Mexico and the U.S. need to legalize drugs. These governments should expand their roles in their existing drug businesses. Alcohol, a dangerous drug, is a real money-maker for these bureaucrats. Hundreds of billions in potential tax money is up for grabs, plus the billions a year spent punishing those who select something other than the sanctioned, legal drug. Are the thousands of murders this year in Juarez worth continued enforced selective moral choice? How about the 18 policemen shot dead or beheaded in Acapulco and the U.S. consulate family murdered recently? Or, 80,000 other drug-related murders? [continues 109 words]
Education, not a 'pot-smoking festival,' is focus of inuagural event, say organizers Nanaimo will host its first Cannabis Convention at Vancouver Island University on Sunday but organizers say it is not a marijuana-smoking festival. The convention is an educational and networking event with a heavy focus on medical marijuana issues, say organizers, who stress that people will be discouraged from smoking pot on campus. VIU communications were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday but a spokeswoman said in an e-mail that the convention is a student-led and organized event. Police, who are also aware of the event and are working with VIU security, said they will attend if complaints occur. [continues 326 words]
Re: "Waking Up to Death -- Americans' murders in Juarez finally get our notice," Friday Editorials. The tragic murders of Lesley Enriquez, Arthur Redfels and 2,600 Mexican nationals have not had the same effect on our decision-makers that the St. Valentine's Day massacre had on decision-makers in our grandparents' time. Congress' plan, which The Dallas Morning News supports, is to do the same thing harder and hope for a different result. This is no more a permanent solution to the drug wars than hiring another G-man would have been in 1929. Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas [end]
What was once only a dream shared by potheads throughout America may soon become somewhat of a reality. States across the country are debating policy changes concerning the legality of medical marijuana. This year alone, 14 states will consider legalizing marijuana for medical purposes or reducing the penalties for possessing small amounts for personal use or both. On top of that, 14 states have already relaxed their marijuana laws. I am opposed to the legalization of marijuana. While many state that the legalization of medical marijuana will help bring us out of the economic recession, I think there are alternative routes. [continues 567 words]
DENVER-The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony and voted unanimously to support HB 1352, sponsored by Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, and Senator Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield. The legislation is based on recommendations approved by the Colorado Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice. Included in the legislation is the reduction in sentences for drug use and possession, reduction of penalties for some marijuana offenses and the creation of a new crime with enhanced sentencing for drug distribution by an adult to a minor. [continues 499 words]
The Texas Rangers' manager isn't the only big leaguer staring down a cocaine predicament. Congress is, too. The lawmakers' sticky problem is one of far more significance to America's legal system and the nation's social fabric than Ron Washington's pathetic woes. What Congress is angling to do would redefine the criminal justice playing field as we know it today. At issue is a growing and long overdue effort by some federal lawmakers to reduce the wide and unjustifiable disparity in sentences doled out to those convicted of crack and powder cocaine. [continues 652 words]
SASKATOON - Drugs and alcohol have been a constant problem on the Mistawasis First Nation, but planning is being done in an effort to eliminate illegal drugs and curb the negative effects of alcohol. Russel "Sam" Badger is leading a team of eight who created an initiative called the Mistawasis Comprehensive Strategic Planning for (on-reserve) Illegal Drug Elimination. Badger and his team have been holding focus groups to discuss how they can address the issues that accompany drugs and alcohol on their reserve, located about 125 kilometres north of Saskatoon. [continues 221 words]
Police recently had to return marijuana-growth equipment they seized from a licensed producer during a large drug bust in southern Saskatchewan in early December. Alida resident Darcy Germain, 41, was one of 28 people arrested as part of a lengthy police investigation that targeted drug trafficking in Estevan and surrounding areas. Germain - who says he grows and uses marijuana for chronic pain - was charged with two counts of drug trafficking. He isn't facing charges in relation to drug production, which is why an Estevan Provincial Court judge agreed on March 8 to issue an order for the return of Germain's property, said the Estevan lawyer who represented Germain at that court appearance. [continues 267 words]
Team Eyes Bylaws Aimed To Reduce Substance Abuse, Crime Drugs and alcohol have been a constant problem on the Mistawasis First Nation, but planning is being done in an effort to eliminate illegal drugs and curb the negative effects of alcohol. Russel "Sam" Badger is leading a team of eight who created an initiative called the Mistawasis Comprehensive Strategic Planning for (on-reserve) Illegal Drug Elimination. Badger and his team have been holding focus groups to discuss how they can address the issues that accompany drugs and alcohol on their reserve, located about 125 kilometres north of Saskatoon. [continues 457 words]
LOS ANGELES - Fourteen years after California decided marijuana could be used as a medicine and ignited a national movement, the state is likely to vote on whether to take a decisive step into the vanguard of drug liberalization: legalizing the controversial weed for fun and profit. Los Angeles elections officials today must turn in their count of valid signatures collected in the county on a statewide legalization initiative. The number is virtually certain to be enough to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, according to a tally kept by state election officials. [continues 542 words]
Scientific Evidence Cited Increased enforcement unlikely to reduce violence or drug use, B.C. research finds OTTAWA - The Conservative government's efforts to crack down on drug crimes may do more harm than good, a recent report suggests. The study released yesterday from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS concludes that stepping up the enforcement of drug laws is unlikely to reduce gang violence tied to drugs or stop the circulation of drugs in communities. On the contrary, the report notes that gun violence and murders are likely a consequence of drug prohibition - and laws aimed at breaking up drug gangs could unintentionally increase violence. [continues 293 words]
