The Dutch make an interesting and useful distinction between “hard” and “soft” drugs. When a Amsterdam police officer says, “I think drugs should be illegal and dealers should go to prison,” they’re almost assuredly talking about “hard” drugs like crack and heroin. Marijuana and hashish are considered “soft” drugs and were decriminalized in 1976. The result is that “coffee shops”…
Tag: war on drugs
From the Economist
This is from the Economist: Thursday I’M STANDING on a street lined with boarded-up shops—a popular haven for drug-dealers. A police officer is frisking a suspect whose trousers are nearly around his knees. The policeman didn’t pull them down; that’s how the suspect wears them. A bit impractical, perhaps, if his line of work requires him to run away from…
These drug dealers aren’t so bad
In the Netherlands, you can walk into any “coffee shop” and legally buy or smoke marijuana or hashish. It’s a sight so common, you barely notice it. So here, in a “bad” part of town, are the drug dealers. They don’t shoot each other. They pay taxes–albeit not on the sale, which is technically only “decriminalized,” but they do pay…
No joint smoking
It’s my Spring Break and I’m in Amsterdam doing police research (and visiting friends). Biking with my brother today, I passed this sign. This is what you can do if you regulate drugs. This sign was put up because it’s an “area deserving special attention” (or something like that). In Amsterdam, this is considered a “bad” part of town. It’s…
Lies, damned lies, and DEA statistics
The DEA and other prohibitionists have a long history of lying about drug facts. In the past, they’ve claimed that the Netherlands drug policy was a “disaster,” despite all statistics to the contrary (especially compared to the United States). Here’s the latest. The DEA claims that a ballet measure softening enforcement of low-level marijuana crimes in Colorado is leading to…
Officer shot in daylight gunbattle
Wild gun battles in Baltimore are unfortunately nothing new. But this time an officer almost died.
Drug prohibition kills 220 in Juárez…
…and that’s in the first 3 months of this year. And about a dozen of those are police officers. Enough! Here’s the New York Timesstory.
Ambitious Assult, Limited Victory
The New York Times has an excellent article by Michael Brick on a large police operation meant to get drugs out of the Cypress Hills project. Guess what, there are still drugs in Cypress Hills. In many ways, it’s great police work (and conceivable right of The Wire). A five-month investigation, undercover officers moving into the projects and pretending they’re…
California taxes drugs
Richard Gonzales of National Public Radio report that California is pulling in $100 million a year in taxes from medical marijuana. This is a federal crime. The main opposition to medical marijuana comes from Big Government Conservatives. Big Government Prohibitionists would be a better label. They have a moral agenda and are only conservative (states’ rights be damned) in the…
The international drug war coming home to roost
Ending the war on drugs seems obvious to me. But many need more proof. Now the American-led international war on drugs is approaching our borders in New Mexico and Texas. One article yields New Mexicans saying “legalize drugs.” But a fellow New Mexican (my wife) warns, “But of course those Americans saying ‘legalize drugs’ are New Mexicans, so you already…