John Pike, founder of the military monitoring group GlobalSecurity.org in Washington, said the Afghan opium issue is "the stinking 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one wants to talk about."
Pike agreed that with 70 percent of the Afghan population tied to agriculture, simply eradicating a crop that has been produced for centuries and is steeped in tradition isn't the answer.
Instead, he said in all seriousness, the West should simply buy it, convert it to medicinal morphine rather than illicit heroin, and give it away.
"This is business," he said. "Everything you thought you knew about counter-insurgency and winning hearts and minds is irrelevant if you take away people's livelihood.
"The only solution I see is, we ought to outbid the drug lords and do our own refining, and then donate it as medicine to Third World countries."
That should be a strategy given serious consideration as the Marine Corps and the Obama administration make plans to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, Pike said.
"We are preparing to pour a pretty good-sized amount of new blood and treasure into Afghanistan with no other describable theory of victory today apart from sending more troops," he said. "Before we get too far down that road, if outbidding the drug kings is a wrong-headed idea, I would like to see someone prove that to me."
Of course, the Senlis solution won't dry up the opium supplies -- there's enough stockpiled to last quite some time, and more will be produced for the black market somewhere as long as it's illegal.
But if even a large portion of the farmers in Afghanistan are happy selling it to us, then the Taliban have a much harder time being popular as "protectors" from us. There will be less money available to fight us, and less available to corrupt the Afghanistan government.
The Change.org suggestion section now has the ability to rank suggestions for developing a campaign to promote the winning ideas. Unfortunately, there are tons of pages of suggestions for the Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana.
But if you have time to wade through all the suggestions that aren't really suggestions, try doing some up and down ranking to bring the better ideas to the top.
Here are three suggestions I made:
[currently on page 25 - these will get moved back further as more suggestions are added] We have to provide cover for Congress. The thing that scares them most is the 30-second ad saying "My opponent is soft on drugs/crime." Or "My opponent wants children to smoke pot."
One approach is to be turn around the "tough on drugs" mantra and be "smart on drugs."
It also helps to focus on regulation as a way to reduce the problems of drugs. If marijuana abuse can be a problem, then why is it unregulated?
TV ad: "Who do you want deciding if your child is old enough to use marijuana? Him?" [image of a drug dealer on a school corner] "Or them?" [Image of doctors and police.] "Regulate and tax medicinal and recreational marijuana. Stop putting the criminals in charge of it."
I also figured that a lot of folks may have missed the stories about Howard and Misty, and more could never hurt.
[Currently on page 18] Work with LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) on this campaign. Having a group picture of law enforcement officers supporting legalization is a very powerful image for the people we need to reach.
Additionally, Howard Wooldridge is a great icon for legalization. A LEAP member with a beautiful horse named Misty and a cowboy hat and a shirt that reads "Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why." His wife has a bumper sticker reading "Moms Say Legalize Pot" Howard rode across the country on Misty engaging people with that question. And now he walks the halls of Congress trying to change the laws. He would make a great story.
Finally, this idea -- which I really like and may try to do something about regardless.
[currently on page 16] Possible idea for a rotating ad campaign (could work with print or electronic media):
Ad#1: [Image of DEA agents with guns hacking down marijuana plants in a national forest]. "Why don't we see tobacco being grown by criminals in national forests?" ... [Image of tobacco field and farmer] "Because it's legal." [Tag] Legalize and regulate medicinal and recreational marijuana. Take it out of the hands of the criminals.
Ad#2: [Image of drug dealer on schoolyard] "Why don't we see whisky dealers hanging around schoolyards?" ... [Image of liquor store with a 'We Card' sign] "Because it's legal." [Tag] Legalize and regulate medicinal and recreational marijuana. Take it out of the hands of the criminals.
Ad #3: [Image of marijuana and various other drugs (cocaine, heroine, etc.) displayed by a drug dealer] "Why isn't coffee considered a gateway drug?" [Image of a coffee shop] "Because it's legal." [Tag] Legalize and regulate medicinal and recreational marijuana. Take it out of the hands of the criminals.
Ad #4: [Image of a person in a wheelchair on a seedy street corner scoring some pot] "Why don't people have to buy aspirin from dealers on the street?" [Image of a drug store] "Because it's legal." [Tag] Legalize and regulate medicinal and recreational marijuana. Take it out of the hands of the criminals.
I've started searching for some good royalty-free stock photos that could be used for an ad campaign like this (in particular, I'd love to get one of DEA chopping down marijuana field in a forest, but any news photos like that would be copyrighted. I'm also looking for a liquor store counter where I could photoshop in a "We Card" sign)
....
Also, if you've actually joined Change.org, there's a lot of other things you can do at that site. For instance, if you've joined the Criminal Justice Cause, you could take action on End Federal Raids on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries by sending a letter to the President. Or you could support Law Enforcement Against Prohibition or other non-profit organizations.
In case you missed it, the DEA conducted a raid yesterday on a medical marijuana dispensary in South Lake Tahoe, California. That's right - in the second full day of the new administration that had promised to end the raids.
Keep in mind that Michele Leonhart is still head of the DEA. My gut instinct is that the DEA is acting on its own, ignoring Obama's campaign promises and pretending ignorance and business as usual, without anything concrete in place yet to deter them. It really shows the rank stupidity of the DEA leadership.
To conduct a raid right now does nothing but motivate the medical marijuana community in huge ways at a time when the Obama administration wants to focus on other things. It calls attention to everything that's wrong with the DEA, and puts it up in big glowing neon letters.
I could be wrong, but my guess is that Michele has already gotten a stern call from Rahm.
But just to be sure, it would be great if everyone lit up the switchboard at the White House.
I got an email from Cheryl...
I just called Obama at 202-456-1111. They have no computers and are taking hand-written notes. The VOLUNTEER who answered the phone for me said, I wasn't the only one to call him about this and there are over a dozen volunteers and the phones are ringing off the hook. I told him about the DEA raid yesterday & asked for Obama to keep his promise about ending DEA raids on medical cannabis patients and hoped he would end them for medical cannabis providers as well. He speculated that the DEA may have been trying to get one last raid in before the transition is complete. All the notes will be gathered into "subject" and given to the call-center boss and may be reported to Obama. Please call. Let your voice be heard. If you get a busy signal, try again. Leave a voicemail or speak to a real person.
Excellent advice.
By the way, the no-computers thing is another part of the stupidity of our government.
"It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said of his new digs. [...]
One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos.
President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton spoke to State Department employees this afternoon, and they announced that Ambassador Richard Holbrooke has been named "special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan."
[Clinton:] Ambassador Holbrooke will coordinate across the entire government an effort to achieve United States' strategic goals in the region.
This effort will be closely coordinated, not only within the State Department and, of course, with USAID, but also with the Defense Department and under the coordination of the National Security Council.
So who is Richard Holbrooke?
Well, for one thing, he's the author of this OpEd in the Washington Post last year: Still Wrong in Afghanistan
Karzai and much of the international community in Kabul have warned Bush that aerial spraying would create a backlash against the government and the Americans, and serve as a recruitment device for the Taliban while doing nothing to reduce the drug trade. This is no side issue: If the program continues to fail, success in Afghanistan will be impossible.
Fortunately, Bush has not been able to convince other nations or Karzai that aerial spraying should be conducted, although he is vigorously supported by the American ambassador, William Wood, who was an enthusiastic proponent of aerial spraying in his previous assignment, in Colombia. Wood, often called "Chemical Bill" in Kabul, has even threatened senior Afghan officials with cuts in reconstruction funds if his policies are not carried out, according to two sources.
But even without aerial eradication, the program, which costs around $1 billion a year, may be the single most ineffective program in the history of American foreign policy. It's not just a waste of money. It actually strengthens the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as criminal elements within Afghanistan.
Someone who understands that aerial spraying is counterproductive! And he'll be coordinating our entire Afghanistan/Pakistan efforts.
And make no mistake about it. He understands.
The program destroys crops in insecure areas, especially in the south, where the Taliban is strongest. [...]
Everyone talks about "alternative livelihoods" and alternative crops as the solution to the drug problem. This is true in theory -- but this theory has been tried elsewhere with almost no success. Poppies are an easy crop to grow and are far more valuable than any other product that can be grown in the rocky, remote soil of most of Afghanistan. Without roads, it is hard to get heavier (and less valuable) crops to market -- and what market is there, anyway?
And while he didn't go so far as to jump on board the Senlis proposal, he seems open to new ideas.
Solving this problem requires bold, creative thinking. Consideration should be given to a temporary suspension of eradication in insecure areas, accompanied by an intensified effort to improve security, build small market-access roads and offer farmers free agricultural support.
And finally, in a completely different vein, here's the clincher in my mind. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke appeared on the Colbert Report, brokering a settlement between Colbert and Willie Nelson over their competing ice cream flavors, and at one point:
Colbert: Have you met Willie Nelson? Holbrooke: No, no. But he sings better than you.... I just visited his trailer, and I breathed in, and you know I feel very good... [Big grin from Willie]
Here, our new Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, while not a good singer, even joins in a song with Stephen Colbert and Willie Nelson!
Marijuana, Inc. is on tonight on CNBC at 9 pm and 1 am Eastern (8 pm/midnight Central)
While it may not be traded on Wall Street any time soon, marijuana has become a booming cash crop. CNBC's Trish Regan goes behind the scenes to explore the inner workings of this secretive industry, focusing on Northern California's "Emerald Triangle," now the marijuana capital of the U.S. In this scenic pocket of America, the pot business, much of it legal under state law, now makes up as much as two-thirds of the local economy.
There is a poll on decriminalization at the CNBC site (Update:: as of showtime, with 14,000 votes, the poll is running 97% in favor of decrim vs. 2.8% against).
"Marijuana Inc." adds up to a solid special with a well-supported and inescapable conclusion: The commerce is unlikely to change and the law has only a slim chance of doing more than containing the most violence-prone offenders.
When it comes to marijuana, a whole lot of people voted some time ago to just say yes.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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).
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...
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Good words. And to insure that they're heeded, we the people must hold the government accountable.
What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
And that is the challenge to us in the drug policy reform community. To seize gladly our duty to reform government, to hold it accountable, to end the drug war, to restore liberty. It's a difficult task, but we will not falter.
Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
As his last act as President, George W. Bush commuted the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.
Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for the Feb. 17, 2005, incident near Fabens, Texas.
After a high-speed chase, a smuggler named Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila abandoned his van, which held 743 pounds of marijuana. The agents shot him as he ran away. They didn't report the shooting, and they threw all the shell casings they could find into the river. Only later did they claim they'd spotted a gun.
That's right. They shot at an unarmed man running away, eventually hitting him in the rear, then realized that they were in the wrong, so they let him go and tried to cover up the shooting.
Apparently President Bush was concerned that the sentences were overly harsh. After all, all they did was, under color of authority, shoot at an unarmed man and then cover it up. It's not like they did drugs or anything.
MONTGOMERY - State prisons aren't likely to receive a budget increase for the next budget year, so state prison Commissioner Richard Allen said Thursday he saw no reason Thursday to mention a dollar figure during legislative budget hearings. [...]
For the new fiscal year, Allen said his agency will focus on how to "dampen down" the number of new inmates.
Those programs will center on sentencing reform, community corrections, new goals for pardons and paroles and a supervised re-entry program.
"The Sentencing Commission's job is looking at new bills and telling legislators what the impact is going to be" on the Department of Corrections, he said. "Sentencing reform requires them to consider alternate means of sentence. Those are very very important."
In the past, legislators have passed laws for tougher sentences and adding new crimes as if there was no cost. This is a good sign that those days may be ending.
Bye.
