Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Modest Proposal... freebasing coffee Would the government try to make coffee illegal if you made it sound scary? Check out this video of how to create freebase caffeine. This Swiftian modest proposal is a fascinating intellectual exercise. Essentially, his challenge to policymakers is this: criminalize coffee. Naturally, after coffee is criminalized will inevitably come the next food that can be purified, and so on... This is the argument of absurdity (reductio ad absurdum); how ridiculous could we theoretically make policy before policy has become too absurd to take seriously? In a sane world, the reductio ad absurdum would work. Here, I don't know. After all, we've already seen legislators try to outlaw plastic bags, baking soda, and baggy pants. Policy has already become too absurd to take seriously. In the meantime, if you're looking for an alternative to freebasing crack, try Starbucks Italian Roast (although it's a lot easier just to drink it). 10:57:19 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

WhiteHouse.gov As Scott says, there are certain things that it's just nice to actually see in print at a site with a whitehouse.gov domain, such as: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated. [...] The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. Of course, we'll wait for deeds, not words, but again these are not bad words for a President these days (nor is this draft order for closing Guantanamo). We're not going to see marijuana legalization on WhiteHouse.gov. I don't even think we'll see ending medical marijuana raids on there (if they stop, they'll stop quietly). But sentencing reform and needle exchange is a nice start. 10:34:34 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Daily Show at the Youth Inaugural Ball The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c Changefest '09 - Youth Inaugural Ball Barack Obama Interview John McCain Interview Sarah Palin Video Funny Election Video Wyatt Cenac: "The nerds go into politics and they stick it to the cool guys by outlawing pot. Today that shameful chapter in our nation's history is finally over." Hey Jon. Jon. Quick question for you. You got any pot? Jon: No. I don't have any pot. Wyatt: Aw, that's too bad. Barbara Boxer had some Portuguese Red here with resin that was like superglue. She is so cool. 9:29:18 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

The worldwide destructive power of prohibition In the February 2009 issue of Playboy (not available online, sorry), I found an interest/depressing feature article: "The Drug Coast" by Christian Parenti. It's about Guinea-Bissau, a country in Western Africa that I must admit I barely knew existed. It's almost completely a failed state, with a corrupt government and military that is funded by the European Union to stop the drug trade and funded by the Drug Trade to facilitate the drug trade. The entire reason for Guinea-Bissau's status is that coca is grown in Latin America, that cocaine is consumed (in part) in Europe, that Guinea-Bissau is conveniently located between the two, and (most importantly) that cocaine is illegal. Guinea-Bissau itself doesn't even have much of a drug problem. It has a being-in-a-convenient-location-in-the-drug-war problem. I read stories like this and I'm blown away by how massive is the damage caused by the drug war, in so many ways -- from creating failed states in Africa, to encouraging a 16-year-old crack dealer in the UK, to demolishing houses in Canada, to destroying farmers' livelihood in Afghanistan, to locking people up for life in Southeast Asia for possession, to people losing their heads in Mexico. And that's just this week's news. UK: Crack Dealer Aged Just 16 Goes to Jail Ontario: "Hamilton police will examine an initiative where it can demolish homes used for marijuana grow operations." Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) is pushing for aerial herbicide spraying in Afghanistan. He actually points to Colombia as a good example of the effectiveness of the program (somebody should tell him that total cocaine production in Colombia has increased). 3 heads found in ice box in northern Mexico Cambodia to work out new law to punish drug traffickers Drug traffickers will receive harsh punishments for possessing small quantities of illegal substances if a new draft law to be worked out in March, national media reported on Wednesday. [...] The draft, written with the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as advisers... 9:08:44 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []