Open Thread

Note: I’m taking a few days off to do some biking and exploring in Chicago with a friend, and don’t know how much wireless access I’ll have, but I’ll be stopping by when I can.
“bullet” Prohibition ups gang violence – nice article about LEAP’s efforts in Canada.

“Prohibition is not a failure, it’s a self-perpetuating policy disaster”

“bullet” Interesting post at Addiction Inbox on Drug abuse vs. drug dependence talks about 10 drug myths (drawn from a longer list by Dr. Carlton Erickson.
“bullet” From a couple of weeks ago — Bloggingheads: Just Say Yes to Drugs Ta-Nehisi Coates and Megan McArdle discuss drug legalization — a bit disjointed (McArdle seems to have a better handle on it). Interesting to see Ta-Nehisi try to struggle with the problem of wanting enforcement of violence in poor communities, yet knowing that drug enforcement isn’t the answer.
“bullet” Dan Gardner: Statistics only count when they prove your point Hmmm….
“bullet” Here’s another one that I didn’t get around to mentioning before, but has been in my mind (and I’ll probably talk about it more later). Study sees racial bias in traffic-stop searches. Not a surprise, of course, just more evidence.
Steve Chapman gives a great response in Consenting to be abused

Stopped on a lonesome stretch of highway, at the mercy of an armed man who has the power to arrest, very few citizens feel free to refuse. The Illinois State Police report that 94 percent of white motorists and 96 percent of minority ones “consent” to such searches.
Is that because they have nowhere else they’d rather be? Is it because they get a kick from watching a cop take apart their cars in an effort to put them behind bars? Or could it be because they suspect that refusing a cop is far too dangerous? […]
As the ACLU argues, abolition is the only solution. In Illinois, the burden of these searches falls disproportionately on racial minorities, but achieving perfect racial equity would not alter their oppressive nature.
In a nation founded on respect for the rights of every person, these searches give all priority to the power and convenience of the government, while mocking the liberties we are supposed to have. Why would we consent to that?

“bullet” Sometimes I get too tired to report these…. Drug Raid: Police Shoot Man, Find Nothing But Codeine Syrup and Marijuana Laws Killed Two People This Week [Thanks for doing it, Scott]
“bullet” Steve Young has an oddly amusing article: Prohibition: Empowering Gangs in Chicago for 90 Years
“bullet” Be sure to read David Borden’s nicely done editorial in the current Drug War Chronicle
“bullet” “drcnet”