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In The Trenches

LEAP on the Hill: Stories from the Week of July 25, 2008

“That is a good question (but I am not going to answer it),” said Mr. Will: On Thursday at the CATO institute I arrived early and grabbed a front row seat. George Will whom I have read and appreciated for 3 decades spoke eloquently for 30 minutes, then took questions. My hand shot up and he called upon me. After introducing LEAP, and myself I asked, ‘Mr. Will I have a question about the War on Drugs/Modern Prohibition. After 37 years of war on drugs and no progress made; As the nation is now close to 10 trillion in national debt. Can the country afford and continue this modern prohibition? Do you support the policy of war on drugs/modern prohibition?’ Mr. Will essentially mumbled a few words about never could the nation legalize drugs like heroin or cocaine, but maybe marijuana could be discussed. He took no position that day, nor has he ever stated his position in writing. I was disappointed, to say the least. This one man could change the minds of millions. As Abraham Lincoln said, “To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” What are you doing?: Having a busy day on the Hill, I often take the early train (0611) in to prepare the materials I give to each staffer. Drinking my coffee in the Longworth café, a police officer I have known for two years asked me how the campaign was going. I told him that the day before I had sold two quarts of snake oil. “Snake oil?” he asked. ‘Every guy in Gucci shoes around here sells snake oil.’ I replied. Then he laughed. ‘What are you doing with all those papers?’ he inquired. ‘Preparing snake oil kits.’ I replied & he laughed again. I often ask lobbyists what kind of ‘snake oil’ they are selling. A few are miffed at my description but most grin and tell me. I promote my product as ‘high quality’ snake oil.
In The Trenches

Press Release: New Radio PSAs Tackle Marijuana Controversies

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JULY 31, 2008

New Radio PSAs Tackle Marijuana Controversies

Marijuana Policy Project Foundation Spots Feature New Mexico's Former Republican Governor, California Superior Court Judge

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-668-6403 or 202-215-4205

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A series of new radio public service announcements being distributed today to stations nationwide seeks to educate the public about the effects of U.S. marijuana laws, and about recent developments regarding medical marijuana. The new spots, produced by the Marijuana Policy Project Foundation, feature Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, and California Superior Court Judge Jim Gray.

    To listen to the new PSAs, go to http://www.mpp.org/media/radio-public-service-announcements.html.

    The PSAs, which come in both 30- and 60-second versions, focus on little-known facts rarely reported in the news media. Johnson, whose state is the latest to pass a medical marijuana law, discusses the steady stream of studies finding that marijuana has medical benefits for certain illnesses and symptoms, and the acknowledgment of those benefits by groups like the American College of Physicians. Judge Gray focuses on the little-reported failures of marijuana prohibition, asking listeners, "Did you know that since the federal government first banned marijuana in 1937, usage in this country has actually gone up by 4,000 percent?"

    The new spots follow a previous set of MPP Foundation radio PSAs released in 2005, featuring TV talk show host Montel Williams, author Tom Robbins, and U.S. Supreme Court medical marijuana plaintiff Angel Raich. That series of spots received over 11,000 plays on stations in all parts of the country, including seven of the top 10 markets.

    With more than 25,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers 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 http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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In The Trenches

Drug Truth Update 07/31/08

The Unvarnished Truth About the Drug War From the Drug Truth Network: (To downlad these 29:00 files, click on links below. To simply listen, go to www.drugtruth.net and select the arrow below the shows description.) Cultural Baggage for 07/30/08 Marie Gottschalk, U of Penn Professor & author of "The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration" + LEAP report with Terry Nelson & Drug War Facts with Doug McVay MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/1988/FDBCB_073008.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (To be posted by Friday) Century of Lies for 07/29/08 Judge Arthur Burnett, director of National African American Drug Policy Coalition & Jay Rorty, Deputy Director of ACLU Drug Law Reform Project MP3 LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=audio/download/1987/COL_072908.mp3 TRANSCRIPT: (Posted on Fri) PLEASE NOTE: We now have transcripts, potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. Next - Century of Lies on Tues, Cutural Baggage on Wed, listen online at www.kpft.org: - Cultural Baggage 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD - Century of Lies 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 AM CT, 10:30 AM MT & 9:30 AM PT: TBD Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and at www.radio4all.net. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates in the US, Canada and Now Australia!!! Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston. www.kpft.org Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker: More than 55 Drug Policy Videos online) 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, Drug Truth Network Producer Dean Becker 713-849-6869 www.drugtruth.net
In The Trenches

Free Table Space at Kennedy Center for Justice Organizations at “From Prison to the Stage” Program

[Courtesy of Prisons Foundation] We hope that you will be attending this year's exciting edition of "From Prison to the Stage" at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, August 30, at 8 pm. Presented by the Prisons Foundation, it features excepts of plays and musicals written by prisoners and ex-prisoners. If you attended last year's program you know it was a big success, with a large overflow crowd. To accommodate many more people this year, the Kennedy Center has designated the popular and well-accommodated Millennium Stage on the ground level for our program. "From Prison to the Stage" is presented as part of the Kennedy Center's internationally acclaimed Page-to-Stage Festival. Attendance is free and open to all. Also free this year is an opportunity for justice organizations to distribute their literature during the program. We are pleased to announce that there will be free table space available for this purpose. The entire cost of "From Prison to the Stage" this year is being underwritten by the program's producer, Lloyd S. Rubin, so no additional funds will be solicited from organizations to help with the expenses. Just spread the word so that attendance will be at an all time high. If you are a representative of a justice organization, please send a hundred or so pieces of your literature to the Prisons Foundation, 1600 K Street NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC 20006 a week prior to the event (no signs please). If you can bring the material to the Kennedy Center on the evening of the event (and of course stay for a great program), you are welcome to do so. Whether or not you plan to bring or send literature, we invite you to be there and to forward this notice to your email list so that we will get the largest possible turnout. This is an opportunity to educate while entertain the public about the talent and humanity of our brothers and sisters behind bars at one of the world's foremost cultural and performance centers, the renowned Kennedy Center. Come encourage prisoners to cast off their second-class citizen status as they provide us with a night of theatrical elegance and excellence. Thank you for your interest and support.
Chronicle

Reportaje: Los buitres rondan Sturgis, pero un hombre contraataca

A pocos días del Rally Motociclista de Sturgis de Dakota del Sur de cada año, la fuerza pública estadual se prepara para los viajantes incautos. Eric Sage fue una de sus víctimas el año pasado. Él no va este año, pero justo ha interpuesto una demanda civil por el ultraje que recibió.
Chronicle

Editorial: Todos los demás están locos

Un ex funcionario del Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. que trabó la lucha afgana contra la droga se ha ido al New York Times para decir por que el fracaso del programa no es su culpa, sino de todos los demás.
Blog

Six More Drug War Disgraces

Drug warriors crash the party when Barney Frank announces his marijuana decriminalization bill.
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Police are awarded medals for terrorizing and nearly killing an innocent family in a botched drug raid.
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Mexico's US-funded war on drugs isn't protecting children, it's getting them killed in the streets.
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Pete Guither has a good, though depressing, post covering various interesting drug war trials taking place this week.
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Deputy drug czar compares smoking pot to having sex with 10-year-old girls
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I linked it yesterday, but can't stress enough the importance of 20/20's report on the Rachel Hoffman murder.
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Everywhere you look, the drug war is perverting our politics, ruining peaceful lives, wasting tax dollars, and even killing innocent children. But don't look away. That's what the authors of this grand catastrophe are hoping we'll do, what so many of our fellow citizens have already done, and what we will never do no matter how much it hurts to witness such hatred and abuse at the hands of our government. If these are the things they're willing to do right before our eyes, imagine what could happen if we turn away even for a moment.
Blog

U.S. Drug War Funding Supports Human Rights Violations in Mexico

Only a month after President Bush signed a $465 million drug war aid package for Mexico, we're learning more about the types of brutal activities our tax dollars will be paying for:

OJINAGA, Mexico (AP) — This hardscrabble Mexican border town welcomed 400 soldiers when they arrived four months ago to stop a wave of drug violence that brought daytime gunbattles to its main street.

But then the soldiers themselves turned violent, townspeople say, ransacking homes and even torturing people.

The frustration boiled over this week. More than 1,000 people marched through the streets carrying signs begging President Felipe Calderon for protection from his own troops.

Unsurprisingly, the Mexican government was quick to make light of the growing problem:

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says it has documented more than 600 cases of abuse since Calderon sent 20,000 soldiers across the nation to take back territory controlled by drug lords.

Mexico's attorney general argues the cases are isolated incidents.

Unfortunately, human rights violations in the war on drugs are anything but isolated. They are endemic and inevitable. Horrible stories of misconduct emerge wherever drug laws are enforced. You can count on that, just as you can count on the people responsible for preventing such abuses to dismiss them and defend the policies under which they proliferate.
Blog

solution to the immigration 'problem'

since the numbers of people under the control of the criminal justice system is now near seven million i believe there is enough to start a new movement to counteract the issue of illegal aliens in ou