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U.S. survey data casts doubt on classification of psychedelics as ‘dangerous’

“The study, published online Tuesday in PLoS One, used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey to investigate psychedelic drug use and mental health problems. The survey is administered annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The researchers found psychedelic use was not associated with a higher rate of mental health problems. In fact, the use of psychedelic drugs appeared to reduce the risk of mental illness, though only slightly.” Continue reading →

White House dodges question on Sanjay Gupta’s marijuana reversal

“The White House refused to comment Tuesday on Sanjay Gupta’s vocal support of medical marijuana, continuing a pattern of ignoring the issue. During a press briefing, CQ-Roll Call reporter Steve Dennis asked White House spokesman Josh Earnest if President Barack Obama had any reaction to Gupta’s recent advocacy in favor of medical marijuana. Dennis noted that Obama had once considered appointing Gupta as surgeon general of the United States. ‘I have to confess, I did not see the Sanjay Gupta column that you’re referring to, so it is hard for me to comment on it at this point,’ Earnest responded.” Continue reading →

Second British man jailed for selling fake bomb detectors to governments

“The boxes cost less than £5 ($7.85, 5.85 euros) to make, but Gary Bolton claimed they could detect explosives, narcotics, tobacco, ivory and even cash. They were sold for between £2,500 and £10,000 in bulk or up to £15,000 if bought individually. The court heard Bolton’s company, Global Technology, had a turnover of almost £3 million. In May, British businessman James McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in jail for selling fake bomb detectors to the Iraqi government and other countries. McCormick, 57, made an estimated £50 million from selling the devices, which prosecutors said were based on a novelty golf ball finder.” Continue reading →

‘Guardian’ editor: Destroying hard drives allowed us to continue NSA coverage

“Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian editor-in-chief, has said that the destruction of computer hard drives containing information provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden allowed the paper to continue reporting on the revelations instead of surrendering the material to UK courts. Rusbridger told BBC Radio 4′s The World at One on Tuesday that he agreed to the ‘slightly pointless’ task of destroying the devices – which was overseen by two GCHQ officials at the Guardian’s headquarters in London – because the newspaper is in possession of digital copies outside Britain.” Continue reading →

Schedule 7 and the detention of David Miranda

“One of the most troubling aspects of Section 7 is that the UK government is using it to seize computers and mobile phones of travellers without cause, and retain the data indefinitely. The UK justifies its actions as a natural extension of its powers to examine a traveller’s paper documents. But mobile electronic devices carry so much more intimate information about us than we would have previously hauled around in our luggage. Everything from a list of contacts, to photos of loved ones, to financial and medical documents, to trade secrets might be contained on a traveller’s computer.” Continue reading →

David Miranda: I was treated like a threat to the United Kingdom

“David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian journalist who broke stories of mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency, has accused Britain of a ‘total abuse of power’ for interrogating him for almost nine hours at Heathrow under the Terrorism Act. In his first interview since returning to his home in Rio de Janeiro early on Monday, Miranda said the authorities in the UK had pandered to the US in trying to intimidate him and force him to reveal the passwords to his computer and mobile phone. During that time, he said, he was not allowed to call his partner, who is a qualified lawyer in the US, nor was he given an interpreter.” Continue reading →

Judge: California can force-feed inmates on hunger strike

“U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates who are near death, even if they had signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. Some 136 inmates are currently taking part in a hunger strike that begun July 8 in prisons statewide to demand an end to a policy of housing inmates believed to be associated with gangs in near-isolation for years. Some 69 of the striking inmates have refused food continuously since the strike began.” Continue reading →

FATCA and the End of Bank Secrecy

“It seems that there is little understanding that it was banking secrecy that helped to resist twentieth-century dictatorships and that high tax rates — not money havens — are responsible for tax evasion, as Prince Hans-Adam of Lichtenstein has pinpointed. Clearly the amount of information collected for the purpose of future tax investigation is enormous, leaving little place for human privacy and dignity.” Continue reading →