Justice Dept bans marijuana activist from political advocacy for 10 years

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Sunday August 05, 2012 · 7:31 PM PDT

2012/08/05 · 19:31

Sentencing Law and Policy asks, "Why Does The Government Want To Shut Up Bryan Epis?"

Bryan James Epis is a well-known medical marijuana activist who is believed to be the first person to be tried in federal court for cultivating marijuana for medical purposes after the 1996 ballot initiative that legalized medical marijuana in California.

He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, a $15,000 fine, and 10 years supervised release. He has now had part of his sentence vacated -- imprisonment reduced to 90 months -- but the DOJ insisted on one condition. He can't advocate for a change in marijuana laws for the duration of his sentence, including the 10 year supervised release.

As the linked post says, there doesn't seem to be any legitimate government interest here, and the condition is awfully vague. Is it now illegal for him to write to his representatives in Congress? To write a blog post complaining that Obama has gone back on his promise not to interfere with state medical marijuana operations?

Copyright: Gary Locke's credibility goes down the toilet along with Biden's

jmcgrew

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Wednesday September 01, 2010 · 12:09 PM PDT

2010/09/01 · 12:09

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke yesterday reaffirmed Joe Biden's words referring to copyright infringement as flat, unadulterated theft.

Let's think about that. "Theft", huh? When was the last time you heard of someone being sued for a million dollars for shoplifting a handful of CDs? Legally, copyright infringement is already considered far worse than theft -- and Locke and Biden want to impose even stricter penalties!

Now think about it in terms of America's economic competitiveness. Isn't it worrisome that we're doubling down on a business model that, fundamentally, just doesn't work?

jmcgrew

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Sunday March 14, 2010 · 3:33 PM PDT

2010/03/14 · 15:33

CNet reports that President Obama has come out in favor of the ACTA, the "Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement". This agreement has been written behind closed doors for the benefit of the RIAA and MPAA, which recently outraged the European Parliament.

Among other things, ACTA could require ISPs to deny internet access to anyone who has been accused of illegally trading songs or videos online. If you've been following any of the RIAA lawsuits, you know how little evidence is behind many of these accusations: not only have they mistakenly accused people who've never used file sharing software, they've even accused inanimate objects like laser printers!

Support for ACTA is one issue where the Obama administration is just dead-on wrong. What can we do about this?

Ninth Circuit gives the OK to strip-search students with headaches

jmcgrew

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Monday October 01, 2007 · 8:44 PM PDT

2007/10/01 · 20:44

Safford Middle School officials did not violate the civil rights of a 13-year-old Safford girl when they forced her to disrobe and expose her breasts and pubic area four years ago while looking for a drug, according to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

And what "drug" was that? Ibuprofen, the same over-the-counter painkiller you probably have in your purse, pantry, car, or break room.

jmcgrew

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Friday May 25, 2007 · 3:43 PM PDT

2007/05/25 · 15:43

From her form letter response to my complaint yesterday:

I voted for the compromise Emergency Supplemental bill even though I was very disappointed with it. With U.S. troops serving in high risk areas, Congress must provide the proper funding so that our men and women have the body armor and equipment they need to do their jobs and come home safely. In the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to work with my colleagues to hold the president accountable, changing the course in Iraq , and bringing our troops home.

Way to buy into the GOP spin, Cantwell. You suck.

Our men and women already have the proper funding they need to get back on their planes and ships and come home. Congress has no obligation to spend another dime on Iraq.

If the war is de-funded, they aren't just going to be standing around in the desert, throwing sand at insurgents and carrying each other on their shoulders, because it's not going to be a surprise when the funding runs out. They can read newspapers. They'll plan ahead, because planning is what they do.

RSS

Justice Dept bans marijuana activist from political advocacy for 10 years

Copyright: Gary Locke's credibility goes down the toilet along with Biden's

Disappointing: Obama comes out in favor of ACTA

Ninth Circuit gives the OK to strip-search students with headaches

Sen. Maria Cantwell tries, fails to justify voting for the blank check