Drug WarRant

When I was in college my Freshman year, my roommate and I decided to get really drunk for the first time. Yes, I had led a bit of a sheltered life, and, while I had consumed alcohol once or twice before, I didn’t know much about it.

Not being complete idiots, we decided to do it under safe conditions, in our dorm room, with the bathroom right across the hall, and having friends check up on us. We knew nothing about types of alcohol, and so our choices for the evening were: Boones Farm Apple Wine, Southern Comfort, and Bacardi 151 Rum! We got drunk, we got sick, and learned a couple of lessons.

Many young people have some similar kind of rite of passage when it comes to alcohol, that often seems particularly stupid in retrospect. If I hadn’t been so ignorant of alcohol, I might have avoided that particular experience — who knows?

There’s a similar introduction to getting high that’s involved with marijuana. For my generation, that usually involved getting passed a joint at a party and having absolutely nothing happen the first time, and then gradually getting to appreciate the effects in further experiences.

But now, we have legalization in Colorado, and businesses are promoting edibles. And so, idiots (like Maureen Dowd), are going in and saying the equivalent of “I’ve heard alcohol gives you a nice comfortable buzz – give me a glass of Bacardi 151,” and then are terrified when the experience seems overwhelming.

That, unfortunately, makes marijuana legalization look bad.

Personally, I think first-timers to marijuana should smoke or vaporize – edibles should be reserved for those who already know the effects. With smoking/vaporizing, you get the gradual sense of the marijuana high, while with edibles, it all comes on at once, and if you’ve accidentally consumed too much, then it’s a bad (though never life-threatening) experience.

Though Dowd’s latest column has got a lot of objectionable parts, I agree with Tom Angell:

“One major reason I got involved in the movement was so that consumers could have basic access to information about the products they’re consuming, which was totally impossible under the prohibition that created the black market,” said Tom Angell, the founder and chairman of Marijuana Majority. “So it’s particularly disappointing to see that some companies in the legal marijuana industry — which our years of advocacy allowed to exist — are falling short of those principles. It seems basic labeling and consumer information hasn’t been a chief priority, but hopefully now it’s starting to change.”

He wants budtenders behind the counter to be trained so they can give customized guidance to customers of varying tolerance levels.

New York Times – Room for Debate: Did Colorado Go Too Far with Pot?

Opinions from: Ernest Drucker, A. Eden Evans, Deborah Peterson, Kevin A. Sabet, Steve Fox, Joe Hodas.

Press release:

TEMECULA, CA – Jesse Snodgrass, the teenage special needs student arrested in an undercover police operation will receive his high school diploma at the Chaparral High School graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 5, at 6:30 p.m.

The February 2014 Rolling Stone article, “The Entrapment of Jesse Snodgrass” details how Jesse, who suffers from a range of disabilities, was falsely befriended by a police officer who repeatedly asked the boy to provide him drugs. After more than three weeks, 60 text messages and repeated hounding by the officer, Jesse was able to buy half a joint from a homeless man he then gave to his new – and only – “friend,” who had given him twenty dollars weeks before. He did it once again before refusing to accommodate the officer, at which point the officer broke off all ties with the child. Shortly thereafter, Jesse was arrested at Chaparral High School in front of his classmates as part of a sting that nabbed 22 students in all, many of them children with special needs.

Even though a criminal judge dismissed the charges against Jesse, the Temecula Valley Unified School District still attempted to expel him. Jesse’s family went to court to fight the expulsion attempt, and in March 2013, an administrative law judge halted the expulsion attempt, issuing a scathing ruling against the school district and ordering Jesse’s immediate return to Chaparral High School. In October 2013, Jesse filed a lawsuit against the Temecula Valley Unified School District, Director of Child Welfare and Attendance Michael Hubbard and Director of Special Education Kimberly Velez for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other charges.

“We are so proud of Jesse and have only recognized his endless possibilities, never his limitations”, commented Catherine and Doug Snodgrass, Jesse’s parents, who hope that Jesse’s suit will send a message to schools around the country that these raids will not be tolerated.

“What we have witnessed here is the polar opposite of good policing and an example of how the drug war skews the priorities of law enforcement officers. There was no crime here until the police coerced a special needs student into committing one. They didn’t lessen the amount of drugs available and they didn’t provide help to any students who may have had a legitimate problem. Instead, they diminished the life prospects of everyone they came into contact with. As a parent, as a retired police officer, as a human being, this outrages me,” remarked LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing (Ret.), who now speaks on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of law enforcement officials opposed to the drug war.

Well said.

Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin has passed away. I must admit that I did not know much about him, but in the world of psychoactive chemicals, he was considered a true visionary. Erowid has lots of coverage, and their twitter feed today is full of tributes.

Jacob Sullum: Anti-Pot Prejudice vs. Federalism

Yet Republicans still overwhelmingly opposed the amendment, by a ratio of more than 3 to 1, while Democrats overwhelmingly supported it, by a ratio of 10 to 1. Given the GOP’s frequent lip service to federalism, the party’s lack of enthusiasm for letting states set their own policies in this area requires some explanation. So does the need for this amendment under a Democratic administration that has repeatedly said it is not inclined to use Justice Department resources against medical marijuana users and providers who comply with state law. It is hard to say who is being more inconsistent: a president who promised tolerance but delivered a crackdown or members of Congress who portray themselves as defenders of the 10th Amendment but forsake federalism because they are offended by a plant.

New information, recent history raise more questions about drug raid that burned Georgia toddler – more from Radley Balko.

I’m heading out early tomorrow morning for 8 days in New York. I’m leading a group of 95 people. We’ll be seeing a lot of Broadway shows, including A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (with Jefferson Mays playing 8 roles), Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men (with James Franco and Chris O’Dowd), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Neil Patrick Harris), All the Way (Bryan Cranston), Violet (Sutton Foster), and Cripple of Inishmaan (Daniel Radcliffe). I’ll also be seeing Beautiful – The Carole King Musical. And I’ll be leading walking tours all over the city. It’ll be a fun, but very busy week.

As always, I’ll stop by as often as I can.

You guys are great at keeping the pressure on and the information coming in (you’re all over that weak New York Times piece today).

Yesterday:

Head of US border agencies revises lethal force policy

The federal agency in charge of U.S. border security on Friday issued a revised handbook on when its agents may use lethal force, adopting changes aimed at reducing dozens of killings that have generated a handful of lawsuits and cast agents as quick to pull their triggers.

Yesterday afternoon:

Border Patrol shoots and kills suspect in Green Valley

According to CBP, agents tried to stop a suspicious car on I-19, near Green Valley. The driver refused to stop, and instead sped away. Eventually, the suspect got out of the vehicle, and tried to run away.

An agent shot and killed the suspect during a chase. CBP told us at this point they don’t know if the suspect was armed.

After the shooting, agents found bundles of marijuana in the suspect’s car.

How difficult is it to determine if a dead suspect is armed?

Well, Gil – hope you’re enjoying your new job. Here’s a tip. When you’re going to release a report saying that your people aren’t going to use lethal force as indiscriminately, you might want to send out a memo to your folks asking them not to kill any unarmed suspects for a few days.

Toddler critically burned during SWAT raid

Atlanta. Police conduct a no-knock SWAT drug raid at 3 am. Bust open the door, and toss in a stun grenade, which lands in a crib on the pillow next to a baby’s face, and goes off.

The injuries are horrifying.

Channel 2 has decided not to share most of the photos because of the graphic nature of the child’s injuries.

“He’s in the burn unit. We go up to see him and his whole face is ripped open. He has a big cut on his chest,” Phonesavanh said. “He’s only 19 months old. He didn’t do anything.”[…]

[Police Chief Rick] Darby told Channel 2’s Wendy Corona that the entire unit is very broken up about the incident.

“You’re trying to minimize anything that could go wrong and in this case the greatest thing went wrong,” Darby said. “Is it going to make us be more careful in the next one? Yes ma’am, it is. It’s gonna make us double question.”

Update:

Sheriff in Burned Baby Raid Wants Your Prayers; Target of Warrant Could Be Charged For Injuries to Toddler

Unreal.

US House votes 219 to 189 to prohibit DOJ funds from raiding or interfering with state medical marijuana programs.

It isn’t a done deal yet, but this is historic.

Update:

I’ve been reporting on votes in the house regarding this kind of bill since I started blogging, and year after year, the results were so depressing. Finally, we’re making some progress with Congress.

House Votes to End DEA Raids on Legal Medical Marijuana Operations

Currently 22 states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana use for medicinal purposes. Five others don’t allow smoking, but do allow CBD oils.

“This year’s huge vote increase can largely be attributed to the fact that lawmakers only recently began hearing the moving stories of the many children whose severe seizures are only relieved by marijuana,” said Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority, in a statement. “Being able to list these CBD states in the amendment text meant that more members of Congress that represent these states voted yes than otherwise would have. Counting these states, 60 percent of the U.S. population lives in a place where state law disagrees with federal law.”

Update 2: Project SAM tweets their reaction:

We’re disappointed in the House Rohrabacher amendmt which allows marijuana grown in public parks, Colombian cartels, etc. Will Fix in Senate

Colombian cartels?

Paul Armentano in Medicine Hasn’t Found Anything Wrong With Pot by Larry Gabriel who notes that “one of the biggest arguments anti-marijuana warriors use is the ‘we don’t know enough about this stuff’ ploy.”

“To date, there are over 20,000 published studies or reviews in the scientific literature referencing the cannabis plant and its cannabinoids, nearly half of which were published within the last five years according to a keyword search on PubMed Central, the U.S. government repository for peer-reviewed scientific research. Over 1,450 peer-reviewed papers were published in 2013 alone,” wrote Armentano. […]

“The answers are in the scientific literature if anybody would read it,” Armentano says. “What prohibitionists are really saying is, ‘We’ve done research on marijuana and we need more research because we’re still searching for the problem.’”

Spike in drug offences shows success of police operations

DRUG offences in the North East have skyrocketed in recent months — and police couldn’t be happier.

The spike in recorded drug-related crimes shows the success of police operations targeting the trafficking of ice and cannabis, Benalla Inspector Mark Byers said.

Figures from Victoria Police released yesterday show drug offences in Benalla have increased 40 per cent between April last year and March this year — 154 offences compared with 110 in April 2012 to March last year.

In Wangaratta, 403 offences were recorded compared with 335 the year before, up 20 per cent.

That’s the great thing about being a drug warrior. No matter what happens, you’re a winner! All you have to do is declare it so.