Two Quebec men admitted in federal court to possessing about 100 pounds of marijuana after a traffic stop in the village of Canton. Sebastien Fredette, 21, and Mathieu Langlois, 22, each pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Syracuse to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Both will be sentenced April 10. St. Lawrence County sheriff's deputies stopped them May 28 near P&C Foods on Route 11 for erratic driving, federal court records show. A deputy noticed a large hockey equipment bag on the back seat and asked to search the vehicle. Mr. Fredette allegedly declined the request. [continues 139 words]
CHAMPLAIN - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Saturday the arrest of a U. S. citizen who attempted to smuggle $34,639 into the United States. According to CBP officers, he was encountered as he applied for admission into the United States at the Champlain port of entry. During the primary inspection, CBP officers say, he claimed that he was en route to Florida on vacation. Further questioning raised the suspicion of CBP officers and he was subsequently referred to CBP for a secondary enforcement exam. [continues 144 words]
ALBANY - A state appeals court has unanimously reversed the 2007 conviction of a man found with cocaine in his buttocks, finding Schenectady police wrongly strip searched him before his arrest. Jonathan Gonzalez was arrested after he allegedly approached a wired informant and asked, "What do you need? I can get you whatever you need." Gonzalez was taken to a police station, where he was required to disrobe for a body cavity search. He was "repeatedly ordered to bend over and spread the cheeks of his buttocks," the Appellate Division ruling stated. After Gonzalez eventually agreed, investigators "spotted a small plastic bag, later determined to contain cocaine, protruding out of his rectum," the ruling stated. [continues 451 words]
Mamie Singleton, 101, and her granddaughter, Mary Reaves, 56, are being evicted from their home of 45 years. They received a notice last week from Syracuse police Chief Gary Miguel, giving them five days to leave their two-family house at 114 Baker Ave. They were supposed to move out by Christmas Eve. The property is being closed for six months under the city's nuisance abatement law because of drug arrests at the house, Miguel said. The women's lawyer, Randi Bianco, appealed for an emergency stay to halt the proceedings until after the holidays and Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi granted the request Tuesday, moving back the case until Jan. 5. [continues 970 words]
Drug War Threatens The Country Itself Drug violence in Mexico is so appalling that it is affecting school attendance, USA Today reports. In some cities along the border with the United States, schoolchildren are staying home due to the violence. In Juarez, a city of 1.3 million people across the border from El Paso, Texas, drug violence has taken at least 1,530 lives this year. At one school in Juarez, about 90 percent of the parents are keeping their children home because of kidnapping threats. Because police are so preoccupied with drug violence, other criminals have threatened to kidnap children in a bid to extort money from parents and teachers. [continues 218 words]
To the Editor: On Long Island, new laws will notify schools, churches and other organizations about heroin arrests and immunize the notifiers from any possible lawsuits. While I understand the desire to do something following a personal tragedy (the loss of a child) and in the face of growing use of a dangerous illegal drug, these attempts are likely to be futile. The better approach would be to notify the kids about the known antidote to opiate overdose, Naloxone, and immunize anyone who administers it, calls 911 and stays with the overdose victim until the ambulance arrives. Certified training programs are available from various harm reduction agencies in New York City, and they work. These programs could be easily adapted for schools, churches and other youth agencies. Fears of "sending the wrong message" or "condoning illegal drug use" will be overcome when we see our children survive inevitable drug experimentation rather than die from a single indiscretion. Daniel Hood New York The writer is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Farmingdale State College. [end]
Re the proposal to report the number and location of heroin arrests ( " Increase in Heroin Use Leads to Proposed Laws, " Dec. 14): First, the clear assumption here is that arrest is synonymous with guilt; in our country, happily, that is not the case. More fundamentally, such reporting would lead to fear directed at certain neighborhoods and those who live there, while doing nothing about the problems of drug trafficking and use. Black markets are driven primarily by demand, and there is a need for frank , and honest , discussion in schools and elsewhere about the dangers of illicit drugs. It is also essential to make confidential treatment services available promptly to everyone who wants and needs help. Dr. Robert Newman New York The writer is director of the Baron Edmond de Rothschild Chemical Dependency Institute of the Beth Israel Medical Center. [end]
A Wayne County man has been sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison for his role in a plot to bring hundreds of pounds of marijuana across the border from Canada. Jamahl Leonard, 29, of Sodus, the reputed ringleader of the plot in the Rochester area, was sentenced today and received 114 months after pleading guilty in May before U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer to money laundering and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Leonard faced a prison term of 97 to 121 months under terms of a plea agreement, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas E. Gregory. [continues 80 words]
CANTON - Two Hogansburg men allegedly found in possession of 95 pounds of marijuana this fall were indicted Tuesday by a St. Lawrence County grand jury. Matthew J. Tarbell, 23, and Justine R. Johnson, 21, both of 120 St. Regis road, were each indicted for first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. According to court documents, they possessed 95 pounds of marijuana on Oct. 5 in the town of Rossie. [end]
A hearing to determine whether jailed Falls Police Officer Ryan Warme will be freed on bail was delayed in federal court on Monday when his lawyer said he needed federal prosecutors to turn over more information to him. U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh Scott adjoined a detention hearing until Dec. 30 to allow lawyers on both sides to submit arguments over why they were or were not entitled to know the names of witnesses against Warme and the contents of a seized cell phone. In the meantime, Warme will remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals at the Steuben County jail. [continues 783 words]
Suffolk lawmakers agreed last night to a bill that creates a Web site to show heroin-related arrests by location, frequency and the age of the culprits. The bill, dubbed "Natalie's Law" after Massapequa teenager Natalie Ciappa, who died from a heroin overdose in June, passed 17-1, a day after Nassau's legislature approved a similar law that also requires police to notify school districts of heroin arrests. Ciappa's father, Victor Ciappa, said he never knew the extent of heroin use among teenagers on Long Island until his daughter's death. "We can't stand by and watch another kid die," he said at a news conference before the vote. [continues 393 words]
Drug-related killings in Mexico have more than doubled this year over 2007. The country's attorney general, Eduardo Medina-Mora, predicted that the carnage is liable to get worse before it gets better. Some 5,376 people were slain by drug cartels this year through Dec. 2. That's a 117 percent increase over last year, when 2,477 people had been killed by drug gangs during the same period. [continues 224 words]
AKWESASNE - Five residents of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation were among dozens of people indicted for allegedly trafficking millions of dollars in cash and marijuana at two other reservations. The 11-month investigation into trafficking networks at the Onondaga Indian Reservation near Syracuse and Salamanca Indian Reservation near Buffalo led to the arrests Wednesday of 29 people. Each was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Syracuse. [continues 198 words]
Three Canadian men have pleaded guilty to a federal charge that they conspired to smuggle $40,000 in cash out of the United States at Morristown. Barry Buker, Brockville, Ontario, Donald Lauber and Louis Stephenson pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Syracuse, to a charge that they conspired to transport monetary instruments of more than $10,000 from a place inside the United States to a place outside the country without filing a report of international transportation of currency or monetary instruments. [continues 308 words]
S'town District Schedules Drug Summit; Experts Warn Against Relying On Schools Alone To End Substance Abuse In the wake of the November quarter-million dollar drug bust on Brooksite Drive, and circulating tales of addiction and narcotics-related crime, eyes are opening to the reality of teenage drug abuse in upper-middle class Smithtown. "Anyone who may have thought that one student's addiction, or one student's abuse of a very harmful drug, is isolated -- they've learned that it's not the case," said Smithtown Youth Bureau Executive Director Patsy Hirschhorn. [continues 940 words]
We can no longer ignore it. Despite our relative affluence and beautiful neighborhoods, the wealth of educational and recreational opportunities we offer our children, and the time and money we invest in their health and safety, increasing anecdotal evidence around town indicates that more teens are using and abusing drugs and alcohol than we imagined. In meeting after meeting being held by civic groups, law makers and enforcers, and substance-abuse counselors throughout Smithtown, astounding numbers of parents are coming forward. They recount nightmare tales of their teen's heroin addiction, or suspected drug dealers living next door, attracting crime and preying on their children. [continues 442 words]
To The Editor: Re "Pot smokers' defender now puts city on defensive" (news article, Nov. 26): Thank you, Casey Samulski, for covering this seemingly unimportant subject -- New York City police who racially target their drug busts. Why aren't they on Wall St., where a swift stroll through the street can get you high? White privilege, that's why. Randy Credico is one of the few people informed enough to understand the hypocrisy and fiscal irresponsibility of the penal system. It's time to end the draconian Rockefeller drug laws and to engage the police in activities that serve democracy. Karen Lewis [end]
QUEENSBURY -- A Lake George man who police believe ran a major cocaine distribution ring was sentenced to up to 7 years in state prison Wednesday, but not before he blamed a co-defendant who received a less severe sentence. Joseph Bongiorno, 45, of McGillis Avenue had asked that Judge John Hall sentence him to a prison term that would allow inclusion in the state prison system's two main drug treatment programs. If allowed to participate in those programs, he could have been released from prison in less than a year if he completed one or both. [continues 444 words]
When drug users quibble over what hallucinogenic drugs create the strongest trips, they generally rate LSD as No. 1, followed closely by Salvia divinorum. Most everyone is familiar with LSD. It's a storied substance that routinely makes the headlines, getting a fair amount of well-deserved bad press. On top of that, it's a Schedule 1 drug that is illegal to manufacture, possess, buy, or distribute in the United States. Despite the image and the laws, in 2006 some 23 million Americans were estimated to have used the drug in their lifetimes. [continues 705 words]
MEXICO CITY -- Killings linked to Mexico's drug war have more than doubled this year compared with 2007 and are likely to grow even further before they begin to fall, Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora said Monday. The prosecutor tied the sharp increase in deaths to a battle for control among cartels and a power vacuum created by a series of high-profile arrests and seizures. The number of gangland killings reached 5,376 from the beginning of the year until Dec. 2, a 117 percent increase over the 2,477 killings in the same period in 2007, Mr. Medina-Mora said in a luncheon meeting with foreign correspondents. [continues 323 words]
To The Editor: Communist Chinese farmers grow hemp while American farmers are prohibited; that's anti-American (Letter: Legalize Pot, Nov. 30, 2008)! Instead of embracing hemp for what it is; a God-awesome creation, America's leaders strive to exterminate it. Before greedy and politically motivated ignoids conspired to prohibit hemp, it was referred to as a billion-dollar crop, when the B word wasn't used so loosely. A sane argument to continue prohibiting free American farmers from utilizing the plant doesn't exist. Some estimates indicating using 10 percent of Americans farmland to cultivate hemp would eliminate all need for foreign petroleum. Discussion of alternative fuels without mentioning hemp is foolish. [continues 131 words]
A trucker from Grimsby, Ontario, was sentenced to three years in federal prison today for smuggling 247 pounds of hydroponic marijuana into America over the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Stipan Krak, 51, was convicted on Sept. 5 of smuggling the pot, which was hidden in six hockey equipment bags in the cab of his tractor-trailer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz said. Krak was arrested at the bridge on March 20, 2007. Agents from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and from U.S. Customs & Border Protection investigated the case. Authorities estimate the street value of the hydroponic pot at $938,000. Krak was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. [end]
Peter Christ used to arrest people for doing drugs. Now he wants to legalize them. All of them: pot, cocaine, heroin, LSD, meth. "My attitude toward the policy we're following is that it's a stupid policy," Christ said. "It creates crime and violence in our society . When's the last time you heard of a shoot-out at a brewery?" That message - which he'll deliver at Schenectady County Community College Thursday - commands attention because of the man delivering it. Christ isn't some "drugs-are-cool" hippie, as he put it in a voice dripping with sarcasm. [continues 211 words]
To The Editor: Did you know that there is one product that can be used as a source of fuel, food, clothing, paper, medicine and other random things such as fast food containers? (Alternative fuel study at Canton SUNY, The Journal, 11/18/08 This source can be grown from sea level to 6,000 feet above sea level in environments that have little rain. As it grows it actually replenishes the nutrients in the soil, helping the land become rich again. Unlike most grown sources for fuel, this source is naturally resistant to pests and funguses, thus it requires no pesticides, which can cause further soil degradation and pollution. You can grind up the seeds like corn to make a flour like mixture, eat the hulls like sunflower seeds, eat the leaves like a salad, make tea, and make a soy type milk and other random edible things. [continues 157 words]
The Bush administration is leaving behind so much turmoil and resentment around the world that President-elect Barack Obama might be tempted to put off dealing with the nation's extremely sour relations with Latin America. That would be shortsighted. There is a unique opportunity to improve ties with a region that shares key interests and values with the United States. And given how bad relations are right now, it will not take much more than good sense and sensitivity to make progress. [continues 525 words]
Claims of alleged police brutality made by a student charged with drug possession have sparked arguments in regards to the true nature of the incident. First-year electrical engineering major [Name Redacted] was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 6 in Bouton Hall for possession of marijuana after his roommate, [Name Redacted], told Bouton Residence Director (RD) Chanel Ward that he suspected [Name Redacted] of selling both marijuana and LSD. When Police Officers (POs) Williams and Ritayik responded to a call from Ward, [Name Redacted] claims he was forced to sign a waiver allowing a search of his room. [continues 1161 words]
Federal authorities charged 34 people, including five north country residents, over their alleged roles in an international marijuana smuggling operation that moved about 22,000 pounds of pot through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. A three-year investigation exposed a pipeline bringing millions of dollars' worth of marijuana into U.S. and distributed it to several cities, the U.S. Attorney's office said Tuesday. The ring leader of the operation was Cornwall, Ontario, resident Mickey Woods, who goes by the nicknames "Big Boss Man" and "Big Buddy." [continues 149 words]
I was shocked to read that Gov. David Paterson is cutting more than $8 million from New York's substance abuse programs in response to the state's current budget crisis ["Drug treatment advocates fault cut in NY programs," Newsday .com, Nov. 7]. This is completely shortsighted. Treatment is less expensive and more effective than the lock-'em-up strategy. There is a win-win solution for Paterson and our elected officials when it comes to New York's budget crisis: Replace the racist and inhumane Rockefeller drug laws with a public health approach, saving hundreds of millions of dollars. [continues 74 words]
Marijuana Heist: Hogansburg Resident, 7th To Be Charged In Crime, Jailed Without Bail; Vehicle Seized Federal authorities charged a seventh man Friday for his alleged role in a robbery that led to the shooting death of Daniel P. Simonds. Bryan A. "Wildcat" Herne, 31, of 73 Raquette Point Road, Hogansburg, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Syracuse on a charge of conspiring to engage in a Hobbs Act robbery involving Canadian-grown marijuana that had been at Mr. Simonds's home in the town of Stockholm. The federal Hobbs Act prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. [continues 235 words]
58,000 Pills In Car: Fort Covington Stop Yields Federal Charges Against Two Suspects FORT COVINGTON - Two people face federal drug charges for reportedly attempting to smuggle about $1.74 million in Ecstasy across the border at the Fort Covington port of entry. Customs and Border Protection officers informed the U.S. Border Patrol about two vehicles containing three people. A Border Patrol K-9 dog search led to the discovery of about 42 pounds of Ecstasy in one vehicle, which contained about 58,000 Ecstasy pills. Each pill has a street value of about $30. [continues 239 words]
ITHACA -- More plentiful and pure than before, heroin is a snort-able, smoke-able global commodity which, judging by recent arrests, has appeared in Tompkins County. What's more, heroin quality and supply may be contributing to a rise in the use of heroin, which is now easier to take, according to law enforcement officials. In early September, Ithaca police arrested [redacted] and seized about 2,700 glassine bags of refined heroin, which they called their department's largest capture of the drug in a quarter-century.[redacted] sold eight small bags of heroin to an undercover police officer at the Triphammer Mall, according to police, and [redacted] possessed about 46 of the heroin bags when he was arrested in the parking lot of Dick's Sporting Goods at the Shops at Ithaca Mall a week later. [continues 1238 words]
Federal authorities charged 29 people, including five north country residents, over their alleged roles in an international marijuana smuggling operation that moved thousands of pounds of pot through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. It was the second major drug sweep by federal authorities in less than a month targeting the reservation. Thirty-four people, including five north country residents, were charged last month with moving about 22,000 pounds of marijuana through the reservation. "High potency marijuana produced in Canada and then smuggled into the United States has increased largely because it is so profitable," acting U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Baxter said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "Violence and other serious criminal activity are closely associated with the illegal importation of marijuana because of the large amounts of money at stake." [continues 104 words]
The testimony of a transit officer who said he saw city police officers beat and sodomize a Brooklyn man on a subway platform should be enough to indict the city officers, the alleged victim's attorneys said yesterday. If transit Officer Kevin Maloney's grand jury testimony is true, the "burden has been met," attorney Stephen Jackson said. Jackson made the comments as he and attorney Kevin Mosley accompanied Michael Mineo to the Rev. Al Sharpton's weekly National Action Network gathering in Harlem. Mineo and the lawyers came to the event to thank Sharpton and the community for their support. [continues 327 words]
As a former police officer and schoolteacher, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg recognizes the importance of educating youth to avoid drugs, gangs and violence. As a result, the Democratic assemblyman is going to bat for the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, which has been discontinued in the Long Beach schools, as well as schools statewide. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that aims to teach children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug-free and violence-free lives. [continues 708 words]
Last week, President Bush's drug czar descended upon Albany to try to convince our educators to implement random student drug testing ("White House argues for school drug testing", Oct. 30.) New York educators have much to consider before adopting this controversial tactic. The American Academy of Pediatrics' policy statement opposes involuntary drug testing of adolescents at school or at home, emphasizing that more research is needed on both the safety and effectiveness before implementing testing programs. Random student drug testing hurts relationships between students and school officials. Do you remember the importance of the teacher or coach with whom you really connected? Prevention research shows that such relationships are essential components to creating a safe and rewarding learning environment. [continues 53 words]
Because of budget cuts, the state will curtail its substance abuse programs for ex-convicts living in New York City and its suburbs by month's end, despite research indicating that such programs help reduce recidivism. The elimination of about $8.6 million in contracts between the Department of Correctional Services, the Division of Parole and nonprofit groups that provide the drug counseling is a tiny drop in the $1.1 billion that Gov. David A. Paterson has cut from the state's annual spending since March. About 2,700 parolees participated in the programs over the last year, and many who work on smoothing prisoner re-entry worry that cutting the programs could land hundreds of them back behind bars. [continues 476 words]
Grand jurors investigating a 24-year-old man's claims that police officers beat and sodomized him with a hand-held object in a Brooklyn subway station last month heard from two key witnesses on Thursday: the man himself and a police officer present during the encounter. The testimony by the two men -- Michael Mineo, who has accused four officers of brutalizing him on Oct. 15, and the 26-year-old officer whose account is said to bolster aspects of Mr. Mineo's claims -- came 10 days after the grand jury was impaneled. [continues 505 words]
Michael Mineo, the 24-year-old Brooklyn man who says he was beaten and sodomized by police officers on a subway platform, recounted his story to a grand jury yesterday, then told reporters he is glad his allegations are being taken seriously. "I was violated by police and I feel like they are going to be brought to justice," Mineo said. "At first I felt like people weren't even believing me. Now that things have come into the light, I feel a little bit more better. I know that these cops are going to be brought to justice. [continues 297 words]
To the Editor: Sunday's story about Steven Page and the composition of his illegal drugs was interesting, especially since so many young black men have gone to prison after they were caught with crack cocaine instead of powder cocaine, and crack has a much lower threshold for sentencing. But crack is usually about 50 percent cocaine and the rest is filler, often something like baking soda. So how is it that crack cocaine doesn't get analyzed for its purity while powder cocaine does? Sounds like Steven Page received a sweet deal. [continues 81 words]
Hundreds of pounds of marijuana was found both growing and already packaged in the vacant warehouse. A fire in Brooklyn Wednesday shed light on a marijuana farm, authorities said. Firefighters responding to a small blaze at a warehouse spotted the large pot-growing operation in a neighboring building, officials said. The discovery turned a routine fire run into a narcotics bust, with cops hauling out trash bags full of the illegal plants. The growers were nowhere to be found, police said. [continues 136 words]
The north country's three federal legislators on Friday submitted a formal application to bring federal drug enforcement money and resources to four area counties. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. John M. McHugh asked the Office of National Drug Control Policy to include Franklin, St. Lawrence, Clinton and Jefferson counties as part of its High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. The program coordinates and helps federal, state and local law enforcement agencies disrupt the illegal drug trade. In particular for the north country, it would target cross-border smuggling and money laundering operations from Canada that distribute the drugs downstate to Syracuse, Albany and ultimately New York City for wider distribution. [continues 203 words]
The mass imprisonment philosophy that has packed prisons and sent corrections costs through the roof around the country has hit especially hard in California, which has the largest prison population, the highest recidivism rate and a prison budget raging out of control. According to a new federally backed study conducted at the University of California, Irvine, the state's corrections costs have grown by about 50 percent in less than a decade and now account for about 10 percent of state spending - nearly the same amount as higher education. The costs could rise substantially given that a federal lawsuit may require the state to spend $8 billion to bring the prison system's woefully inadequate medical services up to constitutional standards. [continues 327 words]
To the Editor: Editorial: The California Prison Disaster (October 25, 2008) "The California Prison Disaster" (editorial, Oct. 25) offers a prime example of what happens when the prison industrial complex is unencumbered by any checks or balances. The only thing not mentioned in the editorial was that Californians will have a chance to approve a responsible solution on Election Day: Proposition 5. This initiative, called the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, would increase treatment access for youth and nonviolent offenders, and reduce prison overcrowding. It's also the only initiative on the ballot that would provide a significant net savings for taxpayers. [continues 71 words]
Feds Encourage Use; Alliance Skeptical ALBANY - The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is hoping to persuade local school districts and educators to randomly drug test students. Advocates say it provides students a "credible reason to say no to drug use," while opponents question its wisdon and effectiveness. Dr. David Murray, chief scientist for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Wednesday at a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Hotel that random drug testing achieves a healthier and more productive school environment. He also said it's a powerful prevention and intervention tool. [continues 492 words]
Effort Predicts Less Drug Use, But Opponents Contend Federal Program Marginalizes At-Risk Students ALBANY - To drug test or not to test is a tough question for a school district. Proponents of a Bush administration initiative aimed at convincing more schools to give random drug tests to students came to Albany to argue their case before a roomful of educators. Protesters from the New York Civil Liberties Union tried to poke holes in their arguments during question-and-answer sessions with the speakers. [continues 301 words]
This election year, crime and drug issues seem to be off the table. Yet in a campaign season two decades ago, Congress made a hasty mistake that continues to plague our justice system today. In the weeks before the 1986 election, I was part of the congressional clamor for tough mandatory drug sentences after the cocaine overdose death of basketball star Len Bias. Amidst the panic around crack cocaine, as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, I helped Congress adopt long, quantity-based sentences to stop drug abuse and trafficking. [continues 352 words]
To the Editor: With respect to your editorial, "Rocky Place," we need much more than reform of the Rockefeller drug laws. Though admirable in intent, with reform hopelessly stalled by a dysfunctional New York state government, another approach is sorely needed. In 1923, America was three years into federal alcohol prohibition, and every state except Maryland had enacted its own version of Prohibition. State courts became jammed with liquor cases, illicit commerce in alcohol caused rampant violence, and organized crime took hold. [continues 194 words]
Federal Law Needed to Protect Ex-Felon Voting Rights More than 5 million people convicted of felonies will be barred from voting in the upcoming presidential election. This is a mind-boggling number of people who will be disenfranchised. The most alarming aspect is that many of them are eligible to vote but don't know it. In New York state, if you are convicted of a felony, you automatically lose your right to vote. According to the New York State Division of Parole, your right to vote is restored once you have completed either parole or your maximum sentence. If you are on probation, your right to vote is never taken away. But most ex-felons do not know this. [continues 543 words]
Drop the Rock Empowerment Day was held Saturday. The event was organized by the Correctional Association of New York, one of the leading advocates of reforming the state's Rockefeller-era drug laws, which are among the harshest in America. A host of volunteers collected thousands of signatures on petitions calling for change of the archaic statutes. The group hopes to gather 35,000 names by the end of the year to present to state legislators. The question is whether the lawmakers will pay attention. [continues 383 words]
It's not what you think. The United States is embroiled in an immoral, racist, and ineffective war, costing taxpayers $69 billion a year with no end in sight. But unlike Iraq, this war is fought in America's streets and the casualties are American civilians. Without exaggeration, the War on Drugs is this country's single most destructive public policy failure since slavery. The War on Drugs is America's second attempt at the failed policy of prohibition. In 1919, Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, banning the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. Instead of reducing alcohol consumption and its associated crimes, Prohibition multiplied them exponentially. The abolition of legal booze created an incredible demand that fueled a thriving black market. Increased demand generates increased cost, so gangsters like Al Capone made millions trafficking illegal hooch with huge profit margins. These thugs gunned down rival bootleggers, as well as bystanders caught in the crossfire. Violent alcohol trafficking disappeared only after Prohibition was lifted and bootlegging alcohol became unprofitable. [continues 678 words]
Inside New York
