Monthly Archives: August 2014

Ferguson and the war on drugs

Connecting the dots… In The New Republic: There Is Only One Real Way to Prevent Future Fergusons: End the War on Drugs by John McWhorter. So, what will really make a difference? Really, only a continued pullback on the War … Continue reading

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Odds and Ends

A particularly busy time for me – last weekend of my show (Living Canvas Rx Fri-Sat-Sun at the Den Theatre in Chicago), plus another Living Canvas show (completely different, performing as part of the Abbie Hoffman Festival this weekend in … Continue reading

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Occupied America

#Ferguson No, there’s no obvious direct connection to drug policy when reading the facts of the case (known to date), yet there’s no way I can, as someone who writes about drug policy, ignore the death of Michael Brown and … Continue reading

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Open Thread

Another good post on the Congressional hearing on pot and driving, this time by Jacob Sullum: Stoned Drivers: The Case Against Panic Mica, a proud pot prohibitionist who chairs a subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, convened … Continue reading

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I have a question

Tom Keane in the Boston Globe: Right wing takes lead on reforming crime policy DRUGS ARE BAD for you, no question. But wars on drugs are worse — at least the way we’ve been waging this battle. But change may … Continue reading

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Prosecutors have corrupted and undermined the Justice system

Jacob Sullum on Why Prosecutors Love Mandatory Minimums When you see the stark choices that federal defendants face, you can begin to understand why an astonishing 97 percent of them decide to plead guilty. The bigger the gap between the … Continue reading

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Being a responsible information consumer in the Information Age

While this isn’t specifically a drug policy post, it’s something I wrote for my friends on Facebook that I wanted to share… How’s your bullshit detector?  In today’s world, you really need a working one, and you need to keep … Continue reading

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Economics 101

Tracing the U.S. heroin surge back south of the border as Mexican cannabis output falls in the Washington Post. Farmers in the storied “Golden Triangle” region of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, which has produced the country’s most notorious gangsters and biggest … Continue reading

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Fun and games with the ONDCP

The ONDCP ‘blog‘ talks about a recent Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) training event, where Acting Director Botticelli was apparently the life of the party. Acting Director Botticelli drew even greater applause with his announcement that ONDCP will increase … Continue reading

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Helpful prohibitionist translations

Prohibition-speak: “There hasn’t been enough study…” Translation: “While there have been hundreds of studies on this topic, none of them have yet concluded what we wanted them to conclude.” Prohibition-speak: “Studies conclusively show…” Translation: “There was one study in New … Continue reading

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