I’ve just watched PBS’s Frontline: The Meth Epidemic. And, while I have to admit, I know far less about methamphetamine, its history, and the culture – both open and illicit, which surrounds it, than most of the other legally proscribed drugs I have studied, I likely know far more than the producers of this show.… More »
If it weren’t for the BS this boy and his family is going to be put through, this would be hilarious: A 12-year-old Aurora boy who said he brought powdered sugar to school for a science project this week has been charged with a felony for possessing a look-alike drug, Aurora police have confirmed. The… More »
I haven’t watched CBS News’ 60 Minutes in several years. But this Sunday they have slated a story on Richard Paey, who is serving 25 years in a Florida prison, for trying to get prescription relief for his pain. Jacob Sullum at Reason’s Hit and Run has lots of links on the topic.
In case you haven’t heard, the cloture vote, to close filibuster in the Senate, on the Patriot Act extension, went down – getting only 52 yeas with 60 required. I will have to take a look at the actual text of the bill currently on the Senate floor to make a definitive judgement. But my… More »
This from Max Borders at TCS Daily: Whether you’re a 220 lb. guzzler with an iron liver or a 120 anorexic who’s just had her first drink, you will be evaluated by the same standard in determining whether you’re capable of driving. The standard in most states is a .08 blood-alcohol content or BAC. But… More »
Radley Balko has posted a summary of what he knows, to date, on the Cory Maye murder case. If you’ve been following this, and you should be, this is a must read. Because, as Radley states, many errors have crept into the story, as it’s made its way around the blogosphere. Stephen Gordon is also… More »
…We have the common cold and allergy sufferer, who will have a much harder time getting the medication they need, due to a “Combat Meth” amendment snuck into the Patriot Act: TalkLeft has previously criticized North Carolina's use of its “weapons of mass destruction” law to charge a meth lab owner (follow-up here), as well… More »
If you haven’t been following Radley Balko’s seminal investigative series on the murder trial of Cory Maye, you really should. In his interview with the prosecutor today, I get the distinct impression McDonald is playing fast and loose with the facts, just hoping Balko will go away. This is also another incidence where the blogosphere… More »
Randy Barnett at Volokh has been working on a brief for the Ninth Circuit in the abominable Gonzales v. Raich case. The Supremes ruled only on application of the Interstate Commerce clause, this deals with Angel Raich’s basic rights. He’s written a short forward for an upcoming collection in the Lewis & Clark Law Review… More »
I think every village or suburb or city block must be afflicted with a bad neighbor, or in the luckiest locations, the “not so good” neighbor. At best this neighbor may be merely rude, clueless, thoughtless or just disagreeable— or an unfortunate combination of all those qualities. Ordinary bad neighbors may play loud music late… More »
Apparently, he thinks we all think the same way: Every one that I admire is wrong about the drug war. And I mean every one. The Libertarians I hang around with try to pretend that drugs aren’t all that bad. The usual drug that is called not bad is Marijuana. Marijuana is not bad, it–and… More »
But wait, Raich has NOTHING to do with Wickard, save perhaps that they are both bad decisions. I mean, in Raich, we are talking about an activity (the interstate commerce in marijuana) which is illegal, and should ideally be zero. Only by some wild flight of fantasy could any reasonable person claim that a user cultivating marijuana for their own use could do anything but DECREASE the interstate traffic.
I mean, by this precedent, it could be claimed that it is Unconstitutional for Amber Alerts to be put out by neighboring States after a child has been kidnapped, as it may effect the interstate trade in sex slaves.
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This from Gina Holland at AP: WASHINGTON Jun 6, 2005 — Federal authorities may prosecute sick people who smoke pot on doctors’ orders, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, concluding that state medical marijuana laws don’t protect users from a federal ban on the drug. The decision is a stinging defeat for marijuana advocates who had… More »
This from NYTimes’ Tina Rosenberg: Federal prosecutors in Virginia want Dr. William Hurwitz, recently convicted on 50 counts of distributing narcotics, to go to prison for life without parole when he is sentenced in mid-April. For the 50 million or so Americans who suffer from chronic pain, the fate of Dr. Hurwitz should be of… More »
The United States’ Evil War on Drugs has turned Bolivia into another failed Latin American state. This fact is confirmed today, by the resignation of Bolivian President Carlos Mesa. Of course, who cares about the suffering and death of our brown-skinned southern neighbors? The prohibitionists are doing “G_d’s work.” Hat Tip: InstaPundit (suggest you check… More »
Has-been NFL quarterback is in drug trouble again: Former USC and Oakland Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich is serving a 90-day jail term stemming from an arrest in Newport Beach last month for possessing methamphetamine, officials said Monday. Marinovich, who played at Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley, pleaded guilty last week to a felony count of… More »
Talkleft blogs on the allarming practice of police attempting to get search warrants for people’s homes based upon samples taken from thier doorknobs: Is it my imagination or are our Fourth Amendment protections shrinking? A U.S. District Court in Utah is considering a challenge to searches of the doorknobs to our homes. It’s a tactic… More »
Despite his former gaff, White House Drug Czar Dan Walters now claims Clinton’s “Plan Columbia” is a great success in stemming the tide of cocaine into the US: Mr Walters was speaking in Washington after visiting Colombia and Mexico. He said American-backed efforts by those countries had sharply reduced the estimated flow of the drug… More »
It now appears that marijuana is beneficial in the treatment of brain cancer: Marijuana Ingredient Inhibits VEGF Pathway Required For Brain Tumor Blood Vessels Cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana, restrict the sprouting of blood vessels to brain tumors by inhibiting the expression of genes needed for the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).… More »