Obama Takes a Crack at Drug Reform (Opinion)
Drug Policy Alliance ED, Ethan Nadelmann, opines on President Obama's drug policy reform moves since entering office.
Executive Branch
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske with President Obama
Drug Czars Past and Present Oppose Prop 19 Marijuana Init
Now, here's a shocker -- not. Drug czars oppose pot legalization. Take a look at their arguments, then read the critics.
President Obama's New Drug War Strategy and the Low-Down on 'America's Trillion Dollar Dope Game'
Houston-area journalist Clarence Walker reflects on the occasion of a trillion dollars spent on the failed US drug war.
No other has spent more money on the dope trade than our own U.S. Federal Government. Even the richest of drug barons and associated players, dead and alive, cannot or could not have competed with the avalanche of paperwork doled out by the government in its fight against this monster. Even the once ruthless - and now dead - Pablo Escobar and his Medellin Cartel, the Cali Cartel or the Mexican Drug Cartels cannot match the money they have earned from the drug trade with the amount the Federal Government has allocated for years in its battle to stem the flow of illegal drugs into America.
And what is the cost for our government in its fight against this narcotics epidemic, a war raged now for some four decades? By all means have a guess, but here is the figure according to The White House: One trillion dollars.
The war on drugs is the longest war the American government has ever fought, longer than World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. And even after 40 years, the battle to enforce the laws of the land that prohibits "getting high on dope", this poisonous, addictive trade continues to thrive with the ferocity of an earthquake across the planet. Quite obviously, there is no clear-cut victory in sight.
From the outset, if the intent driving the war on drugs, beginning in 1970 under President Nixon's Administration, was to create a drug-free America, we can see that after the spending of a trillion dollars, culminating in millions of arrests, the creation of a burgeoning health care system with which to effectively treat addicts, and the billions spent on law enforcement's task of arresting drug dealers and the prison system in housing the millions of nonviolent drug offenders alongside thousands who have brought violence and death, the "war on drugs" nevertheless remains a dismal failure.
Is Obama Planning to Allow More Medical Marijuana Raids?
In the aftermath of a couple very questionable DEA raids of medical marijuana providers, not to mention the nomination of notorious drug warrior Michele Leonhart to head the DEA, we're forced to question once again whether President Obama intends to abide by his pledge to tolerate medical marijuana in states that have legalized its use.
Obama: Fix U.S. Drug Policy! (Petition)
About this Petition:
As he prepares his new administration, Obama has the opportunity to appoint a "Drug Czar" who will shift drug policy toward a public health model and away from a criminal model. Please sign this petition and let our new president know that a change in drug policy is needed!
The Desired Outcome of this Petition:
Obama appoints a "Drug Czar" who will treat drug abuse as a health issue rather than a criminal issue and will move away from a "War on Drugs" paradigm.
To sign, follow this link: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/show/15?m=85799a5f
Border Patrol checkpoint with drug dog
California Medical Marijuana Patients Harassed By US Border Patrol [FEATURE]
Medical marijuana is legal in California, but you have a problem if you have to go through any Border Patrol checkpoints. The Department of Homeland Security isn't the Department of Justice, and DHS doesn't recognize medical marijuana.
military drone planes
Congress Approves $600 Million for More Cops, Drones on Mexico Border [UPDATED]
Congress has just okayed spending $600 million for more drones, more ICE, more Border Patrol, more FBI, more DEA, more BATF, and more to "secure the border."
GPS satellite (from noaa.gov)
Federal Appeals Court Rejects Warrantless GPS Tracking
A federal appellate court in Washington, DC, has trimmed law enforcement's wings a little in an important Fourth Amendment case.
Sign the Petition to President Obama: End the War on Marijuana
Find the latest marijuana policy news on the JustSayNow page. You can also follow JustSayNow on Twitter and Facebook.
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.
Obama admin skewers GOP attack on stimulus cocaine monkeys (Opinion)
Are your stimulus dollars really being wasted on an Obama administration plot to get monkeys high on crack and cocaine as select Republicans and conservatives have been saying recently? No. The money is actually being spent on research into how to treat drug addiction in humans.