tagged w/ Drug Prohibition
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The immediate impact of the federal shortage of sodium thiopental is minimal. A lawsuit challenging the federal government's injection procedures is pending, and the U.S. government has not executed anyone since 2003. The letter didn't explain how the government ran out of the drug, but all remaining supplies of it expire this year.
Some states, including Arizona, California, Georgia and Tennessee, have obtained supplies of sodium thiopental from England, although the British government has since banned its export for use in executions.
In February, death row inmates in Arizona, California and Tennessee sued the Food and Drug Administration to block imports of the drug. The lawsuit claims the FDA has knowingly allowed state corrections officials to import sodium thiopental that has not been approved by the agency.
States wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in January asking for help obtaining sodium thiopental. The anesthetic is used by virtually all death penalty states, but supplies ran short when its U.S. manufacturer stopped production.
"At the present time, the federal government does not have any reserves of sodium thiopental for lethal injections and is therefore facing the same dilemma as many states," Holder said in a March 4 letter sent to the National Association of Attorneys General and obtained by The Associated Press.
Holder said the lack of an available supply of sodium thiopental "is a serious concern."
Justice Department spokeswoman Alisa Finelli said the agency had no comment.
The states that signed the January letter asking Holder for help are: Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) —
Oklahoma and Ohio have switched to pentobarbital, a surgical sedative, as an alternative. Oklahoma uses it along with drugs to paralyze inmates and stop their hearts. Ohio uses it alone.
The drug was used Thursday to kill death row inmate Johhnie Baston, who died 13 minutes after executioners started the injection. Baston, 37, briefly gasped and appeared to grimace, but the moment passed quickly and he lay still for most of the process. Baston was convicted of killing Chong-Hoon Mah, 53, a South Korean immigrant whose family opposes the death penalty and was against Baston's execution.The immediate impact of the federal shortage of sodium thiopental is minimal. A... more
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juicie
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added this
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11 months ago
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Law enforcement officers who once waged the War On Drugs submitted testimony Tuesday supporting a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana in Washington state. The bill, HB 1550, sponsored by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, was heard by the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.
Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle chief of police, wrote that legalizing marijuana "would provide a great benefit for public safety by allowing the state's police officers to focus on the worst crimes, protecting the people of Washington from burglaries, rapes, shootings, and drunk driving."
"Not only would it free up police resources, it would bring in much-needed new revenue for the state," Stamper wrote.
Stamper and the other criminal justice professionals who testified Tuesday are members of the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). LEAP represents police, prosecutors, judges, prison wardens, federal agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs.
According to Rep. Dickerson, the bill could generate $400 million in new revenue for the state every two years. Of the revenues raised, 77 percent would be dedicated to health care and 20 percent to substance abuse and treatment.
The bill would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over, and allow it to be sold through state liquor stores, with commercial growers applying for a license through the Liquor Control Board.
"Drug cases and marijuana cases in particular occupy an inordinate amount of money and time," testified David Nichols, a retired Whatcom County Superior Court judge. "In addition to the court resources they waste, I witnessed the damage they inflicted upon individuals and their families and communities. And for what? Marijuana laws are not keeping anyone from using marijuana."
Also submitting testimony on Tuesday were retired U.S. Customs inspector Arnold James Byron, former police officer James Peet and former Washington State Department of Corrections probation officer Matt McCally.Law enforcement officers who once waged the War On Drugs submitted testimony Tuesday... more
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Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, better known by the acronym LEAP -- a group of current and former law enforcement officers -- is running a petition on its Internet site in support of Webb's commission. The petition and a video of Webb appear beneath the group's signature pitch: photos of Al Capone ("Alcohol Smuggler") and Pablo Escobar ("Drug Cartel"), accompanied by the line, "Same problem . . . same solution. Repeal Prohibition Now!"
LEAP's Norman Stamper, a former chief of police in Seattle, praises Webb as "a tough guy" and says "the hope is that an honest, very critical examination of drug laws will lead to the conclusion that prohibition doesn't work."
Little public opposition has emerged, though that might have more to do with the bill's uncertain status than anything else. In the meantime, Webb says he's been contacted about his proposal by the president and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, both of whom gave encouraging signals. And he is quietly amassing an eclectic band of supporters, ranging from the influential -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada -- to the surprising -- conservative Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. On board, too, is Nolan, a former California state lawmaker who did time in the 1990s for racketeering. Nolan sees Webb's commission as a way to steer drug offenders to treatment facilities, rather than warehousing them in prisons.Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, better known by the acronym LEAP -- a group of... more
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This is what drug legalization means. Instead of punishing people for self-medication of their moods, the Dutch are saving money by closing prisons.This is what drug legalization means. Instead of punishing people for self-medication... more
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"Yesterday marked the first time in history that a nationwide poll showed majority support for taxing and regulating marijuana (at 52%). The poll, conducted by Zogby International at the end of April, was also one of the largest sample sizes of any national polls on the subject, with almost 4,000 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 1.6%."
Let's legalize it!"Yesterday marked the first time in history that a nationwide poll showed... more
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The stern op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal is not the place you would expect to find an impassioned appeal to legalize marijuana. But to mark the ending of Prohibition 75 years ago, the free marketers have invited Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, to argue that our stern drugs laws should be overturned. He says drug prohibition has led to 500,000 people in jail for non-violent drug-law violations; 1.8 million drug arrests last year; tens of billions spent annually to fund a drug war that has failed; thousands dying each year from drug overdoses “that have more to do with prohibitionist policies than the drugs themselves,” and tens of thousands needlessly infected with AIDS and Hepatitis C because the anti-drug policies undermine responsible public-health policies. Nadelmann has high hopes Obama will make some modest changes, but, he argues, that is nowhere near enough to solve the problem.The stern op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal is not the place you would expect to... more
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