Drug WarRant

Via TalkLeft comes this AP report:

n a scathing criticism of the system used to punish federal crimes, a judge on Monday called the government’s sentencing guidelines unconstitutional, saying they unfairly limit the authority of judges. In a series of drug cases, U.S. District Judge William Young said the guidelines put too much power in the hands of prosecutors and give judges too little discretion in sentencing.

….In his ruling, Young said he believes the sentences handed down to five defendants were too harsh and violated their constitutional right to due process. Young asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to throw out the sentences and send the cases back for new sentencing hearings.

The Judge put out an amazing supersentencing memo (pdf) — 174 pages indicting the current system, complete with graphs, charts, detailed references and some very interesting writing. Here’s one part of it, where he talks about the 5 cases that sparked the memo:

These sentencing memoranda deal with
five criminals. Three insisted on their constitutionally
guaranteed trial by jury. The two others pled guilty and
cooperated. The most evil and violent is a gang leader who had
much information to give. The least, a woman, had little to give
but went on courageously to finger a major drug lord. This is
reality.

Richard Green is a retail drug dealer preying on the
inhabitants of one of Boston’s public housing projects. On two
occasions he sold small quantities of crack cocaine (0.6 grams
and 2.4 grams respectively) to an undercover informant. The
government seeks to imprison him for 24 years.

William Olivero is a New York worker for a massive drug
conspiracy whose kingpin (and major drug activity) are located in
Massachusetts. Though not himself a dealer, Olivero has, on
occasion, delivered kilogram quantities of cocaine and associated
drug money for the kingpin. Olivero possesses a handgun. The
kingpin has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his offenses.
The government seeks to imprison Olivero for twenty-four to
thirty years.

Jason Pacheco is a marijuana dealer who knew the kingpin,
who on occassion purchased kilogram quantities of cocaine from
the kingpin for his own account, and who once accommodated the
kingpin by allowing his garage to be used for the brief storage
and transshipment of a multi-kilogram quantity of cocaine. The
government seeks to imprison him for twelve to fifteen years.
Edward K. Mills is a multiple murderer who led a vicious
street gang. Eventually apprehended, he recognized the jig was
up and cooperated with authorities. A gang leader himself, he
had much information to give and his disclosures have led to the
conviction of another murderer and the freeing of an individual
wrongfully convicted of murder. The government seeks to imprison
him for ten years.

“Jane Doe,” a pseudonym, is a young, single mother. A drug
addict, she dealt cocaine to support her habit. Eventually
apprehended, she too cooperated and testified in open court so
that the government might secure the conviction of an important
drug lord from her homeland. In light of her cooperation, the
government recommends a short sentence. As an alien, however,
the government proposes to deport her back to her homeland where,
the government admits, she will almost certainly be killed,
perhaps after torture.

To achieve its ends, the government routinely imposes a
stiff penalty upon defendants who exercise their constitutional
right to trial by jury. In the first of the instant cases, the
government’s attempts to burden a citizen’s right to a jury of
his peers exceeds all constitutional bounds. The second case
involves repeated instances of illegal fact bargaining. The
third involves enforcement of a bargain with a cold-blooded
killer that the Court characterized as evincing “a moral code
more suited to the alleys of Baghdad than the streets of Boston,”
and the fourth reveals such callous indifference to innocent
human life as would gag any fair minded observer. And this Court
–- stripped of any meaningful role in the sentencing of offenders
who come before it –- can do little more than explain what’s
going on. That, at least, I will do.

Then he goes on to do so at length.
Very interesting stuff. Nice to see more of the judiciary rebelling against the gutting of judicial discretion and the continual tipping of power to the prosecutor.

See Last One Speaks for this travesty:

In yet another example of forfeiture run amok, 81 year old David Davies, a WWII vet and his wife Florence had their life’s worth of assets seized because their son was storing 19 kilos of cannabis in the ceiling. In an blatantly apparent miscarriage of justice, the couple received, “16-month suspended jail sentences last month after being convicted on two counts of possessing marijuana with intent to supply.” I mean really, intent? Who on earth did the prosecution contend they were intending to supply it to?

To add insult to injury, the Australian government with obvious US inspired prosecutorial greed, took possession of the family home (because they could) and intend to charge them rent.

Walter in Denver notes Why The Drug War Is Doomed To Fail
He points to a Rocky Mountain News article which pretty well indicates that people will always find a drug of choice, legal or illegal:

Colorado calls to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, and the type of drug involved, in the past two years

Drug	2002	2003
Marijuana	92	100
Heroin	14	24
Cocaine	109	137
Methamphetamine	71	82
Cough medicines/ dextromethorphan	229	275
Codeine	153	188
Painkillers/ oxycodone	602	809
Sleeping pills, tranquilizers/ benzodiazepines	1,012	1,212
Methadone	87	97
Morphine	150	208
Ethyl alcohol	270	248
Total calls	68,245	67,463

As Walter says: “Note that calls regarding cough medicine/dex each of the last two years outnumbered calls for marijuana, cocaine and heroin combined.”

Jason at Positive Liberty sent me this bizarre item in The Guardian. As part of a long story about unusual and deadly plants in a castle garden…

‡ Cannabis sativa
Indian hemp or marijuana (not to mention pot, dope, spliff, skunk etc). Delicate fronds made the plant a Victorian border essential; but you can also suffer extreme hallucinations or even death if you sleep in a cannabis field. Known as the “cementer of pleasure” and the “leaf of delusion”, it can only be grown with a Home Office licence

I think the author may have been eating too much laburnum anagyroides.
Although, I suppose you could make the case that sleeping in a field of cannabis could cause death… by law enforcement.

Joel Miller’s article Why Drug Cops Can’t Win” at World Net Daily is an interesting read. (Joel Miller is also author of the new book “Bad Trip: How the Drug War is Destroying America.”)
In the World Net Daily article, Miller relates, from discussions with drug traffickers reported in his book, some of the techniques and tactics used to smuggle drugs:

As Joel explains:

Whatever police do to clamp down, smugglers maneuver around. Some get caught while others make the appropriate adjustments to their tactics, and some are just lousy smugglers to begin with. But consistently nabbing 10 percent is hardly something to brag about.

Do drug warriors honestly wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and get a rush of pride that only 90 percent of illegal narcotics are getting through thanks to them? Sadly — and adding an entirely new dimension to the word “pathetic” — yes, they do.

As for the rest of us, we need something different. The war on drugs is spending taxpayer money by the billions and tossing it down a thousand rat holes.

Nice column by Dean Becker in this month’s The Free Press (Houston, TX)

For 89 1/2 years, we have escalated the mechanisms, the bloodshed, the deaths, disease and misery of our nation through our policy of “drug prohibition”.æ Based on racial screeds and hysterical posturing, the drug war has taken on a life of its’ own.

There is no justice, no logic, no basis whatsoever to this drug war.æ There is not one person of stature within the legislature, not one cop or drug czar, not one doctor or journalist who dares to defend this drug war policy in an open, public debate.æ It cannot be done.æ The prohibition of drugs is a sham, the largest fraud ever perpetrated on the peoples of this earth.

…

Fear runs the drug war.æ True ignorance or superstition are rarely a part of the equation in this day and age.æ Fear of job loss, of societal demonization, fear of losing votes in an election all stand in the way of truth, progress and freedom.æ The councilmen, mayor and district attorney all showed their fear, by falling back to faux superstition, feigned ignorance or the silence of the lambs as their defense.

When the call for change first occurs for marijuana policy, for overall drug reform, it’s not likely to come from the mouths of the councilmen, mayor, district attorney or police chief.æ The call must come from those citizens brave enough to recognize and put forth that “the emperor has no clothes.” There is nobody in a position of authority who can defend this abominable drug war.

It is our job to drive these drug warriors down to the river of reform for baptism.æ Forcibly, if need be.

When do we stop putting our children behind bars for little baggies? It’s your decision.

I spent the day yesterday with my Dad. I didn’t have the time — there’s so much to do — but I drove the three hours each way, and helped him fix the settings on his new computer, and we talked and had dinner… and it was a wonderful day!
I also have an advantage. Unlike many children in this country, my dad isn’t in prison.
I think it’s worth taking a moment this Father’s Day to remember all the families that aren’t together because of the drug war. One of the best organizations around reminding us of the loss in humanity is The November Coalition. Here’s a father’s day message from their site.

Fatherless Days
By Vicki Woods, November Coalition staffer

Today I watched my grandson play baseball. He’s an incredible pitcher, at 10 years old, which is no surprise to me, since throwing a ball has been his favorite thing to do since he was very young. I remember when I traveled from Oregon to Texas with him to visit his dad. The first stop was to buy a ball, and then at every rest area along the way, we threw the ball and threw the ball and then threw the ball some more.

That trip bonded us, Brandon and I. With each other, and in our love for his father, my oldest son, Rob. I talked to my son last week, and he was jealous that I could go watch Brandon play ball, and he couldn’t. Mandatory minimum sentencing and an uncaring public defender put my son down for 5 years, forcing him, like so many others, to miss their children’s ball games and birthdays.

For four years now, his son and two daughters have spent an unhappy Fatherless Day. But, then, everyday is a fatherless day when your dad is in prison. What a shame when so many of our country’s children are left without the influence and guidance of their fathers for ridiculously long periods of time. With all of my heart I pray for true justice and an end to this war on drugs and deprivation our children face. May there be no more Father’s Day without a father or Mother’s day without a mother for our children.

Via TalkLeft

Not surprisingly, Texas has enacted another dumb, probably unconstitutional law–delivery of a controlled substance to a minor–via the womb. It’s now a felony to smoke pot while pregnant –punishable by two to 20 years in prison. Alma Baker has become the first casualty of the law–receiving a five year deferred sentence for smoking pot in her backyard while pregnant with her twins. The presence of pot was discovered in their bloodstream when born.

There is no established medical evidence that prenatal exposure to marijuana harms infants. So a mother smokes pot and WE shell out the cash. First, you break up the family — so that’s foster care or welfare/food stamps, etc. Then you put the mother in prison — that’s about 25 grand a year. Add in the cost of the trial. Future costs to society as children are raised without a mother. This isn’t being tough on crime. This is being monumentally stupid.

Via Chris and Sam.com comes an article in the Macomb Daily: “Sheriff gets armored vehicles”

Macomb County’s “newest” weapon against crime is 44 years old, weighs a beefy 10 tons, travels only 3 miles on a gallon of gas, sits 10 people uncomfortably and can flatten a house.

And it’s a war veteran.

The Sheriff’s Department on Monday took delivery of an M113 armored personnel carrier, compliments of the U.S. Army.

Look at the vapid grin on Sherrif Mark Hackel’s face. “It didn’t cost us a dime.”

Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said the refurbished armored carriers will give deputies significant up-close protection during drug raids

Oh, yeah, they love their new toys, but don’t these morons have a clue as to the part they are playing in the destruction of our society?
During the past three decades of this ill-conceived war on drugs, we have continued to move toward turning our police force into performing military functions, while turning our citizens into the enemy.
Now we set the tanks loose on our people. If we start using these for no-knock raids (and giving our record for hitting the wrong address) you may want to look into bomb shelters for tucking your children into bed.
The drug war is gradually eating away at the soul of our nation.

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, comes this article by Ellis Henican in Newsday.

Robert Morgenthau had called this meeting to announce that he was throwing his considerable political weight behind a bill to make marijuana legal for medical uses in New York State. Cancer patients, glaucoma sufferers and people with other dreaded diseases, he said, should not have to break the law to get the relief they so desperately need.

This could soon change, thanks to a bill from Manhattan Assemb. Richard Gottfried. It would make the pain-killing properties of marijuana available with a doctor’s prescription, the same way sick people can now get codeine, morphine and a whole medicine chest of potent narcotics.

Montel Williams, the daytime TV host who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, sat beside Morgenthau yesterday. He spoke about the excruciating pain he suffers in the lower half of his body and the blessed relief he’s gotten from medical marijuana.

And then Ellis puts in the real gem:

It is hard even to paraphrase the arguments against this. Only a dim-witted ideologue like federal drug czar John Walters will utter such drivel out loud. Something about “sending a bad message” or marijuana being a “gateway drug.”

Get outta here!

How could any civilized person tell a cancer patient on chemotherapy, “No, we won’t ease your pain!” I dare anyone to look into Montel Williams’ eyes and say, “Suck it up, pal!”

Worth repeating: “Only a dim-witted ideologue like federal drug czar John Walters will utter such drivel out loud.”
I love it. I’m going to keep repeating that all day!

Update: Brutal Hugs is also happy to have Morgenthau involved, but is less confident of his political clout.