According to the New York Times, Cindy McCain, wife of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, drives a car with vanity license plates reading, "MS BUD." "Bud," of course, is common slang for marijuana, so where are the howls of outrage from the Drug Free America Foundation and ONDCP? How dare the wife of a presidential candidate promote drug use?!?!? Oh wait. Mrs. McCain owns a beer distributorship. The "Bud" involved is Budweiser, and that's a "good" drug, so all we get are amused…

In a refreshing, though no doubt unintended, bit of honesty, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy seems to be acknowledging that alcohol is the true "gateway drug." In a June 26 post on ONDCP's blog, the federal drug warriors proclaim, "More than 67 percent of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug. Children who drink are over 7 times more likely to use any illicit drug, are over 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely…

In the wake of repeated reports of alcohol-fueled cases of "air rage," the Denver-based Safer Alternatives For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) has a novel solution: Allow marijuana use in airport smoking lounges. It may seem like a silly idea, but SAFER is making a serious point. Alcohol is a proven cause of reckless and violent behavior, while marijuana tends to have the precise opposite effect. If air travelers substituted marijuana for booze, it's entirely plausible that air rage incidents would…