Drug WarRant

CBS News is starting a multi-part special report on marijuana legalization: Marijuana Nation: The New War Over Weed
Check out yesterday’s entry: Inside Holland’s “Half Baked” Pot Policy – a good feature.
Update: Today’s feature: Pot No Longer Focus of Anti-Drug Campaigns

Today’s Washington Post looks at the recent Supreme Court decision that says defendants have the right to confront the lab analysts who accuse them.

The predictions are dire. In New York, murderers could walk free. In Fairfax County, drunken driving cases could be dismissed. And nationwide, thousands of drug cases might have to be thrown out of court annually.
Legal experts and prosecutors are concerned about the results of last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires lab analysts to be in court to testify about their tests. Lab sheets that identify a substance as a narcotic or breath-test printouts describing a suspect’s blood-alcohol level are no longer sufficient evidence, the court ruled. A person must be in court to talk about the test results.
The opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, has prosecutors and judges shaking their heads in disgust and defense lawyers nodding with satisfaction at the notion that the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantee that defendants “shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him” is not satisfied by a sheet of paper.

Of course prosecutors are scared by this ruling. It makes their job harder and it also means that more drug cases might go to trial in the hope that they could get a dismissal if the prosecutor can’t produce the analyst. The only way prosecutors manage the huge load of drug cases is to see to it that only 5% go to trial (through piling on charges to make the plea deal attractive in comparison to the alternative). If more drug cases go to trial, the whole system falls apart, particularly in a time when more money for courts is unlikely to be found.
And the system is corrupt. This Supreme Court ruling merely states that the prosecutors and judges must do their job as specified in the Constitution. If they can’t handle it, then maybe we’ll finally take a look at why we’re prosecuting so many people.

Robert Koopmans is a Staff Reporter for the Kamloops Daily News in BC. When writing about an approved medical marijuana user with a doctor’s prescription whose marijuana had been improperly seized by the RCMP, this report noted:

He says he is now almost out of his “medicine.”

Robert Koopmans apparently writes for a “newspaper.”

In war on drugs, Greeley smokes ’em
Oh, this is going to be good, I can tell already…

Greeley and Weld County undercover officers are taking more suspected drug dealers off the streets.

OK, and what happens when you do that?

The task force typically investigates about 185 drug distribution cases a year, with an average of 140-150 arrests, Jones said. In 2008, it made 154 arrests, which was up significantly from the 116 in 2007 but down from 162 cases in 2006.

And what happens after you make those arrests?

Local arrests usually don’t rise to the level of larger networks, but […] ‹If you’re getting someone dealing in ounces, and do something with them, you’re hurting four to five other people dealing for them. You certainly take out a small pocket of drug dealers” [said Lieutenant Mark Jones, head of the Weld County Drug Task Force]

And what happens when you take out those drug dealers?

Jones said while the big drug dealers are being taken off the street, someone’s always there to replace them. […]
‹But ultimately, someone will fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, as long as people in the county and city use dope, there will be a demand. Until people quit using and having habits, they’re going to be here.Š

So you know. You know that when you arrest a dealer there’s another one waiting in the wings ready to step in. So you know that even when you arrest hundreds of dealers, the drugs still reach the streets with very little disruption and someone is there to sell them. And so what do you do, Lieutenant Mark Jones, when you know this?

The arrests likely won’t decrease, however.
‹I think you’ll continue to see over the next three to four months, more of what you’ve seen,Š Jones said.

Because… why? Because spending lots of money and ruining lots of lives is good for the war effort, I guess. And that’s good for Jones.

President Obama:

“I just wanted you to know, as well as the new director of our office of — I always forget the full name of this — I call it the Drug Czar . . .
“I’m fine with that,” Kerlikowske interrupted.
“O.K., Gil”

It’s the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, but it’s not that surprising that he wouldn’t be able to remember the name — it doesn’t actually make any sense.
The Drug Czar’s office isn’t particularly interested in drug control — they like to give it away to the criminals. And they’re not really much for policy, either — they stick to the same line regardless of facts or… anything. They mostly pontificate and autocratically rule over the drug war, kind of like a… czar.

At the Drug Czar’s “blog” the news is that we should suddenly get all concerned and panicked about drugged driving, based on a new roadside survey from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

More than 8% tested positive for marijuana, a clear sign that continued substance abuse education, prevention, and law enforcement efforts are critical to public health and safety. “The troubling data shows us, for the first time, the scope of drugged driving in America, and reinforces the need to reduce drug abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Drugged driving, like drunk drivingá puts us all at risk and must be prevented.”

…clear sign … critical … troubling data… puts us all at risk …
Must be some real damning info from the NHTSA, huh?
Not so much.
The NHTSA appears to have a lot more integrity than the Drug Czar. Their research note makes it clear that they don’t want people to do what the Drug Czar just did — make assumptions that aren’t there.

The reader is cautioned that drug presence does not necessarily imply impairment. For many drug types, drug presence can be detected long after any impairment that might affect driving has passed. For example, traces of marijuana can be detected in blood samples several weeks after chronic users stop ingestion. Also, whereas the impairment effects for various concentration levels of alcohol is well understood,
little evidence is available to link concentrations of other drug types to driver performance.

Good for the NHTSA. Maybe they’re actually interested in the truth or the science rather than the political grandstanding.
Update: In a rare move, the AP subtly slams the Drug Czar by placing the NHTSA caution right before his remarks.

… Researchers said the presence of drugs can remain in a driver’s system for weeks, making it difficult to know whether those drivers were impaired.
“This troubling data shows us, for the first time, the scope of drugged driving in America and reinforces the need to reduce drug abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

You’ve read my earlier reports of insane coroners in the UK. Here’s a judge to add to the mix…
Judge Issues Warning On Dangers Of Cannabis After Hapton Teen’s Case

A TEENAGER suffering cannabis-induced psychosis who attacked a pensioner on her drive has been spared jail – as a judge hit out at the dangers of the drug. […]
Sentencing, the judge said: “Those misguided people who seem to believe the use of cannabis is harmless would do well to read some of the reports before me, because this 19-year-old man, from a good family, has developed psychosis, thanks to the use of cannabis and also ecstasy.”

Thanks to the Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice for allowing me to come and talk about the drug war. We had a great discussion afterward. I really enjoy these opportunities!

I’m preparing for a talk I’ll be giving on the drug war to a Peace group tomorrow at 4 pm at the Unitarian Church, 1613 E. Emerson, Bloomington, Illinois. I’m sure anyone who was in the area and wanted to drop in would be welcome.
“bullet” Pope lauds drug war in Mexico.

He acknowledged the nation’s efforts to build a more “just and united ordering of society and to overcome the contrasts that continue to afflict the country.”
In particular, the Holy Father noted Mexico’s work to eliminate “violence, drug trafficking, and inequality and poverty, which are fertile ground for delinquency.”

Yeah, the 10,000 dead must be a real feather in your cap. And how is that eliminating violence and drug trafficking going, huh?
“bullet” Police vs. Police

In a hair-raising standoff that sent motorists scrambling for cover, municipal police pulled their guns on masked federal agents in one of Mexico‰s biggest cities Ö a stark display of the tensions caused by a crackdown on drug corruption among the country‰s lawmen.

“bullet” Attorney General Eric Holder speaks some truth. (Excerpts highlighted at kath.A.rine)

Getting smart on crime requires talking honestly about which policies have worked and which have not, without fear of being labeled as too hard or, more likely, as too soft on crime. Getting smart on crime means moving beyond useless labels and instead embracing science and data, and relying on them to shape policy.

“bullet” Court makes marijuana activist give up his 1st Amendment rights.
“bullet” Dean Becker in Huffington Post: Pissing on Drug Warrior Graves

Those who support drug prohibition are the best friends the drug lords could ever hope for.

“bullet” Ryan Grim on CNN

“bullet” DrugSense Weekly
“bullet” “drcnet”