Author Archives: Pete

Drug Czar: meet the Secretary of Defense

Apparently Defense Secretary Leon Panetta didn’t get the message that Gil Kerlikowske had ended the war on drugs. Panetta set to announce more support for drug war U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrives in the Canadian capital Monday, where he … Continue reading

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Governments having real conversations about the drug war (updated)

All options on the table in Central America. No decisions, but good discussions…. Perez: “We are talking about creating a legal framework to regulate the production, transit and consumption of drugs.” […] “It’s important this is on the discussion table … Continue reading

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Open thread

Mother of College Student Who Smoked Synthetic Marijuana,Then Crashed His Car and Died, Says Rand Paul “has blood on his hands”. Once again, grieving parents send blame in the wrong direction. Making drugs illegal has never increased their safety or … Continue reading

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Pope calls for more killing

The Pope landed in Mexico today and doubled down on the failed drug war. “We must do whatever is possible to combat this destructive evil against humanity and our youth,” he told reporters, referring to the some 50,000 people killed … Continue reading

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Drugs may help prevent us from becoming a world of boring assholes

Maia Szalavitz has an interesting piece in Time: How Getting Tipsy May Inspire Creativity In it, she talks about a recent study that discovered that a little alcohol actually helped stimulate inspiration and creativity and resulted in a better job … Continue reading

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502

Yesterday, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition endorsed I-502 – Washington’s marijuana legalization initiative A group of police officers, prosecutors, judges and other criminal justice professionals – including Seattle’s former chief of police – is endorsing I-502, the Washington initiative to regulate … Continue reading

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A likely upcoming missed opportunity for the Vatican to be relevant to… anything

Perhaps the Pope will prove me wrong. But I doubt it. Good article at Religion Dispatches: A Pope, a Poet, and a Drug War: Will Benedict stoke flames of culture war, or will he attend to the conflict that is … Continue reading

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Gateway theory

DirecTV has a series of ads that essentially parody the gateway theory (although they may not realize it themselves). Here’s my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ZYIdmdx14 When you have cable and can’t record all your shows, you feel unhappy. When you feel unhappy, … Continue reading

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My responsibility as a citizen

I voted yesterday. Got one of those stickers to wear showing that I participated in democracy. Sometimes that makes me feel good. Unfortunately, many times it leaves me hollow. The good thing yesterday was that I actually got to participate … Continue reading

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Odds and Ends

O’Malley gets it wrong on medical marijuana by Eric E. Sterling On March 9, Gov. Martin O’Malleysaid he is likely to veto a medical marijuana law if the Maryland General Assembly passes one. His spokeswoman said he is concerned about … Continue reading

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