The violence is not “drug-related” – meaning caused by people under the influence of “drugs”, as “alcohol-related” would mean caused by alcohol. These deaths were drug-prohibition-related! 

Moreover, they were not caused by the Mexican supply of “drugs”, but by US demand for “drugs.” If there was no US demand, there would not be any Mexican supply worth fighting over on our borders.  

Everyone asks what marijuana does, but no one ever asks what marijuana prohibition does. Perhaps they don't want to know.

The person being arrested might not be the only whose mental health was damaged by the expense and humiliation of the arrest. Whole families can be wrecked by a loved one’s arrest. Over 800,000 Americans are arrested every year on marijuana charges. This state violence is supported implicitly – and often explicitly – by most of the major medical organizations. 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown claims that marijuana’s use can be fatal. "The cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality and we really have got to send out a message to young people." 

"In the present experiment, cannabis reduced pain intensity and unpleasantness equally. Thus, as with opioids, cannabis does not rely on a relaxing or tranquilizing effect, but rather reduces both the core component of nociception (nerve pain) and the emotional aspect of the pain experience to an equal degree." 

People with AIDS are also among those who need medical cannabis the most, but if they live in Illinois, they may have to get on another sort of waiting list. The revised version of the MPP sponsored bill “has a sunset clause of three years and limits the number of qualifying patients to 1,200.” 

According to the Illinois department of Public Heath, there were over 1,400 new cases of AIDS diagnosed in the state in 2004. So there are more new AIDS cases every year than there are slots for medical cannabis! 

Sadly, Mr. Garon died yesterday, about the time that NORML sent out this report. 

There is little increased risk of incidences of psychosis or schizophrenia stemming from the use of cannabis 

It is important to understand that even if the conspiracy theory were valid, it would tell us nothing about how we should deal with the reality of the present situation.

What can the US do? First, it can get out of the way, or to quote the Hippocratic Oath, “First do no harm.” The fact is that the US Drug War is the major impediment to allowing these countries to legalize cannabis.

Americans are responsible for these deaths in a way that we are not responsible for the tragedy in Darfur. We have learned the hard way over the last few years that there are many problems we cannot solve, but there also plenty that we can stop making worse.

Eric Sage was accused of a crime –possession of drug paraphernalia-- for which there was no evidence. That was a crime in itself, committed by South Dakota Highway Patrolman Dave Trautman. 

AssistantPenningtonCountyState’s Attorney Gina Nelson then committed another crime by charging Sage with a different crime for which there was no evidence. On April 14, 2008, the Disciplinary Board of the South Dakota State Bar “admonished” Ms. Nelson.