In the summer of 2007 on the campaign trail Barack Obama
took a clear stance on the controversial subject of medical marijuana.
“I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It’s not a good use of our resources.” As President in 2009 he took action to follow through on this promise by instructing federal prosecutors to
“not focus federal resources in [their] States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.” The memo cited the “efficient and rational use” of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “limited investigative and prosecutorial resources,” as a motivating factor in the decision."
In the winter of 2012 Rolling Stone magazine
takes a look back on this subject and the record is surprising.
"With more than 100 raids on pot dispensaries during his first three years, Obama is now on pace to exceed Bush's record for medical-marijuana busts. "There's no question that Obama's the worst president on medical marijuana," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "He's gone from first to worst." [more inside]
posted by furiousxgeorge
on Feb 19, 2012 -
128 comments
Descendents of early French Huguenots, the Ravenel family of South Carolina ranked among the most prominent members of the state's planter class. Arthur Ravenel, Jr. continued the Ravenel tradition of public service, serving in
the South Carolina house and senate and then in the
U.S. House of Representatives. He once referred to the NAACP as the "that organization known as the National Association for Retarded People" although he later apologized,
but only to people with mental and physical challenges. He also once called for
the military to shoot down any plane suspected of smuggling drugs. Arthur's son
Thomas Ravenel had little contact with his father after his parent's divorce, became a self-made millionaire through real estate development, narrowly missed winning the Senate seat now held by Jim DeMint, was elected South Carolina Treasurer,
was the subject of an investigation into his cocaine use (
of which he was warned by his father),
was indicted on a federal cocaine charge and resigned,
and served 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy with intent to distribute cocaine. On Saturday, Thomas Ravenel took to the pages of the Charleston Post and Courier
to call for an end to drug prohibition,
hoping the celebrity of being a former rising star in the Republican Party who went to prison will help advance his position.
posted by ND¢
on Feb 8, 2011 -
51 comments
Due to
“credible death and kidnapping threats”, T-Pain has cancelled a concert in Guyana for
Mashramani, the festival that marks the anniversary of Guyana’s independence from Great Britain.
Last years, celebration was soured by a
killing spree perpetrated by a heavily armed gang led by man known as “Fine Man”. Because the 23 victims were mainly of East Indian descent, the massacre was a powder keg issue for the tiny South American nation. With a population of 44% East Indian and 30% African ancestries, Guyana tends to be socially and politically divided along ethnic identity lines.
[more inside]
posted by Stu-Pendous
on Feb 24, 2009 -
12 comments
Thirty-six years after the
National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse recommended that "simple possession" of pot be decriminalised, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has
introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), to remove federal criminal penalties for possession of up to 100 grams (about three-and-a-half ounces) of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce (28.3 grams). Drug reform advocates
lit up hailed the legislation as "an important step toward bringing federal law into line with scientific fact, practical reality and public opinion." Is America, at long last, having a collective moment of sanity?
posted by kliuless
on Apr 20, 2008 -
76 comments
"An open society must be
prepared to listen to those who offer a critique of its conventional wisdom—and our conventional wisdom about drugs and addiction should be no exception."
posted by daksya
on Sep 22, 2007 -
50 comments
So how's the War on Drugs proceeding in Afghanistan? Barry McCaffrey, former drug czar,
trumpets, "
Opium production has been dramatically slashed by 48% just in the past year[2005].". Oops, actually that's the acreage of opium cultivation; production went down by
only 10%, due to increased yields. In any case, that's so
last year. Instead of the socially detrimental
policy of poppy eradication, wouldn't it be
preferable to allow
licensing of poppies for legitimate medical needs? The Afghan farmers
agree, but some think the idea is
flawed.
posted by daksya
on Jun 16, 2006 -
17 comments
Drug War Roundup IV. An athlete who refused a drug test was stripped of her awards. She plays
bridge. American Indians who honed their skills tracking drug smugglers recently
trained Baltic border guards in the hopes of preventing nuclear weapon proliferation. Another chapter was written in the ongoing "
is ecstasy all that dangerous?" debate. Salvatore Gravano is on his way back to prison for running an
ecstasy ring. Nevada is edging closer to
legalizing up to three ounces of marijuana, to the disdain of Bush's Drug Policy director and Nevada's biggest police group. A Canadian right wing party and cops came out
against their government's recent pro-legalization report. I see a pattern, but maybe it's just the
pudding.
posted by raaka
on Sep 7, 2002 -
30 comments
The War on Drug Wars. "Ashkan Sahihi is a photographer who is infuriated by the hypocrisy of the war on drugs. It is this hypocrisy that inspired Sahihi to take eleven people out of their daily environments, get them high, and photograph them."
Does this project warrant attention as a political statement, as an art project, as all of the above, or as none of the above? Please explain your answer. Partial credit will be given.
posted by conquistador
on Jul 31, 2001 -
23 comments
