By Shaun Connolly, Political Correspondent Monday, February 04, 2013 Outspoken TD Luke Ming Flanagan claimed other Dil members take drugs as he defended his decision to reveal he has experiences of LSD, cocaine, and ecstasy. The Independent TD hit back at suggestions he was sending out the wrong message to young people by saying he was being more honest than his colleagues who are not being truthful. "If people want people in the Dil who have never done anything like I have done, well, then youre not going to get many people in the Dil. "Now, there are plenty of people in the Dil who wont admit it, but sorry if the truth hurts," he told RT. Pressed on whether he was saying fellow TDs were taking drugs, Mr Flanagan said: "It would be highly unlikely that they wouldnt have at some stage." The TD was reacting to criticism after he revealed the full extent of his drug use in the past. Mr Flanagan said football clubs sponsored by alcohol products were sending out a much more harmful message to young people than he was. Controversy was sparked after Mr Flanagan said he took cocaine on "two or three" occasions … Continue reading →

Retired police Capt. Peter Christ said that his mission to legalize drugs should not be mistaken as an endorsement to use them. Christ, who retired as a police captain in 1989 after a 20-year career enforcing drug laws, insists that the war on drugs can never be won and is doing more harm than good. Christ wants to see all drugs legalized - and regulated. "That doesn't mean I condone using them," he said. "They're all terrible, and if I could convince people not to use them, any of them, I would. But I can't. People are going to do what they want, regardless of whether drugs are legal. What we're talking about is making drugs legal, and then regulating them. Prohibition doesn't work. We've already seen that." Christ, a New York resident, is traveling across the state, with scheduled stops in Warren, Youngstown and Cleveland, to explain his position. On Tuesday, he will address the issue at 7 a.m. at Lake Vista of Cortland, 303 N. Mecca St., Cortland. The free presentation will be in the Park Place Heron Dining Room on the second floor. "The drug war does more harm than good," Christ said. "We're not winning. We … Continue reading →

In the early part of the 20th century, radical progressive pioneer Carrie Nation became notorious for fighting the scourge of alcohol by walking into saloons with a hatchet and destroying bottles of liquor. In 2013, the president of small, ultra-progressive Reed College in Portland, Oregon has canceled two classes and forced the alteration of two others over fears that students could be exposed to alcohol, ordinary tobacco or information about the safe use of illegal drugs. The classes at issue are part of Paideia, a unique program at Reed that allows students, staff and alumni to organize and teach short, free, non-credit courses on any topic. Paideia takes place on campus the week before each spring semester starts. (RELATED OPINION: Time to end the drug war) Current student Austin Weisgrau was planning to teach one of the courses, Kombucha and Other Fermentation Basics, reports The Quest, Reeds independent student newspaper. The class was going to cover brewing kombucha a trendy swill made of yeast and live bacteria as well as the fundamentals of fermenting sauerkraut and alcoholic drinks. About a week before the class was slated to begin, Weisgrau received an email informing him that the private schools president, John … Continue reading →