The 9/11 reference makes more sense if you've read "when none dare urge restraint." It's about how people constantly said we should be stronger against terror (punish hermione) and nobody suggested that we just rebuild and not go to war.

The marajuana is a reference to Amanda Knox. She was convicted based on the theory that she killed her roommate in a fit of REEFER MADNESS. Less Wrong, armed with some logic and the sword of Bayes, made a write up called Amanda Knox, how an hour on the internet beats a year in the courtroom, and figured out the likelyhood for her guilt. We had a you be the jury and later a post mortem, and mostly considered her innocent when the court (and world) said she was guilty.

They're both strong inspirations for the recent arc.