Thursday, December 20, 2007

L.A. cops complain about law enforcement Due to rampant/Rampart abuse by Los Angeles police in the past, a federal plea bargain required that officers in gang and narcotics divisions sign disclosure agreements documenting their finances, starting in 2001 (to ensure that they weren't skimming). It's just now finally starting to be enforced, and the officers are threatening to quit or file lawsuits. I find it oddly, darkly amusing that the people who spend their days busting people for narcotics -- probably busting down doors and seizing possessions -- have these concerns: "And then who has access to the documents? We see the kind of record-keeping they do at police headquarters. I can show you photos of stacks of boxes in the hallways that are open to the public." [...] "It's a total invasion of privacy," an unhappy 20-year veteran gang detective told me. The OpEd author also thinks that enforcing it is wrong. Even in the worst old days, financial graft has never been the LAPD's problem. For that you'd want to look eastward to Chicago or New York. Or as one upper-level officer said to me, "Historically, we may beat you up, but we don't take your wallet." You can't make this stuff up. 10:43:21 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Plan Mexico and fundamental economic principles From the Council on Hemispheric Affairs comes a detailed discussion of Plan Mexico: Does the Merida Initiative Represent a New Direction for U.S.-Mexico Relations, or Does It Simply Refocus the Issue Elsewhere? by Laura Starr and Maria Delle Donne. The article does a good job of looking at the entire picture, including the controversy over the secret nature of the negotiations, and some of the real concerns that the Merida Initiative is intended to address. What's most important comes near the end of the article. The authors clearly understand simple, incontrovertible facts regarding the nature of economics and drugs that seem to escape our political leaders (or are intentionally ignored by them). While Merida may witness an increase in border security and thus, logically, the number of seizures occurring, it is unlikely that it will be able, in its present form, to inhibit the overall trafficking of drugs. The continuance of such anti-drug aid simply encourages traffickers to seek other alternatives because as long as there is demand, traffickers will ensure the same for an adequate supply. Therefore, prices will be driven up as drastic measures are taken to ensure delivery, as referred to by Bill Piper, director of The Drug Policy Alliance: "Supply-side strategies have failed for cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and virtually every drug to which they have been applied--including alcohol during Prohibition." Fundamental economic principles demonstrate why: as long as a strong demand for drugs exists, there will be a supply to meet it. There are always newly organized cartels ready to step into someone's place should he or she be arrested or made to flee. [...] The Merida Initiative may appear on the surface to strengthen United States-Mexican relations. However, it may not go far in averting drug traffickers' intentions as they seek borders and routes elsewhere. Meanwhile, drug consumption will remain high, and traffickers will readily be able to sell drugs while purchasing any number of weapons necessary to get the job done. 8:35:04 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Open Thread You know they're going to get coal in their stockings... Santa Claus shot at by drug dealers while flying south. Ethan Brown: Big Easy offers only tough choices for America's drug war in the Guardian Jacob Sullum: The Dose Makes the Poison, Even for Marijuana Smoke. Sullum clears up mis-information about a recent study published by the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. The media is always looks for the smoking gun when it comes to marijuana, but it simply isn't there. The obvious problem with the media doing scare stories about marijuana is that there are no bodies. Marijuana has been smoked by hundreds of millions of people over the course of hundreds, if not thousands of years. Where are the bodies -- the mass graves of people who died when all the toxic aspects of marijuana caught up with them? Every time a new scare comes out, I look around me, but fail to see large numbers of people suddenly drop dead, so then I have to dredge through the actual details of the study to determine... yep, no big deal. Fortunately, Jacob Sullum and NORML have already done that with this study. Jerry Paradis of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) visited Colombia and and talked to farmers, activists, bureaucrats, cops, and soldiers. He writes about his experiences in this blog series. Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four 12:12:02 AM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []