K4V.net BLOG

At The Daily Caller , Mike Riggs reports that President Obama is standing by his nominee to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart (now the acting administrator), despite objections from drug policy reformers dismayed by her continued enthusiasm for medical marijuana raids. That much is not surprising. But I confess that I was startled by the reply of an unnamed Justice Department official to criticism that the raids violate both an Obama campaign pledge and an October 2009 DOJ memo telling federal prosecutors to lay off medical marijuana patients and providers: “I wouldn’t say the memo ‘discourages’ certain raids,” a DOJ offical told TheDC

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The Shifting Limits of Obama’s Marijuana Tolerance

I love me some Oregon, but my parents’ native state, once known enough for rugged outdoorsy individualism that it was the setting for one of the great anti-union novels of the ’60s New Left , is these days going on a nanny-nob tear . The latest pointless outrage : When the 2010 Oregon State Fair opens on Aug

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I’m Very Sorry But We Have to Enforce a Pointless Law We Don’t Like Because Someone Reminded Us it Was There

Two stories from the ongoing debate over recording on-duty police officers in public spaces. The first comes from Oregon , where the city of Beaverton has paid a $19,000 settlement to a man arrested for recording police arresting his friends at a bowling alley. But Beaverton Police Chief Geoff Spalding cautions against interpreting the settlement to mean citizens have a right to record the cops

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More on Recording On-Duty Police Officers

From our June issue, Senior Editor Radley Balko reports on a troubling case from Oregon where a SWAT team was called in to arrest a man and seize his legally purchased guns, all for a crime that no one committed. View this article.

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New at Reason: Radley Balko on Pre-Crime Policing

A recent graduate of Virginia’s public schools explains how searches, surveillance, and zero-tolerance policies have produced a whole new way for childhood to suck.

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Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Several Oregon government and law enforcement agencies are patting themselves on the back for preventing a possible mass shooting incident by sending a SWAT team to arrest a recently laid-off employee of the state’s Department of Transportation. A news release from the Medford, Oregon, police department (yes, they put out a news release announcing their good work) says the man purchased three guns after his dismissal, and that former colleagues described him as “very disgruntled.” He was taken to a mental hospital for evaluation. The problem is that the man doesn’t appear to have committed any actual crimes.

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Oregon Officials Consult Precogs, Arrest Man for Bloody Shooting Spree That Killed Four Next Week

Voters in Oregon passed Measures 66 and 67 that raise taxes on residents and businesses. Oregonians making $125,000 per year and couples with incomes of $250,000 per year will now pay more as will many businesses. Who was pushing these initiatives

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Eat the Rich: Oregon’s Solution to Its Fiscal Crisis

At about 9:00 Pacific time today, I’ll be interviewed on KBOO-FM in Portland, Oregon, about the history of community radio. And at noon central time, I’ll be speaking on KAIR-FM in Atchison, Kansas, about what genuinely beneficial health care reforms would look like.

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Radio Double Duty

Last week Oregon Attorney General John Kroger bragged about successfully pressuring two travel store chains, Pilot Travel Centers and Travel Centers of America, to stop selling electronic cigarettes at their locations in the state. Action on Smoking and Health wants every attorney general to follow suit.

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State-by-State E-Cigarette Bans?