The UN Is Assessing the World’s Drug Problem

 

An historic opportunity to achieve more humane and effective drug policy is at risk.

The 2016 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the world drug problem is an initiative that came from sitting presidents of Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.  The UN General Assembly endorsed the call for an open, honest and evidence-based debate.

The UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) will be convening in New York from April 19-21 and is the first such meeting in 18 years.

Since the deliberations began in Vienna in 2015, they have been neither transparent nor inclusive.  In other words, closed doors negotiations ensured that crucial priorities were neglected and outdated policies retained.

It is expected that the outcome of the April meeting will not result in meaningful change; however, there is evidence of ways to put people’s health, safety and human rights first.  These fundamental aspirations cannot be met without:

 Ending the criminalization and incarceration of drug users;

 Abolishing capital punishment for drug-related offenses;

 Empowering the World Health Organization (WHO) to review the scheduling system of drugs on the basis of scientific evidence;

 Ensuring a broad spectrum of treatments for dependent people and services designed to reduce the harms of drugs; and

 Allowing governments to apply different approaches to drug regulation in order to maximize public health, and destroy the power of organized crime.

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[ U. N. image from bingdotcom ]

 

 

 

Cannabis And Opioids From Canada To HHS To Florida

Canada seems to be progressive where cannabis is concerned; whereas, Florida is trying very hard(?) to get out of the dark ages – maybe not hard enough, in my estimation.  And in between, we have our Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Weed Blog, so aptly managed by Johnny Green, is a wealth of current informative articles about cannabis, as well as about cannabis books, testing, growing, recipes and strain reviews.

The article that recently caught my eye was “Canadian Researchers: Use Medical Marijuana Instead of Opioids For Neuropathic Pain.”  In this blog post, Johnny states:

Using opiods for pain is a hard thing for many people. Sure, the painkillers provide temporary relief from pain, but the side effects can be horrific. They tear up your organs, and often times lead to a level of addiction that ruins lives. If only there was another medicine out there that was effective that didn’t come with all of the problems.

And, he goes on to say:

Medical marijuana is a proven form of treatment for pain, specifically neuropathic pain.

Recently researchers in Canada started pushing for Canadian doctors to substitute opioid based painkillers [with] medical marijuana.

Now, doesn’t that make sense?  Thanks, Johnny.

If anyone is interested in knowing about some of the possibly addictive prescription drugs that medical marijuana could replace, click on this link.

In contrast, our own HHS, under the “leadership” of Sylvia Burwell, is “Taking New Steps To Combat Opioid Use Disorder.”  In Secretary Burwell’s first sentence she states:

Blair [Hubbard] fought back from an addiction to heroin and prescription opioids that nearly took her life.

And Burwell goes on to say:

Blair struggled for many years with her addiction, and today, families and communities across our nation are struggling. And too many Americans who have watched a friend or loved one struggle with opioid use disorder have witnessed the toll of this epidemic. [disorder?]

OK, Blair was addicted to heroin.  That’s one thing.  We don’t know which came first but, the point is, she was also addicted to opioids.  Prescriptions were obtained from doctors who kept prescribing ad infinitum, until she was at risk of being  “overdosed.”

Of course, now, if someone is at risk of being  “overdosed” on opioids, there is help!  A fantastic solution:  Another prescription is available for a drug called “naloxone.”

Secretary Burwell informs us that:

A drug called naloxone has been proven to reverse opioid overdose, and save lives.

Naloxone could be a dangerous drug itself.  There are caveats for its use.  Click here to find out about it.

This whole thing is so ridiculous, that I’m not going to continue talking about opioids and her anymore.  In my mind, she is a total “negative.”  This is “Sunshinebright blog” and I refuse to be negative.

Now, about Florida:

The medical marijuana law that was passed in 2014 has been in a state of flux.  The Florida State Legislature ended their session in the Spring without any further action in that regard.  It’s in the hands of the Florida State Supreme Court.

Perhaps and hopefully, in the 2016 election, we will be able to pass a Constitutional Amendment for Medical Marijuana.  Supporters of the Amendment are working hard – collecting petitions and money – to make sure it will be on the ballot next year.  The law that is now languishing is probably going to continue in that position forever.  Just sayin’.

If you live in Florida, and haven’t yet signed the petition to put the Medical Marijuana Amendment on the 2016 ballot, click here to download and print the blank petition from a pdf file.  Instructions about where to mail it are on the document.

Ending this post with a positive attitude:

“Smile, even if you don’t feel like it, and your world will appear brighter.”

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Brrrrr! Am I Living in Florida?

Maybe this pup is an exaggeration of my morning experience when I went out to get the newspaper from the driveway.  But, for South Florida, it was chilly – in the high 50’s.  I guess I’m trying to be sympathetic about the parts of the US that are reeling from the terrible cold and storms.

Watching the weather reports, and listening to all the flight delays, makes me happy about the fact of where I live.

Still didn’t get any email from WordPress re the disappearance of my colorful background for my theme; however, hopefully, this problem will be solved – one way or another.  I might have to completely change my theme, if there is no fix.  I found out the theme, Malata, is no longer supported.  It’s about 2 years old.  Well, things could be worse, right?

Happiness is found in many forms, of course – each to his/her own.  One of my happy moments is when I treat myself to SHRIMP.  Had some today for lunch.  Love those curvy, ridged, headless, tail-on pieces of white flesh.  Don’t know why.

It’s almost like an addiction – sort of like chocolate.

Happy moments pop up when least we expect them.  Today, I’ve enjoyed several.  Got an unexpected phone call from a long-time friend.  It was good to hear her voice and we did some needed catching up.  Left me with warm feelings.  Daughter’s phone call cheered me up.  One of my favorite sounds in this world is hearing her voice.

You know, happy doesn’t have to be exciting.  Sometimes it comes from little seemingly unimportant things.  Sometimes we don’t realize they happened until we think back and remember what happened in the day.  Today was a happy day for me.  I hope it was for you all.