The spectacle of former CEOs Bernard Ebbers and Jeffrey Skilling getting sent to prison for 25 and 24 years, respectively, reminded me a bit of Roman emperors throwing criminals to the lions and bears to gratify circus crowds. Yes, Ebbers and Skilling are world-class crooks. The first helped inflate WorldCom's profits by billions of dollars. The second presided over the multiple frauds that caused the collapse of Enron, the largest corporate bankruptcy in history. They helped squander the nest eggs and kill the jobs of thousands of people. [continues 1400 words]
The Supreme Court delivered a timely reminder of the social costs of our "war on drugs." Its May 14 decision in U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative rejected a medical-necessity exception to the federal law criminalizing marijuana. Meanwhile, President George W. Bush has moved toward abandoning his instincts and repeating his predecessors' mistakes by endlessly escalating a $20 billion-a-year "war" that-as most Americans now understand-we have lost. The court was faced with evidence that smoking marijuana can alleviate the pain, even extend the lives, of tens of thousands of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS and other serious illnesses. Still, it held that Congress had allowed no room for a medical exception to the law making it a crime to distribute marijuana or even to possess it for personal use. [continues 1340 words]
The Supreme Court delivered a timely reminder of the social costs of our "war on drugs" with its May 14 decision rejecting a medical-necessity exception to the federal law criminalizing marijuana. Meanwhile, President Bush has moved toward abandoning his own best instincts and repeating his predecessors' mistakes by endlessly escalating a $20 billion-a-year "war" that -- as most Americans now understand -- we have lost. The most obvious proof that marijuana alleviates some patients' pain is that so many of them say so. [continues 1453 words]
Almost Everyone On Capitol Hill Is Too Terrified To Talk Sense About Drug Sentencing. A striking bipartisan consensus has emerged in the House of Representatives on the need to fix one aspect of the "war" against drugs that has ravaged the lives and liberties of millions of Americans over the past 25 years. This consensus was reflected in the June 24 vote, 375-48, to reform the draconian laws authorizing prosecutors and police to confiscate and forfeit money and property suspected of involvement in drug dealing and certain other crimes--and to keep the seized assets, in many cases, even after the owners have been exonerated of all charges. [continues 1366 words]
