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Researchers Prove Definitively That the Drug War Sucks
In a sane world, this ought to be all the evidence you'd need to conclude that the drug war is just a complete unmitigated disaster:
So all we've ever accomplished here is getting a bunch of people killed for nothing? Yeah, that about sums it up. The question then is how much longer we'll continue causing constant and horrific violence while pretending to do the precise opposite.
Researchers at the Urban Health Research Initiative (UHRI), a program of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), conducted a systematic review of all available English-language scientific literature to examine the impacts of drug-law enforcement on drug-market violence.
The systematic review identified 15 international studies examining the impact of drug-law enforcement on violence. Contrary to the prevailing belief that drug-law enforcement reduces violence, 87% of the studies (13 studies) observed that drug law enforcement was associated with increasing levels of drug-market violence. [MarketWire]
So all we've ever accomplished here is getting a bunch of people killed for nothing? Yeah, that about sums it up. The question then is how much longer we'll continue causing constant and horrific violence while pretending to do the precise opposite.
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The "Fake Marijuana" Situation is Getting Confusing
As efforts to ban fake marijuana products continue to escalate, I predict we'll be seeing a lot of this sort of thing:
My understanding is that JWH-018 is the active ingredient in question here, but is that the end of the story? Maybe there are 9 other similar compounds that will work as well. Maybe there are 100. I'm not a scientist, but I'm starting to get the impression that the whole synthetic marijuana substitution phenomenon is just getting started. Banning a single ingredient will not only fail for all the reasons that prohibition always fails, but it might not even succeed in making fake pot illegal. Don't be surprised to see the DEA intervene at some point wielding the broad Federal Analogue Act, but you can't possibly ban every random concoction someone might stuff in a bong.
Science is smarter than prohibition, so the longer we have stupid rules about what people are and are not allowed to ingest for their own amusement, the more loopholes will emerge to circumvent and trivialize those rules.
My understanding is that JWH-018 is the active ingredient in question here, but is that the end of the story? Maybe there are 9 other similar compounds that will work as well. Maybe there are 100. I'm not a scientist, but I'm starting to get the impression that the whole synthetic marijuana substitution phenomenon is just getting started. Banning a single ingredient will not only fail for all the reasons that prohibition always fails, but it might not even succeed in making fake pot illegal. Don't be surprised to see the DEA intervene at some point wielding the broad Federal Analogue Act, but you can't possibly ban every random concoction someone might stuff in a bong.
Science is smarter than prohibition, so the longer we have stupid rules about what people are and are not allowed to ingest for their own amusement, the more loopholes will emerge to circumvent and trivialize those rules.
Blog
New Jersey MS Patient Sent to Prison for Five Years for Growing His Medicine
New Jersey Multiple Sclerosis patient John Ray Wilson was sentenced last Friday to five years in prison for growing marijuana plants to ease his symptoms. Wilson, whose case we profiled in December, originally faced up to 20 years in prison, but a jury failed to convict him of the most serious, maintaining a habitation where marijuana is manufactured. He was convicted of manufacturing marijuana (17 plants) and possession of psychedelic mushrooms.
Wilson was convicted in December, before New Jersey recognized medical marijuana. Ironically, it became the 14th state to do so between the time Wilson was convicted and his sentencing. But the new New Jersey law would not have protected Wilson's marijuana growing because it only allows for patients to obtain it at state-monitored dispensaries.
State Superior Court Judge Robert Reed banned any references to Wilson's medical condition during his trial, finding that personal use was not a defense and that New Jersey had no law protecting medical marijuana use. Wilson was ultimately able to make a brief, one-sentence mention of his medical reasons for growing marijuana, but that wasn't enough to sway the jury.
Wilson's attorney, James Wronko, told the Associated Press that the outcome might have been different had the jury been allowed to hear more about his illness. "We're disappointed that he's in state prison for smoking marijuana to treat his multiple sclerosis," Wronko . "I think anytime someone using marijuana for their own medical use goes to state prison, it's clearly a harsh sentence."
Wilson's case became a cause célèbre for regional medical marijuana advocates, and also drew attention from the state legislature. Two state senators, Nicholas Scutari, sponsor of the medical marijuana bill, and Ray Lesniak, called in October for Gov. Jon Corzine (D) to pardon Wilson. But Corzine punted, saying he preferred to wait until after Wilson's trial had finished. Now, Wilson has been sentenced to prison, Corzine's term has ended, and new Republican Gov. Chris Christie is not nearly as medical marijuana-friendly.
Wronko said an appeal of the sentence was in the works.
Blog
Were You Strip-Searched After a Minor Bust in New York City Between 1999 and 2007? There Could Be $$$$ Waiting for You
As the Chronicle story below reports, New York City is about to pay yet again for unlawfully strip-searching minor offenders, including people busted for public pot possession. If this includes you, it just might behoove you to contact the law firm handling the lawsuit in question, Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff, and Abady.
Here's the story:
Law Enforcement: New York City to Pay Out $33 Million for Unlawful Strip Searches
For the third time in the past ten years, New York City has been forced to pay big bucks for subjecting non-violent prisonersâincluding minor marijuana offendersâto illegal strip searches. In a settlement announced Monday, the city announced it had agreed to pay $33 million to settle the most recent lawsuit stemming from the illegal strip searches.
The settlement applies to roughly 100,000 people who were strip-searched after being charged with misdemeanors and taken to Rikers Island or other city jails. These were people who were arrested and strip-searched between 1999 and 2007.
In 2001, under the Giulani administration, the city settled a similar lawsuit on behalf of 40,000 people strip-searched prior to arraignment for $40 million. In 2005, the city agreed to pay millions of dollars more to settle a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of people illegally strip-searched at Rikers and other city jails between 1999 and 2002.
The most recent settlement came from a lawsuit filed in 2005 by a local law firm. In 2007, the city acknowledged wrongdoing and agreed to hire monitors to ensure that the practice was stopped. But the settlement includes at least 19 people who had been illegally strip-searched after 2007.
Richard Emery, law lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the New York Times it had been settled law since 1986 that it was unconstitutional to require people accused of minor crimes to submit to strip searches. "The city knew this was illegal in 1986, they said it was illegal and they stopped in 2002, and they continued to pursue this illegal practice without justification," he said. "We hope the settlement constitutes some semblance of justice."
It is expected that about 15% of those illegally strip searched, or 15,000 people, will file claims seeking damages. If that's the case, each plaintiff who files would collect about $2,000, although at least two women subjected to involuntary gynecological exams will receive $20,000. The law firm will get $3 million for its efforts.
Emery said many of those strip-searched had been charged with misdemeanors like shoplifting, trespassing, jumping subway turnstiles, or failure to pay child support. Others were small-time marijuana offenders. Under New York law, pot possession is decriminalized, but the NYPD has a common practice of ordering people to empty their pocketsâwhich you are not required to doâand then charging them with public possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
David Sanchez, 39, of the Bronx, was one of the people strip-searched after a minor pot bust. He said he was searched twice by officers after being arrested in a stop and frisk outside a friend's apartment, but after he was arraigned and taken to Rikers Island, jail guards demanded he submit to a strip-search.
"I was put into a cage and told to take off my clothes," he said Monday, describing how he had to squat and spread his buttocks. "It was horrifying, being a grown man. I was humiliated."
"I donât know why it was done," Emery said, "but it seems like it was a punishment, a way of showing the inmates who is in charge."
And now the good burghers of New York City will pay yet again for the misdeeds of their public servants. Will the third time be the charm? Check back in a few years.
Blog
Were You Strip-Searched After a Minor Bust in New York City Between 1999 and 2007? There Could Be $$$$ Waiting for You
As the Chronicle story below reports, New York City is about to pay yet again for unlawfully strip-searching minor offenders, including people busted for public pot possession. If this includes you, it just might behoove you to contact the law firm handling the lawsuit in question, Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff, and Abady.
Here's the story:
Law Enforcement: New York City to Pay Out $33 Million for Unlawful Strip Searches
For the third time in the past ten years, New York City has been forced to pay big bucks for subjecting non-violent prisonersâincluding minor marijuana offendersâto illegal strip searches. In a settlement announced Monday, the city announced it had agreed to pay $33 million to settle the most recent lawsuit stemming from the illegal strip searches.
The settlement applies to roughly 100,000 people who were strip-searched after being charged with misdemeanors and taken to Rikers Island or other city jails. These were people who were arrested and strip-searched between 1999 and 2007.
In 2001, under the Giulani administration, the city settled a similar lawsuit on behalf of 40,000 people strip-searched prior to arraignment for $40 million. In 2005, the city agreed to pay millions of dollars more to settle a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of people illegally strip-searched at Rikers and other city jails between 1999 and 2002.
The most recent settlement came from a lawsuit filed in 2005 by a local law firm. In 2007, the city acknowledged wrongdoing and agreed to hire monitors to ensure that the practice was stopped. But the settlement includes at least 19 people who had been illegally strip-searched after 2007.
Richard Emery, law lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the New York Times it had been settled law since 1986 that it was unconstitutional to require people accused of minor crimes to submit to strip searches. "The city knew this was illegal in 1986, they said it was illegal and they stopped in 2002, and they continued to pursue this illegal practice without justification," he said. "We hope the settlement constitutes some semblance of justice."
It is expected that about 15% of those illegally strip searched, or 15,000 people, will file claims seeking damages. If that's the case, each plaintiff who files would collect about $2,000, although at least two women subjected to involuntary gynecological exams will receive $20,000. The law firm will get $3 million for its efforts.
Emery said many of those strip-searched had been charged with misdemeanors like shoplifting, trespassing, jumping subway turnstiles, or failure to pay child support. Others were small-time marijuana offenders. Under New York law, pot possession is decriminalized, but the NYPD has a common practice of ordering people to empty their pocketsâwhich you are not required to doâand then charging them with public possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
David Sanchez, 39, of the Bronx, was one of the people strip-searched after a minor pot bust. He said he was searched twice by officers after being arrested in a stop and frisk outside a friend's apartment, but after he was arraigned and taken to Rikers Island, jail guards demanded he submit to a strip-search.
"I was put into a cage and told to take off my clothes," he said Monday, describing how he had to squat and spread his buttocks. "It was horrifying, being a grown man. I was humiliated."
"I donât know why it was done," Emery said, "but it seems like it was a punishment, a way of showing the inmates who is in charge."
And now the good burghers of New York City will pay yet again for the misdeeds of their public servants. Will the third time be the charm? Check back in a few years.
In The Trenches
Press Release: Free Premiere of â10 Rules for Dealing With Policeâ to be held in Washington, D.C. Wednesday
MEDIA ADVISORYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
MARCH 23, 2010
Free Premiere of â10 Rules for Dealing With Policeâ to be held in Washington, D.C. Wednesday
New Film Teaches Viewers How to Make Smart Decisions When Dealing With Police; Speakers To Follow
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications â¦â¦ 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C. â Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 24, the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., will host a free premiere of the new film â10 Rules for Dealing with Police.â Produced by the nonprofit group Flex Your Rights and funded in part by the Marijuana Policy Project, the new documentary discusses the constitutional rights of citizens and the proper protocol for dealing with police.
        The screening will be followed by comments from Baltimore trial lawyer William âBillyâ Murphy, who narrates the film, and retired police detective Neill Franklin, now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Tim Lynch, the director of the Cato Instituteâs Project on Criminal Justice, will moderate. Â
        WHAT: Free premiere screening of documentary film â10 Rules for Dealing with Police.â
        WHERE: Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
        WHEN: Wednesday, March 24, at noon.
WHO: Flex Your Rights filmmakers, Baltimore trial lawyer William âBillyâ Murphy, LEAP representative Neill Franklin, and Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute.Â
To watch a 10-minute trailer of â10 Rules,â go to http://flexyourrights.org/
        To register for the event, call 202-789-5229. News media can call Cato at 202-289-5200.
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mppp.org.
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In The Trenches
Press Release: MPP Urges Discussion on Marijuana Prohibition at Secy. Clintonâs Summit in Mexico Today
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
MARCH 23, 2010
MPP Urges Discussion on Marijuana Prohibition at Secy. Clintonâs Summit in Mexico Today
Secretary of State Expected To Ignore Only Rational Solution
CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations â¦â¦ 202-420-1031 or [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C. â Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is leading a cabinet-level delegation, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, to Mexico City for a two-day conference that will focus on ways the United States and Mexico can âbreak the powerâ of drug-trafficking organizations. The talks come just one week after the execution-style killing of three people, including two American citizens and their unborn baby, linked to a U.S. Consulate in Mexico. Since Dec. 2006, there have been 18,000 killings in Mexico, with no end in sight. According to the Justice Department, Mexican cartels now operate in 230 American cities.Â
        âOfficials have already shown they are not serious about breaking the power of Mexican drug cartels, since they have refused to acknowledge the unrivaled role marijuana prohibition has played in lining the pockets of these murderous gangs who are nowâby all indicationsâtargeting Americans for assassination,â said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. âThe only way to âbreak the powerâ of these gangs is to regulate marijuana and remove it from the criminal market. According to our own government, the cartels make 70 percent of their profits from marijuana sales in the U.S. It is unconscionable that officials continue to support a policy that funnels billions of dollars to groups who are now murdering Americans.â
        During a visit to Mexico City in March 2009, Secretary Clinton said the United States has a âco-responsibilityâ to confront Mexicoâs growing violence because âour insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.â Former leaders of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia have all called for an end to prohibition in order to stem the violence. In December 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that growing numbers of U.S. and Mexican officials say privately that regulating marijuana may be the only solution to the current crisis.
        âNo policy will ever extinguish the demand for marijuana,â Houston said. âOfficials need to do the right thing by acknowledging prohibitionâs role in this horrific carnage, and finally ending this failed policy.â  Â
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.
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In The Trenches
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"No, the number one thug in this movie is definitely Scott Morgan."
Pete Guither's review of my new movie just made me laugh super hard. I kinda forgot that my acting skills were on display here too.
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The War on Drugs Is Doomed
â¦according to Mary Anastasia O'Grady in her latest awesome Wall Street Journal editorial. She's written basically this exact same piece a few times now, getting a bit more precise and effective with each effort. Yet, I don't doubt that O'Grady is beginning to feel like she's banging her head against a wall.
Now matter how well you do it, explaining that the entire drug war fundamentally doesn't work is going to overwhelm a lot of people. O'Grady isnât talking about medical marijuana or sentencing reform, she's saying that our whole drug policy is completely ill-conceived and unworkable. Not everyone is capable of understanding something like that, but the number who are continues to grow and the occurrence of such arguments in the Wall Street Journal is a not a good sign for anyone hoping the drug war will be with us forever.
The case can be ignored, but it can never be refuted. The drug war isnât going to start working one day, nor will intelligent people ever stop working to end it.
Now matter how well you do it, explaining that the entire drug war fundamentally doesn't work is going to overwhelm a lot of people. O'Grady isnât talking about medical marijuana or sentencing reform, she's saying that our whole drug policy is completely ill-conceived and unworkable. Not everyone is capable of understanding something like that, but the number who are continues to grow and the occurrence of such arguments in the Wall Street Journal is a not a good sign for anyone hoping the drug war will be with us forever.
The case can be ignored, but it can never be refuted. The drug war isnât going to start working one day, nor will intelligent people ever stop working to end it.
Blog
Cops + Drugs = Corruption
It's really just that simple. As long as police are in charge of solving "the drug problem," there will be outrageous stories of police misconduct in the newspaper every morning for you to read about. It's as predictable as it is disturbing:
You really don't have to look very hard to discover that many of the scariest drug crimes are perpetrated by the people who supposedly enforce our drug laws. The fact that 185 cases now have to be thrown out is just incredible and yet there's nothing even the least bit unusual about any of this. It happens constantly and it's perfectly typical that huge numbers of cases are affected by corruption scandals; the cops got away with it the first 184 times.
CAMDEN, N.J. -- Charges have been dropped or convictions vacated in 185 drug cases in one of the nation's most crime-ridden cities because information gathered in a criminal investigation of five police city officers suggests evidence could have been tainted, a prosecutor announced Friday.
One of the officers pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiring with other officers to deprive others of their civil rights. Kevin Parry, who has resigned from the department, admitted he planted drugs on suspects, conducted illegal searches, threatened additional charges for suspects who refused to cooperate, stole drugs and money from suspects, and paid informants - many of them prostitutes - with drugs in exchange for information. [Washington Post]
You really don't have to look very hard to discover that many of the scariest drug crimes are perpetrated by the people who supposedly enforce our drug laws. The fact that 185 cases now have to be thrown out is just incredible and yet there's nothing even the least bit unusual about any of this. It happens constantly and it's perfectly typical that huge numbers of cases are affected by corruption scandals; the cops got away with it the first 184 times.
Blog
I'm back
Having failed to mention that I was going on vacation, I now announce my triumphant return. I attended the always inspiring SSDP national conference in San Francisco and then drove out to Yosemite with my girlfriend for some hiking, skiing and photography. Fortunately, the drug cartels have yet to completely ruin the Sierra Nevadas with their massive outdoor marijuana grows, but the beauty of Yosemite was a stark reminder of what we have to lose if our marijuana policy isn't fixed quickly.
What a strange feeling it is to gaze upon our nation's most precious wilderness and know that even the ancient Sequoia forests aren't safe from the drug war's destructive clutches. Thankfully, I managed not to spend the entire time thinking about that.
What a strange feeling it is to gaze upon our nation's most precious wilderness and know that even the ancient Sequoia forests aren't safe from the drug war's destructive clutches. Thankfully, I managed not to spend the entire time thinking about that.