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]
The Time to Decriminalize Marijuana Is Now Jeffrey Steinborn, Seattle's leading pot-defense attorney, was sitting at his desk overlooking Elliott Bay in early March when a client in his mid-30s walked into the office. The man had recently been convicted of possessing pot for personal use. "He went up to this place north of Seattle where they have this shelter full of abused puppies they are trying to get rid of," Steinborn says. "They wouldn't give him a puppy. They turned him down for a pot conviction." [continues 1106 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the Central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about ten states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the chamber of commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 583 words]
When Charles Lynch asked for permission to sell an herbal medicine in Morro Bay, Calif., local officials gave it to him, although the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. So Lynch applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary. Unfortunately for Lynch, none of this prevented him from being arrested in March 2007, when federal authorities raided his home and small business. [continues 274 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him, even though the medicine was marijuana. Marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about 10 states that have been debating similar measures. Lynch applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the federal Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 562 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him -- even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. About ten states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. Unfortunately for Charlie, none of this prevented him from being arrested in March 2007 when federal authorities raided his home and small business. That's because the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Gonzalez v. Raich in 2005 that in the issue of medical marijuana federal law trumps the states. [continues 459 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about 10 states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 584 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him -- even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about 10 states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the chamber of commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 535 words]
Putting the brakes on medical marijuana raids is only one small step of the many that still need to be taken toward a sensible drug policy after years of backpedaling by President George W. Bush. CHICAGO - When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about 10 states that have been debating similar measures. [continues 619 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about ten states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 191 words]
When Charles Lynch asked officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 475 words]
White House Moves to Revisit the Medicinal Marijuana Issue When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell a herbal medicine in the town of Morro Bay on the central coast of California, they allowed his request--even though the "medicine" was marijuana. That's because marijuana prescribed by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and New Hampshire are among about 10 states that have been debating similar measures. [continues 570 words]
