MetaFilter posts tagged with warondrugs and law

The Spice Must Flow

furiousxgeorge — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 00:43:40 -0800

(Some links NSFW) Any down on their luck stoner is familiar with so called, "legal bud" Herbs of all kinds have been marketed online to the connectionless or legally restricted that offered a marijuana like high without the legal consequences. Everyone knows they are all scams. It might surprise you, that some were not. Commonly sold under the names Spice or Zohai, mixtures of herbs sprayed with synthetic cannabinoid substances such as HU-210 or JWH-018 have been available online for at least the past four years. This thriving grey market has recently come to a grinding halt. Spice was listed as containing a varying mix of herbal ingredients, some of which could plausibly offer a psychoactive experience. The government in Frankfurt was not convinced that the listed ingredients could account for the reported THC like effects. A study was commissioned that revealed the presence of an unlisted ingredient, a synthetic cannabinoid. Several nations were quick to enact bans. In the United States, a shipment of spice was intercepted by customs agents. Tests of the material confirmed the presence of HU-210, which is illegal under the Analog Act. Spice, and similar products, in a matter of weeks have been made near impossible to find. This is a rare, sweeping victory in the War on Drugs. Will these synthetic cannabinoids never be heard from again, despite potential promise in medical research? Will they be demonized out of our medical culture like their mother drug? Will other individuals find a way to stealthily market similar compounds to those just looking for fun? Time will tell.

Ibuprofen: serious business

mullingitover — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:28:48 -0800

In 2003 a school official ordered that a student be searched for the substance known as 2-[4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]propanoic acid. The case has now made its way to the United States Supreme Court. The student was thirteen years of age, and the school's vice principal ordered that she be strip-searched to find the prescription-strength (i.e. the equivalent of two over-the-counter pills) prescription drug. 2-[4-(2-methylpropyl)phenyl]propanoic acid is better known as the over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Ibuprofen. The court will decide the constitutionality of the search, as well as whether the vice principal will be financially liable for damages. Previously.

"we upheld against proportionality attack a sentence of 40 years' imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute nine ounces of marijuana" - Justice Kennedy

daksya — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:04:29 -0800

DrugPolicyCases.com - Yakov Spektor, a New York-based attorney, combed through two decades of US Supreme Court opinions "to discern certain trends in the Court's treatment of various issues" related to the War on Drugs. The collection of opinions are organized by case, author and topic.

Paeykillers

daksya — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:58:34 -0800

Richard Paey Speaks - An interview with the paraplegic man sentenced to 25 years in prison for treating his own pain, but now out after a full pardon by the Florida Governor. Some related posts on this topic: The war on pain relief Pain Management as a Human Right Many of World's Poor Suffer in Pain RIP Robin Prosser

Laws on getting high

daksya — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:19:24 -0800

Spiritual Highs and Legal Blows - the power and peril of religious exemptions from drug prohibition

Turn on, tune in, get out

homunculus — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:42:40 -0800

Entheogens and Psychotherapy. A 2001 paper by Canadian psychotherapist Andrew Feldmar on the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics and his own experience with LSD. Now, because of this paper, he is no longer allowed to enter the U.S. [Via Mind Hacks.]

Prison Rape and the War on Drugs

homunculus — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:23:50 -0800

Stories from Inside: Prisoner Rape and the War on Drugs (PDF). A new report by the human rights group Stop Prisoner Rape. [Via Drug WarRant.]

Terry Bressi's long saga

trharlan — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 10:33:52 -0800

Terry Bressi's long saga
"I was stopped, threatened with lethal force, dragged out of my vehicle, and detained for several hours for no reason - other than requesting to know what law authorized the police to stop me and demand ID after admitting I wasn't suspected of violating any law and I wasn't being detained. Instead of answering my inquiries, the 'peace officers' preferred to initiate force against me."

The Fourth Amendment grows narrower

trharlan — Mon, 24 Jan 2005 10:15:37 -0800

The Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision Monday, ruled that police do not violate the Fourth Amendment when they use a drug-detecting dog to locate illegal drugs in the trunk of a car during a legal traffic stop. The decision, and dissents from Ginsburg and Souter.

Transform Drug Policy Foundation

mrgrimm — Tue, 02 Nov 2004 11:53:01 -0800

"After the War on Drugs - Options for Control is a major new report examining the key themes in the drug policy reform debate, detailing how legal regulation of drug markets will operate, and providing a roadmap and time line for reform." It's concise and reasonable, but is this report from the Transform Drug Policy Foundation (Google News lookup) really "the first practical road map for a benign drug policy that must follow the collapse of drug prohibition"? ... "No countries have yet legalised any drug covered under the U.N. convention" - will anything change anytime soon?

Don't touch that plant!

Gyan — Wed, 22 Sep 2004 19:41:28 -0800

Opium Made Easy: One gardener's encounter with the war on drugs.

Guns don't kill people, bongs kill people

homunculus — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 21:16:18 -0800

Tommy Chong in prison. 3 months into his 9 month prison sentence for selling bongs, the LA City Beat talks to Tommy Chong and the LA Weekly talks with his family about the details of his case. [Via Drug WarRant.]

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.]

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 ?

fnord_prefect — Mon, 05 Aug 2002 12:55:00 -0800

Cops Abuse New Anti-Terror Law. The raid was perhaps the state's first known instance of law enforcement officers using new anti-terrorism police powers in a case unrelated to terrorism... Ahh, yes. The War On Drugs meets The War Against Terror.

emptyage — Tue, 15 Jan 2002 12:25:10 -0800

Phew! It's okay to drive stoned in Idaho now. Assuming you can pass a field sobriety test, that is. To quote the attorney, "just having smoked marijuana doesn't give somebody cause to arrest you for that when driving." This seems to be a technicality, and you have to assume it's going to be overturned. If not, anyone up for a road trip to Boise?

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