Drug WarRant

Drug War Tragedies, Drug War Economics, and Naked, Pot-smoking Reverends

TULIA DEFENDANTS EAGER TO BUILD LIVES ANEW

Hog farmer Joe Moore was wrongly convicted of selling cocaine and sent to prison for 90 years.
He lost more than his freedom.æ He lost his livelihood and he lost his health, as his diabetes worsened while he was behind bars.
A high-profile legal battle discredited the accusing police officer and led to pardons for Moore and 34 others this summer.æ Some found bitterness in their return to Tulia.æ Many still struggle to rebuild.

There’s still a lot to do in the Tulia case. Every day, we hear about arrests in the drug war, with jubilant drug warriors holding up the spoils. But we don’t hear enough about how the drug war ruins lives. It’s a juggernaut that destroys everything in its path — from those who choose to use (some) drugs to those who just happened to get in the way.
BU professor takes pot shots at marijuana laws

Legalizing pot would save the Bay State as much as $138 million a year, a Boston University economics professor claims in a study released yesterday.
The report, written by Professor Jeffrey A.æ Miron for the pro- marijuana group Change the Climate, says that eliminating enforcement costs and taxing marijuana sales could save the salary equivalent of 2,300 cops, teachers and firefighters.

This Change the Climate report once again points out the economic cost of this failed war. If you consider the fact that any legalization scheme would likely include some kind of tax on the product, the figures underestimate the financial benefit to Massachusetts of legalization. (see also the report I prepared last year: Cannabis Plant, Drug Prohibition, and Illinois Economic Development)
And now for something completely different… Pot religion earns legal merit: Hey, as far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t need a religion to get naked and smoke pot. (Or am I just trolling for search engine traffic?)

Stupid Drug War Tricks
Jeff at RandomActOfKindness is much more alert to local Illinois news than I am and he found these gems/outrages. Check them out.
Sorry, we didn’t mean to include ourselves. Officials in Colfax, Illinois voted to drug test all city employees. When they realized that would include the board members, they voted to exempt themselves. What few consider is that, except in safety critical occupations, drug testing is ineffective, often counter-productive, and insulting. And drug testing schemes do not test for workplace impairment. If I was a Colfax city employee, I would deliver my clean urine sample to each of the board members individually, along with my resignation.
Sorry, we need some more cars. A drug sting in Chicago netted 205 arrests and 81 impounded vehicles. If police have nothing better to do than go around selling pot, they should at least tell the customers how expensive it is. “40 bucks, a misdemeanor and my car? Hmmm, I think I’ll keep shopping, thanks.”
Sorry, wrong address. This one is just too funny, horrible, stupid and sad. Read it.

Safe Haven for Junkies

Salon.com has an in-depth feature tomorrow on Canada’s plans for safe-injection sites for addicts. “Canada’s Safe Haven for Junkies” is a strong, balanced piece which shows the realities of the world of the addict, along with the challenges of reducing the death, destruction and cost through methods other than failed supply-side interdiction and criminal prosecution. It’s an excellent balanced piece and is definitely worth a read.
The article points out successful programs of this type which have been conducted in other countries, and also reports on the fear with which our drug warriors in the United States view any attempt to find a new solution.

As soon as Vancouver’s planned site gained Canadian federal approval in late June, U.S. drug czar John Walters went off. “It’s immoral to allow people to suffer and die from a disease we know how to treat,” he told the Associated Press. “There are no safe-injection sites,” he added, calling the policy “a lie” and “state-sponsored personal suicide.” David Murray, special assistant in the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the Vancouver Sun on May 2 that likely “unintended consequences” of the safe-injection site could force the U.S. to tighten border controls to prevent increased drug trafficking. That could, of course, negatively impact trade of all sorts…

UCLA’s Kleiman offers a bit more tempered advice for a displeased Bush administration. “A really sensible U.S. government might say to Canada, ‘We think this is a really dangerous experiment, but if you’re crazy enough to try it in your neighborhood, God bless you, and we’ll watch,'” he says. “A scientific view of drug policy would say, ‘Here’s an opportunity for us to learn something.’ Of course, that’s not what I expect to see from Washington.”

For another personal view, check out this post by Last One Speaks (scroll down to “How Did I Get Here?”), which wrestles with the challenges many in the drug reform community must face when taking on the horrors of Heroin addiction.

Another Drug Task Force Run Amuck
From today’s Sequin Gazette-Enterprise in Texas, “Task force comes under fire”

The 24th and 25th Judicial District Narcotics Task Force was described as a maverick law enforcement operation by state officials who for more than a year were thwarted repeatedly in their attempts to reign in the Seguin-based drug interdiction force, according to the Department of Public Safety….

Inspections of the narcotics task force (NTF) drug vault in Seguin conducted in early 2002 by task force and DPS officials, and an earlier audit ordered by City Manager Jack Hamlett all indicated that evidence in the custody of the NTF was missing, according to DPS records…

In addition to discovering inaccurate logbooks and missing evidence, DPS officials inquired about a Seguin narcotics task force agent who had been assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Antonio. The Seguin task force had “little contact or supervisory control” over its agent, who was said to have participated in the seizure of 1,200 pounds of marijuana in Laredo several weeks before, “but had only informed Commander Majors of the seizure within the last few days,” Walker said…

A March 2002 review of Seguin confidential informant files indicated the files were not in compliance with established policy, reports were missing from some of the files, and that, “there were no letters from prosecutors authorizing the utilization of current defendants,” Walker said…

DPS officials discovered during further inquiries in the spring of 2002 that the Seguin NTF had been asked to stay out of Goliad and DeWitt counties by law enforcement officials there because of the task force’s reputation for “unprofessional police activities,” according to DPS documents…

These drug task forces have been developed all over the country, and are a major source of corruption and violence in the drug war. Often it is task forces like these that circumvent state laws regarding asset forfeiture by working with the feds to add seized assets to their budgets. They are also often responsible for many of the tragedies of the drug war (see Drug War Victims).

More on Prosecutorial Abuse

I’ve already ranted a bit on prosecutorial misconduct on this blog – one of my pet peeves. Via MAP, there is an interesting article at the Orange County Register: “The other destructive trial lawyers: Rogue prosecutors with a big bag of dirty tricks take huge toll around U.S.” (free registration required) by Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., and Robert J. Cihak, M.D.

We hear a lot about the excesses of private practice trial lawyers. But another group of trial lawyers has been left alone to go about their dirty work with few restrictions – and all at taxpayers’ expense. And their abuse isn’t just a taxpayer issue; it should also be seen as a justice issue, a privacy issue and a civil liberties issue.

We refer to government prosecutors who abuse their positions to further their careers and power while spending your money. They use high-publicity cases, such as those involving the hot “drug du jour” such as OxyContin, as career steppingstones on the backs of the defendants, instead of serving the public or justice.

A recent study by the Center for Public Integrity found that prosecutors stretched, bent or broke rules so badly that appeals court judges have dismissed criminal charges, reversed convictions or reduced sentences in more than 2,000 cases since 1970.

(note: The Center for Public Integrity study referenced is Harmful Error: Investigating America’s Local Prosecutors.)
The article also mentions that a new group is being formed called the Coalition Against Prosecutorial Abuse. I’ll report more on their activities as I get information.

More Fun with Numbers…
A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (released yesterday) is being reported in the news today: New U.S. survey finds millions of new drug abusers (The Washington Times touts: “22 million Americans are addicts”),
This study involved extensive interviews with individuals who were paid $30 each for their time. The report showed that there are 22 million substance abusers in the United States.
Now the SAMHSA study also reported that “Over 94 percent of people with substance use disorders who did not receive treatment did not believe they needed treatment.”
Naturally, our drug czar immediately jumped in to promote his agenda:

“A denial gap of over 94 percent is intolerable,” said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. “People need to understand the addictive nature of drugs and not presume that they are all right when everyone around them knows better.”

Now, first of all, over 2/3 of that 94% were categorized in the study for alcohol abuse. Second, some of the definitions that the government uses for substance abuse border are ridiculous. For example, someone having a problem with their marijuana use is classified as a substance abuser, even if that problem is the fact that the drug is illegal. (Here’s a great idea — we could reduce levels of substance abuse by legalizing marijuana!)
Naturally, the drug czar sees a “94% denial gap.” He wants to convince people that all use of certain arbitrarily determined drugs is harmful. However, a 94% denial gap tells me that there’s a problem with the data. Certainly, there are some people who need treatment for alcohol or other drugs who aren’t getting it. We need to focus on those. Not arbitrarily create inflated numbers through poor methodologies and junk science in government studies.

(See also Drug Czar on Continuing Campaign of Lies and Debunking the ONDCP’s Scott Burns.)

Propaganda and Terrorism: Brought to you by the DEA
The Drug Enforcement Agency has a museum (check out the bizarre opening flash sequence!) The entire concept is an outrageous glorification of DEA propaganda and abuse.

Their recent exhibit is the most disturbing: “Target America: Traffickers, Terrorists and You.”
Now there are a lot of people who have taken advantage of all those who died in 9/11, and used the tragedy for their own self-promotion, but none are as crass and insulting as the DEA.
The exhibit has been running for some time at the main DEA museum location and at their online version (this photo of the main exhibit has been unavailable at their site recently). The exhibit is now moving to The Science Place in Dallas, Texas, where it opens on Tuesday (the exhibit was going to open next Thursday — that’s right, on September 11 — but they decided to start it a couple of days early).
In one of the descriptions of the exhibit in Dallas, you realize just how far the DEA has gone in their exhibit:

“We worked closely with the New York Police Department and the Port Authority to go to Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills landfill for artifacts,” Mr. Fearns said. “That’s where the exhibit starts, with this reconstruction of elements from New York and the Pentagon and photos from Pennsylvania.”

That’s right. Children’s toys and twisted I-beams. Death and destruction to glorify the DEA.
If you’re in the Dallas area, consider joining one of the protests against this exhibit at The Science Place (Saturday, September 13 and Saturday, September 20, 11am to 3pm at Fair Park at The Science Place).

According to Craig Johnson, a student at UTD and leader of Students For a Sensible Drug Policy [University of Texas at Dallas chapter], the demonstrators are a group of concerned citizens who believe that “it is shocking for the DEA to exploit Americans’ grief and anger over the tragic events of 9/11.”
“I am appalled that The Science Place is lending its prestige and spending its funds on an exhibit by the Drug Enforcement Administration,” says Suzanne Wills of Dallas, a member of the Drug Policy Form of Texas, another of the groups represented. “In all its policies the DEA is the antithesis of science. The most glaring, inhumane, and disingenuous example is its refusal to allow researchers a supply of cannabis for medical trials approved by the Food and Drug Administration.”
Johnson added “while this crude exhibit remains in Dallas, it is our intention to counteract it with a campaign to show the public what little respect the DEA has for actual science, and the unintended but disastrous consequences of drug prohibition. Because of our government and the DEA huge profits go to the underworld, kids sell drugs to kids, diseases are spread by non-sterile syringes, and burglaries for money to buy drugs are epidemic.”

Note: A former DEA agent (Celerino Castillo) will be speaking out against the DEA at the September 20th protest.
OK, let’s look at the title of that exhibit again:

“Target America.” Yep, that’s exactly what the DEA has been doing for decades — destroying lives, filling prisons, eviscerating rights, stifling research, and spreading lies.
“Traffickers, Terrorists and You.” Mostly “You.” Remember that traffickers profit because of the war on drugs. And to the extend that terrorists benefit from drug profits it is also because of the profitability caused by the war on drugs. So that leaves… The DEA is targeting You.
And you’re paying for it.

• The Drug War Chronicle
• Drug Sense

This just in…

• Journal retracts Ecstacy study; wrong drug had been tested

Prohibition is an awful flop.
We like it.
It can’t stop what it’s meant to stop.
We like it.
It’s left a trail of graft and slime,
It don’t prohibit worth a dime,
It’s filled our land with vice and crime.
Nevertheless, we’re for it.

– Franklin P. Adams (1931)

---

Every friend of freedom . . .
must be as revolted as I am
by the prospect of turning the U.S. into an armed camp,
by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users
and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence.

– Milton Friedman

Catching up
A number of things came up recently that slipped through the cracks on this blog as I reported on other issues, and I thought I’d do some catching up with our Drug Czar…
Interesting reading: “John P. Walters Marijuana Rhetoric Could Prove Bush Re-election Liability” at BBS News.
A dangerous trend: Nine states have passed zero tolerance laws regarding drug use and driving. While I agree that driving while impaired is wrong and should be punished, these laws involve drug tests which do not test impairment, but rather whether there are residual traces of the drug in your system (like if you smoked a joint a couple of days ago). In some cases, a positive test could mean a 20-year sentence. Naturally John Walters is calling for nation-wide implementation of these laws. This story describes the issues involved.
“Bush team’s prohibition drug policy is a bust” Bruce Alexander Knight writes this excellent OpEd for the Oregonian, which includes:

Unfortunately the drug czar has not yet learned the central lesson that prohibition doesn’t work.

Drug Czar on Continuing Campaign of Lies
I noticed a blitz last week of press releases picked up by Yahoo News, targeting cities around the country with new statistics regarding drug abuse and emergency room visits. (Yahoo did identify them as press releases. However they were published without question.)

• CHICAGO Emergency Rooms Saw Highest Rates of Drug-Related Visits Last Year
• WASHINGTON DC Area Sees Resurgence in PCP Mentions in ERs
• SAN FRANCISCO Tops Survey of 21 Cities in Mentions Of Methamphetamine/Amphetamine in ERs in 2002
• Visits to Emergency Rooms in SAN DIEGO Area Due to Drug Abuse Decreased in 2002
• Cocaine Mentions in MIAMI Area Emergency Rooms Among Highest of 21 Metro Areas Surveyed
• Cocaine Among Drugs Most Seen in ATLANTA Emergency Rooms Last Year
• Mentions of Amphetamines/Methamphetamine in Emergency Rooms in PHOENIX Increased in 2002
• Mentions in ERs of Narcotic Pain Medications in ST. LOUIS Area Rose in 2002
• PHILADELPHIA Sees Increase in Narcotic Pain Medications in ERs
• Heroin Mentions Increase in Emergency Rooms in NEWARK in 2002
• Narcotic Painkillers Among Most Frequent Drugs Seen in NEW ORLEANS ERs
• SEATTLE Area ERs See Decline in Amphetamines/Methamphetamine Mentions
• Cocaine Mentions in ERs Down But Pain Relievers Up in NEW YORK CITY Area in 2002
• LOS ANGELES Area Emergency Rooms Had Significant Increases in Amphetamine/Methamphetamine Mentions in 2002
• Heroin Little Seen at MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL ERs, Study of 21 Cities Finds
• Visits to Emergency Rooms in BALTIMORE Area Related to Drug Abuse Increased in 2002
• ER Mentions of Marijuana and Narcotic Painkillers Significant In DETROIT in 2002
• Abuse of Anti-Anxiety and Narcotic Pain Medications Seen in BOSTON Emergency Rooms Last Year
• DENVER Shows Jump in Rate of Heroin-Related ER Visits, Study Shows

In every one of these articles you’ll find the following:

“This report proves that marijuana is more harmful than many people think,” said White House Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters. “The rising levels of marijuana potency that we’ve seen over the last several years correspond with dramatic increases in people seeking emergency medical care for marijuana-related incidents

Now the source of this startling information is DAWN: Drug Abuse Warning Network, which states that a main purpose for providing statistics is to assist the DEA and the ONDCP in their efforts, and also admits (pdf) that there have been serious questions raised about the methodology used.

The complexities and limitations of the system, coupled with lack of detailed historical documentation, lead to inevitable misinterpretation of DAWN data…There was little public documentation of DAWN’s data quality, and a few published studies raised concerns that measurement error in DAWN was substantial and systemic…Because DAWN monitors episodes, not individuals, data are misinterpreted if analysts view them as prevalence measures…DAWN data were often assumed to represent heavy or chronic drug users, although the validity of that assumption has never been assessed.

So what does DAWN do? They pick hospitals in major cities and have someone there check the charts for mentions of drug abuse connected with emergency room visits (including toxicology tests and patient interviews). For their purposes, the term “Drug Abuse” includes any use of an illegal drug for recreational purposes. Up to 4 drugs can be “mentioned” per patient visit. And it doesn’t matter if the drug mentioned actually had any connection to the reason for the visit. According to DAWN:

For example, if records for a given patient “mentioned” marijuana, this does not mean that marijuana was the only drug involved in the ED [Emergency Department] visit or that the marijuana caused the ED visit.

Now the final DAWN report showed that there were 47 marijuana “mentions” per 100,000 population. This doesn’t even mean 47 people per 100,000. It could be the same guy 47 times. And 3/4 of those cases involved more than one drug.
So let’s review Walters’ statement again:

“This report proves that marijuana is more harmful than many people think,” said White House Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters. “The rising levels of marijuana potency that we’ve seen over the last several years correspond with dramatic increases in people seeking emergency medical care for marijuana-related incidents.

What a load of crap.

A Wake-up Call for Local Communities
Walter in Denver has the the details on a $1 billion lawsuit against Bethlehem, PA on behalf of John Hirko, Jr., a 21-year-old man who was shot 11 times in the back by police in a drug raid that also burned down his house.

Yes, that’s $1 billion with a B.
John Hirko is one of the unfortunates profiled on my Drug War Victims page, and finally a wrongful death suit is coming forward. However the suit turns out, it may serve as an important wake-up call that there are consequences to the unconscionable way we fight this failed war.
Time and time again, the families of drug war victims watch while the police are cleared with the words “justifiable shooting.” And really, in many cases that’s right. It’s often not the fault of the police that they’ve been put into this military-style confrontation that so often results in collateral damage.
Unfortunately, it may take actions like this to make communities wake up and realize that drug task forces are a liability. In this case, a huge taxpayer liability. The family of Donald P. Scott received a settlement of $5 million from county and feds in a fatal botched raid in Malibu, where the authorities were hoping to seize his property. Denver paid off $400,000 for killing Ismael Mena.
Meanwhile, the lawyers for the Tulia defendants are filing a civil rights lawsuit against a variety of county entities, and Swisher County (realizing that they’re in enough trouble) has refused to help the prosecutor in that case in the defense of misconduct charges.
The taxpayers are already dumping tons of money down the drain in the war on drugs, but the government has been largely successful in hoodwinking the public as to their contribution. Now that local budgets may be decimated by lawsuits, people may start to wake up. In fact, every local council that cooperates with a federal drugs task force should be made aware of this.
If your city or county is involved, or considering involvement with, a military-style drugs task force, stop by their next council meeting and ask how they plan to come up with a billion dollars if they’re sued. Ask them if they’ve come up with an acceptable number of innocent casualties to go along with their decision to use no-knock raids for pot. And then let me know how they react.