"Deaths are up, high school kids can get drugs more easily than ever, drug use by junior high kids has tripled, drug prices are at historic lows, drug purity is as high as ever, and we are still not treating most of the millions of addicts desperate for help." Eric E. Sterling, president, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, to the House Committee on Appropriations, March 23, 2000 Chairman Kolbe, Mr. Hoyer, members of the Subcommittee, the National Drug Control Strategy, presented to you today, attempts to sweep monumental failure under a rug. General McCaffrey insists that `we are winning' our fight against drug abuse, but his scoreboard must be broken -- deaths are up, high school kids can get drugs more easily than ever, drug use by junior high kids has tripled, drug prices are at historic lows, drug purity is as high as ever, and we are still not treating most of the millions of addicts desperate for help. [continues 1388 words]
When Civilians Are Casualties Of Drug War NYPD's fatal shooting of another unarmed black man has caused some to question police tactics. The tale of Patrick Dorismond, an unarmed security guard shot by police in a bungled drug sting, is reviving the debate of the aggressiveness of police tactics - especially those used for the war on drugs. On March 16, when Mr. Dorismond became the fourth unarmed black man killed by New York police in a little over a year, already-tense relations between many New Yorkers and their police force boiled over. On Saturday, 23 police officers and five civilians were injured when violence erupted at Dorismond's funeral. [continues 833 words]
If nothing else, the struggle to cleanse America of the scourge of illegal drugs will require a wide-ranging anti-drug effort pursued with vigor for years to come. That is the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the annual report of the Office of National Drug Control Policy unveiled yesterday by the White House. The report details a mix of successes and failures. Some important progress has been made: Drug use by youths dropped 13 percent last year. Overall cocaine use is down. [continues 548 words]
WASHINGTON - If nothing else, the struggle to cleanse America of the scourge of illegal drugs will require a wide-ranging anti-drug effort pursued with vigor for years to come. That is the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the annual report of the Office of National Drug Control Policy unveiled yesterday by the White House. The report details a mix of successes and failures. Some important progress has been made: Drug use by youths dropped 13 percent last year. Overall cocaine use is down. [continues 548 words]
But Offenders Are Spending Less Time In Jail WASHINGTON - Convicted federal drug offenders are spending less time behind bars, but more of them are being prosecuted, according to a new study of judicial records. The shorter sentences, over a 1992-1998 timespan that includes most of the Clinton Administration, suggest that federal judges and prosecutors are finding ways around tough mandatory minimum sentences mandated by Congress to crack down on drug traffickers. To some experts, the findings also suggest that federal agents are increasingly nailing "small fry" drug offenders rather than the kingpins whom federal agencies are uniquely suited to pursue. [continues 494 words]
WASHINGTON -- Convicted federal drug offenders are spending less time behind bars, but more of them are being prosecuted, a study of judicial records shows. The shorter sentences, during a 1992-1998 period that began in the final year of the Bush administration and includes most of the Clinton administration, suggest that federal judges and prosecutors are finding ways around tough mandatory minimum sentences mandated by Congress to crack down on drug traffickers. To some experts, the findings also suggest that federal agents are increasingly nailing "small fry" drug offenders rather than the kingpins whom federal agencies are suited to pursue. [continues 582 words]
WASHINGTON - Convicted federal drug offenders are spending less time behind bars, but more of them are being prosecuted, according to a new study of judicial records. The shorter sentences, over a 1992-98 time span that includes most of the Clinton administration, suggest that federal judges and prosecutors are finding ways around tough mandatory minimum sentences mandated by Congress to crack down on drug traffickers. To some experts, the findings also suggest that federal agents are increasingly nailing "small fry" drug offenders rather than the kingpins whom federal agencies are uniquely suited to pursue. [continues 595 words]
A month ago, 17 police officers converged on a brick home in a middle-class neighborhood in North Richland Hills. Without warning, they broke through the front door. Minutes later, 25-year-old Troy Davis was dead, shot in the chest. Police said he had pointed a loaded handgun at two officers, one of whom shot him. In the Davis case, as in many cases around the country, police said they used the "no-knock" entry for their search to protect officers from potential harm. [continues 1486 words]
In 1932, Democratic presidential challenger Franklin D. Roosevelt called for an end to Prohibition, the ban on alcohol that Republican President Herbert Hoover embraced as "the noble experiment." FDR swept into office declaring "happy days are here again" and presided over the repeal of Prohibition as the noble experiment was declared an utter failure. Arguments are being made now across the political spectrum that America's war on drugs - the federal prohibition on marijuana and other illicit substances - has proved similarly disastrous. [continues 2269 words]
