Celebrities
Meet MPP Advisory Board Member Jim Hightower Tomorrow in Washington, D.C.
[Courtesy of MPP]
Meet MPP advisory board member Jim Hightower tomorrow in Washington, D.C.
The Marijuana Policy Project invites you to attend a reception for radio host and MPP VIP advisory board member Jim Hightower, who will be giving a talk about his new book, Swim Against the Current, tomorrow, March 18, at the Carnegie Institution building.
To watch a short video about Jim Hightower's views regarding marijuana policy reform, please click here, or to read a print version, click here.
The talk is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., and the cost $20 per person. Admission for students and senior citizens is $15, and children under 16 are free. The event also features a VIP reception from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., which costs $50 per person or $80 per couple and includes a copy of Hightower's new book and admittance to the talk.
What: Jim Hightower VIP reception, book talk, and book signing
When: Tuesday, March 18, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 pm (VIP reception), 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (talk and book signing)
Where: Carnegie Institution building, 1530 P Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Cost: $50/person or $80/couple (VIP reception, book talk and signing, and copy of book); or $20/person (talk and book signing only); or $15/person (student and senior citizens).
Proceeds from the event will benefit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals.
Ethan Nadelmann on the Colbert Report
One question though: what's up with the lava lamp!? Sources familiar with whether or not there's a lava lamp in Ethan's office tell me there isn't. Did Colbert put it there? Following his attempt to feed Doritos™ to MPP's Aaron Houston, I certainly wouldn't put it past him.
Of course, when Steve Colbert subjects reformers to relentless and preposterous stoner stereotyping, at least it's a joke. When the head of the UN drug office does the same thing at a serious event, it's a lot less funny.
UN Recommends Busting Celebrity Drug Users
Leniency towards drug-abusing celebrities is sending out the wrong message to children and young people, the United Nations drug control agency said today.It's always cute when drug war supporters read between the lines and catch on that the massive international drug war hasn't stopped the party. Unfortunately, this realization often leads to bizarre proposals like biological warfare or mass-arresting famous people.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned that allowing famous people to get away with drug crimes had a damaging effect on impressionable youngsters and undermines faith in the criminal justice system. [The London Paper]
This absurd scheme, like every other dubious drug war idea, will fail for all the same reasons it failed before. The drug war is simply not effective against wealthy privileged people. Those with the resources available to conceal their law-breaking from the prying eyes of police will continue to party in private. You can't deputize the paparazzi to pop Paris for pot and you can't railroad rockstars in drug war kangaroo courts. Just try it, and the number of 90210 zipcodes in the StopTheDrugWar.org membership database will soon crash our servers.
It would be vastly more effective, though still futile, to ask that the press kick its habit of turning every wasted starlet into front-page news. The relentless trainwreck that passes for entertainment media on both sides of the pond is just as nauseous and predictable as its subjects, thus the apple can't be expected to fall far from the tree.
It's all fun and games until LA SWAT raids Paris Hilton's house on a tip from Tara Reid and is forced to shoot a chihuahua in self-defense.
Does Marijuana Make You Better at Sports?
Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns is very proud of the work that's being done to ensure fairness in sports:
The nation's deputy drug czar said Tuesday that the indictment of slugger Barry Bonds in connection with a federal steroids investigation shows the world that the United States remains "the No. 1 country in the world when it comes to going after cheating in sports." [LA Times]Of course, like so many other aspects of the war on drugs, the war on steroids suddenly morphs into a war on marijuana:
He was especially critical of the NBA's relatively liberal policy on marijuana use, which calls for a maximum five-game suspension for the third and subsequent offenses.Why not? I don't understand, Mr. Burns. What does this have to do with cheating? Oh boy, does marijuana really make you better at basketball? I have never heard that before. I've heard that it cures cancer, increases fertility, and prevents Alzheimer's, but I did not know that it made you better at sports. That's so awesome.
"If Americans knew that you can be a professional high-level athlete and smoke dope and those are the penalties, they would be offended," he said. "For professional athletes that smoke dope, there should be a message that says you don't get to play your sport."
To be fair, however, I doubt the Deputy Drug Czar actually believes marijuana is a performance-enhancing drug. I think his concerns have more to do with the fact that widespread marijuana use among professional athletes undermines his office's non-stop campaign to convince Americans that using marijuana will weaken their bodies and ruin their futures.
With that in mind, I would highly recommend to the folks at the Drug Czar's office that they immediately stop trying to drug test athletes for marijuana. After all, if you don't want the kids to find out that their favorite athletes smoke pot, you can begin by not drug testing those athletes or complaining publicly about their rampant marijuana use.
Drew Carey Cares About Medical Marijuana
This program totally confirms my pre-existing belief that we must defend patient access to medical marijuana, and that the spineless bureaucrats who want to take it from them should be tossed into the Potomac.
Interestingly, the DEA refused to be interviewed by Drew Carey for the episode. If they are tired of discussing this issue, perhaps they should stop raiding dispensaries and terrorizing patients and caregivers.