Monday, January 8, 2007

Ethan Nadelmann on The Colbert Report tonight It's hilarious -- both Ethan and Stephen are hyped up and having fun going after each other. Colbert: You think we have lost the war on drugs and we should just give up on it. Nadelmann: Oh, we have lost the war on drugs. Colbert: Sir, we have lost the war on drugs when we withdraw from the war on drugs. While we're still in it, we haven't lost it. I say we send 20,000 more troops in. That'll do it. Good. Ethan used the figures on U.S. having 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's prison population. "We lead the world in locking up our fellow citizens." Colbert: I'm thinking about cutting off your mic. ... Nadelmann: "You gotta get drunk to watch O'Reilly, but half your audience probably lit up a joint before they turned on your show tonight." Colbert: Look. I can't control what they do. All I can do is pass judgement. Ethan calls Colbert a communist. Colbert calls for making Smith Brothers throat lozenges illegal. The whole thing was over so fast it was hard to keep up. Here's the link to watch it online (Thanks, Celeste). 6:54:32 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Supplemental DEA income is just one of the reasons to continue the drug war Via TalkLeft -- Drug agents mishandled seized cash, audit finds WASHINGTON - Drug Enforcement Administration agents routinely disregarded agency rules on the handling of seized cash, jeopardizing hundreds of millions of dollars taken in drug raids, a Justice Department review found. In an audit published Friday, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine examined thousands of seizures between October 2003 and November 2005. Fine's report states that drug agents rarely counted the cash they took, often didn't provide receipts for seized money, rarely recorded the seizures in agency ledgers and often didn't ask their colleagues to witness their counting and handling of the money. Unintentionally humorous line in the piece: The lack of internal controls over the seized cash leads to accusations of theft by the agents, the report states. Leads to accusations of theft? Yes, the most important thing is that the public not suspect that you're stealing the money. 8:17:50 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []