Monthly Archives: May 2017

MANILA, Philippines (AP) The U.N.s investigator on extrajudicial executions issued a veiled rebuke Friday of Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes deadly campaign against illegal drugs, saying world leaders have recognized that such an approach does not work.

Agnes Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, told a forum in Manila that badly thought out policies not only fail to address drug abuse and trafficking, they also compound the problems and can foster a regime of impunity infecting the whole justice sector and reaching into whole societies, invigorating the rule of violence rather than law.

She did not mention the Philippines by name.

Callamard was an early critic of the Philippine presidents anti-drug drive, and has been challenged by Duterte to a debate on his campaign, which has left thousands of suspected drug dealers and users dead since he took office in June.

Human rights groups say 7,000 to 9,000 have been killed, but the government refutes that, releasing data this week showing nearly 4,600 people were killed in police operations and homicides found to be drug-related.

In 2016, the general assembly of the worlds government recognized explicitly that the war on drugs be it community based, national or global does not work, Callamard said.

She said U.N. member countries, in their joint commitment to counter the world drug problem, called instead for a multi-faceted and scientific approach that promotes the dignity and human rights of individuals and communities.

She said poorly conceived policies escalate problems including extrajudicial killings, slayings by criminal gangs, vigilante crimes, detention in rehabilitation centers without trial or evaluation and the breakdown of the rule of law.

Duterte spokesman Ernesto Abella expressed disappointment that Callamard did not contact the government before her visit, saying she has sent a clear signal that she is not interested in getting an objective perspective of issues that are the focus of her responsibility.

He said the government sent a letter to Callamard in September inviting her to visit and meet with officials to get their perspective on the drug menace. Abella failed to mention that Duterte earlier rejected Callamards proposal to hold a private meeting and instead insisted on a public debate with her.

Callamard refused to answer questions from media Friday except to say that she was in the country in an unofficial capacity, solely to attend a two-day academic conference at the invitation of the University of the Philippines and human rights lawyers.

She invited all parties, including the government, to participate fully and take stock of what is going to be debated.

Jose Manuel Diokno, head of the Free Legal Assistance Group of lawyers documenting the killings and assisting victims, said Dutertes campaign has been devastating, especially for the poor, who have been the majority of victims.

There is going to be a long-lasting impact of this war on drugs, he said. Whenever people are encouraged to take the law into their own hands its not just lives that are lost but the legal system itself is losing its meaning and value in our society.

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UN expert in Philippines rebukes Duterte's war on drugs - The Seattle Times

David Sheff 3:18 a.m. ET May 5, 2017

A heroin user(Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

During the campaign, President Trump committed to addressing Americas drug crisis. He called it a crippling problem and a total epidemic, which it is. An average of 144 people a day die of drug overdoses. Trump promised increased funding and comprehensive Medicaid coverage for treatment. In March, he said, "This is an epidemic that knows no boundaries and shows no mercy, and we will show great compassion and resolve as we work together on this important issue."

Trumps rhetoric suggested a continuation of President Obamas approach, which was founded on a rejection of the failed 45-year-old war on drugs, which treated drug use and addiction mainly as criminal problems. Obama called that war counterproductive and an utter failure. His administration emphasized treatment-and-prevention programs based on scientific advances that have demonstrated that addiction is a brain disease with biological, psychological and environmental determinants. Obamachampioned landmark legislationthat funded mental health and addiction treatment programs and research. He signed the 21st Century Cures Act and the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which provides resources for state and community prevention and treatment efforts. A godsend to sufferers of substance-use disorders, Obamacare mandated that insurance plans cover mental health, including addiction care, in parity with other diseases.

The administration made headway toward ending the war-on-drugs approach. Obamas attorney general, Eric Holder,reversedwartime policies, including draconian mandatory minimum sentencing thatfilled prisons with people convicted of non-violent drug crimes. His surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, released ahistoric report as significant as the 1964 surgeon generals report on smoking on alcohol, drugsand health, which made science-based prevention and treatment a national priority. The report is a progressive set of evidence-based policy recommendations for preventing substance use, intervening early in cases of drug misuse, and improving addiction treatment. The recommendations were the result of a 24-month review of the past 30 years of science and policy in this field. In addition, Obamas recent drug czar, Michael Botticelli, spearheaded a movement that rejected the "failed policies and failed practices" of the past and championed prevention, treatment and harm reduction. For the first time, the drug czar's budget was tipped in favor of prevention and treatment over interdiction and policing.

Reform more than criminal justice to end opioid epidemic: Column

Donald Trump made me great again: Former Miss USA

Trumps initial comments regarding addiction appeared to reflect both a personal passion and a sensible policy. However, the president is systematically abandoning the addicted and their families. Last month, Trump abruptly fired Murthy and announced that the odd couple of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Chris Christie will lead an effort to create policies to combat the opioid epidemic.

Fine, but meanwhile, thoughTrumppromised to fund treatment, hehas proposed slashing almost $6 billion from health agenciesthat, among other priorities, address drug use and addiction. He specifically targeted $100 million in block grants for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Of immediate concern to the 20 million Americans who meet the diagnostic criteria for the disease of addiction, and the40 millionregularly misusing alcohol and other drugs who are at risk and may require some form of treatment, the president has said that one way or another hell end mandates included in the Affordable Care Act.

Trump has said that he'll sign the bill the Housepassed Thursday that will, if it makes it through the Senate,do just that byallowing states to apply for waivers of ACA-required benefits, including mental health and addiction care. Without that mandated coverage, its likely that millions of Americans will lose coverage for an illness that could kill them.

Meanwhile, Trumps team has begun a re-escalation of the drug war. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an old-school drug warrior, criticized Holders policies and suggested thathell reverse them. You have to able to arrest people and then youre intervening in their destructive habit, Sessionssaid. Many people never ever recover from addiction except by the grave.

They would recover if they had proper treatment.

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Smart cookies Trump might be honored to meet: Windsor Mann

Its unsurprising that an administration that hasvowed to be tough on crime plans to use battering rams rather than science-based public health efforts ignoring evidence that the former doesnt work and that the latter does. In the past, tough on crime was a boon to the prison system, which is filled with hundreds of thousands of people incarcerated for non-violent drug crimes. Any policythat throws sick people in prison is inhumane, never mind counterproductive.

And how about killing them? Doubts about Trumps compassion toward the addicted were confirmed last weekend when he cozied up to a dictator whose idea of treating drug users is murdering them.According to USA TODAY, his new friend, the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte, hadat least 6,000 people killed for drug crimes in six months. Duterte doesnt distinguishbetween users and dealers. He hasexhorted Philippine citizens:If you know any addicts, go ahead and kill them.

Its critical that the Trump administration reverse directions and focus on a public health approach. Science has demonstratedthat addiction isnt a choice made by people without will power who only care about getting high, no matter the impact on society, their loved onesand themselves. Its a brain disease. We punish people who make bad choices. Butpeople who are ill dont need censure, stigmatization or jail time. They need quality care for an illness that can, if it isnt treated, kill them.

David Sheff is the author of Beautiful Boy: A Fathers Journey Through His Sons Addiction, and Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending Americas Greatest Tragedy. Follow him on Twitter:@david_sheff

You can readdiverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers ontheOpinion front page,on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter.To submit a letter, comment or column, check oursubmission guidelines.

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Trump's war on drug users: Column - USA TODAY

MANILA - Police abuses may become normal in the Philippines as violence tends to be "legitimized" in countries that implement intensified crackdowns against illegal drugs, an analyst warned Saturday.

"The war on drugs legitimized and normalized police violence, evidence planting and bribery... when it was implemented in Thailand in 2003," Pascal Tanguay of the Law Enforcement and HIV Network said in a drug policy forum at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

He said the same trend may happen in the Philippines as President Rodrigo Duterte "copy-pasted" his policy from Thailand.

"The Philippine war on drugs was taken from Thailand's playbook... Duterte just copy-pasted from Thakshin (Shinawatra)," he said in reference to the former Thai Prime Minister.

Filipino police officials have been criticized by the international community for at least 1,800 drug-related deaths and about 5,700 unsolved homicide cases since Duterte declared his crusade against drug users and peddlers in mid-2016.

Among these cases are the killing of former Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa in his jail cell in November 2016, and the kidnapping and slay of a Korean businessman in January inside police headquarters Camp Crame. Duterte defended uniformed officials tagged in these controversies.

Tanguay said the same "promotion of violence and encouraged vigilantism" was observed in Thailand's drug war.

Of the 146,170 drug dependents who were arrested in Thailand between 2003 and 2008, 48 percent said police asked them for bribes, Tanguay said.

"(But) no one was held accountable in Thailand for the abuse of power during the war on drugs," he added.

Instead of mimicking a "failed" policy, Duterte should employ an "evidence-based" drug policy that would demonstrate to the international community how the drug problem can be effectively handled, Tanguay said.

"Duterte should take advantage of the 1 million drug users who surrendered to the government... There's an opportunity for the Philippines to show leadership on how the drug war should be handled," he said.

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War on drugs may 'legitimize' police abuses in PH- expert - ABS-CBN News

America spends an estimated $600 billion annually due to the cost of substance abuse, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The NIDA also states that one year of methadone rehabilitation costs $4,700 per patient, while one year of imprisonment related to drug abuse costs $24,000 per person. Resources should be used to provide care for substance-abusing citizens.

Instead of incarcerating drug abusers, we need to treat drug addiction as a disease and provide support. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, Portugal has embraced this concept with a drug treatment program that decriminalizes low-level possession and use of all illicit drugs. It is important to note that decriminalization does not mean that the drugs are legal, it means that drug users can be dealt with outside the criminal system. In the case of Portugal, the substance user appears before a panel who decides whether the person should go to treatment program or pay a fine. By using this approach, abusers are more likely to ask for help without the stigma of drug addiction, as reported by Dr. Joao Goulao.

The most important component of loosening policies is acknowledging that drug addiction is a disease and requires intervention. If we decriminalize drugs, we may be able end the stigma of drug use and reduce spending costs on ineffective prison sentences.

Malia Adee

Eugene

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How to win the war on drugs - The Register-Guard

New York Times

UN Rights Expert, on Visit to Philippines, Denounces 'War on Drugs' Approach New York Times MANILA Implicitly rebuking the leader of the Philippines on a visit to his country, the United Nations' top expert on extrajudicial killings said on Friday that governments around the world had rejected the war on drugs approach being championed ... Becoming Duterte: The Making of a Philippine StrongmanNew York Times Trump's Turn Toward China Curtails Navy Patrols in Disputed ZonesNew York Times all 164 news articles »

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UN Rights Expert, on Visit to Philippines, Denounces 'War on Drugs' Approach - New York Times

We have a drug problem in our country and in our neighborhoods. No one denies that. It is visible in spent syringes and spent lives. It crowds our court systems and our jails. It destroys bodies, families and souls.

Some of the problem drugs are legal ones controlled substances, prescribed or self prescribed. Some are street drugs, imported or manufactured locally in a makeshift lab. The addiction can be the same, regardless of the substance or the source.

In efforts to control abuse, medical providers have gotten together and gotten tougher on prescription drugs like OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. Those who have relied on such medications for pain relief may be required to sign contracts promising not to share, sell or trade them. If they lose their prescription bottles, or they are stolen, the prescription may not be replaced. If folks run out of medication before they run out of pain, they will have to wait and endure, because the prescription will not be filled early.

Patients may be subjected to urine tests, which they may have to pay for themselves, to make sure they are taking the medication prescribed to them. They may be asked to bring their bottles in so their providers can count their pills.

They may have to see a behavioral health counselor before they can continue to receive their medications. I understand the reasons why medical providers have taken measures such as instituting pain management contracts. They are well intentioned, I believe. They want to decrease the abuse of prescription medications.

However, in the war on drugs, I believe we have suffered many casualties from friendly fire. These well-intentioned regulations and restrictions have sometimes become a literal pain for folks who depend on prescription medications for relief.

They are folks who work hard, pay taxes and support their families and communities. It is not their fault they suffer from chronic pain, either resulting from illnesses, accidents or other traumatic events. They rely on medications to make their pain more bearable.

Lets not wound more innocent victims in the war on drugs or shovel them into mass graves. Lets bring them into the triage unit, treat them with compassion, and for heavens sake, give them something for the pain!

I dont suffer from chronic pain but I know many, many people who do. I cant even imagine what they go through every day.

If I was suffering, and couldnt get the pain meds I needed, would I turn to illegal means to get them? I dont know. Unfortunately many medical professionals dont know either because they dont suffer the same chronic pain many of their patients do.

Constant pain requires constant remedy. You can tell people to try acupuncture and herbs, and for some people that might work, but lets face it, theres pain that cant be fixed at the health food store.

I dont judge people who get relief from medical marijuana in some form either, but there are many people who either cant use it because they are in government housing or wont use it because of their beliefs or past experience with it. It is still illegal in most of the U.S., and it has side effects just like everything else.

What is the solution, then? Common sense. If folks need ongoing medication to deal with pain that is not going to go away, then provide that medication to those folks in a responsible manner. Dont make them feel like criminals. Dont force them to become criminals.

What good have we accomplished if people who used to take legal opioids can no longer get them so they turn to heroin?

What good have we accomplished if people experience no relief, see no hope and end their suffering by their own means?

The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but unfortunately sometimes the good intentions of some are creating the road to hell for others.

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Still Waters: Friendly fire casaulties in the war on drugs - Valley Courier

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. File Photo

The death toll in the government's war on drugs is exaggerated by fake news and perpetuated in local and foreign media, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said in a presentation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Discussing the country's anti-illegal drugs campaign to the HRC, Cayetano, who co-leads the 16-member Philippine delegation for the periodic human rights review in Geneva, said it was unfortunate that fake news was gobbled up by President Dutertes political foes, local and foreign media.

[Fake news] created a domino effect of the foreign media, picking up from news reports in the Philippines, which also alerted human rights groups, which are also getting the wrong information, said Cayetano, among the fiercest defenders of President Duterte's anti-drug war.

Cayetano explained that of 9,432 total of homicide cases recorded under the Duterte administration, only 2,692 deaths were from presumed legitimate law enforcement operations.

But numbers were presented in a way which basically appeared that [Duterte] was acting with impunity, said the lawmaker, who has several times criticized the media for its reporting on deaths in the drug war.

The drug lords were operating with impunity and not the government. The government tried to strengthen the rule of law. The problem is we were slowly turning into a narco-state, wherein the drug pushers were already infiltrating the political system, he said.

A New York Times editorial piece placed the war on drugs' death toll at 9,400, while Reuters pegged the figure at 9,000.

Cayetano, the President's defeated running mate in the May 2016 elections, did not deny that there were extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, but said they were not state-sponsored.

There are human rights violations and extrajudicial killings, but they are not state-sponsored and we are trying our best to address [them], he said.

He said government was treating the drug users as victims and has initiated massive efforts to improve drug rehabilitation centers in the country.

Cayetano made the presentation in Geneva just as Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, visited the country and criticized Duterte's anti-drug approach anew.

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Cayetano: PH war on drugs exaggerated by fake news | ABS-CBN ... - ABS-CBN News