An council member in Middletown, Ohio, has asked the city's attorneys to look into whether the city has a legal obligation to provide ambulance service to repeat opiate overdose patients. An council member in Middletown, Ohio, has asked the city's attorneys to look into whether the city has a legal obligation to provide ambulance service to repeat opiate overdose patients. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty-AFP) Americans often complain that Washington debates seem to be far removed from the lives of real people. [continues 712 words]
The legal sale of marijuana is nothing new in America, but now pot sellers are using the airwaves to reach the masses. Marijuana ads on television? The possibility used to be a pipe dream for some folks. Suddenly, it's a reality. The first marijuana ad to appear in a national TV campaign, viewable on various websites, doesn't talk about weed right away. It talks about something truly fishy. "Yo, you want sushi?" says an actor playing a seedy looking street dealer in a coat lined with little strips of raw fish. "Ain't nobody sellin' but me." [continues 446 words]
Marijuana ads on television? The possibility used to be a pipe dream for some folks. Suddenly, it's a reality. The first marijuana ad to appear in a national TV campaign, viewable on various websites, doesn't talk about weed right away. It talks about something truly fishy. "Yo, you want sushi?" says an actor playing a seedy looking street dealer in a coat lined with little strips of raw fish. "Ain't nobody sellin' but me." A female voiceover interrupts. "You wouldn't buy your sushi from this guy," she says, "so why would you buy your marijuana from him?" [continues 595 words]
As a long-time fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman's work, I view the widespread reactions of grief over his death with a mixture of appreciation and dread. As a fan, I appreciate the recognition that this Oscar-winning actor's astounding talents richly deserved. But I also brace myself for the sort of anger-driven, self-defeating, lock'em-up anti-drug crusades that too often have followed shocking drug-related celebrity deaths. Such high-profile tragedies as the 1970 drug-related deaths of rock stars Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, for example, helped fuel the Nixon administration's "war on drugs" and numerous "zero tolerance" state drug laws that filled prisons with long sentences for nonviolent offenders. [continues 383 words]
As a longtime fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman's work, I view the widespread reactions of grief over his death with a mixture of appreciation and dread. As a fan, I appreciate the recognition that this Oscar-winning actor's astounding talents richly deserved. But I also brace myself for the sort of anger-driven, self-defeating, lock-'em-up anti-drug crusades that too often have followed shocking drug-related celebrity deaths. Such high-profile tragedies as the 1970 drug-related deaths of rock stars Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, for example, helped fuel the Nixon administration's "war on drugs" and numerous "zero tolerance" state drug laws that filled prisons with long sentences for nonviolent offenders. [continues 564 words]
New Reality in Heroin Addiction Calls for Sensible Legal Answers As a longtime fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman's work, I view the widespread reactions of grief over his death with a mixture of appreciation and dread. As a fan, I appreciate the recognition that this Oscar-winning actor's astounding talents richly deserved. But I also brace myself for the sort of anger-driven, self-defeating, lock-'em-up anti-drug crusades that too often have followed shocking drug-related celebrity deaths. [continues 659 words]
As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Sen. Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Barack Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position on pot. Until now, Obama has been remarkably adept at taking positions that seemed to be ahead of their time -- and getting ahead of them. For example, when he declared his full support for the right of same-sex couples to marry, there were fears among his supporters that he would lose important votes before his re-election campaign, particularly among black churchgoers. Those fears proved to be exaggerated. [continues 619 words]
As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Sen. Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Barack Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position on pot. Until now, the president has been remarkably adept at taking positions that seemed to be ahead of their time - and getting ahead of them. For example, when he declared his full support for the right of same-sex couples to marry, there were fears among his supporters that he would lose important votes before his re-election campaign, particularly among black churchgoers. Those fears proved to be exaggerated. [continues 586 words]
As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Sen. Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Barack Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position on pot. Four years after his Justice Department announced that the feds will no longer crack down on medicinal marijuana sellers who follow state laws, the president's pot position continues to be dangerously vague and confusing. In California, where voters approved medicinal use back in 1996, the law was so vaguely worded that about 1,000 dispensaries mushroomed up in Los Angeles County alone. Yet busts continued, partly over disputes as to whether the law allowed only nonprofit businesses. [continues 428 words]
The president's position on pot continues to be dangerously vague and confusing." As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Sen. Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Barack Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position on pot. Until now, the president has been remarkably adept at taking positions that seemed to be ahead of their time - and getting ahead of them. [continues 642 words]
As the nation's capital prepares to open its first legal medicinal marijuana dispensary and Sen. Rand Paul's call for legalization basks in bipartisan praise, it's time for President Barack Obama to clear the air around his own passive-aggressive position. Until now, the president has been remarkably adept at taking positions that seemed to be ahead of their time - and getting ahead of them. For example, when he declared his full support for the right of same-sex couples to marry nationwide, there were fears even among his supporters that he would lose important votes before his reelection campaign, particularly among black churchgoers. Those fears proved to be exaggerated. [continues 597 words]
I would shrug and say "So what?" to the latest details from President Barack Obama's potsmoking past, except for one thing: He stirred so much hope as a candidate for sensible marijuana policy reforms but, as president, has delivered so little change. David Maraniss brings all that back to mind with his forthcoming book, "Barack Obama: The Story," which has been leaking like a sieve to major media in advance of its publication. Published accounts of his days at Punahou, the private Hawaiian prep school that Obama attended in the 1970s, make the future president sound like a classic stoner. [continues 528 words]
I would shrug and say "So what?" to the latest details from President Barack Obama's pot-smoking past, except for one thing: He stirred so much hope as a candidate for sensible marijuana policy reforms but, as president, has delivered so little change. David Maraniss brings all that back to mind with his forthcoming book, "Barack Obama: The Story," which has been leaking like a sieve to major media in advance of its publication. Published accounts of his days at Punahou, the private Hawaiian prep school that Obama attended in the 1970s, make the future president sound like a classic stoner. [continues 615 words]
I would shrug and say "So what?" to the latest details from President Barack Obama's potsmoking past, except for one thing: He stirred so much hope as a candidate for sensible marijuana policy reforms but, as president, has delivered so little change. David Maraniss brings all that back to mind with his forthcoming book, "Barack Obama: The Story," which has been leaking like a sieve to major media in advance of its publication. Published accounts of Obama's days at Punahou, the private Hawaiian prep school that he attended in the 1970s, make the future president sound like a classic stoner. [continues 616 words]
When David Simon, creator of HBO's late dramatic crime series "The Wire," heard through news media that Atty. Gen. Eric Holder wanted to see the series return for a sixth season, he offered the nation's top prosecutor a deal. He'll start working on a sequel season, Simon responded in an email to the Times of London, "if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanizing drug prohibition." [continues 668 words]
When David Simon, creator of HBO's late dramatic crime series The Wire, heard through news media that Atty. Gen. Eric Holder wanted to see the series return for a sixth season, he offered the nation's top prosecutor a deal. He'll start working on a sequel season, Simon responded in an email to the Times of London, "if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanizing drug prohibition." Holder was not available for comment, but it's a safe bet that Simon's deal asks too much of the Obama administration. Despite its declarations to the contrary, Team Obama appears to be stuck in the same old 40-year-old rut better known as the "war on drugs." [continues 622 words]
Way This Nation Has Fought War On Drugs Is Nothing To Celebrate, Says Clarence Page When David Simon, creator of HBO's late dramatic crime series "The Wire," heard that Attorney General Eric Holder wanted to see the series return for a sixth season, he offered the nation's top prosecutor a deal. He'll start working on a sequel season, Simon responded in an email to the Times of London, "if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanizing drug prohibition." [continues 665 words]
When David Simon, creator of HBO's late dramatic crime series "The Wire," heard that Attorney General Eric Holder wanted to see the series return for a sixth season, he offered the nation's top prosecutor a deal. He'll start working on a sequel season, Simon responded in an email to the Times of London, "if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanizing drug prohibition." Holder was not available for comment, but it's a safe bet Simon's deal asks too much of the Obama administration. Despite declarations to the contrary, Team Obama appears to be stuck in the 40-year-old rut better known as the "war on drugs." [continues 622 words]
Americans are shocked by youth violence -- again. What a difference videos make. The fatal beating of a South Side teenager shocks the world, as it should. Yet the real tragedy differs little from a trail of similar kid-on-kid violence, except that it was caught on video. We easily become benumbed after years of tragic headlines about youth violence. Then we get jerked alert by the horrific video images of youths fatally beating 16-year-old Derrion Albert, an honor roll student at Fenger High School. [continues 726 words]
For all of the keen intellect that President Barack Obama showed in his recent online town-hall meeting, he didn't seem to know much about reefer economics. When asked whether legalizing marijuana might be a stimulus for the economy and job creation, he played the question for laughs. "I don't know what this says about the online audience," he quipped as his studio audience chuckled and groaned. "But ... this was a fairly popular question. We want to make sure that it was answered," he said. [continues 648 words]
