Monthly Archives: June 2021

Oregon’s Pioneering Drug Decriminalization Experiment Is Now Facing The Hard Test – NPR

Posted: June 18, 2021 at 7:19 am

Mike Marshall is the co-founder and director of Oregon Recovers. He says he's concerned the state is failing to expand addiction treatment capacity in a strategic way. "So we put the cart before the horse," he says. Eric Westervelt/NPR hide caption

Mike Marshall is the co-founder and director of Oregon Recovers. He says he's concerned the state is failing to expand addiction treatment capacity in a strategic way. "So we put the cart before the horse," he says.

Last fall Oregon voters decriminalized possession of small amounts of almost all hard drugs, taking a groundbreaking step away from the arrest, charge and jail model for possession that's been a centerpiece of American drug policy since President Richard Nixon declared his War on Drugs 50 years ago this week.

Oregonians overwhelmingly passed Measure 110 that makes possession of small amounts of cocaine, heroin, LSD and methamphetamine, among other drugs, punishable by a civil citation akin to a parking ticket and a $100 fine. That fee can get waived if you get a health screening from a recovery hotline.

The measure, a major victory for advocates pushing for systemic change in U.S. drug policy, expands funding and access to addiction treatment services using tax revenue from the state's pot industry as well as from expected savings from a reduction in arrests and incarceration.

For years Oregon has ranked near the top of states with the highest rates of drug and alcohol addiction and near the very bottom nationally in access to recovery services. And while critics everywhere have long called the drug war a racist, inhumane fiasco that fails to deliver justice or health, Oregon is the first to take a leap toward radically changing those systems.

"What we've been doing for the last number of decades has completely failed," says Mike Schmidt, district attorney for Oregon's most populated county, Multnomah, which includes Portland. Schmidt, who publicly supported Measure 110, says he firmly believes the health model not criminalization is the best way to battle the disease substance use disorder.

"Criminalization keeps people in the shadows. It keeps people from seeking out help, from telling their doctors, from telling their family members that they have a problem," Schmidt says.

Moving to emphasize health care over incarceration, supporters hope, will also start to remove the stigmatizing obstacles that often follow, including difficulty landing jobs, housing and student loans, and getting a professional license in a variety of fields.

Tera Hurst, executive director of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, says the state's decriminalization marks bold systemic change. "We can't nibble around the edges on this," she says. Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance hide caption

"The War on Drugs has been primarily really waged on communities of color. People's lives have been destroyed," says Tera Hurst, executive director of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, which campaigned last year to pass decriminalization and is now pushing to see it's fully funded and implemented. "We can't nibble around the edges on this. It's really important to me that we smash the stigma on addiction and drug use. And this helps get us closer to that."

But five months since decriminalization went into effect, the voter-mandated experiment is running into the hard realities of implementation. Realizing the measure's promise has sharply divided the recovery community, alienated some in law enforcement and left big questions about whether the Legislature will fully fund the measure's promised expansion of care.

Even many recovery leaders here who support ending the criminalization of addiction are deeply concerned the state basically jumped off the decriminalization cliff toward a fractured, dysfunctional and underfunded treatment system that's not at all ready to handle an influx of more people seeking treatment.

Advocates for decriminalization "don't understand the health care side, and they don't understand recovery," says Mike Marshall, co-founder and director of the group Oregon Recovers.

"Our big problem is our health care system doesn't want it, is not prepared for it, doesn't have the resources for it and honestly doesn't have the leadership to begin to incorporate that [expanded treatment]," says Marshall, who is in long-term recovery himself.

"My drug of choice from beginning to end was alcohol," he says, "but the last 10 years was dominated by crystal meth."

Oregon supporters of decriminalization point to Portugal as a reform model. In 2001, Portugal dramatically changed its approach and decriminalized all drugs. The nation began treating addiction as a public health crisis. There, anyone caught with less than a 10-day supply of any drug gets mandatory medical treatment.

But Marshall and others point out that Portugal took more than two years to transition carefully to a new system and replace judges, jails and lawyers with doctors, social workers and addiction specialists.

"So we put the cart before the horse," he says.

In fact, Marshall and others worry the treatment and harm reduction horse isn't even on its feet in Oregon, which is leaving too many stuck in a dangerous pre-treatment limbo and at potential risk of overdosing.

"There were no resources and no mechanisms in [Measure] 110 to actually prepare the health care system to receive those folks," Marshall says.

"Most places that have successfully done decriminalization have already worked on a robust and comprehensive treatment system," says Dr. Reginald Richardson, director of the state Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission. "Unfortunately, here in Oregon, we don't have that. What we have is decriminalization, which is a step in the right direction."

There's also shockingly little state data to determine what programs work best or to track treatment outcomes and share best practices. There's also no agreed upon set of metrics or benchmarks to judge treatment efficacy, both in Oregon and nationally.

And the pandemic struck and decimated a treatment system that was already struggling, experts here say. Because of social distancing and other pandemic protocols, Oregon, like many states, had to reduce the number of treatment beds and services. That's left the system reeling just as decriminalization programs try to take flight.

"We've got significant trouble in terms of workforce, having the right people, qualified people and enough people to provide services to folks who struggle with addiction," Richardson tells NPR. "And we've got underfunding by about a third to treatment providers."

Indeed, even some closely involved with implementing the new measure are privately voicing growing concerns. "I really hope we don't spend the next 10 to 12 months with open air drug markets and nowhere to send" those seeking help, said one official who asked not to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

Complicating implementation is that Oregon can't get matching federal Medicaid money, a key funding source for states, to expand treatment under Measure 110 because it's using tax revenue from the legal sale of marijuana, which the federal government still classifies as a Schedule 1 illegal drug.

Today, anyone across Oregon caught by police with small amounts of hard drugs is issued a civil citation like a traffic ticket not a criminal charge. So if you're found holding, among other drugs, up to 2 grams of methamphetamine or cocaine, 40 hits of LSD or oxycodone, up to a gram of heroin, you get a citation and a $100 fine. That fine goes away if you agree to get a health screening through an addiction recovery hotline, an assessment that might lead to counseling or treatment.

Measure 110 did allocate millions in new treatment funding money funneled from the state's marijuana tax along with expected savings from reductions in arrests and incarceration.

But Marshall and others are alarmed that it did not require those funds be spent in a strategic way to expand capacity for a system that has too few detox beds, not enough residential or outpatient treatment and recovery chairs, not enough sober housing and too few harm reduction programs.

These are all services that will be desperately needed, Marshall says, as more people get pushed out of the criminal justice system and into the health system.

Mike Schmidt, district attorney for Multnomah County, Ore., strongly supports the decriminalization shift underway. "What we've been doing for the last number of decades has completely failed," he says. Eric Westervelt/NPR hide caption

"Many times the only way to get access to recovery services is by being arrested or interacting with the criminal justice system. Measure 110 took away that pathway," he says.

"I know that it takes an intervention for many of us to be saved" from addiction, says Jim O'Rourke, a Portland lawyer who opposed Measure 110 and who is also in long-term recovery.

Arrest, he says, can give people the push they need to finally get help.

"The threat of having to go through a judicial process gave them the external motivation they needed to do something that their internal motivation wasn't strong enough to get done," O'Rourke says. Addiction is a disease "that takes over the brain, it takes over your executive function." A citation and a potential fine, he believes, "just isn't strong enough."

Opponents say that's especially true since there's basically no consequence if anyone now cited for possession simply ignores the ticket.

"If word on the street is it's only 100 bucks and you don't go to jail, boom, chances are they're going to toss it," says Pam Pearce, founder of Oregon's first high school dedicated to youth recovery. She is also in long-term recovery.

"If it's like a parking ticket, what is the person's motivation [to get help]?" asks Pearce, who's now executive director of Community Living Above, an Oregon substance abuse prevention organization. "We're talking heroin, meth, cocaine and acid it's not child's play."

But decriminalization advocates counter that jail pathway to potential treatment was so flawed, biased and ineffectual for so long it had to be taken away.

The percentage of arrestees who successfully followed through on addiction treatment was low. And on average a huge percentage of those convicted of drug possession in the state were rearrested within three years.

"When you look at recidivism rates," says Schmidt, the Multnomah district attorney, "70% and 80% were getting rearrested. That's a complete and utter failure."

A key selling point to Oregon voters was that decriminalization would significantly reduce or even eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in convictions and arrests. Blacks make up just over 2% of Oregon's population. But as in the rest of the country, they've experienced far higher arrest rates for drug possession here than whites. Oregon Blacks are 2.5 times as likely to be convicted of a possession felony as whites, who make up 76% of the population.

The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission estimates that Measure 110 will reduce those disparities and result, overall, in about 4,000 fewer Oregonians a year getting convicted of felony or misdemeanor possession of illegal drugs.

Julia Mines is executive director of the Miracles Club, the state's only place targeting the African American recovering community. At most treatment centers, she says, "When we come in, there's nobody that looks like us." Julia Mines hide caption

Julia Mines is executive director of the Miracles Club along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in northeast Portland. It's the state's only place targeting the African American recovering community.

"At the beginning of this, I wasn't for it," Mines says. "It took me to go to prison to get my, you know, get on the right track."

Mines had gone far off-track because of a cocaine addiction. She lost jobs, friends and two children one to foster care and one to adoption.

"Because I chose crack over my children," she says.

Mines eventually went to prison for selling the drug, though she now chuckles at the "major dealer" moniker she was given in court following a police sting that caught her selling less than 1,000 feet from a school.

"Like they really put a big dope dealer off the street!" she says with a laugh. "I wasn't no dope dealer; I was a user, come on now!"

Mines says she changed her mind on Measure 110 when she realized it might mean a chance to end the criminalization of addiction that continues to ravage people in her community. She's now on one of the measure's implementation committees.

"I made my voice loud and clear: I'm here representing the African American community, and that if we're going to implement this, that we need to have resources for the people that are just getting those citations," she says.

Mines says she hopes new resources eventually help her turn Miracles, now mostly a place to hold recovery meetings, into Portland's first full-scale treatment facility tailored to people of color.

"When we go to treatment centers, when we come in, there's nobody that looks like us," Mines says, "and nobody's willing to take a look at our culture and try to understand the historical and generational trauma."

This month her program took a step in that direction. The Miracles Club was among 48 groups statewide that shared $10 million under the first wave of Measure 110 funding. Mines says she'll now be able to hire three new peer mentors as well as additional support staff.

"But this funding is only for six months. So what's coming down the line after this?" she asks. "You know, that's the question mark right now, actually, a big question mark."

Mines says she has yet to see anyone come in to one of Miracles' thrice daily recovery meetings because of a possession citation and health screening under the new decriminalization policy.

That sluggish start is mirrored statewide. So far Measure 110's new 24/7 addiction recovery help line where people who get a possession citation can call is mostly quiet. Nearly five months in, just 29 people who've been issued a possession citation by police have called the line for an addiction health screening, according to Dwight Holton, CEO of Lines for Life, the Oregon nonprofit that runs what's formally called the Telephone Behavioral Health Resource Network.

"I'm excited about helping Oregon law enforcement see this tool as a bridge to recovery," Holton says. "That's what it needs to be."

A proposal in the Legislature would address some of Measure 110's implementation challenges and sharpen rules and oversight. But that, too, has stoked controversy. Among other things, the bill proposes doing away with that $100 fine for possession, arguing that the fee would adversely affect low-income folks with a substance use disorder. The bill would also change the addiction health assessment for those caught with hard drugs into what critics call a less rigorous screening.

Meanwhile, many Oregon police leaders, while mostly staying out of the public fray as implementation debates roil, are privately worried.

"They're frustrated, they're annoyed, they're concerned," says Jim Ferraris, immediate past president of the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police. He spent more than four decades in Oregon policing.

The state's Criminal Justice Commission records show about 9,000 people were arrested each year in Oregon for simple drug possession before Measure 110. Despite the drop in arrests, Ferraris says, "People are still committing crimes to get money, to buy dope, to support their habit. So how is this [decriminalization] going to impact that cycle?"

Jim Ferraris is the immediate past president of the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police. "We're going to see more and more people needing help because drugs are going to be more readily available and there's no one keeping it in check," he says. Jim Ferraris hide caption

Efforts to stop large-scale trafficking in Oregon continue as usual. Local and multiagency and regional drug interdiction task forces say their work goes on apace.

"Measure 110 has not affected our work at all," says a regional spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Oregon Legislature in 2017 had already made possession of small amounts of hard drugs here a misdemeanor, not a felony. But some say full decriminalization has had a demoralizing effect on that work.

"We're already hearing of people coming into Oregon to use because they know they can do drugs and sleep outside and police can't do anything about it," says a frustrated central Oregon officer who asked not be named because of his work in drug interdiction.

Preliminary state numbers show that opioid overdoses were up sharply in 2020, though officials say that likely has more to do with the deadly pandemic's social, emotional and financial impact than decriminalization.

Still, the experiment here has launched with the pandemic's shadow still very much hanging over the recovery community. Several organizations contacted by NPR said the number of people relapsing, anecdotally anyway, has skyrocketed.

In fact, some groups say they're having trouble finding enough peer counselors because so many are back using.

"The relapse numbers have gone up so much," says Eli Staas with the 4th Dimension Recovery Center in Portland. "For a lot of people the [pandemic's] isolation especially is what took them back out" of sobriety.

Now with decriminalization, one law enforcement official who asked not to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly predicts within a year Oregon "will be inundated with (more) folks who have substance use disorder."

A key person to help lead Oregon through this rocky transition is 36-year-old old Tony Vezina, who founded 4th Dimension in Portland, the state's first youth-oriented recovery program. He's also the new chair of Oregon's Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, which is tasked with improving treatment services.

"Been in and out of jail since I was, ya know, about 14 years old," Vezina says. "My roots are in trailer parks of Pocatello, Idaho. A history of crime and trauma and poverty on both sides of my family. Ya know, and I was a product of all that."

Now more than nine years sober from what he calls a crippling meth and heroin addiction, Vezina says as commission chair he's committed to having tough conversations across a treatment community that remains divided over the best way to implement Oregon's bold, voter-mandated experiment.

Tony Vezina, executive director of 4th Dimension Recovery Center and chair of the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, is nine years sober. "Now we need to rapidly design a new system strategically," he says. "But Oregon doesn't operate strategically around this issue." Eric Westervelt/NPR hide caption

"We haven't built anything new, so now we need to rapidly design a new system strategically. But Oregon doesn't operate strategically around this issue. So we don't have a new intervention system. We don't have a recovery-oriented system of care," Vezina says. "We've just decriminalized."

"We all need to work together to make sure that people get the intervention and the support they need to change their lives because it's really hard for people," he says, adding, "It's really hard for me."

Some police, however, are predicting darker days ahead.

"We're going to see more and more people needing help because drugs are going to be more readily available and there's no one keeping it in check," says Ferraris, recently retired as police chief in Woodburn, Ore. "Overdoses will go up, crime will go up and cartel drug dealing will continue to flourish up and down the I-5 corridor."

But supporters of decriminalization say that is largely last-gasp fearmongering by unreconstructed drug warriors who won't accept that the interdict, arrest and jail model has failed.

"We all need to be along for a long-term systems change," says Hurst of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance. She and other advocates say it's far too early to make any judgments about Oregon's experiment. The metrics to watch over the coming years, she says, is how well Measure 110 expands access to detox and treatment services statewide.

"There are so many centers across our state that don't just need investments, they've been starved," she says.

Still, those involved helping that system change take flight are keenly aware the nation will be carefully watching what Hurst hopes will become a model for other states looking to stop arresting and charging people with a substance use disorder.

"This could make or break kind of the movement on some level if Oregon wasn't able to pull it together. But I don't think that will happen," Hurst says. "I hope other states take notice, and they watch. And we're going to learn a lot."

"Maybe there would have been a better way to glide path this [Measure 110] on," prosecutor Schmidt says of implementation. But the Multnomah County district attorney says a jolt was needed. Merely tinkering with drug and addiction policy wasn't working.

"Sometimes you just need to stop the way you're doing it," Schmidt says, "to put some urgency behind fixing the systems that need to come into place."

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Congressman Cohen Questions Expert Witnesses at a Hearing on Sentencing Reform – Congressman Steve Cohen

Posted: at 7:19 am

WASHINGTON Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at a Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security hearing on Undoing the Damage of the War on Drugs: A Renewed Call for Sentencing Reform.

In his remarks, Congressman Cohen noted what he called the true reason for the War on Drugs revealed by former Nixon Administration senior domestic adviser John Ehrlichman in a 1994 article in Harpers Magazine.

Mr. Ehrlichman said, You want to know what this is really about? The Nixon campaign in 1968 and the Nixon White House after that had two enemies: the anti-war Left and Black people. You understand what Im saying? We knew we couldnt make it illegal to be either against the war or Black but, by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings and vilify them night after night on the evening news.

Congressman Cohen said that that the War on Drugs since the 1930s has been a campaign against Black and Brown Americans: racist, racist, racist, and always has been and still is.

Congressman Cohen, the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, noted that he introduced a Constitutional amendment in January to reform the pardon power so that, as he put it, it is about mercy and justice and not taking care of cronies and covering up crimes. He said it should be used to commute non-violent drug offense sentences.

See the entire exchange here.

Witnesses at todays hearing were:

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With BJP in Delhi, states must find ways to regain autonomy – The Indian Express

Posted: at 7:16 am

Recent assembly elections threw up three strong state governments that can alter Centre-state relations. Besides having fairly strong majorities, these governments, in contrast to some others, are politically and ideologically awake to the idea of the states autonomy. How will this affect the prospects of Indias federalism?

The Indian case for federalism is strong, but the Indian practice of federalism is weak. This is less due to a centralising constitutional architecture and more because of the lack of appreciation about what federal practice can do for democracy and unity. Ironically, federal practice becomes weaker particularly when it is required more. When parts of the country are restless over their identities, policy response tends to turn more into a hardline non-federal approach. When national leadership emerges as larger-than-life, federal practices are eclipsed.

The new regime brought in by the BJP did invoke the federal principle during its 2014 campaign; however, it was quickly banished from practice not just because the regime is sceptical of states powers but also because, by its very character, it has been averse to sharing of power. Historically, federal practice has coincided with the rise of state parties. They have usually adopted a federalist stand for pragmatic reasons. If the federalism of state parties appears opportunistic, the federalism of the Congress under the UPA was more out of compromise and helplessness. This background helps us understand the expectations of federalisation amid the current wave of centralisation.

While one important aspect of Indias federalism, the special provision for Jammu & Kashmir, was done away with after the second victory of 2019, the regime had already begun corroding federal practices by destabilising non-BJP state governments. The pandemic became the most effective legitimation of centralisation so far. It was a test of Indias federal dynamics in that it required both central initiative and autonomy of state-specific responses. Instead, it saw centralisation where not required and abdication by the Centre when required the most.

This resulted in states asking the Centre to take up responsibilities, allowing the Centre to become more overbearing. Politically, the central government has been more or less successful in ensuring that citizens will now blame their respective state governments and the Centre would be free to claim credit for relief measures, provisioning of medical facilities and coordinating vaccination.

How can the states retrieve their autonomy? One can imagine four routes to a return to a semblance of federal politics fiscal strength, governance, political strength and regional identity. As Indias economy declines and faces crises, it is unlikely that the Centre would agree to more resources to states. Nor would states have the skills to genuinely exercise fiscal autonomy. With every cyclone and flood, the clamour will be for more aid, making states severely dependent on a vengeful Centre. The most effective terrain where states can assert autonomy and compete with the Centre is that of governance. But the record of states here is not very attractive. Kerala may claim a decent handling of the pandemic or West Bengal seems to have delivered better on some welfare schemes, but overall, both the Congress and non-Congress/non-BJP governments cannot advertise themselves in matters of governance nor claim a better record on democratic practice.

As far as political autonomy is concerned, it would be difficult for the states to reclaim that territory with the unprecedented interference in state administrations and the fear instilled among state bureaucracies. Besides, non-BJP parties are themselves centralised as much as the BJP. State parties are probably even more so and hence averse to the principle of power sharing. They thus become weak political sources for demanding autonomy. Slogans of autonomy may be good for grandstanding, but the autonomy of a Jaganmohan Reddy or a KCR or a Mamata Banerjee would produce neither federalisation nor democratisation.

Thus, states can only go back to emotional platforms of regional pride something the Trinamool Congress did during the elections. Punjab and Maharashtra have been tamely attempting to ride this platform for a while. As the instances of Punjab of the 1980s, Tamil Nadu, J&K or Nagaland would show, regionalist platforms require political skills, else regionalism becomes counterproductive. Instead of strengthening regional autonomy, it becomes a tool for more centralisation and repression. The current federal deadlock, however, leaves little room for states except the route of regionalism in spite of the challenges and risks.

While the newly elected Tamil Nadu government is indeed making efforts to steer the debate to economic issues, the politics of federalism is bound to remain confined to regional identity issues. Interfering governors, central deputations to favoured officers, personal slights against state leadership, or the impatient emphasis on Hindi, would be the flashpoints which states will appropriate for consolidating regional pride.

If we roughly distribute states on the twin axes of the politics of regionalism and federal confrontations with the Centre, we shall find more states located high on the former than states engaged in the latter. The majority of states today are marked by low intensity regionalism and low intensity federal confrontation. If states now move from there to high intensity regionalism, then regionalism will be an issue that the Centre will have to negotiate. This pathway might not in itself consolidate federal politics but it has the potential of driving politics toward federalisation even BJP-ruled states are not averse to regional sentiments, as in Karnataka or Haryana and probably Bihar.

This new possible wave of the politics of regionalism faces two critical hurdles. One is that the politics of regional identity is isolationist by nature. Each region gets entangled more into its separate existential and imaginary glory rather than coordinating with other regions vis--vis an intrusive Centre. In the last seven years, non-BJP parties and governments have consistently failed in evolving a durable or impactful forum or even casual conversation on Centre-state relations. The second hurdle is the political savvy of the BJP. The BJP has been selling a pan-Hindutva with regional variations. Long ago, it experimented with this route by first enlarging the issue of Gujarati asmita and then conflating it with Hindutva. That is exactly what the party experimented with successfully in Assam but failed to implement in West Bengal. So, an imminent rise of regionalist sentiment is nevertheless not a guarantee of federal consolidation or a Centre-state equilibrium.

This article first appeared in the print edition on June 18, 2021 under the title Regional without federal. The writer, based at Pune, taught political science and is chief editor of Studies in Indian Politics

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With BJP in Delhi, states must find ways to regain autonomy - The Indian Express

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Federalism is the answer, after all – Part 34 | The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News Opinion – Guardian

Posted: at 7:16 am

However, the occasion was quite auspicious for the social forces in the country to showcase their interests. The reach of this years celebration was extensive. Nigerians overseas, such as America and Britain trooped out in their thousands to rail against misrule in Nigeria and the general insecurity in the country and the effusive bloodletting, not seen in war-ravaged countries like Somalia, Syria and Libya. On their part, the social forces that eased out the military from the political space then regretted that the expectations of the period have not been met as civil rule has been hijacked by the military men donning civilian outfit (agbada/babanriga). The rule of law has been observed in the breach: In the scholarly words of political scientists, democracy has not yet attained the status of the only game in town.

Elsewhere in the country, mass movement for separation from the current state arrangement in the country has been raging. The Odua Republic movement has become pronounced besides the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Promoters have been arguing that since dialogue has not worked the best option for self-actualisation is to opt out of the current de-empowering and slavish arrangement. In observance of the Democracy Day, the federal capital territory of Abuja, protesters were out with placards to express themselves over the commonplace insecurity in the country and the seeming helplessness of the prevailing administration. Ironically, security apparatuses were deployed against peaceful protesters on a day declared as Democracy Day. Gleefully, they shot teargas and life ammunition to dispatch the anti-government protesters while the rented crowd drumming up support for the administration was left unmolested. This development is curious and incredibly so. This behaviour left observers of the Nigerian political situation no choice than to conclude that democracy is missing in action in the country and the government of the day is de-consolidating democracy.

On the contrary, the government flaunts what it does in the breach. Surprisingly, in a speech our leader delivered on the Democracy Day, there was a gospel of freedom in it. In his words, It is a celebration of freedom and a victory for one people, one country and one NigeriaAs with all democracies we will always be going through improvement processes in our desire to reach the goal of a mature democracy, a strong, evolved and integrated nation state to be reckoned with globally. In what appeared to be fencing off of the agitation for restructuring, the load was passed to the National Assembly. While this government is not averse to constitutional reform as part of our nation building process, everyone must understand that the primary responsibility for constitutional amendments lies with the National Assembly.

Government deflection of responsibility and seeming recalcitrance will not help the goal of peace. It should acknowledge the anger in the land. These outpouring of grievances, if anything, goes to underline the need to return the country to genuine federalism to allow for peace, stability and development. Today is the 34th time that this newspaper has told the leader of the most populous nation in Africa and indeed the black race that unless he is committed to restructuring of the country within the context of federalism, there may be no legacy for him in his eight years as an elected leader.

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Federalism is the answer, after all - Part 34 | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News Opinion - Guardian

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Only NAssembly can Deal with Issues of Restructuring, Federalism, Says Buhari – THISDAY Newspapers

Posted: at 7:16 am

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday broke his silence over the contentious issues of restructuring and true federalism/devolution of power, saying they were constitutional issues which only the National Assembly could handle.

He, however, stressed his belief in devolving more power to the people.President Buhari spoke while receiving in audience members of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) led by Co-Chairmen, Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar and President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), His Eminence, Rev. Samson Supo Ayokunle, at the State House, Abuja.

The President said: On the contentious issue of restructuring or true federalism or devolution of powers, like you all know, this is a constitutional matter with which only the National Assembly can deal.

I remain an unapologetic believer in devolving power to the people and that is why I signed the Executive Order granting autonomy to State Legislature and Judiciary. Unfortunately, this was met with some resistance at the state level and led to a more than two months strike action that has cost the country a lot of pain.

Luckily the National Assembly has nearly completed the constitutional review process, which I hope would address some of the burning issues agitating the minds of our people.He assured that efforts were already on to create a more conducive environment to address both direct and indirect causes of challenges including areas of job creation and employment generation, while appreciating religious leaders for their significant roles in national development, particularly in shaping perspectives.

Your role is critical in putting the correct perspective out to Nigerians, he said.On security, the President told the religious leaders that the government was already going after financiers of criminal elements, who also supply them with arms, but were constrained by the strike by Judiciary workers.

According to him, Fortunately, this strike has been called off and prosecution of some of these people would soon commence, while our security agencies expand their network in closing in on the others.

President Buhari assured that the administration remained committed to quickly pushing this dark side of our history behind us and we are currently making sure that funding would not hamper our efforts.

According to him, the last Federal Executive Council meeting approved some funds for the security agencies, which would be put to judicious use.As I mentioned yesterday, in Lagos, we would not relent in our efforts at clearing these criminals from all parts of our land including the forests, he said.

President Buhari said government had the major part to play in providing security, adding: but besides the imperative to abide by democratic processes is the important aspect of support of the citizenry to the security agencies by providing relevant and timely information.

I must confess that I am more pained than anyone can imagine with the on-going security challenges because, like you noted during your meeting, they have increased the hunger, pain and anger in the land, he noted.The President thanked the religious leaders for their patriotism and commitment to ensuring peace and understanding.

His words: I have listened to you and I am particularly happy that your meeting clearly identified specific and major roles for both the Government and the people of Nigeria. This is what has been lacking for some time in the national discourse on addressing our current security challenges.

In their comments, the Sultan of Sokoto, and President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) thanked the President for the onerous assignment of leading the country, advising government to fund the armed forces better to confront myriad of security challenges facing the country, block sources of illegal arms, publish names of those funding terrorism and try them.

They also canvassed the recruitment of more policemen, strengthening of the judiciary, tackle unemployment by creating jobs for youths particularly, and on separatist agitations in the country.

The two religious leaders added that: It is in our togetherness that we are stronger.

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Only NAssembly can Deal with Issues of Restructuring, Federalism, Says Buhari - THISDAY Newspapers

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An authoritarian regime is assaulting federal principle of Constitution and trampling rights of states – National Herald

Posted: at 7:16 am

Not a day passes without some attack on the federal structure and infringement of states rights taking place. If one day, the Centre unilaterally announced a vaccine policy whereby states are asked to procure vaccines and pay for them, then another day, the chief secretary of West Bengal is summoned to Delhi to report for duty on the day of his retirement. The next time, the Centre is stepping in to prevent the Delhi government from implementing its door-step delivery of rations.

On another occasion, the Punjab government finds that the Centre has stopped the payment under the Rural Development Fund due to it amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees; it is being penalised for its opposition to the farm laws.

The Prime Minister held two successive meetings of district magistrates of 19 states to review the pandemic measures bypassing the state governments. Not to be left behind, the Union Education Minister held a meeting of Education Secretaries of the states to discuss implementation of the new education policy without the participation of the state Education Ministers.

The list is endless, whether it be the violation of the constitutional scheme of Centre-state relations, the usurpation of the financial resources of the states or the political intervention of Governors and Lt. Governors in matters of state governments.

These are not isolated instances or aberrations. What is happening is a systematic assault on the federal principle of the Constitution and the trampling of rights of states by an authoritarian centralism. This process was speeded up after the pandemic and the emergent provisions of the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act could be invoked.

The grave assault on federalism and states rights began in the second term of the Modi government with the virtual abrogation of Article 370 by dismantling the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Since then, this attack has become generalised affecting all aspects of Centre-state relations and federalism.

The assault is in three spheres mainly, that is the constitutional principle of federalism, the fiscal aspects of federalism and the political basis of Centre-state relations.

The encroachment of the Centre in areas set out by the constitution as state subjects was seen in the way the three farm laws were adopted which infringed on the state subjects of agriculture and agricultural marketing. The adoption of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act in March, this year, saw the constitutional arrangement of state powers being blatantly violated with the Lt. Governor being declared the government of Delhi and the state legislatures powers and jurisdiction being further curbed.

The use of Centrally-sponsored schemes to dictate the states policy matters in the spheres of education, health and rural development continues at a vigorous pace.

The fiscal space for the states has shrunk further. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) arrangement has taken away whatever powers of taxation the states had possessed. On top of this, the Centre has, in the past two years, refused to give the states their due compensation, which they are statutorily entitled to, on the plea that GST revenues have fallen.

The last two finance commissions have worked under extraneous terms of reference introduced by the Centre, which illegally attached various conditionalities to a constitutionally-ordained division of resources between the Centre and the states.

The pandemic saw the financial crisis of the states reach a peak when the Centre refused to relax the borrowing limits substantially and, at the same time, health, GST compensation dues and other funds owed to the states. This at a time when the states have to bear the brunt of the expenditure on health and other urgent social security measures to meet economic dislocation caused by the pandemic.

Politically, the Centre is unremittingly hostile towards the state governments run by opposition parties. Governors like Jagdeep Dhankar in West Bengal act as handymen of the ruling party at the Centre. RSS men functioning as Governors are illiterate about the constitutional role of Governors and are more interested in pushing the Hindutva agenda.

The plight of Union Territories is worse. Puducherry had a Lt. Governor, Kiran Bedi, who behaved like a viceroy and was in constant conflict with the elected government. Both in the previous assembly and the new legislature, the three MLAs nominated by the Lt. Governor were BJP men an example of how the party is built from the top.

Lakshadweep is a stark example of an authoritarian centralism gone amok. The BJP man, who is the administrator, has announced a series of regulations which, if implemented, will destroy the social and cultural fabric of Lakshadweep and subject the Muslim population there to the tyranny of majoritarian rule.

This assault on federalism and the diversity underpinning such a system is part of the overall attack on democracy and secularism and hence needs to be opposed and fought. At the forefront of this fight has to be the opposition-run state governments.

The defence of federalism and state rights requires a closer coordination amongst the opposition state governments. Even now, three of the non-BJP state governments of Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are half-hearted, or reluctant, to take a firm stand. The three regional parties running these governments should realise that extinction of federalism and undermining of states rights will threaten the interests of these parties in the future.

Federalism is also indivisible. Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP, who supported the abolition of Article 370 must have realised their mistake when the law was amended to reduce Delhi to a glorified municipality.

More broadly, apart from the opposition state governments, all the opposition parties should get together to spell out a platform in defence of federalism, defence of states rights and for restructuring of Centre-state relations something like the resolution of the Srinagar Conclave on Centre-state relations, updated for contemporary times.

The fight for the federal principle and the rights of states is an integral part of the struggle against authoritarianism and for democracy.

(IPA Service)

Views are personal

Courtesy: Peoples Democracy

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An authoritarian regime is assaulting federal principle of Constitution and trampling rights of states - National Herald

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UPU harps on restructuring, true federalism as solution to insecurity – The Nation Newspaper

Posted: at 7:16 am

By Elo Edremoda, Warri

The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) has identified restructuring and true federalism as a panacea to the insecurity crisis raging the nation.

It also backed the communiqu issued by the Southern Governors after a meeting held in Asaba, Delta state, last month.

In a statement on the state of the nation, the factional President of the UPU, Chief Joe Omene, lamented the brutal killings and incessant abductions taking place across the six geo-political zones of the country.

Omene attributed the lack of progress in the war against insecurity to defective single-layered policing system and the unitary structure of the country.

All of these is due to lack of a basic agreement that allows all Nigerians to find reasonable accommodation with one another through genuine Constitutional reforms that would allow for and provide a widely accepted and acceptable system.

Rather than provide genuine regimes for economic opportunities for all and investments in modern agricultural and livestock production that will improve productivity and wellbeing, our political elites prey on the emotional and socio-cultural weaknesses of the different nationalities to foment religious, social and economic divisions.

It is, therefore, gratifying that some regional leaders have given these issues that are tearing the country apart deep introspection and came up with a consensus to review and reform the grundnorm guiding the governance of Nigeria; that is restructuring and a return to true federalism is the only viable path to save Nigeria.

The statement advocated for a return to the 1960 and 1963 constitutions.

Linking the administrative challenge facing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to historical roots of Nigerias creation he said until investors subscribe to sustainable solutions where all parties, investors and host communities share a mutual win-win accord as envisioned in the 1961 Niger-Delta Development Act and abide by it, the current parody of governance playing out at the NDDC will persist with dangerous outcomes for everyone.

To stem the crisis at the NDDC from degenerating further and to prevent the Commission becoming totally irrelevant to the development aspiration of the people of the Niger-Delta, the UPU calls on the federal government return to the Act that established the agency in order for the Commission to focus on its mandate.

The UPU further expressed concern over secessionists claims and counter claims of territories in the South-south, especially Urhobo areas without consultation with the people.

The Urhobos with a demographic of over six million (6 million) people, are larger than several independent nations within and outside Africa and are quite capable of independent existence, but if they must be drawn into any federal union it should not be taken for granted that their territories are simply there for annexation by all comers.

The reasonable thing to do is to begin with a wide consultation involving all Nationalities based on agreeable terms of the agreement as recently advanced by the Yoruba Socio-Cultural group Afenifere.

The statement added that the June 12 Democracy Day celebration would be incomplete without the swift passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill.

There will always be the need for credible electoral systems to enable credible elections and referenda which are part of a functional democratic federal system.

This necessity makes it necessary to commend the courage of the current government for acknowledging and creating a permanent commemoration of the June 12 election as a milestone of credible election in Nigeria used to celebrate democracy.

But this celebration of Democracy will be incomplete without the passage and accent of the Electoral Act amendment Bill now awaiting legislative and Executive action, Omene stated.

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UPU harps on restructuring, true federalism as solution to insecurity - The Nation Newspaper

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I’m Going to See the Futuristic Lucid Air EV Sedan Next Week. What Do You Want to Know About It? – The Drive

Posted: at 7:14 am

The sleek and futuristic Lucid Air sedan is one of the bigger curios on the EV front. Boasting an estimated 517 miles of range, tiny battery packaging, and a great interior, it's definitely a luxury electric sedan to watch. I'm going to get up close and personal with one next week and you should ask me what you want to know about it!

First, allow me to set some expectations. There will be no driving of the Air. The event is meant to show off the new flagship Lucid Studio storefront in New York City. There will be a car there on display I've been told I'm allowed to check out. Secondly, though I will not get to drive the Air, I will get a chance for a ridealong in a pre-production Lucid Air Grand Touringthe one with a claimed 800 horsepower, 517 miles of estimated range, and a $139,000 price tag.

Personally, I want to get a sense of that gratuitous interior space Lucid's been hyping up. Because its EV drivetrain is tiny, it frees up a lot of room that designers then turned into usable cabin space. I'm fascinated by photos of this thing, as they do indeed show an interior that's, well, airy.

You can expect more of these interactions on The Drive, by the way. We're trying to incorporate the things you want to know more and more into the content we feature, like how we did when Peter went to check out the Z Proto a few days ago and when I drove a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport recently.

So let me know what you'd like to know about the Air within those parameters I just described. Want to see the trunk? Maybe get an up-close look at the big, curved screen? Drop your comment below and I'll pick between five to 10 of the best questions to answer in a follow-up post!

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I'm Going to See the Futuristic Lucid Air EV Sedan Next Week. What Do You Want to Know About It? - The Drive

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Company Starts Shipping Its $50,000 Mind-Reading Helmet – Futurism

Posted: at 7:14 am

California-based startup Kernel is about to start shipping a $50,000 helmet that can analyze neurons being fired in someones brain to dozens of customers across the US, Bloomberg reports.

In other words, a helmet that can, at least to a small degree, read your mind.

The technology behind it may have been around for many years, but so far, devices like it have often been as big as rooms and cost millions to set up.

Kernel is hoping to democratize the technology by miniaturizing and commercializing it. A smaller device can also open new doors for researchers as trial participants are able to move around freely.

The companys futuristic-looking Flow brain interface can record real-time data and establish precise patterns of brain activity using lasers, according to the companys website. All the user has to do is plug it to a computer via a USB-C cable.

Kernels other helmet, called Flux, can measure the speed of neurons in real-time, and provide access to the intricate brain activity underlying functions such as arousal, emotion, attention, memory, and learning, the company claims.

Its unclear which of the two helmets goes for $50,000 and what the price of the other helmet is.

In addition to Elon Musks Neuralink and even Facebook, its yet another sign that private companies are increasingly motivated to get inside and understand what goes on inside peoples brains.

Researchers could use data collected by the likes of Kernels helmets to study brain aging, mental disorders, strokes, and even what goes on inside the brain during a psychedelic trip, according to Bloomberg.

To make progress on all the fronts that we need to as a society, we have to bring the brain online, Kernel CEO Bryan Johnson told the media company.

The Flow helmet works by sending lasers through the skull to record brain activity rather than having a computer chip implanted inside your brain, as is the case for Neuralink.

While a helmet is less invasive, its also not as accurate and is more likely to be confused by external electrical interference.

The Flow device can measure changes in blood oxygenation levels, while Flux uses a process called magnetoencephalography, a neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording the brains magnetic fields.

The first customers to receive the helmets include brain research institutions and other companies who want to better understand what goes on in their customers heads.

According to Bloomberg, Johnson wants to eventually sell a device like Flow for the price of a smartphone, allowing everybody to get better insights into their mental health.

Whether a mobile mind-reading helmet will be able to do just that remains to be seen.

As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent companys forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. Its free to join, sign up now!

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Futuristic Wearable Designs that are emerging as the top tech trends of 2021! – Yanko Design

Posted: at 7:14 am

Wearable designs make our lives easier and more efficient in multiple ways! From smartwatches, Fitbits to even wearable furniture, innovative wearable designs can be valuable additions to our daily lifestyles. And, not to mention sometimes theyre really fun to use and trendy to wear as well! Hence, weve curated a collection of wearable designs that are not only super easy to wear on your person, but also promise to make your everyday life easier, simpler, and effortless! Enjoy.

Dani Clodes Third Thumb project aims at exploring and expanding the possibilities of what we can do with additional powers in this case, an extra thumb. With the aim of adding to human possibilities, rather than replacing whats lost, the prosthetic has the potential to rapidly alter the way we live our lives. The thumb, 3D printed from a variant of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) called Ninjaflex, sits right beside your little finger. Its connected to a smart bracelet that receives its commands via Bluetooth from the wearers foot. Pressure sensors are placed on the soles of the feet and any force you apply with your foot is perceived as a signal by the bracelet i.e., if you press down with one foot, the thumb flexes inwards, grasping whatever youre holding. Clode says that the learning curve is rather minimal and people get used to the controls pretty quick. Watch the video to see one rather confident candidate shred away at a guitar with a Third Thumb!

The After You umbrella is a multipurpose product designed to save you from the rains and to help you carry stuff when the skies are clear! Anna, a student at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, created this design as a part of her design course. The aim of the course is to completely redesign an everyday object an umbrella in this case. The After You revolutionizes the humble umbrella in quite a few ways the first is by making the design hands-free! One of the most tedious things about carrying the umbrella is the juggling act of holding onto your umbrella with one hand with the tons of stuff we carry in our hands. By wearing the product over your shoulders like a backpack, After You leave your hands free to answer back to that text or browse your phone. The next thing we love about this design is the foldable design the five layers made from rigid polycarbonate layers fold and unfold to form a cocoon that keeps you protected.

Industrial designer SangWoon Kim has reimagined the traditional waist support belt as a smart wearable to protect the lumbar spine better. Basically, it functions like any standard belt to compress the waist and isolate our breathing patterns. The striking difference is the ability to tighten the belt automatically, depending on the intensity of the workout and the users breathing pattern. Kim calls it the BIND.CO belt and this workout accessory come in handy for any exercise mode and intensity. The innovation will be godsent for beginners who are still learning about the exact tightening of the belt needed for their workout. Thanks to the embedded sensors, the smart belt tightens during exercise and loosens at the time of rest between activities.

Mictic is creating a new relation between music and dance. This hand-worn wearable allows your body movements to be converted into musical symphonies. Simply put, Mictic converts your hand movements into digital signals that trigger virtual instruments within the Mictic smartphone app. The two wearables sit on your wrists, and their individual movements help the app understand how your hands are moving. First, you need to pair your bands with your smartphone and select the drum instrument within the Mictic app. Now beat your hands around in the air and the app plays back drum sounds as if you were sitting in front of a real drum kit. Similarly, select the guitar instrument and shred away in the air and the Mictic app generates a killer solo.

Once activated, EVE launches a 10-second alarm meant to discourage the attacker from continuing their assault and instantly calls the local police station, sending operators the location and live audio recordings of the attack. EVE follows a two-step activation process to launch the wristbands emergency features. First, to unlock EVE and prepare it for activation, the user simply shakes their wrist repeatedly three to five times. Embedded inside the wristband, an accelerometer and gyroscope detect the shaking and rotation of the wrist, awakening the device and gearing it up for activation. Then, either by announcing previously recorded voice triggers or by placing pressure on the wristbands sensors, the 110dB alarm sounds, and the police are called, sending live recordings of the assault to an emergency operator, along with the GPS location of the EVE user.

Designed by Yang Zhao, the odd-looking origami-inspired contraption dubbed SharkMan is only for the bold ones to actually use in a shopping mall or maybe at the beach. It is still worth the experiment at home since it cocoons you in complete privacy, although you might look a little funny. The deformable soft furniture morphs into several different configurations based on your needs for a me space when things get too distracting. Whether you are reading a book, working on your laptop, or simply want to take a quick nap the SharkMan is an odd-looking solution that makes the cut. You can use it while standing, sitting, or even lying down as three of these configurations dont reveal your face to the world so you dont have to worry about the embarrassing part of using SharkMan in public.

Crown, from Neurosity, helps to maintain your brains focus by measuring not only what triggers your focus, but also what sustains it. Eight EEG sensors fill out the Crown to track and quantify an individuals brainwaves to better understand what retains focus and what introduces distraction. As the brainwaves are measured, the accompanying Neurosity Shift app connects to your Spotify account to play the most suitable music for your brain to hold onto that state of flow. Similar to Neurositys previous brain-sensing technology, the Notion 2, the Crown also minimizes any technological distractions like notifications or ringtones by automatically muting any prospective interruptions that could take away from your focus.

Bone conducting audio devices arent new, although the Sentien Audio is one of the first to bring AirPods-style features to it. The headset comfortably rests around your head and against the front of each ear. It sports a touch-sensitive panel that lets you tap and swipe to do things like skip tracks, play-pause music, increase-decrease volume, and even summon your phones voice assistant. Unlike AirPods and other TWS earphones, the Sentien Audio boasts of a whopping 24-hour battery, allowing you to practically wear it all day and go about listening to music, answering calls, or asking Google Assistant or Siri random questions without worrying about battery life. Coupled with that is a unique adjustable titanium headband that comfortably places the headset on your head in a way that lets you naturally go about your day without worrying about it falling off or causing discomfort.

Acknowledging the mental stressors within the ICU, a team of designers created SOVA, an ICU medical aid device that tracks the patients health progress and allows the patient to communicate their needs by simply directing their eyes. Either before, during, or following their visit to the ICU, almost half of the patients who receive medical treatment experience some form of trauma or suffer from mental stressors that make it difficult to communicate their needs. SOVA is a medical device that tracks and registers early signs of physical or mental pain so that medical personnel within the ICU can provide the patient with proper treatment. While physical pain, insomnia, and anxiety are only a few of the stressors in the ICU, SOVA operates as a system to track these stressors for real-time support and treatment.

This wearable fitness tracker-looking ring is actually a mouse designed to be as lightweight as possible so there isnt excess load on your joints.Thering mousesdesign works intuitively, it reacts to the movements of the fingertips and does not interfere with the natural movement of the wrist since it is a wearable ring. Due to its unique shape for a mouse, it makes the experience smoother while reducing the stress on your wrists as it wont be awkwardly bent at an angle for hours!The ring has sensors that provide the functionality of a mouse such as click, sweep, scroll through different gestures that are similar to how we use the trackpads on a laptop.

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Futuristic Wearable Designs that are emerging as the top tech trends of 2021! - Yanko Design

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