The border violence has one cause: drug prohibition; not U.S. demand for drugs. We have lots of demand for the drug caffeine, yet we have no crime associated with it for one reason. It is legal. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
Presence Linked to More Homicides, Home Invasions Mexican drug cartels are supplying drug-dealing organizations here with marijuana and fueling an increase in drug-related violence including homicides, kidnappings and home invasions, authorities say. "There is a tremendous impact on our crime," said Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik. According to a federal report, Mexican drug dealers here have forged alliances with two cartels known to be operating in Tucson - the Federation and the Juarez Cartel. [continues 1365 words]
3 In 10 Homicides Here Said To Be Gang Related There are an estimated 1 million street gang members in the United States and in some communities they commit up to 80 percent of crimes, according to a report by the U.S. Justice Department's National Gang Intelligence Center released in January. The study warns that gang activity and gang membership are on the rise nationwide. But that does not appear to be the case here, said Lt. JT Turner, commander of the Tucson Police Department's Gang Interdiction Section. [continues 1080 words]
Regarding Raul Yzaguirre's not-so-thoughtful oped Jan. 16 ("In Mexico's drug war, the enemy is U.S.": The real enemy is prohibition. It makes an easy-to-grow weed worth its weight in gold. How much crime do we have associated with caffeine? None. Absolutely none. Because it's legal. If we were to criminalize caffeine, that would soon change. Caffeine-containing products would be unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminals, just like marijuana and other drugs are today. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
We're Also Major Source for Weapons Smuggled There As the eyes of the world remain riveted on violent conflicts in the Middle East, one of our closest international allies is under siege. Mexico is embroiled in a widening war with our hemisphere's most powerful drug cartels. That's the message Mexico's President Felipe Calderon delivered during a visit to Washington this week. More than 5,500 people were killed in 2008 in Mexico in the wake of an unprecedented campaign to take down the kingpins who have been operating criminal empires there with virtual impunity for years. [continues 346 words]
The nomination of Eric Holder as the next U.S. attorney general has renewed concerns about the end-of-term clemencies granted by President Clinton. High-profile names such as Marc Rich grabbed headlines at the time. But many other people with no political influence benefited from the president's mercy. I am one of those people. If I had not received a commutation, my first-time conviction for a non-violent offense would have kept me in prison until 2016 (with good behavior) because of the harsh mandatory sentencing laws for crack cocaine. [continues 525 words]
Why is the press aiding and abetting the deprivation of rights under the color of law? Millions of Americans have been arrested and their property has been seized for violating marijuana laws. Millions of us have the right to question the validity of these laws and are denied the right to due process of law. Marijuana is still illegal because the judiciary does not recognize marijuana users as people and does not recognize marijuana as property. Only people and property under the Constitution's 4th and 5th Amendments are protected from unreasonable deprivation of liberty and property. [continues 163 words]
Austen led the search at sunset. He walked through the southern Arizona desert looking left and right with his nose close to the ground. Austen, a groenendael, or Belgian shepherd, sped through brush, tall weeds and rocky trails, leading Border Patrol agents to bags and sacks used to smuggle drugs. But the drugs, and those who transported them, were long gone. The drug spot is close to a dirt road not far from a house south of Green Valley. Agents said the area is known as a meeting point for people carrying drugs across the border and drivers who take them north. [continues 907 words]
Re: "Tucson leads nation in rise of drug arrests," May 6. Imagine if the United States was once again the "Land of the Free" instead of the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization. Imagine if the American people could feel safe and secure in their own homes and on the streets of our cities and towns throughout America. Imagine if we had no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our crime rate was a small fraction of what it currently is. [continues 159 words]
A new study of the war on drugs leaves but one conclusion: There must be a better way. The tactics of arrest and imprisonment have failed. We spend billions with little effect. New tactics emphasizing treatment and prevention programs are overdue. Admittedly, such programs have shown mixed success, but perhaps that is because they haven't been funded adequately. The newly released study should provide an impetus to change tactics. An attack on the demand side of drug use is clearly called for. [continues 379 words]
Study: Disparities Seen, Especially For Blacks A group advocating reform of the criminal justice system recommends that large U.S. cities examine how they handle the war on drugs, given a study showing broad disparities from city to city in arrest rates, especially among blacks. Tucson tops the list for overall percentage increases in drug arrests and increases in arrests of blacks, says The Sentencing Project's 45-page study, "Disparity by Geography, The War on Drugs in America's Cities." The Washington D.C.-based group examined drug arrest rates in 43 cities with populations greater than 250,000 between 1980 and 2003. The results were made public Monday. [continues 1354 words]
Re the Jan. 19 story, "3,000 pounds of pot seized in truck at San Luis": Government could confiscated 3 million pounds of the relatively safe god-given plant cannabis (marijuana) and it still wouldn't make any difference. Too many responsible citizens choose to use cannabis and it will never disappear or be exterminated. It's clearly time to relegalize cannabis and focus on crime. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Re the Jan. 19 story, "3,000 pounds of pot seized in truck at San Luis": I'm sure that many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the U. S. Customs and Border Protection for this latest marijuana bust and others like it. Without operations such as this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth - very little. Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth almost as much as pure gold - and completely tax free. Any marijuana traffickers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
The Arizona Court of Appeals issued a warning last week to an East Coast family that owned two Tucson townhomes. Rehiring a property manager after he used one townhome as a marijuana stash house means the owner risks losing the other townhome if it, too, becomes a stash house. In a decision issued Jan. 18, a panel unanimously upheld Pima County Superior Court Judge John F. Kelly's ruling that the family should have known criminal activity might occur and the townhomes can be seized. [continues 207 words]
The San Luis port of entry had its highest single marijuana seizure Thursday - at 3,043 pounds - a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said in a Friday news release. The 1 1/2 tons of marijuana were seized from an apparently empty commercial tractor trailer after officers noted the driver acting suspicious during routine questioning, Officer Brian Levin said. Once drug dog Ben picked up the odor of marijuana in the trailer, officers used the X-ray system to find a hidden compartment stuffed with 182 bundles with a street value of $5 million, Levin said. The driver, a 45-year-old U.S. citizen whom Levin did not name, was turned over to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement while the drugs, his truck and trailer were seized, Levin said. He said including the Thursday bust, officers at the San Luis port of entry have seized 3,695 pounds of marijuana and aborted 25 smuggling attempts since Oct. 1. [end]
Federal funds that help pay for Pima County's anti-drug task force were slashed by more than two-thirds when Congress passed the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill. The amount going to the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which received $520 million last year, dropped to $170 million this year, said Mary Marshall, spokeswoman for the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. That means Arizona will likely get about $1.7 million, compared to $5.6 million last year, she said. Pima County will get a fraction of that. [continues 279 words]
The giants of pharmaceutical drugs in the United States of America are committing mass murder, selective genocide, remote-control homicide on a monstrous scale. But what the hell, the remote-control part puts it so far offshore it's clear on the far side of the planet, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, near where mobs of millions swim in the Ganges, whose waters you wouldn't put in your own toilet. And given the role of overpopulation in the myriad aspects of global epidemiology, one might make a case for casting a blind eye toward forcing the Third World's sick and dying to shuffle off this mortal coil to make room for the sacred cows that share their living quarters and occupy an upper floor in the high-rise house of caste and higher holiness. [continues 599 words]
Re: Ryn Gargulinski's Wednesday article "Narcotics cops say Tucson's gone to pot": In order to properly evaluate our nation's drug policies, we need to compare and contrast our policies with those of another nation with substantially different drug policies. I suggest we use the Czech Republic for comparison. Citizens there can legally use, possess, grow or purchase small quantities of marijuana. In the United States, many otherwise law-abiding citizens are locked in prison cages for possessing, growing or selling various amounts of marijuana. The Czech overall drug arrest rate is 1 per 100,000 population. [continues 117 words]
City Has Become 'Major, Major Stash House Area' You may be living next to a stash house and not know it. With a record 1.2 million pounds of marijuana confiscated in Arizona from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30 - nearly half of it in Pima County - Tucson has developed a thriving business as a distribution hub. The area is a way station where marijuana is stashed until it is moved to its ultimate destination, often on the East Coast. "It's just a major, major stash house area," Counter Narcotics Alliance Sgt. Helen Hritz said of the Tucson area. "There can be 11,000 pounds in one house." [continues 999 words]
Re: the Oct. 8 column "As drugs pour in, legalizing pot no longer a pipe dream": Thanks for publishing Robert Robb's outstanding column. I certainly agree that legalization is the best answer compared with decriminalization. With decriminalization, distribution and production remain in the hands of criminals. I disagree that: "Legalization of even marijuana would be a big step into the unknown." For the vast majority of our nation's history, marijuana was legal. It was first criminalized via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Before 1937, anybody could buy marijuana in pharmacies and lots of other places with no questions asked. Did we have a major problem with marijuana back then? No. Do we have a major problem with marijuana today? Yes. That's because today marijuana is unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminals, just as alcohol was when it was illegal. KIRK MUSE Mesa [end]
