Drug WarRant

I’ve been asked when I’m going to weigh in on the Four Loko bans. I was thinking about it, but then saw that E.D. Kain had already done a good job of hitting the high points over at Balloon Juice: Give me Four Loko or give me death (or something).

But honestly we have to quit treating everyone as though they were children. People were binge drinking before Four Loko came around. If anything, if this is the course of action we feel we need to take, we should ban margaritas and daiquiris and any other drink that tastes sweet. And beer, too, because let’s face it: beer is delicious and makes people like me want to drink way too much of it. Indeed, many people do. Many other people don’t.

Then again, I find the fact that we have to be twenty-one to drink legally insulting as well.

Absolutely (although I personally don’t actually enjoy beer that much). And I love the tag on this:

Again, I will reassert my belief that Americans have the right to be stupid – at least until their stupidity infringes someone else’s life or liberty. Personally, I wouldn’t touch Four Loko with a ten foot pole but damnit I’ll at the very least write a blog post defending your right to do so.

Done.

Chilling Her Softly. Jacob Sullum writes about the very disturbing case of the legal persecution of Siobhan Reynolds and pain doctors, now officially sanctioned by the Supreme Court.

By now, you’re probably all aware of the invasive new TSA procedures in airports, and have heard of the now famous body scan resistor, John Tyner.

The TSA is not happy. They need a compliant public and Tyner (and his junk) is quickly becoming an anti-authoritarian hero.

TalkLeft explains another reason why we should care:

Pretty soon they will in all public places, including train and bus stations. […]

These machines don’t just detect explosives. They detect other things, like drugs. What an end run around the 4th Amendment, particularly if you are not traveling but just going about your business.

Excellent piece by LEAP’s Neill Franklin in the Huffington Post: A Cop’s Advice on Dealing with Cops

As a 33-year law enforcement veteran and former training commander with the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department, I know how easy it is to intimidate citizens into answering incriminating questions or letting me search through their belongings. This reality might make things easier for police looking to make an easy arrest, but it doesn’t always serve the interests of justice. That’s why I believe all citizens should understand how to protect their constitutional rights and make smart decisions when dealing with officers of the law.

[Oops. An article from last year…] The American Medical Association Reconsiders Marijuana. Will the Justice Department Follow?

…despite how the culture around pot has changed, defenders of the current federal policy have clung to a prominent, and trusted, ally to back them: the American Medical Association, which the justice department often cites when enforcing marijuana policy.

So it it might have come as a surprise on Tuesday when the AMA announced that, after 72 years, it was reversing its pot policy—and urged the federal government to do the same. Precipitated by a similar decision by the group’s Medical Student Section, the AMA resolved that “that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule 1 controlled substance be reviewed,” with the goal of facilitating clinical research, and presented a new medical report, conducted by its Council on Science and Public Health, laying out the drug’s various medical benefits.

This is an open thread.

Here is a letter that moved me.

My name is B.C. and I am an artist of many media. Right now I am an independent musician, and recent college graduate from the Houston Texas Area.

I used to be very anti-marijuana, until I got mad at my girlfriend for doing it, and decided to research it to give her a definitive answer on it’s ill effects. I found none. Instead I found your website, and the answer to why marijuana is Illegal. This is what sparked my education into such a helpful plant, one that I had viewed with such negativity for most of my life. Now I can say I am a full fledged scholar in the ins and outs of the plant, and one by one I have changed people’s thoughts on marijuana, and especially the drug war in general.

It helped me first hand medically when I had hernia surgery last year. The doctors told me my groin would be swollen black and blue for the next two days and put me on hydrochodon, for the next few months. Instead I convinced my parents who were taking care of me (who are adamantly anti marijuana), to let me smoke an indica strain that i had brought home. I showed them all the evidence at my disposal and they relented, eventually seeing the first hand effects of my swelling disappearing immediately, the sudden resurgence of appetite, and my general attitude not be so high strung and moody. I only used half of my original prescription, and never needed to refill. My Dad stopped drug testing his employees after that, and my mom was a firsthand witness to the medical effects.

Besides health benefits, my music became more open and creative, and I finally have a goal and a message inside. To let people be who they are, enjoy their life, and to get people to question the status quo. I have posted my first music video on youtube (link below), and think your readers might get some enjoyment out of it.

One at a time, we change people’s lives and make a difference, and the ripple effect can be profound.

Here is B.C.’s music video. Surreal and compelling.

A couple of people have requested the ability to edit their own comments after posting — you know, that horrible thing where you see that blatant typo right after you post.

Well, I’ve just purchased Ajax Edit Comments and added it to the site. It should allow you to edit comments for a short time after posting, or to request to delete the post, etc., and it even has a spell checker.

I imagine that this will have its own issues that we need to find and fix, and there are a ton of settings that I have for Ajax Edit Comments that I can try different approaches (more time, different options, different layouts, etc.).

Feel free to experiment in the comments on this post, and let me know how it works for you.

Senate Judiciary Committee to Confirm DEA Head Nominee Tomorrow

Barring unforeseen massive scandal in the next 24 hours, Michele Leonhart’s nomination to be Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator will be confirmed Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The nomination is opposed by the drug reform, medical marijuana, and hemp movements, but insiders say it is all but a done deal.

In short, Ms. Leonhart’s actions and ambitions are incompatible with state law, public opinion, and with the policies of this administration. At a minimum, Senators should ask Ms. Leonhart specific questions regarding her past record and her intentions moving forward.

Today’s the day.

This is our best chance to get Congress and President Obama to establish an important commission that could provide recommendations on how to reform our marijuana laws, as well as other criminal justice issues.

The Senate is considering a bill that would establish a national commission to make recommendations on improving the criminal justice system — but Congress is dragging its feet. They need to hear from reformers around the country in support of this bill. Send a message to Senate leadership now!

Take Action

In 2009, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and 15 Republican and Democratic cosponsors introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, legislation that would create a bipartisan Commission to review and identify effective criminal justice policies and make recommendations for reform. The House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee have passed the bill, which now has 39 Senate cosponsors, but the bill still awaits final passage during these last few weeks of the Congressional session. If NCJC doesn’t pass this year, it will all have to be done over again in 2011.

Today is the National Call-In Day for Passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act. Please call the following Senators to ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of the NCJC Act, H.R. 5143 and S. 714, this year:

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-5556
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 202-224-3135
• the two US Senators from your state — call (202) 224-3121 or click here to look them up.

The following is a message for your call to the Senators’ offices:

I am calling to ask the Senator to prioritize and support immediate Senate passage of the House-passed National Criminal Justice Commission Act, H.R. 5143/S. 714, because:

• Having a transparent and bipartisan Commission review and identify effective criminal justice policies would increase public safety.
• The increase in incarceration over the past twenty years has stretched the system beyond its limits. These high costs to taxpayers are unsustainable, especially during these tough economic times.
• The proposed commission would conduct a comprehensive national review — not audits of individual state systems — and would issue recommendations — not mandates — for consideration.

This is an open thread.

PAMELA ANDERSON has urged BARACK OBAMA to legalise drugs.

The ex-Baywatch star, 43, said: “I sent a letter to Obama, who I think is a great president, asking him to liberalise all of them.

“I think people would use fewer drugs if they were legal.”

The actress, who was speaking on an Italian TV chat show, will appear on the cover of Playboy in January – her 11th time in 22 years.

I guess I’ll be able to hang it up soon.

Naturally, they want to blame drug war violence on the wrong thing.

New pot law blamed as violence escalates

Since recreational marijuana use was decriminalized in Massachusetts last year, pot-related trafficking and violence have escalated across the state, frustrated law enforcement officials tell the Herald.

Smoking weed is not a victimless crime, they say.

“We knew it was going to be a nightmare for public safety and law enforcement. An ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints,” Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said.

Of course, all the violence they noted had to do with turf wars — caused by marijuana still being illegal, not by decriminalization.

And… An ounce of marijuana can make a thousand joints.

Who are these morons?

There are a little over 28 grams in an ounce. That would mean you’d have to make over 35 joints per gram.

That wouldn’t satisfy a hobbit.

The drug warriors who have been fighting this immoral war for decades have dug themselves so deep into the muck that they’ve lost the ability to even see that they’re standing chin-deep in feces.

There are more bizarre elements of the drug war than you could count, but many of the more absurd derive from the fact that the drug warriors are unable to actually enforce the drug laws.

If that happened to rational people, they’d question whether the drug war is legitimate, but with prohibitionists, they just look for ways to subvert the principles of American law to assist them — whether it’s employing snitches, dismantling the fourth amendment, or even forcing people to do their job for them.

The latter is the basis for this latest DEA action:

Congrats to our Allan Erickson for getting Letter of the Week honors over at DrugSense/MAPinc.

Further, Kevin Sabet, as part of the ONDCP, is mandated by law to lie.[…]

If science and truth were the standard, cannabis never would have
been made illegal in the first place.

Link

PHOENIX (AP) — A measure that would legalize medical marijuana in Arizona pulled ahead for the first time Friday, with both supporters and opponents saying they believed the proposal that went before voters on Election Day would pass.

Proposition 203 was ahead by 4,421 votes out of more than 1.63 million votes counted. The measure started out losing by about 7,200 votes on Nov. 2 and the gap gradually narrowed in the following 10 days.

Only about 10,000 early and provisional ballots remain to be counted in the state, and all are in Maricopa County.

If the measure passes, Arizona would be the 15th state with a medical marijuana law.

“We were optimistic that this is what the result was going to be today, and we’re thrilled that it came to reality,” said Andrew Myers, campaign manager for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project. “Moving forward it’s our responsibility to help implement a program that Arizona can be proud of.”

Opponents of the initiative, including all Arizona’s sheriff’s and county prosecutors, the governor, attorney general, and many other politicians, came out against the proposed law.

It’s been quite a long wait for the results.