Both Sides Take An All-Or-Nothing Approach To Marijuana Legalization The debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana is like a twisted NASCAR race. One machine -- filled with pungent smoke and long-haired freaky people -- blazes toward an ashy world constructed almost entirely of hemp byproducts. Another, piloted by Gil Kerlikowske, the chief of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, moves in the opposite direction toward a drug-free nation where marijuana simply doesn't exist. And in the background are gaggles of reasonable, ticket-holding spectators who, regardless of their affiliation logically wonder, "Where is the finish line?" [continues 487 words]
The War on Drugs continues, four decades after President Richard Nixon commenced hostilities. President Barack Obama--the third president in a row to have used illicit substances in his youth--is no drug warrior. However, he seems unlikely to challenge the disastrous new prohibition. The president has, however, ended the federal campaign against medical marijuana, ordering administration officials to respect state laws legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes. This policy will grow increasingly important as more states allow use of med-pot (for instance, in November Maine voters legalized medical marijuana dispensaries). Congress should approve legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), codifying administration policy into law. [continues 844 words]
Steve Fox is high on a mission. The Marblehead native is Director of State Campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. the nation's largest marijuana reform organization. He has just co-authored a book entitled "Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?" The provocative work was written with Paul Armentano of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a nonprofit lobbying organization working to legalize marijuana), and Mason Tvert of SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, a Colorado-based organization that maintains marijuana is less harmful than alcohol). [continues 1118 words]
Legalize drugs, advocates say, and you'll, decrease drug use, virtually empty our prisons, end the violence between cartels in Mexico and move toward a more humane society in which abuse is treated as an illness, not a crime. You see, they further instruct us, the so-called war on drugs has won nary a battle, but is essentially a hugely expensive replay of Prohibition, which did nothing to lessen alcohol consumption. What we're talking about here is liberty. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroine and methamphetamines are no worse than cigarettes or whiskey and the only ones hurt by their consumption are the adults who decide to use them. [continues 587 words]
Legalize drugs, advocates say, and you'll decrease drug use, virtually empty our prisons, end the violence among cartels in Mexico and move toward a more humane society in which drug abuse is treated as an illness, not a crime. You see, they further instruct us, the so-called "war on drugs" has won nary a battle. It's a hugely expensive replay of Prohibition. What we're talking about here is liberty, the drug legalizers go on to say. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines are no worse than cigarettes or whiskey, and the only ones hurt by their consumption are the adults who decide to use them. [continues 451 words]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has once again released their annual survey on "drug use and health" - you know, the one where representatives of the federal government go door-to-door and ask Americans if they are presently breaking state and federal law by using illicit drugs. The same survey where respondents have historically under reported their usage of alcohol and tobacco - these two legal substances - by as much as 30 to 50 percent, and arguably under report their use of illicit substances by an even greater margin. The same survey that - despite these inherent limitations - "is the primary source of statistical information on the use of illegal drugs by the U.S. population." Yeah, that one. [continues 492 words]
For a plant that's never caused a single human death in the tens of thousands of years it's been with us, marijuana still faces a gargantuan social stigma. Government propagandists and some social conservatives, in their quest to proscribe our behavior, and consumption, are quick to cite anecdotal evidence and piles of bogus liquor- and prescription-drug-industry-funded studies that warn of the dangers of firing up even that first joint. [continues 1695 words]
Marc Emery -- best known to Canadians for smoking massive joints at pro-cannabis legalization rallies and taking bong hits before defending the plant at news conferences -- visited Calgary on Sun., July 5, as part of his farewell tour. Emery's visit marked what will likely be the last time he is here before being extradited to the United States on drug-related charges. "I want to give out everybody's marching orders so that more are active and my time in jail is not so bad," said Emery. "One of the things I used to remember from being in Saskatoon Correctional -- three months for passing one joint -- was that you get a lot of 'Oh man, it must suck to be in prison.' You never need to write someone in prison and say that. So one of the things I like is when all the activists write me while I'm in prison and tell me 'I was doing this to make pot legal.' [continues 532 words]
The Fight To Legalize Marijuana Is Burning Up Like Never Before—But Some Advocates Are Claiming If It Doesn't Happen Soon, It May Never Happen At All. The Obama administration, already overtaxed with two foreign wars, made headlines in May when it waved a white flag in a fight much closer to home. Gil Kerlikowske, the White House's newly minted director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy—the so-called drug czar—called for an end to the "War on Drugs." [continues 2320 words]
Is Now The Time To Legalize Pot? The Obama administration, already overtaxed with two foreign campaigns, made headlines when it waved a white flag in a fight much closer to home. Gil Kerlikowske, the White House's newly minted director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy -- the so-called drug czar -- called for an end to the "War on Drugs." Granted, Kerlikowske wasn't signaling an intention to lay down arms and pick up a pack of E-Z Widers. His was a semantic shift -- a pledge to abandon gung-ho fighting words and imprisonment in favor of treatment. But it was newsworthy nonetheless. As Bruce Mirken, communications director of the Marijuana Policy Project -- the biggest pot-policy-reform group in the country -- puts it: "Can you imagine [Bush administration czar] John Walters saying that? The Earth would open up!" [continues 3852 words]
With Support From The Unlikeliest Circles, This Could Be Marijuana's Moment The Obama administration, already overtaxed with two foreign campaigns, made headlines this past week when it waved a white flag in a fight much closer to home. Gil Kerlikowske, the White House's newly minted director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy - -- the so-called drug czar -- called for an end to the "War on Drugs." Granted, Kerlikowske wasn't signaling an intention to lay down arms and pick up a pack of E-Z Widers. His was a semantic shift -- a pledge to abandon gung-ho fighting words and imprisonment in favor of treatment. But it was newsworthy nonetheless. As Bruce Mirken, communications director of the Marijuana Policy Project -- the biggest pot-policy-reform group in the country -- puts it: "Can you imagine [Bush administration czar] John Walters saying that? The Earth would open up!" [continues 4071 words]
A week or two ago, the United States' legislature overwhelmingly voted to confirm the Obama Administration's nomination of former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be our new Drug Czar. As the head of the White House Office of Drug Control Policy, Mr. Kerlikowske is the top bureaucrat involved in this nation's War on Drugs. Despite the 91-1 confirmation vote, he did face some criticism, which stemmed mostly from the fact that he was in charge of policing Seattle. The northwestern state is host to a number of progressive drug policies, including the designation of marijuana as the lowest police priority, as well as home to the annual Hempfest "protestival," where tens of thousands of marijuana enthusiasts come to celebrate the herb and protest its prohibition. This has led some people to criticize Obama's pick. However, it was apparently clear to Congress that he was just following the voter-approved laws in Seattle. [continues 499 words]
"This ain't your grandfather's or your father's marijuana. This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you."- Mark R. Trouville, DEA Miami, speaking to the Associated Press (June 22, 2007) Government claims that today's pot is more potent, and thus more dangerous to health, than ever before must be taken with a grain of salt. Federal officials have made similarly dire assertions before. In a 2004 Reuters News Wire story, government officials alleged, "Pot is no longer the gentle weed of the 1960s and may pose a greater threat than cocaine or even heroin." (Anti-drug officials failed to explain why, if previous decades' pot was so "gentle" and innocuous, police still arrested you for it.) [continues 674 words]
************ OBAMA'S DRUG CZAR CALLS FOR END TO 'WAR ON DRUGS' By Tony Newman, Drug Policy Alliance Drug Czar reaffirms support for clean syringes to reduce HIV and ending raids on marijuana dispensaries. http://drugsense.org/url/iOslrlXs ************ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I-FPC3Z1jw ************ DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! POTENT POT, SO WHAT? By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director http://drugsense.org/url/64eOtDJu ************ Former Mexican President Vicente Fox says it is time to 'open the debate' on legalizing drugs. [continues 317 words]
************ Human Rights Organizations Break from Amnesty International's 2008 Pro-Merida Initiative Letter By Kristin Bricker, Special to The Narco News Bulletin Yesterday, 72 Mexican civil society organizations and a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army sent the following letter to US Congress demanding that all military aid to Mexico be immediately halted. The letter comes as the US House of Representative is considering more than doubling 2009 funding for the war on drugs in Mexico. [continues 551 words]
COLUMBIANA, Ala. -- Five men dead in an apartment. In a county that might see five homicides in an entire year, the call over the sheriff's radio revealed little about what awaited law enforcement. A type of crime, and criminal, once foreign to this landscape of blooming dogwoods had arrived in Shelby County. Sheriff Chris Curry felt it even before he saw the grisly scene. He called the state. The FBI. The DEA. "I don't know what I've got," he warned. "But I'm gonna need help." [continues 1744 words]
Columbiana, Ala. -- Five men dead in an apartment. In a county that might see five homicides in an entire year, the call over the sheriff's radio revealed little about what awaited law enforcement at a sprawling apartment complex. A type of crime, and criminal, once foreign to this landscape of blooming dogwoods had arrived in Shelby County. Sheriff Chris Curry felt it even before he laid eyes on the grisly scene. He called the state. The FBI. The Drug Enforcement Administration. Anyone he could think of. [continues 2810 words]
Five men dead in an apartment. In a county that might see five homicides in an entire year, the call over the sheriff's radio revealed little about what awaited law enforcement. A type of crime, and criminal, once foreign to this landscape of blooming dogwoods had arrived in Shelby County. Sheriff Chris Curry felt it even before he saw the grisly scene. He called the state. The FBI. The DEA. "I don't know what I've got," he warned. "But I'm gonna need help." [continues 1394 words]
Every April 20, marijuana smokers around the country light up for an unofficial holiday celebrating pot that stems from the smoker slang "420." This year, as the drug war rages in Mexico, the festivities fall against an increasingly violent backdrop. Some antidrug advocates are using the occasion to jump-start a movement against marijuana not just for health and legal reasons, but on moral grounds. American pot smokers, they say, are unwittingly supporting drug cartels in Mexico. Aaron Byzak, president of the North Coastal Prevention Coalition, an antidrug group in north San Diego County, says he'll focus on the Mexican drug war when he addresses 1,000 seventh-to 10th-graders at the group's annual antidrug festival, also held on April 20, at an amusement park in Vista, Calif. Mr. Byzak will urge the kids to think of Mexico's drug lords if they're offered a puff. [continues 839 words]
Walters, John
