Race war anyone? Years ago, I predicted the War on Drugs would come to this,
as did friends of mine who had served in U.S. special forces who acquainted
me with psy-war techniques:

--

Study says crime bars one in seven U.S. black men from voting:
One of every seven black male Americans is barred from voting because of a
felony conviction, according to a study released Thursday. The Sentencing
Project, which advocates changes in incarceration policies, estimated 1.46
million black men have lost the right to vote because of a conviction. The
study, which looked at racial disparity in sentencing, found that blacks had
been incarcerated at a rate of 7.66 more times than whites, up slightly from
the level in 1988. 

For the full text story, see:
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=1317871-896

--

I know some members of the mail list probably know my litany, so forgive me
for repeating myself:
 
1. The laws against crack possession (less pure, first used by inner-city
minorities in the 1980's) are vastly more punitive than those for possession
of powdered cocaine (more pure, predominantly used by well to-do whites). 

2. The racist aspects of these laws have not gone unnoticed. Various
jurists, activists and lawyers have decried the disparity in the laws as
racist. 

3. The actual impact of the federal statutory disparity is now evident: 
3a. Even though the majority of cocaine users are white, even though more
drug use occurs in an university's dormitories than most inner-city
neighborhoods, the majority of prisoners are African Americans who are
serving longer mandatory sentences for drug possession. 

3b. This trend has flooded prisons to the extent that the U.S.A. is first in
the world in incarcerating its citizens, while at the same time, prisons are
one of our fastest-growing public and private industries. 

3c. Both trends are largely attributable to inequitable War on Drugs
statutes and police crack-downs targeting inner-city neighborhoods.

NEW:
4. And now, one in seven black males cannot vote. Odds are they cannot get a
city, state or federally funded job with any kind of felony conviction.
They'll never be able to enter most State Bars in order to practice law, and
will face all manner of unforeseeable barriers in society because of their
criminal record.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
AND under the rubric of 'the king (who never inhaled) has no clothes:'
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medical journal- U.S. marijuana policy inhumane:
The editor of the New England Journal of Medicine sharply criticized the
government's threat to prosecute doctors who prescribe marijuana for serious
medical problems. In an editorial in Thursday's issue, Dr. Jerome P.
Kassirer said the policy was "misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane." He said
doctors who challenge the government's decision will "force the courts to
adjudicate between the rights of those at death's door and the absolute
power of bureaucrats whose decisions are based more on reflexive ideology
and political correctness than on compassion." 

For the full text story, see
http://www.merc.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=1311725-117

-------------------------------

Does anyone have a snippet about the Woody 'Cheers' Harrelson industrial
hemp seed case? The last thing I heard, the judge tossed out the
prosecution's case, saying that the law was too broad and vague, & hence,
unconstitutional.

TIA,





+------------| The perfect slave thinks he's free |-------------+
| Quantum particles are the      | Black holes are where God    |
| dreams that stuff is made of   | divides by zero              |
+----What did I do in my previous life to deserve this?---------+

To subscribe to the CIA Drugs mailing list: 
email: ciadrugs-request@mars.galstar.com
In the "Subject," write: SUBSCRIBE

--- 
For list service help, send a message to ciadrugs-request@mars.galstar.com with a subject of HELP.