Drugs & Prohibition

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner Urges ‘Jury Nullification’ In Medical Pot Dispensary Case

"San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has injected himself into a federal criminal case against the operator of a medical marijuana dispensary, intensifying his standoff with federal prosecutors on cannabis enforcement issues. Filner's urging jurors who'll be chosen for the trial to reject federal law in favor of state statutes under a centuries-old legal concept known as 'jury nullification'-- whereby jurors can refuse to convict people under laws they believe should not be applied." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSan Diego Mayor Bob Filner Urges ‘Jury Nullification’ In Medical Pot Dispensary Case

Dutch tourist cannabis cafe ban leads to surge in dealing in the south

"The decision to ban foreigners not resident in the Netherlands from the country’s cannabis cafes has led to an ‘explosion’ in drugs-related crime in the south of the country, the AD reports on Saturday. The government’s decision to turn the cafes into members’ only clubs in the southern provinces last May led to a sharp rise in street dealing, the paper says. It bases its claim on police and city council figures. In Maastricht, at the forefront of efforts to reduce drugs tourism, the number of drugs crimes has doubled over the past year while in Roermond they are up three-fold with at least 60 active street dealers, the AD says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch tourist cannabis cafe ban leads to surge in dealing in the south

Synthetic Marijuana Turns People Into Zombies, Says Govt. Anti-Drug Propaganda

"The District of Columbia’s Department of Health seems to have a taken a page directly from Reefer Madness for its new advertising campaign, suggesting a synthetic form of marijuana known as 'K2' or 'Spice' will turn people who use it into 'zombies.' The ads recently made their debut on the DC Metro, and are wacky enough to look like a parody. Teenagers – presumably under the influence and grotesquely made up to look like 'Walking Dead' extras – pose in various stages of decay with captions like 'No One Wants to Take a Zombie to the Prom.' Seriously?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSynthetic Marijuana Turns People Into Zombies, Says Govt. Anti-Drug Propaganda

Reefer Madness… by Executive Order

"In Meridian, Idaho, Mayor Tammy de Weerd has taken it upon herself to use tax dollars to spread Reefer Madness to her constituents. By Executive Order, Tammy established the Mayor’s Anti-Drug Coalition (MADC), which received $625,000 from a Drug-Free Community Grant through the federal government. Now a Meridian resident notes that the town has been distributing these anti-marijuana leaflets inserted in the water bill! The flyer is full of discredited nonsense, exaggeration, and misdirection. Remember, this is a city government, most likely using federal grant money, to send false information about a political issue in official communications to their citizens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReefer Madness… by Executive Order

An open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

"I keep hearing from your side that you have noble motives for your opposition to marijuana legalization. I hear that all you care about is using scientific inquiry to determine what is best for the people. However, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but you keep talking about things in ways that aren’t scientific, or that are meaningless without the proper context. That kind of thing may have worked once, but in general, people are a little more sophisticated about scientific knowledge — they no longer uncritically accept 'Here be dragons' for cartography or 'If she floats, she’s a witch' as a judicial system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

Just Six Percent Of Americans Want Jail Time For Marijuana Users

"More Americans believe in Bigfoot than believe someone found smoking marijuana or in possession of a small amount of marijuana should be sent to jail, a new poll reports. Marijuana is a federally illegal, schedule one drug with mandatory minimum prison sentence for certain possession offenses. States like California have decriminalized simple possession of marijuana – making it an infraction punishable by a ticket. About 800,000 Americans are arrested for marijuana each year, or one every 42 seconds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJust Six Percent Of Americans Want Jail Time For Marijuana Users

Adam Kokesh Arrested At Pro-Marijuana Rally, Currently Held At Federal Detention Facility

"Details are still emerging regarding the arrest of liberty activist Adam Kokesh who was apprehended by police at a Pro-Marijuana rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18th, 2013. Multiple eye-witness reports have stated that Adam Kokesh was not using and did not posses any drugs at the event." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdam Kokesh Arrested At Pro-Marijuana Rally, Currently Held At Federal Detention Facility

It’s Time for Private Defense

"If the Cleveland Police Department had believed and convinced a judge that there were drugs being consumed or sold in the Castro home, a battering ram would have collapsed the front door years ago. A dozen cops from various agencies would have stormed the place. Police don’t take those kinds of chances with a less sexy crime like kidnapping. So while government maintains a monopoly on policing power, its finances don’t allow it to do the job adequately. Police departments prioritize chasing drugs, cash, and terrorists. Because of asset forfeiture laws, those are the crimes that pay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s Time for Private Defense