Drug WarRant

This one’s a doozy.
From today’s St. Petersburg Times:

TAMPA – The federal government took a hit Tuesday in its ongoing efforts against overseas drug smuggling.

After a six-week trial involving 16 people from Lithuania and Ukraine accused of smuggling drugs, jurors deliberated for three days and came back with not one guilty verdict. They acquitted 15 of the defendants and couldn’t agree on whether the remaining defendant was guilty.

All 16 were charged with possession of cocaine on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction and could have spent 25 years to life in prison if convicted… The verdict comes nearly a year after the men – crew members of the 500-foot freighter M/V Yalta – were arrested in connection with an apparent attempt to smuggle nearly 4 tons of cocaine.

So they seized a ship with 4 tons of cocaine, but couldn’t get a single conviction? Embarrassing. There was a 17th crew member who pleaded guilty in September and agreed to testify for the Feds … and they still couldn’t get a conviction.
My favorite quote from the article:

“This verdict is a major black eye to the government in their ongoing Panama Express operation,” said Steve Crawford, one of the court-appointed defense attorneys. “The philosophy of ‘Let’s arrest everybody and see if the evidence is there’ lends itself to these kinds of verdicts.”

That’s the philosophy, all right.

An AP story today:

NEW YORK — The Manhattan District Attorney joined television talk show host Montel Williams on Tuesday to support the legalization of marijuana for medical use.

“It should be available to those whose suffering would be eased by the use of marijuana,” said Robert Morgenthau. “There is absolutely no reason for not using marijuana for medical purposes. It’s another weapon in the arsenal.”

Morgenthau said he supports a marijuana legalization bill in the state Legislature. He said he came to support medicinal marijuana after doing research and talking to his daughter, a physician who specializes in treating drug abusers.

Williams, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, choked back tears as he said he uses marijuana on his doctor’s recommendation to relieve pain in his legs and feet caused by the neurological disease.

Could New York actually join the medical marijuana states?

I’ve been a huge fan of Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, author of the fabulous book Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs.
Well, he’s running for Senate in California as a Libertarian, and there’s a nice recent interview in LA CityBEAT that’s worth reading.
Here’s a quote that caught my attention:

I have been told by two sitting congressmen in Orange County that many folks in Washington realize the war on drugs is not winnable, but it’s eminently fundable. They are addicted to the money. If Judge Jim Gray were to be elected to the United States Senate from California, having been very straightforward with regard to where I stand on the drug war, it would be such a revolution that that alone would get the federal government out of the marijuana prohibition business. And believe me, it’s a big business. It’s institutionally corrupting.

Yep, he understands it: “…many folks in Washington realize the war on drugs is not winnable, but it’s eminently fundable. … it’s a big business. It’s institutionally corrupting.”
That’s exactly what we’re fighting.
If you’re in California, please send Gray to Washington.

I was very pleased when Rep. Istook’s un-American and un-Constitutional provision against promoting a particular viewpoint in the metro system was overturned in court.
Yesterday, the Trib took a nice moment to add their viewpoint.

You’ve heard the phrase “drunk with power”? That pretty well captures the state of mind of Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) when he pushed through a measure telling the Washington Metro system what kind of ads it could place in its stations, trains and buses. …

But a federal district court has done the inevitable, striking down the ban as an unconstitutional attack on freedom of speech. The Metro system has made a practice of accepting issue-oriented ads, the court said, and the government may not choose which opinions shall be allowed. …

But Istook still doesn’t get it. After the decision came down, he said, “I’m confident that ultimately the courts will agree with the long-standing principle that Congress is free to decide what we will or will not fund. We provide major funding to combat drug use, and tax dollars should not be used to subsidize contrary messages.”

What is he talking about? Running the notices would not have “subsidized” an unapproved message: Change the Climate was trying to buy ad space, at a total price of $91,875.

Congress is free to decide whether to fund mass transit or not. What it’s not free to do is use its power of the purse to suppress one point of view on a matter of public policy. Direct government censorship is forbidden by the 1st Amendment, and so is the indirect kind.

It’s understandable that Istook takes issue with the policies proposed by Change the Climate and its allies. But if he thinks it would be a mistake to liberalize drug laws, he should use the option he’s trying to deny them: Rebut their arguments.

And that’s exactly what he’s afraid to do. Because he’d lose.

Not back from New York yet, but I couldn’t resist posting this one from the Sun…

ENGLAND fans will be allowed to smoke dope before Sunday’s crunch clash with France — to keep them calm.

Cops in Lisbon plan to crack down on drunk supporters while turning a blind eye to those spotted puffing on a spliff.

Pot-smoking fans have been assured they will not be arrested, cautioned — or even have their drugs confiscated.

Last night experts said the Portuguese police’s “Here We Blow” policy would reduce chances of a punch-up between rival fans.

Alan Buffry of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance said: “If people are drinking they lose control, if they smoke cannabis they don’t.

“Alcohol makes fans fight. But cannabis smokers will be shaking hands and singing along together.”

Dutch police used a similar policy in Euro 2000 and England’s hooligan element were too stoned to fight.

A Lisbon police spokeswoman said: “If people cause a problem through drugs and become a menace then police will take action. But when this doesn’t happen why should the police be the ones making the fuss?”

Exactly.

You may remember that I took a group of college students for a theatre tour of New York City in March. Well, now it’s time for the community members — 64 of them, for seven days of walking tours and Broadway shows. We’ll be seeing Wicked, Assassins, I Am My Own Wife, Sly Fox, Wonderful Town, and the off-Broadway show Bug. (If you saw the Tony Awards last night, you’ll know we picked some good shows.
Don’t expect much posting this week, but visit the links on the left, particularly some of these.
I’ll still check my email, so feel free to write and send tips or hate mail.

“bullet” Check out TalkLeft on Another Reagan Legacy: Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences.
“bullet” Filmmakers = get your submissions in for the The 3rd Annual Drug War Vigil Film Festival
“bullet” Tim shares a letter to representatives with his proposal for enhancing state revenues at Guest Drug WarRant.
“bullet” One man has the opportunity to personally talk to the President about medical marijuana, if only for a moment.

Pete,
You’re slobby piece of liberal crap. You’re entire website is propaganda to the drug free America that so many Government Agents of sacrificed themselves to preserve. You’re extreme disrespect towards those fallen souls only shows that you’re in favor of getting high and I wouldn’t be suprised if you were a drug user yourself. You have NEVER worked in drug enforcement and my money would bet that you’ve NEVER seen the effects of drugs on inner city streets and the effect it has on kids. I hope you can grow a brain and realize how illogical you are and maybe you’ll have respect for this country someday and what employees of the Government do.

– T. Erman
Captain, US Marine Corps (1987-1994)
Police Officer (1994-2002)

Dear T. Erman,
Well, I guess I may be a slobby(?) piece of liberal crap, and yet, oddly, the only permanent quote on the front page of my site is from noted conservative William F. Buckley, Jr., and the politician I have most recently praised the most is Republican Rep. Ron Paul. I also speak approvingly of libertarian principles. If you think that drug policy reform is just a “liberal” issue, then you should read the FAQ item: I am a conservative republican. Why should I support drug policy reform?
I’m still trying to figure out your second sentence. The closest I can get it to read literally (and ignoring the, uh, esoteric use of “you’re” and “of”) is that you believe that America is currently drug free, government agents have died to keep it that way, and my website attempts to spread the notion of a drug free America. I think you actually mean something different, but I’m just not sure quite what.
You also seem to believe that I don’t have respect for police and other agents of the government, yet most of my venom has been reserved for the administration and legislators. My Drug War Victims page includes law enforcement officers who have died in this misguided war. In fact, I have great respect for both the police and the Marine Corps, to which you claim to belong. For one, I believe that the vast majority of them are intelligent and literate. I also believe that they require a High School diploma (something you may wish to pursue).
And I have a special respect for some remarkable law enforcement officers. Check out these great people at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), (and see my article about Howard Woolridge)
Thanks for your letter. I enjoy hearing from my readers. I’ll work on growing a brain, and I’ll try to be less slobby.

The 17th Annual Ohio Hempfest will go on as planned today from noon to midnight on the South Oval of the Ohio State University campus in Columbus.
But it almost didn’t happen.
On Tuesday, the university cancelled the event, claiming that sponsors (the local chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy had failed to follow an administrative requirement (despite the fact that they had made the reservation back in October and followed all procedures that any other event has to follow.
But the university had added a couple of hoops for the organization, based on the charge that some students had smoked pot at a previously sponsored event (something that was not the fault of the organizing group).
The OSU Police Chief John Petry, in a local media report, said he was hesitant to give permission for the event because of drug abuse at past Hempfests.
Clearly the university was looking for ways to shut this down and waited until the last minute, when it was impossible to re-schedule all the bands and vendors.
The student newspaper (Lantern) came out with a couple of good editorials Fest Smoked Out – Hempfest Cancellation Unfair and Hempfest Might Still Rise From Ashes.
Friday afternoon, the 6th Circuit Federal Court issued an injunction against OSU, and Hempfest will go on as planned.
After my own experience with Illinois State and their attempts to prevent the posting of Hempfest flyers, it’s great to see this Hempfest victorious. Clearly this was an attempt by the university to sabotage an event that they didn’t like. The administrative items that were deficient were requirements that no other events had to follow, and then the university did not even try to work with the organization (despite the fact that the event had occurred for 16 previous years), but announced the cancellation at the last minute. The 6th Circuit was correct.

Today, I ask you to do more than read this blog. This is a day to take action.
In a coordinated effort, drug reform groups are asking people to contact their Congressional Representatives today and ask for their support of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment.
The amendment is quite simple. It says that the federal government will not interfere with medical marijuana laws in those specific states that have passed them. Logical. Sensible.
In last year’s article Can Congress Get a Clue, I discussed the Hinchey Amendment that lost then and even some of the bizarre debate on the floor. Last year the amendment failed 152-273, but that was remarkable in that 136 Democrats, 15 Republicans and 1 Independent voted in favor of a medical marijuana bill.
We can do better this year.
From NORML:

NORML has teamed up with the Marijuana
Policy Project, the Drug Policy Alliance and others to coordinate actions
at over 110 Congressional district offices around the country. These
actions will focus on educating members of Congress who voted against the
Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment last year, which would have prevented the
DEA and Justice Department from interfering in states with medical
marijuana laws.

NORML expects that this amendment will come up for a vote again this year,
hopefully by the end of this month. While last year’s amendment failed by
a vote of 273 – 152, we are confident that this year we can convince many
members to change their vote this time around, but we need your help!

Since most NORML supporters cannot attend one of these local actions, we
are asking all of you to please call your members of Congress today and
voice your support for the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment. To be connected
to your Representative’s office, simply call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard
at 202-224-3121.

Please tell your member of Congress that it is vital that they support the
Hinchey/Rohrabacher Amendment when it comes up for a vote later this
month. Be sure to stress that this vote would not legalize medical
marijuana, but it would simply prevent the federal government from
interfering in states that already have medical marijuana laws on the
books.

• Find out how your Representative voted last year.
• Call the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121, get connected to your Representative’s office, and tell them to support the Hinchey Amendment when it comes up later this month.
• If you don’t have time to call, send an email
• Here’s another place where you can send an email.
• Here are some talking points.

Do it today.
In fact, do it right now. Why wait?
Update: If you didn’t get to it today, don’t worry. It’s still important and useful. Make the call. Send the letter. It’s easy. And let me know if your Congressman’s staff has anything to say in response.