Drug War Roundup V

February 4, 2003 10:19 PM

Drug War Roundup V. "It's the most horrible mistake I've ever made," says a juror who helped convict Ed "Guru of Ganja" Rosenthal of marijuana production. The judge in Ed's case didn't consider him a flight risk, but may have after reading "The Drug War Refugees" (reg. req.), about Americans fleeing to Canada. The entire drug trade is approximately "the size of the Spanish economy and about 8 percent of world trade." And, of course, is responsible for hippo migration to Columbia.
posted by raaka (22 comments total)

The jury fallout from this could be a huge moment in the WOD. Question, though, will Ed stay put and flirt with the Martyr option or will this man turn up next in Vancouver and file for asylum?
posted by donovan at 10:35 PM on February 4, 2003

Legalizing drugs will create more jobs and tax revenue than 10 Bush tax cuts. The economics are simple, people! We need to do something about this to pay for the new wars on Iraq.
posted by chaz at 10:41 PM on February 4, 2003

*pedant enters*

The world is, indeed, in a handbasket and headed for h e double hockeysticks when Reuters refers to more than one hippo as "hippopotamuses". The vision of hippos on the loose in Columbia is priceless, thanks for the link.

*pedant exits*

*pedant reenters*

Hey! Spell check says hippopotamuses is okay! Damn, I am an old fart.

*pedant mopes, then slinks away*
posted by skyscraper at 11:14 PM on February 4, 2003

"Escobar, who rose from tombstone robber to one of the world's most famous and feared criminals, had amassed a fortune of $3 billion by age 33."

I say, it's a good thing we have the WOD to keep the drug trade inprofitable.
posted by spazzm at 11:41 PM on February 4, 2003

Make thet 'unprofitable'. Sorry.
posted by spazzm at 11:47 PM on February 4, 2003

Jon Stewart paraphrase:

"More federal agents are being recalled from the drug war front to fight the new war on terrorism.

[pause]

DAMN IT! And we were so close to winning that one!
posted by lazaruslong at 11:54 PM on February 4, 2003

Inprofitable means profitable? What kind of crazy language is this?

Seriously, I've never understood the degree of fear and loathing with which officialdom treats medical marijuana. Sure, good ole Mary Jane isn't quite as healthy for you as mother's milk--common sense suggests that inhaling burning vegetable smoke is a bad thing for your lungs--but when you're dealing with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, even arthritis patients, surely that's the lesser of two evils?

Mind you, a true cynic might simply view that as the employees of the burgeoning prison industry fighting for their jobs...
posted by arto at 12:47 AM on February 5, 2003

arto:
I was being sarcastic.
posted by spazzm at 1:23 AM on February 5, 2003

It does warm one's heart to see that local governments are still giving the Justice Dept. the finger.

Rosenthal...faces as much as 85 years in prison when he is sentenced June 4.

Ouch.
posted by apostasy at 1:36 AM on February 5, 2003

Walters, the U.S. drug czar, ... [says] ... he's all for individual liberty ... but within rational limits. Modern civilization, he concludes, is based on the notion that we control the darker angels of our nature.

Moderm bicillization iz wen Nixon kiks Sagan's buttt at zsiense.
posted by magullo at 5:41 AM on February 5, 2003

so it sounds like we might actually have seen some nullification action, if the judge hadn't put his hands over the jury's ears and said "la la lalalala you are not listening!"

then again, if the jury had known about Ed's quasi-official status, the judge probably would have threatened the hell out of them.

h-i-p-p-o-p-p-a-m-m-a
posted by dorian at 6:28 AM on February 5, 2003

arto: common sense suggests that inhaling burning vegetable smoke is a bad thing for your lungs

True, but there are ways around this. Vaporization is one way, eating it is another. In Canada, they've been looking into making THC soup for medicinal purposes.
posted by mzanatta at 6:30 AM on February 5, 2003

I'm glad to see Rosenthal's case getting a little bit of attention. Perhaps I'm just a no-good communist hippie, but I find it absolutely appalling that a person can find himself facing up to 85 years in prison, simply because he grew medical marijuana at the behest of his government.

Is there a politician with the balls to stand up and admit that the war on drugs has spun wildly out of control?
posted by mosch at 6:54 AM on February 5, 2003

Is there a politician with the balls to stand up and admit that the war on drugs has spun wildly out of control?

Mayhap a more appropriate question would be: Is there a politician with the balls to stand up and admit that the war on drugs has spun wildly out of control, and still retain the political/social influence to enact any kind of lasting, meaningful reform?

Nah man.
posted by lazaruslong at 9:24 AM on February 5, 2003

Seriously, I've never understood the degree of fear and loathing with which officialdom treats medical marijuana. Mind you, a true cynic might simply view that as the employees of the burgeoning prison industry fighting for their jobs...

That selfsame cynic might also wonder how the pharma industry feels about a drug that actually works, has very few side effects, and can be cheaply grown by the patients themselves rather than bought from them at exorbitant prices.
posted by muckster at 10:24 AM on February 5, 2003

that we control the darker angels of our nature

ah, yes, the Dark Lord Bongload, coming to snatch your children and make them quite dangerously hungry! Flee, children for your very souls are at stake!
posted by badzen at 10:31 AM on February 5, 2003

Remember, pot makes you pregnant.
posted by solistrato at 10:35 AM on February 5, 2003

"Perhaps I'm just a no-good communist hippie, but I find it absolutely appalling that a person can find himself facing up to 85 years in prison, simply because he grew medical marijuana at the behest of his government.
"

Could it be because there are rapists and child molesters that serve 5 year sentences?
posted by 2sheets at 11:30 AM on February 5, 2003

And, of course, is responsible for hippo migration to Columbia

Also: Drug charge lands black bears in rehab center.
posted by pitchblende at 12:58 PM on February 5, 2003

I'm sure everyone who came out against banning smoking in bars in the Irish-pub-ban thread agrees that this kind of hamfisted govt intervention is equally absurd when applied to medical marijuana? I've never understood how most GOP supporters reconcile the contradiction between the worship of states rights / limited govt. and the moralistic crusade that is the US drug "war". Of course, there are lots of liberal politicians who support US drug policy as well, but they haven't made careers out of railing against govt. intrusion into private affairs and regulation of free markets.
posted by jcruelty at 3:00 PM on February 5, 2003

Jurors Who Convicted Marijuana Grower Seek New Trial
posted by muckster at 8:43 PM on February 5, 2003

Interview with Marney Craig, one of the jurors who convicted Rosenthal.
posted by homunculus at 8:26 PM on February 7, 2003