Open Thread

“bullet” More on the former drug czar’s appearance on CNN:
Dan Bernath demonstrates the breathtaking nature of John Walter’s pathological need to lie in How Can We Miss You if You Won’t Go Away?:

Walters begins a tirade about medical marijuana in California, saying ‹it has been reported in the newsŠ that there are more medical marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco than there are Starbucks coffee shops.
What Walters says is technically true Ö that lie has indeed been reported in the news. What he fails to mention is that the source was none other than John Walters. And those news reports were widely dismissive of Walters‰ fib. Both Starbucks and the San Francisco Department of Health refuted it.
But by cleverly distancing himself from his own lie and attributing it to ‹the news,Š Walters is free to repeat it as much as he wants without ever being held accountable.

Paul Armentano makes it clear how he feels about the ex-czar over at the Huffington Post: What Do You Know, the Ex-Drug Czar Is Still Full of Sh*t!:

In a revelation that I’m sure will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, it turns out that ex-Drug Czar John Walters is still full of sh*t.

… and goes on to demolish each of his points.
And for more fisking of that CNN piece, see De-Filtering: Jeffrey Miron vs. John Walters on CNN at Show Me the Facts.
“bullet” In a related note, Kaptinemo in comments found a video at Huffington Post from last month of Rob Kampia Bruce Mirken on the Rachel Maddow show. It’s a nice piece (and Mirken does a nice take-town himself of Walters, calling him “a pitchfork-wielding fanatic – an absolute zealot (particularly on marijuana), who had no interest in facts, no interest in data, and frankly was perfectly happy to lie about what the research said in service of his own ideology.”
I haven’t watched Maddow much — I was impressed with how she handled the segment compared to what we see from most other cable news shows.
“bullet” Barney Frank was on Lou Dobbs and was on fire. He talked about a number of things, but move ahead to the 3:10 point in the video and you’ll see the discussion on marijuana legalization.

A couple of highlights: Frank (referring to Schwarzennegger):

Well, first of all, when people in my business say it’s time for a debate, it generally means that they are for something that they’re afraid isn’t popular enough yet. I’m for more than a debate…

And this important point from Frank:

It’s a mistake to divide human activity into two sets of classes: One, things that government prohibits, and then things that government encourages. Most human activity ought to be neither. It ought to be up to you to make the choice.

Barney was so engaging that Lou Dobbs had nothing really to say and just smiled.
“bullet” Going to Court. Lesson One.
If you’re going to court, leave the marijuana at home.

Authorities in New York state said a man searching his pockets for a summons in a courtroom dropped a bag of marijuana onto an officer’s shoe.

“bullet” Marc Emery comes to the rescue of a double-amputee medical marijuana patient who is to be evicted for smoking marijuana (because of the marijuana smoke smell) and gives her a Volcano Vaporizer (along with some Blueberry Island Sweet Skunk).
“bullet” DrugSense Weekly
“bullet” “drcnet”