Drug WarRant

Save our Society has shown up a couple of times this week in their opposition to Medical Marijuana. This is another Calvina Faye group, under the Drug Free America Foundation.
They were running ads (pretty outrageous from what I heard) at the last minute to try to get Rhode Island House not to override the veto. After the vote, they issued a press release: “It’s a Sad Day for Children & Families of Rhode Island,” Says Save Our Society
Ah yes, allowing sick people access to medicine is always sad for children and families.

Save Our Society From Drugs is dedicated to fighting drug use, drug addiction and drug trafficking and to promoting effective, sound drug policies, education and prevention. It is equally committed to exposing and refuting the drug legalization advocates and their deceptive tactics.

Refuting? How? With that children and families nonsense?
They’re not just working in Rhode Island.
Check out this hilarious action alert: Medical Fraud Marijuana Bill Intorduced in New Jersey for 2006 [sic]

The time to act is now. It is imperative to keep this harmful schedule I drug out of New Jersey.

They’re going to keep marijuana out of New Jersey? This I gotta see.
The rest is full of lies and exaggerations.
I love the rhetoric, though…

Medical excuse marijuana is the most common tactic used by long-time advocates who promote ballot initiatives and legislation to legalize marijuana. It is a toxic weed that has been rejected as medicine by most major health organizations, and the FDA. Modern medicine relies on proven scientific research, not polling results. The true intent of the pushers behind the drug legalization movement is far from compassionate and not at all scientific.

This is unbelievable. Via The ITT List comes this news to make your skin crawl….

John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and President Bush’s “Drug Czar,” today launched ONDCP’s first “podcast.” Podcasting technology enables users of personal audio players to receive broadcasts of audio media via an Internet feed to which users can subscribe. ONDCP’s podcasts will deliver speeches, events, interviews, and the latest information regarding national efforts to reduce drug use in America.
Director Walters stated, “I am pleased that we will be able to provide this service to the increasing number of Americans who use personal audio players to stay up-to-date on the latest issues affecting our Nation. President Bush and I know that most of the work to reduce the harms drugs cause to our society is done at the local level. We hope that by providing relevant and timely information via this new technology, more people will join us in educating our fellow citizens regarding the destructive effects of drugs.”

And yes, even now you can subscribe to this electrifying podcast — John Walters’ welcoming message is available for download, and you can once again hear him imply that there’s absolutely no difference between “drug use” and “drug problems.”
Right about that time, my iPod turned green and started vomiting. Never had that happen before.

I have been remiss in not linking to Stephen Gordon’s Hammer of Truth, and suddently realized through my new news reader (NewNewsWire for Mac) that he’s been posting up some great drug war posts (Hammer of Truth is a libertarian blog that is on top of drug war issues.)
Here are a couple from today:

• Drug Czar Lies and Evades on Washington Journal — a nice recap of the Drug Czar’s appearance on TV this morning.
• Drug Warriors to Execute another Medical Marijuana User — on Steve Kubby’s extradition case.

I’ve heard of some stupid lawsuits, but…

The widow of an Oklahoma state trooper killed by a methamphetamine cook has sued Pfizer and other manufacturers of cold medicine, alleging the companies knew their products were widely used to make meth and failed to prevent it.

That’s about as silly as suing Congress, the President, and the Drug Czar for creating a situation within the drug war that encouraged the development of meth labs…. Hmmm….

Just what we need — another law (and this is just another in a series of similar laws nationwide)

A Salt Lake lawmaker, responding to a rash of drug overdose deaths this year where panicked friends didn’t call 911 and watched the victims die, plans to introduce legislation that would make it a crime to not help someone they know is in trouble. Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Salt Lake City, will sponsor the bill that would make it a class B misdemeanor to not render aid.

Sure, the way to ease panicked friends (who are afraid of getting hit with a felony) into doing the right thing, is to threaten them with a misdemeanor.
The drug war causes these deaths, through uncertain doses, impurities, and lack of control. Excessive penalties, zero tolerance, and over-reaching prosecution make it certain that friends will be afraid to do anything. Putting another penalty on top of that won’t help.
If you want to save some lives, try something simple, like blanket amnesty for bringing someone to the ER. It’s easy. It would work. It would save lives. But these people aren’t actually interested in saving lives.

June 6, 2005:

John Walters: “Today’s decision marks the end of medical marijuana as a political issue.”

January 3, 2006:

Rhode Island: The Rhode Island House voted Tuesday to override Governor Carcieri’s 2005 veto of the state’s medical marijuana bill. This makes Rhode Island the 11th state to legalize marijuana for medical use.

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Uribe was trying to get the international community to chip in some more money to magically end corruption and civil war.
One country has obviously taken notice… Afghanistan… and wants a piece of that action, too.

The international community is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-drug campaigns to train police units to destroy laboratories, arrest smugglers and destroy opium crops, as well as to fund projects to help farmers grow legal crops.
But Daud said that the United States and other nations must do more to help eradicate narcotics in Afghanistan, source of nearly 90 percent of the world’s opium and heroin, especially providing alternative sources of income for poppy farmers.
“In 2005, we were not satisfied and the farmers were not satisfied,” said Daud, the deputy interior minister and commander of a special anti-drugs force.

Yeah, everyone wants some more of that drug war money. Note the usual rhetoric: eradication, followed by some unspecified way to provide alternative sources of income to farmers. Of course, they rejected the one proposal that could have worked — the Senlis Council proposal to develop a legal use for the poppies in Afghanistan for medicine. But no other alternative income source so far has been effective.
“bullet” More on Colombia
Toby Muse just posted this article on his website: June 2005 Legalize Now! War-weary Colombia–and its Conservative Party–consider ending the drug war.
It’s a long article, but gives a fascinating and well-written look at the drug war in Colombia, and the challenges of the ever-growing movement toward decriminalization/legalization in that country, including that of the conservative party, which has come to realize that Colombia is getting all the damage of the drug war, with little of the benefits.
It’s amazing that there, as here, those who call for legalization are constantly being accused of being in the pay of the cartels — those who would be most opposed to legalization.
“bullet” Speaking of ignorant morons… for a really bizarre version of that kind of disconnect from reality here in the U.S., read Bruce Hanson’s strange screed.

An interesting category of drug criminal is appearing now and then — the very old.
For many, getting by financially can be a real challenge, with rising health costs, declining pensions, etc. and some of them have discovered that if they take only half of their pain pills and sell the rest, they can buy groceries.
And if they get caught, they can at least be philosophical about it and reckon that the jail will take care of their expenses for awhile (although many do not realize how severe the laws are).
Link

Since April 2004, Operation UNITE has charged more than 40 people 60 or older with selling drugs, primarily prescription medicine.

Because of the trend, local jails are having to bear the expense of caring for older inmates, who are often sickly.

“You’ve got to give them more attention,” said Floyd County Jailer Roger Webb. “It’s putting a strain on my deputies. We’re understaffed anyway. You’ve got to get them doctors and meet their medical needs.”

The latest conviction by this particular drug task force? An 87-year-old woman who pled guilty to receive 5 years prison, followed by 5 years probation, for selling to an undercover cop.

Vin Suprynowicz at the Las Vegas Review-Journal has an interesting proposal — creating the International Brotherhood of Drug War Victims.

What’s the sales pitch for joining and — in the case of those who can afford it — paying sizable dues into our new war chest?

Simple: Our freedom-hating, pain-loving War on Drugs depends on the tactic of “overcharging,” and then offering attractive deals — reduced charges, easier sentences — in exchange for guilty pleas. Fewer than 5 percent of all drug cases ever go to trial.

Again, the drug war depends on this — if every drug arrest led to a trial, the courts would be so swamped that some defendants couldn’t be scheduled for trial dates for many years into the future. Their attorneys could then win complete dismissal of all charges based on the violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial.

So all members of our new union need to do is this: Agree to demand a jury trial. No plea bargains — no guilty pleas, ever. Otherwise, please don’t join. […]

What will the Fearless Drug Warriors do? Even with only 25 percent of drug defendants joining up and participating, trials that can now be started within a year will have to be scheduled at least three years into the future. The Drug Warriors will have no choice but to prosecute their “worst” cases first, turning at least two thirds of all drug defendants loose.

Of course, the article was done partly in fun, but it smartly points out another horrific aspect of the war on drugs. The war on drugs requires the use of a buffet of seemingly unconstitutional and outrageous penalties in order to scare citizens into giving up their constitutional right to a jury trial (to the point where many who are innocent are so terrified that they’ll plead guilty). This is because the system is so broken that actually allowing people to assert their constitutional rights would cause it to collapse under its own weight.
What kind of constitution requires its citizens to wager 10 or 20 years of their life in order to take advantage of its protections?

Interesting interview at Alternet with reporter Nate Blakeslee, who has a new book: “Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town.”