Former Philippine President Duterte Arrested And Flown To The Hague For Trial

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday, March 11, 2025 on a warrant from the International Criminal Court. The Associated Press reports ("Philippine ex-leader Duterte is being flown to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity," March 11, 2025) that:

"The global court in The Hague had ordered Duterte’s arrest through Interpol after accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office, Marcos said in a late-night news conference. Duterte had been arrested at the Manila international airport Tuesday morning when he arrived with his family from Hong Kong."

According to The Guardian ("Duterte flown to The Hague after arrest over Philippines drug war killings," March 11, 2025):

"Duterte became president in 2016 after promising a merciless, bloody crackdown that would rid the country of drugs. On the campaign trail he once said there would be so many bodies dumped in Manila Bay that fish would grow fat from feeding on them. After taking office, he publicly stated he would kill suspected drug dealers and urged the public to kill addicts.

"Since his election, between 12,000 and 30,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed in connection with anti-drugs operations, according to data cited by the ICC."

A copy of the International Criminal Court warrant for Duterte's arrest can be downloaded from the ICC website.

Rest In Power: Kevin B. Zeese, 1955-2020

We are sad to report that the co-founder and President of Common Sense for Drug Policy, Kevin B. Zeese, passed away on September Fifth, 2020. He is sorely missed.

Kevin was one of the nation's foremost authorities on drug policy issues. He worked on a wide array of drug related issues since he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1980.

Rest In Power: Kevin B. Zeese, 1955-2020

We are sad to report that the co-founder and President of Common Sense for Drug Policy, Kevin B. Zeese, passed away on September Fifth, 2020. He is sorely missed.

Kevin was one of the nation's foremost authorities on drug policy issues. He worked on a wide array of drug related issues since he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1980.

Kevin wrote for newspapers and journals on a range of drug issues, including an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the Colombian drug war. He also appeared on every major television network as a commentator. He served as a consultant to Walter Cronkite for the Discovery Channel special: The Drug Dilemma: War or Peace? He spoke at nationally recognized legal seminars and testified before Congress on drug related issues.

A Feb. 2005 interview with Kevin on the syndicated radio program Cultural Baggage is available. In April 2002, Kevin debated DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson at a conference hosted by Rice University's James Baker Institute. Segments of the forum, "Moving Beyond the 'War on Drugs'," including the Zeese-Hutchinson debate, are available as streaming video. A listing of articles in which Kevin appears is available by clicking here.

He was the author of Drug Testing Legal Manual, Drug Testing Legal Manual and Practice Aids and co-author of Drug Law: Strategies and Tactics, all published by Clark Boardman Callaghan. Kevin served as editor of Drug Law Report for Clark Boardman Callaghan from 1983 to 1998. In addition, he was the author of Drug Prohibition and the Conscience of Nations. Mr. Zeese was the editor of Friedman and Szasz On Liberty and Drugs and edited numerous books on drug policy and manuals on criminal defense.

Kevin Zeese litigated a variety of drug policy-related issues. Among these are the medical use of marijuana, the use of the military and national guard in domestic drug enforcement, the spraying of herbicides in the United States and abroad on marijuana, drug testing of government workers and the right to privacy as it relates to marijuana in the home. He had been a legal advisor to needle exchange workers prosecuted for their anti-AIDS efforts, buyer's clubs who distribute marijuana to the seriously ill, and medical marijuana patients prosecuted for the medical use of marijuana.

Kevin facilitated the Alliance of Reform Organizations, a network of all the major reform organizations in the United States. He served on the Executive Committee of the Harm Reduction Coalition. He served on the Board of Directors of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas and was a Board member emeritus of the DrugSense.

He was a co-founder of the Drug Policy Foundation (now renamed the Drug Policy Alliance), where he served as Vice President and Counsel, and is a former Executive Director and Chief Counsel of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Zeese served on Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's Mayor's Working Group on Drug Policy Reform and served on San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan's Harm Reduction Council. Both were efforts to implement a model urban drug policy. Zeese was also involved with advocacy related to the fatal shooting of Esequiel Hernandez, the legal rights of patients, doctors and their caregivers in California, and the UN General Assembly Special Session on drugs (the UNGASS).

In 2000, Kevin Zeese was the recipient of the Richard J. Dennis DrugPeace Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform from the Drug Policy Foundation at its 13th Annual International Conference on Drug Policy Reform.

Prevalence of Alcohol Use in Australia

"Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of ex‑drinkers rose from 7.6% to 8.9%. There was also a rise in the number of people cutting back on alcohol, with 31% of people saying they had reduced the number of alcoholic drinks they consumed at any 1 time, up from 28% in 2016. The main reason people gave for reducing their intake was ‘health reasons’ (such as weight loss or avoiding hangovers).

Hallucinogen Use Among Young People in the US

"Hallucinogens

"The percentage of 12th grade students using hallucinogens in the past 12 months has varied little between a narrow window of 4% and 5% over the past decade and in 2024 was 4%. In 10th grade, a drop in use during the pandemic in 2021 has persisted, and the prevalence of past 12-month use in 2024 was 2%. In 8th grade, declines in use have plateaued since around 2014, in part because prevalence has hovered at 1% since that time and has little room to fall further.

Ketamine Use by Students in the US

"Prevalence of past 12-month ketamine use among 12th grade students has been below 2% for the past decade and in 2024 stood at 1%. This 'club drug' was added to the survey in 2000. It showed little change in its usage levels through 2002. Since then, use has declined in all three grades. Because of the very low levels of use of this drug by 2011, questions about its use were dropped from the questionnaires administered to 8th and 10th graders."

Prevalence of Steroid Use Among 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders in the US

"In 2024, lifetime prevalence of anabolic steroid use was 1.4% or lower in all grades. In general, lifetime, past 12-month, and past 30-day use have decreased, sometimes unevenly, since highs in the early 2000s.

"Anabolic steroids, sometimes used for muscle development including in body building, were rendered illegal to purchase or sell without a prescription in the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990. Prevalence of use fell among 12th graders for a couple of years thereafter, but then increased some. Use for all grades peaked around 2002 and have since declined substantially."

Prevalence of Creatine Use by 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders in the US

"Creatine is not a hormone or a drug but a nutrient found in the skeletal muscle of most animals. It is used to reduce the recovery time of muscles, to increase muscle mass, and to thereby enhance performance for high-intensity, short duration exercises. It is readily available over the counter, which undoubtedly helps to explain the substantial levels of use we have found among teens.

Prevalence of Androstenedione Use by 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders in the US

"Androstenedione, a precursor to testosterone, is a performance enhancing substance that was scheduled by the Drug Enforcement Administration early in 2005, making its sale and possession no longer legal.

"In 12th grade, past 12-month prevalence declined to 1% in 2024 and lost most of the increase that took place earlier, when it surged to 1.9% in 2022 from 0.6% in 2021. The use level is now similar to pre-pandemic levels.

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