Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein

Rocker advises tax revenue go to education

(NEWSER) - Carlos Santana has a request for President Obama: Legalize pot. The musician says legalization is “really way overdue” and compares the current state of affairs it to Prohibition, the AP reports. His idea for the tax revenue? “Take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America.” Specifically, Santana wants California to profit enough from legalization to send Arnold Schwarzenegger packing. More»

(NEWSER) - Pro-legalization activists stuffed the ballot box with questions about marijuana when the White House solicited questions for today’s online town-hall meeting, and President Obama went out of his way to address the issue, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I don’t know what this says about the online audience,” he joked, but then got serious: “The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.” More»

Summit leaders increasingly want to end war on drugs

(NEWSER) - With an election year well under way, President Obama went to the Summit of the Americas in Colombia determined to talk about trade deals and the economy. Unfortunately, many of the other leaders wanted to talk about the failed war on drugs and legalization, reports the LA Times . "In spite of all the efforts, the illicit drug business is still buoyant, drug addiction in all countries is a serious public health issue, and drug trafficking is still the main provider of funding for violence and terrorism," said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. More»

New York Times examines case of border patrol agent

(NEWSER) - Bryan Gonzalez was working as a Border Patrol agent in New Mexico when he made the fatal mistake of musing to a colleague that legalizing marijuana would end Mexico’s violent drug war. He was fired soon afterwards; his termination letter said he held “personal views that were contrary to the core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication and esprit de corps.” He’s not alone either, the New York Times observes. Law enforcement officials nationwide have been fired for questioning drug laws. More»

Our war on marijuana does more harm than good

(NEWSER) - What will happen if we legalize marijuana? Simple: Police will be able to “focus on serious crime instead,” writes George Soros in the Wall Street Journal . The liberal billionaire and philanthropist outlines his reasons for supporting California’s Prop 19 , with the bottom line being that “our marijuana laws are clearly doing more harm than good.” The people benefiting the most from keeping pot illegal, he argues, are “the major criminal organizations in Mexico and elsewhere that earn billions of dollars annually from this illicit trade.” More»