Video
Video: Former Mexican President Says Time to Legalize Drugs
Video from October 18 Cato Institute forum featuring former President of Mexico Vicente Fox (Cato's Ian Vasquez moderating):
Why Do We Keep Talking About Prohibition?
Reason TV, via Andrew Sullivan's The Dish:
Video: "Count the Costs of the War on Drugs," Events in Five European Capitals
Actions organized by the European Drug Policy Initiative in Sofia, Bucharest, Warsaw, Oslo and Porto -- part of the "Count the Costs of the War on Drugs" campaign, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs:
Click here for more information, including a short promo video for the campaign.
Video: Florida Welfare Drug Testing Debate
Far from saving the state money, Florida's new welfare drug testing law, promoted aggressively by Gov. Rick Scott, seems to be a budget buster. The law also seems likely to be found unconstitutional -- FoxNews's Megyn Kelly, host of the show "Kelly's Court," thinks so (as do we) -- and taking it through the courts to find that out will cost Florida taxpayers additional funds.
Unfortunately there have been a lot of these bills lately, this year and in other recent years. One more seems to be coming up in Ohio, and legislation may be coming up very soon in Congress -- we'll update here as soon as we know more.
40th Anniversary Drug War Continues, SWAT Raid Music Video, More Wire
The 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon's declaration of the drug war continues. First, footage from LEAP's press conference, followed by their march from the National Press Club to the Office of National Drug Control Policy office to hand-deliver their report to drug czar Kerlikowske:
Comedian/Activist Randy Credico has made a startling discovery, with his first release from the "Nixon: The Lost Tapes" collection. In Credico's (parody) excerpt, Nixon says he was duped into calling for a drug war and says he regrets it:
We link Reason again, this time with their new music video, No Knock Raid. Don't watch it if you're about to try to get to sleep:
If you haven't already, check out my post last week about Reason's current magazine issue, "Criminal Injustice."
The Wire is back in the news too. Last weekend we noted that Attorney General Eric Holder really wants another season of the show, but David Simon says they'll only do it if he ends drug prohibition. On Thursday Holder said okay!
Unfortunately he was only joking -- and the drug war is no joking matter. Still, I interpret it as reflecting implicit respect for the anti-drug war viewpoint -- we'll take it.
Yes on 19 Campaign Launches New "Stop the Insanity" Video (Video)
The Yes on 19 campaign launched its closing argument with a brand new web video. It emphasizes that for far too long the war on marijuana has cost the state billions of dollars and incarcerated hundreds of thousands of non-violent Californians, and that by stopping the insanity of marijuana prohibition the state can be led in a new direction.
The ad, which has an edgier flavor than previous messaging, was designed to address the human toll inflicted by marijuana prohibition. Unofficially called "Stop the Insanity," the ad is being targeted to younger CA voters who are less political, but moved by the subject of marijuana legalization. The rollout will be seen by 2 million Californians.
You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doRymwwLdE0
Zach Galifianakis Supports Prop 19 by Smoking a Joint on Bill Maher's Show (Video)
The World Can Learn from Switzerland's Drug Policy
In the late 1980s, Switzerland saw a significant increase in injection drug use, and the crime and public health harms that are associated with it under our prohibition system. A new video from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union features a range of Swiss experts discussing the science-based policies that the country has adopted to deal with those issues, including Professor Ambros Uchtenhagen, head of the first heroin maintenance program in Switzerland; Felix Lengweiler, the chief of security police and policing of narcotics crime at the Zurich City Police; and Uwe Serduelt, deputy director, Centre of Research on Direct Democracy at the Zurich University.
The video's release coincides with a new report on the subject by the Open Society Institute, Read From the Mountaintops: What the World Can Learn from Drug Policy Change in Switzerland.
"Emperor of Hemp" Live Chat Tonight, Firedoglake.com's Movie Night, 8:00-9:30pm
"Movie Night" tonight, on the widely-read Firedoglake.com blog, will feature Jeff Meyers, producer of the classic and now re-released video about hemp pioneer Jack Herer, and Emperor of Hemp director Jeff Jones. Tune in between 8:00pm and 9:30pm.
Visit http://www.emperorofhemp.com to learn more about the Emperor of Hemp DVD, and about Jack Herer himself, the justly renowned Emperor.
In case anyone didn't make the connection, Firedoglake is the group providing a phonebanking web site to help you support Prop 19, and the three state medical marijuana initiatives, by doing get out the vote phone calls. All you need is a phone and Internet connection, and you can be volunteering for these important efforts now! Click here for further information.
"Stoners Against Prop 19" Debunked in New Video
Last week we reported on the forces lined up for and against California's Prop 19. A surprising element found in the "against" mix are portions of the cannabis reform community. Some of them are clearly self-interested medical marijuana sellers, and we believe that all of them are thoroughly mistaken or misguided. It's a loud group of people, but one whose actual size and significance is unclear.
I did not closely follow the evolution of the "Stoners Against Prop 19," but one event that's said to have given it steam was a video interview by California medical marijuana patient KC Kimber with Dennis Peron, the father of medical marijuana in California and sponsor of the Prop 215 medical marijuana initiative, who regrettably has opposed Prop 19. (I'm having trouble find the video, hence no link.) Kimber discovered later that Peron had fed him a lot of disinformation, and has been campaigning since then for Prop 19's passage. Yesterday he released an interview with cannabis expert and Prop 19 proponent Chris Conrad which debunks Peron's claims.
We hope that common sense (perhaps with some help from our reporting) has already made it clear to our readers that Prop 19 is a legalization initiative (albeit the first stage of legalization with more work to be done); that it will help, not hurt, medical marijuana patients (as I've gone into on Huffington Post); and that any compromises it makes are small and necessary ones and that we'll be far better off, now and in the continuing effort, if it passes. We don't want to contribute an exaggerated sense of the importance of the "Stoners Against Prop 19" movement by focusing too much attention on them, but because the vote is likely to be close, and because some of their claims have made it into the mainstream media, we are posting the video here just in case. If you want more information on this subject, we recommend Chris's Prop 19 Fact Check and Rumor Control page.
Regarding Peron, we see him as a hero for what he did to bring medical marijuana into being in California, work without which Prop 19 might not even be possible today. We've heard that he's ill, and we wish him well. Prop 19 is too important to hold back on, and so even Dennis Peron cannot be let off the hook when he spreads false information about it, at least not until the election's done.
