This is the Staunton Lick

Cannabis helps break cocaine addiction

From NORML:

New York, NY: Cocaine dependent patients are more likely to complete drug treatment if they use cannabis intermittently, according to clinical trial data to be published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Investigators at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University assessed the effects of marijuana smoking on treatment retention in a clinical trial of 90 subjects enrolled in a 14-week outpatient program for cocaine dependence and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Researchers reported that those volunteers who used moderate amounts of cannabis during treatment were more likely to complete the program than were abstainers and/or subjects who used pot chronically.

“At week 14, retention rates were 24 percent among abstainers, 57 percent among intermittent/moderate users, and 39 percent among heavy/consistent users,” investigators found. They noted that similar results also have been reported among subjects seeking treatment for opiate dependence.

Cannabis use also was associated with higher rates of abstinence among cocaine users. Among those subjects in the study who reported using pot intermittently, 39 percent achieved two or more weeks of abstinence from cocaine, compared to only 26 percent of subjects who reported not using cannabis during treatment.

The study is the first to assess the use of cannabis on treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with cocaine dependence, investigators said.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, “Concurrent cannabis use during treatment for comorbid ADHD and cocaine dependence: Effects on outcome,” will appear in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Brandon Mayfield was tortured

Brandon Mayfield

Glenn Greenwald writes,

So, in addition to the botched fingerprint analysis, that was the “evidence” Bush followers continued to cite even after it was clear that Mayfield was completely innocent — he converted to Islam, had an Egyptian wife, prayed at a “suspect” mosque, started a Muslim group in college, opposed the Patriot Act, criticized the Leader in harsh terms, represented an Islamic militant as a lawyer in a child custody case, believes that the U.S. is too closely aligned with Israel, and advocates for Palestinians.

Here’s what Brandon Mayfield says,

“The days, weeks and months following my arrest,” he said, “were some of the darkest we have had to endure. I personally was subject to lockdown, strip searches, sleep deprivation, unsanitary living conditions, shackles and chains, threats, physical pain and humiliation.”

He was never charged with a crime.

“The United States of America apologizes to Mr. Brandon Mayfield and his family for the suffering caused” by his mistaken arrest, the government’s apology began. It added that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which erroneously linked him to the Madrid bombs through a fingerprinting mistake, had taken steps “to ensure that what happened to Mr. Mayfield and the Mayfield family does not happen again.”

Well, that’s all right then, I guess. They’ve “taken steps.” We should all feel reassured.

And they’ll pay him two million dollars. Which should reassure the American people that their tax dollars are being put to some good, for compensation of victims. As sarcastic as it may seem, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for them to work out a similar deal with Iraq. How much should be paid for clean-up costs? I guess whatever can be worked out in a settlement, but who would you even settle with? The main thing is to stop doing what you’re doing and making the mess bigger.

But back to the main subject, torture. It’s still going on, and it’s happening to people who are innocent of any wrongdoing. How much longer?

Sugar? One lump or two?

We don’t trouble your banana, and bee honey is very fine. It’s something I add to sweeten my bread, and I prefer it in tea.

What I’m saying is, sugar is a drug, a very powerful drug. It stimulates the production of insulin, or in those who are deficient causes a sugar imbalance that can be dangerous. Sugar can kill you.

Related posts:

• Cannabis has never killed anyone
• Maybe start thinking about what you’re swallowing

Are you humanitarian?

It’s really the only question that has to be asked about your religious belief, not whether you believe in God (and what you think that means), not what names or ways of expressing yourself that you might have, not your adherence to rules that you may or may not even understand.

But seriously, are you humanitarian? Have you ever been humanitarian?