Daily Archives: August 8, 2017

Its been three years since Philadelphia-based rock act the War on Drugs released their breakthrough album, Lost in the Dream, though singer, guitarist and songwriter Adam Granduciel has hardly been dormant in the ensuing period.

We finished touring on that record in October 2015, he says, and by December I was pretty much moved into my new studio in Los Angeles and starting to write heavily again. All in all it was about two-and-a-half years of writing and about a year-and-a-half of actively recording.

The result is the new A Deeper Understanding, the War on Drugs fourth full length and perhaps their most fully realized effort yet.

Over the course of their first three albums, Granduciel and the bandwhich consists of a somewhat loose configuration of musicians, and in its earliest days included fellow Philadelphian Kurt Vile in a co-writing and co-guitar positionstaked out a distinct corner of the modern music world with an approach that was definitively guitar-centric and classic-rock based but also bolstered by pulsating keyboards and synths, metronomic drums and impressionistic, plainspoken vocals, all of it blending into a swirling, atmospheric miasma of sound to produce a sort of ambient Americana.

On A Deeper Understanding, the songs are even more open and expansive (see the 11-minute centerpiece, Thinking of a Place), with Granduciel leaving plenty of space to unspool the type of sprawling, and sometimes squalling, exploratory guitar solos that have become his trademark.

As for where his guitar influences sit, Granduciel says, Its guys like Neil Young, Jeff Tweedy, and even someone like Sonny Sharrock, who had these really wild, dark tones. Players that are real free.

Despite the somewhat improvisatory nature of his playing, Granduciels songs usually dont stem from jams. Rather, he tends to compose on his own and bring in additional musicians later in the process. I kinda just write, and I use the instruments and the colors I like to use, whether its drum machines, guitars, whatever, he says. For certain material, the process of being alone, you end up with stuff youre not gonna get with six people in the room. So I just chip away at the songs.

That said, with A Deeper Understanding, he adds, I also wanted to make a record that feels like what it feels like to be in the room when were playing. I wanted something a little bit more powerful, sonically, than other records we had made. And I think we got there.

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The War on Drugs Gain 'A Deeper Understanding' of Their Craft - Guitar World Magazine

Photo by Flickr user Oregon Department of Transportation

As reported by WRBL news, early Wednesday morning, after an 18-month investigation, 26 suspected drug traffickers were arrested as part of a joint federal, state, and local police operation.

The investigation began after the Auburn Police reached out to the DEA about an influx of drugs they observed entering the city. Upon further investigation, state and federal officials learned that the drug ring spanned from Alabama to California and involved the exchange of millions of dollars.

After the arrests were made, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, Clark Morris, said,

Drug dealers to me, have the biggest ripple effect of any other crime. Drug dealers not only affect themselves and their families but the addicts and their families. That ripple effect then goes into oh, I need my drugs, and I dont have any money, so Im robbing people and stealing things. All of this increases the crime rate, and it creates addicts, which can ultimately create overdoses. Now, were talking about deaths. When you take 26 drug dealers off the streets, you are making a huge impact in a small community like Auburn or the Lee County area.

The federal indictment alleges possession with the intent to distribute the following drugs: cocaine, marijuana, Xanax, and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA/ecstasy).

Besides the obvious threat of addiction and overdose caused by the availability of drugs on our streets, drug traffickers are often found with stolen or illegal weapons.

In last weeks arrest, for example, a myriad of weapons were found after the assailants were taken into custody. These include Ar-15s, 44-magnum handgun, and various long guns.

Speaking at the conclusion of the 18-month investigation, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said,

I hear a lot about drugs being a victim-less crime. Well, not only do drugs wreck individuals, or they wreck families, but they bring in guns and gun crimes to our community. What yesterday was about was removing the garbage from our streets, and yesterday was trash day.

In recent years Alabama has experienced a spike in illegal drug use. From pain pills to heroin, the threat of drug addiction in Alabama is a serious concern.

The arrests made last week are a positive step towards combating Alabamas drug crisis. However, more must be done. To see what steps Attorney General Jeff Sessions is taking to combat drug gangs like MS-13, check out his new conditions for sanctuary cities.

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The War on Drugs in Alabama: New Operation Nabs 20 Traffickers But Where Does It End? - Yellowhammer News

ESPINO

THE regional directors of the Police Regional Office 7 (PRO-7) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7 (PDEA-7) have agreed to synchronize their efforts in the fight against illegal drugs.

During his courtesy call to PRO-7 Chief Jose Mario Espino yesterday, PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz showed to Espino the names of drug personalities based on their intelligence report.

Espino also gave PDEA-7 the names of drug personalities based on their intelligence gathering.

We had a very productive meeting. Nahiusa atoang (We united our) purpose, objectives and targets for Region 7, Ruiz said.

Ruiz said the proliferation of illegal drugs is a big problem and that the two offices should synchronize their efforts to address this.

Ruiz also admitted that they need to strengthen coordination with the police especially in going after the drug suspects.

On the part of PRO-7, Espino said they will review the strategies of both offices in fighting illegal drugs.

He said the PRO-7 and PDEA-7 will also strengthen cooperation and collaboration in going after the supplier of illegal drugs in the region.

PDEA-7 will play an active role to reduce illegal drug cases, and we will just help, Espino said.

No shabu lab in Cebu

Meanwhile, Ruiz said that based on their monitoring, there is no shabu laboratory in Cebu.

Ruiz commented on rumors that there might be a shabu laboratory in Cebu after the confiscation of P6.9 million worth of shabu in Mandaue City last Saturday.

As of now, we havent monitored a shabu laboratory (in the region). And if we receive information regarding this, we will immediately conduct an investigation to validate the report, Ruiz said.

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Police, drug agents agree to synchronize war on drugs | Cebu Daily ... - Inquirer.net

Analysis Health Systems

Aug 7, 2017, 6:27pm Kim Tran

Safe injection sites, professionally supervised facilities where drug users can inject pre-obtained drugs, are considered by many experts to be the next frontier in harm reduction.

On a sunny morning in July, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed addressed a group of doctors, service providers, researchers, and community members about drug addiction and overdose. The small crowd was gathered for the second meeting of the San Francisco Safe Injection Services Task Force.

Like most people in the room, Breed was earnest about finding a solution to the escalating opioid crisisand for someone like her, whose younger sister died from an opioid overdose, the subject was especially personal.

With that in mind, Breed said, a safe injection site (SIS) might make it possible for somebodys life to change. She urged participants to understand why a site is important whether they agree with it or not.

Safe injection sites are professionally supervised facilities where drug users can inject pre-obtained drugs. Many expertsconsider them to be the next frontier in harm reduction, a public health framework that seeks to reduce the negative consequences associated with drug use. It also emphasizes civil and social respect for people who use drugs.

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The task force held its first meeting in June and will come together for the last time later this month, when it will finalize recommendations to San Franciscos mayor about potentially establishing the first SIS in Californiaan objective that may be aided by a bill making its way through the state legislature. In 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,52,404 people died of drug overdose in the United States; more than 60 percent of the mortalities involved an opioid. In the city of San Francisco alone, nearly 23,000 people inject drugs. Of that group, half use heroin and nearly 70 percent are homeless.

In a study released in December, researchers found that a supervised injection facility would lower San Franciscos total annual injection-related HIV and hepatitis C infections by 6 percent and 3-to-5 percent, respectively. It would also save the city $3.5 million in a country that loses $75 billion a year as a result of the opioid crisis. An SIS facility would also decrease hospital stays and disease infection rates, the study said, and increase the number of people seeking treatment. A study measuring the impact of a supervised injection site in Vancouver found that they also drastically decrease public injection and discarded needles.

Yet, around the country, legal and political hurdles to SIS facilities abound.

In January, Seattle approved two safe injection sites, the first in the country. In March, conservative political opposition led by state Sen. Mark Miloscia (R-Federal Way) passed SB 5223, which would remove local authority to establish heroin injection spaces in Washington. The bill is currently under review by the states House Health Care and Wellness Committee. To date, the facilities have yet to break ground.

A common argument against SIS is that they encourage of criminal behavior and drug use. On hiswebsite, Miloscia says, Toleration is not compassionate, it is a signal of defeat. We cannot give up on drug users. In the end, these sites will only distract us from getting resources into real, medically proven treatment options.

Despite challenges northward, representatives for Assemblymember Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) dont think political opposition will be a problem for the Bay Area. Last year, Eggman, a former social worker who has experience with substance abuse populations, attempted to pass a bill that would permit testing of supervised injection sites across the state.

It failed, largely due to backlash from law enforcement. This year, she introduced a new bill, AB 186, that would do the same thing in specific counties, including San Francisco. It is the first state bill on supervised consumption services in the country to win legislative votes.

Under existing law, it is a crime to possess, use, or even be in a room where drugs are being unlawfully used. AB 186 would create a highly regulated exception to this policy, making it easier for a safe injection site to survive. Earlier this summer, it passed out of committee with bipartisan support. It now awaits the California Senate.

Eggmans communications director, Christian Burkin, says he is confident AB 186 will garner the necessary support.

The California legislature isnt the U.S. Congress There are broadly changing attitudes about the drug war from both parties, he said in an interview with Rewire.

Some advocates fear that federal pushback may dampen any SIS growth in the state. Recently, for example, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommitted to cracking down on drug-related crime and returning to the sentencing minimums of the 1980s. Lydia Bransten, a manager at St. Anthonys Dining Room, a nonprofit that serves meals and offers a medical clinic in San Francisco, cited the federal government as a major challenge to creating safe injection sites. The Department of Justice is a significant threat right now. I doubt theyll look friendly at SIS, she told Rewire.

Still, Burkin said, Whats going on with Jeff Sessions and the really reactionary direction the federal government is taking is out of step.

Laura Thomas works for the Drug Policy Alliance, overseeing the organizations municipal drug strategy work in San Francisco. She says she has been amazed by the legislative success of AB 186. Thomas attributes its relative ease at the state level to the presidential administration itself. In fact, she says, in part because of the direction of the federal government, California legislators feel even more compelled to listen to community and evidence.

Experts in public health agree, positioning state laws as a primary battleground for combating the opioid crisis. At the task force meeting, Mike Discepola of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation argued that legal barriers will dictate what our options are.

A leader from the San Francisco Drug Users Union who asked that her name be withheld told Rewire that she gets more confident every time [AB 186] passes another committee, another vote.

Regardless, and perhaps because of, the controversy and potential pushback from the current presidential administration, the political will in favor of supervised injection sites in San Francisco and other countries is high.

As Burkin said, California has experience here with doings things that we think are right far before the rest of the country is ready to do themselves and weve been proved right many times over.

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Amid Fear of New Federal 'War on Drugs,' Support Grows in California for Safe Injection Sites - Rewire