Thursday, June 30, 2011

privatizing medical marijuana enforcement

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ENFORCEMENT: A MODEST PROPOSAL—PRIVATIZE IT
Hal Pepinsky, pepinsky@indiana.edu, pepinsky.blogspot.com
June 30,2011
Greeks are doing it and so are our US states as the midsummer fiscal deadline sets in: privatize state assets. In the US there’s also a lot of talk about how to enforce corruption of state medical marijuana laws. For instance one journalist reports that there are more medical marijuana stores in Denver than Starbucks and liquor stores combined.
For those who want to balance state budgets and control marijuana, I have a modest proposal. Why not privatize drug enforcement, starting with the US drug enforcement agency? Lease it out to one or more private security firms. Let them bid for how much they will pay for contracts to rent drug enforcement assets from the DEA local narcotics enforcement. If it works for schools and turnpikes and prisons, why not in the drug control industry? There’s a bonus in the case of law enforcement. In the US constitution, people only enjoy privacy protection and protection against unreasonable search and seizure from government agents. Privatize enforcement, and any evidence seized illegally or without reasonable cause or a warrant is still admissible against the bad guys in criminal prosecutions. Seems like a win/win program in this time of selling off government assets for (inter)national security. Love and peace--hal

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

a daydream

This Morning I Had the Strangest Daydream
Hal Pepinsky, pepinsky@indiana.edu, pepinsky.blogspot.com
June 22, 2011
As I write the US president is due to give a primetime speech today on “drawing down troops” in Afghanistan. I daydream that the US leader tells the US that it is time for Euro-Americans to apologize for American genocide and global for-profit corporate military/prison-industrial conquest. I daydream that the US president announces tonight that all US troops worldwide will be brought home to serve as public school teachers’ aides, to repair bridges and roads, in short as honored soldiers to serve the US with decent pay and benefits and bargain collectively here at home where they belong. I daydream that for-profit strangers’ corporate investment will wither while public investment and not-for-profit investment in local enterprise grows. I dare to daydream. Love and peace--hal