I do not want our children tested for drugs. All three have participated in science clubs, honor activities, scholars bowls, math and sports teams, and more. Often it is the children who are doing the right thing who end up getting punished for the few. I spent almost 28 years in the Army having to undergo numerous random drug tests, no matter that all the previous ones had come back negative. They only made me annoyed and resentful. No matter how it is done, drug testing is invasive, degrading, discriminating, and, although slim, there's always a chance of a false positive whose stigma will remain. In a school district crying for money and asking for fees and dues and doing an untold number of fundraisers for the same students it is targeting, it would be a waste of money that could be used better elsewhere. [continues 131 words]
If you are a Morgan County high school student, you might want to make sure you cleaned your truck or car of shotgun shells left there from a recent dove or deer hunt. You might want to make sure there are no cigarettes, alcohol, tobacco or drugs -- legal or illegal, and even if they're not yours -- in your vehicle or locker. Morgan County Learning Center Principal Layne Dillard said Morgan County Schools hired Interquest Detective Canines of Demopolis, a company that uses trained dogs to search for items that schools do not allow on campus. [continues 362 words]
Policy To Focus On Extracurricular Activities, Driving MADISON - A random drug testing policy for students who drive to school or participate in extracurricular activities is being considered for Madison City Schools. "We feel an obligation to provide the safest environment we can, and a drug-free environment is the best for our children," Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler said at Thursday night's board meeting. He said the proposed policy would allow the system to randomly drug test any student who: Drives to Bob Jones High School and has a parking permit. [continues 112 words]
The 21st Judicial Drug Task Force may be breathing a little easier after receiving a $145,000 grant to aid in operations of the agency. "The $145,000 state grant is to be used for operations of the Task Force only," Escambia County Commission Chairman David Stokes said Friday. "The funds will be used for things like salaries and expenses." The grant, which requires an equal match from Escambia County and municipalities within the county, was announced by Gov. Bob Riley's office. [continues 210 words]
Red Ribbon Week is continuing this week at local city schools. I just think it is great the ways that schools put such an emphasis on an issue as important as protecting the students from drugs. Now I know that just because the schools take one week out of the year and tell kids to say no to drugs, doesn't mean that all of them will stay drug free. But I do think it does keep some from ever wanting to touch drugs. [continues 361 words]
Bravo for News staff writer Dave Parks' article "Drug problem worse based on new data" (Oct. 21). It painted a very clear picture of where police, court and correctional resources are being squandered in the government's failed and costly "war on drugs." It's really a war on marijuana consumers, who are the most numerous but least problematic of all substance users. So much for the theory of safety in numbers. The fact that more than half of arrests and prosecutions for all drug violations were for simple marijuana possession shows the police and courts have no real interest in targeting large dealers. After all, with no large dealers, there will be no small users to round up for prison or drug court programs. This clearly shows the drug war really amounts to nothing more than a government jobs program, meant to be waged, not won. [continues 112 words]
Salvia Divinorum Is Illegal in Some Places but Not in Alabama The scientific name is Salvia divinorum. It's a member of the mint family and one of about 500 plants in the genus Salvia. But this salvia is different from the flowering plant you may have in the garden, and that's cause for some concern. A recent article in The Times noted that the crushed and dried leaves of Salvia divinorum are available for purchase here - over the counter. The plant grows naturally in some areas of Mexico and has long been used by indigenous shamans. It's said to have significant psychoactive properties, causing hallucinations and other psychological effects. The name can be translated as "sage of the seers." [continues 302 words]
The long war against illegal drugs sometimes seems impossible to overcome. But every little step that we can take to keep our children away from drugs and alcohol will help in the long run. This week, students at area schools will participate in Red Ribbon Week activities, which gives teachers a chance to focus on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Students will play games designed to teach them to stay away from drugs, and they'll receive visits from experts such as the Drug Task Force. [continues 144 words]
Day breaks in Bessemer, and an unmarked van rumbles over railroad tracks. It turns down a street filled with grand but aging homes and parks behind a rundown frame house, the worst in the neighborhood. Eight heavily armed men and women dressed in black, with armored vests and helmets, pile out. They smash through the home's rear door, shouting, "Sheriff's department! Search warrant!" In the war on drugs, it's another skirmish, something that is occurring far more often in Alabama. For the first time, the state Department of Forensic Sciences crime lab is counting drug cases statewide, and it's getting a total that is nearly double what was previously calculated. [continues 1064 words]
Day breaks in Bessemer, and an unmarked van rumbles over railroad tracks. It turns down a street filled with grand but aging homes and parks behind a rundown frame house, the worst in the neighborhood. Eight heavily armed men and women dressed in black, with armored vests and helmets, pile out. They smash through the home's rear door, shouting, "Sheriff's department! Search warrant!" In the war on drugs, it's another skirmish, something that is occurring far more often in Alabama. For the first time, the state Department of Forensic Sciences crime lab is counting drug cases statewide, and it's getting a total that is nearly double what was previously calculated. [continues 1072 words]
The grant received by the Lawrence County Drug Task Force will help fund the unit for the coming year but it is $11,000 short of the requested amount. Gov. Bob Riley announced last week that the task force had received a grant for $61,000. The funds were made available by the U.S. Department of Justice and are administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). "If we had gotten the $72,000 grant we had requested, we could have hired an additional officer for the task force," said Task Force Director Amard Martin. "But we didn't get enough for a new officer. But it was more than last year when we only got $45,000." [continues 196 words]
MOULTON - The Lawrence County Commission was awarded a $61,000 state grant for the county Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, Gov. Bob Riley announced Wednesday. The task force will use the funds to investigate and prosecute cases involving the manufacture, sale and use of illegal drugs including marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine, according to a press release from Riley's office. The unit plans to use a portion of the grant to hire an additional investigator, which task force officials say will allow it to investigate more cases. [continues 75 words]
Eleven-year-old Cliffton Finch wrinkled his nose at the slice of tumor-ridden, diseased lung in a plastic sandwich bag. "It was a little nasty," he said later. He and five of his classmates at Forest Hill Elementary in west Mobile were learning firsthand about the dangers of drugs aboard Mobile Infirmary's Drug Education Vehicle. "I really liked when we got to look at the parts of the body," said Roderick Ferrell, 10. "It was really interesting about the type of damage you can do if you take alcohol or do drugs." [continues 276 words]
Alabama's prison system is like an out-of-control carousel. In 2005, for example, 9,700 new inmates got onboard just as 10,400 parolees stepped off and headed for home -- up from 3,400 in 1980. Alabama towns and cities are struggling to cope with the special services needed by this ever-growing number of new parolees returning home each year. America's lock-'em-up drug laws are keeping this merry-go-round spinning faster and faster. Nationally, the portion of inmates leaving state prisons after serving time for non-violent drug offenses has shot up from 11 percent in 1985 to 37 percent in 2005. Here is how this trend plays out in Alabama. [continues 515 words]
Huntsville Public Safety Director Rex Reynolds makes the common mistake of confusing drug-related crime with prohibition-related crime. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like methamphetamine, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings. Consumers no longer go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. [continues 128 words]
FBI's Report Shows '06 Violent Crime Also Soared In City Huntsville Public Safety Director Rex Reynolds said Monday that the city's increase in robberies last year, a 23 percent jump from 2005, could be a direct result of the methamphetamine problem facing North Alabama. The number of robberies in Huntsville increased from 500 in 2005 to 617 in 2006, according to the FBI's 2006 Crime in the United States report released Monday. Total violent crime was up nearly 18 percent citywide. [continues 470 words]
I want to thank Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb publicly for her efforts to ease prison overcrowding and address drug addiction with a more compassionate approach. It is so important for society to realize that addiction is an illness that can be treated and not a crime that needs punishing. Many of you know me as a voice for drug policy and prison reform in Alabama and as a candidate for governor in 2006. I am also a family member who has witnessed the devastating impact that drugs and alcohol can have on human lives. [continues 150 words]
Anti-drug operations like Operation Clean Sweep are no doubt well-intended, but ultimately counterproductive. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs, while demand remains constant, only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like methamphetamine, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. [continues 131 words]
I want to thank Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb publicly for her efforts to ease prison overcrowding and address drug addiction with a more compassionate approach. It is so important for society to realize that addiction is an illness that can be treated and not a crime that needs punishing. Regardless of how people get addicted, they are still someone's mother, father, daughter, son, husband, wife or friend. Not one of them longed to be an alcoholic or drug addict when he or she was a kid. [continues 353 words]
Kudos , pats on the back all around and a great big thank you to the numerous law enforcement officers who took part in Operation Clean Sweep in Marshall, DeKalb, Etowah and other counties this week. Never before have so many local, state and federal officers been seen in such presence in the Marshall County area for such a far-reaching and effective roundup of criminals. More than 200 people from at least four counties were arrested and charged with felonies this week. Additionally, some 150 more were arrested for varying levels of misdemeanors. [continues 179 words]
Inside Alabama
