Thursday, December 11, 2003

Catching up... I've been (and still am) under the weather and having a hard time keeping up with posting, but here's a few things worth checking out: On the local front, it looks like Ed Rosenthal's visit to University of Illinois was a success (unfortunately I was busy here and we had our hempfest the next day). A good article on the student organizations in the Daily Illini. The New York Times brings back Brandeis' views on states' rights in this interesting article. I have always been a fan of his statement on the value of states' rights: ...to stay experimentation in things social  and economic is a grave responsibility.  Denial of the  right to experiment may be fraught with serious  consequences to the nation.  It is one of the happy  incidents of the federal system that a single courageous  state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a  laboratory, and try novel social and economic  experiments without risk to the rest of the country. While the Times article doesn't talk about the drug war, it is particularly in regard to the drug war that I think this viewpoint has relevance (Medical marijuana is a prime example, as is the development of industrial hemp). Canada loosened some of the rules regarding use of medical marijuana as required by the courts, but patients are upset, claiming that the government is ignoring court orders. Some are planning lawsuits, and the decisions led one group to proclaim: Ontario Consumers for Safe Access to Recreational Cannabis is happy to inform consumers that, because of Health Canada's failure to implement constitutional Medical Marijuana Access Regulations, wide-open marijuana legalization is back in Ontario! And Ottawa stays pot charges in 4,000 cases. At the same time, we have the U.S. still threatening Canada's borders for being lax on marijuana. (Am I crazy for worrying that someone in the U.S. administration watched "Canadian Bacon" or the South Park movie and didn't realize they were fiction?) Steve Kubby's application for asylum in Canada was unfortunately denied. An appeal will be coming. If he is sent to the United States, he will die. Help him out by writing a letter. Also be sure to check out my Daily Reads on the left for other good news and perspectives. 1:20:11 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Tommy Chong Updates Chong Family Values in the LA Weekly: The word most used by Paris and Precious Chong to describe their father's ordeal is "surreal." "They couldn’t have picked a kinder, more generous person to throw in jail than my father,” Paris says. Today the family remains afraid of what the Justice Department might yet do to their father, and it is plain from speaking to them that they fear being quoted as saying anything that might antagonize it. “I don’t want to say anything against the government because I don’t want anything to happen to my children,” says Shelby. In a strange twist of fate, the Chongs have become an example for every American family in this new age of conformity. “Growing up, I’d always had this fear that our family wasn’t like everyone else,” says Precious Chong, “and that we’d be punished for it someday — and then this happened. My parents never locked their doors. They do now." It's a great article that details the entire sorry episode. Read the whole thing. Tommy Chong's Next Movie by Dean Kuipers “The DEA agent that busted me said, ‘We don’t want your son or your wife, although we could indict them, too. But if you just give yourself up, don’t make it a political or a publicity thing, then nothing will happen to you,’” Chong adds. “And the last thing that he said to me was, ‘You don’t want to be a martyr.'" Martyrdom, however, was nearly impossible to avoid considering the current political climate. On the day of the arrest, Ashcroft held a press conference in Washington, D.C. and applauded efforts to scrub the dirty Internet, saying, "The illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge.” John Walters, Drug Czar and head of the ONDCP, author of the deadly “shoot first" policy in Peru that killed a missionary flying a small plane in 2001, said, "We will act decisively to protect our young people from the harms of illegal drugs." John Brown, acting administrator of the DEA, summed it all up, noting, “People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers." Yep, another great article. Chongstock Concert The bands Mule, Mike Stinson, Dale Peterson, Random Joe Citizen and Cody Lapow are doing a show in support of the Free Tommy Chong movement. The event takes place Saturday, December 13th at THE CINEMA BAR, 3967 SEPULVEDA BLVD, CULVER CITY, CA, 310-390-1328. Be sure to bring a pen to sign petitions. The Commies Nice to see all the comments on Tommy Chong on Comedy Central's new Award Show, including giving him the award for "Best Comedian Behind Bars" accepted by Cheech who started the celebrity audience chanting "Free Tommy Chong!" 12:34:19 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []