skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Demonstrating for Science-Based Drug Policies

play audio
Play

Friday, April 21, 2017   

RICHMOND, Va. – Drug policy should be based on facts, not fear. That's one of the messages scientists, academics and their allies will be taking to Washington, D.C., tomorrow.

Responding to the rise of "alternative facts," the National March for Science is being promoted as a call for policymakers to enact evidence-based policies in the public interest.

According to Julie Netherland, director of academic engagement for the Drug Policy Alliance, drug policy is too often driven by fear and misinformation rather than science and facts.

"It's why we've seen things like the disastrous 'War on Drugs,' and a lot of punitive policies that have had absolutely no effect in their stated goals of reducing drug use," she explained.

Advocates fear a new emphasis on "law and order" in the Trump administration may roll back recent progress toward treating drug use as a public-health issue.

As an example, Netherland noted that during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump called for a national "stop-and-frisk" program.

"So, there are a lot of concerning signs that they are going to head in the wrong direction, just at a time where we're making real gains to have a drug policy that was more based in research and science," she said.

New York City's "stop-and-frisk" program targeted mostly young Black and Latino men and arrested thousands for nonviolent drug offenses.

Rather than law enforcement, Netherland believes the United States should embrace what she calls "a harm reduction approach" to drugs, including safer-injection facilities where addicts have a clean environment with access to treatment.

"Those are interventions that have been used in Canada and Europe, and have shown to reduce overdose deaths, to reduce the transmission of blood-borne diseases, and have a host of really positive outcomes," she added.

There also are March for Science events scheduled in eight cities across Virginia this weekend.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021