Friday, May 27, 2005

Who wrote it? Marty Lederman at SCOTUSblog continues to speculate about who is writing the Raich v. Ashcroft opinion (which, of course, might have some bearing on guessing the result). His current view? Colonel Mustard wrote it using a Candlestick in the Library. Although it might have been Miss Scarlet... 9:16:52 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Once beautiful Colombia Paquita writes to me: Poor Colombia, I love that country. The Indians are like a slice of cheese in a sandwich, the AUC on the Northen slope and the FARC on the Southern one. No ceasefire at all, the paramilitaries are invading more and more. A lot of killings. The indians are terribly afraid and there is a lot of displaced people. When we bought La Luna, Mama Miguel, a shaman said: "The birds, the animals, the nature must know that we are back, that we are going to build a Kankurua (Temple), a place to talk with them. Then everything will be balanced..." It was for five years... Then the U.S. came. Read Paquita's Open Letter to the President of the United States George W. Bush at Guest DrugWarRants. 8:31:30 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Stupid Headline of the Day The editorial in the Argus: Restricting sales of cold meds key to war on drugs Wow. Good thing we finally figured that one out. Now we can win the war on drugs. Second stupidest headline of the day? The editorial in the Oakland Tribune: Cold medication regulation key to war on drugs 7:30:36 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

The Tennessee Tax Man Comes A 60- year old man recovering from cancer who uses marijuana is busted for "a few baby-sized plants and a small amount of commercial weed." Before the case is even heard, the Tennessee Tax man comes and charges him for non-payment of the marijuana tax, seizing all cash, cars, and putting a lien on the house. Yep. This is America. Hire a lawyer to fight it? With what? This story is developing at the blog of a relative. Say Uncle has been all over this so-called tax, which is really another way to pile on charges and seize assets (note that 75% of the "tax" goes to the law enforcement agency that made the bust). 10:03:45 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Call off the war on drugs This column in the Charlotte Observer by Bill Reeside, Jr. is just fun to read. It made me smile, which is important now and then. Marijuana, tobacco, cocaine, beer, ecstasy, chocolate, Viagra, aspirin, codeine, French fries, Prozac. These are all things that people voluntarily put into their bodies to make themselves feel better. Some of these things can be bought at a convenience store. Some require a doctor's prescription and a visit to a pharmacist. Some must be bought under cover of darkness, with cash only, and with no certainty of the purity of the product. Some can be procured by children, others after you reach age 18, still others not until 21 and a few only at the risk of government sanction. Why have we stitched together this crazy quilt of dealing with the products that comfort us? Puts it nicely in perspective. He goes on to show how poorly this system works, and then makes some concrete suggestions, including: Here's what we can do on a local and state level: Vote a resounding "No" on the bond issue that includes more money for jails. In 2004, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department made almost 3,000 arrests for drug offenses and issued more than 600 citations for drug paraphernalia. We don't need to fill the jails with people harming only themselves. Charlotte City Council can free the police from enforcing silly "don't park on your own lawn" laws and "don't make or possess a crack pipe" ordinances and have them focus on rape, murder and property crime. Don't tell us we need more police officers while you are wasting the efforts of the current force. 9:00:19 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Schapelle Corby given 20 years This is the Australian woman who had marijuana found in her bag at customs in Indonesia (quite likely innocent, based on what I've read). TalkLeft has been all over this one, so go there for the full coverage. I'm sure Jeralyn's pleased to know that bookings to Bali are already down 20%. 8:43:24 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []