Drug WarRant Thursday, August 26, 2004 Follow up on Goose Creek A proper editorial in the Myrtle Beach, SC Sun News Absence Of U.S.  Charges Doesn't Justify Drug Raid The U.S.  Justice Department says last year's police drug raid at Stratford High School in Goose Creek didn't violate the civil rights of the students, whom police confronted at gunpoint - and 18 of whom police handcuffed.  The case, said the department last week, is closed. Maybe so.  But even though Attorney General John Ashcroft's S.C.  representatives could find no violation of the federal civil rights stature, most South Carolinians know deep down that the raid, which netted no illegal drugs, was a travesty.  Most would agree that the students, especially the blacks singled out for rough treatment, will go into adult life with an indelibly cynical view of "the system" that treated them so shabbily. The law may exonerate police and school officials for staging the raid.  But no one should pretend that the grave injustice they perpetrated upon Stratford students has been remedied. 11:02:00 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] In your face, Drug Czar, says NORML NORML takes on the Drug Czar with their newest release discussing the DOJ's new report (pdf). New Federal Report Contradicts Drug Czar's Claims Washington, DC: A newly released federal report refutes claims by US Drug Czar John Walters that the United States is being inundated with Canadian pot, that the drug's potency is dramatically rising, and that marijuana poses a greater public health threat than heroin or cocaine. According to the US Department of Justice report, "National Drug Threat Assessment 2004," the overwhelming majority of commercial grade marijuana consumed in the US comes from California and Mexico. The report further adds that Hawaii, not Canada, is the US' "leading source of high potency marijuana." The report estimated that between 10,000 and 24,000 metric tons of marijuana is available in the US. In recent months, Walters has testified that the US marijuana market is being inundated with high potency cannabis from British Columbia, dubbing it the "crack of marijuana." Most recently, Walters has claimed that this influx of Canadian pot is directly responsible for sending rising numbers of Americans to the emergency room. According to the DOJ report, however, increased mentions of marijuana during emergency room visits "in recent years have not been significant," and account for less than ten percent of all drug mentions. The report further stated that the average THC content of US commercial grade marijuana is around five percent, despite claims by Walters that today's marijuana potency levels are "10 to 20 times stronger" than they were a generation ago. Authors of the report note that despite federal and state anti-drug efforts, marijuana remains "widely available" in the United States, with "98.2 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide [describing] marijuana availability as high or moderate." Nevertheless, only 13 percent of state and local law enforcement agencies identified marijuana as "their greatest drug threat," and less than five percent identified pot as "the drug most contributing to violent crime in their areas." The release of the DOJ report came on the eve of an announcement from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy that the administration plans "to shift some of the focus in research and enforcement from 'hard' drugs such as cocaine and heroin to marijuana." 8:02:15 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Ahhh.... Refreshing! Via D'Alliance.... ...So as soon as I heard about this, I rushed across the street to Pop's Grocery, but they seem to be out of it. Darn. 7:56:31 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Wednesday, August 25, 2004 California U.S. House and Senate Voting Guide I've finished the California U.S. House and Senate Voting Guide. These guides focus on statements made by candidates through Project Vote-Smart, as well as actual voting records of incumbents on the "Hinchey" medical marijuana amendements in the House. The Senate race is definitely one to check out. I'm strongly encouraging all California drug policy reformers to vote for James P. Gray. He is running specifically on a drug policy reform platform, so every single vote for him is a statement. If he ends up with significant numbers, it could make a lot of people pay attention. Another race to watch is the 3rd District, where former drug warrior and California Attorney General Dan Lungren is trying to get into Congress, which would not be a good thing. I also found it remarkable just how many incumbents voted against the Hinchey amendment. To understand this, realize that the amendment simply said that, in states where medical marijuana was legal, the federal government should not interfere in state law regarding medical marijuana. California is a medical marijuana state. So those California Representatives who voted against the amendment were essentially saying: "Although the people of California clearly voted to legalize medical marijuana and although the people overwhelmingly support legal medical marijuana, I disagree, and wish to have the federal government step in and arrest and harrass my constituents who are obeying state law." These idiots need to be removed from office, where they're currently incumbents in districts 2, 4, 11, 18, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, and 52. Now on to the next state. I hope to find time do one or two a week, and get as many done as I can before the election. I welcome suggestions, assistance, further details on races (or which states you'd like me to do). I also welcome feedback on the usefulness of such a guide. My thinking at this point is that even if there are a handful of voters who are not fully informed, but do a google search on the candidates and "drug policy" before they go in to vote, these guides could be worthwhile. (I've already found, with the Illinois guide, some candidate staff google searches for their candidate's name and the word "endorsement" -- they need to know that someone is paying attention to drug policy.) Don't forget my featured race in Illinois, where I'm strongly pushing for Tari Renner over drug warrior Jerry Weller. And it's one we can win. Support Renner. 8:40:30 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] California U.S. House and Senate Voting Guide')" onmouseout="addthis_close()" onclick="return addthis_sendto()"> Tuesday, August 24, 2004 Go Read... I'm busy working on the next state US House voting guide (this time, California, Illinois is already up), and dealing with an unexplained slow internet connection at the same time. So go read Baylen at D'alliance who has been blogging up a storm. He's got so many posts up in the last two days that I can't keep track of what I already read there -- and you have to go to the archives to read posts from this morning! (So what exactly did you put in your coffee, Baylen?) 10:47:06 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Sunday, August 22, 2004 Justice Department fails to locate civil rights From the Charlotte Observer: Officers cleared in drug raid at S.C. high school. CHARLESTON - A guns-drawn raid at a Goose Creek high school last year did not violate civil rights laws, and the case is closed, the U.S. Justice Department says. ... Using a drug dog, police found no drugs or weapons in the Nov. 5 raid that frightened children, provoked marches and lawsuits and brought national media attention and the resignation of Stratford High School's longtime principal. Fifteen officers entered Stratford's main hallway and ordered 130 students to the floor. They used plastic ties to handcuff 18 students. School officials opened and searched 17 book bags police dogs reacted to. S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, the state's chief prosecutor, criticized the tactics used as ill-suited for a school and said they created a "dangerous tinderbox situation." Fortunately, civil lawsuits are still in the works. There must be a clear message given that this kind of police work is unacceptable. Update: Sister Geoff at the very interesting The Superlative Suppository had this one a couple of days ago. Be sure to check out the Suppository -- another good blog addressing the drug war. 11:12:31 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Pot grower charged with murder Several readers sent me this story: Pot grower faces murder charges for firefighter deaths. Daniel Brough was growing marijuana in a basement closet in Philadelphia. The lamps dried out the wood in the closet and started a fire. Two firefighters (Fire Capt. John Taylor and firefighter Rey Rubio) died in the resulting blaze. Now Brough is being charged with third-degree murder, marijuana possession, involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe. Brough was stupid and created a dangerous situation. But that list of charges is a bad case of prosecutorial piling on in a very emotional situation. I'd like to know if the charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter and causing a catastrophe would have been filed if the cause had been someone carelessly leaving a candle burning. One other point. Please note that these two firemen are also drug war victims. Marijuana hurts nobody, and there would be no reason to grow it in a closet if it was legal. 10:45:32 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []