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Clueless Anti-Drug Agencies Oppose Medical Marijuana In Ohio

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 13, 2012 Legislation, Medical

Surprise, surprise. Members of two local “drug-fighting” agencies in Ohio are going public with their opposition to two possible statewide ballot issues in November, either of which would legalize the use of medical marijuana for certain types of illnesses with a doctor’s authorization. Job security, anyone?

“We wanted to take early action to get our position out there,” said Brian Kress, chairman of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll counties.

Joining Kress in opposing the use of medicinal cannabis is the Anti-Drug Coalition of Carroll County, reports Jon Baker of the Dover-New Philadelphia Times Reporter.

The Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment, a medical marijuana ballot issue, was approved by the Ohio Ballot Board in October.

In January, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine certified the petition for the proposed Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment to the Ohio Constitution.

Supreme Court Could Decide If Drug-Dog Based Warrants Valid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 3, 2012 News

hamptonroads.com

Do the police have a right to get a search warrant for your home if a police dog outside indicates the presence of drugs? The United States Supreme Court could decide this month whether to take a case from Florida involving exactly that scenario.

According to Florida’s highest court, Franky the drug dog’s ability to smell marijuana growing inside a Miami-area home from outside the closed front door crossed the constitutional line, reports Curt Anderson of the Associated Press. But Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a conservative Republican, wants the cops to be able to come on in.

Many experts expect the Supreme Court will take up the Florida case, Florida v. Jardines.

Congress Set To Escalate Drug War After Decades Of Failure

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 6, 2011 Legislation, News

DarkGovernment

A few billion dollars thrown away there, a few million people in prison here, first thing you know you’ve got a Drug War

Bill Would Make It A Crime

To Even PLAN To Smoke Marijuana In Another Country– Even If It Is Legal In That Country

The House Judiciary Committee is considering legislation (HR 313) Thursday that makes it a federal crime to plan to commit a drug offense in another country that would be illegal if it was actually committed in the U.S. — even if the offense is actually legal in the other country.

Federal legislation (HR 1254) that would criminalize possession and sales of chemical compounds found in products such as K2, Spice, and “bath salts” will also be voted on in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday and is expected to pass. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pennsylvania), has already passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, so the next step would be the full House. Similar legislation is sailing unimpeded through the Senate.

Both bills would subject Americans to mandatory minimum sentencing and increase prison expenses that taxpayers have to pay — at a time when members of Congress are cutting drug education, treatment and prevention citing the need to reduce federal expenses.

War On Drugs: Worth It, Or Worthless? Debate Sept. 21

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2011 Culture, News

SSDP

Should we continue to fight the War On Drugs, or should we look toward alternative approaches such as legalization? If you have an opinion on this question, you’ll be interested in a debate scheduled for Wednesday night.

The University of Arkansas Chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), in coordination with University Programs, is hosting a debate between Ethan Nadelmann, a former Princeton professor and current executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, and former DEA Administrator and U.S. Congressman Asa Hutchinson.

The two will debate whether we should continue to fight the War On Drugs or look for other solutions including regulation.

Both speakers bring years of experience to the table, of vastly different kinds.

Hutchinson held the top position at the Drug Enforcement Administration from 2001 to 2003. Ethan Nadelmann is a leading voice in the drug policy reform movement worldwide, and is executive director of the DPA.

Drug Cartels Rapidly Gaining Ground In U.S.: Justice Department

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 8, 2011 Global, News

LEAP

Terry Nelson, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: “It is really no surprise to me that our prohibition policy isn’t helping to achieve any reduction in drug trafficking”

A newly released report from the U.S. Department of Justice shows that Mexican drug cartels are rapidly gaining ground inside the United States, despite extensive efforts by the government to crack down on trafficking.

In light of the findings, a group of Border Patrol agents, police officers and judges is saying it is time to legalize and regulate drugs in order to defund the cartels that make so much money from the illicit drug market.

“As someone who has fought on the front lines of the failed ‘war on drugs’ for decades it is really no surprise to me that our prohibition policy isn’t helping to achieve any reduction in drug trafficking,” said Terry Nelson, a board member for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.

“We should have learned this lesson decades ago with alcohol prohibition, but let’s hope that the data in this new government report helps more members of Congress and Obama administration officials to realize that their ‘drug war’ strategy is an abysmal failure and that it’s time for a new direction,” Nelson said.

Obama Administration Goes Back On Medical Marijuana Pledge

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: The Washington Examiner

Deputy Atty. Gen. James M. Cole: “The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law”

A troubling new memo has been released which seems to show that the Obama Administration is abandoning its policy of leaving medical marijuana enforcement to the states in states which have legalized it.

The U.S. Department of Justice remains committed to prosecuting “large-scale” cultivation, sale and distribution of marijuana, even in states which have enacted legislation permitting the use of cannabis for medical uses, according to a Justice Department memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

“The Ogden Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law,” reads the new memo, authored by Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.

Failed War On Drugs’ 40th Anniversary: Cops Call Out Drug Czar

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: Doug Beghtel/The Oregonian

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske wouldn’t meet with a group of former law enforcement officers who were concerned about the bad effects of the War On Drugs. Instead, he sent a staffer to take their report.

Cops Hand-Deliver Report To Drug Czar’s Office While Czar Refuses To Meet

In conjunction with this week’s 40th anniversary of President Nixon declaring “War On Drugs,” a group of police, judges and jailers who support legalization released a report Tuesday showing how the Obama Administration is ramping up a war it disingenuously claims that it ended two years ago.

Following the report’s release at a press conference Tuesday morning, the pro-legalization law enforcement officers attempted to hand-deliver a copy to Obama Administration Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, the former Seattle chief of police who claimed he ended the War On Drugs two years ago.

Instead of making time to listen to the concerns of fellow law enforcers who have dedicated their careers to protecting public safety, the Drug Czar simply sent a staffer to the lobby to receive a copy of the cops’ report.

U.S. Can’t Justify Its Drug War Spending: New Reports

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 9, 2011 News

Graphic: Break The Matrix

Name one government program that for 40 years has failed to achieve any of its goals, yet receives bigger and bigger budgets every year. If you said “the War on Drugs,” you’ve been paying attention.

The Obama Administration is unable to show that the billions of dollar spent in the War On Drugs have significantly affected the flow of illicit substances into the United States, according to two government reports and outside experts.

The reports specifically criticize the government’s growing use of U.S. contractors, which were paid more than $3 billion to train local prosecutors and police, help eradicate coca fields, and operate surveillance equipment in the battle against the expanding drug trade in Latin America over the past five years, reports Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times.

“We are wasting tax dollars and throwing money at a problem without even knowing what we are getting in return,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who chairs the Senate subcommittee that wrote one of the reports, which was released on Wednesday.

Obama Administration Threatens R.I. Over Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 29, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Photo: NBC 10 News

Governor Lincoln Chafee received a threatening letter today from Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha.

Add Rhode Island to the list of states that have received threatening letters from the federal government on the issue of medical marijuana in recent weeks.

Significantly, the Rhode Island letter — delivered to Governor Lincoln Chafee’s office on Friday — unlike all of the other recent U.S. Attorney letters to medical marijuana states, does NOT begin with a line like “In response to your inquiry…”

“That likely means that this legal advice was not solicited by the Rhode Island government, marking an escalation in the feds’ aggressiveness on this issue,” media relations director Tom Angell at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) told Toke of the Town Friday evening.

To date, U.S. Attorneys have only weighed in with threat letters after being contacted by state and local officials.

Drug Warrior-In-Chief Obama Named Nanny of the Month

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 30, 2011 Culture, News

Reason.tv’s Nanny of the Month for March is Drug Warrior-In-Chief Barack Obama, whose Drug Enforcement Administration banned faked pot, thwarted a scientist’s decade-long attempt to study marijuana, and raided dispensaries in Montana and California — all in one month!
“Seems like only yesterday when Obama promised he wouldn’t waste Justice Department resources raiding medical marijuana dispensaries,” Reason.tv‘s Katie Hooks said.

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