BLOG

An Excellent Column on Marijuana Prohibition From Reuters

Fairness requires that I call attention to Reuters columnist Bernd Debusmann's excellent piece, America's never-ending prohibition. I've been critical of marijuana coverage at Reuters in the past, so I was pleased to see this: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's alcohol prohibition lasted 13 years, filled the country's prisons, inspired contempt for the law among millions, bred corruption and produced Al Capone. What it did not do was keep Americans from drinking. America's marijuana prohibition drew into its 72nd year this month. It has created a huge underground industry catering to users, helped the U.S. prison population balloon into the world's largest, and diverted the resources of American law enforcement. What it has not done is keep Americans from using marijuana. On the contrary. Since 1937, the year marijuana was outlawed, its use in the United States has gone up by 4,000 percent, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based lobby group which advocates regulating the drug similar to alcohol. A recent World Health Organization study of marijuana use in 17 countries placed Americans at the top of the list.Indeed. Rather than measuring the drug war's success by comparing today's rates of drug use to their highest point in history, the drug czar should be comparing today's usage rates to what they were before we started this mindless crusade.

Florida Prosecutor Stands Up For Rachel Hoffman, Refuses to Work With DEA

The fallout following Rachel Hoffman's murder is becoming intense. DEA has refused to allow three agents to testify before a grand jury regarding their involvement in the case, resulting in a surprising backlash from the State Attorney's office:State Attorney Willie Meggs has told the Tallahassee Democrat that his decision to no longer prosecute cases involving the federal Drug Enforcement Administration is, "probably more symbolic than it is substantive, but I am very serious about it."He went on to say, "I'm just not going to play that little game with those folks. I donât need them and if these agencies want to work with them and do their cases with them, that's fine." [Tallahassee Democrat]Strong words indeed. This sort of vitriol is rarely exchanged between drug warriors and it seems to indicate a drawing of battlelines as we wait to see who'll be held to account for this now-legendary drug war f#%k-up. Mark R. Trouville, DEA's Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Division, predictably blamed his officers' non-compliance on a technicality:We feel it is important for the public to know that DEA did not refuse to testify before the grand jury in this case. Although notified both verbally and in writing by DEA, the State Attorneyâs Office refused to comply with Department of Justice regulations (which have been respected by the Florida Supreme Court) and therefore DEA Agents did not receive authorization to testify before the grand jury. In order to comply, the State Attorneyâs Office simply needed to issue a subpoena and provide the local United States Attorneyâs Office a summary of the information sought and its relevance to the proceeding.This is the same guy who once claimed that today's marijuana "will kill you," so he has all the credibility of a drunk frat-boy on April Fool's Day. Thus I lean towards the assumption that DEA is covering its ass, which would explain why State Attorney Meggs is raging pissed.To be honest though, I'm really not quite sure what the hell is going on here. I don't understand DEA's role in the murder because they won't testify, but in hindsight the fact that Rachel was told to purchase 1,500 pills of ecstasy, 2 ounces of crack cocaine and a gun sure gives the impression that DEA may have been calling the shots. The conspicuously large order Rachel placed had a great deal to do with her cover being blown, so to whatever extent DEA may have been responsible for that, they would be equally responsible for the fatal outcome.Ultimately, many people made many errors contributing to this horrible event, but we all know that it takes more than a few greedy cops to manufacture a tragedy as compelling and gut-wrenching as this. After the finger-pointing subsides, after a few sacrificial reassignments, re-trainings and procedural revisions, the war that killed Rachel Hoffman will rage on without missing a beat. The culture of threats and manipulation that characterizes modern drug enforcement will remain intact and the mentality that led to Rachel's death will continue to guide police as they take on the drug problem with handcuffs in one hand and a gun in the other.

Just a survey.... feel free to take it and speak out for legalization

I recently posted this one various sites for testing but now need help in really creating a true survey...

After Killing His Dogs, Police Admit Mayor Calvo Was Probably Innocent

The botched drug raid fiasco in Berwyn Heights, MD grows more embarrassing for Prince George's County police everyday. Their theory is now that a deliveryman was planning on intercepting the package:Prince George's Police Chief Melvin C. High did not apologize to the Calvos or exonerate them completely in the case. However, he said police have discovered five or six other similar deliveries made in recent days to addresses where people inside had no knowledge of the delivery. He said he believed the Calvos were "likely" innocent but that police continue to investigate. [Washington Post]It bothers me to no end that this whole mess seems to hinge in many people's minds on the ultimate determination of whether or not the Calvos had anything to do with the marijuana. While I agree that the destruction of innocent lives and property is one of the most disturbing consequences of our wildly out-of-control war on drugs, I think Police Chief High (don't laugh, not funny) is missing the point. His officers shot two black Labradors, one of which was running away. It's just barbaric. A source who attended a memorial service for the dogs learned that the raiding officers didnât even know the homeowner was the mayor until they began interrogating him. The point isnât that he deserved special treatment, but rather that police didnât even conduct a basic investigation of their suspects. They went in blind, and their subsequent violent actions owe much to the ignorance that guided them throughout the process. This type of policing is unacceptable categorically and without regard to one's occupation or even their involvement in drugs.Worse yet, there's absolutely nothing unique or exceptional about any of it. As this very story unfolded we learned that a Lima, OH officer was acquitted of negligence charges after shooting a baby and killing her unarmed mother in a drug raid. He literally used the excuse that the sound of his fellow officers shooting dogs downstairs startled him, causing him to shoot at a shadow. That shadow turned out to be Tarika Wilson, who he killed while also shooting her baby's finger off. Horrible drug raid stories have become vastly more common than they ought to be. The patterns are disturbingly familiar, the excuses are disturbingly unpersuasive, and the next similar disaster will occur disturbingly soon. Just watch.

DEA Secures Another Medical Marijuana Conviction by Lying in Court

The highly controversial Charles Lynch trial has reached a disappointing conclusion:The owner of a Morro Bay marijuana dispensary was found guilty today in federal court of five counts of distributing drugs.Charles Lynch, the owner of the dispensary, faces a minimum of five years in prison.His closely watched trial involved conflicting marijuana laws and went to a federal court jury Monday. Jurors were asked to determine if Lynch was guilty of violating federal drug laws.During a week-and-a-half-long trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors sought to depict Lynch as a common drug dealer who sold pot to teenagers and carried a backpack stuffed with cash.Lynch was charged with distributing marijuana, conspiring to distribute marijuana and providing marijuana to people under the age of 21. [LA Times}Like other medical marijuana convictions, federal prosecutors were only able to prevail by blocking testimony about medical marijuana and misleading jurors about the true nature of the defendant's actions. reason.tv tells the truth about the Lynch case here:Fortunately, while the federal government can lie to a jury, they cannot conceal their contemptuous conduct from a public already sickened by the vicious and embarrassing war on medical marijuana patients and providers. Their manipulative tactics will be fully exposed in the aftermath of today's result and will be greeted with the same widespread disgust that has characterized past persecutions prosecutions.We must never mistake today's events for anything but what they are: a pathetic and purely symbolic attempt to obscure the obvious benefits of state medical marijuana laws. They are powerless against the tide of public opinion and the booming industry that has spawned amidst their intransigence. They now resort to petty martyrings, the brutal last resort of a disgraced tyrant, in the fading hope of intimidating a nation that has embraced democracy itself to subvert their hideous war.Even in its hour of victory, the war on medical marijuana shivers naked before us, spitting desperately into the eyes of a public whose support it lost long ago.

Police Are Confiscating Cars for Minor Drug Crimes

Taking people's cars against their will is, of course, not a crime when police do it:A new push by Annapolis police officers to crack down on drugs and violence in the city is having an added benefit: Record vehicle seizures and revenues.Sgt. Dave Garcia, who oversees the vehicle seizure program, said city police seized 120 vehicles in the first six months of this year, netting $23,960 in the process.â¦Sgt. Garcia said when the city began its seizure program, officers had discretion on whether to seize a vehicle. About a decade ago, however, the department adopted the zero-tolerance policy."We wanted it to be fair for everyone," he said, explaining now it doesn't matter if the officer finds a glass pipe for smoking crack or a kilo of heroin - the city will take your car. [hometownannapolis.com]It is just amazing what the term "fair for everyone" can mean to a narcotics officer. It disturbs me greatly that police can even say things like that in our newspapers without provoking massive public outcry. As one might guess, the program serves no crime control function and accomplishes nothing other than funding the process of busting more people and taking more cars:It is unclear if the seizures actually are deterring anything, though. The city seized about 170 vehicles a year for the past three years, only to see record numbers of murders and robberies."Is the message getting across the way we like? Probably not," Sgt. Garcia said. But he noted police rarely seize the same car twice, and the money the city makes on the seizures helps buy new surveillance equipment, computers and unmarked cars for the city Police Department. All of the seizure money goes to a special fund maintained by the department."They are helping us fund our war against drugs," he said.

Cop Acquitted After Killing Unarmed Mother and Shooting Her Baby

Looks like there will be no accountability or apologies for one of this year's worst botched drug raids:A white police officer was acquitted Monday in the drug-raid shooting death of an unarmed black woman that set off protests about how police treat minorities in a city where one in four residents is black.â¦Chavalia shot 26-year-old Tarika Wilson and her year-old son she was holding, killing her and hitting him in the shoulder and hand, during a Jan. 4 SWAT raid on her house. One of the child's fingers had to be amputated.â¦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]So police shooting innocent dogs downstairs became an excuse for police shooting innocent people upstairs. I'm never surprised to see a jury (an all-white jury, no less) ruling in favor of police in a case like this. Still, I canât get over the officer's admitted failure to even observe what he was shooting at. An officer who panics and fires at "a shadow coming from behind a partially open bedroom door" is incompetent at best, but clearly criminal if we're to hold police to anything approaching the same vicious standards applied to civilians in these raids.I shudder to contemplate the sort of carnage it may require to get out the message that modern drug war police tactics are not a necessary precaution, but rather a genuine and growing threat to public safety.

Marijuana Offers Hope For Battling Colon Cancer

Marijuana's incredible medical potential becomes increasingly clear with every new study:Raymond DuBois and colleagues at the University of Texas in Houston discovered that a key receptor for cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana, is turned off in most types of human colon cancer.Without this receptor, a protein called survivin, which stops cells from dying, increases unchecked and causes tumour growth.To better understand the role that the receptor, called CB1, plays in cancer progression, the researchers manipulated its expression in mice that had been genetically engineered to spontaneously develop colon tumours."When we knocked out the receptor, the number of tumors went up dramatically," says DuBois. Alternatively, when mice with normal CB1 receptors were treated with a cannabinoid compound, their tumours shrank. [New Scientist]The body of evidence showing that THC may effectively treat tumors is already extensive, so there's nothing particularly surprising about this latest research. Rather, it provides yet another opportunity to point out just how much damage our government has done in the course of its relentless and fraudulent campaign to convince everyone that the marijuana plant is incredibly dangerous rather than incredibly helpful.Imagine what we might have achieved if our nation's efforts over the past thirty years had been focused on identifying the plant's benefits rather than exaggerating its harms and vilifying its users.

Hey Politicians, Reforming Marijuana Laws is Smart Politics

Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) signed on to Barney Frank's marijuana decriminalization bill because he thought it was the right thing to do. He certainly wasn't trying to score political points, but look what happened:Clay was worried about the reaction. Supporting the liberalization of marijuana laws is not often seen as a political winner, especially in Midwestern cities like St. Louis.But instead of stoner jokes, derision and righteous indignation, Clay was surprised to start getting praise from complete strangers.âPeople are coming up to me saying this is a common-sense, sensible way to deal with the issue of personal use,â Clay said.So far, he said, his calls, mail and contacts are running 80-20 in favor of the bill. He was impressed enough that he decided to go ahead and step before the cameras last week with Frank and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) at a news conference touting the bill. [The Hill]One of the most pernicious artifacts still tainting the marijuana policy debate is the false notion that reforming marijuana laws is "politically risky." As Lacy Clay just learned, it isn't nearly that simple. Support for marijuana legalization has increased steadily for the last 20 years, according to a 2005 Gallup poll. While full legalization is still not the majority position, decriminalization enjoys 72% support according to Time/CNN.It is just a fact that most Americans believe our marijuana laws are deeply flawed. This view continues to gain momentum despite mountains of misleading government propaganda designed to achieve the opposite effect. We are on a trajectory towards reform in terms of public opinion, yet many of our politicians remain hamstrung by antiquated conventional political wisdom, which holds that reform can't be marketed to the public. It's wrong, and it can be proven so through a process as simple as voting for decriminalization and watching as your constituents glow with praise and enthusiasm.It is really just a matter of time before the political viability of marijuana reform is fully revealed, and when that happens, I suspect we'll discover that our movement has friends we didn't know about.

Blaming the Taliban

Once again an American drug interdiction"expert" has informed the Canadian media that the Taliban grow fat on opium production .This may well be true now that the NATO forces have allowed the problem

Marijuana Laws Killed Two People This Week

If we had a sensible marijuana policy in America, things like this wouldn't happen:A routine marijuana check in Cass County, Michigan, turns deadly.Michigan State Police say 51-year-old Niles Wilson shot himself when he realized he had been caught growing nearly 130 marijuana plants on his property. [wndu.com]Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, a young father was shot and killed (questionably) by police after fleeing during a traffic stop. It appears he fled because he had a joint of marijuana:I don't think either of these people made smart choices. But the reason their judgment was clouded has everything to do with the frightening consequences of our drug laws. People are terrified of the drug war and sometimes make unfortunate decisions. Sure, they could refrain from using if they're afraid of jail, but that's no excuse for marijuana laws that hurt people worse than marijuana. Events like these are not the sign of a healthy society with a healthy drug policy.If our laws cause suicides and police chases, they are quite clearly not making us safer.

SWAT Team Kills Mayor's Dogs in Botched Drug Raid

The mayor of Berwyn Heights, MD is the latest botched drug raid victim:A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor in the Prince George's County town of Berwyn Heights on Tuesday, shooting and killing his two dogs, after he brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, police said.â¦"My government blew through my doors and killed my dogs," Calvo said. "They thought we were drug dealers, and we were treated as such. I don't think they really ever considered that we weren't." [Washington Post]Nothing about this guy says "drug dealer," and while anything is possible, I think the most likely explanation is that the package was meant to be intercepted by its intended recipient prior to ending up in the possession of the mayor. A neighbor or someone at the post office was probably keeping an eye out for it, which seems not to have occurred to police.Since this happened in the D.C. area, I got to hear callers discuss the incident on a popular NPR call-in show. It was frustrating to hear multiple people complain that this should have been dealt with more delicately because the suspect was the mayor. It's bullshit. Almost any drug raid can be handled better than this, regardless of who the suspect is. You can't flush 32 pounds of marijuana down the toilet. There was no risk of flight or destruction of evidence and no reason why a simple knock on the door wouldn't have sufficed.This is big news in Washington, D.C. today. Everyone seems to be very shocked by what has taken place, except for those of us who've been following the drug war and know that this type of thing (hell, this exact thing) happens to innocent people and their pets all over the country all the time. Ladies and gentlemen of the nation's capital, welcome to the war on drugs.

Drug-Sniffing Turtle Discovers Marijuana

From The Washington Post:A Montgomery County man was arrested after a researcher tracking a radio-equipped turtle in Rock Creek Park found the animal standing in a garden of marijuana plants in a remote area of the park, police said today.â¦The researcher notified authorities after finding the plants -- about a pound and a half of marijuana worth roughly $6,500 when sold in smaller amounts on the street, police said. Lachance said investigators covertly watched the marijuana garden until a man showed up to tend to the plants.Although the turtle wasn't trained to sniff out marijuana, it's fairly obvious that's what happened. This is Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., a short distance from where I grew up. Trust me, those woods aren't crawling with clandestine cannabis cultivators. The turtle found what may have been the only outdoor marijuana growing in the whole city and I refuse to believe it was a coincidence. Hypothesis: turtles are hippies. I assume the researcher has taken copious notes to that effect.

Hey, Dirtbags, Ya Wanna Know What Cops Think About Frank's Decrim Bill (and You)?

Pot smokers and drug reformers weren't the only people interested in Barney Frank's news conference yesterday about his decriminalization bill. The law enforcement web site Police 1 noted it as well and posted a short piece asking its readership what they thought. The piece, Are Small Pot Busts Taking Cops Away From Important Work? What Do You Think?, was a calm, unbiased look at the decrim bill and what it would (and wouldn't) do. I wish I could say the same about the responses. Now, before I get into the meat of the matter, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the responses are not necessarily reflective of police officers' views in general, but are only the responses of a self-selected set of anonymous posters who have registered with Police 1 and who Police 1 says are verifiably law enforcement personnel. That caveat notwithstanding, the posters offer a pretty depressing look into the mind-set of at least some cops. Here are some of them: Raymundo: I think we all know that pot heads just want to be able to do what they want. Marijuana kills brain cells and they don't come back, hello we need those. Marijuana should stay illegal and I hope congress continues to see that it should be illegal. SPD853: I think we waste time on plenty of crimes. It is our job. Those cops who think it is a waste of time just "wind test" it anyway (if they do anything at all). I hadn't heard the phrase "wind test" before. I think that means when they just steal your property, open up the baggie and let the goodies blow away in the wind. That's pretty rude, but preferable to getting arrested, I guess. Chr1s11: How many of those "small" pot busts have been turned over for info leading to a much larger bust for a much worse controlled substance. The pot heads tend to give up the crack dealer to save the misdemeanor record. Besides, it's still an illegal substance that causes serious dificulty for someone to be a productive individual. Pot heads are the loosers that turn into coke/crack/meth heads. Then comes the violent crime they have to commit to support the habbit. Well, of course. We all know that pot smokers are crack heads who inevitably turn to violent crime to support their habits. The only other comment I have on this poster is that anyone who can't spell loser correctly probably shouldn't be calling other people losers. He would be better off going back to school and actually passing eighth grade this time. Baltoblue: I'd rather lock people up for Marijuana all day long then taking 6 reports a day because people can't resolve small problems on their own. The fact is that people can't resolve small problems on their own. The fact is that Marijuana is great PC for searching vehicles (on smell), and also leads to larger cases. I for one, have never locked up a nuerosurgeon for pot, and most that I lock up for pot are involved in larger crimes. A couple of things on this one: I know I shouldn't pick on people for misspellings, but when you're trying to call pot smokers dumb, you should probably spell "neurosurgeon" correctly. Secondly, Baltoblue's point that pot is great for providing PC (probable cause) for searching cars is a common theme on this board. Mac25: It is already hard enough to get a conviction when they wont emit it is their property but now they will say it is for personal use and I am not selling. When you compare the drugs (marijuana/alcohol) they both have their down falls but seem to be the lesser evil of all the drugs out there. With that said, the battle on drugs including marijuana has gone on too long to turn around and try to make it legal. I would say most, at least 75, of the people that use marijuana are dirt bags and are involved in other crimes or some how connected to those that commit the crimes. The marijuana arrests are and can be used to assist us (police) in catching those criminals. If it is legalized it will be thrown in our faces day in and day out by these criminals. This guy's reasoning skills are right up there with his spelling and composition skills. So, 75 (percent, I assume, unless he's personally counting up the dirt bags) of pot smokers are "dirt bags" and are involved in other crimes or know somebody involved in other crimes or live in the same country as people committing other crimes or something. But at least there was one poster who was sympathetic: In 14 years of active road service as a cop, I have never responded to a call involving anyone who had smoked a joint and was ready to fight with their wife or anyone else for that matter. Yes, I think to much time is spent on arrests involving small amounts of pot. Alcohol, on the other hand, has cost our country Billions of dollars and a tremendous loss of life. While I don't think pot should be legal, I think we need to re-think this issue. There are more comments on the web site. Check 'em out if you have the stomach for seeing what those people who are supposed to serve and protect you think about you. As for me, I always try to treat police officers with the same respect they show me.

Six More Drug War Disgraces

Drug warriors crash the party when Barney Frank announces his marijuana decriminalization bill.------Police are awarded medals for terrorizing and nearly killing an innocent family in a botched drug raid.------Mexico's US-funded war on drugs isn't protecting children, it's getting them killed in the streets.------Pete Guither has a good, though depressing, post covering various interesting drug war trials taking place this week.------Deputy drug czar compares smoking pot to having sex with 10-year-old girls------I linked it yesterday, but can't stress enough the importance of 20/20's report on the Rachel Hoffman murder.------Everywhere you look, the drug war is perverting our politics, ruining peaceful lives, wasting tax dollars, and even killing innocent children. But don't look away. That's what the authors of this grand catastrophe are hoping we'll do, what so many of our fellow citizens have already done, and what we will never do no matter how much it hurts to witness such hatred and abuse at the hands of our government. If these are the things they're willing to do right before our eyes, imagine what could happen if we turn away even for a moment.

U.S. Drug War Funding Supports Human Rights Violations in Mexico

Only a month after President Bush signed a $465 million drug war aid package for Mexico, we're learning more about the types of brutal activities our tax dollars will be paying for:OJINAGA, Mexico (AP) â This hardscrabble Mexican border town welcomed 400 soldiers when they arrived four months ago to stop a wave of drug violence that brought daytime gunbattles to its main street.But then the soldiers themselves turned violent, townspeople say, ransacking homes and even torturing people.The frustration boiled over this week. More than 1,000 people marched through the streets carrying signs begging President Felipe Calderon for protection from his own troops.Unsurprisingly, the Mexican government was quick to make light of the growing problem:Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says it has documented more than 600 cases of abuse since Calderon sent 20,000 soldiers across the nation to take back territory controlled by drug lords.Mexico's attorney general argues the cases are isolated incidents.Unfortunately, human rights violations in the war on drugs are anything but isolated. They are endemic and inevitable. Horrible stories of misconduct emerge wherever drug laws are enforced. You can count on that, just as you can count on the people responsible for preventing such abuses to dismiss them and defend the policies under which they proliferate.

solution to the immigration 'problem'

since the numbers of people under the control of the criminal justice system is now near seven million i believe there is enough to start a new movement to counteract the issue of illegal aliens in ou

Gang hit 12,arrests 0

Vancouver experienced it's 12 gang hit yesterday.The victim was one of those wounded in the earlier Fortune Happiness hit.As he was evidently the target in the earlier shootings,the shooters were just

Isn't it Already Illegal to Traffic Drugs in a Submarine?

Joe Biden! Hello! I just read your new press release and I need help understanding what the hell you're trying to do:Legislation Takes Aim at the Use of Submarines for Drug Trade;House Passes Key Biden Provisions Today Washington, DC â U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs and the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, introduced the Drug Trafficking Interdiction Assistance Act of 2008 (S.3351), legislation designed to help disrupt drug trafficking by criminalizing the use of unregistered, un-flagged submersible or semi-submersible vessels in international waters whose operators intend to evade detection. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined Sen. Biden in introducing this bill, which will give authorities a new tool to go after the drug lords who have been using this technology to avoid prosecution. [sorry, no link] Raise your hand if you think anyone who moves drugs by the submarine-full gives a flying crap about the law. Ok, then.This is the kind of legislation that makes drug lords cough up their caviar with laughter. They're building submarines in the f@#king jungle. They'll dig a tunnel from Bogota to Brooklyn if they have to and I really donât understand why Joe Biden is even bothering to pretend they give a damn about anything he does. Give us a break, seriously.The drug war is wasteful, brutal and destructive enough without our politicians goofing around dreaming up ludicrous, useless legislation at our expense. Just stop. You're embarrassing us all.

Subscribe to On the Speakeasy Blog