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Holder Renews Pledge to Respect Medical Marijuana Laws

In case anyone forgot, the new administration promises to be nicer about medical marijuana:

ALBUQUERQUE — The nation’s top cop said Friday that marijuana dispensaries participating in New Mexico’s fledgling medical marijuana program shouldn’t fear Drug Enforcement Agency raids, a staple of the Bush administration.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, speaking in Albuquerque during a meeting focused on border issues, including drug trafficking, said his department is focused "on large traffickers," not on growers who have a state’s imprimatur to dispense marijuana for medical reasons.

"For those organizations that are doing so sanctioned by state law, and doing it in a way that is consistent with state law, and given the limited resources that we have, that will not be an emphasis for this administration," Holder said. [New Mexico Independent]

Notwithstanding a couple of questionable raids that have taken place since Holder took office, it's good to hear him keep repeating this. The more he says it, the more scrutiny he'll be subjected to if DEA continues to push its luck. Personally, I'm not expecting the complete elimination of federal interference with state medical marijuana laws, but I think it will become clear over time that the situation has improved.

Still, Holder and Obama shouldn't get a pass on this ridiculous "limited resources" excuse for respecting state medical marijuana laws. The issue enjoys tremendous public support and there's no reason the new administration can’t come right out and acknowledge that the Bush policy was just cruel. Pretending it's about money is disgusting and wrong. Note to reporters: next time someone in the administration tries to portray the new medical marijuana policy as a matter of conserving law enforcement resources, ask whether they'd continue the raids if their budget was bigger.

Furthermore, the feds are still trying to put Charlie Lynch in prison for operating a perfectly legal dispensary in California. His sentencing will take place this Thursday, assuming it doesn’t get postponed yet again. Click here to email the Dept. of Justice and tell them to let Charlie go.

If these guys are sick of answering questions about marijuana policy, freeing Charlie Lynch is by far their best move.
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Drug War Robots Are Not the Answer

Time Magazine reports on the proliferation of flying drones that spy on drug smugglers from the sky. I'm sure our brave drug war soldiers love sending in remote control robots to do their dirty work, but Time takes things way too far by surmising that these creepy drones might become a game-changing force in the war on drugs:

Indeed, with drones playing an increasing role in U.S. military operations — some 7,000 are in use today, up from just around 100 in the year 2000 — it only stands to reason that drug drones will soon join America's growing stealth arsenal. That's especially true at a time when many in Congress are questioning the cost-effectiveness of a drug war (which has poured more than $5 billion in U.S. aid to Colombia alone this decade) that intercepts tons of narcotics each year but rarely seems to put appreciable dents in eradicating crops like coca, the raw material of cocaine, or reducing the flow of marijuana, coke, heroin and methamphetamine into the U.S.

This is backwards logic. The fact that the drug war consistently and colossally fails to reduce the drug supply is not an argument for spending millions on gigantic flying drones. We should have learned the opposite lesson by now.

Seriously, stop building futuristic drug war machines. We've taken things way, way too far already.
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Learning from Crystal Methamphetamine

The Community Response to Crystal Methamphetamine Study and the Chemical Dependency Institute (Beth Israel Medical Center) are pleased to announce the presentation of findings from a recently complete
In The Trenches

Drug Truth Network 06/08/09

The Unvarnished Truth From the Drug Truth Network Century of Lies for 06/07/09, 29:00 Eugene Oscapella, director of Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy + Jet Baker song "Free Eddy Lepp", Winston Francis with "Don't Bother", Claudia Rubin from UK's RELEASE drug program, Jesse Stout of Rhode Island MMJ effort & parental warning from Doctor Joel Hochman, director National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2445 TRANSCRIPT: 06/08/09 PM Cultural Baggage for 06/03/09, 29:00 US Prison Sentences await Marc Emery - Canada's Prince of Pot, Reverend Eddy Lepp and cannabis dispensary owner Charles Lynch, comments from Ed Rosenthal the guru of ganja LINK: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2444 TRANSCRIPT: http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2444#comments 4:20 Drug War NEWS, 6/8 to 6/14/09 Link at www.drugtruth.net on the right margin - Sun - Charles Lynch, medical marijuana dispensary owner faces 5 years in prison Sat - Jet Baker song extract: "Free Eddy Lepp" & Winston Francis' "If we end prohibition" warning Fri - Dr. Joel Hochman, Executive Director of the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain issues warnings to youth and to parents about the dangers of drugs Thu - Mason Tvert, director of SAFER regarding dangers of alcohol and cannabis Wed - Jesse Stout of Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition Tue - Claudia Rubin of UK drug reform group RELEASE Mon - Marc Emery, Canada's Prince of Pot faces extradition to US for selling cannabis seeds Programs produced at Pacifica Radio Station KPFT in Houston, 90.1 FM. You can Listen Live Online at www.kpft.org - Century of Lies, SUN, 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT: NEXT: TBD - Cultural Baggage WED, 12:30 PM ET, 11:30 CT, 10:30 MT & 9:30 AM PT: NEXT: Claudia Rubin, RELEASE in UK Hundreds of our programs are available online at www.drugtruth.net, www.audioport.org 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 in the US, Canada and Australia! We now feature TRANSCRIPTS of most of our programs again! 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, 713-849-6869, www.drugtruth.net
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Policial: Las historias de policías corruptos de esta semana

Cae otra agente penitenciaria, un policía californiano pica en el anzuelo, un oficial de la Policía de Nueva York recibe un tirón de orejas, un policía de Massachusetts es capturado, un policía estatal de Massachusetts acepta un acuerdo y un supervisor de exámenes toxicológicos de Houston se pone codicioso. Otra semana más en la lucha contra la droga.
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Reportaje: Ministerio de Salud de Canadá ajusta programa de marihuana medicinal y dobla número de personas para quienes proveedores pueden cultivar - De una para dos

Los tribunales canadienses le han dicho varias veces al Ministerio de Salud de Canadá que no autorizar que los proveedores de marihuana medicinal cultiven para más de un paciente era injustificable, entonces ahora la agencia dice que los proveedores pueden cultivar para dos personas. Eso no era lo que querían escuchar los militantes.
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In The Trenches

Press Release: New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 5, 2005

New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge
Failure to Consider Fundamental Reforms Guarantees Cartels Will Continue to Dominate Marijuana Trade

 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The new anti-drug initiative for the Southwestern border announced today by the Obama administration is doomed to failure because it simply dresses up failed policies in new clothing, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

     "The new plan simply calls for rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The plan ignores the central problem, which is that our policy of marijuana prohibition has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them rolling in cash, not just in Mexico, but according to the Department of Justice, in 230 American cities."

     Houston noted that federal officials have stated that 60 to 70 percent of the cartels' profits come from the marijuana trade, and that the Mexican government seems to be signaling its unhappiness with the United States' current policy. "The Mexican Congress strategically scheduled consideration of legislation to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession to coincide with President Obama's trip there," Houston said. He also noted that Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán called for the debate on regulating and taxing marijuana to be "taken seriously on both sides of the border" on national television.

     "Rather than trying to make America's 15 million monthly marijuana consumers go away, we need to gain control of this market by regulating marijuana like we do beer, wine and liquor," Houston said. "Any anti-drug effort that leaves the marijuana trade in the hands of the cartels is nothing but a full-employment plan for professional drug warriors and cartel bosses alike, not a serious proposal to address the problem."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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