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When Police Mistake Chocolate For Hashâ¦
NaturalNews.com has the unbelievable story of a Canadian couple who run a small chocolate company. Guess what happens when you try to cross back and forth between the U.S. and Canada with large quantities of chocolate?Hint: Itâs horrible.
Stop illegal immigration: End the war on drugs
Image by WRDLWordle Mexico is exporting poverty and importing dollars. The US is exporting dollars and our borders are being scammed on a massive scale. This situation will continue as long as Mexico cannot provide opportunities to its people. What needs to happen so that Mexicans want to stay in Mexico?
Poll Shows Strong Support in Mexico for Drug Legalization
A BBC World Service poll released Monday found Mexicans evenly divided on the question of whether drug legalization should be considered as a solution to the nationâs problem with drug war violence. 44% of respondents agreed that legalization of drugs should be considered, while 46% disagreed. Additionally, a full 80% believed that "the government should consider seeking other alternatives to end the problem."These results reflect widespread frustration with the increased drug trade violence triggered by President Calderonâs efforts at cracking down on traffickers. Police are being killed at alarming rates, with some even fleeing to the U.S. in search of asylum. Civilians are being massacred in shootings by police and grenade attacks by drug traffickers. Bloody botched police raids and gratuitous human rights violations by the Mexican army have terrorized the population. Affluent Mexicans are having microchips implanted in their flesh in case of kidnappings and the traffickers are driving modified James Bond-style getaway vehicles.These are the inevitable consequences of a brutal civil war that continues to enrich powerful drug lords at the perpetual expense of peace and social order. Anyone living on the front lines of Mexicoâs expansive drug war battlefield can plainly observe the contributions of Calderonâs crackdown towards increasing the bloodshed. Things didnât get better, they got worse. Thatâs how this works, always. Calderonâs drug war troop surge has now elevated the lessons of prohibition within the public consciousness. He has created an interactive national exhibit of the drug warâs horrific futility. And each passing day brings more news of destruction and death, more opportunities for the drug war faithful to finally reject the great hoax that has infected their democracy and now consumes their environment. The drug war is not going to start working one day, so itâs no surprise that Mexicans are ready to begin discussing alternatives. Their numbers will only continue to grow. And you can bet that this conversation scares the great drug lords far more than Calderonâs corrupted drug war army ever will.
Rachel Hoffman Fallout: One Officer Fired, Others Reprimanded
At long last, weâre seeing some accountability for the officers who got Rachel Hoffman killed after coercing her into working as an informant in the mindbending botched drug sting disaster of the century:Police Chief Dennis Jones requested that investigator Ryan Pender's employment be terminated.Jones also wanted this disciplinary action taken: Deputy Chief John Proctor, reprimand; Capt. Chris Connell, two-week suspension without pay; Lt. Taltha White, two week suspension without pay; Sgt. David Odom, two week suspension without pay; Sgt. Rod Looney, two week suspension without pay.Jones is reassigning White, Odom and Connell within the department."We have taken the necessary time to conduct a thorough and honest review and asked others to examine our operations," Jones says in the statement from the city. He said he has contacted Hoffman's family and provided a report."While we cannot change the events of May 7, we can make the type of changes within the department to help ensure our future actions are consistent with policy," Jones said.[City Manager] Thompson also issued a reprimand to Jones to require a stronger level of supervision from top to bottom in the department. [Tampa Bay Online]Anything resembling police accountability in the war on drugs is so rare that we should really take a moment to just reflect on this. Miraculously, weâve reached a point where all you have to do to get the cops in trouble is be a pretty white girl with a loving family and hundreds of friends, get sucked into a steaming cauldron of first-rate drug enforcement incompetence, and perish dramatically on 20/20âs tear-jerker TV special of the season. Thatâs what it takes, because despite the all-encompassing aversion of police officials towards acknowledging even mild misconduct, itâs still easier than conceding that the entire drug informant system is fundamentally corrupt and perverted to its core. This isnât about Officer Pender, it isnât about Tallahassee, and it isnât going to get any better just because a couple incompetent cops got called out. The Burn Emâ & Bail Drug Informant Circus of Horror is a national tour sponsored by the war on drugs and it wonât go away until every last one of us makes it abundantly clear that we want no part of this. Not with our money, not in our community, and not in our name.
Crack the Disparity Newsletter Vol. 1, No. 2
[Courtesy of the Crack the Disparity Coalition] Secure Fairness in Crack Cocaine Sentencing -- Join Lobby Day this Spring Plans are underway for the second national lobby day for crack cocaine sentencing reform in Washington, DC, hosted by the Crack the Disparity Coalition. An exact date has not yet been set but we invite advocates from around the country to attend the Capitol Hill event this spring. As a participant, you will speak with Members of Congress and their staff about the unjust sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and the need to eliminate it. Training and materials will be provided to you. Look for more details in the December issue of the Crack the Disparity Newsletter. Home for the Holidays By Karen Garrison Karen Garrison is the mother of twin sons sentenced to nearly two decades for a first-time nonviolent crack cocaine offense. Her son Lawrence will soon be released due to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent changes to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses. The dream will be a reality for one of my sons who will be home this December. It has been 10 years and Lawrence and Lamont's room has hardly been touched. I covered the beds with heavy plastic. Long ago I gave away their clothes and shoes to shelters and halfway houses, not only because of their weight loss, but clothing goes out of style in a period of ten years. I must now begin to prepare a place for one of my twins, never forgetting that one will remain behind unjust bars. I am buying sheets, towels, and gathering healthy recipes he will enjoy preparing. I will try to purchase new furniture and have already bought the paint for his room. Coming home to those same bunk beds would just make it harder on both of us. Those are the beds he shared with his twin brother Lamont. Commute Crack Cocaine Sentences in Time for the Holidays By Jasmine Tyler This month the Crack the Disparity Coalition launched the "Home for the Holidays" campaign to rally support for individuals serving excessive penalties for crack cocaine offenses who have filed commutation requests with President George W. Bush. The President expressed concern for the crack cocaine sentencing disparity in the early days of his administration. The sentencing disparity "ought to be addressed by making sure the powder-cocaine and the crack-cocaine penalties are the same," he said in 2001. "I don't believe we ought to be discriminatory." Advocates are hoping to capitalize on these sympathies to expedite applications for crack cocaine cases and increase recommendations for clemency. The campaign is promoting support for clemency applicants seeking relief from the uniquely severe penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses that subject defendants possessing as little as 5 grams of crack cocaine to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. A powder cocaine defendant must be convicted of selling 100 times that amount to trigger the same sentence. Since Congress has yet to act to alleviate this disparity, advocates' focus this fall is to ensure that those who are seeking clemency do not go unheard. Teen Profiles Crack Cocaine Reformer: Pamela Alexander - A Profile in Courage By Laura S., Cincinatti, OH This article was reprinted courtesy of TeenInk.com, a nonprofit, national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing and art. On December 11, 2007, members of the United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to make a groundbreaking change in one of their policies. They decided that the disparity between sentences for crack cocaine crimes and those involving powder cocaine was exceedingly unjust and prejudiced. With crack users being predominantly black and powder cocaine users predominantly white, the Sentencing Commission judged the much harsher sentences for crack users to be racially biased at their core. The Commission therefore has allowed thousands currently imprisoned for crack cocaine violations to appeal their sentences before federal judges, in an effort to shorten these sentences where feasible. While this represents a major step toward racial equality and justice, one uncelebrated, independent woman put her career on the line for this same issue - seventeen years ago. Petition President Bush Join citizens concerned about the harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses by telling President George Bush and Pardon Attorney Ronald Rodgers to expedite and give special consideration to commutation applicants serving excessive sentences for crack cocaine. Sign a petition by clicking here. Save the Date September 24-27, 2008: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 38th Annual Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C. September 26-September 28, 2008: Critical Resistance 10th Anniversary Celebration and International Conference and Strategy Session, Oakland, CA October 19-22, 2008: International Community Corrections Association 16th Annual International Research Conference, "Risk, Resilience and Reentry," St. Louis, MO Spring 2009: Crack the Disparity Lobby Day, Washington, D.C. Media Attention Daily Press Editorial on Equalization of Crack and Powder Cocaine Sun-Sentinel Coverage on Prison Term Reductions for Cocaine Cases Kansas City Star Coverage on Former Kansas City Royal Baseball Player Willie Mays Aikens The Crack the Disparity Coalition includes the American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, Break the Chains, Drug Policy Alliance, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Open Society Policy Center, Restoring Dignity, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, The Sentencing Project, and United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.
Police Kill Really Small Dog, Claim it Threatened Them
This is getting really out of hand. What kind of cop is scared of a Jack Russell terrier?HALTOM CITY â An internal investigation is under way after a Haltom City police officer fatally shot a Jack Russell terrier Monday afternoon while officers were serving a search warrant.The officer, who was not identified, remained on duty, police said Friday.But family members at the house where the shooting occurred said Friday that Willy, the 40-pound terrier, never attacked the officer. [Ft. Worth Star-Telegram]Ok, obviously thereâs some sort of major misunderstanding going on here, because the number of household pets being killed by police has gone from alarming to inconceivably, mindblowingly outrageous and intolerable. Of course, police are heroes who would never kill animals just to be mean (only sociopaths are cruel to animals), so the answer must be that police are disproportionately terrified of dogs.Cynophobia is the clinical name for an abnormal fear of dogs, i.e., a specific phobia related to dogs. The dog is a domesticated superpredator; this in combination with increasing media coverage of dog attacks could be contributing factors for development of this fear. A 1992 study of cynophobia among children and adults [1] reported that actually experiencing dog attacks does contribute to cynophobia. [Wikipedia]So if your job often involves going around yelling and stomping your way into peopleâs houses, youâre disproportionately at risk for unpleasant dog encounters. Horror stories of rookies getting their nuts bit off are surely passed down within the ranks, resulting in a climate of hostility towards the canine species. So, at the risk of sounding condescending, letâs just clarify a few things:1. Dogs bark at everyone. It doesnât mean theyâre challenging your authority.2. Many species of dogs are really weak. These can usually be identified by their small size. Donât assume that all dogs are as vicious as the ones at the police station.3. No police officer has ever been killed by a dog (I tried googling it and mostly just found stories of dogs being killed by police). Â 4. Dog bites can be effectively treated through the miracles of modern science. Shooting guns indoors is generally much more dangerous.I apologize to the many brave men and women in law enforcement who arenât terrified of small dogs. This is embarrassing, I know, but weâve got to get this out in the open so we can move on.
New Developments in the Ryan Frederick Case
Ever since Ryan Frederick was charged with murder for killing a police officer who he mistook for a burglar during a botched drug raid, the case against him has become increasingly difficult to believe. Despite finding no evidence of cultivation, prosecutors are now claiming Frederick had been growing marijuana prior to the police raid and that he knew police were coming and planned the murder. It just doesnât make sense, particularly insofar as a suspect whoâs expecting police doesnât need to shoot them. If he wanted to escape, he could just leave before they came.Radley Balko has the details here and some additional analysis here.
Why has Russia said no to Methadone?
Despite having nearly a million heroin addicts, with HIV spreading rapidly through that population, Russia's government has very tragically said no to methadone maintenance. According to a short video posted by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), 80% of all new HIV cases in Russia are due to needle sharing by injection drug users. Check out the video here: Check out HCLU here.
Idiot Proposes Lengthy Prison Sentence for George Michael
George Michaelâs latest drug arrest has reduced Ross Clark at The Times Online to a sputtering mess. In an embarrassing editorial entitled It's just as wrong to use drugs as it is to sell them, Clark compares drug use to child pornography and calls for casual users to serve long sentences: With stolen goods, illegal weapons and child pornography, the law is clear: the user is as guilty as the supplier. The police didn't let Gary Glitter off with a little rap on the knuckles and the rest of us didn't shake our heads and say: âPoor Gary, how sad that he has fallen victim to these evil porn dealers.âHe was prosecuted, quite rightly, on the basis that those who provide the market for child porn are implicated in its production. So why then do such different attitudes persist in the case of drugs? If it is wrong to produce and trade drugs, then it is equally wrong to use them.Clark goes on explain that drug addiction doesnât happen to intelligent people:â¦Among drug users and drug peddlers alike, there are, of course, sometimes mitigating circumstances. If you have been brought up by drug addicts, beaten and abused, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if you grow up with a somewhat confused sense of right and wrong.But none of this applies to George Michael, who is intelligent enough to know that taking crack is not just an issue of personal liberty: there is a clear association between use of the drug and propensity to commit violent crime. If caught with illegal drugs he should be treated to no less a punishment than if he had smuggled them into the country and sold them on the streets.Dude, chill out. No one wants to spend $250,000 imprisoning a guy for $20 worth of dope. Iâm sure you had fun writing this, but do you actually agree with your own idea? Did you know that it costs money to keep people in jail? If you hate drug users so much, do you really want to pay for all their food and clothes and healthcare for 10 years every time we catch one? No you donât, so shut up before we lock George Michael in your pantry and make you take care him forever.
Cop Fired For Choking Marijuana Suspect
See!? There really is accountability in the war on drugs. All you have to do is get video of a cop nearly killing a guy over a petty misdemeanor. Seriously though, as rare as this is, it does send an important message that there can be consequences for police who use excessive force against peaceful suspects:MT. JULIET, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee police officer has pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault charges after he was caught on video using a chokehold on a man suspected of hiding marijuana in his mouth.An attorney for Cpl. William Cosby says he pleaded not guilty Thursday.A lawyer for the city of Mt. Juliet, about 20 miles east of Nashville, says Cosby has been fired.Cosby's attorney, Chuck Ward, says the decision to fire Cosby shows the city believes him to be "guilty until proven innocent."Video from a city police car shows Cosby using a chokehold on 26-year-old James Lawrence Anders Jr. during an April traffic stop. The video then shows Anders passing out.Charges including marijuana possession were later dropped. Anders is suing over the incident.The story went out on AP and was covered in several news outlets. One thing that remains unclear to me is whether the suspect ever even had any marijuana. If anyone can locate additional coverage or the actual video, please send it to me. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â [Thanks, Nate] Update: That was fast. You can watch the video here. There was no marijuana in the suspect's mouth and he tested negative for marijuana use. Thanks, Zane.Â
Salvia is Potent, But is it Dangerous?
The Washington Post has a trainwreck of an editorial calling for preliminary discussion of prohibiting salvia. They seem to think the DEAâs job includes evaluating drugs scientifically and that videos of people getting high on YouTube prove that salvia is dangerous. The one thing thatâs missing is any evidence of the drug actually hurting anyone.Pete Guither rips it into confetti, so Iâll hold my breath. My thoughts on salvia hysteria are here.
Obama's Contradictory Position on the Drug War
At a campaign appearance in Jacksonville, FL, Barack Obama proposed federal drug war funding as a solution to the cityâs problems with violent crime:I will ensure that we fund the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program, which has been critical to creating the anti-gang and anti-drug task forces our communities need. And I will make sure our federal law enforcement agencies are equipped to fight terrorism and crime by ensuring that the FBI and DEA are appropriately staffed and that federal-local law enforcement task forces have the support they need. [Florida Times-Union]He said the same thing in New Orleans, thus itâs becoming increasingly clear that Obama really does believe that aggressive drug enforcement can function as a crime control mechanism. For a quick tutorial on how absurd that is, Iâd refer him to Mexico, where President Calderonâs attempted crackdown has escalated violence throughout the country with no end in sight.Moreover, Obamaâs praise for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants ignores that programâs role in producing some of the most egregious civil rights catastrophes in modern drug war history. Byrne funding was responsible for the notorious fiascos in Tulia and Hearne, TX, in which large numbers of innocent African-Americans were rounded up and framed for drug crimes. Overwhelming abuse of the program led Texas to ban multi-jurisdictional drug task forces entirely. Obamaâs remarks yesterday are therefore simply impossible to reconcile with his calls for "shifting the paradigm" in the war on drugs. He has frequently called attention to the over-incarceration of non-violent drug offenders, yet now pledges to continue the exact tactics that have played such a prominent role in producing our alarming prison population. As Radley Balko explains:Because most Byrne grants are also tied directly to drug arrests, they encourage local police departments to use their manpower and resources on nonviolent drug offenses instead of more serious crimes like rape, robbery, or murder.It seems Obama is trying to have it both ways, scoring points for forward-thinking ideas on incarceration at the national level, while simultaneously promising more policing and drug enforcement to audiences that are concerned about crime. Iâd still prefer to think heâs serious about working to reduce our prison population, but he wonât get far without looking at the way our drug laws are enforced. If he plans to dangle federal drug war dollars in front of bloodthirsty local narcotics task forces, you can bet those guys will do what they do best: fill our prisons as fast as they can with anyone they can get their hands on. Thatâs just how the drug war works. Politicians fund prohibition. Prohibition funds violence. Politicians feel pressured and fund more prohibition. If Obama wants to change the outcome, heâll have to change the process. (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.)
Another Sign That Medical Marijuana Laws Are Working
Regulating medical marijuana under state law makes it possible for police to protect private property: Mendocino County sheriff's deputies arrested eight Sacramento-area men Friday on suspicion of robbing at gunpoint a Laytonville man who grew marijuana in his garden for medical use.The men, who range in age from 18 to 24, are from Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Sacramento, and are facing armed robbery and conspiracy charges. [Sacramento Bee]Itâs nice to see police helping patients and turning their attention towards real criminals.
B.C. pharmacists given prescribing powers by provincial government.
Perhaps I will now be able to get some benefit from my prescriptions as everyone but my doctor understands the two are contraindicated.It will also eliminate the need to see the doctor to renew the sa
Canada's NDP,here and then gone
I had been receiving mail from the NDP for over a year and always included a request for a stand on the war on drugs and marijuana legalization.Last week I was told that the party supported marijuana
Giuliani brings his special breed of fascism to Vancouver
The first target on his list was Insite.Being a hard core prohibitionist he jumped right on the enabling thing and rejected completely the research that proved that was a lie.Facts mean nothing to a m
Anti-Marijuana Crusaders Caught Violating Campaign Laws
We already know marijuana prohibition is a fraud, so it should come as no surprise that the people fighting to protect prohibition cannot be trusted to obey the law themselves.The Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policyâs campaign to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Massachusetts has driven drug-thirsty prosecutors over the edge, prompting blatant lawbreaking by the exact people sworn to uphold the stateâs laws (via MPP email):*Â Under Massachusetts law, it is illegal to solicit, receive, or spend funds to support or oppose a ballot initiative without first forming a political committee. CSMP has from its inception followed all of these rules, but the district attorneys solicited, received, and spent donations before they were legally allowed to -- blatantly ignoring state law in a cynical attempt to conceal their campaign activity for as long as they could, undermining the very laws they have sworn to uphold.*Â Additionally, the district attorneys used public funds to post and house a statement urging voters to reject the decriminalization initiative on its Web site ... clear, indisputable violation of Massachusetts election law, which prohibits public officials from using public resources to advocate for or against a ballot initiative. *Â What's more, this illegal statement -- itself an abuse of public office and taxpayer resources -- is riddled with bald-faced lies ... like the claim that the initiative would permit any person to carry and use marijuana at any time. In reality, the measure simply changes the type of penalty for possession of less than an ounce and specifically reiterates that public use remains illegal.Unsurprisingly, lying and cheating have become the last resort of the desperate drug war faithful. They have no legitimate arguments and the polls show them losing badly, so you can bet theyâll try anything. One could never overstate the extent to which these hardened drug war prosecutors believe the law is theirs to toy with. It is their precious little plaything, a personal possession to be molded and manipulated until it fits just right. That very same mentality also explains why they love marijuana laws, which can be cast casually aside or brought crashing down with righteous ferocity. Indeed, the very notion of a democratically-enforced public morality that trumps prosecutorial discretion is an affront to their world. Thatâs why theyâd sooner break campaign laws that serve the public interest than risk the reform of marijuana laws that serve no interests but their own.
Don't Worry, It's Just a Grenade Attack in Your Neighborhood
Frightening headlines documenting Mexicoâs surging drug trade violence can be found on a daily basis, and they tell the true story of drug prohibition about as succinctly as anyone could ask for:Mexican grenade attack shows no one is safe By TRACI CARL â 1 day ago MORELIA, Mexico (AP) â The message was clear when two explosions ripped through crowds of Mexican Independence Day revelers: Anyone, anywhere, is fair game when it comes to Mexico's intensifying violence.â¦Most killings have been drug-related, prompting [President] Calderon to send more than 25,000 soldiers to cartel strongholds across the country. Gangs have only responded with more violence: buying police protection, killing those who can't be bought or forcing entire units to resign in fear.Calderon, though, has refused to back down. After Monday night's attacks, he urged Mexicans to not be afraid. [AP]What part of "Mexican grenade attack shows no one is safe" doesnât he understand? Letâs review:Option 1 - Drug Prohibition: No one is safe. You could get blown up anywhere, anytime and you wonât even see it coming.Option 2 - No Drug Prohibition: Everyone is safe, as long as they donât voluntarily poison themselves.Isnât the better choice obvious?