A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
"News and Activism Supporting Sensible Reform"

Offer: Unique and Important New Book on Medical Marijuana:
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/dying_to_get_high_membership_...

Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org to stop the drug war now!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drcnet_internships_to_stop_th...

Table of Contents:

1. EDITORIAL: WHY HASN'T DENVER'S POLICE CHIEF BEEN FIRED FOR
VIOLATING MARIJUANA LAWS?
In Hawaii County (the "Big Island") this week, city
councilmembers respect their constituents so much that they
approved a marijuana reform initiative for the ballot despite
insufficient signatures. In Denver, police continue to flout not
one but two similar laws that that city's voters passed. Why
hasn't the police chief been fired for it?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/why_hasnt_denvers_police_chie...

2. FEATURE: THE DRUG CHECKPOINT THAT WASN'T -- LOUISIANA LAWMEN
PLAY FAST AND LOOSE WITH THE CONSTITUTION
There was a drug checkpoint on a Louisiana highway last week.
Only one problem: they're illegal. Now the local cops are
backtracking furiously and claiming it was really a legal
highway safety checkpoint. And the drug dogs were there to help
read drivers' licenses?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/louisiana_drug_checkpoint

3. FEATURE: SEATTLE'S HEMPFEST AGAIN DRAWS MULTITUDES IN
CELEBRATION OF CANNABIS CULTURE
Seattle's annual Hempfest, the world's largest marijuana
"protestival," took place last weekend. Here's a brief report.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/seattle_hempfest_2008

4. STUDENTS: INTERN AT DRCNET AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and
you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drcnet_internships_to_stop_th...

5. SALVIA DIVINORUM: NORTH DAKOTA MAN, FIRST IN NATION CHARGED
WITH MAGIC MINT OFFENSE, SEES CHARGES REDUCED
Kenneth Rau of Bismarck, North Dakota, the first man in the US
arrested for possession of salvia divinorum, caught something of
a break last week when prosecutors dropped the most serious
charge against him. But he still faces five years in prison for
$32 worth of salvia leaves he bought on eBay.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/kenneth_rau_salvia_charges_re...

6. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
Cops "misplacing" money, cops providing help to a pot crew, a
court security officer peddling pain pills, and a jail guard
getting caught bringing in the goodies. Just another week in the
drug war.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/police_drug_corruption

7. MARIJUANA: MASSACHUSETTS DECRIMINALIZATION INITIATIVE POLLING
WELL
A November initiative that would decriminalize small-time
marijuana possession in Massachusetts is now polling at over
70%.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/massachusetts_marijuana_decri...

8. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT TO TAKE UP LIMITS
ISSUE
The California Supreme Court will try to settle once and for all
the issue of limits on the number of plants or amount of
marijuana patients may possess.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/california_supreme_court_medi...

9. MARIJUANA: HAWAII'S BIG ISLAND TO VOTE ON LOWEST LAW
ENFORCEMENT PRIORITY INITIATIVE
An initiative that would make the enforcement of marijuana laws
against adults the lowest law enforcement priority on Hawaii's
Big Island will go to the voters in November.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/hawaii_big_island_marijuana_l...

10. OFFER: UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT NEW BOOK ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
"Dying to Get High," by sociologists Wendy Chapkis and Richard
Webb, is a groundbreaking work that provides an in-depth
portrait of one of the country's most well-known medical
marijuana collectives.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/dying_to_get_high_membership_...

11. LATIN AMERICA: MEXICO'S PRD MAY CALL FOR LEGALIZATION
Faced with rising levels of violence as Mexican drug
traffickers, police, and soldiers engage in a multi-sided
struggle for supremacy, Mexico's left-leaning Democratic
Revolutionary Party may be about to call for legalization of the
drug trade -- in both the US and Mexico.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/mexico_PRD_legalization

12. EUROPE: MOVE AFOOT IN POLAND TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA
Poland treats marijuana possession toughly, but that could
change if a movement now underway succeeds.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/poland_marijuana_decriminaliz...

13. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drug_war_history

14. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @ THE SPEAKEASY
"Excellent Video: The Human Cost of Marijuana Prohibition,"
"College Presidents Call for Debate on Lowering the Drinking
Age," "Pet Mountain Lion Gets Man Arrested for Marijuana,"
"Stephen Colbert's Top 7 Drug Moments," "If You Oppose Marijuana
Laws, But Support Other Drug Laws, Read This," "Canadian Health
Minister Attacks Doctors for Supporting Safe Injection Sites."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/blogging_at_the_speakeasy

15. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle

16. WEBMASTERS: HELP THE MOVEMENT BY RUNNING DRCNET SYNDICATION
FEEDS ON YOUR WEB SITE!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War
Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drug_policy_content_syndicati...

17. RESOURCE: DRCNET WEB SITE OFFERS WIDE ARRAY OF RSS FEEDS FOR
YOUR READER
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_ava...

18. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
the events coming up the soonest, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/drug_reform_calendar

(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up
today!)

================

1. Editorial: Why Hasn't Denver's Police Chief Been Fired for
Violating Marijuana Laws?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/why_hasnt_denvers_police_chie...

David Borden (http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden), Executive
Director

This week saw an unusual and encouraging move
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/548/hawaii_big_island_marijuana_l...)
taken by the Hawaii County Council (the "Big Island"). Advocates
seeking the deprioritization of marijuana law enforcement, and
the continued rejection by the county of federal marijuana
eradication grants, tried but didn't quite manage to gather a
sufficient number of signatures to get their initiative on the
ballot this November.

As it turned out, it was a sufficient number. The council, very
uncharacteristically for such bodies, used its discretion to
place the question on the ballot anyway. They thought it was
important for people to have a chance to vote on this idea, and
instead of protesting and resisting as governments have done in
any number of places, they actually used their power to help it
along.

Shift eastward across an ocean and two mountain ranges, one sees
a different display of the use, or abuse, of power. In Denver,
voters have passed marijuana reform initiatives not once, but
twice
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/509/denver_approves_lowest_law_en...).
First, they voted to legalize personal possession of marijuana.
Then, they voted to make marijuana enforcement police's lowest
priority. They also voted in majority numbers for a failed
statewide legalization initiative.

Nevertheless, city police continue to invoke state law to
justify their flouting of the law that the voters who pay their
salaries passed, and the city continues to allow them to do it.
I understand that legal technicalities mean that police who
don't cooperate with the statute can't be arrested for it. But
if Denver has democracy, why hasn't the police chief who bears
guilt for this continuing offense at least been fired?

Also this week, a panel required by the law -- the Marijuana
Policy Review Panel, modeled after one that monitor's marijuana
arrests in Seattle -- recommended that Denver police not do
marijuana posession arrests
(http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10265799) during the
Democratic National Convention coming up. Officials, not
surprisingly given all that's preceded, have had discouraging
words regarding their willingness to take the recommendation.
But why should the recommendation even be necessary? It's the
law, passed by the voters two times. Shame on them yet again.

And it's not like the panel only has marijuana reformers on it.
According to the authorizing legislation
(http://www.denvergov.org/web/ccbills/Bill_2007_0463.pdf): "The
Panel shall consist of one at-large member of the Denver City
Council; two residents of the City of Denver, as selected by the
petitioner committee that initiated this ordinance; one
drug/alcohol abuse prevention counselor; one member of the
Denver Metro Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee who is
not also a member of law enforcement; one representative of the
Denver Police Department; three criminal defense attorneys, one
of whom shall be a public defender; one representative of the
Denver County District Attorney's Office; and one representative
of the Denver City Attorney's Office."

Time will tell whether Big Island voters take the same wise step
that Denver's voters have. But unlike in Denver, Hawaii County's
leaders appear to respect their constituents. That bodes well
for the policy's prospects if it does get the voters go-ahead.
Deprioritization of marijuana enforcement is only one small step
toward undoing the hideously destructive war on drugs. But it's
a step nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Denver officialdom won't take that step
willingly, despite law that now requires them to do so. Instead
they will have to be dragged there kicking and screaming. Better
that than letting the arrests go on, with people who never hurt
anybody getting dragged off in handcuffs every day.

================

        later
        bliss -- C  O C O A  Powered... (at california dot com)

--
  bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
 It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
 the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
 It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
        --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.