At the same time public support for marijuana legalization reached record highs, Obama shifted from one time medicinal cannabis sympathizer to White House weed-whacker.
Pot policy questions were front-and-center in the White House's "Your Interview With the President" YouTube campaign, but Obama refused to acknowledge them.
Amy Goodman interviews the Director of "The House I Live In" to explore the horrific failures of drug war, as well as the argument for a public health approach.
Emily Dickinson, Washington Monthly. January 16, 2012.
Colombia’s incredible turnaround strategy has become a rare success story in the drug war, as well as its most formidable brand and export. It is, however, problematic.
For over forty years, ganja has been the steadiest and most reliable source of income for Mexican traffickers, and it’s still the primary substance that lures most dealers.
Ignoring the disproportionate racial impact of drug law enforcement while focusing on the disproportionate racial impact of the drug problem is simply Orwellian.
Obama pardoned three marijuana offenders and commuted the sentence of one crack offender, but the implications of his actions are not as optimistic as they may sound.
There are more than 50,000 police paramilitary raids in the US each year – more than 130 every day. Virtually all are for prosecution of drug warrants.
To mark the drug war's 40th anniversary, hundreds of people will gather to demand an end to the criminalization of drug users and call for health-centered policies instead.
The criminal justice system is overwhelmed, our prisons are crowded with immigrants, and the flagging "war on drugs" has been given new life at home and abroad.
The US is the dominant force of the drug war -- and when our nation backs down from its eternal pipe dream, the rest of the world is certain to follow.
