Friday, September 19, 2008

Open Thread Ironic legislation: On Wednesday night, the House passed a resolution praising the legalization of alcohol. Co-sponsored by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak, the resolution comes 75 years after the ratification of the 21st Amendment re-legalized alcohol. The resolution notes that "prior to the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established Prohibition in the United States, abuses and insufficient regulation resulted in irresponsible overconsumption of alcohol." The ban, though, "resulted in a dramatic increase in illegal activity, including unsafe black market alcohol production, organized crime, and noncompliance with alcohol laws." Good for them, I guess, in recognizing that prohibition doesn't work. Read the entire resolution at Transform. I talked about the case of Weldon Angelos years ago (first arrest, sentenced to 55 years for marijuana sales because he had a gun (which he did not wield or use) under mandatory sentencing). Now in a creative approach, attorneys are arguing the sentence is unconstitutional under the recent Supreme Court ruling in Heller that affirms 2nd Amendment right to gun ownership for individuals. Strong OpEd by Carol Steiker: A Merciless Justice Politician apologizes for not using marijuana. This one's a week old, but good if you missed it: Marijuana Could be a Gusher of Cash If We Treated It Like a Crop, Not a Crime I linked to this one in passing within the context of another post, but Jack Cole's piece in the Boston Globe: The Solution to the Failed Drug War was pretty powerful. Bob Barr's piece has shown up a couple of places: It's Time for the Federal Government to Abandon the Drug War 9:11:52 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []