Open Thread

bullet image A sea change? Lake Zurich District 95 hears a big no on drug testing

A proposal to subject Lake Zurich High School students to random drug testing met with overwhelming public opposition at a forum Wednesday night.

One after another, audience members told Lake Zurich Unit 95 board members and administrators they object to the testing plan, which would be limited to students in extracurricular activities such as sports or clubs or teens who drive to school. […]

Other attendees said it infringed on parental responsibilities.

“A drug-free environment should be the school’s job,” Karen Abry said. “Drug-free students should be a parent’s job.”

Wow.


bullet image Remind me why we have forfeiture laws again?

The former Romulus police chief, his wife and five Romulus officers were charged today with running a scheme in which drug forfeiture money was used to pay for prostitutes, marijuana and alcohol.
The charges are the culmination of a nearly three-year investigation by Michigan State Police into what Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy called “a culture of corruption and greed at its core.”


bullet image Marijuana study of traumatized veterans stuck in regulatory limbo

In April, the Food and Drug Administration approved a first-of-its kind study to test whether marijuana can ease the nightmares, insomnia, anxiety and flashbacks common in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

But now another branch of the federal government has stymied the study. The Health and Human Services Department is refusing to sell government-grown marijuana to the nonprofit group proposing the research

More on this from Paul Armentano


bullet image Another episode of “Kids Say the Darndest Things, College Edition.” A first-year at Columbia writes Smoking Ignorance

Columbia students need to be aware that the very drug habits they see as recreational fund a war.

Um, no. Columbia students need to get politically active to stop the war. It is drug policy that funds the war.

It’s like saying “Young people need to stop having sex so we can do something about STDs.”


bullet image Ah, yes, because drug-free zones have worked so well… Pr. George’s seeks to create ‘prostitution-free zones’

The Prince George’s County Council is considering legislation that would create “prostitution-free zones” in the county, an effort police say could help eradicate prostitution from the county entirely.

Councilwoman Andrea Harrison, D-Bladensburg, introduced the bill, which would create areas similar in effect to drug-free zones near schools and playgrounds, she said.

The law apparently adds penalties for being caught congregating in a prostitution-free zone with the intent of engaging in a sex act. So be careful where you go on dates.


bullet image American marijuana growers could beat this war on drugs – interesting OpEd by Douglas Haddow

Clandestine grow-ops sown by industrial Americans could damage drug cartels more effectively than the US military

Buy American!


bullet image Anti-Drug Tsar Says, ‘Plant Cannabis’ – in Russia, the drug czar is suggesting that the country re-start a major hemp industry.


bullet image One of our readers will be on radio today debating a police officer on cannabis legalization (at 11 pm PDT). The debate will be downloadable here for the next week. You’ll need to understand the Estonian language, however.

Quick quiz… do you know where Estonia is? And did you now that it’s ranked #1 in the State of World Liberty Index as the most free country in the world?


Some things already discussed in comments, but worth a mention here…

bullet image Gary Johnson: Marijuana smokers may be ‘largest untapped voting bloc in the country’ at The Hill.

bullet imagePizza Delivery Guy Calls Cops on Customer For Smoking Pot — you might not want to patronize Papa John’s. There are plenty of other pizza places.

bullet image Montana objects to federal gun ban for medical marijuana users

bullet image Sheriff Wants Station To Stop Broadcasting Pot Raid Warnings

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69 Responses to Open Thread

  1. darkcycle says:

    Estonia. Baltic State neighboring Latvia, right next to Lithuania. My Grandmother was Latvian.

    • HoldTight says:

      It may be useful to note that Latvian plosives are never aspirated.

      • darkcycle says:

        Why, good to know. That might have been embarrassing. I don’t tend to aspirate my plosives anyway, but one can never be too careful what one aspirates, can one?
        Hoo-ya, Malcolm old buddy, you’ve picked up an anti admirer, I see…

        • HoldTight says:

          Hi DC!

          I actually had a very Latvia-informative-spring this year. I spent a few weeks with friends in Ireland who are deeply into Hemp farming. Also visiting at the time was a Latvian Hemp entrepreneur. I’m fluent in Dutch, Spanish and German so I showed keen interest in his language and culture. I learned that they’re a very friendly and savvy bunch of people with a thriving Hemp industry. They even serve Hemp soup on Christmas day.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      “My Grandmother was Latvian.”

      Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

      • ISwearThisIsRealLatvianHumor says:

        Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?

        A. I have not seen a chicken since I was very young, on my parent’s farm. This was before the Cossacks slaughtered them. I can still hear my sisters screams. But back to the question. Where did you see a chicken? I am very, very hungry!

    • DdC says:

      How unlike me. I must be feelin’ pissed.
      darkcycle October 6, 2011 7:40 PM

      ‘Tis far better to be pissed off, than pissed on, or piss tasted.

      Estonia. Baltic State neighboring Latvia, right next to Lithuania
      darkcycle October 6, 2011 at 10:54 am

      The Dead Did Lithuania
      That means more tie-dyed uniforms and warmups will be on display in the world’s most prestigious athletic competition as the Lithuanians try for another Olympic medal. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, the tie-dyed Lithuanians captured an unexpected bronze medal.

      Jeez, Duncan. You’re rubbing off on me.
      darkcycle October 6, 2011 7:40 PM

      That may require a rash ointment and/or a Tetanus shot…
      Hempoil based ointments are best as they protect and heal,
      unlike the OPEC crude oil petroleum crap that dries skin.

    • Windy says:

      My junior year (high school) French teacher was Latvian, Mrs. Birnbaum, her daughter was a ballet dancer and her son a journalist. The family had escaped Latvia by the skin of their teeth and had quite an adventure in the doing, tho I don’t recall the details well enough to recount them for all of you (it was in 1960 that I had her as a teacher). She was an interesting (and very nice) person and a talented French teacher, too bad I was too into socializing and daydreaming to take advantage of her teaching skills (I pulled a C grade for that class, but learned enough French to greet someone, tell someone to shut the door, and ask the time).

  2. allan says:

    wow… now that’s some reading list. The Theatre of the Absurd is not bizarre enough… I’m not sure I’ve ever done a psychedelic that is as incomprehensible… reading Alice in Wonderland is like watching Martha Stewart… compared to the drug war.

    And Pete makes it so darn hard on deciding which to read first (being on dial-up I havta make that distinction). I think the MI corruption story would be a good start this morn…

  3. Billy Budd says:

    Estonia suffered mightily in the 20th Century (Czar, Nazis, Soviets)so I am not surprised that once allowed to govern themselves, Estonians chose to let freedom ring..good on ’em, I say

  4. Duncan20903 says:

    .
    .
    Well the world has blessed us with yet another group of Know Nothing prohibitionists, which of course means yet another clever acronym to learn and endure in the alphabet soup of our lives. But at least they got it half right! They probably didn’t have enough imagination to come up with an acronymization (a brand new word is born!!) of NOTHING. These people just aren’t very smart.

    New Group Aims To ‘Keep Nebraska Off Weed’ (KNOW)
    September 30, 2011

    PRIDE Omaha officials announced on Wednesday a new campaign to combat efforts to legalize marijuana in Nebraska, reports Jay Withrow at the Omaha World-Herald.
    The local anti-drug organization, which has been pissing off potheads since 1978, is unveiling KNOW, Keep Nebraska Off Weed.

    ​ The campaign is officially opposing at least two efforts to legalize marijuana in Nebraska, according to Susie Dugan, PRIDE Omaha’s executive director. The legalization efforts are collecting signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the November 2012 general election ballot.

    /snip/
    The KNOW campaign is encouraging Nebraskans to sign PRIDE Omaha’s self-righteous declaration opposing marijuana legalization. (Ironically, the URL for PRIDE Omaha’s website is “prideprevention.org.”)
    /snip/

    http://www.cheeba.com/story/new-group-aims-to-keep-nebraska-off-weed-know

  5. allan says:

    I’m proud of those Zurich parents. And in Illinois to boot… that’s one for the home team Pete.

    I am adamantly opposed to drug testing w/o cause, that’s like searching and seizing w/o a warrant… but especially for students. Students need to be learning about their rights not about how to let the state subvert those rights. This is a great civics lesson for kids, the underlying argument about constitutionality is vital for this nation to have, now. Not tomorrow, now. And what better place than in our institutions of learning?

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      One of the comments under the Zurich controversy claims that the parents aren’t actually in favor of freedom, but rather that they object to only testing a percentage. Unfortunately the poster sounded like he was probably correct.

      They may well be unaware of the SCOTUS ruling that would have to be overturned before that could happen. I’ve got to tell you the idea of drug testing the local population of high school hall monitors seems patently absurd to me.
      ———-

      Pete, the link to the “Smoking Ignorance” is broken as of now.
      http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2011/10/04/smoking-ignorance

  6. Duncan20903 says:

    .
    .
    What the…??? Goddammit it looks like the California Court of Appeals thinks the opinion in County of San Diego v San Diego NORML and has issued a ruling contrary to that precedent. Darn it County of San Diego was a frequently used example of why local officials aren’t subject to arrest under the CSA for purely administrative and for implementing the law. County of San Diego was issued by the 4th Circuit and the instant case came out of the 2nd. Let’s clear some time from the California Supreme Court and let’s argue about it some more. Boo fucking hoo.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-ruling-20111006,0,4672511.story

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Well here’s a better link. Jacob Sullum writes:

      The ordinance requires dispensary operators, who are already violating the CSA by selling marijuana, to violate the law further by delivering marijuana to labs for independent testing, which qualifies as “distribution” under federal law.

      http://reason.com/blog/2011/10/06/the-fine-line-between-tolerati

      Indeed, actually testing the medicine would dismantle the approved hysterical rhetoric that you just can’t know what one of those darn Mexicans put on it which could make you drop dead. As everyone knows the entire fiasco of the war on (some) drugs is based on bald faced lies, half truths, and hysterical rhetoric. As a result I’m going to have to concede this one. There’s no doubt that the truth is in “positive” conflict with Federal law. The fact that public policy should be based in truth is irrelevant to this controversy.

  7. allan says:

    From Oregon: Concealed handgun license case clears court hurdle

    A three-year legal dispute in Jackson County over issuing concealed handgun licenses to medical marijuana patients has piqued the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The case involving Sheriff Mike Winters versus Cynthia Willis has cleared an important first hurdle with the high court, which sent out a Sept. 30 letter asking Willis’ attorney, Leland Berger, to file a written response to the sheriff’s legal arguments.

    Winters denied Willis a concealed handgun license in 2008 on the grounds that she uses medical marijuana, considered a controlled substance by the federal government. The sheriff argued that he couldn’t give the license to Willis because that would violate the Gun Control Act of 1968. Winters has lost every court case so far, including the Oregon Supreme Court.

    In July, Winters appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Well isn’t it proven that people who are denied a permit never manage to get their hands on guns?

      This is certainly going to put the NRA in a pickle. Which side do they support? Can one entity file conflicting amicus briefs in the same case?

  8. claygooding says:

    excerpt:
    “”The House Judiciary Committee is considering legislation (HR 313) Thursday that makes it a federal crime to plan to commit a drug offense in another country that would be illegal if it was actually committed in the U.S. — even if the offense is actually legal in the other country.””

    Congress Set To Escalate Drug War After Decades Of Failure

    http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/10/congress_set_to_escalate_war_on_drugs_after_decade.php

  9. HoldTight says:

    Put a little mustard in that custard!

    • darkcycle says:

      This could be bad, but the attacks on dispensaries have seemed cyclical. Every few months, then just as it seems normalcy is at hand, another round. This might be more threats.
      Obama is gonna be hurt by all of this. There doesn’t seem to be anybody he hasn’t thrown under the bus.

      • HoldTight says:

        “Obama is gonna be hurt by all of this.”
        Maybe that’s the whole point? I think we all agree by now that Obama appears to have no control over such things anyway.

        Onward and Upward!

  10. JDV says:

    Gary Johnson should be getting more attention. A pro-choice Republican who admits he used marijuana for back pain and supports gay marriage. And he balanced his state budget to boot. Seriously, why doesn’t the media pay more attention to a character like that?

    • claygooding says:

      mainstream media is owned by corporations,,,corporations make money off the war on drugs,,corporations lose money if hemp is allowed to be produced in quantity

    • DdC says:

      The former Romulus police chief? Romulus?
      Isn’t that where Romulin’s reside?
      Were they working with Klingon’s?

      Seriously, why doesn’t the media pay more attention to a character like that?
      JDV
      October 6, 2011 at 6:32 pm

      Why? Have you been asleep? Why? Because Gary Johnson is a pro-choice Republican who admits he used marijuana for back pain and supports gay marriage. And he balanced his state budget to boot. That’s why. I wonder if he eats candy?

      MLB Player Arrested With ‘Marijuana Peanut Butter Cups’
      After he was stopped, police say Schafer admitted smoking marijuana and that he had more in the vehicle. A subsequent search turned up less than an ounce in a plastic container and a small amount inside “three small marijuana peanut butter cups,” according to the police report. Felony possession in Florida carries a potential maximum five-year prison sentence and $5,000 fine. Police also seized the Land Rover for forfeiture if Schafer is convicted.

      Ex-NBA Lottery Pick Eats Pot During Arrest

      Buffalo lawmakers blast marijuana candy
      Oct 5 2011
      AP: Two Buffalo lawmakers are trying to rid neighborhood stores of candy in the shape of marijuana leaves that go by names like “Pot Pops.”

      Ganja candy,jpg 300420 potarts

  11. working class zero says:

    The homepage is reporting the feds plan to shut down medicinal marijuana dispensaries in California. I guess those people who use it for pain will have to go with some lovely pills from big pharma.

    • claygooding says:

      WCO: or grow their own,,and if not capable of growing their own,,it is back to the generic medical marijuana from “that guy in the park”,,,which makes one ponder if the feds want to make sure we are funding the cartels and not helping our own economy.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      What are you talking about? There’s nothing on the homepage about anything? There never is, the homepage is always about:blank.

      Clay, Californians at least are never going back to that. There may be no dispensaries operating but they’ll figure a way around it. The first logical step to expand the number of delivery services. I’ll change my mind if the Feds manage to shut down WAMM. They tried that back in 2002 and sure dropped that hot potato really quick. At this point it’s getting pretty close to imperative that dispensaries really need to exclude the malingering Spicolis in their membership rolls. Right, wrong or indifferent they don’t have an actual need for medicine and their presence has morphed into a serious liability.
      ———- ———- ———- ———- ———- ———- ———- ———- ———- ———-

      Say, aren’t the people that think the liberals are on our side ready to say uncle yet? If you aren’t, what the frack is going to be required to get your hands down from in front of your eyes, and the silicone plugs out of your ears? Yeah, let’s give Mr. Obama 4 more years because we don’t like Republicans or whatever lame reasoning you’re using. Harry J. Anslinger IV will be the top man at the DEA before you can finish saying, “what the fruck…?”

      • darkcycle says:

        Duncan, it’s not the dispensary’s job to second guess the doctor. Just like it’s not the pharmacist’s job to deny prescribed medication. They fill the orders. They can’t diagnose and revise Doctor’s directives.
        it’s not their jobs and they’re not qualified.

        • Francis says:

          Agreed. Of course, I’d go a step further and say that it’s not the job of doctors to give out (or withhold) special permission slips that determine what other adults can or cannot put into their own bodies. Advice and recommendations? Absolutely. Permission? Not in a free society.

        • Duncan20903 says:

          .
          .
          Interesting theory. So that means you disapprove of Valerie & Mike Corral and WAMM. You’re the first to claim that dubious distinction in my experience.

          Have you ever been to see a California recommendation mill quack? While they certainly serve a purpose, I’ve got no problem with people second guessing them. I literally felt a need to shower after my last “consultation” with one. I don’t know, $150 and a pulse gets you a rec from those guys. They don’t bother to verify the pulse.

          Private businesses most certainly have the right to decline to service customers except for the well known legal exceptions, e.g. race, color, creed etc.

          Standing on the assertion you’ve proffered is going to drive them underground. Funny how so many squeal like stuck pigs when there’s even a hint of a business making a profit except when they like a particular business.

          So anyway, we most certainly sit on opposite sides of the table on this issue. It’s academic IMO. My prediction that Mr. Obama is going to close down the dispensaries nationwide is nothing new.

          Like I often say to the Know Nothings, if medicinal cannabis patient protection laws were to disappear at 9 AM tomorrow morning the malingering Spicolis would have headstash in hand by noon. The patients that have a significant actual need for medicine are the only dispensary customers that will suffer. It’s not so easy finding the shadowy places the black market vendors lurk when you’re puking you guts out from chemotherapy or use a blow tube to move your wheelchair from here to there.

        • Duncan20903 says:

          .
          .

          Duncan20903
          January 24, 2011 at 4:22 pm

          /snip/
          http://hightimes.com/legal/jgettman/6923

          Yeah, I think that Mr. Obama is going to close down every working dispensary in America without any public animus toward the administration. They’ve already got people conned into believing they’re going to leave dispensaries “in compliance” with State law alone. They’ve got people conned into believing that means they have to be non-profits. Auditing and sending a bill to a “tax cheat” will bother only a few shitheads like myself who know about how non-profits are actually taxed as well as are familiar with the arcana of section 280(e) of the tax code. If all the other dispensaries voluntarily close their doors no one complains. Well played Mr. Obama, well played. I’m laying my king down, checkmate is yours.

          http://www.drugwarrant.com/2011/01/look-up-in-the-sky-its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-a-high-resolution-camera-pointed-at-you/

        • Windy says:

          Duncan, I cannot reply directly to the comments I’m addressing (@ 10:43 & 11:00 PM). This, again (I brought this up in the thread below,too) is why we must forget the incrementalism of medical cannabis and return to the individual freedom/my body, my choice argument. It is the only argument we should be making, it is the Constitutional argument ( the same one Ron Paul uses) — the government does NOT have the legal, Constitutional authority to prevent ANYONE from ingesting whatever they desire to ingest. Period!

        • darkcycle says:

          I guess I really do see medical cannabis as a separate issue. As you said, Duncan, malingering Spicoli’s won’t suffer (unless they’re arrested, that is), but the people who really need the dispensary will be very badly hurt indeed. It is simply sadism to deny relief to a gravely ill person. It’s meanness distilled to 200 proof. It will be a terrible loss to those people, I suspect it will be a minor loss to the movement.

  12. Francis says:

    “Columbia students need to be aware that the very drug habits they see as recreational fund a war.”

    I see some version of this in virtually every news story on the cartel violence in Mexico. I usually respond with something like the following:

    “I suppose we could also blame the supporters of prohibition for the violence, you know the people you got guns involved in the (non-alcohol, non-tobacco) drug trade to begin with. (Hint: sending armed agents of the state to confiscate sellers’ profits and lock them in cages is an act of violence.) It seems to me we have two choices if we want to stop the violence: get EVERYONE to agree not to buy illicit drugs (no demand, no black market violence) or get 51% of the population to recognize that the war on drugs has been a devastating failure. Which one do you think is more realistic?”

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      My stock response is “we may as well blame global warming/cooling/climate change/whatever today’s PC phrase to describe that phenomenon on the distance between the Sun and the Earth. Therefore the solution is to retrofit the planet with thrusters so that we can manipulate that distance. Too cold? Move it a little closer. Too warm? push it a little further away. Just right? Oh well, at least we “stimulated” the economy. Heck, it’s win win win, what more can anyone ask for?

      I was actually going to post that on the article’s comments but found myself to disgusted to endure the comments section. I think it may be time for a vacation. One can only engage the Borg for a limited period of time before needing to take a break.

  13. darkcycle says:

    Jeez, Duncan. You’re rubbing off on me. Will you look at how I treated poor Rubin over at the Columbia Spectator? How unlike me. I must be feelin’ pissed.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Really? I’ve never rubbed off on a man before*. I’m surprised it was such a non event. I wouldn’t even realized that I did that if you hadn’t mentioned it.

      (*Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

      I had to leave after that one post. A combination of nausea and “why the heck am I engaging immature minds as if their reasoning is fully formed?” There are two things commonly found in college age humans. They’re experts on everything you can possibly imagination and they’re totally full of malarkey. Wait, that may be just one thing described two ways. Regardless I’m starting to worry about developing USPS employee syndrome. I’m going to drive out to West Virginia, look at the leaves, and let the indigenous people amuse me. I may log on from time to time. Wait, do they have internet service in WV yet?

      I was out there about a week or 10 days ago and found the WalMart amusing, in an other worldly type of way. Evidently it’s time for the annual celebration of Bambicide and the place was dedicated to their “the only good dear is a dead deer” spectacular. There was an inflatable firing range set up in the parking lot to teach the children about gun safety (I swear on my mother’s grave). There was promotional signs from front to rear, and I never before realized just how many consumer goods come in camouflage. The gun counter had people lined up 6 deep in 3 lines waiting to consult with the WalMart ballistics experts (just promoted from greeter) on which gun was best to use for purposes of wild cow eradication. But the most amusing thing was the pallets of beer in cases decorated in festive Halloween colors which were prominently displayed in the main aisles near and adjacent to the gun counter. Evidently there’s no problem with swilling beer while walking around in the woods with newly purchased rifles, particularly if there’s a price rollback. Hmm, I suppose I should skip the walk in the woods.

      • darkcycle says:

        Duncan, you don’t have to forgo the walk in the woods. Around here (another area where the assassination of wild fauna is very popular) I find it useful to wear bright orange, and carry a Ghetto blaster set to max volume. Don’t play Hip hop. Apparently deer like hip hop and it makes ’em shoot….
        I live by a “Bird Sanctuary”. Apparently in the lexicon of the Government, “sanctuary” means “free-fire zone”. Anyway, my wife and I call it “The Shotgun Symphony”, and it’s started already as hunters take aim at unsuspecting migratory fowl.
        I live in what is arguably the most beautiful area in the entire world, but walks in the woods this time of year are iffy.

  14. allan says:

    A couple of interesting bills:

    H.R.1984 – Small Business Banking Improvement Act of 2011

    To amend title 31, United States Code, to allow States to certify a business as legitimate for purposes of a financial institution’s suspicious activity reporting requirements, facilitate unambiguous compliance of such businesses with State law, and provide regulatory relief for financial institutions.

    and hr 1985:

    H.R.1985 – Small Business Tax Equity Act of 2011

    To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for expenses in connection with the trade or business of selling marijuana intended for patients for medical purposes pursuant to State law.

  15. jhelion says:

    This is freaking intolerable:

    “Feds cracking down on California medical marijuana dispensaries”

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/10/feds-cracking-down-on-california-medical-marijuana-dispensaries.html

  16. Emma says:

    The Al Jazeera English program People and Power had a show a few months ago on lack of access to morphine: Freedom from Pain (24:40 Youtube). They make it very clear that the problem is drug prohibition and outdated fears about opiates, leading to what amounts to torture of sick people. Heart-breaking video of an Indian woman dying of breast cancer and the MD is only allowed to give her acetaminophen, also a young Ukrainian man who risks prison to distribute donated morphine to people with cancer and chronic pain. The WHO estimates that 6 million people die of cancer each year without adequate pain medication (see WHO Access to Controlled Medications Programme).

  17. claygooding says:

    Holder Takes Heat Over ‘Fast And Furious’ Scandal

    http://www.npr.org/2011/10/06/141124685/holder-takes-heat-over-fast-and-furious-scandal

    If Holder is fired or resigns,,there goes the mmj memo.

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      Mr. Holder is done. Mr. Obama has signed his death warrant, no doubt:

      “I have complete confidence in Attorney General Holder, in how he handles his office,” President Obama told reporters at a news conference Thursday. “He has been very aggressive in going after gunrunning and cash transactions that are going to these transnational drug cartels.”

  18. Francis says:

    Another day. Another prohibition-fueled atrocity.

    Here’s the comment I left in case anyone’s interested:
    .
    .
    “Some 41,000 people have been killed since Mexico launched a major crackdown in 2006 against powerful drug gangs which are themselves locked in brutal turf wars over lucrative trade routes from Central America to the United States.”

    Hmm, that’s strange.  It sounds like a lot of the violence came after the major crackdown on the drug gangs?  Who would have guessed that a “war” on drugs would be so violent?  And the gangs are locked in brutal turf wars over trade routes?  Why don’t we see the sellers of other drugs, e.g., rival beer distributors engaging in deadly shoot-outs over turf? Heck, you’d probably have to go back to the early 1930’s or so to find an example of THAT happening.  And what ever happened to the “Cola Wars”?  They were pretty hyped in the media, but did anyone from Coke or Pepsi actually get killed? I don’t think so.  It’s almost like there’s some pattern that we’re missing? Well, probably shouldn’t think about it too much. I know! Let’s invade Mexico!

    • Duncan20903 says:

      .
      .
      I’d really like to understand this common Know Nothing prohibitionist fantasy concerning the alleged existence of “trade routes.” Are they still trading spaghetti for tea in China or what? So why doesn’t the DEA just put up a blockade if these so called “trade routes” are so essential?

      • Duncan20903 says:

        .
        .
        My stress levels are confirmed. I couldn’t even handle reading 29 comments. Francis, you’re going to have to carry the weight for at least a couple of weeks

        • darkcycle says:

          Bong hits Duncan. Lots and lots of bong hits. Then watch cartoons for a couple of hours.
          That’s a prescription.

        • Francis says:

          I hear you. Debating the Know-Nothings on your average FoxNews.com story is a lot like swatting mosquitoes. It doesn’t require much in the way of intellectual effort, but it produces similar levels of aggravation – especially since the stupidity (like the mosquitoes) JUST. KEEPS. COMING.

        • Peter says:

          Reading the comments attached to this Foxnews story is like entering a cave occupied by some earlier, unevolved species of hominid….it’s not just the stupidity on display, it the shameless racism and hate speach, the utter self-righteousness which just pours out. The Guardian has an article today on the 15th anniversary of ‘Fair and Balanced’ news which throws light on the way relentless propaganda has been used by Fox to create and incite this angry mob mentality.
          http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/07/fox-news-15-years

        • Duncan20903 says:

          .
          .
          Close Francis, but fungus gnats are the more appropriate insect to use as an analogy. The little fuckers are as annoying as hell, love to get in your face, and have their bastard progeny do their dirty work in secret. Bacillus thuringiensis is still the cure since they are related to mosquitos.

          I prefer Gnatrol to mosquito dunks. You’d likely feel the same if they were called mosquito franks.

  19. claygooding says:

    I click cows. I read and respond until I want to dial Kerli’s neck down to my dick size,,,have that memorized.

    Then I go toking over to FB and spin some slots,,play some poker and hit my pipe.

  20. ezrydn says:

    We keep hearing “the ATF Memo,” over and over. However, this citizen has an off-the-wall question. Since when has an administrative memo been construed as a “Federal Ban?” For some reason, I thought federal bans had to come through Congress as voted law. Do memos have that power now? And, if it IS a law, where is it posted?

    • darkcycle says:

      EZ, One of my motorcycle buddies owns a gunshop. this is the way he explained it to me.
      The ATF has forbade the transfer of firearms to people classed as “illegal drug users” for a very long time. The memo came about as a result of people getting mixed messages from the STATE laws allowing MMJ users to OWN firearms and have CC permits. These people, knowing that State laws permit it, were mistakenly marking “YES” on their 4473 form where it asks “Are you a user of illegal narcotics”, or, asking the dealer directly, thereby informing him of their status. Dealers had asked for this clarification. This is no change at all, and very much a non-event.

      • Duncan20903 says:

        .
        .
        I don’t believe Federal law forbids a CC permit. Just actually carrying the gun. Yes I know that the former is useless absent the latter but who the heck thinks the law has to make any sense? Oh well, the SCOTUS will tell us one way or another directly.

        • Windy says:

          SCOTUS actually gets it wrong more than it gets it right, SCOTUS seems to, nearly always, side with the state over the Constitution or the People.

  21. Peter says:

    haven’t had time to read all the comments today but has anyone commented on Lamar Smith’s bill to prosecute us citizens for conspiracy planning to engage in activities which are legal abroad, ie smoking cannabis in amsterdam, while they are in the us?
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/us-drug-policy-war-congress_n_998993.html

  22. Peter says:

    I thought this was worth repeating, from Lamar Smith’s Wiki entry:
    “On June 24, 2011, Lamar Smith’s Facebook page was flooded with protests from citizens, asking him to change his [opposing] position on the bill [to end the Federal prohibition on marijuana] and calling for a fair hearing. Smith’s Facebook page was temporarily taken down soon after, to be returned void of all comments related to H.R. 2306 and with future comments disabled. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) encouraged MMJ patients and activists to contact Smith via his phone, which was soon turned to an automatic answering machine, stating the office was closed.”

    • Windy says:

      Congressman Smith can eat my undies, here’s hoping he keels over with some illness that can be cured with cannabis and nothing else.

  23. dt says:

    The thumbs up and thumbs down button doesn’t work on mobile Safari. It’s probably not worth fixing this; just FYI.

  24. A. Nony Mous says:

    “The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill yesterday that would make it a federal crime for U.S. residents to discuss or plan activities on foreign soil that, if carried out in the U.S., would violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) — even if the planned activities are legal in the countries where they’re carried out.”

  25. palemalemarcher says:

    The CSA engineer of the H of Reps can offer to POTUS to exchange inking that trash for approval of an appointee(s). I mean the sitting vulture who thay appointed to head that committee.

    • Cy Klebs says:

      Sir, You don’t know the sensibilities involved. This bill is a good law, it doesn’t go far enough! No more business as usual! Stupid demagogues are better than savvy ones.

  26. BUYCHAMPIX says:

    online quit smoking

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