wakingtimes--2020-11-27--Archaeologists Fight To Stop Controversial Tunnel Under Stonehenge Historical Site

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Earlier this month , the British government granted permission for the construction of a controversial tunnel alongside the Stonehenge monument , which supporters say will help with traffic congestion in the area .
However , scientists and researchers are obviously concerned that the construction could destroy ancient sites or artifacts that have yet to be discovered in the Stonehenge area .
Indeed , even after all this time , researchers are still making new discoveries at the historical site , and many of these discoveries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ famous monuments .
Highways England first submitted a planning application for the site in 2018 , seeking permission to make changes to the major single carriageway A303 road .
The road runs very close to the monument and is a hotspot for traffic because it is so small , and not equipped to handle the growing population of the region .
In addition to Stonehenge visitors , the road also carries heavy truck traffic and holiday travelers heading to seaside destinations in Cornwall and Devon .
Despite the fact that the Planning Inspectorate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” they approved the application anyway .
Highways England promised that the project will reduce the sound of traffic , and said that preparations will begin next year .
In response , groups that want to preserve the area around the monument have begun a campaign to stop the construction of the new tunnel .
Vince Gaffney , a landscape archaeologist at Bradford University and co-leader of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project , which has recently made new discoveries at the site , said that technology is allowing researchers to learn more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though it was once believed that these areas were fully excavated .
Tom Fort , author of Highway to The Sun , a history of the A303 , said that the road has been a source of contention for generations .
“ The road was never designed for anything like these levels of traffic .
They ’ ve improved segments of it piecemeal over the years , widening them into four-lane divided highways , but the stretch around Stonehenge was always the tricky part .
Nobody has ever been able to agree on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fort said .
The Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Archaeological Trust , issued a statement to the government requesting that they reconsider the approval .
Not all archaeologists are against the proposed road , some of them feel that the traffic and noise are more damaging to the site , and could help people enjoy the attraction more .
Stonehenge has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 , when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain .
The site and its surroundings were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Heritage Sites in 1986 .
Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage ; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust .
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture , and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems .
He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast .

Archaeologists Fight To Stop Controversial Tunnel Under Stonehenge Historical Site
John Vibes, Truth Theory
Waking Times
Earlier this month, the British government granted permission for the construction of a controversial tunnel alongside the Stonehenge monument, which supporters say will help with traffic congestion in the area.
However, scientists and researchers are obviously concerned that the construction could destroy ancient sites or artifacts that have yet to be discovered in the Stonehenge area. Indeed, even after all this time, researchers are still making new discoveries at the historical site, and many of these discoveries are in the areas surrounding the most famous monuments.
Highways England first submitted a planning application for the site in 2018, seeking permission to make changes to the major single carriageway A303 road.
"The Planning Inspectorate had recommended Transport Secretary Grant Shapps withhold consent, warning it would cause "permanent, irreversible harm" to the World Heritage site." So what has the Government done? Go on – guess. #StonehengeTunnelhttps://t.co/xD1fyLlFx2 — Tom Holland (@holland_tom) November 12, 2020
The road runs very close to the monument and is a hotspot for traffic because it is so small, and not equipped to handle the growing population of the region. In addition to Stonehenge visitors, the road also carries heavy truck traffic and holiday travelers heading to seaside destinations in Cornwall and Devon.
Despite the fact that the Planning Inspectorate recommended that the government “withhold consent,” they approved the application anyway.
We’ve been given the go-ahead to deliver the #A303Stonehenge upgrades by the Secretary of State for Transport. Jim O'Sullivan, Highways England Chief Executive, welcomes this positive decision and explains what it means. https://t.co/yKGMOYukGa pic.twitter.com/SSNmPKsrsZ — A303 Stonehenge (@A303Stonehenge) November 12, 2020
Highways England promised that the project will reduce the sound of traffic, and said that preparations will begin next year. In response, groups that want to preserve the area around the monument have begun a campaign to stop the construction of the new tunnel.
Vince Gaffney, a landscape archaeologist at Bradford University and co-leader of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project, which has recently made new discoveries at the site, said that technology is allowing researchers to learn more about ancient sites like these, even though it was once believed that these areas were fully excavated.
“Remote sensing has revolutionized archaeology and is transforming our understanding of ancient landscapes—even Stonehenge, a place we thought we knew well. Nobody had any idea these were there. What else don’t we know?” Gaffney said told National Geographic.
The British government has given the green light to a $2.2 billion tunnel under Stonehenge aimed at reducing congestion near the prehistoric monument https://t.co/sdMveVzc8V pic.twitter.com/7NRXwYGNB9 — Reuters (@Reuters) November 13, 2020
Tom Fort, author of Highway to The Sun, a history of the A303, said that the road has been a source of contention for generations.
“The road was never designed for anything like these levels of traffic. They’ve improved segments of it piecemeal over the years, widening them into four-lane divided highways, but the stretch around Stonehenge was always the tricky part. Nobody has ever been able to agree on what to do about it,” Fort said.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Archaeological Trust, issued a statement to the government requesting that they reconsider the approval.
“If A303 widening at Stonehenge is felt to be essential, it should be done by means of a deep-bored tunnel at least 4.5 kilometres [2.8 miles] long. Anything shorter would cause irreparable damage to this landscape, in breach of the World Heritage Convention,” the statement read.
Not all archaeologists are against the proposed road, some of them feel that the traffic and noise are more damaging to the site, and could help people enjoy the attraction more.
Stonehenge has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882, when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.
Image Credit: Danai Boonyamanon
About the Author
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast.


wakingtimes--2020-12-01--The Original Pioneers of Mind Control on Why You Must Protect Your Mental Sovereignty Now

The Original Pioneers of Mind Control on Why You Must Protect Your Mental Sovereignty Now Get the latest Waking Times articles delivered to your inbox .
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You don ’ t believe everything you see or hear in the media , do you ?
Good , because if you did believe it all you ’ d most likely end up on psychiatric meds .
You see , we live in a hyper-communicative environment , and we ’ re bombarded by an exceptional amount of messages and mediums practically every moment of everyday .
There is an insane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and most of it is intended to influence your thoughts or beliefs in ways profitable to the messenger .
This is the essence of mind control : influence someone ’ s thoughts , and you influence their behavior .
Every bit of media that you allow to enter your consciousness influences your thoughts and/or beliefs in very real ways .
If you let it , that is .
But most of us consume media in a very passive state of consciousness .
Either in the background while doing something else , or after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exhausted and your will power has been sapped .
In this state , ideas and suggestions are absorbed by the subconscious mind where they go to work changing beliefs about the world and what you need in order to survive in it .
The key to maintaining sovereignty of your own mind is in being aware of just how real this impact is .
When you look back at the dawn of this era of mass communication , you find that as the technology of radio , television and film evolved , so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new mediums could be used to achieve the goals of those who create and distribute media for profit or propaganda .
The so-called father of modern propaganda , Edward Bernays ruminates in 1928 about the need to control the habits and behaviors of democratized citizens .
He asserts this as a responsibility of those in power .
Bernays was Sigmund Freud ’ s nephew , and was heavily influenced by Freud , steering his research in the direction of manipulative psychology .
They developed what is essentially the crux of modern advertising , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s desires through messaging and imagery .
These skills were immediately harnessed to turn citizens into consumers and obedient workers , taxpayers and soldiers .
“ Who are the men who without our realizing it , give us our ideas , tell us whom to admire and whom to despise , what to believe about the ownership of public utilities , about the tariff , about the price of rubber , about the Dawes Plan , about immigration ; who tell us how our houses should be designed , what furniture we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we should serve on our table , what kind of shirts we must wear , what sports we should indulge in , what plays we should see , what charities we should support , what pictures we should admire , what slang we should affect , what jokes we should laugh at ?
” ~ Edward Bernays , Propaganda But where is all this going if we choose not to wake up and actively participate in the creation of our future ?
Aldous Huxley had a serious warning for us on this , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ engineers that were emerging at the highest levels of industry and government .
Brave New World was published in 1931 , and Huxley has been proven right .
Now the tools are far more complex , and also far more in your face at every turn .
Two time Pulitzer Prize winning author and influential propagandist , Walter Lippmann , spoke about how the public is basically a dumb wild beast that needs to be domesticated .
“ Walter Lippmann , an American intellectual , writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner brought forth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ usage of mass media in America .
In Public Opinion ( 1922 ) , Lippmann compared the masses to a “ great beast ” and a “ bewildered herd ” that needed to be guided by a governing class .
He described the ruling elite as “ a specialized class whose interests reach beyond the locality.
” This class is composed of experts , specialists , and bureaucrats .
According to Lippmann , the experts , who often are referred to as “ elites , ” are to be a machinery of knowledge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the impossible ideal of the “ omnicompetent citizen.
” The trampling and roaring “ bewildered herd ” has its function : to be “ the interested spectators of action , ” i.e .
not participants .
Participation is the duty of “ the responsible man ” , which is not the regular citizen.
” ~Vigilant Citizen Here , Lippmann talks about the beneficial impacts of propaganda : “ That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one , I think , denies .
The process by which public opinions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has appeared in these pages , and the opportunities for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain enough .
.
.
.
as a result of psychological research , coupled with the modern means of communication , the practice of democracy has turned a corner .
A revolution is taking place , infinitely more significant than any shifting of economic power .
.
.
.
Under the impact of propaganda , not necessarily in the sinister meaning of the word alone , the old constants of our thinking have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible , for example , to believe in the original dogma of democracy ; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart .
Where we act on that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception , and to forms of persuasion that we can not verify .
It has been demonstrated that we can not rely upon intuition , conscience , or the accidents of casual opinion if we are to deal with the world beyond our reach.
” ~Walter Lippmann , Public Opinion And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a smartphone , you must realize that we are already hooked into a global neural-net , that for now , is only slowed down by limited digital bandwidth in the space between your phone and your brain .
Once this bridge is gapped , there is basically nothing left to protect your mental sovereignty unless you decide to wake up and take the wheel .
Sigmund Fraud is a survivor of modern psychiatry and a dedicated mental activist .
He is a staff writer for WakingTimes.com where he indulges in the possibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ psychologically aware future for humankind .
Follow Sigmund on Facebook here .
This article ( The Original Pioneers of Mind Control on Why You Must Protect Your Mental Sovereignty Now ) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Sigmund Fraud and WakingTimes.com .
It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution , author bio , and this copyright statement .

The Original Pioneers of Mind Control on Why You Must Protect Your Mental Sovereignty Now
Dylan Charles, Editor
Waking Times
You don’t believe everything you see or hear in the media, do you? Good, because if you did believe it all you’d most likely end up on psychiatric meds.
You see, we live in a hyper-communicative environment, and we’re bombarded by an exceptional amount of messages and mediums practically every moment of everyday. There is an insane amount of information coming at you, and most of it is intended to influence your thoughts or beliefs in ways profitable to the messenger.
This is the essence of mind control: influence someone’s thoughts, and you influence their behavior.
Every bit of media that you allow to enter your consciousness influences your thoughts and/or beliefs in very real ways. If you let it, that is. But most of us consume media in a very passive state of consciousness. Either in the background while doing something else, or after a long day when the brain is exhausted and your will power has been sapped.
In this state, ideas and suggestions are absorbed by the subconscious mind where they go to work changing beliefs about the world and what you need in order to survive in it.
The key to maintaining sovereignty of your own mind is in being aware of just how real this impact is.
When you look back at the dawn of this era of mass communication, you find that as the technology of radio, television and film evolved, so did the scientific understanding of how these new mediums could be used to achieve the goals of those who create and distribute media for profit or propaganda.
The so-called father of modern propaganda, Edward Bernays ruminates in 1928 about the need to control the habits and behaviors of democratized citizens. He asserts this as a responsibility of those in power.
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.” –Edward L. Bernays, Propaganda (1928)
Bernays was Sigmund Freud’s nephew, and was heavily influenced by Freud, steering his research in the direction of manipulative psychology. They developed what is essentially the crux of modern advertising, which is the ability to unlock one’s desires through messaging and imagery. These skills were immediately harnessed to turn citizens into consumers and obedient workers, taxpayers and soldiers.
Edward Bernays:
“Who are the men who without our realizing it, give us our ideas, tell us whom to admire and whom to despise, what to believe about the ownership of public utilities, about the tariff, about the price of rubber, about the Dawes Plan, about immigration; who tell us how our houses should be designed, what furniture we should put in them, what menus we should serve on our table, what kind of shirts we must wear, what sports we should indulge in, what plays we should see, what charities we should support, what pictures we should admire, what slang we should affect, what jokes we should laugh at?” ~ Edward Bernays, Propaganda
But where is all this going if we choose not to wake up and actively participate in the creation of our future? Aldous Huxley had a serious warning for us on this, calling out the subtle forces of social engineers that were emerging at the highest levels of industry and government.
“Impersonal forces over which we have almost no control seem to be pushing us all in the direction of the Brave New Worldian nightmare; and this impersonal pushing is being consciously accelerated by representatives of commercial and political organizations who have developed a number of new techniques for manipulating, in the interest of some minority, the thoughts and feelings of the masses.” ~Aldous Huxley, Preface to A Brave New World
Brave New World was published in 1931, and Huxley has been proven right. Now the tools are far more complex, and also far more in your face at every turn. Two time Pulitzer Prize winning author and influential propagandist, Walter Lippmann, spoke about how the public is basically a dumb wild beast that needs to be domesticated.
“Walter Lippmann, an American intellectual, writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner brought forth one of the first works concerning the usage of mass media in America. In Public Opinion (1922), Lippmann compared the masses to a “great beast” and a “bewildered herd” that needed to be guided by a governing class. He described the ruling elite as “a specialized class whose interests reach beyond the locality.” This class is composed of experts, specialists, and bureaucrats. According to Lippmann, the experts, who often are referred to as “elites,” are to be a machinery of knowledge that circumvents the primary defect of democracy, the impossible ideal of the “omnicompetent citizen.” The trampling and roaring “bewildered herd” has its function: to be “the interested spectators of action,” i.e. not participants. Participation is the duty of “the responsible man”, which is not the regular citizen.” ~Vigilant Citizen
Here, Lippmann talks about the beneficial impacts of propaganda:
“That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one, I think, denies. The process by which public opinions arise is certainly no less intricate than it has appeared in these pages, and the opportunities for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain enough. . . . as a result of psychological research, coupled with the modern means of communication, the practice of democracy has turned a corner. A revolution is taking place, infinitely more significant than any shifting of economic power. . . . Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily in the sinister meaning of the word alone, the old constants of our thinking have become variables. It is no longer possible, for example, to believe in the original dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been demonstrated that we cannot rely upon intuition, conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if we are to deal with the world beyond our reach.” ~Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion
And now, with nearly everyone walking around with a smartphone, you must realize that we are already hooked into a global neural-net, that for now, is only slowed down by limited digital bandwidth in the space between your phone and your brain. Once this bridge is gapped, there is basically nothing left to protect your mental sovereignty unless you decide to wake up and take the wheel.
Read more articles by Dylan Charles .
About the Author
Dylan Charles is a self-mastery and self-sabotage coach, the editor of Waking Times, and host of the Battered Souls podcast. His personal journey is deeply inspired by shamanic plant medicines and the arts of Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Yoga. After seven years of living in Costa Rica, he now lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he enjoys serving, training, and spending time with family. He has written hundreds of articles, reaching and inspiring millions of people around the world. Follow Dylan on telegram here, and sign up for his weekly newsletter here. On Facebook.
Dylan is available for interviews and podcasts.
This article (The Original Pioneers of Mind Control on Why You Must Protect Your Mental Sovereignty Now) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Sigmund Fraud and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.


wakingtimes--2020-12-01--What No One Is Saying About The Lockdowns

What No One Is Saying About The Lockdowns Get the latest Waking Times articles delivered to your inbox .
Sign up here .
If you are advocating for lockdowns , you are complicit in tearing families apart .
You are complicit in inflicting untold suffering on millions of people around the world .
You are complicit in casting the poorest and most vulnerable in our societies into even further grinding poverty .
You are complicit in murder .
This is James Corbett of corbettreport.com .
In 2006 , a 15-year-old high school student from Albuquerque , New Mexico won third @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fair for her project on slowing the spread of an infectious pathogen during a pandemic emergency .
Using a computer simulation that she developed with the help of her father , she argued that in order to slow the spread of the disease , governments should implement school shutdowns , keep kids at home and enforce social distancing .
Incredibly , that third place high school science fair project can be tied directly to the lockdown policies being implemented by governments around the world today .
You see , that father that she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average doting dad , but a senior researcher at Sandia National Laboratories who at that time was working on pandemic emergency response plans for the US Department of Homeland Security .
His proposal to implement school shutdowns and , if need be , workplace shutdowns in the event of a pandemic emergency was developed at least in part in response to his daughter ’ s high school project .
Now those advocating for lockdowns have seen the destruction and death that those policies have wrought this year and we are living through that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being deprived of their livelihoods and forced into grinding poverty as a direct result of these shutdowns , but now the undeniable truth is that if you are advocating for lockdowns , you are advocating for some portion of the population to be consigned to death .
This is no longer debatable .
It is even openly admitted—although months too late by the World Health Organization .
DAVID NABARRO : I want to say it again : we in the World Health Organization do not advocate lockdowns as a primary means of control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ]
We may well have a doubling of world poverty by early next year .
We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition because children are not getting meals at school and their parents and poor families are not able to afford it .
This is a terrible , ghastly global catastrophe , actually .
And so we really do appeal to all world leaders : stop using lockdown as your primary control method .
Develop better systems for doing it .
Work together and learn from each other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one consequence that you must never , ever belittle , and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer .
This is the point at which , no doubt , I ’ ll be expected to produce the data to back up the non-controversial observation that lockdowns kill , even though that data will do precisely nothing to penetrate the consciousness of those who have already decided that they occupy the moral high ground for advocating locking billions of people around the globe as prisoners inside their own homes .
But persevere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , for example , to the letter signed by hundreds of doctors calling the lockdowns themselves a “ mass casualty incident ” and exhorting politicians to end the shutdowns .
I ’ ll point to the research that shows that thousands of people will die because of delays to cancer surgery treatments as a result of the medical shutdowns .
I ’ ll point to the research of the Well-Being Trust showing that 75,000 Americans are expected to die deaths of despair—including alcohol and drug misuse and suicide—this year alone as a result @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the research of The Lancet showing that 265 million people are expected to be thrown into severe food insecurity as a result of these lockdowns .
I will even point to the research showing 125,000 children are expected to die from malnutrition as a result of these lockdowns .
But , as I say , none of these deaths will matter to those who have already decided that they are right and virtuous for advocating locking vast swathes of the human population inside their own homes to starve to death in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease that even the epidemiologists who have been wrong about everything this year tell us will kill less than one percent of the infected .
Yes , slowing the spread , not stopping the spread .
This was never about stopping a pandemic .
Even the lockdown advocates never advocated that .
But somehow that has been forgotten and “ 15 days to flatten the curve ” has turned into a never-ending carte blanche for the biosecurity state to implement any number of draconian policies on its population , any number of policies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Not only locking people inside their own homes , but constant surveillance of the population through the contact tracing and tracking apps that are increasingly being implemented around the globe , and , inevitably , the proposals for mandating the experimental vaccines which agents of the state will forcibly inject into people against their will .
This is not acceptable .
We can not allow this to stand .
If we forsake this , our most basic right—the right to step foot outside of our own homes—then we forsake our humanity itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us human is being taken away from us in the name of stopping the spread of COVID-19 .
But there is good news for those who have managed to retain their sanity in the time of insanity .
We do not need a complicated plan in order to subvert this agenda .
We do not need special deputization or to ask permission from the government .
We do not need to join any particular political party or even any particular protest movement .
All we have to do is disobey these unlawful “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retain your sanity during this time of widespread insanity , I applaud you and wish to assure you that you are not alone .
Many , many people all around the world are defying orders .
They are protesting against these lockdowns .
They are standing up .
They are disobeying .
By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge Like Waking Times on Facebook .
Follow Waking Times on Twitter .

What No One Is Saying About The Lockdowns
James Corbett, Guest
Waking Times
If you are advocating for lockdowns, you are complicit in tearing families apart. You are complicit in inflicting untold suffering on millions of people around the world. You are complicit in casting the poorest and most vulnerable in our societies into even further grinding poverty. You are complicit in murder.
TRANSCRIPT
This is James Corbett of corbettreport.com.
In 2006, a 15-year-old high school student from Albuquerque, New Mexico won third place in the Intel science and engineering fair for her project on slowing the spread of an infectious pathogen during a pandemic emergency. Using a computer simulation that she developed with the help of her father, she argued that in order to slow the spread of the disease, governments should implement school shutdowns, keep kids at home and enforce social distancing.
Incredibly, that third place high school science fair project can be tied directly to the lockdown policies being implemented by governments around the world today. You see, that father that she developed her computer simulation with was no average doting dad, but a senior researcher at Sandia National Laboratories who at that time was working on pandemic emergency response plans for the US Department of Homeland Security. His proposal to implement school shutdowns and, if need be, workplace shutdowns in the event of a pandemic emergency was developed at least in part in response to his daughter’s high school project.
Now those advocating for lockdowns have seen the destruction and death that those policies have wrought this year and we are living through that right now. Not only are people being deprived of their livelihoods and forced into grinding poverty as a direct result of these shutdowns, but now the undeniable truth is that if you are advocating for lockdowns, you are advocating for some portion of the population to be consigned to death.
This is no longer debatable. It is even openly admitted—although months too late by the World Health Organization.
DAVID NABARRO: I want to say it again: we in the World Health Organization do not advocate lockdowns as a primary means of control of this virus. [. . .] We may well have a doubling of world poverty by early next year. We may well have at least a doubling of child malnutrition because children are not getting meals at school and their parents and poor families are not able to afford it. This is a terrible, ghastly global catastrophe, actually. And so we really do appeal to all world leaders: stop using lockdown as your primary control method. Develop better systems for doing it. Work together and learn from each other. But remember, lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never, ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer. SOURCE: The Week in 60 Minutes #6
This is the point at which, no doubt, I’ll be expected to produce the data to back up the non-controversial observation that lockdowns kill, even though that data will do precisely nothing to penetrate the consciousness of those who have already decided that they occupy the moral high ground for advocating locking billions of people around the globe as prisoners inside their own homes. But persevere I will.
I’ll point, for example, to the letter signed by hundreds of doctors calling the lockdowns themselves a “mass casualty incident” and exhorting politicians to end the shutdowns.
I’ll point to the research that shows that thousands of people will die because of delays to cancer surgery treatments as a result of the medical shutdowns.
I’ll point to the research of the Well-Being Trust showing that 75,000 Americans are expected to die deaths of despair—including alcohol and drug misuse and suicide—this year alone as a result of the lockdowns.
I will point to the research of The Lancet showing that 265 million people are expected to be thrown into severe food insecurity as a result of these lockdowns.
I will even point to the research showing 125,000 children are expected to die from malnutrition as a result of these lockdowns.
But, as I say, none of these deaths will matter to those who have already decided that they are right and virtuous for advocating locking vast swathes of the human population inside their own homes to starve to death in the name of slowing the spread of a disease that even the epidemiologists who have been wrong about everything this year tell us will kill less than one percent of the infected.
Yes, slowing the spread, not stopping the spread. This was never about stopping a pandemic. Even the lockdown advocates never advocated that. But somehow that has been forgotten and “15 days to flatten the curve” has turned into a never-ending carte blanche for the biosecurity state to implement any number of draconian policies on its population, any number of policies on the checklist of the would-be dictator. Not only locking people inside their own homes, but constant surveillance of the population through the contact tracing and tracking apps that are increasingly being implemented around the globe, and, inevitably, the proposals for mandating the experimental vaccines which agents of the state will forcibly inject into people against their will.
This is not acceptable.
We cannot allow this to stand.
If we forsake this, our most basic right—the right to step foot outside of our own homes—then we forsake our humanity itself. An important part of what makes us human is being taken away from us in the name of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
But there is good news for those who have managed to retain their sanity in the time of insanity. We do not need a complicated plan in order to subvert this agenda. We do not need special deputization or to ask permission from the government. We do not need to join any particular political party or even any particular protest movement.
All we have to do is disobey these unlawful “orders.”
CASSIE ZERVOS: The persistent anti-lockdown protesters said they will not forget Melbourne’s strict 112 day measures as they took to the steps of Parliament. They carried signs saying “Don’t trust the government” and chanted for police to join them in their rally. SOURCE: Melbourne anti-COVID lockdown protest turns ugly outside Parliament House
BUSINESS OWNER: I’ve lost friends who’ve killed themselves. I’ve seen clients die because they’ve lost their livelihood. HEALTH INSPECTOR: I’m sorry to hear that. BUSINESS OWNER: I know you are and i’m just a—I’m asking for you to guys have some compassion. SOURCE: Buffalo, New York Business Owners Stand Up to Cuomo Lockdown Orders
ASHLEY DRIEMEYER: Can he arrest us all? Because, from what I am gathering, in this area we are all banding together and going against our governor. SOURCE: Illinois restaurant owner will defy new state restrictions
[CROWD BANGS POTS AND PANS DURING PROTEST] SOURCE: Protests in Denmark – Epidemic law and mandatory vaccines – EPIDEMILOV
BUSINESS OWNERS: Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! SOURCE: Buffalo, New York Business Owners Stand Up to Cuomo Lockdown Orders
If you have managed to retain your sanity during this time of widespread insanity, I applaud you and wish to assure you that you are not alone. Many, many people all around the world are defying orders. They are protesting against these lockdowns. They are standing up. They are disobeying.
By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge
Like Waking Times on Facebook. Follow Waking Times on Twitter.


wakingtimes--2020-12-01--Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis

Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis

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The featured 2019 BBC documentary , “ Addicted : America ’ s Opioid Crisis , ” explores the depth of the nation ’ s addiction to opioid painkillers and the role played by Purdue Pharma and other makers of the drug .
As noted in the film , opioids kill more people than any other drug on the market , and it ’ s the only type of drug that can condemn a person to a life of addiction after a single week of use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 in 8 American children live with a parent who suffers from a substance abuse disorder , ” and “ every 15 minutes , a baby in America is born suffering from opioid withdrawal.
” Middle school-aged children interviewed also say they have easy access to drugs , should they want them .
Many now blame the drug companies that make these drugs and have falsely promoted them as safe and nonaddictive for patients of all kinds , including children .
That includes one of the former addicts followed in the film , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need to be held responsible for their role in creating this epidemic , and made to help pay for the solution .
One of the most prominent drug companies involved in the creation of this opioid addiction crisis is Purdue Pharma , the maker of OxyContin .
At the end of October 2020 , Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges relating to its role in the opioid crisis , including violating a federal anti-kickback law , conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and violating the Food , Drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Purdue is supposed to pay $ 8.3 billion in fines , forfeiture of past profits and civil liability payments,3 but because it doesn ’ t have the cash , the company will instead be dissolved and its assets used to erect a “ public benefit company ” that both makes opioids and pays for addiction treatment .
Legal Painkillers Now the Gateway Drug to Heroin While marijuana was long known as the gateway drug to other illicit drug use , that distinction now belongs to prescription opioids .
According to data4 from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prescription opioid use is a significant risk factor for subsequent heroin use .
The incidence of heroin use is 19 times higher among those who have used opioids nonmedically than among those who have no history of opioid use , and 86 % of young , urban injection drug users report using opioid pain relievers nonmedically before starting heroin .
Overall , nearly 80 % of heroin users now report using prescription opioids prior to heroin .
Similarly , data5 from the University of Michigan shows just under 1 in 3 people ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their high school years ended up using heroin by age 35 .
When it comes to children and teens , a major source of opioids are dentists , who wrote a staggering 18.1 million prescriptions for opioids in 2017.6 Opioids are frequently prescribed when extracting wisdom teeth , even though there ’ s no evidence to support this strategy .
This is especially true if you see a biological dentist who knows what they are doing .
Earlier this year I had a periapical abscess and had to have the tooth extracted .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida , Dr. Carl Litano , just south of Tampa .
He used platelet rich plasma ( PRP ) at the extraction site and I had zero pain and no swelling without any medication .
Afterward , no one could tell I had an extraction the previous day .
Children are also recklessly prescribed addictive opioids for minor surgical procedures .
For example , insurance claims data from 2016 and 2017 reveal 60 % of children between the ages of 1 and 18 with private insurance filled one or more opioid prescriptions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows opioids ( including morphine , Vicodin , oxycodone and fentanyl ) fail to control moderate to severe pain any better than over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen , ibuprofen and naproxen .
As noted in the film , this is an epidemic caused by greed within the medical system .
Purdue Pharma was exceptionally skilled at marketing its product , cleverly disguising its advertisements as educational material .
( The same can clearly be said about many other drug companies and their wares today . )
There can be no doubt that false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opioid epidemic,10 and for doctors , it highlights the importance of staying on top of published research rather than relying on drug company sales reps for their education .
The fraud has its roots in a short letter to the editor11,12 published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1980 .
The letter — which was simply commenting on a cursory examination of patient files in a Boston hospital — stated that narcotic addiction in patients with no history of addiction was very rare .
Purdue built its marketing of OxyContin on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that opioid addiction affects less than 1 % of patients treated with the drugs .
According to Purdue ’ s marketing material , featured in the film , “ the most serious risk with opioids is respiratory depression.
” In reality , opioids have a very high rate of addiction and have not been proven effective for long-term use.13 A number of court cases in recent years have demonstrated how Purdue systematically misled doctors about OxyContin ’ s addictiveness to drive up sales .
According to the documentary , Purdue made more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sales of OxyContin .
OxyContin ’ s success also quickly led to other drug companies mimicking Purdue ’ s tactics .
Other companies being called to account include Allergan , Cephalon , Endo International , Egalet Corporation , Insys Therapeutics , Johnson & Johnson , Janssen Pharmaceuticals , Mallinckrodt plc and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries .
In the final analysis , it ’ s clear that unconscionably deceitful marketing tactics have resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans ; 46,802 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2018 alone.15 As of June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of death among Americans under the age of 50.16 That said , the BBC also rightfully points out that we need stronger regulations and more effective checks and balances to prevent this kind of situation from happening again in the future .
Merely making drug companies pay is not enough .
Steven May , a former Purdue sales rep , also highlights yet another scandal .
The company came up with a plan to help doctors to better document their treatment of pain .
Sales reps were taught how to instruct doctors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doctors eventually got in trouble for overprescribing opioids , using Purdue ’ s tools , the company walked away and offered no support .
Many doctors lost their medical licenses .
Some ended up doing jail sentences and some committed suicide .
“ And they were doing exactly what [ Purdue ] taught us to teach them to do , ” May says .
Adding insult to injury , when it became clear that people were dying in droves from opioid overdoses , Purdue launched an extensive damage-control operation that included the suggestion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addicts , and that this wouldn ’ t happen to patients who were not already addicted to drugs .
It was basically just a variation on the original lie .
According to lawsuits filed against Purdue , the company knew as early as the 1990s that OxyContin was one of the most abused drugs in the country , yet they did nothing to change their marketing and sales strategies .
That the Sacklers , the owners of Purdue , had no remorse and didn ’ t care about the societal effects that overprescription @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a 2001 email exchange between then-Purdue president Richard Sackler and an acquaintance .
Many of the opioid and heroin abusers featured in “ Addicted ” live on the streets .
Desperation and despair are evident in all .
Several investigations seeking to gain insight into the causes fueling the opioid epidemic have been conducted in recent years .
Among them is a 2019 study17 in the Medical Care Research Review journal , which looked at the effects of state-level economic conditions — unemployment rates , median house prices , median household income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weekly work — on drug overdose deaths between 1999 and 2014 .
According to the authors:18 Similarly , an investigation published in the International Journal of Drug Policy19 in 2017 connected economic recessions and unemployment with rises in illegal drug use among adults .
Seventeen of the 28 studies included in the review found that the psychological distress associated with economic recessions and unemployment was a significant factor:20 Another 2019 study21 published in Population Health reviewed the links between free trade and deaths from opioid use between 1999 and 2015 , finding that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is positively associated with opioid overdose mortality at the county level.
” Overall , for each 1,000 people who lost their jobs due to international trade — commonly due to factory shutdowns — there was a 2.7 % increase in opioid-related deaths .
Abuse-related trauma is also linked to unemployment and financial stress , and that too can increase your risk of drug use and addiction .
As noted in The Atlantic,22 when the coal mining industry in northeastern Pennsylvania collapsed , leaving many locals without job prospects , alcohol use increased , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these traumatized children , in turn , sought relief from the turmoil and ended up becoming addicted to opioids .
All of this is particularly pertinent today , as many parts of the U.S. have been shut down for extended periods of time over fears of COVID-19 .
Not being allowed to work , being forced to stay at home for weeks or months on end , maintaining an unnatural distance even to your loved ones and not being able to see people ’ s faces when out in public — all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anxiety and , ultimately , despair that fuels addiction .
Indeed , reports23 warn that substance abuse is on the rise as a result of pandemic measures , as is domestic violence.24 Struggling With Opioid Addiction ?
Please Seek Help It ’ s vitally important to realize that opioids are extremely addictive drugs that are not meant for long-term use for nonfatal conditions .
If you ’ ve been on an opioid for more than two months , or if you find yourself taking a higher dosage , or taking the drug more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Resources where you can find help include the following .
You can also learn more in “ How to Wean Off Opioids.
” • The Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration can be contacted 24 hours a day at 1-800-622-HELP I also urge you to listen to my interview with Dr. Sarah Zielsdorf , which is being published in tomorrow ’ s newsletter .
In it , she explains how low-dose naltrexone ( LDN ) , used in microdoses , can help you help combat opioid addiction and aid in your recovery.26 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ microgram ) , long-term users of opioids who have developed a tolerance to the drug are able to , over time , lower their opioid dose and avoid withdrawal symptoms as the LDN makes the opioid more effective .
For opioid dependence , the typical starting dose is 1 microgram twice a day , which will allow them to lower their opioid dose by about 60 % .
When the opioid is taken for pain , the LDN must be taken four to six hours apart from the opioid in order to not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many types of pain can be treated entirely without drugs .
Recommendations by Harvard Medical School27,28 and the British National Health Service29 include the following .
You can find more detailed information about most of these techniques in “ 13 Mind-Body Techniques That Can Help Ease Pain and Depression.
” In “ Billionaire Opioid Executive Stands to Make Millions More on Patent for Addiction Treatment , ” I discuss several additional approaches — including helpful supplements and dietary changes — that can be used separately or in combination with the strategies listed above @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis
Dr. Mercola, Guest
Waking Times
The featured 2019 BBC documentary, “Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis,” explores the depth of the nation’s addiction to opioid painkillers and the role played by Purdue Pharma and other makers of the drug.
As noted in the film, opioids kill more people than any other drug on the market, and it’s the only type of drug that can condemn a person to a life of addiction after a single week of use.
According to the BBC, “1 in 8 American children live with a parent who suffers from a substance abuse disorder,” and “every 15 minutes, a baby in America is born suffering from opioid withdrawal.” Middle school-aged children interviewed also say they have easy access to drugs, should they want them.
Many now blame the drug companies that make these drugs and have falsely promoted them as safe and nonaddictive for patients of all kinds, including children.
That includes one of the former addicts followed in the film, who says he thinks the drug companies need to be held responsible for their role in creating this epidemic, and made to help pay for the solution.
Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty and Folds
One of the most prominent drug companies involved in the creation of this opioid addiction crisis is Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. At the end of October 2020, Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges relating to its role in the opioid crisis, including violating a federal anti-kickback law, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.1,2
To settle the charges, Purdue is supposed to pay $8.3 billion in fines, forfeiture of past profits and civil liability payments,3 but because it doesn’t have the cash, the company will instead be dissolved and its assets used to erect a “public benefit company” that both makes opioids and pays for addiction treatment.
Legal Painkillers Now the Gateway Drug to Heroin
While marijuana was long known as the gateway drug to other illicit drug use, that distinction now belongs to prescription opioids. According to data4 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, prescription opioid use is a significant risk factor for subsequent heroin use.
“1 in 3 people who misused opioids during their high school years ended up using heroin by age 35.”
The incidence of heroin use is 19 times higher among those who have used opioids nonmedically than among those who have no history of opioid use, and 86% of young, urban injection drug users report using opioid pain relievers nonmedically before starting heroin. Overall, nearly 80% of heroin users now report using prescription opioids prior to heroin.
Similarly, data5 from the University of Michigan shows just under 1 in 3 people (31.8%) who misused opioids during their high school years ended up using heroin by age 35.
When it comes to children and teens, a major source of opioids are dentists, who wrote a staggering 18.1 million prescriptions for opioids in 2017.6 Opioids are frequently prescribed when extracting wisdom teeth, even though there’s no evidence to support this strategy.
This is especially true if you see a biological dentist who knows what they are doing. Earlier this year I had a periapical abscess and had to have the tooth extracted. I saw one of the best dentists in Florida, Dr. Carl Litano, just south of Tampa. He used platelet rich plasma (PRP) at the extraction site and I had zero pain and no swelling without any medication. Afterward, no one could tell I had an extraction the previous day.
Children are also recklessly prescribed addictive opioids for minor surgical procedures. For example, insurance claims data from 2016 and 2017 reveal 60% of children between the ages of 1 and 18 with private insurance filled one or more opioid prescriptions after surgical tonsil removal.7,8
Meanwhile, research9 shows opioids (including morphine, Vicodin, oxycodone and fentanyl) fail to control moderate to severe pain any better than over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen.
An Epidemic Caused by Greed
As noted in the film, this is an epidemic caused by greed within the medical system. Purdue Pharma was exceptionally skilled at marketing its product, cleverly disguising its advertisements as educational material. (The same can clearly be said about many other drug companies and their wares today.)
There can be no doubt that false advertising played a central role in the opioid epidemic,10 and for doctors, it highlights the importance of staying on top of published research rather than relying on drug company sales reps for their education.
The fraud has its roots in a short letter to the editor11,12 published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1980. The letter — which was simply commenting on a cursory examination of patient files in a Boston hospital — stated that narcotic addiction in patients with no history of addiction was very rare.
Purdue built its marketing of OxyContin on this letter, for years falsely claiming that opioid addiction affects less than 1% of patients treated with the drugs. According to Purdue’s marketing material, featured in the film, “the most serious risk with opioids is respiratory depression.”
In reality, opioids have a very high rate of addiction and have not been proven effective for long-term use.13 A number of court cases in recent years have demonstrated how Purdue systematically misled doctors about OxyContin’s addictiveness to drive up sales.
As noted by David Powell, a senior economist at Rand, to produce the most lethal drug epidemic America has ever seen “you need a huge rise in opioid access, in a way that misuse is easy, but you also need demand to misuse the product.”14
According to the documentary, Purdue made more than $1 billion a year from its sales of OxyContin. OxyContin’s success also quickly led to other drug companies mimicking Purdue’s tactics. Other companies being called to account include Allergan, Cephalon, Endo International, Egalet Corporation, Insys Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt plc and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
In the final analysis, it’s clear that unconscionably deceitful marketing tactics have resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans; 46,802 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2018 alone.15 As of June 2017, opioids became the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50.16
That said, the BBC also rightfully points out that we need stronger regulations and more effective checks and balances to prevent this kind of situation from happening again in the future. Merely making drug companies pay is not enough.
Purdue Lured in, Then Abandoned Doctors
Steven May, a former Purdue sales rep, also highlights yet another scandal. The company came up with a plan to help doctors to better document their treatment of pain. Sales reps were taught how to instruct doctors to use these tools.
When those same doctors eventually got in trouble for overprescribing opioids, using Purdue’s tools, the company walked away and offered no support. Many doctors lost their medical licenses. Some ended up doing jail sentences and some committed suicide. “And they were doing exactly what [Purdue] taught us to teach them to do,” May says.
No Remorse
Adding insult to injury, when it became clear that people were dying in droves from opioid overdoses, Purdue launched an extensive damage-control operation that included the suggestion that those dying from opioids were already addicts, and that this wouldn’t happen to patients who were not already addicted to drugs. It was basically just a variation on the original lie.
According to lawsuits filed against Purdue, the company knew as early as the 1990s that OxyContin was one of the most abused drugs in the country, yet they did nothing to change their marketing and sales strategies.
That the Sacklers, the owners of Purdue, had no remorse and didn’t care about the societal effects that overprescription of their drug was having is illustrated in a 2001 email exchange between then-Purdue president Richard Sackler and an acquaintance.
In the documentary, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong reads this exchange, which begins with the unnamed acquaintance stating: “[Drug] abusers die, well that is the choice they made. I doubt a single one didn’t know the risks,” to which Sackler replied, “Abusers aren’t victims; they are the victimizers.” “It’s hard to stomach that someone would write that about people who are suffering, people who are in real distress and people who have died,” Tong says, “and that is the kind of thing that powered this company during a period and led to deceptive, fraudulent, misleading product development and marketing … [They] made money off people’s misery and I think that is what these emails show.”
Unemployment and Poverty Fuel Addiction
Many of the opioid and heroin abusers featured in “Addicted” live on the streets. Desperation and despair are evident in all. Several investigations seeking to gain insight into the causes fueling the opioid epidemic have been conducted in recent years.
Among them is a 2019 study17 in the Medical Care Research Review journal, which looked at the effects of state-level economic conditions — unemployment rates, median house prices, median household income, insurance coverage and average hours of weekly work — on drug overdose deaths between 1999 and 2014. According to the authors:18
“Drug overdose deaths significantly declined with higher house prices … by nearly 0.17 deaths per 100,000 (~4%) with a $10,000 increase in median house price. House price effects were … only significant among males, non-Hispanic Whites, and individuals younger 45 years …
Our findings suggest that economic downturns that substantially reduce house prices such as the Great Recession can increase opioid-related deaths, suggesting that efforts to control access to such drugs should especially intensify during these periods.”
Similarly, an investigation published in the International Journal of Drug Policy19 in 2017 connected economic recessions and unemployment with rises in illegal drug use among adults. Seventeen of the 28 studies included in the review found that the psychological distress associated with economic recessions and unemployment was a significant factor:20
“The current evidence is in line with the hypothesis that drug use increases in times of recession because unemployment increases psychological distress which increases drug use. During times of recession, psychological support for those who lost their job and are vulnerable to drug use (relapse) is likely to be important.”
Another 2019 study21 published in Population Health reviewed the links between free trade and deaths from opioid use between 1999 and 2015, finding that “Job loss due to international trade is positively associated with opioid overdose mortality at the county level.” Overall, for each 1,000 people who lost their jobs due to international trade — commonly due to factory shutdowns — there was a 2.7% increase in opioid-related deaths.
Trauma Raises Addiction Risk
Abuse-related trauma is also linked to unemployment and financial stress, and that too can increase your risk of drug use and addiction. As noted in The Atlantic,22 when the coal mining industry in northeastern Pennsylvania collapsed, leaving many locals without job prospects, alcohol use increased, as did child abuse.
Many of these traumatized children, in turn, sought relief from the turmoil and ended up becoming addicted to opioids. All of this is particularly pertinent today, as many parts of the U.S. have been shut down for extended periods of time over fears of COVID-19.
Not being allowed to work, being forced to stay at home for weeks or months on end, maintaining an unnatural distance even to your loved ones and not being able to see people’s faces when out in public — all of these things can contribute to fear, anxiety and, ultimately, despair that fuels addiction. Indeed, reports23 warn that substance abuse is on the rise as a result of pandemic measures, as is domestic violence.24
Struggling With Opioid Addiction? Please Seek Help
It’s vitally important to realize that opioids are extremely addictive drugs that are not meant for long-term use for nonfatal conditions. If you’ve been on an opioid for more than two months, or if you find yourself taking a higher dosage, or taking the drug more often, you may already be addicted. Resources where you can find help include the following. You can also learn more in “How to Wean Off Opioids.”
Your workplace Employee Assistance Program
The Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration 25 can be contacted 24 hours a day at 1-800-622-HELP
I also urge you to listen to my interview with Dr. Sarah Zielsdorf, which is being published in tomorrow’s newsletter. In it, she explains how low-dose naltrexone (LDN), used in microdoses, can help you help combat opioid addiction and aid in your recovery.26
Using microdoses of 0.001 milligrams (1 microgram), long-term users of opioids who have developed a tolerance to the drug are able to, over time, lower their opioid dose and avoid withdrawal symptoms as the LDN makes the opioid more effective.
For opioid dependence, the typical starting dose is 1 microgram twice a day, which will allow them to lower their opioid dose by about 60%. When the opioid is taken for pain, the LDN must be taken four to six hours apart from the opioid in order to not displace the opioid’s effects.
Nondrug Pain Relief
Many types of pain can be treated entirely without drugs. Recommendations by Harvard Medical School27,28 and the British National Health Service29 include the following. You can find more detailed information about most of these techniques in “13 Mind-Body Techniques That Can Help Ease Pain and Depression.”
Gentle exercise Physical therapy or occupational therapy Hypnotherapy Distracting yourself with an enjoyable activity Maintaining a regular sleep schedule Mind-body techniques such as controlled breathing, meditation, guided imagery and mindfulness practice that encourage relaxation. One of my personal favorites is the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Yoga and tai chi Practicing gratitude and positive thinking Hot or cold packs Biofeedback Music therapy Therapeutic massage
In “Billionaire Opioid Executive Stands to Make Millions More on Patent for Addiction Treatment,” I discuss several additional approaches — including helpful supplements and dietary changes — that can be used separately or in combination with the strategies listed above to control both acute and chronic pain.


wakingtimes--2020-12-03--CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season

CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season Get the latest Waking Times articles delivered to your inbox .
Sign up here .
Buried in a CDC web page about yearly flu data collection is a message that may come as a surprise .
It reads , The announcement was first added in October , the month typical of a year ’ s initial uptick in flu cases , peaking between the months of December and February .
More specifically , the system they are referring to is called Summary of the Geographical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the geographic locations of flu cases .
Many have taken this to mean that no data will be collected during the 2020-2021 season , but basic data collection has not stopped and is being published weekly on the CDC ’ s website .
Flu cases are expected to be lower this year because of the coronavirus , spurring some to believe that covid numbers are being inflated .
“ Couldn ’ t make the numbers stack up , now they are counting every influenza death as covid-19 , ” claims Investment Watch Blog @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been for a year.
” It is unclear how many flu cases have been counted among coronavirus numbers , but we do know that in 2020 , cases of the flu had an inverse relationship with those of the coronavirus .
In other words , as flu numbers went down , coronavirus numbers went up .
“ I think we ’ re probably seeing some impact as far as social distancing , but also this is the time of year where we see it tail off anyway , ” said Lexington Emergency Physician @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hand hygiene and the social distancing .
All of that will impact other viruses on top of just the coronavirus.
” Debate raged over the legitimacy of official coronavirus numbers as hospitals were paid large sums of money for each cause of death registered as Covid via the CARES act passed by congress .
READ : Senator and Former Minnesota Family Doctor of the Year Being Investigated for Questioning Covid Death Certificates “ ABC10 can verify that hospitals do get reimbursed for coronavirus related care , which unfortunately includes deaths , ” admits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ based news station .
Covid deaths tend to be among older people with preexisting conditions like diabetes .
Because every death registered with a positive test is logged as an official coronavirus death , it is not always clear whether a death was from covid , with covid , or if the virus was one of many contributing factors .
“ The number of deaths related to COVID are probably underestimated , not overestimated , ” asserts Dr. David Holcombe , medical director of the Cenla Office of Public Health .
However , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this claim , arguing that true coronavirus death numbers are difficult to quantify .
“ The true death rate may be unknown , ” reports The Conversation .
“ In the meantime , we need more detail about what ’ s being reported in the daily COVID-19 death data , and governments should be transparent about what is ( and is not ) being counted as a COVID-19 death.
” Phillip Schneider is a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times .
For more of his work , you can visit his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him on the free speech social network Minds .
This article ( CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season ) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com .
It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution , author bio , and this copyright statement .

CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season
Phillip Schneider, Staff Writer
Waking Times
Buried in a CDC web page about yearly flu data collection is a message that may come as a surprise. It reads,
“Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this system will suspend data collection for the 2020-21 influenza season.”
The announcement was first added in October, the month typical of a year’s initial uptick in flu cases, peaking between the months of December and February. More specifically, the system they are referring to is called Summary of the Geographical Spread of Influenza which compiles data regarding the geographic locations of flu cases.
Many have taken this to mean that no data will be collected during the 2020-2021 season, but basic data collection has not stopped and is being published weekly on the CDC’s website.
Flu cases are expected to be lower this year because of the coronavirus, spurring some to believe that covid numbers are being inflated.
“Couldn’t make the numbers stack up, now they are counting every influenza death as covid-19,” claims Investment Watch Blog. “Truth is they probably have been for a year.”
It is unclear how many flu cases have been counted among coronavirus numbers, but we do know that in 2020, cases of the flu had an inverse relationship with those of the coronavirus. In other words, as flu numbers went down, coronavirus numbers went up.
“I think we’re probably seeing some impact as far as social distancing, but also this is the time of year where we see it tail off anyway,” said Lexington Emergency Physician Dr. Ryan Stanton last April. “Hand hygiene and the social distancing. All of that will impact other viruses on top of just the coronavirus.”
Debate raged over the legitimacy of official coronavirus numbers as hospitals were paid large sums of money for each cause of death registered as Covid via the CARES act passed by congress.
“ABC10 can verify that hospitals do get reimbursed for coronavirus related care, which unfortunately includes deaths,” admits ABC10, a local Sacramento, California based news station.
Covid deaths tend to be among older people with preexisting conditions like diabetes. Because every death registered with a positive test is logged as an official coronavirus death, it is not always clear whether a death was from covid, with covid, or if the virus was one of many contributing factors.
“The number of deaths related to COVID are probably underestimated, not overestimated,” asserts Dr. David Holcombe, medical director of the Cenla Office of Public Health.
However, medical experts from around the world dispute this claim, arguing that true coronavirus death numbers are difficult to quantify.
“I remember as a junior doctor trying to do death certificates – it’s not always an easy thing […] I don’t, by any stretch of the imagination, think it’s a reason to underplay the severe impact that COVID has on people who have [pre-existing] conditions.” – Australian Federal Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth [SOURCE]
“The true death rate may be unknown,” reports The Conversation. “In the meantime, we need more detail about what’s being reported in the daily COVID-19 death data, and governments should be transparent about what is (and is not) being counted as a COVID-19 death.”
About the Author
Phillip Schneider is a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times. For more of his work, you can visit his Website, Facebook Page, or follow him on the free speech social network Minds.
This article (CDC Announces They Will Be Rolling Back Collection of Flu Data During the 2020-2021 Season) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.


wakingtimes--2020-12-03--THIS WEEK – Congress To Vote On Legalizing Cannabis Nationwide, Expunge Arrests

THIS WEEK – Congress To Vote On Legalizing Cannabis Nationwide , Expunge Arrests Get the latest Waking Times articles delivered to your inbox .
Sign up here .
On November 3 , 2020 , history was made in the American war on drugs .
Drugs won .
Oregon moved to decriminalize all drugs , even hard ones like meth and heroin as five other states moved to legalize cannabis in some form .
Fast forward to this week and Congress will be holding a historic vote to end federal cannabis prohibition once and for all .
As the left and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white man they want in the White House , laws — or rather the removal of laws — are being passed and proposed that increase the freedom of all Americans and deal a death blow to the racist and violent war on drugs .
When Americans went to the poles last month , millions of them agreed that cannabis shouldn ’ t be illegal .
Cannabis legalization measures were passed in red and blue states , with weed winning more votes than the popular candidates !
As Marijuana Moment reports , in most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marijuana at the polls declined to endorse the reform ahead of the election—perhaps something that politicians in states where cannabis is on the ballot in 2022 will take note of .
In Arizona , who legalized cannabis in a landslide vote , the proposal passed with 1,951,877 total votes .
This total beat out both senile old men as Trump received 1,657,250 votes while Biden received 1,668,684 .
The same thing happened in Mississippi , Montana , New Jersey , South Dakota , and Oregon made history with more votes being cast to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley , Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and her Republican opponent Michael Cross .
The people have spoken and it appears that more of them like legal cannabis more than either one of the blowhard candidates with their empty promises .
Voting to overturn the tyranny of the drug war can not happen fast enough and it looks like Americans — both on the blue team and the red — are finally beginning to grasp this .
According to a recent Gallop poll , 68 percent of the country favors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medicinal either .
Sadly , however , although the Joe Biden claimed he will “ pursue modest marijuana reform ” after he gets in the White House , these claims ring entirely hollow given his lust for locking brown and black people in cages in his past four decades in Washington .
The prohibition of cannabis is a major tool used by the police state to go after communities of color and the poor and those who profit from preying on these groups will not give up that power easily which is why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , marijuana legalization is still on the table before the presidential transition and will get a vote this week .
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement ( MORE ) Act , was supposed to go up for a vote in September but was shelved by Democrats who were worried about how it would look to pass a legalization bill without passing another coronavirus relief package .
Well , since that relief package never came , the MORE act is up for vote once more , and will take place this week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Controlled Substances Act ( CSA ) .
But that is not all .
It would go one step further and seek to undo the horrific damage caused by the state ’ s war on this plant by expunging the records of those persecuted by cannabis prohibition .
The House will “ vote on the MORE Act to decriminalize cannabis and expunge convictions for non-violent cannabis offenses that have prevented many Americans from getting jobs , applying for credit and loans , and accessing opportunities that make it possible to get ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steny Hoyer said in a Dear Colleague letter to House members .
Federally descheduling cannabis would have a massive effect on bringing cannabis prohibition to its knees .
It will also bring in revenue to cash strapped states who are going in debt amid COVID-19 lockdowns .
According to the legislation , the act would : provide for expungement and resentencing of prior convictions and prevent federal agencies from using cannabis as a reason to deny access to benefits or citizenship status for immigrants .
It would also impose a five percent federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some of that revenue would be directed toward a new Opportunity Trust Fund aimed at supporting grant programs to provide job training and legal aid for people impacted by prohibition enforcement , loans for small marijuana businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and efforts to minimize barriers to licensing and employment in the legal industry .
Some of these efforts would be run through a new Cannabis Justice Office in the Department of Justice .
Even though the bill has bipartisan support in the House and is expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Senate will likely hold it up .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-KY ) has made his reefer madness stance clear and he will likely convince many other tyrants in the Senate to oppose its passage .
Nevertheless , the symbolic nature of a bill passing the House to legalize cannabis on a national level can not be understated .
It is also important to point out that this legislation was presented last year and approved by a majority in the House Judiciary Committee .
However , a vote by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In August , however , the organization formerly known as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ) , now known as Law Enforcement Action Partnership , along with the National Black Police Association , and Fair and Just Prosecution signed onto a revolutionary letter to Congress urging the federal government to legalize marijuana and expunge all past convictions relating to marijuana .
This provided the impetus for the vote in December .
Those who continue denying the evidence , while continuing to lock people in cages for a plant , will ultimately be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the heroes they claim to be now .
They will be remembered as the ones responsible for mass incarceration , fostering the police state , and dealing a near-death blow to freedom .
The time for change is now .
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA .
This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state .
Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project .
Follow @ MattAgorist on Twitter , Steemit , and now on Minds .
**This article ( THIS WEEK—Congress To Vote On Legalizing Cannabis Nationwide , Expunge Arrests ) was originally published at The Free Thought Project and is re-posted here with permission .
**

THIS WEEK – Congress To Vote On Legalizing Cannabis Nationwide, Expunge Arrests
Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
Waking Times
On November 3, 2020, history was made in the American war on drugs. Drugs won. Oregon moved to decriminalize all drugs, even hard ones like meth and heroin as five other states moved to legalize cannabis in some form. Fast forward to this week and Congress will be holding a historic vote to end federal cannabis prohibition once and for all.
As the left and the right argue over which crazy old white man they want in the White House, laws — or rather the removal of laws — are being passed and proposed that increase the freedom of all Americans and deal a death blow to the racist and violent war on drugs.
When Americans went to the poles last month, millions of them agreed that cannabis shouldn’t be illegal. Cannabis legalization measures were passed in red and blue states, with weed winning more votes than the popular candidates!
As Marijuana Moment reports, in most cases, candidates who were outperformed by marijuana at the polls declined to endorse the reform ahead of the election—perhaps something that politicians in states where cannabis is on the ballot in 2022 will take note of.
In Arizona, who legalized cannabis in a landslide vote, the proposal passed with 1,951,877 total votes. This total beat out both senile old men as Trump received 1,657,250 votes while Biden received 1,668,684.
The same thing happened in Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Oregon made history with more votes being cast to decriminalize all drugs than for Trump, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and her Republican opponent Michael Cross.
The people have spoken and it appears that more of them like legal cannabis more than either one of the blowhard candidates with their empty promises.
Voting to overturn the tyranny of the drug war cannot happen fast enough and it looks like Americans — both on the blue team and the red — are finally beginning to grasp this. According to a recent Gallop poll, 68 percent of the country favors legal access to cannabis — not just medicinal either.
Sadly, however, although the Joe Biden claimed he will “pursue modest marijuana reform” after he gets in the White House, these claims ring entirely hollow given his lust for locking brown and black people in cages in his past four decades in Washington. The prohibition of cannabis is a major tool used by the police state to go after communities of color and the poor and those who profit from preying on these groups will not give up that power easily which is why Biden has refused to even consider legalization.
However, marijuana legalization is still on the table before the presidential transition and will get a vote this week.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, was supposed to go up for a vote in September but was shelved by Democrats who were worried about how it would look to pass a legalization bill without passing another coronavirus relief package. Well, since that relief package never came, the MORE act is up for vote once more, and will take place this week.
The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). But that is not all. It would go one step further and seek to undo the horrific damage caused by the state’s war on this plant by expunging the records of those persecuted by cannabis prohibition.
The House will “vote on the MORE Act to decriminalize cannabis and expunge convictions for non-violent cannabis offenses that have prevented many Americans from getting jobs, applying for credit and loans, and accessing opportunities that make it possible to get ahead in our economy,” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a Dear Colleague letter to House members.
Federally descheduling cannabis would have a massive effect on bringing cannabis prohibition to its knees. It will also bring in revenue to cash strapped states who are going in debt amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
According to the legislation, the act would:
provide for expungement and resentencing of prior convictions and prevent federal agencies from using cannabis as a reason to deny access to benefits or citizenship status for immigrants. It would also impose a five percent federal tax on the sales of marijuana products. Some of that revenue would be directed toward a new Opportunity Trust Fund aimed at supporting grant programs to provide job training and legal aid for people impacted by prohibition enforcement, loans for small marijuana businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and efforts to minimize barriers to licensing and employment in the legal industry. Some of these efforts would be run through a new Cannabis Justice Office in the Department of Justice.
Even though the bill has bipartisan support in the House and is expected to pass, drug war addicted dinosaurs in the Senate will likely hold it up. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has made his reefer madness stance clear and he will likely convince many other tyrants in the Senate to oppose its passage.
Nevertheless, the symbolic nature of a bill passing the House to legalize cannabis on a national level cannot be understated. It is also important to point out that this legislation was presented last year and approved by a majority in the House Judiciary Committee. However, a vote by Congress has been delayed multiple times.
In August, however, the organization formerly known as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), now known as Law Enforcement Action Partnership, along with the National Black Police Association, and Fair and Just Prosecution signed onto a revolutionary letter to Congress urging the federal government to legalize marijuana and expunge all past convictions relating to marijuana. This provided the impetus for the vote in December.
Those who continue denying the evidence, while continuing to lock people in cages for a plant, will ultimately be judged by history. They will not be the heroes they claim to be now. They will be remembered as the ones responsible for mass incarceration, fostering the police state, and dealing a near-death blow to freedom.
The time for change is now.
About the Author
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Minds.
**This article (THIS WEEK—Congress To Vote On Legalizing Cannabis Nationwide, Expunge Arrests) was originally published at The Free Thought Project and is re-posted here with permission.**


wakingtimes--2020-12-03--Colombia Considers Ending ‘War On Drugs’ By Legalizing Its Huge Cocaine Industry

Colombia Considers Ending ‘ War On Drugs ’ By Legalizing Its Huge Cocaine Industry Get the latest Waking Times articles delivered to your inbox .
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A controversial bill is making its way through Colombia ’ s legislature that could see the South American nation end its destructive war on drugs by effectively legalizing cocaine and subjecting the drug to government regulation .
The bill , which has the backing of the leftist opposition and its centrist allies , hopes to put an end to the so-called war on drugs in favor of effective counter-narcotics strategies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ For nearly half a century , Colombia has faced the ravages of an anti-drug policy that criminalizes the coca leaf while fueling the growth of monstrous drug trafficking organizations and illegal armed groups and death squads vying for control of the cultivation of coca and production of cocaine .
Under the proposed bill , cocaine would be decriminalized and the state would purchase the entire coca harvest in the country and channel it towards a legal industry that distributes cocaine to users for pain relief rather than recreational use .
The policy would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Indigenous artisans who would have a chance to produce foods , medicinal products , tea , and baking flour using the plant .
Supporters of the bill hope that it would allow hundreds of thousands of illegal coca farmers out of a shadowy black market overseen by cartels and violent armed groups and into a homegrown , government-regulated industry .
“ This policy would mean cutting organized crime off from the coca leaf , and it would cut consumers off from organized crime , ” Senator Ivan Marulanda of the centrist Green @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Colombian state would distribute it to users under a public health program , effectively through physicians who would evaluate if a person is apt for taking cocaine for their pain .
And then it would be high-quality cocaine.
” “ Another important thing here is that not all consumers are addicts , ” Marulanda added .
“ Less than 10 percent of cocaine consumers are addicts.
” Throughout the Andes , the consumption and use of the coca leaf has been a part of the cultural and social traditions of native peoples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the world ’ s third largest producer of cocaine , the coca leaf was decriminalized through widely-hailed policies that prioritized respect for human rights and community participation .
“ The war on drugs is a law-and-order policy against drugs that thinks of drugs as a criminal offense , ” Marulanda said .
“ It ’ s also a persecution against the coca plant , the leaves of which are used to produce cocaine.
” “ That policy has not changed since the 1980s , ” the senator continued .
“ Actually , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become more entrenched , more stubborn , and more severe in its application .
We ’ re now in the year 2020 .
Yet Colombia exports 90 percent of the cocaine in the world today … We ’ re inundated with cocaine and inundated with deaths and violence .
We ’ ve lost sovereignty over Colombian territory to the dominion of organized criminal mafias.
” Even former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos , who ruled the country from 2010 to 2018 , has affirmed that a new approach to drugs is needed .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ study that concluded that drugs including cocaine , ecstasy and opiates could potentially be less harmful than tobacco or alcohol yet are seen as dangerous narcotics primarily due to cultural biases and politics , rather than actual science .
While most politicians and experts in Colombia agree that blanket repression isn ’ t a one-size-fits-all solution to drug use and the problem of criminal drug cartels , the bill will likely face stiff opposition both within the country and from the United States , which has urged the country to continue waging a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Ivan Duque Marquez is signaling that it is planning to step up the war to stamp out illicit cocaine production .
Over the weekend , Colombian Minister of Defense Carlos Holmes Trujillo told Reuters that the military was considering restarting aerial fumigation of the countryside with the dangerous herbicide glyphosate to halt the cultivation of coca , the base ingredient of cocaine .
The practice was ended in 2015 due to widespread concerns by the World Health Organization ( WHO ) causes cancer and harms the environment , but the Duque government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flow of cash to illegal armed groups .
The policy has been supported by the United States , whose Environmental Protection Agency disagrees that the chemical is carcinogenic .

Colombia Considers Ending ‘War On Drugs’ By Legalizing Its Huge Cocaine Industry
Elias Marat, The Mind Unleashed
Waking Times
A controversial bill is making its way through Colombia’s legislature that could see the South American nation end its destructive war on drugs by effectively legalizing cocaine and subjecting the drug to government regulation.
The bill, which has the backing of the leftist opposition and its centrist allies, hopes to put an end to the so-called war on drugs in favor of effective counter-narcotics strategies and evidence-based policies to curb drug abuse.
For nearly half a century, Colombia has faced the ravages of an anti-drug policy that criminalizes the coca leaf while fueling the growth of monstrous drug trafficking organizations and illegal armed groups and death squads vying for control of the cultivation of coca and production of cocaine.
Under the proposed bill, cocaine would be decriminalized and the state would purchase the entire coca harvest in the country and channel it towards a legal industry that distributes cocaine to users for pain relief rather than recreational use. The policy would also see the state provide raw materials to Indigenous artisans who would have a chance to produce foods, medicinal products, tea, and baking flour using the plant.
Supporters of the bill hope that it would allow hundreds of thousands of illegal coca farmers out of a shadowy black market overseen by cartels and violent armed groups and into a homegrown, government-regulated industry.
“This policy would mean cutting organized crime off from the coca leaf, and it would cut consumers off from organized crime,” Senator Ivan Marulanda of the centrist Green Alliance told Vice World News. “The Colombian state would distribute it to users under a public health program, effectively through physicians who would evaluate if a person is apt for taking cocaine for their pain. And then it would be high-quality cocaine.” “Another important thing here is that not all consumers are addicts,” Marulanda added. “Less than 10 percent of cocaine consumers are addicts.”
Throughout the Andes, the consumption and use of the coca leaf has been a part of the cultural and social traditions of native peoples for centuries. In Bolivia, which is the world’s third largest producer of cocaine, the coca leaf was decriminalized through widely-hailed policies that prioritized respect for human rights and community participation.
“The war on drugs is a law-and-order policy against drugs that thinks of drugs as a criminal offense,” Marulanda said. “It’s also a persecution against the coca plant, the leaves of which are used to produce cocaine.” “That policy has not changed since the 1980s,” the senator continued. “Actually, Colombia’s drug policy has only become more entrenched, more stubborn, and more severe in its application. We’re now in the year 2020. Yet Colombia exports 90 percent of the cocaine in the world today … We’re inundated with cocaine and inundated with deaths and violence. We’ve lost sovereignty over Colombian territory to the dominion of organized criminal mafias.”
Even former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who ruled the country from 2010 to 2018, has affirmed that a new approach to drugs is needed. Last year, Santos participated in a study that concluded that drugs including cocaine, ecstasy and opiates could potentially be less harmful than tobacco or alcohol yet are seen as dangerous narcotics primarily due to cultural biases and politics, rather than actual science.
Calling the classification of such drugs as dangerous narcotics “a political decision,” Santos noted that Colombia is “probably the country that has paid the highest price for the war on drugs.” Continuing, he said that for decades, his country has been saddled with an unwinnable drug war that causes “more damage, more harm” to the world than practical approaches to regulating the sale and consumption of drugs in a “good way.”
While most politicians and experts in Colombia agree that blanket repression isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to drug use and the problem of criminal drug cartels, the bill will likely face stiff opposition both within the country and from the United States, which has urged the country to continue waging a war on drugs.
The government of President Ivan Duque Marquez is signaling that it is planning to step up the war to stamp out illicit cocaine production.
Over the weekend, Colombian Minister of Defense Carlos Holmes Trujillo told Reuters that the military was considering restarting aerial fumigation of the countryside with the dangerous herbicide glyphosate to halt the cultivation of coca, the base ingredient of cocaine.
The practice was ended in 2015 due to widespread concerns by the World Health Organization (WHO) causes cancer and harms the environment, but the Duque government maintains that fumigation is necessary to halt the flow of cash to illegal armed groups. The policy has been supported by the United States, whose Environmental Protection Agency disagrees that the chemical is carcinogenic.
“We’ve been going 40 years with a policy that costs billions of U.S. dollars with zero success and so much cost and destruction,” Marulanda said. “Let’s try out this other policy. Because something that hasn’t worked in the last 40 years is something that’s just not going to work.”
By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com