Drug WarRant

Had a great time in Chicago, but now I’m back, and it turns out the drug war didn’t end while I was gone. Oh, well.
TalkLeft talks of states’ rights and the federal government’s harrassment of medical marijuana in Oregon..
Last One Speaks talks about the untimely demise of Narco News Bulletin.
We continue to be well protected from fake cocaine.
At MAPinc:
Family Watches Tapes Of Trooper Killing Man It’s an uncomfortable read, but you should read it anyway. I don’t know for sure what transpired here, but I do know one thing: If it wasn’t for prohibition or prohibition law enforcement tactics, nobody would have died.
Am I being too optimistic?
Governor-elect Schwarzenegger has indicated that he is strongly in favor of medical marijuana (although opposed to legalization – see picture). President Bush has offered full support to California’s new leader, and the Governator has promised to cash in on that promise for the state.
I would really like to see Arnold face down the feds on medical marijuana, and demand that the DEA stop interfering with California’s medical marijuana laws. Given Arnold’s current popularity, his status as the newest Republican leader, and the President’s current shaky numbers, it could be a fabulous scene. How could the administration say no to him? And if he succeeded, he could be a hero to Californians for standing up for them.
It’s more likely that the feds will quietly ease up on medical marijuana harrassment for awhile, and Arnold will pay lip service to his support of medical marijuana, while using his political capital to push for a taxpayer-funded bailout. But I can dream, can’t I?
Am I being too optimistic? Part 2
Rush has admitted to illegal use of drugs and addiction. He has checked himself in for treatment and is under investigation. Once he finishes rehab and any criminal repercussions, I’d really like to see him come out publicly in favor of treatment over incarceration for all drug addicts. I’ll wait.

I’ll be gone for two or three days. I’m heading up to Chicago to do some Dance Photography for my friends at Chicago Dance Crash (performing Friday and Saturday at 8 pm in “Expansion Theory” at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts – $12 at the door)
Here’s a few things you can read in the meantime.

• Drug Sense Newsletter (link may not be active until later today)
• Drug War Chronicle (link may not be active until later today)
• Drug Policy Alliance News
• Recent drug-related articles from all over at Media Awareness Project
• For a really stupid zero-tolerance story in the schools, check out this at TalkLeft.
• And finally, this is an old one of mine, but there have been a lot of new visitors recently, so for something a little more humorous, read my satire about the government’s war on burgers in 2043.

Talk amongst yourselves. Try to have the drug war solved by the time I get back.

I was interviewed today on Charlie Profit’s show on WXCT in Hartford, CT about drug testing in schools. It was a good interview, lasted about 20 minutes and I think I was able to get some good points across. I was contacted last minute for the interview because of this site — if anyone from that area heard the show, I’d love to get a report on it. I know they also had Darrell Rogers from SSDP, but don’t know how the rest of the show went.
The reason for the interview was more of our Drug Czar’s meddling. Seems he talked to the Governors of the New England states and told them they should implement mandatory drug testing in all their schools. More on this story at Hit and Run and TalkLeft
Fortunately, school officials have been wary of Walters’ “demands” (several good quotes in the article), and from my experience on WXCT today, I think there’s likely to be a fair amount of resistance.
As I said on the show (and in comments at Eschaton), Walters is promoting something that:

1. Doesn’t work (a federally funded University of Michigan study earlier this year surveyed 76,000 students in 891 schools around the country and found no statistical difference in drug use between those schools that tested and those that didn’t).
2. Costs a lot. Like schools have a lot of extra money to throw around on something that doesn’t work.
3. Targets the wrong students. Most court cases have limited random drug testing to those involved in extra-curricular activities, but studies show that students involved in these activities are less likely to use drugs (perhaps the schools should use the drug testing money to increase funding for band and chorus and chess club, etc.)
4. Sends the wrong message in an educational setting: Being a free American means you pee in a cup at the government’s direction without any reason for suspicion.
5. Insults the intelligence and savvy of kids. If an outside effort like this is imposed on them, they will find a way around it. What we need is honest discusssions and education about the actual dangers and true differences between different drugs.

Finally, the Drug Czar is simply a taxpayer funded lobbyist for the administration’s failed drug policies (as was McCaffrey under Clinton). As I’ve said before, he is the U.S. minister of drug policy disinformation (Charlie Profit liked that one!)
Walters meddles some more – Calls Canada a “blemish”
In a Reuters story today:

John Walters, the White House’s top drug policymaker, said on Thursday Canada was a blemish in an otherwise successful effort by the United States to cut back illegal drug production in the Western Hemisphere.

“It is the one place in the hemisphere where things are going the wrong way,” said Walters, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He has been an outspoken critic of a proposed Canadian law to ease penalties on marijuana possession.

…Walters has previously warned that this law could force a clampdown at the U.S. border, potentially jeopardizing the valuable U.S.-Canadian trading relationship.

I would like to apologize to Canada for these remarks. You’re a sovereign country and don’t need to be bullied by some hack government lobbyist. Unfortunately, we are currently stuck with the “blemish” that is our drug czar.

In today’s Tampa Tribune: Sarasota Cashes In On Forfeitures By Luring Drug Dealers To Area

SARASOTA – Dealers from as far away as England, Venezuela and Panama are being lured to Sarasota to buy illegal drugs from undercover detectives posing as dealers.
Police arrest the dealers and seize the cash and vehicles left behind.
Since 2001, more than $1.3 million has flowed into the department under federal and state forfeiture laws that allow police to keep money and valuables seized from suspected dealers….
In addition to spending about $450,000 on conferences and informants, the department has spent $160,000 to lease expensive cars, $45,000 on cell phone bills and $35,000 on lawyers who handle forfeiture proceedings.

That’s right, the drug war is so profitable to law enforcement, that they are importing criminals from other countries.
So what happens when the boring routine business of protecting and serving their citizens gets in the way of the department’s lucrative sting operation? (The forfeiture money can be used for fancy cars, but not normal operating costs.) Let’s see:

When the city commission asked Police Chief Peter Abbott earlier this year to cut his department’s budget, he elected to maintain the drug program and suggested that two community policing programs be eliminated. In the face of a public outcry, he decided to continue the community programs.

Nice to know there was at least a public outcry.
This story is just one more indication of a corrupt war on drugs, kept going by profits to the drug dealers and the drug warriors, but paid for by you and me.
Update: Vice Squad has some additional thoughts on this story. While you’re there, check out Vice Squad’s very interesting discussion about Rush Limbaugh and addiction.

Local, state and federal agents have been cutting down a marijuana field in Tulare County, California with 72,321 plants (wonder how much we paid for them to count all of those…) They estimate the value of the marijuana at $289,000,000.00


Elsewhere, farmers are harvesting corn for the market. (72,321 plants of corn is about 2 1/2 acres, with a yield of about 129 bushels per acre at a market price of roughly $2.10 per bushel…) The value of the corn is estimated at $698.25

Reader disgusted vet has sent along this rant on the drug war. An excellent series of points, arranged in resolution form.

… in Little Rock on Sunday:

Clark said he doesn’t condone widespread use of marijuana but would consider allowing it for pain relief.æ “We need to look at that and make some allowances one way or another,” the candidate said of so-called medicinal marijuana usage.
Clark also said the only hope of winning the drug war is dealing with demand, and that he is concerned about criminal sentencing policies, saying that American prisons seem to be overflowing with prisoners serving time for relatively minor crimes.

A fairly positive statement from Clark. And from Paul Barton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, tacking on the phrase “so-called” is inexcusable journalism.

I have to admit that I’ve had a hard time getting very excited or passionate about the California Governor’s recall election. Amused, yes. Involved, no. (other than the fact that just about all the contenders support medical marijuana).
So for me, the news I’ll be watching today is the expected decision from the Ontario Court of Appeals. This ruling could have a dramatic effect on the future developments regarding medical marijuana supply, as well as marijuana decriminalization/legalization plans in Canada.

The decision could effectively recriminalize marijuana or it could confirm that the law does not exist because of deficiencies in the medical program..

I’ll let you know when I hear anything.
Update: I may not be available to post when the decision is released, but you should be able to check yourself at this link. It’s expected that the decision will be posted there around 10:00 AM EDT.
Further Update: The decision has been released. It appears to be a fairly narrowly tailored decision. I’ve only been able to give it a cursory analysis, but here are the basics:

• The court affirmed that there was, in fact, no valid prohibition against marijuana possession between July 9th and the present due to the government’s failure to properly provide a legal means of supply for medical marijuana.
• Due to the present ruling, which makes certain requirements of the government regarding medical marijuana, the prohibition against possession of marijuana for recreational purposes is back in effect (as of today, I believe).
• The government must allow medical marijuana providers (such as compassionate use clubs) to operate (although they may regulate them), including their ability to be compensated and provide marijuana for more than one patient.
• Medical marijuana patients are not required to get a second specialist’s recommendation

So, to recap… Good news for medical marijuana patients, who will not be prosecuted, and who will have options for supply other than Health Canada’s junk. Bad news for recreational users whose 3 month vacation from prosecution is over.
Now we’ll have to see what the legislature decides to do regarding decriminalization.

This is the slogan on one of the ads from Change The Climate, a marijuana policy reform organization. The current repertoire of ads (available at their site), include the slogans

• Enjoy Better Sex! Legalize and Tax Marijuana
• Save our Taxes! Legalize and Tax Marijuana
• Protect our Children! Legalize and Tax Marijuana

They’ve now been expanded to include 10 subway stations in Washington, DC starting today.
The ads are very controversial and have generated some heat.

D.C.æ Council member Jim Graham, chairman of Metro’s Board of Directors,
said, “These ads are intolerable, and we need to review our policies so
that First Amendment considerations are not allowed to compel us to accept
this type of advertising.”

Wow! Upsetting enough to be worth trying an end run around the 1st Amendment!
To be honest, I wasn’t sure at first if I liked the ads, but after Graham’s comment, I like them a whole lot more.
As I think about it, the drug policy reform movement has been operating in a difficult position. The drug czar issues a statement about marijuana that is utterly false, and we’re put in the position of responding with a complex set of true facts and figures. He gets the sound bite, while we are on the defensive.
For example:

Drug Czar: “A recent study of reckless drivers showed that 1 in 3 tested positive for marijuana. Marijuana – it’s more dangerous than we thought.”
Us: “The citation of this study (Brookoff, D.; et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 331:518-522) is extremely misleading for a number of reasons: This study screened out all alcohol impaired drivers before selecting the sample. No information was given as to the percentage of those eliminated from that sample, only that after eliminating alcohol-related reckless driving, there were only 150 subjects who were tested; Information on positive marijuana testing is meaningless as a factor in reckless driving, since marijuana gives positive tests for up to two weeks after use, and the data did not say that any of the drivers were impaired as a result of the use of marijuana…”… Well, you get the idea. People have fallen asleep by the time we’re done, and all they remember the Drug Czar’s false sound bite.

The thing I like about the “Change the Climate” campaign is that drug policy reformers are in the position of giving the sound bite, and the Drug Czar has the harder task of countering. I mean, how does he respond to “Enjoy Better Sex! Legalize Marijuana”? I suppose he could join council member Graham and try to overturn the 1st Amendment.
The ad campaign will infuriate some people and intrigue others. But it will get them talking about marijuana in a different way, and that’s not bad.

Maybe it’s because I’ve only been doing this blog for just over 2 months, but I still get a kick out of milestones and new links/visitors, because it means that more people are reading about the failed Drug War. So bear with me while I brag a little and thank some of my new visitors.
Dave Pollard at How to Save the World has the new stats for last month’s Salon Blogs (an interesting read), which puts Drug WarRant in the top 50 for the first time (debuting on the list at #13). Dave is a great supporter of the Salon blogging community. Drug WarRant also hit the top 100 all time Salon Blogs page views this week.
Recent new guests of Drug WarRant include a number from …för att jag är Fri!, where they are also concerned about “Folk som dött pga kriget mot droger,” plus visitors from a delightfully bizarre range of sites including: Advice Goddess, Strike the Root, The Daily Irrelevant, The Shrubbloggers, ArtMachine, Waterloo Wide Web, Anorakish, freakyjesus, The Memory Hole, Dave’s World, TadSpot, Sparkwood & 21, NeuroAtomik, VJ & Cindy’s Forums, Angry Harry, and 100 Monkeys Typing. Welcome all (I’m sure there’s some I’ve missed).