The casualties are the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to our Constitution. The 4th says “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,[a] against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” The 5th says “… nor shall any person … be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without […]
Republicans have been passing laws to require drug testing of welfare recipients. Florida tested food stamp recipients for four months in 2012 (until it was halted by a court on constitutional grounds), they found that less than 3% tested positive. In Arizona they tested 87,000 – how many tested positive? One. So the approx $2.76 […]
A study just published in the Internal Medicine Journal of the American Medical Association finds that states that have legalized medical marijuana have 25% fewer deaths caused by overdoses of prescription drugs. The reduction in deaths occurred directly following the legalization of medical marijuana. According to the lead author of the study: “We think that […]
Once upon a time we tried to make drinking alcohol illegal. We all know how that turned out. And finally (after WAY too long) states are starting to make recreational use of marijuana legal, with promising results. Likewise, we finally eliminated laws against gay sex, and the world didn’t end. In fact, we took the […]
While it is probably way too early to make a definitive assessment, it has been six months since marijuana became legal in Colorado, and so far all the signs are looking good: Overall crime has dropped 10% from this time a year ago, and violent crime has dropped 5.2%. In the first four months, the […]
I could never understand why marijuana was classified as a dangerous drug — so dangerous that it was illegal to even do any studies on it, or to prescribe it as a pain killer (even though much more powerful drugs like morphine were routinely used for pain relief). Why? Because opponents claimed that using marijuana […]
This weekend, a group of Republicans called RAMP (Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition) met in Houston to support the legalization of marijuana. The group claims that a majority of conservatives now support reforming marijuana laws. In fact, they point out that legalization agrees with conservative ideals of limited government, individual responsibility, and fiscal restraint. “Why should […]
Marijuana has only been legally for sale in Colorado for less than two months, but already it is exceeding expectations. Previously, they projected sales would be around $395 million in the state’s next fiscal year. But now, those numbers are suddenly “higher”. Based on current sales, they are now projecting recreational and medical marijuana sales […]
The headline for the article on NBC News “Pot Fuels Surge in Drugged Driving Deaths” is accompanied by a disturbing photo of a crumpled car destroyed in an accident. The article itself says that new research supports the claim that legal marijuana is making the problem of drugged driving worse, and tells stories of people […]
British actor Russell Brand has an excellent rant about the death of US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the stupidity of drug prohibition. You should go read the whole thing; it is short. But here is just one paragraph to entice you to go read it: Countries like Portugal and Switzerland that have introduced progressive […]
Interesting New Year news about Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana. Anyone, including people from out of state, will be able to purchase pot for personal, private use in licensed stores, starting today. Washington State is next. It will interesting to see how this works out. So an especially happy new year to Colorado. UPDATE: Reports […]
CNN’s medical expert Dr. Sanjay Gupta has changed his opinion about medical marijuana. He used to speak out against medical marijuana, but in a documentary to be aired this weekend, he admits he was wrong and apologizes: I have apologized for some of the earlier reporting because I think, you know, we’ve been terribly and […]
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the government is listening in on all your phone calls and emails in the name of fighting terrorism, it now looks like they are actually using this information in order to fight regular crime. Regardless of how you feel about this, it is clearly unconstitutional. The government is […]
There’s one important thing missing from Obama’s proposal to curb gun violence — ending the “war on drugs”. A significant amount of gun violence (more than from school gun rampages, which get all the headlines) is a direct result of illegal drug trafficking, and the drug trade is a major contributor to the Nation’s homicide […]
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