Sunday, April 17, 2005

Red Tape, Big Pharm Muscle Strangle Medical Marijuana That's the title of an article by C. Spencer Beggs at Fox News today. It's a very strong statement about how the government has stifled medical marijuana research, and points out some strong conflict of interest at NIDA. Despite a couple of major gaffes by the author (calls marijuana the "most abused recreational drug" and doesn't question the phony stats of the "rising trend in the number of people seeking treatment for marijuana addiction"), the parts of the article that deal with the interference with marijuana research are quite good. Check it out. 11:23:34 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Constitution Restoration Act of 2005 A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article -- Protecting an Independent Judiciary -- where I talked about my concerns regarding the attacks by DeLay, Cornyn et al on the Judiciary, and as part of that, I mentioned by opposition to Senate Bill 520 - The Constitution Restoration Act. That prompted a letter from reader mushroom blue. With his permission, I'm sharing his letter and giving my response. hi. I'm a long-time reader of the site, finally felt compelled to write you, though. I don't see why you have a problem with the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005, and moreso, why you're using this act as some sort of example of the bad things congress is doing. if anything, someone who is an anti-federalist (which is what those that promote federalism are called. seriously.) would be nothing but happy for what the bill provides. Read my Response 4:00:58 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Legalized Pot would save money Of course, we know this, but it's fun to see it in a newspaper now and then. From the Bellingham Herald (Washington): Another view: Legalized pot would save money, by Dick Startz. Washington state would save about $105 million a year if we legalized marijuana. ... The $105 million figure comes from a study by Boston University economist Jeff Miron. Miron put together two numbers: the savings to government from not locking people up for marijuana-related offenses, and the increased revenue from taxes we could collect if marijuana were treated just like coffee or chocolate. ... An extra $100-plus million would be nice for the state budget. But an even better economic argument for legalizing marijuana is that it would move the legal line, so that relatively safe drugs like caffeine, alcohol and marijuana are all on one side of the law and the truly dangerous drugs, such as crack and meth, are on the other. [Thanks, Scott] 3:57:31 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Man released, after serving four extra years due to clerical error Here's an odd one (from the Idaho Statesman): It began Aug. 7, 1997, when Hernandez was returning to his job at a potato shed in Aberdeen from Wyoming, where he'd dropped his kids with their mom. During a traffic stop in Soda Springs, a policeman saw Zig-Zag cigarette papers on the car's visor. Hernandez says he admitted to having a small amount of pot. With the help of a drug dog, police also found a syringe, which tested positive for cocaine. Hernandez insisted the coke wasn't his, but signed a plea deal. Hernandez, his lawyer, the prosecutor and 6th District Judge Don Harding agreed he would serve at least one year in prison, but no more than two years. The critical error occurred after sentencing on June 23, 1998. Because of a mixup with case numbers, Harding also sentenced Hernandez to up to seven years, a term intended for another offender... To their credit, a Department of Corrections officer finally caught the mistake and they are releasing Hernandez after he served an extra four years. He'll finally get to meet his five-year-old son Andreas for the first time. [Thanks, Dan] 3:49:23 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []