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It's funny how Republicans keep talking amongst themselves about how they can get back ahead of Democrats -- usually by reverting to tactics (like the "Contract On For America") that worked twenty years ago but have nothing to do with the shape of America going forward.

Instead, they clutch vigorously to their old standbys even as America changes before them. The classic case of this is the GOP's ongoing affair with immigration-bashing nativists, even as the country demographically before their eyes.

Similarly, they insist on clinging to outdated policies like the "War on Drugs" and the hardline stance that we should basically criminalize drug users and keep relatively harmless drugs like marijuana illegal, even for proven medical use.

But the times, they are a-changin':

A poll by Zogby International released today found that 41% of Americans agree that “the government should treat marijuana more or less the same way it treats alcohol: it should regulate it, control it, tax it and only make it illegal for children.” This represents a striking increase from previous nationwide polls on making marijuana legal.

The Obama administration, at least, is edging slowly in the direction of sanity,having announced last month that it would cease prosecuting people for possession in states that allow medical marijuana.

This policy has the Republicans all a-dither, as you can see in the video above of the hysterical grilling Sen. Tom Coburn gave Attorney General Eric Holder earlier this month about the issue.

Similarly, Republicans on the local level are working quietly to undermine this policy shift. In Washington state, as Lee Rosenberg recently reported for HorsesAss, the state's GOP attorney general, Rob McKenna, has been quietly attacking our medical-marijuana law on his own:

Here in Washington, our state law enforcement officials should be following the voter initiative passed in 1998 (and the follow-up legislation from 2007), not the Federal law. Unfortunately, our Attorney General doesn’t seem to agree. Rob McKenna’s office has been trying to undermine Washington State’s medical marijuana law, and thanks to a Public Disclosure Request, we’re finally able to shine some light on what they’ve been doing.

After the PDR was filed, nearly 800 pages of emails and other documents from the Department of Corrections were recently released to the Cannabis Defense Coalition. They’re broken up into eight 100-page PDF files. The documents are not in any order, so I created a chronological index for easy searching of specific events.

The reason that so much attention is focused on the DOC is because a number of qualified medical marijuana patients have been raided by police and arrested (the medical marijuana law does not provide an affirmative defense from arrest), pressured into accepting plea deals that would keep them out of a jail cell but still on probation, and then put under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections would then claim the authority to deny those individuals the ability to use medical marijuana through internal rules that they’d made up after consulting with the AG’s office. They would then easily enforce those rules by administering drug tests. In the end, you had individuals who’d been authorized by their doctors to use medical marijuana having law enforcement interfere with that decision and either force them to stop using that medicine or to use a less effective alternative like Marinol.

This end-around of the voter-approved medical marijuana law worked on a number of medical marijuana patients. Pamela Olson was one victim before her husband Bruce fought his own case in Kitsap County court and won (sadly, they lost their home in the process). It’s not clear, even with the released documents, exactly how many people were affected by this (names are redacted throughout), but lawyers who defend authorized patients have been dealing with cases across the state for several years now and are still hoping to bring some kind of legal action against the Attorney General, the DOC, or both.

Go read the whole piece, which is an excellent example of citizen journalism at its finest. (None of the local media, incidentally, have picked up on the story.)

It's truly maddening that the state's chief law-enforcement officer has been working so hard to undermine a law duly passed (and reinforced) by the citizens of the state. But then, it seems to be part of the Republican condition these days: clinging to outdated ideas because doing so just seems conservative, you betcha.

Incidentally, Rosenberg also posted this graphic recently underscoring just what a waste of our national resources our pig-headed pot laws really are:

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November 11, 2009 CNN

The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research.

The nation's largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD.

In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.

From the LA Times read more...

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(Ramsey Clark in 1968 - in something of an uncomfortable place that year)

February 18, 1968. In anticipation of another "long hot summer", as had been the case for a few years running, Meet The Press hosted a panel which asked Attorney General Ramsey Clark what was going to be done about the problems with our violent cities, with the protesters, the extremist groups - generally everything that was destined to make 1968 a milestone year.

To say Clark had his hands full is an understatement, but the level of fear and paranoia being voiced by the media was something else. But then, so was the resistance to change in a lot of perceptions.

James Kilpatrick: “Mister Attorney General, in his recent message on crime, the President devoted a significant passage to narcotics laws. In recent months there’s been a considerable controversy about marijuana and its dangers. Some authorities appear to take the view that its non-addictive drug, no more risky to society really than tobacco or whiskey. What is your own view on marijuana?"

Ramsey Clark: "My own view is that the use of marijuana, the sale of marijuana is a federal crime. And we will investigate and prosecute where that use and sale of it is found. I also think in our time, and particularly among our youth, the atmosphere of permissiveness is a danger, a clear and present danger to our kids. Marijuana is so frequently coupled with LSD and other highly dangerous drugs that we have to enforce very effectively in this field to protect those youth from themselves, and to protect our society."

And this was only February.

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(The Rainy Daze - just another misunderstood mind-melting band of the '60's)

When their first charting single "Acapulco Gold" came out in early 1967, things were looking up. But radio had different ideas. When it came to light that Acapulco Gold was really a thinly disguised ode to the joys of a certain grade of marijuana, airplay suddenly stopped and The Rainy Daze were relegated to more-or-less underground status, with their debut single topping out around 70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

And here we have the follow up, originally titled "Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum" (as the first batch of pressings attest), it was quickly retitled "Blood of Oblivion" and didn't seem to fare much better.

Which was a shame since The Rainy Daze were actually a good band and not some product of a record company's idea of a hit machine.

1967 was a year when a lot of bands were just misunderstood by the mainstream music industry. And try as they might, were impossible to pigeon hole as pop acts. Rainy Daze were one, Sopwith Camel were another and so were Moby Grape and Pink Floyd (yes, America did NOT know what to do about them when they first came out!). The times were rapidly changing from a singles dominated marketplace to one where full length albums were starting to gain prominence.

But "Blood of Oblivion" sank into obscurity. Not put on their first, and only album. And never (to my knowledge) reissued in any form, all there is as testimony is this 45 - which sadly may be all there is, since the masters for this single (certainly the multi-tracks)were reportedly destroyed in the recent Universal City vault fire, where many many UNI Records masters, along with countless others went up in smoke.

For now, pretend it's November 1967 and you're hearing this for the first time.

Duuuuuuuude:

(Massachusetts Congressman Barney) Frank has filed a bill that would eliminate federal penalties for personal possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana.

It would also make the penalty for using marijuana in public just $100.

"I think John Stuart Mill had it right in the 1850s," said Congressman Frank, "when he argued that individuals should have the right to do what they want in private, so long as they don't hurt anyone else. It's a matter of personal liberty. Moreover, our courts are already stressed and our prisons are over-crowded. We don't need to spend our scarce resources prosecuting people who are doing no harm to others."

Frank filed a similar bill last year, but it failed.

The law passed in Massachusetts last November.

Given the general timidity of the majority party and the hay that most certainly would be made by the minority party, I don't have much hope that this sensible and long-due bill will succeed, but more power to Barney Frank.

May 14, 2009 CNN

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May 14, 2009 CNN's American Morning.

LENO: Governor Schwarzenegger said he's trying to get marijuana legalized here in California. He wants to legalize it.

(APPLAUSE)

I believe the campaign slogan is "Change we can breathe in." "Yes, change we can breathe in."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, late night having some fun with the debate over legalizing marijuana, but Washington taking the drug very seriously. It's because pot is by far one of the most abused drugs in America and today, it's even more potent than ever.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

MESERVE: John, Kiran, this is a Mississippi marijuana grow room, and it is all absolutely legal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): In a vault -- barrel upon barrel of high- grade marijuana.

(on camera): What would the street value of this be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot.

MESERVE (voice-over): This facility at the University of Mississippi is the only one in the country licensed by the federal government to grow large quantities of marijuana for research.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the female flowering buds.

MESERVE: But that isn't all scientists do here. Marijuana samples from seizures all across the country, thousands of them, are sent here every year.

The dope is put through a sieve to remove seeds and stems. It's weighed to put in solution and chemically analyzed. The results, today, the government is announcing that for the first time ever, the average level of THC, the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana now exceeds 10 percent. The lab has found some samples higher than 30 percent.

That means it takes less dope to get high. Experienced users may adjust their intake and smoke less, but inexperienced users may not.

MAHMOUD ELSOHLY, UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI POTENCY MONITORING PROJECT: They'll get paranoid. They'll be irritable. And that's just the opposite of what they were looking for.

MESERVE: The government says high-potency marijuana is sending more people to the emergency room and to drug treatments, but will kids listen?

DR. LAWRENCE BRAIN, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Telling them that, you know, 10 percent, and three times more potent than what their parents smoked is not an argument that they'll likely to buy into or to even utilize in any constructive sort of way.

MESERVE: In fact, researchers say after years of decline, there's been a recent uptick in marijuana use.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Scientists here predict the average potency of marijuana will go up another five percent in the next five to 10 years as growers become even more sophisticated.

John and Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning.

Jeanne, thanks so much.

May 06, 2009 MSNBC

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Friday morning on CNN Kiran Chetry spoke with Arizona's AG Terry Goddard about the raging drug war taking place along our southern border and how U.S. gun and drug laws are perpetuating the violence.

Since George Bush allowed the assault weapons ban to expire, the gun smuggling trade in the U.S. has skyrocketed and many of these weapons are ending up in the hands of Mexican drug lords and are responsible for thousands of murders. The right has been going bonkers, warning Democrats want to take everyone's guns from them and turn us into a nation of dopers, but it's high time they admit that our gun laws are aiding drug cartels and making it possible for them to get more drugs into our country.

Goddard points out that the vast majority of the drug cartel's income comes from the sale of marijuana which begs the questions - is it time to reinstate the assault weapons ban and legalize pot? Both President Obama and AG Eric Holder have said they want to reinstate the assault weapon ban, hopefully they will be successful. As for the legalization of pot, I think the time has come.

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Glenn Beck had on Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project to discuss the proposal to decriminalize pot possession in California and to use the revenues to pay down the state's budget deficit.

Now, Beck has already wished aloud that we could kick California out of the Union, so no doubt this just adds to his angst.

But if you'll notice: One person in this conversation was calm, reasonable, had an abundance of facts at hand, and actually made pretty good sense. The other person was incoherent, meandering, silly, made a lot of irrelevant observations from outer space, and relied on dumb stereotypes and non-facts.

And Glenn Beck was not the former. On top of that, his nonstop sneering at Kampia made him look like a real sphincter.

In fact, this entire clip generally makes a convincing argument in favor of the marijuana advocates. If the best the opposition can come up with is this kind of gaping stupidity ...

February 24, 2009 CNN Headline News

December 26, 2008 News Corp

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On Washington Journal, Larry Kudow is asked about the unfairness of a the caller's seventeen year old grandson being sent to prison for a year for buying marijuana when those like Rush Limbaugh got off Scott free for their drug possessions and Kudlow's response is to send the kid to AA. Kudlow had some other less than friendly callers that morning as well. The entire interview for anyone with the stomach for it can be found here.

Hopefully the important issue the caller was trying to get to before being cut off by C-SPAN is one that our incoming administration will treat a bit differently as noted in this recent Washington Post article.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office, commissioned by Sen. Joe Biden, has come to an unsurprising conclusion: After more than $6 billion spent, the controversial drug control operation known as Plan Colombia has failed by large margins to meet its targets.

The goal had been to cut cocaine production in Colombia by 50 percent from 2000 to 2006 through eradication of coca crops and training of anti-narcotics police and military personnel. In fact, cocaine production in Colombia rose 4 percent during that period, the GAO found. With increases in Peru and Bolivia, production of cocaine in South America increased by 12 percent during that period. In 1999 it cost $142 to buy a gram of cocaine on the street in the United States, according to inflation-adjusted figures from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. By 2006 the price had fallen to $94 per gram.

President-elect Barack Obama won his historic victory by promising pragmatic, results-oriented solutions aimed at the common good. The recent report demonstrates that Plan Colombia does not fit those criteria.

Follow this link to read the rest of the article: Wasting Drug War Resources.

BY DAVID EPSTEIN and NICOLE BODE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

City politicians are smoking mad over a line of pot-flavored candies for local customers with the munchies.

Chronic Candy - hemp-based novelty lollipops and gumdrops that claim "every lick is like taking a hit" - is sparking controversy among critics who feel the sweets promote drug use among kids. "How could we go into market and create a product for children that encourages them to taste the taste of marijuana?" outraged Councilwoman Margarita Lopez (D-Manhattan) said on WPIX-Channel 11, "What is the message? 'Use drugs, that is okay?'"

I mean how good could these things taste?