Open thread

“bullet” An Open Letter to the Black Community On Behalf of Ron Paul by Robert A. Wicks

A Presidential candidate’s position on the war on drugs is the first legitimate political litmus test I have seen within my lifetime. […] Laws against drug use are no more justifiable than anti-miscegenation laws. They are laws which attack the root of the notion that all men are created equal by establishing that some have the right to rule over others, and those others have no similar right. What other justification is there for preventing an adult from inhaling, ingesting, or injecting the chemical of his choice into his own body? A large portion of the black prison population is imprisoned because of drug offenses. Many of those who are imprisoned for other offenses, such as property crimes and violent crimes are there as a result of the various violent consequences of the war on drugs. Ron Paul does not claim to be able to fix all this. As President, he can only Constitutionally stop the federal war on drugs, not those in which the states engage. But removing federal support for drug prohibition could have a tremendous impact nonetheless.

“bullet” I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet, but retired DEA agent Mike Levine has Bill Conroy of Narco News on his internet radio show to talk about the plane with 4 tons of cocaine that crashed in Mexico and was apparently used by the CIA and other U.S. agencies.
“bullet” Death by Drug War — via Radley Balko

The state of Washington’s position is clear: If someone calls 911 when a friend is overdosing, not only does the witness risk charges for possessing or selling drugs (which 911 callers in these situations have feared since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act), but he or she could be charged with homicide, too. The end result? Overdose victimsÖwho might survive with prompt medical careÖmay be abandoned and left to die.

If you get a chance, read the entire referenced article by Dominic Holden. It’s pretty powerful.