Drug WarRant

Vice Squad and D’Alliance has covered it, and Bill at Peoria Pundit has been wondering what my take would be of this …

Mayor Daley on Tuesday embraced a police sergeant’s scheme to raise money for the city budget by ticketing people caught with small amounts of marijuana, but opponents are already taking shots at the controversial plan.

Daley emphasized that most charges involving small amounts of pot are thrown out in the state court system in Chicago.

“If 99 percent of the cases are all thrown out and you have a police officer going, why? Why do we arrest the individual, seize the marijuana, [go] to court and they’re all thrown out? It costs you a lot of money for police officers to go to court.

Oh, yes. As Bill says, it’s always about the money. Notice the throwaway sentence at the end of the next section:

Fraternal Order of Police president Mark Donahue acknowledged too many cases involving small quantities of marijuana are “pitched at the initial hearing.” But FOP members stand to lose thousands of dollars in court overtime if the city starts ticketing marijuana users instead of jailing them, he said.

Also, “it’s an issue of moral or societal acceptance whether to do that,” Donahue said.

Right.
Look, I’m all for the notion that people caught with marijuana shouldn’t have criminal records, and for reducing the clog on courts, but I’m not ready to endorse a scheme that is poorly designed.

“If they charge the same as a parking ticket, I think that’s OK,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the [Drug Policy] alliance.

But fines could create an incentive for officers to become more aggressive in busting pot smokers, which happened in Australia when fines were substituted for potential jail time, Nadelmann said.

And fines ranging from $250 for 10 grams of pot to $1,000 for 20 to 30 grams — which Donegan recommended in his proposal to top Chicago Police brass last week — would place a huge burden on the young and poor likely to get hit with most of the tickets, Nadelmann added.

So what happens when there’s a budget crunch and officers are instructed to increase their quota of marijuana fines?
My preference, of course, is legalization. If we’re looking for an intermediate step, I’d suggest the British route of downgrading and only arresting in “flagrant” cases or sales. It seems to be working well there.

A culture of cruelty has arisen in the medical establishment as patients who need medical pain management have come to be seen as agents of impending doom to those who would treat them. Physicians are prosecuted as drug dealers and patients who need opioids to survive are viewed with terrible suspicion, and subjected to every kind of humiliation and intrusion – that is, if they are lucky enough to find care at all.

This is the starting paragraph of a set of materials (532K Word Document) provided to those attending the Congressional Briefing on the Politics of Pain held this past Friday, which detailed some of the horrors that the war on drugs has visited on chronic pain.
The words above come from Siobhan Reynolds, President of Pain Relief Network, who was invited by American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, Rep. Ron Paul, and Rep. John Conyers to speak at the briefing. She concluded:

By thinking we could regulate medicines with federal criminal law and not, thereby, the practice of medicine, we have as a society made a colossal error. The Founding Fathers gave a great deal of thought to the structure of the government of the United States of America, giving only certain limited powers to the federal government, reserving all others to the sovereign states. This was done specifically to protect us from the imposition of oppressive central authority, exactly what we, the people, have suffered here in spades.

The regulation of medicine in the states is protective of medicine and therefore of patients, and needs to be respected by us all.

We are calling upon the Congress to allow the American people to tell our side of the story and to defund the United States Department of Justice in its pursuit of medical professionals who treat pain.

The Montel Show yesterday, and this briefing last Friday, together demonstrate in striking ways that the government’s war on drugs is often being used (particularly by the federal government) as an unconstitutional and immoral war on the people.
On the Montel show it was made clear that harrassment of sick people has absolutely nothing to do with whether there is sufficient evidence of marijuana’s medical benefits. The pain briefing brought out the stories of doctors following acceptable medical practices who have been stripped of everything in DEA witch hunts and patients increasingly having trouble finding doctors willing to treat them.
President George W. Bush recently talked about his concerns with the high cost of malpractice insurance by stating that “Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.” And while I understand that there may be something important in those words (somewhere?), I would like to see a similar sense of outrage for the destruction of doctors who treat pain.
All of us face the possibility of a debilitating illness that requires proper pain management. Will your doctor, out of fear of the DEA, tell you to just deal with it and take some ibuprofen?
Radley Balko of The Agitator attended the briefing, interviewed a number of the people involved, and has reported on it in Doctors, Patients, Latest Drug War Casualties.

Fisher, a Harvard-trained physician, once specialized in the treatment of chronic pain.æHe served a predominantly rural and poor population in California.æAbout 5-10 percent of his 3,000 clients were pain patients, victims of illnesses like cancer, steep falls, or car accidents.

A little more than five years ago, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer initiated a high-profile campaign against pain doctors who prescribe high doses of opioidsæ– drugs such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and codeine.æ

Lockyer made Frank Fisher his example. Lockyer and other California prosecutors likened Fisher to a crack dealer.æThen, to a mass murderer.æFisher was charged with multiple counts of drug distribution, fraud, and most sensationally,æ15 counts of murder.æThe state seized his assets.æ His bail was set at $15 million and he faced a possible life sentence.

He was acquitted of all charges, but…

Frank Fisher is still a broken man.æHe spent five months in prison and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.æHe has yet to get his assets back from the state of California, and he still faces the possible revocation of his medical license.æ

Read the whole thing.

The show I mentioned, is now available in RealAudio, thanks to the wonderful DrugSense.
Here’s the link: http://drugpolicycentral.com/real/csa/montel.rm
Quicktime version: http://cannabiscoalition.ca/temp/montel.mov
Powerful. Very powerful.
The Montel Show
Order your own video of the show — it’s worth having to show to family and friends. Call Burrelle’s Transcripts at 800-777-8398 and ask for “Marijuana: Illegal Drug or Medical Treatment? Sept. 21, 2004”

Radley Balko’s powerful post reminding us of Robert Scheer’s prescient pre-911 article on the drug war, Afghanistan, and terrorism.

Mark Kleiman reports on a seminar he attended on drug abuse control policy with this amazingly important post:

As part of my preparation, I had Kenna Ackley, my research assistant, pull together some numbers. Between 1980 and 2004, the number of drug dealers in state and federal prison is up more than twelvefold, from 24,000 to 325,000. Most of that increase is cocaine dealers.

Over that same period. the retail price of cocaine is down about 80% in constant dollars, from $535 a gram equivalent in 1980 to $105 today.

Those numbers convince me of something I wouldn’t have believed: that, under U.S. conditions, no practicable level of drug law enforcement can raise the prices of mass-market drugs.

Although Mark’s been, to my mind, somewhat too cautious in advocating significant reform (see Mark Kleiman gets it wrong), he’s come to an important realization here that needs to be communicated further:

If that’s right, then the right measure of the effectiveness of drug law enforcement isn’t the costs it imposes on the illicit markets, but its effect on the side-effects that result from the operation of those markets: violence, corruption, neighborhood disruption, seduction of minors into illicit activity, and (if significant) financial contribution to terrorist operations against the U.S.

And you’ll find that in every one of those cases, the negative effects are higher under prohibition than just about any other model.

Two more voting guides added:

• Indiana — This is a state with real highs and lows. Indiana is most known in the drug policy reform world as the home of drug war cheerleader Mark Souder (3rd District) and author of the financial aid drug provision. He’s particularly dangerous because he is Chair of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, which means he controls much of the drug war conversation in the House of Representatives. Students for Sensible Drug Policy have been after him for some time. I’d love to see Maria Parra beat him.
  The good news in Indiana is the 7th District. Three candidates and all of them not only support medical marijuana, but also support eliminating federal funding for programs associated with the war on drugs. Amazing. Nice choice if you live in Indianapolis.
  In quite a number of races in Indiana, the only good choices are with the Libertarian party, which seems quite active in Indiana, at least in terms of the number of candidates fielded. I’d recommend supporting that activity.
• North Dakota — just completed this one because it was small (so I could have two more states instead of just one). Not very interesting choices there, I’m afraid.

Full voting guide with all states completed so far is available here.

This Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004, Montel Williams presents an appeal for the legalization of medical marijuana. Check this press release out (I’m quoting extensively because it’s just that good!):

Montel publicly announces that he uses marijuana to ease the debilitating pain of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He is joined on the show by several guests who use medical marijuana to aid their illnesses, and experts who offer pros and cons on the topic of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

On the show, Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Lauderhill, FL, tells Montel that he has been receiving medical marijuana from the government for over 20 years as part of a federally funded program. He suffers from a rare condition called Multiple Congenital Cartilaginous Exostosis and says he has been enrolled with 12 others in a compassionate-care program that allows treatment with government-grown marijuana from The University of Mississippi. Though President Bush ended the program in 1992, Rosenfeld still receives medical marijuana on a monthly basis from the government.

You notice that the government doesn’t like to talk about that program much, where they have been providing medical marijuana for decades.

Don Murphy, Maryland’s former Republican State Delegate, says he “voted for higher penalties for large amounts of marijuana and other drugs.” But then, he says, his father died of cancer, and he learned too late of the value of medical marijuana. According to Murphy, “My father died in 1997 of cancer, and I didn’t even know marijuana’s medicinal value for him.” He says he “didn’t try to get it.” But, Murphy continues, “I can tell you one thing, elected or not, I would have (tried to get medical marijuana for his father to ease his pain), and I defy anyone in this audience or anyone else to say they wouldn’t do the same thing.”

How many relatives of politicians have to get cancer for the truth to sink in? Very strong statement from Murphy. But, uh oh, look who’s back! She left the Drug Czar to pursue a two day career as a possible candidate for Senate in Illinois (losing the nod to Maryland’s Alan Keyes), but she hasn’t given up her old career spreading propaganda.

The opposing viewpoint is stated by Dr. Andrea Barthwell, MD, former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, who says to Montel, “The problem with trying to bring medications to the marketplace through a popular vote … is setting modern medicine back to the turn of the century.” Barthwell continues by saying, “We developed a process through which we would evaluate botanicals, biologicals, even a molecule that we found in a lab, and would manipulate that in a way to increase its efficacy, reduce its side effect, and bring it to the people in a way that protected the public health.” She claims that legalizing marijuana at this point in time, compares to “snake oil salesmen handing out medication from the back of a stagecoach.”

Montel passionately rebuts her statement, referring to the government funded medical marijuana program that Rosenfeld openly discusses on the show. Williams exclaims, “Talk to me about stagecoaches. Tell me about the stagecoach from Washington D.C. that delivers this to a pharmacy every single week!”

Busted! Why would the government be supplying these individuals with medical marijuana for decades if it wasn’t safe? The truth is that the government doesn’t even want to investigate medical marijuana and blocks it at every turn.

To which Dr. Barthwell replies, “Well, there are some exceptions, and there are other patients that could get it through exception, but what we know is that … independent scientists who determine medicine in this country … determined that there was potential for medication development for marijuana, but that the research should follow the same scientific principles that we follow for all other medication development.”

Of course. Just need to find a way to make sure it’s profitable to drug companies.

To which Williams responds, “For 20 years in a row there’s been research garnered by the US government. You can research this guy (Irvin Rosenfeld)!”

Busted again. How is it that the government has been supplying medical marijuana to patients for 20 years and has not even considered (or allowed) any research on the efficacy of medical marijuana on these patients that they are supplying?

Other guests on the show include: A mother and grandmother of an eight-year-old boy from Rocklin, CA, who claim his aggressive behavior was initially treated by over 16 psychotropic drugs with no success, until they discovered medical marijuana. And a woman from Oakland, CA, whose body is unable to synthesize traditional medication and can only function with regular intake of medical marijuana.

Also appearing on the show are: Dr. Donald Abrams, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California/San Francisco; Rob Kampia, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project; and Roger Curtiss, addiction counselor and director of alcohol and drug services of Anaconda/Deer Lodge, an outpatient treatment facility in Montana.

I’m going to want video of this one.

Recent CNN headline and lead:

N.Y. judge’s ruling affects ‘high’ court
NEW YORK (Reuters) — New Yorkers dreading jury duty take note: it’s OK to be drunk on booze or high on pot or cocaine while doing your civic duty.

Before you get too confused by this, the story is really the fact that CNN is using a drug and alcohol issue in a sensational way to get your attention.
In actuality, the judge did not say it’s OK to be drunk or high on jury duty, nor that you could avoid arrest for possessing drugs while on jury duty. He simply stated that the impairment of alcohol, drugs, or fatigue did not, by itself, constitute the legal definition of “outside” influence that would be grounds for setting aside a jury verdict.
And this is the correct decision.
After all, it is supposed to be a jury of your peers (couldn’t resist that).

Link

Sept. 18, 2004 æ|æ OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Former child star Macaulay Culkin was arrested on drug charges Friday during a traffic stop, authorities said. The 24-year-old actor, best known for his role in the “Home Alone” movies, was taken into custody on complaints of possession of a controlled dangerous substance without a valid prescription and possession of marijuana, according to the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office.

Culkin, who lives in New York City, was booked into the Oklahoma County Jail and released after posting $4,000 bond, a jailer said.

Authorities confiscated about 17 grams of marijuana from a vehicle in which Culkin was a passenger. Officers also found 16 milligrams of prescription medications used to control anxiety and seizures, according to a police report.

Culkin was in a vehicle driven by a 22-year-old New York City man who was stopped for driving 70 mph in a 60-mph speed zone and for making an improper lane change. After receiving a verbal warning, the driver allowed police to search the vehicle.

First: 16 milligrams of prescription medication? Is that a lot? Can you even see that amount? (There’s 500 milligrams of pain reliever in my Tylenol) And about 1/2 ounce of pot.
Second: Folks. Do not authorize authorities to search your car, your person, your purse, your house. You have the right to refuse such searches. (You musn’t resist searches if they occur anyway, but you need not say “Yes”)

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Once you say “Yes” to a search then you have surrendered your rights. Law enforcement knows how to ask persuasively (sometimes going to illegal lengths), but all you need do is politely refuse permission, saying that it is against your political beliefs to authorize such searches (even if you aren’t carrying anything, you should never agree to a search).
For extra help, download and print the ACLU Bustcard (pdf) and carry it in your wallet.
Update: Reader Trent points out that 16 milligrams of a prescription medicine can be a whopping dose, depending on what drug it is. I admit I was a bit flip in my comment about the amount seized (without knowing what the drug was, we really don’t have a sense of the significance of the amount). In retrospect, I think I was thrown by the fact that they apparently only listed the amount of the active ingredient — I’m used to hearing about drug charges being listed by the amount/weight of the entire product, including the stems/seeds/blotter paper/starch or whatever.
Further Update: Reader Mark points out that Just Cause Law Collective has some good “street-level” common sense information on knowing your rights.

What’s the difference between detention and
arrest? If arrested, what’s the one and only form you
should be willing to sign without a lawyer? If
interrogated, what are the magic words? [“I’m going to remain silent. I
would like to see a lawyer.”]

I’ve talked here about Alaskan courts and their sensible approch to possession of 4 ounces or less of marijuana in your own home (if you haven’t read that first post, take a moment to do so — the judge’s comments are amazing!). And recently the Alaskan courts held that a warrant required reasonable belief that there was more than 4 ounces of marijuana present.
Last week, the Alaskan Supreme Court denied a petition by the state attorney general’s office seeking reconsideration.
Good.
However, the Attorney General continues to be an idiot:

“We’re not giving up,” [Attorney General Gregg] Renkes said.

He’ll be taking his case to the legislature where he’ll try to prove marijuana is a harmful enough drug to warrant amending the constitution.

“The state has been denied an opportunity to present a record of the harmfulness of marijuana,” Renkes said.

Oh, I’d like to see that presentation of evidence. What’s he going to do, show them a copy of “Reefer Madness?”

“I’m really appalled that it appears some people are still fighting the culture war of the 1970s,” he said.

Actually, I think it’s Renkes who’s fighting the culture war of the 70s, seeing hippies behind every joint.