Drug WarRant

My recent post If I were Contrarian-King of the United States is the feature article in this week’s Drug Sense Weekly newsletter (always a great re-cap of the week).
I’ve gotten some great contrarian additions in the comments of that post. If you have more, add them there. I’ll collect them all for an archived article version.

Via NORML, TalkLeft, Vice Squad, and Hit and Run, (OK, so I’m a little slow today)…
Vermont will officially become the 9th state (or perhaps the 10th, as TalkLeft includes Arizona) to legalize medical marijuana, which is great, although Vice Squad finds not that much to cheer about in the final butchered version of the bill.
Hit and Run notes that Governor James Douglas will let the bill become law without signature and includes the Governor’s remarks — an amazing example of a marriage of stupidity and schizophrenia gone bad:

Marijuana is addictive, and dangerous, and as a gateway drug can ruin a young Vermonter’s life. Over the last several months, the faces of Vermonters in real pain have advocated for the use of marijuana for symptom relief. They are the husbands and wives who nursed dying spouses in their final days; they are sons and daughters who watched once-healthy parents wither and waste away. I feel, as most Vermonters do, that we must do what we can to ease the pain of dying Vermonters. I believe that we owe Vermonters with debilitating medical conditions the very best that medical science has to offer. Proven science has not demonstrated that marijuana is a part of that. Despite that fact, marijuana offers those with the most painful chronic diseases a measure of hope in a time of suffering….However, I cannot actively support a measure that allows Vermonters to be subject to prosecution under federal law, increases the availability of a controlled substance, and sends a dangerous message to our children.

Somebody get him a rubber room.
Oh, and patients will be allowed to grow 3 plants — perfect for the medical marijuana patient who gets sick occasionally.
Hey, it’s a victory.

I haven’t talked much about this subject — it’s pretty damned depressing — but there’s no doubt that the prison abuse story is a critical one. And one important part of this story must be told — that prison abuses happen right here at home.
And as outraged as we properly are about prison abuse in Iraq, we must also be outraged that millions of non-violent drug offenders are sent to prison under unjust laws, there to be “reformed” through the methods of abuse and rape.
But I can’t say it as well as others can, so read on…
Look Higher, Deeper than Prison Guards (by John Ed Pearce, Lexington Herald-Leader):

The public echoes what Bush repeatedly prates: that this incident does not reflect the goodness of Americans, that we are not that kind of people, that we would never permit it on our own. The untidy truth is that we do.

For the past decade, we have been building prisons as fast as we could afford and pouring into them a flood of Americans, many of whom are treated as brutally as any Iraqi.

Thanks to a hysterical fear of crime (the rate of which has, incidentally, been falling for years) and the self-righteous fervor in Congress and state legislatures for longer sentences for more crimes, more than 2 million Americans are now imprisoned, not counting those in small jails.

Our per-capita incarceration rate is now higher than that of any nominally civilized nation. And more than a quarter million of those incarcerated are guilty of violating nothing more than our cruel, illogical and ineffective drug laws.

The brutalities and indecencies heaped upon these marginal miscreants — by overworked, ill-trained and often sadistic guards, or by fellow prisoners who frequently rule prison life — defy description.

Their cost in money, lives and standards of decency are enormous. Yet the general public pays a fraction of the attention to these conditions that they give to the bloody mess in Iraq. We will benefit as a nation and a people if our revulsion at the horrors in Iraqi prisons spur us to notice the beam in our own eye.

[emphasis added]
“bullet” An ugly prison record: Given the Way It Treats Its Own Inmates, America Shouldn’t Be Shocked at the Abuse of Iraqis (by Christopher Reed in the Toronto Star):

… A prisoner dumped in scalding water so his skin peeled off like old varnish; prisoners left naked outside in rainy and bitter weather for days; multiple beatings and rapes; several unexplained deaths.æ

In Corcoran prison, California, guards held their own Roman gladiator games with prisoners pitted against each other in fights to the near death.æ A disliked and defenceless prisoner was placed in the same cell as the biggest and baddest sex criminal — known as the Booty Bandit – — to be duly raped to the amusement of the prisoner’s supposed guardians.æ

Pelican Bay is such a fearful place, with prisoners kept under perpetual scrutiny while unable to see any other human being, a psychiatrist told a court that many were going insane.æ

A federal judge finally ordered reforms, as did another over Corcoran, but there is little evidence that either have become proper places even to house the worst.æ

Similar reports surface across America.æ Texas is especially bad.æ

Significantly, private, for-profit prisons have some of the worst records.æ…

Amnesty International reported in 1999 that male guards in several U.S.æ states routinely raped female prisoners.æ

“bullet” Abuse also in US Prisons, Experts Say by Fox Butterfield, The New York Times

Physical and sexual abuse of prisoners, similar to what has been uncovered in Iraq, takes place in American prisons with little public knowledge or concern, according to corrections officials, inmates and human rights advocates.æ

In Pennsylvania and some other states, inmates are routinely stripped in front of other inmates before being moved to a new prison or a new unit within their prison.æ In Arizona, male inmates at the Maricopa County jail in Phoenix are made to wear women’s pink underwear as a form of humiliation.æ

At Virginia’s Wallens Ridge maximum security prison, new inmates have reported being forced to wear black hoods, in theory to keep them from spitting on guards, and said they were often beaten and cursed at by guards and made to crawl on their knees, also a form of humiliation.æ

The corrections experts say that some of the worst abuses have occurred in Texas, whose prisons were under a federal consent decree during much of the time President Bush was governor because of crowding and violence by guards against inmates.æ Judge William Wayne Justice of Federal District Court imposed the decree after finding that guards were allowing inmate gang leaders to buy and sell other inmates as slaves for sex.æ

The experts also point out that the man who directed the reopening of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq last year and trained the guards there resigned under pressure as director of the Utah Department of Corrections in 1997 after an inmate died while shackled to a restraining chair for 16 hours.æ The inmate, who suffered from schizophrenia, was kept naked the whole time.

“bullet” Marijuana possession leads to rape.. in prison. From SPR.

The teen was arrested in Broward County in May on charges of delivering marijuana, a felony. He had 30 grams – or about an ounce – of marijuana in his possession at the time of the arrest.

The teen19-year-old spent the first night of his sentence in a 7-by-8-foot cell with Randolph Jackson, 35, who has been in jail since July 2002 awaiting trial on a sexual battery charge.

In the early morning hours of June 7, Jackson allegedly held a ballpoint pen to the teen’s throat and raped him. Jail staff did not know about the incident until later in the day, when the 19-year-old’s family members, alarmed by comments he made during a telephone conversation, called to report it, jail officials said.

“bullet” The Sentencing Project has a study (pdf) showing that 1 in 11 US prisoners is now serving a life sentence.

While the lifer population overwhelmingly consists of persons convicted of a violent offense, 4%, or about 5,000 lifers, have been convicted of a drug offense. In the federal system alone, approximately 2,000 life sentences are for drug offenses, representing about 39% of all life terms.

“bullet” More reading and viewing:

• Prisoner Abuse: References and Resources for the Media from the November Coalition
• Civil and Human Rights from Drug War Facts
• I got a nice note from Loretta Nall of the U.S. Marijuana Party today and she’s doing a series of pieces at POT-TV (with video) dealing with prison and enforcement abuse here in the states. Not light entertainment or for weak stomachs.
• Don’t forget the always invaluable Media Awareness Project has a Focus Alert on Prisoner Abuse and the Drug War – and what you can do.
• You can also buy a nifty shirt with this on it at my shop:

This news by Steve Lawrence, AP in the North County Times (Thanks to Herb for the tip).

SACRAMENTO — State senators voted Tuesday to ban random drug testing of California students, agreeing that schools should have “reasonable suspicion” before checking for drug or alcohol use.

“How many of you folks in this room would submit to random drug testing if that’s what this bill did?” asked one of the legislation’s supporters, Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley. “I would not.

“I can’t think of anything that would be more repulsive to the conservative philosophy of the Republican Party.”

The bill, by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, would bar testing unless school officials had reasonable suspicion that a student had illegally used drugs or alcohol “in the school environment.”

It would require that that suspicion be based on “articulable facts” and “rational inferences” instead of curiosity, rumor, hunch, race, national origin, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or suspicion or evidence of drug use among the student’s family or friends.

The legislation also would require the school to try to obtain written consent from a parent or guardian before ordering a student to have a drug test and to refer students who test positive to someone for counseling.

Vasconcellos said research indicates that drug testing doesn’t deter students from using drugs. “Our limited resources are better spent on better drug education and more positive reinforcement,” he said.

Note how senators from both parties demonstrate that suspicionless drug testing goes against core values of each of their parties. The provisions of the bill are so strong, clear, and sensible, it makes me wonder how they got in a bill written by politicians.
Here are some of the points in the actual bill (SB1386).

(3) All individuals have an express and inalienable right to
privacy under Section 1 of Article I of the California Constitution.

(4) Random, suspicionless drug testing impairs the trust and
cooperation between parents, pupils, and school staff that is
instrumental to a productive learning environment, thereby
distracting pupils, educators, and administrators, from the core
educational mission of the public schools.

(5) Dr. Ryoko Yamaguchi, Dr. Lloyd D. Johnston, and Dr. Patrick M.
O’Malley, in an article appearing in the April 2003, edition of the
Journal of School Health, conclude that random drug testing is not
an effective deterrent to drug use by pupils.

(6) Random drug testing programs are costly, absorbing scarce
funds that would be better used on core curricula, school security,
and drug use prevention, education, and treatment.

(b) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to ban the costly and
ineffective practice of random, suspicionless drug or alcohol
testing, while preserving the authority of school officials to
suspend, expel, or otherwise discipline pupils who violate health and
safety rules by using, distributing, or selling drugs or alcohol.

The vote was 26-10 in the Senate, without debate. It still has to go to the House and be signed by the governator (that should be interesting).
Yesterday, the California Senate also passed (on a slightly more narrow margin) SB1159:

It would allow pharmacists participating in a demonstration project to sell up to 10 hypodermic needles to an adult without a doctor’s prescription.

Vasconcellos said the bill, which was sent to the Assembly by a 22-13 vote, was an attempt to reduce the spread of AIDS, hepatitis and other diseases through the sharing of needles by drug addicts.

Two excellent bills, and a fine example to other states.

I have occasionally imagined how I would realistically change drug policy if I was President, or had some other poliitical power, and perhaps some day I’ll share that with you. However, today I decided to be different and imagined I was some kind of arbitrary King and decided to retaliate by being contrarian.

“bullet” DEA agents who investigate doctors for prescribing pain medication must have other DEA agents perform any medical procedures (like heart transplants and brain surgery) that are needed by the agents. After all, if DEA agents know so much about medicine…
“bullet” Putting a positive choice spin on drug testing, only those students not participating in extra-curricular activities can be drug tested, and only if there are extra-curricular options available and they still choose not to participate. In a related area, felons on parole can avoid drug tests by getting involved in community service volunteer projects. (actually, this one makes a little sense)
“bullet” Law enforcement officers who are part of no-knock drug task forces must publicly list their names and addresses. Ordinary citizens are allowed to wander through their home between the hours of 11 pm and 4 am and look through their drawers.
“bullet” Officers wishing to search a car for drugs must get a search warrant from a judge specifying the make, year, color and VIN, along with specific descriptions of the particular drugs they expect to find.
“bullet” Law enforcement agencies wishing to keep proceeds from Asset Forfeitures must put up as bond an amount equal to the value of the assets seized. If a judge rules for the property owner, the property owner gets his assets back plus the bond, making a nice profit for his trouble.
“bullet” School Principals who enforce zero-tolerance policies must get written permission from one of their students before taking an aspirin or any other medication (any time of day or night).
“bullet” Any laws passed that have criminal penalties are automatically infinitely retroactive for those who voted for (or signed) the law. This means, for example, that any Congressmen who vote for enhanced drug possession penalties would be immediately liable under that law for any drugs they took when they were young.
“bullet” The Drug Czar must wear a silly hat and a sign saying “I am a liar” whenever he goes out in public, and whenever he talks about drug statistics he must perform a leprechaun dance.
“bullet” All DEA paperwork must be printed on hemp paper.
“bullet” Inmates in federal prisons construct bongs and waterpipes, and these are sold through an online store run by the Justice Department, and administered by Tommy Chong.
“bullet” Smugglers who are caught are sent back to their home country with their drugs and told to try again.
“bullet” All law enforcement uniforms are made with material that smells just like marijuana to drug-sniffing dogs.

It’s fun! Got any to add?

You may think that voting for the nominations are over, but the polls will open tomorrow in Oregon, Kentucky, and Arkansas anyway. Next week Idaho, then Alabama, New Mexico and South Dakota on June 1st, and finally Montana and New Jersey on June 8.
Sure, you can do the math. So can everyone else. Nobody’s going to show up at the polls unless they’ve got a statement to make, so why not make one and have it show up big?
Remember, Drug WarRant has endorsed Dennis Kucinich for the Democratic nomination and Blake Ashby for the Republican nomination. These endorsements have not changed and will not change until the conventions. Send a message to the eventual candidates that drug policy reform is important.
Thinking ahead: I will be looking for good arguments for Drug WarRant’s final endorsement for President. So if the campaign staffs of John Kerry, George W. Bush, Ralph Nader, Aaron Russo, or any other candidates want to make their case to me, I welcome their thoughts on the drug war. (Or if you want to invite me to your convention, send me gifts…)

The media has widely reported a recent crackdown on child pornography and abuse.

“Individuals in such situations are trolling the back alleys and dark corners of the Internet,” Ashcroft said. “They are leveraging its technology and anonymity to abuse and exploit the most innocent in our society.”

The 65 arrests include charges of offenses related to possession and distribution of child pornography and also with sexually abusing children.

However, one case of sexual abuse of a child was missed by the Justice Department:

Heather Gore, 15, said Thursday that [unnamed] ordered her to remove her skirt, then lifted her tank top, exposing her breasts. Gore said she was then told to spread her legs while [unnamed] checked her underwear.

That’s because this particular case of child abuse was carried out by the police, in an warrantless unconstitutional abuse of rights in the name of the war on drugs — a war pushed by the Justice Department — which has encouraged a climate of abuse. Even the abuse of children.
Am I accusing the Justice Department of child abuse? Yep.

From tomorrow’s Time Canada, in an interview with the 82-year-old Dangerfield:

Your new autobiography delves into your extreme fondness for marijuana. Do you still smoke pot?

Once in a while, yeah. It still relaxes me. You get a different head because of your age, but not because of the pot. Marijuana should definitely be legal. Booze is a hundred times worse. Marijuana makes you passive–the last thing you want to do when you’re high is have a fight.

Deputy Drug Czar Andrea Barthwell (she’s the one in charge of health disinformation) made a recent trip to Peoria, and the Journal-Star reported her visit this week, and the article almost made me sick. Here’s how it started out:

Barthwell Promoting Program To Provide Funding For Treatment

PEORIA — The Bush administration is seeking a balance between helping and punishing drug abusers.

The president has devoted additional money to identifying and treating those addicted to drugs, said Andrea Barthwell, the deputy director of National Drug Control Policy for Demand Reduction, or the nation’s deputy drug czar.

“The president has said ‘A nation that is hard on drugs must be compassionate to drug users,”‘Barthwell said while meeting with the Journal Star editorial board Monday.

Yes, that’s certainly the description of this administration’s war on drugs… if you’re living in an alternate reality.
I decided to write them a letter and it was published today. I’ll share it with you.

Deputy Drug Czar Andrea Barthwell’s recent trip to Peoria was reported in the Journal Star as an effort to prevent drug abuse. It was nothing of the kind. It was, in fact, another opportunity for that office to promote disinformation.

The administration knows that treatment is more popular than enforcement, but despite Barthwell’s claims, it has had no intention of giving up any of its enforcement cash. Andrea’s boss, John Walters, is on record as deriding the need to embrace treatment.

In the May 11 article, Andrea Barthwell is quoted as saying, “About 45 percent of the $12 billion federal anti-drug budget is for treatment and prevention. That is up from past years.” What she neglects to mention is that the treatment percentage is up due to a dishonest shift in budget reporting. The Bush administration changed the percentages by simply removing from the drug war budget the $4 billion spent each year to prosecute, try and imprison federal drug offenders. It’s still spent, but is no longer considered part of the cost of the drug war. Change the rules and make the numbers look better.

For Andrea Barthwell to claim the administration cares about treatment and prevention is absurd, particularly when federal agents are still stepping all over state law to harass sick medical marijuana patients in California, plus jailing doctors and going after water pipes and hemp foods. The administration’s push for enforcement has actually hurt treatment opportunities by overwhelming treatment centers with criminal justice referrals for simple marijuana possession. Most of these mandatory treatment offenders do not have a dependence problem, but they end up taking beds away from those who really need treatment.

Finally, the administration pushes for drug testing in schools – demonstrated in studies to be costly and ineffective – instead of pushing for, and funding, after-school and extracurricular activities that have been shown to reduce drug use.

The Government Accounting Office, in response to a request by Rep. Ron Paul, recently noted that providing misinformation is part of the mission of the drug czar’s office. Deputy Drug Czar Barthwell does her job well.

Peter Guither
Editor, DrugWarRant.com
Bloomington

Thanks to Jeff for letting me know that it got published.
I welcome any new readers coming from the Journal-Star article. Feel free to look around, particularly if you’re uncertain or skeptical about drug policy reform or if you think drug testing in schools might be a good idea (more here and here.) More on Andrea Barthwell is available here, here, and here.

“bullet” Connecticut Legislature ducks medical marijuana and gets called on it in the press.
“bullet” Last One Speaks has the scoop on: Sri Lanka’s intent to legalize marijuana; drug warrior moron extraordinaire Mark Souder’s attempts to deny the existence of science; and the fact that the government is still stupidly considering appealing the unanimous court decision regarding hemp foods. As to her thoughts on marriage… well it’s certainly the best offer I’ve had in some time!
“bullet” Michael at ViceSquad has an interesting post on new Russian drug laws changing the possession minimums. Hit and Run has coverage as well.
“bullet” The Toronto Star, in An Ugly Prison Record, is not surprised by the Iraq prison abuses, given the U.S. track record with its own prisons.
“bullet” I missed this one earlier. Bruce M of Bullshit, Hypocrisy & Stupidity has an excellent detailed rebuttal of the claims we constantly must endure, in the stupidity of anti-drug “studies.”
“bullet” Drug War Chronicle has Canada Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Dying as Government Prepares to Call Elections, Few Mourners as well as promotion of another interesting sounding book in “The New Prohibition: Voices of Dissent Challenge the Drug War” — New Compendium by Sheriff Masters Features David Borden and Numerous Other Thinkers on Drug Policy
“bullet” Drug Sense Weekly Newsletter is out with lots of info.
“bullet” An excellent letter in reponse to the violation of students’ rights mentioned below is in the comments.