I'm troubled by the announcement that random drug searches will be conducted at Narragansett High School ("Drug-sniffing dogs to begin work in school," news, Dec. 18). For our education system to work most effectively, there needs to be an atmosphere of trust between students and school officials. By sending the message that students can't be trusted, the proposed searches undermine the hard work and dedication that our teachers put in every day. The fact that these searches are even being proposed signals that the way we deal with drugs in this country is flawed. We've failed to provide our youth with effective drug education. DARE and scare tactics haven't shown our children how to avoid the dangers of drugs. Rather than conduct these searches, a better strategy would be to invest time and money in honest drug-education programs. We're pushing our children away. If we dealt with these problems in a more realistic manner, we could build the atmosphere of trust that we need. Warwick The writer is a member of the board of directors of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. [end]
The Narragansett School Department and the town's police chief have come up with what they think is a way to keep drugs out of the schools: send police dogs in to do periodic searches of school lockers and classrooms. As public policy, drug searches have all the trappings of a sure-fire hit. They are a dramatic, tangible way to show the public you're doing something about the drug problem. Officials can either point to the success of finding drugs and arresting a student, or they can assure the public that the school is free of drugs. [continues 472 words]
NARRAGANSETT -- Effective immediately, the Police Department will be using drug-sniffing dogs in tandem with periodic lockdowns or "sheltering-in-place" drills at Narragansett High School, Chief J. David Smith told the School Committee last night. "I'm hoping that -- in looking around at what really is a room that is devoid of parents and students -- that deafening silence is one that really is indicative of a show of support and satisfaction with what is now our well-stated plan and intention to go forward with a relatively new concept in Narragansett," Smith said. [continues 438 words]
NARRAGANSETT - The Police Department and school administration have agreed to use canines to search the high school campus for drugs. The searches would be done when students are taken out of the hallways and in a central location to minimize contact between the canine units and students. But some people remain skeptical that such a move is necessary to help deter young adults from using drugs. The decision to move ahead with the searches was scheduled to be discussed last night at the School Committee's monthly meeting, after the Independent went to press. The push for the searches comes after several students were caught with marijuana on the way to Narragansett High School. Recent SALT survey results also have shown that as many as 47 percent of students have been approached at school with a conversation regarding drug use. [continues 580 words]
NARRAGANSETT -- Chief J. David Smith will present a report to the School Committee next week that may lead to a new policy on using dogs to conduct searches for drugs at Narragansett High School. The random searches would be done in tandem with new anti-terrorism safety requirements that require schools to do periodic lockdowns or "sheltering-in-place" drills. Smith and Supt. Pia M. Durkin are drafting a letter to parents with children in the town's school system. Officer Randy D. Shields, the school's resource officer, will brief students to prepare them for something that police and school officials said is a necessary measure. [continues 564 words]
Every night in America, parents ask their children, "What did you do at school today?" Rarely do students respond by saying they had guns pulled on them by police officers. Unfortunately, this is exactly what students of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, S.C. told their parents on Wednesday, Nov. 5. Earlier that morning, 14 officers of the law stormed the school with guns drawn and ordered students to lie on the ground and submit to a drug search. No drugs were found. [continues 634 words]
Jack A. Cole, who heads a speakers bureau of police, prosecutors and judges who favor decriminalizing drugs, talks to the Warwick Rotary Club. WARWICK -- After devoting much of his adult life to fighting the war on drugs, retired detective Jack A. Cole says the one thing he knows for sure is that the war has made America's drug problem worse. In the last three decades, the police have spent half a trillion dollars to arrest and jail mainly nonviolent drug users, he said. Despite that, drugs have never been cheaper, more potent or more available, and are financing a host of criminal and terrorist organizations. [continues 366 words]
To the Cigar, Thank you for printing letters suggesting serious change to our drug policies. It's good to see people taking appreciation for justice over emotion on this issue, particularly marijuana prohibition. I've been following the War on Drugs for seven years now, and I hate to say it, but I think I can sum it up as follows: Drug laws began at the beginning of the 1900s as a way to control minorities. "Drug Crazy," a 200-page book by Mike Gray, explains it all very well. The War on Drugs should be completely overhauled to be based on science and medicine, not fear and profit. Please ask your readers to ask their members of Congress to consider the crazy ideas of legalization and regulation. Drug abuse is a personal and medical problem, not a judicial one, just like alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, the common belief that the War on Drugs is saving us all from utter destruction is keeping many people in government employed. I think it's horrible that people make their livings from the suffering of people who really harm no one. [continues 65 words]
Thank you for publishing Mel Marshall's outstanding letter: "Drug War Discourse Necessary For Knowledge" (11-06-03). I'd like to add that our phony, so-called "war on drugs", has corrupted all levels of our government from the cops on the beat to the highest levels of our government, just as alcohol prohibition did during our Great- Grandfathers' era known as the "Noble Experiment." Alcohol prohibition was terminated not because they decided that alcohol wasn't so bad after all, but because of the crime and corruption that prohibition caused. [continues 124 words]
Last week my position was grossly misrepresented in a letter to the Cigar written by another student. The claim was made that the organization I work with, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), is advocating the elimination of drug policy altogether - implying that we're in favor of a laissez-faire approach to drugs. Perhaps the writer didn't notice the 'for Sensible Drug Policy' part of my organization's name. We work to reform drug policy because we realize that the way the War on Drugs is waged endangers public health and wastes valuable resources. We understand that the momentous problem of substance abuse is only exacerbated by current policy - drug abuse certainly causes harm, but this harm is only intensified by the way our government currently attempts to deal with it. We, as a society, must develop more sensible, just and compassionate solutions to our nation's drug problems. [continues 645 words]
Why Marijuana Users Are Unlikely To Lead The Next, Uh, Political Revolution Just how I wound up at the Hemp Festival last month is not something I want to get into, at least not without my attorney present. But I do want to make a few observations about the general state of the marijuana-smoking community, of which I am a proud (and, if I may add, medically necessitated) member. But before I get into all that, I'd like to share a few warm memories of my afternoon. [continues 955 words]
US-financed aerial spraying of coca plants impoverishes small farmers and poisons children in rural Colombia, human rights leader Nancy Sanchez Mendez told students at the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday, October 14. Calling the US drug eradication policy "a crime," Sanchez Mendez says indiscriminate spraying in the southern province of Putumayo destroys food crops and leaves small rural farmers and their families hungry. Even farmers who receive grants to grow legal crops have their land sprayed with Roundup@, a herbicide made by the St. Louis-based Monsanto Company, she says. [continues 461 words]
To the Cigar: I have never met Chris Ferdinandi, but I must say I got a good, full-belly laugh out the empty rhetoric, raving idiocy, and unmitigated doublespeak in his recent letter to the editor. First of all, Chris: You're absolutely right that many (most!!) drug policy reformers are fighting for their own (and everyone else's) right to have control over which substances they put into their own bodies. Nobody, not even Mr. Medical-Marijuana-Forced-Treatment-John-Walters-Heckler Tom Angell denies this. [continues 334 words]
To the Cigar, Your letters on marijuana legalization are outstanding. It is ironic when people write the Cigar and use tobacco as a crutch for not legalizing marijuana. My mom smokes tobacco everyday and has for over 58 years all the while being a great mother. This would not have been the case if we had thrown her in jail as we do marijuana consumers. Bad habits do not make bad people. I am amazed that a racist agenda like drug prohibition goes unchecked in the US and is encouraged by the billions of dollars we waste on it each year. Throwing people in jail because others do not like what they consume is akin to throwing fat people in jail for eating too much. Marijuana use is overwhelmingly victimless. [continues 67 words]
Human rights activist and journalist Nancy Sanchez Mendez came from Colombia to URI last night to speak on the impact of U.S. aid in her country. For the past three years, the United States has given Colombia two million dollars a day to fight the War on Drugs. In effect, this money harms the people of Colombia, crushing the small farmers simply trying to survive, Mendez said. The aid package worsens the already complicated war that has been going on for over four decades. The goals of Plan Colombia, implemented in 2000, are to eradicate the coca plant, primarily through air fumigation, and to bring in true democracy, according to Mendez. [continues 544 words]
Cliff Thornton spoke to students at Chafee hall about the war on drugs, it's effect on minorities and how it is highly censored in the media. For the next hour and a half Thorton gave a lecture called "Race and the Drug War: War on Minorities?" Many students attended the event, which was sponsored by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy organization. Thornton is the founder and president of Efficacy, a Connecticut-based non-profit organization that attempts to bring the issues of drug abuse and crime prevention into public light. [continues 523 words]
To the Cigar, I've held off on writing this letter for quite some time, but after reading Tom Angell's article in the Oct. 7 edition of the Cigar, I felt the need to respond. Angell's article is just one of a handful of articles and letters in the last few weeks that have expressed the "misguided" ways of United States drug policies. Angell elaborated that he is saddened and enraged by people who believe, apparently incorrectly, that drug reformers are fighting for their right to get high. [continues 457 words]
To the Cigar, This fall, the Cigar has published several articles and letters pertaining to the so-called War on Drugs. Most of these pieces are critical of America's drug policy - as well they ought to be. The War on Drugs is indeed racist, tragic in its consequences and largely ineffective. Unfortunately, however, it is easier to recognize a problem than to identify a workable solution. The only "solution" thus far articulated by the critics of the War on Drugs is "de-criminalization" or legalization of some or all drugs that are currently illicit. [continues 572 words]
Many people maintain the misguided perception that drug policy reform is all about fighting to get high legally. There is nothing that saddens and enrages me more than this commonly held sentiment. The truth is that drug policy reformers do what they do to make society a better and safer place for everyone. While I do believe that no one should be persecuted for choosing to ingest substances that the government classifies as "illicit," my dedication to drug policy reform is about much more than the mere "right to get high." My colleagues and I do what we do because we know that the current War on Drugs causes much more harm than it could ever prevent. Reformers advocate for more reasoned, just and compassionate public policies, while those fighting the Drug War are champions of ignorance, injustice and waste. [continues 657 words]
Connecticut state Rep. William Dyson (D.-New Haven) has been a leader in legislative efforts to create fewer imprisoned criminals, as opposed to Gov. John Rowland, who mostly just wants to ship them to out-of-state prisons and forget about them. Mr. Dyson has pushed to reduce mandatory sentences and give judges more discretion in certain criminal cases, mostly drug-related. He wants to increase from .5 to 1 ounce the amount of crack cocaine required to trigger a drug-selling charge. He wants to give the courts the authority to send alcohol- and drug-dependent offenders accused of lesser, nonviolent crimes to treatment programs instead of jail. And he wants to give model nonviolent criminals early release from prison. [continues 55 words]
To the Cigar, It's terrible that URI's hardworking and dedicated faculty members must take a pay freeze this year ("Faculty, union express disdain over new pay freeze for current year"; Fri, 9/26). This is because the State of Rhode Island, like many other states, is undergoing a fiscal crisis. Increased spending on the Drug War is partly to blame. Thanks to the '"lock 'em up" approach to drug policy, the US prison population now exceeds 2.1 million. This problem is disproportionately bad here in Rhode Island. In 2002, the number of prisoners in the state increased by 17.4 percent - the highest increase in the country. According to the head of the RI Dept. of Corrections, it costs about $37,000 to incarcerate an inmate for one year at the ACI. Additionally, it costs about $108,000 to house one young person at juvenile hall for a year. [continues 75 words]
To the Cigar, Once you understand the concepts of fractional reserve banking and stock market leverage you will understand why the US pushes drug prohibition so much and why drug prohibition is the biggest corporate rip-off ever invented. In our fractional reserve banking system banks can lend ten times or more on the money that you deposit . Catherine Austin Fitts - undersecretary of housing in the first Bush administration estimates that the worlds drug economy is about $500 billion annually. She also estimates that half of this money will reach American banks. [continues 205 words]
My friend Cheryl Miller passed away on June 7. Cheryl, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, spent the last uncomfortable decade of her life fighting for legal access to marijuana, the medicine she used to alleviate the symptoms of her debilitating disease. Even though many scientific studies have shown that marijuana has many therapeutic uses, the federal government has refused to sanction its use for patients with doctor recommendations. Nonetheless, 10 states now have laws that offer differing degrees of legal protection to medical marijuana users. [continues 650 words]
To the Cigar, I'm writing about Scott Russ's outstanding letter, "America's Problem Is Prohibition, Not Drugs" (9-16-03). I'd like to add that our drug prohibition policies actually create the crime that it supposedly attempts to fight. Notice that we have almost no "tobacco-related crime" even though tobacco products are highly addictive and mind-altering. That would soon change if tobacco products were taken off the legitimate market and criminalized. Soon we would have "tobacco-related crime," tobacco lords and tobacco cartels. Soon tobacco would be untaxed, unregulated and controlled by criminals-just like recreational drugs are today. And soon we would have politicians vowing to protect us and our children from tobacco addiction and the tobacco dealers. Best regards, Kirk Muse Mesa, AZ [end]
To the Cigar, Summer Witts wrote, "Tom Angell, president of the URI chapter of SSDP, said the club works to make students aware of issues relating to the illegal use of marijuana." Angell said "We try and educate people on the harm done by the War on Drugs." I believe SSDP should educate people on how the war on drugs causes injury, harm to constitutional rights. The war on civil rights is based on the fact the judicial branch blatantly violates due process of law, the Constitution, to keep marijuana illegal. [continues 63 words]
Some people take it to build muscles, to look younger or to get a good high for a Friday night party. Some people aren't aware that they are taking it at all. GHB, a common party drug that is sometimes used in date rapes, is often mistakenly thought of as being harmless to the body. Team Seven New England, a drug prevention program based at URI, is trying to educate students on the potential dangers of the drug. Roger Jadosz, a health educator at URI, started the Designer Drug Awareness Program immediately after he came to work here in 2000. While working on the DDAP, Jadosz became affiliated with a California based website called Project GHB. This program helps people deal with addictions and sexual assaults caused by the drug. [continues 431 words]
Over the past few weeks a lot of controversial issues have been debated in the editorial pages of the Cigar. I believe it is important for the student senate to keep up to date on how the student body reacts to different issues. Last year the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) approached me and asked how I felt about the current laws prohibiting students convicted of drug violations from applying for financial aid. After a short conversation I pledged my total support in their quest to raise awareness against an unjust law. They worked diligently all the way to the top of the university. [continues 324 words]
To the Cigar, Bruce Goodish is so rabid in his distaste for anyone who has ever been caught with any drug whatsoever that he is willing to pay a huge price in the form of taxes to punish these people many of whom are guilty of a crime harming only themselves. I am not. Furthermore, it does not follow that persons excluded from obtaining student loans because of the prohibition contained in the Higher Education Act are necessarily "druggies." Many persons so excluded are rehabilitated drug users. Squelching their future prospects through Draconian and socially harmful strategies as denying education loans to any student ever convicted of any drug offense - including simple possession of marijuana - is government at its cruelest and most senseless. And God forbid if we were to give any criminal a second chance at bettering themselves, Mr. Goodish? I suppose you support life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for first time simple possession of marijuana, too? That is, you will like it until you see your tax bill after a few years. And anyway, as long as marijuana remains illegal, national studies confirm that your daughter will have an easier time obtaining it than she does obtaining alcohol and tobacco regardless of what the Higher Education Act has to say. Or does this argument fall on deaf ears because alcohol and tobacco are drugs you hypocritically approve of? Thomas J. Hillgardner, Esq. Jamaica, New York [end]
To the Cigar, Tuesday, overwhelming disdain for the intolerant statements made by Mr. Bruce Goodish flooded the opinion pages of the Good Five Cent Cigar. If you missed Goodish's letter, he showed his support for the HEA drug provision, which currently prohibits students that have drug convictions from receiving federal financial aid. He also gave "Kudos to Congressmen Langevin and Kennedy for refusing to support H.R. 685, a bill that would give criminals a second chance. According to the US Government website on drug abuse, nearly 50% of US high school graduates have admitted to trying an illicit drug in the past. Therefore, Mr. Goodish labels at least half of our nations children "druggies" and "scum" and seems to think that they should all be denied a higher education. And up until now, our Representatives seem to agree with him. [continues 215 words]
To the Cigar, I take offense to the comments made by Bruce Goodish. I use cannabis and I have a wonderful family, job and home. I am a productive member of society. I pay taxes. I am not scum. It's people with attitudes such as his that have gotten our country into the mess we are in now with regards to drugs and the negative impact they have on society. The problem our country has is with prohibition. Not drugs. I pray that he will find it in his heart to help those "druggies" that really need help and leave the rest of us scum alone. For we are going to turn this country's drug control policy around to where it should be. Based in science and logic. Not fear and emotion. Respectfully submitted for publication, Scott Russ Baton Rouge, LA [end]
To the Cigar, Your article about "Just say no to druggies" is the epitome of everything wrong with America right now. You care only for yourself, and the people you are expected to care about. You are apathetic to the needs of others. You display no ability to show care for people when it is not forced on you by society and its belief system. Typical. You are a failure of a human being. But don't worry. You're lack of humanity won't keep human society from realizing the evils of the war on drugs. Kicking addicts out of school won't help them. It will only propagate the cycle, and they will have kids, and their kids will be drug addicts too. However, by keeping kids in school, you can lead them away from criminal life-style. Sincerely, Sean Nicolle [end]
To the Cigar, I am a URI Grad (2002), and a former Cigar Columnist, who still likes to keep up on the affairs of the University. I was also a founding member of H.O.P.E. (The Hemp Organization for Prohibition Elimination), which is now referred to as S.S.D.P. Normally, I would never take time out of my busy schedule as a law student to respond to an article in my school newspaper. However, I was absolutely appalled by the short "letter" titled, "Just say no to druggies." [continues 197 words]
Chances are you may have attended Hempfest on the University of Rhode Island quadrangle last spring. If not, chances are you've at least heard of it. If you haven't yet heard of it, you probably will soon. After all, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, which runs the celebration each year, is the fastest growing student organization in the country. Tom Angell, president of the URI chapter of SSDP said the club works to make students aware of issues relating to the illegal use of marijuana. [continues 478 words]
To the Cigar, The Higher Education Act drug provision should not be repealed. Drug users are scum and should stay on the streets where they belong. I don't want my daughter going to school with people involved with drugs. Any law that makes it harder for druggies to attend college is a good law. Kudos to Congressmen Langevin and Kennedy for refusing to support H.R. 685, a bill that would give criminals a second chance. Sincerely, Bruce Goodish Providence, RI [end]
WILL RHODE ISLAND'S REPS LISTEN? The Higher Education Act drug provision denies or delays federal financial aid for school to students with any drug conviction - even possession of marijuana. Since the law's inception in 1998, over 125,000 young people have been turned away from school because of drug convictions. While this policy may be intended to act as a deterrent for drug use, it is inherently counterproductive. It is a sad fact that young people sometimes make mistakes and get into trouble with drugs. When this happens, the last thing we should do is close the doors of education to them. The drug provision wrongly pushes people with convictions back toward the streets, where they are more likely to continue their involvement with drugs. Instead, these would-be students should be welcomed into productive learning environments, like universities. [continues 417 words]
In its Aug. 21 editorial "Big trouble in Tulia," The Journal discusses how in Tulia, Texas, over 10 percent of the town's black population was arrested in a drug sting based solely on conjecture. Such racism, lying and injustice is an integral part of the War on Drugs everywhere it rears its ugly head. The drug war was founded on racism, and is racist in its application. For more information on the racial disparities in drug-law enforcement, visit www.drugwarfacts.org Warwick [end]
The incarceration rate in the U.S. is now 702 per 100,000, the highest rate in U.S. history and the highest rate in the world (it is five to eight times the rate of similar industrialized nations). A black male has a 29 percent chance of winding up in state or federal prison at some point. And at vast expense, many of these prisoners are held for violations of various drug laws whose utility to America is at best questionable. We think that many of these people should be in the health-care system, not in jail. [continues 512 words]
A surreal court case in the Texas Panhandle that came to a head in June with the release from jail of 12 men throws light on the continuing problems with race relations in America. The men were arrested in a drug sweep in Tulia (pop. 5,000) in July 1999 that netted 46 people, 40 of them black; 22 people went to prison. What is astonishing about this story is that they were all arrested and convicted on the uncorroborated evidence of one white undercover narcotics officer, Thomas Coleman, who has a criminal history that includes bad debts, a restraining order from a former wife, failure to pay child support and illegal ownership of a machine gun. [continues 408 words]
To the Editor: On July 23, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the medical use of marijuana for the first time in five years. Up for consideration was whether to strip funds from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for continuing to interfere with medical marijuana laws in 10 states. Although the amendment to the bill failed 152-273, patient advocates are encouraged by the final vote tally. It represents a 62 percent increase in congressional support for medical marijuana since the House last voted on the issue in 1998. [continues 89 words]
To the Editor: On July 23, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the medical use of marijuana for the first time in five years. Up for consideration was whether to strip funds from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for continuing to interfere with medical marijuana laws in 10 states. Although the amendment to the bill failed 152-273, patient advocates are encouraged by the final vote tally. It represents a 62 percent increase in congressional support for medical marijuana since the House last voted on the issue in 1998. [continues 86 words]
State Officials Are Divided Over The Proposal, Which Would Use Vouchers To Give Drug Addicts More Choice In Treatment, And Gives Federal Money To Faith-Based Clinics. EAST PROVIDENCE -- A top federal drug official visited a local addiction-treatment facility yesterday to push for President Bush's "faith-based" drug-treatment initiative. The proposal is having a tough time in Congress, where critics object to its use of vouchers and say it crosses the line separating church and state. Dr. Andrea G. Barthwell, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, made a quick tour of the CODAC facility on Waterman Avenue, which houses a methadone treatment program and other treatment and prevention programs. Barthwell urged support for the president's plan, which would use vouchers to give patients more choice in seeking treatment, and would give federal treatment money to faith-based clinics. [continues 700 words]
The Westerly Police Department's progress in the fight against drugs is outlined through the litany of arrests Police Chief Stephen Baker noted last week. And it's impressive to hear Baker cite six arrests for the delivery of cocaine, another for delivery of heroin, and several others nabbed for lesser offenses within the past six months. But the arrest Friday of another local man on delivery of heroin charges points out that the department is still waging a local war on drugs virtually every day and night. And while the Town Council's approval of $40,000 within the new Westerly budget to have an experienced detective focusing squarely on drug activity, the truth is, the council should also keep its eyes and ears open to any other drug-related requests, including money for an additional "K-9" unit. [continues 314 words]
Numbers don't lie, but they also don't tell the whole story. The whole story is much more complicated and takes much longer to tell. Should we be alarmed, for instance, that 41 percent of Barrington High School students have been offered drugs, according to the results of a recent survey? Or should we be encouraged that only 27 percent actually used drugs? Examine the numbers even closer. They tell us that two out of every five BHS students could have smoked pot last month. Or maybe they tell us that three out of five never even saw a pot leaf. [continues 378 words]
PAWTUCKET -- Tolman High School had the fourth highest dropout rate in the state last year, according to new data from the Rhode Island Department of Education. The state issued findings this week that measure a variety of student factors called learning support indicators. Tolman's dropout rate was 34.9 percent while Shea High School's rate was 26.5 percent. The only schools with higher dropout rates than Tolman are Hope, Central and Alternative Learning Program High Schools in Providence. [continues 481 words]
PROVIDENCE (AP) -- A new survey finds that almost one in three Rhode Island high school students has been offered drugs at school. In many suburban high schools, that figure jumps to 40 percent or more, according to the survey performed by the University of Rhode Island. At Burrillville High School, for instance, 43 percent of students surveyed said someone had tried to sell them drugs at school. "Kids tell me it's the honor students, the athletes, the cheerleaders," said Susan Wallace, director of Caritas Inc., which runs several drug-treatment programs for adolescents in Rhode Island. [continues 330 words]
`Jordan,' a senior at Barrington High, pushes up his sunglasses and jams the gas hose into his battered white sedan at the Shell Station on County Road. "Ask anyone, anyone will tell you that, guaranteed. There's a ton of it at school. Personally I don't do it, but it's pretty frequent." Jordan was talking about drugs which, according to the SALT survey released by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education this week, have a significant presence at Barrington High School, one of the state's most affluent and respected schools. The survey shows that 41 percent of Barrington High students said they have been offered drugs. [continues 1125 words]
WESTERLY - Fighting drug trafficking in town can be an arduous, time-consuming venture. Westerly Police Chief Stephen Baker said he hopes that an additional detective and maybe another K-9 unit can help the cause. The town has budgeted enough money for the department to bring on an additional officer, which would free up another officer to be reassigned to work as a detective investigating drug activity. A detective sergeant and four detectives now handle narcotics investigations. Applications for the new detective position were due Friday. Baker said about five people have applied for the job, which could be filled by as early as the end of the month. [continues 546 words]
PORTSMOUTH - A peer education program that caused controversy last year may be getting a facelift next month. School administrators are planning to take another look at the Teens Leading Children program that has been in the Portsmouth school system for 14 years, according to Director of Elementary Education Mary E. Foley. TLC is a drug-abuse prevention program that puts high school students in fourth-grade classrooms at the town's three elementary schools to talk about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The high school students must sign a pledge not to use alcohol, drugs or tobacco during the month of October while the program is going on. [continues 806 words]
Thomas R. Coderre Admits Having A Cocaine Problem And Issues An Apology. PROVIDENCE -- Former state Sen. Thomas R. Coderre, arrested six weeks ago for cocaine possession, has acknowledged having a drug problem and apologized for bringing "shame" on his family and friends. Coderre, son of state Rep. Elaine A. Coderre, made the statements in a news release issued on his behalf on Monday, after he appeared before Chief District Court Judge Albert E. DeRobbio and was ordered to undergo treatment at Butler Hospital. [continues 369 words]
If the United States sometimes has a reputation for acting like a nosy oaf, an example of why can be found in the threats of the Bush administration to impede the flow of Canadian goods into this country if our northern neighbor decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana. That's what the government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien wants to do. The Canadians want to treat most marijuana users as they would those with traffic tickets, fining them for the infractions. They're being rational. The weed will always be around (it can be grown about as easily as dandelions) and some silly people will smoke it. But there is little to suggest that any republic will collapse because of that reality. Indeed, there's long been plenty of pot smoking and growing in the United States. (Welcome to Vermont.) [continues 263 words]
Inside Rhode Island
