Thursday, June 25, 2009
Chow / Drugs Operation Fortune Cookie
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Incredibly, police in Colorado busted a pot garden—farm? plantation?—with 24,000 marijuana plants. Will the big bust eliminate our nation's steady supply of pot? Don't be ridiculous. But it might cut the supply of presidential snacks.
Even more incredible was the identity of the supposed ringleader: Dan Tang, a well-connected campaign donor and restaurateur whose Chinese restaurant in Thornton, Heaven Dragon, was the frequent site of political fundraisers and had served mayors, senators, district attorneys and governors. In fact, on three visits to Colorado during his presidency, George W. Bush had asked that Tang personally deliver his Peking duck, crispy shrimp and other signature dishes.
Maybe tough-on-druuuugz Republicans will realize that other Republicans are making a shit-ton of cash growing pot and push the party to support regulating the pot market. I mean, if they do the math on the how much they could make off 24,000 pot plants that each produce $100 or more profit margin (it only takes three or four months to grow them), they might give up the drug war business altogether.
Also, you might think the headline—Operation Fortune Cookie—is some terribly racist joke I made up—nope. That was actually what police called their investigation.
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2
When the first President George Bush left office, there was a similar string of large-scale grow and distribution operation busts with one degree of separation from the Bush White House.
3
It's not racist to make reference to fortune cookies when the subject of your investigation owns and runs a Chinese restaurant that serves fortune cookies. Regardless of their origins, fortune cookies are one of the most iconic elements of Chinese food in America. This is no more racist than an investigation of Bill Gates being called Operation Blue Screen.
4
The Reds won't stop cracking down - they make too much money from the police and prisons and industries related to them. Plus the tough-on-crime lies help them keep people from realizing their policies are insane.
5
Repubs will never agree to end "The War On Drugs" (tm), for the simple reason that, if marijuana were legalized for example, it would be very impractical for their buddies in the Pharma or Big-Ag industries to get in on the action, since everybody and their kid sister would most likely be able to grow enough on their own (or in small coop-style arrangements) to cover their personal use.
The only way they could make it profitable would be to slip a provision into a legalization bill restricting cultivation to large-scale factory farms, which would essentially be a deal-killer so far as the personal grow/consumption faction (which probably represent 99% of pot-smokers) would be concerned.
The only way they could make it profitable would be to slip a provision into a legalization bill restricting cultivation to large-scale factory farms, which would essentially be a deal-killer so far as the personal grow/consumption faction (which probably represent 99% of pot-smokers) would be concerned.
6
Three points:
1: If they know what they are doing, you are waaaay low balling the margin.
2: The war on drugs isn't a repub issue. Many a democrat has voted for ridiculous mandatory minimums and ongoing funding of the "prison-industrial" system. For the record, the biggest, baddest conservative of them all--William Fucking Buckley--was publicly in favor of legalization of all drugs.
3: Why does everyone assume that it will be legal to grow your own? Try setting up a still to make your own whiskey in your backyard--the ATF will be paying you a visit.
1: If they know what they are doing, you are waaaay low balling the margin.
2: The war on drugs isn't a repub issue. Many a democrat has voted for ridiculous mandatory minimums and ongoing funding of the "prison-industrial" system. For the record, the biggest, baddest conservative of them all--William Fucking Buckley--was publicly in favor of legalization of all drugs.
3: Why does everyone assume that it will be legal to grow your own? Try setting up a still to make your own whiskey in your backyard--the ATF will be paying you a visit.
7
Given the bust in this story, the KUOW story and others like the raids and arrests of medical/medicinal marijuana outlets in California, the feds make it seem as if marijuana is one of the worst substances. It is on the highest Schedule 1 list, with cocaine and heroin, after all. And yet, a recent job posting with the DOJ for an attorney position in the DEA, appears to put marijuana in a different class. In the Application Procedure section of the post, is this:
BEGIN: Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.
Compliance with this policy is an essential requirement of the position. All applicants must complete the DEA Drug Questionnaire and submit that Questionnaire with their application package. A copy of the drug questionnaire can be located at http://www.dea.gov/, under “Careers at DEA”. The link to the questionnaire is located in the first paragraph on the page. END.
Putting aside pesky details, (and there are so many), such as the fact that there is no legal definition of “dangerous drugs” or that places in California were dealing with something “medically prescribed,” it would seem that the DOJ/DEA have decided that some “policy exceptions” exist where marijuana is concerned. Somewhere in the infamous War on Drugs, pot “may be” a lesser evil than others on the Schedule 1 list. This, of course, begs the question: why is it there? Also, I have to imagine that the people involved in these arrests would love to know when or where such “exceptions” to DEA policy can be found…..
More...
BEGIN: Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of marijuana. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.
Compliance with this policy is an essential requirement of the position. All applicants must complete the DEA Drug Questionnaire and submit that Questionnaire with their application package. A copy of the drug questionnaire can be located at http://www.dea.gov/, under “Careers at DEA”. The link to the questionnaire is located in the first paragraph on the page. END.
Putting aside pesky details, (and there are so many), such as the fact that there is no legal definition of “dangerous drugs” or that places in California were dealing with something “medically prescribed,” it would seem that the DOJ/DEA have decided that some “policy exceptions” exist where marijuana is concerned. Somewhere in the infamous War on Drugs, pot “may be” a lesser evil than others on the Schedule 1 list. This, of course, begs the question: why is it there? Also, I have to imagine that the people involved in these arrests would love to know when or where such “exceptions” to DEA policy can be found…..
8
My comment, which may or may not show up on VVM/NewTimes "Westword" pages:
What an amazingly biased article. Marijuana is such a non-problem in terms of recreational intoxicants. Safer than alcohol, natural, and with proven medicinal qualities. The only problem stems from it's current 'illegal' status. The fact that Westword says nothing regarding the supreme WASTE of MONEY that such investigations and busts represent, and the possibility of increased state tax revenue from legalization is a shameful ommission. And all this for what end? A minor dent in the supply of pot? Prohibition didn't work in the early part of last century, and it's not working now. Yet Westword continues to play the patsy, pretending that it is a valid use of police resources to 'bust' such consensual "crimes" that result in no property damage, and no victims. You are working against freedom, truly, with your biased reporting and your unquestioned assumptions. Step up your game, "New Times", you've really fallen far from your agitational roots.
9
The government has no reason to legalize drugs, cause if we were to we would be supplying china one of the biggest exporters of cannabis, an opium with a large amount of money. The government is worried that if they'll legalize such drugs the american people will purchase cheaper product from china rather than homebought. Think about it drugs in America didn't start till vietnam. Do your history an research an you'll see that most all illegall drugs start an started in Asia.
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