UC Berkeley Students for Sensible Drug Policy
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All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison.
The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy.
Von der Besucht, Paracelsus, 1567
If you're interested in becoming an author for the blog or have any questions, comments, pictures, links or events for the club feel free to contact us at CALSSDP@gmail.comMonday, July 23, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
SB 1506 Fact Sheet. Reducing simple drug possession from felony to misdemeanor.
SB 1506 will add California to the list of 13 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government that currently treat possession of drugs for personal use as a misdemeanor. It will provide for up to one year in jail, typically three years on probation, or a combination of the two. (In some cases, judges may order up to five years probation.) Participation in drug treatment and/or other programs may be ordered as a condition of probation. The legislation will not change the penalties for sale, transportation, manufacture, or possession for sale.
SB 1506 will significantly reduce prison and jail spending. It will allow local and state government to dedicate resources to probation, drug treatment and mental health services, which have proven most effective in reducing crime. It will also free up law enforcement resources to focus on more serious offenders.
The independent, nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that SB 1506 will save counties about $159 million annually, in addition to yearly savings for the state totaling $64.4 million. Savings will total $1 billion in five years.
Sponsors
• American Civil Liberties Union • California State NAACP• Drug Policy Alliance • Ella Baker Center for Human Rights• Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Why this bill is needed
• To help address the state and county budget crises; • To help alleviate overcrowding in state prisons and county jails; • To provide greater flexibility to county governments to invest in cost-effective
approaches to reduce recidivism, including drug treatment and mental health services; • To free up law enforcement officials to focus on more serious offenses; • To reduce costly burdens on the overcrowded court system; • To prevent severe lifelong consequences of a felony conviction that hurt families and
individuals, including reduced access to jobs, student loans, housing and small business loans.
What this bill will do
• Safely reduce prison overspending and overcrowding. Hundreds of millions spent each year on incarceration under current law represent an irresponsible expenditure of scarce state resources.
o For decades, blue-ribbon commissions and bipartisan panels have consistently recommended against lengthy incarceration for these low- level offenders in order to conserve resources and more effectively and affordably address public safety needs.
• Implement the will of the voters. The vast majority of California voters support reduced penalties for people convicted of personal drug possession.
o California voters overwhelmingly called for reducing incarceration as a response to drug use in 2000, when 61% of voters approved Proposition 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act.
o A statewide poll conducted by Lake Research Partners in March 2011 showed that most California voters oppose keeping simple possession of drugs as a felony crime, with 72% in favor of reducing the penalty to a misdemeanor.
• Help sheriffs implement realignment. By reducing the number of jail bed days taken by those serving time for low-level drug offenses, jail space will be reserved for more serious offenders.
• Ensure offender supervision is maintained. Probation can still be imposed for terms of typically three years (sometimes up to five years) with conditions such as drug treatment or other programs.
• Reduce collateral consequences. As misdemeanors, these offenses won’t carry with them all of the collateral consequences that accompany felony convictions, including barriers to employment and housing, which make it more difficult for offenders to reintegrate into the community. Removing the stigma of a felony will ultimately help reduce recidivism, as those not saddled with such convictions will have opportunities for successful rehabilitation and reintegration.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Update for Spring 2012
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Good Samaritan Policy in Berkeley
If someone is overdosing (alcohol poisoning included) in the city of Berkeley and they or their friends call 911 to get medical attention, they cannot be charged with possession, possession with intent to sell, or minor in possession (of alcohol).
This is proposed to the Berkeley City Council and will be voted on September 20th (and most likely pass).
If you would like to read the actual text being voted upon, let us know and we can send it to you!
A HUGE THANK YOU TO TYLER SHEAFFER FOR WRITING THE TEXT AND GETTING THIS DONE, YOU ROCK!!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.
Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.
So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed. Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Recent success in Connecticut
Date: June 7, 2011 5:23:09 PM EDT
To: Stacia Cosner, Aaron Houston
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?
A very terrifying and very important article by Marcia Agnell about the increase of mental illness in America, the dangers of psychoactive drugs and the evils of the pharmaceutical industry. Watch out!
Jimmy Carter calls for the end of the war on drugs
The New York Times recently posted this amazing opinion piece by the 39th President. He supported federal decriminalization of marijuana in 1977, and now he's speaking out against Reagan's drug policies beginning in the 1980s which have seriously harmed people of the United States and the world.
Cheers!
Friday, June 17, 2011
40 Years and the Drug War Rages on
Also http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-narco-contract-20110609,0,1742011.story
THE DRUG TRADE: THE POLITICIZATION OF CRIMINALS AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICIANS by Moisés Naím (Global Commission on Drug Policy)
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Global Commission on Drug Policy Report
César Gaviria: "We want the U.S. society to make a debate on this matter. That has not been done because political leaders are a little fearful of the association between crime and narcotrafficking, and it’s very difficult to distinguish from consumers to users. But this society needs a debate. This society is spending $40 billion each year in fighting drugs—that is a lot of money—has more than 500,000 people in jail. But they are spending that money in a way that is not effective. The consumption is not being reduced."
from Democracy Now! transcript.
The title of this post is a link to the report. Check it out!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Long Due notes on 3/1, 3/8, 3/9, 3/15, 3/29, 3/30
Sunday, February 27, 2011
notes on last general and board meeting 2/22, 2/23 respectively
Friday, February 18, 2011
General Meeting on 2/15
Mark Presented on Neuroscience. Went over the basic structure of the neuron and discussion of how drugs work in the brain went on.
Upcoming SPARC Party was discussed.
A need for someone to drive to San Rafael was expressed. We need to get Biener's books.
The Cornel West event is also still in progress. We should choose a room and get the word out too.
Visionary artist events proposed. Joshua Walters and Ken Williams are both candidates for separate events.
A Cornel West temporary subcommittee might be possible.
Anthony's going to present on spirituality of drugs.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
SPARC Party
First off, if you have already bought your ticket for $35.00 you can actually take another person with you by using the discount code. If you want to go to the party for free, there are volunteer positions for the party that you can take up. Just be sure to email calssdp@gmail.com for the discount code and for any questions about volunteering and etc.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Jeweled Net of SSDP
The Jeweled Net of Indra represents multiplicity and interconnectivity of existence. Things can seem separate and on different ends of a spectrum yet they are overlapping and are all middle ground. Everything can be the center. One can also envision a spider web where one intersection is an essential node for other connecting points. It’s how a circle has no beginning and no end because all points can be perpetually and simultaneously the beginning, middle or end. In Nature the Jeweled Net is described as a net of mirrors where they are all reflecting each other reflecting each other; so none are the one object yet they are all the object with slight breaks in perspectives.
Word Deconstruction
For this essay I will be deconstructing SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) as the contemporary example that is representational of the intersectionality of seemingly separate concepts. SSDP is a group that represents students, sensibility, drugs and policy. These individual words hold a lot of meaning themselves and hold even more meaning within the context of our lives.
We are all students throughout our entire existence. Students are also perpetually and simultaneously teachers whether they realize it or not. Sensible is a word that is related to the senses and in context to Buddhism can lead to the question of whether or not a being is sentient. Are plants sentient? Are animals sentient? Are all humans sentient? Ryogen’s stance is that, “Both hell and the Heavenly Palace become the Western Paradise; both sentient and insentient beings are equally put on the Buddha Path.” So, perhaps all beings are perpetually and simultaneously sentient or insentient depending on the context. Are affects considered sentient responses? If so, then when asking the question of whether or not plants are sentient one must take drugs in to consideration. The word ‘drug’ is derived from Old English “droog” meaning dried plant. If you are what you eat (and that can be your stomach or your mind) then perhaps the human-plant connection is more synergistic and symbiotic than today’s society takes notice of.
Policy can be symbolic of not only the creation of concepts but of our environment as well. When saying ‘concepts’ that is meant to embody words, their definitions and translation into objects. Environment can include the mentally projected environment, created though (culture) language and (society) law, as well as the physical bodily realm (samsara) which demonstrates the practice of these social and spiritual ideologies.
Context in Space-Time
SSDP is not only a group; it is a concept that reaches the lives of all beings. For humans it embraces both aspects within the cultural and the societal. Culturally these words and practices embody artistic creation through music, painting, dancing, and film just to name a few. They also serve as a symbol of our relationship to other plants that provide our food. It is no coincidence that intense industrial farming and monocropping have been so pervasive during the application of the war on drugs. These have been the sources of deliberate unequal distribution that have literally fed conflict in what we deem foreign countries. SSDP can be a symbol of one’s spirituality as well. Just take a more explicit example of how tribes who now have laws that protect their religious use of certain drugs (such as peyote), when in the past the only option would have been persecution. That leads me to societal impacts of SSDP.
While not separate from the cultural (as they both in turn affect each other), societal mentality about drugs and drugs users have changed significantly with the implication of new laws and therefore new stigmas. Whereas one hundred years ago it was common to see cocaine used in anesthetics and Coke, today it is taboo to use cocaine or even talk about it. Then there has been the invention of crack cocaine that ravages poor communities, not only through addiction, but also through intense incarceration rates and programs such as coerced sterilization. The problem is not the drug itself, but rather our skewed policies and stigmas that build up ever-towering walls of limitation. Instead of criminalizing drug users, we should be fostering environments that are safer and more accessible for drug use and drug rehabilitation. Drugs and humans are both well and alive, yet when there is a forced condition as to how one should live or die (or be out of sight) there seems to be more suffering and damage that happens to both human health and the health of our environment. Even if humans seem to be more logos than eco at this point in time, we all continue existing as part of the ecology of this planet.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Latest on drug trafficking violence in Mexico
From David Shirk's post to the Justice in Mexico blog
02/07/10—Drawing on new data released by the Mexican government, the Trans-Border Institute issued a report today on drug violence in Mexico. The report, Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2010, was authored by Viridiana Ríos and David Shirk and builds on a previous study released one year earlier. The new study reviews available data and analyzes the factors that contributed to extreme levels of violence in Mexico through 2010, the worst year on record.
According to Mexican government data, more than 34,550 killings were officially linked to organized crime during the administration of President Felipe Calderón (2006-12). Based on multiple years of monitoring drug violence in Mexico, the 15,000 organized crime killings that occurred in 2010 set a new record as well as an increase of nearly 60% from the previous year.
The new TBI report underscores the geographic concentration of violence, with 84% of all homicides from organized crime in 2010 occurring in just four of Mexico’s 32 states (Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Guerrero and Baja California) and over 70% occurring in 80 of the country’s roughly 2,450 municipalities. The top five most violent municipalities in 2010 were Ciudad Juárez (2,738 killings), Chihuahua (670), Culiacán (587), Tijuana (472), and Acapulco (370), which together accounted for 32% of all the drug-related homicides in 2010.
Despite this concentration, several areas saw sharp increases due to new clashes among drug traffickers. Four states experienced large, sudden spikes in violence during the course of the last year: San Luis Potosí (from 8 homicides per year in 2009 to 135 in 2010), Tamaulipas (90 to 209), Nayarit (37 to 377), and Nuevo León (112 to 604). Splinter organizations — the Beltran Leyva, La Familia Michoacana, and Zeta drug trafficking organizations — that have broken from the major cartels contributed to the upsurge in violence in these areas.
The report also notes a qualitative shift in violence over the last year, with an increase in the targeting government officials and civilians. In 2010, there was an unprecedented number of elected officials, police, military, and civilians that were caught in the crossfire, including 14 mayors and 11 journalists. In January 2011, two additional mayors were killed, for a total of more than 30 since 2004.
The report reviews recent successes by the Mexican government in dismantling the leadership structures of major drug trafficking organizations, but warns that these efforts could have unpredictable effects. In 2010, the Mexican government’s counter-drug efforts led to the capture of several high-profile traffickers, including Teodoro “El Teo” García Simental, Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez, and Nazario “El Chayo” Moreno, which authorities believe may help bring a reduction, if not an end to the violence. However, the report notes that the disruption of organized crime groups also has destabilizing effects, including increased violence among traffickers as well as the targeting of government officials and ordinary citizens.
Viridiana Ríos is a doctoral candidate at Harvard University and a research associate of the Trans-Border Institute. David Shirk is the director of the Trans-Border Institute and principal investigator of the Justice in Mexico Project.
Sphere: Related Content
Posted by Eric E. Sterling at 4:01 PM
Friday, February 11, 2011
notes on last general and board meeting 2/8, 2/9 respectively
- Chuck presented on LSD Psychotherapy
- Discussed how LSD could fit into norms of clinical psychology
- Social planned and set in stone. It's today at 7 by the way!
- Seeds of Reform Benefit Party at SPARC is on 2/24
- Board Retreat on 2/25, logistics still in progress...
- We need to obtain Biener's books somehow and sell them at our table
- We need to figure out a date for Cornel West and raise awareness among other clubs
- Re-transfer of GWS funds needed
- 1 Formal Resignation
Board Meeting
- Gabe is stepping off the board for this semester
- Everyone remember the cage combo!
- The retreat should be figured out asap
- Should we work a door shift for the social?
- Anthony should contact GWS
- Carl Dix?
- ASUC Agent Training
- Joshua Walters' performance
- Obtaining the copies of Beyond the Basin
*** No board meeting next week
Monday, February 7, 2011
Our America Initiative & Gary Johnson
You may have met me at one of the last few SSDP national conferences, or perhaps you have heard of my work advocating for marijuana reform in the “Live Free or Die” state of New Hampshire. For those of you who have neither met me nor heard of me, I’ll try to make a long introduction short: my name is Matt Simon, and from 2007 to 2010 I served as executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy.
I’m writing to you today because I want to make sure you and your chapter members are well-informed about an exciting new opportunity to advocate for sensible drug policy reforms. As you may already know, in 1999, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson became the highest-ranking elected official in the U.S. to openly criticize the War on Drugs. Gov. Johnson left office after concluding his second four-year term in 2003, but he has remained active in our movement in many ways -- including his role as Chairman of the SSDP Advisory Council.
After several years focusing primarily on his many personal interests (e.g. skiing, paragliding, cycling, competing in triathlons, and climbing the world’s tallest mountains), in 2010 Gov. Johnson began to take a much more active role speaking out on issues facing the nation. As honorary chairman of a new organization called the Our America Initiative, he has been traveling across the country speaking about drug policy reform and other issues to anybody who will listen.
If you haven’t seen his May 10, 2010 appearance on the Colbert Report, I strongly encourage you to watch it here. Here’s a partial transcript of what he said:
I think that marijuana should be legalized. I think that 90% of the drug problem today is prohibition-related. I think that it’s crazy that half of what we spend on law enforcement, the courts, and the prisons is drug-related, about 70 billion dollars a year. I think it’s insane that we’re arresting 1.8 million people a year in this country on drug-related crime.
This is a strong, clear message, particularly coming from a former Republican governor who has been widely rumored to be a likely presidential candidate for 2012. Can you imagine watching Gov. Johnson make these arguments on a debate stage surrounded by establishment Republican candidates who support continuing the failed War on Drugs? I can imagine this quite clearly, and it’s something I look forward to very much.
To make a long story short (too late?!?!), I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen from Gov. Johnson on television in the last year, and I’m even more impressed after meeting him in person, so I considered it a tremendous honor to be offered a job as Coalitions Coordinator with Gov. Johnson’s Our America Initiative. I am now working to build a nationwide coalition of drug policy reform activists who support Gov. Johnson’s issue-raising efforts.
How can you help Gov. Johnson turn the Republican party and the nation against the War on Drugs? Here’s a list of ways:
(1) Share this message with members of your chapter, or simply speak with your chapter members about Gov. Johnson’s efforts at your next meeting.
(2) Encourage chapter members to visit OurAmericaInitiative.com and learn more about Gov. Johnson. Also encourage them to “like” Gov. Johnson on Facebook, and to follow his posts on Twitter -- this will provide many opportunities to promote video clips and articles where Gov. Johnson talks about drug and marijuana policy.
(3) We’d love to add you and your interested chapter members to our database of supporters. If you can compile a list of email addresses and mobile phone numbers and send them to me, I would be more than happy to add them.
The War on Drugs truly is a war on you and me. With Gov. Johnson’s help, we can end the War on Drugs and replace these failed policies with sensible drug policies based on science, compassion, and respect for human rights. Thank you very much for considering this call to activism.
Best Regards,
Matt Simon
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
from The Lucent Dossier Experience
The Oracle Welcomes You |
∞ Hello opulent ones... It is a great honor to be conducting and transmitting divine information, kismet stories, expanding awareness, and infinite possibilities... through this here Oracle page... for your inspiration and personal reflection.... Every week I will pull an oracle stone for you... for us... from our collective experience as a mirror for your own... and then share what comes through via the reading... Remember, these are tools for revealing possibilities... how you reflect, how you FEEL, is your guide to knowing your truth... as you choose your own steps, direct your own destiny, in the experience of your own life's unfoldment... I am grateful for your Trust ∞ The Oracle photo by Roger Fojas |
∞ shine on you crazy diamond ∞ |
Let's pull a stone...
Stars radiate their own unique quality of brilliance and grow even brighter as they reflect other stars. It's the same for us... however many of us have been out of touch with our essence, our light... there has been a confusion and fear around shining your light to its fullest... the fear is that by shining -living your full potential, bold and unyielding in discovering, expanding, and expressing your talents, qualities, and gifts- that you may fall into an ego centric realm in which you may become enraptured by only your light, shining for shining sake, with no awareness for others and their light, with no perspective on the brilliance of the world other than your fame. Unfortunately we have seen this all too frequently, mostly via our all encompassing media, with political, business, or hollywood "stars." Public figures that "make it" big and seem to loose sight of reality and live in their own world of entitlement. And very often, as it seems most rampant in the past decade, we see "stars" that haven't even gained their status via some great talent and have become famous simply for being famous. If this is our association with what a "star" is then it is quite understandable why we might resist the star within ourselves. This in combination with any dimmed self esteem you may have usually results in an existence of playing down your uniqueness, denying your talents, and playing it small. You might feel... what do I have to offer, I'm nothing special, who am I to stand out, who am I to shine? Well, I invite you to feel this: who are you Not to shine? You have unique qualities and gifts that are to be discovered and with them you are called to create something only you can shine a light on. You are here to explore your heart and your passions and express what your discover with the world. And guess what? By allowing yourself to discover the light of your creativity and what that creativity forges in your life... you illuminate others! For surely what ever results out of the innovation from your soul -your art, your music, your business, your teachings, your creations- will be of super unique value for others. Plus, in the very act of shining you serve as a magnificent example for others... for when you allow yourself to shine, others bear witness and feel INSPIRED... to come out of their hiding places and give themselves permission to also shine. And so, in stark contrast to our conditioned misperception of what it means to be a "star," know that a true star is one that is truly BEING of SERVICE in the world. Serving your heart and letting it shine is actually a great service in the world! This light you shine is INSPIRATION, illuminating others with what you create, with what shines through you, and with how you stand boldly and bravely in your light. You reflect what is possible in another. And you both gleam even brighter.
Have you been feeling a stir with in you lately.... Is there some kind of hunger in you these days that is just not satisfied with the usual activities of your life.... Is there a dream or vision for your life that you have been harboring, which keeps calling you from within, begging you to set it into motion... and set yourself free? Ask yourself, how do I star in this world? Get excited, investigate your heart, and Listen. Receive the light of inspiration from your own inner voice. You have the opportunity to embrace the spotlight of your life, at peace and sound in the awareness that your brilliance is of great value in the world, is in honorable service to your fellow stars, and is what you essentially and inherently ARE.... a star.
This week's INSPIRATION comes from rap STARS, The Roots, who through their conscious hip hop shine bright by shedding light on the hearts of people, and the realities of their lives, who don't get air time or the spotlight in the mainstream.
Plus, from us here at Lucent Dossier, who are honored to BE... LUCENT in pure reflection of YOUR magic, YOUR creativity, YOUR unique beauty, YOUR beautiful weirdness, YOUR empathy & intuition, and YOUR boundless possibilities.... we remind you that whenever you experience radiance, magnificence, and inspiration... you are experiencing the truth of YOURSELF, for you cannot recognize what is not already true in you. We recognize and honor the STAR in you.
Lucent Dossier for Elevate Films
∞ Con te ∞
Scientists See Dangers in Energy Drinks
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: January 31, 2011
With widespread alarm about deaths linked to alcohol-and-caffeine-laced commercial drinks like the fruity malt beverage Four Loko, it’s easy to overlook problems that may be linked to the so-called energy drinks that spawned them.
Related
But a number of scientists are worried about highly caffeinated beverages like Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster and Full Throttle, which are popular among teenagers and young adults.
The often bizarre combination of ingredients in these drinks prompted three researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Queensland in Australia to examine what is known — and not known — about the contents of these beverages, which are sold alongside sodas and sport drinks in supermarkets, drugstores and highway rest stops.
Their review of all the studies in English in the scientific literature, published in November in The Mayo Clinic Proceedings, led them to question both the effectiveness and safety of energy drinks.
Long-Term Effects Unclear
The researchers noted that the drinks contain high levels of caffeine and warned that certain susceptible people risk dangerous, even life-threatening, effects on blood pressure, heart rate and brain function.
The authors noted that “four documented cases of caffeine-associated death have been reported, as well as five separate cases of seizures associated with consumption of energy/power drinks.” Additional reports include an otherwise healthy 28-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest after a day of motocross racing; a healthy 18-year-old man who died playing basketball after drinking two cans of Red Bull; and four cases of mania experienced by individuals known to have bipolar disorder.
Using an abbreviation for energy beverages, Dr. John P. Higgins and co-authors wrote in the Mayo journal that because “teens and young adults, both athletes and nonathletes, are consuming E.B.’s at an alarming rate, we need to determine whether long-term use of E.B.’s by this population will translate into deleterious effects later.”
His co-author Troy D. Tuttle, an exercise physiologist at the Houston university, said in an interview: “Almost all the studies done on energy drinks have involved small sample sizes of young, healthy individuals in whom you’re unlikely to see short-term ill effects.
“But what about the long term? What about liver and cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes? We could speculate about a lot of possible problems, but we just don’t know.”
He urged the Food and Drug Administration to “step in and regulate this market,” which currently has few restrictions on the kinds and amounts of ingredients and the claims that are made about them. Manufacturers have labeled the beverages “dietary supplements,” which absolves them of the federal regulations that govern sodas and juices and allows producers to make “structure and function” claims, like “Enhances athletic performance” and “Increases caloric burn and mental sharpness.”
As Mr. Tuttle described the marketing strategy for energy drinks, “the companies have taken a cup of coffee — or two or more cups of coffee, added a lot of hip-sounding stuff and marketed it with a hot, modern, trendy push for young people who want to look cool walking around with a can of Red Bull.
“Anyone can buy these drinks, even 11- and 12-year-old kids.”
In an e-mailed statement, the American Beverage Association said, “Most mainstream energy drink brands voluntarily put statements on their containers, including advisories about use by people sensitive to caffeine.” Also, the organization said many of its members voluntarily list the amount of caffeine on their product labels or have provided caffeine content information through their Web sites and consumer hot lines.
Kevin A. Clauson, a doctor of pharmacy at Nova Southeastern University in West Palm Beach, Fla., who had previously reviewed safety issues surrounding energy drinks said that his main concerns were “the amount of caffeine, which can be injurious particularly to people with a pre-existing cardiovascular abnormality” and “the effects of these drinks when they are combined with alcohol, which can have disastrous consequences.”
After several states made moves to ban Four Loko, it was reformulated to remove the caffeine and two other ingredients, guarana and taurine, but Dr. Clauson said that was “unlikely to have a substantial impact” on young people, who will continue to combine alcohol with energy drinks. The caffeine and caffeinelike ingredients in these drinks can mask the perception of inebriation — and that can increase the risk of drunken driving or other dangerous behaviors.
Mr. Tuttle, who works with sports teams, is concerned about the effects of energy drinks on athletic performance. “A lot of kids are reaching for energy beverages instead of sport drinks, which unlike the energy drinks are mostly water with a nominal amount of sugar and electrolytes,” he said. “The energy drinks contain a slew of ingredients, most of which are unresearched, especially in combination with one another.”
A Potent Brew
For an athlete engaged in intense exercise, the high doses of sugar in energy drinks can impair absorption of fluids and result in dehydration. A 16-ounce can of an energy drink may contain 13 teaspoons of sugar and the amount of caffeine found in four or more colas. Mr. Tuttle noted that caffeine, which is known to improve muscle action and performance, especially in endurance activities, is banned in many sports competitions. Thus, consuming an energy drink close to an event could disqualify an athlete.
Other ingredients often found in energy drinks include taurine, glucuronolactone, B vitamins, ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba and milk thistle. Mr. Tuttle calls guarana particularly worrisome because it acts as a stimulant, like caffeine.
“The B vitamins, which are important enzymes for energy utilization, are added to legitimize the high levels of sugar,” he said. “But the American diet, which is very high in protein, already has plenty of B vitamins. These drinks are a kind of sensory overload for the body, with too much stuff coming in at the same time.”
Adding alcohol to the mix, as some consumers were doing even before drinks like Four Loko came along, can be a recipe for disaster. Under the stimulation of energy drinks, people may think they are sober when they are not. Such was the fate of Donte’ Stallworth, a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns who killed a pedestrian with his car in March 2009 after drinking multiple shots of tequila and a Red Bull. Mr. Stallworth said he did not feel intoxicated at the time of the accident.
“Caffeine is being treated as a flavoring agent, not a drug,” Dr. Clauson said. “The average healthy person who consumes one serving of an energy drink is unlikely to encounter difficulty.” Those most likely to get into trouble, he said, are “toxic jocks” who overindulge and those with an underlying heart condition.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 1, 2011, on page D7 of the New York edition.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Drugs, Drugs the Magical Fruit…or so you thought
Drugs, Drugs the Magical Fruit…or so you thought
By Krystal
GWS R1B 1-26-2011
For this short essay I chose to watch and analyze the documentary “Big Bucks, Big Pharma.” The documentary discusses the role of pharmaceutical companies in United States economy, politics and culture. In the United States the term drugs, particularly illegal drugs, tends to have a negative connotation that stigmatizes said drug users. However, there are some drugs that are left out of this condescending dialogue and those would be the legal or regulated drugs. Consequently by reserving the term ‘drugs’ to only certain illegal drugs the more prevalent drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, chocolate and tea (just to name a few) do not get the same stigma as say cocaine, heroin or marijuana. Pharmaceutical drugs are another sector of the drug umbrella that do not have as common as a household name status the regulated or legal drugs previously mentioned. However, the difference is that these drugs are often portrayed as highly evolved Western medicine when in fact they could be said by some to be the most used and abused drugs around.
Paracelsus said that, “Everything is a poison. What differentiates a poison and a remedy is the dose.” While talking about drugs, the physical body is where they are known to most obviously have a healing quality or a disintegrating quality. What is not so obvious is the role that the drugs play in affecting fantastic economics, politics and culture in parts of life that are not honestly protected by legal statutory when exploited by uninhibited capital gain. Pharmaceutical drugs have people reaching for new prescription drugs through consumer advertising mixed with pathologizing. In other words, doctors and pharmaceutical companies have the power to influence what is deemed by society as abnormal health by creating various disorders and disabilities. According to “Big Bucks, Big Pharma”, 90% of clinical studies are funded by drug companies who ironically also set the research and advertising agenda.
The patient-doctor power relationship is not unlike the perceived female-male gender power dynamic. On a larger yet similar scale, the consumer-pharmaceutical company also has power dynamics that depends on who has access the resources needed to create and distribute socially accepted knowledge. These resources include but are not limited to: money, hegemonic advertising (“being considered the norm in mass media”), academic research, and laws to back all these things up in the courtroom. With laws enacted that depict the corporation as having the same rights of an individual ‘human’ person it is hard to fathom David beating Goliath. When corporations that have their primary goal as making money, human health tends to take a back seat in a speeding car with broken seat belts and no law enforcement. It is the same human life vulnerability that makes us so keen on listening to the pharmaceutical companies and doctors who through their commercials appeal to what the documentary labels as an emotional, social consumer bond. In ads for Claritin, Viagra and Prozac people who consume these drugs are the “lifestyle portraits of healthy vibrant lives” not people with medical conditions that stem from a multitude of possibilities. Consumers, who have a wide range of health needs, are not encouraged to research their self health but are encouraged to buy and consume mindlessly because that is profitable business.
When honestly discussing health, culture, environmental issues the quick-fix and the quick buck are usually not the best answers. These issues require a level of commitment and mindfulness that is often times lacking when a group or company is pre-set to astronomically increasing profit equations. The reason it is so important to recognize discrimination in not only gender roles but also doctor-patient and company-consumer is so that living individuals can participate in these ever-shifting power dynamic dialogues and practices. Perhaps then the equation will include health and happiness and not just profits.