[Editor's Note: This essay was originally published on March 1st, 2009. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's deconstruction and the fall of Communism being recognized around the world this week, and with the ever-falling support for cannabis prohibition in America, this essay from NORML board member George Rohrbacher seems even more apropos today than last March.]

It is said that almost everyone in the marijuana law reform movement has a seminal moment they can point to when their public activism started. My moment was in the fall, six years ago.

I’m a past president of our local Kiwanis Club. I’ve been a member for years; we meet for breakfast at 6:30am, every Wednesday morning. My fateful “activism moment” was meeting face-to-face with one morning’s Kiwanis Club program, our town’s newly acquired dope dog. Some rock-ribbed citizen had left money in his will for the city to buy a dope dog for our town of 3,000, in a county of 18,000 people. The dog’s handler and the police chief were up at the speaker’s table. I had to fight back the urge to turn around and run.

As I sat down at my usual spot, ordered breakfast and clipped on my Kiwanis Club nametag, my heart was just racing! Thank God, my neck pain had not been severe enough that morning that it had required some marijuana medication, because, I imagined, triggered by the smell of freshly consumed ganja, that huge German Shepard would have leaped from the podium to pin me down to the floor, the dog’s sharp white teeth snarling and snapping at my throat.

As we went through club business about our kid’s reading program, ate breakfast and conducted the normal chit-chat that makes Kiwanis Club so enjoyable, I slowly calmed myself. I had not been found out as a marijuana user, yet. There was no need for me to panic, because the likelihood that I would be found out now by this agent of the state, was growing smaller and smaller by the moment. But, as the primal fear drained away, it started to piss me off; this dope dog was invading my space.

The dog handler got up and spoke glowingly about his charge, the alpha male of his litter. This dog had been born of a long and impressive pedigree in Baden-something, formerly East Germany. Looking at me from across the room was the pride of the jack-booted police state, the purebred German Shepard—smart, vicious, relentless.

The dog handler went chirping on, to mostly nodding heads, about what a fantastic dog he had and how many pot busts he had already made with it. Suddenly, all I could think was: This dog was born in East Germany, it’s father could have pulled someone down off the Berlin Wall…this dog’s great-grandfather would have marched the Jews or Gypsies to the ovens at Buchenwald or Auschwitz… And now, my own little town had a new resident from the same police dog gene pool that serviced the two most brutal totalitarian regimes in the history of the mankind!

Scenes from my childhood of when German Shepards attacked the Civil Rights marchers at Selma floated before my eyes… This well-groomed dog was a tool of the modern police state in all its scariest manifestations. The more I thought about it, the madder and madder I got.

I paid my breakfast bill and left in the first wave. I drove back out to the ranch and fed our cows their daily ration of hay, all the while mulling over my close brush with the dope dog. By the time I got done with my chores and back to the house, I absolutely had to do something! I picked up my telephone and called NORML, and I volunteered for the fight that very day…our fight for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…”

Marijuana prohibition is a corrupt and evil social institution, just like the Berlin Wall was. For generations both have been symbols of the ruthless and relentless oppression of the state. Then, one day, by the sheer weight of internal political rot and thousands of little hammers, the Berlin Wall came down, and it came down virtually overnight! Marijuana Prohibition is just as corrupt and evil as the Wall, and it, also, is rotting internally from seven decades of injustice. It, too, is ready for collapse.

The Coming Collapse of a Modern Prohibition

History shows that mood governs society’s tolerance for recreational drugs. A rising social mood produces prohibition of substances such as alcohol and marijuana; a falling mood produces tolerance and relaxed regulation. In the case of alcohol, the path from prohibition to decriminalization became littered with corruption and violence as the government waged a failed war on traffickers. Eventually, as mood continued to sour, the government finally capitulated to public cries for decriminalization as a means to end the corruption and bloodshed.

We predict a similar fate for the prohibition of marijuana, if not the entire War on Drugs. The March 1995 Elliott Wave Theorist first forecasted the Drug War’s repeal at the end of the bear market and in 2003, EWT stated that during the decline, “The drug war will turn more violent. Eventually, possession and sale of recreational drugs will be decriminalized.”

The Case of Marijuana
Social mood influences people’s actions and their social judgments. In times of positive mood, people have the resources to enforce their social desires. They can afford to express the black and white moral issues preferred during bull markets, and drug abuse is a favorite target.

During times of negative mood, on the other hand, society’s priorities change. People have other, bigger worries and begin to view recreational drugs as less dangerous, if not innocuous in offering stress relief, pain reduction and the ability to cope with the pressures of negative social mood.

Over the past 100 years, governmental activities have manifested these changing attitudes. During periods of rising mood, policymakers stepped up regulation of cannabis. During periods of falling mood, they eased those same stances.

As shown in Figure 1, each legislative attempt to restrict marijuana use followed at least three, and in most cases four or five, bull-market years. In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. The law banned casual consumption of the drug and limited its use to specific medical and industrial purposes. Franklin Roosevelt signed the law at the top of a roaring bull market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average having quintupled from its 1932 low. The real crackdown, however, came over a decade later during the massive wave III bull move.

The Boggs Act, which increased drug use penalties fourfold, and the Narcotics Control Act, which increased penalties another eightfold, both came during the most powerful portion of wave 3 of III of the bull market. Then in 1958, after four more years of rising mood, Wisconsin farmers harvested the last legal crop of U.S.-grown hemp. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush’s famous “War on Drugs” speech came on the heels of seven years of net progress in the stock market. In 1999, a year before the top of the Grand Supercycle bull market, the DEA banned the importation of hemp products that contained even a trace of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient.

More at Socionomics.net

ABC's John Stossel, DPA director Ethan Nadelmann, Dr. Mathilde Krim, Walter Cronkite and Ira Glasser (former executive director of the ACLU)

I took the call and it was in fact Mr. Cronkite, who wanted to talk about his concerns regarding America’s so-called ‘war on drugs’. We talked for about half an hour and he asked me to fax him some data and/or reports to support some of the information I’d related to him regarding arrest rates, racial disparity and I think the efficacy of medical cannabis. As he related his fax number to me I recognized the exchange as coming from Dukes County, MA (which is principally Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Islands). I told Mr. Cronkite that I had grown up in close proximity to his locale, across Nantucket Sound in the Cape Cod town of Chatham. That sparked an additional half hour conversation about striped bass, giant Atlantic bluefin tuna and the importance of knowing where you derive pleasure.

All in all, a most pleasant conversation with a journalist I’d grown up watching and had always generally respected.

I was heartened some years later when Walter Cronkite started speaking out strongly against the war on some drugs, including doing fundraising letters and videos for the Drug Policy Alliance.

Drug war is a war on families
By Walter Cronkite

Article Published: Sunday, August 08, 2004

In the midst of the soaring rhetoric of the recent Democratic National Convention, more than one speaker quoted Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, invoking “the better angels of our nature.” Well, there is an especially appropriate task awaiting those heavenly creatures – a long-overdue reform of our disastrous war on drugs. We should begin by recognizing its costly and inhumane dimensions.

Much of the nation, in one way or another, is victimized by this failure – including, most notably, the innocents, whose exposure to drugs is greater than ever.

This despite the fact that there are, housed in federal and state prisons and local jails on drug offenses, more than 500,000 persons – half a million people! Clearly, no punishment could be too severe for that portion of them who were kingpins of the drug trade and who ruined so many lives. But by far, the majority of these prisoners are guilty of only minor offenses, such as possessing small amounts of marijuana. That includes people who used it only for medicinal purposes.

The cost to maintain this great horde of prisoners is more than $10 billion annually. And that’s just part of the cost of this war on drugs: The federal, state and local drug-control budgets last year added up to almost $40 billion.

These figures were amassed by the Drug Policy Alliance, one of the foremost national organizations seeking to bring reason to the war on drugs and reduce substantially those caught in the terrible web of addiction.

There are awful tales of tragedy and shocking injustice hidden in those figures – the product of an almost mindlessly draconian system called “mandatory sentencing,” in which even small offenses can draw years in prison.

Thousands of women, many of them mothers of young children, are included among those minor offenders. Those children left without motherly care are the most innocent victims of the drug war and the reason some call it a “war on families.”

Women are the fastest-growing segment of the prison population, with almost 80 percent of them incarcerated for drug offenses. The deep perversity of the system lies in the fact that women with the least culpability often get the harshest sentences.

Unlike the guilty drug dealer, they often have no information to trade for a better deal from prosecutors, and might end up with a harsher sentence than the dealer gets.

Then there are women like Kimba Smith, in California, who probably knew a few things but was so terrified of her abusive boyfriend that she refused to testify against him. (Those who agree to testify, by the way, frequently are murdered before they have a chance to do so.) Smith paid for her terrified silence with a 24-year sentence. Nonviolent first offenders, male and female, caught with only small amounts of a controlled substance frequently are given prison sentences of five to 10 years or more. As a result, the number of nonviolent offenders in the nation’s prisons is filling them to overflowing, literally. The resulting overcrowding is forcing violent felons onto the streets with early releases.

The Drug Policy Alliance also points out other important areas of injustice in the present enforcement system. For instance, people of color – African-Americans and Latinos – are far more likely to be jailed for drug offenses than others. And college students caught in possession of very small amounts of illegal substances are denied student loans and even food stamps.

The Alliance and other organizations are working to reform and reframe the war on drugs. And they are finding many judges on their side, who are rebelling against this cruel system. We can expect no federal action during the congressional hiatus in activity ahead of the November elections, but it would be of considerable help if, across the country, campaigning politicians put this high on their promises of legislative action, much sooner than later.

Walter Cronkite has been a journalist for more than 60 years, including 19 as anchor of the CBS Evening News.

I’m sorry to read of this near conclusion of your run-in with cannabis prohibition laws in SD. Like you, I’d hope to see a suspended sentence, or a lower sentence all together.

With 98% of all criminal cases being plea bargained, I’m sure this Hobson’s Choice was a difficult one to make.

Being banned from public advocacy regarding something you–and clearly tens of millions of other Americans agree should be discussed publicly–maybe the cruelest cut of all. One that I suspect is ironically going to draw more attention/media awareness to your ‘run-of-the-mill’ cannabis bust than any cannabis possession case in your state’s history (if it has not already).

You may have to remain mum about marijuana advocacy (for a year), but groups like NORML never will, and where your voice has been temporarily silenced by a system (i.e., the mechanisms of cannabis prohibition) no longer worthy of public respect in America (and South Dakota), know full well that hundreds of thousands of your like-minded friends and fellow cannabis consumers will be LOUDLY protesting the continuation of cannabis prohibition from the halls of Congress, to Statehouses across the country, to the streets and parks in protest of both a failed public policy—and against any government or court mandates that seek criminal sanctions against citizens who disagree with prohibition laws, and will not allow them to share their views with the general public.

When a simple cannabis arrest turns into government restrictions on protected First Amendment speech and right of assembly, cannabis consumers and concerned citizens need to re-double their efforts to end our country’s expensive and destructive cannabis prohibition laws.

Godspeed Bob! Please remain in touch with NORML!!

Cannabem liberemus,

-Allen St. Pierre

NORML

On 7/6/09 9:40 PM, “Bob Newland” <newland@rapidcity.com> wrote:

6 July 2009

Hello everyone;

This will be the last email I send under the banner ‘South Dakotans for Safe Access‘ at least for a year.

By now, most of you know I plead to a felony count of possession of marijuana in May. Today I was sentenced.

In an hour-long sentencing hearing, Judge Delaney waxed reminiscent as he described his admiration for Muhammad Ali’s stance against an illegal war, which cost him millions of dollars and his peak performing years, during which time he did not complain, nor did he leave the country that so abused him for his beliefs.

Then, citing the fact that he (Judge Delaney) had to account for his actions to the hundreds of kids he sees in juvenile court, he sentenced me to a year in the Penn. Co. jail, with all suspended but 45 days. During the suspended part of the sentence I will wear a bracelet that senses alcohol use and I will be subject to arbitrary piss tests by a probation officer to detect illegal “drug” use. In addition I may have no “public role” in cannabis law reform advocacy during that year.

Work release is an option, but I have few marketable skills, especially in a time when everyone else is getting laid off. I’ll follow any leads any of you might have.

It was somewhat harsher than I expected, and probably less than I deserved. At least it did not cost me a career worth millions, and my peak performing years won’t begin until July 6, 2010. And that’s about all I feel comfortable saying about it. For a year.

I’ll turn 61 in prison, doin’ six weeks for smokin’ a joint. Mama cried.
*****

I will do my time beginning sometime in August. If I have a job of the conventional sort (you know, with a time to get there and a time to leave) I can get work release. So, if you have any ideas for me along those lines?…

Thanks again to all who sent letters to the judge, and to those who have sent messages of support to me.

For 40 years I have watched as dozens of people I know–and thousands I know of–go through this same, ummm?, procedure. Now it’s happening to me, and I feel the same frustration over the purposelessness of it all as I have felt for all those other people, many, many, many of whom were treated far more viciously than I.

Someday this war will be over.

So long for now,
Bob
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For anything for which email is inadequate, contact sender at
24594 Chokecherry Ridge Rd
Hermosa SD 57744
605-255-4032

Washington, DC: Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, along with co-sponsors Ron Paul (R-TX); Maurice Hinchey (D-NY); Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA); and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), will reintroduce legislation today to limit the federal government’s authority to arrest and prosecute minor marijuana offenders.

The measure, entitled an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” would eliminate federal penalties for the personal possession of up to 100 grams (over three and one-half ounces) of cannabis and for the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce of pot – making the prosecutions of these offenses strictly a state matter.

Under federal law, defendants found guilty of possessing small amounts of cannabis for their own personal use face up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

Passage of this act would provide state lawmakers the choice to maintain their current penalties for minor marijuana offenses or eliminate them completely. Lawmakers would also have the option to explore legal alternatives to tax and regulate the adult use and distribution of cannabis free from federal interference.

To date, thirteen states have enacted laws ‘decriminalizing’ the possession of marijuana by adults. Minor marijuana offenders face a citation and small fine in lieu of a criminal arrest or time in jail.

“The federal government has much more important business to attend to than targeting, arresting and prosecuting adults who use marijuana responsibly,” NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. “This is an issue that ought to be handled by the states, not the Feds.”

According to nationwide polls, three out of four voters believe that adults who possess marijuana should not face arrest or jail, and one out of two now say that cannabis should be regulated like alcohol.

The reintroduction of the Frank/Paul bill comes one week after the duo reintroduced HR 2835, The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2009 – which seeks to halt federal interference in states that have enacted medical marijuana laws – and just days after Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) called for federal legislation to sentence certain first-time marijuana offenders to 25 years in prison.

“The US Congress has a definite choice,” said St. Pierre. “They can choose the path of compassion, fiscal responsibility, and common sense by supporting Barney Frank’s and Ron Paul’s efforts, or they can continue down America’s failed drug war path by endorsing Rep. Kirk’s draconian legislation. It is abundantly clear which direction the voters wish to go; will their elected officials follow?”

Additional information about the ‘Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults’ is available at NORML’s Take Action Center.

Even though California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined the calls for a debate on marijuana prohibition itself, there is still a lot of confusion about the legal status of the supposedly less controversial topic of “medical marijuana”. 

On April 2nd the Associated Press reported that Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton “called on the City Council to speed up the drafting of stricter regulations on medical marijuana clinics, calling current state law ‘Looney Tunes’.” (Oddly, the story was reported on the San Jose Mercury-News website, but the LA Times only covered it in a blog.)

Bratton was right, but for the wrong reasons. He claimed, “They pass a law, then they have no regulations as to how to enforce the darn thing and, as a result, we have hundreds of these locations selling drugs to every Tom, Dick and Harry.”

First, if the dispensaries are selling any “drug” other than cannabis, the police do not need any action by the LA City Counsel to raid them. Find any of them selling hard drugs, and the medical cannabis community will support closing down the offenders.

That is not a rhetorical point. It is important to note that one justification for the dispensary system is that it keeps medical cannabis users from having to go to “street dealers” in order to get their medicine. However, in the broader context of cannabis prohibition in general, the California medical marijuana dispensary system does the same thing that the Dutch cannabis “coffee shop” system has been doing for decades. The Dutch call it the “separation of the markets for soft and hard drugs.” One consequence of this “separation of the markets” is that the Dutch have a much lower use of hard drugs, especially heroin, among young people than does the US.

Inasmuch as marijuana has always been much more readily available to young people than to sick and dying older people, would Chief Bratton really prefer that young people get their marijuana from “street dealers” – who may also sell hard drugs? See T’was Another Great Victory. Teen Marijuana Use Down; Oxy Use Up. Teen Cigarette Use Went Down More Than Teen Marijuana Use.

Second, the dispensaries are not selling to just anyone. They require a special form of identification that establishes the fact that a doctor has approved of the patient’s use of cannabis. (That is all that is required by state law, and – critically – all that is allowed by Federal law.)

“Street dealers” do not require any identification, and most teens say it is easier to get marijuana (on the street) than it is to get alcohol from licensed stores.

The AP went on to do its duty to the Fatherland to support marijuana prohibition by saying, “In 2003, the state set up a system for issuing ID cards to those with ‘prescriptions’ for medicinal marijuana, but many claim the system has been abused and is out of control.” (emphasis added)

“Out of control” is bad, and so there have been a number of stories that have “exposed” how easy it is to get a card.

A few points about that:

First, any “control” system devised by humans will almost certainly be either “too tight” or “too loose.” If it is too tight, then some sick and dying people will not be able to get the medical marijuana that they need. That is actually the problem in most of the state where law enforcement simply refuses to obey state law, and/or lobbies officials to ban dispensaries. That problem is even worse in other “medical marijuana” states, like Washington.

See Prohibitionists to Patients: “Drop Dead!” Police, Politicians, and Quacks Put Cannabis Prohibition Ahead of the Sick, Dying and Disabled. “To Jail In An Ambulance.”

Second, healthy young people can always find “weed” on the “streets.”

Third, over-the-counter drugs, including aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol), kill thousands of people every year. (There is no lethal dose of marijuana.) Consequently, there is ample precedent for having truly “dangerous drugs” easily available.

Finally, the “prescription” drug control system is proving to be very leaky. Does L. A. need tighter controls on pharmacies?

On June 14 , 2008, The New York Times reported that the “Florida Medical Examiners Commission found that the rate of deaths caused by prescription drugs was three times the rate of deaths caused by all illicit drugs combined.”

See Florida Governor Demonstrates Absurdity of War on Cannabis. Prescription Drugs Kill; Cannabis Does Not – So The Killers Are “Just As Detrimental” As Cannabis.

It also said that the Drug Enforcement Administration found that “roughly seven million Americans are abusing prescription drugs.  If accurate, that would be an increase of 80 percent in six years and more than the total abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, Ecstasy and inhalants.”

But here are the hard facts:

“The Florida report analyzed 168,900 deaths statewide.  Cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines caused 989 deaths, it found, while legal opioids — strong painkillers in brand-name drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin — caused 2,328.

Drugs with benzodiazepine, mainly depressants (sic) like Valium and Xanax, led to 743 deaths.  Alcohol was the most commonly occurring drug, appearing in the bodies of 4,179 of the dead and judged the cause of death of 466 — fewer than cocaine ( 843 ) but more than methamphetamine ( 25 ) and marijuana ( 0 ).” (emphasis added)
See Guess Who Said , “The decrease in the abuse of cannabis among youth in the United States may be offset by an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs.” Iron Law Of Prohibition” &. Czar’s Strategy 3.”

In fairness to Chief Bratton, he went on to say, “I fully support its (marijuana’s) use for medicinal purposes.” That sets him apart from many police chiefs who follow the prohibitionist party line that medical marijuana is either a “scam” or unnecessary, and I salute him for having the courage to say that.

However, he also asked, “(W)hy don’t we regulate it like we do Lipitor or Viagra. You can’t buy those two without getting it through a legitimate pharmacy. If this drug is so important and so helpful, why is it not regulated like every other drug?” (emphasis added)

Well, never mind the fact that there are lots of websites offering to sell Lipitor and Viagra, it is disturbing that Bratton does not know the answer to that question.

There are two basic reasons why marijuana is not available “through a legitimate pharmacy” and is not “regulated like every other drug.”

First, the federal government has blocked research on the medical use of cannabis for decades, while NORML sued unsuccessfully to get it rescheduled, so it might be prescribed. It is not the supporters of medical marijuana who are responsible for keeping cannabis out of the FDA “system”

Second, it can cost huge sums to try to get any “drug” through the FDA process which was not set up to analyze a complex plant. In 1993, when I was National Director of NORML, we were told by the Clinton Administration that it would cost $1.5 million to get the FDA to review marijuana and move it from Schedule I to Schedule II. We did not have the $1.5 million, and the Clinton Administration did not have the courage to do even what it had promised patients that it would do, and reopen the so-called “Compassionate IND” program, so it came to nothing.

(However, in 1998, after a number of states passed medical marijuana laws, Marinol, synthetic THC, was quickly moved from Schedule II to Schedule III  with the full support of the DEA, while marijuana remains absurdly in Schedule I.)

It is also worth noting that 1996 Proposition 215 that began California’s move to allow medical marijuana, said in Section (A) “To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.” (emphasis added)

Moreover, under FDA rules, any pharmaceutical which has been approved for use for one disease can be prescribed (“off-label”) by doctors for “any other illness for which” the doctor thinks it “provides relief.” In that key regard California does treat medical marijuana “like every other drug.”

However, Bratton’s question raises another important point. If it were sold in pharmacies, would they be allowed to make a profit on it the way they make profits on Lipitor and Viagra? And would their suppliers be allowed to make a profit on it the way American business does on everything else?

If so, and if Bratton wants medical marijuana to be treated like “every other drug”, then why are medical marijuana growers and dispensaries supposed to be non-profit?

Of course, “socialized medical cannabis” will work as badly as socialized anything else. But that really is the idea. Protecting marijuana prohibition takes precedent over everything else, the needs of patients, economic common sense, and logical consistency.

So, yes, Chief Bratton, the California medical marijuana situation is “Looney Tunes”, but it is not because of those of us who believe in freedom and oppose state  violence against marijuana users, growers and sellers, medical or otherwise.

Richard Cowan is a former National Director of NORML, a member of the NORML Advisory Board, publisher of MarijuanaNews.com and Senior Advisor to Weedmaps.com

It’s been clear for quite some time that proponents of marijuana prohibition have nary a leg to stand on. When their position is scrutinized, even the least bit, it ends up collapsing like a house of cards. In this case, the look on FBI Director Robert Mueller’s face two minutes and forty-three seconds into the video says it all. His empty rhetoric has failed and he has no more artillery left in his arsenal. He’s been defeated and he knows it.

What’s most amazing about this exchange is just how quickly it all unraveled. Faced with the job of defending a multi-billion dollar public policy — one that’s been in place for more than seven decades — one of Washington, DC’s top bureaucrats found himself looking for a place to hide in under three minutes. That’s all the time it takes to destroy marijuana prohibition.

As the public support in favor of legalization continues to grow, we can expect to see more and more defenders of prohibition squirm like Mr. Mueller. That is, if there are any public defenders still left to be found.

14 May 2009
——-
Kerlikowske Says Analogy Is Counterproductive; Shift Aligns With Administration Preference for Treatment Over Incarceration

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S.  is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation’s drug issues.

“Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he said.  “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

View Full Image Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, signaled Wednesday his openness to rethinking the government’s approach to fighting drug use.

Mr.  Kerlikowske’s comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate — and likely more controversial — stance on the nation’s drug problems.  Prior administrations talked about pushing treatment and reducing demand while continuing to focus primarily on a tough criminal-justice approach.

The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment’s role growing relative to incarceration, Mr.  Kerlikowske said.

Already, the administration has called for an end to the disparity in how crimes involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine are dealt with.  Critics of the law say it unfairly targeted African-American communities, where crack is more prevalent.

The administration also said federal authorities would no longer raid medical-marijuana dispensaries in the 13 states where voters have made medical marijuana legal.  Agents had previously done so under federal law, which doesn’t provide for any exceptions to its marijuana prohibition.

During the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama also talked about ending the federal ban on funding for needle-exchange programs, which are used to stem the spread of HIV among intravenous-drug users.

The drug czar doesn’t have the power to enforce any of these changes himself, but Mr.  Kerlikowske plans to work with Congress and other agencies to alter current policies.  He said he hasn’t yet focused on U.S.  policy toward fighting drug-related crime in other countries.

Mr.  Kerlikowske was most recently the police chief in Seattle, a city known for experimenting with drug programs.  In 2003, voters there passed an initiative making the enforcement of simple marijuana violations a low priority.  The city has long had a needle-exchange program and hosts Hempfest, which draws tens of thousands of hemp and marijuana advocates.

Seattle currently is considering setting up a project that would divert drug defendants to treatment programs.

Mr.  Kerlikowske said he opposed the city’s 2003 initiative on police priorities.  His officers, however, say drug enforcement — especially for pot crimes — took a back seat, according to Sgt.  Richard O’Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild.  One result was an open-air drug market in the downtown business district, Mr.  O’Neill said.

“The average rank-and-file officer is saying, ‘He can’t control two blocks of Seattle, how is he going to control the nation?’ ” Mr.  O’Neill said.

Sen.  Tom Coburn, the lone senator to vote against Mr.  Kerlikowske, was concerned about the permissive attitude toward marijuana enforcement, a spokesman for the conservative Oklahoma Republican said.  [drug war]

Others said they are pleased by the way Seattle police balanced the available options.  “I think he believes there is a place for using the criminal sanctions to address the drug-abuse problem, but he’s more open to giving a hard look to solutions that look at the demand side of the equation,” said Alison Holcomb, drug-policy director with the Washington state American Civil Liberties Union.

Mr.  Kerlikowske said the issue was one of limited police resources, adding that he doesn’t support efforts to legalize drugs.  He also said he supports needle-exchange programs, calling them “part of a complete public-health model for dealing with addiction.”

Mr.  Kerlikowske’s career began in St.  Petersburg, Fla.  He recalled one incident as a Florida undercover officer during the 1970s that spurred his thinking that arrests alone wouldn’t fix matters.

“While we were sitting there, the guy we’re buying from is smoking pot and his toddler comes over and he blows smoke in the toddler’s face,” Mr.  Kerlikowske said.  “You go home at night, and you think of your own kids and your own family and you realize” the depth of the problem.

Since then, he has run four police departments, as well as the Justice Department’s Office of Community Policing during the Clinton administration.

Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports legalization of medical marijuana, said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Mr.  Kerlikowske.  “The analogy we have is this is like turning around an ocean liner,” he said.  “What’s important is the damn thing is beginning to turn.”

James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest law-enforcement labor organization, said that while he holds Mr.  Kerlikowske in high regard, police officers are wary.

“While I don’t necessarily disagree with Gil’s focus on treatment and demand reduction, I don’t want to see it at the expense of law enforcement.  People need to understand that when they violate the law there are consequences.”

I was opposed by prohibitionist Kevin Sabet in a very brief cable news exchange. If supporters of cannabis law reformers want to continue to raise the public discussion level on legalizing cannabis, contact CNN and request that they provide even greater coverage of cannabis-related matters, debates and online surveys; along with MSNBC, CNBC, Fox and C-Span.

While 4/20 has become an national phenomenon of sorts, and is the launch date these days for numerous commercial products and services directed at America’s cannabis consumers, this remarkable day in my view has lacked a certain degree of needed gravitas– with ‘4/20′ looking more like a ‘party in the park’ than genuinely organic socio-political events that elected policymakers and the media should take seriously.

However, I’d like to highlight the Colorado University chapter of NORML for not only holding the largest organized annual ‘4/20′ event in the world–but for recognizing this year, a year marked so far by an ever-growing voter sentiment about the need to legalize cannabis–that ‘4/20′ provides cannabis law reform advocates a prime annual opportunity to do far more than just protest in the park by convening a day-long, substantive conference in advance of ‘celebrating cannabis’ the next day by exploring logical and effective alternatives to cannabis prohibition.

NORML encourages college chapters of NORML and SSDP to follow CU NORML’s lead by organizing ‘marijuana forums’ on their campuses next week, as college students are disproportionately arrested at higher rates than most other subgroups of Americans for cannabis possession charges and can be denied access to federal loans for college if convicted of a single cannabis possession offense.

Despite President Obama’s unfortunate inability to take Americans’ current calls for cannabis law reforms seriously, there is nothing funny about cannabis prohibition in America. Next weekend at The University of Colorado at Boulder, students, activists, professors, lawyers and doctors, as well as proponents of cannabis prohibition will engage in serious-minded discussion and symposiums about how to move forward into the near future by crafting functional cannabis policies at the state and federal level.

National Marijuana Forum
April 18-20, 2009
University of Colorado, Boulder

For a complete schedule, check out NORML@CU!

Cannabis experts from all over the country will converge in Boulder,
Colorado from April 18-20 for the 2009 National Marijuana Forum, which will
bring together local and national experts to discuss cannabis reform. The
events will culminate on Monday, April 20 with the celebration of 4/20:
International Cannabis Day.

The National Marijuana Forum will be the foremost assessment on the current legal, scientific, environmental and social issues related to cannabis. Experts from all fields including marijuana law reform activists, law enforcement officials, medical experts, environmentalists, journalists and awarded scientists will participate in panels and lectures. The forum will serve to educate, enlighten and empower members of the CU and Boulder community on all current issues regarding marijuana in an unbiased
environment.
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DATE: Saturday, April 18. 2009
LOCATION: Mathematics 101
Near the intersection of Colorado and Folsom
TIME: 7:00pm
TOPIC: Keynote Address
Jessica Peck Corry – Executive Director of the Colorado Civil Rights
Initiative
Keynote Political speaker Jessica Peck Corry will participate in an open
discussion regarding the legal status of marijuana. The speaker will
discuss current reform and federal drug enforcement surrounding marijuana.
They will also discuss the legal channels in which reform

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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
LOCATION: Eaton Humanities 1B50
Just North of the Norlin Quadrangle
TIME: 11:00am
TOPIC: Welcome Panel

Speakers:
- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- NORML@CU Board of Directors

Preceded by an empowering and inspirational talk to kick off The National Forum on Marijuana, this welcoming panel will discuss the legal status of marijuana in the current day. The two leaders of the National Reform of Marijuana Laws will lay the foundation for the day’s topics and discussions. NORML@CU will then provide an overview of the forum and speak on the mission behind it.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 12:00 pm
TOPIC: Health and Marijuana
- Dr. Robert Melamede – Endocannabinoid Specialist, UCCS Professor
- Scott Karr Esq. – Attorney for THC Foundation

An overview of marijuana and its effects on the human body.

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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 12:30pm
TOPIC: Hemp: A stepping-stone on a path to a sustainable future

- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- Michael West – Education Director, CU Biodiesel
- Laura Kriho – Colorado Hemp Initiative Project

Until the end of World War II, hemp was a vital resource in the American
industrial textile industry. Hemp refers to the non-psychotropic cannabis
strains that can produce various products including oil, fabric, and food.
This panel will present the history of the American hemp industry, its
current legal status, and possible solutions to climate disruption and
economic recession.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 1:00pm
TOPIC: History of Marijuana Prohibition

- Kevin Booth- Award Winning Filmmaker/Activist
- Mason Tvert – Executive Director, SAFER

Marijuana’s vibrant history spans multi-millennia, yet only recently has it
been prohibited. This lecture will present the history of the marijuana
drug prohibition in the United States. Leaders in drug reform will provide
valuable insight into all aspects of marijuana laws and illicit status.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 1:30pm
TOPIC: The State of Medical Marijuana

- Tom Sloan – Commander, Boulder County Drug Task Force
- Devin Koontz, Food and Drug Administration
- Scott Karr Esq. – Attorney for THC Foundation
- Brian Vicente Esq. – Executive Director, Sensible Colorado
- Michael Lee – Founder of Cannabis Therapeutics

With medical marijuana constantly evolving, this panel will discuss
current, past, and possible future laws regarding the medical use of
marijuana. We will look at the current applications of medical marijuana in
Colorado. Emerging research will be discussed and analyzed.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm
TOPIC: Federal and State Laws

- Tom Sloan – Commander, Boulder County Drug Task Force
- Devin Koontz, Food and Drug Administration
- Lenny Frieling Esq.- Retired Lafayette Judge
- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- DEA Special Agent (tentative)
State vs. Federal Laws: Federally, marijuana is still seen as prohibited.
However, medical marijuana is legal at a state level in 13 states. In
addition, if over the age of 21, marijuana possession is legal to a certain
extent in many cities nationwide, including Denver, Colorado. This panel
will discuss the differences in laws at each level and explain the
stratification in the legal process.

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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 2:30pm
TOPIC: Marijuana Law Reform: Past, Present, and Future

- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- Mason Tvert- Executive Director, SAFER
- Jonathon Perri – Students for Sensible Drug Policy, San Francisco
- Brian Vicente Esq. – Executive Director, Sensible Colorado
Since the prohibition of marijuana there have been many social movements
striving to legalize and utilize marijuana. This panel is comprised of a
diverse group of activists that have played important roles in the reform
of marijuana laws. The panel will discuss current legislation, possible
legislation for your hometown, past breakthroughs in reform, and future
goals.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 3:15pm
TOPIC: Cannabis Cultural Icons

- Steve Bloom – Former Editor of High Times
- Kevin Booth – Award Winning Filmmaker/Activist

This panel will look at the societal aspect of marijuana, including its
cultural significance, ties to media and entertainment, and how it affects
culture. The panel will include celebrities, journalists, and other
well-known figures that are heavily involved in the cannabis culture.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 4:00 PM
TOPIC: The Great Debate: Marijuana Legalization vs. Marijuana
Criminalization

- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- Drug Free America (TBA)
As Federal government has failed to address marijuana prohibition since the
Schaffer Commission, this debate will look at opposing viewpoints on the
legalization of marijuana. This talk will bring in experts from both sides
of the issue to discuss the current legal status of cannabis and whether or
not it should be legalized.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 4:45pm
TOPIC: Closing Panel

- Allen St. Pierre – Executive Director, NORML
- NORML@CU
This panel will bring together both sides of the debate and summarize the
day’s events. The talk will bring the forum full-circle and discuss the
future of marijuana prohibition, law reform, and how students can empower
themselves to make right decisions and become active citizens in the U.S.
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DATE: Sunday, April 19, 2009
TIME: 7:00pm
TOPIC: American Drug War Film Screening
LOCATION: Cristol Chemistry Building Room 140
http://www.americandrugwar.com/

The War on Drugs has become the longest and most costly war in American history, forcing one to ponder how much more the country can endure. Inspired by the deaths of four family members from “legal drugs,” Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth sets out to discover why the War on Drugs has become such a colossal failure. Nearly four years in the making, the film follows gang members, former DEA agents, CIA officers, narcotics officers, judges, politicians, prisoners, and celebrities. American Drug War shows how money, power, and greed have not just corrupted dope fiends but an entire government. More importantly, it shows what can be done about it. This is not a mere pro-drug stoner film, but a collection of expert testimonials from the ground troops on the front lines of the drug war; those who are
fighting in it and those who are living it.
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HAPPY 4/20!!!!

DATE: Monday, April 20, 2009
TIME: 4:20pm, of course!!!
TOPIC: 4/20 International Cannabis Day Celebration/Protest
LOCATION: Norlin Quadrangle, CU Campus

4/20 is International Cannabis Day, a holiday celebrated by millions of
people throughout the world. Every year on 4/20 at 4:20 pm, citizens
worldwide gather together to celebrate their favorite plant. Last year,
more than 10,000 people gathered at CU’s Norlin Quadrangle to celebrate the
4/20 holiday. This year, NORML@CU expects more than 15,000 people. While
NORML@CU is not a sponsor of the 4/20 celebration/protest, the group has
worked with CU Police to ensure that this year’s protest will be as safe
and uneventful as it has in the past.

HAPPY 4/20!!!!
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For a complete schedule and speaker information, see:
NORML@CU
http://www.normlcu.com/