Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Saturday, January 18, 2014
"Small Government" Conservatives Forget States Rights When Marijuana is Legalized
Ted Cruz and social-conservative (read "fake") libertarians want to use government to force people to follow their moral code. Most of the time they think the state government is the way to encourage freedom, when (curiously) state governments are limiting freedom - of abortion, of religion, you name it. But when the state governments don't do what they want, well then, the Federal government is a-okay!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
NorCal Pot Farms Continue Damaging Environment
"I started talking to this [grower], and he says he used to be an Earth First! tree-sitter, saving the trees," Bauer said. "I told him everything he was doing here negates everything he did as an environmentalist." More here.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
How to Sell Legalization: As Improved Protection and Enforcement
The way our drug policy will get more rational is for sub-Federal entities to make their own laws and dare the Feds to come enforce them. This is exactly what people mean when they talk about the states being laboratories of democracy. And this is a great test to see if all the "states' rights" small-government people are blowing hot air, or mean what they say.
That said, there are completely legitimate questions to ask as we're starting to see exactly this happening, and one of them is: to what degree does legalization affect driving safety? It must be said that this article addressing the problem in California gets an F for statistics because it equates "1 in 7 drivers at checkpoints tested positive for drugs" to "1 in 7 drivers is under the influence" - obviously those are two different things, plus the population that gets stopped at checkpoints (about 50% of the total) is enriched for alcohol and drug use.
But that said, a great way to say legalization to hesitant voters is sell it as improved enforcement on drug use in dangerous circumstances, of which driving is #1. Tax it (as everyone except the politicians seem to be suggesting) and use some of that revenue for improved enforcement, which isn't being done systematically right now like it is for alcohol. This isn't just a gimmick either. I don't mind having this protection for alcohol and I'd like to have for all other mind-altering substances as well.
That said, there are completely legitimate questions to ask as we're starting to see exactly this happening, and one of them is: to what degree does legalization affect driving safety? It must be said that this article addressing the problem in California gets an F for statistics because it equates "1 in 7 drivers at checkpoints tested positive for drugs" to "1 in 7 drivers is under the influence" - obviously those are two different things, plus the population that gets stopped at checkpoints (about 50% of the total) is enriched for alcohol and drug use.
But that said, a great way to say legalization to hesitant voters is sell it as improved enforcement on drug use in dangerous circumstances, of which driving is #1. Tax it (as everyone except the politicians seem to be suggesting) and use some of that revenue for improved enforcement, which isn't being done systematically right now like it is for alcohol. This isn't just a gimmick either. I don't mind having this protection for alcohol and I'd like to have for all other mind-altering substances as well.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Post Election Priorities
It's been said that there is no liberal or conservative way to pave a road. Political differences are usually differences of priority or method, rather than absolute ones. The following are priorities for the U.S. and for California that it seems difficult to argue against.
NATIONAL
- We need a sustainable budget, independent of the current fiscal cliff situation, independent of how we get to that sustainable budget. This is the single greatest threat to continued American prominence and liberal democracy on Earth. It's a bridge too far to ask us to reform our tax system to incentivize wealth-building rather than wealth-hiding, and to reward tax-code-jockey attorneys, but we should start thinking about it. Specifically, people regard taxes as penalties, period. Start penalizing things you want people to do less of - polluting, crimes, unhealthy behaviors, etc. (Singapore has used this model successfully for quite a while now, and we seem to think such "social engineering" is okay when it comes to owning homes and marriage.) In other words, we should stop penalizign earning money and investing.
- Continue the economic and diplomatic pivot to Asia, and focus on containing the remaining threats to liberal democracy and the international order. The countries which pose the greatest threat on that count, in this order, are Pakistan (which is largely run by extremist Muslims, and has nuclear weapons - how does this escape the notice of hawks?), Iran, and North Korea. A nuclear weapon built in Pakistan and used by militants will be too late a reminder that the U.S. should not design its foreign policy around oil companies.
- Restructure immigration as recruiting. Stop letting people in just because their husband is here; make it much easier to get people who have STEM degrees from top universities around the world, otherwise they will continue going to the UK and (increasingly) Asia. At the same time, we can recognize that there's a legitimate security and economic consideration about the porousness of our border with Mexico that has nothing to do with racism, which unfortunately seems to be what has motivated the most passionate opinions on this issue. After the election, the GOP has suddenly realized that not every American is a WASP and a reform of their immigration position is necessary. Let's take advantage of this moment.
- The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington is a more radical opportunity for local politics than many realize, because it will force a confrontation on state vs Federal rights on this and many other issues. "Small government" conservatives will either have to get on board with CO and WA's right to do so (and to resist Eric Holder's goons) or stop claiming to be small government conservatives. Furthermore we might finally understand what on Earth Holder has been doing, alienating some of the Dems' base in these states. How to make sure it remains legal? Invite states and localities to tax it, as has been done in Oakland. They can't chill out every single small business.
- If the Dems are serious about staying partners with business (at least high-tech growth industries) then make a serious, concerted effort at smart regulation. Yes, this will mean repealing and streamlining many regulations and maybe some departments. The Obama administration has started to do this quietly but it needs to be much higher-profile to give confidence that it will be meaningful and that it will persist. Staffing it with subject-matter experts who haven't spent their whole lives inside the Beltway will show seriousness in this regard; this can be done without letting foxes guard henhouses. The FDA is a perfect place to start; implement some form of Andrew von Eschenbach's suggestion to make drug regulation about taking unsafe drugs off the market, rather than approving them before they can be sold. (On the other side, the GOP is starting to look more like the party of big-business+government cronyism, and less like the party of capitalism. Time to fix that before the Democrats take that away too.)
STATE - CALIFORNIA
- We need a balanced, sustainable budget, and that has to mean pension reform, in some form. Now that the Democrats have a supermajority, we will know if this can be accomplished. If either party has a supermajority, and can't pass a balanced budget, then California cannot ever pass a balanced budget. I do not have high hopes for this and think the state government will see tough times before any real reform ever occurs. We will hear reasons for why it couldn't occur, but the point remains that even with a state-congressional supermajority, they will likely not pass a sustainable budget. I hope I'm wrong about this.
- Other considerations are secondary. It would be nice to see gay marriage having official recognition but in a state that's degrading its parks and universities because it doesn't know how to balance a checkbook, such otherwise important questions become ancillary considerations.
CITY - SAN DIEGO
- Is public transportation really that difficult? Yes, it's damn near impossible to put a real light rail system in (and San Diego doesn't have one) once an area develops, but is a real bus system really that expensive to develop? My hope is that the local transit systems like UCSD's are putting enough people in place who see the value of one, and will vote accordingly in the future.
- For a California city, San Diego has a curiously unaccountable police department, with questions about officer-involved accidents and shootings often going un-answered. Curiously in this mayoral election, we had a gay Republican facing a Democrat favored by police. Filner's administration may not change this.
- If the Chargers want to build a new football stadium, that's fine, but to ask for taxpayer dollars to do it is absolutely unacceptable. Filner is on record saying he opposes this - let's keep his feet to the fire in case he has some magical change of heart - and in any event, there is no evidence that stadiums help their local areas economically (in actuality they hurt).
NATIONAL
- We need a sustainable budget, independent of the current fiscal cliff situation, independent of how we get to that sustainable budget. This is the single greatest threat to continued American prominence and liberal democracy on Earth. It's a bridge too far to ask us to reform our tax system to incentivize wealth-building rather than wealth-hiding, and to reward tax-code-jockey attorneys, but we should start thinking about it. Specifically, people regard taxes as penalties, period. Start penalizing things you want people to do less of - polluting, crimes, unhealthy behaviors, etc. (Singapore has used this model successfully for quite a while now, and we seem to think such "social engineering" is okay when it comes to owning homes and marriage.) In other words, we should stop penalizign earning money and investing.
- Continue the economic and diplomatic pivot to Asia, and focus on containing the remaining threats to liberal democracy and the international order. The countries which pose the greatest threat on that count, in this order, are Pakistan (which is largely run by extremist Muslims, and has nuclear weapons - how does this escape the notice of hawks?), Iran, and North Korea. A nuclear weapon built in Pakistan and used by militants will be too late a reminder that the U.S. should not design its foreign policy around oil companies.
- Restructure immigration as recruiting. Stop letting people in just because their husband is here; make it much easier to get people who have STEM degrees from top universities around the world, otherwise they will continue going to the UK and (increasingly) Asia. At the same time, we can recognize that there's a legitimate security and economic consideration about the porousness of our border with Mexico that has nothing to do with racism, which unfortunately seems to be what has motivated the most passionate opinions on this issue. After the election, the GOP has suddenly realized that not every American is a WASP and a reform of their immigration position is necessary. Let's take advantage of this moment.
- The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington is a more radical opportunity for local politics than many realize, because it will force a confrontation on state vs Federal rights on this and many other issues. "Small government" conservatives will either have to get on board with CO and WA's right to do so (and to resist Eric Holder's goons) or stop claiming to be small government conservatives. Furthermore we might finally understand what on Earth Holder has been doing, alienating some of the Dems' base in these states. How to make sure it remains legal? Invite states and localities to tax it, as has been done in Oakland. They can't chill out every single small business.
- If the Dems are serious about staying partners with business (at least high-tech growth industries) then make a serious, concerted effort at smart regulation. Yes, this will mean repealing and streamlining many regulations and maybe some departments. The Obama administration has started to do this quietly but it needs to be much higher-profile to give confidence that it will be meaningful and that it will persist. Staffing it with subject-matter experts who haven't spent their whole lives inside the Beltway will show seriousness in this regard; this can be done without letting foxes guard henhouses. The FDA is a perfect place to start; implement some form of Andrew von Eschenbach's suggestion to make drug regulation about taking unsafe drugs off the market, rather than approving them before they can be sold. (On the other side, the GOP is starting to look more like the party of big-business+government cronyism, and less like the party of capitalism. Time to fix that before the Democrats take that away too.)
STATE - CALIFORNIA
- We need a balanced, sustainable budget, and that has to mean pension reform, in some form. Now that the Democrats have a supermajority, we will know if this can be accomplished. If either party has a supermajority, and can't pass a balanced budget, then California cannot ever pass a balanced budget. I do not have high hopes for this and think the state government will see tough times before any real reform ever occurs. We will hear reasons for why it couldn't occur, but the point remains that even with a state-congressional supermajority, they will likely not pass a sustainable budget. I hope I'm wrong about this.
- Other considerations are secondary. It would be nice to see gay marriage having official recognition but in a state that's degrading its parks and universities because it doesn't know how to balance a checkbook, such otherwise important questions become ancillary considerations.
CITY - SAN DIEGO
- Is public transportation really that difficult? Yes, it's damn near impossible to put a real light rail system in (and San Diego doesn't have one) once an area develops, but is a real bus system really that expensive to develop? My hope is that the local transit systems like UCSD's are putting enough people in place who see the value of one, and will vote accordingly in the future.
- For a California city, San Diego has a curiously unaccountable police department, with questions about officer-involved accidents and shootings often going un-answered. Curiously in this mayoral election, we had a gay Republican facing a Democrat favored by police. Filner's administration may not change this.
- If the Chargers want to build a new football stadium, that's fine, but to ask for taxpayer dollars to do it is absolutely unacceptable. Filner is on record saying he opposes this - let's keep his feet to the fire in case he has some magical change of heart - and in any event, there is no evidence that stadiums help their local areas economically (in actuality they hurt).
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Richard Posner Calls for Marijuana Legalization
Not a surprise that more and more respected legal and political minds are making this argument. Here's the story.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Richard Lee of Oaksterdam University
It being 4/20 and all, this afternoon I decided to take a break and walk from my office over to Coffeeshop Blue Sky in Oakland - the outlet for Oaksterdam University. You may recall that Oaksterdam University, although completely in compliance with state law and in fact a revenue source for the city, was raided by armed Federal agents recently. (Why fight a legal battle when you can intimidate and drive out of business, right?) And when I was buying my espresso, Richard Lee, the founder and hero of the institution, happened to appear. He was kind enough to pose for a picture with yours truly:
When I asked him what private citizens could do, he named several organizations to support, among them LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and the California Medical Association, both of which are pro-legalization. The latter of course is of special interesting to me as a medical student. It's really strange that the public continues to tolerate lawyers ignoring the recommendations of medical professionals in ways that infringe their personal freedoms.
When I asked him what private citizens could do, he named several organizations to support, among them LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and the California Medical Association, both of which are pro-legalization. The latter of course is of special interesting to me as a medical student. It's really strange that the public continues to tolerate lawyers ignoring the recommendations of medical professionals in ways that infringe their personal freedoms.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Feds Raid California Marijuana Dispensary
Read about it here. If you think that you're in favor of states' rights and smaller Federal government, now is the time to sign up or shut up - because here are businesses that are completely legitimate by state law, being shut down by armed squads from the Federal government. If this doesn't bother you and you think you stand for small government, forgive us for not taking you seriously. If this doesn't bother you and you stand for reason-based laws and compassion for sick people - then you don't actually stand for those things.
Oaksterdam University dispenses medical marijuana and holds classes teaching people how to grow marijuana, and defend themselves legally. Note that Richard Lee, the founder and owner, is a completely above-board, legitimate businessman and community member. Lee led the Prop 19 drive in California, a legalization initiative which started off with a winning YES percentage and ended up getting 46%, still an amazing turnout. By the way, for a brave journalist, there has to be a story in there about how the Mexican cartels funneled money into the campaign to keep marijuana prohibition going, and their own profits protected.
And here's where the rubber meets the road. The Oakland dispensaries backed a successful measure recently to tax marijuana sales. Why would merchants do this? Because now they're part of always-broke Oakland's budget, that's why, so if something like this happens, now the Federal government is taking away Oakland's revenue base by shutting down businesses. (Again, so-called small government enthusiasts, where's your outrage? Why do we only hear crickets from the Tea Party if that's really what you're about?) So now I'm hoping that the California state government will finaly grow a pair, because the Feds are unlikely to respond to a single city's protests. Our nonsensical and tax-money-wasting drug laws are only going to be reformed by action from the states. Montana and Oregon, they're coming for you next.
In particular I want to single out the legislators from several states who wrote an open letter to the Federal government, in particular Orange County Republican Chris Norby. Thanks for taking a stand!
It's worth mentioning that lots of us are wondering what the Obama administration is trying to accomplish. Between Eric Holder, the DEA and the IRS, this administration has come down harder on medical marijuana than Bush ever did. I can't imagine they're stupid enough to think that this will get the Religious Right to think he's a-okay come November, but no other motivations spring to mind.
Oaksterdam University dispenses medical marijuana and holds classes teaching people how to grow marijuana, and defend themselves legally. Note that Richard Lee, the founder and owner, is a completely above-board, legitimate businessman and community member. Lee led the Prop 19 drive in California, a legalization initiative which started off with a winning YES percentage and ended up getting 46%, still an amazing turnout. By the way, for a brave journalist, there has to be a story in there about how the Mexican cartels funneled money into the campaign to keep marijuana prohibition going, and their own profits protected.
And here's where the rubber meets the road. The Oakland dispensaries backed a successful measure recently to tax marijuana sales. Why would merchants do this? Because now they're part of always-broke Oakland's budget, that's why, so if something like this happens, now the Federal government is taking away Oakland's revenue base by shutting down businesses. (Again, so-called small government enthusiasts, where's your outrage? Why do we only hear crickets from the Tea Party if that's really what you're about?) So now I'm hoping that the California state government will finaly grow a pair, because the Feds are unlikely to respond to a single city's protests. Our nonsensical and tax-money-wasting drug laws are only going to be reformed by action from the states. Montana and Oregon, they're coming for you next.
In particular I want to single out the legislators from several states who wrote an open letter to the Federal government, in particular Orange County Republican Chris Norby. Thanks for taking a stand!
It's worth mentioning that lots of us are wondering what the Obama administration is trying to accomplish. Between Eric Holder, the DEA and the IRS, this administration has come down harder on medical marijuana than Bush ever did. I can't imagine they're stupid enough to think that this will get the Religious Right to think he's a-okay come November, but no other motivations spring to mind.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
"Delivery Service Fills Pot Hole"
No, this is not a story about private services taking over road maintenance.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Make Local Governments Dependent on Legal Drug Revenues
The Federal government is not going to be the first to show any progress on the drug issue; the higher you go, the lower quality the discourse, the more reasons there are to say no and the less to say yes - and the current crackdown that's occurring from Obama's Attorney General's office is far worse than anything that happened under Bush. Any reform is going to come from the states, or even the cities.
So, if you're a marijuana dispensary or a dispensary trade association, what can you do to accelerate the reform process? You volunteer to be taxed! You get a referendum on the ballot, and suddenly the city is dependent on you for revenues, and they will defend you to the death. Walter Russell Mead points out that the City of Oakland (where this really happened) now has 3% of its revenues coming from legal (by local law) marijuana dispensaries, and is proposing allowing more to raise this share to 6%. Not a sustainable way to keep the city solvent, but a great model for marijuana merchants in tolerant places around the country. If Eric Holder's goons try to shut down the Oakland dispensaries, the legal apparatus of a major city will turn against them to defend its revenue stream.
So, if you're a marijuana dispensary or a dispensary trade association, what can you do to accelerate the reform process? You volunteer to be taxed! You get a referendum on the ballot, and suddenly the city is dependent on you for revenues, and they will defend you to the death. Walter Russell Mead points out that the City of Oakland (where this really happened) now has 3% of its revenues coming from legal (by local law) marijuana dispensaries, and is proposing allowing more to raise this share to 6%. Not a sustainable way to keep the city solvent, but a great model for marijuana merchants in tolerant places around the country. If Eric Holder's goons try to shut down the Oakland dispensaries, the legal apparatus of a major city will turn against them to defend its revenue stream.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Marijuana Safer Than Tobacco
Marijuana is safer than tobacco, according to this study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), one of the premier peer-reviewed publciations of medical science in the country and world.
Remind me again why we're all paying tax money not only to continue, but intensify strong-arm tactics to put state-legalized entrepreneurs out of business? And where is the party of the free market when we need them? It would be one thing to just be too lazy to repeal the laws and move marijuana off the list of DEA Schedule 1 substances; that would be a sin of omission. But to waste more of everyone's money and attention, when there's more and more information showing this is all a fraud?
Remind me again why we're all paying tax money not only to continue, but intensify strong-arm tactics to put state-legalized entrepreneurs out of business? And where is the party of the free market when we need them? It would be one thing to just be too lazy to repeal the laws and move marijuana off the list of DEA Schedule 1 substances; that would be a sin of omission. But to waste more of everyone's money and attention, when there's more and more information showing this is all a fraud?
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Marijuana Showdown: The Feds vs. California
[Final addition: the Iranian government is implicated in an assassination attempt. Bad; but what's worse is they were outsourcing the actual labor to the Zetas on the ground in North America, one of several large, paramilitar criminal organizations that have been assassinating public figures in Mexico for over a decade. A failed state on our southern border is at least as big a problem as Iranian regional ambitions, but oil politics ensure we care more about the safety of Saudi officials more than Americans living in border states. The Zetas would have nothing without the revenues given to them by our big-government marijuana laws, and they wouldn't be getting hired by the Iranians to do hits in Washington D.C. Somehow that's getting lost in this story.]
[Added later: much scarier than the coming dispensary raids and shutdowns is the IRS ruling described in this article that will cripple the marijuana industry, and drive it entirely back underground. Because it's essentially an accounting law change it's much less mediagenic than the specter of jack-booted DEA agents busting down doors, but it's actually a much bigger threat. This is the cheapest trick the Obama adminsitration has used so far because it's not apparently a law enforcement effort but it will be no less effective for that.]
Above: a small business that Obama's thugs are trying to shut down. Not a joke. If you call yourself pro-small-government and you aren't outraged by that, you have to stop calling yourself pro-small-government.
Medical marijuana is legal in California, but still illegal under Federal law. Despite Obama's promises to the contrary, he's continuing to waste your money pursuing marijuana dispensaries that are legal in their own states. There's about to be a showdown in California. Jerry Brown, here's your chance to show voters what you're made of, and if you're really serious about defending civil liberties.
Having sub-national entities with their own governments is a good idea because as they experiment locally, the rest of us can benefit from what works, and avoid what doesn't. Of course that's only the case if those sub-national entities are allowed to continue the experiment. It's also worth asking what the results of the experiment have been. What's happened in California since these dispensaries proliferate that's been so bad? By the way, here's the SoCal map.
If your rallying cries are "small government" and "states' rights", now would be a great time to come to California's defense. Somehow I'm not holding my breath for any collective outrage from the Tea Party. The Tea Party and the right wing in general only seem to worry about keeping government small in those cases where it intrudes on Southern cultural values.
[Added later: much scarier than the coming dispensary raids and shutdowns is the IRS ruling described in this article that will cripple the marijuana industry, and drive it entirely back underground. Because it's essentially an accounting law change it's much less mediagenic than the specter of jack-booted DEA agents busting down doors, but it's actually a much bigger threat. This is the cheapest trick the Obama adminsitration has used so far because it's not apparently a law enforcement effort but it will be no less effective for that.]
Above: a small business that Obama's thugs are trying to shut down. Not a joke. If you call yourself pro-small-government and you aren't outraged by that, you have to stop calling yourself pro-small-government.
Medical marijuana is legal in California, but still illegal under Federal law. Despite Obama's promises to the contrary, he's continuing to waste your money pursuing marijuana dispensaries that are legal in their own states. There's about to be a showdown in California. Jerry Brown, here's your chance to show voters what you're made of, and if you're really serious about defending civil liberties.
Having sub-national entities with their own governments is a good idea because as they experiment locally, the rest of us can benefit from what works, and avoid what doesn't. Of course that's only the case if those sub-national entities are allowed to continue the experiment. It's also worth asking what the results of the experiment have been. What's happened in California since these dispensaries proliferate that's been so bad? By the way, here's the SoCal map.
If your rallying cries are "small government" and "states' rights", now would be a great time to come to California's defense. Somehow I'm not holding my breath for any collective outrage from the Tea Party. The Tea Party and the right wing in general only seem to worry about keeping government small in those cases where it intrudes on Southern cultural values.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A New Resource for Drug Violence: Wikinarco
The cartels in northern Mexico are determined to prevent Arab-Spring-inducing technology from reaching their part of the world. Here is WikiNarco (in Spanish).
If you measure "news blackouts" in terms of low news-stories-per-death regions, northern Mexico has to be #1. There on our border and we hardly ever read about this alarming approach to state failure. More Americans should post these things, because one thing the narcos seem to be afraid of is the possibility of international attention from U.S. law enforcement.
The tried-and-true best and fastest way to rob these gangs of their revenue? Legalize.
If you measure "news blackouts" in terms of low news-stories-per-death regions, northern Mexico has to be #1. There on our border and we hardly ever read about this alarming approach to state failure. More Americans should post these things, because one thing the narcos seem to be afraid of is the possibility of international attention from U.S. law enforcement.
The tried-and-true best and fastest way to rob these gangs of their revenue? Legalize.
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