Friday, February 28, 2023

Resource in Focus - Teachers Against Prohibition

"Teachers Against Prohibition opposes criminal prohibition of drugs. Not only does it subject otherwise law-abiding citizens to arrest, prosecution and imprisonment for what they do in private, but prohibition is a proven failure as a drug control strategy. In trying to enforce the drug laws, the government violates the fundamental rights of privacy and personal autonomy that are guaranteed by our Constitution. TAP believes that unless they do harm to others, people should not be punished -- even if they do harm to themselves."

Teachers Against Prohibition - http://www.teachersagainstprohibition.org
posted @ 01:49 AM CST [link]

US IL: Column: How the Feds Duped Jurors in Marijuana Trial

posted by @ 12:32 AM CST [more..]

Thursday, February 27, 2023

US IL: Cops Guilty Of Covering Drug Scam

posted @ 11:49 PM CST [link]

Group Spoofs Marijuana-Terrorism Link Ad

posted @ 12:22 AM CST [link]

Tuesday, February 25, 2023

NORML Alert - Stop Federal Raids of Paraphernalia Distributors
Speaking of the Department of Justice...

Dear NORML Supporter:

Recently the federal government has implemented "Operation Pipe Dreams"
and "Operation Headhunter," which have resulted in the indictment of at
least 50 online paraphernalia distributors.

At a time when our nation is at an elevated risk of a terror attack, it is
preposterous that the U.S. Justice Department would waste limited federal
law enforcement resources chasing after sellers of products such as roach
clips and rolling papers, products which are legally sold at tobacco
stored all across America. These businesses pay taxes and do not in any
way contribute to the crime problem in America. To target them at this
time shows a total lack of understanding as to which risks truly threaten
the health, welfare and safety of America's citizens.

It is time for the Justice Department to reassess its priorities and stop
wasting federal law enforcement resources on such trivial endeavors.
Federal efforts would undoubtedly be better served keeping a bomb out of
the hands of Al Queda than keeping a bong out of the hands of a marijuana
smoker.

Please take five minutes to write John Ascroft and tell him to shut down
"Operation Pipe Dreams" and "Operation Headhunter" by visiting:
http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=1510556&type;=AN


Regards,
Kris Krane
Assistant to the Director
NORML
posted @ 10:04 PM CST [link]

Visitor of the Day - United States Department of Justice
Feb 25 2003
Detail DomainName Last Page
82 usdoj.gov 8:48:21

Visitor stats courtesy of Sitemeter.com
posted @ 01:19 PM CST [link]

Forwarded Email: How Gullible Are We?

posted @ 11:53 AM CST [link]

Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, Boston - "Is the Drug War Forever?"

"The war against drugs provides politicians with something to say that offends nobody, requires them to do nothing difficult, allows them to postpone, perhaps indefinitely, the more urgent questions about the state of the nation's schools, housing, employment opportunities for young black men, the condition to which drug addiction speaks as a symptom not a cause. They remain safe in the knowledge that they might as well be denouncing Satan and so they can direct the voices of prerecorded blame at metaphors and apparitions, wars and battles."

Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court, Boston
Remarks at VCL Forum, "Is the Drug War Forever?"
Boston, Massachusetts
January 29, 2023
Reprinted with permision from the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers

I've been a criminal defense lawyer for 23 years. That spanned the period when we were able to argue there was such a thing known as simple possession of marijuana, that addiction excused someone from crime, that if someone was an addict they didn't have the criminal responsibility necessary to be prosecuted; and it spanned the period from then to now when mandatory minimums and unbelievable sentences abound for relatively small quantities of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. So I saw that period of time change in a relatively small period of time.

In addition, I'm a judge; and I now have the not so pleasant task of sentencing people to these terms, doing everything I can to find some humanity underneath the categories, to find some human beings underneath the stereotypes. So I can speak about that process and that experience.

And I can also speak, you may not know this, as a victim of the drug war. I have been subpoenaed, sued, and spied upon. The three S's, which I'll get to in a moment, were the direct by-products of war that began to really turn on itself.

Friday, February 14, 2023

US TX: Girl shot at DEA stakeout is dead

posted @ 01:41 AM CST [link]

US OH: Editorial: Time To Reform DEA

posted @ 01:14 AM CST [link]

Monday, February 3, 2023

Statement of Ed Rosenthal on the Medical Marijuana Trial Verdict
"I am disappointed in this verdict for several reasons.

"This was an unconstitutional prosecution. It should never have come to trial.

"Once it did, I was not afforded a jury of my peers. They had to
bring in 80 people to come up with 12 who would agree to set aside
their beliefs on this issue.

"Even so, they would have acquitted me if they had been permitted to
hear my story. But I did not get the chance in this trial to defend
myself and explain my actions.

"Federal prosecutors made extraordinary efforts to block the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Because the truth is that
I was deputized by the City of Oakland to legally grow marijuana for
medicinal use by sick or dying patients under California's Prop 215,
the Compassionate Use Act, the law that is supposed to guarantee safe
and legal access to medicinal marijuana.

"The City of Oakland showed courage in working to come up with a
safe, open, and legal system to harmonize California's medical
marijuana law with federal law. And I was acting as an official of
the city, implementing their program to help patients.

"Had the jury known about the City's attempts to give immunity to
their people, including me, it would have acquitted me today.

"The other victims of today's decision are patients -- people who are
extremely ill or dying and who are soothed by medicinal marijuana --
because I am only one of many people that they are trying to put in
jail for helping sick people, as allowed under our laws.

"For these reasons, we will be asking for a new trial. This verdict
will not be allowed to stand.

"The federal government silenced my courtroom defense, but it can't
silence the court of public opinion. The opinion of the American
public is one of overwhelming support of medicinal uses of marijuana.

"The federal government needs to get this message.

"My case clearly demonstrates that it is time for a national debate
on the issue of medical marijuana. California voted to make medical
marijuana legal, but the federal government is trying to block that
law. The federal government is choosing to prosecute and imprison
individuals instead of working directly with the State of California
and local cities to resolve the conflicts in medical marijuana law.

"Our elected officials must have the courage to discuss this issue
publicly, and then resolve this conflict.

"Because helping sick people should never be a crime.

"For my entire family, thank you all for your support."

--Ed Rosenthal

Resources:

More about Ed Rosenthal @ MapInc.

Support Ed's defense @ Green-Aid.com

Get active @ Safe Access Now
posted @ 01:26 PM CST [link]

U.S. Jury Convicts Author Who Grew Medical Marijuana

posted @ 01:09 PM CST [link]