This morning I received an e-mail from Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), a group that I have been supportive of since my college days. SSDP writes:

“Earlier this month, Derek Copp, a Michigan college student, heard a noise at the back door of his apartment. As he went to investigate, his eyes were blinded by a flashlight and a gunshot rang out. The next think he knew, he was in a hospital fighting for his life.

“The intruders were police. They had a warrant for drugs, but all they found was “a few tablespoons” of marijuana. Derek had no weapons.”

“Thankfully, the bullet that tore through Derek’s lungs and liver didn’t take his life. And every day since that incident, local Students for Sensible Drug Policy members have been standing up for Derek and opposing the polices that made this shooting possible.”

This story is no surprise to those of us who have been following the consequences of the failed War on Drugs.  You’ll recall the most shocking story in recent drug war memory — that of Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old grandmother whose home was entered by Atlanta police officers in 2006.

According to Reason contributor Radley Balko:

“They had earlier arrested a man with a long rap sheet on drug charges. That man told the police officers that they’d find a large stash of cocaine in Johnston’s home. When police forced their way into Johnston’s home, she met them holding a rusty old revolver, fearing she was about to be robbed. The police opened fire, and killed her.”

After the officers shot Johnston, they left her handcuffed on the floor while she bled to death and then planted marijuana from their patrol car in her basement to try to help justify the shooting.

Mr. Copp is lucky to have his life, but when will this insanity end?

According to a new report from the Pew Center, a record 7.3 million people — or one in every 31 American adults — were behind bars, on probation, or on parole at the beginning of 2008.  Of these 7.3 million people, an astounding 2.3 million are actually in prison or jail.  That’s 1 in every 99 adults.

According to the report, black adults are four times as likely as whites and nearly 2.5 times as likely as Hispanics to be under correctional control. Ending the drug war in entirety would solve these problems and redirect our country’s limited resources toward more productive measures like — shock! — paying off the national debt.

RLC National Committee member Terry Nelson, a veteran law enforcement officer whose career has spanned three decades, recently testified before the El Paso City Council in Texas. Nelson, a speaker with Law Enforcement Officers Against Prohibition, is convinced the War on Drugs is a failed policy.

In January, El Paso’s City Council unanimously voted to call for an open debate on ending drug prohibition; however, the mayor vetoed the resolution. The City Council responded by calling for an override of the veto. Unfortunately, the Mayor’s veto was upheld; four of the eight council members who originally supported the resolution reversed their votes under significant federal pressure that threatened state and federal funding.

Mr. Nelson’s service includes the U.S. Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. Below is his testimony.

The following is a release from Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.  We hope you’re able to help Michael.

“By now you’re probably aware that Olympic hero Michael Phelps was photographed lighting an orphanage on fire, and has now been suspended from competing and is getting dropped by a major sponsor.

Oh, wait. Actually, he was photographed lighting marijuana on fire, not an orphanage.

Smoking marijuana is hardly unusual behavior for a 23 year old. In fact, Phelps is being crucified for something that more than half the adult American population has done at some point in their lives.

Yet, Phelps is facing suspension from competing in the Olympics and Kellogg’s cereal has decided to drop their sponsorship of the athlete, claiming “Michael’s most recent behavior is not consistent with the image of Kellogg.”

Kellogg’s needs to hear from the public that their decision will hurt their company far more than Phelps’s marijuana use. Please contact Kellogg’s today and tell them that you will boycott all of their products until they reverse their decision on Phelps’s sponsorship (you can find a list of Kellogg’s products at the bottom of this e-mail). You can contact Kellogg’s by clicking here.

Just cut and paste the following message into the webform on the Kellogg’s website (or edit it if you like):

I am deeply disappointed by your decision to drop your sponsorship of Michael Phelps simply because he was photographed smoking marijuana.

Over half of all adult Americans, including our last three presidents, have smoked marijuana during their lives. It is outrageous that Kellogg’s would hold Michael Phelps to such an unreasonable standard, rather than standing by a 23 year old who has brought more inspiration and joy to millions of Americans than most will accomplish in a lifetime.

Until you reverse your decision to drop Michael Phelps’ sponsorship, I will be boycotting all Kellogg’s products.

Meanwhile, USA Swimming, the governing body of American swimming events, has suspended Phelps for three months for his use of marijuana. While this will not cause him to miss any major competitions, he still faces a potential four-year suspension from the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency. You can contact USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus at 719.866.3579 or via e-mail.

On December 1, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a landmark decision in which California state courts found that its medical marijuana law was not preempted by federal law.

According to The Las Angeles Times, Garden Grove, California police pulled over Felix Kha in June 2005 for a traffic violation and found him in possession of one-third of an ounce of marijuana.

Lawyers for Garden Grove argued that California law didn’t contain a specific provision for the return of medical marijuana, and contended that to return the drugs would have violated federal law.

However, the Supreme Court put Garden Grove’s case to rest by not hearing the case.

According to an attorney for Americans for Safe Access, “There will be hundreds, if not thousands of patients who will no longer be subject to the confiscation of their medicine.” The attorney said that California, one of 13 states that had declared medical marijuana to be legal, has as many as 300,000 valid medical marijuana patients.

“This should send a message to the federal government that it’s time to establish a compassionate policy more consistent with the 13 states that have adopted medical marijuana laws,” another advocate said.

A police SWAT team raided the home of the mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, last week. The SWAT team shot and killed his two dogs after the Mayor, Cheye Calvo, brought in a 32-pound package of marijuana that had been delivered to his doorstep, according to The Washington Post.

“My government blew through my doors and killed my dogs,” Calvo said. “They thought we were drug dealers, and we were treated as such. I don’t think they really ever considered that we weren’t.”

Calvo described a chaotic scene, in which he — wearing only underwear and socks — and his mother-in-law were handcuffed and interrogated for hours. They were surrounded by the dogs’ carcasses and pools of the dogs’ blood, Calvo said. Calvo said that he did not know how the drugs wound up on his doorstep.

He works part time as the mayor and serves as director of expansion for the SEED Foundation, a well-known national nonprofit group that runs urban public boarding schools.

Police shot the Mayor’s 7-year-old black Labrador retriever, Payton, near the front door and then his 4-year-old dog, Chase, also a black Lab, as the dog ran into a back room.

Most of the citizens in Berwyn Heights were shocked to hear the news. The community of 3,000 is rallying around its mayor and forever fearing its abusive government and their ridiculous War on Drugs.

The Mayor and his wife, with Chase and Payton.