Open thread

“bullet” I mentioned Jerry Cameron (of LEAP) and his controversial visit to Ireland. Well, that visit has sparked this excellent column in the Irish Independent: The war isn’t working so is it now time to consider the unthinkable and legalise all drugs? by Antonia Leslie. Read the whole thing.

One of the great things about this column is how it shows the whole range of ways the drug war has failed, and is continuing to fail society. It really annoys me when drug warriors claim that the drug war is a success by pointing to some drop in casual marijuana use — as if that’s worth all the continuing deaths, violence, prison, corruption, law enforcement diversion, rights violations and expense of the war.

The Irish Examiner also prints a column by Ryle Dwyer: We are losing the war on drugs and policy should be stood on its head.

Using tried and tested tactics that have failed so dramatically is a cause of, not the answer to, our problems.

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$20 marijuana sale to cost taxpayers half a million dollars. Yep, that’s about what it will cost to put this guy, who was caught selling $20 worth of marijuana, in prison for 30 years. [thanks Mirjan]

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This letter: Medical Field Against Legalized Marijuana from Ted Beam — a United Methodist pastor — just annoys me. In addition to falling for all the reefer madness hype, he fails to note that the United Methodist Church has endorsed the use of medical marijuana. My dad is a retired United Methodist pastor, and I’m pleased to report that they’re not all as ignorant as Ted. [thanks, DdC]