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The Drug War Sends White People Into Treatment, While Black People Get Felonies
This Cleveland Plain-Dealer story just completely blows the lid off the inherent racism of the war on drugs. Reporter Bob Paynter pulled out all the stops, digging through court records to demonstrate how people of color receive harsher punishments than white defendants for the same drug crimes. This is superb reporting, a rare find when it comes to criminal justice issues. Reporters across the nation should repeat Paynterâs methodology. Racial disparities are endemic to the war on drugs and you will find them everywhere. All you have to do is look.
Drug Czar Tells Cartels to Surrender or Die
If the traffickers donât surrender soon, drug czar John Walters will kill them with his bare hands:U.S. drug czar John P. Walters, in Mexico City to reassure officials that aid to fight drug gangs is in the pipeline, said traffickers resort to "fear and horror" in their campaign to take over government institutions but will ultimately fail.â¦Ultimately, he said, the drug lords will face a stark choice: "They surrender, or they die." [LA Times]Walters then pulled a hand grenade from his vest and destroyed a speeding SUV from 100 yards away.
More Drug War = More Violence
Look how AFP frames the spike in drug trade violence plaguing Mexico: MEXICO CITY (AFP) â Almost 400 people have died in the past two weeks in an intensifying drugs war in Mexico despite a government crackdown on cartels, trafficking and related violence.Very obviously, none of this is happening despite Calderonâs crackdown. The violence is caused by the crackdown, directly and unambiguously, in every imaginable sense. When Calderon pledged to increase drug enforcement efforts, the violence increased dramatically. Thatâs not an opinion, itâs whatâs happened right before our eyes. AFP sees irony in the fact that the violence has increased during a drug war crackdown, as though the logical assumption is that an aggressive drug war would reduce violence. It wonât, it never has, and it never will no matter what. The drug war will not make peace. It wonât change the weather, either. And it wonât make you a sandwich. All it will ever do is cause violence. Just watch.
Further Evidence That the Drug War Doesn't Protect Children
If our drug policy made sense, 6-year-old children wouldnât be kidnapped in blackmarket business disputes:Cole was snatched Wednesday in what police are calling a drug-related kidnapping. Three armed men tied up his mother and her fiance and ransacked the home, taking the boy when no money was found, police said.A nationwide Amber Alert was canceled because police believed it had "run its course," Cannito said Saturday.Police say Cole's grandfather, Clemons F. Tinnemeyer, 51, had been involved in "significant drug dealing" and may have taken millions of dollars from drug dealers. Authorities say the kidnapping may have been in retaliation for the theft. [CNN]Cole is safe now, thankfully. But as long as the drug war continues, these kinds of things will never stop happening and they wonât always end peacefully. Thereâs a reason Anheuser-Busch and R.J. Reynolds donât kidnap children when a retailer is late on a payment. Any measure of the drug warâs costs and benefits is incomplete unless it accounts for the role of drug prohibition in motivating horrible crimes like this.
Obama or McCain
Until the selection of Joe Biden as his running mate there was some hope that Barack Obama would at the very least do no harm in the drug theater.Biden is poison to drug reform and to the whole drug i
DEA Thrills Schoolchildren With Awesome Drug War Parade
Sometimes, with all the innocent people being killed, itâs easy to forget how much fun the drug war can be:Educators in West Seattle may have discovered a new way to control 484 wildly cheering children: a burly federal agent wearing camouflage and brandishing a bullhorn.It was unclear who was having more fun, the kids or the cops, at the culmination Thursday of several days of drug prevention programs at the Holy Rosary School in West Seattle.The three letter agencies were there: DEA, ICE, FBI. As children wearing red sweaters and blue pants or tartan skirts lined 42nd Avenue Southwest, agents in raid jackets, swat gear and even hazardous-material suits slapped palms with the pumped-up youngsters. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Jodie Underwood -- dressed in black and packing her service revolver -- looked armed and dangerous until she turned toward a bunch of 8-year- olds with a grin on her face and asked: "Are you guys having fun?" [Seattle Post-Intelligencer] Well, at least the cops and a bunch of 8-year-olds are having a good time.
Reason on the NORA Initiative (report) and medical marijuana provider Charlie Lynch (video)
Some links from our friends at Reason: report on California's Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA), Prop. 5 hitting the ballot next month; and video of rally supporting Charlie Lynch, former medical marijuana provider facing a possible life sentence in court next month Here's the video:
concerted action is the only way
I am fed up with the war on drugs, in a democracy the people are responsible for the leaders they elect and the policies those elected officials enact in to laws, so we must educate the citizens to
Officer Cleared After Shooting Unarmed Mother and Her Baby
Itâs becoming increasingly difficult to imagine a situation in which police could be held accountable for recklessly killing someone in a drug raid:LIMA, Ohio (AP) - An outside review has concluded that a Lima police officer didn't violate any department rules in the fatal shooting of unarmed woman during a drug raid.The findings are in a report issued by the Montgomery County sheriff's office.A jury had previously acquitted the officer of misdemeanor negligence charges, so this is basically the second time his actions have been upheld. For the record, this is what a justifiable police shooting apparently looks like:Chavalia, an officer of 32-years, had testified that he thought his life was in danger when he fired the shots. He said he saw a shadow coming from behind a partially open bedroom door and heard gunshots that he thought were aimed at him. It turned out the gunfire he heard was coming from downstairs, where officers shot two charging pit bulls. [ABCNews]Theyâre shooting at shadows now? I could have sworn thatâs not how itâs supposed to work. Maybe the liberal arts college where I earned my criminal justice degree was a little too liberal, but then again Iâve also tried out the "shoot/don't shoot" simulator at a police training facility, and the sergeantâs instructions on when we could legally discharge our weapon bore no remote resemblance to the fact pattern in the Wilson case. The finding here seems to be that as long as one officer shoots a dog, other officers may then panic and shoot anything that moves throughout the house. Can there be any doubt about the message we send to our public servants when we forgive anything and everything they do in the name of the war on drugs? Thereâs no point in complaining that policies like this will result in babies being shot, because thatâs already happened.
If you or someone you know lives in Arizona
The governor has asked for public input on how to solve the budget shortfall.
Study: Drug Czarâs Billion Dollar Anti-Drug Ad Campaign is a Failure
The drug czar likes to claim that we criticize his ad campaign because we want more kids to use marijuana. Will he say the same about researchers hired by Congress? Despite investing $1 billion in a massive anti-drug campaign, a controversial new study suggests that the push has failed to help the United States win the war on drugs.A congressionally mandated study released today concluded that the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign launched in the late 1990s to encourage young people to stay away from drugs "is unlikely to have had favorable effects on youths."In fact, the study's authors assert that anti-drug ads may have unwittingly delivered the message that other kids were doing drugs, inadvertently slowing measured progress that was being made to curb marijuana use among teenagers."Youths who saw the campaign ads took from them the message that their peers were using marijuana," the report suggests as a possible reason for its findings. "In turn, those who came to believe that their peers were using marijuana were more likely to initiate use themselves." [ABC News]Ironically, if reformers actually wanted more kids to use marijuana, weâd support the drug czarâs ad campaign. His propaganda appears to have encouraged use among those viewing the ads, even as marijuana use among Americaâs youth was decreasing overall. Based on the data, it's entirely possible that youth drug use would be even lower â and U.S. taxpayers would be $1 billion richer â if the drug czar had never run these ads in the first place.
Another Complete Failure from the Drug Czar
John Tierney at the New York Times points to a new report showing that the drug czarâs office has failed to meet its own performance goals. Itâs vital that we point this out, because the drug czar never will. Everything the drug czar does is a glorious success according to the drug czar and there is nothing morbid or awful enough to shatter the drug warriorsâ avowed faith in their great war. Sadly, this includes dramatic increases in overdose deaths, which the drug czar ignores while constantly boasting that overall drug use is down. It seems weâre getting better and better at arresting large numbers of marijuana users who donât need help, while getting progressively worse at saving those whose battle with drugs is truly a matter of life and death.
Legalizing Marijuana Would Stop Growers From Destroying Our Forests
The annual marijuana harvest season each fall brings increased discussion of the hopeless process of eradicating outdoor marijuana crops on public land. Growers are damaging precious natural resources and their livelihood continues unabated even as police achieve record marijuana seizures each year.Fortunately, the Marijuana Policy Project has introduced the only plan that could possibly address the problem:SAN FRANCISCO -- Recent alarming reports of environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana farms in national forests and wilderness areas in California and elsewhere show that an entirely new approach is needed in order to solve the problem, officials of the Marijuana Policy Project said today."Year after year we hear from law enforcement and U.S. Forest Service officials about growing environmental damage caused by these criminal operations, even as law enforcement seizures of marijuana plants set new records every year," said Bruce Mirken, MPP's California-based director of communications. "What we've been doing is plainly not working and has actually caused the problem in the first place. It's time to get off the treadmill and try a new approach."Seriously. Who in their right mind could possibly contend that we are on pace to bring this mess under control? For decades, cops in combat fatigues have been rappelling from helicopters armed with industrial strength hedge-clippers and for what? Marijuana is the number one cash crop in America and that isnât going to change no matter how many police we send off on these ridiculous drug war nature hikes. Californians should be allowed to grow marijuana on their own property for all the same reasons that they are currently permitted to grow grapes and make wine.
Awaken America
Dear Editor, In the last month I attended the funeral of another victim of Americaâs Drug War. Like fruit plucked from the branch before it has ripened many of our children dead and many more to die as a result of this shameful âdrug warâ.
Drug Cop Admits His Career Was Built Around Lies and Wrongful Convictions
Even if you support arresting people for drugs, do you trust the people who are paid to fight the drug war? Via DrugWarRant, here is but one example of what can happen when police are given too much authority and not enough oversight:"They called it Doomsday work and instructed me to take this dreadful secret to the grave," O'Brien wrote."In every case I lied to the courts and I lied to the juries to obtain convictions against my targets."Telling lies was easy - 'policemen don't tell lies' - and my targets never stood a chance." [New Zealand Herald]This happened in New Zealand in the 1970âs, and we only found out about it now and only because the officer could no longer contain his guilt. Imagine how many people sit in prison around the world at this very moment because of this kind of viciously dishonest drug war policing. And if you think police arenât taking advantage of the innocent right here, right now, just scroll down an inch or two.
Police Steal Money from Elderly Medical Marijuana Patients
It is not at all uncommon for the war on drugs to target the very last people among us who ought to be treated as criminals:For example, the 90-year-old couple, Lester ("Smitty") and Mary Smith--who were raided at their Philo home last week (9.24.08) with law enforcement seizing their life savings and all their plants in the process--are qualified patients with doctors' approvals and did nothing wrong.Smitty said, "I wasn't worried a bit. I knew it was legal. I planted six plants two years in a row and this year, I planted 17 for me and Mary. That's not too many is it? My wife is very ill, confined to a wheelchair or recliner. She likes the bud tea. She has severe arthritis. It makes it easier for her to get around. She walks easier; she can walk to the bathroom even by herself."Smitty has health issues too. "I have heart problems, blood clots, stomach cramps, emphysema, bad hips. I've had a heart attack. I sometimes get strong chest pains and can't breathe right. I take nitroglycerine. That brings me back. My doctors want me to take more x-rays here locally but that would be a big expense. Usually, I go to the Veterans Hospital and they pay for it."Mary Smith was forced to stay in the house by herself during the 5-hour raid while additional warrants for an adjoining parcel were telephoned in and delivered, allowing sheriff's deputies to enter all the residences.The elderly Smiths were not arrested or charged with a crime, because there was none. Sheriff's deputies were apparently more interested in robbery than arrest (excuse my french). They seized the two things that mattered most to the ill couple--their medicine, all 17 plants, leaving nothing--and their life savings, $52,000 from Mary Smith's inheritance and $29,000 in cashed in CDs."As soon as the bail-out hit, I cashed in my CDs and put the money in a safe in my house. I did not sell pot to get it. But turns out my money was not safe. They stormed in here and turned our world upside down. I thought I was legal." [IndyBay]This is the real war on drugs. Itâs not some magic formula that only screws over bad people. The drug war proliferates injustice everywhere it goes.
Laser-Guided Missiles Arenât the Answer
I was just chatting with a gentleman outside our office who was interested (as most are) to learn what exactly it is that we work on up here. Iâm not sure he quite understood, however. He told me his silver bullet plan for winning the war on drugs:What we gotta do is use all this satellite technology we have know and identify the crops from space an then just blow âem up with laser-guided missiles. Heâd clearly thought about this before, but maybe without working through the details. I replied, "Well, what about all the children that live in and around these farms? These are poor children in 3rd world countries. We should just blow them up?"He had no response. It had never occurred to him that his plan involved blowing up poor people.
Stop The Lying and Madness
Someone needs to educate themselves to the facts. God gave us a brain to use intelligently. No emotions count on this subject nor misinformation. The Lady of Justice is blindfolded,look again.
Travel Alert: Mexico Unsafe Thanks to War on Drugs
The drug war in Mexico is going so horribly wrong that the State Department is warning Americans who may be thinking about traveling there:Travel AlertU.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Consular Affairs This information is current as of today, document.write(Date()+".") Fri Oct 10 2008 19:36:27 GMT-0400 (EDT). Mexico April 14, 2008 This Travel Alert updates information for U.S. citizens on security situations in Mexico that may affect their activities while in that country. This supersedes the Travel Alert for Mexico dated October 24, 2007, and expires on October 15, 2008. Violence Along The U.S.-Mexico Border------------------------------------- Violent criminal activity fueled by a war between criminal organizations struggling for control of the lucrative narcotics trade continues along the U.S.-Mexico border. Attacks are aimed primarily at members of drug trafficking organizations, Mexican police forces, criminal justice officials, and journalists. However, foreign visitors and residents, including Americans, have been among the victims of homicides and kidnappings in the border region. In its effort to combat violence, the government of Mexico has deployed military troops in various parts of the country. U.S. citizens are urged to cooperate with official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways.What a disaster. If there were anything remotely effective about the war on drugs, donât you think that trying this policy for several decades would have produced a better outcome than this? I mean, look at it. Seriously, just watch whatâs happening. Is this the result youâd get from a drug policy that worked? Ever since President Calderon took office a year and a half ago and began trying to crack down on drug trafficking, everything has gone to hell. It gets worse everyday because using war to attack the drug supply is a terrible policy that destroys everything except the drug supply. What other conclusion could you possibly reach given whatâs taking place right before our eyes?
Want Legal Marijuana on January 20th? Write In "Bruce W. Cain"
Want Legal Marijuana on January 20th? Write In "Bruce W. Cain" It is "Wakee Wakee" time for America.