WE LOCK UP more of our population than all but eight states - not because we have more criminals, but because we insist on incarcerating first-time non-violent offenders. Half of prison inmates have never committed a violent crime, never committed any crime before, and yet we spend $15,000 a year to feed, house, clothe and provide medical care for each one of them.

And what do we get for that? Not a safer society. Putting people in prison makes it harder for them to find jobs when they get out, increasing the chance they will return to crime. And with rehabilitation programs on life support because of budget cuts, those non-violent offenders spend their days behind bars learning how to be violent offenders.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. -- As South Carolina's unemployment numbers continue to rise, a new legislative proposal could cut off jobless benefits for people shown to be users of illegal drugs.

Under the bill proposed by Sen. David Thomas, R-Greenville, anyone now receiving unemployment benefits must first submit to a test for illegal drugs. If the test is positive, the benefits are cut off, and the applicant has to complete drug treatment before they are restored and must submit to random testing the future.

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A Charleston County jury deliberated almost four hours Monday before finding that the North Charleston Police Department wasn't at fault in the 2005 death of Travone Bell, a 16-year-old who died after he swallowed crack cocaine and lied about it.

The verdict followed a week-long trial in which the actions of police, jailers and others were scrutinized to see if they could have -- or should have -- done more to help the teen after he was pulled over for a traffic violation.

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Prisoners charged with possession should face alternate punishment that doesn't charge taxpayers

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 12.4 percent of federal inmates are serving for marijuana related charges. For the conservatives who are so ardent about supporting Joe-taxpayer but at the same time want to crack down on marijuana users, it seems a bit hypocritical. Luckily, not a lot of voters go that far in the thinking process when casting their ballot.

They've been programmed to think taxes, marijuana, gay marriage and France are all evil. It isn't just conservatives who should take a closer look at the issue, however. According to the latest Gallup poll concerning how many Americans support marijuana legalization in 2005, 60 percent of Americans were in favor of continued illegalization. 77 percent of conservatives and 60 percent of moderates are against legalization while 36 percent of moderates and 54 percent of liberals in favor of legalization. Keep in mind, though, this is not decriminalization, but legalization.

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Sweeping Midlands Operaton; Mexican Cartels Supplied Gangs

Federal, state and local law enforcement agents arrested dozens of reputed drug suppliers and dealers across the Midlands in simultaneous raids that began before dawn Tuesday.

The massive operation -- described as one of the largest roundups ever in South Carolina -- was aimed at shutting down drug suppliers and street-level dealers supplied with cocaine and marijuana by Mexican cartels. Most suspects are gang members, authorities said.

Clad in black body armor, some 16 "takedown" teams of 10 or more heavily armed officers from the FBI, the State Law Enforcement Division and city and county law agencies surrounded targeted residences in Richland and Lexington counties.

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Police department asks city to create a ban on bongs, other devices used to do drugs.

Defense lawyers around Rock Hill are raising questions about the Police Department's request for a drug paraphernalia law that would criminalize bongs, pipes and other devices used to do drugs.

The way the law is written, attorneys say, suspects could also be arrested for having ordinary household items such as spoons and bottle caps.

Attorneys question whether the real aim is to generate more money in fines through the city-run court system. As in other municipal cases handled at the downtown law building, suspects could face fines up to $500 or 30 days in jail.

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The popular TV series "Weeds" is about a widowed suburban mother who deals pot to preserve her family's cushy California dream. Not a few Californians would like to see the theme writ large for their state. California has legalized medical marijuana, its cannabis crop is valued at $17 billion a year, and people there smoke pot openly. But the state can't collect a penny of revenues from the enormous enterprise.

As California faced budget Armageddon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for "a debate" on the potential of tapping marijuana as a source of tax revenues. That's all he can do, because federal law still criminalizes marijuana use.

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The Latest Illegal Crop Found: 11,000 Pot Plants Worth $22 Million Near Chester County's Airport.

**

CHESTER, S.C. -- Four rural S.C. counties that hug I-77 south of Charlotte have become fields of choice for marijuana growers, law enforcement officials say.

Operations that supply Charlotte and cities along the interstate have been increasing in size in recent years in Chester, York, Lancaster and Fairfield counties, state and local officials say.

The latest bust came Monday when state and Chester County authorities arrested three men and accused them of cultivating more than 11,000 marijuana plants in a half-dozen hidden fields on someone else's property near Chester County's airport.

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FLORENCE, S.C. -- A former South Carolina police officer has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and extortion. U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins said former Lake City Sgt. Shanita McKnight was sentenced in federal court Wednesday. Prosecutors said McKnight was part of a drug ring in Lake City and used her position as a police officer to make people pay her. They also said McKnight tipped off drug dealers on when investigators would be in town. McKnight was convicted in October after a five-day trial. A man serving time on drug charges testified that the officer let him smoke marijuana in and drive her patrol car. McKnight had faced a possible sentence of life in prison and up to $8 million in fines.

[end]

A former Lake City police officer found guilty of drug trafficking and extortion in October will serve 20 years in federal prison.

Shanita McKnight, 35, was convicted Oct. 21 of drug trafficking and extortion charges after a five-day federal trial.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced her Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison for each count, but the sentences will run concurrently.

McKnight also must serve five years of probation for the drug trafficking charge and three years of probation for extortion. Wooten ordered the probation sentences to run concurrently, as well.

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In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a "war on drugs." Seven presidents later, the drugs are still winning. That doesn't mean outlawed drugs should be legalized. It does mean, however, that a thorough re-examination of how to deter illegal-drug use and counter the vicious criminal enterprises that thrive on it is long overdue.

President Barack Obama sent a clear signal last week of a comprehensive shift on this front by naming Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske head of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. Mr. Kerlikowske has long emphasized prevention and treatment over punishment. After being introduced in his new role, Mr. Kerlikowske accurately stressed that we can't reduce the grim costs of illegal drug use, and the huge profits of the illegal drug trade, without reducing America's massive appetite for dope.

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When Charles Lynch asked officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him - even though the medicine was marijuana.

That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws.

So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony.

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Olympian Michael Phelps is in good company. The list of professional athletes caught using marijuana is long. Could it be that drug warriors have been lying about marijuana's health impact? They've definitely been lying about the deterrent value of marijuana prohibition. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. Marijuana prohibition is built on lies, beginning with the "reefer madness" myths of the 1930's and continuing to this day with government anti-drug propaganda masquerading as science. As an admitted former pot smoker, President Obama no doubt knows the truth about marijuana. Truthfully, marijuana is easily the least harmful recreational drug, legal or otherwise. If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. The question is, will Obama bring change or will he continue to subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors?

Sincerely

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC

[end]

Paul Blake got an arrow splitting bull's-eye ["Sheriff Leon Lott Should Stop the Politicking," Feb. 12, 2009). Cannabis (marijuana) is arguably safer than beer, wine or whiskey. Cannabis prohibition is nothing more than government subsidized discrimination. It's time to treat cannabis prohibitionists like vampires. Truthfully,

Stan White

Dillon Colorado

[end]

The war on drugs is ridiculous; behold the storm over Michael Phelps' partaking of marijuana, an illegal substance that at least two presidents have used. It is tragic; witness the raging gang violence along the Mexican border. Whether the Obama administration will downgrade the War on Drugs or call it off remains to be seen.

But Obama's evident plans to make Gil Kerlikowske his director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy offers hope for more enlightened policy. As Seattle's police chief, Kerlikowske presided over a city that had virtually decriminalized small-scale possession of marijuana.

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IF LEON Lott really did treat Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps the same way he would treat anyone else, then his priorities and sense of proportionality are seriously out of whack.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. This isn't the sort of thing I normally write about, but the media hype and frenzied response that has accompanied our sheriff's strange, ephemeral attempt to reconstruct a misdemeanor drug crime raises several important issues -- and non sequiturs -- that simply cry out for perspective.

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Family Court prosecutors will not pursue charges against two 10-year-old boys caught at school in early February with more than three grams of marijuana. The boys tried to sell the drugs for dessert and bubble gum. Officials said Monday the youngest age that children can be charged with a crime is 10, and typically that is done when the authorities have a strong belief that the children knew what they were doing was wrong. Knowing that the children were trying to sell the drugs for cakes and gum begs that question.

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Physical Evidence Lacking, Sheriff Says

Michael Phelps will not face criminal charges after a photo of him apparently smoking marijuana from a pipe sparked an investigation in South Carolina.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Monday that he didn't have enough physical evidence to press charges against the 23-year-old swimmer after the November party near the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

"We had a photo and him saying he was sorry for inappropriate behavior," Lott said at a news conference. "He never said, 'I smoked marijuana.' We didn't have physical evidence."

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A South Carolina sheriff says he is not going to charge swimmer after a photo of the 14-time gold medalist showed him smoking from a marijuana pipe.

A South Carolina sheriff said Monday he was not going to charge swimmer Michael Phelps after a photo of the 14-time Olympic gold medalist showed him smoking from a marijuana pipe.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference that he didn't have enough physical evidence to charge the swimmer, but he defended his investigation.

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Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he had no choice but to investigate suspected marijuana use by Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps.

But, in the end, deputies couldn't find enough evidence to charge Phelps, Lott said Monday, though the winner of a record eight gold medals in the Summer Olympics admitted being pictured holding a marijuana pipe at a November party in Columbia.

"We had no physical evidence; we had a picture," Lott told reporters. "We didn't have enough where we could go arrest him."

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