Monthly Archives: June 2011

It’s not been a good week for the drug warriors, with the Global Commission and LEAP making all the news, and lots of media sources following up. Yesterday, Leonard Pitts, Jr. hit hard on Obama’s role in not doing something … Continue reading →

Stamper delivers critical drug report to Kerlikowske’s office They are two former Seattle police chiefs on opposing sides of the debate on legalizing drugs. And on Tuesday, Norm Stamper walked to the office of the nation’s “drug czar” Gil Kerlikowske … Continue reading →

Most Men Arrested In Atlanta Test Positive For Drugs ATLANTA — According to a new federal report, most men arrested in Atlanta test positive for illegal drugs at the time of their arrests. […] National Drug Control Policy Director Gil … Continue reading →

LINK A top Republican has rejected the notion that Congress should re-examine the nation’s gun laws after al Qaeda urged Muslims to attack America by exploiting loose firearm rules. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, … Continue reading →

Link Following a major rise in the number of drug addicts amongst the Israeli population, several members of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) have called for the formation of a special anti-drug committee to consider legalizing the possession and use of … Continue reading →

Lots going on this week, including observances of the 40th Anniversary of Nixon’s declaration of drug war. ‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon Has a Counteroffer for Eric Holder Responding to Attorney General Holder’s expressed wish for another season of The … Continue reading →

Newly available: “Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know” by Mark A.R. Kleiman, Jonathan P. Caulkins, and Angel Hawken, in both paperback and Kindle formats. With a bold title like that, I just had to check it out. … Continue reading →

Excellent OpEd in the New York Times by Charles M. Blow Friday marks the 40th anniversary of one of the biggest, most expensive, most destructive social policy experiments in American history: The war on drugs. […] So began a war … Continue reading →

Back in a 1999 Congressional hearing on drug policy in Washington, DC, here’s what some of our representatives, sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States of America, had to say: “Legalization is a surrender to despair,” said Rep. … Continue reading →

Excellent piece on Al Jazeera Referenced in that piece is an important new documentary: “Breaking the Taboo” — which opened last week in Brazil and was also shown at the Global Commission press conference last week. It was filmed in … Continue reading →