"Cop vs. Cop: Norm Stamper Busts Gil Kerlikowske" (with video)

Norm Stamper (CELEBSTONER), with video (08:46):

I all but fell out of my chair when I heard drug czar Gil Kerlikowske say the drug war came to an end two years ago (see clip below). Think of the time, money and energy we could have saved! All those speeches, all that research, the scientific papers, legislative and citizen-led initiatives to repeal prohibition, the massive effort to combat the continuing reality of...war.

Kerlikowske should speak directly to the millions, most of them nonviolent drug offenders, who've been arrested since his declaration of peace.

It was a truly laughable moment in the annals of drug enforcement and drug policy reform. Except that people are still being tortured, still dying at the hands of drug cartels, still being stripped of their freedom, their civil liberties. Still suffering, day in and day out, the multiple ravages of the drug war.

It's too easy to respond by saying, "No, unfortunately Gil is wrong," however accurate that may be. Better to ask him for a single sliver of evidence that the war is over, just because he says it is. Near-record numbers of arrests for marijuana possession (see New York), Bush-era priorities and ratios in the continuing federal saga of enforcement vs. prevention, education and treatment funding, continuing SWAT raids on individual Americans' homes.

Kerlikowske took office promising openness, honesty, a fresh look, a commitment to science-based policies and decision-making. Instead, we get marijuana legalization is not in his or the president's "vocabulary." How unscientific and un-American is that? Marijuana has no "medicinal value." Marijuana is dangerous. On and on.

His statement two years ago that he and the Obama administration would end the drug war had a lot of people thinking we would turn the corner on this nation's obscene, costly war against its own people. Many of us knew better. Now, we all know better.

The former police chief of Seattle (Kerlikowske succeeded him), Norm Stamper, has become one of the leading voices of LEAP,(Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing.

Howie P.S.: OK. I can't go ONE DAY without a political moment.

"White House Requests Meeting with Seattle Times to Bully Against Pro-Pot Editorials"

Dominic Holden (SLOG):

The Stranger has learned that immediately after the Seattle Times ran an editorial last week supporting a bill to tax and regulate marijuana, the newspaper got a phone call from Washington, D.C. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director Gil Kerlikowske wanted to fly to Seattle to speak personally with the paper's full editorial board.

The meeting is scheduled for next Friday, an apparent attempt by the federal government to pressure the state's largest newspaper to oppose marijuana legalization. Or at least turn down the volume on its new-found bullhorn to legalize pot.

Bruce Ramsey, the Seattle Times editorial writer who wrote the unbylined piece, says the White House called right “right after our editorial ran, so I drew the obvious conclusion… he didn’t like our editorial.”

“MARIJUANA should be legalized, regulated and taxed,” the newspaper wrote on February 18. “The push to repeal federal prohibition should come from the states, and it should begin with the state of Washington."

This isn't the first time the Obama Administration has campaigned to keep pot illegal. Kerlikowske, who is also Seattle's former police chief, also traveled to California last fall to campaign against Prop 19, a measure to decriminalize marijuana and authorize jurisdictions to tax and regulate it.

Is the Seattle Times the more reticent to speak up? Apparently not. It ran another pro-pot editorial in today’s paper.

Kerlikowske's office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Howie P.S.: Give Thanks and Praises to those Libertarians @ The Seattle Times.

Kerlikowske: "New drug control strategy signals policy shift"

AP:

The new drug plan encourages health care professionals to ask patients questions about drug use even during routine treatment so that early intervention is possible. It also helps more states set up electronic databases to identify doctors who are over-prescribing addictive pain killers.

"Putting treatment into the primary health care discussion is critical," Kerlikowske said in an interview.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius pointed to research showing that kids who reach their 21st birthday without developing an addiction are less likely to develop an addiction when they're older.

"The goal here is to prevent and treat substance abuse before it becomes life threatening," she said.

The policy shift comes in the wake of several other drug policy reforms since Obama took office. Obama signed a measure repealing a two-decade old ban on the use of federal money for needle-exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV. His administration also said it won't target medical marijuana patients or caregivers as long as they comply with state laws and aren't fronts for drug traffickers.

Earlier this year, Obama called on Congress to eliminate the disparity in sentencing that punishes crack crimes more heavily than those involving powder cocaine.

Some drug reform advocates like the direction Obama is heading, but question whether the administration's focus on treatment and prevention programs is more rhetoric than reality at this point. They point to the national drug control budget proposal released earlier this year, for example, which continues to spend about twice as much money on enforcement as it does on programs to reduce demand.

"The improved rhetoric is not matched by any fundamental shift in the budget or the broader thrust of the drug policy," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which favors drug policy reform.

Nadelmann praised some of Obama's changes, but said he is disappointed with the continued focus on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating large numbers of people.
FULL STORY.

"Seattle Police Chief to Be Named Drug Czar"

"R. Gil Kerlikowske could face some uncomfortable questions during his Senate confirmation process."
WaPo:

President Obama will name Seattle Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske as the nation's drug czar today, ending a long search that was slowed as details of drug arrests involving Kerlikowske's son came to light.

The administration will remove the job's Cabinet designation -- reversing an elevation of the office under President George W. Bush -- although one senior official said that Kerlikowske would have "full access and a direct line to the president and the vice president." The source also noted that Vice President Biden was instrumental in the creation of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and would continue to be an outspoken advocate on the issue.

Kerlikowske has long been speculated to be the front-runner to serve as the drug czar. But revelations concerning the arrests of his son, Jeffrey, on drug-related charges complicated the process.

The White House acknowledged Jeffrey Kerlikowske's past drug use but offered no specifics or comment.

In his remarks today accepting the nomination, Kerlikowske is expected to reference his family struggles with drug abuse. "Our nation's drug problem is one of human suffering," according to his prepared remarks. "As a police officer, but also in my own family, I have experienced first-hand the devastating effects that drugs can have on our youth, our families and our communities."

In formally nominating Kerlikowske, Obama -- who admitted using cocaine as a teenager in his memoir "Dreams From My Father" -- offers a vote of confidence for a man who could face uncomfortable questions during his confirmation process. The position requires confirmation by the Senate.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton praised the pick, saying, "As a City Police Chief, Gil sees every day the violence and tragedy that results from drug abuse in this country and will require no 'on-the-job training.' "

Historically, the White House's broad drug-control strategy has revolved around prevention, helping drug users and disrupting the market for illegal drugs. During the campaign, Obama supported prevention efforts as a way to combat not only drug abuse but also unemployment and crime.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have met in recent weeks with Mexican authorities to discuss the flow of drugs and violence across the border.

During the Bush years, the number of high-schoolers using drugs declined by more than 900,000, according to a January report issued by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. A separate national survey on drug use and health concluded, however, that nearly 7 million people in the United States show some signs of drug use or dependence, most often involving marijuana.

Kerlikowske served as police chief in two Florida cities, Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, before becoming police commissioner in Buffalo in 1994. He left that job after 4 1/2 years to work in the Clinton Justice Department as the director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. During that time, he became close with Holder.

In his most recent stint, in Seattle, Kerlikowske drew national media attention in 2004 when, seeking to demonstrate the efficacy of the Taser stun gun, he allowed himself to be zapped with 50,000 volts of electricity in front of reporters and television cameras. He commanded less favorable media attention in 2001 when his department was criticized for its lack of aggressiveness in dealing with Mardi Gras riots that left one man dead and 70 injured.

In 2004, Kerlikowske's personal gun was stolen after he left it under the seat of his unmarked police car.

He currently serves as president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

Howie P.S.: The photo they chose makes him look like he is already uncomfortable.