A New York paper, the Star-Gazette of Elmira/Corning, has aneditorial today that is an unwittingly accurate description of the mindset of contemporary drug warriors. The piece is titled as follows: Crusade to Fight Methamphetamine Never Ends Setting aside the interesting use of the word “crusade” to describe drug policy, it’s remarkable that this paper seems […]
READ MOREThe Kelly Surprise: Attorney General Concedes That Amendment of Compassionate Use Act Was Unconstitutional
Surprising news in California medical marijuana law: the California Attorney General has conceded that the legislature’s amendment of the 1996 Compassionate Use Act was unconstitutional, meaning that criminal defendants may soon be able to regain the ability to put on a trial defense under the Compassionate Use Act even if the amount of medical marijuana […]
READ MOREPeople v. Ward: Due Process and Equal Protection Challenge to California Crack
The disparity between the treatment of powder and crack cocaine under California criminal law does not violate principles of due process or equal protection, the Second District Court of Appeal held 10/1/08 in People v. Ward, B200354. The defendant in Ward argued that the sentencing disparity violated substantive due process and equal protection principles because […]
READ MORELA Times on the SSDP Lawsuit
The LA Times ran a rather frustrating editorial this weekend on the ACLU and Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s lawsuit challenging the denial of federal financial aid to individuals with drug convictions. The last three graphs, in particular, left me scratching my head The ACLU is going down the wrong path with a lawsuit against […]
READ MOREDecriminalization: End of War on Drugs?
An even question might be, have we actually lost the very expensive war on drugs which started way back in 1971 when Nixon was still President. Two states, Washington and Colorado, have made it legal to use recreational marijuana. Not all of the supporters of these laws were stoners and dealers, actually even some in […]
READ MOREFrom Broken Windows to Broken Policies: On James Q. Wilson’s Analysis of “The Benefit of Prisons”
Note: I first wrote this post back in March when James Q. Wilson published an op-ed in several major American newspapers defending America’s intense use of prisons. I decided not to publish it at the time, but today I see that Wilson is guest blogging at the Volokh Conspiracy and making the same argument all […]
READ MORERedding v. Safford United School District: En Banc Ninth Circuit Overturns Student Strip Search for Ibuprofen
In a little blow for sanity, the en banc Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday overturned the decision in Redding v. Safford United School District that had previously concluded there was no Fourth Amendment violation when school officials strip searched a 13-year-old middle school student who was believed to have been carrying ibuprophen. The […]
READ MORELegal Recreational Marijuana!
Yes, two states, Colorado and Washington, are the first to do what many expected would be done years ago and legalized recreational marijuana in Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012′s election. Oregon, however, was not as forward looking and their recreational marijuana initiative lost with 55% opposed. Now this is not medical marijuana, which has been legal […]
READ MOREPolice Shop for Drugs Online
That’s right at least 21 people were stupid enough to advertise the sale of prescription drugs on Craigslist. One person even mentioned in his ad that “no law enforcement” should answer. Strangely enough NYPD, who had been working for a while on “Operation Dot Com”, ignored this plea and arrested that person and 20 others […]
READ MOREWill Obama crack down on Legal Weed
Don’t Try Mr. President. Just Don’t Try When the New York Times published, “Administration Weighs Legal Action Against States That Legalized Marijuana Use”, those with strong opinions were quick to jump on it. Writing for Huffington Post, Radley Balko said: “Notice what expressions do not show in the New York Times piece: pivot, possibly stopping […]
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