By Kevin Kelley
As a cost associated with drug usage, workplace drug testing is a hidden cost of the war on drugs. It has been estimated in the mid-1990s that the United States spent $1 billion annually to drug test about 20 million workers.
According to a congressional committee, the estimated cost of each positive result for government positions was $77,000 because the positive rate was only 0.5%. Considering there are close to 2 million government employees at the federal, state, and local levels, and using the amount and percentage rate stated above, it has cost taxpayers a cumulative total of $7.6 billion to identify drug usage in 0.5% of all government applicants.
Sources:
Shepard, Edward M., and Thomas J. Clifton, Drug Testing and Labor Productivity: Estimates Applying a Production Function Model, Institute of Industrial Relations, Research Paper No. 18, Le Moyne University, Syracuse, NY (1998), p. 8.
"Workplace Substance Abuse Testing, Drug Testing: Cost and Effect," Cornell/Smithers Report, Utica, New York: Cornell University (January 1992).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Hemp For Victory
As an interesting part of American marijuana history, the United States Department of Agricultural made an educational video to help aid farmers grow hemp for the war effort. Prior to 1989, this video was for the most part unknown, with the Department of Agriculture library and the Library of Congress denying it's existence. On May 19th, 1989, Maria Farrow, Carl Packard, and Jack Herer, author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes and presidential candidate in 1988 and 1992 for the Grassroots Party, recovered and donated two VHS copies to the Library of Congress.
This video is public domain and can be downloaded from the Internet Archive.
This video is public domain and can be downloaded from the Internet Archive.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Why Should There Be Any Reform?
By Kevin Kelley
Updated September 22nd, 2009
Why is it important to reform the American health care system? With the current debate taking place, including all the controversial headlines you may have been exposed to, this still remains an important question. You may have heard claims that America has the greatest health care, so if we have the greatest health care, why do we need to change things?
The reality of the matter is that America does have great care, just not the best. According to the World Health Organization, America ranks 37th, nestled between Costa Rica and Slovenia. Although there are still critics of these rankings, Americans pay more for health care then their foreign counterparts and receive similar results, but in tune with American isolationist rationality, providing universal coverage has become a must for some and an unnecessary evil for others. International health care systems have been demonized, but the fact is they still contribute groundbreaking medical research. The French pioneered hip and knee replacement, the Canadians developed deep-brain stimulation to treat depression, and laboratories found in Switzerland, Britain, and Japan have brought us medicines American's love, such as Viagra. Strict cost controls had actually forced the Japanese to develop more cost effective MRI diagnostic techniques, making their method one-fifteenth the price of the American procedure ($98 compared to $1500), and the Japanese still make a profit.
America pays almost twice as much as any of the other 31 nations on that map, but our life expectancy is more comparable to Cuba and Cyprus. America is a wealthy nation, with roughly three hundred million citizens, but when comparing health care spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, America's percentage of spending is again greater then other nations.
The overall GDP is no indication that the standard of living has increased or decreased, but considering the period of 1990-2006, earnings of American workers had increased 0.5%, while the GDP during that same period of time increased 3.6%. The consumer price index for medical care services has also risen, increasing 3.2% in the past twelve months alone. Costs are getting out of control, and this would eventually have a negative impact on quality of care. Currently, figures regarding reforming our current health care system have ranged between $1 trillion and $2 trillion over the next ten years. While these numbers can seem intimidating, the costs of providing universal health care can cost upwards of $200 billion dollars each year, which comparatively, is one-third the United States spends on defense, or if you consider the current cost for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global war on terror, including the Administration's 2009 supplemental request and Congress approving 2010's war funding, the total would amount to over $1 trillion, equal to the lower estimates of reform.
Hopefully, those who consider this proposal will raise these questions to their local elected officials, and begin the serious debate on legalization of marijuana. I am reminded of the presidential campaign run by Eugene McCarthy in 1968, with the unofficial slogan "Get clean for Gene", which involved anti-war supporters with long hair and beards, who resembled "hippies", to get a haircuts and shave, to go door-to-door and campaign for McCarthy, who was in opposition of the Vietnam War. It is a general consensus that health care needs reform, but to propagate this issue, a degree of professionalism is required. Doctors, lawyers, politicians, and students alike must conduct themselves reasonably to get serious consideration of these ideas. Respectful discourse is required, or this will fail.
Contact all of your elected officials and spread this information.
Updated September 22nd, 2009
Why is it important to reform the American health care system? With the current debate taking place, including all the controversial headlines you may have been exposed to, this still remains an important question. You may have heard claims that America has the greatest health care, so if we have the greatest health care, why do we need to change things?
The reality of the matter is that America does have great care, just not the best. According to the World Health Organization, America ranks 37th, nestled between Costa Rica and Slovenia. Although there are still critics of these rankings, Americans pay more for health care then their foreign counterparts and receive similar results, but in tune with American isolationist rationality, providing universal coverage has become a must for some and an unnecessary evil for others. International health care systems have been demonized, but the fact is they still contribute groundbreaking medical research. The French pioneered hip and knee replacement, the Canadians developed deep-brain stimulation to treat depression, and laboratories found in Switzerland, Britain, and Japan have brought us medicines American's love, such as Viagra. Strict cost controls had actually forced the Japanese to develop more cost effective MRI diagnostic techniques, making their method one-fifteenth the price of the American procedure ($98 compared to $1500), and the Japanese still make a profit.
The major problem with the current debate is cost. Americans are suffering from fatigue as a consequence to the numerous bailouts of the banking and automotive industry over the past couple years, not to mention the economic stimulus plans of the previous administration. Americans tend to be fiscally conservative people when it comes to government spending, and understandably so, but another important question is why have we as a nation allowed health care costs to balloon out of control? Health care spending per capita in the United States has been increasing in recent years at alarming rates, and the trend only points upwards, but with such raises in costs, quality remains to stay the same, but arguably, those who are uninsured will face shorter life expectancies and worse health conditions then those who are, so it is reasonable to say that the current system offers adequate care to most citizens. Consider the following graph:
The overall GDP is no indication that the standard of living has increased or decreased, but considering the period of 1990-2006, earnings of American workers had increased 0.5%, while the GDP during that same period of time increased 3.6%. The consumer price index for medical care services has also risen, increasing 3.2% in the past twelve months alone. Costs are getting out of control, and this would eventually have a negative impact on quality of care. Currently, figures regarding reforming our current health care system have ranged between $1 trillion and $2 trillion over the next ten years. While these numbers can seem intimidating, the costs of providing universal health care can cost upwards of $200 billion dollars each year, which comparatively, is one-third the United States spends on defense, or if you consider the current cost for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global war on terror, including the Administration's 2009 supplemental request and Congress approving 2010's war funding, the total would amount to over $1 trillion, equal to the lower estimates of reform.
This leads to the topic of this website. Where can America get the funding for universal health care? The current legislation that is being drafted has been floating around ideas that include various sin taxes, such as on alcohol and high fructose corn syrup, taxation on employer provided benefits, and the use of savings from Medicaid, but all are hotly debated issues. There have also been thoughts circulating that call for greater taxation on church-owned properties. Another unrealistic proposal that has circulated is pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and cut funding in national defense, but there are problems with that idea as well; America cannot withdraw troops until the region is stabilized and any cuts to national defense would be political suicide. Although it is possible to integrate these other ideas into a more comprehensive plan, I do not think such overhauls could be made to last. This leads to this sites proposal: Legalize marijuana and use the funds generated from taxation, as well as other associated benefits, to fund universal health care.
While there has been serious consideration in recent times to legalize marijuana to help fill budget gaps, I believe that the amounts raised from taxation by individual states would not make a significant impact on state budgets, and would overtime be abused by local municipalities, much like the increased tax revenues seen from the boom in the housing market, with local governments finding themselves in a tough economical situation in the future, due to improper expenditures and planning in the past. By earmarking any tax generated from the legalization of marijuana to go towards universal health care, the necessary reform needed on our system could take place now, and allow for debate to continue, minus the distractions we are experiencing now. Legalization can fund the system, and allow lawmakers the time to focus on other issues, and understandably, not all reform may work effectively, and so America would have a greater opportunity to work the kinks out of the system before it becomes too late and costs have bankrupted the citizens of this nation.
Considering the insurance status of Americans under 65 years of age, if nothing is done, the burden on the government will continue to grow, so now is the time to act.
Contact all of your elected officials and spread this information.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Welcome!
By Kevin Kelley
Updated September 22nd, 2009
I would like to welcome the visitors of this website, and I would like to express my gratitude for the time that you take to read the information presented here. I do not view myself as some sort of advocate for the legalization of marijuana, nor do I wish to argue the ramifications regarding the creation of socialized medicine, or any other quasi-governmental organization tasked with the responsibility of insuring Americans. The information on this website is not necessarily my own opinion, but a suggestion on how to accomplish health care reform, while keeping any changes cost neutral at worst. The results of such studies are intended to open new dialogue on an existing matter that is currently being debated in the public arena, and the ambitions of this website, as well as the people who contribute to the ideas presented on this website, are to help America progress into a nation that can move past ideological differences, beyond party platforms and journalistic sabotage, to help promote the general well being of America's citizens.
The combination of these two issues will surely spark some controversy, considering recent coverage of the health care legislation being proposed, and the 70-year-old war on drugs. Most people have their preconceived notions of both issues, and many people are unwilling to open themselves up to compromise, or to the acceptance that there are other possibilities out there. I ask the people who visit this website to keep an open mind and seriously consider the information that will be found on the articles to come.
The concept behind the combination of legalizing marijuana to fund universal medicine was not something I had ever considered, but was born through honest debate between politically diverse minds. I have never indulged in marijuana, or any drug, to be precise, but in my opinion, the benefits of supplying health care to the nation outweighed many of the traditional arguments in support of the criminalization of marijuana. My hope is to conduct a comprehensive study on not only how to fund universal health care, but to help improve American society, as well as the myriad of municipalities that are affected by both health care problems and drug problems.
I hope that this website helps in the continuing debate of health care reform and the legalization of marijuana.
Updated September 22nd, 2009
I would like to welcome the visitors of this website, and I would like to express my gratitude for the time that you take to read the information presented here. I do not view myself as some sort of advocate for the legalization of marijuana, nor do I wish to argue the ramifications regarding the creation of socialized medicine, or any other quasi-governmental organization tasked with the responsibility of insuring Americans. The information on this website is not necessarily my own opinion, but a suggestion on how to accomplish health care reform, while keeping any changes cost neutral at worst. The results of such studies are intended to open new dialogue on an existing matter that is currently being debated in the public arena, and the ambitions of this website, as well as the people who contribute to the ideas presented on this website, are to help America progress into a nation that can move past ideological differences, beyond party platforms and journalistic sabotage, to help promote the general well being of America's citizens.
The combination of these two issues will surely spark some controversy, considering recent coverage of the health care legislation being proposed, and the 70-year-old war on drugs. Most people have their preconceived notions of both issues, and many people are unwilling to open themselves up to compromise, or to the acceptance that there are other possibilities out there. I ask the people who visit this website to keep an open mind and seriously consider the information that will be found on the articles to come.
The concept behind the combination of legalizing marijuana to fund universal medicine was not something I had ever considered, but was born through honest debate between politically diverse minds. I have never indulged in marijuana, or any drug, to be precise, but in my opinion, the benefits of supplying health care to the nation outweighed many of the traditional arguments in support of the criminalization of marijuana. My hope is to conduct a comprehensive study on not only how to fund universal health care, but to help improve American society, as well as the myriad of municipalities that are affected by both health care problems and drug problems.
I hope that this website helps in the continuing debate of health care reform and the legalization of marijuana.
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