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Last week, Mexico’s President Calderon called on President Obama to join the debate on legalizing marijuana. The US drug policy has lined the pockets of the drug cartels with billions of dollars, and they are threatening to destabilize not only Mexico but countries across Latin America.

In many regions, the drug gangs are seeking to replace the government, imposing their own taxes in towns they dominate.

Three former Latin American presidents — Cesar Gaviria of Colombia, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and Fernando Cardoso of Brazil — wrote an oped in the Wall Street Journal, urging the legalization of marijuana as a way to undermine a major source of income for cartels.

Recently, the U.S. Joint Forces Command warned that the Mexican government could experience “a rapid and sudden collapse” due to drug cartel violence.  And the outgoing head of the CIA, Gen. Michael Hayden, warned that drug cartels “threaten … the well-being of the Mexican people and the Mexican state.”

The problem is so bad that following President Calderon’s statement, two Mexican cardinals have endorsed his call to open a debate on the merits of  legalization.

There have been 28,000 people killed since 2006 in the war with the drug cartels,  including 1200 in July –  the deadliest month yet.  The recent shooting in Arizona that triggered the debate between right and left over immigration was the result of marijuana smuggling, not people trying to get over the border to find jobs.  It’s insane that the conversation instantly devolved into a right-left battle over immigration.  The Arizona law does nothing to address the underlying problem.

Yesterday the Guardian had a piece on the push to end prohibition, including the Just Say Now campaign we launched last week.  Further,  the Guardian editorial board called on David Cameron and Nick Clegg to “launch a national debate on whether we should try legalisation,” and to “tear up the current policy. It has failed.”  “That debate must be opened in Britain and the recent change of government provides a rare opportunity,” they say.

But as Peter Guither notes, although there is strong interest in the issue among both progressive and conservative voters, leadership on both sides of the aisle have been unwilling to address it.  Most are terrified of walking into a meat grinder of social taboos left over from the culture wars, and they won’t brave it until the public demands it.

That’s why we launched the Just Say Now campaign.  Over 30,000 people have already signed the petition to President Obama, saying it’s time to end the war on marijuana.  America’s prison population has quadrupled since 1984 when Nancy Reagan’s war on drugs began, and the private prison system exploded.

Last fall, Eric Holder issued a directive that the DEA should respect state medical marijuana laws.  But as  Jacob Sullum notes, that directive had a lot of wiggle room and as a result the DEA’s raids on medical marijuana suppliers continue.

Please show your support and sign the petition asking President Obama to end the war on marijuana.

COPs on the Hill

Stories from the week of July 30, 2010

The wine is sweeter today:  This week the House passed by voice vote (no one heard a nay) the Webb Criminal Justice Commission bill. The commission will study drug prohibition and make recommendations to the Congress on whether to keep all of it, some of it, none of it, etc. The Senate is expected (but don’t hold your breath) to pass it in September. Medium sized step..

As a bonus the House passed and it now goes for Obama’s signature a bill to reduce the disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. This an 82% improvement not based in science (in which case it would be 1:1).  Still this will allow thousands to dealers to go free and act as a model for the states to adopt the federal standard. Some states have already gone 1:1.

As my LEAP colleague Tom Angell pointed out, it was very significant that the Republicans did not demand a roll call vote on either bill. “Soft on drugs/soft on crime” has been used by the Rs for decades to hurt the Dems. On this day, they allowed good legislation to go forward without a recorded vote.

Karen and I start a week long vacation today, so no letter next week.

www.mapinc.org considered this the best published LTE a  few weeks ago.  It was in my hometown paper.

 LETTER OF THE WEEK

LOST WAR ON DRUGS AND ITS CASUALTIES

When you lie down with dogs, often you will get up with fleas. Yet another in my profession (Megan Mattingly) has been tainted by the enforcement of drug prohibition. Add her to the many, many thousands who have been corrupted or killed, or who have committed suicide after being corrupted. And for what? We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested is replaced within days. The nine suspects released (or even if they had gone to prison) are meaningless.

A trillion tax dollars spent and 40 years of serious effort have resulted in a Maryland free of drugs? No. Quite the contrary. Drugs are cheaper, stronger and readily available to our teens.

Please tell this reader again why you support this Bridge to Nowhere policy.

Howard Wooldridge

retired detective/officer

Buckeystown

Source: Frederick News Post (MD)

Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 2010

Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n000/a017.html

 COP stats since August 2009:

 443  presentations to Congressional Staffers 

7 presentations to VIPs (elected officials)

37 published Letters to the Editor 

Numerous conferences, hearings & briefings attended.  C-Span broadcast my question at a Senate briefing. 

12  radio shows 

8  TV interviews (Colombian TV, Fox and Univision, NBC, cable)

Consider being a member of COPs at $30.00 or more per year.  Add your voice to those who agree that Modern Prohibition/War on Drugs is the most destructive, dysfunctional and immoral policy since slavery & Jim Crow. Go to: www.CitizensOpposingProhibition.org and click on Donate/Join – by credit card or check.

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Cultural Baggage * Century of Lies * 4:20 Drug War NEWS  *  Time 4 Hemp

Note:  We now produce a segment each Friday at 11:45 PM Central for Time 4 Hemp on American Freedom Radio (dot com)

Cultural Baggage for  08/08/10 29:00 Sanho Tree of Institute for Policy Studies regarding travel to Bolivia and Colombia + MJ Borden of Drug War Facts & Fox reporter for ending drug war?

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3019

TRANSCRIPT:  Tue

Century of Lies for  08/08/10  29:00  Bill Quigley, legal director of Center for Constitutional Rights on racial aspects of drug war + powerful Cannabis-Lasagna recipe from Sandy Moriarty, instructor at Oaksterdam University

LINK:   http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3020

TRANSCRIPT: Monday

4:20 Drug War NEWS, 08/09 to 08/15/10  Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin -

Sun - Fox debates cannabis use for autism Sat - Michael Krawitz, a US veteran on Fox regarding VA rule to allow use of cannabis Fri - Bill Quigley, legal director of Center for Constitutional Rights on America's caste system utilized in the drug war Thu - Sanho Tree of Institute for Policy Studies on ultra violence in cocaine trade Wed - Mary Jane Borden of Drug War Facts: "Does decrim work?"

Tue - Sandy Moriarty cannabis-lasagna recipe 2/2 Mon - Sandy Moriarty, cannabis chef at Oaksterdam University gives recipe for some powerful lasagna 1/2

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Who's Next?":  TBD 

Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org and now at James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.  http://www.bakerinstitute.org/dtn

We have potcasts, searchability, CMS, XML, sorts by guest name and by organization. We provide the "unvarnished truth about the drug war" to scores of broadcast affiliates.  You can tune into both our 1/2 hour programs, live, at 6:30 central time on Pacifica's KPFT at http://www.kpft.org  and call in your questions and concerns toll free at 1-877-9-420 420. 

The two, 29:00 shows appear along with the seven, daily, 3:00  "4:20 Drug War NEWS" reports each Monday morning at http://www.drugtruth.net .  We currently have 91 affiliated, yet independent broadcast stations.  With a simple email request to [email protected] , your station can join the Drug Truth Network, free of charge.

Check out our latest videos via www.youtube.com/fdbecker  Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform.  "Prohibition is evil." - Reverend Dean Becker, DTN Producer, 713-462-7981, www.drugtruth.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

AUGUST 6, 2010

D.C. Unveils Draft Medical Marijuana Regulations

Mayor’s Order Stalls Implementation Until January 2011, Advocates Say Delays Come at Cost to Patients

CONTACT: Dan Riffle: 202-905-2026 or [email protected]; Mike Meno: 202-905-2030 or 443-927-6400

WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to a series of proposed regulations released today by Mayor Adrian Fenty and the City Administrator, various agencies tasked with overseeing the District’s recently approved medical marijuana law will not have the authority to begin licensing providers or accepting patient applications until January 1, 2011. That means patients suffering from conditions such as cancer and HIV/AIDS will be unnecessarily forced to wait even longer for relief. The District still needs to consider and license potential applicants to manage medical marijuana dispensaries before patients can legally obtain medical marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. Under the District’s law, qualified patients will only be allowed to legally use marijuana that comes from a licensed dispensary. 

         “It was 1998 when District residents overwhelmingly approved Initiative 59, and the District Council has been considering this legislation since February, so there’s no reason for the mayor’s office to be dragging its feet,” said Dan Riffle, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project. “Patients in the District who could benefit from medical marijuana have already had to wait 12 years for this law. Why should they be needlessly forced to wait another five months?”   

         Nearly 70 percent of District voters passed a referendum on medical marijuana in 1998, but Congress blocked its implementation until this past year. The D.C. Council approved an amended initiative in May, and last month Congress declined to take action to block the bill. 

         “The proposed regulations released today are detailed and comprehensive, but there are several issues that we hope are addressed before they are finalized,” Riffle said. “For example, the draft regulations call for applications from prospective dispensary or cultivation center owners to be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, which could lead to the first applicants being awarded licenses, rather than the best applicants. Also, the lack of a competitive, scored application process—such as those utilized in Maine and other medical marijuana jurisdictions—raises questions of transparency and fairness. However, patients will benefit from the regulatory prohibition on the use of pesticides or contaminants, and the detailed packaging and labeling requirements for medical marijuana products.”

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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