Friday, May 12, 2006

Time to get a digital camera... Via Money Up Front, comes Pot plant photos lead to arrest A Statesboro man was so proud of his crop, he photographed it and went to a local drug store to have the pictures developed. Unfortunately, his bumper crop was marijuana, and police arrested him Tuesday as he went to pick the photos up. Statesboro Police Capt. L. C. Williams said Byron Charles Mattheeussen, 21, Acorn Lane, photographed his healthy marijuana plants - 42 in all - and took the pictures to Eckerd to be developed. When the photo lab technician saw what the subject of the photos was, she called police. 6:32:09 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

ONDCP ads work... ... if you're trying to convince teens to smoke pot. Via NORML (and thanks to everyone who let me know about it). San Marcos, TX: Teenagers exposed to anti-marijuana public service announcements (PSAs) produced by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) are more likely to hold positive attitudes about the drug and are more likely to express their intent to use cannabis after viewing the advertisements, according to a study published in the May issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors. Two hundred and twenty-six volunteers age 18- to 19-years old took part in the study. Participants viewed either a series of anti-marijuana PSAs accessed from the ONDCP website or a series of anti-tobacco advertisements. Investigators then surveyed viewers' attitudes toward the two substances by using a five-point scale (e.g., good-bad) and computerized implicit association tests (IATs). Researchers also measured respondents' intent to use either marijuana or tobacco via a 10-point scale (e.g., agree-disagree). Investigators found that viewers expressed significantly fewer negative attitudes toward marijuana after viewing the ads. No such "boomerang effect" was noted among those who viewed anti-tobacco advertising. Gee, do you think the drug czar will mention this study when he asks for more money next year? 5:53:59 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Is that bong licensed? Stupid laws. Langley City, BC Sell a glass crack pipe or bong in Langley City and you'll have to tell police who you sold it to, including the person's name and address. [...] If the bylaw receives final reading, the retail sellers of hash pipes and bongs will be required to ask ID of all their purchasers. The owner then has to record and report all information of the buyers. The information given to police can be hand-delivered to the detachment or sent via fax or e-mail the day of the sale. At least they don't have a five-day waiting period. Hmmm... I wonder what the police will do with that information? 5:21:02 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Drug-war bullying Brian Doherty (of Reason Magazine) explains in today's LA Times how little effect the changed drug law in Mexico would have had, and notes the U.S. Government's disproportionate response, concluding with: Americans angry about Mexican immigration complain that the country is exporting its troubles to us. In fact, with our drug-war bullying, we're exporting our enforcement troubles back to Mexico, adding to the problems that make so many people want to come here to begin with. The White House's disproportionate panic can't be explained by any actual damage the law could have caused. Maybe U.S. drug warriors realized that if we saw firsthand, right across the border, just how unnecessary are the laws against drug possession, the futility of making 1.7 million drug arrests each year would be exposed, and that's never a happy thought for any bureaucrat. In Amsterdam, where pot, hash and mushrooms can be sold freely in certain shops, surveyed use of most drugs is lower than in the United States, illustrating that legalization does not equal everyone getting high. The social order still stands. Experienced drug users have an ethic: You don't force other people on your trip against their will. Pity that U.S. drug policymakers can't be that sensible. The U.S. Government has worked very hard to export its drug war around the world. Not only to protect the drug war itself, but to use it as a tool to control or influence other countries. This fact made DEA head Karen Tandy's opening remarks at the DEA conference in Montreal earlier this week seem especially chilling to me. We have come a long way in 24 years. It is staggering to think that back then, we all fit around a single conference table. And look at us now. [..] We have amassed the largest IDEC contingent ever with 76 countries. Stretching from the southern tip of Africa to northern Europe to the Far East, 7 new countries became members this year, (Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa and United Kingdom) and 6 are joining us for the first time ever (Denmark, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Sweden, UAE and Vietnam). Although there are countries (particularly in Europe) willing to begin to stand up to U.S. drug-war bullying, it's a tough thing to do, particularly when you face both the unfair label of being soft on drugs, and pressure from the world's superpower. 7:25:30 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []