YouTube video that shows how drug policy reformers can ensure that they lose the public debate. It’s a BBC interview with David Blunkett, the former British home secretary who moved marijuana from Class B to Class C in England, making it a less “serious” drug for purposes of criminal prosecution, and Rabbi Aryeh Sufrin of […]
READ MORESalvia as “Legal Buzz”
I thought this article from an NBC Atlanta affiliate (entitled “Salvia: A Legal Buzz?”) was going to be about the “buzz” around criminalizing the drug salvia divinorum — which is something that a handful of states have done or are considering. Instead, it’s almost a commercial for salvia use, talking about the fact that salvia […]
READ MOREBrett Chidester and Salvia: “Suicide Solution” Redux
I’ve been very reluctant to write about the case of Brett Chidester, the Delaware teenager who killed himself in January 2006 and whose parents have been pushing for the criminalization of salvia divinorum. I’m reluctant simply because the fact of losing a child is overwhelmingly tragic, and I don’t have any desire to wade into […]
READ MOREIllinois to Ban Salvia
The hallucinogen salvia divinorum will become illegal in Illinois starting tomorrow, as that state joins a handful of others that have criminalized this drug. The author of the bill that outlawed the drug, Sen. Dennis Reboletti, is quoted as saying “We decided to move forward rather than waiting for someone to be killed because of […]
READ MORENew Stats: Violent Crime, Drug Use, Marijuana Arrests
A couple important statistical studies have been released this month. First, the DOJ’s Uniform Crime Report for 2007 was released. Basic take: violent crime is continuing a modest decline. Somewhere, James Q. Wilson is undoubtedly scribbling another editorial explaining why this shows that America is fortunate to be the world’s biggest incarcerator. Second, every year […]
READ MORENew York Senator May Be Retried in Wake of Supreme Court’s “Honest Services” Fraud Decision
New York Senator Joseph L. Bruno was indicted in January of 2009 on eight counts of fraud. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York acquitted Bruno, who is now 81 years old and the former Republican Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, on five of the remaining […]
READ MOREAB 259: The Daily Journal Op-Ed on California’s Proposed Salvia Law
Below is the text of an op-ed I published today in the Daily Journal arguing against California’s AB 259, which would ban the sale of salvia to minors. This is not a position I take lightly, because I genuinely do believe it’s important to legislate in a manner that protects kids. But I can’t support […]
READ MORESupervision Requirements Have Chilling Effect on Medicare Participation
Medicare billing can be a perilous, low-return, high-risk endeavor, with rules that sometimes seem less than logical and can readily trap the uninformed. Take, for example, the question of whether Medicare will reimburse post-doctoral clinical psychologists for psychotherapy services. Psychotherapy is a reimbursed service when it is provided by clinical psychologists. These “Psy. D’s,” as […]
READ MORECA 4th on Return of Property in Medical Marijuana Case
A big hat tip to Greg at the California Blog of Appeal who notes an important medical marijuana return of property case:City of Garden Grove v. Superior Court, G036250. In a nut shell, as Greg says, the Court of Appeal denied a writ petition by the City of Garden Grove (joined by 4 law enforcement associations […]
READ MORENEW YORK CRIME TRENDS Index Crime in New York State: 1994 – 2001
New York City Index Offenses Reported to Police: 1994-2001 Counts 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Index Total 530,827 442,532 383,603 356,573 323,441 299,522 287,995 263,764 Index rate per 100,000 7,235.7 6,045.9 5,226.5 4,807.9 4,395.9 4,031.7 3,717.7 3,287.6 Violent Total 136,571 114,180 98,728 92,866 85,915 78,983 75,739 68,274 Violent rate per 100,000 1,861.6 […]
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