Santa Cruz is distributing marijuana out of City Hall after the DEA raided a medical marijuana clinic...

DEA agents are terrorists and evildoers, in my opinion. Although of course it all comes back to John Ashcroft.

Santa Cruz Defies U.S. On Marijuana

All I can say is "Right on, Santa Cruz !" Our Federal government and local police departments are going after people who smoke pot to save their lives, while there are terrorists and murderers walking the streets.

While I think Ashcroft is a dangerous character, he inherited this ridiculous policy, dating back to the first failed Bush presidency. The medical community has been co-opted by the anti-drug zealots. As long as no one challenges this idiotic war on drugs, all AG's will need to act equally stupidly.

[quote] As long as no one challenges this idiotic war on drugs . . .

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Lots of people are challenging the war on drugs. But the drug warriors have all the power of the federal government and the mainstream media on their side. The fact of the matter is that you & I & all the others who oppose the drug war are losing the battle. As for why the Justice Department & D.E.A. would concentrate so much effort on busting a small-time operation in Santa Cruz, to Ashcroft & Hutchinson it is not a matter of the actual harm caused, it is a matter of culture, of whose values will prevail. It is a high-profile case in which the values of tolerance & individualism clash with puritanism & authoritarianism, which is a microcosm of what the drug war is all about. No matter how small this is relative to all the really dangerous stuff being manufactured or smuggled into the country every day, it is an act of open defiance that, to the federal government, must be crushed.

[quote]Originally posted by m1011:
While I think Ashcroft is a dangerous character, he inherited this ridiculous policy, dating back to the first failed Bush presidency.

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I acknowledge that this policy did not begin with Ashcroft, but each AG does have the ability to pick-and-choose what to go after, and Ashcroft has chosen to take on these small clinics, which are sanctioned by the state and local authorities.

But I don't need to be partisan here, the Clinton Administration (incl. AG Reno) was just as big a supporter of the drug war.

Here in Nevada, we have a ballot initiative we're voting on this November, to legalize possession of threee ounces or less of marijuana, for whatever reason. Doesn't have to be medical.

It's being marketed as a means for assisting law enforcement: don't waste valuable and scarce law enforcement resources on something as a piddling as low-level pot possession. The campaign is working. It's got a 50/50 chance of passing. If it does pass, it'll do nothing to hurt our image in Las Vegas as an "anything goes," "the rules are different" playground. (I can't imagine anyone cancelling a vacation to Nevada because, although they have no problem with the gambling and the prostituition (legal only in the rural counties), marijuana would destroy the wholesome, family-style atmosphere.)

I'm a conservative, church-going, straight-laced Republican here. I'm voting: "yes".

[quote]Originally posted by Charlie in the Trees:
(I can't imagine anyone cancelling a vacation to Nevada because, although they have no problem with the gambling and the prostituition (legal only in the rural counties), marijuana would destroy the wholesome, family-style atmosphere.)

I'm a conservative, church-going, straight-laced Republican here. I'm voting: "yes".

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There's hope for you yet (tee, hee).

Billy Rogers, the fellow in charge of the campaign to get the proposal passed, was on Art Bell the other night. (The fact that I listen to Art Bell confirms that there is no hope for me.)

http://www.artbell.com/topics.html , then scroll down to 9-18-02. You can click on the link http://www.nrle.org/ to read more about the "Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement's" ballot initiative. Hmm, I see there's a pop-up plea for contributions.

The Drug War claims another victim...

Mourners seek attorney general probe of shooting

"EATON, Ohio - Mourners of a man they believe was unarmed when authorities stormed a farmhouse where he lived and shot him to death are circulating a petition asking the Ohio attorney general's office to investigate.

The 23-year-old was killed by an unidentified Lewisburg police officer Friday during a raid near West Alexandria, authorities said. Authorities said they confiscated marijuana, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia and quantities of packaging items used to distribute marijuana."

By the way, the "packaging items" were plastic baggies they found in the kitchen. And the punishment in Ohio for the amount of marijuana they found is $100.