US Drug Czar Calls for End To 'War on Drugs' By Andy Sullivan
CN Source: Reuters June 05, 2009 Washington, D.C.
The Obama administration's top drug cop plans to spend more money on treating addiction and scale down the "war on drugs" rhetoric as part of an overhaul of U.S. counternarcotics strategy.
But don't expect the White House to consider legalizing marijuana, drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said on Friday.
Ah, Jeez, Not This Shit Again!
"... government of the people and by the people
sets a single standard for all who hold power:
you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion"
~ Barock Obama,
6.5.9 speech in Egypt
Tighter Medical-Marijuana Bill Clears Panel
Supporters of Legalized MMJ Gear Up For Fight
N.J. Assembly Committee Passes Bill To Allow MMJ
Reefer Sameness US WA: Editorial
Drug policy is at a crossroads in America. The "War on Drugs," it seems, is headed toward a final resting place in the history books. The Obama Administration has said it will stop using the term in its dealings of drug control policy, perhaps putting an end to an era of domestic and foreign drug policy that more and more are coming to realize was an utter failure in many ways.
Vt. Has Highest Rate of Pot Smokers US VT
Between 2005 and 2007, the number of marijuana-related criminal cases in the state increased from 1,535 to 1,820, according to Max Schlueter, director of the Vermont Criminal Information Center. That trend took a downward turn in 2008, Schlueter said, when only 1,805 marijuana cases were investigated in the state.
Coloradans Report Drinking Less, Smoking More Pot
US CO
Coloradans say they are doing less hard drinking than they did in the past few years but say they are more likely to smoke pot, according to a two-year federal assessment to be released today.
Extradition Hearing Adjourned Pending Negotitation
by JodieGR 06/04/09
June 3rd, 2009
The extradition hearing was rescheduled for the week of September 28th, but the plea deal should be complete and the sentencing underway at that time, which will likely cancel the hearing in September.
Vancouver Pot Activist Marc Emery To Plead Guilty To US Drug Charge
Marijuana activist Marc Emery says he plans to drop his fight against extradition to the U.S. and plead guilty to one charge of drug distribution in a Seattle courtroom next month.
Pot Activist Bows to Extradition
CN BC
Marc Emery, the self-described "Prince of Pot," says he is willing to stop fighting his extradition to the United States on charges of selling pot seeds to Americans and plead guilty on a drug charge even though it could mean up to eight years in a U.S. jail.
"Crime is contagious....
if the government becomes a lawbreaker,
it breeds contempt for the law."
~ Justice Louis Brandeis
Canadian police officer David Brazier OpEd Legalize and regulate drug use
The point is that the unintended consequences of drug prohibition cause far more serious harm than drugs themselves. These consequences include public disorder, backlogged courts, high property crime rates, organized crime and gang violence over control of the drug trade. These costs are not worth an absolute prohibition on drug use in our society.
Beyond The War On Drugs
Canada: Editorial
John Reynolds, a staunch Conservative, is standing up for an experimental program in which prescription heroin is given out, under medical supervision, to addicts in Vancouver and Montreal. His stance is more than just a welcome relief from Ottawa's typically narrow, pro-abstinence approach. It is a recognition of "the Johnsons," who are as much a part of the Conservative base as the social conservatives to whom the government has pandered on the issue of drug addiction.
Pot Grower Gets To Keep North Vancouver House
Canada: Bailey, Sue Edmonton Sun 30 May 2009
Forfeiture Endangers American Rights
"Civil asset forfeiture has allowed police to view all of America as some giant national K-Mart, where prices are not just lower, but non-existent — a sort of law enforcement 'pick-and-don't-pay.'"
—U.S. Representative Henry Hyde
Medical Marijuana Is a Necessary Compassion
US DE: Editorial: The News Journal 01 Jun 2009
Should marijuana be legally prescribed as a pain reliever in New York?
by The Post-Standard Monday May 18, 2009
MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS ABOUT COMPASSION
Web: Letter Of The Week
Bravo for the courage of both Joe Gamble, who took the risk to put a human face on the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and to the Post Standard for the lead story and long article on his plight May 18. For Joe Gamble, the use of the herbal cannabinoid marijuana has benefits that far outweigh its costs. Unfortunately, it is prohibited and makes a criminal of a man with a life of outstanding service. Some criminal.
Bruce Mirken of San Francisco
Letter Writer Of The Month
Joe Gamble of Liverpool is a former Army paratrooper and commercial test pilot who suffers from multiple schlerosis and smokes marijuana to relieve his pain. He's been advocating in Albany for a medical marijuana bill.
"Just living is not enough.
One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
~ Hans Christian Andersen
Fox tells Britain's GQ magazine, "I can't tell you how much bull**** I've been through because I will openly say that I smoke weed. People look at it like it's this crazy, hippy, f*****-up thing to do. And it's not. I hope they legalize it.
Megan Fox: 'I Hope They Legalise Cannabis'
US: Web
Superman's MJ Likes Marijuana and Carl Sagan Did, Too
By Ellen Komp, 4/16/07
Celebrity Stoners: American High Society
Carl Sagan Essay on Mary Jane
Sagan was a user of marijuana. Under the pseudonym "Mr. X", he wrote an essay concerning cannabis smoking in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered, written by Sagan's close friend Lester Grinspoon.[27][28] In his essay, Sagan wrote how marijuana use had helped to inspire some of his works and enhance sensual and intellectual experiences. After Sagan's death, Grinspoon disclosed this to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson. The publishing of this biography, Carl Sagan: A Life, in 1999, brought much media attention to the issue of the use and legalization of marijuana.
