The Drug War Drags On

Sherry L. Johnston, the mother of Bristol Palin’s fiancé, was arrested Thursday night on drug charges.

Police arrested a record 872,721 persons for marijuana violations in 2007, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation....

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the U.K. will raise the penalty for possession of cannabis from next year, rejecting advice from a panel of scientists that said there should be no change.

The Drug Warrior's Best Friend

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Barack Obama's choice for chief of staff, has a history as a hard-line drug warrior.

President-elect Barack Obama has retreated from his support for marijuana decriminalization....

On Tuesday, December 2, a group of law enforcers who fought on the front lines of the “war on drugs” and witnessed its failures will commemorate the 75th anniversary of alcohol prohibition’s repeal by calling for drug legalization.



Voters in Fayetteville [AR] will decide November 4th whether police should put a lower priority on arresting people for possession of marijuana.

Nick Gillespie: What Would a Sensible Drug Policy Look Like?



Finally, via the most admirable Jake Sullum of Reason Magazine:

A couple of weeks ago, the Obama-Biden transition team's website solicited policy questions from the public. Over two days, the site "processed over 600,000 votes from more than 10,000 people on more than 7,300 questions," and this was the top question:

Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?

Obama's terse answer:

President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.

So see, once again one of these former dope-using politicians (who would never have been elected dogcatcher if they had been caught and prosecuted) chump out on repealing the stupid laws that put hundreds of thousands of their constituents in prison every year for doing the same thing they did. That's because politicians get high on power, and the invitations, free travel, sex from political groupies, and fantastically lucrative business opportunities that accompany political success -- while the carpenters, the store clerks, the people who do the real work in American society and want to get a buzz on after hours have to pay Prohibition prices and risk jail for using weed, which is far less dangerous both to its users and especially to bystanders than legal alcohol.

So in this too, Barack is following in the footsteps of the chickenshits Bill Clinton and Al Gore in forswearing reform of the Drug War. I pointed out in an email to Al Gore, whom I used to smoke marijuana with, that he never would have made Vice-President if he had been caught under these bad laws. He never responded, but what do you expect from the kind of hypocrite who tries to style himself as a big environmentalist after having FOUR children?

Obama, so far you're another HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!