A lot of people seem upset about the new law requiring potential welfare recipients to pay for drug testing before they can be approved. What these complainers don't realize is that the poverty-stricken have had it too easy for far too long. The government is finally doing the right thing by assuming that every single one of them is guilty of using illicit drugs unless they are able to prove themselves innocent. The idea that we are all innocent until proven guilty is antiquated and needs to be done away with anyway. Luckily, we are now seeing a reversal of that unfortunate belief, and this new drug testing law is merely the most recent example. Arizona's tough new immigration law assumes all people of possibly foreign origin are in this country illegally unless they can prove otherwise at any time. [continues 80 words]
TAMPA - Attorneys for Buju Banton did all they could to remind jurors and a judge that their client was an international reggae star, not a drug kingpin. They displayed his album covers during Banton's drug conspiracy trial in February. They called Bob Marley's son as a witness and told jurors Banton had won a Grammy. And on the first page of a recent court filing, attorneys even included a photo of Banton performing on stage. But it was convicted drug defendant Mark Myrie - Banton's given name - - that a federal judge sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison Thursday after his conviction for setting up a deal to buy 11 pounds of cocaine with the intent to distribute it. [continues 675 words]
Former President Jimmy Carter, thought by many to be the worst president in U.S. history, wants to decriminalize nonviolent drug offenses. I do not know if there are statistics, but I wonder how many people came by their drug money by working regularly scheduled jobs that had paychecks and tax deductions, as opposed to those who relied on "nonviolent" burglaries and car thefts, etc. Certainly the lives of the drug offenders are affected, but so are the lives of the victims of crime. I would like to see Carter stick to something he knows, like growing peanuts and framing houses. We can use both. Don Niemann Seminole [end]
Re Leonard Pitts' June 15 column, Time to end drug war: The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy immediately rejected the high profile Global Commission on Drug Policy call for reform and defended the federal government's drug control efforts. These efforts have given the land of the free the highest incarceration rate in the world. Prohibition-related violence has caused upwards of 35,000 deaths in Mexico during the past four years. Despite criminal penalties, the United States has higher rates of drug use than European Union countries such as Portugal that have decriminalized. With the national debt soaring, we can no longer afford to throw good money after bad drug policy. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
In response to the recent story titled "Panel: War on drugs has failed; legalize marijuana": What would be the effect of state owned and operated stores that sell legal, locally grown marijuana? Some states and towns have a monopoly on liquor sales in their area. The federal government bought and sold tobacco and controlled the volume with acreage allotments. The "numbers racket" had many of the same elements as the marijuana business until the states took over, lowered the odds of winning and changed the name to lottery, in effect putting the bolita people out of business. Again, what would be the effect if the state took over this business? William Dicker Gainesville [end]
On June 1, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board criticized Gov. Rick Scott for signing a bill that will require Floridians applying for welfare to submit to a drug test. At issue is not the ability of needy citizens to apply for assistance. Nobody disagrees with the state providing a safety net for those who fall temporarily on hard times or who cannot provide for themselves due to physical or mental impairments. But it should be a safety net, not a comfort zone. [continues 370 words]
Every kid who's ever played cops and robbers knows that the good guys try to keep guns away from the bad guys. The last thing you'd do is sit around and watch crooks sell each other weapons, let them walk off with hundreds of AK-47s, sniper rifles and revolvers, then sit back and wait for the carnage. But that's exactly what leadership within the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are charged with doing, in an apparently harebrained ploy to get close to Mexico's drug cartels. [continues 671 words]
The Issue: Gov. Scott Suspends Employee Drug Tests Give Gov. Rick Scott credit for suspending his order to require random drug tests of all state employees. Scott would now be well-advised to do the same for the meritless order requiring anyone seeking state welfare assistance to submit to and pay for a drug test. Why Gov. Scott suspended the drug tests for state employees "" whether it was concern over a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, or whether he just realized the foolishness of the crusade "" is open for debate. [continues 278 words]
IN an extraordinary new initiative announced earlier this month, the Global Commission on Drug Policy has made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations in a report on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. The commission includes the former presidents or prime ministers of five countries, a former secretary general of the United Nations, human rights leaders, and business and government leaders, including Richard Branson, George P. Shultz and Paul A. Volcker. The report describes the total failure of the present global antidrug effort, and in particular America's "war on drugs," which was declared 40 years ago today. It notes that the global consumption of opiates has increased 34.5 percent, cocaine 27 percent and cannabis 8.5 percent from 1998 to 2008. Its primary recommendations are to substitute treatment for imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harm to others, and to concentrate more coordinated international effort on combating violent criminal organizations rather than nonviolent, low-level offenders. [continues 660 words]
I read in the News Journal the negative reaction of many when Gov. Rick Scott announced all welfare recipients would be drug tested. Why not? If they are drug free, there is nothing to be disturbed about. If so, then the taxpayer should not be responsible for supporting their habit. I also feel strongly about unwed mothers who have three and four children and are on welfare. Florida should do as a few other states do. The first child is an accident and they are eligible for welfare. The second, third or even fourth should be supported by the father/fathers. The proud daddy or daddies should be responsible for support of these children. There are ways to prevent unplanned pregnancies, and the education for use is readily available in many organizations. Try the health department. There is an old expression, which seems appropriate: "If you want to dance, pay the fiddler." Give the daddies the bragging right and have them support their child. Marie D. Wallo Pensacola [end]
Forty years ago today, President Richard Nixon declared our nation's War on Drugs. That is more than enough time to evaluate the war's costs and benefits: In dealing with the problems of drug abuse, it has failed. It is time for a new approach. The most recent assessment of this war came this month from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a group of 19 political, business and cultural leaders including Reagan-era Secretary of State George Schultz and former Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker. Calling for an end to the war-fighting model, they wrote: [continues 513 words]
As an op-ed article on the opposite page notes, this is the 40th anniversary of America's "War on Drugs." This year, Florida began a strategic retreat from decades of failed drug-related criminal justice policies, and that retreat should continue even faster next year. In the late 1980s, Florida overreacted to the arrival of crack cocaine by instituting mandatory sentences that did little to distinguish addicts from traffickers. Prisons swelled, and the Department of Corrections began releasing inmates so the state would remain in compliance with court-ordered limits on prison populations. The system for deciding who to release, however, was spotty. One man who had served barely half his sentence killed two police officers. So next came the rule that all inmates must serve 85 percent of their sentence. [continues 353 words]
Re Guillermo I. Martinez's June 9 column, "Monterrey must be the line in the sand in Mexico drug war": Drugs did not spawn Mexico's organized crime networks. Just like alcohol prohibition gave rise to Al Capone, drug prohibition created the violent drug-trafficking organizations behind all the killings in Mexico. With alcohol prohibition repealed in the United States, liquor bootleggers no longer gunned each other down in drive-by shootings. Mexico's upsurge in violence only began after an anti-drug crackdown created a power vacuum among competing cartels. [continues 97 words]
I do not object to drug testing TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] applicants on a privacy-based theory. I only disapprove of the this measure as a wasted effort to keep taxpayers' money out of the hands of drug addicts. With the prevalence of substance abuse among all demographics, from the senator's son to the farmer's daughter, it is conceivable that we support someone's habit with every dollar we pay for goods and services ranging from Los Cubanitos sandwich platters to handmade Amish fireplaces. If Gov. Rick Scott's measure does, in fact, contribute to anyone's recovery from addiction, I would praise his ability to accomplish a goal that has evaded most social welfare professionals. Lakeland [end]
Defenders of the war on drugs say it's a matter of simple morality that the United States continue a full range of anti-drug efforts; it's an expression of opposition to drug use. Drug war defenders fear that use of now-illicit drugs would skyrocket were these drugs declared legal. But a growing number of people are questioning this view as they assess the more than 30,000 drug war-related deaths in Mexico since 2006, an erosion of liberties as government drug enforcement powers increase, and an approach that too often favors incarceration over treatment. [continues 416 words]
Dear President Obama: Right after your election, somebody asked if I thought having a black president meant black people's concerns would now receive attention at the executive level. I told them I expected the opposite. There used to be a saying - only Nixon could go to China. Meaning, of course, that only he, as a staunch anti-communist, had the credibility to make overtures to that nation without accusations of being soft on communism. By the inverse of that political calculus, I never expected that you, as a black man, would do much to address black issues. [continues 480 words]
I don't agree with our governor 99 percent of the time. However, his bill to have people drug tested before receiving welfare benefits is long overdue. As a taxpayer for more than 50 years, I would have and didn't have any problem submitting to a drug test for employment purposes. Why should the taxpayers be responsible for buying people drugs? The American Civil Liberties Union and some legislators say this is unconstitutional. Is it unconstitutional for employers to require a drug test before hiring someone? What is the difference? If you don't want drug addicts tested, give them your own money! If there is a judge out there who thinks drug testing is unconstitutional, he or she must have a good reason, like not wanting to be tested. Think about it. This is one good thing Scott has done. Don't ruin it! Michael Ryder, North Lauderdale [end]
Some stories make it to the front pages of our newspapers and we cannot ignore their importance. Take for instance the victory by leftist Ollanta Humala in Peru's presidential election Sunday. That is unquestionably a new challenge for U.S. foreign policy in the region. Then we have those stories that seldom make it to the front pages but are brought up often enough that we know that the United States has a problem. The violence in Mexico is a perfect example. With 40,000 dead since December 2006, the United States is conscious of a looming problem on its border. [continues 352 words]
Without doubt, it is the popular thing to do. Save the taxpayer money. Keep someone who is using illegal drugs off the public dole. Prevent the government from subsidizing the drug habits of people on welfare. To that end, Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation that will require all those applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, to undergo drug testing, and to pay upfront for the test. If the applicant passes, he or she will be reimbursed for the cost of the test and, assuming all paperwork is in order, begin to receive benefits. A failure -- that is, evidence of illegal drug use -- will preclude the applicant both from a reimbursement for the test cost and from receiving benefits. [continues 691 words]
I think drug testing is great for those who get government help. I have to be drug tested to get a job so I can help support those on welfare, so why shouldn't they? The also need to find out who smokes and who doesn't. That costs money and now some places won't even hire you if you smoke. If you are up front and honest, those who object shouldn't have a problem. Working people don't want to pay for food stamps, welfare or Medicaid fraud. I think living off of food stamps for years is wrong. If every working person quit work, how would food stamps and welfare go? Barbara Owens Pensacola [end]
Inside Florida
