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I have analysed a recent debate between Aaron Smith and Calvina Fay for media bias. The post can be found here: http://www.glenstark.net/2010/05/manufacturing-consent-and-the-drug-war

The new trend of holding online votes for policy ideas continues to thrive, and this time it's the republicans who want to hear from us:

America deserves a Congress that respects the priorities of the people. Unfortunately, Washington hasn't been listening. Let's change that. America Speaking Out is your opportunity to change the way Congress works by proposing ideas for a new policy agenda. Republicans have offered solutions, and we have our principles, but this is a new venue for us to listen to you. So Speak Out.

You can vote for ideas you like or create your own, and as you might guess, ideas like legalizing marijuana are getting a lot of support. Please take a few minutes to register and use your up and down votes to help push our issue to the top.

A strong showing for legalization in a right-wing forum will send a powerful message that the drug war is being rejected by Americans across the political spectrum.

Paul Armentano at NORML breaks down the latest research. It really shouldn’t be necessary to keep going over this, but as Paul laments…

The mainstream media loves to spill ink hyping the allegation that marijuana causes mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. In fact, it was in March when international media outlets declared that cannabis use ‘doubled’ one’s risk of developing the disease. Yet when research appears in scientific journals rebuking just this sort of ‘reefer madness,’ it generally goes unreported.

Honestly, I don't think the problem is necessarily that the press is fundamentally hostile to marijuana. But there exists a long and tragic history of the media courting readership with scare stories about drugs. Alarming accounts of the potential dangers of anything a lot of people put into their body are irresistible to the press regardless of accuracy or context, and that's just the way it is.

Maybe the problem is that the media hasn't been trained to sell the reverse version of the story. Given that marijuana is a topic of considerable public interest, it really shouldn’t that hard to market a story about the fact that it doesn't appear to cause schizophrenia. Just simplify the headline. Instead of "New Study Casts Doubt on Marijuana-Schizophrenia Link," how about, "New Study Suggests Marijuana is Safer Than We Thought." Yes, I think that headline would do well on the internet.

Of course, we really shouldn’t have to convince the press that reality is marketable in order to get it reported.

Gene Healy has a sharp piece in the Washington Examiner:

The president lacks the moral authority to lock people up for behavior he engaged in as a young man. Still, political realities being what they are, we can't expect him to declare a total cease-fire in the drug war. To his credit, Obama has at least reversed the Bush policy of prosecuting medical marijuana cases in states where it's legal.

But Obama may soon be presented with an unwelcome test of character. In November, Californians will likely approve a ballot initiative legalizing recreational pot use. Will Obama ignore the people's will and continue to prosecute marijuana users in our largest state?

Well, not if he knows what's good for him. I assure you, the new administration's more tolerant approach to medical marijuana didn't happen because Obama is particularly concerned about the plight of seriously ill patients caught in the drug war's indiscriminate crossfire. It happened because it's no longer politically viable to overturn the will of voters in the war on marijuana.

Sure, we'll continue to hear the drug czar whining from time to time about the perils of legalization, but if Californians decide to go through with it, don't expect a federal occupation in the streets of Oaksterdam. Obama's base is decidedly supportive of marijuana reform, thus he has nothing to gain and a considerable hassle to endure should he be foolish enough to stand between Californians and their cannabis.

Of course, while I highly doubt Obama will interfere in any meaningful way with the legalization effort in California, I am curious as all hell what he'll say about it if asked. Thus far we've heard the President address marijuana policy in as few words as humanly possible, even when doing so made him look ridiculous. He won't speak one word about any of this unless he's forced to, and it's only a matter of time until that happens once again. Maybe you should be practicing, Mr. President, because another one sentence explanation isn't going to cut it next time around.

Lately, it seems as though there's a new drug raid outrage being reported almost anytime I check my email. It just never stops, and yet the drug soldiers responsible for it all continue to find new ways of shocking our conscience:

In the wake of a series of raids last week targeting a Tacoma medical-marijuana dispensary, a Kitsap County mother is claiming that drug cops mistreated her son, took money from her daughter, and trashed her house.
…
And as the detectives looked for cash to prove that the dispensary was illegally profiting from pot sales, Casey says, they confiscated $80 that her 9-year-old daughter had received from her family for a straight-A report card. Where did they find it?

In the girl's Mickey Mouse wallet, according to Casey. She also claims that the cops dumped out all her silverware, busted a hole in the wall, and broke appliances. [Seattle Weekly]

I guess stealing a child's money is better than shooting dogs right in front of them, but it's still utterly disgusting and horrible behavior that no one should be experiencing at the hands of public servants. This is exactly the sort of thing police are supposed to prevent from happening to people and yet, thanks to the drug war, they are actually carrying out these atrocities and calling it a good day's work.

To top it all off, officers also seized 200 petition signatures for a ballot campaign to legalize marijuana in Washington State. So in addition to ransacking private homes and robbing children, they're interfering with democratic efforts to stop them from terrorizing more families in the future.

But don't worry, folks. I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding and nothing like this will ever happen again.

In today's world, where thoughts are transmitted around the globe in milliseconds and people with no education or understanding of human reality are heard loud and clear in discussion forums for

Further proof that police aren't exactly experts on botany:

I suppose it's ok to laugh at this one, since nobody got shot. On the other hand, it's probably just a matter of time before a similar mistake results in someone getting a gun shoved in their face. Oh wait, it's already happened.

UP IN SMOKE read the headline in the Vancouver Province Newspaper today,Friday,May 21,2010.Court strikes down program that allowed fire officials to enter homes without warrants to shut down grow ops,

"A fifth of hard liquor, which equals one fifth of a gallon, normally costs $12 but can command as much as $300 depending on the accessibility of booze in any given village."

Drug Task Force Seizes signed WA I-1068 petitions reported at http://sensiblewashington.org/uncategorized/drug-task-force-seizes-signed-i-1068-petitions/