Happy...

[patric]

Yeah, I don't see this as a left-independent-right issue though everything tends to get thrown into the blender and separated into oil, fiber and water. As Conan writes this is an economic issue. We continue mj prohibition and we'll keep getting the same results as alcohol prohibition did.

But that's the desired result for those who are profiting from it.

[Teatownclown]

[patric]

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday limited the ability of police to use a trained dog to sniff around the outside of a home for illegal drugs that might be inside.
By a 5-4 vote, the court said the use by law enforcement authorities of trained police dogs to investigate a home and its immediate surroundings was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and required a warrant.

"A police officer not armed with a warrant may approach a home and knock, precisely because that is no more than any private citizen might do," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority.
"But introducing a trained police dog to explore the area around the home in hopes of discovering incriminating evidence is something else," he added. "There is no customary invitation to do that."

[heironymouspasparagus]

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday limited the ability of police to use a trained dog to sniff around the outside of a home for illegal drugs that might be inside.
By a 5-4 vote, the court said the use by law enforcement authorities of trained police dogs to investigate a home and its immediate surroundings was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and required a warrant.

"A police officer not armed with a warrant may approach a home and knock, precisely because that is no more than any private citizen might do," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority.
"But introducing a trained police dog to explore the area around the home in hopes of discovering incriminating evidence is something else," he added. "There is no customary invitation to do that."

It is not often that I am truly surprised - but that did it....

[Vashta Nerada]

It is not often that I am truly surprised - but that did it....

It should not be much of a stretch to apply the same civil rights guarantees to the outside of a parked car (including one parked in your own driveway) but apparently it is.  Searching with an instrument, whether it's a trained dog or something mechanical, is still a search.

[Vashta Nerada]

Illinois on Friday took one more big step toward becoming the 19th state to legalize medical marijuana.

The state Senate voted 35-21 in favor of the bill early Friday afternoon, despite concerns expressed by some opposing lawmakers -- particularly Republican state Sen. Kyle McCarter -- that marijuana is a "gateway drug" to usage of other, more dangerous drugs.

But the bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Bill Haine, an Alton Democrat, emphasized that the bill "is filled with walls" to ensure the public's safety, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The bill was approved last week by the Senate Executive Committee and was already OKed by the state House. The proposal next needs the signature of Gov. Pat Quinn, who previously said he is "open-minded" about it.

The legislation would establish a four-year pilot program during which individuals with serious diseases including cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis would be able to get a special ID card allowing them to buy limited amounts -- up to two-and-a-half ounces -- of medical marijuana from one of 60 state-licensed dispensaries.

The bill, described by proponents as "model legislation" for other states to follow, is said to have the tightest regulation of any medical marijuana law currently on the books anywhere in the nation. A coalition of nearly 250 physicians previously came forward and gave a thumbs up to the proposal, as did Illinois Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon.