News: Police Bias, Self-Driving Cars, and the Death Penalty [#137]

This Week in Drugs

This week, Sam and Sarah talk about the latest drug news, which bring up a lot of old and new questions. How can a judge rule that Chicago drug raids “have an ugly racial component and should be discontinued,” but not admit that people of color were unfairly targeted? Why does the liquor industry have such a strong interest in self-driving cars, and what other drug industries should pay more attention? How does Singapore — and some other countries — continue to give the death penalty for drug crimes? And finally, should terminally ill patients have the right to try experimental drugs — and who are the groups pushing for and against such a law? Learn about all of this, and more, in this week’s episode.

News Updates:

• Federal judge finds ATF drug stash house stings distasteful but not racially biased
• Why the liquor industry wants to get self-driving cars on the road
  • Coalition for Future Mobility membership list
• Singapore claims it is winning the drugs war because of death penalty
• House Rejects Bill to Give Patients a ‘Right to Try’ Experimental Drugs

Headlines:

• According to a report released Monday by the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado prosecutors filed more than 15,000 felony drug charges in 2017 – twice as many as in 2012. 75% of those charges were for simple possession. Check out the full report!
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres touted the drug decriminalization policies he passed while the prime minister of Portugal in a speech at the Commission on Narcotics Drugs’s annual meeting in Vienna. Portugal decriminalized the possession – not sale – of all drugs in 2001 and has seen great public health results.
• Scott Gottlieb announced Thursday that the FDA is pushing to amend federal regulations that would reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes to “minimally or non-addictive levels.” The announcement kicks off a multi-year process and formally requests public input.
• Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, has announced he is withdrawing the country from the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, a month after the ICC announced it was opening an investigation into his bloody crackdown under the guise of a war on drugs. Some countries, including the United States, were never members of the treaty.

Forecast:

• Tuesday, 4/17: Public Meeting for Patient-Focused Drug Development on Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)
• Two more hearings on marijuana legalization in Connecticut
  • Monday, 3/19: Judiciary Committee
  • Wednesday, 3/28: Appropriations Committee

Sponsor:

• Listeners Like You

Music Credits:

Intro: Dance for Sport by the2ba

Like what we do? Help pay our bills.

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn

The post News: Police Bias, Self-Driving Cars, and the Death Penalty [#137] appeared first on This Week in Drugs.