Drug WarRant

I had the distinct pleasure yesterday of being interviewed for a television documentary exploring contemporary political debates regarding Constitutional rights. Matt Ehling and the crew from ETS Pictures came to my home town to talk to me about Raich and the drug war as they relate to the Commerce Clause and the Fourth Amendment.
The local paper actually covered the filming, if you’re interested.
They hope to have the documentary ready for release by the end of the summer– I’ll let you know when it’s going to air.
Welcome to any new local visitors who stopped by because of the article. If your interest is in the Raich case, I have a page here.

As long as we’re discussing the potential ramifications of Sativex in the U.S. on medical marijuana and recreational marijuana reform, here are a couple of follow-up questions for you to discuss (I’ve got a packed day today and no time to do extended posts myself)

1. Given the fact that Sativex trials are being done specifically for late stage cancer pain right now, it seems likely that approval for Sativex will be given for only certain very specific uses. As we know, marijuana is useful for a whole variety of medical purposes relating to pain, nauseau, and more. Will the restrictions on Sativex use keep the door open for medical marijuana laws?
2. If Sativex is approved, what impact will that have on workplace and school drug testing?

That’s the question raised in this Hit and Run post by Jacob Sullum.

These developments, while a boon to patients, will pose a challenge to the drug policy reform movement, which has gotten a lot of mileage out of the federal government’s cruel, know-nothing intransigence on the issue of medical marijuana. Once legal, equally effective aternatives to marijuana are readily available, reformers will be forced to switch their focus back to recreational use (which is, after all, the main form of marijuana consumption), seemingly confirming the accusation that all their talk about the drug’s medical virtues was just a cover. And having emphasized the sympathetic claims of suffering patients for so long, they will be in a weak position to argue that people shouldn’t need a special excuse to smoke pot.

I’m not sure I agree, but it’s an interesting question. What do you think?

The Canadian government has issued a stay of three conspiracy charges filed by a private citizen against Marc Emery. By not allowing the trial to go forward, it opens the door to extradition hearings against Marc.
It’s a strange set of circumstances. The charges by the private citizen were filed on purpose to interfere with extradition. If Marc was under trial in Canada, he could not be extradited to the U.S. Emery’s attorney, Kirk Tousaw says the decision is politically motivated.

“I’m concerned when our government acts as an arm of the U.S. drug war and has an opportunity to reassert Canadian sovereignty but refused to do so,” Tousaw said. “I think all Canadians should be concerned about that.”
McCann said he doesn’t understand why the federal government would participate in an extradition request by the United States when it largely ignored Emery’s activities and Health Canada even referred patients needing medicinal marijuana to him.
Emery and his associates were arrested last July after police raided Emery’s pot paraphernalia store following an 18-month investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Emery, dubbed the Prince of Pot by American media, is set to return to B.C. Supreme Court next month to set a date for his extradition hearing.

Sativex, the liquid form of marijuana being marketed by GW Pharmaceuticals, has been given the OK by the Food and Drug Administration to skip ahead to phase III trials in the U.S. — actual testing on advanced stage cancer patients to last 24 to 36 months.
I guess GW gets the preferred treatment. They don’t have to buy their marijuana from the U.S. government. They get to use their own.
Interesting.

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.