Drug WarRant

SAY GOODBYE TO “JUST SAY NO” – The Drug Laws Have Been Ineffective And Counterproductive.æ So Change Them. by Simon Potter, President of the Canadian Bar Association, in the upcoming issue of Time Magazine (Canada).

Our current laws have not stopped people from using marijuana.æ What these laws have done is greatly expand the profits of criminal and even terrorist organizations, promote a violent black-market trade and waste the time and limited resources of police, prosecutors and the justice system.æ They have made the drug use that does occur more dangerous.æ Governments have relied on simplistic “just say no” messages to deal with the complex nature of drug use in our society.æ They have distracted us from the central issue–why some individuals use drugs in a way that causes harm to them and to the communities around them.æ In short, the existing approach has been unnecessary, expensive, ineffectual and counterproductive.æ
Criminal law is a blunt instrument, inappropriate for dealing with many of the subtleties of a complex society.æ The Canadian government’s own statement of criminal-justice policy recognizes this.æ The Criminal Law in Canadian Society, released in 1982 when Jean Chretien was Minister of Justice, stressed that the criminal law was an instrument of last resort, to be used only when other means of social control were inadequate or inappropriate.æ Yet successive federal governments have chosen to ignore this policy when it came to drugs…

We need more of this kind of truth and reason reported in the media.

Jeff Trigg at RandomActOfKindness has an excellent piece on the potential for industrial hemp farming in Illinois. Check it out.
This is something near and dear to me, and very important to the student group I work with – M.A.S.H. (Mobilizing Activists and Students for Hemp). We prepared a report for the governor’s economic development team which touched on this important issue as well.

The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.

–Thomas Jefferson

The Rush Limbaugh Oxycontin story has been one of the hottest around in ages. The good news is that it has generated discussion, and perhaps encouraged some of his audience to think about drugs in a way that doesn’t demonize the user or the abuser.
I see two distinct directions this story can travel.

1. More discussion. Rush returns and uses his pulpit to push for treatment rather than incarceration for all drug abusers, and calls for an open discussion about drug use. This could be positive. or…
2. The Rush story is seized by the DEA and the ONDCP as a propaganda tool to further restrict the legal and proper medical use of opioids for severe pain treatment. In a plea-bargain generated statement, Rush blames lax enforcement and improperly supervised medical community for his addiction and the ease of getting pills, and calls for greater restrictions. This one scares me.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the serious problems regarding severe pain care under the drug war regime. To that information I would like to add this excellent letter to the DEA from Jane M. Orient, Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. It was written back in April, but I just found it today, and think it’s worth reading.

The big news around today is the fact that the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that affected whether doctors could talk to their patients about marijuana.
The quick synopsis: The government wanted to gag doctors and punish them if they even mentioned marijuana to patients. The 9th Circuit correctly ruled that the government has no right to prevent doctors from discussing medical options. The government appealed and now the Supreme Court has agreed with the Circuit Court by refusing to hear the case. So doctors will be able to talk to patients about medical pot. See more coverage at TalkLeft.
One problem with the news coverage today. The AP story that has been used by all the major media outlets starts out:

The Supreme Court cleared the way Tuesday for state laws allowing ill patients to smoke marijuana if a doctor recommends it.

That is a bit deceptive. It’s true that if the Supremes had agreed to hear the case, and had sided with the government, it would be a severe blow to the future of medical marijuana. However, this victory does not clear the way for medical marijuana use. Federal laws still hold, allowing the DEA to hassle medical marijuana patients and providers, and even go after doctors if they move beyond talking and actually help patients get marijuana.
In a related story (and a follow-up to my speculation about Arnold yesterday):

Tomorrow morning at 10:00 am [Wednesday, October 15],
medical marijuana patients and their supporters will be at California
Governor-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Santa Monica office. After a press
conference out front, they will ask him to use his meeting with President
Bush later this week to help put an end to the federal attacks on patients
and doctors.

Count on Americans for Safe Access to make sure the Governator doesn’t forget his medical marijuana campaign promise! If you’re in the area, why not stop by the Santa Monica office tomorrow.

Some disturbing news: In Mexico, a drug war like none before

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Members of an elite Mexican army unit have deserted and formed a drug gang, using their military training to launch a violent battle for control of this border city, Mexico’s top anti-drug prosecutor said in an interview with the Associated Press.

The war for Nuevo Laredo is unlike other recent drug conflicts — it’s a turf war involving most of Mexico’s major cartels in broad alliances not seen in a decade. It has the Mexican army fighting an organized unit of former comrades, and it has cost American lives.

This despite the statement on the Drug Czar’s website:

Since President Fox assumed office, Mexican law enforcement officials have displayed an unprecedented willingness to cooperate with U.S. officials, and the Government of Mexico has significantly improved bilateral counterdrug cooperation.

and also:

In a June 26 statement marking the 15th annual International Day
Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, U.S. Drug Czar John
Walters said Colombia and Mexico, among others, “are demonstrating
that cooperation, dedication, and hard work in attacking the illicit
drug trade lead to success.”

On the other hand, Canada has just endured a summer where in many parts marijuana possession was effectively legal. Additionally, Vancouver opened a safe injection site. The sky didn’t fall, armed militias didn’t take power, and the population didn’t start killing each other. However Drug Czar Walters called Canada a “blemish”, accused the country of promoting “state sponsored suicide” and declared that Canadians are “ashamed” of their Prime Minister. Additionally, the peaceful Dutch have been admonished by the Drug Czar for not taking away more of their citizens civil liberties.

There’s a lesson here.
If I was the leader of a country, the last thing I’d want to do is cooperate with the Drug Czar’s foreign policy. Just doesn’t seem like a smart move. In fact, I’d try to do whatever would most irritate him, in order to insure a healthier, more peaceful society.
And all of that great drug policy foreign aid in the form of toxic chemicals and helicopters and weapons to fight the war on drugs? “No thanks,” I’d say. “We’ll be just fine without your help.”
____
P.S. — Walters is presumptuous to claim that Canadians are ashamed of their Prime Minister. That’s up to them. Just like it’s up to us to say that we’re ashamed of our drug czar.

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