Category Archives: War On Drugs

Mexican rock band Caf Tacvba will perform Sunday at Bayou Music Center.

>> Click through for more concerts coming to Houston.

>> Click through for more concerts coming to Houston.

Houston's concert scene rarely slows down. From Jimmy Buffett to Willie Nelson to Chance the Rapper to Demi Lovato, there is a performer from nearly every genre coming to town. Continue clicking to see the concerts that are bringing their music to the Bayou City.

Houston's concert scene rarely slows down. From Jimmy Buffett to Willie Nelson to Chance the Rapper to Demi Lovato, there is a performer from nearly every genre coming to

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 40th anniversary tour visits the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on April 29.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 40th anniversary tour visits the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on April 29.

PJ Harvey plays Houston for the first time in 15 years. She's at the Revention Music Center on April 29.

PJ Harvey plays Houston for the first time in 15 years. She's at the Revention Music Center on April 29.

Kings of Leon play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on May 2.

Kings of Leon play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on May 2.

Chris Brown will partner with 50 Cent, Fabolous, O.T. Genasis and Kap G for the Party Tour, which stops at the Toyota Center on May 4. Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 25.

Chris Brown will partner with 50 Cent, Fabolous, O.T. Genasis and Kap G for the Party Tour, which stops at the Toyota Center on May 4. Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 25.

The New Pornographers play White Oak Music Hall on May 4.

The New Pornographers play White Oak Music Hall on May 4.

Pianist Vijay Iyer is among the most acclaimed jazz performers and composers today. He's at the Wortham Theater Center on May 5.

Pianist Vijay Iyer is among the most acclaimed jazz performers and composers today. He's at the Wortham Theater Center on May 5.

Christian rock band Casting Crowns plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on May 6.

Christian rock band Casting Crowns plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on May 6.

The Weeknd will be working more than the weeknds on a world tour that comes to Toyota Center on May 6.

The Weeknd will be working more than the weeknds on a world tour that comes to Toyota Center on May 6.

Best New Artist Grammy winner Chance The Rapper is bringing his musicto the Woodlands Pavilion on May 7. Tickets are now on sale through LiveNation.

Best New Artist Grammy winner Chance The Rapper is bringing his musicto the Woodlands Pavilion on May 7. Tickets are now on sale through LiveNation.

Soulful British rock band The XX plays Revention Music Center on May 9.

Soulful British rock band The XX plays Revention Music Center on May 9.

Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson brings his legendary "Pet Sounds" album to Revention Music Center on May 12.

Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson brings his legendary "Pet Sounds" album to Revention Music Center on May 12.

Arlo Guthrie can draw from 50 years of his own folk, as well as years more written by his famous father, when he plays the Grand 1894 Opera House on May 13.

Arlo Guthrie can draw from 50 years of his own folk, as well as years more written by his famous father, when he plays the Grand 1894 Opera House on May 13.

Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey are going on tour together. The duo is teaming up for the All The Hits Tour, which includes a May 13 show at Toyota Center.

Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey are going on tour together. The duo is teaming up for the All The Hits Tour, which includes a May 13 show at Toyota Center.

Punk legends the Damned don't look like this anymore. But they still stir up a mighty racket. They're at House of Blues May 17.

Punk legends the Damned don't look like this anymore. But they still stir up a mighty racket. They're at House of Blues May 17.

Celtic Woman should be plural. The Irish vocal ensemble is at Smart Financial Centre on May 20.

Celtic Woman should be plural. The Irish vocal ensemble is at Smart Financial Centre on May 20.

U2 will play "The Joshua Tree" in its entirety on May 24 at NRG Stadium.

U2 will play "The Joshua Tree" in its entirety on May 24 at NRG Stadium.

A reunited Soundgarden plays Revention Music Center on May 25.

A reunited Soundgarden plays Revention Music Center on May 25.

The Mountain Goats play White Oak Music Hall on May 27.

Singer-songwriter-flutist Ian Anderson (with the flute) brings Jethro Tull songs to town on May 30 to the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.

Singer-songwriter-flutist Ian Anderson (with the flute) brings Jethro Tull songs to town on May 30 to the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.

Jim Lauderdale plays McGonigel's Mucky Duck on June 1.

Jim Lauderdale plays McGonigel's Mucky Duck on June 1.

Jazz pianist Helen Sung, an alumnus of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, is at Cezanne June 2.

Jazz pianist Helen Sung, an alumnus of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, is at Cezanne June 2.

Todd Snider plays McGonigel's Mucky Duck on June 6.

Todd Snider plays McGonigel's Mucky Duck on June 6.

Jimmy Buffett and his coral Reefer Band are bringing their classics to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 8. Let's see if J.J. Watt shows up to play the congasagain.

Jimmy Buffett and his coral Reefer Band are bringing their classics to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 8. Let's see if J.J. Watt shows up to play the congasagain.

The Old 97's play House of Blues on June 9.

The Old 97's play House of Blues on June 9.

A reunited At the Drive-In plays Revention Music Center on June 10.

A reunited At the Drive-In plays Revention Music Center on June 10.

Metal band Metallica has announced a string of stadium dates, starting in Houston on June 11 at NRG Stadium. Tickets are now on sale through LiveNation.

Metal band Metallica has announced a string of stadium dates, starting in Houston on June 11 at NRG Stadium. Tickets are now on sale through LiveNation.

The Doobie Brothers join Chicago at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 18.

The Doobie Brothers join Chicago at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 18.

Atlanta rapper Future will bring his Nobody Safe Tour to the Woodlands Pavilion on June 22. Tickets are now on sale on LiveNation.

Atlanta rapper Future will bring his Nobody Safe Tour to the Woodlands Pavilion on June 22. Tickets are now on sale on LiveNation.

John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris play the Smart Financial Centre on June 22.

John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris play the Smart Financial Centre on June 22.

Everclear plays its "So Much for the Afterglow" album, celebrating its 20th anniversary, at House of Blues on June 24.

Everclear plays its "So Much for the Afterglow" album, celebrating its 20th anniversary, at House of Blues on June 24.

Deftones play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 26.

Deftones play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on June 26.

Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman play Smart Financial Centre on July 1.

Gloria Trevi and Alejandra Guzman play Smart Financial Centre on July 1.

Prince Royce plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on July 1.

Prince Royce plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on July 1.

Carlos Santana plays Smart Financial Centre on July 3.

Carlos Santana plays Smart Financial Centre on July 3.

Roger Waters previously played Pink Floyd's "The Wall" here. This time he'll do a show that draws from Floyd as well as his solo career. July 7 at Toyota Center.

Roger Waters previously played Pink Floyd's "The Wall" here. This time he'll do a show that draws from Floyd as well as his solo career. July 7 at Toyota Center.

Neil Diamond returns to Toyota Center on July 16 on his 50th anniversary tour.

Neil Diamond returns to Toyota Center on July 16 on his 50th anniversary tour.

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires will play the Revention Music Center on July 18.

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires will play the Revention Music Center on July 18.

Canadian teen Shawn Mendes played to more than 70,000 at the rodeo, so the Toyota Center on July 22 shouldn't pose any problems.

Canadian teen Shawn Mendes played to more than 70,000 at the rodeo, so the Toyota Center on July 22 shouldn't pose any problems.

DJ Shadow is at House of Blues July 23.

DJ Shadow is at House of Blues July 23.

Matthew Sweet is at Heights Theater July 23.

Matthew Sweet is at Heights Theater July 23.

Bubble Puppy is at White Oak Music Hall July 28.

Bubble Puppy is at White Oak Music Hall July 28.

Nickelback will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on July 28.

Nickelback will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on July 28.

Queen return with Adam Lambert playing the part of Freddie Mercury on Aug. 5 at Toyota Center.

Queen return with Adam Lambert playing the part of Freddie Mercury on Aug. 5 at Toyota Center.

John Mayer plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Aug. 6.

John Mayer plays the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Aug. 6.

Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper share a bill at the Smart Financial Centre on Aug. 12.

Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper share a bill at the Smart Financial Centre on Aug. 12.

Rapper J. Cole will bring his music to the Toyota Center as a part of hi 4 Your Eyez Only Tour on August 18.

Rapper J. Cole will bring his music to the Toyota Center as a part of hi 4 Your Eyez Only Tour on August 18.

Alice Cooper and Deep Purple share a bill at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Aug. 18.

Alice Cooper and Deep Purple share a bill at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Aug. 18.

Coldplay: rock band that plays rock music for rock fans. They'll play NRG Stadium Aug. 25.

Coldplay: rock band that plays rock music for rock fans. They'll play NRG Stadium Aug. 25.

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New shows: Cafe Tacvba, War on Drugs - Chron.com (blog)

The War On Drugs, the government program, was a total failure. The War On Drugs, the Philadelphia band led by Adam Granduciel and responsible for one of our favorite recent Boston Calling performances, has been anything but.

While we await the follow-up to the groups 2014 album Lost in the Dream, The War On Drugs recent issued a beautifully spacey 11-minute guitar-rock song titled Thinking Of A Place, and today followed that up with news of a 34-date tour of North America and Europe.

Near the start of The War On Drugs globetrotting is a September 23 date at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston. The weather by the water should be just about perfect for this one, and tickets go on sale May 5.

Listen to Thinking Of A Place below as you scan through all The War On Drugs live dates after the video jump.

The War On Drugs Thinking Of A Place from Record Store Day on Vimeo.

The War On Drugs Live: 9/21 Philadelpha,PA @ Dell Music Center 9/22 New York,NY @ Summerstage 9/23 Boston,MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion 9/25 Charlotte,NC @ The Fillmore 9/26 Atlanta,GA @ The Tabernacle 9/28 Dallas,TX @ The Bomb Factory 9/29 Houston,TX @ White Oak Music Hall 9/30 Austin,TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek** 10/5 Los Angeles,CA @ Greek Theatre 10/6 Berkeley,CA @ Greet Theatre 10/9 Seattle,WA @ Moore Theatre 10/11 Portland,OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 10/13 Salt Lake City,UT @ The Complex 10/14 Denver,CO @ Ogden Theatre 10/18 St.Paul,MN @ Palace Theatre 10/19 Chicago,IL @ Riviera Theatre 10/20 Columbus,OH @ Express Live! 10/21 Toronto,ON @ Massey Hall 11/2 Amsterdam,NL @ AFAS Live* 11/3 Kln,DE @ E-Werk 11/4 Brussels,BE @ Forest National 11/6 Paris, FR @ Bataclan 11/9 Glasgow,UK @ Barrowlands 11/10 Glasgow,UK @ Barrowlands 11/12 Manchester,UK @O2 11/14 London,UK @ Alexandra Palace 11/17 Zurich,CH @ X-tra 11/18 Milan,IT @ Fabrique 11/20 Mnchen,DE @ Muffathalle 11/21 Hamberg,DE @ 11/22 Berlin,DE @ 11/24 Oslo,NO @ Spektrum 11/25 Copenhagen,DK @ Tap 1 11/27 Stockholm,SE @ Annexet

General OnSale May 5 / *on-sale May 4 / **on-sale May 12

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The War On Drugs announce North American tour, share new song ... - Vanyaland

Oakland is leading the nation in defining what racial equity means by revising its medical cannabis business permit process to favor applicants whove been swept up in the war on drugs.

In Oakland, a new pot equity program is aimed at encouraging greater participation by African Americans in the city's booming cannabis trade.

We often forget that an abundance of living-wage and wealth-creating jobs exist in low-income communities. Unfortunately, they happen to be in the drug-selling business.

For many decades, law enforcement has been directed to lock up anyone who tries to make a living in this field, especially if they are black. As criminal justice scholar Michelle Alexander wrote in a 2013 op-ed for The New York Times: Weve spent billions of dollars, arrested and caged millions of people, destroyed countless families and futures, and yet marijuana remains as popular and plentiful as ever. Why has this insanity continued for so long?

Well, because racism. In Oakland, California, efforts are now underway to repair what the war on drugs destroyed through mass incarceration: In May 2016, the city amended its existing local medical marijuana regulation ordinance to provide more opportunities for people of color to open their own dispensaries. Most importantly, under the new equity permit program, people with prior convictions for weed-related crimes would have first dibs on getting a city license.

To flesh out the details for this program, the city commissioned a race and equity analysis report, to ensure that the new marijuana permitting process would benefit the right people. There is nothing more alarming in that report than the arrest data it relies upon for the programs foundation: In 2015, African Americans made up 30 percent of the population but 77 percent of cannabis arrests, compared to 4 percent for whites.

And 2015 was no an aberration. Further analysis on arrest data from 1998 to 2015 turned up an even wider disparityAfrican-Americans comprised 90 percent of arrests; whites were 3.91 percent.

Some might speculate that the gap accurately reflects the faces of who sells and uses weed. But if white Oaklanders are so low on the weed consumption and possession scale (and, as a stroll around the area would reveal, they are definitely not), then why are they the ones opening dispensaries and outlets? As Amanda Chicago Lewis reported for Buzzfeed last year:

Nobody keeps official statistics on race and cannabis business ownership. But based on more than 150 interviews with dispensary owners, industry insiders, and salespeople who interact with a lot of pot shops, it appears that fewer than three dozen of the 3,200 to 3,600 storefront marijuana dispensaries in the United States are owned by black peopleabout 1%.

Oaklands plan, which city council passed last month, seeks to correct this. The race and equity analysis report turned up a number of reasons why African Americans havent been able to access the medical cannabis industry. It also explains how the white-controlled legal marijuana trade isdare we saygentrifying the one market in which underemployed African Americans were able to make a living:

In general, access to capital for starting a cannabis business is restricted because of federal regulations and further limited in low income communities due to the lack of personal wealth. Those with assets and a head start have the ability to surge forward with real estate acquisition and leasing that could lock new operations out of being able to set up shop in Oakland. Living wage underground jobs in marginalized communities are in danger of being pushed out of those communities.

The new equity permit program gives normally disenfranchised African Americans a leg up in the medical marijuana market. Under this program, cannabis business permits would be prioritized for equity applicants, defined as someone whose annual income is less than 80 percent of Oaklands average median income (AMI), and who lives in one of the 21 police beat areas where weed arrests have been most prevalent or who was convicted after November 5, 1996 for a weed-related crime.

The citys permitting process will now roll out in two phases, the first of which would award at least half of all of permits to equity applicants, who will be provided with entrepreneurial mentors, technical assistance (for business plan prep and municipal regulations compliance), and help with other procurement needs. The program also calls for equity incubators, where general (non-equity) marijuana business hopefuls can spruce up their own permit applications by offering rent-free real estate for helping cultivate up-and-coming black business owners.

Other perks of the equity program include relaxed criminal background checks, zero-interest small business loans, and conditional approval for equity applicants even if they dont have all of their financing or real estate secured upfront. The programs costs will be covered by the $3.4 million in licensing fees that the city has already collected from existing cannabis businesses. This is basically a reparations plan for black people whove been swept up into draconian drug policies and mass incarceration.

Will this ordinance actually take effect? The weed-friendly California legislature is unlikely to try to preempt it, as other states have done when cities have attempted to take business matters into their own hands. The only wild card here is what U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions may do to ham this up, given his allergies to economically logical marijuana laws. In his thirst to keep the war on drugs going, he may be willing to crack down on more marijuana users no matter what their race is.

Thats the wrong kind of equity. A better answer, wrote Michelle Alexander in her New York Times op-ed, is to give all youth the same punishment that college students and suburban white youth have received for their marijuana use, which is basically none at all.

Link:

The Case for Weed Reparations - CityLab

Following todays suspension of more than a dozen police officers and the announcement of an internal investigation into revelations that 12 people were detained illegally in a cramped secret jail cell in Manila on drugs-related charges, Champa Patel, Amnesty Internationals Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said:

This is an alarming reminder of the depth of the human rights crisis sparked by President Dutertes war on drugs. Prison overcrowding and secret jails with a risk of torture are just part of the wider problem, which has left up to 9,000 people dead in extrajudicial executions by police and vigilantes doing their dirty work.

If the authorities are serious about investigating this incident, they must ensure those involved face effective criminal investigations and prosecutions, not just a slap on the wrist and time off work. Investigations should go right up the chain of command.

Crucially, nobody should be under any illusions that the same police force that allowed thousands of killings to happen under its nose can be trusted to investigate itself now. There must be independent oversight of this and all investigations and a thorough review of all violations and abuses by police in the war on drugs.

In an interview yesterday, President Duterte told a reporter he thought it was funny that Amnesty International was calling on his government to stop the killings. There is nothing funny about killing 9,000 people in cold blood in a climate of impunity.

Originally posted here:

Philippines 'war on drugs': Credible and impartial investigations needed after 'secret jail cell' revealed - Amnesty International USA

The War on Drugs announced an extensive fall tour with shows in North America and Europe. The 34-date trek launches September 21st in the band's hometown of Philadelphia and concludes November 27th in Stockholm, Sweden.

General public tickets go on sale Friday, May 5th at 10 a.m. local time via the band's website. A pre-sale begins Monday, May 1st for North America and Tuesday, May 2nd for U.K. and Europe at 10 a.m.

The indie-rock sextet officially released their psychedelic new single "Thinking of a Place" on Friday, after issuing the 11-minute track as a 12-inch vinyl exclusive for Record Store Day. The song, which follows 2014 LP, Lost in the Dream, previews the band's upcoming, as-yet-untitled fourth album.

Last year, the War on Drugs contributed a cover version of the Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey," to Day of the Dead,a massive, 59-song tribute albumcurated by the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

The War on Drugs 2017 Tour

September 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Dell Music Center September 22 New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park September 23 Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion September 25 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte September 26 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle September 28 Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory September 29 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [Outside Lawn] September 30 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater October 5 Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre October 6 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre October 9 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre October 11 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall October 13 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex October 14 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre October 18 St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre October 19 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre October 20 Columbus, OH @ Express Live! October 21 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall November 2 Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live November 3 Cologne, DE @ E-Werk November 4 Brussels, BE @ Forest National November 6 Paris, FR @ Bataclan November 9 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands November 10 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands November 12 Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester November 14 London, UK @ Alexandra Palace November 17 Zurich, CH @ X-tra November 18 Milan, IT @ Fabrique November 20 Mnchen, DE @ Muffathalle November 21 Hamburg, DE @ Groe Freiheit 36 November 22 Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom November 24 Oslo, NO @ Spektrum November 25 Copenhagen, DK @ Tap 1 November 27 Stockholm, SE @ Annexet

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The War on Drugs Plot Expansive Fall Tour - Rolling Stone - RollingStone.com

MANILA - International non-government organization Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned President Rodrigo's anti-narcotics drive anew following the discovery of a hidden jail for drug suspects in Manila.

"The discovery of the secret jail is just the latest sign of how police are exploiting Duterte's abusive anti-drug campaign for personal gain," HRW said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) found 12 men and women detained inside a cramped room hidden behind a bookshelf in the Raxabago police station in Tondo, Manila.

CHR said there was no record of the arrest and inquest proceedings for the detainees, who alleged that cops held them in the facility for a week, without notifying their families or lawyers.

The detainees also accused policemen of torturing them and demanding money for their freedom.

They also claimed that inadequate lighting, ventilation, and toilet facilities forced them "to urinate and [do] bowel movements in plastic bags," according to CHR-Metro Manila director Gilbert Boisner.

Supt. Robert Domingo, commander of the Raxabago station, has denied the allegation, insisting instead that those detained in the hidden cell could not mix with other suspects in the station's main cell because no case has been filed against them yet.

Domingo and 12 other officers of the Raxabago station were temporarily relieved to pave the way for an impartial probe.

At least two senators have spoken out against the maintenance of a "secret jail" for drug suspects.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, noted: "If true, these policemen are no better than the kidnap-for-ransom gangs that I used to chase throughout my law enforcement career."

"Those responsible must therefore be treated no differently from those criminal syndicates that they themselves are mandated to neutralize."

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan added that the matter should be investigated thoroughly and wrongdoers swiftly punished.

"We have seen how PNP uniformed personnel have in the Jee Ick-Joo case, the Espinosa rubout case, and in a number of other cases abused their office under the guise of the war on drugs. If this systemic pattern of abuse is not addressed, I am afraid the war on drugs will fail in its objective of ridding the nation of illegal drugs and instead succeed in spreading lawlessness, police corruption, and abuse," he said.

ABUSES

HRW noted that policemen at the helm of Duterte's war on drugs have been tagged in a string of alleged abuses over the past months.

Last October, anti-narcotics cops allegedly abducted a South Korean businessman and strangled him to death, before demanding a ransom from his family, the group said.

HRW added that it has exposed a "damning pattern of unlawful police conduct" in the deaths of over 2,000 drug suspects during police operations.

"Expect unlawful police abuses in the name of Duterte's 'war on drugs' to continue until the United Nations establishes an urgently needed independent, international investigation into the killings and the secret jails that are part of it," HRW said.

Malacaang has maintained that the state is not behind extra-judicial slays, as deaths attributed to the police occurred in legitimate operations.

Duterte also said that his orders to kill and arrest drug suspects come with the caveat that police should operate within the bounds of the law.

The National Capital Region Police Office and the Philippine National Police-Internal Affairs Service will conduct separate probes into Manila's hidden jail.

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'Secret jail' proves drug war abuses - HRW - ABS-CBN News

The War On Drugs have announced a tour for later this year, including a series of UK and European dates.

The Adam Granduciel-led band earned widespread acclaim for 2014sbreakthrough third album, Lost In The Dream. They recently shared their new single Thinking Of A Place, their first new song in three years and a 11-minute track marking Record Store Day 2017.

The War On Drugs will kick off their tour with a hometown gig in Philadelphia on September 21 before touring the US and Canada through to October.

Their European tour starts in November and includes UK stops in Glasgow, Manchester and London. See the full tour schedule and ticket details at the bands website.Their UK dates are below.

Thursday 9th November GLASGOW Barrowlands Friday 10th November GLASGOW BarrowlandsSunday 12th November MANCHESTER O2 ApolloTuesday 14th November LONDON Alexandra Palace

The band are thought to be working on their long-awaited follow-up to Lost In The Dream with the record set to be the first full-length release on their new recording contract with Atlantic.

Last year, The War On Drugs contributed a cover of Touch of Grey to a Grateful Dead covers album.

The extensive tribute collection entitled Day Of The Dead took over four years to record and compile, and featured over 60 artists including Mumford and Sons, The Flaming Lips, Courtney Barnett, Wilco, Fucked Up and The Walkmen.

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The War On Drugs announce 2017 tour including UK dates - NME - NME.com

In my opinion, Tom McDonalds Letter to the Editor of April 23, 2017 (Drug testing of welfare rolls, longer sentencing key to drug war, The News Virginian, Perspectives page) urges a non-viable return to the failed War on Drugs" for the following reasons:

First, President Obama did not let drug enforcement fall by the wayside during his eight years in office. Instead, he allowed the drug war more or less to continue on the glide path set up by his predecessors. When he gave it his full attention toward the end of his tenure, his policy lined up with most expert opinion in acknowledging that it is more effective to treat drug use as a public health issue than as a criminal justice one.

Second, as Mr. McDonald writes, the drug problem in the U.S. is at an all-time high. Our longest war, the 45-year War on Drugs has been spectacularly unsuccessful. The U.S. government has spent $1 trillion on aggressive policies and enforcement actions, serving to make it the supporter-in-chief of two lucrative industries, drug enforcement and drug trafficking, while achieving limited deterrent impact on drug use and marginal benefits to the public health and safety. What has yet to happen is a reduction in the supply of drugs or in the reasons people seek them out.

The smarter policy would be to shift the budget priorities from law enforcement and paramilitary-style interdiction efforts to treatment and research. We should be looking at drug addiction as a health crisis requiring medical treatment in place of incarceration. Instead of going to war on marijuana, we should legalize it nationally and treat it like alcohol a commodity that is taxed and regulated with minimum legal ages for use. Our own history of Prohibition history has shown us this would have the added benefit of taking money from the cartels and giving it to cash-strapped local and state governments.

And dont get me started on the need for less-liberal judges. Its like saying we need less-liberal Christians. No. We need good judges with a firm grasp of the law; their ways of interpreting the law are going to vary, often in wayswe dont agree with.

Third, poppycock to drug testing all welfare recipients. If your concern is for having to share your tax dollars with anyone who might use drugs, why pick on the poor and needy? Why not advocate that all federal employees, President and Congress included, be subject to periodic drug testing?

Fourth, Donald Trump may be determined in the sense of being determined to get his way, but his way is proving anything but steadfast. As I far as I can tell, he is but one strong voice-in-his-ear away from swerving as radically on this position as he has on any other.

Fifth, Leonard Pitts, whose column you referenced,didsuggest a solution to this epidemic. Having confirmed what most of us know to be true that you cannot arrest people out of wanting what is bad for them he suggested that as weve seen with liquor and tobacco, you might be able to educate, legislate and persuade them into wanting it less. In support of his argument, he cited a Rand Corporation study saying that using healthcare strategies to combat drugs returns seven times the value for every dollar spent on it to the taxpayer.

That you didnt read his suggestion as a solution might just prove his point that this wouldnt allow some of us to brag how ruthless they are.

Lucy Ivey lives in Waynesboro.

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OPINION: Failed 'war on drugs' a waste of taxpayers' money - The Daily Progress

External Affairs

Loved ones and mourners lift up a closed coffin of Arjay Suldao, 16, who according to the local media was a victim of unknown assailants related to the drug war, to place it inside an apartment-type tomb, during his funeral at a cemetery in Navotas city, metro Manila, Philippines March 28, 2017. Credit; Reuters/Romeo Ranoco/Files

Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he was willing to face the music for his war on drugs and a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) would not stop him pursuing his bloody campaign.

The former prosecutor said he was man who was true to his word, including wiping out drugs, so he would accept the consequences, even if it meant prison, or death.

I will continue my campaign I just stood by with my promise, all other politicians they pay lip service to the problem, he told reporters.

You want to try to do everything to put me in prison, please go ahead if it is my destiny to go to jail then I will go to jail, if somebody will kill me for killing the idiot drug people, so be it, I die.

Thousands of Filipinos have been killed since Duterteunleashed his ferocious campaign nearly 10 months ago. Police say they have killed only in self-defence, and the deaths of other drug dealers and users was down to vigilantes or narcotics gangs silencing potential witnesses.

Human rights groups say official accounts are implausible and accuse Duterte of supporting a campaign of systematic extrajudicial killings by police. The government denies that.

A Philippine lawyer filed a complaint at the ICC on Monday against Duterte and senior officials for mass murder. The 77-page filing said Duterte repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously committed crimes against humanity.

The complaint is the first publicly known communication to the ICC against the president and is based on the testimony of two self-confessed hit men who said they had worked underDuterte when he was a mayor, statements from rights groups and media reports, including a Reuters series on the killings.

Duterte stood by police, and said he had never given an order to commit murder, but to defend themselves if their lives were at risk.

He dismissed questions about police carrying out extrajudicial killings and appeared to blame criminals for thousands of deaths at the hands of mystery gunmen.

Of course, who else? he said.

Duterte also dismissed an editorial in the New York Times on Tuesday that said the ICC should promptly open an investigation into the drugs war. It described Duterte as a man who must be stopped.

Duterte said it was the newspaper that should be stopped.

New York Times, assholes, they are assholes, he said.

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Unfazed by ICC Complaint, Philippine's Duterte Vows to Continue War on Drugs - The Wire

On April 20, the unofficial stoner holiday 4/20, supporters of legal marijuana and opponents of the U.S. war on drugs took to the internet. The words accompanying one widely shared image say in part: More American police officers died during prohibition of alcohol than any other time in history. 300 died in 1930 alone. After prohibition ended, police deaths didnt reach 200 a year again until the year Nixon declared war on drugs.

A quick Google search showed us the image has been making the rounds since at least 2015.

We wondered if the data actually support that message.

Marijuana and other drugs had been illegal in the United States for years before the federal government under President Richard Nixon launched what we now call the war on drugs. He called for harsher drug laws and millions of dollars in extra spending, and Congress complied.

Comparing Prohibition with the drug war is common in American culture. But is it also fair to compare police deaths during the two periods?

Its correct that 1930 was the deadliest year in U.S. history for police. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks officer deaths going back to 1791, says 307 officers died in 1930. Its also correct that police deaths decreased sharply after Prohibition.

But the numbers behind the claim that police deaths didnt reach 200 a year again until the year Nixon declared war on drugs are a bit off.

Nixon began the war on drugs in 1971, but police deaths actually topped 200 the year before that, in 1970. And that wasnt any sort of a spike. The number of deaths had been just below 200 all throughout the late 1960s.

And thats not the only thing wrong with this claim.

The image clearly uses the violence associated with organized crime to make its point. However, not every officer who dies is killed in the line of duty by someone else. Many officers die from car crashes, illnesses and other causes. Yet the data this viral post cites on police deaths include all deaths of police officers each year violent and non-violent, on-duty and off-duty.

In 2007, according to the memorial group, 202 officers died. According to FBI data, 57 of those were killed while on duty by a criminal.

That means nearly three-fourths of the deaths that year were not the kind of violent deaths this image is alluding to. And even while on duty that year, an officer was more likely to have been killed in an accident than by a criminal.

We focused on 2007 for a reason. In the past 36 years, only 2007 and 2001 (due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks) have had more than 200 officer deaths.

As for the number of officers who die each year during the war on drugs, in reality thats only happened 12 times, and only twice since 1981.

Nicholas Kristof wrote in 2015 that toddlers are killed by guns more often than on-duty police officers are, which PunditFact rated Mostly True.

And whatever the cause of officers deaths in a given period, the war on drugs still doesnt compare to Prohibition, when for 14 years an average of 252 officers died every year. Since Prohibition ended more than 80 years ago, however, there have been more than 250 officer deaths only twice in 1973 and 1974.

In fact, during most years from the 1990s until today, the number of officer deaths has been roughly the same as 100 years ago, when there were far fewer officers.

Police deaths have largely been on the decline for decades even as the drug war continues, and the number of officers has grown significantly. Since the image uses a semi-accurate statistic to make a misleading comparison,we rate this claim Mostly False.

After prohibition ended, police deaths didnt reach 200 a year again until the year Nixon declared war on drugs.

Viral image on Thursday, April 20th, 2017 in posts on social media

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Online post misleads on police deaths during drug war - Atlanta Journal Constitution