Drug WarRant

“bullet” Last One Speaks with more on the DEA’s efforts to make sure you die in excruciating pain.
“bullet” TalkLeft with the Supreme Court case regarding the use of drug sniffing dogs on cars with little justification.

the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police argued that police should be allowed to use dogs to sniff any vehicle stopped for a traffic violation.

Are there any more rights we can give away?
Check out the comments on that post as well. I got a bit incensed by a commenter who stated:

There is no stopping point to the creativity of smugglers, so why would you condone a stopping point for police who combat them.

Note also that according to the coverage of this case in The Guardian:

Police often look for a way to turn a traffic stop into an all-out search, and drug dogs can be a convenient pretext, [Meczyk, one of Caballes’ lawyers] said.

In Illinois, in traffic stops where a dog indicates drugs or other contraband in a car, eight out of nine searches turn up nothing, Meczyk said.

Eight of nine.

I received this information from Americans for Safe Access:

Keith Alden, who has served more than a year in
Federal prison for a conviction of cultivating
marijuana was released on bail on
Thursday night from Federal Prison Camp Sheridan.æ He
had to come up with his own money for the bus trip to
his home in Sonoma County.

The 9th Circuit court heard Keith’s appeal on Feb. 2,
2004.æ Appellate Judges Alfred T. Goodwin, A. Wallace
Tashima and Richard R. Clifton ruled that the case was
vacated and deferred pending the issue of the mandates
on two cases:æ U.S. v. Stewart, No. 02-10318, and
Raich v. Ashcroft, 03-15481.

Keith was one of those prosecuted in Federal court for growing marijuana who was not allowed in court to defend himself. As CalNorml wrote:

In accordance with federal law, Judge Martin Jenkins rigorously excluded any mention of medicine, illness, medical marijuana or Prop. 215 at the proceedings. The court smiled condescendingly as Alden struggled with the rules of evidence and strove vainly to defend himself against the US government Leviathan.

Naturally he was convicted. His release now is further evidence of the importance of the Raich v Ashcroft ruling in the 9th Circuit.

LastOneSpeaks has the story of another bad bust which could have easily become another unfortunate one of my Drug War Victims.
From the Post:

An 84-year-old Brooklyn man says he and his wife – who uses a walker – were terrorized by cops who invaded the wrong apartment looking for a drug dealer.

As a result of their terrifying two-hour ordeal, Martin Goldberg said he has facial bruises and his 82-year-old wife, Leona, is in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the cops went to the right apartment in the wrong building of the Sheepshead Nostrand Houses in Sheepshead Bay.

Goldberg’s response about the NYPD after the incident:

“Not going to change. They’ll do the same thing over and over again.”

The police are trying to fix their little mistake. They’ve now sent the Goldbergs a big basket of fruit for Passover. How nice.

Marijuana Policy Project’s Rob Kampia testified Thursday before the farce that is the U.S. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, chaired by drug warrior Mark Souder.
“Testified” is one term for what he did. “Tore them a new one” would perhaps be more accurate.
The topic was “Marijuana and Medicine: The Need for a Science-
Based Approach.” Kampia made it clear that he and MPP were in favor of a Science-based approach, and that they were probably the only ones in the room who were.
He slammed the government’s past tendency to ignore scientific evidence on medical marijuana and propagate myths and lies. He completely tore apart Andrea Barthwell’s OpEd in the Chicago tribune, exposing her outright falsehoods.
He finished with:

This hearing is a witch hunt, not a quest for knowledge.
The goal of this subcommittee, under its current leadership, is not to adopt a true scientific approach to the subject of marijuana. If that were the case, the authors of the Institute of Medicine report and physicians and patients from the eight medical marijuana states would have been invited. Or a representative from the American Nurses Association. Or a representative from the American Public Health Association.
No, the clear goal of the current chairman is to expend federal funds in a fruitless quest to find evidence that supports his own baseless belief….
In sum, the Marijuana Policy Project strongly supports a science-based approach to medical marijuana. We hope that Chairman Souder eventually abandons his reliance on myths and lies, stops the federal witch hunt for medical marijuana patients and doctors, and embraces an approach that is based on science.

Delightful! Read (or watch) his entire testimony here.

Yes. From the Daily Telegraph:

The Bush administration took the highly unusual step of sending a senior official to Congress to chastise Britain, its closest ally in the war on terrorism, for dragging its feet in the fight against drugs.

Robert Charles, the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement, said Britain was being too squeamish about eradicating poppy fields before Afghan farmers had found an alternative source of crops and income.

“Our point of disagreement, and I put it very directly,” said Mr Charles, “is that we believe that if there is a heroin poppy that needs to be eradicated, we shouldn’t be picking and choosing, we shouldn’t be delaying, waiting for an alternative revenue stream to become available.”

He said: “Our priority should not be some kind of misplaced sympathy for someone who will have to do a little bit more work [to grow other, less-lucrative crops, such as wheat or barley].”

First of all, the government completely fails to understand the economics of the drug trade in Afghanistan, and we’re having plenty of trouble of our own figuring out how to deal with the Afghans (see this article from LastOneSpeaks to get a picture of it.)
Then the absolute condescension by Charles in that last paragraph is downright offensive. The notion that the Afghans are only growing opium because they’re too lazy to grow a real crop is stupid. Oh, and pissing off our ally? Yeah, that’s gotta help.

This piece was astonishing – a factual investigative report on ecstasy that shows how the government has been its own worst enemy. It showed all the good things about ecstasy and all the stuff we don’t know (including potential dangers) and for which need more studies. It slammed the bad science involved, and also slammed the government for squandering all credibility by lying and exaggerating the problems.
A couple of startling moments where the program showed dramatically how making the drug illegal caused most of the problems that exist.
It you missed it, you can purchase a video of the program for $29.95 at the ABC store.
I think I may get a copy just to have in my library.
Update: Chris puts it best: “This is the strongest major-network condemnation of federal drug policy that I’ve ever seen.”

Historic Executive Order to Take Effect on April 20

April 1, 2004
Washington, DC: In a move that astonished conservatives and liberals
alike, President George W. Bush issued a surprise executive order today
legalizing the possession and sale of marijuana in the United States. The
order will take effect on April 20, long considered marijuana smokers’
independence day.
When asked about the sudden change of heart, President Bush explained;
“The other night Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell and I were in the war room
mulling over how to sway public opinion on the war in Iraq. We were stuck
in the same rut of tired old ideas and were in desperate need of creative
new ways of thinking. That’s when Karl Rove pulled out a fatty.” While
Bush admitted that it had been 30 years since his last toke, he figured,
“Why not. I am the President. What can they do, arrest me?”
President Bush made the announcement in his weekly radio address, saying
that it’s “high time” we reformed our marijuana policies. “The reality
is,” said the President, “marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or
tobacco and far too many people have had their lives ruined after being
arrested for nothing more than a doobie. Besides, my Pink Floyd records
haven’t sounded this good since my days at Yale. Boy, those were some
good times.”
Newly appointed Drug Czar Keith Stroup hailed the move as a great step
forward for America. “For 33 years NORML has worked to show that
marijuana smokers are no different than the average American. Thankfully
we finally have a president who has come to his senses on this issue,
albeit with a little help from his old friend Mary Jane.” Stroup went on
to announce that his first move as Drug Czar will be to free all marijuana
smokers currently incarcerated, and to form a commission to study
reparations for all former marijuana prisoners. He also outlined the
newest ONDCP ad campaign, “Don’t Bogart That Joint,” featuring the newly
reunited Cheech and Chong. The campaign is designated to promote civility
and sharing amongst cannabis consumers.
Of course, not everyone was thrilled about the President’s sudden change
of heart. Sue Rusche, over-protective soccer mom and founder of National
Families in Action, lashed out at the president from behind her bottle of
valium saying that the President’s decision would send the wrong message
to children. Former Drug Czar Bill Bennett, when questioned about the
executive order outside of the Sands Casino in Las Vegas, could only
mutter, “I need a cigarette.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), author of the Higher Education Act
Drug Provision that has denied federal financial aid to over 140,000
students with drug convictions, nearly broke into tears upon hearing the
announcement. “My children are near college age and now they may never
receive a college education,” stated Souder in an impromptu press
conference with former ONDCP Director John Walters. “There is no way I
will risk sending my kids to school with a bunch of pot smoking hippies.”
John Walters, looking overly mellow for a man having just lost his job,
simply passed a blunt and replied, “Just hit this Mark. You need to
loosen up. You’re starting to harsh my buzz.”
Meanwhile marijuana smokers nationwide took to the streets to celebrate
their newfound freedom. A haze of sweet smelling sativa smoke wafted over
the nation’s capitol as Americans of all walks of life flooded Washington,
DC for the first ever legal smoke-in. The gathering featured over a
million people, without a single arrest. “This is the best day of my
life,” said local hot dog vendor Joe Giamatti, “I ran out of hot dogs two
hours ago and now they’re buying up all the buns. Thank you President
Bush!”
In the wake of Bush’s executive order, NORML’s Board of Directors issued a
statement announcing that the organization will gladly go out of business
effective April 20. “It took 33 years,” said the statement “but our work
here is finally done. Our staff can finally go home and get baked in
peace.”

A very interesting article in the Morning Call about the Hirko settlement. It could have been a $30 million or even a $100 million award (which would have really damaged the city). This article shows how the two sides worked together and is a very interesting look behind the scenes.

Callahan told Hirko family lawyer John Karoly Jr. that the city was willing to make police reforms part of the settlement, that the city had gotten the message that the police force needed reforms….

It was something Karoly and his clients had been waiting to hear for seven years — that city officials recognized police had erred during the disastrous raid.

Without that new direction in the settlement talks– and without the willingness of Karoly’s side to compromise financially — the case might not have been settled last week.

The Morning Call has been outstanding in its coverage of the Hirko case. Here’s the archive of their articles.

Tonight, Thursday, April 1, 2004 at 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm Central.

“Government is best when government is most honest, especially for the younger generation, which is more susceptible to trying drugs,” says ABC’s “World News Tonight” veteran anchor.æ “If ( young people ) can’t rely on the government for good and honest information, then government has lost something enormously valuable, which is people’s belief in the government’s credibility.” …

“This was an opportunity for us to look at whether or not the government isn’t its own worst enemy in trying to control illegal drugs,” Jennings says.æ

And is it?

“Yes,” Jennings replies.æ “I believe a lot of people in government understood the science ( about Ecstasy’s negative side effects ) was not good.æ But not until real attention was drawn to it did they take down their Web site on Ecstasy.” …

Jennings admits working on the special was educational for him.æ

“I had no idea Ecstasy was as old as it is,” he says.æ “I had no idea that it had been introduced in California through psychotherapy, and I had no idea how effective it seemed to have been for some psychotherapists.æ I remember one psychologist telling us that one session with a patient on Ecstasy was equal to four years ( of treatment ) with a similar patient.”

Although practically everyone has heard of Ecstasy, which was made illegal in 1985, most people aren’t familiar with the drug’s origins.æ “Ecstasy Rising” serves as a fascinating history lesson.æ

The Smoking Gun has the actual affidavit for the warrant to search the Dagy family residence based on their electrical usage (see my earlier story).
It’s an amusing read, particularly when you already know how wrong they were.