An estimated 55,000 Americans died prematurely from taking Vioxx, and who knows how many Canadians suffered the same fate. All the Cox-2 drugs are now under a lethal cloud of suspicion. But we continue to hassle those who find pain/symptom relief from medicinal cannabis. I guess we want potheads to die from FDA-approved pharmaceuticals, like the good, law-abiding citizenry does. Marilyn Bachmann, Sidney [end]
Desperate parents of drug-addicted children should have the power to force them into treatment centres, says Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski. Jablonski plans to introduce a private member's bill in March that would give parents and provincial authorities the right to place children in treatment centres - even if it's against their will. "The bill would recognize that children who abuse drugs are victims and need help and protection," said Jablonski. "It recognizes that families should be actively involved in ensuring the safety of their children, especially when they're involved in drug abuse." Jablonski said Bill 202 - the Protection of Children Involved with Drugs Act - would be the first of its kind in the world. [continues 296 words]
Not too long ago Darrell Gray was looking at a 2 1/2-year-jail sentence, but on Tuesday Gray was at the Cape Cod Museum of Art looking at works from its collection and at a drug and alcohol-free future. The reason for Gray's turnaround was the Gosnold BAND Drug Court Treatment Program. BAND is the acronym for Barnstable Action for New Directions Program. It was created by Barnstable District Court Presiding Judge Joseph Reardon in conjunction with Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe and Ray Tomasi, president of Gosnold, which provides treatment for substance abuse. [continues 356 words]
Health Experts Debunk Notion That The Drug's Use Is a White-Only Phenomenon A town meeting exploring how the use of crystal meth affects gay and bisexual men of color drew roughly 75 people to the National Black Theater in Harlem on January 11. "One of the things that we rarely get to hear about is crystal and African-American and Latino men who have sex with men," said Soraya Elcock, deputy director for prevention services at Harlem United, an AIDS service organization and one of three sponsors of the event. [continues 710 words]
TABLE OF CONTENTS: * This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n384.html#sec1 (1) Rising Cannabis Use Prompts Call For War On Drugs 'Epidemic' (2) Proposal Targets Lenient Pot Laws (3) GW's Cannabis-Based Spray A Step Closer (4) Deja Vu * Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2005/ds05.n384.html#sec2 Drug Policy (5) Gays' Rising Meth Use Tied to New HIV Cases (6) Syringe Exchange Group Reaches Gay Men (7) Court Refines Marijuana Law (8) Former U.S. Drug Czar Says Drugs Are Bigger Problem Than Terrorism (9) Prison Companies' Stocks See Hefty Gains [continues 226 words]
The U.S. is ready to save the world from oppression, if President George W. Bush's inaugural address can be believed. While I'm happy to be an American and I wouldn't really want to live anywhere else, I believe we need to look at domestic oppression before saving everyone else. I didn't hear anything about drugs in the speech, but I heard a lot about freedom for those who don't have it. Illegal drug users have little freedom now in this country. [continues 365 words]
Man, 48, Turned To Booze, Cocaine after Wife Ended Their Relationship A man who turned to booze and cocaine to mend his broken heart narrowly avoided a stint behind bars after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. Roger Young had 12 ounces of cocaine with a street value of about $40,000 when he was pulled over by police in July 2003. Normally such a seizure would mean an automatic trip to the penitentiary. But yesterday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Colleen Suche agreed to a joint recommendation for a conditional sentence of two years less a day, allowing Young to serve his time in the community. [continues 303 words]
MADISON - U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he might consider a run for state attorney general. President Bush appointed Van Hollen as U.S. attorney of the 44-county Western District of Wisconsin in 2002. Van Hollen, 38, a native of Bayfield, said he's done everything he wants to do as U.S. attorney and plans to go into private practice. Van Hollen has served as district attorney in Ashland and Bayfield counties. He said he hasn't ruled out running against state Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager in 2006. Lautenschlager, a Democrat, was arrested for drunken driving last year and is battling breast cancer. [continues 130 words]
Rural Community Confronts Issue, Seeks Solutions Jim Brownman called his time under the Norman Wood Bridge a natural buzz. The two-lane expanse of Route 372 crosses more than 100 feet above the Susquehanna River, connecting York and Lancaster counties and giving passing drivers a view of a wilderness paradise. This summer, the river is a series of small pools split by groves of scrubby trees bent, from times of high flows, toward the nearby Maryland border. On a day in June, the sun glinted off the seemingly still water as a lone fisherman cast a line. [continues 2376 words]
A bill that has wide support in the Oregon Legislature would take another step in fighting the scourge of crystal methamphetamine, the home-cooked drug made with popular over-the-counter cold medications. The question is whether Oregon, if this particular law is passed, would take the wrong step in its efforts to restrict access to medications that contain pseudo-ephedrine, a key ingredient of crystal meth. The state House of Representatives this week approved, by a 55-4 vote, a measure to require people to have a doctor's prescription if they want to buy medicine that contains pseudo-ephedrine. Observers expect the bill to pass the Senate, and the governor also supports it. [continues 297 words]
SEATTLE - Hyperbole is addictive when you direct the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, where John Walters has ratcheted up claims that marijuana smoking is a gateway to hard drug use and criminal behaviour. Crusading against the weed is, for Mr. Walters, a cross-country and even cross-border cause. Two cities, however, have heard him out but headed off in a new direction. One is a somewhat laid-back Seattle. The other, Vancouver, has a hard-core drug problem as serious as any place in North America. [continues 762 words]
If Elected Mayor, He Plans To Curb Illegal Gun Sales As Rochester police chief, Robert Duffy said he took numerous steps to lower crime in a city with the highest homicide rate in New York. As mayor, Duffy said he would bolster crime-fighting initiatives, announcing Thursday that he would establish a crime commission to coordinate efforts among agencies. The idea was part of Duffy's crime platform, which includes cracking down on illegal gun sales, adding police officers and possibly starting a community court to handle minor crimes. [continues 385 words]
I'm writing about Robert Sharpe's outstanding letter, "Reefer Madness revisited?" (June 9-16): If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, coffee would be illegal but marijuana would be legal. If we drink 65 cups of coffee in a single day, we have a 50 percent chance of dying as a result. On the other hand, if we smoke the world's most potent pot all day long, the worst effect would be a severe case of the munchies. (Actually, the worst effect would be getting arrested and thrown in jail with violent criminals). [continues 93 words]
Lab Proliferation Challenges McDowell County Investigators To Get A Handle On The Problem MARION -- On a white board deep inside the McDowell County Sheriff's Office, a dozen names and addresses are scrawled in red and black marker, connected by arrows and circles -- a complex web of drug production in a small community that, until a few years ago, had little clue how to combat a new scourge. McDowell County has landed the dubious title of most meth-riddled community in the state, during a time when North Carolina has seen methamphetamine cases skyrocket. [continues 1452 words]
RALEIGH -- State leaders are worried that a pending North Carolina law designed to stop the spread of methamphetamine abuse could be thwarted by pending federal legislation on the same topic. Weaker or inflexible federal standards, they say, could end up blunting anti-methamphetamine rules the General Assembly is drafting. "Different states have different problems when it comes to fighting methamphetamine, just as we do with any other crime," N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper said. "States should have the ability to react to their own particular problems." [continues 670 words]
Judge John Kane Jr. can remember the day his mind changed about the War on Drugs. It was the late 1980s. Kane was on the bench listening to arguments in a drug conspiracy case involving almost 20 defendants. Among them were a grandfather, his sons and his 17-year-old granddaughter. One of the sons was serving time in the Colorado State Penitentiary and smuggling heroin into the prison with the help of his family. "They had corrupted at least one prison guard," Kane said. Kane was repulsed as he listened to the story of how the family had used the girl in the case. She hid the heroin in her body, went to the bathroom when she was inside and put it in her mouth. She would kiss her uncle on the mouth and the drugs would be exchanged. [continues 551 words]
Zephyrhills, Fla. -- When I visited Richard Paey here, it quickly became clear that he posed no menace to society in his new home, a high security Florida state prison near Tampa, where he was serving a 25- year sentence. The fences, topped with razor wire, were more than enough to keep him from escaping because Mr. Paey relies on a wheelchair to get around. Mr. Paey, who is 46, suffers from multiple sclerosis and chronic pain from an automobile accident two decades ago. It damaged his spinal cord and left him with sharp pains in his legs that got worse after a botched operation. One night he woke up convinced that the room was on fire. [continues 659 words]
Lawmaker Opposes Mandatory 2-Year School-Zone State Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, his interest raised by the Great Barrington school-zone drug charges lodged against 17 young people last year, is working on an amendment that would eliminate the law's two-year mandatory minimum jail term for first-time offenders. The public debate over the issue has brought the issue to his attention, said the Lenox Democrat. "There are a lot of young people who have gone to jail for two years without a lot of community outcry, and these (Great Barrington) cases have brought this to my attention," he said. "It's now on my radar screen. We're thinking about it." [continues 868 words]
But Congress, Feds Shouldn't Overreact To This Drug The pattern's familiar. A problem gathers steam in America and then boils over. Washington feels the heat and takes action. That's what is happening with the highly destructive use of methamphetamine, or "meth." But Washington is in danger of repeating another pattern: acting too late, and inappropriately. A meth resurgence began as a rural problem in the early 1990s, spreading from the West to the Midwest and South, and is now seeping into urban areas. The Bush administration has maintained that fighting marijuana is its anti-drug priority (on the grounds that it's a "gateway drug" that's widely used). But many local officials argue that meth should be its priority. [continues 603 words]
One west Rock Island convenience store is out of the crack pipe business for a while and we thank Rock Island police and Rock Island Alderman Terry Brooks for that. We don't expect that seizure of a couple dozen glass tubes will have any impact in the war on drugs. But it takes moxie for an alderman to get outraged and for police to effectively follow up. Brooks was among the citizens complaining that glass tubes with tiny fake flowers being sold at a Quick Shop at 2030 11th St., were intended for drug use, not as novelty gifts. Open the tube, throw out the flower, add a bit of steel wool (also sold at the store) and you've got a ready-made crack pipe. [continues 219 words]
Gas And Electricity Worth Millions Of Pounds Is Being Stolen For Houses That Have Gone To Pot Secret cannabis farms are being run by criminal gangs in suburban semis throughout the Home Counties Once associated with 1970s hippies and cultivated in communes in the Welsh hills, cannabis is now driving an illicit harvest that could be responsible for sales of the drug on the streets of Britain worth UKP 100 million a year. The secret farming has been uncovered by energy companies who believe that electricity and gas worth UKP 340 million a year is being stolen and that a substantial part of the theft is to power cannabis factories. [continues 686 words]
A carpenter was sentenced to death by the High Court here for trafficking about 1.6kg of cannabis four years ago. Ahmad Saidin, 57, was found guilty of committing the offence at his house in Kampung Air Melong, here, about 4.30pm on June 11, 2001. Judge Datuk Hasan Lah said the defence had failed to prove that the cannabis found on Ahmad was not his. He also said that the prosecution had proven the case beyond any reasonable doubt. Ahmad had claimed trial to the charge, which was brought under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. Deputy Public Prosecutor Azeezi Nordin prosecuted. Defence counsel Syed Fakhruzzaman Syed Mansor said he would appeal against the High Court decision. [end]
A new survey conducted by the National Association of Counties polled law enforcement agencies in 500 counties in 45 states. Fifty-eight percent of those agencies ranked methamphetamine as their worst illegal-drug problem. If a majority of local law enforcement officials say methamphetamine is the biggest illegal drug problem they face, why is the national drug-use prevention effort focused most on marijuana, one might ask? The reason is job security. Back in the 1990s, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Office of National Drug Control Policy got failing grades by the General Accounting Office because they were unable to show that they were accomplishing anything. The White House set a new goal for the ONDCP: reducing (by specific percentages) the number of illegal drug users in the United States. [continues 85 words]
If an employer suspects that people are using illegal drugs in the workplace, does the employer have a right to use surveillance technology to catch lawbreakers who may be endangering their co-workers by getting high on the job? According to the National Labor Relations Board and the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, no. The facts in a case decided by the court are these: Anheuser-Busch suspected that some brewery workers were using an elevator control room to smoke marijuana during work hours, so the company installed a tiny surveillance camera. [continues 225 words]
Hardening Foam Could Be Injected Into The 100-Metre Underground Passageway VANCOUVER (CP) - Officials in the United States' Drug Enforcement Administration are working to permanently seal off a tunnel that was constructed to smuggle marijuana from British Columbia. Joe Giuliano, deputy chief of Border Patrol in Blaine, Wash., said Monday that military and law enforcement personnel are discussing the use of a hardening foam that would be injected into the tunnel to close it off. "Digging through that will be a heck of a lot harder than digging through the dirt in the first place," Giuliano said. "I'm pretty confident that it's down for the count once that stuff goes in." [continues 316 words]
Her own council turned her down, but Coun. Ruth Layne of Esquimalt persuaded neighbouring View Royal to sponsor a resolution asking the province to get tough on crystal meth. She wanted to put a motion before the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in September in Vancouver, but failed to persuade a majority of colleagues. After lobbying Esquimalt colleagues via phone calls and e-mails to get support for the motion as time was short, Layne saw it fail at the July 4 council meeting on a 3-3 tie. [continues 171 words]
Two-Year Jail Sentence Struck Down On Appeal For B.C. Man Caught Growing Dope In Sask. The B.C. Court of Appeal has turned a deaf ear to demands for stiffer sentences for pot producers and traffickers and in a split decision all but invited growers to move here if they want judicial leniency. In a ruling that highlights the legal inequities of the federal marijuana prohibition, the highest court in the province has struck down a two-year prison sentence that was part of a plea bargain with a man caught growing dope in Saskatchewan. [continues 896 words]
I was extremely dismayed by the colorful photos of marijuana used throughout this article. As a junior high English teacher, I have used newspapers in the classroom to teach students how to read and navigate the news. We have talked about the use of photos and their eye-catching and persuasive influence. It looks as though your newspaper is telling youth that marijuana is a run-of-the-mill drug that anyone should use. It is not. It is addicting, mind-altering and unhealthy. [continues 76 words]
Once again, judicial activists have interfered with the will of the people. In 1996, Californians went to the polls and passed Proposition 215, allowing for the use of medical marijuana under the advice of a doctor. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court crossed into the boundary of states' rights and invalidated California's medical marijuana practice. I anxiously await the public outrage in opposition to these judges who continue to legislate from the bench. While I doubt the outcry will ring as loud as other alleged judicial activist decisions, an important lesson in civics may be taught. Judicial activism is a relative term dependent completely on one's political view. When judges render an opinion we agree with, they are praised for upholding the Constitution. However, when our opinions differ from those given from the bench, they are deemed activist judges and criticized. Judges exist to interpret the law, regardless of and protected from public opinion and influence. We must trust them in that task. BRETT McKINNEY El Cajon [end]
VANCOUVER -- Officials in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration are working to seal off a tunnel that was constructed to smuggle marijuana from British Columbia. Joe Giuliano, deputy chief of the Border Patrol sector in Blaine, Wash., said yesterday that military and law enforcement personnel are discussing the use of a hardening foam that would be injected into the tunnel to close it off. "Digging through that will be a heck of a lot harder than digging through the dirt in the first place," Mr. Giuliano said. [continues 379 words]
IROQUOIS FALLS, ONT. (CP) -- Police in Northern Ontario have charged a Toronto man after they found marijuana fields stretching "three football fields in length" in what is considered to be one of Canada's largest pot busts. Investigators found more than 21,000 marijuana plants behind a house nestled in the woods of Iroquois Falls, east of Timmins. Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police, North Bay police and a canine unit carried out a search warrant Sunday. "We had a marijuana field approximately three football fields in length by one football field wide," said Detective Sergeant Bill O'Shea, a unit commander with the OPP's drug-enforcement section. [continues 156 words]
Since it was founded four years ago, the Drug Policy Project at the King County Bar Association has targeted the decades-old war on drugs, pushing for treatment instead of punishment and proposing radically different policies for addicts and abusers. The project -- a coalition of lawyers, doctors and social-welfare groups -- has researched the effects of the war on drugs in King County and helped drive new drug policies. In 2002, the project helped fuel the passage of a bill reducing sentences for some drug offenders and using the saved money to help fund drug courts. And most recently the project helped divert millions of dollars in the 2005 two-year budget to bolster voluntary treatment facilities run by the state Department of Social and Health Services outside the criminal-justice system. [continues 515 words]
If Medical Marijuana Seems Tough To Regulate In San Francisco, Blame The Federal Government. The feds are in a fix. More than two-thirds of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Every state ballot initiative, beginning with California's Proposition 215 in 1996, has passed, often by wide margins. Medical marijuana bills are passing in state legislatures, often with support from Republican governors and lawmakers. The feds can try to trip up these bills but know they can't stop them. The White House has been able to keep Republican members of Congress in line so far, but many don't feel they're voting their conscience when they vote against medical marijuana. [continues 724 words]
Say Vacant Former Hells Angels Building Blight On Neighbourhood OTTAWA is jeopardizing the future of north Main Street by dragging its feet in selling a building seized from the Hells Angels under proceeds of crime legislation almost three years ago, area businessmen, residents and politicians say. And some believe federal officials have ignored viable offers for the two-storey building at 1410 Main St. in favour of using it towards the national homelessness initiative. "I hope this is not the experience of other seized assets across the country," Justice Minister and area MLA Gord Mackintosh said. "Locally, it has not been positive." [continues 430 words]
Decision On Medical Marijuana Driven By Fear And Fraud, Not Compassion When I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a few years ago, my primary concern, other than wondering if I'd still be above ground in a year, was how sick I would get from the drugs. While this was something I would not know until the drugs actually flowed through my veins, I did know, without doubt, that I would smoke marijuana, if need be, to combat the bad side effects. Personally, I didn't give a hoot about anyone else's opinion, supreme or otherwise. [continues 624 words]
Drug Offenses May No Longer Block Eligibility Many students are not even aware of it, but an existing federal law bars college students from receiving financial aid if they've ever been convicted of a drug offense. That Higher Education Act provision, which was enacted in 2000, has prevented more than 160,500 students nationwide from receiving federal financial aid, according to groups trying to change the law. Legislation that would help some of those students is pending in Congress. On Friday, the Congressional Committee on Education and the Work Force passed legislation that would allow students with past drug convictions to receive aid. [continues 805 words]
Even The Police Find Oaksterdam 'Interesting' OAKLAND -- If chess is a game of intense concentration, playing while stoned usually wouldn't be considered an advantage. Ah, but using chess pieces fashioned in the shape of marijuana leaves, bongs, fat reefers and hookas -- now that just might distract an opponent. Last month Jaime Galindo and Richard Lee, the energetic owners of two medical cannabis outlets in Oakland, opened Oaksterdam Gift Shop, a marijuana-themed store that offers everything but the herb itself: board games, marijuana leaf-shaped ice cube trays, how-to books, clothing, jewelry and much, much more. [continues 570 words]
Substance abuse of any kind can be devastating to families and those who find themselves lost in the cycle of addiction. It can also be devastating to local communities. Financially, law enforcement and health agencies often find themselves spinning their wheels fighting a war that seems to have no end in sight. Enter crystal meth. Also known as crank, speed, ice or simply meth, the illegal use of methamphetamines is reaching epidemic proportions nationally, according to many studies. The drug, first widely introduced in the 1950s and 1960s as a way to help people who needed to work long hours stay awake, re-emerged in the late 1980s and is taking roots in small communities and big cities everywhere. [continues 500 words]
"Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it." - - Shakti Gawain Confession time. I'm addicted to cigarettes. There, I said it out loud and everything. (Not that it's a huge secret or anything, but still it's not as easy to admit as you think.) [continues 738 words]
Officials Warn Of Continued Spread Of Deadly Drug Although phenomenon mostly in the Midwest and along the Pacific West Coast, crystal meth also is a growing problem in the South, where home-made labs are springing up in rural communities everywhere. So far, however, local officials say the drug has not taken root much in South Louisiana but state police say it's prevalence in North Louisiana means it could be here before too long. "Meth is being seen more so in North Louisiana. This is where we are having more problems, but it is trickling down south," said state police Narcotics Sgt. Harold Jean Batiste. "Two weeks ago, we had a traffic stop of crystal meth going from Texas to Mississippi, then Florida. Recently, we haven't had any events, not saying it's not happening, but just that we haven't come across it yet. Normally, we get tips from cooperating individuals and through investigating other drug crimes, or we find out that someone is setting up a lab." [continues 742 words]
An Iowa National Guard soldier who was deployed to Iraq and later discovered to be a methamphetamine user has been spared a discharge based on his performance overseas. Spc. Larry Deetz, 37, of the Mason City-based 1133rd Transportation Company was the only one of eight senior Iowa guardsmen to test positive for drug use who fought to stay in the service after returning from the Middle East. All eight had flunked drug tests in Iowa on the eve of their deployment in late 2003, but the results did not become known until after they were activated into the U.S. Army. [continues 382 words]
WASHINGTON - The methamphetamine epidemic is draining money and resources from communities large and small. Local officials who had not even heard of the drug five years ago are being forced to shift budget priorities to pay for everything from dental care for meth-addicted jail inmates to foster care for children whose parents have been arrested for running meth labs. The additional financial burden comes at a time when many states are struggling to balance their budgets and when the federal government is cutting back funding for local drug-fighting programs. [continues 163 words]
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is seeking more information before it will consider an indemnity application from the lawyers of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. In a statement released today, the DPP says it would be inappropriate to grant general indemnity to witnesses as requested by Corby's legal team. The DPP says it can only grant indemnity for specific people based on specific information and has requested details from Corby's head lawyer, Hotman Paris Hautpea. Corby's legal team says they know of a person who wants to admit in court to placing marijuana in her bag but only if they are granted immunity. In May, Corby was convicted of smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Bali and sentenced to 20 years in jail. Corby has another week to produce new witnesses for the re-opened hearing of her case in Bali. [end]
MONTICELLO -- Howard Wooldridge wants to make a statement about ending prohibition. As he rides across the United States on a horse, he's doing just that. Wooldridge, a Texan, is riding across the country to "try and raise awareness to the catastrophic failure to the war on drugs." He rode through Jones County early last week. The policy on drugs, he says, is nothing special and has filled teens world with drugs and drug dealers. Teens decide to sell drugs because they work for chump change at McDonalds and make big money as a drug dealer. [continues 207 words]
Vogt, Appointed In 2004, Says He Will Continue Fight Against Drug Dealers FREEPORT - Stephenson County State's Attorney John Vogt announced Monday that he will run to keep his job in the 2006 election. If elected, he said he will continue cracking down on drug dealers, bring increased attention to crime victims, and expand his public speaking program. "It was certainly a privilege to be selected as state's attorney," Vogt said in a written statement. "I have tried to continue the high standards of performance and dedication of my predecessor, Michael Bald. I have been blessed with a committed staff of attorneys and paralegals, which has made the transition as smooth as possible." [continues 496 words]
CHILLICOTHE, Mo. - The Kahoka, Mo., police chief faces a charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute after being arrested at a motel in Chillicothe, Mo., Thursday afternoon. The charge alleges that Police Chief Steve L. Edlen possessed less than five grams of marijuana with intent to distribute. If convicted of the Class C felony, Edlen could face up to seven years in prison. Edlen's arrest was the result of an undercover investigation starting July 11 and conducted through an Internet chat room by Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox. [continues 147 words]
Regarding the Sentinel's special report on Puerto Rico: The social ills that plague Puerto Rico are completely rooted in its colonial status. The drug-related crimes that haunt the residents of Puerto Rico are birthed from an economic system that does not benefit its citizens. Puerto Rico's inability as a colony to design an economic system that can, and would, stimulate growth and prosperity for its citizens leaves it in the pitiful and disgraceful state it is in now. Only as a sovereign nation can we design an economic system whose sole beneficiaries are the Puerto Rican people and not foreign companies who for decades have raped Puerto Rico for its wealth and resources. [continues 51 words]
Making drug offenders ineligible for federal student aid runs counter to rehabilitation efforts. The law should be dropped or at least scaled back. One need not excuse a university student who smokes marijuana to understand why yanking the student out of school usually serves no one's longterm interest. But that is one of Congress' key weapons in the war on drugs. Under a law adopted five years ago, any drug conviction, even misdemeanor marijuana possession, makes a current or prospective university student immediately ineligible for federal financial aid. The result, of course, is that most of those students no longer have the means to pursue a higher education. So they drop out or never attend in the first place. According to a coalition of groups trying to overturn the law, some 160,500 students have lost aid that way. [continues 201 words]
The John Tierney column, "Punishing pain: Victory in the drug war" (July 21) tellingly recounted the plight of Richard Paey, a wheelchair-bound, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain victim who is serving a 25- year sentence in Florida for obtaining prescription drugs to relieve his pain. It is surprising, however, that no mention was made of the similar drug troubles of talk-show star Rush Limbaugh, who feels that he is the victim of heavy-handed law enforcement abuse because of a prolonged inquiry into his obtaining of prescription painkillers. I would hope Mr. Limbaugh would join, and even lead, in a campaign to free Paey. I would hope that Paey's case would get as much media coverage as Mr. Limbaugh's has. The fight against drug abuse should be conducted as a public health treatment issue, since the law enforcement and punishment approach has been an abject failure. Sy Lutto West Palm Beach [end]
Rep. John Barrow, D-Athens, missed a chance to save taxpayer dollars and help thousands of students regain their financial aid last week during the House discussion over H.R. 609, the bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted against an amendment to the College Access and Opportunity Act that would lift the financial aid ban for students with past drug convictions. Instead, Barrow and the committee supported a partial repeal that would still cause thousands of students to be ineligible for aid every year. [continues 145 words]
