Drug WarRant

Perhaps because I’m a preacher’s kid, it bothers me especially when I see so-called “Christians” who appear to have never read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
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Becknell — a devout Christian known to many as “Brother John” — pulls out a pen and an inch-thick docket, mostly of drug and alcohol cases. For the next three hours, he takes diligent notes on the judge’s actions, the attendance of police officers, repeat offenders making another appearance, and so on.
The purpose? To make sure drug offenders in eastern Kentucky are getting what they deserve. […]
The Community Church of Manchester is leading the way through “Court Watch,” a program in which volunteers attend court hearings to monitor judges overseeing drug-related cases. […]
Becknell began to work with Operation UNITE, a federally funded drug task force that covers 29 counties in southeastern Kentucky and which created Court Watch. He said that during his first few sessions as a court observer, he noticed officers not showing up, cases getting dismissed, judges doling out lenient sentences and the same defendants appearing before the same judge. [emphasis added]

I’ve heard my dad talk about his times working with prison ministry, so I can definitely connect better with Rev. John Rausch, director of the Catholic Committee on Appalachia…

Churches should focus on drug counseling and ministering to inmates, he said, citing part of the Gospel of Matthew (25:36) concerning the final judgment: “When I was in prison, you came to see me.”
“It isn’t ‘I was up for charges and you made sure they threw the book at me,”‘ Rausch said.

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It doesn’t help that he’s a bit vague on the order of the recent Presidents.
More at the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

If they decide to participate… and if this question gets selected… I’d love to see how the candidates (other than Ron Paul, of course) squirm around this one.

“bullet” Drug Sense Weekly
“bullet” “drcnet”

I’m a day late in this… celebration. But 70 years ago Thursday, the Marijuana Tax Act was signed into law by Roosevelt.
Jacob Sullum has a nice reminder: Return With Me Now to the Thrilling Days When Marijuana Was Spelled With an H
And ABC news wonders: Is the Nation’s Marijuana Policy Misguided?
For more on the history of the Marijuana Tax Act, see The Schaffer Library

Via Dare Generation Diary:

WASHINGTON, DC š The One Hitters, a softball team sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, took over the #1 ranking in the Congressional Softball League last night. The team‰s 13-3 record has vaulted them to the top of the league, which is made up of Congressional offices, lobbying and consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and local businesses.
Team leaders are especially proud of the ranking, which contradicts negative stereotypes of drug policy reformers as unmotivated ‹stoners.Š ‹The drug policy reform community is made up of dedicated, hardworking people who take the issues of drug abuse and drug prohibition very seriously,Š said One Hitters captain and SSDP Executive Director Kris Krane. ‹We take pride in fielding a fun but competitive team that dispels myths and stereotypes about people who care about ending the so called ‘War on Drugs.'”
The One Hitters have competed in the league for five years. Two years ago they made national headlines when the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy refused to play a game due to ideological reasons. ‹Everyone knows that ONDCP backed out because they were scared of losing to us on the field, much the same way they are afraid to debate us because their policies fail in the court of public opinion,Š said center fielder David Guard, who is associate director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network. ‹We have an open challenge to the Drug Czar to play or debate anytime, anywhere.”

Congratulations to the one-hitters (what a great name).
And, of course, while we’re certainly not implying that the one-hitters use drugs on or off the field, we’re happy to have them stick that whole nonsensical “stoner” stereotype of being unmotivated and unproductive where it belongs — in the garbage bins of historical bigotry.
Plenty of sports figures have used marijuana — and generally the only ones to get in trouble are those who get caught through testing. I’ve never heard of an athlete who had problems because his private marijuana use hurt his game.
Add to that the jazz musicians and writers and artists. And Carl Sagan. And millions of other hard working, talented, and creative people in all walks of life.
It is the people who demonize and stereotype all pot smokers who are lazy, unintelligent, uncreative, and bigoted. Unfortunately, I fear that they may be beyond the power of cannabis to cure.

“bullet” Steve at Transform takes on the recent rash of media madness with More shoddy reefer madness reporting of cannabis risks

When you are in the midst of a fully fledged media cannabis panic, as we currently seem to be, you can be quite sure that any new research on the drug:

• will be pounced upon by lazy journalists
• will be trawled for any vaguely shocking sounding statistics (by non-scientists and non-statisticians)
• will have these statistics spun into sexy ‘shock’ headlines
• will have any negative findings, statistical ambiguity, commentary on confounding factors/ context / significance etc conveniently glossed over
• will see politicians responding to the media coverage of the research rather than the research itself *insert daft quote from David Davis*

“bullet” Radley Balko: FBI to Congress: Murder, Wrongful Imprisonment May Be Necessary to Preserve Drug Investigations
Assistant Director of the FBI Directorate of Intelligence Wayne Murphy in testimony before Congress….

The context: Lundgren and Delahunt have cited incidents in the past in which the FBI has covered up evidence that its confidential drug informants have committed violent crimes (including murder) in order to protect their identities, so that they could continue providing the bureau with information. They’ve cited other incidents, including the case above, in which the FBI has hidden exculpatory evidence, and allowed innocent people to go to prison. Lundgren and Delahunt want Murphy to assure them that the FBI has instituted policies to ensure that these sorts of incidents won’t happen again–that murderers won’t be protected and innocent people sent to prison in order to preserve drug investigations.
Remarkably, Murphy refuses to make such assurances.

This kind of attitude on the part of public servants is the reason why the Stop Snitchin’ movement is gaining steam.
“bullet” In the context of the latest medical marijuana raids in California, Jacob Sullum explores the positions of the Presidential candidates in this area and finds the Republican field, for the most part, lacking: Spliff Split.
He has an interesting conclusion:

These partisan tendencies do not mean Democrats have greater respect for the division of powers between the federal government and the states. When it suits them, they’re happy to support federal involvement in policy areas the Constitution leaves to the states. It’s just that Democrats are, by and large, more comfortable with the therapeutic use of cannabis than Republicans are.
It’s hard to find a logical explanation for this split. Republicans, conservatives especially, are traditionally critical of overly cautious regulators who prevent people from using drugs that could relieve their suffering safely and effectively. They have a record of supporting the freedom to use herbal home remedies without unreasonable bureaucratic interference.
The prevailing Republican stance on medical marijuana, which is at odds with what most Americans tell pollsters they think about the issue, can be understood only in light of the connotations that cannabis acquired as a result of its accidental association with the 1960s counterculture. In fighting a symbol of their opponents’ principles, conservatives have sacrificed their own.

So the feds had another massive raid yesterday serving a warrant…

Federal law enforcement agents raided […] home in Girdwood on Monday, hauling off undisclosed items from inside and taking extensive pictures and video. […]
Neighbors said agents showed up between 11 a.m. and noon and that a commercial locksmith was called to open the front door.

Locksmith? When did they start using locksmiths? Feds know what a locksmith is? And that a locksmith isn’t a battering ram? Where’s the tank knocking down the door? Where’s the 4 a.m. surprise raid with flash-bombs and shooting the dog?
Oh, I see — this is simply a corrupt U.S. senator who is suspected of violating his oath to the Constitution, committing high crimes and misdemeanors, and stealing millions of dollars from taxpayers, not some dangerous pot smoker.

When the media isn’t demonizing marijuana, the best they often can do is snicker at it. They love to make “funny” comments about pot — it’s like it’s their chance to be… cool?
Well I think I’ve found a candidate for The Longest Stretch to Make a Pot Joke in an Article award. It’s Gareth McGrath in the Wilmington Morning Star.
Now this is merely an article about the use of sandbags along the North Carolina coast and how biodegradable materials (such as cotton, flax, or hemp) are being considered in order to allow the bags to naturally disintegrate over time.
So how did he write the story? Check out the completely irrelevant opening and closing.

Call it the Cheech and Chong bag.
As the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission wrestles with what to do about the proliferation of sandbags along the state’s coastline, one idea that’s been floated is to make the bags biodegradable. And one of the materials under consideration is hemp – the industrial, non-hallucinogenic cousin of marijuana.
In short, that would be one way to make sure the sandbags get rolled up instead of becoming semi-permanent structures along the North Carolina coast. […]
“There are a lot of unknowns out there right now,” Geiss said of the practicality of using biodegradable sandbags.
Or as Cheech and Chong might say, there’s still a good chance the concept could go up in smoke.

Heh.

“bullet” I have often said that the leadership in the African American community need to speak up more against the drug war. Well, here’s the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
“bullet” Earl Ofari Hutchinson speaks out in Pleas on Larry King for Lohan, But What About Other Drug Offenders?
“bullet” Radley Balko has an update on the death of innocent Issac Singletary at the hands of cops for protecting his own property.
“bullet” Bill Conroy has coverage and questions about corruption and the disappearance of federal funds in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program.
“bullet” And now for something completely different: DEAsy Pickings. Operation Low-Hanging Fruit, indeed.
If you’re looking for more news, check out The Speakeasy — They’ve got a number of good posts there.