MetaFilter posts tagged with drugs and crime

David Simon in conversation with Bill Moyers about The Wire

dougzilla — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:01:19 -0800

Bill Moyers Journal, April 17, 2009 From crime beat reporter for the BALTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed The Wire, David Simon talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today. Sorry for the one link post.

The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008

kliuless — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:40:18 -0800

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?

To Snitch or Not To Snitch: That Is The Question

jonp72 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:16:46 -0800

Stop Snitchin' may be the hidden link between hip hop and the 1980s alternative rock group, House of Freaks. According to the New York Post, journalist Ethan Brown has accomplished "making the Stop Snitching movement seem reasonable" in his new book Snitch: Informants, Cooperators, and the Corruption of Justice. Brown argues that harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses have created a "cottage industry of cooperators" and informants who fabricate evidence, because Provision 5K1.1 of federal sentencing guidelines gives leniency in exchange for "substantial assistance to authorities." According to Brown, two of these criminal cooperators included Ray Dandridge and Ricky Gray, the perpetrators of the Richmond spree murders that ended the life of Brian Harvey of House of Freaks, his wife, and his two children. On the other hand, Mark Kleiman argues that the Stop Snitchin' movement has driven homicide clearance rates so low that, in some cities, "you have a better than even chance of literally getting away with murder." Wikipedia on Stop Snitchin' Popmatters on the Stop Snitchin' phenomenon Rapper Cam'Ron: Snitching Hurts His Business The Snitching Project Snitching: The Institutional and Communal Consequences "Tell, Tell, Tell (Stop Snitchin')" by Project Pat

A Crack in the War on Drugs

Avenger — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:31:43 -0800

The US Sentencing Commission has recommended that Federal sentencing guidelines be reduced for crimes involving crack cocaine -- and is now deliberating making the new guidelines retroactive for prisoners already incarcerated. [WaPo] If taken into effect, about 3,800 inmates could be released by this time next year. The disparity in sentencing between crack and powdered cocaine has been well documented. There are now several bills in Congress that would equalize the sentences given for distribution and possession of both substances. Is this an isolated event, or could this be the harbinger of an overall thaw in the War on Drugs? [WaPo - article largely on poppy cultivation, but also dovetails with crack and cocaine]

Neighbourhood Watch 2.0?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:56:52 -0800

Frustrated with perceived inefficacy of local law enforcement and government, residents of Calle de la Montera have started posting video of criminal behaviour (mainly prostitution) on their street to YouTube. The Data Protection Agency (tasked with privacy enforcement) is not amused (in Spanish; machine translation), but the neighbourhood watch group maintains it is not breaking the law (m.t.).

Four Decades into America's War on Drugs

Chinese Jet Pilot — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:23:17 -0800

America's forgotten war. Are we winning?

So far from God . . . .

jason's_planet — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:58:47 -0800

"Police in Mexico are investigating claims that rival drug gangs are using the internet as a new battle ground."

War on Drugs, by the numbers

daksya — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 11:24:29 -0800

In the "debate" over the War on Drugs, there's a lack of nice quantitative data presentation in one place. Brian C Bennett aims to rectify that. From trends in alcohol initiation relative to legal age limits, to investigation of the deaths classified by CDC as marijuana-induced. There are lots of charts, as for cocaine purity over the years, or treatment admissions, or arrest trends. The site map is your quick guide to the 2000 charts & articles.

Police report

mediareport — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 23:34:00 -0800

Tawdry, tawdry stuff "Another prison guard smuggling dope, another cop caught tweaking, an airport security professional trying to get rich, a horny Florida deputy, and a Michigan police chief who sounds like a real decadent party animal." Lots of not-so-fun reading in Corrupt Cops Stories, a weekly feature in the Drug War Chronicle. The archive goes back a few years.

91 pounds of LSD?

Gankmore — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:53:08 -0800

91 pounds of LSD? ...at that dosage level, Pickard and Apperson possessed 2 billion hits of acid—enough to give every person in the Western Hemisphere two doses and still have 250 million hits left over.

Ryan Grim is writing about acid again at Slate.

I am drugs.

Mean Mr. Bucket — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 21:00:11 -0800

Crothersville, Indiana. John Neace forces himself to pass by the run-down apartment buildings every day. Inside, the police say, Mr. Neace's 10-year-old daughter stumbled on someone with methamphetamine last month. Her drowned body was found five days later at a nearby creek, small hands tied tightly behind her back.

All killer no filler

Mean Mr. Bucket — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 12:41:51 -0800

"You can't buy any better heroin in the world than you can buy in New Jersey" The Drug Enforcement Agency cites New Jersey has having the purest heroin in the United States.

The City of God

stbalbach — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:41:38 -0800

The City of God (#29 IMDB top 250) is a film about life in Brazilian "favelas" (shantytowns) where poverty, drugs, violence and crime rule the streets. At murder rates of more than 40 per 100,000, one person shot every 30 minutes in the city, Rio ranks as the world's most dangerous places along with Cali, Colombia and Johannesburg, South Africa. Rio has over 600 favelas and the crime and violence is becoming so bad corporations are fleeing the city while the military is under direct assault and the prison system is breaking down. Favela guided tours available or see the movie available now on DVD.

The war on pain relief

homunculus — Mon, 13 Oct 2003 11:50:47 -0800

The war on drugs is unfairly targeting doctors who prescribe legal pain medication to their patients who suffer from chronic pain, according to a spokeswoman of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. She was speaking at a press conference of patient and physician advocacy groups, sponsored by the Pain Relief Network, in support of Dr. William Hurwitz. Dr. Hurwitz has been indicted and imprisoned for prescribing high doses of opioid pain relievers, as have other pain-management doctors. But these crackdowns may end up doing more harm than good to patients in chronic pain. [More inside.]

My Drugs Hell

grahamwell — Fri, 23 May 2003 09:31:42 -0800

Elliott could no longer bear the waste. He had six staff and a budget of £3.5m a year. He had a potential client group of 25,000 users ... but at the end of all his work and all that public money, the total number of detox beds he was able to provide was five. The Guardian reports from the front-line of the drugs war. (part two) You may have no interest in Drugs or the UK but read this superb piece for a profile of a bureaucracy in farcical, tragic, total collapse.

jackspace — Thu, 24 Oct 2002 23:37:18 -0800

Jeb Bush linked to Terror Flight School Owner, whose plane was also seized for Heroin Trafficking. How can it be that not only is the Bush family linked to the Bin Laden family, but they just happen to have been travelers on a Lear jet which was seized with a record amount of 30 pounds of heroin. The owner of the Lear jet coincidentally, pictured here with Florida Governor Jeb Bush (which had to be retrieved from Google's diligent cache system since the page has since been removed), also owns the school where the alleged WTC leader Mohammed Atta took flying lessons. Coincidence? Or did Bush Know?

Degaz — Mon, 14 Oct 2002 19:27:15 -0800

Can the current prohibition really be blamed on one guy? First he tells Congress that "marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind" and then World War 2 comes and farmers are encouraged to grow it. After the War, he turns around and tells Congress that it could be used by the Russians to make our men lazy and pacifistic. If he had kept his original argument, our men would be insane killers against the Russian army. What would the country be like if there never was a HARRY J. ANSLINGER ?

netsirk — Tue, 06 Aug 2002 19:30:03 -0800

Right. Let me get this straight. A security guard found a handbag unattended in a night club. He then searched the bag, supposedly looking for ID, and found a small packet containing a white powdery substance, which he handed over to the Central Narcotics Bureau. A woman, Ms. Low, later says the handbag belongs to her. The Judge notes that "There was no denial that this was her handbag. She claimed it was hers." Ms. Low's friend, after being offered immunity from prosecution, then says they both snorted cocaine earlier on in the evening. On the basis of the evidence presented, Ms. Low is sentenced to 18 months in prison.

xowie — Wed, 24 Jul 2002 19:00:01 -0800

Smoke pot, stay out of jail. As your lawyer, I advise you to read this cartoon by Ellen Forney. See also: Bustcard.

taumeson — Thu, 10 Jan 2002 16:53:01 -0800

Yasmine Bleeth only gets two stinking years probation. Yeah, she gets court costs, yeah, she gets community service. But no jail time. Unless it's because she only had (only had?) less than 25 grams of cocaine...oh, and driving under the influence. The question this post begs is: Is this another instance of a double standard for celebrities? I've heard about double standards for child molestation (a football player in New York), murder (Ray Lewis), etc...and there are obviously MANY instances of celebrities getting preferred treatment when it comes to drug charges. I guess this is just another one.

kingmissile — Fri, 12 Oct 2001 18:21:24 -0800

Disposable dipper to detect "date rape" drug is launched. Now if only we could get something that would detect whether or not the person we're dating is being unfaithful. Well, I guess holding a gun to his/her head and asking them will have to continue to do...

quarsan — Fri, 22 Jun 2001 00:51:42 -0800

anguish of a drug war judge moral of the story: if an undercover cop asks you to sell crack opposite the white house, just say no. wrong answer gets you framed for 10 years