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Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

"Want to Prevent Marijuana Growing on Public Land? Legalize It," "More Evidence That Marijuana Prevents Cancer," "Trick Question on the DEA Job Application?," "Cop Accidentally Reveals the Wisdom of Marijuana Legalization," "Drug Czar Gets Caught Lying and Contradicting Himself," "Mexico's Drug War is Eventually Going to Collapse," "Drug Warriors for Sensible Drug Policy," "Should Employers Provide Reimbursement for Medical Marijuana Costs?," "Crack Sentencing Reform Bill Passes Full Judiciary Committee," "More Big News: Needle Exchange Legislation Passes US House of Representatives," "Glorious Kyrgyzstan -- the Best Harm Reduction Program in Central Asia."
Chronicle

Latin America: Mexican Drug War Week in Review

Hardly a day goes by without another body being found in Mexico's prohibition-related violence, and the Mexican government is under increasing fire as the death toll rises. Now, thanks to upcoming journalist Bernd Debusmann Jr., the Chronicle will be watching and summarizing events on a weekly basis.
Chronicle
Chronicle
Chronicle

Medical Marijuana: Maine Activist Headed for Prison

Maine marijuana activist Don Christen is getting ready to do eight months behind bars after the state Supreme Court rejected his appeal in a marijuana cultivation case where he argued he was growing for patients.
Chronicle
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Blog

Want to Prevent Marijuana Growing on Public Land? Legalize it

The widespread destruction of our national forests caused by illicit marijuana cultivation is becoming a bigger story every summer. The problem just keeps getting worse and it seems that Mexican cartels aren’t the only ones cashing in on it:

Forest Service law enforcement staff was doubled from 14 to 28 agents in California between 2007 and 2008, said spokesman John Heil, resulting in the eradication of 3.1 million marijuana plants in the last fiscal year.

Congress is responding too, with a recent $3 million supplemental appropriation secured by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that allowed the Park Service to add 25 new law enforcement officers to its Pacific Region parks…[New York Times]

The more marijuana gets planted, the more jobs are created for people to cut down the plants, which causes still more marijuana to get planted. The harder you try to put a stop to this, the worse the damage gets. The cops doing this work won’t hesitate to tell you that there's more of it every year. We haven't even scratched the surface of how bad it's going to get:

"As more pressure happens in California, they're going to start looking at Oregon, Nevada and Idaho," said Krogen, of the High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew. "Then they'll start looking at the Southeast too, closer to distribution."

Does anyone really believe that law enforcement is going to solve this problem? I'm sure going on treasure hunts in the woods is a popular assignment, but I have a hard time believing that these guys actually think they're accomplishing anything.

The bottom line is that legalization is absolutely the only option that exists for controlling where, how, and by whom marijuana is grown. I hope it won't require the permanent destruction of precious natural resources across the country to illustrate that fact. It never ceases to amaze me that all of this is happening because the government won’t let people grow their own marijuana.
Blog

More Evidence That Marijuana Prevents Cancer

Paul Armentano at NORML has the details. He rightly points out that we can only imagine how much progress could have made towards developing promising marijuana-derived treatments if the government and the press hadn’t spent the last several decades trying to vilify marijuana instead of examining its potential.

It's a plant, and like other plants, it's here to help us. It's probably just a matter of time until marijuana's full potential as a cancer cure is discovered, and when that happens, the consequences of decades of mindless anti-pot propaganda will be revealed like never before.
Chronicle
Chronicle
Blog

Trick Question on the DEA Job Application?

Anyone applying for a job at the Drug Enforcement Administration must answer this question:



That's funny, I thought there was no such thing as "legally prescribed" marijuana under federal law. Either this is an idiot test for prospective applicants, or we've come so far that the DEA is beginning to lose track of its own ideology.
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In The Trenches

Tear It Down, friends!

You Can Make a Difference

 

 

Dear friends,

The drug war’s foundation is beginning to crumble thanks to your hard work.

By just four votes, the House last week voted down an amendment that would have upheld the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs.  The ban has been in place since the 1980s and is one of the pillars of the drug war. 

With such a close vote, it’s clear that every single email, letter and phone call to Congress played a part in defeating the amendment.  In addition to your emails, we had staff calling congressional offices for days leading up to the vote, and our offices in California, New York, New Jersey and New Mexico organized grassroots efforts to persuade legislators from those states to end the ban. 

You and I are closer than ever to tearing down some of the worst drug war policies.  It’s time for Congress to own up to its mistakes and stop putting politics before public health and sound science.  Help us hold them accountable by making a donation today. 

While this recent victory is exciting, we’re not done yet.  Now we need your support to prepare for upcoming opportunities to dismantle failed drug war policies.

Discriminatory sentencing and mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses could soon be reformed. Congress is also on the verge of repealing both the Barr Amendment, which prevents the District of Columbia from setting its own marijuana policy, and the Higher Education Act drug provision, which excludes students with drug convictions from financial aid.

We need your help to make sure we have the resources to keep the momentum going and win more victories against bad drug war policies.  Your donation will help us keep up the fight to end the drug war.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network

 

In The Trenches

Marijuana in the mainstream? Read all about it in MPP's latest newsletter...

Dear friends:

I hope you've had a chance to review MPP's most recent newsletter that I sent you last week. (If you didn't receive it, donate $25 now to get MPP's newsletter and other information about MPP's campaigns sent to your mailbox.)

You can also find it online here:

MPR #2

The theme of this issue is “marijuana in the mainstream.” Inside you'll read all about how marijuana policy reform is advancing more rapidly than ever — from Rhode Island's new medical marijuana law to a U.S. Supreme Court victory to MPP's unprecedented recent successes in the media, as well as new data on marijuana and cancer, and much more.

If you haven't already donated to MPP in 2009, I hope you'll update your membership now, by giving $25 or more. (You can see your giving history in the sidebar to the right.)

Thank you so much — we couldn't do what we do without your help.

Sincerely,
Rob's signature
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

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