Two days after our latest encounter with Gov. Romney, CNN's camera captured medical marijuana patient Clayton Holton asking Romney if he should be arrested for taking the only medicine that keeps him alive.

 

This took place following an "Ask Mitt Anything" event in Dover, Oct. 6.

For those of you who don't already know, Arnie Arnesen hosts a television show called Political Chowder. If you want to be in the know about New Hampshire politics, it's a must-watch.

 

On Sept. 25, Arnie and I had a fascinating conversation about (of all things) drug policy and the War on Terror. Click here to hear the audio from her radio show, Chowder in the Morning.

 

Bill Maher asked Chris Dodd a great question on Slate's Candidate Mashup Sept. 12. And Dodd gave what I thought was a surprisingly great answer.

 

Now when we see Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John Edwards, we can ask them if they agree with Senator Dodd, and if not, why not? Eventually, the top-tier candidates will have to talk about this issue whether they like it or not. Kudos to Senator Dodd for having the courage to take this sane and reasonable position.

 

Bill Maher: Sen. Dodd, between illnesses, accidents, homicides, and suicides, it's been estimated that America suffers roughly 100,000 alcohol-related deaths per year. Marijuana kills virtually no one, and yet, it is such a third rail in American politics to suggest we stop persecuting the people who wish to use this more-benign but no-less-mood-altering and no-more-of-a-gateway drug. Can you give me a good reason why, in a free and fair society, marijuana should be illegal?

 

Dodd: Well, Bill, I've taken the position, certainly with medical use of marijuana, that it ought to be allowed. And many states, I think 12 or 13 states allow that today. In fact, we just had a huge debate in the committee in which I serve dealing with the issue. And I've strongly advocated that these states not be biased or prejudiced because they allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. And again, the overall of general of allowing the decriminalization, I strongly advocate as well. We're cluttering up our prisons, frankly, when we draw distinctions. And let me go beyond marijuana here in terms of crack cocaine or powder cocaine, where we have differentials in prison sentences here. So I would decriminalize, or certainly advocate as president, the decriminalization of statutes that would incarcerate or severely penalize people for using marijuana. But I want to be careful, and I know there are a lot of people across the political spectrum who would just totally legalize it. I don't go that far. But certainly in the areas I've mentioned to you here, I think, certainly, are steps that move in that direction.

NY Times science columnist John Tierney synopsizes two great drug war articles for his wide audience.

We were pleasantly surprised to see this excellent commentary in the New Hampshire Union-Leader. Ronald Fraser of the Washington-based DKT Liberty Project tells us marijuana is the #2 cash crop in NH, and what that means (or could mean) for the state.

Jacob Sullum of Reason dissects this encounter between Matt Simon and Gov. Romney at an "Ask Mitt Anything" event in Bedford, NH July 25.

This Bloomberg.com article nicely captures the absurdity of the federal ban on industrial hemp farming. Very good journalism.

Yet another excellent article from Tony Newman, communications director of the Drug Policy Alliance:

 

"The major difference between substance abuse and other addictions that afflict us is that our legal system treats people with drug addictions as criminals who deserve incarceration. Why does it make any more sense to lock up someone with a drug problem than it would to lock up someone with an unhealthy eating disorder?"

 

I liked this article so much I read some of Newman's blog archives. --Matt

This article for the Huffington Post was written by Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Alliance.

From the Concord Monitor...