Federal Government
Higher Education Act Reform Campaign
Since 1998 DRCNet has campaigned for repeal of the drug provision of the Higher Education Act (also known as the "Aid Elimination Penalty,") a 1998 law that delays or denies federal financial aid to people convicted of state or federal drug offenses -- since taking effect in the fall of 2000, nearly 200,000 students have been denied aid under this law. The major component of this effort has been our coordination of the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (CHEAR), a coalition including some of the nation's leading religious, criminal justice, drug treatment, education, civil rights and health organizations which seeks to repeal the drug provision. Ten members of Congress spoke at our May 2002 press conference, a record in drug policy reform.
The campaign scored a major victory in February 2006, when the drug provision was scaled back to apply only to people whose drug offenses were committed while they were in school and receiving federal aid.
Also in February, DRCNet issued our first major report, published under the auspices of CHEAR, "Falling Through the Cracks: Loss of State-Based Financial Aid Eligibility for Students Affected by the Federal Higher Education Act Drug Provision," finding that a majority of states deny state financial aid to applicants because of drug convictions, even though few of them have laws on the books directing them to do so. Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez of Maryland offered legislation in the state's 2006 session to address that situation, and efforts underway in states around the country to take on the issue at that level.
Speakers appearing in this photo include Rep. Bobby Rush (at the podium), with Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Elijah Cummings, Rep. Robert Andrews, drug provision victim Caton Volk, Jo'ie Taylor of the United States Student Association, Students for Sensible Drug Policy national director Shawn Heller and Legal Action Center representative Jennifer Collier.
Tommy Chong's Prosecutor Says He Should Have Gotten More Jail Time
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 1:29amMary Beth Buchanan, easily the nastiest federal prosecutor in the nation, has finally resigned her post. Yet, even as lovers of justice across the country celebrate her long-overdue departure (and pray she won't run for elected office), Buchanan has managed to turn our stomachs for what will hopefully be the last time:
On her last day in office, Buchanan says her only regret during her tenure was accepting a plea from Tommy Chong. [KDKA.com]
Such pure arrogance is really something to behold. Every legal textbook in the country should display her picture beside the term "malicious prosecution," as the railroading of Tommy Chong is a mere footnote within a career defined by gratuitous excesses.
Of course, Tommy was amused to hear that Buchanan still holds a grudge against him. The feeling is mutual:
"I'm honored to be Mary Beth's only regret. Now does she regret going after me? Or does she regret that I never got enough time? I tend to think she wishes she'd never heard my name. I have become her legacy. Mary Beth Loose Cannon is now looking for a job. She blew her last job busting me. Karma is so sweet! She's looking for a work while Cheech and I start our second multi-million dollar tour thanks to the publicity she created for us! Thank you Mary Beth - may you find peace and happiness in your search for your soul." [CelebStoner]
I dunno, Tommy. You might wanna keep the floodlights on at night, just in case. If we know one thing about Mary Beth Buchanan, it’s that she never ever stops. She could be lurking in your bushes at this very moment, drunk with fury and looking to finish what she started.
Latin America: Former Mexican Foreigner Minister Accuses Army of Extra-Judicial Executions in Drug War
Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's foreign minister under President Vicente Fox, said Saturday that the Mexican military is engaging in the extrajudicial execution of members of drug trafficking organizati
Feature: Fired Up in Albuquerque -- The 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference
Drug Czar's Website Still Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 11:50pmUnfortunately, the DEA isn’t the only drug war apparatus that's dragging its heels when it comes to acknowledging the American Medical Association's new position on medical marijuana. The drug czar's website still offers a document entitled "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana," (PDF) which includes this passage:
Major public health organizations do not support smoking marijuana as medicine.The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology all oppose the smoked form of marijuana as medicine...
So, if the drug czar thinks "every American should know" about AMA's position on medical marijuana, will he now inform Americans that the position has changed? Somehow I doubt it, but at the very least, this now-false claim that AMA opposes medical marijuana should be removed immediately.
Let me be clear about this too, because I don’t want anyone thinking this is just some smug campaign to rub AMA's new position in the face of drug warriors all over the web. This document, "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana," is a dreadful Bush-era hatefest that positively drips with outrageous & out-of-context propaganda points and should have been tossed from the site back in January, along with all the other rancid garbage John Walters left in the fridge at ONDCP.
This document even contains the unbelievable Steve Kubby smear, in which Kubby's statements about Marinol saving his life in prison were spun as opposition to medical marijuana (I highly recommend revisiting that one if you don’t remember it, because it's so much worse than I can even describe in one sentence). And this isn't some dusty artifact I dug up from the cavernous bowels of ONDCP.gov either, it is currently the #1 search result for "medical marijuana" on the drug czar's website.*
So please join me in sending the drug czar a note asking that this outdated and offensive document be removed from his site once and for all. Whether it's because the reference to AMA is no longer accurate, or because the rest of the thing in its entirety is just a raging trainwreck of distortion and nastiness, or because the new administration has pledged to respect state medical marijuana laws instead of vilifying doctors and patients, this type of rhetoric has no place in the drug policy debate.
Please contact the drug czar today to ask that the document "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana" be permanently removed from ONDCP.gov. Thanks.
*Update: Interestingly, the document is now much more difficult to find on the ONDCP website. Last night, it came up #1 in a search for "medical marijuana." Now I can only locate it by using more specific search terms. Hopefully, this signals that it's in the process of being removed, although the PDF is currently still being hosted by ONDCP.
Update 2: Our friends at LEAP have created an action alert where you can send a pre-written message to DEA & ONDCP requesting the necessary corrections.
DEA Website STILL Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 9:17pmLast week's big news that the American Medical Association reversed its position on medical marijuana struck a huge blow to the reefer madness crowd, which has heavily touted the esteemed organization's past position as a primary excuse for prohibiting medical use. Yesterday, the DEA finally revised its website after LEAP and MPP pointed out that AMA was still listed as an opponent of medical marijuana.
Rarely, if ever, has the DEA responded so quickly and cooperatively when activists complained about the accuracy of government anti-drug propaganda. But, the job isn't done just yet. It seems the clever folks at DEA took our complaints literally, and only fixed the page we mentioned, rather than making all the necessary corrections.
DEA's youth website, JustThinkTwice.com, still contains two separate inaccurate statements about AMA's position on medical marijuana:
http://www.justthinktwice.com/factfiction/MarijuanaisMedicine.cfm
"The American Medical Association has rejected pleas to endorse marijuana as medicine, and instead has urged that marijuana remain a prohibited, Schedule I drug, at least until more research is done."
http://www.justthinktwice.com/stumbleweed/rx_pot_01.htm
"The American Medical Association rejected marijuana as medicine."
Of course, it's quite likely that similar claims can still be found elsewhere on DEA websites and it's their responsibility to clean up the mess. Hopefully, DEA is more familiar with its own web content than we are, so it shouldn’t be too hard to go through there and set everything straight.
Let's all do our part to help DEA with the editing process by copying the links above and clicking here (then scroll down) to send them a reminder that more corrections are needed. When it comes to providing the public with accurate and up-to-date information about drugs, the DEA is in desperate need of our asistance, so please take a few moments to lend them a hand.
Update: Our friends at LEAP have created an action alert where you can send a pre-written message to DEA & ONDCP requesting the necessary corrections.
Feature: 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conferences Opens Amid Optimism in Albuquerque
Hundreds, possibly more than a thousand, people poured into the Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the Drug Policy Alliance's
Sentencing: US Sentencing Commission to Review Mandatory Minimums
The US Sentencing Commission has been ordered by Congress to review mandatory minimum sentencing.
Feature: The State of Play -- Federal Drug Reform Legislation in the Congress
Ten months into the Obama administration, drug policy reform in the US Congress is moving along on a number of tracks.
Is There Something "Liberal" About Improving Our Drug Policy?
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Mon, 11/09/2009 - 9:15pmPete Guither caught this strange quote from deputy drug czar Tom McClellan in an AP story about expanding drug treatment:
McLellan, insisting he’s not "a wild-eyed liberal," said expanding treatment wouldn’t negate the war on drugs."Law enforcement is necessary, but it’s not sufficient," he said.
It's just a stupid and completely unnecessary attempt to label anyone with concerns about our heavy-handed drug policy. The whole concept that only liberals care about this is pathetically simple-minded and dishonest, as anyone who's been watching FOX News lately could tell you. By McClellan's strained logic, his own boss, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, would also be a "wild-eyed liberal" for criticizing the idea of fighting a "war on drugs."
Anyone endeavoring to define the political identity of the drug reform movement is wasting their breath. The idea that our drug policy sucks is far too widespread to be contained within any vague political parameters and I'm quite sure Tom McClellan knows that, even if he conveniently pretends not to.
Docket No. DEA-331 reopened for public comment, new deadline is 11/27/09
Posted in Reader Blogs by Rural WA on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 7:22amThe DEA issued an NPRM to place 5-MeO-DMT in Schedule I and has reopened the period for public comment because the first notice was defective.
So far one substantial objection has been posted which objects primarily on grounds the Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional rather than the sham findings for placement in Schedule I. I'll copy some of that argument below from PUBLIC SUBMISSION DEA-2009-0008-0007.1.
Feature: Veterans Incarcerated and Ignored When They Could Be Getting Help, Report Finds
Roughly 200,000 US veterans are in prison or jail, many of them there because of substance abuse or mental health issues, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The Border: US Begins Turning Busted Smugglers Over to Mexico for Prosecution
For years, getting caught trying to smuggle drugs across the US-Mexican border meant being handed over to US authorities for prosecution.
Drug Legalization: Senator Pushes Amendment to Censor Any Talk of That
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), an inveterate drug warrior, doesn't want to hear the L-word in Washington.
Outrage: Drug Warrior Congressman Tries to Prohibit Discussion of Legalization
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 8:14pmSen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has introduced legislation calling for a thorough evaluation of the U.S. criminal justice system, namely for the purpose of exploring ways to reduce our world-record prison population. As you might guess, simply discussing whether we should keep millions of American behind bars is enough to terrify the drug war's most committed champions.
They can’t handle the tough questions, so they're trying to make it illegal to even ask. Drug war hall-of-famer Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) today introduced an amendment to Webb's bill that would literally prohibit the commission from talking about legalization or even decriminalization:
AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mr. GRASSLEY
….
SEC. ll. RESTRICTIONS ON AUTHORITY.
The Commission shall have no authority to make findings related to current Federal, State, and local criminal justice policies and practices or reform recommendations that involve, support, or otherwise discuss the decriminalization of any offense under the Controlled Substances Act or the legalization of any controlled substance listed under the Controlled Substances Act.
These words are a legal blueprint for silencing all criticism of the war on drugs before the experts even get a chance to discuss it. The whole thing flagrantly violates the spirit of the entire inquiry and renders meaningless everything Webb is trying to do. And yes, that's exactly the point.
No one has done more than Charles Grassley to make the drug war into the horrible mess that it's become, so you can bet he'll do anything to protect his shameful legacy. If he succeeds, the bill will almost certainly end up protecting bad policies instead of exposing them. We can’t let that happen. Click here to tell your Senators to oppose this misguided amendment and let the experts do their job without political interference.
A serious evaluation of criminal justice and drug policies is long overdue and that effort means nothing unless all options are debated openly.
Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update
by Bernd Debussman Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations make billions each year trafficking illegal drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the prohibitionist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, prohibition-related violence has killed over 12,000 people -- the body count passing 6,000 for 2009 so far this month. The increasing militarization of the drug war and the arrest of several high-profile drug traffickers have failed to stem the flow of drugs -- or the violence -- whatsoever. The Merida initiative, which provides $1.4 billion over three years for the US to assist the Mexican government with training, equipment and intelligence, has so far failed to make a difference. Here are a few of the latest developments in Mexico's drug war:
Saturday, October 24
A high ranking federal police official was assassinated in Chihuahua. Jose Alfredo Silly Pena was a naval captain who served as a federal police intelligence official. He, along with three other men, had been kidnapped by heavily armed men some hours earlier. Additionally, 23 people were killed in violence in Chihuahua during a 48-hour period. 18 of these murders occurred in Ciudad Juárez. In Guerrero, four bodies were found in a hidden pit just meters from where seven bodies had been found last Tuesday. In other parts of Mexico, an unidentified gunman was killed by the army near Tlapehuala, and two more were killed and six captured after battling soldiers near Tamaulipas. The day before, four people, including two police officers, were killed after a firefight in Hidalgo; two people were killed in Michoacán, and three each in Durango, Coahuila, and Oaxaca.
Sunday, October 25
In Torreon, Coahuila, gunmen ambushed the convoy of the municipal public safety director. The official survived, but a nearby civilian was killed in the ensuing firefight. In another part of Torreon, a gun battle left two other people dead, one of whom was apparently homeless. Fifteen people were killed in Chihuahua, 14 of whom were killed in Ciudad Juárez. One of the dead was head of the police anti-theft unit, who was gunned down in a restaurant as he ate. At least three killings occurred in Sinaloa, and two women were kidnapped after being snatched from their car on the highway. At least three people were killed in Sonora, including a lawyer and a reputed gang leader.
The AP reported that dozens of ICE officials have been investigated for their handling of informants. Allegations include that ICE steered investigators away from a man who has since been charged with the El Paso murder of Jose Daniel Gonzalez Galeana. Galeana was a Juárez cartel manager and ICE informant. Additionally, ICE officials are being accused of allowing a man -- described as a "homicidal maniac" by the DEA -- to continue to be an informant even after having supervised the killing of a Juárez cartel associate.
Tuesday , October 27
In Puebla, four police officers were killed and a fifth wounded after being shot by gunmen. The officers were performing a traffic stop of a suspicious vehicle when another truck pulled up from which several heavily armed gunmen emerged and opened fire in an apparent attempt to "rescue" the passengers of the first vehicle.
In Nayarit, four men have been arrested in the videotaped and widely publicized torture of five teenagers. It appears the five boys had attempted to rob a house when they were captured by heavily armed vigilantes. In addition to being beaten and threatened with weapons, the boys were forced to kiss each other. The boys were later dumped naked on a street. There has been increased activity in recent months by vigilante groups thought to be linked to drug traffickers or members of the police.
Wednesday , October 28
Mexican soldiers have discovered an enormous, partially completed tunnel which ends just across the border from Otay Mesa, California. The tunnel, which was incomplete, came complete with electricity and an air supply system. Journalists in Tijuana were invited to tour the site, which is the latest of many similar discoveries in recent years.
Mexican police have arrested a man suspected of being La Familia's operations chief for the state of Michoacán. The man, Abel Valadez Oribe, 32, was on his way to a cockfight when he was detained by police after being tipped off by informants. Oribe, also known as "El Clinton," is also suspected of ordering multiple murders, including that of the mayor of Ixtapan de la Sal. His arrest comes a week after 303 suspected members of La Familia were arrested across the United States. In another part of Michoacán, the dismembered remains of an unidentified man were found by the roadside near Uruapan. Uruapan was the site of one of the most publicized incidents of the Mexican drug war in 2006, when gunmen threw five severed heads onto a dance floor in a local nightclub.
Total body count for the week: 157
Total body count for the year: 6,175
Southwest Asia: Three DEA Agents Among Dead in Afghan Helicopter Crash
Three DEA agents and seven US soldiers were killed Monday when their helicopter crashed as they were returning from a firefight with suspected drug traffickers in western Afghanistan.
Medical Marijuana: A New Bill in Congress!
Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 1:01pm
Dear friends:
We are excited to announce new legislation in Congress that would protect many medical marijuana patients and providers from federal prosecution.
One in four Americans now lives in a state with laws governing medical marijuana. Unfortunately, law-abiding citizens can still be prosecuted on federal marijuana-related charges.
Today, Congressman Sam Farr introduced the "Truth in Trials" Act, H.R. 3939. This bill would enable law-abiding citizens facing federal marijuana related charges to introduce evidence at trial showing that they were in compliance with state law.
"Truth in Trials" needs a lot of support in the U.S. House of Representatives if it is to succeed.
Please e-mail your member of Congress right now. Ask him or her to cosponsor this important legislation.
Click here: http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/house
Thanks!
Sanjeev Bery
National Field Director
Americans for Safe Access
Americans for Safe Access
On The Web:
ASA's Online Store
