Author Archives: Pete

… in so many ways. 17 people in Scotland and Ireland have died from fake ecstasy tablets. The green pills, with a Rolex crown stamped on them, often contain a dangerous chemical called PMA. They cause extremely high temperatures, hallucinations … Continue reading →

I’m in Iowa visiting my Mom, who just celebrated her 91st birthday. She’s a regular weekly reader of the Rant and also enjoys reading the comments of those on the couch. ‘Seatbelt Checkpoints’ to Search Cars Without Warrants, Make Drug … Continue reading →

This article was in Rolling Stone last week, and I believe it’s an important read, if you haven’t already… Five Reasons Cops Want to Legalize Weed Of course, it’s more than just weed, and LEAP is on record for being … Continue reading →

On Independence Day today, a flag made of hemp fiber is flying over the Capitol Building. A nice nod to tradition. The flag is from Colorado and was arranged by Representative Jared Polis. Not everyone was pleased. “This is a … Continue reading →

One of the side-effects of the drug war is that it has given wide ranges of government employees the notion that when it comes to drugs, citizens don’t have rights. It’s an ugly and pernicious effect. It even goes so … Continue reading →

Mark Kleiman does an excellent job responding to the latest schizophrenia scare with his post: Cannabis and schizophrenia: Scare stories are not policy arguments If I had a young friend with a family history of schizophrenia or who had experienced … Continue reading →

The Economics Behind the US Government’s Unwinnable War on Drugs Benjamin Powell, in this essential article, has explained the basics of economics and the drug war in plain English. This is a great piece to share with people. One of … Continue reading →

‘Nobody racially profiles’: Bloomberg on the Council’s two ‘bad’ NYPD bills “The racial profiling bill is just so unworkable,” he said today. “Nobody racially profiles.” […] In that case, incidentally, I think we disproportionately stop whites too much and minorities … Continue reading →

Legalizing marijuana is hard. Regulating a pot industry is even harder. by Mike Konczal in the Washington Post. It’s hard to slog through all the hand-wringing in this article — fears about making the wrong decisions in regulating marijuana, as … Continue reading →

Nice editorial in the New York Times: American Mayors – Let Them Smoke Pot What the Conference of Mayors resolved seems appropriate — and sensitive to the reality that public attitudes toward marijuana are liberalizing rapidly. In 1969, the Pew … Continue reading →