Author Archives: Pete

International discussions on drug policy reform

The Global Drug Prohibition Regime: Half a Century of Failed Policymaking? This is a very good 16-minute video put together by the always excellent Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. The participants of the discussion forum were: Sandeep Chawla, Deputy Executive Director … Continue reading

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Why are we so upset? After all, there are relatively few people in federal prison just for marijuana possession.

That’s the mantra we hear over and over from the apologists for bad policy like Kevin Sabet and Keith Humphreys. Of course, this argument has so many holes in it you could drive a SWAT team through it. Most marijuana … Continue reading

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Drug Czar linked to deception

It was just a few days ago that I put forth my Open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers and said: Correlation and Causation are two different words. Get this one right. There are millions of people who use … Continue reading

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Odds and Ends

Marijuana: The Next Diabetes Drug?” Toking up may help marijuana users to stay slim and lower their risk of developing diabetes, according to the latest study, which suggests that cannabis compounds may help in controlling blood sugar. Revisiting the ‘Crack … Continue reading

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An open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

Dear sons of SAM and daughters of the American prohibition; to all the treatment industry, drug testing, private prison, and sheriff union lobbyists; and, of course, to our friends who are required by law to lie: I keep hearing from … Continue reading

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Podcast

A friend of mine who writes under the handle of “Occasionally Wrong” has a podcast that he uses whenever there’s a topic that makes him mad, and he invited me to join him on his newest episode: Am I Mad? … Continue reading

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Jimmy Carter on drug policy

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession … Continue reading

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Exit Strategy

The Drug Policy Alliance has created a new document; An Exit Strategy for the Failed War on Drugs: A Federal Legislative Guide The report basically recognizes that after decades of incorporating the drug war into the very fabric of the … Continue reading

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Robert L. DuPont vies for stupid OpEd award, but loses.

I thought for sure that nobody could top the idiocy of Steve Adelman who danced a jig around the possibilities of marijuana’s involvement in the Boston tragedy. But here comes DuPont. Lessons from Boston bombings about marijuana, education While Jahar’s … Continue reading

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U.S. agencies annoyed they can’t run the drug war their own way.

In Mexico, restrictions on U.S. agents signal drug war shift Peña Nieto’s decision to limit the ability of American agents to operate in Mexico has been met with dismay by U.S. law enforcement agencies, which left a heavy footprint under … Continue reading

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