How to make money in Second Life: First, write a book about Second Life...

Few things anger and frustrate me about our government today than the war on drugs, especially the war on cannabis. It is a complete failure of policy built on demagoguery, propaganda and outright lies. Much of the poisonous rhetoric and routine constitutional violations we have today in the war on terror was pioneered by the war on drugs.

Unfortunately, elected officials for the most part are too chickenshit to touch drug policy issues in general with a ten foot pole, unless it's to ratchet up already insane mandatory minimum sentences for minor drug crimes. Most progress that has been made (such as the California system) happened through public referendums. Inexplicably, even when there is demonstrated widespread support through such efforts, politicians refused to legislate rational policy where marijuana is concerned.

Having campaigned for drug policy reform as part of a campus-based drug policy reform organization, I do have to agree with Kyle that the great majority of people working for marijuana legalization are motivated simply by the desire to enjoy a good smoke without being hassled by the police. Medical marijuana is an attempt to get the camel's nose into the tent and force a dialog that should lead to relaxation of marijuana laws and ultimately decriminalization and legalization. The reasoning, of course, is to try and shame politicians into acting by presenting the stark choice of a cancer patient being denied a medicine that eases their suffering.

Of course, most politicians have no shame.