Drug Laws

Is the dea Encouraging Drug Use?

This entry was posted in Capitalism Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Economics Law Enforcement Libertarianism on by

The US drug enforcement agency has published the 2005 edition of their classic magazine Drugs of Abuse:

This DEA magazine delivers clear, scientific information about drugs in a factual, straightforward way, combined with scores of precise photographs shot to scale.

There are lots of photos and there may be some facts but what is the message? Mr. Sun says:

I must say that, for me, the primary impact of the magazine was to make me want to do drugs. I’m as straight as an arrow, but after looking at this DEA publication I simply can’t wait to start cramming psychoactive substances down my pill hole. Let’s look at a few screenshots, shall we?

Well, click on over and look at them with Mr. Sun!
Via Hit & Run where some of the commentors have noticed items that may not be quite factual. Can you find others?

Fighting the Wrong War?

This entry was posted in Capitalism Culture Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Economics Law Libertarianism War on Terrorism World Affairs on by

Gary Becker argues that the war on drugs has failed and that alternate approaches involving legalization, regulation and high taxes might achieve current results along with other benefits without the large social and individual costs associated with the current prohibition.
Richard Posner generally agrees with Becker arguments:

If the resources used to wage the war were reallocated to other social projects, such as reducing violent crime, there would probably be a net social gain. For one thing, it is particularly costly to enforce the law against a �victimless� crime, more precisely a crime that consists of a transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer.

In addition, he points out that:

The political source of the war on drugs is mysterious if, as I am inclined to believe, there is a legal substitute for every one of the illegal drugs:…
…it is apparent that our society has no general policy against the consumption of mind-altering substances, and there seems to be a certain arbitrariness in the choice of the subset to prohibit.

To get a sense of just how large the failure has been on a global scale check out the maps that Michael Stastny has posted from the World Drug Report 20041. Note what country is either number 1 or 2 in usage for each category. Stastny has an interesting supposition about his government:

Maybe Austrian authorities know that watching TV does more harm to your brain and health than taking drugs once in a while and that stigmatizing long-term users doesn’t help either.

So, a war on TV instead of drugs? Well, no. We do not need any increased government intervention in media. But I would accept regulation and taxation of now illegal drugs as a first step out of the current quagmire. The proper long term goal is, though, to completely remove the government from any involvement in “transactions between a willing buyer and a willing seller.”
Via Marginal Revolution where you can find more here.
1The report and the above referenced maps appear to overlook certain other popular drugs, e.g., alcohol!?

This is the Freedom People are Dying For?

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The drug thugs have been active in Baltimore and gonzales will probably not be prosecuting the murderers:

Just before 5 a.m., officers from the Baltimore County Police Tactical Unit were serving a search and seizure warrant related to a narcotics investigation at a home in the 8100 block of Del Haven Road when two officers approached the bedroom door on the second floor, according to police spokesman Ofc. Shawn Vinson.
When they opened the door, the officers allegedly were met by Cheryl Noel, 44, who was pointing a handgun at them, Vinson said.
Fearing for his life, one officer fired three shots, according to Vinson, striking and killing Noel.

Pete Guither comments:

Of course, the raid was pre-dawn (before 5 am). So you’re sound asleep, and suddenly awakened by explosions, crashing sounds, feet tramping upstairs, and a lot of people yelling. How clear is your mind going to be? Can you distinguish that they’re identifying themselves as police officers? When the door to your bedroom opens and there’s two men dressed in black wearing ski masks pointing guns at you? Imagine yourself in that scenario. How would you react? What if you had a gun by your bed?
So why would they raid the house in this way?

Why, indeed:

All of this for less than a half ounce of marijuana, paraphernalia and possession of black powder (gunpowder) used for muzzle load hunting.

We need to clean our own yard and then, maybe, there will be an example that does not require gang violence to spread.
Via Avedon.

Acceptable Search?

This entry was posted in Constitution Domestic Terrorism Drug Laws Economics Technology on by

I have no objection to private use of GPS technology to track company vehicles, for geocaching, tracking your teenager’s driving, backtracking your hiking trail, etc., as long as everyone know whats happening. Unmonitored use by law enforcement employees is not acceptable:

When Robert Moran drove back to his law offices in Rome, N.Y., after a plane trip to Arizona in July 2003, he had no idea that a silent stowaway was aboard his vehicle: a secret GPS bug implanted without a court order by state police.
Police suspected the lawyer of ties to a local Hells Angels Motorcycle Club that was selling methamphetamine, and they feared undercover officers would not be able to infiltrate the notoriously tight-knit group, which has hazing rituals that involve criminal activities. So investigators stuck a GPS, or Global Positioning System, bug on Moran’s car, watched his movements, and arrested him on drug charges a month later.
A federal judge in New York ruled last week that police did not need court authorization when tracking Moran from afar. “Law enforcement personnel could have conducted a visual surveillance of the vehicle as it traveled on the public highways,” U.S. District Judge David Hurd wrote. “Moran had no expectation of privacy in the whereabouts of his vehicle on a public roadway.”
Well, I say BS to Judge Hurd.
Why shouldn’t I or Moran have an expectation of privacy? Especially from public employees. And even more importantly as we move through public spaces which we must do to carry on the basic activities of being human.
Given the rapidly changing tools available to capture information about individuals or groups it is time to expand our view of what is considered acceptable search and surveillance practices. If law enforcement folks are not in hot pursuit of someone who just committed a legitimate1 crime then they should be required to have probable cause approved by an independent judiciary before they are allowed to investigate, let alone surveil, any individual or group for any reason. This should apply whether that individual or group is acting in traditionally private spaces or in what are considered public spaces.
1For the purpose of this post I ignore the question of whether methamphetamine sales is a legitimate crime.
Via Declan McCullagh.