Showing posts with label drug war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drug war. Show all posts

Tim Cushing: Drug Dogs Don't Even Have To Be Right Half The Time To Be Considered 'Reliable' By The Courts

The pretense of probable cause.   All in all, this motion to suppress evidence worked out for the plaintiff, but it does little to address concerns that drug dogs are basically blank permission slips for inquisitive cops. The defendant -- Emile Martin -- was in a vehicle driven by another person (simply referred to as "Montgomery" in the opinion). This vehicle  ... MORE

Australia About To Legalize Growing Marijuana Nationwide

by Steve Mollman.      Australia appears set to legalize the growing of marijuana for medical use nationwide. A bill introduced to parliament Wednesday (Feb. 10) by the Liberal Party would amend the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967. It looks guaranteed to become law, as the main opposition party immediately pledged support for it. Under the proposal a national ... MORE

Why Jury Nullification? New Jersey Man Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Growing 17 Marijuana Plants

by MaryAnn Spoto.    Because justice is a result, not simply a process. A Mays Landing man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday for growing 17 marijuana plants in the Pinelands. When Jon Peditto was arrested in 2012, he admitted the pot plants were his and told investigators he grew them primarily for his own use but had also ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - Islamic Terrorism 2015

How The Obama Administration Helped Arm El Chapo

by Keith Farrell.     When the infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was captured, he was found to be in possession of one of the rifles from the Obama administration’s defunct Fast and Furious program. Fox reports: After the raid on Jan. 8 in the city of Los Mochis that killed five of his men and wounded one Mexican marine,    ... MORE

VIDEO: John Stossel - The Matter Of Marijuana

What Passes For Justice In Missouri: Brother And Sister Get More Than 15 Years Each For Growing 12 Marijuana Plants

by Teresa Ressel.    Why you should learn about jury nullification. A brother and sister will be going to prison for a while for growing marijuana in their apartment. On Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Kenneth W. Pratte sentenced 34-year-old David G. DePriest to 22 years in prison for production of marijuana, possession of more than five grams of   ... MORE

Colorado Celebrates Marijuana Legalization Anniversary; Massive Drop In Arrests and Millions In Tax Revenue

by Art Way.  More than three years have passed since Colorado residents voted to legalize marijuana, which immediately allowed adults to possess and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana. This past New Year’s Day marked the two year anniversary of adults being able to legally buy marijuana in Colorado.  The policy is still in its formative stage,  ... MORE

Should Used Tea Leaves Be Probable Cause For Drug Raids?

by Justin Monticello.    Former CIA employees Robert and Adlynn Harte, along with their 7- and 13-year-old children, were held at gunpoint by sheriff's deputies for several hours as a search for drugs was conducted in their home. The probable cause that led to the raid? A visit to a hydroponics store for a horticultural project and wet tea     ... MORE

California Town Goes Podunk; Seeks To Stymie Medical Pot

by Thaddeus Miller.    As state pot policy moves forward, one city goes backwards. Medical marijuana cardholders will not be allowed to grow cannabis for their own consumption after a vote Monday while the Merced City Council figures out what cultivation and dispensaries should be permitted in the city. The council unanimously passed the    ... MORE

VIDEO: The Widespread Use Of False Positive Drug Tests

The Federal Ban On Medical Marijuana Was Not Lifted

by Jacob Sullum.   Contrary to what you may have read or heard, Congress did not quietly lift the federal ban on medical marijuana. Nor did it lift the ban loudly. It did not lift the ban at all. Here is what actually happened. In December 2014, Congress approved an omnibus spending bill that included a rider prohibiting the Justice Department   ... MORE

VIDEO: What Is Libertarianism?

What The War On Smoking Tells Us About The Drug War

by Danielle Allen.   It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. In January 1964, the Beatles first broke onto the Billboard chart with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”; by June, Ringo Starr had collapsed from tonsillitis and pharyngitis. In January , the surgeon general announced that scientists had found conclusive evidence linking smoking to  ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: The Puzzling Persistence Of Pee Tests

A favorite tactic of control freaks.   Slate columnist Daniel Engber, who was recently "shocked" to discover that workplace drug testing is still a thing, wonders: What's up with that? He finds, as I did back in 2002, that there's little evidence drug testing is a sound investment for employers: As was the case 30 years ago, testing has no solid base of evidence,  ... MORE

Michael Thomsen: Legalizing Weed Isn’t Enough

Permit marijuana use in public.    Recreational marijuana use has been legal in Seattle since 2012, but I still felt like I was getting away with something when I walked into a dispensary there this fall. There was a bouncer waiting behind a roped-off entryway on the otherwise quiet Capitol Hill side street. He passed my driver’s license through a  ... MORE

Justin Gardner: A Federal Judge Just Shamed The DEA For Fabricating Sham Cases Trying To Justify War On Drugs

Entrapment, law enforcement's favorite tool.  Since the War on Drugs began in earnest under Nixon and Reagan, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has ruined millions of lives for nonviolent, victimless behavior. The DEA’s drug crusade is not limited to the homeland either, as it also has sole responsibility for pursing international  ... MORE

VIDEO: Glenn Greenwald - Drug Policy In Portugal

Jeff Nesbit: We Have Lost The War On Drugs

Criminalizing drugs just destroys more people.     It's time, finally, to face the ugly truth. We've lost the war on drugs in America. We need a new playbook, now, before more lives are lost. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week that fatal drug overdoses in America were the highest in recorded history in 2014. The news   ... MORE