It's really just that simple. As long as police are in charge of solving "the drug problem," there will be outrageous stories of police misconduct in the newspaper every morning for you to read about. It's as predictable as it is disturbing:

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Charges have been dropped or convictions vacated in 185 drug cases in one of the nation's most crime-ridden cities because information gathered in a criminal investigation of five police city officers suggests evidence could have been tainted, a prosecutor announced Friday.

One of the officers pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiring with other officers to deprive others of their civil rights. Kevin Parry, who has resigned from the department, admitted he planted drugs on suspects, conducted illegal searches, threatened additional charges for suspects who refused to cooperate, stole drugs and money from suspects, and paid informants - many of them prostitutes - with drugs in exchange for information. [Washington Post]

You really don't have to look very hard to discover that many of the scariest drug crimes are perpetrated by the people who supposedly enforce our drug laws. The fact that 185 cases now have to be thrown out is just incredible and yet there's nothing even the least bit unusual about any of this. It happens constantly and it's perfectly typical that huge numbers of cases are affected by corruption scandals; the cops got away with it the first 184 times.

Having failed to mention that I was going on vacation, I now announce my triumphant return. I attended the always inspiring SSDP national conference in San Francisco and then drove out to Yosemite with my girlfriend for some hiking, skiing and photography. Fortunately, the drug cartels have yet to completely ruin the Sierra Nevadas with their massive outdoor marijuana grows, but the beauty of Yosemite was a stark reminder of what we have to lose if our marijuana policy isn't fixed quickly.

What a strange feeling it is to gaze upon our nation's most precious wilderness and know that even the ancient Sequoia forests aren't safe from the drug war's destructive clutches. Thankfully, I managed not to spend the entire time thinking about that.

IT'S TIME PEOPLE WOKE UP TO SEE WHAT THIS "MIRACLE" DRUG REALLY 'CAN AND DOES' WORK. CALL YOUR NEIGHBORS,FRIENDS GET THE WORD OUT INSTEAD OF STICKING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND.