Drug WarRant Saturday, February 23, 2008 If God can't enforce prohibition... Delightful OpEd by Peter Christ in the New York Star Gazette: Don't Tax Drugs, Legalize Them Good all the way through. The conclusion nails it nicely. Some point to alcohol Prohibition as the prime example of how a prohibition fails. I choose instead to draw upon a far older example. When Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by paradise with all their needs met, there was only one thing prohibited to them. Yet, in spite of their perfect existence, they couldn't resist that one temptation. I ask you, if God can't enforce prohibition, what makes us think we can do better? 10:19:07 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Drug Czar on rampage of stupidity It's all political -- it's all a way to promote his drug war... In this article, Walters blames U.S. marijuana users for "contributing" to the bloody wars in Mexico. Here, he says that U.S. prosecutors need to go after more of the low and mid-level marijuana offenders, including those where the evidence isn't that strong. However, here, he claims that the Mexico drug fight is success and is driving up prices (with the unfortunate side-effect of additional border violence). Each of these articles was also an opportunity for Walters to ask for more money for the drug war. I think it's fair to say that these bodies aren't a result of America pot-smokers, or prosecutors gone mild, or any kind of success. If they're going to haunt anyone, it'll be the drug warriors. [Thanks Walter, Scott, and Lee] 6:23:37 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] first up against the wall when the revolution comes... ...Thailand's new prime minister "My government will decisively implement a policy against drug trafficking. Government officials must implement this policy 24 hours a day, but I will not set a target for how many people should die," said Samak Sundaravej, the new prime minister. The interior minister Chalerm Yubamrung, said: "When we implement a policy that may bring 3,000 to 4,000 bodies, we will do it," I'm a pacifist and opposed to the death penalty, yet I find myself growing willing to set a target for how many people should die. One. And his name is Samak. 12:22:26 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Friday, February 22, 2008 DrugSense The current issue of DrugSense Weekly is available. My letter to the editor has been chosen as the letter of the week. And in case you missed it, last week I had the feature article. 5:50:45 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Thursday, February 21, 2008 Open Thread Vin Suprynowicz ridicules New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's drug tax proposal, and concludes: Ending the de facto tax exemption for this multi billion-dollar commerce may indeed make some budgetary sense -- with the added side benefits of removing it from the control of the criminal class and thus lowering prices, while restoring some vendor accountability for weight and purity. The best way to do that, of course, would be to simply re-legalize the commerce. (Surely no one will contend, today, that prohibition has ended it.) By the way, I'm doing pretty well with my new drug tax stamp collection. So far, I have stamps from Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Louisisana, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is slammed by the International Harm Reduction Association for being overly secretive. [When I was at the conference in New Orleans, it was interesting to hear international reformers -- whenever the INCB was mentioned, there was a palpable level of disgust.] Drug War Chronicle is out early this week... 8:52:14 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Looking for an Attorney General When considering a new President (mmm, that sounds good after seven years), there's more to ponder than just what the candidates claim as their positions on issues. Often, just as important is who they will choose for certain top jobs. We tend to think about things like Drug Czar and DEA head, but another position could be more critical -- Attorney General. It is the Attorney General (within the policy structure of the administration) who will determine whether the feds are prosecuting medical marijuana patients, or going after small-time crack offenders, or using federal prosecution as a means of bypassing state laws regarding asset forfeiture so that police can keep a portion of their looting. And, of course, it is the AG who will have a major hand in whether the government will respect the rights of the individual. After a string of disastrous Attorneys General, I'm hoping for... sanity. Oh, and maybe, I don't know, just a little bit of respect for the Constitution... Too much to hope for? Over at The Reality-Based Community, Jonathan Zasloff and Jonathan Kulick have been considering likely candidates: John McCain: Rudy Giuliani Barack Obama: John Edwards I'm not thrilled with either option (although the first hit me with a kind of flesh-crawling repugnancy). If forced to choose, however, it's a no-brainer: Giulini has made a career out of stepping on the individual, while Edwards has made a career out of going after the corporation. From the perspective of hoping to lessen the excesses of federal drug war prosecution, Edwards is clearly the better hope of the two. And during this campaign, Edwards did take a step toward a little more drug war realism. Still, I'd like to think there were better options. Any thoughts? 8:37:13 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Tired philosophy Doug Berman catches the irony in drug warrior John McCain cautioning against "the false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people." Yep. 5:54:46 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Odds and Ends John Morgan, co-author of Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts, died on Friday at the age of 67 from acute myeloid leukemia. Via Transform, a powerfully fascinating look at drug war violence in Brazil. Sci-Fi author David Brin has an interesting post Why The Candidates Should "Stipulate". It's a great idea -- two opposing candidates getting together and agreeing to stipulate that the drug war, for example, needs to end, thereby negating the use of the issue as a political football and being able to make progress on controversial topics. I doubt we'll see it, though, in the upcoming Presidential race. 8:08:57 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Server problems Update: Comments and posting were down Tuesday evening due to server problems. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, it meant that I couldn't post anything to let you know about the problem. 7:46:28 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Monday, February 18, 2008 An initiative in California It's still in the development stage, and it needs 434,000 signatures just to get on the ballot, but this one could stimulate some conversation. Decriminalizes possession, cultivation, transportation, distribution, and use of marijuana or hemp. Provides persons convicted or serving time for non-violent offenses involving marijuana be immediately released from prison, jail, parole, or probation, and be eligible to have their convictions erased. Provides no permit, license, or tax be required for non-commercial cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of marijuana. Allows doctors to prescribe or recommend marijuana to patients, regardless of age. Prohibits testing for marijuana for employment or insurance purposes. Bars state from aiding enforcement of certain federal marijuana laws. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Savings in the several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments, which would no longer incur the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. A potential increase of a few million dollars annually in the cost of the state's Drug Medi-Cal substance abuse treatment program. (Initiative 07-0064.) (Full Text) I like the audacity of it. [Thanks to Alex and others] 8:13:09 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment [] Sunday, February 17, 2008 Hitlerjugend hard at work Students Ask School to Sweep for Drugs Uh, huh. Drug-sniffing dogs helped police confiscate marijuana and related paraphernalia yesterday morning from a handful of student vehicles at Thomas Worthington High School. The drug sweep was conducted at the request of the administration and students, Worthington police said. "We had had several drug-related incidents over at the school," Sgt. John Slaughter said. "The school thought it was a good idea. They discussed it apparently with the student council, had meetings with them and came to the conclusion this might be a good idea." 2:10:11 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []