Cheers to the politicians who are finally doing what they should be doing – protecting the people who have given them their power.

Legalize it, regulate it, tax it.

Peace

There’s just too much institutional mass interested in keeping pot illegal. The cops, the district attorneys, the courts, the jailers, the counselors, the DEA, Customs, parts of the military, parts of Intell, parts of the State Dept. and etc., etc.

I hope and wish that Kelley is right, but I fear and expect that TomB is. Some of the larger cities and many more of the states might flirt with legalization, but the 3000lb gorilla in the room is the Federal Government, which no state or city has the political will to challenge, especially not when they’re on the receiving end of bailout millions.

My prediction? Many statutory moves will be made towards legalization, but the FedGov, which is now totally beyond the reach of the people, will continue to enforce their drug laws, even against cannabis.

SUPPORT THE IOWA GLOBAL MARIJUANA MARCH 2009- MAY 2 HIGH NOON DES MOINES IA
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Iowans a new sun has dawned over a new Iowa, thank you to all who supported IOWA-SF293

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHpvnamZuLc

It’s time to recognize that marijuana reform isn’t radioactive or “controversial” – it’s common sense. Have we in American gone so far into a Orwellian totalitarian society that we’ve lost our ability to act on common sense?

I agree completely with TomB. It’s time to start talking about the only real reason why cannabis isn’t legal and regulated – the police/prison inustrial complex. Law enforcement has become the most powerful element of American government. The other parts of the government have lost the ability to control law enforcement. Policies and laws are now decided and written by law enforcement in the way that benefits the criminal justice machine.

In Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed and the government could no longer pay its security apparatus and law enforcement agendies they went directly into the mafia, and now the country is plagued by violent extortion that makes it nearly impossible to start and operate a business. Is that where we’re headed? Stay tuned.

But the president’s overcoming fear of tarring is easier than getting past the real politics of changing the law. The real politics, reducing the flow of money and power to constituencies who profit from keeping the drug illegal, that’s activism wherein Obama is unlikely to see profit.

At the end of the moral debate and after weighing the political risk, you have to wonder if regards making it easier to get pot and cutting the perquisites to the war on drug industry Mr. Obama won’t just say, do I really need this?

Luis de Agustin

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/04/war-on-drugs-time-for-change.html

Time to regain control of our streets and our sanity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9-09sWCdlY

Cheers

There’s just too much institutional mass interested in keeping pot illegal. The cops, the district attorneys, the courts, the jailers, the counselors, the DEA, Customs, parts of the military, parts of Intell, parts of the State Dept. and etc., etc.

And it’ll be the cops in one form or another who will be the big blockage. Think of how much of their dough comes in order to “fight drugs.” Think of how many of their arrest and conviction statistics come from mere marijuana possession “with intent to sell.”

That Lynch case is instructive. John Stossel had a piece on this Lynch case the other day on 20/20, and here it is on youtube:

Beyond appalling. Guy opens storefront to sell medicinal pot in strict accord with Calif. law. Mayor attends ribbon-cutting ceremony opening it. Local sheriff however doesn’t like it. Sends in undercover people like mad trying to entice the guy to sell in violation of Calif. law. (To underage people or those without physician slips or whatever.) Not one succeeded. So what did the Sheriff do? Turned it over to the Feds whose law doesn’t recognize one whit of California’s validity. They storm the place with the usual assault-troop-like tactic involving large numbers of officers. Put a gun to the guy’s head on the ground. Prosecute him simply for selling. At trial none of defense’s based on California law allowed, nor any evidence going to show same; it’s all irrelevant. The guy is convicted with the jury saying “we had no choice given the federal law standards we were sworn to use to decide our verdict.” The guy loses his livelyhood, his house, everything and as noted above is awaiting sentencing.

Beyond appalling. And yet where was the groundswell in that area against the Sheriff?

Excellent article. The taboos against merely discussing the validity of the war on drugs, as exemplified by the recent mess at the El Paso city council, are finally blowing away in the wind. This drug war was a disaster from day one and someday will be discussed in history classes as the worst policy ever implemented in the US.

Right now we simply do not have the luxury of being wrong anymore. Economic costs alone justify ending the drug war. To paraphrase Churchill; Never has so much been spent to hurt so many and accomplish so little. In fact, since most of the violence and crime we have seen could never have come about without Prohibition the drug war was akin to a football player running the ball into his own end zone….over and over and over and…..Well, actually I’m sure the coach would have benched the kid after the first time. Second time at most.