San Diego Demonstrators Call for Overdose Prevention, Not Drug Busts

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced earlier this week that agents have arrested nearly 100 people in a sting operation at San Diego State University in California over the last several months. The drug probe came in response to a student’s overdose in 2007. In response, students, parents and drug policy reformers organized a demonstration Wednesday to call attention to the need for more effective, more sensible responses to overdose.

> Random Student Drug Testing is Not the Answer

The drug czar's staff is touring the country hosting summits designed to entice local educators to start drug testing their students -- randomly and without cause. Today the road show comes home and D.C. administrators, coaches and counselors will get the hard sell. While White House officials will attempt to describe the programs in benign terms, I urge educators to do their own research. Student drug testing programs are unproven, invasive, expensive and, perhaps most important, potentially counterproductive.

> Jobs at DPA

• Part-time Administrative Associate - Trenton, NJ
• Harm Reduction Associate - Los Angeles, CA
• Managing Director, Finance and Administration - New York, NY
• Administrative Associate - Los Angeles, CA

Rally for Public Health, Not Prison Politics

Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, the New York State Assembly has called for unprecedented hearings to explore a public health approach to drug policy in New York. In an extraordinary, first-time development, the joint hearing is being convened by six different Assembly Committees -- Codes, Corrections, Judiciary, Public Health, Alcohol and Drug Addiction, and Social Services. This type of hearing has never been assembled regarding issues surrounding the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

May 8, 2008
New York, NY

Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Students, young professionals and other movers-and-shakers in NYC: join us May 22nd for a cocktail bash and networking opportunity at an exclusive gallery space in Soho.  Try some absinthe (if you haven’t already) and find out how to come together to promote new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights.  The event is free although donations will be encouraged.

May 22, 2008
New York, NY

2008 Global Conference on Methamphetamine

The first global conference on methamphetamine is coming up in Prague this September. As the first methamphetamine-focused event to gather global experts from varied fields, with diverse and even sometimes divergent perspectives, it's assured to be an unparalleled event. Early registration is now open -- sign up now for a reduced rate!

September 15-17, 2008
Prague, Czech Republic

>  Will Pot Ever Be Legal in This Schizoid Country?
    AlterNet (US Web) [05/01/08]    

>  America's Gulag Just Keeps Growing
    AlterNet (US Web) [04/25/08]

>  Conn. Prisoners Have Serious Addictions, Report Finds
    San Jose Mercury News (CA) [04/18/08]