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Decriminalization is a Huge Success in Portugal
On Friday, I had the opportunity to hear Glenn Greenwald speak at the Cato Institute regarding his Cato-sponsored report, Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies. You can read the report here and Cato also has a downloadable MP3 of the event.The back-story here is that Portugal implemented an across-the-board drug decriminalization policy back in 2001. There's been very little discussion and research regarding its impact, hence Cato recruited Greenwald (a genius and extremely popular political blogger) to study Portuguese drug policy. His findings thoroughly illustrate the efficiency of decriminalization towards addressing key drug policy goals, while refuting the myth that removing harsh penalties will lead to increased consumption. The whole thing utterly shatters most, if not all, arguments that continue to be advanced in support of tough drug laws here in the U.S. and around the world. I found a couple points particularly interesting: 1. When Portugal began looking at alternative policies to address a growing drug problem, they did not consider legalization because it was determined that such a policy would violate international treaties. It's a small country that can't afford to be belligerant. This just goes to show, once again, the extent to which prohibition is not a consensus policy at the international level, but rather an idealogical approach that less powerful nations have been forced to accept. 2. The decision to implement a decriminalization policy emerged through discussion of empirical data, rather than emotional arguments about morals, civil liberties and so forth. I don't know how representative this is of what approach would be most effective in establishing more reasonable policies here in the U.S., but it's certainly worth taking a look at the context in which decriminalization triumphed over other policy options.
The Only Way To Win The War On Drugs Is To Stop Fighting It
In response to this story: One of suspects in 'horrific' attempted murder in Stuart is 14 http://tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/06/one-two-suspects-stuart-attempted-murder-14/
It's all over(criminologist from UFV)
That was the statement made by long time police spokesperson and criminologist Daryl Plecas just before several top gangsters were arrested on Friday.It took till 11pm for the first shot in the war to
New Survey project to help effect change in law - Advice needed....
I am starting a new survey in hopes of creating support for a ballot petition to legalize marijuana here in Oklahoma. The survey is to be 2 fold:
What do we want? Drug Policy Based on Science
I've written the following article regarding strategy for ending the drug war and posted it at OpEdNews.
Like America,Canada is throwing the book out the window in an attempt to be gangbusters
Citing the name of Al Capone himself,Canadian police and revenue Canada have announced plans to use the tax man to try to seize property and arrest gangsters for tax evasion.I have no idea who decides
Why Does Everyone Think Marijuana Legalization is Politically Risky?
Over and over again, you hear that same justification, "Well, politicians can't publicly support legalizing marijuana or they'll get voted out of office." It's the first thing casual observers point out to me when I tell them I work on this issue. Everyone's gotten so used to saying it and yet no effort is ever made to support the argument. The idea that "marijuana reform is political suicide" survives on little more than its own presumed legitimacy.Thus I was disappointed, but not at all surprised, to find Joe Klein at Time magazine saying this same stuff in an otherwise positive piece on marijuana reform:â¦the default fate of any politician who publicly considers the legalization of marijuana is to be cast into the outer darkness. Such a person is assumed to be stoned all the time, unworthy of being taken seriously. Such a person would be lacerated by the assorted boozehounds and pill poppers of talk radio.It sounds so familiar and yet it makes no sense. Talk radio doesnât rule our politics. If it did, the top questions in Obama's online forums would be about his citizenship, not about legalizing marijuana. Heck, Obama wouldnât even be president. Where is Joe Klein getting this stuff from? Obama openly supported several reforms to our drug policy on the campaign trail and no one, not even Rush Limbaugh, said a harsh word about it. Obama was "caught" on video advocating marijuana decriminalization in 2004 and he got elected president. Once in office, Obama ordered the DEA to respect state medical marijuana laws and it's easily one of the least controversial things he's done. I challenge Joe Klein or anyone else to prove that supporting marijuana policy reform is politically risky. I can only think of two instances that even approach validating any of this: 1) Michael Dukakis's failed presidential bid in 1988 in which he was successfully portrayed as "soft on crime," and 2) The controversy that arose following Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders' statement about considering drug legalization. That was 15 years ago.It's 2009 and reforming marijuana policy is the most popular idea on the president's own website. Voters are passing state marijuana reform initiatives by incredible margins. Polls show that a majority of both democrats and republicans agree that the drug war is a failure.  Either show me one good example of a modern politician paying a price for supporting marijuana reform, or stop claiming that this issue is politically risky.
The Media's Approach to Marijuana Coverage Has Changed Dramatically
This CNBC appearance by MPP's Rob Kampia is an exhibit in the rapid evolution of marijuana policy coverage in the mainstream press:Radley Balko pretty much nails what I wanted to say about this:Former DEA chief Asa Hutchinson is the only person on CNBCâs (oddly enormous) panel arguing against legalization. These arenât stoners or activists. Theyâre financial reporters and pundits. And they seem to be uniformly in favor of legalizing. This debate has come a long, long, way since the 1980s.I've been critical of CNBC in the past, but this more than surpasses my expectations. Asa Hutchinson probably feels like he was ganged up on, but he should just consider himself lucky that the press didn't start asking these questions a long time ago.
"So how's this war on drugs going?"
Jack Cafferty at CNN punches the drug war in the face:Here's something to think about:How many police officers and sheriff's deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects?How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects?How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials?How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume?And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?So how's this war on drugs going?I've spent years lambasting the mainstream media for ignoring/mutilating our issue, yet suddenly there's so much delicious anti-prohibition opinionating out there I canât even keep up with it. Go ahead, put me out of a job, why donât you? I always wanted to be a wildlife photographer anyway.
The Drug Czar's Office Doesn't Know What to Say About Marijuana
Ever since Obama's awful attempt to duck the marijuana legalization debate last week, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that the issue of marijuana reform is a major challenge for the new administration. They aren't ready to endorse legalization, but they're equally intimidated by the rapidly growing movement to reform marijuana laws. Another example is found at the drug czar's blog, which posted the video of Obama's statement, yet withheld any further comment on the matter. It 's a subtle, yet profound departure from the way this blog was run during the previous administration. Every post related to marijuana ended with, "Click here to learn more about how marijuana is highly f#$king toxic." I can't prove that, though, because they deleted everything when Obama took office (which just further demonstrates that the new ONDCP is a very different creature). Considering that ONDCP's charter mandates opposition to drug policy reform efforts, their failure to actually even applaud Obama's statement against marijuana legalization is remarkably tame. Â It almost feels like we're running out of people to argue with.
Obama Doesn't Know What to Say About Marijuana
Pete Guither points to yet another prominent example of the Obama administration's glaring inability to explain the president's position on legalizing marijuana:When asked why Obama opposes legalization, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs literally said this:"Uh, he, he does not think that, uh, uh, that that is uh, uh, [pause] he opposes it, he doesn't think that that's the, the right plan for America."It's a comical and precious moment, like when the teacher calls on that half-asleep kid who never has a clue. Except, as Paul Armentano points out, they knew perfectly well that this was a hot issue in their online forum and that the press would likely be asking about it. Clearly, they are badly boxed in, simultaneously reluctant to embrace reform, while equally hesitant to offend marijuana reform advocates with the typical anti-pot propaganda you'd expect from a guy who just said he opposes legalization.The result is a ridiculous and failed effort to laugh the issue off, even as everyone stares at them expectantly. They're still working from the old rules which state that drug legalization questions are best handled by chuckling and mockery, followed by a quick pivot towards a more "serious" issue. That advice is no longer very good.
Obama Compares Drug War to Alcohol Prohibition
Via NORML's Russ Belville, CBS's Bob Schieffer asked President Obama about the drug war violence in Mexico and got this surprising response:President Obama:Â Well, whatâs happened is that President Calderon I think has been very bold and rightly has decided that itâs gotten carried away. The drug cartels have too much power, are undermining and corrupting huge segments of Mexican society. And so he has taken them on in the same way that when, you know, Elliot Ness took on Al Capone back during Prohibition, oftentimes that causes even more violence. And weâre seeing that flare up.I honestly cannot believe the president is looking towards alcohol prohibition for a little perspective on our present predicament. Everyone knows that story. Elliot Ness didn't defeat those cartels. Legalization defeated them.
Q: How Dangerous is Drug Law Enforcement for Police? A: Apparently Not Very
Law enforcement likes to argue that it needs to resort to heavy-handed tactics such as SWAT-style raids and no-knock warrants because drug law enforcement is just so darned dangerous. You know the spiel: "We're outgunned and up against crazed drug dealers, so we need to come on like gangbusters for our own safety." But I'm in the process of reviewing police deaths in the drug war since the beginning of 2008 for a Chronicle article that will appear Friday, and so far, I've only found two officers who were killed in drug raids during this time. I'm using the Officer Down Memorial Page and the National Law Enforcement Memorial data bases and I still have to dig a little deeper into the numbers and the discrepancies between the two, but so far, it doesn't appear that enforcing the nation's drug laws is that dangerous for police. For civilians, it is perhaps a different story. Nobody's keeping a data base of citizens killed by the police, let alone those killed by police enforcing the drug laws, although I have a few ideas on where to come up with some figures, or at least some especially horrendous cases. I'll be looking into that, as well. I'll be talking to as many cops, criminologists, and other interested parties as I can, but at this point, it seems that it is going to be hard to justify the overwhelming use of force typical of police drug raids. As much as they would like to think they are, cops are not US military Special Forces units, and drug law violators are not terrorist fugitives. Look for the story on Friday.
"The Drug War is Lost" interview with Milton Friedman
As we go forward with our war on the drug war, I think it's important that we keep it clear that this is an issue that everyone can agree on, regardless of where they lie on the political spectrum.
Joe Biden's Daughter Allegedly Caught on Video Snorting Cocaine
The New York Post dropped a bombshell over the weekend:A "friend" of Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter, Ashley, is attempting to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware.â¦The video, which the shooter initially hoped to sell for $2 million before scaling back his price to $400,000, shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth, bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting lines of white powder.Thus far, no media outlet has purchased the video, and Huffington Post is reporting that it was filmed without consent. As to whether the tape is authentic, we'll have to wait and see, but my gut tells me the Biden family would be making noise right now if this were all a big hoax. They havenât said anything.Despite the greed and nastiness that brought this matter to our attention, we're now confronted with yet another major celebrity drug use scandal that is far from typical. If, in fact, Joe Biden's daughter is a cocaine user, there will be a very public conversation in which the vice president's history of aggressive drug war posturing will be juxtaposed against the drug use taking place in his own family. As the administration pushes a hardline response to the drug war violence in Mexico, Ashley Biden could easily become symbolic of the American drug user whose disposable income subsidizes the cartels and renders our enforcement efforts impotent.Like the Michael Phelps saga, it's a story that tells itself and requires little to no narration from advocates for drug policy reform. Ashley will rightly be perceived as the victim of an unscrupulous associate who violated her privacy for personal gain. Her alleged drug use shouldn't (and hopefully won't) ruin her career. Who knows, maybe she could become president some day. So long as the vast and infinitely clumsy arm of the law doesnât get involved here, no one's life needs to be ruined. Stay tuned.
Maryland House Passes Bill to Monitor Use of SWAT Teams
Cheye Calvo's efforts to bring transparency to the use of aggressive SWAT raids in Maryland are moving forward:Delegates adopted a bill, on a 126 to 9 vote, that would require law enforcement agencies to report every six months on their use of SWAT teams, including what kinds of warrants the teams serve and whether any animals are killed during raids. The bill was prompted by the case of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, whose two black Labrador retrievers were shot and killed during a botched raid by a Prince George's County Sheriff's Office SWAT team in July.Calvo has said he was surprised to learn that police departments use the heavily armed units far more routinely than they once did but that it is difficult to get reliable statistics about SWAT raids. The Senate has passed a similar measure. [Washington Post]The bill doesnât actually reform anything, but it aims to create a record of how, when, and why SWAT teams are deployed in Maryland. This effort has the potential to reveal a great deal about the reckless over-reliance on aggressive drug raid tactics. That's exactly why police opposed it, despite utterly lacking any compelling arguments against such oversight. Good work by Maryland's legislators and another big moment for Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, who has become a valiant champion of justice following the tragic killing of his two dogs during a botched drug raid last summer.
There are Many Different Kinds of Marijuana, But They're All Illegal
Mark Kleiman, who we've often criticized for generally supporting drug prohibition, deserves credit for his recent discussion of the merits of a "grow-your-own" marijuana policy. Kleiman's main concern with legalization is that a legitimate marijuana industry will be incentivized to market their products and work to sustain high usage levels within the population. His solution is to let people form co-ops and grow their own pot.In response, Pete Guither has an ingenious post noting that marijuana genetics are remarkably diverse, thus creating inevitable consumer demand for a variety of options. Indeed, the war on marijuana and the exhausting, often redundant debate surrounding it have largely obscured the fascinating psychopharmacological diversity of the plant itself. Experienced marijuana consumers delight in exploring the unique psychoactive properties of particular strains and individual users often develop preferences for certain varieties when they're available. This is especially true with regards to medical use, wherein it's widely understood that some strains are better for specific symptoms than others. Potency is just one of many factors that impact the popularity of a given strain. Sativa strains, for example, are known for being more energetic and stimulating, while indicas are typically more relaxing.Explaining all of this to people who hate marijuana will surely just freak them out even more, but it still bothers me that the discussion of marijuana tends to present the drug as a one-dimensional substance when, in fact, it is anything but. There are many things worth knowing about this plant that won't fully be revealed and understood until we end the vicious war against it.
Legislative Deal Made on Rockefeller Drug Laws
In yesterday's Drug War Chronicle we reported that a deal seemed to be near for reform of New York State's infamous Rockefeller Drug Laws -- reform that appeared likely to eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing for many (though not all) of the state's drug defendants while allowing current Rockefeller prisoners to apply for commutations. The deal now reportedly has been reached. Click here for the latest from the New York Times, and here for the NYT archive on the topic. Tony Papa sent out the link for the following NYPost.com video about it too: The legislation is not perfect, and it doesn't help everybody -- check back for details -- but we are optimistic that this will help a lot of people and that we are at an historical turning point in the issue.
Action Alert: Stop DEA Medical Cannabis Raids
Please copy and re-distribute this announcement. Action Alert: Stop DEA Medical Cannabis Raids http://www.denver420.com/news/action.alert.dea.raids.html
Obama Won't Say Why He Opposes Marijuana Legalization
The overwhelming popularity of marijuana questions on the president's website has repeatedly forced him to address the issue, yet his answers are utterly lacking in substance. From Change.gov in December:President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.And at today's event:"No, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy."As lame as these responses are, you can bet he'd never have said anything at all if marijuana questions hadnât repeatedly pulled the most votes on his website. There's a subtle and revealing undertone to all of this insofar as Obama has publicly declined to actually challenge the merits of our argument in any way. For all of the stereotypical anti-pot talking points at his disposal, Obama chooses to take the softer path of pushing the matter aside as best he can and moving on. Is that because he can't refute our arguments, he doesn't want to, or both? I'm operating under the assumption that 1) Obama privately agrees with us, but remains concerned about the political consequences of associating himself with that viewpoint, and 2) Obama has enough respect for the potency of our movement that he doesn't want to piss us off any more than he has to.As frustrating as all of this is, we'd be foolish to miss the significance of our success at strong-arming the reform argument into a high profile discussion of the economy. It's not everyday that a sitting president is forced to comment on the legalization of marijuana. The fact that this even happened means we're doing something right.