http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog Another two cents thrown in Sun, 11 May 2008 19:27:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In our mainstream cultural framework, illicit "drug use" and "drug addiction" have become practically synonymous. Addictiveness is viewed as an inherent property of an illicit drug, similar to such internal properties as its texture or taste. Placing of addiction with a drug rather than with a user of a drug ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/05/09/on-addiction/ Scott Morgan, in his post on StopTheDrugWar.org, writes: I learned of a marvelous ancient document which sets forth in basic terms the fundamental strategies that have long been employed to destroy the drug war debate. "Themes in Chemical Prohibition" by William L. White was published in 1979 by the National Institute ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/04/22/the-prohibitionist-themes/ In Morse v. Frederick (2007), a.k.a. the "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS" case, Justice Stevens, in his dissent, delivered the most remarkable quote, that, a few years ago, would have been virtually impossible to hear from someone that high up in the Establishment: Reaching back still further, the current dominant opinion supporting ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/04/03/justice-stevens-tells-it-like-it-is/ The most noteworthy development of 2007, as far as drug policy goes, is the substantive approach to the issues of (some of) the Supreme Court Justices in their opinions. In Kimbrough v. United States (2007), Justice Ginsburg continued to ponder the old issue of the degree of applicability of the ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/03/26/2007-supreme-courts-two-cents-on-cocainecrack-sentencing/ Most of the time, the subject matter of this blog is marijuana and/or narcotics, or, in other words, opiates. That is pretty much consistent with the two primary threads that the drug policy debate predominantly adheres to. However, in this post, I would like to digress a bit towards the ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/02/17/hallucinogens-and-drug-policy/ Eight grams of medical marijuana seized from a Garden Grove man during a traffic stop must be returned to him, according to an appeals court ruling directing local law enforcement to uphold state, not federal law. Source: CBS2.com: Federal Court Rules Pot To Be Returned To Driver Read the whole story by ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/01/07/4th-district-court-of-appeal-returns-pot-to-rightful-owner/ In a wonderfully informative primer, Why is Marijuana Illegal? A brief history of the criminalization of cannabis, Pete Guither writes: Many people assume that marijuana was made illegal through some kind of process involving scientific, medical, and government hearings; that it was to protect the citizens from what was determined to ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2008/01/06/what-are-our-laws-based-on/ Two weeks after I wrote about studies demonstrating marijuana's potential in treating cancer, the following article pops up on FoxNews.com: A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer from spreading throughout the body, according to a new study by scientists at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. The researchers are ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2007/11/25/refusing-to-see-the-obvious-more-on-medicinal-marijuana/ "America needs to reconsider its punitive approach to "the so-called war on drugs," presidential candidate John Edwards said here today." Source: DesMoinesRegister.com: Edwards: War on drugs too punitive Something like this coming from a (somewhat) viable presidential candidate twenty years ago would be sufficient to bury his chances of being elected. It ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2007/11/23/on-the-changing-nature-of-drug-policy-discourse/ Jack Herer, the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes writes: In 1974, Virginia Medical College in Richmond, Virginia did research on tumors of the lung, brain, liver and kidney using mice and rats. Incredible things were done. The cancer stopped growing and in most cases even reversed itself 100 percent. ... http://www.drugpolicycases.com/blog/2007/11/03/marijuana-useful-in-treating-cancer/