CitizeNYC Podcast #4

In this week's episode of Two Beers In, Greg & I cover airport security, the Four Amigos, Mayor Bloomberg's third term, and how to smoke pot legally in the city. You can listen here, or subscribe free on iTunes.

Via CitizeNYC.

On Obama and Pot

Barack Obama was asked about legalizing marijuana yesterday at his online town hall meeting and laughed the question off. Which is fine. I agree with John on Americablog, that we should understand what's politically possible. "No president of the United States, today, can come out in favor of such a thing. It's political suicide. I can't even believe some people are upset with Obama over this."

What I am upset at Obama about is his administration's failure to end federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries. Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that he'd halt these raids, but on Wednesday DEA Agents raided a San Francisco dispensary.

Efforts being made locally and statewide to legalize or decriminalize marijuana are seriously threatened if Obama's administration continues these unnecessary raids on licensed businesses. He should keep his promise and end them. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it's politically popular — 72 percent of Americans favor ending the raids.

It's also important to remember that these Puritan laws have impact outside our border as well. In Mexico, the ongoing war between drug cartels has killed 1,000 people so far this year. It's believed that 75 percent of their business is marijuana. If pot were legalized, the free market would cripple these gangs.

Campaigning for president in New Hampshire, Obama said, "I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It's not a good use of our resources."

Agreed — now keep your promise.

Originally Posted on The Hill.

Odds & Ends: Provigil, Medical Marijuana, & Chris Brown and Rihanna

Provigil, an amazing little pill that makes you alert but not jittery, 'may be' addictive. I've only used it a few times and it's done a perfect job of keeping me awake. Going into the general election this year, I was in New Hampshire organizing GOTV, and hadn't slept more than three or four hours a night the week leading up to the big day. Provigil got me through a sixteen hour Election Day without any withdrawals.

The Obama Administration is taking my advice and leaving medical marijuana policy up to the states. From Huff-Po: "Attorney General Eric Holder signaled a change on medical marijuana policy Wednesday, saying federal agents will target marijuana distributors only when they violate both federal and state law. That would be a departure from the policy of the Bush administration, which targeted medical marijuana dispensaries in California even if they complied with that state's law." Good news for dying cancer patients treating their nausea with medicine their doctor prescribes.

Why celebrity's responses to Chris Brown & Rihanna matters: "Of the 200 Boston youths (ages 12 to 19) surveyed last month, 51 percent said Chris Brown was responsible for the incident, 46 percent said Rihanna was responsible and 52 percent said both were to blame; 52 percent said the media was treating Brown unfairly; 44 percent said fighting was a normal part of a relationship; and a “significant” number said “Rihanna was destroying Chris Brown’s career.” Women blamed Rihanna as much as men did." Chris Brown gets off easy.

The Hill: Legalize It! (Or at Least Decriminalize It)

Can we finally start talking about marijuana decriminalization?

Boston voted to do it in November. There was a bill just introduced in California to legalize and tax it; after all, it's their largest cash crop and would bring in $1 billion in taxes per annum. President Obama is certainly open to it.

Public Opinion is catching up. Recent polls have support for legalization at all-time highs, 40 percent, which means, in some ways, that pot is more popular than the Republican Party. Nate Silver did the math, and if support keeps growing at these rates we'll have 60 percent nationwide for legalization by 2022.

Since Obama has taken office, there have been five DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in the state of California. Barack Obama should order the immediate halt of federal intervention in states like California that allow for the use and distribution of medical marijuana. Seventy-two percent of the American people would be behind him, and he pledged to do it during the campaign. These raids should be halted immediately by Attorney General Eric Holder, but the White House says they will wait until a new DEA head is named.

Once Obama clears the ways for the states to move on marijuana legislation, who knows what could happen?

Originally posted on The Hill.

Small Town Sheriff Seeks Celebrity

A picture surfaced last week of Michael Phelps smoking pot. America is outraged.

Luckily, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott may bring Phelps up on charges, that could land him in jail for up to 30 days. 30 days America will be free from the horrors of Michael Phelps' marijuana use.

"This case is no different than any other case," Lott said Monday. "This one might be a lot easier since we have photographs of someone using drugs and a partial confession. It's a relatively easy case once we can determine where the crime occurred."

Leon Lott, according to his lil' website, was awarded the 2004 Strom Thurmond Award of Excellence in Law Enforcement, which one can only assume is an award given out for arresting the most black people in South Carolina, and Outstanding Leadership in Litter Enforcement for keeping the streets clean literally. He's also a Baptist, so he might arrest you for just about anything not Jesusy.

It seems, more than just getting his name in the paper, what Lott is after is some kind of award for the courage he's showing actually charging Michael Phelps with a crime. If it wasn't for Lott, who would stop Michael Phelps from using safe recreational substances in the privacy of his own home?

So, by the power invested in me by the good folks at Blogger, I'd like to present Sheriff Lott with the 2009 Keeping America Safe From The Evil Michael Phelps And Protecting Individual Liberties and Freedom Award. I hope to see it listed on your website soon Leon!

News Flash: Michael Phelps Smokes Pot

A picture surfaced of Michael Phelps smoking marijuana from a large bong. Good for him.

Phelps later had to apologize, even though he's in top physical condition and has already won fourteen gold medals, he isn't allowed to partake in the safest of recreational drugs. What a weird world we live in.

I'd hope that speculation that Phelps will lose all sorts of endorsement deals are nonsense. He was arrested for a DUI (something obviously much worse for society than pot smoking) in my hometown of Salisbury, MD in 2004 and has done alright since that incident.

My hope for an Obama age is a realization that the war on drugs, specifically marijuana, is a misguided, puritan waste of money.

Update: Great article on Phelps and Marijuana policy at The Huffington Post.