Saturday, January 28, 2006

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition video Definitely take the time to see this outstanding video produced by Common Sense for Drug Policy and featuring members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). After you've seen it, download it and show it to all of your law and order friends who are resisting your efforts to convince them that prohibition is wrong. Do you know someone in your local Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, Lions Club, or similar organization? Show them this video and then suggest that they schedule one of these officers as a speaker. When you see this video, you come to realize just how important a group like LEAP is, because many of those whose minds most need to change give greater value to words from a former police officer. Now this is just a short promo video, yet it was full of great information. Here's a few statements that caught my attention: Under prohibition, we have given the right to the criminal of who's going to supply the drugs to the United States, what kind of drugs are going to be supplied, how much those drugs are going to cost, how they're going to be produced, how potent they're going to be what age levels they're going to sell to, and where they're going to sell. And if they decide they're going to sell to 10-year-old kids on our playgrounds, by God that's where they'll be sold. - Jack Cole Drug legalization is not to be construed as an approach to our drug problem. Drug legalization is about our crime and violence problem. Once we legalize drugs, we gotta then buckle down and start dealing with our drug problem, and that's not going to be easy, but it's something we can do. - Peter Christ South Africa (1993) Under Apartheid incarcerated 851 black males per 100,000 population United States (2004) Under Prohibition incarcerated 4,919 black males per 100,000 population [Thanks to Scott, who also notes the discussion about it here. Additional hat tip to Toker00] 9:52:15 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

New Mexico Senate Lectures Drug Czar's Office on Proper Behavior I attended the medical marijuana hearing in the Illinois legislature last year, when we had high hopes that were dashed by the sudden appearance of Drug Czar John Walters, who spoke his usual lies, and caused legislators to whimper and crumple. It appears that New Mexico Senators are made of sterner stuff. They're also considering a medical marijuana bill, so the Drug Czar sent special assistant David W. Murray to straighten them out. Link He likened medical-marijuana proponents to "medicine shows, traveling charlatans and snake-oil salesmen" selling phony "tinctures, magical herbs and remedies." Murray said medical marijuana is an issue that has been brought forth not by the medical profession but by advocates of drug legalization. "They use emotion, they use suffering patients, they use anecdote," he said. And in a statement that some committee members criticized, Murray added: "I regard much of that as cynical and manipulative." Big mistake. Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen , took him to task for those words, pointing out that sponsors of crime legislation often bring victims of crimes to testify without being called "cynical and manipulative ." "I don't know how you do it back East," Sanchez told Murray, "But this is the people's house. Everybody has a right to be here just as much as you do. When you said this to us, you showed us where you were really at. I don't think you should go to a state and say such things about their people." Wow! And these guys are smart. Noting his argument that marijuana has no medicinal value, Sen. Clint Harden, R-Clovis , said, "We are not talking about the healing power of marijuana. The purpose of this is to reduce pain." [...] Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell , disputed statements by Murray and some state law-enforcement representatives that medical marijuana will increase use of the drug. He compared the bill to the concealed-carry law, which lets people apply for permits to carry hidden guns. Some opponents said that law would give criminals the right to carry concealed weapons. "But robbers are already doing that," Adair said. Likewise, those who smoke marijuana illegally are doing so without a medical-marijuana law, he said. Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, told Murray he had a hard time accepting the claim that medical marijuana is "the huge bogey man you want it to be." The committee gave the measure a do-pass with bipartisan support. 11:44:41 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []