Drug WarRant

The White House:

Today, President Biden pardoned all prior federal and D.C. offenses of simple marijuana possession.

@POTUS also called on governors to pardon simple state marijuana possession offenses.

Additionally, @POTUS asked @SecBecerra and the Attorney General to initiate the process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Marijuana is currently classified at the same level as heroin – and above fentanyl.

It’s no secret that this site has been a big fan of the exceptionally important work done by investigative journalist Radley Balko.

It’s very sad to hear this:

So after nine years, I’m being let go by the Washington Post. This is disappointing but not surprising. In recent years, the Opinion leadership has made it increasingly difficult to do the reporting & in-depth analysis I was hired to do — in favor of short, hot takes.

Over the last year, it’s become clear that my short, hot takes aren’t particularly welcome either. My last day is Dec 1.

It’s a deflating way to end a dream job. But I’m proud of the journalism I’ve published in the last decade, including reporting that has brought real change.

So today, I’m launching my Substack, The Watch. For now, this will be my primary source of income and the primary way I fund my journalism.

If you support my work, I hope you’ll subscribe, and I hope you’ll spread the word. Thanks!

One more thing:

My first big story will post in a few days. It’s a two-year investigation into a horrific wrongful conviction in Arkansas.

Stay tuned.

The Watch, by Radley Balko

Over the years, I’ve seen some real atrocities in the news regarding the damage done by law enforcement in the course of a raid — a flashbang thrown into a crib with a baby in it, doors ripped off and furniture destroyed, dogs killed, and even entire houses burned down.

But none of that prepared me for this latest outrage…

They didn’t even remove their shoes!

This made me laugh…

Donald Trump posted:

A major motion pertaining to the Fourth Amendment will soon be filed concerning the illegal Break-In of my home, Mar-a-Lago, right before the ever important Mid-Term Elections. My rights, together with the rights of all Americans, have been violated at a level rarely seen before in our Country. Remember, they even spied on my campaign. The greatest Witch Hunt in USA history has been going on for six years, with no consequences to the scammers. It should not be allowed to continue!

I’m sorry, did the FBI break down your door in the middle of the night, shoot you and your dog in bed, and burn down your house with flashbangs, all based on a falsely-procured warrant that was for a house two blocks away?

Of course, no such motion will be filed. It’s just another attention-getter.

Current and Former Louisville, Kentucky Police Officers Charged with Federal Crimes Related to Death of Breonna Taylor

Charges Include Federal Civil Rights Offenses, Unlawful Conspiracies, Obstruction Offenses, and Use of Excessive Force […]

A federal grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, returned two indictments that were unsealed today, and the Department of Justice filed a third charging document today, in connection with an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed in her Louisville home on March 13, 2020, by police officers executing a search warrant.

“The Justice Department has charged four current and former Louisville Metro Police Department officers with federal crimes related to Breonna Taylor’s death,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Among other things, the federal charges announced today allege that members of LMPD’s Place-Based Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home, that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death.

Good article by the wonderful Maia Szalavitz in the New York Times: The War on Drugs Has a Warning for Post-Roe America

Under Roe, most obstetricians and gynecologists didn’t face this level of legal peril. But this isn’t the first time America has criminalized aspects of medicine. Physicians who prescribe controlled substances like opioids carry a similar burden. They can face decades in prison if prosecutors target them for overprescribing. Although there are cases of bad actors who prescribed opioids for profit, even legitimate physicians may fear being targeted by law enforcement, and research shows that the threat of legal action has a broad chilling effect on the way doctors provide care. The war on drugs shows that when medicine is criminalized and politicized, harm to patients and doctors increases, while the activities that the laws are intended to curb continue or even increase.[…]

Terrified of legal action, some physicians are already taking extreme measures to protect themselves from abortion prosecutions, such as ending women’s prescriptions for an immune disorder treatment, methotrexate, because if they get pregnant, it can cause miscarriage.

I am excited to announce that my book — Improbable Anecdotes: Surprisingly true nuggets from the life and adventures of Pete Guither — has been published.

This is a book of brief stories – some funny, some odd, some enlightening. The kind of stories I would tell to friends over scotch and cheese about my days as a lounge lizard, or in my theatre management classes about the wrong way to do things. 234 pages containing 160 stories (including color pictures). There is a full chapter devoted to my drug policy work, but the stories are from every part of my life. Each story (or chapter) can be simply read on its own, or, taken together, they form a sort of uncensored no-holds-barred autobiography.

“A life well lived and stories well told. I should know… I’m in a few of them.” –Roger Reitzel

“Pete encouraged the most risk, creativity, and fun from me during a pivotal moment in my growth as an artist. It was wonderful to read about his life and all the people who encouraged risk, creativity and fun from him.” –Keith Habersberger

“The Redbeard fan base has been itching for an origin story. This one absolutely demolishes what we thought was canon!” –L. Adams

“A fast read… unless you’re a slow reader.” –Rogina

“Where’s that damned piano player?” –Henny Youngman