Drugs & Prohibition

Prescription Drug Overdoses Killed 23,000 Americans in 2010; Cannabis – 0

"Drug overdose deaths rose for the eleventh straight year in America, fueled by legal prescriptions for OxyContin and Valium. Medical cannabis, meanwhile, continued its 10,000 year-long streak of not killing anyone by overdose. There is no physical way to overdose on smoked or ingested cannabis, making it one of the safest, most non-toxic painkillers, sleeping aids, and stress relievers on the planet. It’s also a Schedule One narcotic that the U.S. government says has no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Drugs that the U.S. government considers safer caused about 60 percent of the 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrescription Drug Overdoses Killed 23,000 Americans in 2010; Cannabis – 0

7 Ways States Are Defying the Federal Government With Local Laws

"In light of an overbearing federal government pushing gun control, health care reform, and the NDAA, some local governments have taken actions to increase the freedom in their states. There are, of course, so many ways that states try to exert their constitutional power but these are the top seven." Continue reading →

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Elderly couple pulled over, questioned after their Buckeye car decal is mistaken for a marijuana leaf

"On the back of Jonas-Boggioni’s car was a Buckeye leaf decal, similar to the one players’ have on their helmets, and cops mistakenly thought it was marijuana leaf. After trying to explain that the sticker was not a marijuana leaf and that she and her husband were not trafficking drugs cross-country, the police advised Jonas-Boggioni to remove the sticker as to not cause any more confusion. You know, just in case there were any other moronic drug cops out there that didn’t actually know what a marijuana leaf looked like." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingElderly couple pulled over, questioned after their Buckeye car decal is mistaken for a marijuana leaf

Kansas Supreme Court Rules Passing Sobriety Test Is Meaningless

"Roadside sobriety tests can be used only to gather evidence to convict a driver, not to exonerate him, according to the Kansas Supreme Court. The decision came down in the case of Bruno Edgar, who was stopped at a driver's license roadblock on July 29, 2007. The officer decided to conduct three of the standard field sobriety tests. Edgar passed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, passed the one-leg stand and 'did fine' on the nine-step walk-and-turn test. The officer then told Edgar he had no choice but to submit to a preliminary breath test (PBT) and that he had no right to consult an attorney regarding the test. Edgar failed and was convicted of DUI." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKansas Supreme Court Rules Passing Sobriety Test Is Meaningless

Ohio Court Upholds Police Entry Into Home Over Failure To Signal Turn

"The Ohio Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the police use of a battering ram on the home of a suspect who failed to properly signal a turn. On December 12, 2011, Dayton Police Officers Michael Saylors and Randy Beane saw the gold Oldsmobile Intrigue belonging to Jeffrey Lam near the intersection of Hodapp and Lorain Avenues. While the officers were following Lam to his home at 645 Creighton Avenue, they noted he allegedly failed to use his turn signal. Lam ran out of his car into his home and locked the door. After failing to kick in the door, the officers used a battering ram and knocked it down. In the course of a search of the house for 'officer safety,' drugs were found." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio Court Upholds Police Entry Into Home Over Failure To Signal Turn

Gun Makers Now Refusing To Sell Arms To Law Enforcement In New York & Other States

"Since New York State enacted its restrictive new gun laws, many manufacturers have sent that state (and others) a message: If local governments are going to severely restrict the ability of citizens to own guns, then these companies will not be selling to law enforcement in those areas. Among the gun manufacturers sending that message: Olympic Arms, Inc; La Rue Tactical; EFI, LLC – Extreme Firepower; York Arms; Templar Custom; Cheaper Than Dirt. In addition to these very public statements, gun-owner groups are asking members and fans to contact three other manufacturers with significant sales to law enforcement in New York." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Makers Now Refusing To Sell Arms To Law Enforcement In New York & Other States

Is the South ready to say howdy to hemp?

"The Framers of the Constitution were big into hemp, and, after 56 years of prohibition, America is on the cusp of ending a hemp ban as part of a push to help farmers. As medical marijuana and pot legalization movements gain ground in Western and Northern states, the South, starting with Kentucky, may be moving ahead on pot's cousin, hemp, a flax-like fiber that proponents say has uses in 25,000 products and is already commercially farmed across a globe where marijuana is still largely outlawed." Continue reading →

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Will the End of Cannabis Prohibition Benefit the Small Farmer?

"The answer has as much to do with simple accounting as the more common outsider assumption: that farmers fear the price drops that come when a prohibitionary economy dissolves (though this is certainly part of the story). When, in three generations of farming, your family has never had to pay taxes, record payroll or meet building code, let alone meet a customer (the Emerald Triangle has an entire caste of middlemen and women who broker wholesale deals, so the farmer doesn’t have to leave the farm), the prospect of coming aboveground -- and dealing with the same red tape every other industry does -- can be terrifying." Continue reading →

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Czech Republic Legalizes Medical Marijuana Use

"Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signed into law legislation that makes it legal in the Czech Republic to use marijuana for medical treatment. Klaus gave his approval on Friday, after the law had been approved by both houses of Parliament. It allows marijuana to be imported and later grown locally by registered firms licensed for such activity, which is currently illegal. Medical marijuana use is legal in a number of European countries and parts of the United States. The drug is commonly used to relieve conditions such as chronic pain and cancer." Continue reading →

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Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably

"Government prohibition doesn’t even do a good job of keeping drugs out of prisons. The demand for an item, in this case digital cash with user-defined levels of privacy, does not simply evaporate in the face of a jurisdictional ban. One could even make the case that it becomes stronger because an official recognition that Bitcoin is not only a 'renegade' currency but a 'so-effective-it-had-to-be-banned' currency would imbue the cryptographic money with larger than life qualities. Ironically, the ban would create something like theStreisand effect for Bitcoin generating an awareness for entire new demographic groups and new classes of society." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably