It seems quite possible, even likely, that California’s historic Proposition 19 to legalize adult possession and growing of marijuana will actually pass in November. The arguments against the ballot measure—both its alleged socially damaging effects and its alleged unconstitutionality—are weak and unconvincing to anyone not already prejudiced against pot.

Polling in support of the measure is consistently at or near 50 percent (though often within the margin of error in either direction), with the latest from the Public Policy Institute of California clocking it at 52 percent in support. Opposition is out there, publicly represented by a rather goofy reverend with a checkered past, but that opposition has been so far restrained and not willing to spend much money. The most prominent anti-19 campaign, Public Safety First, has spent just under $200,000 this year and is sitting on only $54,000 right now.

reason.com

The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP) today released a new research report that demonstrates the clear failure of U.S. marijuana prohibition and supports calls for evidence-based models to legalize and regulate the use of cannabis. The British Medical Journal, one of the world’s most influential medical journals, published a supportive commentary to coincide with the report’s release today.

icsdp.org
pdf

Cannabis consumers have always needed and pined for an effective tool that would tell us where the best cannabis can be found, what is the potency and price (and pricing trends).

opposingviews.com
old zack

State and federal governments in the United States face massive looming fiscal deficits. One policy change that can reduce deficits is ending the drug war. Legalization means reduced expenditure on enforcement and an increase in tax revenue from legalized sales.

This report estimates that legalizing drugs would save roughly $41.3 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement of prohibition. Of these savings, $25.7 billion would accrue to state and local governments, while $15.6 billion would accrue to the federal government.

Approximately $8.7 billion of the savings would result from legalization of marijuana and $32.6 billion from legalization of other drugs.

The report also estimates that drug legalization would yield tax revenue of $46.7 billion annually, assuming legal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco. Approximately $8.7 billion of this revenue would result from legalization of marijuana and $38.0 billion from legalization of other drugs.

DrugProhibitionWP.pdf [ 3.66 MB]

A bill headed to the House floor today has drug law reformers in a tizzy. Critics of the ominously named Drug Trafficking Safe Harbor Elimination Act of 2010 argue that passage of the bill could require American citizens to cancel their drug-fueled visits to Amsterdam, and perhaps prevent them from sampling the rich oily hashish of Northern Morocco.

“[This bill] seeks to authorize U.S. criminal prosecution of anyone in the U.S. suspected of conspiring with one or more persons, or aiding or abetting one or more persons, to commit at any place outside the United States an act that would constitute a violation of the U.S. Controlled Substances Act if committed within the United States,” the Drug Policy Alliance wrote on its Facebook page. “These penalties apply even if the controlled substance is legal under some circumstances in the other country.”

dailycaller.com

Police efforts to combat cannabis should be focused on dealers and organised gangs rather than individual users found with the drug, one of Britain's most senior police officers said.

Humberside chief constable Tim Hollis, who is the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) lead on drugs, called for a "mature debate around the harms caused by illicit drugs and the role of the police service regarding enforcement".

westsussextoday.co.uk

T-Mobile's relationship with companies that use its mobile service to send texts is rapidly deteriorating. One day after a digital startup vowed to drop T-Mobile over a forthcoming fee hike, another texting company has sued T-Mobile for blocking its service.

The reason? Apparently T-Mobile "did not approve" of a company called EZ Texting, which does business with a website, WeedMaps.com, that provides information on the location of legal medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

dailyfinance.com
examiner.com

Der Russe Juri Fedotow hat am Montag, den 13. September 2010, die Leitung des in Wien ansässigen UNO-Büros zur Drogen- und Verbrechensbekämpfung (UNODC) übernommen. Der frühere stellvertrendede Außenminister der Russischen Föderation und bisheriger Botschafter in Großbritannien sei wegen seiner langjährigen Erfahrung in Diplomatie und Politik hervorragend für das Amt geeignet, hatte UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon im Juli bei der Nominierung Fedotows erklärt. Der Russe löst den Italiener Antonio Maria Costa ab, der die Behörde seit 2002 leitete. Fedotow ist gleichzeitig Leiter des Büros der Vereinten Nationen in Wien. Die Wiener UNO-City ist mit dem United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) neben New York (UNHQ), Genf (UNOG) und Nairobi (UNON) einer von vier offiziellen Amtssitzen der Vereinten Nationen. Das UNOV wurde am 1. Januar 1980 als dritter Standort des UN-Sekretariats in Betrieb genommen

taz.de