Comments on: Drug War Roundup V

Drug War Roundup V

raaka — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:19:00 -0800

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.

By: donovan

donovan — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:35:09 -0800

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?

By: chaz

chaz — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 22:41:33 -0800

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.

By: skyscraper

skyscraper — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 23:14:27 -0800

*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*

By: spazzm

spazzm — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 23:41:11 -0800

"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.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 23:47:58 -0800

Make thet 'unprofitable'. Sorry.

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 23:54:28 -0800

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!

By: arto

arto — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 00:47:46 -0800

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...

By: spazzm

spazzm — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 01:23:28 -0800

arto: I was being sarcastic.

By: apostasy

apostasy — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 01:36:19 -0800

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.

By: magullo

magullo — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 05:41:34 -0800

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.

By: dorian

dorian — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:28:32 -0800

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

By: mzanatta

mzanatta — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:30:47 -0800

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.

By: mosch

mosch — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 06:54:18 -0800

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?

By: lazaruslong

lazaruslong — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 09:24:38 -0800

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.

By: muckster

muckster — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 10:24:31 -0800

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.

By: badzen

badzen — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 10:31:39 -0800

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!

By: solistrato

solistrato — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 10:35:45 -0800

Remember, pot makes you pregnant.

By: 2sheets

2sheets — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 11:30:34 -0800

"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?

By: pitchblende

pitchblende — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 12:58:00 -0800

And, of course, is responsible for hippo migration to Columbia Also: Drug charge lands black bears in rehab center.

By: jcruelty

jcruelty — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 15:00:45 -0800

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.

By: muckster

muckster — Wed, 05 Feb 2003 20:43:29 -0800

Jurors Who Convicted Marijuana Grower Seek New Trial

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 07 Feb 2003 20:26:29 -0800

Interview with Marney Craig, one of the jurors who convicted Rosenthal.