Obama taps Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske for Drug Czar

who favors legalizing everything?

and billions of utterly wasted "war on drugs" dollars, and MANY other costs of surveilling, investigating, prosecuting, trying and jailing people for non-violent so-called crimes, like drug possession/sale and prostitution, and creating a fascist culture of "us and them" in police forces.

But it's a war profiteer/police-state boondoggle, and therefore extremely hard to challenge. Oh, Lordy, how I wish somebody in authority would.

outspoken advocate for de-criminalization.

I'm skeptical.

and taxing this huge crop, to relieve the budget problems).

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5031603

It's something we need to think about, and educate people about, and agitate about, as a country--the immensely wasteful, failed "war on drugs."

...and I'm cool with it.

If what y'all are sayying about his position on legalization is true, then I'm waaaaay cool with it.

chief then who was a decent person and resigned shortly thereafter. but, i don't care for gil myself. it seems the seattle pd has gotten away with a lot of shit on his watch, including doing nothing as a young man died at mardi gras.

Can't quite recall.

and he is quite vocal about legalizing drugs. despite what happened during wto, we have always liked him and were sad to see him go. out of all seattle officials at the time, he seemed the most honorable and took responsibility for his part of the battle.

I liked Norm too. Not many police officials are willing to step up and take the responsibility when things go wrong. I, too, was sad to see him go.

I applaud the Obama Admin's choice of Gil Kerlikowske to head up the ONDCP. Kerlikowske has shown a respect for the will of Seattle voters who passed I-75, making simple possession of marijuana lowest police priority. The SPD's measured treatment of the attendees at Hempfest further demonstrates that Kerlikowske is not part of the old guard "lock 'em up" mindset that has filled America's jails and prisons with non-violent drug offenders. Perhaps we will now get a rationale, humanitarian science based drug policy. The tremendous harm to society that the current policies have created are by far more damaging than the the social problems produced by addiction and abuse. Entire generations of sub-culture have had all of their respect for the rule of law undermined by clearly unjust, draconian, and in some instances Orwellian policies. Thank God indeed.


The previous chief of police in Seattle was absolutely amazing so Kerlikowse had big shoes to fill. He has done very well because he is down to earth and has good common sense and balance.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/02/president-oba-6.html


Reports have surfaced that Seattle police chief, Gil Kerlikowske has been tapped for a job in the Obama administration, most likely as the administration’s new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commonly known as the “drug czar.” But unlike past leaders in the “War on Drugs,” Kerlikowske is outspokenly lenient on the enforcement of marijuana possession laws - at least so far - with local supporters of medical marijuana laws very pleased with the choice.

The appointment comes after proponents of decriminalization and legalization of marijuana hounded the Obama administration’s transition Website, Change.gov with questions concerning marijuana laws, and openly objected to the vague and dismissive answers they received. This in turn prompted many in the movement to question the President’s commitment to revamping the drug laws, as he’d previously promised.

So does this appointment hint at changes-to-come in our nation’s drug laws, or is it just a bone thrown to the marijuana movement to shut them up?
http://coedmagazine.com/2009/02/11/did-obama-pick-a-pot-friendly-drug-czar/


“Oh God bless us,” said Joanna McKee, co-founder and director of Green Cross Patient Co-Op, a medical-marijuana patient-advocacy group. “What a blessing — the karma gods are smiling on the whole country, man.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008731191_kerlikowske11m.html

look promising...

I hope he has enough Oxycontin to dull the pain after not getting the position of Drug czar.

So he could make Oxycontin an over-the-counter drug, and wouldn't have to doctor shop, or send his housekeeper out to the street anymore.

If we have to have one, Kerlikowske is a good choice.

http://horsesass.org/?p=12580

According to both local and White House sources, President Barack Obama will nominate Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy—a cabinet-level position commonly referred to as the Drug Czar—an appointment that could signal a substantive departure from our nation’s current marijuana-focused, interdiction-heavy drug policy, and a more realistic and progressive approach toward the issue of drug abuse in general.

Within the context of career law enforcement professionals, I think it safe to label Kerlikowske a “progressive.” During his ten-years at the helm of the Seattle Police Department and his current term as president of the Major Chiefs Association, Kerlikowske has been a vocal advocate for gun control and community policing, while serving as a prominent critic of the use of intrusive data mining techniques as a tool for combating domestic terrorism. But while he hasn’t been particularly outspoken on drug control policy, Kerlikowske’s relative silence is encouraging in itself, considering the progressive mores and statutes of the city whose laws he has enforced for the past decade.

While Kerlikowske opposed a 2003 citizens initiative making marijuana in Seattle a “low priority crime,” calling the measure vague and confusing (and… well… most initiatives are), he emphasized to local reporters at the time that marijuana possession and use already was a low priority, and in fact, Seattle’s already low marijuana prosecution rate has dropped even further since the measure’s passage, indicating a responsiveness to the will of the voters. Indeed, local drug reform advocates seem downright ecstatic about Kerlikowske’s appointment:

I was expecting Obama to pick a drug warrior.

:smoke:

Almost anyone would be better than John Walters:puke:

:thumbsup:

I found an interesting bit here.



I didn't read the whole article and it doesn't seem that Kerlikowske himself discusses the program, but I assume he must have signed off on it at least.