If like me you consider the war on drugs futile and destructive, don't be fooled by Colorado's new marijuana dispensary boom. It's bad news. And this bad news begins with a dishonest debate. Pot advocates - many of whom I have written glowingly about in the past - have no misgivings about claiming that ganja will alleviate suffering and sickness, scare away bedbugs and mow your lawn. The fact is there is little evidence proving pot has any real medicinal value - outside, perhaps, of helping with nausea or decoding the plot of "Battlestar Galactica." Pretending we know otherwise may elicit empathy from the public, but it is a flimsy way to build policy. [continues 446 words]
It's true. Recreational drug use has the ability to produce a number of ghastly consequences - including but not limited to becoming president, the governor of Alaska, a Supreme Court justice, a member of the New York Knicks or a fan of "classic" rock. This week, the media was (in sober tones) obsessing over a shocking national event: A 23-year-old, single jock was allegedly caught smoking pot at a college dorm party in South Carolina. Horrors. In reality, the most startling aspect of the Michael Phelps incident is that we produced an Olympic superstar dumb enough to place his gargantuan paws around a bong in full view of dozens of partygoers equipped with cellphone cameras. [continues 497 words]
It could be argued that the most useless job in Washington, D.C., is held by John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He's otherwise known as the country's Drug Czar. And when you consider the spectacular number of useless jobs in Washington, that's quite an accomplishment. No one is saying, of course, that it's easy being a figurehead of a cost-inefficient organization charged with implementing the biggest domestic policy disaster since Prohibition. After all, it means advocating that thousands of non-violent offenders be sent to prison - -- quite often after paramilitary raids have reeled them in. [continues 502 words]
Hayley Jaqua has a big problem. Jaqua is a 25-year-old full-time student at Metropolitan State College of Denver and an anthropology major who also works part time at a trendy restaurant on the 16th Street Mall. In September, Jaqua was ticketed for possessing a small amount of marijuana. I've spoken to Jaqua only once, so I dare not vouch for the incorruptibility of her soul. But from what I can tell, we have a pleasant and bright person here - a woman whose only brush with the law before this incident was an improperly licensed dog in 2003. [continues 638 words]
Sometimes there's a fine line between consent and coercion. Jack Branson learned that lesson the hard way in October 2004 when officers from the North Metro Drug Task Force knocked on his door. Would Branson give consent to these officers to conduct a warrantless search of his home in Thornton? Well, of course he would consent - especially after, as Branson tells it, the dozen or so armed cops explained, in detail, the needless tragedies that would befall his home if they were forced to go through the trouble of returning with a warrant. [continues 595 words]
Did you know Denver has a czar? Yep. His name is Robert "Bob" Dorshimer. He's director of the Office of Drug Strategies. And he seems like a nice guy. Incidentally, czar translated from Russian means king. And I ask you: Have we learned nothing from "Schoolhouse Rock"? Remember? "No More Kings." In any event, Denver's drug czar will soon be caught up in an important political battle that may have national ramifications. Last year, a Denver ballot measure ostensibly legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by residents 21 and older. The measure passed by an impressive margin of 54 percent to 46 percent. [continues 549 words]
Initiative 100 has caused quite a stir in recent weeks. And though I am sympathetic to the aims of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), there is a fundamental flaw in the campaign's logic that simply can't be overlooked. But more about that later. If I-100 passes, Denver would be the first city - other than a couple of college towns like Ann Arbor and Berkeley - to decriminalize recreational pot, making it legal for anyone 21 or older to possess an ounce or less of marijuana. [continues 571 words]
If the War on Pornography is as successful as the War on Drugs, we can look forward to the DVD "Booty & the Beast" being sold on street corners instead of out-of-the-way sex shops. Prohibition doesn't work. Unfortunately, that never stops us from trying. On July 29, Denver's FBI field office, along with the 56 others around the nation, received a message calling for recruits interested in working with a new anti-obscenity squad. The initiative, as reported in The Washington Post, was "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI director Robert Mueller. [continues 564 words]
Medical marijuana. Why should the average Coloradan be troubled by the Supreme Court's ruling giving the federal government the power to prosecute patients who use pot? Actually, there's a reason for everyone. For progressives ... well, let's be honest, you guys look for any excuse to smoke the stuff. For liberals, there is the compassionate position. Shouldn't patients with neurological disorders, degenerative diseases and cancer be allowed to make personal decisions regarding painkillers without government interference? For social conservatives: If you guys rely on states'-rights arguments when it comes to abortion and gay marriage, shouldn't you speak up now? [continues 536 words]
The last time I visited with Thomas Lawrence and the Colorado Compassion Club, they were busy resuscitating an operation decimated by an unwarranted DEA raid. Impressed by these mad pot agriculturists, crossbreeding strains of cannabis under artificial lights in their basement, I decided to keep an eye on them. Trust me, you would have been impressed, too. Lawrence attacked his cannabis enhancement with a cerebral vigor typically associated with the likes of Stephen Hawking. Admittedly, at a radically slower pace. I proceed with this disclaimer: Please, don't try this at home. Growing "Himalayan Gold" or "Purple Haze" isn't a frivolous pursuit. [continues 521 words]
Are Coloradans Just A Collection Of Drunks, Potheads And Coke Fiends? First, a Men's Health report claimed that Denver was the drunkest city in the nation. Now, a government survey places Colorado among the highest-ranked states in the use of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. Colorado's not exactly No. 1, but all it would take is a surge in nasty breakups and a Phish reunion concert and we'd be playing with the big boys in Vermont and New Hampshire. [continues 554 words]
Maybe it's just the contact high speaking, but there's little doubt in my mind that if marijuana were seriously and institutionally studied, Thomas Lawrence would have won a Nobel Prize by now. As we're sitting around his dining room table, in an unassuming house tucked away in a middle-class Denver neighborhood, Thomas hits me with the least surprising confession I've ever heard: "Listen, Dave, I'm high right now." Cats and dogs mill about in stupors, as Thomas then tries to explain cloning techniques, chemical compounds and ways to develop new, more effective, strands of cannabis. [continues 554 words]
