Drug WarRant

Kitsap County Prosector Chris Casad is uncomfortable with the notion of Constitutional protection of individual rights, partly because he feels his cops are incapable of doing their jobs if they have to do it, you know, legally.
This is in response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Gant, which says that if a person is in custody and isn’t near the car, and the arrest isn’t for a charge that would suggest searching the car, and if the officer doesn’t have probably cause, that he has no authority to search the car without a warrant (which would seem to be pretty damn obvious in a plain reading of the fourth amendment).

The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s office has expressed concern about a Supreme Court decision that narrows the definition of vehicular searches, saying that it will change how policemen do their jobs while forcing the dismissal of several criminal cases.
“There is no upside to this,” said Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Casad of the decision. “Unless you are a criminal, and trafficking in stolen property or drugs.”

No upside? What if you’re, say, a citizen who wishes to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures?

Casad feels that the decision “was made by people who don’t know what it means for police officers to do their jobs,” which is to have the ability to react quickly in potentially dangerous situations.

So “reacting quickly” means searching your car, and “dangerous situations” are when you have the driver in custody away from the car? These cops must really be incompetent.

Police can no longer search a car for drugs or guns, if the offense is driving with an expired license. And they cannot execute a search if the driver is not in proximity to the car.
Casad objects strenuously to this, saying that it endangers the officers’ safety.
“If the suspect knows there is a gun in the car he can grab it and shoot the officer,” Casad said.

Only if the officer is in Reno 911.
Update: Lee writes to let me know he’s well aware of the Kitsap County prosecutor’s office. He wrote about it in March.

For a while now, activists and patients within the medical marijuana community have been referring to Kitsap County as ‹Kidnap County.Š Now we have a better idea why. The state‰s medical marijuana laws are not being honored by the Prosecutor‰s office. Patients who try to grow their own plants have been arrested, presumed to be drug dealers, and forced to prove otherwise to a jury – often at great personal expense. This is not how the law is supposed to work, and I hope that Kitsap County residents remember that the next time they vote for their county prosecutor.

When I’m searching through the volumes of drug war-related news that comes out each day, I’m occasionally struck by something just plain bizarre – a point of view that is hilariously sad.
Daniel McElwain’s views are pretty much irrelevant as few are likely to be swayed by him. And countering his “arguments” is like countering the arguments of flat-earthers.
Still, it’s good to see what’s out there in the fringes of the prohibitionist mind.
I say no to legalization of drugs by Daniel B. McElwain, Jr. of Culpeper, Virginia.

America will gain increased tax income if drugs are legalized, but life will change.
Consider:

• Every generation will be destroyed, as with tobacco and alcohol, while illegal drugs will grow in almost every backyard and household/office flower pot.
• One illegal drug might be approved to alleviate the agony of dying people.
• Security and medical forces will collapse with rises in crime, new diseases and soaring death rates.
• We will need to advise how our guns are made, annually inspected and ownership controlled.
• Peer pressure will render pointless the teachings of parents, educators clergy and society.
• Quality of air, water, food and critical industries will be further compromised.
• Our military will be forced to function with increasingly unclear heads.
• Effectiveness of our legislatures and justice systems will diminish, as prisoners are freed.
• We might require officials, et al, to submit to random drug and alcohol tests, or face arrest and/or firing/impeachment.
• Employees might demand ‹druggieŠ breaks, along with currently allowed smoke breaks and alcohol lunches.
• All official and private vehicles should be equipped with alcohol/breath-testers and sensors, for all operations, for all occupants, for every re-start.
• All entrants to official buildings must submit to drug breath-tests/inspections, as we now do for metal/weapons, etc.
• Pharmaceutical companies and the media will profit greatly with false promises and advertising.
• Enemies will reap greater drug income and increased power from America‰s further decline into drug-induced stupor and financial impotence.
• Our borders will become legally meaningless, as they are at present.

McElwain is a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force.

My brain hurts just reading it.
If something that disjointed was written by someone favoring legalization, people would assume that he was stoned. So what is McElwain’s condition?
Clearly there’s some irrational fear, there. He thinks that illegal drugs are so dangerous that legalization would lead to the requirement of breath-tests for all occupants of cars, presumably because these druggies (who never were interested in drugs until legalization) would grab the steering wheel from the driver and force the car into oncoming traffic.
It really is funny/sad.

“bullet” Poll shows increased support for marijuana decrim

45. In general, do you favor or oppose legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use?

           Favor   Oppose   No opinion
4/24/09     46       52          2
10/24/02*   39       53          8
5/27/97     22       75          3
8/26/86     25       74          1
5/19/86     22       77          1
4/28/86     23       75          1
3/24/86     21       78          1
5/13/85     26       72          2

*Time/CNN: “Do you favor or oppose the legalization of marijuana? (IF YES) What about in small amounts, for example three ounces or less? Do you favor or oppose the legalization of marijuana in small amounts?”
“bullet” A parent speaks: School strip searches are never OK
“bullet” DrugSense Weekly
“bullet” “drcnet”

The opposition is getting desperate and pathetic simultaneously. And yes, Andrea Barthwell has returned like some thrice-dead zombie.

But opponents of the idea, which included various Illinois law enforcement groups, say the bill is narly impossible to enforce and that even three plants would produce more marijuana than patients need.
They say this makes it more likely the drug will end up on the streets, especially in the hands of Illinois‰ youth.
‹The health and welfare of our children and the safety of our communities are the ultimate victims when the marijuana legalization lobby has its way,Š said Andrea Barthwell, CEO of the Human Resource Development Institute.
Opponents have become even more vocal since the Marijuana Policy Project launched an ad campaign earlier this month touting the proposal.
Eric Smith, president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, said drug cartel members posing as medical marijuana growers ‹are difficult, if not impossible, to detect in states with medical marijuana laws.Š
‹As a consequence, they can easily expand their influence and extend their reach into other communities,Š Smith said.
Barthwell, a physician, said the prescription medicine Marinol, which harnesses the active ingredient in marijuana for relieving pain and easing nausea, is sufficient for those who want the benefits of marijuana.

One of the things that amazes me about Barthwell is that she keeps coming up with new organizations to head up that mostly seem to exist to give her cover for making outrageous statements, and also to raise money to pay her. I already shot down her Illinois Marijuana Lectures (it was nice to see someone in comments at this article refer to that) and End Needless Death. I’ve seen her as head of several others as well.
Of course, Barthwell’s comment is totally devoid of content — just the usual for-the-children scare tactic.
And Eric Smith? This notion that “drug cartel members posing as medical marijuana growers ‘are difficult, if not impossible, to detect in states with medical marijuana laws'” is just… bizarre. It’s also convenient. I suppose if we asked him for proof that cartel members are posing as medical marijuana growers, he’d say he can’t provide it because they’re “difficult, if not impossible, to detect.”
Maybe they’re difficult to detect, because they exist only in your mind.
When you read the comments (and the update to the piece) you see how quickly irrelevant these idiots are becoming.
Update: see also Medical marijuana debate heats up

“There are many casualties in the Marijuana Policy Project’s campaign; the first is the truth,” Dr. Andrea Barthwell, chief executive officer of the Human Resource Development Institute, said in a news release.

Funny. Andrea said the word “truth.” Saying the word is about as close as she ever got to it.
Speaking of lies…

“It’s a fact that today’s marijuana is much more powerful and much more addictive than it was a generation ago,” Barthwell said. “Over seven million Americans suffer from illegal drug dependence, and more than 60 percent are dependent on or are abusing marijuana.”

“bullet” New Hampshire Senate passed its medical marijuana bill 14-10.
“bullet” Illinois religious leaders call for medical marijuana

More than 60 religious leaders in Illinois are calling on state senators this week to pass a bill that would allow patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation and without criminal consequences.
“Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy and compassion,” said Rev. Bill Pyatt of the First United Methodist Church of Carthage. “We pray that the Illinois legislature will have the compassion to stop this war on patients.”
Many religious leaders also hope the discussion about easing restrictions on marijuana use will widen the conversation about treating illegal drug use as a public health issue instead of a crime.
Religious proponents of the Senate bill, which is expected to be decided before Thursday, say although medical marijuana use and decriminalization of drug use are related, they are separate issues.

“bullet” Minnesota:

Minnesota‰s Senate just followed its New Hampshire counterpart with a medical marijuana victory of its own, passing its medical marijuana bill 36-28. The process in Minnesota is a little complicated: Today‰s vote was technically made by the Senate‰s Committee of the Whole, and needs an official vote that will probably take place later this week. But today‰s victory is a very good sign.

“bullet” Rhode Island

We just got word that the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill, 35-2, that would establish ‹compassion centersŠ to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients, making access for the seriously ill far safer and more reliable.

Washington Post

Justice Department officials this morning endorsed for the first time proposed legislation that would eliminate vast sentencing disparities for possession of powdered versus rock cocaine, an inequality that civil rights groups say has disproportionately affected poor and minority defendants.
Newly appointed Criminal Division chief Lanny A. Breuer told a Senate Judiciary Committee panel this morning that the Obama administration would support bills to equalize punishment for offenders accused of possessing the drug in either form, fulfilling one of the president’s campaign pledges.
Breuer explicitly called on Congress to act this term to “completely eliminate” the sentencing disparity.
The issue has received attention from both political parties, but never before have top law enforcement officials backed legislative reforms, according to drug control analysts.

Again, the devil is in the details, but this is a good step.
What’s also interesting is what is missing from the article. No law enforcement big shots saying that we should keep things as they are.
Everyone interviewed, including Senator Durbin, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, representatives of FAMM, former DEA head Asa Hutchinson, and Miami police chief John Timoney, supported sentencing reform.

Eugene, Oregon

WHEREAS: Thirteen states have passed laws allowing for chronically and seriously ill patients to use cannabis with the approval of their physicians; and,
WHEREAS: On September 6, 1988, Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) own Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled that Marijuana, in it˙s natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known; and,
WHEREAS: There are over are over 17,000 published scientific studies on the therapeutic values of cannabis and cannabinoids in the National Library of Medicine, and, there are over 2,600 patents filed for the medical use of cannabinoids in the United States Patent office; and,
WHEREAS: Pre-Clinical and Clinical trials indicate that cannabinoids are useful in controlling Alzheimer˙s Disease, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Diabetes, G I Disorders, Hepatitis C, Multiple Sclerosis, Osteoporosis, Pruritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Sleep Apnea; and,
WHEREAS: Marijuana has a history of thousands of years of safe use without any recorded deaths attributed to its use, and, all citizens deserve to know the truth about cannabis,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kitty Piercy, Mayor of the City of Eugene, Oregon, do hereby proclaim the Week of April 30th, 2009 to May 6th, 2009 as Medical Marijuana Awareness Week in the city of Eugene, and encourage all citizens to join in this observance.
Kitty Piercy, Mayor
Dated this 22nd day of April 2009

Just one more item pointing out the absurdity of the Controlled Substances Act as it currently exists:

Schedule I controlled substances
The findings required for each of the schedules are as follows:
(1) Schedule I.Ö
(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.”
Drugs in this schedule include…

• Marijuana
• Tetrahydrocannabinols

Yeah. Right.

ZANGABAD, Afghanistan Ö American commanders are planning to cut off the Taliban‰s main source of money, the country‰s multimillion-dollar opium crop, by pouring thousands of troops into the three provinces that bankroll much of the group‰s operations.
[…]
‹I‰m very happy to see you,Š the farmer told the Americans.
‹Really?Š one of the soldiers asked.
‹Yes,Š the farmer said.
The interpreter sighed, and spoke in English.
‹He‰s a liar.Š

This is… interesting

Today, Congressman Eliot L. Engel š the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere š introduced the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act of 2009, a bill that will create an independent commission to evaluate US policies and programs aimed at reducing illicit drug supply and demand.
Rep. Engel said, ‹Billions upon billions of US taxpayer dollars have been spent over the years to fight the drug war in Latin America and the Caribbean. In spite of our efforts, since the early 1980s, the number of US lifetime drug users has steadily risen for marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Clearly, the time has come to reexamine our counternarcotics efforts here at home and throughout the Americas.Š
The Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission will be required to submit recommendations on future US drug policy to Congress, the Secretary of State, and the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) 12 months after its first meeting.

I haven’t been able to find this bill on Thomas (probably not available yet). If anyone has the text of it, I’d be interested in reading it.
This could be good, it could be bad. The devil is in the details (particularly the makeup of this “Commission.”)
Update: Text of the bill still not available (Thomas is a bitch to link to), but the remarks of Engel when introducing the bill are not encouraging:

Let me be absolutely clear that this bill has not been introduced to support the legalization of illegal drugs. That is not something that I would like to see, nor is it my intent to have the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission come to that conclusion.

Nothing like pre-judging what the results of an inquiry can be.
And, of course, this means that the composition of the Commission will likely be such that only “proper” (ie, worthless) conclusions will be forthcoming.

Fascinating

Cannabis Science Inc., an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company, reported today on the current state of development of its whole-cannabis lozenge in response to Homeland Security Administration Secretary Janet Napolitano’s declaration of a public health emergency to deal with the emerging Swine Flu pandemic. The Company’s non-toxic lozenge has properties that could alleviate many of the symptoms and harmful effects of the H5N1 bird flu and H1N1 swine flu viruses, and has offered its assistance to HSA today in a letter to Secretary Napolitano. The Company has offered to produce up to 1 million doses of its whole-cannabis lozenge, and provide them to HSA for distribution at cost.

The claims include the fact that marijuana (although specifically not smoked marijuana) can reduce excessive inflammation that can lead to lethal effects of influenza.
So, what are the odds that Secretary Napolitano will accept this generous offer?