"Dr. Robert P. Murphy explains that it was the government, not Hurricane Sandy, that caused gas lines in New York and New Jersey. For more see: http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2012/11/econ-101-works-price-controls-cause-gas-lines.html " Continue reading →
"The free market has found a way around the government-created gas shortages and tortuous lines in NY. Sellers of gasoline have emerged on Craigslist, charging up to $30/gallon. The State is furious! How dare people make voluntary transactions with other individuals! Get back in line! 'We will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous businesses or individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives,' New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday. 'There are always people who show up when there's a crisis to take advantage of victims of a disaster.'" Continue reading →
"Amazon said the online shop would be 'a marketplace offering customers more than a thousand wines crafted by wineries around the country.' The online retail giant also provides international wines through external websites. Customers can ship up to six bottles of wine for $9.99. Wine sales are allowed only in states which allow it. That includes California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and the District of Columbia." Continue reading →
"As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) 'a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences' most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What can we expect from legalization, and what could we expect from further liberalization of drug laws? 1. Less Crime. 2. Lower Demand for Hard Drugs Like Crack and Crystal Meth. 3. A 'Peace Dividend' From Scaling Back the Drug War. Yesterday’s results are historic because the results in Colorado and Washington show that ending prohibition can win at the ballot box." Continue reading →
"The new Colorado and Washington legislation puts the states in clear breach of the general obligation of the 1961 UN drug convention requiring the criminalisation of non-medical supply and use. The US has historically been the biggest cheerleader for such prohibitions on the global stage. It will be interesting to see whether they tone down their 'tough on drugs' rhetoric now that they themselves are the first to do the previously unthinkable. The hypocrisy of the US demanding that other nations carry on enforcing prohibition while they themselves are retreating from it, could be enough to encourage a range of countries to start agitating for reform." Continue reading →
"Following wins for marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado on Tuesday night, a former Seattle police chief and a former Denver police officer sat down with Raw Story to discuss what the laws will actually do and how they think things will change. The possibility remains that the Obama administration may file suit against Colorado and Washington to prevent them from implementing regulatory schemes or granting permits for retail sales. Meanwhile, the Obama administration’s U.S. Attorneys have been adamant about busting hundreds of medical marijuana outlets." Continue reading →
"Our federal marijuana policy is increasingly out of step with both the values of American citizens and with state law. The result is a system of justice that is schizophrenic and at times appalling. Consider the case of Chris Williams, who opened a marijuana grow house in Montana after the state legalized medical cannabis. Mr. Williams was eventually arrested by federal agents despite Montana’s medical marijuana law, and he may spend the rest of his life behind bars. While Jerry Sandusky got a 30-year minimum sentence for raping young boys, Mr. Williams is looking at a mandatory minimum of more than 80 years." Continue reading →
"President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto and his team are scrambling to reformulate their anti-drug strategies in light of what one senior aide called 'a game-changing' referendum in the United States. Mexico spends billions of dollars each year confronting violent trafficking organizations that threaten the very security of the country but whose main market is the United States, the largest consumer of drugs in the world. With the Washington’s urging and support, Mexican soldiers roam the mountains burning clandestine plantations filled with marijuana on its way to the United States." Continue reading →
"On Tuesday, voters in Flint, Michigan enacted a measure decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by people 19 or older. The municipal government afflicting that city blithely responded by saying that it doesn’t take orders from the people whom they supposedly represent: 'The ballot proposal approved by Flint voters creating an exemption under city ordinance to allow persons at least 19 years old to possess less than one ounce of marijuana is symbolic in nature. It does not decriminalize possession of marijuana.' Police Chief Alvern Locke candidly asserted that the officers under his command will simply defy the new law." Continue reading →
"Police in Aurora, Colorado did nothing wrong when they handcuffed dozens of motorists and held them at gunpoint for an hour and forty-five minutes, according to a ruling issued last month. US District Court Judge William J. Martinez refused to play the role of a Monday morning quarterback in deciding whether the controversial mass detention violated the Fourth Amendment rights of drivers who had been going about their business on a Saturday afternoon." Continue reading →