A Signal of Misunderstanding

Colorado's Explosion

2009-08-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Colorado introduced it's medical marijuana program in 2001, conflicting laws with our federal government kept the size relatively small. During President Obama's campaign he pledged to end DEA medical marijuana raids. Attorney General Eric Holder reaffirmed this new US policy during a press conference. Only people violating both state and federal law would be prosecuted.

Christina Davidson, a writer for the Atlantic, is road tripping across the country. A cannabis dispensary caught her attention at a recent stop in Nederland, CO. It didn't take her long to conclude that the medical marijuana industry was keeping the local economy afloat. Business has been booming since the fears of federal raids has dwindled.

At the beginning of this year, only 2000 people had applied for Colorado's Medical Marijuana Registry since the system was established on 2001. In the past six months, the registry has grown to nearly 10,000. The registry card is actually optional under Colorado law--a doctor's note is sufficient--so it's difficult to determine the precise number of medicinal users. About thirty dispensaries currently operate to provide verified patients with locally-grown kind bud, up from just a handful in previous years. And the number of dispensaries is expected to double to 60 by the end of 2009.

Davidson's next stop in Colorado was to "Meet the Marijuana Snack Kings of the Future", a new startup named Ganja Goods. Shaz Swartz, a 43 year old ex marine, and his partner Garrett Miller hope to perfect the science of cooking with cannabis. Aspiring to standardize dosages in edibles, ensuring the customer knows exactly what to expect before eating their baked goods.

Washington Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana

2009-08-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle contributed an article to The Seattle Times pledging her support to bill 5615. Her hope in passing the bill is to decriminalize marijuana in Washington state, making it only a civil offense for possession. Drawing inspiration from large crowds at Seattle's Hempfest, the Senator wants to remind people about the Schafer report that came out in 1972 and the fallout that occurred.

Twelve states took action and decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s. Nevada decriminalized in 2001, and Massachusetts did so in 2008. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, states where marijuana possession is decriminalized represent more than 35 percent of our nation's population.
These states have not seen a corresponding increase in use. Nor have the 14 states that have adopted legal protections for patients whose doctors recommend the medical use of marijuana.

The article also points out the failures of prohibition and our inability to enforce current laws. It is time for our country to realize that throwing money at this problem isn't going to solve anything. Billions have been wasted, and I don't understand how some people still can't admit that marijuana prohibition has been a failure.

We now have decades of proof that treating marijuana use as a crime is a failed strategy. It continues to damage the credibility of our public health officials and compromise our public safety. At a fundamental level, it has eroded our respect for the law and what it means to be charged with a criminal offense: 40 percent of Americans have tried marijuana at some point in their lives. It cannot be that 40 percent of Americans truly are criminals.

Great Propaganda All Around Part 2

2009-07-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

That FOX news video used some quotes from a Mother Jones magazine article. Below is what I believe to be the most significant quote in that same article. It is regarding Tom Ammiano's bill that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the state of California.

Still, the legislation hasn't found a single cosponsor, and isn't scheduled for so much as a hearing.
Which is too bad. Going into this assignment, I didn't care much personally about cannabis legalization. I just had a vague sense that if other people wanted to do it, why not let them? But the evidence suggests pretty clearly that we ought to significantly soften our laws on marijuana. Too many lives have been ruined and too much money spent for a social benefit that, if not zero, certainly isn't very high.

This Mother Jones magazine article mentions how much money our government has wasted on advertising. However, it's main focus is on the drug czar.

But then, the drug war has never been about facts—about, dare we say, soberly weighing which policies might alleviate suffering, save taxpayers money, rob the cartels of revenue. Instead, we've been stuck in a cycle of prohibition, failure, and counterfactual claims of success. (To wit: Since 1998, the ONDCP has spent $1.4 billion on youth anti-pot ads. It also spent $43 million to study their effectiveness. When the study found that kids who've seen the ads are more likely to smoke pot, the ONDCP buried the evidence, choosing to spend hundreds of millions more on the counterproductive ads.)

Here is a closer look at Harborside Health Center, located in the San Francisco Bay area.

Judge Jim Gray discusses reasons why he believes America needs to decriminalize marijuana and overhaul our drug policies.

Great Propaganda All Around

2009-07-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

After watching the new Michael Phelps Subway ad, and hearing about MPP's new commercial airing in California, I felt a video blog post was necessary. I thought 5 might be a little overkill, so tomorrow I'll post part 2.

The videos below include Henry Ford wanting to make hemp cars. The government trying to convince American farmers to grow hemp, essential to a victory in WWII over the Japanese. I thought the hippie was entertaining. Not sure if it was because I watched it after "Hemp For Victory". I wonder why Ron Paul hasn't used "Hemp For Victory" when trying to gain support for his hemp legalization bill.

Twitter Medical Marijuana & Foreign Policy Magazine

2009-07-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

I am becoming quite the Twitter fiend since I registered a few weeks ago. It's a great way for people to share information with each other. Artists Collective is using their Twitter account to help distribute medical marijuana.

The article below was written by Moisés Naím, the editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine and was featured on NORML's website. It illustrates how the entire world has fallen behind with their drug policies. Focusing on America's inability to accept that change is needed in our failing drug laws.

Wasted: The American prohibition on thinking smart in the drug war
The Washington consensus on drugs rests on two widely shared beliefs. The first is that the war on drugs is a failure. The second is that it cannot be changed.
Americans are a can-do people. They tend to believe that if something does not work, it needs to be fixed. Unless, that is, they are talking about the war on drugs. On this politically fraught issue, Washington’s elites and, indeed, the majority of the population, believe two contradictory things. First, 76 percent of Americans think the war on drugs launched in 1971 by President Richard Nixon has failed. Yet only 19 percent believe the central focus of antidrug efforts should be shifted from interdiction and incarceration to treatment and education. A full 73 percent of Americans are against legalizing any kind of drugs, and 60 percent oppose legalizing marijuana.
This “it doesn’t work, but don’t change it” incongruity is not just a quirk of the U.S. public. It is a manifestation of how the prohibition on drugs has led to a prohibition on rational thought. “Most of my colleagues know that the war on drugs is bankrupt,” a U.S. senator told me, “but for many of us, supporting any form of decriminalization of drugs has long been politically suicidal.”
As a result of this utter failure to think, the United States today is both the world’s largest importer of illicit drugs and the world’s largest exporter of bad drug policy. The U.S. government expects, indeed demands, that its allies adopt its goals and methods and actively collaborate with U.S. drug-fighting agencies. This expectation is one of the few areas of rigorous continuity in U.S. foreign policy over the last three decades.
A second, and more damaging, effect comes from the U.S. emphasis on curtailing the supply abroad rather than lowering the demand at home. The consequence: a transfer of power from governments to criminals in a growing number of countries. In many places, narcotraffickers are the major source of jobs, economic opportunity, and money for elections.
The global economic crisis will only intensify these trends as battered economies shrink and illicit trade becomes the only way for millions of people to make a living. Mexico’s attorney general reckons that U.S. consumers buy $10 billion worth of drugs from his country’s cartels each year, a business that propelled Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, to Forbes magazine’s latest list of the world’s billionaires. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, all that money allows the two main cartels to train, equip, and pay for a highly motivated army of 100,000 that almost equals Mexico’s armed forces in size and often outguns them. And this ascendancy of the drug cartels is a global problem. The opium trade is equal to 30 percent of Afghanistan’s legal economy, and from Burma to Bolivia, Moldova to Guinea-Bissau, drug kingpins have become influential economic and political actors.
Fortunately, there are some signs that the blind support for prohibition is beginning to wane among key Washington elites. One surprising new convert? The Pentagon. Senior U.S. military officers know both that the war on drugs is bankrupt and that it is undermining their ability to succeed in other important missions, such as winning the war in Afghanistan. When Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant and supreme allied commander in Europe, was asked last November why the United States was losing in Afghanistan, he answered: “The top of my list is the drugs and narcotics, which are, without question, the economic engine that fuels the resurgent Taliban, and the crime and corruption in the country. . . . We couldn’t even talk about that in 2006 when I was there. That was not a topic that anybody wanted to talk about, including the U.S.” Jones is now U.S. President Barack Obama’s national security advisor.
But such views have set off fierce clashes between military commanders newly focused on creating peaceful economic opportunities for Afghan families and the U.S. drug warriors set on eradicating Afghanistan’s major cash crop at any cost. What’s more, inertia alone almost guarantees strong support for drug eradication from the massive bureaucracy that lives off the tens of billions of taxpayer dollars that have funded the war on drugs for decades. The opinions of these drug warriors are immune to data: After decades of eradication efforts around the world, neither the acreage of land used to grow drugs nor the tonnage produced has shrunk.
But prohibition at any cost is becoming increasingly hard to defend. As the drug-fueled escalation of violence in Mexico spills across the border into the United States, the American public’s willingness to ignore or tolerate policies that don’t work is bound to decline. And the consequences of failure are already on mounting display: According to the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center, Mexican drug cartels have established operations in 195 American cities. It is much harder to ignore the collateral damage of the war on drugs when it happens in your neighborhood.
That is the case in many other countries where the nefarious side effects of U.S. drug policies have long been felt. Three of Latin America’s most respected former presidents, Brazil’s Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Colombia’s César Gaviria, and Mexico’s Ernesto Zedillo, recently chaired a commission that came out in favor of drastic changes in the war on drugs—including decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. The commission, on which I sat, spent more than a year reviewing the best available evidence from experts in public health, medicine, law enforcement, the military, and the economics of drug trafficking. One of the commission’s main conclusions is that governments urgently need options beyond eradication, interdiction, criminalization, and incarceration to limit the social consequences of drugs. But though smart thinkers increasingly propose confronting the drug curse as a public health crisis—more options are in the commission’s report at www.drugsanddemocracy.org—real alternatives have found no space in a policy debate stalemated between absolute prohibition and wholesale legalization.
The addiction to a failed policy has long been fueled by the self-interest of a relatively small prohibitionist community—and enabled by the distraction of the American public. But as the costs of the drug war spread from remote countries and U.S. inner cities to the rest of society, spending more to cure and prevent than to eradicate and incarcerate will become a much more obvious idea. Smarter thinking on drugs? That should be the real no-brainer.

Ending Prohibition a 2010 Platform for Politicians?

2009-07-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Marijuana Policy Project is currently campaigning in Arizona and Nevada to get initiatives on the 2010 ballot. MPP has a successful track record fighting marijuana prohibition, but Americans need to pressure politicians to start seeing change on the federal level.

If more constituents voiced their opinion we would surely see politicians using the end of marijuana prohibition as a platform. Think about it, the goal of elected officials is to win their next election, usually by any means possible.

Norm Stamper was the chief of police in Seattle before Gil Kerlikowske, our current drug czar. In his latest blog entry he mentions that three progressive magazines are featuring the marijuana prohibition topic. He also questions the substantial divide between public opinion and our politician's stance on marijuana prohibition.

Three out of four Americans believe the "war on drugs" is a failure and can never be won. Serious people like Sen. Jim Webb, former Mexican president Vicente Fox, Congressmen Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel, Steve Cohen and others, even a growing body of right-of-center analysts and politicians have been saying it's time to fundamentally reshape our approach to drug control.

So, why this divide between massive public opposition to current policies and the positions taken by our leaders? Fear, of course. They're afraid of being punished for touching what has been perceived, mistakenly, as a third rail issue.

A World Wide Breakdown

2009-06-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

With all the recent media buzz surrounding marijuana and the "drug war", it is easy for Americans to forget about the rest of the world. We need to understand that drugs are a worldwide issue that affects people everywhere.

This article points out the problem is alot worst than just the Mexican drug cartels whose violence is starting to spill into the United States. It also makes one realize that America has it's problems but it is still a great country to live in.

Anything goes in the “war on drugs,” or so it seems. Governments around the world have used it as an excuse for unchecked human rights abuse and irrational policies based on knee-jerk reactions rather than scientific evidence. This has caused tremendous human suffering. It also undermines drug control efforts. .... In 2003, law enforcement officials in Thailand killed more than 2,700 people in the government’s “war on drugs.” More than 30 U.N. member states, including China, Indonesia and Malaysia, retain the death penalty for drug offenses — some as a mandatory sentence — in violation of international law. In Russia, untold thousands of heroin users cannot obtain opioid substitution treatment because the government has banned methadone, despite its proven effectiveness.

They even continue to argue that health care across the world has deteriorated because of our naive focus on controlling drug abuse.

The “war on drugs” has distracted countries from their obligation to ensure that narcotic drugs are available for medical purposes. As a result, 80 percent of the world population — including 5.5 million cancer patients and 1 million terminally ill AIDS patients — has no access to treatment for severe pain. Strong pain medications are almost unavailable in most African countries. In India alone some 1 million cancer patients endure severe pain; most have no access to appropriate medications because of restrictions on prescribing them.

America needs to lead the world with new public policy and a new stance on drugs. The United Nations and other countries are searching for someone to guide them in the right direction. The world will start taking alternatives more seriously as America and other countries do. Portugal's drug decriminalization has gone relatively unnoticed, but skeptics have started backing off as empirical data continues to support the change.

The international reporters finish "A Misguided War on Drugs" with a grave warning the world needs to take seriously.

This is not only a human rights problem: It is bad public policy. Research shows that abusive drug control practices, including mass incarceration, are ineffective in controlling illicit drug consumption and drug-related crime, and in protecting public health. Scientific evidence has shown that more supportive “harm-reduction” programs prevent HIV among injection drug users, protect people’s health and lower future health costs. And for those with untreated pain, ignoring their needs removes them and their caregivers from productive life..... Too many lives are at stake for the current head-in-the-sand politics, and if the United Nations and member states continue to bury their heads, they will be complicit in the abuses.

The Failure of Prohibition and the U.N.

2009-06-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

"The Failure of the War on Drugs: Charting a New Course for the Commonwealth" sounds like another opinion article written by a hopeful marijuana activist. In reality The Massachusetts Bar Association issued this report calling for drug policies to be reexamined.

The report points to four areas of widespread failure: the increase of arrests without the diminished use of illegal drugs, a disparate impact of drug laws on minority groups, economic effects for offenders looking for work with a criminal record, and high rates of recidivism.

The United Nations is supporting drug decriminalization in their 2009 World Drug Report. When Portugal decriminalized drugs in 2001 the U.N. wasn't clear about if they were violating any international drug treaties. Statements made in the most recent report should ease concerns any country might have while reexamining their drug laws. Ryan Grim highlights part of 2009's World Drug Report.

But in its 2009 World Drug Report, the UN had little but kind words for Portugal's radical (by U.S. standards) approach. "These conditions keep drugs out of the hands of those who would avoid them under a system of full prohibition, while encouraging treatment, rather than incarceration, for users. Among those who would not welcome a summons from a police officer are tourists, and, as a result, Portugal's policy has reportedly not led to an increase in drug tourism," reads the report. "It also appears that a number of drug-related problems have decreased."

New Hampshire is trying to become the 14th state to pass medical marijuana legislation. After the original bill passed Governor John Lynch demanded some changes before he would sign the bill. The changes have been made and the new bill is now awaiting his signature.

"The Law and Marijuana": NORML Essays

2009-06-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

A series of essays is being published by NORML, submissions were sent in by attorney's from their legal committee. Sean McAllister, from Breckenridge Colorado, detailed a number of the reasons why marijuana prohibition is still going on in America. He points to prohibition failures as one of the many reasons we need to explore legalization.

Marijuana remains illegal even though prohibition has miserably failed. After 35 years of a war on drugs largely targeting marijuana, the same number of high school students now say marijuana is easy to get and they had used it as answered those question in the affirmative in 1975. It remains illegal even though the Obama administration has declared an end to the “war on drugs,” while at the same time laughing off marijuana legalization.

This Huffington Post article provides an in depth examination of Barney Frank's recent marijuana legislation.

The medical marijuana bill aims to fix a problem in the federal classification of marijuana. The problem was best summed up in a live performance by Bill Maher I saw a number of months ago, where he talked about medical marijuana laws that states such as California (and others) have passed. I don't remember his exact words, but it went something like this: "It's still illegal to grow it, it's illegal for doctors to prescribe it, it's illegal to sell it, it's illegal to buy it, but if a joint happens to fall from the sky into your lips, then it's OK to smoke it."

"America's High" special that Anderson Cooper last week was disappointing to me. Each weeknight two segments aired featuring a pot story. Most of the information was recycled, and I felt they should have followed more current news headlines. Instead they just ran features of stories that have been in the headlines for months. Below is a video of Bruce Mirken on CNBC discussing marijuana.

Barney Frank Calling for Bold Change

2009-06-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

Barney Frank reintroduced legislation entitled, "Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults". Eliminating federal penalties for personal possession of up to 100 grams.

Passage of this act would provide state lawmakers the choice to maintain their current penalties for minor marijuana offenses or eliminate them completely. Lawmakers would also have the option to explore legal alternatives to tax and regulate the adult use and distribution of cannabis free from federal interference.

This great piece of news follows Rhode Island's overriding their Governor's recent veto of a bill allowing compassion centers. "Drugs Won The War" hammered at many of the valid points marijuana decriminalization has. His statement below is something I believe more opponents should be investigating more.

Moving forward, we need to be less ideological and more empirical in figuring out what works in combating America’s drug problem. One approach would be for a state or two to experiment with legalization of marijuana, allowing it to be sold by licensed pharmacists, while measuring the impact on usage and crime.

Medical Marijuana Protection Act

2009-06-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Barney Frank (D-MA) reintroduced a bill to protect medical marijuana patients. H.R. 2835 has 13 cosponsors at this time, it has been referred to the house committee on energy and commerce. As this issue continues to grow in media coverage, this bill could start leading to more promising changes. Everyone should at least agree that it is difficult for America to remain credible with such contradictory laws between the state and federal levels. Ben Morris highlights why he thinks this legislation is important.

H.R. 2835 makes two important changes to federal law. First, it eliminates federal authority to interfere with patients, caregivers, and collectives operating in accordance with state medical marijuana laws. Second, it moves marijuana from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act into Schedule II. Schedule II drugs have recognized medical benefits and can be prescribed by doctors to patients in need (for example, morphine is a Schedule II drug).

In California, marijuana advocates are working hard to get an initiative on the November 2010 ballot. Supporters will need to gather over 433,000 valid signatures from registered voters. Richard Lee, founder of Oaksterdam University, thought the initiative process could be quicker than waiting for any pending legislation. "We believe that the people lead the politicians on this issue," he said.

Visit Procon.org for their opinion regarding medical marijuana. They are an independent, non-partisan website that investigates controversial issues.

Anderson Cooper and Drug Sense

2009-06-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

I read earlier on a forum that Anderson Cooper was going to be doing a special on marijuana next week. Getting excited, I started scouring CNN. Not only is CNN running a special about marijuana, it is lasting all week on Anderson Cooper 360. The only clue to what is going to make the air, is an add they have on the sidebar that I copied below. I look forward to watching each episode and plan to post my thoughts throughout next week.

NEXT WEEK: ‘America’s High’

Can the U.S. afford to make pot legal? Can we afford not to? We’re keeping them honest on both sides of the argument. All next week, 10 ET

JOIN: LIVE BLOG Weeknights 10p ET

SURVEY: Your input on CNN.com and this site

Get videos of the shows | Transcripts | Send feedback

I am adding the "Drug War Clock" gadget to my blog. I think it is important for people to see this information and support the great site that created it. I just discovered DrugSense and am busy exploring their community.

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A Plea and a Professor

2009-06-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

A Professor from Brown University wrote a great opinion article for the LA Times about her personal experience with marijuana. Marie Myung-Ok Lee story is about her search for the best way to treat her sons medical problems.

I'm on the phone getting a recipe for hashish butter. Not from my dealer but from Lester Grinspoon, a physician and emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. And not for a party but for my 9-year-old son, who has autism, anxiety and digestive problems, all of which are helped by the analgesic and psychoactive properties of marijuana. I wouldn't be giving it to my child if I didn't think it was safe.

I came to marijuana while searching for a safer alternative to the powerful antipsychotic drugs, such as Risperdal, that are typically prescribed for children with autism and other behavioral disorders. There have been few studies on the long-term effects of these drugs on a growing child's brain, and in particular autism, a disorder whose biochemical mechanisms are poorly understood. But there is much documentation of the risks, which has caused the Food and Drug Administration to require the highest-level "black box" warnings of possible side effects that include permanent Parkinson's disease-like tremors, metabolic disorders and death. A panel of federal drug experts in 2008 urged physicians to use caution when prescribing these medicines to children, as they are the most susceptible to side effects.

Its funny how the Harvard Professor she references, Lester Grinspoon, started researching marijuana. Originally he set out to build a case against marijuana and instead the project ended as "Marihuana Reconsidered". Currently he runs a blog which he is using to help him write his next book about marijuana. His "Cannabis Odyssey" essay launching this project has been a big influence on me and is one of the reasons I started this blog. It is pretty long but anyone and everyone who enjoys smoking marijuana should check out his essay.

After the publication of Marihuana Reconsidered I was often asked about my personal experience with cannabis. Some questioners were skeptical when I replied that I had never used it: " What, you wrote a book about marijuana and you never experienced it!" The implication was that inexperience would invalidate my claim to expertise. I would defensively respond, "I have written a book on schizophrenia and I have never experienced that." It was not until some years later that I realized that there was validity to this criticism of my lack of personal experience with cannabis. Especially in the later phases of this research and writing, I had flirted with the idea of trying marijuana, not because I believed at that time that it would inform my work, but because it appeared to be such an interesting experience. I decided against it out of fear that it would compromise my goal of producing as objective a statement as I could. Of course the further I pursued the subject the more I realized how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to produce a truly neutral and objective statement. But I was not about to add to this difficulty by personally exploring marijuana at this time even though the temptation to do so became greater as I learned more about it.

I had another reason for postponing personal experience with cannabis. If the book were successful, I expected to be called as an expert witness before legislative committees and in courtrooms. I correctly anticipated that some of my interrogators would want to know whether I had ever used cannabis, and I wanted to be able to deny it so as to preserve at least the appearance of objectivity. In the beginning I did not believe this question unfair. It seemed to me to be no different from other questions about my credentials. But I soon learned that when it was asked, it was almost always put by a legislator, lawyer, judge, or media person who was hostile to the suggestion that cannabis might not be as harmful as he firmly believed. It became increasingly clear that the question was asked, not in the spirit of learning more about the context of my understanding of this drug, but rather in the hope that I would answer affirmatively and that this would discredit my testimony. More than a year after the publication of the book I was testifying before a legislative committee when a senator who had already revealed his hostility asked, "Doctor, have you ever used marijuana?" Perhaps because I was irritated by the hostility reflected in his previous questions and his sneering tone of voice, I replied, "Senator, I will be glad to answer that question if you will first tell me whether if I answer your question affirmatively, you will consider me a more or less credible witness?" The senator, visibly upset by my response, angrily told me that I was being impertinent and left the hearing room. That was the moment that I decided that the time had come.

Look before you LEAP

2009-06-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

The perfect idiom to describe how our politicians need to open up their minds so they can analyze and debate marijuana prohibition. Americans need to realize and accept the fact that our criminal justice system is broken. The United States can't expect to house 25% of the worlds incarcerated population and maintain its status as a world power.

Marijuana policy reform would be a great start for our country in its efforts to emphasize drug problems as a public health issue, treating it as a criminal offense has failed far too long. I think if more people knew that LEAP also stood for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or visited their website they just might start to believe me.

“Marijuana Prohibition dramatically reduces public safety,” Officer Howard Wooldridge said. “Except for a hand-full of die-hard prohibition cops, most will admit that fact, at least in private. A solid majority of cops would legalize/regulate it today. Why? Most cops will put in 30 years and never respond to a call generated by the USE of marijuana.

Howard Wooldridge works for LEAP and offered that opinion to his brother Frosty, during a series of interviews. That opinion caught me off guard, surprising me more than his picture, but I couldn't agree more with how the last statement in the article.

“Envision a world where crime is cut in half, terrorists don’t make money selling drugs and kids are not employed in the drug trade,” Wooldridge said. “Envision a world where the police focus on DUI, child predators and terrorists. Imagine a world where if you have a drug problem, you see a doctor not a judge. All are possible, when we find the courage to end our Prohibition.”

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Supporting a Cause

2009-06-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

Anyone can be a marijuana advocate, it's simple and there are countless ways to support the cause. A high school junior, with a 3.7 gpa, was willing to light a joint during a class presentation to voice his opinion. It takes some guts, but it is as simple as voicing your opinion. I have always been a big fan of the outspoken Megan Fox, and reading this quote she gave in an interview with Britain's GQ magazine, only cemented her status in my book.

I can't tell you how much bull**** I've been through because I will openly say that I smoke weed. People look at it like it's this crazy, hippy, f*****-up thing to do. And it's not. I hope they legalize it.
And when they do, I'll be the first person in line to buy my pack of joints.

Marijuana policy reform appears inevitable when considering age use trends, older generations with little to no experience using marijuana should be expected to have a negative stance regarding marijuana. Congress will be interesting to follow as younger politicians get elected, and baby boomers become the elders holding office.

Marijuana supporters and users are becoming more visible at a rapid rate. I love Andrew Sullivan's "Cannabis Closet" posts, composed of brief biographies submitted by readers sharing their experience with marijuana. A stay at home mom battling insomnia shares her dilemma while pondering the right decision about smoking marijuana.

I have tried prescription sleep aids, they make it impossible to wake up if my daughter cries. The over-the-counter ones work, but they leave me drugged and hungover the next morning. Sedatives work, but it bothers me that they can be physically addictive.

Ban Easily Exploited

2009-06-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles' difficulty with controlling medical marijuana shouldn't surprise anyone. This problem will continue across America as long as there is a contradiction between state and federal marijuana laws. Since a moratorium in 2007 cannabis dispensaries have spread throughout L.A. at an alarming rate.

"The city of L.A. has failed us on this issue," said Michael Larsen, public safety director with the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. "There's a huge loophole. L.A. city's not watching. L.A. city's not enforcing."

No other city in California has seen such uncontrolled growth in dispensaries. As signs featuring the easily recognized saw-toothed cannabis leaf multiplied on commercial strips, neighborhood activists like Larsen began to ask their council members why the city was not shutting down dispensaries that opened after the moratorium.

People can usually recall a situation where they chose to rebel in their life. It has been apparent since we were children and defying our parents, people want things we aren't suppose to have. Ranging from children getting tattoos or piercings, to the mob days of alcohol prohibition. History has proven a ban is an ineffective tool in fighting for prevention.

The moratorium includes a standard provision that allows dispensaries to appeal to the City Council for a hardship exemption to be allowed to operate. Some time last year, medical marijuana entrepreneurs discovered that the city attorney's office was not prosecuting dispensaries that had filed hardship applications, saying the City Council needed to rule on them first. The council has not acted on any of the applications.

So far, 508 dispensaries have applied for exemptions.

Marijuana Benefits?

2009-06-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

It is impossible to know pot's potential. The government has limited scientific studies of marijuana for years. That shouldn't surprise most people, but there is another fact that just might. The United States of America holds a patent on cannabinoids, weird that government officials still question the medical benefits marijuana holds.

I wasn't sure how to react yesterday to NORML's blog post. It highlights scientists exploring synthetic cannabinoids to help treat multiple sclerosis. When is society going to realize that people aren't gods? We can't fix and create everything. Is it crazy to believe that marijuana could be more effective than these synthetic solutions?

I would bet on the plant being better for our bodies than another pill. How does anyone know? We just continue in our overmedicated society, popping pills, questioning how our country is going to fix the health care system.

People use to believe that chiropractors were quacks. That they were overpaid massage therapists. Many people today depend on the same chiropractors, we need to realize alternative medicines can be a viable option.

I hate taking pills when I am sick, and I think commercials have nullified society's concern for their many side effects. Products love the small writing no one can read on their TV, and the announcers usually find time as the commercial is ending to warn consumers of possible side effects.

An Information Age Revolution

2009-05-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

"Legalize Pot Now" has a wide variety of great arguments supporting the decriminalization of marijuana in America. It is one of the most complete articles I have read sharing my stance. I am proud to say I have posted a number of links citing the same stories and numbers.

Below he comments on Gil Kerlikowske's recent call for the end of the "war on drugs".

It wouldn't be surprising if Kerlikowske's speech was actually a subtle testing of the political landscape surrounding the marijuana question, as we find ourselves, quite suddenly, at a pivotal moment in the push for pot legalization. The horrific violence of Mexican cartels, which make perhaps as much as 75 percent of their money from marijuana (in Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard's estimation), has started ebbing across our Southwestern borders.

My favorite part of the article is below.

So far, the president — who supported decriminalization when running for Senate in 2004, but not when running for president in 2008 — hasn't exactly been a profile in courage. (His answer, at that town hall, to the question of taxing marijuana was wincingly flippant.) But that may not matter all that much. "Obama is against gay marriage, at least nominally, yet that issue is moving forward, too," statistician Nate Silver, founder of fivethirtyeight.com, tells the Phoenix. "Once one state does something, then other states start to think about it."

While I was disappointed with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's response about marijuana in his "Digg Dialogue".(full video at end of post) I believe it was a good step in rehabbing his image. I think online event's like this are really the politics of the future. The information age is just beginning, there is no telling where it will take us. The radio and fireside chats helped FDR become President, while some credit JFK's victory to his good looks and demeanor on television.

The internet helped Current President Obama raise crucial funds for his campaign, and helped get him elected. Back in July of 2007 Time magazine was discussing Obama's unique fundraising ability. So far he has displayed grand visions of the internet to help America recover from this recession, but it may have a much bigger side effect. It could change the way countries our governed all across the world. Obama has held online town halls answering questions to mixed reviews, but the key might be him setting a precedent for our politicians of the future.

His administration's website already offers a long list of tools and services; with the goals of transparency, and increased communication between the people and their government. They include: Your Weekly Address, Presidential Blog, America's Recovery, Whitehouse Youtube Channel, and the list appears to be growing as we speak.

Marijuana Myths

2009-05-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sorting fact from fiction when discussing marijuana isn't an easy task. No one should expect it to be either, but more people should realize it is just a plant. Watching "Reefer Madness" in its entirety is difficult propaganda to stand today, but coming out of the depression the film scared alot of Americans. The short clip below is a great illustration of the misinformation our government has sponsored beginning in the 1930's.

A Star Tribune article written by Rob Kampia discusses three of the biggest myths surrounding marijuana. It appeared in Saturday's opinion section as a reaction to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoing a medical marijuana bill on Friday. I don't really understand how myth number one has gone overlooked in our country for so long.

Myth No. 1: Marijuana is illegal because it's dangerous. In fact, the first national marijuana ban was passed in 1937 based on a wave of hysterical propaganda and newspaper stories that had nothing to do with marijuana's actual effects. Goaded by Federal Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger, newspapers printed wild stories such as the San Francisco Examiner's claim that "Marihuana makes fiends of boys in thirty days -- Hashish goads users to bloodlust."

Kampia is The Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project, they produced the short below about why marijuana is illegal.

What if?

2009-05-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

Last Friday The New York Times pondered a big what if question, "What Would Happen if Marijuana Were Decriminalized? A Freakonomics Quorum". Wanting to cover all aspects of the issue they presented five people from various backgrounds with a challenge.

to think about a national decriminalization of marijuana (unlikely, let’s be honest) and answer the following: What would be some of the most powerful economic, social, and criminal-justice effects?

Robert Platshorn also known as "The Black Tuna" tells part of his story. He was a marijuana smuggler back in the 70's; after spending 29 years of his life in prison he is working with NORML.

On May 2, 1979, a headline read “$300 Million Drug Ring Reported Cracked in Florida.” The “ring” consisted of my two partners and myself. We hadn’t made 10 percent of that, but the government had reasons for turning a couple of small fish into “The Black Tuna Gang.” Those were the early days of the DEA, and they needed to justify their mission and their budget.

Obviously the drug dealer is going to side with decriminalizing marijuana, so they also had an economist on their panel. In 2005 Jeff Miron completed "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition". Currently he is the director of undergraduate studies, in Harvard University's economics department. In March of this year he contributed this article to CNN. In the beginning he talks about what decriminalization would do to our society.

Legalizing marijuana would produce important benefits for the United States.

Legalization would allow people who use marijuana, without harm to themselves or others, to do so without fear of arrest or incarceration. This is exactly what occurs now for alcohol and tobacco.

After discussing several benefits he wanted to end by exploring the things legalization wouldn't do.

One thing legalization would not do is produce a major increase in marijuana use; existing evidence suggests prohibition has only a modest impact. Alcohol consumption declined moderately but not dramatically during alcohol prohibition, for example.

A second thing legalization would not do is eliminate the bulk of violence, crime, and corruption induced by drug prohibition, since much of that relates to cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. To achieve the full benefits of legalization, policy must legalize all drugs.

Marijuana legalization is thus not a panacea; rather, it is a significant step in the direction of saner drug policy.

Asking & Answering Questions

2009-05-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) asks some valid questions to FBI director Robert Mueller, hopefully these questions increase throughout this legislative session in Congress. Our elected officials might be starting to take notice of the publics opinion and when more of them start asking questions in Washington, real change will start to happen. Soon decriminalizing marijuana could become a reality that people actually consider. Nate Silver points out age trends in marijuana use, the numbers make me believe that as Congress gets younger they will realize that drug policy reform is a necessity.

Paul Armentano offers his opinion about the interrogation.

It’s been clear for quite some time that proponents of marijuana prohibition have nary a leg to stand on. When their position is scrutinized, even the least bit, it ends up collapsing like a house of cards. In this case, the look on FBI Director Robert Mueller’s face two minutes and forty-three seconds into the video says it all. His empty rhetoric has failed and he has no more artillery left in his arsenal. He’s been defeated and he knows it.

Meanwhile Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to participate in a "Digg Dialogue", described below. Digg users have until Tuesday, May 26th 12:00pm pacific time to submit and Digg questions.

Digg Dialogg lets you submit your questions to notable leaders and luminaries. Rather than editors or journalists, the Digg community decides the most popular questions to be posed in the interview, so submit a question for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger!

Saving Phoenix

2009-05-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Decriminalization might be Phoenix's only answer to solve its rising crime problem. Today's CNN feature on the drug cartels investigates the kidnapping epidemic currently growing in Phoenix. The stories while shocking, are even more grotesque. I advise you not to read the full article if you just ate, as torture appears to be common in these situations. Below is just part of Jaime Andrade's story and what he had to endure while being held hostage.

Andrade was pistol-whipped and beaten with a baseball bat and the butt of a rifle. The kidnappers tried to gouge out his eye and slashed open his left eyebrow. They burned his back as well -- presumably, police said, with a blowtorch found at the scene.

Usually these kidnappings are criminal on criminal offenses but mistaken identity can only increase with the continued escalation and frequency of these crimes. Another story highlighted was an innocent 13 year old girl trying to play basketball in her driveway. Phoenix police have even formed a special unit to assist in investigations.

Phoenix police formed the HIKE squad in October after two years of unprecedented kidnapping numbers -- 357 in 2007 and 368 in 2008 -- gave the city the dubious distinction of being the nation's kidnapping capital. Home invasions were not far behind: 317 in 2007 and 337 in 2008.

It would be hard for any city to adapt to this increase in terrible violent crimes. The resources simply aren't there to combat the problem. It is growing too rapidly, alternative solutions need to be looked into. While MPP is currently fighting a battle to get a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in Arizona, there is little evidence to prove it would be effective against cartel violence.

Money Wrong Solution to Drug Cartels

2009-05-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

CNN is in the middle of a four part feature on drug cartels. Monday's story helped put how much death and money is involved in this border crisis. The fear that this violence will start spreading into states along the Mexican border is real, however the real impact has yet to be seen. Below are a couple of excerpts from the story.

So far, the U.S. has largely been spared the violence seen in Mexico, where the cartels' running gunbattles with police, the military and each other claimed about 6,500 lives last year. It was a sharp spike from the 2,600 deaths attributed to cartel violence in 2007.
Once again, drug war casualties are mounting on the Mexican side at a record pace in 2009 -- more than 1,000 during the first three months of the year, Arabit said.

I don't believe America can solve this crisis by throwing more money at the problem. When will people start to understand that money can't solve every problem? Our government is burning their money with this increases. It's frustrating to admit, but I think doubling the amount of troops will only increase in the amount of American bloodshed. A DEA agent comments to CNN about the violence spilling over and effecting innocent American lives.

"It's coming. I guarantee, it's coming," said Michael Sanders, a DEA spokesman in Washington.
Sinaloa cartel leader Guzman's shoot-to-kill instructions aren't limited to Mexican authorities and cartel rivals; they also include U.S. law enforcement officials, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing sources and intelligence memos. The move is seen as dangerously brazen, the newspaper reported. In the past, the cartels have tried to avoid direct confrontation with U.S. law enforcement.
U.S. officials are trying to stop the violence from crossing the border.The Obama administration committed to spending an additional $700 million to help Mexico fight the cartels and agreed to double the number of U.S. agents working the border.

Full Circle

2009-05-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

The new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, recently had a Q & A session with the Wall Street Journal. In this interview he doesn't hesitate in admitting that the United States has been fighting a losing war. In fact he wants to end this so called "war" altogether. Finally someone is recognizing the federal governments failures with this public health issue.

What do you mean when you talk about how our drug efforts have been in a silo with either/or choices?

The either/or to me has been you either support law enforcement and money and funds and resources, that includes international, border protection and domestic, or you support treatment and whose going to pay the cost of treatment. What I'd like to do is break down those barriers that kind of exist. It really isn't an either/or.

The other part of breaking down the barrier is to completely and forever end the war analogy, the war on drugs.

Since I used to stand in front of the helicopter for President Nixon who brought the term in vogue, it's fitting that I'm almost back in the same spot and trying to put an end to the war analogy.

Kerlikowske has been involved since the beginning and is showing signs of his deeper understanding of this issue. His law enforcement background blended with the belief that this is a public health issue at heart, could lead to promising changes for America. He has been on the front lines of this "drug war" and realized no one can win if it continues. I think this L.A. Times editorial summarizes it best.

It's in that context that Kerlikowske's comments matter: By thinking of drug users as combatants in a war, the nation militarized a health problem. The phrase itself shaped flawed thinking and yielded disastrous policies. When he campaigned for the presidency, Obama promised bold change on drugs. The old paradigm should follow the now-discarded phrase into history.

In "Paying With Our Sins" the N.Y. Times has some more radical opinions on how to speed up America's recovery from this recession. Author Nick Gillespie takes the economists opinion and questions how much the extra revenue America could raise by taxing then country's vices.

Based on estimates from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Americans spend at least $64 billion a year on illegal drugs. And according to a 2006 study by the former president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Jon Gettman, marijuana is already the top cash crop in a dozen states and among the top five crops in 39 states, with a total annual value of $36 billion.

I believe Kerlikowske has the knowledge and experience to help lead our country down this new path. As Seattle's chief of police he disagreed with I-75, a law that led to Seattle making marijuana possession law enforcements lowest priority. However, after the initiative passed he respected the people's wishes and Seattle is still standing.

California's Ripple Effect

2009-05-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

As most people have heard, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano-D San Francisco, has written and introduced a bill that would make California the first state to legalize marijuana. Bill AB 390 is seen as a longshot by Ammiano himself, but that hasn't stopped the media frenzy.

This is a long term strategy, Ammiano plans to try and gain wider support before ever trying to get the bill voted on. During this dormant stage the public knowledge about marijuana can only increase. Gone are the days of Reefer Madness, the information age has unforeseen potential in revolutionizing democracy.

"Pot proposals impact depends on federal law" discusses some of Ammiano's goals and raises some provocative questions at the same time.

Ammiano introduced AB390 in February but says he will not try to bring it to a vote until next year, which means it could not take effect until 2011. And its prospects have been dimmed by the unyielding opposition of police organizations...

-- Decriminalize personal use, sale, possession and cultivation of marijuana in California.
-- If the federal ban on possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana were repealed, the state would allow marijuana growers and sellers and impose a $50-an-ounce tax.

Government propaganda can be sniffed out much quicker now. One day I envision audio files recording trials then transcribing it into a computer database. How much money, paperwork, manpower would this save the government? It would also eliminate any possibility of human error. The defendant could have easy access to both audio and text files.

President Obama's attempt at increasing transparency in the government has seen the birth of many new .gov sites. With his weekly address being broadcast on youtube and the new White House website, one has to be reminded of President Franklin Delano Roosevolt's fireside chats. Whatever your opinion may be of our new President, I believe Obama has grand intentions and is trying to pattern aspects of his first 100 days in office after the great FDR.

Former President's Opinion

2009-05-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this article is the second most viewed on CNN's website. His opinions below shouldn't be a surprise to many.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has joined three other ex-leaders of Latin American nations calling for the decriminalization of marijuana.

Fox, who was Mexico's president from 2000 to 2006, said the current policy is clearly not working.
"I believe it's time to open the debate over legalizing drugs," he told CNN on Tuesday. "It must be done in conjunction with the United States, but it is time to open the debate."
He pointed to how the end of Prohibition in the United States in 1933 lessened organized crime violence.
"It can't be that the only way is for the state to use force," he said.
Fox was mirroring a position adopted earlier this year by his predecessor as president of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, and the former heads of Colombia and Brazil. The three former chief executives are members of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy.

Along the same lines. NORML has a whole page dedicated to Government & Private Commissions Supporting Marijuana Law Reform. This excerpt is from the introduction.

"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."
-President Jimmy Carter: Message to Congress, August 2, 1977.

A Federalist Perspective

2009-05-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ross Raffin from the Stanford Progressive brings up a number of great points in his article, "Legalizing Marijuana the Federalist Way". Raffin suggests that President Obama laughing off the marijuana issue in his town hall meeting, doesn't necessarily mean he has thought about this issue seriously.

But the reality is that the Obama administration has turned the tides in favor of legalization and decriminalization in a much stronger and subtler way than open rhetorical endorsements.

Optimism for drug reform began when Obama ended federal raids on cannabis dispensaries in states which allow medical marijuana. What marijuana advocates fail to realize is that with this the Obama administration initiated a small but extremely important step towards legalization. More importantly, it has done so in a way to insulate itself from Republican attacks and attempts to distract the public.

The new administration has declared the federal government will only intervene in medical marijuana cases where both state and federal laws are being broken. This change may seem minor but Raffin views it as a logical stepping stone in the legalization process.

In the case of California, because medical marijuana is legal, federal intervention is no longer allowed in cases where California's medical marijuana laws are not broken. Thus, if California were to fully legalize marijuana, under current policy the federal government would not intervene.

Raffin continues to argue that marijuana reform in our country must be started with individual states, then only can it be a reality in America.

If Obama or the Democrats proposed legalization, all the Republicans have to do is have several governors or senators who refuse to implement the federal law. This would frame the argument as Obama trying to extend the government's power to regulate what some consider the moral fabric of society...

When Obama tells the country that marijuana legalization is not the path he chooses for America, he means to say that the path must first be drawn by us.

Video Highlights

2009-05-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have a personalized "marijuana" section on my google news page. It makes finding all the latest news from across the globe easy. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and The Marijuana Policy Project are two of the most influential organizations supporting marijuana, they help keep people informed with current events regarding the drug war.

Both sites run blogs and have a wealth of information on the subject. If you are just curious about some of the facts/myths of marijuana or are interested in becoming a member, these are the perfect places to start. MPP has its own youtube channel, while both are increasing their presence on national TV. Below are some clips of their appearances.

Cato's Mission

2009-05-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

The mission of the Cato Institute is to increase the understanding of public policies based on the principles of limited government, free markets, individual liberty, and peace. The Institute will use the most effective means to originate, advocate, promote, and disseminate applicable policy proposals that create free, open, and civil societies in the United States and throughout the world.

To maintain independence and integrity the Cato Institute accepts no government funding, and is a non profit public policy research foundation. Started in 1977 Cato delivers a wide range of publications on social issues. Visit there about page for more info.

Cato sponsored the Glenn Greenwald investigation into Portugal's decriminalization framework I mentioned last post. The libertarian think tank offers their opinions on issues in a handbook for policymakers. Check out the chapter dealing with the war on drugs. Below is an excerpt describing the handbook.

Now in its seventh edition, the Cato Handbook for Policymakers sets the standard in Washington for real cuts in federal spending, taxes, and power. It offers an issue-by-issue detailed blueprint for reducing the federal government to the limits intended by the Founding Fathers.

I decided there were a few other TIME articles I wanted to point out. From 1968 "Pot: Safer than Alcohol" to neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta's recent opinion. In 2006 Dr. Scott Haig wrote "Why I'm Not Against, Like, Oh Wow man, Pot".

"I Smoke Pot, and I like it" is an admission Will Wilkinson from the Cato Institute is willing to make. He stresses the importance of making America realize that millions of everyday people just like them are regular marijuana users. He ends the article with this.

If we're to begin to roll back our stupid and deadly drug war, the stigma of responsible drug use has got to end, and marijuana is the best place to start. The super-savvy Barack Obama managed to turn a buck by coming out of the cannabis (and cocaine) closet in a bestselling memoir. That's progress. But his admission came with the politicians' caveat of regret. We'll make real progress when solid, upstanding folk come out of the cannabis closet, heads held high.
So here we go. My name is Will Wilkinson. I smoke marijuana, and I like it.

Big Media Musings

2009-05-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be interesting to gage the media's stance regarding marijuana. Concentrating on mainstream publications that are well known. Using links from; metro newspapers, magazines, major news sites and video from TV networks.

In March of this year CNN's Jack Cafferty asked, "Time for US to legalize drugs", on his blog. Cafferty sounds off hourly on the "Situation Room", a weekday afternoon program on CNN. This topic is still on his radar, and was the subject of his blog post yesterday as well.

This article from the San Francisco Chronicle regarding Governor Schwarzeneggers recent comments provides a skeptical view. In the heartland of the country, the Kansas City Star had this interesting perspective that was a little different.

I believe TIME magazine's website offers some of the best commentary regarding the "war on drugs". Searching "marijuana" yields 1455 articles and a 2002 cover. That November issue had two long feature articles, click the cover to your left for one and "The New Politics of Pot" for the other piece.

Ranging back to 1968 "The Morality of Marijuana" was questioned. In April of this year, Joe Klein wrote "Why Legalizing Marijuana Makes Sense".

TIME expresses their concern regarding the recent problems with Mexican drug cartels and the carnage around the US border. They also have chronicled the lighter side of the battle in "The Grass-Roots Marijuana Wars".

"Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?" was published by TIME in April 2009. It investigates a report written by Glenn Greenwald for the Cato Institute. While the report itself can be a little boring, (full 34 pages here) it is more of an empirical examination of the issue in Portugal and how their country has been impacted since they decriminalized ALL drugs in 2001.

So that is probably more reading than anyone has time to get done, I recommend checking out those links when you have a little time to kill. Over the weekend I'll delve more into the Cato Institutes thoughts on the subject and post some videos too.

A Conservative Inquiry

2009-05-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's funny how history repeats itself. In 1971 Nixon appointed republican Raymond Schafer to chair of The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, and 9 of the total 13 members. Their report was cast aside, at least it gave me a name for this blog. Almost 40 years later The O'Leary report, a conservative publication, teamed with Zogby to conduct a public opinion poll . The revelation is just as historic, I can only hope it plays a more significant role in impacting todays society. Here is what 3,919 Americans were asked to respond to.

Scarce law enforcement and prison resources, a desire to neutralize drug cartels and the need for new sources of revenue have resurrected the topic of legalizing marijuana. Proponents say it makes sense to tax and regulate the drug while opponents say that legalization would lead marijuana users to use other illegal drugs. Would you favor or oppose the government's effort to legalize marijuana?

A small majority of the Americans, %52 favored legalizing marijuana compared to the %37 who opposed it. This British headline and recent poll was music to my ears. It is remarkable that the government has spent countless amounts of money trying to convince the public the exact opposite.

Ben Morris from MPP called it "The Marijuana Tipping Point". The "tipping point" phrase was popularized by Malcolm Gladwell's best selling book of the same title. A must read for anyone who enjoys the hobby. While I credit the Michael Phelps bong photo impact in an information age of society; that is still very new, I believe there have been many micro victories that will lead to an eventual unlikely victor in the "war on drugs". The Phelps incident gave America something to talk about besides the financial crisis we are in.

The silly situation was blown out of epic proportion and some Americans realized there was a larger problem that was being overlooked. President Obama was quoted saying "the drug was has been a complete and utter failure" back in 2004. The problem only grown since then. Below is one of my favorite quotes, from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

Last Ditch Effort?

2009-05-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to be struggling at something for the first time in his life. This New York Times article reports his approval rating has plummeted to around the 30's. The Governor has apparently been abandoned by the Republican party and he may be endorsing a Democrat to replace him. He still has 18 months left in office that will largely determine if his stint was a failure.

Today he welcomed a public debate on the subject of marijuana. While at a public appearance promoting wildfire preparedness, he was asked about the idea of treating marijuana like alcohol. The Austrian born Schwarzenegger offered his opinion.

"No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate," he said. "And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision."

This is a great step forward towards change in our country. If more people start believing, a close examination of our drug laws could soon be a reality. This might be one of the Governors last chances to show real progress of some kind during his term. I think Schwarzenegger has a need to be liked and that it wasn't a coincidence his comments came after this recent poll.

"Schwarzenegger's comments come days after a statewide Field Poll found that 56 percent of California voters support the idea of legalizing cannabis for recreational use and taxing its proceeds."

Save Chuck!

2009-04-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

I am a couch potato, so I have been spending too much time catching up on the season finales of some of my favorite shows. "Chuck" is an action comedy show that runs an hour long. Featuring a great cast, led by Zachary Levi (Chuck)and Yvonne Strahovski (agent Sarah Walker), the spy show mixes laughs and gun fights to create a unique feel that is missing from TV today. Its finale on Monday was more emotional than most episodes, but hit all the right chords.

NBC has yet to renew it for a third season and that has brought fans out of the closet to muster support. A critical darling the show has struggled to gain a large audience. I encourage everyone to check it out, there is alot of bad TV on the air and it would be sad to see one of the better shows die as it approaches its prime. Watch Chuck and his CIA handlers, John and Sara, below in an action packed clip. Sarah Walker might be reason enough to watch a few episodes!

Another Banner on the Horizon

2009-04-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Kansas Jayhawks already had two potential All-Americans returning next year. Their logic simple, Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins wanted to become legends in Lawrence. To some they already are, they helped the Jayhawks capture the 2008 title. Instead of them moving onto the NBA after this season, they wanted to hang their own banner, together.

Aldrich passed up the chance at being a lottery selection, no one is quite sure where Collins would have ended up, but it appears he was a fringe first rounder. His fate could have been similar to Mario Chalmers who fell to the second round, even after making the shot. Collins who delivered the pass, was the man at the end taking all shots for KU last year. He was clutch, it was difficult to see at times because of the Jayhawks youth and inexperience that forced him to try to do everything by himself.

Collins was gassed by the end of most games last year. He was our fearless leader, always refusing to back down. Everyone else on the team shied away from the spotlight, the last game was a sad display of his teammates all being scared to take a shot. People throughout the year were critical about Collins taking too many shots, frustrated that he continued to shoot even when it wasn't falling.

Jayhawk fans have been following the recruitment of Xavier Henry with a microscope since John Calipari left for Kentucky. On Thursday he announced he was coming to Kansas, his brother is tagging along. CJ Henry will be a walkon with the New York Yankees paying his tuition. After verbally committing to KU he was drafted in the first round by the Yankees.

Paul Biancardi from ESPN discusses how Henry will fit in at KU, and his opinion seems to be the same as everyones. Its a perfect match. His parents both played at KU and this is the final puzzle piece to the Jayhawks national title run next year.

4/20 Video Blog

2009-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Posting videos is something I am going to start doing on a regular basis. Watching videos online is usually great entertainment with an endless sample size, and I don't know anyone who doesn't appreciate a hilarious youtube clip.

Here are some entertaining videos honoring the holiday yesterday. Leading it off is a song from "Family Guy's" newest episode which aired Sunday night. It starts in the middle of the episode but I encourage anyone who enjoys the show to watch the whole episode on hulu.com.

The video below was aired 4/16/09 on "CNBC Reports". It features Bruce Mirken, the communications director for Marijauna Policy Project and John Carnevale, president of Carnevale Associates.

Next is a commercial that hopefully everyone will be seeing soon on TV. It is sponsored by The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. NORML held a contest to choose the commercial that would launch their national TV campaign, the ad began airing across the country yesterday. Visit their website for more info.

Last but not least, current President Obama's opinion on the drug war in 2004. Before he got to Washington D.C.

Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding Part II

2009-04-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Our country is finally starting to acknowledge that we have a drug problem, and it’s about time we do something to solve it. The billions we spend need to be examined closer, alternative solutions should be explored. We can’t just keep throwing money at the problem and expect it to go away. Change is necessary, this social stigma and fear surrounding marijuana shouldn’t prevent our country from progressing. The saying goes; “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, but the system is broke, Americans need an open mind to allow ourselves to find the best solution.

Currently the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is going through a complete overhaul, facilitated in 2008 when congress chose the National Academy of Public Administration to assist in developing a new, more effective strategy to deal with our country’s drug problem. Their report “ONDCP: Building the Capacity to Address the Nation’s Drug Problems”, is a thorough examination of ONDCP with recommendations on how to make the agency more effective.

The report doesn’t suggest any new drug policies or present any magical solutions to our problem. It is an overview of how to improve the ONDCP operations and better utilize their 14 billion dollar budget. The deficiencies in the ONDCP since its existence boggle the mind. Here is an excerpt from the executive summary page.

In consultation with ONDCP, the Panel determined that the review should focus on the following areas:

Structure, organization, and management of ONDCP;
Resource management, planning, and budgeting;
Hiring, recruitment, and utilization of personnel; and
Policy development, coordination, and implementation.

The Panel determined in the course of the study that the following areas merited more detailed Treatment:

National Drug Control Strategy, budget, and ONDCP funding;
ONDCP statutory requirements;
ONDCP workforce; and
ONDCP goals and performance measures.

Sounds like a lot of important areas they need to improve in. The report seems to go into every detail. Recently Attorney General Eric Holder reaffirmed the new administration’s drug policy regarding state medical marijuana rights. Only people violating both state and federal law will be in danger of prosecution from the federal government. Reallocating DEA investigations and insuring legitimate medical cannabis dispensaries will not be raided.

This differs from George W. Bush supporting the governments’ raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. One might say it’s not his fault; Bush followed Presidents previous positions on fighting marihuana. I almost believed that argument, until I found this old Dallas Mornin g News article where he contradicts himself. Before Bush was elected President he was against the federal government interfering in what he deemed a state issue.

Now think back to 1971 about this conservative commission. Their report provides the foundation for my beliefs, and hope that we can end our “war on drugs”. Why would our politicians ignore a bipartisan commission’s findings? They came to three conclusions about the total prohibition of marijuana; “Application of the criminal law to private possession is philosophically inappropriate, application of the criminal law is constitutionally suspect, and that total prohibition is functionally inappropriate.”

It has been almost 40 years and our federals laws still prohibit marijuana. Doesn’t this sound like hypocrisy at the highest level? The commission recommended two changed in the federal law to Nixon.

“Possession of marihuana for personal use would no longer be an offense, but marihuana possessed in public would remain contraband subject to summary seizure and forfeiture. Casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration not involving profit would no longer be an offense.”

Here are a couple of inspiring messages to reflect on, located in the report's “A Final Comment” section, considering members were conservatively selected by Nixon. I wonder where our country would be if Nixon would have heeded their advice, from chapter 5 Marihuana and Social Policy.

“On the basis of our findings, discussed in previous Chapters, we have concluded that society should seek to discourage use, while concentrating its attention on the prevention and treatment of heavy and very heavy use. The Commission feels that the criminalization of possession of marihuana for personal is socially self-defeating as a means of achieving this objective.”………

“Considering the range of social concerns in contemporary America, marihuana does not, in our considered judgment, rank very high. We would deemphasize marihuana as a problem.

The existing social and legal policy is out of proportion to the individual and social harm engendered by the use of the drug. To replace it, we have attempted to design a suitable social policy, which we believe is fair, cautious and attuned to the social realities of our time.”

Investigating "Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding" Part I

2009-04-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

I hope this is people’s first time reading that title. Struggling to title my blog I found the answer was right under my nose. I wanted people to understand why I believe marijuana will be decriminalized soon and not think I am crazy. Hidden deeper was a desire for others to understand me, or at least my perspective on life. Discovering that President Nixon appointed a commission in 1971 to investigate cannabis sativa led me to believe there was hope.

The Schafer commission was headed by Raymond Philip Schafer, a Republican governor from Pennsylvania. Nixon selected nine members of the bipartisan commission, while congress appointed the other four. Their task was to investigate our country’s laws regarding marihuana and drug abuse in the US. They wrote two reports addressing Congress, the President, and the public.

The report can be found here, from druglibrary.org. It is long and boring to read at times, but its findings are very interesting. Especially considering this was a conservative commission, Nixon hoped they would deliver the proof he needed to start his “war on drugs”.

The report shocked people who knew about its findings, and was deemed irrelevant for the rest of America. Amid rumors over the commission’s findings Nixon began blasting their leader and other members. Ruining the members’ credibility and casting their report to insignificance. It was successful, their recommendations were ignored and Nixon’s “drug war” started a business that would grow into wasting billions of taxpayers’ dollars.

Think that billion dollar figure was bizarre? The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has a projected 2009 budget of over 14 billion dollars. ONDCP director, the “Drug Czar” was elevated to a cabinet-level status in 1993. However, this policy was reversed recently by President Obama when appointing new director Gil Kerlikowske. The press release from the White House can be read here. Kerlikowske is a military veteran with over 30 years of law enforcement experience; his previous position was Seattle’s chief of police.

Take a look at what ABC news says about the new “Drug Czar". Kerlikowske began his law enforcement career in 1972; his predecessor in Seattle was Norm Stamper. Stamper was a police officer for 34 years, is the author of “Breaking Rank: a Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing” and a strong advocate for marijuana policy reform. While our new Drug Czar’s views may not be as radical as Stamper’s, he is clearly open to the discussion. Seattle’s lowest law enforcement priority was the prosecution of small marijuana crimes; Washington is one of our 13 states with laws protecting medical marijuana patients.

The current administration’s recent statements and actions are indications of groundbreaking change in drug policy reform that should continue. I hope they will help lead our country down a scientific approach and a more sensible path to resolve this issue. Tomorrow I’ll be posting part II, with more details from The Schafer Report and about the ONDCP. Our politicians’ ignorance in the past has helped lead to our current “Drug War” crisis, don’t let America’s other problems blind you. Addressing and fixing our country’s drug problem will have a ripple effect across our Country and the world that no one can calculate.

Introduction to A Signal of Misunderstanding

2009-04-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted an outlet. So I am giving in and starting a blog. I don’t have any idea what people will think about my perspective on life. It will probably be boring to most who stumble across it. I hope others will find it unique and something they enjoy reading. I spend countless hours surfing the web, reading anything that I might find interesting. I have a theory: sharing this information along with some of my opinions could help me justify my addiction to the internet. I’ll offer opinions on some of my hobbies; sports, books, TV, film, poker, and reading news online. I am a couch potato at heart and there are some sites I need to check every day.

Recently I have also started to get behind the effort to end America’s war on drugs. There is countless evidence that has made me believe America’s “war on drugs” is ending, one goal in this experiment is to help people understand why I believe this. Or you could say, to get people to stop looking at me like I am crazy for believing our government can make this massive shift to a sensible drug policy. I do smoke marijuana, so call me a pothead, but it doesn't change our failure to address this problem.

I have a lot of issues with this war we wage against our families; it is widespread in countries across the globe. This problem starts and stops with the United States. The New York Times discusses Hillary Clinton's admission that the US fuels the drug trade's rising violence on our Mexican border. We need to restore our leadership position in the world. A fair examination of our drug policy could help illustrate to the world that America can admit and correct past mistakes. I realize that is a strong statement and I believe drug abuse should be considered a public health concern not a criminal justice issue. Therefore we have been trying to address this issue using the wrong techniques and have only made this problem worst.

Our country has a lot of problems right now and I believe addressing our flawed criminal justice system is one of the many steps America needs to take to revitalize it. Senator Jim Webb recently introduced The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009; his Parade magazine cover story had some interesting stats. Below are some quotes from the story. I consider this legislation a critical cog in the rebuilding process America is going through. "Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals." Is one alarming fact the Senator cites on his web portal for the bill.

"America's criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. Its irregularities and inequities cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness."

"The United States has by far the world's highest incarceration rate. With 5% of the world's population, our country now houses nearly 25% of the world's reported prisoners."

"All told, about one in every 31 adults in the United States is in prison, in jail, or on supervised release. This all comes at a very high price to taxpayers: Local, state, and federal spending on corrections adds up to about $68 billion a year."