Drug WarRant

He has no regard for the facts or the truth. Additionally, he is known for spinning the data to completely support administration policies.
I’ve already talked about the recent GAO report that took the Drug Czar and administrative policies to task for their lack of evidence that the drug war in Colombia is actually accomplishing anything.
Here’s an article that really goes after the Czar: “GAO: Data too fuzzy to measure drug war” by David Adams.
The following passages show just how shoddy the Drug Czar’s “reporting” is:

Nice to see this kind of scepticism — something that’s only really surfaced strongly in the media in recent years — thanks to John Walters’ outrageous behavior.

Here’s a great thing to do for stress relief: Take several condoms and fill them with flour. Squeezing them is as good as those expensive items you can buy (as well as being a fun phallic gag).
Unfortunately, however, they actually increased the stress level for freshman Janet Lee at Bryn Mawr College.

The big questions are:

• How is it that field tests conducted twice came up with results showing that the powder was a mix of opium, amphetamines, and cocaine?
• How is it that officers and prosecutors believed that someone would mix those drugs together and then carry them in that quantity in un-swallowed condoms in their luggage through airport security? Isn’t this just odd enough for them to question the field tests before a defense attorney got involved and asked for expedited laboratory tests (which, of course, verified that it was flour)?
• What bright person is going to get going on this and start marketing flour-filled-condom stress-relievers? I think it would be a big hit — everyone should carry them on flights.

Lee has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against city police.
Good.

I had a great week off with relatives, including a very good evening of talking about the drug war with my folks. It’s nice to know that they’re proud of the work I’m doing here, and outraged by the excesses of the drug war. Don’t assume that your parents and friends won’t support your views on drug policy — they’re a great group to talk to and can help you get comfortable with the notion of talking about reform.
Now I’m back, but my broadband is out of order, so I’m blogging from Starbucks (An extra big thanks to the friends that gave me Starbucks gift cards for Christmas!)
A couple of quick notes:
“bullet” Teresa Aviles dropped by while I was gone. I wrote about her and Isidro here. She’s got a book out now: “So Many Tears” (available here)
I’ve been reading a couple of other books over break, and I hope to talk with you about those soon.
“bullet” Mexico and Colombia. The more I read about these countries, the more I see outright criminal destruction funded and promulgated by the U.S. Is there any other way to look at it? See Cartel wooing Mexico’s military: Analysts finding signs of corruption and Paramilitaries and Palm Plantations: A Murderous Combination in Colombia.

I’ll be gone for about a week starting today, visiting relatives in places that don’t have convenient wireless access. So while I’ll be able to check email and keep up with the news, I won’t be able to use my blogging software much.
Feel free to discuss anything in the comments.
Be safe. Happy Holidays!

U.S. Marijuana Party Blog reports a tentative settlement in the outrageous Goose Creek School Drug Raid.
The students could receive between $2,000 and $5,000 each.
I hate the notion of depriving schools and communities of much-needed funds, but sometimes hitting them in the pocketbook is the only way to make them aware that they have not been given the power to infringe the rights of citizens.

Not a very strong headline, but…
Dare Generation Diary reports that reform to the horrid HEA (Higher Education Act) financial aid provision (that denies financial aid to students with a drug conviction) passed the Senate yesterday (as part of the spending bill in that 51-50 vote where Cheney broke the tie).
Now, first of all, there isn’t enough praise that can be given to the efforts of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. These folks have worked tirelessly for years, developing partnerships, getting universities to pass resolutions, lobbying directly with Congress, etc. to make inroads in this issue. And they’ve taken on the worst of the drug warriors (including Souder) to do so.
Unfortunately, the celebration can only be partial. First, the spending bill itself is far from certain to be passed — since extra provisions were inserted in the Senate version, it has to go back to the House, and the House probably won’t be back in session until late January. The bill only passed the House by about 6 votes last time, so expect some drama.
Second, even if/when the HEA reform provision is passed (as I expect it will be eventually), it’s still a hollow victory. It only exempts those who had a conviction prior to attending college. Any drug conviction while in college will end financial aid. The entire provision should have been repealed — this kind of penalty doesn’t exist for anything other than drug use. It targets poor people who smoke pot. (Surprise, surprise.) Someone who isn’t rich, who gets caught passing a joint at a party, loses their financial aid and ends up not getting an education, regardless of how well they’re doing in school. How does that help them or society?
Support SSDP and help them continue their fight against the HEA provision.

Yesterday’s Lima News (Ohio) and Ft. Wayne News Sentinal (Indiana) editorials discuss the spying business and bring up the 4th Amendment…

Nice to see editors remembering the Fourth Amendment, noting its importance, and recognizing that it’s been weakened by the war on drugs.

More stupidity.

This is one of these new cases of charging someone simply because there were traces of tetrahydrocannabinol in the blood (Ehret claimed he had smoked the day before), without any indication of impairment.
But here’s the kicker. Check out this quote by idiot District Attorney Paul Bucher:

???
Does he even have a clue as to the words coming out of his mouth?

In Kenner, Louisiana, a tragedy happened.
Rebecca Doussan (age 26) and her twin sister Rachel were injecting cocaine. Rebecca left the apartment to get some more, and when she returned, discovered her sister drowned in the bathtub, with the water still running and the bathroom door locked.

Now Rebecca is being charged with 2nd degree murder for supplying Rachel with drugs which “”turn out to be the direct cause of death.”
Can someone tell me what the point of this prosecution is?

• Punishing Rebecca? She was punished more by the death of her twin sister than any jail sentence could possibly hope to accomplish. It’s also not like there’s any question that Rachel took the cocaine willingly.
• Deterrance? How can this law or prosecution thereof provide any deterrance? Will someone think “Oh, I’d better not give my sister drugs because if she dies I could get in trouble.”? Even assuming anyone knows about this odd provision, they’re not going into a drug experience expecting death as an option, so deterrance is out.
• Providing closure to the crime victim and their family? Oh wait, that’s right, this law is punishing the “crime victim’s” family.
• Using up excess tax funds lying around by prosecuting and jailing Rebecca?

It’s just stupid.

Will Washington engage Morales? by Jim Lobe is a very interesting article about the challenges faced in Bolivia-U.S. relationships, with Morales in charge.
Analyst John Walsh notes:

Apparently, there are some in the State Department who are smart enough to be willing to show some flexibility in this area, including top Latin American aid Thomas Shannon, who recently replaced hard-liner Roger Noriega.
But the State Department will have to contend with the hard-core drug warriors in Congress as well as the ONDCP and DEA, and the knowledge that if flexibility is shown in Bolivia, everybody down there is going to want some.

If the U.S. doesn’t work with Morales, we could end up with a growing block of Latin American countries hostile to the U.S. If the U.S. does work with Morales, we could see a complete shift in the Latin American drug war dynamic.
Fascinating.