Drug War Democracy
– In 2005, the city of Denver passed a ballot measure removing the criminal penalties for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. But because possessing the drug is still illegal under Colorado state law, actual arrests for possession actually went up the next year.
Last year, the city of Denver passed another initiative calling on Denver police to make marijuana enforcement their "lowest priority."
Possession arrests went up again. In fact, they've jumped about 50 percent since 2004, the year before the first initiative passed.
– The New Hampshire house voted this week to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use. Gov. John Lynch is likely to veto.
– Despite conceding at the time that overly aggressive drug laws contributed to the injustice done to Richard Paey'"and admitting that he himself has smoked marijuana'"Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced this week that he has no interest in reform. "I feel that our laws are good in Florida," Crist said. "They were thoughtfully put in place."