US HOUSE “CELEBRATES” END OF PROHIBITION

Prohibition Failed – Please do something about it – Anti-Prohibition poster of the 1930s, courtesy Schaffer Library of Drug Policy.

US HOUSE “CELEBRATES” END OF PROHIBITION 9/17/2008 5:13 PM (PT) Free-4-Now with NewsGator100

Today the US House of Representatives passed a resolution “commemorating” the repeal of the failed “Great Experiment,” commonly known as Prohibition. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) and cosponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI).

In the afternoon, before what turned out to be a very short debate on the House floor, Rep. Coble posted a note on The Hill and noted, “In 1919, following the passage of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors,” the United States experienced a dramatic increase in illegal activity including unsafe black market alcohol production, a growth in organized crime, and increasing noncompliance with alcohol laws.”

Cannabis and drug legalization advocates immediately jumped on the obvious hypocrisy and contradiction of passing this resolution while ignoring the current crime, violence, death and disease associated with today’s “War on Drugs.”

Mexico: 43 dead in three days as ‘Drug War’ violence escalates

Day of the dead

Aug. 18, 2008, CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AFP) — At least 43 people died in violent attacks in the last three days in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua, the scene of ongoing drug gang turf wars, police said Monday. Thirteen males, aged between 18 and 41, died in separate attacks on Monday, mostly in the flashpoint city of Ciudad Juarez on the US border, local police said. Assassins killed nine people overnight Sunday in the city, following the slaying of 21 people the previous night, including 14 in a massacre at a family gathering in the western Chihuahua town of Creel.

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Mexico, violence, escalates, drug war, massacre, Chihuahua, Creel, CIUDAD JUAREZ, Felipe Calderon, drug trafficking, Sierra Tarahumara, Guadalupe, El Paso, El Universal, Merida Initiative

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Part I

Part 2

Jeff Merkley for Oregon

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Jeff Merkley for Oregon

I agree we have serious problems related to meth and all other illegal drugs yet I do not agree that more cops, jails and/or mandatory minimums will be any more effective than they have been in the past. We already have more people in prison, per capita, than any other nation and over 50% are non-violent “drug offenders.” The cost and lost years of productivity have fallen hardest on the poor and minorities but also take funding away from everyone’s education, healthcare and programs like Head Start and after school activities which have been shown to do more towards helping at-risk young people stay off the streets and away from the drugs and our unregulated, often violent, drug market.

At any rate, it’s a very big issue with lots of details and nuance. An issue I’ve been interested in for a long time. So I read your (Mr. Merkley’s) proposals related to drugs and public safety and as you might surmise, respectfully disagree with you.

I do not want to put you off, yet I think that if you really want to escalate what we collectively call the War on Drugs and put more people in cages, an obvious question needs to be asked: Have you ever used meth or any other illegal drug? And if you have I think you owe us a detailed explanation about your drug experiences and how you can justify punishing people for something you also did?

Of course your possible past (or current) drug use should not be held against you. As you know Sen. Obama himself has been very candid about his past drug use and this openness is one of the things I most admire about him.

I look forward to your reply and thank you for your kind consideration.

Floyd Ferris Landrath

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