#American Drug War

[thenewdemocratus]

Slate Magazine: Beth Ethier: Senate Leader Mitch McConnell Promotes Industrial Hemp

Source:Slate Magazine This might be the only bipartisan bill short of a federal budget and the appropriations bills that Congress may pass this year. At least in the Senate where I think Leader Mitch McConnell will have Democratic support including from Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Pat Leahy the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee and the two Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff…

[alwaysbewoke]

[gregor-samsung]

The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 (Göran Olsson, 2011)

[uncanny-tranny]

Brought to you because of my searing hatred for the DEA 💛

[hussyknee]

You know what the worst fucking thing about liberal rhetoric is? Using "harm reduction", a term that refers to health policies offering safe options and alternatives for drug users instead of punitive control, to rationalize re-endorsing back into power a regime that is still overseeing one of the worst human atrocities of the 21st century.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"These calls for “getting tough” also generated debate and bitter exchanges between different groups claiming to represent African Americans. Some critics insisted that “law and order” operated as a euphemism for anti-black and anti–civil rights sentiments. Leonard De Champs, chairman of the Harlem Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), excoriated the NAACP, calling it “oppressive and Nazi-like for its Fascist proposals regarding law and order in the streets of Harlem and New York City’s other Black communities.” He charged that

Vincent Baker’s love for mandated jail sentences and tightened-up parole procedures conclusively proves that the NAACP is an effective enemy of the 1.2 million Black people in this city.

Floyd McKissick, a longtime civil rights activist and another leader of CORE, claimed that the NAACP’s punitive recommendations reflected the interests of the black middle class. He wrote that

the arguments used in the report of the NAACP smack suspiciously of the Ronald Reagan-George Wallace school of repressive ‘law and order,’ at any cost. They appeal to the fears and prejudices of citizens who have even a little bit worth protecting.

He pointed to “a gap of understanding between middle class and poor Blacks along economic lines” and explained that

we should know by now that the addition of more white cops in the ghetto solves nothing. The ones who suffer more from such measures are the poor blacks; not necessarily the guilty ones.

Instead of harsher punishment, McKissick called for community control:

The ghetto must be safe for its citizens, but it cannot be made so by police state tactics. All efforts must be directed toward the ending of conditions which breed crime and chaos; all efforts much be directed toward the development of a Black-orientated, Black controlled law enforcement agency—an agency dedicated to the aid and protection of Black people, not to their suppression.

During this period, a host of community groups and organizations set up treatment programs, many of which received New York City and state funds, intended to be more directly accountable to thecommunities in which they were embedded. Some grew out of churches and established community groups, while others were connected to more radical political organizing. For example, in March 1969, eighty volunteers and twenty-two drug addicts took over a three-story building in Harlem and set up a drug-treatment program. They hoped to bring attention to “the inadequacy of the state’s narcotic program and the entire health program for the black people.” The addicts involved told the New York Times that they had faced a maze of waiting lists and applications in their efforts to secure treatment. One had never heard back from a program he had applied to three years earlier in 1966. The journalist reported that all of the patients interviewed complained that the state’s drug addiction programs were “more punishment than rehabilitation.” One addict asked if “I should turn myself in to the state and be locked up for rehabilitation.” They contrasted the civic degradation of the state treatment programs with guerrilla programs, claiming that in the latter, they “talk to you like a man, not a statistic—the people really want to help you and it makes you want to help yourself.” After a police eviction order, the center was closed and the patients transferred to an “underground hospital.” In subsequent years, other groups also established treatment programs. The Young Lords, a radical group dedicated to Puerto Ricans’ self-determination, were integral to establishing a detox program at Lincoln Hospital.

Drastic fluctuations in policing further intensified frustration within urban communities. In 1969, the city initiated a major intensification in street-level enforcement of drug markets. At a press conference in September, Mayor Lindsay announced that the police department intended to shift the narcotics division’s 500-person force to the pursuit of upper-level drug arrests and direct the entire remaining patrols to prioritize narcotic arrests at the street level. This sweep produced a considerable uptick in narcotics arrests in New York City: they jumped from 7,199 in 1967 to 26,378 in 1970. Then, in 1971, at a high point in the surge of heroin use, the NYPD abandoned their campaign of intensive street-level drug policing. Police officials claimed that the policy was ineffective and expensive and resulted in low conviction rates because the court system did not have the capacity to process the arrests. The result was a dramatic fall-off in arrests. New York City police conducted over 24,025 felony drug arrests in 1970, 18,694 in 1971, 10,370 in 1972, and 7,041 in 1973."

- Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, Getting Tough: Welfare and Imprisonment in 1970s America. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017. p. 57-59.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔨 𝔖𝔞𝔟𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔥 – 𝔚𝔞𝔯 𝔓𝔦𝔤𝔰

[shinyasahalo]

"The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did." John Ehlichman, who was a Nixon aide, said in an interview in 1994.

[ssaltlicker]

People not understanding that silco is arguably as oppressive to the people of zaun as piltover

[thenewdemocratus]

NORML: U.S. Congress: Legislation Introduced To Get The Feds Out of The Marijuana Enforcement Business

Source:NORML Representative Jared Polis has been against the War on Drugs and in favor of marijuana legalization as long as I’ve known of him and I believe he was elected to the House in 2007. And has worked with Ethan Nadelman and other anti-drug war groups in Colorado the state he represents and other places. So Representative Polis is not a Johnny-come-lately to marijuana legalization. Someone…

[alwaysbewoke]

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Ecuadorian drug traffickers take prison guards and police officers hostage and assassinate them on camera in a series of coordinated attacks across the South American country.]

🇪🇨 💀 🔞 🚨

ECUADOR ERUPTS INTO VIOLENCE AND CHAOS AFTER CARTELS DECARE "WAR ON THE STATE", ARMED FORCES OF ECUADOR DEPLOY TROOPS

A State of Emergency was declared by the Ecuadorian President after a series of terrorist attacks, prison riots and kidnappings exploded into a day of chaos, after drug cartels declared "War on the State".

After a series of explosions, abductions of police officers, prison riots, the escape of a notorious gang leader from a high-security prison, and the storming of a live-tv broadcast of channel TC by gang members waving firearms and accosting television crews, the President of Ecuador declared a State of Emergency Wednesday, determining 22 of the nation's most prominent gangs to be terrorist organizations, announcing that the South American country was experiencing "internal armed conflict," and issueing a decree that included a curfew, which the gangs immediately violated.

Videos showing prison guards being subdued and killed have gone viral, while the search for "The Cheneros" gang leader, Jose Macias (aka Fito), goes on as the elusive criminal with ties to Mexican cartels evades capture.

Meanwhile, an explosive device was detonated in the vicinity of the residence of Ecuadorian Supreme Court President, Ivan Saquicela, in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, and several police officers have been kidnapped across the country.

Riots also broke out in several cities, with scenes of running crowds escaping explosions and gunfire, cars burning in the streets, the looting of warehouses, and the destruction of public infrastructure.

Several videos have also gone viral showing the assassination of police officers and prison guards.

The rioting Ecuadorian criminal organizations killed two police officers, Corporals Alex Taday and Luis Guanotuña in Nobol, located in the Guayas province.

In response to the violence, the Armed Forces of Ecuador have been mobilized, with troops deploying in several cities across the country in areas where riots and looting have broken out over the last day.

Reports from Ecuadorian Forces say more than 70 people tied to the violence and others with links to criminal enterprises have been detained, while three police officers being held hostage have been released.

The Armed Forces of Ecuador also added that 17 escaped prisoners were re-captured, adding that they had also seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the armed groups.

Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian legislature announced blanket pardons and amnesties related to operations targeting the drug traffickers.

The President's decree determined the following organizations to be "terrorist organizations and belligerent non-state actors":

Aguilas, AguilasKiller, Ak47, Caballeros Oscuros, ChoneKiller, Choneros, Corvicheros, Cuartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Ganster, Kater Piler, Lagartos, Latin Kings, Los Lobos, Los p.27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trebol, Patrones, R7 and Tiguerones.

#LinkToMoreVideos

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[liltumgrum]

Modern aMerican Football au Stormlight

Kholin: a family notorious for their skill, domination and violence in professional football

Dalinar: a retired player turned coach. Has had many scandals including drugs/alcohol, a wild divorce case, suspected murder, and constant brawls. In his older age he has been attempting to change his public face and prioritizing the health of his players. He has high expectations for his two sons... all that Dadlinar stuff.

Adolin: a college football player who is widely liked. He plays the part of perfect son, but dreams of transferring to fashion school. All of his attempts to be apply have been denied because of his family reputation and how everyone kind of assumes its a practical joke. They don't take his genuine interest and intelligence into consideration. They think he would be wasting his athletic potential by pursuing anything else. Dalinar also probably shuts down or intimidates anyone that might consider letting his son change career paths.

Renarin: basically a bench warmer on the team. or a water boy. They only let him on because of his family name. He deserves better and is majoring in philosophy/literature.

Kaladin: His family are war refugees. He suffers from ptsd and depression from the violence he experienced and the death of his younger brother. He was raised with the expectation of being a doctor, but fell in love with sports and the teamwork after moving to America. It served as a coping mechanism. His high school coach, Amaram, sacrificed his teams safety to win a bet during state competition. Kaladin won the game for them, but was injured and cast out of the team. His record is permanently tarnished because of a fight he had with said coach. Now he is a field paramedic for his college's team and fighting to make more safety regulations for young players.

Shallan: A transfer journalism student from Europe. She thinks American football is stupid. But she also thinks some of the players are hot and makes fan art of them. Shes interning under Jasnah, a football commentator, and general critic. Who she also totally doesn't have a crush on.

Syl: I like the idea people have for her in a modern au being Kaladin's long distance internet friend.

Pattern: I think Pattern could basically be the same but rather than a magic spren thing, he is another part of Shallan's psychosis.

Moash: Came from a similar situation as Kaladin and they bonded heavily. He became extremely jaded upon seeing the privilege shown to certain players, Elhokar, and general racism in society. Infuriated with what they could get away with, he decided to take justice into his own hands. This led to a falling out with Kaladin, an attempted murder, a warrant for his arrest, and getting in with the wrong crowd. He now suffers from drug addiction, and is unable to seek help. He regularly harasses and stalks Kaladin.

Teft: a physical therapist/chiropractor hired by the college team. Has taken Kaladin under his wing.

Wit:... I cant decide what for him. I think it would be funny if he was like a frat boy, but isn't actually enrolled in the school. He's just strangely there. Everywhere. Also somehow was in Europe and knows Shallan. Is Jasnah's boyfriend bc that's too cursed not to include. He could also be a commentator.

Maya: lol what if she was Adolin's lucky football? Poor maya

That's all i got for now. Would appreciate any ideas on Szeth. Maybe he's an unprofessional football (soccer) player? They scrimmage against him and he kicks their butts solo. Russian assassin? Both? I have no idea ya'll

[zoanzon]

I find it genuinely funny that I haven't been able to get myself working on the history project I want to research and write about, yet I've managed to accumulate nearly three-dozen books for it, as well as over two-hundred PDFs.

You know, just so I have a good assortment of readings on-hand for if and when I actually get myself back around to this.

[brightlotusmoon]

Oh my gods, who remembers when Pepsi got Michael Jackson to endorse their soda and it changed pop culture but we had no idea back then we knew nothing

I wish we could have known something.

[justaholeinmysoul]

The main example of how the mass thinking nowadays is UScentric and unfiltered from context is the age discourse. The whole boomer thing.