Drug WarRant

Trophy Club, Texas

Kyle Robertson, 16, was suspended from school because his eyes were red and watery.

On the basis of this fact alone, they decided he had been smoking pot.

No other reasons for bloodshot eyes were considered, like the fact that Kyle’s father had been stabbed to death two days earlier, and he had been crying. He could have stayed home, but wanted to be at school with his friends.

Administrators, after talking with his mother and learning the situation, still required her to take him to get a drug test within two hours and show a copy of negative test results, before they’d let him back in school.

Never forget how the prohibitionists will willingly and eagerly exploit tragedy and death in order to market their profitable drug war and protect their gravy train.

Never forget how the DEA built a museum exhibit glorifying themselves, centered around the debris of the World Trade Center.

Never forget…

Never forget that the government decided to blame pot smokers for terrorism, carefully ignoring the fact that prohibition is the cause of black market profits.

Never forget…

Never forget that the DEA exploited those who tragically lost their lives to drugs by organizing a “Vigil for Lost Promise” on DEA grounds, closed off to media and protests.

This, despite the fact that the DEA and the drug war have actually made the harms of drugs worse. And also despite the fact that the DEA cuts young lives short, through activities like shooting 14-year-old Ashley Villareal to death.

Never forget…

Make no mistake. 9/11 was a tragedy that we should not forget for itself. However, we must also remember always that there are those who exploit tragedy to feed their own power and agenda. We must be vigilant or we’ll fall into their trap and trade away our freedom and sovereignty. The moment we give in to fear and let our government “protect us” by increasing their own power, we lose.

Ex-DEA Administrators Call on Obama to Sue if CA Voters Legalize Pot

As California voters gear up for a November 2 vote on Proposition 19, a ballot measure that would legalize the growth, possession and distribution of marijuana, nine former administrators of the Drug Enforcement Administration have issued a preemptive call to the White House: If Prop 19 passes, they say, President Obama should sue.

The Ex-DEA heads are showing that they are not only ridiculous, motivated by the self-interest of the DEA, but that they also don’t have a clue about the law. The courts have already ruled that the state is not required to enforce federal criminal law. Since Prop 19 doesn’t overturn federal cannabis laws, the federal government has nothing to sue about.

Unfortunately, the AP and CBS don’t include a link to the letter or the text of it. Anyone have it?

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Most anti-climactic sentence ever. Marijuana seed dealer who spent fortune on pot reform gets 5 years

Imposing Emery’s sentence Friday, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez honored a plea agreement struck earlier this year by Emery to avoid a potential 10-year prison term.

Marc Emery and his supporters took this opportunity to show how politically motivated the case was, and the attorneys too, the opportunity to try to claim that it was just about Marc being a bad guy, but everybody expected the plea deal that had been negotiated over years to stand, and so there were no surprises.

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So now who watches the prisoners who are arrested for not watching the prisoners?

Eighty-five prisoners escaped from a jail near the U.S. border on Friday, authorities and media said, the latest prison break underscoring the challenges Mexico faces as it battles powerful drug cartels. […]

The prisoners, mainly cartel members, climbed over a prison fence in the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas, in the early hours of Friday morning, local radio and newspapers reported, saying 85 men escaped. […]

Police arrested more than 40 prison guards and staff who were on duty when the men escaped, and two prison guards are missing, local radio and newspaper El Norte said.

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Understatement of the year

One can support the legalization of marijuana while condemning drug violence without contradiction.

Fact is, the only contradiction comes from the prohibitionists who condemn drug violence when it is their activity which spawns and fuels it.

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Advice of the year: NORML Lawyers’ Advice to Marijuana Suspects: STFU

A panel of marijuana criminal defense attorneys on the opening day of NORML’s 39th Annual National Conference in Portland Thursday were unanimous and emphatic on one thing people with pot should do when confronted by police: exercise their right to remain silent.

“Don’t talk to those people,” warned Oakland defense attorney and NORML board member Bill Panzer. “Their job is to throw your ass in jail. They are not there to help you.”

“Don’t talk to the cops,” agreed Seattle defense attorney Jeffrey Steinborn. “No matter what you say to a cop, they will write down what they want to hear. They can’t misinterpret stone cold silence.”

“Shut the fuck up,” punctuated Seattle defense attorney Douglas Hiatt, noting that people were understandably under stress when having encounters with law enforcement. People are prone to try to talk their way out of trouble, he said. “This is not the time you’re going to be doing quality thinking.”

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Pop Quiz: How Much Do You Really Know About Drugs and the Drug War?

I scored 100%.

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Video: Marijuana Heals Cancer …Cannabinoid Receptors In The Human Body

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Press conferences coming this Monday should be good.

A group of police officers, judges, and prosecutors who support Proposition 19, the California ballot measure to control and tax cannabis (marijuana), will hold simultaneous press conferences Monday, September 13 in front of Oakland City Hall and in West Hollywood Park near Los Angeles at 10 AM PDT to release a letter of endorsement signed by dozens of law enforcers across the state.

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As Radley says “Wow, is this ever a terrible idea.” North Carolina Sheriffs Want To Know Who Is Taking Painkillers

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this is an open thread

A two week investigation in Canada resulted in a 60-year-old woman in handcuffs as police discovered… tomato and dahlia plants.

It’s just so hard identifying those pot leaves.

At least they discovered their mistake before hauling away 300-400 horsemint plants.

Or, it could have been hibiscus plants with white flowers.

It’s really pretty funny (in a sad way).

Obama Retracts Clinton’s Comparison of Mexican Violence to Colombia

Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Obama took the unusual step Thursday of retracting a statement made a day earlier by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about Mexico’s drug war.

Clinton said Mexico’s drug war was like Colombia’s war against insurgents 20 years earlier, which was funded by money from drug cartels. […]

Clinton’s comment drew sharp rebuttals from Mexican politicians, who described their effort against drug cartels as more of a police action than a war against military insurgents.

Prohibition is the elephant.

Former NM gov is little known but has big ideas

Obviously, I’ve paid more attention to him because I’m involved in drug policy and his views are favorable to drug policy reform, but I find it odd that he’s known for being unknown. Is it because of the echo chamber of the cable news networks?

There’s something really wrong in public discourse when, from a political perspective, Sarah Palin is well known but Gary Johnson is little known.

And I agree. Johnson is a “legitimate long-shot candidate.”

Sheriff Lee Baca, co-chair of the Prop 19 opposition has certainly been outspoken.

The Los Angeles County sheriff has escalated his war of words against California medical marijuana dispensaries, saying as many as 97 percent operate as criminal enterprises.

Some of the pot shops get marijuana from Mexican drug cartels, and most dole out pot to people with no medical need for it, Sheriff Lee Baca said.

“Millions of dollars are being made for profit, and it’s all illegal,” the sheriff said this week.

Baca presented no evidence to support his claim. His comments coincided with a recent announcement that he would lead efforts against a November ballot measure to legalize marijuana for personal use in California. […]

…two workers at different dispensaries have been killed during robberies in recent weeks.

“It is no surprise that people are going to get killed … drugs and violence go together,” Baca said.

He is, however, no match for the good folks at the Just Say Now campaign.

Jane Hamsher came out with a scathing exposé of Baca today: “No on 19″ Says “Yes” to Scientology

She starts by shooting down his unsupported claims:

Los Angeles Police Chief Charles Beck has disputed Baca’s claim. “Banks are more likely to get robbed than medical marijuana dispensaries,” he told the Daily News in January.

Beck’s department looked into the assertion made by Baca and others that dispensaries attract criminal activity to neighborhoods. The LAPD subsequently issued a report saying that just wasn’t the case. “I have tried to verify that because that, of course, is the mantra,” said Beck. “It doesn’t really bear out.”

And then she goes on to expose Sheriff Baca’s connections to Scientology and the entire Narconon treatment industry.

Check out Sheriff Baca’s own statement to the Scientology Church (video at the link):

You have been consistently reliable in helping me to achieve my goal for a safer Los Angeles County. In particular, your drug education means everything to the safety of our schools and neighborhoods. That is why we trained a corps of our own deputies in the use of your unbeatable program. This joint venture to educate youth at risk is one of the most important initiatives I could undertake as Sheriff of Los Angeles County.

Narconon has been demonstrated to have no scientific credibility, yet it continues to rake in the dough from criminal justice referrals, a cozy arrangement that now shows Sheriff Baca in bed with them.

Hamsher concludes:

By choosing Lee Baca as co-chair of “No on 19″ and offering him a platform to advance the theories of L. Ron Hubbard on their behalf, the campaign has associated itself with claims of dubious legitimacy that serve the interests of a revenue-generating enterprise. Any medical treatment organization that demands the criminalization of is patients in order to guarantee participation in their program should be instantly suspect, as should those like No on 19 Co-Chair Lee Baca who proselytize on their behalf.

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But wait — That was just the first salvo today.

Norm Stamper:

Sheriff Baca says ‘there are predators armed and seeking easy dollars in sales of marijuana.’ He’s right. There is altogether too much marijuana-related violence in California. It’s been going on for years and, unless the marijuana prohibition is lifted — and replaced with a taxed, regulated, and controlled system — it will continue unabated. It’s that simple. The sheriff needs to ask himself, Would the three recent murders in West Hollywood have happened if marijuana were legal, its commerce controlled like alcohol? He knows the answer to that question, and so does Senator Feinstein. Marijuana prohibition is the cause of violence, not the cure.

And Doug Bandow, former Special Assistant to President Reagan:

Since banks, jewelry stores, and wealthy homeowners attract thieves and robbers, presumably Sheriff Baca will next campaign for financial, jewelry, and wealth prohibition. After all, there wouldn’t be any bank robberies if there were no banks.

In fact, as has long been evident, it is drug prohibition that generates untold violent and destructive crime. The sheriff is entitled to his opinion as co-chair of the anti-marijuana legalization campaign, but he shouldn’t distort his official duties to promote his political pursuits. The only way to end drug-related violence is to stop arresting users and turning production and sales over to criminals.”

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No, that’s not all.

Eric Sterling: No on 19 Co-Chair Lee Baca “Intoxicated by the Money and Hysteria Against Marijuana”

In the early 1980s, heroin and other opiate addicts were robbing pharmacies around the country because of they were a source for pure narcotics of certain dosage. U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde introduced legislation to make robbery of pharmacies a federal crime. I was the attorney who handled that legislation for the House Judiciary Committee, and we developed a bill that passed, P.L. 98-305 (May 31, 1984), 18 U.S.C. 2118.

No one blamed the pharmacies or their customers! No one said, “Pharmacies are a magnet for crime!” Robbers look for opportunities where there is money or valuable property — banks, jewelry stores, fast food restaurants, liquor stores, etc. Criminologists and intelligent observers of crime don’t blame the victims.

Unfortunately because medical marijuana dispensaries are not fully legal — due to federal law — they have trouble contracting with private security services or getting business insurance as other businesses do routinely.

If Sheriff Baca weren’t intoxicated by the money and hysteria against marijuana, he would not be making this kind of rookie mistaken analysis.

Good job by Jane Hamsher and the board of Just Say Now to expose the true nature of the Prop 19 opposition.

Someone sent me a link to a blog. Now, it’s pretty rare that I mention a blog that has only one post so far, but it’s a pretty big post. The blog is Prop 19 Questions and the first post has… 850 questions. (I’m taking their word for it, I haven’t counted them myself.)

There are some good questions, and I actually started answering them, but after about 35, I got bored.

There are a bunch that can easily be answered “No” or “Yes” just through plain reading of the text of the proposed law. There’s also a large number that would be answered “depending on local regulations,” and a few where the answer would be “Yeah, lawyers are going to make some money on that one.”

But there’s also a considerable number where the answer is “Nobody knows. Just as with any new law or policy, we’ll have to see what happens and adapt to situations as they arise.”

After reading all the questions, I realized that there are some questions that have been left out!

So here are my additions to the 850 questions about Prop 19…

1. If a major earthquake causes California to fall into the Pacific Ocean, will people be allowed to grow marijuana in domed undersea gardens as long as they’re 25 square feet or less?
2. If I put a tesseract on my 5′ by 5′ plot, can I then grow 25 square feet of marijuana in all four dimensions?
3. If the earth is hit by a meteor and speeds up its orbit so that it goes around the sun in half the time, will the minimum age of 21 for using marijuana still be in effect, but allow young people to get there sooner?
4. If you liquify your marijuana, is your one ounce allowance based on weight or by volume? What if it’s pre-vaporized and has almost no weight?
5. If a medical marijuana patient has fun consuming their medical marijuana, do they fall under medical marijuana laws or recreational marijuana laws?

Lima

President Alan Garcia said he is willing to accept U.S. military aid to combat drug traffickers, provided that this help is in the logistical and training areas, a Peruvian newspaper reported Sunday, citing an interview the head of state recently gave.

“On all matters that are humane and universal, I don’t have any disagreement over sovereignty and patriotism. That is, if the Americans would like to put training troops (here), as they have helicopters, as they have satellite trainers here, it’s just at the right time,” Garcia said.

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Garcia then went on to point out that other countries receiving drug war aid from the U.S. — Mexico, Afghanistan, Colombia — are much more exciting than his, with massacres, shoot-outs in the streets, colorful and unpredictable police and military forces. Garcia hopes for a little more of that action, and thinks that U.S. military aid may be just the ticket.

The Guardian has consistently been one of the media leaders in talking openly about the drug war — all aspects. This weekend was no exception…

What Britain could learn from Portugal’s drugs policy by Peter Beaumont

In the midst of the recently resurgent debate in Britain about whether our drug laws are working – or require a major overhaul – the experience of Portugal has become a crucial piece of evidence in favour of a radical approach that has confounded the expectations of even its conservative critics, so much so that in the last month British officials have asked their Portuguese counterparts for advice, with the only caveat being that they avoid mentioning the word “decriminalise”.

It’s an interesting look into the success of Portugal’s experiment.

Britain’s drug policy will not improve until we are bold enough to experiment by Alex Stevens

The potential benefits and costs of drug policy innovations will remain incalculable as long as governments refuse to implement and research them.

A lesson that’s also true for us (and we have the perfect laboratory to test innovations — the states!)

Legalise drugs and a worldwide epidemic of addiction will follow by Antonio Maria Costa (former head of the UNODC).

The debate between those who dream of a world free of drugs and those who hope for a world of free drugs has been raging for years.

It’s a cute phrase and he’s been using it for years, but it has nothing to add to the discussion. The whole piece is a muddle, with quite a number of references to the problems of prohibition, but a complete failure to recognize that legalization, not prohibition, is the source of real control.

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A shout-out to my mom, who is 88 and is an occasional reader of this blog. She just had a stroke and has been diagnosed with Wernicke’s Aphasia — a problem with the language center of the brain. I just spent the last two days with her at the hospital in Des Moines, and her long-term prognosis looks good (although it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to read blogs for awhile).

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This is an open thread.