Anthropology

Colonization laid the groundwork for the drug war

…centuries of biased propaganda and policy associating currently-illicit, plant-based substances with chaos, violence, and malice. As a society beginning to seriously discuss creative alternatives to the punishment- and abstinence-based status quo, we must acknowledge that maintaining drug prohibition requires both a misappropriation and control of substances that are… [naturally-occurring] to certain lands and cultures. Decolonizing drug use on…

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Anthropology

The war on drugs is a war on the climate

“Communal and indigenous land rights are the most effective strategy to combat the negative impacts of drug trafficking and climate change simultaneously,” she wrote. “The war on drugs approach to fighting drug traffickers has to end. Rather than engaging in military-based approaches, governments and donors should invest in community and indigenous land rights and governance…

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Anthropology

Australia could be the first country to legalise…[MDMA]

…to see pharmaceutical-grade MDMA in a safe dose starting off being distributed through pharmacies… would want to see the pharmacies requiring proof of age of the person who wants to purchase the MDMA. Drug prohibition has failed. We’ve now got scores of former prime ministers, former presidents, and even serving prime ministers and presidents recognising…

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Anthropology

Kratom… available in Colorado

Thailand… does… allow domestic consumption of kratom. The FDA [claims it]has linked fifteen deaths between 2014 and 2016 to kratom, [however] fourteen of the victims had other substances in their system, making the actual cause difficult to determine. [Additionally, the “kratom” reported in the 15th case apparently did not distinguish between whole botanical kratom and…

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Anthropology

Overregulation drives illegal marijuana market in legal States, study suggests

“The qualitative analysis of news reports reveals that regulation is one of the main reasons that people stay in the illicit market,” the paper states. “The comparison of marijuana crime trends in Colorado and Washington shows mixed findings. While marijuana offense rates in Colorado largely remained steady over the years, those in Washington increased dramatically…

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