Saturday, September 8, 2007

Anybody got a Sharpie I can borrow? Apparently, if you don't actually put your name on every one of your possessions, police are entitled to take them for their own personal use. 1:02:42 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Oh, look. Vast sums of illicit money fuel corruption. More unsurprising bombshells in Colombia. Today in the Washington Post BOGOTA, Colombia -- An investigation by the Colombian Defense Ministry has found that drug traffickers and rebels from the country's largest guerrilla group infiltrated the U.S.-backed military here, paying high-ranking officers for classified information to help elude capture and continue smuggling cocaine. It is part of a set of immutable laws of economics (informally stated): When a product in high demand, supply will find a way to meet demand. Prohibition of a demand product causes high black-market profits, as supply is forced to operate outside of legal commerce. High black-market profits are always protected, inevitably through non-legal means, including violence and corruption. Government pay cannot compete with what the black market can offer. 12:21:59 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Tennessee drug tax law unconstitutional IAt TalkLeft: An appeals court in Tennessee has ruled the state's tax on illegal drugs unconstitutional calling it "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." I've mentioned the Tennessee Tax before and I've talked about the whole notion of state illegal drug taxes several times. In case this is new to you, the idea is that the state requires you to purchase a stamp for your illegal drugs (sort of like the state stamp on cigarette packages, but an actual stamp). You're supposed to affix this to your illegal drugs to show that you've paid your tax. Of course, the real intent of the law is nothing of the kind. What they do is after they've arrested you for drug possession, they weigh the drugs, figure out how much tax you should have paid and then seize that amount of money/possessions/house from you and then still prosecute you for drug possession. It's really just another way to have the government rob people, and part of the despicable drug war tactics of "piling on." About the only ones who actually purchase drug stamps are stamp collectors or those looking at them as novelty items. I have Tennessee (unauthorized substances), North Carolina (marijuana), Utah (marijuana), Texas (marijuana), and Massachusetts (marijuana) stamps, and would love to add to my collection.... Wisconsin's drug tax law was rendered unconstitutional several years ago by a federal appeals court saying it amounting to double jeopardy. In the Tennessee case, Judge Sharon G. Lee wrote: "Because it seeks to levy a tax on the privilege to engage in an activity that the Legislature has previously declared to be a crime, not a privilege, we must necessarily conclude that the drug tax is arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable, and therefore, invalid under the constitution of this state," This is good news, and I hope that the drug tax will be challenged elsewhere. Of course, there's one way that the drug tax stamp would get my support. As Ben Masel famously said: No taxation without legalization. Update: SayUncle isn't holding his breath regarding any actual changes as a result of the ruling. 12:01:11 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []