In addition to the opium trade, Taliban militias have gained strength since they were deposed, and are also being helped by a resurgence of Al Qaeda activity across the border in Pakistan. The combination of these factors seriously threatens to return the country right back to the Taliban era that existed in the years before 9/11.
While almost everyone agrees that the opium trade is the main problem, there are big differences over how to deal with it. The Bush Administration has used its authority to push for strong eradication programs, including aerial spraying. The British and the Karzai government oppose that approach, but support ground-based eradication. The Canadians have been even more reluctant to follow America's lead, but have done so anyway.
Another option for dealing with the problem is one put forth by the Senlis Council, a think tank based in Paris. Their solution is to license the opium farming so that Afghan farmers can grow poppies legally and contribute to the world's supply of opiate-based medicines. The European Union endorsed this approach, but other than odd utterances from Donald Rumsfeld, there's no indication that this approach is being seriously being considered by American or NATO leadership right now.
But as the current approach continues to fail, the calls for a different one are growing, many of whom endorse the Senlis Council's strategy. As a result, the U.S. State Department released a report last week in response to the Senlis Council's proposal, dismissing it as an unfeasible approach. While the Senlis Council's ideas are not expected to be a silver bullet solution, and can't be counted on to address some of the larger problems with the global opium trade, the State Department's defense of the disastrous status quo is a good study in why we continue to fail at our mission to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.
The report reaches five main conclusions for opposing the Senlis Council's approach, which they simply refer to as "legalization". They introduce their conclusions with this statement:
On both a practical and factual basis, we disagree with the conclusions of those who advocate legalization and any policy prescriptions put forward to achieve this goal.
Right away, there's a misunderstanding over the motivations and the goals of the Senlis Council. Legalization is not the goal. Peace and stability is the goal. Licensing the production of opium is the strategy being advocated to reach that goal. The Senlis Council does not believe that all heroin use should be legal. When they advocate for "legalization", they are advocating for legal avenues for Afghan farmers to grow the crop for the world supply of legal opiate-based medicines. It's very important to understand this difference. Whether or not the State Department blurs the line intentionally or not, I don't know.
The five separate conclusions they reach vary greatly in their validity. I'll discuss them each one by one.
The licit opium market is not lucrative enough to entice Afghan farmers - The price difference between licit and illicit opium is so substantial that Afghan farmers would not quit the black market. To make up for the price difference, exorbitant subsidies would have to be offered, which would prove prohibitively expensive. Moreover, the Government of Afghanistan would be obligated to purchase opium stocks, resulting in the crops exponential expansion as more farmers would grow to take advantage of a guaranteed source of income.
There is certainly some truth to this. The prices earned by licit opium producers in some of the countries that allow it are much lower than what can be obtained from the black market. Whether or not Afghan farmers decide to stay within the law will depend on whether they think they'll get caught. Opium farmers who get caught in the current system often find themselves unable to provide for their families once their crops are destroyed. If the Afghan government can provide a guaranteed living wage for their crop, some farmers will certainly choose that path, even if they could make much more by breaking the law.
But there are still two problems with this. The first problem is that as the supply of the illicit drugs making their way to the west starts to go down, the prices will go up, and the rewards for those who break the law will increase. The second problem is that, for many of Afghanistan's farmers, the decision about what to grow isn't made by them. It's made by the warlords. And the warlords are much less discouraged by eradications than the farmers are. Even in a licensing system, farmers could still get screwed if they are forced to contribute to the illicit market and get caught, but the hope is that they'll place the blame on the warlords rather than on the central government. Under the status quo, any time an opium farm is destroyed, the Karzai government is seen as the enemy. Even under an imperfect system, licensing even a small percentage of the overall production will keep more farmers from seeking out the Taliban and other militias for protection.
There is no legitimate world demand for legally produced opium from Afghanistan - According to the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)[6] - whose mandate includes maintaining the balance between supply and demand for licitly produced narcotics like opium - world demand for opium-based medicines is fully met. World stockpiles are also sufficient to meet any conceivable future or increased demand.
This conclusion may be fairly accurate. I haven't been able to find a lot of evidence either way. The Senlis Council believes that there are major shortages of opiate-based medicines in the developing world. I don't doubt that that's true, but I have no way of knowing whether that's from a lack of supply, or from other logistical problems and bureaucratic hurdles that prevent the supplies from getting to where they're needed. It's also important to note that the farmers in the countries that contribute to the legal supplies don't want to have to compete with Afghan farmers, for the same reason American workers don't like competing with foreign workers who will work for less.
It is not feasible - Countries which produce licit opium have strict controls, sophisticated law enforcement, and licensing systems - and still admit to significant illegal diversion. The lack of law enforcement and security in Afghanistan has led to the explosion of the current illicit poppy crop, so a licit industry which relies on legal controls could not work. Without safeguards, licit and illicit opium would be indistinguishable. Opium really destined for the black market would be produced under the pretense of a legal system.
There are several problems with this analysis. If the countries which produce licit opium had significant illegal diversion problems, Afghanistan would not be producing 90% of the world's heroin supplies. Australia, one of the sanctioned producing nations, certainly wouldn't have so many of its citizens getting caught in Southeast Asia smuggling heroin back home if that were true. The drug trade finds the path of least resistance when it comes to the supply chain, and the lawlessness of Afghanistan has been the end of that path for a number of years.
The strategy of licensing the production is also not being done to eliminate illicit drug supplies worldwide. That would be impossible to do just by focusing on Afghanistan alone. As long as there is demand for the drugs throughout the world, the supplies will come from somewhere. The strategy is to allow more Afghan farmers to do legally what they've been doing for years without driving them to seek alliances and protection from those who oppose the Karzai government. If this causes some other part of the world to become the path of least resistance for the drug traffickers, then the illicit opium farming will shift there. For example, one possible outcome of allowing Afghan farmers to grow licit supplies of opium would be that production in South America would again increase and the traffickers who already bring large amounts of cocaine from South America to Europe would be able to start exporting more heroin there as well (much of the heroin that comes to North America today comes from South America, not Afghanistan). I'm sure there'd be diversion from Afghanistan's licit supplies as well, especially since they are still far from having adequate law enforcement throughout the country, but that problem would still be a much lesser one than what we're currently stuck dealing with.
Historical experience argues against this approach - Lessons from India, Pakistan, Bolivia, and other countries show the often disastrous effects of legalizing drug production without the requisite market demand or law enforcement and control mechanisms. Each of these countries attempted to regulate a legal trade in narcotics and, as a result, saw an increase in cultivation or significant diversion into the black market.
This is some very selective history. The example of Turkey in the 1970s [PDF] is a great example of how the Senlis Council's approach has worked in the past, and could work again. Even then, some were worried about diversion, but after the U.S. agreed to purchase legal supplies of opium from Turkish farmers, illicit production stopped and never returned. This didn't mean that heroin disappeared from the streets of London and New York, though. The production just moved to another part of the world - Afghanistan. The lesson is that while it's impossible to completely eliminate the demand for these drugs, you can focus on an area and remove it from being the path of least resistance. Trying to eliminate the drug trade like this all around the world would be a waste of money and resources, but with such fervent anti-American groups in the area reaping the benefits, it's a good idea to do it there, and soon. But it's still only a partial solution to the bigger problem of heroin trafficking.
Legalization is ultimately counterproductive and dangerous - Legalization would expand and entrench the drug trade, undermining ongoing efforts to bring security and sustainable economic development. This would benefit insurgent groups such as the Taliban who have been known to profit from the trade, as well as criminals and corrupt government officials. Afghanistan would suffer from more violence, lawlessness, and corruption as a result of legalization, not less. Expanding opium cultivation would also come at the expense of important efforts to diversify Afghanistan's economy, making the country's welfare dangerously reliant on one commodity.
This final conclusion is a mix of poor assumptions and bad logic which makes it very clear why we're headed for disaster in Afghanistan. Legalization, in the limited sense that the Senlis Council is advocating, would not expand or entrench the drug trade in any way. The drug trade exists to feed the demand of western (and increasingly, Chinese, Indian, Iranian and Russian) consumers. There's no reason to believe that giving Afghan farmers the option to grow opium for legal markets would encourage more Afghan farmers who hadn't been growing it illegally to start doing so, any more than farmers in other parts of the world would be. The economic and other societal factors that encourage opium farming have existed for years there. The Senlis Council's proposal doesn't address this larger issue because it's one that can't be solved within Afghanistan. It's a battle that can only be won where demand for the drug exists.
As for the Taliban, this conclusion completely misreads the role they play in the drug trade as well. The Taliban are not farmers and they're not drug traffickers. The Taliban only profits from the drug trade because they provide protection against the Afghan government's eradication teams. If the government wasn't forced to go after the illegal opium farming, that would immediately cut off revenue from the Taliban. The idea that a broad legalization would help the Taliban is completely backwards. They profit from our efforts to eradicate the harvests, not just from the fact that there's opium farming alone, and this dynamic that we've created is now the biggest factor leading towards the collapse of the country's new government.
If we want to look towards real solutions on how to keep Afghanistan from reverting back to its pre-9/11 instability and lawlessness, the Senlis Council's approach to the opium farming is only one small step, but it's a good one. To make more serious inroads into fighting illegal drug trafficking, nations where the demand for drugs like heroin and methadone drive the market need to be considering treating addiction as a medical, rather than a criminal problem.
The UK Home Office this week revealed that they are now headed in that direction, looking towards providing addicts with supplies of the drug in a medical capacity. This approach is finally starting to gain momentum across the globe now that the Swiss demonstrated its effectiveness over a ten year period where they reduced crime, overdoses, and most impressively, the number of new recreational users. Countries like Canada and Australia are already on board with their own programs in Vancouver and Sydney, but the United States still does not have a single one.
Last year's Taliban spring offensive in Afghanistan intensified as the opium plants were harvested and sent off to heroin processing labs in April and May. This freed up the Taliban to fight coalition forces and left them with money to spend. This year, the same pattern is occurring again, but with another years' worth of angry farmers and a stronger Al-Qaeda presence to the south, it will be an even more difficult battle for our coalition forces to defend Karzai's government. The solutions for fixing these problems exist, but still remain non-starters within even the more moderate elements of the Bush Administration.
Afghanistan has long been thought of as a place where empires have crumbled. I have no idea what it really is about that land, but we're seeing it again right now, as the American approach to the war on drugs there is clearly causing us to fail at our much more important war against Islamic terrorism. The authoritarian principles of the American drug war dictate that anything that even resembles "legalization" must be feared and fought, even if it's very clearly a path to a better outcome. And whether we're dealing with Helmand Province or Southern California, there are better ways.
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Over the past two weeks...
Major News
- Americans for Safe Access have sued the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration over their continued stalling on their obligation to modify their classification of marijuana to reflect the fact that it has medical use. Jacob Sullum wonders if the anti-pot propaganda these government organizations have put out is actually illegal under the Data Quality Act.
- Drug Czar John Walters spoke in Ottawa at a meeting of the Canadian Centre on substance abuse. He refused to comment on the Marc Emery case. Ethan Nadelmann was there to provide a response. Other Canadian officials lined up to criticize the Drug Czar and America's failed drug war tactics.
- The State Department released its annual report on drug war, saying that Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Colombia are falling short in their efforts. Libby Spencer unravels some of the spin.
- The family of Wharton, Texas 17-year-old Daniel Castillo, Jr say that he was unarmed and in bed when he was shot dead during a drug raid. Radley Balko explains how this has become a disturbing pattern that we've become numb to. Jay Elias writes a great diary.
- Medical marijuana activist Ken Gorman was shot and killed during a break-in of his home in Denver, only days after a news report aired indicating that he had supplies of marijuana in his home. Cannabis Culture mourns his loss and people in the medical marijuana community in Colorado hope to provide more safety for the suppliers.
- The Uribe government in Colombia is fending off a growing scandal over links to right-wing groups labeled by the U.S. as terrorists and drug traffickers as President Bush prepares for an early March visit to Bogota. The amount of money allocated to South American governments in anti-drug efforts will be cut significantly in the latest Bush Adminstration budget.
- The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear the case of a student who sued his Alaska high school after he was suspended for holding a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" sign at an off-campus event. Ken Starr is representing the school district.
- The UK Home Office is planning to introduce a program for prescribing heroin to addicts. LEAP founder Jack Cole, who recently travelled to England, has more. The President of the Association of Chief Police Officers in England also says that heroin should be given to addicts in an effort to combat crime. Labour MP David Lepper agrees.
- Tommy Chong has his own blog now and is running for Drug Czar. In more serious news, he's planning to raise money for Ed Rosenthal's defense fund as medical marijuana activist Rosenthal gets ready to face trial on drug charges.
- Additional data from the recent study in Thunder Bay, Ontario (that I originally wrote about in a previous roundup) showed that drivers who test positive for even low levels of alcohol (.05 BAC) are still more dangerous than those who test positive for THC.
Opinions and Blogposts
- Phillip Smith continued his South American travels, visiting Machu Picchu and other Andean locales in Peru. After that, he headed to Bolivia. He filed this report on the overall state of coca production on the continent, this report about the changes in the Chapare region of Bolivia, and this report about the politics of Bolivia's new coca policy.
- Pete Guither talks about authoritarians and the drug war. He also posts a Kos diary about the parallels between alcohol prohibition and the current drug prohibition and finds a drug company peddling some pills for people to overcome marijuana withdrawal. Finally, he takes on the FDA's priorities.
- Lester Grinspoon writes about the recent studies on the usefulness of marijuana as medicine.
- Lou Dobbs focused on the War on Drugs recently and trotted out a whole bunch of debunked information and discredited individuals. Tanya has much more to say. The sad irony about Lou Dobbs is that his complete inability to understand the drug war leads to his complete inability to come up with actual solutions for his larger crusade against illegal immigration.
- The Chicago Tribune wants see more truth behind the way we deal with medical marijuana.
- Adam Isacson at Plan Colombia and Beyond catches senior DEA official Michael Braun peddling untruths about the magnitude of FARC's role in drug trafficking.
- Bill Conroy writes about the most recent ruling in the Juarez House of Death case, which may lead to even more ugly facts about the case surfacing.
- Michele Hanson wonders why the sight of people smoking pot near British royalty causes such a fuss.
- Alex Coolman writes about starfish, spiders, and drug policy reform. He also breaks down an exchange between Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Ginsburg and discusses the problems with the prison-based drug treatment programs in California.
- Howard Woolridge visited the DEA museum in northern Virginia wearing his LEAP T-shirt.
- Jennifer Kern from the Drug Policy Alliance manned a table at the Newark (NJ) Student Drug Testing Summit.
- Mark Kleiman links to some prepared testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and says that it's an issue that he'd like to hear more from Senator Obama about. He always gives a preview on an upcoming paper on treating alcohol like any other mind-altering drug.
- Greg Francisco looks at the business of drug testing.
- Brian Doherty notes that more and more past drug offenses are being used as justification for limiting travel across international borders.
- Jamie Spencer has a suggestion for improving the probation system in Texas.
- John Holowatch responds to the ONDCP ad known as Pete's Couch.
- Joel Connelly writes in the Seattle PI about the movement towards better medical marijuana policies in Washington state.
- John Gleeson at the Winnipeg Sun agrees with the police officers advocating a different approach to the war on drugs.
- Scott Morgan discusses the effort by NIDA to create a medical marijuana suppository.
- Tanya at Blame the Drug War notes that some drug offenders, who've lost a great deal of liberty as a result of their legal troubles, are becoming more welcome to fill the growing needs of our armed forces. She also posts about an outrageous case of a woman being booted from a training program for nurses because of a false positive drug test, and discusses a recent Countdown with Keith Olbermann report on using medical marijuana to treat ADHD..
- Pat Rogers finds Chris Bowers from MyDD exhibiting some hypocrisy about the bounds of acceptable debate on some sites, including this one. He also strongly criticizes Nancy Pelosi for deciding to postpone drug policy reforms until after the 2008 election and notes that Ralph Nader continues to have a much better understanding of drug policy than any of the Democratic candidates.
- The Green State Project writes about our overcrowded prisons and the obvious culprit.
- David Borden is not the target customer for Drug Free Work Place posters.
- Alison Myrden talks about the drug war and medical marijuana in Canada.
- Kos diarist Red No More writes about how prescription drugs are replacing marijuana as the drug of choice for teens looking to get high.
- Medical marijuana user CoyoteMan writes a diary here.
- Jeanne Sparks-Carreker draws upon her experiences as a meth user and dealer to debunk the common belief that drug dealers go out of their way to get kids hooked on it.
- Maggie Gill-Austern of the Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal writes about the variety of opinions on laws that make marijuana the lowest priority for law enforcement.
- Rusty White of LEAP responds to some common criticisms of the legalization movement.
- The Drug War Chronicle reviews "Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics" by Matthew Robinson and Renee Scherlen, which you can purchase here.
Regional News - U.S. and Canada
- NORML is working with former Bill Clinton associate Webster Hubbell to provide life insurance policies for those who have been unable to obtain it due to casual marijuana use.
- The November Coalition is celebrating its 10th anniversity with a charity auction in Colville, WA.
- Gonzaga sophomore basketball player Josh Heytvelt was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after being caught with a bag of psychedelic mushrooms.
- In Washington State, the number of meth labs have decreased, but - say it with me - the rate of use has stayed the same because of extra supply from Mexico.
- The University of Washington campus held a forum with former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper and other legalization advocates from King County.
- A 19-year-old from just outside of Tacoma, WA is facing homicide charges after a 16-year-old girl he shared ecstasy with died.
- Competing bills in Oregon could decide whether or not an employer can fire medical marijuana patients over their medication.
- California's Third District Court of Appeals ruled that Sacramento law enforcement officials must adhere to state asset forfeiture laws.
- The Ninth Circuit Court ruled that a federal trial court should have given jury instructions on a lesser charge of simple possession for a trial involving a man who was accused of methamphetamine distribution.
- Since banning cigarettes at California prisons, all kinds of problems have followed, including increased violence and smuggling.
- Officials in San Luis Obispo County (CA) are temporarily suspending the medical marijuana card program until they can straighten out how to deal with the higher fees.
- Authorities in Orange County, CA made the largest brown heroin bust in state history.
- Nevada legislators introduced a bill that would send parents to jail for up to 15 years if they grow marijuana with children present. Jacob Sullum provides adequate mockery.
- The daughter of a Pima County, Arizona Sheriff was arrested on drug charges.
- A medical marijuana bill has passed the Senate and the House Judiciary Committee in New Mexico.
- The lawyer for a Colorado couple on trial for growing medical marijuana is asking for the prosecutors to be removed from the case due to impropriety.
- The Lafayette (CO) City Council backed off its attempt to raise the mandatory minimum sentence for marijuana possession offenses.
- The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a search of an individual's genital area is acceptable if the officers are looking for drugs.
- South Dakota officials have seen a drop in the number of meth labs, but more people importing the drug into the state.
- The Kansas State House unanimously passed a bill regulating scrap metal sales in response to the news that meth users are stealing it.
- Six people in Oklahoma were arrested for running a drug operation out of a funeral home.
- A bill has been introduced in the Texas State House would provide a medical defense for anyone using marijuana with a doctor's permission. Another bill introduced would expand the use of drug courts in the state.
- 92 pounds of marijuana were found at a Wal-Mart distribution center in Plainview, Texas.
- Dallas prison officials have decided to remove a limitation against hiring people with previous drug offenses because of a shortage in prison guards.
- In San Antonio, a dog shot during a drug raid was left to suffer for over 24 hours before anyone attended to it.
- A medical marijuana bill continues to make its way through the Minnesota legislature.
- Police in suburban Chicago busted a house that was being used as a warehouse for cocaine distribution.
- A Detroit man was sentenced to over 30 years in prison for selling heroin laced with fentanyl that killed two people.
- Voters in Flint, Michigan approved a medical marijuana initiative.
- An Ohio man who was paralyzed during a 2003 drug raid settled his lawsuit against the city, the officer, and Perry Township.
- A middle school teacher in Kentucky was busted after accidentally sending a text message inquiring about buying marijuana to a police officer.
- A Mississippi jailer is accused of having marijuana and cash hidden in his mashed potatoes.
- A poll taken in Mobile, AL indicated that a majority of people there want kids in elementary school to be subjected to random drug testing.
- A Tampa middle school principal was arrested after trying to buy crack-cocaine from an undercover police officer.
- Peter Christ of LEAP participated in a forum in Polk County, Florida on legalizing drugs.
- A man in Gainesville, Florida may be charged after reporting to police that his marijuana supplies were stolen.
- A 78-year-old Georgia woman was arrested for allegedly allowing drug sales to take place in her home.
- South Carolina lawmakers are considering a medical marijuana bill.
- A South Carolina toddler was hospitalized and tested positive for cocaine.
- Another South Carolina family who fled after their 3-year-old son tested positive for cocaine were found in San Antonio.
- The city of Manassas Park, VA has sent blogger Black Velvet Bruce Li a cease and desist letter over his continued efforts to expose an ugly scandal where local officials tried to exploit drug laws to take down a local businessman. The Manassas Journal Messenger ran a three part series on the case (here, here, and here) which Radley Balko found disappointing, and BVBL dissected here and here. Ruttenberg had a victory in court this week.
- David Borden testified in front of the Maryland state legislature in support of a bill that would allow for students to receive financial aid from the state if they'd lost federal aid due to a drug conviction.
- Parents in Venango County, PA were reminded that terrorists are trying to get their kids hooked on heroin.
- A Bethelem, PA middle school principal was busted for selling meth out of his school office.
- Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania met to discuss how to improve their fight against drug-related crime.
- The President of Drexel University's NORML chapter responds to the recent attempts by Philadelphia officials to crack down on drug paraphernalia related to smoking blunts.
- A small business in Philadelphia received a package containing $90,000 worth of marijuana sent to the wrong address.
- Four men were arrested at Newark International Airport for trying to smuggle heroin into the country inside candy bars.
- Police in Elmira, NY are cracking down on places that sell drug paraphernalia.
- A former flight-school operator from Glastonbury, CT was sentenced to 18 months in prison for trying to transport 100 pounds of marijuana by air.
- A Senate Committee in Vermont passed a bill to expand the state's medical marijuana law to allow for its use in more illnesses.
- The mayor of Barre, VT wants to legalize marijuana, but give the death penalty to crack and heroin dealers. Governor Douglas seemed to think that the latter suggestion was more realistic.
- In Maine, more marijuana is being grown indoors.
- A defendant in a Montreal criminal case is accused of trying to get kids hooked on crack-cocaine.
- The Senlis Council, which is working to convince NATO governments to support opium licensing in Afghanistan, has opened a new office in Ottawa.
- Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is pushing for a new treatment center to go alongside the currently operating Insite safe injection site. Jacob Sullum is critical of the new treatment center's tactics. Rob at To The People concurs, but Scott Morgan isn't so sure that it's a bad idea.
- The Hawaii legislature is considering a bill that would approve saliva drug test for workers in the construction industry.
Regional News - International
- Four Guatemalan police officers, who were imprisoned for killing three Salvadoran politicians over the drug trade, were themselves killed in prison.
- Drug warriors in Ireland are upset at the short sentence given to a 22-year-old convicted cocaine distributor. A well-known Irish talk-show host says that instead they should look more at legalizing drugs.
- A teenager who pretended to pull a gun on Conservative Party leader David Cameron was arrested on cannabis possession charges.
- The UK Legalize Cannabis Alliance is warning people about contaminated supplies of cannabis.
- A British man who was independently wealthy by his early 20s was sentenced to 18 years in prison for trying to smuggle cocaine from Panama to the UK.
- A recent report in the UK showed that the recent anti-heroin ad campaign is not working.
- A Scottish Queen's Counsel, Donald Findlay, is recommending that cannabis be legalized.
- Switzerland's Agriculture Ministry is trying to stop farmers from feeding cannabis to their cows.
- Italian soccer star Francesco Flachi tested positive for cocaine during a random drug test.
- Another large heroin bust took place along the Bulgaria-Macedonia border.
- Kids from wealthy and influential families in Cape Coast, Ghana are believed to be heavily involved in the drug trade.
- Cocaine parties are becoming popular among teens in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
- Iranian anti-drug officials battled with smugglers in southeastern Iran.
- James Bays reports on the poppy eradication efforts in Afghanistan. A poppy farmer was killed by police in Ghor province during a protest against eradication.
- Thai officials believe drug use is on the rise again in their country.
- Ronnie Ramsay, the brother of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, was busted for possession of heroin in Bali.
- The son of Japan's former Finance Minister, Masayoshi Takemura, was arrested for possessing marijuana.
- A new study shows that the Australian government's efforts to lie about the dangers of marijuana are working.
- The government of New Zealand is stubbornly refusing to deal with reality when it comes to medical marijuana.
Fun Stuff
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