Disgusted Vet wrote and pointed out that the price of gold has dropped to $406.70 an ounce. At this rate, gold may soon be cheaper than marijuana. (23% of those polled at Marijuana Prices Directory claim to have paid over $300 for a good ounce)
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Disgusted Vet wrote and pointed out that the price of gold has dropped to $406.70 an ounce. At this rate, gold may soon be cheaper than marijuana. (23% of those polled at Marijuana Prices Directory claim to have paid over $300 for a good ounce) Over at What happens when you tell a lie? (Marijo Cook’s Salonblog), there is an interesting post: Drug Court and the War on Drugs, about a pretty amazing judge named Seth Norman. Judge Norman, along with probably every other criminal court judge in the country, was fed up with the War on Drugs by 1995. From his point of view, the War was causing overcrowding in the jails, a massive increase in the number of cases on his docket, and little in the way of improvements in the situation on the streets. Statistics showed that 80% of the cases he was hearing involved drugs or alcohol in some way, and 60% of the people in those cases had a chemical dependency. Most of them were repeat offenders. The piece goes on to explain how the judge set up a valuable and unique treatment program despite enormous obstacles. This may sound heartless or patronizing, but remember that if the addicts were left to do what they wanted, they would eventually die. And she concludes: So, the War on Drugs may not be a total loss after all, if more Judges around the country can follow Judge Norman‰s example with DC4. Providing treatment instead of simply locking addicts up is showing good early results in managing the drug problem and proving to be cost effective as well. The DC4 treatment program is only a part of a Drug Court system which includes education for first-time offenders and outpatient treatment for those on probation, but for the hardest addicts, this residential program sponsored by a judge and the jails is providing the best chance out there for a return to normal life. Here I have to take major exception. “The moral authority of our most cherished institutions comes from their voluntary nature: the value of advice from a priest, a teacher or a loved one depends in large part on the fact that we are free to ignore it. But judges’ pieces of ‘advice’ are court orders, enforceable ultimately by the raw physical power of imprisonment. It is precisely because of the awesomely enforceable nature of our powers that we must be so circumspect in exercising them. It is one thing for a co-worker, family member, doctor, or clergyman to confront someone about a perceived drug problem; it is quite another thing for a judge to compel drug treatment. Drug courts not only fail to recognize this important institutional distinction, but their very purpose is to obliterate it.” [More from Judge Hoffman at Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform] Update: Corrected Marijo’s gender. Sorry about that! ONDCP to link drugs and drinking in new ads that debut in the Superbowl. The beer and liquor industries are not amused. Of course, these ads as usual will probably not work. Oddly enough, the ONDCP will be allowed to experiment with high priced controversial issue ads on the Superbowl using our tax money, […] Libby at Last One Speaks points out a good article at alternet: States Rights vs. Federal Tyranny by David Morris So here we are. Conservatives dominate all three branches of government. They are using their control of the legislative and executive branches to assert their authority to police individual behavior. Read through the recent […] |
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