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Know Your Drug Prohibition War: $15 Billion Will Be Spent by the Feds Alone in 2011

Here's a look at some highlights of how your dollars are being spent, from the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Drug Control Strategy 2011. Remember, they also hide several billion from the total by not including the cost of incarceration. Total drug prohibition war spending by the federal and various state governments will be approximately $69 billion.
They shoot dogs, don't they? Maybe fewer now. (image via Wikimedia)
They shoot dogs, don't they? Maybe fewer now. (image via Wikimedia)

Settlement Reached in Maryland Mayor's SWAT Raid Lawsuit

Prince Georges County, Maryland, cops messed with the wrong guy when their SWAT team hit the home of the mayor of Berwyn Heights and killed his dogs in a botched drug raid. Now they have to change their ways.

Greenway University's Medical Marijuana Seminar

In November, voters went to the polls and passed a proposition to allow medical marijuana in Arizona.

Later this year, the drug will be legally sold for medicinal use.

There are a lot of rules when it comes to dispensaries and hydro-shops, including where they can be built and how many permits will be granted.

As the first state approved and regulated medical marijuana industry education provider, Greenway University will hold seminars during a two day event. Topics include political issues, legal procedures, edibles, nutrition, growing and cultivation.  Attendees can even learn how to become "budtenders."

"We aim to not only educate on the laws and how they work, but also on how to go about opening a dispensary, techniques and information on cultivation, in addition to holding seminars by industry experts throughout the Valley and the nation," said Founder and CEO of Greenway University Gus Escamilla. "This is going to be a thriving industry which can really boost the local economy, but only if it's done right. We hope to drive the message of how important it is to have education before implementation."

There will also be video presentations, product testing and business management education.

For more information, contact 1-888-694-2033 or [email protected], or see www.greenwayuniversity.com

Tickets: $295
 

Will Obama Answer Marijuana Legalization Questions Online?

This Thursday, President Obama will field questions submitted from the world of social media during a live-streamed YouTube interview. In two prior online question-n-answer sessions with the American public since taking office over two years ago, the question of ending America’s failed Cannabis Prohibition was a top question both times –- which speaks to the importance and urgency of the public’s want to actually control cannabis via taxation and regulation. However, regrettably, President Obama has dismissed ending Cannabis Prohibition in no uncertain terms.

The War on Drugs' Female Victims

The untold story of Mexico's prohibitionist campaign against drug trafficking organizations is the surge in lethal violence against women. As Mexico enters its fifth year of conflict and escalating militarization, the country's ability to ensure basic protections for its citizens – and, in particular, for those most at risk – has never been less certain.

Montel Williams Urges Passage of Maryland Medical Marijuana Bill (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            JANUARY 24, 2011

MONTEL WILLIAMS URGES PASSAGE OF MARYLAND MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

Multiple Sclerosis Patient and Baltimore Native to Speak at Press Conference to Announce Medical Marijuana Legislation in Maryland

CONTACTS: Morgan Fox, MPP Communications Manager …………… 202-905-2031 or [email protected]

      Dan Riffle, MPP Legislative Analyst …………………….. 202-905-2026 or [email protected]

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Montel Williams, multiple sclerosis patient and popular former talk show host, will attend a press conference today to urge General Assembly members to support legislation that would make Maryland the 16th state in the nation to allow the medical use of marijuana. Williams and other patients will be joined by Deputy Majority Leader and physician Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County), Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), and Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick & Carroll Counties) for a press conference at 4:00 pm, Monday, January 24, in room 302 of the House Office Building.   

            “I grew up in Maryland, graduated from the Naval Academy, and my family still lives in Baltimore today, so I’m excited about the prospect of helping my home state put in place a policy that’s more compassionate toward our most vulnerable residents,” said Williams, whose father was Baltimore’s first African-American fire chief. Prior to beginning his television career, Williams retired from the U.S. Navy as Lieutenant Commander after more than two decades of service. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a decade ago and has sought treatment at Maryland’s Johns Hopkins Hospital.

            The Maryland Senate passed similar legislation last year by an overwhelming margin of 35-12, and this week, Del. Morhaim plans to file a new medical marijuana bill.

            “As a physician, I see this as just another tool in the toolbox,” said Morhaim. “This isn’t about ending the war on drugs – it’s about getting the sick and dying off the battlefield.”

             Sen. Raskin, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer, noted that Maryland law already provides reduced penalties for marijuana possession to anyone who can show a medical necessity, but that patients have no legal way to obtain it and are still given a criminal conviction even if they are successful in showing a medical need. 

            “Maryland law already recognizes the medical benefits of marijuana but, bizarrely, sends very sick people into the streets and alleys to find medical relief and then exposes them to criminal arrest and prosecution for seeking relief from pain and nausea,” says Sen. Raskin. “We need to put the doctor-patient relationship at the heart of our policy and we have done that with the most carefully regulated and defined proposal in the country.”           

            Sen. David Brinkley, a two-time cancer survivor, sponsored the Senate version of last year’s bill and joined with Raskin in leading the bi-partisan effort to pass it.

            Says Sen. Brinkley, “This is a bi-partisan bill because compassion is a bi-partisan issue. If it were my loved one suffering from a devastating disease, I would want every treatment option that could relieve their suffering to be on the table. There should be nothing controversial about that.”

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Medical Marijuana Rules in Colorado -- Your Chance to Speak Out

 

Public Hearing on Medical Marijuana Rules This Thursday and Friday

Attn: Medical Marijuana Community Members

Please join Sensible Colorado in speaking out for patient privacy on January 27 and 28 at the Colorado Dept. of Revenue hearing.  While the Dept. of Revenue considers the most comprehensive medical marijuana distribution system in history, it is crucial that Department officials hear from patients and advocates about the importance of maintaining patient privacy and closely guarding patient health records. That's where we need YOU!  (Note suggested "talking points" below).

When:  Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 and Friday, Jan. 28, 2011at 9:00am

Where: Jefferson County Justice Center, Administration and Court Facility, Hearing Room 1, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80419

Talking Points on Patient Privacy

  • “My patient status, including any diagnosis, is private. The state legislature should take as many steps possible to keep these records confidential. I suggest extending the privacy requirements and fines that the constitutional amendment created for the Dept. of Health to the Dept of Revenue.”
  • “To protect patient privacy, the Dept. of Revenue should minimize the number of individuals that have access to medical files and should take steps to instruct employees not to cooperate with federal authorities. “
  • “Many patients need dispensing centers for safe and legal access to their medicine. State law already requires that the only people utilizing these centers are qualifying patients and caregivers. Video surveillance of patients as they enter these centers will have a chilling effect on patient acccess.”

**Please support Sensible Colorado my becoming a monthly donor today.  See you at the hearing!

Dutch Parliament to Be Lobbied to Legalize All Recreational Drugs

The recently formed Dutch coalition government is expected to be handed a 40,000-signature petition in the next few months aimed at opening a debate in parliament on the legalization of all recreational drugs. The petition is being promoted by the Netherlands Drugs Policy Foundation, and has high-profile support from former EU commissioner Fritz Bolkestein and former deputy prime minister and scientist Dr. Els Borst-Eilers.
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