The Debate Over Decriminalizing Marijuana In November Jack A. Cole joined the narcotics bureau of the New Jersey State Police in 1970, a year before President Richard Nixon declared war on drugs. He worked undercover, living on the streets with drug addicts and dealers, arresting everyone from small-time users to international drug trafficking organizations. But 12 years of undercover life changed his perspective. He began to sympathize with the very individuals he was policing, who he'd labeled "scum." "They are people just like you and I," he says. "The only difference between them and me is they want to put something in their body I don't wanna put into mine." [continues 1659 words]
Before your uninformed celeb-rag-reading co-worker tries to sell you an urban legend about how it's now legal to smoke blunts in public, here's what really happened on Beacon Hill last week regarding marijuana decriminalization in the Commonwealth. The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee advanced legislation that would lower the maximum penalty for anyone caught holding less than an ounce of trees from up to six months in prison to a shoulder-brushing $250 fine. The proposal (which must pass the House, Senate and maybe the corner office), passed through committee by a margin of 6-1, with the only nay coming from Rep. Brian Wallace (D-South Boston), who rejected the measure on the presumption that marijuana opens doors to more dangerous substances. [continues 202 words]
IN A TEXTBOOK case of Washington being out of touch with what's happening in the country, the federal government has declared marijuana the nation's biggest drug problem, ignoring an epidemic of methamphetamine addiction in the West, the South, and the Midwest. Local law enforcement officials are howling because the Bush administration is actually planning to drop an $804 million grant program that has helped them deal with the proliferation of makeshift laboratories producing meth, a drug whose danger is heightened by its low cost. The White House bases the higher priority it places on marijuana on data showing there are 15 million regular marijuana users and just 1 million meth users. But that bean-counting approach overlooks how much more devastating meth is to users. [continues 326 words]
Fresh off a Masterfully Played Rout of the T, Change the Climate's Joe White is Continuing to Change the Way Joe Sixpack Thinks About Weed Reform in America Though it took Joe White four years and two rounds of litigation to force a stubborn MBTA into posting his advertisements advocating marijuana reform, White, a Greenfield, MA, resident who heads the marijuana advocacy group Change the Climate, knew the region's transportation agency was fighting a losing battle as soon as its lawyers deposed him. [continues 2593 words]
Your column ("Are You Ready For Some Censorship?" #6.04, 1/ 28/04) gets an arrow splitting bulls-eye, exposing the truth. America desperately needs credible drug law reform, while historically discredited, government subsidized prohibitionists, rebel it at the expense of civilization. Keep investigating and reporting this news, for the benefit of civilization. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
When upwards of a billion people worldwide tune into CBS for the Superbowl this weekend, the network that brought you Big Brother will further blur the boundaries between literature, bad TV and dismal political reality. That's right football fans, watch what you say and do, because Big Brother, er, Les Moonves, will be watching. Last week, an iron fist fell swiftly on the insurgents at MoveOn.org, the nation's largest online grassroots advocacy group. And although it's unlikely that MoveOn co-founders Wes Boyd and Joan Blades will be dragged to the Ministry of Love and tortured for their indiscretions, CBS has seen to it that the two stinking hippies won't be badmouthing President Bush during CBS' broadcast of the Superbowl, either. [continues 861 words]
To the Editor: Apparently the DEA is using the RAVE Act to target political groups that they don't like (News To Us, "Smoked Out," 5.26). Drug use occurs everyday at concerts and other events around the country. It is a miscarriage of justice that the DEA would use the law to only target events that advocate changes in drug policy. It's abhorrent that American taxpayers' money is being used to stifle free speech and political activity. Regardless, the RAVE Act does nothing to reduce the harms associated with substance abuse. It only puts youth at greater danger by holding event organizers negligent if they adopt effective harm reduction techniques like providing water or 'chill out' rooms where dancers can relax. The RAVE Act should be repealed immediately and the DEA's budget should be reduced by the amount it spent on this political charade. Sincerely, Tom Angell Board of Directors, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (www.ssdp.org) Warwick, RI [end]
Did The DEA Misuse A Controversial Statute To Silence Anti-Drug Law Activists? When Montana State University student Adam Jones organized a benefit concert for May 30 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge in Billings, MT, he intended to raise money for the fight to legalize marijuana for medical use. The Drug Enforcement Administration, however, may not have approved. On the eve of his first major foray into drug reform activism, Jones found himself in jail and the lodge's board of trustees pulled the plug. Though none of the show's three local bands had a chance to play a single chord, critics and advocates of a controversial new law, the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, also known as the RAVE Act, heard the reverberations loud and clear. [continues 853 words]
I found the story on Ed Rosenthal informative, but with respect to the concept of jury nullification, it presents the "progressive liberal" view that jurors will not do the "right thing" if they are not ordered by the judge to follow the law ("The Curious Case of Ed Rosenthal," #5.17, 4/23/03). The excuse today for not letting jurors know of their power to follow their consciences and judge the law as well as the facts is that they may act on their racial biases. However, the first efforts to curtail the jurors power were in direct response to the repeated failure of juries to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act! [continues 202 words]
Dear Editor, Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need (News To Us, #5.14, 4/2/03), but recreational use should be taxed and regulated as well (News To Us, #5.10, 3/5/03). The very same tough-on-drugs politicians who claim a desire to keep drugs out of the hands of children have abdicated that responsibility to organized crime. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age. So much for protecting the children. [continues 136 words]
While the decriminalization of marijuana rests on the backburner at the State House, the legalization of medical marijuana recently got attention at a March 31 Joint Health Committee meeting. Senate Bill 676 would allow the Department of Health to use medical marijuana on an experimental basis to treat the symptoms of certain severe conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and chronic pain. The committee heard a variety of speakers, all of whom spoke in favor of legalizing medical marijuana, all of whom admitted to using the drug illegally as a part of their treatment. [continues 1083 words]
A Chandler, AZ attorney was relieved of his duties as a judge pro tem last week after he announced in writing that he would recuse himself from all cases involving drug related crimes. Marc Victor, a member of NORML who serves on that organization's legal committee, had only managed to serve about one hour of his first shift when Judge Thomas O'Toole, head of the Maricopa County's criminal law judges, gave him the boot. According to an article in the Arizona Tribune, Judge O'Toole called Victor's conduct "grossly inappropriate" and "bizarre." [continues 51 words]
This is in response to the article "Stoners Find Almost $25 Million: Offer It to Romney" (#5.09). Have you considered how much decriminalization will cost? With a reduction in asset forfeiture (if it applies to your state) and the possibility of the federal government cutting funds, this $25 million can disappear if the state government is not careful. This is one reason why state governments often fight decrim and legalization, though they will never publicly say it. Mark Lehrer Salt Lake City, Utah [continues 129 words]
You might be surprised to find out that, at this moment, five bills regarding the decriminalization of marijuana sit in committee before the Massachusetts legislature. Enforcing current state prohibitions on marijuana costs Massachusetts nearly $25 million a year, according to MassCann, a statewide organization committed to decriminalizing marijuana. Unfortunately, despite support from law enforcement, legislators, and academic research, the state's current budget crisis and positive outcomes in other states that have decriminalized pot, no one in either the legislature or MassCann, the organization that proposed the bills, thinks decriminalization stands much chance of passing. [continues 346 words]
The Marijuana Policy Project Leads A New Wave Of Local And National Drug Policy Reform Organizations Looking To Mainstream The Image Of The Anti-Prohibition Movement For 10 years or so I have had the privilege of being closely involved with the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (MassCANN), the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law (NORML). I have volunteered as both producer of the Boston Common Freedom Rally and served as chair of the local chapter. Recently, I have had to curtail my involvement with MassCANN due to the demands of this paper and also due to a realization of the limitations that often plague non-profit, volunteer-based, grassroots organizations. Most anyone who has spent time involved with grassroots lobbying efforts is familiar with how a lack of funds, permanent management and full-time employees can hamper the efforts of dedicated people trying to affect local and national policy. [continues 3614 words]
According to one former NFL star, the Oakland Raiders weren't alone in their defeat in Superbowl XXXVII. "One of the losers in that game was the truth," wrote Mark Stepnoski, a two-time Superbowl-er, criticizing the anti-marijuana commercials aired during last month's big game at $2.2 million apiece (remember, those are taxpayer dollars helping out ABC). In Stepnoski's public letter, the now NORML Texas chapter president championed NORML's new "Marijuana Truth" campaign. "I played in two Super Bowls and I hate seeing this great American sporting event turned into a venue for government propaganda. Thankfully, NORML is doing something about it," he went on to say. [continues 53 words]
Earlier this month, the DC-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) filed a complaint with the Federal Office of Special Counsel accusing the Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John Walters of using his authority to negatively campaign against Question 9, Nevada's marijuana ballot initiative. "Walters has committed numerous crimes against the taxpayers," said Robert Kampia, MPP's executive director. "He used his official authority to affect the outcome of Question 9 election, as well as other state drug policy initiatives, in plain violation of the Hatch Act [which prevents federal employees from implementing certain campaign-related activities]. Because none of this activity was properly reported as campaign contributions, he is in equally plain violation of Nevada campaign finance laws. Walters conducted a campaign of lies against Question 9, using the taxpayers' money to spread misinformation." [continues 52 words]
Supreme Court Will Hear Forced Drugging Case On November 4, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Dr. Charles Thomas Sell, a dentist who the government seeks to forcibly inject with mind-altering drugs. On May 16, 1997, Sell was charged with Medicaid fraud, money laundering and mail fraud. Subsequently, government psychiatrists diagnosed him with persecutory delusional disorder and declared him incompetent to stand trial. In May 2002, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Sell could be injected with psychotropic drugs in order to make him "mentally competent" to stand trial. Sell has been held without trial in various prisons and hospitals since 1997, nearly two years longer than the 41-month maximum sentence for Medicaid fraud. [continues 1106 words]
As marijuana arrests steadily increase, recent studies have refuted two concerns (or is myth the proper term?) that are central motivations for American drug policy: 1) Marijuana is a gateway drug and 2) Medical marijuana would be abused by adolescents. A Project RAND study of data from the US National Household Survey on Drug Abuse shows that few marijuana users ever graduate to harder drugs. The Canadian Senate and US National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine have also issued reports criticizing this theory that guides so much of our nation's drug policy. NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Foundation Executive Allen St. Pierre commented, "Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine and less than one user of heroin. For the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers, pot is clearly a 'terminus' rather than a gateway." [continues 111 words]
You might not have been able to hear them on Election Day over the din of Republicans cheering and clapping, but if you listened closely enough, there they were: hundreds of lighters clicking aflame in celebration. "The people have spoken," Bill Downing, president of MassCANN (Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition) declared. Indeed, in 21 districts across Massachusetts voters strongly supported non-binding, public policy questions on their ballots pertaining to marijuana. In 19 of these districts, two decriminalization questions were posed, while questions concerning medicinal marijuana and the cultivation of hemp were on ballots in two other districts. [continues 691 words]
