Victims of the Drug War
As if the US “war on drugs” was not absurd enough, it has now claimed its first marijuana-related casualty.
Jonathan Magbie, a quadriplegic, was sentenced to a 10-day jail sentence in Washington, DC for possession of one joint. He died four days into his sentence.
What makes this death truly horrific is that it occurred contrary to the will of DC voters. In 1998, 70% of voters approved a medical marijuana law, similar to the one here in Oregon. It never took effect, however, because Rep. Bob Barr (of the “get government out of our lives” Republican party) legislatively killed the initiative on the federal level. He tacked on an amendment to an appropriations bill (whence DC gets its entire budget) that would have denied the city any money at all for the year if local officials attempted to “enact or carry out” any democratically approved initiative that would reduce criminal penalties for possession of any kind of drug.
DC caved, to keep its city running. Although the amendment was found to be unconstitutional the next year, a federal appeals court reinstated it in 2002, preventing people in wheelchairs from legally smoking pot.
At his hearing, DC Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin could have given Magbie probation, since it was his first criminal offense. But she asked him if he would continue to smoke marijuana in the future, and when he replied that he would, she sentenced him to jail time for his honesty.
While in custody, Magbie, who was paralyzed in a car wreck when he was 4, saw his health rapidly deteriorate. He required a tracheotomy tube, a pulmonary pacemaker, and a ventilator at night to breathe in his sleep. Doctors at the Department of Corrections did not have the equipment to sustain his health, and despite Judge Retchin’s knowledge of this, she sentenced him to what became a death sentence.
Just last month, US Army veteran Steven Tuck was lying in a Canadian hospital bed. He fled to Canada after his plants were raided in California by DEA agents. He smoked marijuana to alleviate chronic pain from a 1987 parachuting accident.
Canadian authorities arrested him on his gurney, drove him to the border, and delivered him to US agents, and he then spent five days in jail—all with a catheter still attached to his penis. He was offered no medical treatment during his stay in the hospital, and his lawyer, Doug Hiatt, said, “This is totally inhumane. He’s been tortured for days for no reason.”
Extradition for drug use is becoming a common phenomenon, as the “war on drugs” goes international. On July 29 Marc Emery was arrested by DEA agents in Vancouver, BC for selling seeds. Let me reiterate: a Canadian citizen was arrested on Canadian soil by American agents for a crime which, in Canada, is punishable only by a fine. The US, which has engineered prison time for Emery while they try to extradite him to America, wants to charge him in US courts for activities that took place in Canada, and give him a life sentence for what is not a jail time offense in Emery’s home country.
How much further will this madness go? In 2004, there were 771,605 arrests for marijuana. Approximately 686,000 of these arrests were for marijuana possession, not distribution. All violent crimes combined to make 590,528 arrests in the same year.
Our prisons are bursting with potheads, while violent criminals are set free to make room for more. Is this really making us safer? “The Emperor Has No Clothes,” by Jack Herer, the most comprehensive study of marijuana in existence, shows marijuana has been used medically for thousands of years. The recent criminalization and anti-drug rhetoric contradict all known evidence about marijuana. Some FBI agents who routinely give lectures on the dangers of marijuana have never heard of Herer’s book. Dedicating themselves to arresting a marijuana user every 41 seconds, their manpower to track and detect potential terrorism is significantly reduced.
It is time to concede the “war on drugs” and let the drugs win. It is not working; it is a constant destabilization to our society. The era of marijuana prohibition, only 68 years old, needs to end. As Oregon doctor Fred Oerther said, “More Americans die in just one day in prisons, penitentiaries, jails, and stockades than have ever died from marijuana throughout history. Who are they protecting? From what?”
They certainly did not protect Jonathan Magbie. Must we let quadriplegics die so that our fear of a safe, healthy drug may live?
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November 17, 2005 |
Caelan MacTavish | Comments (22 so far)
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Comments
Posted by: stone cold sober | Nov 17, 2005 2:43:52 PM
Yes, the war on drugs is a horror of unspeakable magnitude.
So, head count now, which congressional Democrats want to end it?
The Dems had the White House for eight years and what did they end up having to show for it on the drug war reform front? More pot arrests than all the other previous administrations combined.
You all are just as bad (or worse) on the drug war issue than the righty reactionaries. I say worse because when Democrats are in control all the complaining about the drug war from their side suddenly goes silent.
Both parties are guilty of crimes against humanity on this issue.
Posted by: Sid Leader | Nov 17, 2005 4:11:43 PM
It's a very sad story made worse by President George W. Bush -- the first admitted life-long drug abuser to be elected President of the United States.
W admits he was drunk or high every day of his life from age 16 to age 40. W even boasted about his huge consumption of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana abuse on tape with a friend!
POTUS has one DUI, Cheney has TWO, one in a school zone.
No wonder these boyz are so clueless, they high!
Posted by: Sid Leader | Nov 17, 2005 4:11:56 PM
It's a very sad story made worse by President George W. Bush -- the first admitted life-long drug abuser to be elected President of the United States.
W admits he was drunk or high every day of his life from age 16 to age 40. W even boasted about his huge consumption of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana abuse on tape with a friend!
POTUS has one DUI, Cheney has TWO, one in a school zone.
No wonder these boyz are so clueless, they high!
Posted by: Josh | Nov 18, 2005 9:46:27 AM
But let's get real about Oregon. NO-BODY is in an Oregon stateprison for smoking a joint or even possessing twenty or thirty of them. Oregon continues to have infraction (traffic ticket-like) treatment of small amounts of pot and its only the Feds that are unrealistic about marijauna.
Posted by: Trista Okel | Nov 18, 2005 5:52:29 PM
I write in response to the travesty of Jonathan Magbie. On October 3-8th of 2004, I was able to be in DC and protest with Loretta Nall (US Marijuana Party) in front of Judge Judith Retchin's Courtroom. She is the judge who sentenced Mr. Magbie to what resulted in a death sentence.
In response to Josh:
I faced incarceration for growing 3 marijuana plants under a forty watt flourescent. I served about 6 hours in the Clackamas County Jail, (where Rapist/Murderer Ward Weaver was being housed at the time), and I awaited trial for almost a year. I was released on my own recognizance since I was a first time offender, but originally, my bail was set at $40,000.
Once the 'plants' were dried out, they weighed a TOTAL of 32.8 grams. The DA in Marion County would not drop the case, offer a misdemeanor, or make any decent 'offers' because he was "certain that marijuana is NOT medicine." I was charged with two counts: A Class 'A' Felony Manufacturing of a controlled substance charge, and a Class 'A' Felony Possession of a controlled substance charge. *Note that the "possession" charges were for the very same plants I was being charged with growing.
I was able to go to trial and use an Affirmative Medical Necessity Defense, as I have 3 OMMP qualifying conditions.
Luckily, because my mother had the ability to refinance her house, I was able to hire an attorney who is an expert in marijuana law. *My first attorney took us for $6500 and told me "I didn't have a case." He is still taking me to collections for an additional $5000 that he didn't do the work for.
My second attorney is an expert, did a great job, gave us a great deal, and it still was not inexpensive. The point of all of this: I was LUCKY and privileged to have the resources to take it to trial. Not everyone is that 'lucky.'
After a two day trial, I was acquitted by a jury in 8 minutes, 11-1. The DA didn't have time to finish his cigarette outside before we were all called back up into the courtroom. I was so grateful, so shocked, I cried. For over a year, I was unable to leave the house due to agoraphobia, made much, much worse by the system's involvement in my life. At this moment, I was free.
I am a full-time medical marijuana activist/advocate now, because there are many ways that the War On Marijuana [Drugs] hurts families, communities, etc., even right here at home in Oregon.
Thanks for considering another perspective on the issue.
Regards,
Trista Okel
Posted by: John Young | Nov 18, 2005 7:53:31 PM
Our friends have to suffer at the hands of corrupt politicions who have nothing to gain but $$$ by keeping MJ illegal.
How many people have to die from NOT having the marijuana they need to survive, for the rest of the nation to wake up and smell whats under the Bush. It stinks.
MrFixit, Oregon Green Free
Posted by: Wes Wagner | Nov 21, 2005 8:13:40 AM
Trista,
Thank you for sharing your story. Overall the war on drugs is just a political tool that individuals use to levy fear against the people so they are willing to give up their rights, their money, and the ability to live in a free society with less crime. At the core of the drug war is the necessity for the government to have some form of enemy, or boogeyman, it can use to allow it to expand its power for the benefit of those in control. We, as voters, need to exercise a very high level of intellectual certainty if we are ever to reverse that trend and see an end to the drug war.
Sincerely,
Wes Wagner
Publisher
NW Meridian
Posted by: Ms. Cris Ericson | Nov 21, 2005 6:58:04 PM
Hi! Caelan! Your statement is extremely well written.
I'm a political candidate in Vermont. I am the only political
candidate in the U.S.A. who has been on any official election ballot for Marijuana party affiliation.
http://www.times.com/ref/elections2004/2004VT.html
2004 election results
Cris Ericson, MJP for U.S. Senator and for Governor of Vermont.
I am running again for 2006. In 2004 I came in 3rd out of 6 candidates for two offices but I won the Vermont Kid's Mock Election for U.S. Senate. Those kids will turn 18.
My number one political goal is to Make Marijuana Legal.
http://chrisericson.com
MAKE MARIJUANA LEGAL 2006 VOTE CRIS
Cris Ericson, 879 Church Street, Chester, Vermont 05143-9375
(802) 875-4038 crisericson@ispwest.com
I am a 53 year old widow with no kids. My husband died of cancer in 1995. I live alone with a dog and four cats. Under election laws, a spouse can spend as much money as they want on their spouse's campaign. In 2004 I received so little in donations I wasn't legally obligated to report. When I read the facts you present, Caelan, I think it wouldn't be wrong for me to do something like find a rich husband to support my campaign. If I can win the race for U.S. Senate in Vermont 2006, and if I can speak up in the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. every day and demand the legalization of marijuana under the Constitution of the United States which guarantees us equal protection under the law, which to me means equal protection to not be punished and prosecuted and imprisoned for using products like marijuana which are equally or LESS dangerous than products including alcoholic beverages, skis, hang gliders, hunting rifles, etc., If I can win I will speak up daily until marijuana is legalized. Knowing how much people are suffering from marijuana prohibition, would it be wrong for me to advertise to find a millionaire husband willing to support my campaign? The millionaire husband could be any man at least 21 years of age. Let me know what you think, Caelan, you have a good head on your shoulders. Cris (802)875-4038
Posted by: Eddy LaBarr | May 11, 2006 9:24:31 PM
Hello;
I'm Eddy LaBarr in Montrose, Colorado, with links to our site and a warm human interest story regarding our experiences with the ruthless Drug Enforcement Administration. From 1986 to 1993, after more than 400 incidents of harassment we were forced to purchase Soviet Starlight night vision equipment to identify a group of trespassers who were routinely hanging out around our bedroom windows at night. The mixed, multi-agency group would have loose, normal voice level conversations and commentaries about what my wife and I were doing in bed. This disgusting practice had been ongoing at the rate of 3 - 4 times per week since around 1986 when our law enforcement agencies began accruing massive allotments of thermal Infrared equipment and began training on civilians. We couldn't ever catch them and their illegal activities were causing problems inside our household as our parental attentions came to be diverted towards stopping trespassers instead of just enjoying life and raising kids.
Montrose, Colorado is a little town located on the sparsely populated Western side of this state and had a population of around 7000 at the time of this incident. It has always had a massive over-staffed, over-budgeted police apparatus with relatively nothing to do and a big Drug War agenda. Illegal trespassing and Peeping Tom activities came to be so bad that we actually had to leave the area for several months during the peak of these events.
We returned to our home with our Soviet Starlight unit: http://www.anti-mafia.com/Starlight-Scope.htm , which was a major investment for us and caught the entire group 6 days later as they were routinely trespassing. The first person identified was an investigator with the local Sheriff's department whom we knew along with 8 - 12 others, all wearing flat black suits or dark clothing. We were actually savoring this experience as a long overdue closure of sorts was taking place in our 7 year long trespassing investigation. We were unaware of how dangerous police can be when they are busted in an illegal act.
The morning after our first encounter; July 1st, 1993, 6:00 AM: As the sun was rising I did a 360 sweep with our scope and noticed a group of around 6 persons atop one of our cowsheds; 4 Mexicans wearing loose, baggy white clothes and 2 others with Khaki shirts which had black flaps on the pockets, who were setting up a pyramid shaped pup-tent frame. Then they pitched a tarp over it which looked like the bright side of Tin-Foil and had a distinct UV or black light colored band around it about 2/3 the way up from the bottom. Within a few minutes events were beginning to transpire at a startling rate including sharpshooters sprinting onto the property and one with a pistol who had lined up a two-for-one headshot -my wife and I. I recall the initial scene as I showed my wife exactly what was going on and seeing her keen interest, and then seeing her go into shock in less than a minute. We spent the next 72 hours at split second gunpoint. Being forced to observe this system, our complaints thereafter had the appearance of paranoia or related mental symptoms.
Looking back at the cowshed, their UV pyramid device seemed to have disappeared, literally. Once assembled in sunlight the viewer with unaided eyes can see what's behind the device, yet it is seen as clear as day with the UV filters and light amplification of the starlight scope, along with their personnel. Also, with this system; razor sharp images of their personnel and equipment can be viewed on plate glass windows (not mirrors) -with nothing seen at the sight where the reflection indicates. http://www.anti-mafia.com/D.E.A.-Tech.htm . I'm an electronics engineer and Ham radio operator and knew that when I understood why their ambient images could be viewed on plate glass -and not mirrors, I'd understand their system. That process took about 18 months and we filed our results with the U.S. Attorney General who responded with a one-line form letter. We were followed around by these personnel who subjected us to endless spectacles and were standing on the hoods and roofs of our vehicles filming and harassing us. The theory of how this all works is outlined on our site and we are now out to sell our story to film makers.
We have certified that nothing in our story or on our site is classified nor of any security concerns to the U.S. Govt. It is our belief that this system has been given to all of the NATO governments for usage on their civilians. It almost seems like this was once a Masonic device, but we're not Masons... The level or disinterest and non-concern sort of suggested a cover up and It wasn't until over a decade later that we figured out that the pyramid device we saw had most likely been illegally taken out of Cheyenne Mountain, a major Air Force facility 200 miles away.
There is a "psychic efficacy associated with this device: http://www.anti-mafia.com/prayer_channel.htm
http://www.anti-mafia.com/hate_crime_memorial.HTM
http://www.death2meth.org/
Let us know if your interested in an interview or want more info on anything that's not already on our site.
Eddy LaBarr
Montrose, CO
Hiatus@qwest.net
Posted by: Christopher Largen | May 21, 2006 3:22:54 PM
TN Cops Taped Torturing Drug Suspect - LISTEN!
http://wms.scripps.com/knoxville/siler/siler.mp3
When Tennessee law enforcement officials showed up at the home of Lester Siler, a convicted drug dealer on supervised release, they asked his wife and 8 year-old son to leave. They didn't know that Lester's wife had turned on a tape recorder in the kitchen. When Lester exercised his constitutional right not to sign a consent to search his house for drugs, these officers spent the next two hours torturing him. They beat him with bats and guns, held loaded guns to his head, threatened to shoot him, dunked his head in the toilet, burned him with lighters, attached his testicles to a battery charger, threatened to cut off his fingers, and threatened to "go get" his wife and take his child away from him. Then they arrested him for "evading arrest". It wasn't until the wife's recording made it to the FBI that all hell broke loose. And go figure, even though these officers have since been convicted in federal court, not one national media outlet gave this story the coverage it deserved. But that's okay. At the time, reporters were busy decrying the immorality of Janet Jackson's Superbowl nipple! These are some of the same "journalists" who refused to cover the United States Government's secretive medical marijuana program.
I'm warning you now, this is the most disturbing recording I've ever heard in my life. But it needs to be circulated. Our war on drugs is a failure, and the national media is following a code of silence on related humans rights abuses.
The link at the top of this blog entry will open the actual audio recording of the torture (some people have to copy and paste the link into thir browser to activate the link). And a web search for "Lester Siler" will give you access to further local and blog coverage of this story. PLEASE BECOME THE MEDIA AND FORWARD THIS OUT!
Brought to you by www.Building-Block.org (click here for links to related articles, as well as a PDF file of the FBI Transcript of the audio)
Christopher Largen
Founder of Building Block
www.Building-Block.org
Author of Prescription Pot (New Horizon Press, 2003)
and JUNK (ENC Press, 2005)
(940) 382-9210
www.WaronJunk.com
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Posted by: California drug rehab | Apr 10, 2008 10:22:17 AM
Ten days for one joint??? Was that man so dangerous for the public that they had to put him in jail? It's not jail they need, jail is for drug smugglers and traffickers, people like him need rehab to make him aware of the drug danger... anyway, it's too late for him now.
Posted by: drug rehab | Oct 1, 2008 2:17:01 PM
I agree with many of your points here, most significantly how much effort is being put into finding and stopping drug users/suppliers when it could be going towards anti-terrorism or human trafficking. Marijuana doesn’t pose a great enough risk to society to warrant so much attention, as long as work is being done by the media to encourage people with addictions to receive treatment in drug rehab clinics there isn’t a big problem as far as I can see.
Posted by: joycelorenza | Nov 13, 2008 12:04:37 AM
Gunshot victims of drug violence in Mexico are being treated in the United States at tax payers' expense, according to this report from the L.A Times Miguel Bustillo.Using the wounding of deputy police chief Lorenzo de la Torre Torres as an example, Bustillo writes:"The only hospital within a 280-mile radius to offer state-of-the-art trauma care, Thomason has become an unwilling treatment center of choice for law enforcement officials and others in the vicinity wounded in Mexico's drug turf battles. The violence has killed more than 2,000 people this year, and more than double that number in the 20 months since President Felipe Calderon began deploying 40,000 troops across the country to crack down on narcotics trafficking."
---------------------------
joycelorenza
Posted by: Detox | Nov 13, 2008 6:39:29 PM
In my opinion those who need to use marijuana for medical purpose should have a type of possession permit. Like this the police won’t do such things. However, ultimately the best solution would be it’s legalization, but I don’t think this will happen somewhere soon.
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Posted by: Randy Spelling | Feb 2, 2009 3:51:08 PM
Glad I found this article. I've been looking around for a balanced view on the drug war after hearing some friends discussing it- and this really opened my eyes.
Posted by: drug rehab center | Mar 16, 2009 7:16:16 AM
Unfortunately, they are also victims in this awful 'game' like everywhere. I can't say that I can come with a brilliant idea to solve these problems, but I believe that if the available measures would be taken, things would definitely get better.
Posted by: Recovery Connection | Apr 21, 2009 11:35:53 PM
No one can deny that marijuana or any substance abuse needs to be immediately taken care of. The fact is, a lot of people are suffering from some sort of substance abuse, be it as simple as nicotine or as controversial as pot. The truth is, substance abuse always adversely affects physical and mental health. Drug addiction needs timely intervention and proper treatment. http://www.recoveryconnection.org/ provides complete drug addiction treatment and rehab solutions info from across the country. Their counselors provide personalized service and help one choose a treatment or rehab center keeping one's treatment needs as well as financial condition in mind. They can be contacted at 1-800-993-3869.
Posted by: drug rehab center | May 13, 2009 3:27:33 PM
Such a sad story, the government shouldn’t be allowed to ignore a 70% vote like that. Thankfully Obama is more open minded on this whole subject and I expect marijuana to be official recognized as a medicinal treatment for those suffering with chronic pain. If any problems arise from this we have the drug rehab centers to counter-act them.
Posted by: Alcohol Rehab Program | May 30, 2009 11:28:13 AM
The truth is that there are a lot of victims in this war. First of all there are the ones who consume it and then it's their families and friends who suffer a lot because of them and because they are trying very hard to make them get over this awful habit.
Note: The presence of any individual above does not imply an endorsement by BlueOregon. The selection of faces shown is done by Facebook. Visit BlueOregon on Facebook.
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Posted by: BlueNote | Nov 17, 2005 1:59:32 PM
This story is sickening, as are those lying anti-marijuana commercials sponsored by the "partnership for a drug free America" aka John Ashcroft & Friends.
We need to start electing enlightened prosecutors who will use their discretionary powers to stop prosecuting low level victimless crimes. Too late for this poor guy.