Drug WarRant

From the Senate Judiciary Committee website report on today’s Executive Business Meeting:

S. 714, National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 (Webb, Graham, Leahy, Hatch, Schumer, Durbin, Cardin, Whitehouse, Franken, Specter)
Held Over

Pennsylvania is having a debate on medical marijuana in the legislature. Good for them.

The heart-wrenching stories came from both sides.

Huh? Both sides?

How is that possible? Was there a pharmaceutical manufacturer who lost income in California due to medical marijuana and wasn’t able to buy a new car?

I don’t get it. How do you have a heart-wrenching story from opponents of medical marijuana?

Sharon Smith of Mechanicsburg lost her 18-year-old daughter to a heroin overdose in 1998. She said the state should not legislate medical policy decisions.

Ah, I see. Let’s pass by the delicious irony of someone who supports continued laws preventing doctors from practicing medicine claiming that the state “should not legislate medical policy decisions.”

It is really offensive to me that drug prohibitionists seem to be able to recruit parents of dead kids to campaign against medical marijuana. (Steve Steiner of DAMMMAD is the prime example, but there are many others.)

The worst was when the DEA sponsored a Vigil for Lost Promise that was held on the grounds of the DEA headquarters.

What possible relevance does the death of an 18-year-old girl to a heroin overdose have with regulated medical marijuana? None at all.

When a parent loses a child to a drug overdose, how do they get from there to opposing marijuana (which has never had a fatal overdose)? It seems to me that somebody must lead them there.

The real discussion they need to have is: “What was the role that prohibition played in this tragedy?” After all, it happened within the context of prohibition. “Would things have been different if drugs had been legal and regulated?”

A new video of Marilyn Monroe has surfaced, smoking pot with some friends (from what you see in the video it could as well be a cigarette, but apparently the person who shot the film verified the pot story).

Of course, it’s not a surprise. Marijuana has always been popular in the creative fields, and Marilyn wasn’t one to worry about whether something was “proper” (or legal).

“Well behaved women rarely make history.”
— Marilyn Monroe (after Laurel Thatcher Ulrich)

I’ve highlighted a couple of rather ignorant OpEds in college newspapers in the past, but it’s good to note that, particularly due to the efforts of SSDP, you’re more likely to get a good piece like this one by Beth Mendenhall in the Kansas State Collegian (I don’t know if Beth is an SSDP member): Consistency Demands Cannabis

Our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are enough to warrant legalization of marijuana. So be a good patriot…

A few random things…

If you’re going to be doing any Christmas shopping at Amazon.com, use the link at the left to get there, and I’ll get a few cents from whatever you buy on that visit. It won’t cost you any more. Also, check out the DWR Amazon Store linked at left, for some great ideas of books, DVDs and other items to give to someone you’d like to educate about drug policy reform (there are also a number of items just for fun).

An off-topic call for help. I have worked with a great group of students at Illinois State University called the Improv Mafia. Over the years, these guys, on their own without a coach, have put together some of the best and most original improv comedy I’ve ever seen. I’ve done some piano playing for them and it’s a blast!

They competed in this year’s College Improv Tournament and did a great job in the Midwest Regional despite losing one of their six performers to food poisoning just before the final round. They came in second by 1.5 points. They still have a chance to compete in the National Tournament — all 6 regional 2nd place finishers compete through online voting for the wild card slot.

Here’s where you come in. Go and vote. Be sure to select The Improv Mafia (Illinois State University). You have to use a valid email address and verify it. Thanks!

There have been some great, involved discussions in comments recently. Be sure to check those out when you have a chance. Thanks to all the regulars who keep this place so exciting, and add additional perspectives to my own.

Gateway drug?

In the study, 40 percent of marijuana users said they have used marijuana to control their alcohol addictions, 66 percent said they used marijuana instead of prescription drugs, and 26 percent said marijuana helped them stay off other illegal drugs. [Via Scott Morgan]

Consider this an open thread.

Nicholas Eyle has a good post over at ReconsiDer: How To Create A Problem Where None Exists.

It’s about the research being done to create a THC-based drug that could be used to treat people who are addicted to marijuana.

NIDA director Nora Volkow says the agency “is interested in exploring the role of transdermal THC delivery as an innovative way to treat marijuana withdrawal symptoms and dependence… This is especially relevant to our efforts to fill a critical gap in available treatments for the many Americans struggling with marijuana-related disorders and their detrimental medical and social consequences.” So how many marijuana addicted Americans are there?

Good question. Must be a pretty big problem for NIDA to give $4 million to AllTranz to develop this “treatment.”

But, of course, it’s mostly a government agency looking for a solution to justify the problem they’ve mostly invented.

Oh, sure, yes I know that a small number of people have dependency issues with marijuana and that they can experience minor withdrawal effects significantly less severe than caffeine.

But of all the things we could do to help people who abuse drugs, finding a treatment for marijuana dependency has got to be pretty low on the list.

However, with all those hundreds of thousands of people in treatment for marijuana dependency, you gotta pretend to deliver some kind of actual… treatment, I guess.

As noted in comments, Opposing Views has the info on the Senate Judiciary Committee plans this week:

This Thursday, December 3, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will debate Senate Bill 714, The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009. The time and location of the hearing are available here […]

It’s been many years since a federally appointed commission has taken an objective look at American criminal justice policies, and it’s been nearly 40 years since federal lawmakers have undertaken a critical examination of U.S. marijuana policy. Please take time today to urge your United States senators to support Senate Bill 714. If your senators sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, then it is especially important that that they hear from you. For your convenience, a pre-written letter will be e-mailed to your members of Congress when you enter your contact information here.

…

In unfortunately potentially related news…

I’m only peripherally aware of the crime du jour — the Seattle shooting that left officers dead, apparently committed by someone whose earlier sentence was commuted years ago by Mike Huckabee. In this story, I share Mark Draghn’s concerns…

I’m more worried that it will lead to an election-fueled backlash against lenient treatment of prisoners. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that a guy who kills four cops should be let out the door, and if our legislators can craft a fine-tuned change to the law to prevent such catatrophes, I’m all for it.

The thing is, our legislators can’t do that.

And yes, we already have liberals chomping at the bit to make political hay out of this tragedy. Stella Barkwell at Crooks and Liars, Tristero at Hullabaloo, and Joe Conason at Salon are prime examples of people who likely would have had a completely different take on the story back when Dukakis was being tarred with Willie Horton.

TalkLeft treats the story right, noting likely poor judgement, but cautioning against backlash.

We can’t get in the position where Governors and Presidents are afraid to pardon or commute the sentences of anyone. After all, our current President finally, finally made his first pardon last week… and it wasn’t even for a human.

Taking bets: Will Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley, or Tom Coburn find a creative way to bring this up on Thursday to sabotage criminal justice reform despite being on the same side of the aisle as Huckabee? Or maybe newly minted Democrat Arlen Specter? Or will it be Democrat Dianne Feinstein looking to take political advantage? If so, who will be first?

I’m one of those who believes that it’s best to have recreational marijuana use legal, but that it’s better to have only medical marijuana legal than no marijuana legal, and that medical marijuana legalization can help the rest of the population get behind further legalization.

That said, there’s no doubt that the sheer stupidity of the feds continuing to outlaw any use of marijuana even in the face of state medical marijuana laws can cause some pretty strange things…

Court may rule on whether medical marijuana can be bought on black market

Madappa, who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, became a licensed medical marijuana patient in early October, according to an article in The Taos News today. He is also on probation, a status that has brought his use of medical marijuana into conflict with the criminal justice system.

A routine drug test showed marijuana in Madappa’s system, and his probation officer reasoned that he broke the law by purchasing the drug from the black market rather than a qualified dispensary, since Madappa got his license during a period of time in which the single licensed facility in the state was out of its product. New Mexico state attorney Michael Cox agreed with that reasoning.

The court ruled that Madappa may only purchase his medicine from a state licensed dispensary, and that he has to provide documentation showing how much, when and where he got the marijuana.

Now, Madappa has to decide whether or not to appeal the Second Judicial District Court order

Judge: Marijuana limits up to juries

The amendment illegally set limits not in the original measure, the court said. Juries, not the state, should decide what amount of marijuana is “reasonably related” to someone’s medical needs, it said.

“This has real ramifications,” Russel Babcock, Archer’s lawyer, said. “It becomes a case-by-case basis for juries of reasonableness.”

Here at Drug WarRant, we don’t get a fraction of the kind of traffic that the major political blogs do, so I’m always pleased when they “discover” that drug policy is an actual, you know, issue.

Part of the problem has been that the drug war has been an equal-opportunity offender, with both the Democrats and the Republicans high on the bandwagon (even to the point where it was recently noted that the prison industries lobby Republicans for harsher drug sentences, while the prison guard unions lobby Democrats for harsher drug sentences). With both so thoroughly tarred, it’s hard for the political bloggers to bash the other side.

David Neiwert at Crooks and Liars found a way to do it with Republicans are clinging to their old ‘Reefer Madness’ mentality. It’s a good piece with a nice shout-out to our friend Lee over at HorsesAss.

The video of “Dr.” Tom Coburn getting all bent out of shape because we might not arrest every medical marijuana user out there is worth seeing (and getting riled up about).

Of course, on the other side (or perhaps his own side), Andrew Sullivan at Daily Dish has long been serving up marijuana policy reform. And Jeralyn Merritt’s lefty TalkLeft often promotes drug policy reform as part of its criminal justice emphasis.

It would be nice to see more of the A-list bloggers realize that the issue of drug policy reform is as big as just about anything else out there they discuss on a regular basis.

It’s still a holiday week, but I’m back home now after a wonderful visit with my parents. I have internet access again, and am working to catch up (along with enjoying the weekend).

I’m noticing a lot of tension in the comments from some folks. Don’t overdo it. It’s good to get worked up, but it’s unproductive to be randomly angry at the world. I won’t allow the comments section to degrade into a lot of unrelated anger. Discussions are much better.

And again, thanks to all the folks who keep me informed with useful links and information. Additional thanks to the wonderful folks at Transform.

Did US law spur Mexico’s meth sales?

The US slowed production of meth by cutting off key ingredients. But a blow to US methamphetamine labs became a boon to La Familia drug gang in Mexico.

Yep. That’s exactly the way the drug war works.

“The entire history of US interdiction policies toward Latin America in the 20th century has created that pattern. The inadvertent [results] of crackdowns or interdiction policies in the Andes, and in the Caribbean, have always had enormously adverse effects,” says Paul Gootenberg, a history professor at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and the author of “Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug.”

Speaking of how the drug war works… Program to help truckers attracts drug smugglers

A U.S. program that offers trusted trucking companies speedy passage across American borders has begun attracting just the sort of customers who place a premium on avoiding inspections: Mexican drug smugglers.

Interesting and useful document (pdf): Legislative Innovation in
Drug Policy by Martin Jelsma, Transnational Institute.

Israel Moves Toward Expanded Medical Marijuana Law

DrugSense Weekly – a weekly review of the most interesting or relevant articles in the press and on the web related to drug policy reform.

Drug War Chronicle – weekly update of drug war news and analysis from Stop the Drug War.org.