Politics

Gotchyer Drug War Roundup

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The latest goings-on in that other war:

• A member of the Kuwaiti royal family has been sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution delves into the culture of the city's narcotics policing, and finds a system rife with perverse incentives. The paper finds that the raid that led to the shooting death of Kathryn Johnston promised a kilo of cocaine—a one in 1,000 bust. The paper found that pressure to make arrests and the lure of the professional esteem that comes with a big bust encourage police to take shortcuts and manipulate the facts to secure a search warrant. None of this is new or unique to Atlanta, of course.

• GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has hired Mel Sembler as a top money man for his campaign. Sembler, you may remember, is a fierce drug warrior, and in the 1980s and 90s ran Straight, Inc., the string of "tough love" teen rehab centers frequently accused of child abuse.

Outstanding piece attacking the drug war in the NY Times over the weekend from guest columnist Orlando Patterson.

A new report comes to the striking conclusion that—surprise!—Canada's war on drugs is an "utter failure."