ASUCI hosted an unprecedented debate regarding the legalization of marijuana held in Humanities Instructional Building 100 on May 28. More than 200 people showed up to get the highs and lows on marijuana from two local speakers. Judge James Gray, a superior court judge in Orange County, strongly condemned current drug policies, while Dr. Michael Stone, addiction medicine specialist, focused on the physiological ramifications of smoking marijuana. Marcy Lopez and Carmen Reynaga, co-commissioners of campus affairs programming for ASUCI, were moderators of the event. [continues 591 words]
'Failed War On Drugs' Spurs Presidential Bid O.C. Judge Wants To Carry Libertarian Party Banner And Seek Decriminalization The epiphany was trigged by a young thug's war whoop, a triumphant "yee-ha!" as he was led away in handcuffs for a short stint in jail. The punk was 17. Dangerous. Mixed up in drugs, with a nasty habit of robbing prostitutes and roughing them up. Judge James P. Gray was sitting on the Municipal Court bench back then, enforcing a plea bargain that was worked out up the food chain, in Superior Court. The kid would be behind bars for a few weeks. It was nothing. "He had gotten away with it, and he knew it," Gray says. "It was wrong." [continues 1831 words]
James Gray, Who May Make Presidential Run, Speaks At ReconsiDer Meeting Today California Judge James Gray this week is courting Central New Yorkers to join him in ending the war on drugs and to sign on to his potential race for president of the United States. Gray, a Republican turned Libertarian, has been speaking with judges, city councilors, county legislators, drug law reform advocates, reporters and members of the medical community in Rochester and Syracuse. Today, he is to be the keynote speaker at ReconsiDer's annual meeting, at 1 p.m. at the May Memorial Unitarian Society, 3800 E. Genesee St. [continues 595 words]
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Superior Court judge sharply criticized the drug war and renewed his call for the decriminalization of marijuana at a pro-marijuana rally Saturday. Judge James Gray of Orange County, Calif., said the drug war has cost billions of dollars and resulted in the United States having the world's highest incarceration rate - with no end in sight to rampant drug abuse. The former federal prosecutor said he has never smoked marijuana, but supports the strictly controlled distribution of pot to adults. [continues 330 words]
Reno (AP) - A Superior Court judge sharply criticized the drug war and renewed his call for the decriminalization of marijuana at a pro-marijuana rally Saturday. Judge James Gray of Orange County, Calif., said the drug war has cost billions of dollars and resulted in the United States having the world's highest incarceration rate -- with no end in sight to rampant drug abuse. The former federal prosecutor said he has never smoked marijuana, but supports the strictly controlled distribution of pot to adults. [continues 199 words]
For more than two decades I was a soldier in the War on Drugs. In the course of my career, I have helped put drug users and dealers in jail; I have presided over the break-up of families; I have followed the laws of my state and country, and have seen their results. At one point, I held the record for the largest drug prosecution in the Los Angeles area: 75 kilos of heroin, which was and is a lot of narcotics. [continues 1853 words]
VANCOUVER - A man seeking asylum in Canada because he smokes pot to fight a rare form of cancer would do well to stay out of the United States, where the "corrupt system" would prosecute him, a California judge testified Thursday. "His chances would be overwhelming, I regret to say, of being tried and convicted," Judge James Gray of the Orange Country Superior Court said by phone at a refugee hearing for Steve Kubby. Kubby, a former California resident who now lives in Sechelt, B.C., said between puffs on a joint outside the hearing that he suffers from adrenal cancer and would die within four days if he didn't smoke marijuana. [continues 450 words]
James McDonough is fuming. McDonough, Florida's first drug czar, is sitting on a makeshift dais in a ballroom of the Orlando Renaissance Hotel March 14 as part of a three-member panel convened for a town-hall meeting on substance-abuse policy. The panel was put together by groups for and against relaxing drug laws. McDonough, though, is clearly tired of answering questions from the former. "I do enjoy the occasional joint or so," says Brian Cregger, a University of Central Florida staff engineer and former vice president of UCF's NORML chapter. "There are good people out there who [smoke pot]." [continues 1276 words]
Of all the wars the United States has fought, the modern-day war at home could be chronicled as the nation's most frustrating and dismal failure. It was almost two decades ago that Congress championed a national war on drugs with the pledge America would be drug-free by 1995. In 2003, that failed promise is long forgotten and drug abuse is worse than ever. Count in millions the lives broken or ended because of drug abuse. Count in millions the families and friends who experience heartbreak because of it. [continues 1909 words]
A Suspect Is Charged With Murder, Assault After Surrendering. Salem - Bob Brendell tinkered with the floodlight in front of the Dent County Courthouse, making sure it would illuminate the flag flying at half staff. "Everybody's in shock," the maintenance worker said. "This type of thing doesn't happen in a nice little town." Residents in Salem and the surrounding areas are trying to rebound after a shocking series of events left three people dead, including the chief deputy of the Sheriff's Department. [continues 1016 words]
The King's College Public Policy and Social Research Institute couldn't have picked a better speaker to discuss the drug war than Judge James Gray. As a former federal prosecutor, Judge Gray makes a compelling case for harm reduction alternatives to the never-ending drug war. So-called drug-related crime is invariably prohibition-related. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and drug prohibition have the potential to cause harm. Examples of harm reduction include needle exchange programs to stop the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation, and treatment alternatives that do not require incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels many U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Program Officer Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C. [end]
THIS PAST Sunday was one of those crisp, clear autumn days often heralded here in Northeast Pennsylvania, but rather than spend my day outside the way I prefer, I joined a crowd of about 50 people at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Wilkes-Barre Township. We had come to hear the words of James Gray, an Orange County, Calif., Superior Court Judge and former prosecutor, who was in town to speak about what he considers our country's failed drug war. He is the author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed, And What We Can Do About It," a book critical of our nation's drug laws. [continues 757 words]
U.S. Should Stress Rehab, Treatment Instead Of Punishment, Expert Says WILKES-BARRE - Terrorists, drug kingpins and prison officials are all winning the war on drugs, a California judge said Saturday. Meanwhile, the country's children are losing. That was the message from Judge James Gray, a former federal prosecutor, who called Saturday for sweeping changes to the nation's anti-drug policies. Gray's comments came during a lecture sponsored by the Public Policy and Social Research Institute at King's College. "In my view, the most critical issue facing our country today is our drug policy," Gray said. Gray, an Orange County Superior Court judge, is the author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed, and What We Can Do About It," a book critical of the nation's drug laws. [continues 338 words]
Candidates vying to become the next Orleans Parish district attorney slammed Harry Connick's office Tuesday night during a forum, saying it bungles violent cases. They cited a Faubourg St. John killing Friday in which two of the suspects had recently been released from jail because prosecutors failed to charge them in an earlier case. The slaying Friday morning of Christopher Briede, 32, and the subsequent finger pointing between prosecutors and police about why the suspects were on the street, dominated Tuesday's candidate forum, sponsored by the Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association. [continues 580 words]
New Orleanians are faced with almost daily reminders of the ravaging effects of violence on families, neighborhoods and the city. Thursday brought an especially horrifying example. A 7-year-old child was stabbed to death in front of an Uptown church, where police say he had fled from his mother's enraged boyfriend. A crowd watched the man repeatedly plunge a knife into the child's chest. This ought to be a crime that is easily solved and easily prosecuted. There are numerous witnesses; the police arrived quickly. But even when the evidence seems strong, such cases often fail to win convictions in Orleans Parish. [continues 349 words]
Most Back Leniency for Young, New Users Candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney addressed the city's illegal drug trade at a forum Wednesday night, with most saying that cases must be "prioritized" before being brought to trial, and almost every candidate promising counseling for first- and second-time nonviolent offenders. Gary Wainwright, a defense attorney whose campaign is based on decriminalizing simple drug possessions, especially first-time marijuana offenses, said addicts need treatment, not prosecution. "We need to take the sick people out of the criminal district courthouse and put persons who have harmed other persons in the crosshairs," he said. "Murderers, rapists, armed robbers and politicians will be the only persons tried at Tulane and Broad if you give me the chance." [continues 364 words]
It is precisely because prohibition increases the risks from drugs to our children that many so vehemently oppose the drug war. Good intentions are no justification for terrible results. When the head of the Scotland Yard anti-drugs squad, Edward Ellison, retired in 1998, he wrote a long article for the London Daily Mail. His two themes: "Quite obviously, prohibition has failed. I saw the misery that drug abuse can cause. I saw at first hand the squalor, the wrecked lives, the deaths. I've seen too many youngsters die. I'm determined my children don't get hooked -- which is why I want all drugs legalized. [continues 427 words]
Have you ever used illegal drugs? The government says a third of Americans have at some point -- and about 5 percent use them regularly. The number may be higher, because how many people honestly answer the question, "Have you used an illicit drug in the past month?" What should America do about this? So far, our approach has been to go to war -- a war that police departments fight every day. A war that U.S. politicians tackle in a different way than their European counterparts. And a war that is not going away. [continues 1399 words]
ANNOUNCER This is an ABC News Special. The world is going to pot. Country by country, drug laws are going up in smoke. MAN That's good weed. ANNOUNCER In Amsterdam, we found a new Dutch treat: coffee shops with marijuana on the menu. RED Chocolate bon-bons. We have them in all three kinds of chocolate. ANNOUNCER And a church basement where addicts have their prayers answered. JOHN STOSSEL, ABC NEWS Feel good? (Man nods) JOHN STOSSEL Feel great? ANNOUNCER But in America, police smash down doors, filling prisons with thousands of drug offenders. [continues 4793 words]
[continued from part 1 at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1435.a08.html ] ANNOUNCER War On Drugs, A War On Ourselves with John Stossel, continues after this from our ABC stations. (Commercial break) ANNOUNCER War On Drugs, A War On Ourselves, continues. Once again, John Stossel. JOHN STOSSEL People do abuse drugs. So, what do we do about it? Government talks about treatment, but for the most part, our policy has been, `Lock them up.' And we do arrest 4,000 people a day for selling or using drugs. [continues 3152 words]
We don't know which of the candidates to succeed retiring New Orleans DA Harry Connick will get his endorsement, but we do know it won't be criminal defense lawyer Gary Wainwright. One of Wainwright's first acts, were he to be elected, might be to nol-pros his own case; he was picked up on a marijuana charge at an Algiers Carnival parade this year. He is highly unlikely to get the chance, however. Because Wainwright advocates decriminalization of marijuana possession, he was originally declared persona non grata when Connick, with his conventionally stern views on drugs, announced a briefing for candidates. Connick relented, however, and Wainwright duly turned up last week, seizing the opportunity at a subsequent press conference to spout what his host will have regarded as hippy heresy. [continues 549 words]
Connick's Successor Faces Many Hurdles Only one person can take over Harry Connick's office, but on Thursday five likely candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney took a crash course on the business of criminal prosecutions from an administration that's been in place for nearly 30 years. High employee turnover, low pay, staggering caseloads and an equally strapped Police Department were just a few of the obstacles Connick and his team of division heads discussed in a closed-door session with those who want the city's top criminal justice job. The briefing began at 8 a.m. and ran until about 1 p.m. [continues 719 words]
Endorsements Key To Race, Researcher Says Races for Orleans Parish district attorney have never lacked drama, but when five-term incumbent Harry Connick announced in March that he would step down from the office he redefined after taking it away from another icon in 1973, the political stage was set anew. No incumbent. No seemingly unbeatable Connick. New Orleans is in for a brand-new district attorney for the first time in four decades, and months before anyone can even qualify to run, several people have launched campaigns for the wide-open seat. [continues 776 words]
HOUSTON - America's war on drugs should focus more on an individual's actions and less on what substances a person might possess or ingest, officials attending a drug policy conference at Rice University said Wednesday. The two-day drug policy conference taking place at the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston concludes Thursday. Besides focusing on the United States' drug policy, attendees will discuss policies in other countries with hopes of eventually making recommendations for policy changes in the United States to "reduce negative consequences of drug use and abuse, including attention to more effective drug education and treatment." [continues 654 words]
America's war on drugs should focus more on an individual's actions and less on what substances a person might possess or ingest, officials attending a drug policy conference at Rice University said Wednesday. The two-day drug policy conference taking place at the Baker Institute for Public Policy in Houston concludes Thursday. Besides focusing on the United States' drug policy, attendees will discuss policies in other countries with hopes of eventually making recommendations for policy changes in the United States to "reduce negative consequences of drug use and abuse, including attention to more effective drug education and treatment." [continues 654 words]
Peace talks scheduled next week at Rice University have Faye Hamilton hoping for a big drop in the number of drug war victims. Actually, the event at Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy is billed as a conference, the official title of which is "Moving Beyond `The War on Drugs.' " But the term "peace talks" also seems fitting, because two sides of an issue are coming to discuss and evaluate and look for a smoother path to follow into the future together. [continues 610 words]
Often relationships begin with small favors, according to Joe Howard, a former Arizona correctional officer. An inmate begins doing favors, such as small menial chores, and eventually asks a guard to violate a rule, such as providing extra food, he says. Soon the inmate has the guard working for him and fearing for his job. "All you have to do is look at all the BMWs the employees are driving and ask yourself how a guard making $24,000 can afford a car like that." In some cases, guards recruit coworkers by threatening to falsify reports against them unless they cooperate with the drug deals and take the money. "Once a correctional officer takes money he is working for the inmate," says Howard. "Bad cops don't always get into trouble; good cops do." [continues 2726 words]
During the next seven days all will participate in forums being held online in the New York Times Drug Policy Forum and/or the DrugSense Chat Room. Here Is The Schedule So That You May Mark Your Calendar: MONDAY, 5 NOV. at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific in the New York Times Drug Policy Forum at http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/index-national.html Click on Drug Policy under National Forums. If you are not registered with the New York Times website you will need to do so by following their easy instructions. [continues 615 words]
Profile: Jurist James Gray, A Vocal Critic Of The Nation's Drug Laws, Is Often At The Center Of Controversial Cases. He describes himself as a conservative judge in a conservative county. But many of those who have watched the career of Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray said his approach to the job is anything but traditional. His record--part rebel, part reformer, part conciliator--has kept him in the limelight. A decade ago, Gray's call for the legalization of drugs prompted the county sheriff to quip, "What was this guy smoking." and a fellow judge openly questioned his impartiality on the narcotics issue. But Gray hasn't backed down. And now, he finds himself at the center of two more high-profile cases that have kept him very much on center stage. [continues 1064 words]
Al_Giordano: Hello América! laurence: Good day to you Al and thanks for being available to join us here. laurence: read some of the narcnews pages today earlier and found it most interesting. Congratulations on your patience and perseverance. Dean_Becker: Hi Al, great to see you. Kkraig: High Al laurence: Small first question if I may...were you doing much of the central America stuff in Spanish?? Al_Giordano: Hi Laurence, I do try to speak the language of the home team wherever I am. Tonight it's English, right? [continues 3335 words]
Newport Beach Resident Judge James Gray Is No Stranger To Controversy And Being At The Center Of Attention Hardly a week goes by these days when James Gray's name doesn't appear in newsprint. Gray, an Orange County Superior Court judge, has found himself at the center of the raging debate over how the county should use the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station after issuing a blistering ruling. In a July 31 ruling, Gray, who has lived in Newport Beach for almost a year, dressed down Orange County airport planners before invalidating the names on a South County petition to install a central park at the closed base. Calling the airport debate "the most fractionated issues in my time in Orange County," the veteran judge criticized county leaders for failing to weigh the benefits and limitations of an airport "openly and honestly." [continues 495 words]
O'REILLY: In the "Unresolved Problem" segment tonight, should America change its attitude about hard drugs? In Houston, 18 people -- 18 people -- died last weekend from drug overdoses. Authorities believe the drugs are so potent, users are in grave danger. There is no question that the federal government has failed to stop the flow of drugs into the USA. So do we keep failing or develop another strategy? Joining us now from Los Angeles is Judge James Gray, the author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment on the War on Drugs," and from Washington, the brand-new head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, former Arkansas Congressman Asa Hutchinson. [continues 2740 words]
Saturday, 23 June, at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific: The second chat session with Judge Gray will be held in the DrugSense chat room at http://www.drugsense.org/chat/ The first chat session with Judge James Gray was held last week. A transcript of that chat is at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1065/a01.html June 26, 2001 8 p.m. Eastern: Kay Lee & Jodi James of the Journey for Justice http://www.journeyforjustice.org/ Journey news stories are at http://www.mapinc.org/journey.htm Join Kay and Jodi in the New York Times National Forum on Drug Policy http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/index-national.html [continues 5793 words]
Forced To Hand Down Harsh Sentences That Defy Their Consciences, Many Federal Judges Are Speaking Out Against A System That Makes Them Do "Ungodly Things" Stanley Sporkin doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. The deeds on his conscience are all a matter of public record. They were done in open court, his court, the Honorable Judge Stanley Sporkin presiding. One of them followed a famous George Bush (the elder) sound bite: that dramatic moment early in Bush's term when the president revealed that the epidemic of illegal drugs was so out of control that crack cocaine was being sold "across the street from the White House." [continues 3850 words]
On Tuesday, June 12, the New York Times Drug Policy forum hosted Judge James P. Gray, author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It." A second chat with Judge Gray will be held in the DrugSense chat room on Saturday, 23 June, at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific at the following webpage: http://www.drugsense.org/chat/ You may send questions for Judge Gray in advance, if you wish, to jo-d@mapinc.org Judge Gray's website is http://www.judgejimgray.com [continues 3065 words]
Has the drug war made the nation's substance-abuse problem better than five years ago? Asked by a visiting drug-policy reformer to raise hands if they thought so, a local crowd didn't move a muscle. That's the response wherever he speaks, said California Superior Court Judge James Gray, a self-labeled conservative Republican doing battle with the drug war's most obvious follies. He finds a clear message in the silence. For 30 years, the nation has ineptly warred against substance abuse, only to watch the problem explode. Drugs have never been cheaper, stronger or more readily available. Gray says the average teen-ager can buy a pharmacopia of illegal drugs more easily than a six-pack of beer. Missionaries have become "collateral damage" in battles fought over Peru. Colombia and Mexico writhe in the throes of what Gray calls their "drug money problem." And just when you think it can't get worse, it gets worse. [continues 433 words]
Further evidence that the winds of war are changing directions was the presence of several local judges at a luncheon where the speaker lambasted our current drug laws and called for reform. They had to know ahead of time that such would be the tenor of the talk because the man at the rostrum was James Gray, author of a new book, Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It, and because the Thursday noontime event was produced by the Drug Policy Forum of Texas, which promotes open discussion about options to our current drug policies. [continues 615 words]
Words intended to mean one thing when leaving your mouth can mean something completely different upon entering the ear of another. Saying what you mean in such a way that others will not misunderstand you is the great challenge in most any type of discussion, debate or negotiation. I wish I could remember who provided an illustration of this many years ago by pointing out that a fellow might intend to convey a romantic message meaning: "When I look at you, time stands still." But if what the listener understands is, "Your face would stop a clock," there obviously was a major problem with word choice creating a definition gap between intention and understanding. [continues 611 words]
This is about a couple of former drug warriors who now hold down jobs they got elected to -- a judge in California and a mayor in Texas -- and how only one of them listened to what the other had to say. James Gray has been a judge in Orange County for the past 16 years. Before that, he was a federal prosecutor who, for awhile, held the record for the nation's largest heroin bust. But nine years ago he came out publicly against the drug war and all the damage he has seen it cause. [continues 662 words]
How did it happen? Was there a moment when a light went on? When did Orange County voters, long considered among California's most conservative, take a sharp left turn and sign on to the movement away from imprisoning drug offenders? Sorry, I can't give you a date, but the county's residents are definitely there. Conservatism, thy name is drug treatment. On election day last week, every city in Orange County gave a majority of its votes to Proposition 36, the measure that will divert nonviolent drug offenders to treatment programs rather than send them to jail or prison. The heaviest support came from Laguna Beach (72.6%), but even Yorba Linda at the other end of the spectrum supported it 55% to 45%. In Laguna Woods, the county's senior citizen enclave, two of every three voters supported it--trailing only Laguna Beach in support. [continues 563 words]
(Albuquerque, N.M.-(AP)) -- A Republican judge from California's conservative Orange County added his voice to that of New Mexico's governor calling for debate and reform of U.S. drug policy on Tuesday. Superior Court Judge James Gray stopped short of saying he would legalize drugs, but he agrees with Gov. Gary Johnson that the U.S. drug war is a failure. Calling Johnson a traitor to the drug war, as some have, pays the governor a compliment, he said. [continues 349 words]
Several of America's pre-eminent drug policy reform advocates will join Gov. Gary Johnson in Albuquerque on Tuesday to discuss alternatives to national drug policy. The forum, "Just say KNOW: KNOW the Facts, KNOW the Issues, KNOW the Alternatives" is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. at the Albuquerque Crowne Plaza Pyramid hotel. The free forum will be hosted by the New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation and will be open to the public. "This is an opportunity for the general public to get some accurate information about current federal drug policy," said Steve Bunch, the foundation's executive director. "One of the most important features of this forum is for the public to fully understand what Gov. Johnson has been talking about." [continues 355 words]
In 1993, Tonya Drake mailed a sealed overnight envelope given to her by a ``friend from the neighborhood.'' Tonya had some clue what was in there - you don't often get a C- note for mailing wedding announcements. But she was a working-class mother of four who needed the money, and didn't count on getting caught with crack. Ten years mandatory minimum. That's what Tonya got in a California court. The judge said: ``This woman doesn't belong in prison for 10 years for what I understand she did. That's just crazy, but there's nothing I can do about it.'' [continues 846 words]
As Bob Carr and his colleagues prepare for the Drug Summit in nine days' time, Marian Wilkinson examines the American experience and finds that a hard-line prohibition policy has been an abject failure. "It was like I went numb. I knew what it meant: it was mandatory life without parole," the middle-aged African-American grandmother said in a strained voice. She was recalling the day she was sentenced nearly 21 years ago in Michigan, talking about the US justice system and the war on drugs that determined she would die in prison after spending nearly all her adult life behind bars. [continues 3560 words]
Wilson signs bill: The state will help out schools and governments in areas affected by expansion of jail staffs. Gannett News Service SACRAMENTO There will be more state money going to communities near prisons with emergency beds to accommodate expanding staffs, thanks to a new law. The governor has signed Assembly Bill 1378 that will provide $2 million to help communities from Salinas to Southern California deal with the influx of new prison staff members and their families. [continues 474 words]
