Actually, I'm not very surprised. But this should come as a shock to anyone who thinks we need cops to protect us from the dangers of marijuana:

SANTA CRUZ -- The phrase "getting baked" took on a dual meaning Monday for several thousand marijuana enthusiasts who braved record-breaking heat to smoke up at the annual 4/20 party in Porter Meadow at UC Santa Cruz.
…
Despite the 96-degree heat, which shattered a 110-year-old record of 88 degrees for the day, there were no medical incidents reported. [San Jose Mercury News]

There were also no reported incidents of anyone stealing from their little sister, or getting straight D's, or leaving their ex-girlfriend 27 messages, or making their mother cry, and other stuff like that…

CNN has a story on teenage drug smuggling that pretty much murders the notion that drug prohibition is creating a barrier between youth and drugs:

As an American, [Danny] Santos could freely cross the El Paso-Juarez border and not raise suspicion. At age 15, Santos says, he met "a guy" at a party who introduced him to drug kingpins in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

"You start off as a driver," Santos said. "People feel like they can trust you, then you move up to something bigger."

Two weeks later, he got a $4,000 job offer to drive his first load of marijuana across a bridge into El Paso. It was the beginning of a four-year smuggling career.

Of course, a 15-year-old kid can't get a job driving a beer truck, but he can make thousands smuggling drugs for a cartel in Ciudad Juarez. Does this sound right at all?

US. Customs and Border Protection officials in El Paso and San Diego report that in recent months, they've seen a rise in the number of juvenile drug smugglers getting busted at border checkpoints.

So right now, in 2009, the problem of teenagers becoming drug smugglers is escalating. After decades of trying to perfect our drug war strategies, all you have to do is open any newspaper and you'll immediately see some seriously messed-up stuff going on that we didn't even used to have to worry about.

It just gets worse all the time every time you look at it and I couldn't exaggerate how bad it is no matter how hard I try. I shudder to consider how much more hell on earth it may take to finally prove that the drug war is the problem and not the solution.

The legal plight of medical marijuana provider Charlie Lynch has provided a useful instrument with which to measure the new administration's commitment to respecting state medical marijuana laws. Attorney General Eric Holder has stated that only cases involving violation of state laws will be pursued, prompting the judge in Lynch's trial to request guidance from the Dept. of Justice before handing down the sentence. Here's what came back:

…in response to the Court's inquiries, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General has reviewed the facts of this case and determined that the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of defendant are entirely consistent with the policies of DOJ and with public statements made by the Attorney General with respect to marijuana prosecutions.

Huh!? That can only be true if Lynch violated California's medical marijuana laws, which hasn't been proven in court (he was only charged under federal law), and is entirely inconsistent with his well-documented cooperation with local authorities including the city council and chamber of commerce.

Charlie Lynch is exactly the sort of defendant we aren't supposed to be seeing anymore under Obama, and yet here he is, scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday and the new administration won't lift a finger to stop it. He'll likely receive a 5-year mandatory minimum for doing something the President has repeatedly said would not be prosecuted under his administration. It's just that simple.

On Thursday, we'll find out exactly how much Obama's campaign promises were worth. This won't go down quietly. Stay tuned.