No evidence that ecstasy causes brain damage

Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous but are perfectly legal and socially acceptable just about everywhere, why is it that other drugs are treated differently.

There is no evidence that ecstasy causes brain damage, according to one of the largest studies into the effects of the drug. Too many previous studies made over-arching conclusions from insufficient data, say the scientists responsible for the research, and the drug's dangers have been greatly exaggerated.

The finding will shock campaigners who have claimed ecstasy poses a real risk of triggering brain damage. They have argued that it can induce memory loss, decrease cognitive performance and has long-lasting effects on behaviour.

The full article: Ecstasy does not wreck the mind, study claims

Seattle Times Calls for Legalization of Marijuana

I would be very happy to see Washington do this, prohibition just hasn't worked and it waste a ridiculous amount of tax revenue on law enforcement and incarceration.

MARIJUANA should be legalized, regulated and taxed. The push to repeal federal prohibition should come from the states, and it should begin with the state of Washington.

In 1998, Washington was one of the earliest to vote for medical marijuana. It was a leap of faith, and the right decision. In 2003, Seattle was one of the first places in America to vote to make simple marijuana possession the lowest police priority. That, too, was a leap of faith, and the right decision. A year ago, City Attorney Pete Holmes stopped all prosecutions for simple possession: the right decision

via: Seattle Times Calls for Legalization of Marijuana

Jamie Foxx Sadly Can't Shield His Daughter from Pot Smoke (Video)

Hillary Clinton: We Can't Legalize Drugs Because 'There Is Just Too Much Money in It'

Article found at Reason

Last week, while visiting Mexico, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was interviewed by Denise Maerker of Televisa, who asked her opinion of proposals to address black-market violence by repealing drug prohibition. Clinton's response illustrates not only the intellectual bankruptcy of the prohibitionist position but the economic ignorance of a woman who would be president (emphasis added):

Maerker: In Mexico, there are those who propose not keeping going with this battle and legalize drug trafficking and consumption. What is your opinion?

Clinton: I don't think that will work. I mean, I hear the same debate. I hear it in my country. It is not likely to work. There is just too much money in it, and I don't think that—you can legalize small amounts for possession, but those who are making so much money selling, they have to be stopped.

Clinton evidently does not understand that there is so much money to be made by selling illegal drugs precisely because they are illegal. Prohibition not only enables traffickers to earn a "risk premium" that makes drug prices much higher than they would otherwise be; it delivers this highly lucrative business into the hands of criminals who, having no legal recourse, resolve disputes by spilling blood. The 35,000 or so prohibition-related deaths that Mexico has seen since the current government began its crackdown on drugs in 2006 are one consequence of the volatile situation created by the government's arbitrary dictates regarding psychoactive substances. Pace Clinton, the way to "stop" the violent thugs who profit from prohibition is not to mindlessly maintain the policy that enriches them.

[via the Drug War Chronicle]

Couldn't stop laughing

Marijuana for Kids!

An interesting video on the use of marijuana on kid

Caller Asks 911 About Trouble 1 Pot Plant Could Cause

You can hear the entire 911 call here.
This guy is unbelievable