Articles Posted in Marijuana

I am a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. LEAP is a wonderful group composed of ex and current law enforcement professional working to end the drug war.

My stint as a prosecutor made me eligible. However, unlike many LEAPers I was never a true believer in Prohibition. Many LEAP members have a conversion of sorts. Years of experience eventually lead them to realize the War on Drugs is a perpetual failure. Me, not so much.

My libertarian beliefs, combined with my economics degree from UTA, and my criminal law classes at Tech taught me that prohibition would always fail and always cause the same predictable externalities every time (death, corruption, violence, mass incarceration.) As a prosecutor my beliefs were sadly confirmed.

Dallas Mavericks small forward Josh Howard admitted to recreational pot use yesterday on a sports radio program. Josh has never failed any league drug tests. He simply chooses to use marijuana in the off season instead of the drugs approved by the NBA, DEA, and State of Texas- namely alcohol and nicotine. Here is a quote from Mr. Howard.

“What can I say? If you can do it and it’s not affecting your everyday life, why stop? If I’m able to do it, but not while I play basketball, it lets you know I can quit whenever.”

Owner Mark Cuban and Coach Avery Johnson both expressed regret at Howard’s announcement. Mr. Cuban stated this “will be dealt with” in the offseason.

A wonderful victory for compassion and common sense in Texas. From the Marijuana Policy Project

A Texas patient who uses medical marijuana to treat the symptoms of HIV won acquittal on marijuana possession charges March 25 based on a “necessity defense.” Though such a defense – which requires the defendant to establish that an otherwise illegal act was necessary to avoid imminent harm more serious than the harm prevented by the law he or she broke – has rarely been successful in Texas, the jury took just 11 minutes to acquit Tim Stevens, 53. The trial was hotly contested. .

That is a good summary of the necessity defense. Exactly what harm does Marijuana Prohibition prevent anyway? I would enjoy making this argument to a jury. How a prosecutor could try and justify this cruelty to a jury is beyond me. Of course, sometimes the duty of a prosecutor is to convict, not to see that justice is done.

Sitemeter is a great product for bloggers to learn about their readers. Inter alia, it displays the search terms you put into Google that brought you to IWTS.

These are like questions in a way. Each reader is looking for specific information. So let me treat these as a Q/A session.

Remember, this isn’t legal advise. You pay for that. This is blogging.

Rick Steves is my favorite travel author. If you are going to Europe his books are the go to resource. His travel show on PBS is also a great watch even if you aren’t going to Europe. What is less well known about Rick are his progressive, reasonable, and compassionate views on Marijuana. Rick and I are both members of NORML- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Here is a letter Rick sent out to the membership today. Compare his views with the taxpayer funded cannabis propoganda on ONDCP.

TV Host Rick Steves: NORML, Good Citizenship and You!

Some headlines…

Cannabis May Prevent Breat Cancer From Spreading

Sativex, A Cannabis Spray effectively treats pain

The ACLU reports that a Department of Justice Judge is going to recommend that the DEA end its ban on supplying marijuana for medicinal studies. Currently, the DEA will not supply the weed docs need for proper study.

Sounds like a logical move. Medical marijuana has been routinely dismissed as a “trojan horse” by the Bush Administration.

I wish this trojan horse wasn’t necessary. The argument against prohibition should win on the logic of allowing free markets and free people to make decisions that do not harm others.