Category: Penal and Justice Reform

Not that Complicated.

Good riddance, Nick and Norm. In what alcoholics commonly refer to as a “moment of clarity,” the ONDCP thankfully gives up on their controversial and often misleading drugs-and-terror ad campaign. Perhaps the admin’s drug warriors have figured out what Dubya can’t seem to recognize – some arguments have to be made without resort to 9-11. Or perhaps the ad gurus finally figured out the simple error in their twisted logic: No prohibition, no inflated drug profits. Not that complicated. Update: Medley offers a concise summary of recent developments – Instead of reducing ineffective spending, [ONDCP] is eliminating the research that shows its spending is ineffective. Brilliant.

Redneck Justice.

I’ve meant to link to this horrifying Tennessee state trooper incident for the past few days, but every time I read it I am filled with a fearsome rage. They shot the dog?!? Those frelling chumps…I’m not normally of an eye-for-an-eye persuasion, but that pathetic redneck excuse for an officer should really have to suffer for this, and I don’t mean monetarily. This guy’s gotta do some time. Grrrr…

Stoner Math.

If our new Ministry of Information is run with half the honesty and integrity of our ONDCP, it looks like everything will end up just swimmingly. Turns out Dubya’s drug czar grossly misrepresented marijuana potency several times in order to help bury the recent Nevada referendum.

Stating the Obvious.

Salon delves into the case of Noelle Bush before Florida’s courts. Who would’ve guessed that a Governor’s daughter would receive special treatment, or that GOP lawmakers would prescribe different rules for the masses than they would their own family members?

Rockefeller’s Drug Insanity.

Bob Herbert takes aim at the Rockefeller drug laws, now almost thirty years old. The ethnic differentials in the enforcement of the drug laws are extraordinary. While there is wide use of illegal drugs across the ethnic spectrum, including among whites, 94 percent of the people doing time for drug offenses in the state of New York are black or Hispanic. Indeed, according to one of the laws’ original sponsors, “New York now sends more African-American and Latino men to prison each year than it graduates from its state colleges and universities.”