Drugs & Prohibition

L.A.-area lost hikers may have to pay $160,000 for manhunt after drugs found in their car

"Orange County officials are considering requiring two hikers to pay for a portion — or even all — of a $160,000 search party after a small amount of methamphetamine was found in their car. Nicolas Cendoya, 19, and Kyndall Jack, 18, got lost while on an Easter Sunday hike in Trabuco Canyon near Los Angeles. With little water, they called authorities to report their status before losing cell phone service. Now, Cendoya is facing drug charges and officials have yet to decide for what other portion of the search he and Jack will be held accountable." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingL.A.-area lost hikers may have to pay $160,000 for manhunt after drugs found in their car

FDA warns manufacturers of possible crackdown on caffeinated candies and snacks

"The US food and drug regulator on Friday called the addition of caffeine to children’s foods like chewing gum and jelly beans 'dangerous' and warned of a possible crackdown. Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner Michael Taylor said the rise in such caffeine-added products outside the beverage industry was 'very disturbing,' after candy giant Mars Inc. announced a caffeinated version of its Wrigley gum. That was added last month to a slew of 'high energy' foods on the market sporting substantial added caffeine, including pancake syrups, instant oatmeal, waffles, potato chips, marshmallows and sunflower seeds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA warns manufacturers of possible crackdown on caffeinated candies and snacks

Cop Arrests Guy For Drinking A Half & Half Arizona Ice Tea

"A police officer decided a man's can of Iced Tea might have alcohol in it but the man was not acting drunk. The officer was wrong about the alcohol so he then decided to demand the person leave the store parking lot property. Because the man wouldn’t leave the property the officer arrested him. Is this is a good use of public resources? Did this officer perform to a service to society? Or did he waste taxpayers money on violating an individual's rights?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop Arrests Guy For Drinking A Half & Half Arizona Ice Tea

Lower Taxes Tapped a Beer Revolution

"As recently as 35 years ago, there were fewer than 50 breweries in the whole country, and the fastest-growing type of American beer was light, which Miller introduced in 1975. The story of the U.S. ascent to the top tier of world beer began in the late 1970s, when brewing was liberated from government taxation and regulation that had held it back since Prohibition. Following the federal example, state legislatures also began rewriting their bans on home-brewing, and it is legal now in every state except Alabama. The rise of American beer wasn't an accident. It was spurred by efforts to cut taxes and regulation that unleashed entrepreneurship." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLower Taxes Tapped a Beer Revolution

Colorado legislator wants to treat ‘High Times’ magazine like porn

"A Colorado Senate committee is considering putting marijuana-themed publications like High Times behind the counter. 'It’s analogous to the pornography example,' Rep. Bob Gardner (R-Colorado Springs), who proposed the idea, explained to The Associated Press. Gardner’s legislation was offered as an amendment to a larger marijuana regulation bill. If approved, stores accessible to those under 21 would be required to place marijuana-themed magazines behind the counter with other adult publications like Playboy. David Holland, a lawyer for High Times, told the Associated Press the magazine would sue the state if it enacted such a law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado legislator wants to treat ‘High Times’ magazine like porn

Health advocates want menthol cigarettes banned

"The American Lung Association and other health groups are asking federal regulators to ban menthol in cigarettes. The groups says the minty taste is just as effective at getting smokers hooked as other flavorings that were banned under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, a group of researchers, academics, non-profits and government health agencies, filed a citizen petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week asking for an investigation into menthol cigarettes. More than 80 percent of African-Americans smoked the product, according to the groups." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHealth advocates want menthol cigarettes banned

NYC To Hike Cigarette Age To 21 in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market

"Let's say you're an official in a jurisdiction that has raised cigarette taxes so high that the majority of smokes consumed in the state come from the black market — either smuggled in from lower-tax jurisdictions or else outright counterfeits sold as the real deal to consumers trying to avoid being mugged as they enjoy their chosen vice. Assuming that your goal is to get everybody to go to the black market, what else can you do to nudge retailers and smokers to deal with the guys selling off the back of trucks? Well, how about raising the smoking age — effectively imposing prohibition on some existing smokers so that they have to go underground to get their smokes?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYC To Hike Cigarette Age To 21 in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market

Feds Threaten Medical Pot Dispensaries with 40-Year Sentences

"Landlords are receiving threatening letters from US Attorney Melinda Haag, warning of forty-year-prison sentences if landlords do not evict their dispensary tenants. In October 2011, Haag and three other US Attorneys declared war on California’s estimated $1.3 billion medical marijuana industry, threatening hundreds of landlords with forfeiture. Hundreds of dispensaries across the state moved or closed. Haag is attempting to seize Harborside Health Center in Oakland, as well as its sister club in San Jose. Last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown said California didn’t need 'federal gendarmes' kicking in the doors of lawful businesses." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds Threaten Medical Pot Dispensaries with 40-Year Sentences

Collected Quotations Of The Dread Pirate Roberts, Silk Road Founder

"In public, the pseudonymous Internet drug czar known as the Dread Pirate Roberts doesn’t say much. But within the community that the Dread Pirate Roberts has created, Silk Road’s founder is hardly so shy. On the Tor-hidden online forums associated with Silk Road, Roberts posts long manifestos, philosophical and political musings, love letters to Silk Road’s users, and even hosts the Dread Pirate Roberts Book Club, a reading and discussion group devoted to 'agorism, counter-economics, anarcho-capitalism, Austrian economics, political philosophy, freedom issues and related topics.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCollected Quotations Of The Dread Pirate Roberts, Silk Road Founder

Washington lawmakers quietly approve bill to re-criminalize some marijuana possession

"Lawmakers in the Washington House and Senate quietly passed a bill over the weekend that will re-criminalize some marijuana possession, reacting to warnings from the state’s crime lab that the current law could make it impossible to prosecute large-quantity possession charges or large-scale marijuana growing operations. The Senate passed the measure unanimously on Saturday, according to The Associated Press. The governor was expected to sign the bill as soon as Monday, but had not yet by early afternoon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington lawmakers quietly approve bill to re-criminalize some marijuana possession