Friday, October 22, 2004

Dissecting one tragedy; waiting for another Washington Post columist Colbert King is back on the Jonathan Magbie story. Magbie was a quadriplegic who died during incarceration for first-time marijuana possession. One judge involed at the periphery of the case is trying to defend the court's actions, but King finds them indefensible. Richard Cowan at Marijuananews.com analyzes an eerily similar story from New Zealand that hasn't ended in a needless death - yet.   11:45:21 PM | permalink | comment [] Another sad marijuana possession case A new blog called Grits For Breakfast has a lot of interesting news about drug task forces and other criminal justice issues, particularly in Texas. Yesterday, there was a grim post about man who was shot by police and is now facing kidnapping charges. It all started with a marijuana possession charge. Don't believe those who say that getting arrested for marijuana is no big deal. 4:26:04 PM | permalink | comment [] Alaska pot initiative advancing in polls At least that's what an email fundraising appeal from MPP says: Two months ago, the Marijuana Policy Project's internal polling indicated the initiative was supported by 32% of the voters and opposed by 56% (with 12% undecided). Our TV and radio ads since then have closed the gap: Last week, our internal polling indicated the initiative is supported by 42% of the voters and opposed by 50% (with 8% undecided). I've been hoping to see some numbers, and these look about as good as I could expect. MPP is seeking donations to push the issue further. Will the push help? I don't know, but I'm so giddy over this Alaska thing I gave MPP an extra donation last week. 2:36:08 PM | permalink | comment [] No taxation without legalization! "Tax the dope trade, alderman suggests," is a headline in the Chicago Sun-Times today. Unfortunately, he wants to keep the trade illegal. Bad idea, and not only because such practices have been deemed unconstitutional recently. The idea isn't new, and elsewhere it caused problems for states that have enacted similar laws. The alderman doesn't see a conflict with the marijuana decriminalization plan that has been endorsed by Mayor Daley. That sounds impossible to me. Who's going to chase down the delinquents who can't pay their taxes because they've already spent $500 on a Chicago ticket? The police? Maybe they will have more time with the ticket system, but that time will get eaten by new tax enforcement. On a more philosophical level, what representation are pot users getting by paying this tax? It would be more accurate to call it drug-related extortion instead of a drug tax. 9:22:34 AM | permalink | comment []

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