As a follow-up to the previous post…
When they come out to brag about a successful operation that resulted in the arrest of some drug dealers, I’d like someone to ask:

Why should we be excited about having more drug dealers?
After all, we’ll have all the new drug dealers that will step in to replace these within hours [...]

It’s very hard for some people to grasp the concept that a successful law enforcement operation may not actually end up providing a net benefit to society. In fact, in the drug war, successful law enforcement operations often cause significant damage to society.
It is this fact (which is counterintuitive to many) that is noted by [...]

CNN.com: Commentary: Why not prohibit smoking? by Tony Newman
Excellent OpEd comparing the status of tobacco with prohibited drugs to demonstrate the inherent stupidity of using criminal prohibition as a tool for attacking drug abuse or drug dangers.

Instead of giving teens “reefer madness”-style propaganda, we have treated young people with respect and given them honest education [...]

Funny. I thought we were already doing that.

MEXICO CITY (AFP) — Mexico’s attorney general said the United States had insufficient resources and infrastructure to clamp down on marijuana trafficking, after meeting the US anti-drug czar.
Mexico’s increasingly powerful drug traffickers operate throughout the United States and beyond as well as in Mexico.
“We frequently see insufficient resources [...]

I just finished watching the newly available DVD: The Union: The Business Behind Getting High that was released yesterday. It’s outstanding!
It is the most comprehensive documentary review of cannabis policy, politics, history, myths, science, and.. humanity that I’ve seen. It’s compelling (and yes, a little overwhelming — you almost need to take a break [...]

I used to love nothing better than spending hours wandering through large bookstores.
Yesterday, I spent some time browsing the three-story Borders Books in downtown Chicago. Despite looking fairly extensively (though not asking), I was unable to find any books about the drug war. However, prominently displayed on the main floor were “nonfiction” books by [...]

Via ACLU press release:

The House Judiciary Committee today voted to pass a bill that would eliminate the discriminatory disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing under federal law. Today‰s vote clears the way for H.R. 3245, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009, to be voted on by the full House. The bill removes references [...]

I’ve been way too busy on vacation in Chicago to get any blogging done, and my wireless access is weak. I’ll be back on Wednesday.
“bullet” Here’s a very interesting article (Thanks, David) in the TimesOnline (UK): The truth about cocaine in Britain – an interview with Tom Feiling. There’s lots of good [...]

I’ll be up in Chicago for the next five days, staying in a delightful little dump of a hotel near Wrigley that may not have wireless. Got a friend visiting and we’re going to do some kayaking in the Chicago river, see shows, eat good food, etc. (plus my own show is continuing to run [...]

Larry Frankel has a good article in the Houston Chronicle: Stop sentence entrapment in drug case prosecutions

Many Americans have learned about the unjust disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences but many do not know that this disparity allows law enforcement to exploit that difference in ways that compound the injustice. [...]
He described how he [...]