We have the right as adults to control our own bodies, insofar as we don't violate the rights of others. And yet there was the governor, Great Nanny Bill Owens, standing on the steps of the State Nursery on Oct. 27, arguing that possession of a certain plant by adults should be against the law. For the "crime" of possessing that plant, armed government agents can, depending on the particulars, harass and intimidate you, steal your money, kidnap you, and/or lock you in a steel cage. Owens said, "Earlier this year we passed the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, because we recognize that cigarette smoke was having a negative impact on the health of our citizens. That one step forward would be undone by the two steps back with the passage of Amendment 44. Marijuana smoke is every bit as cancer-causing as is cigarette smoke, and legalizing the drug would encourage more people to inhale these toxic fumes." [continues 718 words]
I continue to contemplate which candidate for governor I'm going to vote against. Ritter doesn't support a woman's right to an abortion. When Ritter was Denver's district attorney, his office approved a misguided search warrant against a bookstore (as I discussed previously). He has indicated that he'd try to further politicize medicine and restrict the right to bear arms. While Ritter has admitted to using marijuana, he favors keeping legal penalties for possession of under an ounce of the plant by adults over 21. [continues 819 words]
Why is it that, come November, most people will either vote to violate rights of contract and uphold rights over one's body, or vice versa? The Nov. 7 ballot will feature three important measures. Referendum I would create domestic partnerships. It makes sense to assure legal standing for gay couples. Amendment 42 would raise the minimum wage and adjust it annually for inflation, and Amendment 44 would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults age 21 or over. [continues 803 words]
A Catholic, an atheist, and a leftist walk into a Boulder bar. There's no punch line, but the three laugh in memory of the ridiculous, freedom-sucking prohibition laws on gardening and consuming a particular herb. The three could be writers from Boulder Weekly in the not-too-distant future. Hell, the bar might even sell the herb (though I'll still stick with the drug alcohol). As Wayne Laugesen recently reminded us, a "report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that 10.33 percent of Boulder County respondents admitted to pot use in the past month." Colorado's state average was 7.89 percent. In the eyes of Colorado law, all of those people are criminals. Any legal system that turns so high a fraction of the population into criminals is unstable, unjust and open to constant abuse. [continues 754 words]
Most everybody loves John Suthers. Nobody questions his motives; indeed, he's taking a pay cut to serve in state political office. The Denver Post predicted his confirmation as attorney general would meet with "little resistance," even though he is a Republican replacing Democrat Ken Salazar, who is headed to the Senate. There is one tiny little problem with Suthers becoming Colorado's top legal official: He promotes existing legislation that dramatically increases crime. Even though the main job of the attorney general is to fight crime, the policies Suthers endorses cause horrendous crime. Even if he works every hour of every day for the rest of his life, the crimes Suthers stops will be as an anthill compared with the mountain of crime that his politics creates. [continues 739 words]
Why don't modern drug prohibitionists want to return to the full prohibition of the drug alcohol? One answer, as expressed by the drug czar's deputy, is that there's no political will for that. Another reply is that most people use alcohol responsibly. That's what U.S. Attorney John Suthers said when we met on Reggie Rivers's television show last week, and that's what Denver DA Bill Ritter said at a recent debate sponsored by the Independence Institute. [continues 786 words]
Colorado has a libertarian streak to it, and we want to keep government out of our lives as much as we can," Sen. Steve Johnson (R-Fort Collins) said at an April 8 conference hosted by the drug czar in Denver to promote random drug testing for students. But. There's always a "but." Johnson supports Bush's new program to offer $23 million in grants to schools that implement drug testing. He said new legislation probably is not needed to allow Colorado schools to take the money, but he'll be happy to sponsor such legislation if it'll help the program. [continues 777 words]
Last Sept. 16, Seattle out-Bouldered Boulder when the Washington city passed Initiative 75 with 58.6 percent of the popular vote. That measure states the "Police Department... shall make the investigation, arrest and prosecution of marijuana offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the city's lowest law enforcement priority." A search for "Seattle" at the Marijuana Policy Project's Web page (www.mpp.org) will bring up the text of the initiative. If Seattle can do it, why can't progressive Boulder? At least one city councilmember is on board. When asked if he supported the idea, Shaun McGrath replied, "Yes! The 'war on drugs' has been a costly failure, particularly with regard to marijuana-a drug that is no more harmful than alcohol. We need to stop treating drug users as criminals, and treat them instead as people with disabilities needing treatment. I helped establish and managed the Western Governors Association's Drug Policy program with then-Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico... WGA assisted the western states [in establishing]... harm-reduction strategies, drug treatment in prison and drug courts." [continues 665 words]
Who should decide what risks are reasonable for you-you or a bureaucrat? According to the politicians in Congress and the bureaucrats at the Food and Drug Administration, the correct answer is a bureaucrat. On Dec. 30, the FDA announced it is banning the diet herb ephedra because related products "pose an unreasonable health risk." The FDA's dire warnings convinced some but inspired others across the nation to stockpile supplies before the ban takes effect. Let's consider another example of risk. Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like Ibuprofen do many wonderful things for many people, but they also do some nasty things to some people. Specifically, they can contribute to ulcers, internal bleeding and death, particularly among the elderly. [continues 725 words]
As a Libertarian candidate, I have a simple reply to Peter Blake's Sept. 24 question, "Will Libertarians become spoilers in state contests?": You can't spoil something that's already rotten. Neither of the old parties protects the individual liberties of Coloradans. Thanks to the Republicans' prohibitionist policies, innocent people like Ismael Mena are killed in no-knock raids, property is stolen by drug agents who don't even have to bother with making a criminal charge, our prisons are filled with non-violent offenders and the Fourth Amendment is in tatters. On many issues, Republicans want to impose their values on the rest of us by force of law. [continues 133 words]
It seems the ends justifies any means in the "war on drugs" these days, even if that means civil rights are trampled and innocent people killed. The mental gyrations law officials and politicians engage in to support their draconian drug policies are crazy. Take, for instance, the case of Golden doctor James Metzger, whose $40,000 Lexus was taken by the Drug Enforcement Agency in April because the agency thought Metzger might have illegally filled drug prescriptions. Metzger had not been charged at the time his car was taken, much less convicted of criminal acts. But Metzger used his car to drive to the pharmacy, which was enough for the DEA to charge the car itself with committing a crime in order to confiscate it for the agency's own benefit. [continues 613 words]
