Drugs & Prohibition

Marc Emery Released from Solitary Confinement

"Emery has already served four years of a five-year sentence in the US for selling marijuana seeds online from Canada. With the permission of prison officials in the Special Investigative Service (SIS), photos of his band were put up on Emery’s Cannabis Culture blog in April. Emery was under investigation by the same SIS authorities who gave permission for the photos; they claimed that the pictures had been taken with a prohibited smart phone. Officials put him in 'the hole' while they looked into the matter. On Tuesday, June 11, Emery was released from solitary confinement after a staff person admitted he had taken the photos." Continue reading →

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City of Berkeley fights U.S. civil action against marijuana dispensary

"In the latest strategy against federal attempts to shut down marijuana shops, the city contends the U.S. civil action would harm the city by depriving it of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes, paid over a period of years, according to Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit group whose attorneys are representing the city. In May, the U.S. government filed a complaint for forfeiture against a property leased by the retail marijuana store Berkeley Patients Group at 2366 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, according to court papers filed by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag." Continue reading →

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Police Using ‘Seatbelt Checkpoints’ to Search Cars Without Warrants, Make Drug Arrests

"Police are increasingly using seatbelt checkpoints in Tennessee, Louisiana and New York as a way to search vehicles without a warrant. Mayfield Heights, Ohio police even set up a fake checkpoint along I-271, noted Cleveland.com. How are police allowed to do these types of warrantless searches? Many states do not consider a checkpoint an actual 'traffic stop' by police. The checkpoints are legal as long as the primary purpose is 'regulatory' instead of 'general criminal enforcement,' which is what police departments often claim in press releases, such as the one above." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Using ‘Seatbelt Checkpoints’ to Search Cars Without Warrants, Make Drug Arrests

Blood, spit and cops: Nationwide drug roadblocks raise eyebrows

"The roadblocks are part of a national study led by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is trying to determine how many drivers are on the road with drugs or alcohol in their systems. Similar roadblocks will be erected in dozens of communities across the nation this year, according to the agency. It's been going on for decades. Previous surveys date to the 1970s. The last one was run in 2007, and it included the collection of blood and saliva samples without apparent controversy, sheriff's spokesmen in both Alabama counties said. Gov. Robert Bentley complained that his office had not been notified that the surveys were going to be conducted." Continue reading →

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Perverted Judge Perverts Judgment With Pre-Signed Blank Arrest Warrants

"Michael Henderson, a former captain in the Murray County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office, has pleaded guilty to obstruction and witness tampering by retaliating against a woman who filed a complaint against a local judge. Henderson and a deputy sheriff staged a pretext traffic stop on a vehicle in which Mrs. Garmley was a passenger, a conspiracy to retaliate against Mrs. Garmley by planting methamphetamine in a small metal container hidden on the underside of the vehicle. Charges against them were dropped shortly after Judge Cochrane was forced to resign. In his letter of resignation, Cochrane admitted that he had illegally pre-signed blank warrants for police officers." Continue reading →

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Steroid abuse has become a major problem among police officers

"A national expert who's been studying steroid use in all types of subcultures from athletics to the military believes 'tens of thousands' of cops all across the U.S. are on such illegal drugs. A recent scandal in New Jersey turned up 248 public safety officials — most of them cops — who were getting steroids prescribed by a steroid-abusing doctor, and New Jersey officials responded by ordering random police drug testing. The biggest concern most people have over steroid 'juiced' cops is the potential for increased aggression in someone who's armed and trained to use everything from pepper spray and stun guns to firearms." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSteroid abuse has become a major problem among police officers

Obama Throwing Medical Marijuana Patients Into Federal Prison At Unprecedented Rate

"Fallout from the Obama Administration’s aggressive federal enforcement in medical marijuana states has reached a fever pitch this month with three people being sentenced, two others due to surrender to federal authorities to serve out sentences of up to five years in prison, and one federal trial in Montana currently scheduled for January 14th. Two of the three people being sentenced in the coming month face five and ten years to life, respectively. Far surpassing his predecessor George W. Bush, President Obama has conducted more than 200 SWAT-style raids on state-compliant medical marijuana businesses and has indicted more than 80 people since he took office." Continue reading →

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Las Vegas Sands’ Sheldon Adelson ‘Morally Opposed’ to Online Betting

"Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Adelson is 'morally opposed' to online gambling, calling it a 'toxin' that will rob the young and poor. Adelson, who controls the world’s biggest casino company by market value, also outlined his objections to online gambling in an opinion piece in Forbes yesterday. The Internet betting option is gaining momentum as U.S. states seek to tax a business forecast to generate billions of dollars. In February,New Jersey became the most-populous U.S. state to legalize online gambling, following Nevada and Delaware." Continue reading →

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“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control

"Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit. Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control

When Vice Enforcement is a Capital Crime

"Alexa Hamme of Salt Lake City was 25 years old when she died in a jail cell. She had been arrested four days earlier on suspicion of drug possession and endangerment of a child or adult. That last charge is a sentence enhancer often tacked on to a drug arrest as a way of escalating the potential penalties and extorting a guilty plea to a lesser charge. Using drugs is unwise and self-destructive. The same is true of other personal vices, as well. But government has no moral or legal mandate to punish people for indulging vices. Doing so is itself a crime – and as the tragic death of Alexa Hamme illustrates, it is frequently a capital offense." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen Vice Enforcement is a Capital Crime