Pedaling for Pot By Grigs Crawford  
CN Source: Colorado Daily May 21, 2006 Colorado  
Bicycling members of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will be blazing through the Boulder area today in part of their Journey for Justice, advocating the right of patients and doctors to use medical marijuana. The group left Folly Beach, South Carolina on April 7, hoping to smoke across the country and reach San Francisco on June 1.
Cont: cannabisnews/21864

April 7, Charleston Beach, SC, launch of "Journey for Justice Number Seven: Cross Country Bicycle Ride for Medical Marijuana Safe Access," by medical marijuana patient Ken Locke. Visit http://www.angelfire.com/planet/bikeride for further information.

BIKE RIDER KEN LOCKE
Ken is the NC state spokesman for Americans for Safe Access
Contact Email: kenlocke1@lycos.com
Contact Phone: 828 293 5323

Americans For Safe Access * Boulder NORML



The U.S. federal government spent over $19 billion dollars in 2003 on the War on Drugs, at a rate of about $600 per second. The budget has since been increased by over a billion dollars.
Source: Office of National Drug Control Policy

Drug War Clock

State and local governments spent at least another 30 billion.
Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University "Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets," January, 2001.

Webmistress: Original J4J Creator Kay Lee
mailto:kaylee1@charter.net
Director of Making The Walls Transparent

A HISTORY OF THE JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE

Florida's Journey for Justice

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Adopted August 30, 1955,
by the First United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,
U.N. Doc. A/CONF/611, annex I, E.S.C. res. 663C, 24 U.N. ESCOR Supp. (No. 1) at
11, U.N. Doc. E/3048 (1957), amended E.S.C. res. 2076, 62 U.N. ESCOR Supp. (No. 1) at 35, U.N. Doc. E/5988 (1977).

After you read these pages I think you will agree, the Florida D.O.C. is not providing the minimum standard of care agreed to!

Slave Labor Means Big Bucks For U.S. Corporations
UNICORE

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
-- UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

Ganjawar: Slave Labor, Rape & Pillage Deterrent

James Geddes
Sentenced to 150 years, reduced to 90 years
charged with cultivation and possession of five marijuana plants.
UPDATE: Released July 28, 2003 after more than 11 years behind bars

Sonoma Keeps Marijuana Patient Will Foster in Custody
A Sonoma County court declined to release Prop 215 medicinal marijuana patient Will Foster from custody over his Oklahoma parole violation, but ordered a further hearing on a motion that would let him be released on bail.
Will Foster
93 years - Marijuana Conspiracy

Extradition Blues

The Surreal Stupidity Of Placer County.
Kubby to Be Held Without Bail Until At Least Friday.
Next Hearing At 8:30AM On February 3rd. No Doctor In Four Days.
Shame On Canada! Shame On America!
Posted by Richard Cowan on 2006-02-01 16:20:00
Steve's life remains in great danger, and right now he is the subject (victim) of a bizarre medical experiment that should outrage the medical profession. He is as much a victim of torture as anyone in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. Of course, if he were an accused terrorist, Amnesty International would have been there today. 
Cont: marijuananews/882



Did the Feds Frame Brian Epis?
December 17, 2005
The judge who sentenced Bryan Epis to 10 years in federal prison now realizes that Epis was the victim of prosecutorial misconduct, Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Wong misled the jury and U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell about a crucial piece of evidence. Epis is now 38. At 17 he was in a near-fatal car crash that left him with two compressed vertebrae. Prescription painkillers sapped his energy; marijuana enabled him to function. Damrell sentenced Epis to 10 years, the mandatory minimum, and denied him bail pending appeal.

Patriot Ax DEAth Penalty Enhancement

Medical Cannabis Advocates Face Up to 40 Years
Lynn and Judy Osburn are charged in federal court with cultivating medical marijuana in accordance with California state law, HS 11362.5 and in agreement with the city of West Hollywood and the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center.

Lynn and Judy Osburn

Angel's Fight to Stay Alive

Cannabis and The Constitution

WAMM


The Human Face of America's War at Home

'Murder Weed'

Police officers launch drive against pot decriminalization
Janice Tibbetts Vancouver Sun Monday 28 May 2001 OTTAWA

Canada's police officers will counter a growing movement to decriminalize marijuana by making a public call today for possession of the "gateway drug" to remain a criminal offence.

The Canadian Police Association, which will make its pitch to a Senate committee on illicit drugs, is at odds with both the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs and the RCMP, which both endorse decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Cont: marihemp/36837

Seize This!

Misdemeanor possession... Confiscate her home!!!

Auction Action by Judy Osburn
"Police seized vehicles" exclaimed the advertisements for the Labor Day weekend auction. Four FEAR activists arrived at United Public Auctions in Upland, California early Saturday morning in time for the 7 a.m. auction preview. We intended to alert bidders that their own car could easily be forfeited under the unfair laws by which the vehicles up for auction were seized.



LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A missing evidence investigation in Delaware and a missing evidence sentence in California; more sticky-fingered cops in Tennessee; a would-be porn king with a bad temper in Denver, and some perverse traffic cops in Baltimore.

The Racist Ganjawar

PREJUDICE: MARIJUANA AND JIM CROW LAWS



Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

The Joseph McNamara Collection
Joseph McNamara is a former police chief in Kansas City, Mo. and San Jose, Ca.. He holds a doctorate in public administration and is presently a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

Against The Drug War



Memorial to Reform Activists
In honor of all the drug policy reform activists who worked so hard, but did not live to see the day of freedom and realization. They are true heroes of liberty and justice.

Joe Hart
Key West Florida. Died 1999

Don Topping
Hawaii / 1929-2003

Cheryl Miller
New Jersey patient advocate (with her husband, Jim). Died 2003

Gil Puder
Vancouver, Canada, law enforcement officer and reform advocate. Died 1999

Peter McWilliams
California. Died 2000 at age 50

Genie Brittingham Erstad
California, She Who Remembers audio archives. Died 2002

Ian Hunter
Vancouver, Canada, hemp activist and religious use advocate. Died 2002

Robert Randall
Virginia, first patient to receive federal Medical Marijuana via the IND program. Died 2001

Jim Rosenfield
California, Internet activist extraordinaire. Died 1999

Tribute to cannabis campaigner Biz Ivol
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg7x5037.shtml

A Judicial Crime - the killing of Jonathan Magbie
http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/msg7x5031.shtml



Case, Book Focus on 2001 Rainbow Farm Shooting By Tiffani Blade
Source: Michigan Live May 22, 2006 Michigan
On Sept. 4, 2001, a West Michigan family's life was shattered by events that for some called into question the role of government in people's daily lives.
Only days before attention was turned to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, a police standoff that ended in the deaths of Grover Tom Crosslin, 46, and his partner, Rollie Rohm, 28, drew national scrutiny. Five years later, a wrongful death trial and an upcoming book are once again bringing attention to Rainbow Farm in Vandalia. Cont: cannabisnews/21865

Tom and Rollie Memorial Page

The Prison as Laboratory
As a trade-off for adequate medical care and higher hopes for early release, increasing numbers of prisoners are subjecting themselves to experimental -- and potentially harmful -- medical research.



Bush. Religious drug treatment in Texas.

Putting Faith In a Social Service Role; Church-Based Providers Freed From Many Rules

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. - Over the door of one church-based drug treatment center in Houston, a sign printed in foot-high letters announces: "Drug Addiction Is NOT a Disease. It's a Sin." At another, clients pass by a poster of an addict in a hospital bed, ripping IV tubes out of his arms and throwing his pills in the garbage. An angel hovers nearby, offering her protection from this plague of prescriptions.

And at a Christian young adult home in Corpus Christi, police recently took the unusual step of arresting a supervisor after teenagers complained that they were beaten and roped to a bed, all in the name of Christian discipline. More arrests are anticipated, authorities say.

These are some of the results--expected and unexpected--of Gov. George W. Bush's "bold new experiment in welfare reform." With his conviction that religious groups can transform lives in ways government can't, Bush sponsored laws in 1997 that allow churches to provide social services their own way, outside the intrusive glare of the state. Cont: DdC/WoD-Junkies13

Warning To States on Funding Faith-Based Charities



Human Rights and the Drug War

SPR seeks to end sexual violence committed against men, women, and youth in all forms of detention.

"The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Farmer v. Brennan

'Relax Your Muscles as Much as Possible'



The Real Price of Prisons

People Arrested for Drug Law Offenses this Year

622,300 @ (3:10am/p)

Arrests for drug law violations in 2006 are expected to exceed the 1,678,192 arrests of 2003.

Someone is arrested every 20 seconds.

Source: Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Drug War Refugees

The Many Issues In a Complex Case. by Richard Cowan

Steve Tuck Now “Free” and Getting Proper Medical Care.
Will Return to Humboldt to Confront Medical Marijuana Cultivation Charges.

Amnesty International says the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights obliges Canada to refuse to send people to countries where they face serious risk of torture...

Steve told me in our first phone conversation after he was released: “We have a new cause, the medical abuse of prisoners. There are people in there in even worse shape than I am in and suffering even more pain, and they don’t have anyone who cares about them.”

Steve and all the other prisoners with medical problems have been subjected to torture as surely as if they had been in any medieval dungeon or modern third world hellhole. Indeed, torturers usually stop, but the untreated agony of injuries and illness never ends. Cont: marijuananews/858



The Ganjawar Fraud...

DRAMATIC DEATH TOLL IN SAO PAULO AS DRUG GANGS, POLICE CLASH

SOUTHWEST ASIA: US COUNTER-DRUG CONTRACTOR KILLED AS AFGHAN FIGHTING INTENSIFIES

We're Still #1! America's Gulag Just Keeps Growing By Ethan Nadelmann
CN Source: Huffington Post June 27, 2007 USA

There are now 2.24 million people behind bars in the United States. According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, released today, the number of people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails jumped by more than 60,000 in the year ending June 30, 2006. That jump represents the largest increase since 2000.

The U.S. continues to rank first among all nations in both total prison/jail population and per capita incarceration rates -- with about 5 percent of the world's population but 25 percent of the world's incarcerated population.
Continued...cannabisnews/23131

Government Shows No Compassion

Should the federal government prosecute medical marijuana users,
now that it has been given the OK by the Supreme Court? * 75973 responses

Yes 10%
No 89%
I'm not sure 2%

Slave Labor Means Big Bucks For U.S. Corporations
UNICORE

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
-- UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

The Real Price of Prisons

'Relax Your Muscles as Much as Possible'

15 States Busted/WoD Collateral Damage

15 States and the District of Columbia arrested for marijuana
It's estimated that over 17 million people have been arrested for marijuana since 1965.
That's more than the combined populations of Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Journey for Justice

The Racist Ganjawar

Bong Hits 4 Jesus

Seize This!

'Aging Hippie' Drug Bust Angers Lawmaker By Katie Young
CN Source: Daily Freeman June 28, 2007 Kingston, NY
 
A 71-year-old Woodstock man has been busted by a new drug crimes unit for allegedly possessing a small amount of marijuana, prompting an Ulster County legislator to say the unit should be going after gangs instead of "aging hippies."

Dennis "Day" Yusko, 71, a peace activist known for his involvement in Woodstock's Rainbow Tribe and the artists' cooperative Woodstock Earth, was arrested at his home at 5 Tannery Brook Road on June 6 following a two-week investigation into suspected drug sales, according to Detective Lt. Timothy Matthews of the Kingston Police Department.
Continued...cannabisnews/23136

Thank God for Hippies



Forfeiture of Wife's Share of Home Is Excessive By Mark Hamblett
CN Source: New York Law Journal June 29, 2007 Connecticut
 
A woman who insisted that she did not know her husband was growing marijuana in the basement of the home they had shared since 1979 should not forfeit her full half interest in the home, a federal appellate court has ruled.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday vacated a decision ordering Kathleen M. von Hofe to forfeit her interest in the couple's $248,000 Branford, Conn. home.
Continued...cannabisnews/23139

F.E.A.R: Forfeiture Endangers American Rights


FEAR's Asset Forfeiture Defense Manual

Smoking Pot Akin To Drinking During Prohibition By Nick Juliano
CN Source: Raw Story June 28, 2007 Washington, DC
 
In his dissent on a recent free-speech case, Justice John Paul Stevens wades into the war-on-drugs debate, comparing modern-day pot smokers with "otherwise law-abiding patrons of bootleggers and speakeasies," during the prohibition era.

Stevens, who the Washington Post notes turned 87 on April 20, said the current climate surrounding the war on drugs "is reminiscent of the opinion that supported the nationwide ban on alcohol consumption when I was a student." Continued...cannabisnews/23134

Editorial: Napans on Pot Laws
CN Source: Napa Valley Register June 28, 2007 Napa Valley, CA
 
“Legalize it, regulate it and tax it. People are doing it anyway, there are proven medicinal uses for it, just do it and get it over with. Think of all the revenue this would bring the city, county, state and beyond.”

“If the profit was taken out of sales of marijuana and the courts freed from prosecutions of those who violate marijuana laws, the state would be in much better shape financially while the courts could concentrate on real crime.” Continued...cannabisnews/23132

The 'Virtues' of Ganja



New Mexico's New Pot Law Becomes Effective By Phil Parker
CN Source: Albuquerque Tribune June 28, 2007 New Mexico  

Marijuana becomes legal for a handful of New Mexicans next week - provided the proper paperwork has been filed.

Starting July 1, the New Mexico Health Department will accept applications from patients who want to use marijuana to ease the pain from debilitating diseases. Those approved will receive a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card. Continued...cannabisnews/23133

NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - June 28

State To Let Patients Grow Their Own Pot By Diana Del Mauro
CN Source: New Mexican June 29, 2007 New Mexico
 
Medical Marijuana To Be Legal Next Week in N.M.
CN Source: Associated Press June 28, 2007 Tesuque, N.M.

Seizers
U.S. Customs Service Officers in West Texas and New Mexico Seize Almost 155 Tons of Illegal Drugs in Fiscal Year 2001



Cannabis Has "Clear Medical Benefits" For HIV Patients, Study Says -- Smoked marijuana produces “substantial and comparable increases in food intake … with little evidence of discomfort and no impairment of cognitive performance”
June 28, 2007 - New York, NY, USA

Rhode Island: Legislature Makes One-Year-Old Medical Cannabis Law Permanent

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Democratic candidates touch on the drug war

I didn't watch this round of debates - Democratic candidates dealing with minority issues: U.S. Senator Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, former U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Senator Barack Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.

But from the brief recaps I've seen around the web, the drug war got some play, with Gravel and Kucinich, of course, but also with Biden, Dodd, Richardson, and Clinton at least, giving some mention to things such as eliminating mandatory minimums and crack/powder disparities, and making needle exchange available to reduce HIV.

This is a refreshing change from the notion of appealing to African-Americans by offering increased enforcement in their communities

Why aren't you in jail yet?

The United States has 5% of the world's population... ... but 25% of the world's prison population.



We lead the entire world in incarceration rates.



We even lead the world in actual numbers of those imprisoned



So..., and I'm just asking here..., with all these people in jail, how did we manage to miss this one ?

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Must reads

Transform Drug Policy Foundation has a wonderful chart showing the differences between (in general) the drug policy Status Quo position and the Reform position. There are a lot more at Transform

This is something we mentioned in passing earlier this year, but Maia Szalavitz has a strong article in Reason about Mitt Romney and his connection to child torturer Mel Sembler (founder of Straight, Inc.): Romney, Torture, and Teens


Ambassador de Sade

Sembler's Straight program
the sordid sadistic history of Bush crony Melvin Sembler

Mel Sembler's abusive Straight program
An expose of Ambassador Melvin Sembler by John Gorenfeld. See Gorenfeld's blog for updates.

Straight and them Republicans


Am. Melvin Floyd Sembler, AO
WHY GEORGE BUSH SENT HIM HOME
An inexperienced, sad old man who can't even speak Italian who bought his way in only to become an embarrassment to the Bush administration.

Faith-Based Rehabilitation

Plagued by Moral Relativism

Christian Extremism and Terrorism In History

Via Drug Policy Alliance:

The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) made history last weekend by passing a resolution calling for a public health approach to the problems of substance use and abuse (PDF). The resolution was sponsored by Mayor Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City.
The resolution proclaims the war on drugs a failure, and calls for "a New Bottom Line in U.S. drug policy, a public health approach that concentrates more fully on reducing the negative consequences associated with drug abuse, while ensuring that our policies do not exacerbate these problems or create new social problems of their own."

Is Truth a Casualty of the Drug War?


csdp

Standing Silent Nation

On PBS tomorrow (Tuesday, July 3) is the premiere of Standing Silent Nation by Suree Towfighnia and Courtney Hermann

In April 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota after other crops had failed. But when federal agents raided the White Plumes' fields, the Lakota Nation was swept into a Byzantine struggle over tribal sovereignty, economic rights and common sense.

This looks like it could be a very good piece. There are some extra clips at the website, including "Hemp for Victory" which is a history of hemp production in America, and an amazing interview with former CIA director James Woolsey, who not only says that industrial hemp should be legalized, but blatantly points out how stupid the government's policy is (particularly regarding the nonsense about hiding pot in industrial hemp fields).

High on Hemp

The Ganjawar Comes To The Rez



Monday, July 2, 2007
Mark your calendars

On July 12, the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, will be holding hearings on DEA oversight. Apparently, an important part of those hearings will focus on the DEA's involvement/interference with doctors treating pain, and some outstanding witnesses are being called.

If this is an issue of importance to you; if you have a story about your difficulties in getting pain treated; this is the time to contact your representative.
And support the Pain Relief Network -- they're doing some really great work in this area.

Pain Relief By Ted Holteen
CN Source: Durango Herald July 01, 2007 Colorado  

Proponents of medicinal marijuana say the health benefits of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is the main psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant, are similar to analgesics.

Old Cannabis Remedy Treats Skin Allergies
#1425097 - Sun Jul 01 2007

Number Of US Prisoners Has Biggest Rise In 6 Years; Many There For Drugs
WASHINGTON - The United States, which has the most prisoners of any country in the world, last year recorded the largest increase in the number of people in prisons and jails since 2000, the Justice Department reported on Wednesday. full story

Watch this video, "Cops of the World" , a compilation by Greg Williams/Marijuana Man of Pot.tv that includes Jodie Emery of Cannabis Culture Magazine, a song by Phil Ochs of 60's American protest music fame, and a short speech by Presidential Candidate RON PAUL - the one Congressman-candidate who can return America to its Constitutional, Liberty-loving roots and END all wars, especially the War on Drugs.



I LOST MY FREEDOM AND CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE LINX

Prison Reform Unity Project



Search The Lindesmith Library

The Nobel Prize-winning US Economist, Dr. Milton Friedman who stated around 1990, in a PBS interview, that: Our US Drug War causes 10,000 extra US murders every year; has doubled the number of US jails and prisons and (thus...) the number of US incarcerated people...

Non-Violent Drug Offenders

Prison Factories: Slave Labor

Torture in America, ITS REAL AND SYSTEMATIC.

"The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Farmer v. Brennan

Close to Home: Juveniles in Adult Jails
Op-Ed by Michael Bochenek The Washington Post

Male Rape in US Prisons
Childrens rights
Children in the US
Street Children
Juvenile Justice
Child Labor

Correctional Systems, Inc. (CSI) is a publicly-traded corporation that contracts with governmental agencies to operate correctional projects.

Juvenile Info Network
Mental Health Issues and Juvenile Justice

The Real Price of Prisons
Dubya and Me: We've Got No Idea



An American Gulag in The Making

FAMILIES TO AMEND CALIFORNIA'S THREE STRIKES (F.A.C.T.S.)

FAMM
VCL- Lawyers and Judges against the drug war
Drug Reform Coordination Network
Cops Against The Drug War
Drug Sense
M.A.M.A.
F.E.A.R.
Cannabis News
MAP Inc.Org.
November Coalition
N.O.R.M.L.
Human Rights and the WoD
Drug War Prisoners

Supporters memorialize LACRC and protest DEA raid.
Only six weeks after 9/11, federal police devoted scarce resources
to attacking medical marijuana clinics.


(photo courtesy LACRC.)

CSDP
Bureau of Justice Statistics
DrugSense: Drug War Clock
Report: Millions Behind Bars in U.S.

D.E.A.th Deceptions

Pot Conviction Can Mean Hard Times

Pot Conviction in Delaware Can Mean Hard Times By Esteban Parra
CN Source: Daily Times July 03, 2007 Delaware  

The consequences of a marijuana conviction in Delaware are the second-harshest in the nation, according to a Washington organization working to legalize the drug.

While sentences in Delaware associated with such convictions may not be as severe as those in other states, a study released Monday by the Marijuana Policy Project said the overall consequences that follow a marijuana conviction push up the state's ranking.
Continued...cannabisnews/23149



Spoils from drug war on display in disputed DEA museum
Sunday, June 17, 2007

DEA targets America
About the Exhibit

Learn more about the DEA's exhibit, complete with photos from past towns where the exhibit has traveled.

Also read some reviews and find out about the sponsors. All at our About the Exhibit page. [url]http://www.drugwarrant.net/dea/exhibit.htm[/url]

TARGET AMERICA

Target DEAth Merchants




Monday, July 2, 2007

White House Announces Intent to Nominate Scott Burns as Deputy Director of National Drug Control Policy -- no big deal. Burns is a major liar, who has worked for the ONDCP for ages as a Component Deputy Director. Although the nomination process could be a good time for asking some difficult questions, if someone in the Senate is willing.

Maintaining Dysfunction 11/3/01

Blindness of the Prohibitionist Paradigm

Salvia: The Other Story
-- Drug Law Blog's Alex has a good post about the recent alarmist stories about Salvia.

The story is simply that salvia, though it is a powerful hallucinogen that is legal almost everywhere, virtually never causes problems for our society. Nobody kills or robs anybody for salvia. Nobody smuggles salvia across our borders. Nobody steals to support a salvia habit. Gangs don't form to deal in salvia. People don't wind up in the gutter because they just couldn't get enough salvia. And taxpayers aren't wasting tens of millions of dollars to keep salvia users in prison.



Press Release -- via David Guard --
from the European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies
an excellent press release demonstrating the dissembling of Mario Costa and the UNODC

It is probable that levels of use, abuse and dependence have been reached that will stay fairly constant for a long time, with or without repression. The term "stabilization" could have been used many years ago, but it wasn't convenient at that time for UNODC and other authorities to do so. Now, because it is impossible for UNODC to pretend any progress in the war on drugs, the term stabilization is used to hide this failure.

DPA Press Release: Justice Department Report Finds Largest Increase in Prison and Jail Inmate Populations Since 2000; Prison Growth Despite Public Sentiment for Alternatives to Incarceration. Plus JPI Press Release: New numbers show "alarming growth" in incarceration; Justice Department survey shows biggest increase since 2000.

See also: We're (Still) #1! America's Gulag Just Keeps Growing by Ethan Nadelmann
Related Thread



Voters should be outraged that their tax money continues to be wasted on failed drug war policies.

The Purple Brain: America's New Reefer Madness by Marsha Rosenbaum and Paul Armentano.

More than 70 years in the making, the long-awaited sequel to the notorious 1936 film, Reefer Madness has arrived. It's called The Purple Brain, and just like its unintentionally campy predecessor, its purpose is to frighten Americans about marijuana.

'Awesome' Teacher On Pot Charge

An "awesome" counsellor and teacher at Lillooet Secondary is to appear in court next month, charged with trafficking marijuana. [...]

The Lillooet News reported that police claimed they spotted DeLong smoking marijuana with two young women.  When questioned, the young women allegedly told police they got the marijuana from DeLong.

DeLong was arrested and charged with trafficking a controlled substance.

I don't know the whole story in that one, but I find it so bizarre that people can be "shocked" that such an awesome teacher would end up doing something like smoke pot. It's like they discovered that he was a mass murderer or something.

I'd really like to see a story: "Man ticketed for driving 75 in a 65 mph zone. Neighbors are shocked, saying 'He seemed like such a nice man.'"

After all, speeding is more dangerous than smoking pot.

Cannabis less harmful than aspirin



Law Requires N.M. to Grow Its Own Pot

New Mexico has a new medical marijuana law with a twist: It requires the state to grow its own.

The law, effective Sunday, not only protects medical marijuana users from prosecution _ as 11 other states do _ but requires New Mexico to oversee a production and distribution system for the drug.

"The long-term goal is that the patients will have a safe, secure supply that doesn't mean drug dealers, that doesn't mean growing their own," said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico.

It's really going to be interesting when the DEA tries to shut down the New Mexico state-run marijuana dispensary. It'll be a much trickier PR thing for them.

Evidence Of 'Reefer Madness' Abounds by Tom Oleson.

As is well known, marijuana, the killer weed, causes "reefer madness" in those who have any contact with it.  Bureaucrats and politicians appear to be particularly prone to this malady and if they had any sense they would stay away from the weed, but they don't and so they don't.  The reason seems obvious -- they are simply mad.  It is pretty hard, in fact, to reasonably account for Canada's marijuana laws and the way they are enforced without this explanation of reefer madness. [...]

To go back to Dickens, the law in this case truly is "a ass -- a idiot."



Military sees drop in black recruits. I wonder if anyone will connect the fact that a disproportionate number of black males are in prison or correctional supervision, largely due to the drug war.

Up From Prohibition -- just one of a number of media discussions involving Michael Lerner's new book "Dry Manhattan." It's nice to see how a new book about alcohol prohibition brings so many to see the parallels with drug prohibition. It seems to me that we're doing a much better job of getting that message out.

Plan Colombia spotlights lunacy of our war on drugs by Froma Harrop.

So why do we do it? Here's a hint: Almost half of the $630 million in military aid to Colombia last year was scooped up by U.S. defense contractors. There's money in the madness. [...]

In the meantime, let's acknowledge reality and decriminalize drugs. That would close down international drug trafficking overnight. Really, what Andean peasants cultivate on the sides of their mountains should be no concern of ours.

$4b Later, Drugs Still Flow in Colombia

The War on Drugs Is a War on Ourselves By: David Bolton



Cannabis Debate Angers Some Indonesians. You think marijuana legalization efforts have it tough here? Try Indonesia:

"If it is legalised, we will wage war with the National Narcotics Agency and we will burn this building," Eka Jaya told FPI supporters, who had gathered chanting "Allahu Akbar" ( God is great ) outside the Jakarta office.

It also volunteered to help authorities catch drug offenders.

"If the agency is incapable of obliterating the drugs syndicates, allow FPI ( to help ), by giving us access to weapons and permission to investigate and catch ( them )," Jaya said.

And Indonesia's version of the ONDCP has got the "making up statistics" part down very well.

The National Narcotics Agency said more than 3.2 million people in Indonesia were drug users, and 70 per cent of those were also addicts.

70%?

US PRAISES THAI DRUG WAR!



Life Sentences: Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses - a report by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics.

In addition to the punishment imposed by the judge,  a misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana can trigger automatic bars on educational aid, a bar on serving as a foster parent, denial of federal housing assistance, revocation or suspension of occupational licenses, and suspension of one's driver's license. A felony conviction (for example, growing a marijuana plant) can result in all of these sanctions, and more.

If marijuana offenses are considered less of an affront to civil society than violent crimes such as murder, rape, or kidnapping, or even less of an affront than other drug offenses, our study shows that this consideration is rarely found in any of the collateral sanctions. A person convicted of growing marijuana (a felony in most states) is often subjected to the same, and sometimes greater, collateral sanctions than a person convicted of murder, rape, or robbery.

Check the chart. Where does your state fall?

Drug-free zones target blacks unfairly, critics sayDrug-free zones target blacks unfairly, critics say (via Drug Law Blog ) -- a strong article. Be sure to check out the chart: "10 years in the war on drugs", clickable on the left side.

"Thank you Miss Rosa"

The Racist Ganjawar

Prejudice: Marijuana and Jim Crow Laws



Radley Balko's testimony before Congress regarding the militarization of the police.

Perspective

Scooter Libby is free. Richard Paey is in prison.

President Bush said that Libby's 2 1/2 year sentence was "excessive."

-- Richard Paey's sentence is 25 years.

-- Oklahoma: The Story of Will Foster
Age 47, sentenced 93 years charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana.

-- James Geddes charged with cultivation and possession of five marijuana plants was sentenced to 150 years, reduced to 90 years.
UPDATE: Released July 28, 2003 after more than 11 years behind bars.

-- Tyrone Brown A 17-year-old Texas youth, sentenced to life in prison for parole violation -- having failed a drug test for marijuana. The absurdity of Texas judge Keith Dean's sentencing a teen to life in prison for smoking pot once while on probation for a $2.00 stickup.

Unequal JUSTICE By BROOKS EGERTON
Dallas Morning News April 23, 2006 begerton@dallasnews.com

Two very different men commit two very different crimes. When both violate probation, there are wildly different results: The robber gets life; the killer remains free.

"I call this a black box system. You have someone with a lot of power and no burden of explanation."
--Kevin Reitz, a University of Minnesota law professor who is one of the nation's leading experts on sentencing guidelines.

-- A Drug Warmongers Toll on the Americas

Bush Approval: Raw Poll Data



Joe Biden, drug policy reformer?

Am I dreaming?

Joe Biden, sponsor of the Rave Act and inventor of the Drug Czar , is now positioning himself as a leader in crack/powder disparity reform.

Everybody realizes that the crack/powder disparity is racist in its effect and is absolutely unsupportable, but no politician wants to do anything that looks like they're reducing penalties for drugs in any way. So political reform bills have involved moving crack and powder sentencing slightly closer to each other, but keeping the disparity.

Biden is actually proposing the correct, simple approach: make them the same.

"Senator Hatch has taken a bold and important step in the right direction, and I applaud his efforts," said Senator Biden. "But, we've got to go further and solve this problem for good. The current sentencing disparity between the two forms of cocaine is based on false notions and old logic. The bottom line is that there is no scientific justification for any disparity.

Crack and powder are simply two forms of the same drug, and each form produces identical effects. I will soon be introducing legislation that eliminates the sentencing disparity completely, fixing this injustice once and for all. I look forward to working with Senator Hatch and others -- Republicans and Democrats -- and urge them to support righting this wrong."

It sounds good, and implied in the Biden press release is the notion that this fix will simply mean changing the crack guidelines to match the current powder guidelines. However, that's not stated specifically, and the release does not rule out the notion of equalizing them, in part, by making it worse for powder, which would be wrong (of course, the truly right thing would involve the "L" word, but you won't see that from this Congress).

Has Biden turned around a little? Or is this just another political trick? After all, this press release came out just prior to the Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate dealing with minority issues...

United Nations Drug Report “Disappointing” XTC v Meth!
Too late to stop the Bidon RAVE Ax...

SECOND ECSTASY STUDY RETRACTED Mon, 15 Sep 2003

Johns Hopkins scientists find new error involving vial mislabeled in the first experiment.
Scientists at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have retracted a second study linking the drug Ecstasy to a certain type of brain damage because once again the wrong drug was given to lab animals. Dr. Una D. McCann, a neuroscientist involved in both experiments, said a letter of retraction was sent Thursday to a medical journal, which she declined to identify until editors there decide how to handle the matter.

Scientists discovered the mistake after they checked lab records to see if methamphetamine from a mislabeled vial used in the first experiment had been used elsewhere. "As you might imagine, we systematically went through the books to find out which, if any, of our published studies involved the same [vial]," she said Thursday. "We did find one, and a letter of retraction was sent out to the journal today."

Organization Scales Back Proposal

Doctors Not Proficient At Interpreting Drug Tests
July 5, 2007 - Jacksonville, FL, USA

Physicians who administer urine drug tests to their patients frequently misinterpret the results, according to data published recently in the Journal of Opioid Management.

The study posed seven multiple-choice questions to physicians who employ urinalysis to monitor their patients’ opioid therapy. Investigators reported that none of the doctors surveyed answered all seven questions accurately, and only 30 percent answered more than half correctly.

"Physicians who employ urine drug testing to monitor patients’ [drug use] are not proficient in test interpretation," authors concluded. "This study highlights the need for improved physician education."

A 2006 Harvard Medical School study of pediatricians who order drug screens for their patients reported that few physicians knew how to properly administer the tests or how to correctly interpret the results.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org

Full text of the study, "Urine drug test interpretation: what do physicians know?" appears in the Journal of Opioid Management.

"Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday launched a new phase of his anti-narcotics crusade that will include the drug testing of students in more than 8,000 schools nationwide."



Mexico Purges Federal Police Chiefs in Drug Corruption Review

Can't we just get along? A truce in Mexico
Time Magazine reports A Cease-Fire in Mexico's Drug War?

But not really.

U.S. and Mexican officials confirm that Mexico's major rival drug-trafficking organizations, the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, "may be trying to negotiate a truce" and come to some agreement over control of territory, says a knowledgeable U.S. official.

That's a little different. I read "cease fire in Mexico's drug war" and figured that the government and the cartels had come to an agreement. But no, this is a cease-fire in the turf war, not the drug war. Big difference.

The two mafias could be coming to the table for two key reasons. First, "the violence has drawn too much attention and has really begun to hurt [their drug-trafficking] business," says Steven Robertson, a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

It's actually probably hurt the actual players more than the business, but yes, it makes sense that while turf violence protects black market interests, once it reaches a certain level, it's no longer productive (of course, in legalized business, violence wouldn't be productive at all).
Continued...time/0,8599,1637121,00

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories



Incarceration: Jail and Prison Population at All-Time High
(Again) -- Last Year Saw Biggest Increase Since 2000

UN Releases Annual Drug Report
Countries Mark International Day Against Drugs With Bonfires, Propaganda Exercises, Death Sentences

UN Report Unintentionally Argues Against Prohibition

What the WHO doesn't want you to know about cannabis by David Concar
newscientist 21 February 1998 issue 2122

HEALTH officials in Geneva have suppressed the publication of a politically sensitive analysis that confirms what ageing hippies have known for decades: cannabis is safer than alcohol or tobacco.
Continued...newscientist/15721220


stopthedrugwar

Scottish Police Chief Says Time to Consider Prescribing Hard Drugs

House Votes to Shift Andean Initiative Anti-Drug Funding to Development

Robert Vorbeck, 38, is arrested for allegedly selling cocaine to undercover officers. Facing life in prison if convicted of felony drug charges, he commits suicide in his jail cell 11 days later. On July 10, 2001, the AP reports that his estate has been ordered to pay $750,000 to the Nassau County, New York district attorney's office. The ruling, part of a settlement in a civil forfeiture case, is the first in the state in which a prosecutor seeks assets from a dead person.
This Week in History:July 2, 1999

Human Rights burning down in the drug war...


chinadrugburning/Issue #492 - 6/29/07

Pending Texas Law Gives Cops Discretion In Minor Pot Cases
July 5, 2007 - Austin, TX, USA

Legislation that will go into effect in September grants police the option of issuing citations to minor marijuana offenders in lieu of making a criminal arrest. The new law was passed by the legislature to reduce criminal justice costs associated with the prosecution of certain misdemeanor crimes.

Under House Bill 2391, law enforcement will have the discretion to issue a citation mandating local individuals who commit specific Class A and/or Class B misdemeanor crimes to appear in court. An arrest warrant will be issued for defendants who fail to appear in court by the date specified in the citation.

Under Texas law, possession of up to four ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to one-year in jail a fine of up to $4,000. Individuals who sell less than one-quarter ounce of cannabis are also guilty of a misdemeanor. The possession and/or sale of larger quantities of cannabis are felony offenses.

According to US FBI data, approximately 95 percent of all marijuana arrests in Texas are for misdemeanor possession.

House Bill 2391 goes into effect on September 1, 2007.

For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500.

No More Automatic Arrest for Possession in Texas



Authorities released details Tuesday about a stolen truck containing millions of painkillers, with an estimated value between $32 to $80 million, that was headed to Gurnee before it was taken from a downstate truck-stop.
Continued...wbbm780/660032

Big-Time Pot Growers Use Seattle-Area Homes By Jonathan Martin
CN Source: Seattle Times July 05, 2007 Seattle, WA

Editorial: Two Good Reasons to Want to Legalize Drugs

CN:Justice Related Topics

There's a war going on. It destroys lives and families, spawns violence, suspends civil liberties, tramples on the infirm, locks up millions of peaceful citizens, costs billions, and subjugates reason with fear.
--Pete Guither @ Drug WarRant

NORML's Weekly News Bulletin
CN Source: NORML July 12, 2007 Washington, DC, USA

Seventy Percent Of All ‘Marijuana Treatment’ Admissions Stem From Arrest, Study Says
NORML: July 12, 2007 - Austin, TX, USA

Nearly seventy percent of all adults referred to Texas drug treatment programs for cannabis are "legally coerced" into treatment, according to data published online in journal BMC Public Health.

Investigators at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) reported that of the 27,198 adults entered into drug treatment for cannabis between 2000 and 2005, 69 percent of them were referred by the criminal justice system. By contrast, authors reported that only 20 percent of adults voluntarily admitted themselves into treatment, and only six percent were referred to treatment by friends or by members of their family.

Authors concluded, "Some 69% of cannabis admissions were involved with the criminal justice system, including those who had a legal status (awaiting trial, diverted to treatment, on probation, parole, or in jail) and those referred to treatment from a criminal justice source (probation, parole, police, or courts)."

Investigators noted that adults legally coerced into treatment were "less impaired" upon entering the program than those who entered treatment voluntarily, and were also more likely to complete the program.

The study’s state-specific data mimics national statistics indicating that the majority of individuals admitted to drug rehabilitation for marijuana are referred there by the criminal justice system.

"Contrary to claims by the Drug Czar’s office, it is the dramatic rise in ‘potent’ marijuana law enforcement – not any increase in the prevalence or alleged dangers of so-called ‘potent’ pot – that is driving America’s rates of marijuana 'treatment' admissions to record levels," NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said.

He added: "Few of the individuals in drug ‘treatment’ for cannabis are there because they or their families believe that their marijuana use is adversely impacting their lives. Rather, most of these individuals are arrested for possessing minor amounts of pot and are referred to drug treatment by the courts as either an alternative to jail or as a requirement of their probation.

At a time when tens of thousands of Americans are being denied access to drug treatment due to a lack of bed space or federal funding, it is unconscionable that these clinics are bursting at the seams needlessly housing minor marijuana offenders."

According to US FBI data, approximately 95 percent of all marijuana arrests in Texas are for misdemeanor possession.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org

Full text of the study, "Cannabis treatment outcomes among legally coerced and non-coerced adults," is available online from BioMed Central at: biomedcentral/1471-2458

"They say you can't legislate morality.
Well, you certainly can."
-- former US Attorney General John Ashcroft
As quoted in the Chicago Tribune May 25, 1998

Prohibitionism And The Police Fiasco
The Crisis in Democracy, Why Will It Work In Iraq, If It Does Not Work In DEAland?

Witch hunts and the war on weed
by Reverend Damuzi (20 Jun, 2002)

The persecution of "witches" was really a war on sacred plants that continues today.


"Therapeutic Justice," Made in USA By Latuff
Narco News Cartoonist-in-Residence

Faith-Based Rehabilitation

worth repeating

Bush. Religious drug treatment in Texas

Over the door of one church-based drug treatment center in Houston, a sign printed in foot-high letters announces: "Drug Addiction Is NOT a Disease. It's a Sin." At another, clients pass by a poster of an addict in a hospital bed, ripping IV tubes out of his arms and throwing his pills in the garbage. An angel hovers nearby, offering her protection from this plague of prescriptions.

And at a Christian young adult home in Corpus Christi, police recently took the unusual step of arresting a supervisor after teenagers complained that they were beaten and roped to a bed, all in the name of Christian discipline. More arrests are anticipated, authorities say.

These are some of the results--expected and unexpected--of Gov. George W. Bush's "bold new experiment in welfare reform." With his conviction that religious groups can transform lives in ways government can't, Bush sponsored laws in 1997 that allow churches to provide social services their own way, outside the intrusive glare of the state.

Straight, Incorporated

The Drug War Is The Inquisition by Dan Russell

Plagued by Moral Relativism



Despite enormous federal investments over the years, virtually none of the programs intended to reduce drug abuse are able to demonstrate results. Such a finding could reflect true failure or simply the difficulty of measurement, so further analysis is in order.
Source: (pg 51, Budget volume)
"Rating the Performance of Federal Programs," President's FY 2004 Budget
Or, this statement could be a hint that religious-based drug treatment programs, in line with the President’s charitable choice initiatives, will become the privileged beneficiaries of government grants intended to reduce drug abuse.



NORML Television Ad
Urges Viewers To "Discover A Whole New Outlook On Life"
-- ‘No prisons for pot’ commercial now airing in Maryland

Life moving too fast? Perhaps "Posativa" can help.

That’s the message of a new television commercial sponsored by The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

The 30-second ad spot is modeled after several well-known pharmaceutical commercials, and urges viewers to become involved in the organization’s nationwide efforts to end the criminal prohibition of cannabis.

The controversial new ad showcases two young couples enjoying the after-effects of "Posativa," while an off-camera narrator states:

"Moving too fast to take the time for the things you really enjoy? ‘Posativa’ can help bring back the pleasure of activities you used to love.

Some of the highlights of ‘Posativa’ may include increased appetite … and significantly lower stress.

People who take ‘Posativa’ discover a whole new outlook on life.

‘Posativa’ may not be right for everyone. Consult your physician today.

‘Posativa’ – now you have a choice – a positive choice."

The ad concludes with a banner stating "No prisons for pot" and encourages audiences to visit norml.org for more information.

The commercial is running regionally on Antietam Cable (Washington County, MD), which airs in select markets in central Maryland, including Hagerstown and Sharpsburg.

NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said that a "longtime NORML donor and businessman donated the resources for the ad buy in hopes of sparking a public debate regarding the need for cannabis law reform in his home state of Maryland – the Free State."

Founded in 1970, NORML provides a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting and prosecuting marijuana smokers.

To view the ad, please visit: norml/7110

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.

Help Air a NORML Ad in Your Community: Donate Today

Treatment Trumps Jail for First Time Drug Offender By Tony Newman
CN Source: Chicago Sun-Times July 07, 2007 USA  

Al Gore III’s mug shot appeared in newspapers across the country Thursday thanks to his arrest Wednesday on charges of possession of marijuana and prescription pills.

An Orange County sheriff’s deputy pulled him over for driving his Toyota Prius at 100 mph. Police said the car smelled of marijuana and said a search found marijuana and prescription pills of Vicodin, Valium, Xanax and Adderall.
Continued...cannabisnews/23161

"Arbitrary and capricious" is legal language that was used by DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young in 1988 to conclude that DEA was obligated under the Controlled Substances Act to reschedule marijuana as a prescription medicine. DEA Chief Administrator Robert Bonner proceeded to arbitrarily and capriciously disregard Judge Young's well researched and reasoned decision, which the Act allowed him to do.)



Pills Can Kill, Pot Cannot! By Tyler Pontier
CN Source: Huffington Post July 06, 2007 USA

College, a time for everyone to explore their youth and freedom. When I say explore, I mean this in a plethora of ways. Explore with people, explore with the area, and finally, explore with partying, a.k.a pills and pot! After reading today's headline about pills starting to take over for pot, I was very intrigued. Being recently out of college with it still fresh on my memory, I figured I could share my experience to root out some fact and fiction.
Continued...cannabisnews/23160

The Drug War’s Collateral Damage By Silja J.A. Talvi
CN Source: In These Times July 06, 2007 USA

When a person is sent to prison for the first time on a drug-related felony charge, there is little chance that he or she will be told about the “collateral consequences” of their sentence.

The severity of these residual punishments depends on the state. “Life Sentences: The Collateral Sanctions Associated with Marijuana Offenses,” a report released in July by the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (CCLE), ranks Florida, Delaware, Alabama, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Virginia, Utah, Arizona and South Carolina as the 10 states with the worst records for continuing the punishments of people who have already served their time.
Continued...cannabisnews/23159

Cannabis Culture Magazine Forums
Welcome to the CC Forums, the cannabis culture's favorite place to share ideas and information about marijuana, cannabis hemp, the drug war, growing, politics, activism, entertainment, history, and much more! Please see the "No Extradition for the BC3" page when you have a chance - help save Canadian cannabis activists Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey, and Greg Williams from extradition to the United States.
No Extradition, End Prohibiton!
Peace & Pot!



No Extradition for the BC3! by Marc Emery (05 Nov, 2007)

Three Canadians face life imprisonment in a US federal prison simply for political activities in Canada to legalize marijuana around the world.

Marc Emery, Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams are Canadian citizens who were heavily involved in anti-prohibition activitism for over ten years. The United States Justice Department and DEA want Canada's government to extradite these three political activists to face 10 years up to life in US prison! The extradition hearing has been scheduled to begin on November 5th, 2007.


Greg Williams, Marc Emery, and Michelle Rainey

How To Help!

* Donate to the Legal Defense Fund
* Buy a "No Extradition" T-shirt
* Purchase products from the CC Store
* Download the NEW "No Extradition" Handout
* Download the "No Extradition" Petition
* Download a PDF of the "No Extradition" logo
* Visit the CC No Extradition forum for discussion and updates
* Email Jodie Emery for the information handout or to get copies mailed
* Write a letter to, and call, the Canadian Justice Minister

Send your filled-out petitions and letters to "No Extradition" 307 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC, V6B 1H6.

We need evidence for court to prove that there is strong opposition to extradition!

Watch the "DEA Raid Emery Seeds" collection of news and media clips from July 2005 on YouTube.com



DEA Administrator ADMITS that the arrest was POLITICALLY motivated!

Karen Tandy, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, released this statement on her DEA stationery on July 29, the day of Marc Emery's arrest:

Major North American Marijuana Trafficker and Self-Proclaimed "Prince of Pot" aka Marc Scott Emery Arrested Today.

Today's DEA arrest of Marc Scott Emery, publisher of Cannabis Culture Magazine, and the founder of a marijuana legalization group, is a significant blow not only to the marijuana trafficking trade in the US and Canada, but also the marijuana legalization movement.

His marijuana trade and propagandist marijuana magazine have generated nearly $5 million a year in profits that bolstered his trafficking efforts, but those have gone up in smoke today.

Emery and his organization had been designated as one of the Attorney General's most wanted international drug trafficking organizational targets - one of only 46 in the world and the only one from Canada.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery's illicit profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists now have one less pot of money to rely on.

Read and download the official document here!



Karen Tandy's Corporate DEAth War on Soccer Mom's

A Drug Warmongers Toll on the Americas

Tandy opens her big mouth again

The story of RadioShack begins in 1919 in Fort Worth, Texas, with a chance meeting of two friends, Norton Hinckley and Dave L. Tandy (1889-1966).

John Hinckley was an Oklahoma-born loner who came from a wealthy family, growing up in the upper-class Dallas, Texas neighborhood of Highland Park.  His father was a self-made man successful in the oil business,

Ms. Tandy was Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the United States Attorney's Office in the Western District of Washington. She has lectured extensively on forfeiture law and practice, conducted international training, and developed a forfeiture teaching model for the American Bar Association. Prior to joining the Justice Department, she clerked for the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Texas. Ms. Tandy, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, is a graduate of Texas Tech University and a 1977 graduate of the Texas Tech Law School. She is married with two daughters.

RadioShack's World Head-quarters is located along the banks of the Trinity River in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.

Via Cannabis Culture Magazine, it appears that the DEA has threatened asset forfeiture against the building owners where medical marijuana dispensaries are housed in Los Angeles! This is an extremely chilling step, and a tactic designed to get the landlords, in fear of losing all their property, to act as agents of the DEA and evict the dispensaries.

Here's the letter they're sending: Continued...salon/0002762

Forfeiture Endangers Americans Rights / F.E.A.R.



MARC EMERY
Who I Am, What I Was Doing, And Why I Did It

The following is an article by Marc Emery that appeared in Cannabis Culture #58 (December/January 05/06). It explains his history as a political and social activist in Canada; his reasons to run Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds; how he funded global cannabis activist organizations and formal marijuana initiatives and campaigns; and what the US Drug War's influence on Canada has caused. Updated information has been added where necessary.
continued...noextradition.net



Extradition Blues

The Drug War Refugees

Canada Cowers Under DEAth Threats

* U.S. Government Threatens Canada with Trade Sanctions
* Canada Moves to Ease Marijuana Possession Law
* Newsbrief: Walters Lies Pile Up in Canada Diatribe
* Canadian Marijuana Organization Raided at Request of US
* U.S. warns Canada against easing pot laws
* Canada Renews Plan To Decriminalise Pot Possession By Reuters
* World's Longest Undefended Border Getting Security
* Cannabis News Search: border
* RCMP officials lied



U.S. WANTS EMERY EXTRADITED
mapinc 06 Jul 2006 v06/n891/a12

U.S. officials say they're irritated by the slow speed of Canada's response to extradition requests. And they say a prime example is the case of Vancouver marijuana seed king Marc Emery, who faces a request for extradition to the U.S. to face charges of marijuana distribution and money laundering.

"This 'Prince of Pot' -- Emery -- he still hasn't had his first extradition hearing," said Jeff Sullivan, criminal prosecution chief for the U.S. Attorney office in western Washington State.

"It's those kinds of things that are frustrating to us."

The Political Forum: Emery Extradition

Government Shows No Compassion for Medical Pot

The Ganjawar Fraud...



Arrests For Pot are Excessive By Sheryl McCarthy
CN Source: Newsday July 16, 2007 New York  

I call it an epidemic of marijuana arrests. New York City has been on a binge of marijuana arrests for the last 10 years." "I would call it a dragnet."

These are the conclusions of Harry Levine, a professor of sociology at Queens College, and Deborah Small, director of Break the Chains, a nonprofit drug policy reform group and a longtime advocate of changing the city's drug policies.
Continued...cannabisnews/23182

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism"
-- Thomas Jefferson

D.E.A.thperation

DWR: Monday, July 16, 2007

The Hinchey amendment could be coming to a vote this week, so contact your representative (some options for doing so are in the alert at the top of the page).

DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen says that the letters to landlords "should not be viewed as a threat." In addition to my letter of response, I may need to send her a dictionary.

David Murray is not only desperate, he's really reaching in his lies to support his arguments. In his testimony before Congress last week, he said:

Founding proponents of medical marijuana in the United States have reversed their key positions of support for medical marijuana. [...] Steve Kubby, another Co-founder of medical marijuana in California stated in a letter to supporters on April 14th, 2006 that "Marinol is an acceptable, if not ideal, substitute for whole cannabis in treating my otherwise fatal disease."

Kubby was surprised to learn of his supposed change in view, to say the least.

"Marinol, the synthetic THC marketed in the States, "In a recent study, the scientists gave patients 20 mg of Marinol by mouth to see if it increased their appetite. Not only could they not detect much appetite-increasing effect, but they learned the interesting fact that, in one-third of people who take Marinol by mouth, you have no blood levels at all. The drug is so poorly bio-available it's surprising that it got onto the market. There may well be some reason to believe that there are individuals in our government who are interested in getting Marinol on the market to diminish the pressure for marijuana smokers."
At the 10th International Conference on Drug Policy, 1996, USA John P Morgan MD, Professor of Pharmacology, City University of New York Medical School

How To Murder A Medical-Marijuana Political Prisoner
FILED 01/18/00

Over just three days in jail, Kubby suffered a series of classic hypertensive crises. He could have had a crippling stroke, or died from cardiac arrest. And the police knew all about his condition.


Steve and Michele Kubby with 'Anna Boyce, RN', Founders of the American Medical Marijuana Association.

And so it happened that when the paramilitary North Tahoe Task Force raided Kubby's home on Jan. 19, they found plenty of notices posted in clear view on the premises, entitled ATTENTION LAW ENFORCEMENT, that detailed the nature of his illness, his legally authorized use of marijuana for it, and the likely consequences for him of incarceration without medication. It will be interesting to see, then, what defenses these officers may raise in answer to Kubby's allegations of attempted murder.



"This 'Prince of Pot'
"It's those kinds of things that are frustrating to us."
Jeff Sullivan, Criminal Prosecution Chief for the U.S. A. O. in W. WA

We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
-- President John F. Kennedy

Lies, Damned Lies, and Marijuana
CN Source: Los Angeles City Beat July 18, 2007 Washington, DC  

Since March 2003, we have been listening to George W. Bush and his surrogates offer the American People a progression of reasons for invading the sovereign nation of Iraq and the resulting bloody mayhem.

The rationales, the excuses, and the all too obvious lies have progressively eroded support for the war, until, as we move into the fifth year of the conflict, considerably less than a third of the country appears to believe a word that comes out of the White House.

As wretchedly disastrous as the falsehoods about Iraq have proved to be – from WMDs to spreading the gospel of democracy – they can only pale in comparison to the lies that have been told about marijuana, if only by the duration of the deceit.
Continued...cannabisnews/23190



Thursday, July 19, 2007
Prohibition, cities, gangs, violence, and poverty
Veterans of drug policy reform are used to the accusation that the only motive for advocating reform is some kind of irresponsible libertine desire to be a druggie. And yet, in reality, even those reformers who do desire the legal right to responsibly use their drug of choice also tend to have powerful altruistic motives for making it legal.
The more we study the issue -- the more we learn -- the more we realize that the corrupting power of prohibition poisons every aspect of society and our world.
Continued...DWR: a2363

Drug Czar Deployed for GOP, Papers Show By James Gerstenzang  
CN Source: Los Angeles Times July 18, 2007 Washington, DC  

As President Bush fought to keep Congress in Republican hands last year, the White House political director enlisted the nation's drug czar to attend events with vulnerable GOP incumbents, documents made public on Tuesday disclosed.

John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, attended 20 programs — round-table discussions, tours, a town hall meeting and other antidrug events — with Republican candidates from New Jersey to California.
Continued...cannabisnews/23188

White House Had Drug Officials Appear With GOP By Michael A. Fletcher  
CN Source: Washington Post July 18, 2007 Washington, DC  

White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help as many as 18 vulnerable Republican congressmen by making appearances and sometimes announcing new federal grants in the lawmakers' districts in the months leading up to the November 2006 elections, a Democratic lawmaker said yesterday.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said documents obtained by his panel suggest that the appearances by the drug control officials were part of a larger White House effort to politicize the work of federal agencies that "may be more widespread than previously known."
Continued...cannabisnews/23187


MPP tracks marijuana policy in all 50 states and at the federal level.

MPP Declares War on Drug Czar's Illegal Campaigning

Drug Czar Accused of Supporting Terror

Journalism and the Drug War

Behind czarist 'truths': Deception is no way to wage the drug war
Editorial: Daytona Beach News-Journal 9/26/02

The dogmatic heartlessness of the war on drugs was on flaming display Monday in Flagler and Volusia counties as national drug "czar" John Walters brought a message high on zero tolerance and dubious facts to a high school and a drug treatment center. Walters' sophomoric claims and punishing solutions illustrate exactly why a record 74 percent of Americans believe the war on drugs is a failure and why claims like Walters' cannot be trusted: They are irresponsibly blind to reality. 

Marijuana Drug Czar Distorts Report

Why is truth so unimportant to the far right



Corrupt
DWR: Tuesday, July 17, 2007

This article in today's Miami Herald about corruption in Puerto Rico really points out the huge problem with prohibition (even though the specific link is essentially missed by reporter Frances Robles).
Continued...DWRa2360

As Puerto Rico battles one of the highest crime rates in the United States and burgeoning drug trafficking blamed for about 700 murders a year, authorities are confronting another harsh reality: corruption.

About 100 police officers are currently under investigation, and 75 others have been convicted in federal court in the past five years, law enforcement officials said. The Puerto Rican attorney general's office has 17 open cases against members of the police department.

As a hub for cocaine and heroin arriving from Colombia on the way to mainland U.S. streets, Puerto Rico is so steeped in drug corruption that even a top prosecutor was accused of accepting a Mercedes Benz from a known dealer. The U.S. government estimates that 20 percent of the cocaine from Colombia passes through the Caribbean.

''We have had officers using police cars to escort drug dealers, and we have arrested officers selling weapons to undercover agents,'' Toledo said.
Continued...DWR/a2360

"Corruption is not excused because it comes from prohibition. But that doesn't change the reality that the level of corruption we see is a direct result of prohibition. And knowing that, but not changing our course, makes us responsible as well."
DWR: Pete Guither

No Extradition for the BC3! Tue Jul 17 2007

Speaking of corrupt...
Drug Czar may be on the Congressional hot-seat

Via Dare Generation Diary and Raw Story...

Henry Waxman's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is getting feisty: Politicization of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

At the request of Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, John Walters, the nation's drug czar, and his deputies traveled to 20 events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections.

The trips were paid for by federal taxpayers and several were combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members.
Continued...DWR/2762

"The Drug Czar has always (arguably illegally) campaigned against various drug policy initiatives and legislation around the country. But this particular bit of sloppiness in recording what everybody knows was happening may get more Congressional scrutiny as it relates to provable specific violations of the Hatch Act."
DWR: Pete Guither

Update: DARE Generation Diary has an action item calling for the Drug Czar's resignation.

Is The CIA Involved In Drug Smuggling? Ken Bucchi
Source: O'Reilly Factor 29 Jan 2001 Fox News Network

Kill the Messenger

So Little To Fear in Legal Marijuana By Ray Warren
CN Source: News & Observer July 20, 2007 Washington, DC  

Justice John Paul Stevens recently asked in a U.S. Supreme Court opinion "whether the fear of disapproval by those in the majority is silencing opponents of the war on drugs." The answer is a resounding "yes," though it's not at all clear that a majority actually agrees with current policies regarding marijuana regulation. Fear of being called "soft on drugs" is stifling rational debate about the relative merits of prohibition vs. regulation of a substance most regard as relatively innocuous.
Continued...cannabisnews/23194

Sheriff Calls Mistake 'Very Rare'

Link Webre classified the mistake as "very rare" and said the agents likely used the wrong two-story house as a reference point. It's amazing how something so rare can happen so often.



When the government runs out of crimes to charge against the people, the tyrants simply secretly pass a number of civil statutes that carry severe sanctions (against which the accused has virtually no defenses or Constitutional protections), and then process the accused in a largely invisible civil justice '' system that is designed to lead to the imprisonment or death of the accused.
--Geral Sosbee

US METHODS OF EXECUTION

Lethal injection: Authorised in 37 states
Electrocution: In 10 states (sole method in Nebraska)
Gas chamber: In five states (all of which have lethal injection as alternative)
Hanging: Only in New Hampshire and Washington
Firing squad: In Idaho and Oklahoma
Source: DPIC

Ganjawar: Slave Labor, Rape & Pillage Deterrent

Government must create criminals

As if exploiting the labor of prison inmates was not bad enough, it is legal in the United States to use slave labor. The 13th Amendment of the Constitution states that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States."



'Relax Your Muscles as Much as Possible'

There are approximately 2 million people behind bars in the United States -- more than three times the number of prisoners in 1980. The United States now imprisons more people than any other country in the world. In fact, in the last 20 years California has constructed 21 new prisons while in the same amount of time, it has built only one new university. That statistic is even more astounding when we think about the fact that it took California almost 150 years to build its first 12 prisons. Another five new prisons are under construction and plans are in the works to build another 10.



CN Source: NORML Weekly Press Release July 19, 2007

Denmark: Europe's Last Commune Braces For Battle

Appeal Court Upholds Stiff Sentence For Pot Grower

Crushing Your Local Cannabis Collectives

Owners Of Pot Dispensary To Remain In Jail

NORML Television Ad

Landlords of Los Angeles Medi-Pot Dispensaries
July 19, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA, USA

Threatened With Forfeiture, 20 Years in Prison

For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858 or visit: canorml

Willie Nelson To Headline August 10, 2007 NORML Benefit Concert
July 19, 2007 - Washington, DC, USA

Join NORML at the Austin Freedom Fest in Texas to Help End Marijuana Prohibition

Additional event and ticket information may be found online at: austinfreedomfest & norml.org/5602
NORML is holding a few rooms for our out-of-town guests at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown. The hotel can be reached at 512-476-3700. Please ask for the NORML room block.

Willie Nelson


Coalition for Hemp Awareness: Willie Nelson Hemp