Federal Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Has Its Coming Out Party
On August 08, 2008 in Government, Legalization
For the first time in decades, a marijuana decriminalization bill is before the Congress. Introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) in April 2008, the Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults (H.R. 5843) got its coming out party Wednesday [July 30, 2008] as Frank, a handful of other representatives, and leaders of prominent drug reform organizations held a Capitol Hill press conference to push for the bill.
In the eyes of many, the bill couldn’t come soon enough. Since 1965, more than 20 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, 830,000 in 2006. Of those, nearly 90% were for simple possession. In addition to the jail time and other costs imposed on offenders, marijuana law enforcement costs society more than $7 billion a year. Read the rest of this entry »
Maryland SWAT Raid Leaves Two Dogs Dead, a Small Town Mayor’s Family Traumatized
On August 08, 2008 in Drug War, In The News
(Drug War Chronicle) - This newsletter has reported or opined on the issue of paramilitarization in policing many times. This week that outrage struck in my own figurative backyard. At 7:00pm Wednesday, in the tiny DC suburb of Berwyn Heights, a SWAT team from the Prince Georges County, Maryland, police department, stormed a home, killed two dogs, then handcuffed one of the homeowners and his mother-in-law on the floor for hours as the dogs’ blood drained around them. Read the rest of this entry »
Future Doctors Support Medical Marijuana
On July 04, 2008 in Medical Marijuana
The Medical Student Section (MSS) of the American Medical Association (AMA) overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution urging the AMA to support the reclassification of marijuana for medical use at the AMA’s annual conference in Chicago earlier this month. The resolution will now go before the AMA House of Delegates for a final vote at its interim meeting in November. Read the rest of this entry »
World’s Smartest Vendor: 10,000 Pot Heads & One Ice Cream Truck
On May 09, 2008 in Humor, Legalization, Video
Capn Cannabis interviews the smartest Ice cream vendor in the world at the 420 Ken Gorman 2008 Memorial Marijuana Legalization Rally in Denver.
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Opposition to Plan Merida Emerges in Mexico
On May 09, 2008 in Drug War, Government, In The News
(May 5, 2008) This week, high-level US and Mexican officials spoke out in favor of Plan Mérida, the three-year, $1.4 billion anti-drug package designed to assist the Mexican government in its ongoing battle with violent drug trafficking organizations. But at the same time officials like Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were visiting Latin America to seek support for the plan, at a forum on drug policy in Culiacán, Sinaloa, home of one of the most feared of the drug trafficking groups, the Sinaloa Cartel, there was little but criticism of the proposed aid package.
Since he took office at the beginning of last year, Mexican President Felipe Calderón has deployed some 30,000 Mexican army troops in the fight against the so-called cartels, which provide much of the cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana coming into the United States. US officials have Read the rest of this entry »
