Daily Archives: August 10, 2017

During their meeting Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered President Rodrigo Duterte U.S. assistance in his controversial war on drugs -- if he would change tactics.

According to senior aide R.C. Hammond, Tillerson made a general offer of help, not specific resources. The goal was to offer solutions to Duterte, not just criticism.

The two leaders met for more than an hour Monday at the presidential palace in Manila and covered a wide variety of topics, including recapping the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, policing the South China Sea and threats from North Korea and its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Duterte came into power on a brash promise to violently crack down on drug use and, since then, he has been widely criticized by human rights groups for what they say have been thousands of extrajudicial killings. Tillerson has been criticized for a perceived lack of focus on Duterte's human rights record in their meetings -- a topic aides say was raised today.

"Mr. President, we are all aware of the American peoples criticism of you and your handling of drug cartels," Tillerson told Duterte, in what critics described as a soft, indirect condemnation of the drug policy.

A majority of the time was spent talking about ISIS, according to Hammond. The Secretary gave an update on the coalition's fight in Syria and Iraq and the fighters leaving and traveling to the Philippines. Duterte gave his assessment of how he thought his military is doing in the fight against ISIS, and together they reviewed the role the US is playing in the fight in the Philippines.

The Philippines has long battled Muslim separatist in its southern region, but most recently they've had to bear back a self-declared ISIS affiliate that seized the city Marawi.

The U.S. has provided two Cessna planes and a couple of drones to aid Filipino surveillance and reconnaissance against the terror group, along with some training and guidance for Filipino forces. Hammond deferred reporters' questions about any changes in the American role to the Pentagon.

Hammond says the conversation then "naturally" turned to drugs and the drug war -- although Duterte has blamed drugs for the presence of ISIS in his country, without any evidence.

The Secretary spoke about the U.S.-Mexican partnership on transnational crime, pointing out that 60 million people had drug addictions in the U.S. to show that he understood the problem the Philippines is facing. He described how then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly had set up a task force to help find a way to counter drug trafficking. It was then that he offered assistance to help obtain better tactics.

The response was cordial, but noncommittal, according to U.S. officials, who said it is now up to President Duterte to accept or decline.

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US Secretary of State offers Philippine President help with war on drugs, if he changes tactics - ABC News

President Donald Trump was recently briefed on the opioid crisis, and he offered the following advice afterward. The best way to prevent drug addiction and overdose is to prevent people from abusing drugs in the first place. If they dont start, they wont have a problem So, if we can keep them from going on and maybe by talking to youth and telling them: No good, really bad for you in every way. But if they dont start, it will never be a problem.

It is obvious that Trump has no understanding of addiction or abuse. His words are reminiscent of Nancy Reagans Just say no policy and drug education programs such as the DARE program. The evidence is clear that Just say no and DARE were and are nave and ineffective.

So, the message is dont start but for those who do, the Trump administration has a second prong to their approach, which is the criminal justice system and punishment.

COMMENTARY: Im a Trump supporter. Thank you for disagreeing with me.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this month the requirement that federal prosecutors must charge drug offenders with the most severe offenses possible. Sessions words in the speech send a clear message: In recent years some of the government officials in our country I think have mistakenly sent mixed messages about the harmfulness of drugs We cannot capitulate intellectually or morally unto this kind of rampant drug abuse. We must create a culture thats hostile to drug abuse.

For the past 50 years, we have been waging a war on drugs that has relied nearly exclusively on supply control and tough punishment. It hasnt worked.

Despite the logic of limiting the availability of drugs and threatening and punishing those who are involved in the drug trade and using drugs the report card for tough on drug crime is bleak. We have invested more than $1 trillion during the past 45 years on the war on drugs. There is essentially no evidence in support of the success of that effort, and one would be hard-pressed to find many with knowledge of the war on drugs who would claim it has worked.

Why has it failed?

The medical community declared nearly 70 years ago that drug and alcohol addiction and dependence are medical disorders. We cant punish diabetes or cancer away. Why do we think getting tough on addiction would work?

To complicate the landscape, approximately 40 percent of opioid-dependent individuals have depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, and some have co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorders are also present, though less frequently. Punishment is not only ineffective, it often exacerbates these mental health disorders.

Punishment also does not deter those with substance use disorders. Today, the vast majority of individuals who enter the U.S. criminal justice system have problems with drug addiction, dependence or abuse. The recidivism rate for those with such disorders is nearly 80 percent. The reason is simple: Punishment does nothing to address drug abuse, dependence or addiction.

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Its time to stop disregarding the scientific and clinical evidence. Its time to get realistic about how we should address the drug problem. The evidence is unequivocal: We cannot effectively control supply. There is simply too much money to be made. We should recalibrate drug policy by ramping up evidence-based strategies of demand reduction.

The only way to reduce the incidence of substance-use disorders is effective treatment. Ideally, that should occur outside the confines of the justice system with community-based treatment. Those who end up in the justice system should be diverted to treatment, not simply locked up.

Drug abuse is a public health problem. It is time we treat it that way.

Kelly is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas and an author of books on criminal justice reform.

See the article here:

Commentary: Trump's policy is another 'war on drugs'... - MyStatesman.com

Photo by Philip Cosores

The War on Drugs are the latest act to partake in the Spotify Singles series. As with past contributions, the band recorded a live take of one of their own tracks as well as a cover song at Spotify Studios NYC.

For their own song, TWOD delivered Holding On, the lead single off their forthcomingA Deeper Understanding. The bands choice of cover was Warren Zevons ballad Accidentally Like a Martyr. While remaining largely faithful to the original, TWODs unmistakably psychedelic take on heartland sounds amplifies the guitar bends throughout. Take a listen:

(Read:Top 50 Albums of1987)

A Deeper Understanding is due out August 25th, and The War on Drugs will tour behind it throughout the fall. Their updated itinerary is ahead.

The War on Drugs 2017 Tour Dates:09/18 Portland, ME @ State Theatre 09/19 New York, NY @ Terminal 5 09/21 Philadelphia, PA @ Dell Music Center 09/22 New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park 09/23 Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion 09/25 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte 09/26 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle 09/28 Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory 09/29 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Outside Lawn) 09/30 Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater 10/05 Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre 10/06 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre 10/09 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 10/10 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre 10/11 Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 10/13 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex 10/14 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre 10/15 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre 10/18 St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre 10/19 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre 10/20 Columbus, OH @ Express Live! 10/21 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 10/22 Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall 10/23 Washington, DC @ The Anthem 11/02 Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live 11/03 Cologne, DE @ E-Werk 11/04 Brussels, BE @ Forest National 11/06 Paris, FR @ Bataclan 11/07 Lille, FR @ lAronef 11/09 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands 11/10 Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands 11/12 Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester 11/13 Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester 11/14 London, UK @ Alexandra Palace 11/15 Portsmouth, UK @ Portsmouth Guildhall 11/17 Zurich, CH @ X-tra 11/18 Milan, IT @ Fabrique 11/20 Mnchen, DE @ Muffathalle 11/21 Hamburg, DE @ Groe Freiheit 36 11/22 Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom 11/24 Oslo, NO @ Spektrum 11/25 Copenhagen, DK @ Tap 1 11/26 Copenhagen, DK @ Tap 1 11/27 Stockholm, SE @ Annexet 11/29 Antwerp, BE @ Lotto Arena

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The War on Drugs cover Warren Zevon's Accidentally Like a Martyr ... - Consequence of Sound (blog)