Free Republic

Yes it is time for another “Hippie Report” from Humboldt county Ca. Join us as we explore The Triad of Death. Humboldt State University, the Ciy of Arcata Ca., and The glorification of marijuana aimed at the youth of the community by the local newspaper - The North Coast Journal. 01/07/09

It's understandable why when many people first see Howard Wooldridge, they might at first think he's a crank. The slender, mustachioed man of middle-age frequently wears a cowboy hat, and has been known to get around town on a horse. He also wears a black shirt with loud, conspicuous lettering on both the front and back. You'd be forgiven to dismiss him as a religious zealot proclaiming the coming apocalypse, or a disciple of Lyndon Larouche. But look closer. The shirt reads: "COPS SAY LEGALIZE DRUGS: ASK ME WHY." And people do. "I get stopped just about everywhere," he says....

North America correspondent Mark Simkin, goes north of the border to report on Canada’s biggest growth industry – dope. He travels to the picturesque province of British Columbia, which is at the centre of the multi-billion dollar trade. Growers specialise in indoor operations, using private homes with powerful lights and carbon dioxide to make the plants grow faster and stronger. The result is some of the most powerful cannabis in the world, known as “BC Bud”. Huge quantities of this powerful “BC Bud” are being smuggled into the US, and the Americans are putting pressure on the Canadian government to...

This year, the body of 17-year-old Jacob Bowers was found in a parking lot behind a furniture store in Cape Girardeau. He had been shot once in the back. The bullet went through his heart. A small quantity of cocaine was found in one of his pockets. He had also been carrying a two-shot derringer pistol. It was loaded. Both bullets were dented from the gun's hammer. Apparently, the pistol had misfired. Three days later, Bernard Richards, 19, was arrested and charged with Bowers' murder. The interesting thing about the case was the total absence of virtue. According to the...

The top objective of the U.S. Coast Guard's anti-terrorism strategy is to protect what's called the "U.S. Maritime Domain," including American ports. But it is hard to take seriously the idea that ports are being effectively protected when the Coast Guard spent more tax dollars last year fighting the war on drugs than has been spent in total on port security since Sept. 11, 2001. Since becoming part of the Department of Homeland Security in early 2003, the Coast Guard reports interdicting at sea some 340 tons of cocaine bound for the United States. For 2005 alone, it was 150...

GRANVILLE -- Marijuana is about as harmless as a cup of coffee but far less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, an advocate for changes in marijuana laws told a Denison University audience of about 200 Tuesday night. Allen F. St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, often used the alcohol analogy to make his points favoring general decriminalization of marijuana. St. Pierre, 40, drew a curious contrast between the friendly neighborhood bartender pouring a beer and "pushers" who sell marijuana. "There is no functional difference between a bartender and a drug dealer," he...