Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Quick Notes and Reading You may want to avoid the war zone of Conroe, Texas during the extra-special additional one-year drug war that will be conducted there from August 1, 2004 to September, 2005, particularly if you're black. (At D'Alliance). Last One Speaks has info on Ann Arbor, Michigan's attempt to legalize medial marijuana. At some point in the future, I'll try to do a run-down of the various ballot issues that will be coming up this fall (gotta wait for some of the signatures to be validated, particularly in Nevada, where they misplaced 6,000 of them). Also check out Last One Speaks for the news on marijuana's positive effect on night vision. Be sure to read Jim's article Drugs Sting Put Innocent Lives at Risk at Vice Squad. This is a pretty serious investigation going on in England regarding a sting where the agents solicited drugs and had them brought in to the country in order to buy them and make mid-level arrests, despite the fact that they knew a hostage might be killed. This isn't stopping trafficking. It's creating new drug trade in order to increase your arrests, despite serious potential danger. The positive part of this story is that there was a customs agent who recognized that 1. it was wrong, and 2, the press would get the story eventually, and he put his concerns in writing. No official news on Andrea Barthwell's potential run for Senate. Today, the big media interest was in Coach Ditka, who made noises like he might be considering it. I'm finding myself hoping for Andrea, simply because it might develop into a political discussion on the drug war. You've got Barack Obama, who used pot and cocaine as a youth, along with drug warrior Barthwell who is a former addict, and Kohn who is in favor of legalization. Hmmm.... 7:03:07 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Medical Marijuana vote I was pretty upset with my representative's (Jerry Weller) vote on the HInchey-Rohrabacher amendment. I not only called his office to express my displeasure, but wrote a letter to the Pantagraph, which should be published soon (I haven't seen it yet). Clearly I'm not the only one upset with Congress. Check out this scathing editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal yesterday: What was appalling, on the other hand, was to see Nevada's third representative -- supposed conservative and constitutionalist Jim Gibbons -- rise to vote against his own constituents, against common sense, against medical compassion and against the Constitution. Although he "supports states' rights," Rep.  Gibbons declared, "the regulation of narcotics and other drugs falls under the authority of the federal government.  It is a matter of public safety and public health." Go back and read Article I, Section 8.  There's no authorization for the federal government to concern itself with "public health and safety" -- which is why your police department, your fire department, and your local Health Department are all county or municipal entities. Rep.  Gibbons has surprised and shocked many Nevadans.  Can it really be he's no constitutionalist at all -- that he's really just in favor of the federal bullies going anywhere they want, doing anything they want, regardless of how they trample the rights of the states and the expressed will of the people? What other extraconstitutional powers would he bestow on our brand new federal police forces under this ginned-up rubric of "public health and safety"? We hesitate even to ask. Nice editorial! 5:58:35 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []