Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Your tax dollars at work Thanks to Richard Lake for the news that the government has put out a new book of Marijuana Lies and Distortions called Marijuana: Myths and Facts. It's available online as individual chapter pdf files or the entire book as a pdf. Some of the items are absurd, and others seem to destroy the government's own position. For example: Myth #8: My kids won't be exposed to marijuana. I'm not sure how that's considered a myth, but the government assures us that in fact "If kids want marijuana, they can find it. More than half (55 percent) of youths age 12 to 17 responding to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2002 reported that marijuana would be easy to obtain." Of course, instead of admitting that prohibition has had a big part in that fact, they try for bizarre explanations: Marijuana use is in some ways like a contagious disease, spreading from "infected" individuals to others around them. ... And then there's the Internet, a crowded landscape of promarijuana and drug legalization Web sites. Ah yes, I wondered how long it would take them to blame me for young people smoking pot! Then there's: Myth #10: The government sends otherwise innocent people to prison for casual marijuana use Of course, their refutation of this "myth" is that, in fact, there are only 3,600 prisoners for first time offense of simple marijuana possession in state prisons. Can they do this without laughing? OK, first, they eliminated everything except state prisons. Then they go ahead and state that there are thousands of state prisoners who are first-time marijuana possession offenders. Their only justification is that statistically this is a small number. Are there 3,600 corporate CEOs in prison who broke the law and fudged the books to run off with their employees' pension? Are there 3,600 politicians who violated their oath to support the constitution in prison? So, in summary... due to prohibition, marijuana is easy for your kids to get, and the government does spend your money locking up first-time offenders whose only crime was possession of a plant. And your government also spends your money putting together useless propaganda. 10:10:22 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Raich symposium Fortunately, Baylen made it to the Raich symposium at Georgetown yesterday, and has a full report. Great work! Sounds like an interesting and informative panel discussion. It's interesting to hear the mix of optimism and pessimism regarding the chances Raich has in the current court. I'm confident that we have the best possible people on our side arguing the case. The briefs are stunning. Some people express doubts on the court's willingness to legalize medical marijuana. While that is certainly a reasonable doubt by itself, the case isn't just about legalizing medical marijuana. The way this case is structured, a negative ruling by the court would, in essence, eliminate once and for all any semblance of states' rights. The question is whether the Supremes are willing to do that, and I don't think they are. Now, they may look to find some kind of compromise or weasel way out, but it'll be tough for them to kill the commerce clause restrictions for good. Additionally, there may be renewed interest in states' rights from, of all places, the left. There's a very interesting article at Salon by Michelle Goldberg (may require reading an ad) about liberals now considering looking to states' rights as protection. It's going to be an interesting ride. 9:38:56 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []