I didn’t know that Tony Bennett came out for drug legalization. Tony Bennett is a hometown hero here in Astoria, Queens. I mean, I’ve had more than a few debates with old timers about how great Tony Bennett is. And it’s strange, because we’d both be on the same side. Old man: “Tony Bennett is great.” Me: “Yes, he is.”…
Tag: war on drugs
Prohibition Corrupts Cops
Funny how a few illegal searches for drugs might cost your job and next thing you know, you, the “good guy,” is in prison. Why did you do it, Sarge? Was it worth it? Did you really think you going to win the drug war? From the Times: Mr. Eiseman, who lost his job as a result of his guilty…
Journal of Apocryphal Chemistry
How to make Sudafedfrom crystal meth. [thanks to The Agitator]
Drug Warrior Drug Dealers
El Paso County Commissioner Willie Gandara Jr. recently said: Legalizing drugs is the coward practice of combating cartels, it is an insult to our men and women in law enforcement, and the laziest form of parenting our children and youth about the effects of drugs…. Unfortunately, on this upcoming primary election we will have many wolves in sheep’s clothing running…
Round up the Usual Outrage
An officer, who heard over his radio that a drug suspect was armed with a gun, kicks down the door of his apartment, finds the suspect hiding in the bathroom (probably trying to flush weed down the toilet), thinks the suspect is going for his gun, and shoots and kills the suspect. The problem is that the suspect, according to…
Richard Branson on the Drug War
From the Telegraph: For all the successes I’ve had in business, I’ve also learnt to accept when things go wrong, work out why, and try to find a better way. The war on drugs is a failed enterprise. We need to have the courage to learn the lessons and move on. [thanks to Menczel]
The war on drugs and your police career
There’s an article in the New York Times about officers who question the drug war… and get fired for it. LEAP, an organization I’ve been part of almost for almost nine years, is well featured. Hard to imagine a cop being fired for questioning the rationality of any other law. But the war on drugs has always been a bit…
Christie speaks some sense
I know as a liberal Democrat I’m not supposed to like Chris Christie. But I do admire that he speaks honestly. [I say the same about Ron Paul on war and drug policy, but Paul is a little too extreme on everything else, being a through-and-through libertarian.] I disagree with Christie on a lot of the issues, but the guy…
Scalia: Federal Drug Laws Were a Mistake
From the WSJ via the Atlantic: “It was a great mistake to put routine drug offenses into the federal courts,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal went on to report Scalia’s belief that the laws forced Congress to enlarge the federal court system, and diminished “the elite quality of the federal judiciary.” … The federal…
Sneak-and-Peek
There’s an interesting chart in New York Magazine that shows what the Patriot Act is used for. Delayed-notice search warrants issued under the expanded powers of the Patriot Act, 2006–2009: For drugs: 1,618 For fraud: 122 For Terrorism: 15