Get ready to die, stoners. Via DrugWarRant, DEA Miami Chief Mark R. Trouville has an ominous warning for you:

"This ain't your grandfather's or your father's marijuana," Trouville said. "This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you." [The Ledger]

What can you really say about something like this? I mean he's not even saying it might kill you. He says you're gonna die.

Since marijuana's never killed anyone in history, this is a whopper of a lie even for a DEA official. Still, I'm more annoyed with the newspaper that reported it.

On and on, the discussion of marijuana in the press continues without regard for basic truths. It is only because the media can be counted on to pass along such absurd claims that our government officials continue to make them.

The Ledger accepts letters to the editor here.

Bad things happen when drug-legalization groups send mixed messages about marijuana to the American public. Check out this story out of New Mexico:

"It was all a misunderstanding. Really.

"Dude, I totally thought weed was legalized in New Mexico," police say a man with 67 marijuana plants in the trunk of his car told them.

"Well, it's not," the police officer replied.

A man was busted at the Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 70 June 12, allegedly while transporting a large number of marijuana plants in his car.

He told police he thought weed had been legalized in this state." [Alamogordo Daily News]

LARGEST INCREASE IN PRISON AND JAIL INMATE POPULATIONS SINCE MIDYEAR 2000 More Than 2.24 Million Incarcerated as of June 30, 2006 WASHINGTON -- During the 12 months that ended June 30, 2006, the nation's prison and jail populations increased by 62,037 inmates (up 2.8 percent), to total 2,245,189 inmates, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported today. State and federal inmates accounted for 70 percent of the increase. At midyear 2006, two-thirds of the nation.s incarcerated population was in custody in a state or federal prison (1,479,179), and the other one-third was held in local jails (766,010). The number of prisoners under the legal jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities -- some of whom were held in local jails -- increased by 42,942 prisoners (2.8 percent) during the 12 months ending June 30, 2006, to reach 1,556,518 prisoners. In absolute number and percentage change, the increase in prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction was the largest since the 12 months ending on June 30, 2000. The growth in state prisoners was due largely to a rise in prison admissions, up 17.2 percent between 2000 and 2005. During the same period, releases from state prisons increased at a slower rate, up 15.5 percent. New court commitments totaled 421,426 during 2005, a 20.3 percent increase since 2000, and parole violators returned to prison totaled 232,229, up 14.1 percent. Forty-two states and the federal system reported an increase in their prison populations during the 12 months ending June 30, 2006. Idaho had the largest percentage increase (up 13.7 percent), followed by Alaska (up 9.4 percent) and Vermont (up 8.3 percent). Eight states reported declines in their prison populations, led by Missouri (down 2.9 percent), Louisiana and Maine (both down 1.8 percent). The number of federal prisoners increased by 3.6 percent to reach 191,080 prisoners. At midyear 2006 the federal system had jurisdiction over more prisoners than did any single state, including California and Texas, which had jurisdiction over 175,115 and 172,889 prisoners, respectively. The number of local jail inmates increased by 2.5 percent during the year, the smallest annual percent change since 2001. Since 2000, the number of unconvicted inmates held in local jails has been increasing. As of June 30, 2006, 62 percent of inmates held in local jails were awaiting court action on their current charge, up from 56 percent in 2000.