As outdoor marijuana cultivation continues to surge in our nation's forests, police are growing increasing desperate in their miserably failed attempts to put a stop to it. I think police in Utah are about to find out what happens when you ask people on the internet to help you fight the drug war.

The instant the site's link was posted at NORML, commenters began proposing a coordinated effort to submit false information and send police on long pointless marches into the wilderness. Soon, the site may have to be updated to remind everyone that submitting a false report is a crime, thereby deterring genuine tipsters from participating.

Meanwhile, some more charitable folks have been sending in tips on how to eliminate illegal outdoor cultivation entirely, by reforming our marijuana policies. It may not sink in right away, but maybe the long hikes will give Utah's marijuana warriors a chance to reflect on the absurdity of the situation.

I keep hearing rumors that former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is going to run for President. And if his campaign sounds anything like last night's Colbert appearance, the other republican candidates better start practicing their anti-pot propaganda:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Gary Johnson
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

He should turn this into a campaign ad. If Johnson is able to pick up where Ron Paul left off, while picking up some new folks as well, we could see a heated and potentially consequential drug policy debate happen in the republican primaries. The possibility of a Johnson candidacy is huge for a few reasons:

1. He's a badass who came out for legalization while in office many years ago and has significant comfort and experience debating drug policy.
2. He's extremely popular with libertarians, who can use their massive web presence to fund and promote him.
3. The media's recent fascination with marijuana legalization will bring more attention to his candidacy.
4. There's a general sense that the likely republican candidates all suck horribly, thereby creating more room for Johnson to shine.
5. There won't be an Obama/Clinton war eating up half the press coverage, so the republican primaries will get twice the exposure we saw in '08.

Of course, for a variety of legal and practical reasons, we don't endorse candidates. And he's not even officially running yet. I'm just saying this promises to be an awesome situation that I'm sure we'll be talking about a great deal in the future. The fact that Johnson is already preaching legalization on the Colbert Report -- before even declaring his candidacy -- is a great sign in terms of the kind of press he can get and the kind of things he's likely to say.

(This blog post was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)