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Morales: Drug Cartels Better Equipped Than Bolivian Army

Incredible profits are made available to criminal organizations due to drug prohibition, and some of the money is used to keep them on the technological cutting edge. Bolivia's President Evo Morales reports that drug traffickers have more technology and modern equipment than the country's police and armed forces.
Latest News

Mayhem Raises Fears of Wider Mexican Violence

Mexico's drug war, which has not ended the gang violence and killings or stopped the flow of drugs, is failing miserably. Now, some experts fear a new level of violence in the already brutal war among drug traffickers and the Mexican government -- one that could be cutting into foreign business investment and tourism, two staples of the nation's legal economy.
Latest News

Square Grouper on the Cocaine Coast

The drug prohibition tactic of interdiction on sea vessels fails to stop cocaine from being trafficked -- somewhere between 10 and 20 percent is seized, but the traffickers simply send more to make up for what is confiscated. In Honduras -- and many other places across the globe -- locals help traffickers recover cocaine thrown overboard to avoid detection. These Honduran locals call the tightly sealed packages of cocaine "square grouper", and they hope to find all they can.
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Chronicle
Chronicle
too much cash can corrupt cops
too much cash can corrupt cops

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A sleazy federal probation officer gets indicted, a bunch more cops get arrested, and two big city East Coast dirty cops head for the slammer.
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Blog
Event

Harm Reduction Coalition After Party Launch Event and Fundraiser

The Harm Reduction Coalition is hosting this launch event and fundraiser to premiere our new online social marketing campaign, After Party! After Party is a smart and sexy music video-style HIV prevention campaign addressing the link between alcohol and drug use and unsafe sex. The After Party campaign is directed towards young adults, including African Americans, Latinos, and men who have sex with men of all races/ethnicities. Come to the After Party Launch Event and celebrate with us as we start our campaign!

To register, see https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1627/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=61395

For more information, contact Erica Poellot at [email protected].

Latest News
Latest News

Mexico justice means catch and release

Prohibitionist justice doesn't seem to work very well. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that the Mexican government arrested 226,667 drug suspects between December 2006 and September 2009. Less than a quarter of them were charged and only 15 percent saw a verdict (and the Mexican attorney general's office won't say how many of those were guilty).
Latest News

Billions Wasted in Mexico Pushing Failed U.S. Drug War Tactics

Prohibitionist policies abound, and they cost us dearly. A new report by the Government Accountability Office makes painfully clear that the U.S. is wasting taxpayer dollars on the drug war in Mexico. After two full years, the U.S. has no clear measures in place to determine if its $1.6 billion aid package to Mexico -- known as the Merida Initiative -- is having any impact whatsoever on the strength of the cartels.
In The Trenches

D.C. Medical Marijuana Law Clears Congressional Hurdle (Press Release)

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

JULY 27, 2010

D.C. Medical Marijuana Law Clears Congressional Hurdle

Congress Takes No Action to Overturn D.C. Council Bill; Officials Now Tasked With Establishing Regulations, Taking Dispensary Applications

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or 443-927-6400

WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s medical marijuana law cleared a mandatory 30-day Congressional review period Monday night, after Congress declined to take action against a D.C. Council bill that allows the District to license between five and eight medical marijuana dispensaries. Norton made the announcement on Tuesday. The District will join 14 states across the country in having effective medical marijuana laws.

         This historic development comes almost 12 years after 69 percent of District voters approved a referendum on medical marijuana in 1998. Congress had blocked the law’s implementation until last year. Now the District Department of Health and Mayor Adrian Fenty are tasked with developing a set of regulations for dispensaries that will be licensed to distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients. Medical marijuana is not fully legal yet, as the new law allows qualified patients to legally possess marijuana only if it comes from a licensed dispensary.

         “After thwarting the will of District voters for more than a decade, Congress is no longer standing in the way of effective relief for D.C. residents who struggle with chronic ailments,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “This moment is a long overdue victory for both D.C. home rule and the wellbeing of District residents whose doctors believe medical marijuana can help ease their pain.” 

         Under the bill, patients who are suffering from chronic conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis, and receive a recommendation from their doctor will be able to obtain safe access to medical marijuana through a system of licensed dispensaries. A task force will be charged with, among other things, recommending additional conditions, such as PTSD or severe, chronic pain to the list of qualifying conditions. Unlike the laws in 13 out of 14 medical marijuana states, patients will not be allowed to grow their own medicine, though the task force will also examine the issue of home cultivation. Medical marijuana will be subject to the city’s 6 percent sales tax. 

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

####

In The Trenches

Stop Congress from doubling penalties for pot brownies

SSDP Action Alert

Tell the Senate:
Stop S. 258!
Act now!

Dear friends,

Yes, you read that correctly. A bill has just reached the floor of the U.S. Senate that would double penalties for any edible products combined with medical marijuana in California and other states that provide relief for patients. The worst part is that the bill was written and sponsored by a Democratic senator from California!!! 

The bill is currently awaiting a vote.  That's why we need you to write your two United States Senators today and urge them to defeat this terrible bill.

As you probably know, many patients prefer to eat - rather than smoke or vaporize -  medical marijuana. To illustrate how inhumane this bill is, consider this scenario.  The bill would double the federal prison sentence if a college student home to help care for his brother undergoing chemotherapy baked marijuana brownies for him to eat, even if it was recommended by his doctor!!!

Please write the Senate now to defeat this heartless bill.  And if you appreciate SSDP taking the lead on important issues like this, please consider donating today.  

 

Thanks, 

Aaron Houston
Executive Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
Washington, D.C.

In The Trenches

LEAP's latest video: the best for last!


Dear friends,

Here's the final video in Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's series of MAC - PC parody ads.  This latest installment deals with the connection between the drug war and terrorism.  We hope you've enjoyed these public service announcements from LEAP and that you'll pass the latest video along to your friends. 

If you missed the first two videos in this series, please click here and here.







Your donation puts LEAP speakers in front of audiences. To support LEAP's work by making a contribution, please click here.





           

121 Mystic Ave. Suites 8&9
Medford, MA 01255
(781) 393-6985 [email protected]


We need help growing our all-encompassing movement of citizens who want to end the failed "war on drugs," so please invite your family and friends to learn about LEAP.
 

 

 

In The Trenches

Drug Truth 07/26/10

Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS  *  Time 4 Hemp

Note:  I now produce a segment each Friday at 11:45 PM Central for Time 4 Hemp on American Freedom Radio (dot com)

 

Cultural Baggage for  07/25/10 29:00 Len Richmond, producer of new film: "What if Cannabis Cured Cancer" + Michael Krawitz re VA's allowing med marijuana & Paul Armentano re bogus Govt stats for emergency room visits for marijuana

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/2999

TRANSCRIPT:  Tue

 

Century of Lies for  07/25/10  29:00  Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow - Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness"

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3000

TRANSCRIPT: Mon

 

4:20 Drug War NEWS, 07/26 to 08/01/10  Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin -

 

Sun - Paul Armentano of NORML re Sen. Feinstien not representing her consituents Sat - Mason Tvert of Safer Choice on why DARE dares not compare alcohol to marijuana Fri - Neil Franklin, director Law Enforcement Against Prohibiiton on being prohibited from attending SAMHSA conference Thu - Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow"

Wed - Mary Jane Borden of Drug War Facts re narco violence in Mexico Tue - Paul Armentano of NORML on emergency room visits for marijuana Mon - Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access on positive VA ruling on medical cannabis use

 

Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM.  You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org

 

-  Cultural Baggage Sun, 7:30 PM ET, 6:30 PM CT, 5:30 PM MT, 4:30 PM PT

-  Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT

 

Who's Next?":  Larry Talley of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 

 

Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and now at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.  http://www.bakerinstitute.org

 

We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates.  You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org  and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. 

 

The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00  "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net .  We currently have 74 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations.  With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge.

 

Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker  Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform.  "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981, www.drugtruth.net

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Pro-Legalization Cops Banned from Anti-Drug Event

There's something very seductive about police officers speaking out against the drug war and explaining how their experiences led them to oppose prohibition. Maybe that's why government officials don't want LEAP represented at an upcoming conference on substance abuse:

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Bill Clinton Calls for Harm Reduction

Three new videos from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, filmed at the Vienna AIDS 2010 conference this month. In one of them, former US President Bill Clinton calls for harm reduction, an approach to substance misuse and other social issues of which the most well-known example is needle exchange programs.

Blog

It could be a lot worse

Sometimes I get so frustrated at the way the governments,federal and provincial(state in US)are poking their noses into every thing we do and say.We live in a world that is increasingly more contro