How can we trust this ex-cop turned profiteer? How can someone trust a profiteer like Barry Cooper to serve in Congress? Mr. Cooper is not suitable to be a representative because of his greediness. While he has the right to make a living, he does not have the right to do so by manipulating our state's laws. There should be agreements that officers must sign preventing the use of any privileged information to aid others in breaking the law. Also, Mr. Cooper's proposed reality show comparing the effects of drug and alcohol abuse is a worthless attempt to disprove something that has already been proven by medical studies. Mr. Cooper needs to be held accountable for his actions. Taylor Dilbeck, 10th grade, The Hockaday School, Dallas [end]
Re: "Ex-officer goes to pot for DVDs - Man who sells tips on how to avoid arrest is running for Congress," Monday news story. Offbeat former cop Barry Cooper gets more attention in this story than the serious analysis of marijuana prohibition and the critical role it plays as the financial backbone of many cartels, as a danger to the young and as a medical boon to many suffering people. According to the 1982 National Academy of Sciences report, the last serious national discussion of marijuana, "prohibition of the supply of marijuana increases access to and use of other illegal drugs through the creation of an illegal marketing system for all drugs" and "[teenage] marijuana sellers may become socialized into other illegal activities." The study also said that "today's kind of illegal market for marijuana would probably shrink greatly under a regulatory system in the same way that illegal alcohol distribution systems have become so scarce." We ignored our 1982 national commission (and its 1972 predecessor), but the Dutch did not. While we made over 15 million marijuana arrests, they collected taxes and have less marijuana use than we do. Jerry Epstein, Houston [end]
Editor: Not many people get to see the War On Drugs from the viewpoint of an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent. I have and it is not a pretty sight. Twelve of my 20 years in law enforcement were spent in the DEA, six straight years of them in undercover operations in North, Central and South America. Based on my experience, I can assure you that our drug war is a vile and despicable presence doing irreparable harm to all of the American landscape. Nowhere has this war presented itself as a positive policy. [continues 632 words]
Our troops will die in Afghanistan with our public never understanding that many of the deaths could easily be prevented if we would change our policy on heroin. In the process we would strike a cost-free blow to the terrorists. Repeated stories describe the huge role of opium poppies, by far the most important crop to millions of starving farmers, in economically ravaged Aghanistan. ( Please see "Thriving drug operation fuels Taliban resurgence/Bloodshed rises in an insurgency largely funded by Afghan opium," Page A3, Saturday.) The illegal profits help fund independent war lords, al-Quaida and the Taliban. They fuel the growing insurgency and threaten the glimmer of democracy there. Our allies are already pulling their troops out of danger, and we will have to put more of ours in. [continues 133 words]
Re: "U.S. users bankroll cartels - Officials say $14 billion spent each year on drugs fueling Mexican violence," last Friday news story. What the U.S. government is choosing to do is to produce a market that is lucrative for the cartels. It is not consumers that are "making these people powerful." It is the aforementioned profits generated by prohibition. The reason we made alcohol legal was to put an end to the violence, official corruption and all the other unintended consequences surrounding prohibition. We wisely decided to make alcoholism a public health rather than a criminal justice problem. We should begin to consider doing the same with all forms of drug abuse, and particularly marijuana. Rodney W. Pirtle, Farmers Branch [end]
Recently I moderated a debate to a sellout audience at Allen Theater, euphemistically called: "Heads vs. Feds." During that debate, Steve Hager, editor of "High Times" maintained marijuana was a very good thing that should be encouraged by government. Bob Stutman, on the other hand, a former DEA leader, maintained marijuana was not a good thing and should be criminalized. As a good moderator should, I disagreed with both debaters. In my mind, Mr. Stutman was much closer than Mr. Hager in describing the net impact of marijuana on individuals. On the other hand, Mr. Stutman only discussed the harm that marijuana does. He did not discuss the harm that laws against marijuana cause. [continues 557 words]
Randall County Commissioners met Tuesday and approved an application for grant money from the Texas Governor's Office to research the possible implementation of a drug court for Randall and Potter counties. The money would allow for research and planning but would not fund the actual implementation of the facility, said Randall County Sheriff Joel Richardson. "Most local government officials think it can work here," Richardson said. "It would reduce the jail population and help people with drug and alcohol problems. We ought to be doing something other than locking people up." [continues 217 words]
It's The Perfect Use Of His Clemency Powers Crack is back before Congress. Attorney General Michael Mukasey has come out against a new sentencing policy designed to bring a partial measure of fairness to the sentencing of federal crack offenders. Crack is creeping back into the presidential campaign, where there is great need for leadership on this fundamental issue of race and justice. More than 20 years ago, Congress told judges to give the same sentence for dealers responsible for 5 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine despite the fact that crack and powder are pharmacologically the same. [continues 573 words]
The other day in El Paso, an 18-year-old heard two of the cruelest words that can be hurled at a teenager -- 10 years. That's 10 years, as in a prison sentence. U.S. District Judge David Briones sentenced the youth, a Horizon High School graduate, for recruiting students to run drugs for him, the El Paso Times reported. A partner in his scheme, an 18-year-old girl, received almost four years, according to the Times. "I am aware of my mistakes that my immaturity brought," he told the judge in a plea for leniency. [continues 174 words]
It's the only way for the US to control the demand for drugs, say Andres Rozental and Stanley A. Weiss Despite a surge of military and police forces across the country, the killings continue - more than 5,000 last year. Some regions are terrorized by a wave of kidnappings, assassinations and beheadings. Iraq? Afghanistan? Pakistan? Somalia? In fact, the country - which a recent U.S military study warned could be at risk of "a rapid and sudden collapse" - is none other than Mexico. Two years into President Felipe Calderon's war against the drug cartels, and the cartels' ensuing war with each other, this is a nation at war with itself. To be sure, the government has had its successes. Huge weapons caches have been seized, large tracts of illegal drug crops have been eradicated and an increasing number of cartel kingpins, couriers and foot soldiers have been put behind bars. [continues 465 words]
Bill Day, a 73-year-old lay chaplain, may be thrown into jail for his efforts to reduce suffering on the streets of San Antonio. Only in Texas, according to a news story by Los Angeles Times staff writer Miguel Bustillo, could Day be prosecuted for breaking the law. Texas needs to join the 21st century and support Day in his efforts to reduce suffering and save tax dollars. Day's offense stems from a needle-exchange program launched by his nonprofit group, the Bexar Area Harm Reduction Coalition. [continues 374 words]
Texas Only State That Hasn't Started Controversial Program SAN ANTONIO - Bill Day doesn't fancy himself an outlaw - and with his Mr. Rogers demeanor, he definitely doesn't look the part. But soon the 73-year-old could spend up to a year in jail for breaking a law that he considers immoral. Mr. Day hands out clean needles to drug addicts on some of the seediest streets, because he's convinced that it reduces human suffering by slowing the spread of HIV. [continues 460 words]
Harvesting Peyote Is Legal for Only Three People, and All of Them Live in Texas Mauro Morales picks his way through mesquite trees and prickly pear cacti. The 65-year-old cautiously steps around a thicket of tasajillo, or rattail cactus, just down the road from his small ranch near Rio Grande City. Tasajillo thorns stick you like a fish hook, he says. Then there's the cola seca--the rattlesnake--another job hazard. "We're far enough from a hospital that you probably wouldn't make it if you got bit," he says in a quiet voice, as though a snake might take his words as an invitation to strike. [continues 5668 words]
Editor: Rev. Adam E. Zuniga got an arrow-splitting bull's-eye ("In cannabis we trust," Feb. 4); in fact nine pounds of cannabis (kaneh bosm) are in the holy anointing oil in Exodus 30:23. One reason to stop persecuting and caging humans for using the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it is biblically correct since God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page. [continues 107 words]
"This is a positive thing for the City of Mexia," said City Manager Carolyn Martin, on the heels of random drug tests given to employees. "I don't want our employees' showing up at your homes to make repairs, etc., under the influence of illegal drugs," the City Manager emphasized. "Neither do I want them to be driving city vehicles under the influence," she added. Following the drug tests, rumors began floating around town that several were no longer in the employment of the City of Mexia. True. [continues 99 words]
On Jan. 30, a debate entitled "The Debate Over the Legalization of Marijuana: Heads vs. Feds" occurred on campus between DEA agent Bob Stutman, sometimes called "the most famous narc in America," and Steve Hagar, editor of "High Times" magazine. I expected a debate on marijuana legalization would draw the usual suspects. The one arguing in favor of legalization is often an unkempt, abrasive, ex-hippie spouting anti-government conspiracy theories and generally doing his utmost to marginalize those of us who support marijuana legalization on an individual-rights basis. In the relativistic world view of the far left, individuals ought not to be constrained by standards of decency and morality and should be free to engage in whatever self-destructive acts suit their whims while, at the same time, they should be insulated from the consequences of their actions. [continues 866 words]
Tech Dorms Maintain Rules Despite Increasing Trend Of Alcohol, Drugs On Campus Though administrators for Texas Tech's Residence Halls are witnessing an increased use of prescription drugs and alcohol by students, they plan to maintain current rules on contraband items. Sean Duggan, director of University Student Housing, said the Student Code of Conduct is much like a speed limit; even if you forget about it or do not read it, you still will be held accountable. Duggan said students are responsible for everything that goes on in their room, even if they are not present when it happens. [continues 578 words]
Over 75 parents, students, members of the medical field, law enforcement community and other interested parties, along with some Navasota ISD personnel, turned out Monday night to voice their support for a drug testing program for NISD students involved in extracurricular activities. The special NISD Board of Trustee workshop session in the high school library featured a presentation by Allyson Collins, Senior Attorney for the Texas Association of School Boards who discussed the process of the testing procedures and just which students can be randomly tested and how the test can be administered. [continues 377 words]
Dear Editor, I'm sure deputy James Moore means well, however D.A.R.E. programs make less of a difference in kids lives than he thinks (DARE Program Thriving In Comal ISD article, Jan. 30, 2008). Nearly every study including government studies shows D.A.R.E. is a failure and may be causing more drug use than no program at all. One reason D.A.R.E. fails is because it teaches lies, half truths and discredited reefer madness propaganda. One example: when youth finds out the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis is less harmful and addictive than taught, they think honest hard drugs are also not so addictive; causing grave results. [continues 140 words]
EDINBURG -- He calls himself the Rev. Adam E. Zuniga. His religion is illegal. According to his business card, he is ordained by the Shemshemet Ministry, which teaches the Cannabis Sacrament. "It's a means to my survival, spiritually," he says. For Zuniga, his Eucharist is pot. But he doesn't call it that. "Please refer to it as cannabis. I don't refer to propaganda names. It's sacrament. It's herb. It is a plant." In July 2003, the 27-year-old had just wrapped up working security in the U.S. Air Force, and was awaiting an instructor position at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. [continues 914 words]
Binational cooperation is the key to solving border issues, including arms, human and drug trafficking, border security and violence, and efforts to reduce organized crime along the border. U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, recently commended Mexico for its efforts at cooperation in border issues. The specific matter was the capture of Jesus Navarro Montes, a narcotics smuggler wanted by the U.S. in the recent death of Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar. On Tuesday, Reyes met with the Mexican Secretary of Public Security, Genaro Garcia Luna, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss cooperation in border issues. [continues 167 words]
At least one thing was clear Wednesday night at Texas Tech: It was high times for the Tech Activities Board, a group of students that brings entertainment and educational programs to the university. Thousands of students packed into an auditorium to hear a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent and the editor of High Times magazine debate marijuana. Tickets for "The Debate Over the Legalization of Marijuana: Heads vs. Feds" sold out Monday, said Jana Vise, an assistant director of the Student Union Building, where the debate was held. [continues 294 words]
President Bush wants to put billions of dollars back into taxpayers' hands? I have a suggestion where that money might come from. Consider a long-running program that wastes billions of dollars a year and causes much bigger problems - the war on drugs. From the late economist Milton Friedman to William F. Buckley Jr. to the Cato Institute and the RAND Corp., all agree that U.S. drug policy is in need of serious reform. Bush is in search of a legacy; maybe he should start by opening a reasonable dialogue looking into what is arguably the worst ongoing domestic and foreign policy this country has ever embarked upon. Wait, Bush being practical or reasonable? Forget it. How about a little courage from "change"-chanting 2008 presidential hopefuls? Anyone? Dripping Springs [end]
Re: Jan. 18 commentary "The war next door." The column by Austin Bay illustrates the great damage the U.S. war on drugs has inflicted on our neighbor Mexico. He states that "the drug cartels have enormous financial resources," due, of course, to the illegal drug trade. "Execution-style killings in Mexico in 2007 were an estimated 2,500" due to the illegal drug trade. "200 Mexican soldiers and policemen had died in the last year and a half at the hands of drug cartels" due, again, to U.S. policy. We think our country has a huge problem with illegal immigration from Mexico. What about the huge problem Mexico has with with our ill-advised war on drugs? Isn't it time to try something different for both problems? Eugene Czora Cedar Creek [end]
If James Moore ever questioned whether he was making an impact on students through the D.A.R.E. program, he found the answer on the program's graduation day at Mountain Valley School last year. Moore, a deputy with the Comal County Sheriff's Department, is famous for sipping on orange Fanta soft drinks during his weekly one-hour D.A.R.E. (Drub Abuse Resistance Education) classroom sessions. On D.A.R.E. graduation day this past May, Moore handed the 120 fifth-grade students at Mountain Valley School T-shirts and certificates showing they successfully completed the 12-week program. Every student, in turn, then presented Moore with a can of orange Fanta. [continues 473 words]
'There Will Be No Retreat' In Drug War, Official Vows MEXICO CITY - Little more than a year after President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against Mexico's powerful drug cartels, the gangsters seem willing and able to strike back with a vengeance. The arrests last week in Mexico City of 11 heavily armed men, whom authorities say were assassins for the Sinaloa Cartel led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, suggest the crackdown is having an impact, officials say. Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, a top anti-narcotics official in the federal attorney general's office, told Mexican interviewers that he had been the target of at least two assassination attempts in the past month. [continues 1099 words]
Gary Ross had back pain, and he treated it with dope. When Ross failed a drug test, his employer promptly fired him. Ross had proof-positive that his drug use was legal. He had a medical marijuana card authorizing him to use the drug for treatment of pain from a back injury sustained while serving in the U.S. Air Force. Despite his condition and his card - and despite an injury sustained while serving his country - the California Supreme Court last week upheld the company's decision to fire him. [continues 351 words]
Texas Needs to Join the 49 States That Offer Drug Addicts Clean Syringes to Stop the Spread of Disease This month, three Christian activists were arrested in San Antonio as they handed out clean syringes to, according to police, a group of "known prostitutes and drug addicts" in exchange for their used drug needles. Now, for their efforts to stop the spread of AIDS and hepatitis, the activists, including an elderly man and woman, are facing a year in prison. The incident makes a a mockery of clear thinking in this state when it comes to containing infectious disease among intravenous drug users, the people who love them and even their babies: Texas is the one state in the union in which it is illegal to run a needle exchange program of any kind, even though such programs have been shown to reduce the spread of HIV infection and hepatitis. [continues 505 words]
A Texas Lay Chaplain Faces Jail Time for Handing Out Clean Syringes to Drug Addicts to Curtail the Spread of HIV. SAN ANTONIO -- Bill Day doesn't fancy himself an outlaw -- and with his Mr. Rogers demeanor, he definitely doesn't look the part. But soon the 73-year-old lay chaplain could spend up to a year in jail for breaking a law that he considers immoral. Day hands out clean needles to drug addicts on some of the seediest streets in this south Texas city. He does it because he's convinced that it reduces human suffering by curtailing the spread of HIV, a view that has been supported by medical research for more than a decade. [continues 887 words]
A few years ago, politicians who dared to suggest anything other than jail time for marijuana users were considered pro-drug fringe candidates. Not anymore. Now all the major Democratic presidential candidates are offering more lenient stands on medical marijuana, and White House hopeful Ron Paul, a Texas Republican, has made ending the federal drug war a centerpiece of his campaign. "There has definitely been a change in the political climate for liberalization," said Tim Lynch, a criminal justice expert at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based think tank. "I think the people are ahead of the politicians, especially of the Washington, D.C., politicians, on this issue." [continues 707 words]
Lewisville: Case Involved Middle-Schooler Who Smelled Teacher's Sanitizer Denton County prosecutors decided Friday to wash their hands of a case against a Lewisville middle school student accused of trying to get high by sniffing his teacher's hand sanitizer. Three days after filing delinquency charges against the youth, prosecutors did a turnaround and decided that the common cleaning gel is not an abusive inhalant under the Texas Health and Safety Code. "It's not a crime. Hand sanitizer does not fall within that statute," said Jamie Beck, first assistant district attorney in Denton County. "The police agency brought it up mistakenly thinking it was." [continues 580 words]
Increase in Discipline for Possession, Sales Not Pegged to Just One Cause, Educators Say More students in North Texas -- and across the state -- are being disciplined for having used, sold or possessed drugs or controlled substances on campuses, according to information released by the state. In the Texas Education Agency region that includes Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties, the number of incidents in which students were disciplined for drug infractions rose 13 percent between 2005-06 and 2006-07, according to data compiled by the TEA. [continues 759 words]
Criminal offenses are up, and felony drug cases are down in Nacogdoches ISD schools, according to a fall semester report issued by the NISD Police Department. Twenty-nine citations were issued to Nacogdoches ISD students during the fall 2007 semester, which is four more than were issued during the fall 2006 semester, according to the first-semester report. NISD Police Chief Doug Ploch said the citations were written for any offense that could have been considered a class C misdemeanor. [continues 359 words]
If the term "war on drugs" is supposed to be a mere slogan, nobody told Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Mexico is at war with the drug cartels, and the president, raising the stakes in his bold assault against the criminals, has taken his fight to the U.S.-Mexico border. From Nuevo Laredo to Reynosa, soldiers patrolled the areas in armored cars, surrounding the very facilities dedicated to fighting the gangs -- the police stations For brave, responsible officials like the president, the battle is complicated by a cruel phenomenon that has hindered law enforcement for decades: In Mexico, badges are often shields, providing protection for dirty cops who work for the drug lords. [continues 248 words]
Prosecution On Drug Charges A Ridiculous Misuse Of Law There are all kinds of Christian ministries and some of them go beyond the "norm." Some minister in prisons, some go to bars, others go to foreign countries, some work in small rooms just translating Bibles into rare languages. Bill Day, goes along the streets of San Antonio trying to ease the suffering of "the least" and now he and members of his group are threatened with going to jail themselves. Day, 73 and a retired real estate appraiser, co-founded the Bexar Area Harm Reduction Center some years back, with the idea of handing out clean syringes to poor diabetics and, yes, intravenous drug users. [continues 462 words]
Not A Homegrown Problem Anymore It's not just here. Law enforcement agencies in small towns and rural settings across the state have been slammed with the ever-growing manufacture and relative easy availability of methamphetamine. Previous research showed the problem centered around clandestine manufacturing labs in largely unpopulated areas. That's not the case any more. The menace has gone international. Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler, who has seen his share of fly-by-night drug operations, said the manufacture of meth in small rural labs had an easy explanation. [continues 715 words]
Pilot Plan For Breaking Addiction Attracts Texas Funds, Skeptics AUSTIN - It was added to the Texas budget with little notice and no objection: $2 million for an obscure medical treatment touted as a cure for the worst methamphetamine addictions. But months later, the pilot program for the drug therapy, called Prometa, has yet to get off the ground, halted by skepticism and safety concerns. Several smaller probation departments have applied to the state to offer the Prometa treatment as a condition of release, but some experts continue to question Texas' judgment. [continues 1275 words]
Despite being the sole D.A.R.E. officer in booming Comal County, James Moorerefuses to miss a beat - or admit to being overwhelmed. "I'm able to handle it right now," said Moore, a sheriff's deputy who taughtthe national drug resistance program to a whopping 1,200 fifth-gradestudents last year. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., began in Los Angeles in 1983as a federally funded initiative to reduce drug use and crime. According toD.A.R.E. literature, the program's curriculum, which faced particularscrutiny in the mid-90s, is updated regularly to incorporate the latestscientific data and cultural trends. [continues 424 words]
It Is Time to Debate Policies, Not Personalities For the first time in many years, the voters in Harris County will have real choices in the race for district attorney. Republicans will have a contested primary with experienced candidates, Jim Leitner and Kelly Seigler, as well as Houston police Capt. Doug Perry and former Judge Pat Lykos. The winner of that race will have to face former HPD Police Chief Clarence Bradford on the Democratic ticket. Perhaps now we can, or at least should, finally focus on the actual day-to-day policies of this office, rather than the personal lives of its recent occupant. Here are questions to ask these candidates to see if voters can support more of the same or real change. [continues 1346 words]
To the editor: There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for zero tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated black market prices. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with heroin use. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are under way in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin-trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 135 words]
Two wild shootouts last week involving Mexican federal agents and soldiers and suspected drug traffickers just a few short minutes from Lower Rio Grande Valley communities demonstrates how close to the United States the drug war is raging. And the incidents shows how far Mexico is from quelling the violence. Mexican authorities have been waging a courageous fight against drug traffickers and now President Felipe Calderon's administration is taking the fight to the drug lords. Mexico needs American help in clamping down on the flow of firearms south that gives the drug lords the firepower of small armies. [continues 441 words]
It May Be Time To Get Rid Of Drug Laws -- Or At Least Change Them. If the drug-war violence that erupted this week across the border in Rio Bravo and in Reynosa leaves you apprehensive, your head is probably in the right place. It is a very scary situation akin to the Capone-era gangland wars in Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s, which left scores of bad guys and innocent bystanders dead and injured. Although we would like to think not, there is a distinct possibility - -- because of the extreme mobility of the cross-border illicit drug trade and its practitioners -- that more of this violence could spread to the U.S. side. We say "more" because if you think it isn't already happening here, you're deluding yourself. Many of the stories we have covered regarding home invasions, burned bodies found in cars, corpses discovered here and there around the Valley and instances in which U.S. Border Patrol officers have been fired on from across the Rio Grande have been associated with cross-border drug trafficking. [continues 529 words]
As a Christian, I strongly disagree with the assertion, "not arresting people for drug possession is sending the wrong message" (Marijuana Possession Still Means Jail Time, Jan. 7, 2008). Cannabis (kaneh bosm / marijuana) isn't a drug but rather a relatively safe God-given plant. One reason to stop caging responsible adults for using cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it is Biblically correct since Christ indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page. The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). Truth is, it sends the wrong message when government cages humans for using what God says is good. Dillon, Colo. [end]
Legislators hoped to alleviate jail overcrowding across the state by allowing peace officers to issue citations to those found with less than 4 ounces of marijuana and for other misdemeanors, but local authorities say not arresting people for drug possession is sending the wrong message. With two failed bonds and overcrowding plaguing the Smith County Jail, each person arrested on drug possession adds to the daily total of inmates in jail and that translates to as much as $41 per day that a person is confined. [continues 928 words]
Why I - and a Surprising Number My Friends - Smoke Pot Ahh, cancer. One learns so much from being diagnosed with a death-sentence disease. Of course, 95 percent of it is stuff you would rather not know, but that other 5 percent is downright interesting. For example, America's Next Top Model is much more fun to watch when you've lost 15 pounds without trying. During chemotherapy, vanilla smells good, but vanilla wafers taste disgusting. And eyelashes really do have a purpose. [continues 721 words]
Re: "Marijuana tickets not catching on - Law designed to free jail space not used by N. Texas counties as prosecutors question propriety," Monday news story. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins has brought honor to his office with his smart-on-crime approach to the job. He should extend it to setting up a system for processing misdemeanor citations. Consider two scenarios: A student is caught with a small amount of marijuana. She is arrested and taken to jail where she is subjected to the humiliation and degradation that is unavoidable in the situation. [continues 134 words]
Baylor Doctors Say Shots Block the Drug's High The needle may be one of addiction's enduring symbols, but two Houston researchers hope injections of modified cocaine actually provide the first-ever medication for people hooked on the destructive drug. The Baylor College of Medicine scientists have developed a cocaine vaccine, currently in clinical trials, that stimulates the immune system to attack the real thing when it's taken. As a result, cocaine no longer provides a kick. "For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful," said Dr. Tom Kosten, a psychiatry professor who was assisted in the research by his wife, Therese, a psychologist and neuroscientist. "At some point, most users will give in to temptation and relapse, but those for whom the vaccine is effective won't get high and will lose interest." [continues 1028 words]
Well, Happy New Year. For those of you who had too much cough syrup last night, just pretend I whispered that. I wished a friend of mine a happy new year last week, and he began to muse about why the new year always seems to bring the same old problems, and since that seems to be generally true year to year, then why do we bother to call it a "new" year? As I thought about this exchange, I was fascinated at the possibility that we might actually face new problems in a new year. So here are some of the problems I would like to see us let go of, in no particular order. [continues 728 words]
(Re: Dec. 28 letter, "Drug legalization isn't the answer," by Wayne C. Williams.) As another former law officer, I understand the need to justify helping send people to prison for decades. Williams' statement, "Surely (former Officer Howard J.) Wooldridge has worked cases where lowlifes commit crimes in order to feed their habit," misses the point. The criminal justice system treats drug-users like lowlifes whether they have committed other crimes or not. Dec. 17 marked 93 years since the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act. Since then, more than 38 million Americans have been arrested for plant products in their pockets. [continues 130 words]
Everyone seems to have ideas about the drug problem - some good, some bad. No wonder none of them works. The only time most lawmakers have been on the street is walking from their car to their house. They try to make laws regarding things they know nothing about. They talk about people being hooked on street drugs while taking the little pharmaceutical wonders they can't get through the day without. I remember when the government was so proud of the machines and computers that would "take the place of so many people" and were so cheap to run. [continues 128 words]
Inside Texas
