ACLU of Wash. launches marijuana campaign - with Rick Steves

SEATTLE (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington state is launching a new campaign to get people talking about changing marijuana laws, and it's enlisted travel writer Rick Steves in the effort.

Steves filmed a 30-minute video for the ACLU, in which he says he has traveled all over Europe, and he's learned that it makes more sense to treat marijuana use as a public health issue than it does to arrest people for using it.

The ACLU says it is trying to start a national conversation about whether American drug laws are working with regard to marijuana.

The organization says nearly 830,000 people are arrested on marijuana charges every year - 90 percent of them for possession - and that the U.S. spends far more money arresting, prosecuting and jailing people than it's worth.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Story Published: Feb 17, 2008 at 6:06 PM PST

Story Updated: Feb 17, 2008 at 6:06 PM PST

Marijuana: After 30 Years, Nebraska Legislator Wants to Recriminalize

stopthedrugwar.org

For three decades, marijuana possession has been decriminalized in Nebraska, but now a state legislator has filed a bill, LB844, that would make it a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine. Currently, the maximum penalty for possession of less than one ounce is a $100 fine.

Nebraska is one of 12 states where marijuana possession has been decriminalized. Most of of them decriminalized in the 1970s, but Nevada joined the select group in 2001. A decriminalization initiative will go before Massachusetts voters this fall, and it appears the Vermont legislature may consider a move this year as well.

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Are Cigarettes More of a Drag on Teens than Marijuana?

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

New study shows that adolescents who toke up function better than those who also use tobacco

By Lisa Stein

Reefer madness? Apparently not, according to a new Swiss survey of students that concludes teenagers who smoke pot function better than those who also use tobacco. In addition, researchers at the University of Lausanne report in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, teens who only use marijuana are apparently more socially driven and have no more psychosocial problems than those who neither smoke nor toke.

The scientists surveyed 5,263 Swiss students (2,439 females) aged 16 to 20 years, including 455 who said they smoked weed only; 1,703 who reported being tobacco and marijuana users; and 3,105 who said they did not imbibe at all.

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Feds Predict Major Drop in Marijuana Prices

StoptheDrugWar.org

Unless you measure success by the number of people arrested, the failure of the war on marijuana is becoming more obvious than ever before. A new Department of Justice report, Drug Threat Assessment 2008, reveals that increased indoor cultivation is flooding the U.S. market with high quality marijuana. As a result, marijuana users may soon be getting more bud for their buck:

In the section, "Predictive Estimates," the report concludes:

• Increased cannabis cultivation may result in reduced marijuana prices.
• The recent increases in cannabis cultivation and marijuana production within the United States coincide with the continued flow of marijuana from foreign sources, which may lead to market saturation [in] major markets. This saturation could reduce the price of the drug significantly.

That's good news for marijuana enthusiasts and bad news for anyone invested in trying to eradicate America's #1 cash crop. Ironically, drug warriors have often cited increased potency as evidence that marijuana is becoming more harmful. This is all nonsense, because users adjust their dose to achieve the desired effect, just as an alcohol user might drink a 12 ounce beer, but not 12 ounces of vodka (not to mention the lack of evidence that marijuana is harmful even in large doses). Nevertheless, the real story here is that marijuana eradication efforts are failing to affect price and supply.

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