John Walters once said, “The fact is today, people don’t go to jail for the possession of marijuana. Finding somebody in jail or prison for possession of marijuana is like finding a unicorn. It doesn’t exist.”

When the US taxpayers no longer fund your demonizing of the sick, disabled, dying, and sense-threatened people who use medical marijuana, what do you do?  If you’re former drug czar John “Marijuana Unicorns” Walters, you get yourself a cushy job at the Hudson Institute, a think tank founded by Herman Kahn.  Kahn’s work was part of the dogma of cold war ideology, having coined the term “mutually assured destruction” regarding nuclear capabilities of the US and then USSR.  (He also coined the term “megadeath”, meaning “one million deaths”, which since has been appropriated and misspelled by the band Megadeth.)  Kahn is reportedly one of the inspirations for the character of Dr. Strangelove in the 1964 film of the same name.

In recent months, more Americans have learned what those living on the border have known for several years: the Mexican government is in a deadly fight with extremely violent gangs.

The administration should be fighting for full funding of the Merida Program of assistance from the United States. Our vital equipment and training will protect innocent lives in both our countries. But the White House has been unengaged as Congress is on a path to cut $100 million in support beyond the $100 million reduction of the last Congress. At a time when Mexico knows as well as we do that Congress is recklessly stimulating and earmarking billions, slashing funding for our national security is grossly irresponsible.

On the key issue of illegal drugs–the widely recognized source of criminal power in Mexico–the Obama administration is lurching dangerously in reverse. In his first statement on drug policy, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested he may no longer enforce federal law against trafficking marijuana if the traffickers call their marijuana medical. Both U.S. and Mexican officials at all levels know that medical marijuana is an utter fraud used to undermine drug enforcement in the United States. Mexican officials also know (as does the Justice Department) that much of the marijuana sold in the “dispensaries” of California funds the mafias of Mexico.

Marijuana sales are the single largest source of drug profits for these criminals–on top of funds from kidnapping, protection rackets, alien smuggling, and car theft. Not enforcing our marijuana laws makes these terrorists stronger. Pretending to take legalization seriously makes them stronger still. What do we think the brave officers risking their lives in Mexico feel when our attorney general sounds like he is going to do less to help? Is it too much to expect him to make clear that enforcing our marijuana laws reduces addiction here and saves lives in Mexico?

I hope that this will change. The recently released Forbes list of wealthiest people in the world includes one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal leaders. President Obama should make it his goal to help President Calderon apprehend this man and those like him as soon as possible.

John P. Walters is executive vice president of Hudson Institute and former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George W. Bush.

via PREVIEW: Up In Smoke.

Walters offers no proof that California dispensary medicine is funding Mexican mafias, but evidence and proof were never his strong suit, anyway.  I find it interesting that a stimulus package intended to reverse the economic damage from eight years of laissez-faire policies of the previous administration – Walters’ administration – is considered “recklessly stimulating”, but throwing another $100M-$200M at the failed Meridia policies is “vital equipment and training”.  I’d say something about pots and kettles, but considering this blog’s subject and the president’s race, that’s too many puns for one day.

But suppose that Walters is right and some Mexican-grown and Mexican-trafficked marijuana makes it onto dispensary shelves.  What’s keeping American farmers from supplying those dispensaries, John, and cutting the Mexicans out of the marketplace?  “Pretending to take legalization seriously” scares the hell out of Mexico’s drug criminals!  Do you suppose Al Capone circulated many petitions in support of the 21st Amendment?

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Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-10-07

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We’ve got another Marijuana Unicorn in our sights – this time, it’s Tim from Wisconsin with a tale of 15 days in the pokey for possession of… a pipe!

Also, Kris Krane, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, joins us to discuss student drug policy issues for 2008.  Kris will be a presenter at the upcoming NORML CON.

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Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-10-03

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Today on the Stash CelebStoner’s and Pot Culture’s Steve Bloom joins us to discuss the High Times’ Stony Awards and the strange interest in Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams not smoking pot.

Then we out our first Marijuana Unicorn!  It’s Catherine (spelling?) from Idaho Falls, Idaho, who tells us her incredible tale of being a first-time, non-violent, no-priors, no possession Marijuana Unicorn who served 20 days in county jail.  You’ve got to listen to this one to learn what exactly earned her a miserable holiday stay in the graybar hotel.  What was that again, Drug Czar John Walters?

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Somebody owes me and Catherine a steak dinner!  Plus, Catherine wins an autographed copy of “Totally Baked” and stickers, pins, and other cool NORML swag that I’ll be swiping at the NORML CON in two weeks.

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I live in Idaho Falls Idaho. In September of 2003 I received a ticket for frequenting a place where drugs are used (a misdemeanor). The police came to my boyfriend’s house for a noise violation. We turned the music down and chatted for about half an hour before he noticed a bong in the living room. The house was searched, the bong being the only drugs or paraphernalia found and everyone present received a ticket.

I do not smoke myself but do or did associate with people who do. As far as I’m aware there was not any pot being smoked in the house on this date. I pled not guilty, the charge implying that you are at the residence to buy, sell, or use drugs. I was there to see my boyfriend. It was my first offense. I had never even had a traffic ticket. I brought letters from my teachers and from my father explaining what a good kid I was and that I was not in that house to use or buy/sell drugs.

The court date was in late December and I was found guilty — after all, there was paraphernalia in the house. I served 20 days in Bonneville County Jail, spent 2 years on probation, and paid a $300 fine. I missed Christmas and the New Year. It was the most profoundly scary experience of my life. I did not even know the charge was punishable with jail time. I missed my first college finals and spent the holidays with prison inmates waiting to be transferred to another facility.

I am indeed a Marijuana Unicorn.

We’re still hunting for the Marijuana Unicorns that the Drug Czar John Walters believe don’t exist.  Send in your story to stash@norml.org.

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The Hill Blog» Blog Archive
» How Can We Discuss Marijuana Policy When America’s Top Drug Cop Won’t Even Acknowledge The Facts?
But to hear America’s top drug cop [Drug Czar John Walters] tell it few, if any, citizens are ever arrested for pot possession, and absolutely no one goes to jail for breaking marijuana laws.

“The fact is today, people don’t go to jail for the possession of marijuana,” Walters alleged on C-Span. “Finding somebody in jail or prison for possession of marijuana is like finding a unicorn. It doesn’t exist.”

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Not true says the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, which reported last year in black and white — perhaps the Drug Czar is reading impaired – that 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug abuse violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that, at a minimum, there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses. (The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county or local jails for pot-related offenses, nor did it take into account the number of inmates serving time for violating the terms of their marijuana-related probation, such as those who submitted a ‘dirty’ urine to their parole officer).

That’s a lot of unicorns.

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Drug Czar John Walters said that finding a first-time non-violent offender in prison for marijuana possession is like finding “a unicorn”.

So, are you one of those unicorns?  Do you know someone who is a unicorn?

If so, you could win big with NORML.  We’re looking to tell John Walters the story of Marijuana Unicorns, those people who have had to serve time for a first-time, non-violent marijuana possession offense.  If you or someone you know served a court-ordered sentence in a jail or prison for such an offense, let us know!

Send an email with the Subject: Marijuana Unicorns to stash@norml.org.  Tell us where and when you got busted and where, when, and how long you had to serve time.

Or, you can use postal mail to send in your entry.  Just send your entry to:

Marijuana Unicorns
4000 SE 82nd Ave
Suite 1000/66
Portland, OR 97266 

You can remain anonymous if you like.  If we use your story on the Stash, you’ll win all sorts of free swag from NORML, like stickers, posters, and pins, plus a copy of the DVD stoner-comedy “Totally Baked”, autographed by AC/DC’s lead singer, Brian Johnson.  You’ll also win a free steak dinner, courtesy of Drug Czar John Walters himself, who promised he’d buy a steak for anyone who could find a Marijuana Unicorn (steak dinner offer subject to the Drug Czar keeping his word, so don’t hold your breath.)

Contest runs until 5pm, Friday, October 10th, coinciding with what will be the 20,000,000th marijuana arrest in America.  Winners will be announced 10/13-17 in advance of the NORML Conference in Berkeley, CA.

Related posts

• Paul Armentano in Capitol Hill blog: That’s a lot of Unicorns! (1)
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