puregenius's blog

This is my response as written on cbsnews.com to Part 2 of the "discussion" between Judge James Gray and David Evans of the Drug-Free America Foundation. When I read the first part yesterday I was bothered by Evans but it was typical prohibitionist rhetoric. Today he made me irate. _______________________________________________ I had to take a few moments to calm down otherwise I might have said something that could have caused me some serious trouble. Evans said that Gray called him a racist. Gray never implied or said that Evans was a racist. He did state the undeniable fact that war on "some" drugs treats the races unequally. This statement from Evans shows he is either delusional or racist. I hope it is the former. "Prohibition did not cause an increase in the overall crime rate but there was an increase in the homicide rate. However, the increase in homicides occurred mainly in the African-American community, and African-Americans at that time were not the people responsible for trafficking in alcohol."

On March 22nd, two men plead guilty to kidnapping and other related charges for holding another dealer hostage while demanding a $300,000 debt be paid.

This congressional resolution celebrating the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition shows the hypocrisy of the legislature continuing to support the drug war.

A poll conducted by whattheyplay.com, the parents guide to video games, asked the following question.

According to my psychiatrist, the DEA is coercing doctors into changing the way they prescribe Marinol. The change is in the number of refills granted to patients. Within the last six months doctors began issuing prescriptions with one refill. Before that they issued ones with up to three.

I see a great opportunity to educate people during the release of Denzel Washington's new move American Gangster. When it is released on Nov. 2nd, I am going to hand out LEAP promotional DVDs. I am hoping their are others interested in doing so.

This hearing on Justice Dept. oversight turned out to be rather encouraging for sentencing reform. Sen. Jeff Sessions asked AG Gonzales about the Department's position on ending the crack/cocaine sentencing disparity. He said he would be happy to conference about it. When pressed he said he didn't think it should be changed. He then proceeded to make John Walters proud. Sen. Leahy was having none of it. He said we know where cocaine is. It's in the boardrooms, on the yachts and etc. He went on to state that cocaine users are more likely to be able to better defend themselves on charges. Gonzales couldn't say anything more. Seeing an Alabama Republican pose this question, and Leahy back him up was wonderful. The wheels certainly grind slowly, but they DO grind. I don't know where this will lead, but seeing it discussed by two prominent members on the committee even for a minute shows the prohibitionists propaganda fog is slowly lifting.

The article in the latest Chronicle about two people being indicted on witness tampering charges for outing a snitch is very interesting. It seems that things have become so bad that law enforcement officials can't seem to be able distinguish between snitches and concerned citizens who want to see justice done. The difference is very simple. A snitch receives a benefit in return for their testimony and therefore has an incentive to lie. The concerned citizen is motivated by morals and the only benefit they receive is knowing they did the right thing.

I experienced the effects of the drug war up close and personal when I was 7 years old. In 1985, I was living in West Oakland, CA with my Mother and her boyfriend. Both were heavy drug users. Late one night, the police executed a no-knock warrant related to a drug and firearm investigation. The warrant had the wrong address. The boyfriend had me locked in the bedroom so he could abuse my Mother without interference from me. When the police encountered the door, they kicked it in. A few seconds later one of the officers discharged his weapon. I wasn't injured.

I generally don't read anything in the Controlled Substances Act beyond the schedules. Recently, I decided to look at the definitions section. The definition of "addict" and "marihuana" make it clear that you can't be addicted under the law. This fact highlights the insanity of cannabis being a class I controlled substance and drug policy general.