returning for 2023, and a fundraiser for the event happens this Wednesday at The Dolphin featuring performances by co-organizers Sug Daniels and The Lunar Year, as well as Justmadnice and Popcorn Daddy. // 8 p.m., $12, 21+

Chicago singer-songwriter Elizabeth Moen takes her rootsy retro rock stylings east this week for a show at MilkBoy on Wednesday night. Her latest album, Whatever You Arent, dropped in 2022 and its mix of classic Nashville and and midwestern DIY rock in the spirit of Sarah Shook and The Disarmers and Those Darlins. // 8 p.m., $14, 21+

If raging on a Thursday night is your thing, head no further than 11th and Spring Garden, where Screaming Females will return to the Union Transfer stage in celebration of their latest album, Desire Pathway. It sprints, hits hard, and soars in step with the best of the New Jersey heroes back-catalog, and the band has tapped Iron Chic and Eye Flys for support. // 7 p.m., $18, AA

Funky soul singer Carla Gamble just curated a stellar Voices Of Philly Soul Ladies Edition showcase at World Cafe Live last month, and shes back this Friday to headline the venues Lounge stage and celebrate the release of her new EP. // 8 p.m., $20, AA

Doug Martsch is the singer-guitarist, songwriter and only permanent member of revered indie rock outfit Built to Spill, and for the past few years hes been backed by bassist Melanie Radford, and drummer Teresa Esguerra. The trio comes to Philly Friday for their second time at Union Transfer, in support of last years When the Wind Forgets Your Name. // 8 p.m., $30, AA

Camden trumpeter Arnetta Johnson fuses her music with tones of progressive jazz, R&B, trap and hip-hop, and vibrant marching band energy. She calls it disruptive jazz, best exemplified by last years Move Round single, and this weekend she plays four sets at SOUTH Jazz Cafe, beginning with two shows on Friday and Saturday night. // 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., $35, 21+

Brit rock outfit Placebo last year released Never Let Me Go, their first album in nine years. The NME called it a return to form for the band, which has worked in various forms of glam-tinged modern rock and atmospheric punk in its three decade career, and they headline Franklin Music Hall on Saturday. Poppy Jean Crawford opens. // $39.50, 8:30 p.m., AA

The meteoric rise of Narberths Lizzie McAlpine continues this Saturday when the singer-songwriter and pop star headlines The Fillmore Philadelphia in support of her new album five seconds flat, a meditation on various forms of heartbreak and loss including the passing of her father, which is reflected on in the moving song chemtrails. Face value tickets for the show have sold out, but dedicated fans can still scoop their admission through LiveNations verified resale. // 8 p.m., $160 (verified resale), AA

Led by Will Turner and Georgie Fuller, the Brighton, UK-based band The Heavy Heavy has spent the past year making its mark stateside with delightfully careening retro psychedelia. Theyre WXPNs Artist to Watch for the month of April, and they headline Brooklyn Bowl Saturday night. // 7 p.m., $20, 21+

Jakob Dylan and his long-running band The Wallflowers returned from a nine-year hiatus in 2021, releasing their seventh studio album Exit Wounds, a stirring set of music that draws on similar 80s rock influences as The War On Drugs. See them play it Saturday night in Central Pennsylvania at The Appell Centers Strand Theatre. // 7:30 p.m., $42.75 and up, AA

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18 concerts to see this week, including Father John Misty, Nickel ... - The Key @ XPN

President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer in 1971 with the signing of the National Cancer Act. Despite more than a half-century of scientific breakthroughs, cancer remains the second-leading cause of death in the United States.

The challenge for scientists is that cancer is not universal. There are more than 100 types of cancer, and each of these cancers can have various subtypes. Even the same cancer type is not the same in any two patients. This is what makes the war on cancer a truly personal battle.

Now researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences are turning to a new tool in the fight against cancer and other rare diseases: organoids.

Organoids are tissues or miniature tumors grown in the laboratory, said Yana Zavros, PhD, professor and associate head for research in the UArizona College of Medicine Tucsons Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and a member of the UArizona Cancer Center.

Organoids can be grown from stem cells or from patient-derived tissue. With a three-dimensional structure, organoids mimic the genetic and biological functions of organs and provide researchers with an under-the-microscope look at how tumors may behave in the body. With this information, investigators can create tailored therapies for more effective responses in patients.

To conduct this research, UArizona Health Sciences researchers collaborate with the Biology Development and Research of Organoids, or BioDRoid, service provided at the UArizona Cancer Center. Led by Dr. Zavros, BioDRoid provides the expertise required to grow organoids from stem cells and patient tissue samples. The facility collects and catalogs healthy cells, tumor cells and immune cells for many conditions. The organoids can then be directly studied, tested with drugs or be cryopreserved for future investigation.

The complexity of the organoids we grow in the lab closely mimic the patients own tumor behavior and how it responds to drugs in the body, Dr. Zavros said. Organoids allow us to look at the tumor microenvironment at a higher resolution. This helps us identify targeted therapies that can be tested with drugs to determine the safest and most effective treatment prior to clinical use in the patient.

A single tissue biopsy can produce a seemingly endless number of organoids for scientists to use for studying a particular type of cancer or disease.

Once a tissue sample is received from the clinic, BioDRoid will process the tissue and place it in an incubator to allow the organoid cells to begin growing. For aggressive tumors, organoids will develop within 24-48 hours. Within a week, hundreds of organoids will have grown. Researchers can continue expanding the organoids into the thousands until they have enough for a study. The ability to cryopreserve live organoids makes them a limitless resource.

The organoids offer several advantages to other common methods. One of those benefits is less reliance on animal model studies since the researchers can work with live human tissue. Organoid modeling is faster and easier than animal modeling, and it maintains a more realistic human physiology.

Organoids are also useful to researchers because what can be learned from them has potentially larger societal impacts than other methods, such as using cell lines.

Organoids give us a better representation of the cellular diversity of tumor, said Dr. Zavros. Cells lines come from one patient and are not representative of the entire cell population. We cant develop effective therapies based on five cell lines because those five patients may not be representative of the full population of patients that have a disease.

Organoids are tissues or miniature tumors grown in the laboratory.Yana Zavros, PhD

Instead, organoids are valuable to researchers because they can be grown to mimic all the various subtypes of a specific disease. This leads to delivering more precise treatments to more people.

Precision medicine to us is not collecting a tissue sample from every single person. That is not feasible, Dr. Zavros said. But what we can do is stratify and subtype organoids similar to how there are subtypes of cancers. This is important because we know that these subtypes of cancers are more responsive to certain therapies. We hope that the end result is that we can discover therapies that will help patients.

One of the examples of this translational research is in a pancreatic cancer clinical trial led by Rachna Shroff, MD, MS, professor and associate dean of clinical and translational research for the College of Medicine Tucson and medical director of the clinical trials office at the UArizona Cancer Center. Dr. Shroffs trial is studying a new drug combination for pancreatic cancer patients whose tumors have been resistant to standard therapies.

For the study, Dr. Shroff has collected patient tumor biopsies both prior to the new treatment and during the treatment. In collaboration with Dr. Zavros laboratory, the biopsies are being used to grow organoid cultures to better understand the resistant cell populations within the tumor. The findings could eventually lead to new standard treatments for this population of pancreatic cancer patients.

One of the limiting factors in new drug discovery trials is the balance between a drug being effective at fighting off the harmful cells while not destroying the healthy cells. This balance becomes critical in the gut where the lining of the stomach, intestine and colon absorb nutrients while eliminating harmful bacteria. However, this lining is constantly replacing old cells and regenerating itself, making it susceptible to disease if it regenerates abnormally.

Curtis Thorne, PhD, assistant professor of cellular and molecular medicine at the College of Medicine Tucson and a member of the UArizona Cancer Center, leads a research laboratory focused on understanding of how the lining of the gut maintains itself. His lab has been using organoids for the past six years to gain a clearer picture of what is taking place in the gut and how drugs can be developed to treat diseases like colon cancer.

My lab views organoids as a drug-discovery platform, Dr. Thorne said. The way to think of them is as mini guts in tiny wells. Were able to put these miniature guts into 96 or 384-well plates. That allows us to do lots of experimental conditions to figure out how they grow and to discover new therapeutics that would prevent tumor organoids from growing.

Dr. Thorne explains that barrier function problems, such as those in the lining of the gut, can be deadly and that drug toxicity is of particular concern for patients undergoing treatment. By using organoid models, Dr. Thornes research team can better predict which drugs will be safest for further investigation.

We are seeing that we can predict drug toxicity at a much earlier stage of the drug development. Generally toxic compounds can be triggered early, and we can focus our efforts on those that are expected to have better toxicity profiles when tested in patients, Dr. Thorne said. We think organoids are the best platform for demonstrating tumor behaviors in a dish in a form that we can screen drugs and identify better lead compounds that are more likely to work once they hit the clinic.

Read more from the original source:

Miniature organs driving precision medicine and new drug discovery - University of Arizona

They are not being helpful. They should be utilizing logic instead of loyalty. They are just sinking PRRD deeper into the mud.

Those are statements recently expressed by certain individuals who are supporters of the former president Rodrigo Duterte and his anti-drug campaign and who disapprove of the anti-ICC statements of the DOJ secretary and some senators.

We cannot fault Sec. Remulla et al for defending PRRD and for challenging the ICC investigators for interfering in Philippine affairs, but the PRRD supporters say things could be handled logically, factually and diplomatically. They believe that Duterte is unfairly getting a disproportionate amount of the blame for the extrajudicial killings and threatening the ICC makes PRRD look guilty.

Perhaps those in a position to bring out the facts should do so properly because I am confident that in doing so, we will all come to terms with OUR part in the war, OUR share of the blame, either through commission or omission, and maybe then we will be able to separate those who did what was right or did their jobs versus those who used the war for evil and personal gain.

Before we start pointing fingers at PRRD alone, let us all revisit the years just before mayor Rodrigo Duterte was elected president. Back then the single failure of the PNoy government was in the fight against drugs and criminality such as kidnappings, rapes, contract killing or riding in tandem assassinations, as well as terrorist activities.

People were afraid to leave even a paper bag in their car because of basag kotse gangs, young people could not take out their cell phones in public for fear of snatchers on motorcycles who would shoot you for not giving up your phone. There were horror stories of female office workers being molested or assaulted while riding taxis or schoolgirls being grabbed and snatched.

The PNP gave quarterly updates on how shabu and other drugs were spreading throughout the countryside. Cities and barangays as well as exclusive subdivisions and gated communities eventually became meth labs or shabu tiangges.

The worst was when drug pushing became a livelihood for poor Filipinos when certain mayors, councilors as well as numerous barangay captains turned into neighborhood shabu dealers. As a journalist, I regularly heard from operatives fact checking on these allegations before they moved in on a target or neutralized said individuals.

Then came the Dirty Harry of Davao, the mayor with real political will and the track record to show that he cleared Davao of communist terrorists as well as drug dealers. That alone convinced the majority of Filipinos to vote for him as president. He was not elected for his economic genius, political savvy or charisma. He was rough, tough and often rude, butwewanted him to fight crime and put a stop to drugs and drug dealers.

No one laid down conditions or terms of engagement. No one even looked over his shoulder.As long as he got rid of the drug dealers and criminality, no one asked questions. In fact, those who could have said or done something, did not. We all looked away and simply assumed that those who were caught in the mix were either guilty, involved or had no business hanging out in drug infested areas. The truth is, we silently approved of the war on drugs!

Duterte himself confessed that he misjudged the gravity of the situation when he said he could solve the problem in three to six months. He did not count on generals and elected officials being extensively involved in the drug trade or standing as protectors or obstructionists. Even the Bureau of Customs had been infiltrated by mobsters. To fight the greedy and the corrupt, PRRD pit greed versus ambition. He relied on the ambition and drive of lower ranked officials to take the fight to the ground.

Yes, PRRD declared war against drugs and that was the wish and the will of the people. The subsequent and alleged EJKs are a totally different thing. PRRDs pronouncements were political optics and sound-bytes meant to rally the troops, reassure the public and remind the criminals that they were no longer in control and would be put out of business. Talking tough and declaring war on drugs alone do not kill people. People kill people. PRRD did not. But all that is now being used to unfairly put all the guilt on his shoulders.

What happened on the ground has happened in many countries such as Mexico, Colombia, even the USA where drug lords operate. Here, they all snitched on each other or tipped off the cops in order to drive the competition out of business. Some of the EJKs were actually gang retaliation on suspected informants. In a country where contract killing prices (based on testimonies of arrested hit-men) range from P20,000 to P150,000 only, it comes as no surprise that mercenaries and vigilantes actually went into business to rid their neighborhoodsin exchange for clearing costs, just like kidnappers and hostage takers charged board and lodging for victims.

And while some generals and elected officials were making money from the drug trade, the ambitious officers imposed ulo-ulo quotas, as in kill quotas, on drug pushers or criminal repeat offenders, thereby slowly killing the market. This was reported to me by other officers in the field. The quotas were intended to fast track the promotions of higher ups. They were not imposed by general headquarters or the Office of the President. They were required by the overly ambitious officers who saw a fast way to get to the next rank.

The ultimate tale is that we all had a part in the war on drugs, whether we admit it or not. Lets not be like Caiaphas saying: It is better for one man to die than the whole nation to be destroyed. Were all guilty in this war.

* * *

E-mail: [emailprotected]

Originally posted here:

'They are not helping PRRD' | Philstar.com - Philstar.com

Brandon Ali stared across at the press bench in court. Defiant, dishonest to his core, and completely unrepentant, he showed no reaction as he was sentenced to 21-years in prison for murder, in the summer of last year.

Four months later, Ali simply shrugged as he was handed an 11-month jail term for posting a radio stuffed full of drugs to an inmate in August, 2020. That sentence runs alongside his current 21-year minimum term, meaning he spends no extra time behind bars.

Three months after that, Ali stood staring at the press bench once again, as he was brought out of his cell to attend court. This time he was given a three-year prison stretch, after a shotgun with his DNA all over it was found buried near a children's park.

READ MORE: Ex-Teesside University student kept guns 'to rent out to YouTube rappers making music videos'

The sawn-off gun was buried at some point before the winter of 2019, when Ali was 18 at the most. This means that at the age of just 22, Ali has a lengthy prison sentence to serve.

There has never been a hint of remorse shown by the former Hemlington drug dealer - although he must surely regret his actions now he has days on end with nothing to do but think, whilst holed up in prison.

Ali, and his pal Joey Matthews, were once winning the turf war in Hemlington. Constantly out on their push bikes, they supplied the narrow streets of terraced home with anything from cannabis to the anti-anxiety pill, pregabalin.

But when a rival dealer threatened their livelihood, Ali and Matthews, declared war. There was a fight in the street and threats made, before the two 21-year-olds saw Mr Eland out on his bike, on Saturday, August 21, 2021.

Witnesses said Matthews was driving, but in court Judge Watson said the murder was a joint enterprise. They must have seen Mr Eland's girlfriend Kassi Weir sitting on the handlebars. Their car mounted the kerb and drove straight at the couple.

The 37-year-old drug dealer suffered catastrophic brain injuries. His girlfriend Kassi Weir, who miraculously escaped serious injury, was seen screaming: "He's dying! he's dying!" as a witness rang 999 to say that "blood was pumping out of Carl Eland's head, ears and nose."

Mr Eland was pronounced dead days later in hospital. He had four children.

Judge Paul Watson KC told the pair: "No one who has seen the dramatic footage of the vehicle being driven into the bicycle and the cyclists being thrown from it, could forget those dreadful images. The sense of shock when it was played to the jury was audible," as he jailed them both for 21 years.

Four months into his life term, Ali was in the dock at Teesside Crown Court again. His fingerprints were found on a digital radio, which was posted to HMP Northumberland, in August 2020. It was stuffed full of drugs.

Ali tried to claim that he thought he was just posting a digital radio - but his fingerprints were found on the inside of the radio and on one of the packets of drugs. He appeared in the dock alongside Steve Blagg, 45, and the pair were convicted of sending 3,370 worth of class C drugs, hidden in the back of the radio, into prison.

Blagg has 145 offences to his name, and has been in and out of prison for much of his life. The radio was posted to the wing where his son was incarcerated.

Ali was back in court earlier this year, after police uncovered a firearm, buried in a contained in the mud, near a children's playground in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

Again, Ali denied all knowledge - somewhat bafflingly claiming that he had only ever touched a gun when he went to "shoot clays" with his grandad, as a child. Under cross-examination, he said that his DNA "could have been on a gun that I touched before" but that he had never used a sawn-off shotgun.

When the prosecution accused Ali of lying about the clay pigeon shooting, and asked him why he hadn't given that explanation to the police when he was arrested in 2019, Ali remained unflustered. "I didn't think," he told the jury. "I was young."

His co-accused George Lammie, 45, told the court that he was a drug dealer and that he must have inadvertently touched the shotgun when someone - he couldn't remember - came to his house and offered him a bag containing a gun, in exchange for drugs.

Ali, of Dalwood Court in Hemlington, was given three-years. Lammie was jailed for five.

Ali is the antithesis of a clever or sophisticated criminal. He killed a man in front of people on a residential street. And he left his DNA all over a shotgun, and on the drugs inside the radio.

But he has never shown any emotion - not when he was handed a life term in prison, nor when the harrowing details of Mr Eland's fatal injuries were read out to a courtroom, packed full of the victim's family and friends.

His mother, who has attended all of his court cases, shouted "see you son" as he was last led out of court. Ali didn't reply, he didn't even glance back at his mum, as he was led away to a waiting prison van. He must surely be one of the youngest "lifers" in HMP Durham.

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Brandon Ali: By 18 he had a shotgun. At 19 he was smuggling drugs. Age 20 he had murdered a man - Teesside Live

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration has nabbed more illicit brew compared with its predecessors average annual nettings.

The crackdown ordered by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki saw a record 1.7 million litres of unregulated brews destroyed.

This is 700,000 more than the Jubilee administrations annual average nettings of one million litres in the period from 2020 through to last year.

In 2020, the Presidents State of national security report showed that the state netted a total of 1,002,157 litres of illicit brew.

The report showed that the collection was an increase of 10.4 percent compared with the previous year 2019.

The Ministry further reported that it had netted drugs worth millions of shillings in the intensified crackdown Kindiki ordered in February.

We will not relent in the war on illicit liquor and drugs and I am fully committed to ending the menace that has left most families in the Central Kenya region in pain, said Kindiki at the start of the crackdown.

He listed drugs, terrorism, illegal drinks, and banditry in the northern part of the country as serious threats to Kenyas stability.

To join in the fight against illicit brew, Members of County Assemblies from Central Kenya region have formed a 20-member committee to lead in formulation of stringent laws to regulate the sale of alcohol in the region.

This was after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua held consultations with MCAs from the five counties on Friday, on how to end the illicit brew menace in the region.

The counties include; Muranga, Kiambu, Nyeri, Nyandarua and Kirinyaga.

The MCAs met the DP at his Iruri home in Mathira, Nyeri County.

The 20-member committee is expected to hold its first meetingon Thursday next week for consultation with legal experts, where they will be joined by the National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Inchungwa.

A bill for the five counties will be drafted. The bill will be subjected to public participation and County Assembly plenaries as per the procedure before adoption.

Link:

Kindiki team shores up gains in drugs, illicit brews fight - The Star Kenya