Carrying Cheese Causes Arrest

Yep. Carrying cheese can get you arrested. And if it is concealed carry? Well I'm sure that would only add to the suspicion.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- An enzyme found in cheese triggered false drug test results that led North Carolina deputies to think a man with 91 pounds of tortilla dough was actually carrying that much cocaine, the sheriff said.

Antonio Hernandez spent four days in an Asheville jail this month before tests by a state lab showed he was carrying food, not drugs.

A Buncombe County deputy stopped Hernandez on May 1 and found what turned out to be a mix of cheese, shrimp and tortilla and tamale dough in his truck. A portable kit used by deputies changed colors, indicating the mixture was illegal drugs.

The field tests are not very accurate. They are accurate enough to keep you in jail for four days though.

My friend Jeralyn at Talk Left has a bit on the subject.

The National Press Club in Washington, DC took on the aspect of a chemistry lab for a short while Tuesday afternoon as scientists and researchers sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project gave a startling demonstration of false positive drug test results obtained using some of the most widely used field testing kits employed by law enforcement to detect the presence of marijuana and other drugs.

As a lab-coated and rubber glove wearing researcher from the South Carolina Center for Biotechnology dumped a sample of oregano into a field test kit, Mintwood Media's Adam Eidinger produced a positive test result for cocaine with another kit simply by exposing it to the atmosphere. "This is just air," Eidinger said, opening up a test and waving it as the reagent turned orange, indicating a positive result.

"While testing the specificity of the KN Reagent test kits with 42 non-marijuana substances, I observed that 70% of these tests rendered a false positive," said Dr. Omar Bagasra, director of the Center for Biotechnology, who conducted the experiments.

The whole arrest deal is supposed to have a basis in probable cause. The standard has now been lowered to improbable cause. The below video is from the Talk Left post.



Here is the report mentioned in the video: False Positives, False Justice [pdf]

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Message In a Pee Bottle

Remember Pee Bottle and Bull Crap from the old cartoon series? Well they are at it again. (just my way of avoiding the subject)

Whenever I try to use a public restroom, everything freezes up!

No matter how badly I need to go, nothing happens if I'm not at home.

I can urinate when I'm alone at home, no problem. But if I'm away at a ball game, someone else's home, or wherever, or even if I'm at home and somebody's over visiting, I can't pee. This crazy problem has done nothing but interfere with my life!

These are but a few representative comments of people who experience bashful bladder syndrome (BBS), also referred to as bashful kidneys, pee-phobia, urophobia, psychogenic urinary retention and paruresis (the official clinical term). People with BBS are sometimes referred to as paruretics.

I have had the problem since I was two or three years old. Ask my mom. When the doctor required a sample I'd have to take it home because I couldn't make a donation at the office.

My son's college graduation was particularly painful. I had to hold it for 20 hours until I got to a safe private bathroom. How did I manage in the Navy? At the start at every new duty station I would use the head only after every one else was asleep. After a few months with the new gang I was a little less bashful. I got used to my surroundings and the people. It was the same at a new job - as a contractor I was changing them as often as every six months.

Well OK. Just another hard luck story. Who cares? Flopping Aces has a story up that bears on the subject. At least tangentially.

n effect, the Supreme Court ruled, Arizona is within its rights to require employers to check the citizenship status of workers through a government data base. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued Arizona over the law, maintaining that immigration enforcement is a purview of the federal government.

To which I responded:

So I can’t get a job unless I pee in a bottle and my name is favorably entered in a Federal data base. Swell. Just swell.

I can’t tell who I have more to fear from. The right or the left.

Which brings up the one and only time I tried a pee test. I went to the testers every other day for a week. Nothing doing. On the last day I tried I drank at least 2 gallons of water over a four hour period. My bladder was stretching a LOT ( I can usually drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee at a new job and hold it until I get home). It was stretching to the point of extreme pain. Nothing. I asked them to put a tube up me to get it out. Nothing doing - why take the risk of liability in a clinic situation for a $25 pee test? The math is not difficult. I gave up, went home, and released a flood. That was the last time I ever tried that. I didn't get the job. Despite the fact that they were desperate for help and I had already fixed two or three serious problems in the two weeks I was on site.

And remember, drug testing is a program that "protects" you from deranged dopers who are indistinguishable by their behavior from ordinary folk. Otherwise you wouldn't need a pee test to find out who they are.

Since there is no test for this condition then it is not a reason to avoid taking the pee test. So I can’t get a job in my field. Not to worry. I’m sucking as much as I can off the government tit until it gets fixed. Thank you for your support.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

A Mopping Up Operation

The the Drug War has helped spawn the TSA. The precedent on how to deal with contraband has been set. It is now going to be applied to everyone. Bet you weren't expecting that were you?

Oh yeah. It turns out that a dope case, Raich vs Gonzales, can be used to justify the mandates of ObamaCare.

Can agriculture be far behind. Not too far. After all they have precedent for banning some plants. Why not just expand the criteria a little. So almost every plant is included? Say all plants that can have any effect what so ever on commerce. Raich vs Gonzales again. A twofor.

There is nothing the Drug War can't do.

How long have people been peeing in a cup to get a job? With hardly a murmur except from libertarians and other crazies. The American people gave up their rights to the Drug War long ago. What you see at airports now is just a moping up operation.

The Drug War put the tools in their hands. Which was fine as long as they were only going after dopers. They now have precedent on their side. Swell. Just swell. You see once every one is under suspicion there are very few limits. Americans gave up their rights to get at the drug fiends. And well you know, fiends have it coming. What ever they get.

But "conservatives" sure had a good long run beating the crap out of the dopers didn't they? Beating the crap out of...... Uh. Oh.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Precious Bodily Fluids

Who would have thought that a satire, Dr. Strangelove, from forty-six years ago would be everyday reality so many years later. What do I mean? The government has a racket going on to test your bodily fluids for certain chemicals. And Americans submit. Willingly. To get at the dope fiends.

As Veeshir likes to say, "The funniest end of civilization ever."

Drug Testing Lowers High Tech Productivity

Commenter demian asked me a question about marijuana and productivity in high tech industry at my post Marijuana Is Safer Than Alcohol.

Which got me to look up a study done on the subject.

In a study of high tech industries, researchers found that "drug testing programs do not succeed in improving productivity. Surprisingly, companies adopting drug testing programs are found to exhibit lower levels of productivity than their counterparts that do not... Both pre-employment and random testing of workers are found to be associated with lower levels of productivity."

Source: Shepard, Edward M., and Thomas J. Clifton, Drug Testing and Labor Productivity: Estimates Applying a Production Function Model, Institute of Industrial Relations, Research Paper No. 18, Le Moyne University, Syracuse, NY (1998), p. 1.

Isn't that interesting. It might be useful to find out the why of the correlation. Is it because drug users are thankful for a job in a non-testing company and work harder? Or because drug use enhances high tech productivity? I incline to the latter explanation. With a little bit of the former mixed in. I have no proof except anecdotal.

Here is an anecdote.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The late astronomer and author, Carl Sagan was a secret but avid marijuana smoker, crediting it with inspiring essays and scientific insight, according to Sagan's biographer.

Using the pseudonym "Mr. X'', Sagan wrote about his pot smoking in an essay published in the 1971 book "Reconsidering Marijuana.'' The book's editor, Lester Grinspoon, recently disclosed the secret to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson.

I'd like to see more studies done. The question is who would fund them? Not the US Government which tends to avoid studies that might throw a positive light on drug use. And the drug testing industry is certainly not going to go for such a study. Why fund something that might knock your product? That doesn't leave many interested parties who have the cash to pay for the work.

Here is a page full of studies on the impact of drug testing. (same as the first link above)

Brain Dead Republican Enhances Party Image

And THIS abomination my friends is why the Republican party is in trouble. Big trouble.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk will call for legislation Monday that would toughen drug-trafficking laws regarding a highly potent form of marijuana, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison for a first-time offense.

The law would target offenders who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent.

… Drug dealers are increasingly cross-breeding plants to produce high-potency variants of marijuana, which are called “kush” in street slang when they have 20 percent THC, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said. “When you amplify the strength of it, you are increasing the harm to the system,” said Curran, who supports the legislation, which would amend a federal law. “They are more dangerous behind the wheel of a vehicle. It’s not a good idea to have people that messed up.”

Well that is a novel approach. You are not held responsible for how intoxicated you are but whether you got that way by serially downing six packs of beer or tumblers of whiskey.

Paul Armentano has some things to say about this. I'm going to start with the second of his points.

2) THC — regardless of potency — is virtually non-toxic to healthy cells or organs, and is incapable of causing a fatal overdose. Currently, doctors may legally prescribe a FDA-approved pill that contains 100 percent THC, and curiously, nobody among Rep. Kirk’s staff or at the Lake County Sheriff’s office seems to be overly concerned about its potential health effects.

3) Survey data gleaned from cannabis consumers in the Netherlands—where users may legally purchase pot of known quality—indicates that most cannabis consumers prefer less potent pot, just as the majority of those who drink alcohol prefer beer or wine rather than 190 proof Everclear or Bacardi 151. When consumers encounter unusually strong varieties of marijuana, they adjust their use accordingly and smoke less.

Of course, if Rep. Kirk (write him here!) was really concerned about potential risks posed by supposedly stronger marijuana, he would support regulating the sale of drug (as opposed to jailing first-time pot sellers for a quarter of a century) so that its potency would be consistent and this information would be publicly displayed to the consumer. This same advice applies to the members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and the Waukegan Police Department — who claim “we don’t make the laws; we just enforce them” — yet seem to have no problem whatsoever lobbying for increased federal pot penalties while on company time.

And this my friends is exactly what is wrong with the Republican party. The handwriting is on the wall relative to marijuana and the Dumb Republicans can't read it. I do know how it is with policies and parties though. It is like a real marriage. 'Til death do us part. Or defeat in an election. Whichever comes first.

H/T Drug Policy Forum of Texas

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Up And Down

The Drug Czar says that the current cocaine price spike shows progress in the War On Druggies. NPR reports on the story.

For the past few months, the federal government has been celebrating the fact that U.S. cities are experiencing "an unprecedented cocaine shortage" due to increased law enforcement in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Great news for prohibitionists. They are finally starting to defeat the drug market. Something I said they would never do. I guess I'll have a big dish of crow.

But wait. NPR did some fact checking. What did they find?

But fact-checking by NPR reveals that while there are indeed spot shortages of cocaine, they are neither nationwide nor unprecedented. And the scarcity may have unintended consequences.

The price of cocaine is one of the main ways the government tallies the score in its war on drugs. The reasoning is that if prices go up, it means that agents are winning — they're squeezing the supply. For the past three months, the federal government has been reporting that its counter-drug strategy has created an unprecedented nationwide cocaine shortage.

I think we are going to need some details before we buy into some anecdotes by NPR.

Walters said reports indicate that these interdictions have choked the cocaine supply in 37 cities across the country. The list included 15 major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids, Mich., Walters said.

NPR contacted the police departments in each of those 37 cities to find out what narcotics commanders had to say about the reported cocaine shortage.

The results suggest how difficult it is for law enforcement to create any long-term disruption in retail sales in America, which is the largest cocaine market in the world.

And they tend to confirm long-established trends: that price spikes are transitory, and that over time, dealers find other distribution routes, while users may find other drugs.

Ten of the 37 cities confirmed that the cocaine scarcity is real. Among them were the largest cocaine markets in the nation, such as New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Francisco.

Lt. Daniel Simfer, commander of the vice/narcotics unit in the St. Louis Police Department, said, "In the last six months it has become less available than it was at the beginning of the year. The price has increased accordingly probably by about a third."

Four cities declined to respond to questions about the local cocaine supply; five said there was simply no shortage.

The question brought laughter from Sgt. Roger Johnson of the Detroit Police Department.

"No, we don't have a problem finding it at all," Johnson said.

In Pittsburgh, Commander Sheryl Doubt of the Pittsburgh Police Department said, "I spoke to my detectives out there in the streets making buys, and we all kind of agreed that if there's a shortage here in Pittsburgh, we are not aware of it and don't find that necessarily to be true."

The Drug Czar lying to us? How can that be? He is an honorable man and a public servant. I mean if you can't trust public servants what is he world coming to? A former budget control director in the Czar's office tells us.

John Carnevale is a former budget director in the drug-control office who served under four former drug czars. He says the office had the Rand Corporation analyze long-term cocaine price trends.

Of the findings, Carnevale said, "One, the long-term trend adjusted for purity has been one of decline. It just keeps coming down and coming down. Two, there's been occasional moments where we've seen spikes in cocaine prices, and they may last three months, four months, five months — but eventually the trend continues to decline."

And fleeting price spikes, Carnevale said, did not meaningfully affect demand — another point where he differs with the drug czar.

So we have a short term upward spike in a long term downward trend.

Well the Drug Czar tells us that after examining the bodily fluids of hundreds of thousands of Americans he has proof of progress that can't be denied.

Further proof of the cocaine shortage, Walters says, is that the nation's largest workplace drug-testing company has observed a 16 percent decline in positive cocaine drug tests during the first half of 2007.

But in an interview, a scientist from that company, Quest Diagnostics, said that during the same period, the company also noticed a nearly 7 percent uptick in methamphetamine detection.

That phenomenon shows the nature of addiction, several police officials said. To the extent there is, or was, a cocaine shortage, they have seen regular users turn to meth, heroin, prescription drugs, and high-potency marijuana. In other words, enforcement had not appeared to curtail demand — one of the chief aims of the war on drugs.

"The truth is, we see addicts getting drugs even in the worst times," said Sgt. Sutherland of the Washington, D.C., police. "When it's really hard to get it, they'll do just about anything to get some kind of drugs."

So drug users are switching from coke to meth and heroin. I'd call that real progress. For sure.

The USA Today has noted another positive aspect of the crackdown.

In Cleveland, police noted a contraction in drug markets in January. Homicides are up as local drug organizations vie for the shrinking cocaine supply, says Mayor Frank Jackson, who lauds a six-city, federally led task force for cracking down on local traffickers.

Isn't that special. Fewer drugs more murders. I'm sure that city life has improved because of it.

Mayor Jackson had some further comments on the effectiveness of the crack down.

"Interdiction isn't the cure-all. The police cannot solve this problem. It's one leg on the stool."

There is more than enough evidence that the stool is beginning to stink. It is well past flushing time. The unfortunate thing is that there is a lot of money supporting this stool. In other words the toilet is backed up and the overflow is making the whole house stink. Of course this is America and we are getting all the house we paid for.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Testing

Did you know that your soap can test positive for contraband by some field drug test kits?

Don Bolles, drummer for the legendary punk band the Germs, was going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Cat Scandal, after picking her up for "a day off" from drug rehab, on April 4, when they were pulled over in a traffic stop by Newport Beach Police. During a search of the vehicle -- to which Bolles unwisely consented -- police found a bottle of peppermint Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. According to a police field drug test, the soap contained GHB (gamma hydroxyl butyrate), a so-called date rape drug illegal under state and federal law.

It turns out that the police gave Bolles a tour of Orange County jails before releasing him after 3 1/2 days in the system. A better test verified no drugs in the soap. All charges were dropped.

The field test was performed by a kit manufactured by Armor Forensics/ODV called the Narcopouch 928. Armor Forensics/ODV did not respond to calls from the Chronicle about the false positives reported by its product. One man at ODV who refused to identify himself said only that he could not comment because of possible legal action.

The Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association did not respond to Chronicle queries about accuracy standards within the industry. In the group's defense, however, it should be noted that they were all out of the office this week attending a national drug testing industry convention.

The Newport Beach Police Department did not respond to calls from the Chronicle about the accuracy of the GHB field test.

There are no standards for field drug tests.

"The testing of substances for drugs is basically unregulated," Kevin Zeese, a prominent long-time drug reformer and political activist with expertise in the intersection of law and drug testing. "If it were the feds, the DEA would set the standards, but at the local level, it's state and local police who make the decisions. This all takes place within the criminal justice system; there is no regulation by the FDA or any other agency apart from law enforcement agencies," he told the Chronicle.

"There have been lots of cases of these sorts of tests not being accurate and causing problems, so this is not surprising," said Zeese. "Now, the local police are going to have to do something to correct their standards so they don't falsely accuse people. If they don't, this kind of thing ends up being regulated by the courts."

It is not just Dr. Bronners.

At least four other soaps have resulted in false positives in the Narcopouch 928 GHB test kit, including Neutrogena and Tom's of Maine. "We are testing more products and videotaping those tests. Products from Johnson & Johnson and Palmolive are testing positive, so we'll go to the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrances Association, show them these products are testing positive, and then work through them to explore options for addressing the situation with these field drug test kits. Ideally, we could force a product recall, but we need at least a disclaimer if this product is going to continue to be sold. If they don't know soap tests positive, what else don't they know?"

Evidently the IVth Amendment no longer means what it used to. A series of excessive searches for contraband caused the founders to enact the prohibition against unreasonable searches. Why does that sound familiar? We now have a drug war contraband exception to the IVth Amendment.

Cross Posted at Classical Values and at The Astute Bloggers

Origins of the Fourth Amendment

This article was originally published in a number of places in May of 2001. It is still relevant so I'm republishing it here.

-------------

I'd like to talk today a little about the origins and meaning of the Fourth Amendment. First off what is the Fourth Amendment?

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The meaning seems clear but I think it will become clearer if we look a little deeper into American history. The first point is that John Hancock before he became a signer of the Declaration of Independence was a smuggler. He had a famous run in with Crown officers in 1768 when his sloop the Liberty refused to pay the tax on some Madeira wine.

Now we know that there was strong sentiment in some corners of 18th century America in favor of smugglers. And we know that the people were continually harassed with open warrants and general searches. Revenue officers could target people on the merest suspicion or target their enemies with no cause whatever. Often there would be dragnets where the usual suspects would be rounded up for interrogations and searches. All in the name of collecting taxes and controlling contraband.

Now let us look at modern day America and the rights the Supreme court has declared we have left as opposed to those the founders gave us.

Where are we? The Drug War exception to the Fourth Amendment couldn't be larger. And let us be clear about this. The drugs for the most part are smuggled goods. So lets start with the biggest hole the drug profile or indicators as the police like to say these days. What do the police need to start a drug case against you? Do they have to see you with the drugs? Do they need to see you exchange money for drugs? No. You just need to 'look' like someone who in the opinion of the officer might do those things. You need only fit a profile or match a few indicators.

Lets look at a few of these specific indicators when it comes to the vehicle you are driving and get an idea of how specific they are:

Exterior Indicators to look for:

1. Large or late model cars with large trunks - GM most popular. a. Intermediate size also used. b. Occasionally a smaller car will be involved. 2. Older car in top running condition. 3. Vans and pickup trucks with camper tops also commonly used.

So now that the drug courier vehicle type is so clearly defined ( just about any car on the road ). Lets see what kind of driver they are looking for.

12. Driving habits often result in the courier being stopped for a routine violation a. Speeding up and slowing down b. Scrupulous obedience to traffic laws - overly cautious c. Erratic driving due to drug or alcohol use d. Many drive straight through and take drugs to stay awake e. Take a long time to pull over

So following the law or not following the law are grounds for a drug search. That sure gives you a lot of choices.

If you want to know more about how to avoid attracting unnecessary suspicion may I suggest you visit Drug Courier Profile Indicators

And the site that alerted me to the above site.

So from the above examples we see what is happening is that the limits on government are being eliminated to solve a smuggling problem. The very problem the writers of the Fourth Amendment experienced in their own lives and therefore anticipated.

If you should meet any of the so-called Supreme Court strict constructionists who have weakened the Fourth Amendment in their zeal to collect contraband tell them they are in error.

Tell them to read about John Hancock and the sloop Liberty.

Update: 25 October 2009 1207z

Here is a list of books that touch on the Drug War and the Fourth Amendment:

The Drug War and The Fourth Amendment

Cross Posted at Classical Values