Job Opportunities: Drug Policy Alliance, New York and New Mexico Offices
The Drug Policy Alliance is hiring a state director in New Mexico, and a National Organizing and Field Director working from New York.
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Chronicle
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Marijuana: New Hampshire House Passes Decriminalization Bill, But Without Veto-Proof Majority
For the third year in a row, the New Hampshire House of Delegates has passed marijuana reform legislation. But it looks like for the third year in a row, it will be killed by a gubernatorial veto -- if it gets that far.
Chronicle
Marijuana: Hawaii Senate Passes Three Different Reform Measures
The Hawaii legislature has overwhelmingly passed not one, not two, but three different marijuana reform measures -- two dealing with medical marijuana and one with decriminalization. Now, the Aloha State needs a strong showing in the House to avert a likely gubernatorial veto attempt.
Chronicle
Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update
It's been a hard couple of weeks in Mexico. At least 375 people were killed in prohibition-related violence, including many police officers.
Chronicle
Feature: Ibogaine Forum 2010 -- Mourning the Movement's "Tare," Celebrating New Hopes for Research and Development
Ibogaine is touted by a growing number of proponents as an addiction cure. The African herb still hasn't gotten mainstream respect, but that may be about to change, if the 2010 Ibogaine Conference is any indication.
Chronicle
Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Bad cops, bad cops, whatcha gonna do when they come for you? Although the Chronicle took a week off last week, corrupt cops didn't. Here are two weeks' worth of rogues and villains.
Chronicle
Feature: Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to Reduce Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
The Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved a bill that would reduce -- but not eliminate -- the infamous sentencing disparity between federal crack and powder cocaine offenses. The House Judiciary Committee has already passed a similar measure that would completely eliminate the disparity. Now it is up to the House and Senate leadership to get those bills to a floor vote, and advocates say it is the House bill that should move.
Chronicle
Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction," by Dr. Gabor Maté (2010, North Atlantic Books, 468 pp., $17.95 PB)
Being a thoughtful, compassionate, and curious physician dealing with hard-core addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside makes Dr. Gabor Maté especially well-placed to write an important book about addiction. He has done so. You should read it.
Chronicle
Harm Reduction: Washington State "911 Good Samaritan Law" to Go Into Effect in June
Somebody overdosing, but his companions are afraid to call for help for fear of getting busted? You won't have to worry about that anymore in Washington state -- unless you're the dealer.
In The Trenches
Press Release: Senate Judiciary Votes to Reform Federal Crack Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â
Date:Â March 11, 2010Â 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
Contact:Â [email protected]Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Â
BREAKING NEWS:
Senate Judiciary Votes to Reform Federal Crack Cocaine Sentencing Policies
Eliminates first mandatory minimum since Nixon Administration
WASHINGTON, D.C. â Moments ago, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill that would reduce the sentencing disparity between federal crack and powder cocaine offenses.Â
The bipartisan vote to approve an amended version of Senator Richard Durbinâs (D-Ill.) bill, S. 1789, acknowledged that disparate sentencing policies enacted for federal crack cocaine offenses in 1986 have had a negative impact on the nationâs criminal justice system.Â
The amended bill would reduce the ratio between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 20:1 and direct the U.S. Sentencing Commission to enhance penalties for aggravating factors like violence or bribery of a law enforcement officer. Significantly, the bill also would eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack.
âThis is an exciting vote, but also disappointing. We hoped the Committee would go further in making crack penalties the same as powder. There was no scientific basis for the 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine created 24 years ago, and there is no scientific basis for todayâs vote of 20:1 ,â said FAMM President Julie Stewart. âHowever, if this imperfect bill becomes law, it will provide some long-overdue relief to thousands of defendants sentenced each year.
With regard to the billâs provision that would eliminate the mandatory sentence for simple possession of crack, Ms. Stewart stated, âIf enacted, this legislation would repeal a mandatory minimum law for the first time since the Nixon administration.â
Under the Senateâs proposed 20:1 ratio, a conviction for 28 grams of crack cocaine will trigger a five year prison sentence and for 280 grams of crack a 10 year sentence.  The 20:1 ratio could affect an estimated 3,100 cases annually, reducing sentences by an average of about 30 months. The bill would not, however, reduce sentences for those currently incarcerated for crack offenses. Impact of the amendmentâs other provisions has not yet been calculated.Â
The House Judiciary Committee passed its own crack cocaine sentencing reform bill on July 29. H.R. 3245, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009, introduced by Congressman Robert âBobbyâ Scott (D-V.A.), removes references to âcocaine baseâ from the U.S. Code, thus treating all cocaine, including crack, the same for sentencing purposes.
Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization supporting fair and proportionate sentencing laws that allow judicial discretion while maintaining public safety. For more information on FAMM, visit www.famm.org or contact Monica Pratt Raffanel at [email protected]
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In The Trenches
LEAP's Dispatches from the Front Line...March 2010
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In The Trenches
The DEA is Going Rogue!
You Can Make a Difference |
Dear friends, Even a directive from the president hasnât stopped the DEA from bullying the medical marijuana community. Help us hold the DEA accountable by donating today. Last month, DEA agents raided the home of a Colorado medical marijuana supplier who was providing sick people with the medicine they need. The raid came months after President Obama told federal law enforcement to stop arresting people who grow or supply medical marijuana in states where itâs legal. Weâre determined to end the harassment of medical marijuana patients and providers. By making a donation today, you can help hold the DEA responsible for its abuses. The DEA is defying the presidentâs directive on medical marijuana under the watchful eye of acting director Michele Leonhart, a Bush administration holdover and drug war zealot. We're mounting a campaign to block her from becoming the permanent head of the DEA. With your generous support, we can take the power to halt progress out of Michele Leonhart's hands. Donate today and help us demand an appointee who will approach our nationâs drug issues with reason, science and compassion. Sincerely, Bill Piper  |
In The Trenches
Press Release: More States Embrace Marijuana Decriminalization
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 10, 2010
More States Embrace Marijuana Decriminalization
Measures to impose a fine for marijuana possession make key advances this month in New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Vermont
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-905-2030
WASHINGTON, DC â With numerous states facing significant budget shortages, legislators and voters across the country this month have been giving overwhelming support to measures that would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine.
        Yesterday in New Hampshire, the state House voted 214-137 to pass H.B. 1653, a bill that would reduce the penalty for possession of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $200.
        In Hawaii, the state Senate voted 22 to 3 on March 2 to pass SB 2450, a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $300 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense.
        And in Vermont, 72% of voters in Montpelier approved a non-binding ordinance asking the state legislature âto pass a bill to replace criminal penalties with a civil fine for adults who possess a small amount of marijuana.â
        âTaken together, these developments demonstrate how an increasing number of voters and lawmakers across the country no longer support the notion that otherwise law-abiding citizens should be arrested, slapped with a criminal record and possibly thrown behind bars, simply for choosing to use a substance that is safer than alcohol,â said Karen OâKeefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. âWe know from efforts in other states that decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana allows police to focus on more serious crimes and also produces a net financial gain through saved law-enforcement costs and the revenue generated by civil fines. Lawmakers everywhere should take heed of these examples, especially in these troubled economic times.âÂ
        Currently 12 states have laws that reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine. A decriminalization bill in Rhode Island is co-sponsored by 48% of House members. 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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Long-time Drug Warrior Changes His Mind, Supports Medical Marijuana and Decriminalization
John J. Dilulio Jr. once coauthored a 1996 book entitled Body Count: Moral Poverty...And How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs. The other two authors were Bill Bennett and John Walters, both former drug czars and infamously rabid prohibitionists. I haven't read the book, but I'm sure it's a thick serving of ugly drug war propaganda.
And I'm sure it sounds nothing like what Dilulio wrote this month in Democracy Journal:
Well, it certainly is and Dilulio deserves credit for his candor, particularly given the likelihood of hugely pissing off his former colleagues (not that they don't deserve it). I hope we hear more from him, both because there's nothing more powerful than former drug warriors speaking out for reform, and because I'm just intensely curious if there were specific events or observations that triggered the evolution of his thinking on these issues.
Moments like this illustrate something powerfully important: any of our opponents could come around at any time. Most won't, and predicting who will is probably impossible, but recognizing that any of these people could potentially end up on our side someday is instructive in terms of how we might choose to interact with them on the rare occasions that big-time drug warriors emerge from their bunkers for public engagement.
It's so easy to just hate the hell out of these people that want to put us in jail, that lie reflexively and professionally, and that preside over monumental injustices with smug callousness. But we have nothing to gain by loathing them and much to lose if our frustration betrays opportunities to build bridges that could one day foster further defection from the ranks of the great drug warrior army.
As the war on drugs continues to cascade out of favor with academics, politicians and the public, those whose careers have been defined by defending it will suffer the greatest disillusionment and may soon crave the embrace of the kind, generous and forgiving people they spent so many years trying to destroy. It would serve our interests well to make it clear that they are always welcome among us.
And I'm sure it sounds nothing like what Dilulio wrote this month in Democracy Journal:
⦠legalize marijuana for medically prescribed uses, and seriously consider decriminalizing it altogether. Last year there were more than 800,000 marijuana-related arrests. The impact of these arrests on crime rates was likely close to zero. There is almost no scientific evidence showing that pot is more harmful to its usersâ health, more of a "gateway drug," or more crime-causing in its effects than alcohol or other legal narcotic or mind-altering substances. Our post-2000 legal drug culture has untold millions of Americans, from the very young to the very old, consuming drugs in unprecedented and untested combinations and quantities. Prime-time commercial television is now a virtual medicine cabinet ("just ask your doctor if this drug is right for you"). Big pharmaceutical companies function as all-purpose drug pushers. And yet we expend scarce federal, state, and local law enforcement resources waging "war" against pot users. That is insane.
Well, it certainly is and Dilulio deserves credit for his candor, particularly given the likelihood of hugely pissing off his former colleagues (not that they don't deserve it). I hope we hear more from him, both because there's nothing more powerful than former drug warriors speaking out for reform, and because I'm just intensely curious if there were specific events or observations that triggered the evolution of his thinking on these issues.
Moments like this illustrate something powerfully important: any of our opponents could come around at any time. Most won't, and predicting who will is probably impossible, but recognizing that any of these people could potentially end up on our side someday is instructive in terms of how we might choose to interact with them on the rare occasions that big-time drug warriors emerge from their bunkers for public engagement.
It's so easy to just hate the hell out of these people that want to put us in jail, that lie reflexively and professionally, and that preside over monumental injustices with smug callousness. But we have nothing to gain by loathing them and much to lose if our frustration betrays opportunities to build bridges that could one day foster further defection from the ranks of the great drug warrior army.
As the war on drugs continues to cascade out of favor with academics, politicians and the public, those whose careers have been defined by defending it will suffer the greatest disillusionment and may soon crave the embrace of the kind, generous and forgiving people they spent so many years trying to destroy. It would serve our interests well to make it clear that they are always welcome among us.
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Marijuana: New Hampshire House Passes Decriminalization Bill, But Without Veto-Proof Majority
The New Hampshire House Wednesday voted 214-137 to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, but the measure faces an uncertain future after Gov. John Lynch (D) immediately threatened to veto it. The House tally leaves supporters about 20 votes short of a veto-proof majority.
Under the bill, HB 1653, adults caught possessing or transporting up to a quarter-ounce of pot would be subject to a $400 fine. Minors caught with a quarter-ounce or less would be subject to a $200 fine and their parents would be notified. Youthful offenders would also have to complete a drug awareness program and community service within a year or face an additional $1000 fine. Under current New Hampshire law, small-time pot possession is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
The House passed a similar measure in 2008, but it died in the Senate after Gov. Lynch threatened to veto it. Last year, the House dropped decrim and instead concentrated on passing a medical marijuana dispensary bill. Lynch vetoed that. The House overrode his veto, but the Senate came up two votes short.
Lynch was back in form on Wednesday. "Marijuana is a controlled drug that remains illegal under federal law. I share the law enforcement community's concerns about proliferation of this drug," Lynch said. "In addition, New Hampshire parents are struggling to keep their kids away from marijuana and other drugs. We should not make the jobs of parents â or law enforcement â harder by sending a false message that some marijuana use is acceptable."
âThis makes three years in a row that the House has passed a bill attempting to reform New Hampshireâs archaic marijuana policies,â said Matt Simon, executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, which led the lobbying fight for the bill. âUnfortunately, Gov. Lynch has continued to show little interest in learning what the House has learned about these issues.
The bill now goes to the Senate. But unless advocates can pass it overwhelmingly there and come up without another 20 or so votes in the House, it is likely to meet the same fate as the 2009 decrim bill and last year's medical marijuana bill.