Daily Nexus, 26 Oct 2012 – With the approaching Presidential election in two weeks, I decided to devote this issue to the Presidential candidates and their assorted approaches on drug policy. After three debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney (in addition to three devastating debate drinking games), we’ve seen heated discourse on nearly every political subject but drug control policy. Also, for those who don’t know that there are more than two choices for President, I included Gary Johnson and Jill Stein in today’s drug discussion. To save you, my precious reader, time and effort I will now sarcastically outline each of the candidate’s positions on drug use, control and spending: Mitt Romney (Republican Party):

Sacramento News & Review, 25 Oct 2012 – Got all my plants in and trimmed. I had a really good harvest this year. What’s the best way to store all of this cannabis? – -Weed Is Not Zucchini No more than a quarter-inch stem. No lollipops. No crows feet. Huh, what? Well, hello, there. Me? Nothing. I’m just sitting at an undisclosed location in the Emerald Triangle, trimming until my arms fall off. As seasonal labor goes, I’d rather trim weed than pull live halibut from a fishing line.

DrugSense

Sonoma State Star, 23 Oct 2012 – Comedian Bill Maher brought his brand of humor to the Green Music Center Saturday night, keeping the mostly loose crowd roaring with his outspoken cultural commentary. The host of HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher" touched on all of his usual topics such as religion, healthcare, sex and education. But there is one subject that never fails to dominate Maher’s dialogue: Republicans.

The Orion, 22 Oct 2012 – Nobody chooses to become a drug addict. People succumb to dependency on prescription drugs for different reasons. It might start with a curiosity or a legitimate medical need. But eventually, the user may need the substance just to feel normal.

Redwood Times, 17 Oct 2012 – Dominic Corva is a public policy analyst from Sarah Lawrence College, in New York. He’s been here in Humboldt County recently to research the realities of how American drug laws are playing out in the Emerald Triangle – arguably the home front in our nation’s now defunct War on Drugs. Last Monday, Corva, who is the author of Requiem for CAMP: A Post-Mortem for a Drug War Institution, presented his findings to roughly 50 attendants in a lecture at HSU on the ways in which law enforcement efforts like CAMP have affected cannabis agriculture. While the threat of attention from law enforcement has had obvious impacts on the business of illicit farming – it also has had a direct impact on characteristics of the plants and gardens themselves.

The Chico News & Review, 18 Oct 2012 – Harvest season means many things in Northern California. You know what I’m talking about, but tell me this: As your in-town liberal neighbor, why in the name of respect do I have to be subject to your cultivation, harvesting and smoking of pot when that smell is so overpowering that I cannot even sit outside on my porch without being overwhelmed by the (to me) sickening sweet odor? Or not be able to enter a coffee shop or walk in the park without coming into contact with smokers? Cigarettes or pot, smoke is smoke, and I for one don’t want to be around either. What the heck, Chico people? In your pursuit of your own happiness, where is the respect for others?

Daily Nexus, 19 Oct 2012 – In the past 40 years, America has spent a lot of money fighting foreign wars. Vietnam, Iraq, Iraq again, Afghanistan and these wars obviously come with a considerable price tag. However, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss an often-overlooked battle that also puts a hefty dent in the federal budget: the War on Drugs.

The Daily Californian, 19 Oct 2012 – CITY AFFAIRS: The Courts Should Side With Oakland in Its Challenge Against the Federal Government’s Crackdown on Medical Marijuana. Oakland deserves to win its bold challenge to the federal government that authorities should not shut down medical marijuana dispensaries operating in full compliance with state law.

DrugSense