policy

The Link Between Harm Reduction, Syringe Access and Addiction Recovery

New North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC) Video Series Promotes Harm Reduction and Drug Policy Reform in the South

If you have not seen them already, check out the NCHRC video series on the need for harm reduction and drug policy reform in the South.
You can connect to them via the following link:
http://vimeo.com/user6734193/videos
The videos feature veterans, law enforcement members, sex worker rights advocates, Democratic and Republican Legislators and syringe decriminalization advocates discussing the need for harm reduction in the South.
The series was produced by the awesome harm reduction videographer Hadley Gustafson.

When it comes to public policy, environmental concerns go out the window:

Environmental regulation is seen as a bureaucratic imposition - not as an insurance policy against potential catastrophe, and certainly not as a moral imperative.

Yes, many Americans feel good about going through the motions of environmentalism...But where the rubber hits the road - in public policy - we've reverted to our pre-enlightenment ways. When there's a perceived conflict between environmental stewardship and economic growth, the bottom line wins.

I have some ideas why this happens, but I'd like to hear your ideas as well.

On Thursday February 28th, the Fayetteville Observer published an opinion article entitled "On point: Congressional vigilance is needed to ensure educational excellence." The article discussed the need for members of Congress, in particular those that represent the areas around Fort Bragg, to appropriate additional impact aid to support the burden that Fort Bragg's future growth will put on the communities around it. Although members of Congress are responsible for federal education appropriations, there must be accountability and sound policy from state and local officials as well. State and local officials decide how those appropriations are used. It is up to the constituents of these officials to hold them accountable for their education policies. If there is a valid documented fear that the entrance of new students from Fort Bragg families will harm the education system, then local and state officials need to prepare for such a situation. Setting aside funds, cutting programs, and submitting requests for additional funding are some steps that can be taken before it becomes a real problem.

This week's Exile on Jones Street column is about the move by fundamentalists to keep NC from requiring HPV vaccinations. The vaccine is highly effective against the virus which causes most cervical cancers. Also, an update on Rep. Price's oversight plans for the DHS, plus 'Canes in the big man's house and a quick note about how the Bonds of 2008 are shaping up.

Here's the text:

North Carolina is considering adding several more vaccinations to the list of what the state will pay for to inoculate poor and indigent children. On the list is a vaccination against HPV—Human Papillomavirus—which causes most cervical cancer. That's OK, says the N.C. Family Policy Council, a fundamentalist group that has argued against universal HPV vaccinations.

But if the state wants to take HPV prevention any further, as in requiring girls to have the vaccination before entering school, the council says they'll fight it just as other groups have done elsewhere. South Carolina is already in the midst of a push to require the vaccination, and last week Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas, bypassed a fight in the legislature by issuing an executive order requiring the vaccinations.

America Can Stand Down in Iraq and Win
January 31, 2007
By Marshall Adame

In a recent water cooler discussion about Iraq, I suggested that America needs to remove the primary combat forces from Iraq and concentrate on training, government capacity building and providing logistical support and material capacity to the Iraqi Provincial Governments and certain commercial enterprises which contribute to the nations commerce and infrastructure i.e., railroads, airports, ports, electricity, etc.

The provincial governments in Iraq, however married to tribal and religious traditions, are the real governments in Iraq. The central government in Baghdad is paralyzed by sectarian bickering, graft, corruption, absence of its elected members (many have left the country), infighting and strife. The welfare of the country, as a whole, is far removed from any real debates occurring at the central government level. My suggestion, that we could remove our troops, was met by what seems the standard reply to remarks like the ones I had just made. “Man, do you have any idea how much blood will be spilled if we pulled out our combat troops?” A legitimate question from anyone who does not understand the Arab mindset. My answer being “Not as much blood as is being spilled today”.