Fed Allows Cannabis Legalization, Police Unhappy

September 1, 2013 / esfein / 1 Comment

Eric Holder, head of the Department of Justice, recently announced that the DOJ will allow the legalization of cannabis in Washington and Colorado. While cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, it has been legalized for recreational use in both states. Recreational users and those using cannabis as a medicine have been rejoicing since the beginning of the year, but had remained nervous due to potential federal crackdowns. It appears the smoke has been cleared; Washington and Colorado are completely free to ingest cannabis without interference at the federal level, well almost completely.

Although the DOJ has reserved the right to file a lawsuit against the states, they have taken a “trust but verify approach” to the new state laws. According to Deputy Attorney General James Cole,

The Department’s guidance in this memorandum rests on its expectation that states and local governments that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems that will address the threat those state laws could pose to public safety, public health and other law enforcement interests. A system adequate to that task must not only contain robust controls and procedures on paper; it must also be effective in practice.

Related Article: War on Drugs Farce Continues Unabated

Despite a new level of state freedom, the DOJ will still prosecute individuals to prevent:

the distribution of marijuana to minors;
revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;
the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;
state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana
drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;
growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;
preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.

Regardless of the stringent guidelines, this represents another huge step in the right direction.

Illinois, the 20th state to legalize medical marijuana, along with Washington D.C. is part of a growing list of regions in America that want an end to the fruitless War on Drugs, and free access to a totally non-toxic, highly effective medicine.

Despite former heads of the DEA warning the federal government earlier this year that allowing state legalization of cannabis would be dangerous, a growing number of Americans aren’t buying the mindless propaganda. Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance accurately states that:

The former DEA chiefs’ statement can best be seen as a self-interested plea to validate the costly and failed policies they championed but that Americans are now rejecting at the ballot box.

Some of the most outspoken individuals against the DOJ’s decision are police officers and police chiefs across the country. Law enforcement officers have already begun protesting the decision.

http://www.excelk9.com

Despite the role of police as ‘law enforcement,’ they have decided that they are better suited as political activists.

According to a letter submitted to the DOJ from police groups around the nation:

It is unacceptable that the Department of Justice did not consult our organizations — whose members will be directly impacted — for meaningful input ahead of this important decision.

Now, when the police say they will be directly impacted, they are not referring to work load or moral obligations, they are referring to the almighty dollar. Cannabis crackdowns makes up a large portion of police funding, and without being able to destroy the lives of peaceful, pot smoking citizens, a large portion of officers may very well become unnecessary. Less criminals means less police.

Related Article: Another Casualty of the Paramilitary State

According to the police groups,

The failure of the Federal government to act in this matter is an open invitation to other states to legalize marijuana in defiance of federal law.

For once, let’s hope the police are right. Not only will the DOJ’s decision give freedom back to states and individuals, it will also allow a medley of marijuana stocks to leave their penny stock status and enter the market place, providing additional state and federal revenue and more jobs. Who knows, maybe all the cops made redundant can get a job at a pot shop.

In the poignant words of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.),

the Justice Department should focus on countering and prosecuting violent crime, while respecting the will of the states whose people have voted to legalize small amounts of marijuana for personal and medical use.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/29/eric-holder-marijuana-washington-colorado-doj_n_3837034.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/police-eric-holder-marijuana-_n_3846518.html

http://marijuanastocks.com/content/list-marijuana-stocks

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/dea-marijuana_n_2810347.html

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881

https://wondergressive.com/2013/06/30/the-incredible-and-diverse-medicinal-properties-of-cannabis/

https://wondergressive.com/2012/09/19/portugal-decriminalizes-all-drugs-10-years-later-the-results-are-mind-blowing/

https://wondergressive.com/2013/06/28/war-on-drugs-farce-continues-unabated/

https://wondergressive.com/2013/01/17/another-casualty-of-the-paramilitary-state/

Portugal Decriminalizes All Drugs; 10 Years Later the Results are Mind Blowing

September 19, 2012 / esfein / 4 Comments

10 years ago Portugal decriminalized every single known drug in an attempt to alter the crime rate and addiction rate in the country. Many analyzers doubted the controversial move and even bashed Portugal for being foolish. Ten years later, the results speak for themselves.

First of all it’s still illegal to distribute and traffic drugs, but possession and use is no longer a criminal offense. Each user is judged on an individual basis by legal experts, psychologists, and social workers. Method of treatment is decided in these courts, “where addicts and drug use is treated as a public health service rather than referring it to the justice system (like the U.S.)”

The results:

A 50% nationwide reduction in addicts
One of the lowest drug usage rates for a country in the entire EU
More than 50% reduction in STD’s and overdoses (“which experts believe is the result of the government offering treatment with no threat of legal ramifications to addicts”)

This isn’t new by the way. Cannabis and other schedule substances in America have been decriminalized in The Netherlands for years, and major differences in addiction rate and crime can be observed, even after adjusting for population and other variables.

Enough is enough. Over 50% of the inmates in American prisons are there for non-violent drug use. Many times they were completely functioning, raising families, working a steady job, paying taxes, and ingesting their drug of choice reasonably and responsibly. That’s millions of people in prison who are able and willing to be content, non-violent, productive members of the society that demonizes them and destroys their family and themselves forever.

Sensibility and rationality is far more sensible and rational.

Update:

For more information including graphs, statistics and in depth reading concerning Portugal’s drug policy: clicky and clicky.

For extensive information regarding other nations with progressive and effective drug policies: clicker and click.

If Alcohol Were Discovered Today Would it Be Legal?

September 19, 2012 / esfein / 1 Comment

That is the question Professor David Nutt from Cambridge University has asked his country. Alcohol is undoubtedly the most widespread, destructive drug on the planet, and yet, it is socially accepted and even encouraged in nearly every culture.

Professor Nutt begins by pointing out that in many people’s minds alcohol is not even a drug. When people ingest alcohol they get drunk, yet, when they ingest any other ‘drug’ they get high. Society has classified alcohol as something completely different than any other mind altering substance. It is harmless, and only a problem for a remote minority of the world.

This is simply not true.

Professor Nutt points out the annual statistics concerning Alcohol in the UK alone:

40,000 deaths, including 350 just from acute alcohol poisoning and 8,000 from cirrhosis of the liver. More than a million hospital admissions in 2007/8 (including 13,000 under-18s), costing the NHS £2.7 billion.
7,000 road traffic accidents, including 500 deaths.
1.2 million violent incidents and 500,000 crimes, costing the police £7 billion. In addition:

40% of domestic violence cases involve alcohol, as well as 50% of child protection cases.
3.5 million adults in the UK are addicted, and up to 700,000 children live with a parent with a drink problem. 6,000 children a year are born with fetal alcohol syndrome each year.
Globally, the main burden of disease in 15- to 24-year-old males is due to alcohol, outweighing unsafe sex, illicit drug use, and physical accidents combined.
The total economic cost has been calculated as £30 billion a year – though some calculations estimate it may be as high as £55 billion.

In rebuttal to negative rhetoric regarding alcohol, the industries always find a way to defend themselves. The major points of argument/propoganda are:

Consuming alcohol is normal, common, healthy and very responsible.
The damage done by alcohol is caused by a small group of deviants who cannot handle alcohol.
Normal adult non-drinkers do not, in fact, exist.
Ignore the fact that alcohol is a harmful and addictive chemical substance (ethanol) for the body.
Alcohol problems can only be solved when all parties work together.
Alcohol marketing is not harmful. It is simply intended to assist the consumer in selecting a certain product or brand.
Education about responsible use is the best method to protect society from alcohol problems.

With a copious amount of information, Professor Nutt explains the fallacies of each of these statements in detail. Alcohol is undoubtedly dangerous for those who drink and those that choose not to.

It’s time to rethink all substances. We need a paradigm shift in the way we view drugs and medicine. A shift that involves science and experience, rather than profits and hysteria.

Alcohol Discovered Today: Would it Still be Legal?

September 19, 2012 / esfein / 2 Comments

The wonderful world of alcohol. http://www.failhero.com

Professor Nutt begins by pointing out that in many people’s minds alcohol is not even a drug. When people ingest it they get drunk, yet, when they ingest any other ‘drug’ they get high. Society has classified alcohol as something completely different than any other mind altering substance. It is harmless, and only a problem for a remote minority of the world.

This is simply not true.

Professor Nutt points out the alarming annual statistics in the UK alone:

40,000 deaths, including 350 just from acute poisoning and 8,000 from cirrhosis of the liver. More than a million hospital admissions in 2007/8 (including 13,000 under-18s), costing the NHS £2.7 billion.

7,000 road traffic accidents, including 500 deaths.

1.2 million violent incidents and 500,000 crimes, costing the police £7 billion. In addition:

40% of domestic violence cases involve alcohol, as well as 50% of child protection cases.

3.5 million adults in the UK are addicted, and up to 700,000 children live with a parent with a drink problem. 6,000 children a year are born with fetal alcohol syndrome each year.

Globally, the main burden of disease in 15- to 24-year-old males is due to alcohol, outweighing unsafe sex, illicit drug use, and physical accidents combined.

The total economic cost has been calculated as £30 billion a year – though some calculations estimate it may be as high as £55 billion.

Does this sound like a substance society should be lining the super market shelves with? Professor Nutt explains that the alcohol industry is much to blame for the double think we practice regarding the substance we love so much. In rebuttal to negative rhetoricl, the industries always find a way to defend themselves.

The European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing recently published a report called the Seven Key Messages of the Alcohol Industry,

and they are as follows:

Consuming alcohol is normal, common, healthy and very responsible.
The damage done by alcohol is caused by a small group of deviants who cannot handle it.
Normal adult non-drinkers do not, in fact, exist.
Ignore the fact that alcohol is harmful and addictive chemical substance (ethanol) for the body.
Marketing is not harmful. It is simply intended to assist the consumer in selecting a certain product or brand.
Education about responsible use is the best method to protect society from drinking problems.

With a copious amount of information, Professor Nutt explains the fallacies of each of these statements in detail. Alcohol is undoubtedly dangerous for those who drink and those that choose not to.

It’s time to rethink all substances. We need a paradigm shift in the way we view drugs and medicine. A shift that involves science and experience, rather than profits and hysteria.

Sources:

AlterNet: If Alcohol Were Discovered Today, Would it be Legal?

Professor Nutt: Drugs – without the hot air

Huffington Post: Finally, Drug Education Gets Real: Drugs – Without the Hot Air

The Economist: Reefer Madness Plain Speaking on a Highly Coloured Issue

EU Funds Orwellian Plan to Invasively Monitor Public’s Behavior

September 13, 2012 / esfein / Leave a comment

In a push to prevent crime, the EU is beginning to implement various invasive techniques that monitor the public physically and virtually.

The name of the project is Project Indect, and its aim is to “develop computer programmes which act as “agents” to monitor and process information from web sites, discussion forums, file servers, peer-to-peer networks and even individual computers.”

The EU has increased its budget for fighting crime, terrorism and handling migration by 13.5% in the last 5 years. Through profiling entire nations, the new collective European police force is “likely to gain access to sensitive information held by UK police, including the British DNA database. It also expects the number of UK citizens extradited under the controversial European Arrest Warrant to triple.”

The ‘1984’ style overhaul will even analyze and monitor personal computers and networks. Critics all around the world are calling this the beginning of a ‘European CIA.’

EU Orwellian Plan to Invasively Monitor Public’s Behavior

September 13, 2012 / esfein / Leave a comment

http://kiwipolemicist.files.wordpress.com

In a push to prevent crime, the EU is beginning to implement various invasive techniques that monitor the public physically and virtually.

The name of the project is Project Indect, and its aim is to

develop computer programmes which act as ‘agents’ to monitor and process information from web sites, discussion forums, file servers, peer-to-peer networks and even individual computers.

The EU has increased its budget for fighting crime, terrorism and handling migration by 13.5% over the last 6 years. Through profiling populations of entire nations, the new collective European police force is

likely to gain access to sensitive information held by UK police, including the British DNA database. It also expects the number of UK citizens extradited under the controversial European Arrest Warrant to triple.

The ‘1984′ style overhaul will even analyze and monitor personal computers and networks. Critics all around the world are calling this the beginning of a ‘European CIA.’

Sources:

Telegraph: Orwellian Artificial Intelligence

Project Indect

European Union Financial Report

1984 by George Orwell