Cannabis Freedom

Too much cannabis news over the past 24 hours:

Radley Balko, my favorite blogger, has a Kathryn Johnston update. It seems like the police in Atlanta have a problem with fudging to get a search warrant.

In related news D.C. police are going to start going door-to-door to enforce their unconstitutional gun ban. ( I don't own guns but I've received extensive firearms training and believe in the right to bear arms.) Barry Cooper of Never Get Busted fame recommends that you never ever never open the door to a police officer at any time. If they have the authority to be in your home then let them kick the door in. Opening that door will open a up a whole world of trouble. Nothing good can come of it. The officer will either see something or smell something that he doesn't like and that gives him probable cause to enter your house, even if there's nothing to smell.

The bureaucrats have responded to the passing of New Hampshire state legislature's (weak) decriminalization bill. The people who speak the loudest are the ones with the most power to loose. 1/4 oz of cannabis is a minuscule amount. There are medical cannabis users that can use this much in a day or two. That much basil doesn't make pesto sauce for 2. I'll go into what a good decrim bill would accomplish in a future post. The most egregious claim made by NH State Commissioner of Safety, "marijuana is a dangerous, addictive substance that can ruin lives and harm the quality of life in our communities" is completely without merit.

• Cannabis is not dangerous. It is impossible to overdose and doesn't cause any of the serious health conditions that legal drugs like alcohol do.
• Cannabis isn't addictive. 1/4 of the people forced into treatment by the courts have not used cannabis in the 30 days prior to their admission. Most people quit without assistance by their 30th birthday. Cannabis doesn't exhibit addictive properties, it has a long half-life and is stored in the cells for about a month, curbing withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and hard drugs.
• Cannabis will not harm your quality of life, far from it. Cannabis helps people. It is the act of getting caught with cannabis that will harm your life. You can loose financial aid, your kids, your home, your car, your job, your family. Getting caught means prison, a criminal record, a lifetime of mistrust and ostracism. The war on drugs causes far more harm than the drug itself. With a title like "State Commissioner of Safety" this bureaucrat should be looking at harm reduction not the tyrannical enforcement of unjust laws.

Somewhat-hypothesis found a story from Reuters. Now US police departments want to police our skies with War on Terror style UAVs. These drone aircraft could keep us in check just like would-be tyrant, Hugo Chavez', version. Chavez's drones are Orwellian blimps with propaganda messages. What would they say in Memphis? "Big Willie is Watching", perhaps.