Cops Show ‘True Colors’ at Marijuana Dispensary Bust

*You may have heard the saying, “Eventually, your true colors will show themselves.” Well, I just made that up, but you get the point. And recent video show a group of cops who raided a marijuana dispensary in Santa Ana, California as a perfect example.

 What idiots!

These poor excuses for police officers were obviously not aware that the dispensary they charged into had secret cameras. And obviously smelling themselves they proceeded to flaunt their authority by showing a complete lack of disregard for the business; eating marijuana edibles, tossing darts, and even joking about their behavior towards a disabled person.   READ MORE

Indiana Governor Rewards Private Prison Lobby with Draconian Marijuana Punishments

I have a new and self-imposed policy that I follow when I see a news report of some bull-headed politician proposing some law to put low-level drug possessors in prison. That rule? Follow the money, of course.

Because something hideous is festering under the surface of these laws. It's the private prison lobby, which makes campaign contributions to secure harsher penalties. You see, these prison companies are in need of warm bodies, since they can put those people to work inside the walls of those prisons. The companies double-dip, too, pulling in a guaranteed sum from the state in addition to whatever they can make with their legalized slave labor. Weed offenders are just the sorts of people these prison profiteers are looking for. They're mostly non-violent people who will comply. They can be put to work without much worry.

This week, Indiana got into the mix, as its governor Mike Pence pushed for changes to legislation on drug crime. Among his suggested changes:

Tougher marijuana possession and dealing penalties could be added to a proposed overhaul of Indiana's criminal sentencing laws by legislators after Gov. Mike Pence questioned whether the plan was strict enough on low-level drug offenders. READ MORE

Fake news story apparently prompts real legislation in Colorado

A story from a fake news website has apparently led the Colorado Republican state senator who thinks fried chicken causes black and Latino poverty to file a bill prohibiting the use of food stamps or other government aid at marijuana dispensaries, even to purchase things that could be legally obtained elsewhere with the public assistance. (Food stamps can only be used to buy food, remember.)

Last week, the satirical National Report posted a fake story entitled “Colorado Pot Shop Accepting Food Stamps – Taxpayer Funded Marijuana for Welfare Recipients.” Other stories on the site include equally false items such as “Colorado Pot Shop Attempts To Disarm Citizens With ‘Weed for Guns’ Buyback Program,” “How Obama’s EPA Is Taking Away Your 2nd Amendment,” and “U.S. Caves to Iran In Nuclear Deal. Sharia Law Now to be Taught in U.S. Universities. Qurans to be Placed in Motel Rooms.” A conservative news site picked up the story, apparently duped. The Douglas County Republican Committee, also apparently believing the story real, linked to the report on its Twitter feed last Tuesday. READ MORE

Why Can’t You Smoke Pot? Because Lobbyists Are Getting Rich Off of the War on Drugs

Photo Credit: Theequinest

Why we still put hundreds of thousands of people in steel cages for pot-related offenses. 
March 7, 2012

John Lovell is a lobbyist who makes a lot of money from making sure you can’t smoke a joint. That’s his job. He’s a lobbyist for the police unions in Sacramento, and he is a driving force behind grabbing Federal dollars to shut down the California marijuana industry. I’ll get to the evidence on this important story in a bit, but first, some context.

At some point in the distant past, the war on drugs might have been popular. But not anymore — the polling is clear, but beyond that, the last three Presidents have used illegal drugs. So why do we still put hundreds of thousands of people in steel cages for pot-related offenses? Well, there are many reasons, but one of them is, of course, money in politics. Corruption. Whatever you want to call it, it’s why you can’t smoke a joint without committing a crime, though of course you can ingest any number of pills or drinks completely within the law.

Some of the groups who want to keep the drug illegal are police unions that want more members to pay more dues. One of the primary sources for cash for more policing activities are Federal grants for penalizing illegal drug use, which help pay for overtime, additional police officers, and equipment for the force. That’s what Lovell does, he gets those grants. He also fights against democratic mechanisms to legalize drugs.

In 2010, California considered Prop 19, a measure to legalize marijuana and tax it as alcohol. The proposition gained more votesthan Meg Whitman, the former eBay executive and Republican gubernatorial nominee that year, but failed to pass. Opponents of the initiative ran ads, organized rallies, and spread conspiracy theories about billionaire George Soros to confuse voters.

Lovell managed the opposition campaign against Prop 19. He told Time Magazine that he was pushing against the initiative because, “the last thing we need is yet another mind-altering substance to be legalized.”   READ MORE

Eliot Spitzer: Spending Money on Prosecuting Pot Is Ridiculous

Former New York governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer says he not only supports medical marijuana, but thinks we should replace marijuana prohibition with legalization.

February 24, 2012

Former New York governor and attorney general Eliot Spitzer says he not only supports medical marijuana, but thinks we should replace marijuana prohibition with legalization.  Speaking on Friday night on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," Spitzer said: "To spend prosecutorial resources on pot is ridiculous...I'd be in favor of legalized pot. Legalizing pot is the right way to go."

Check out the entire marijuana discussion by Maher's panel of guests, starting at 4:22 in to this clip:

Ep. 238: February 17, 2012 - Overtime

  READ MORE