Attorney Jay Fisher revealed his and others' belief that the war on drugs is eroding the rights of civilians.

Fisher spoke on behalf of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, with the term prohibition referring to the current illegal status of narcotics, from marijuana to crack cocaine and ecstasy.

LEAP consists of sheriffs, constables, and cops, as well as academics such as linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky and noted economist Milton Friedman.

"The act of prohibition effectively sets up the black market which America fights against," Fisher said. "The notion of an absolute ban is a failure. The question of policy can only be debated proactively after elected officials have hashed out the current situation."

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Issues of Legality Don't Deter Some Student Smokers

The driver reaches for the ignition, and the engine lets out a loud roar with a clockwise turn of his right hand. It doesn't hold my ears' attention for long. The engine's noise is quickly subdued by speakers, blaring Metallica's "Master of Puppets."

I have no idea where the three of us are going, but a particular destination isn't the purpose of our drive. To be blunt, the purpose of the drive-for the two men in the front seat-is to "get high."

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Methamphetamine lab seizures have fallen statewide in the last four years, and officials say many factors -- from tougher laws and better education to meth makers who are more wary -- contributed to the decline.

Since 2004, when Tennessee had nearly 1,600 meth labs seized, seizures decreased to 583 in 2007, according to the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force.

The statistics do not mean the fight against meth will wane, said Larry C. Black, commander of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Task Force serving Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga and Dade counties.

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Betty Bomar began using drugs at age 11, raiding her parents' medicine cabinet to get her fix.

"I remember the first time I used, I knew I was in love," she said.

Her 32-year affair with drugs and alcohol included a tryst with making and abusing methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that creates an energy surge for the user.

When she entered treatment, she was experiencing emotional claustrophobia, she said.

"I felt like if I didn't die or didn't get help, my sanity was literally going to snap and I wasn't coming back," she said.

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House Committee Approves Measure That Would Affect Only Some Students

NASHVILLE - Tennessee school systems could conduct random drug tests of all students involved in extracurricular activities, under legislation approved by the House Education Committee after lengthy debate on Wednesday.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that such random testing is permissible, but a 2007 state attorney general's opinion states that current state law prohibits it.

Under present Tennessee law, a student may be tested for drugs only if there is a "reasonable individualized suspicion" that the youngster has used illegal drugs, Stephen Smith, lobbyist for the Tennessee School Boards Association, told the panel.

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Alcohol and drug use on campus is on the rise, according to officials.

According to the student handbook under the Student Rights and Responsibilities section, "Use, possession, or being under the influence of alcoholic beverages on University-owned property" is not permitted.

Robert Ratchford, chief of campus police said the police department is currently in the middle of a drug inventory.

"There is a legal process that we have to go through for drug disposal," Ratchford said in reference to the drugs that the UTC police collected last year.

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Officials May Transfer More Than $100k to the Police Department to Hire 13 New Officers

The Jackson City Council on Tuesday will consider transferring more than $100,000 to the police department to hire 13 new officers during the final months of this fiscal year.

The budget amendments, which spring from recommendations of a city crime task force, would send five new officers to the city-county Metro Narcotics Unit.

The task force recommended that unit receive an almost $1 million total boost in personnel and resources. It was the group's main proposal for attacking a drug problem city and county law enforcement officials told task force members was the biggest influence on the area's crime.

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The Jackson City Council on Tuesday will consider transferring more than $100,000 to the police department to hire 13 new officers during the final months of this fiscal year.

The budget amendments, which spring from recommendations of a city crime task force, would send five new officers to the city-county Metro Narcotics Unit.

The task force recommended that unit receive an almost $1 million total boost in personnel and resources. It was the group's main proposal for attacking a drug problem city and county law enforcement officials told task force members was the biggest influence on the area's crime.

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You have to wonder why, when you see the statistics, the U.S. holds 750 prisoners per 100,000 citizens. You have to wonder why our rate of locking up should so far exceed the world average of some 166 per 100,000. You have to wonder why we are far ahead of Russia, which holds the distinction of having the second-highest number of imprisoned persons, per capita.

Some answers come rather quickly. Back in the Nixon era, we were admonished to Get Tough on Crime. The everyday expression was "lock 'em up and throw away the key."

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Oh, pot. Mary Jane. Marijuana. It has so many names, so many fans and creates so many problems.

On Jan. 8, three students and two others were busted and found with over 12 pounds of marijuana. Wonder what they were doing with all of that.

Would America be better off if marijuana were legal? It would certainly cut down on a lot of crime. It did with alcohol. The most infamous gangsters and mafiasos rose to power during Prohibition. Once Prohibition was repealed, bootlegging and related crimes decreased.

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There has been a lot of media coverage in recent weeks about crime in Jackson and the surrounding areas. These crimes are becoming alarmingly more frequent and more violent.

While re-entry programs for those who have already been incarcerated are helpful and important, our community would benefit even more from opportunities for prevention and support for adolescents who are headed down the wrong path, before they find themselves in a jail cell.

Some research has found that 60 percent of juvenile offenders also are abusing drugs. Also, we know that adolescent drug use is related to recurring delinquency and is the beginning of a cycle that continues into adulthood. We also know that as many as 90 percent of those adolescents in need of treatment have not received it. In Jackson, this cycle does not have to continue.

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Black Hamilton County residents are sent to prison on drug convictions 19 times more often per capita than whites, but local District Attorney Bill Cox challenged the recent study that reached the conclusion.

The study, compiled by the nonprofit Justice Policy Institute, compared the nation's 200 largest counties. It stated that 97 percent of those counties sent blacks to prison more often than whites for drug-related convictions.

Mr. Cox said the Justice Institute's claims are tied to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration study showing that in 2006 about 8.9 percent of blacks admitted to using drugs in the last month, and 8.5 percent of whites admitted to the same practices.

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U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon has helped to secure $1.1 million in federal funding to help state and local officials fight methamphetamine production and abuse.

"Strong state and federal laws are making an impact on meth production, but we still have too many meth labs in Tennessee," said Gordon. "Last year, Tennessee had more meth lab seizures than all but four states. Law enforcement needs better ways to detect clandestine meth labs and more resources to educate the community about the dangers of meth abuse."

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More than one-half of the parents of dependent and neglected children admitted abusing alcohol and drugs, reported the Court Appointed Special Advocate of Rutherford County.

Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport removes about three to six children from their parents' custody each week.

CASA volunteers work for the best interest of the child by making recommendations about the child's welfare to Davenport. Of 255 children served by CASA, 156 parents were identified with substance abuse problems.

"Drug issues are some of our worst issues," Davenport said. "It's on the incline. We need something more intense for parents to be involved with the court than once every three months as dictated by the statute."

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To the Editor:

I was happy to see The Tennessean's support of legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. Perhaps this will be the start of the end of the money pit referred to as the "war on drugs."

This massive failure absorbs billions of our dollars and accomplishes nothing except to line the pockets of the producers and distributors of illegal drugs. The war on drugs has caused contempt for the sanctity of our borders. It supports corrupt governments around the world and it is generally responsible for high crime rates, murders and turf wars among those in the business and their unfortunate "customers."

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To the Editor:

Tennessee has such a fine bunch of representatives and lawmakers. We have them so drunk in session they can hardly walk, so enthusiastic about stuffing graft in their pockets they need more pocket space, too ashamed of the American flag to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance and now Sherry Jones wants to sell us some weed ("Plan is to implement safe, effective program," Nov. 30).

Makes me all tingly when I think about it, I suppose this is how it will work: "Try this kid, it never killed anybody, it's all natural and it will be legal soon, if Sherry Jones gets her way." So, pot is the only drug that will help sick people. No legal drugs on earth can do the trick.

Well, if you buy that one, try this - pot makes you so stupid the voters in the 59th district will likely vote for old Sherry one more time.

Ron Miller, Hendersonville 37075

[end]

WISE -- In spite of its fes tive name, holiday greetings were not particularly cheery for 56 individuals targeted for arrest during the latest mass drug roundup in Wise County on Monday.

Law enforcement authori ties announced "Operation Holiday Cheer" as the seventh in a series of Wise County's "Street Sweeper" series to crack down on illicit drug use.

Wise County Common wealth's Attorney Ron Elkins said officers with the Virginia State Police, Wise County Sheriff's Office and the police departments of Big Stone Gap, Coeburn, St. Paul, Wise and the city of Norton were taking part in the arrests of 56 indi viduals indicted by the multi-jurisdictional grand jury on a variety of drug charges. The first Street Sweeper drug roundup resulted in charges filed against nearly 50 individuals in April 2006.

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Medical Marijuana Gets a Second Look

Tennessee lawmakers should not only consider legislation allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, they should pass it into law.

A study committee of the General Assembly recently heard testimony on the issue, where various voices from interest groups and the medical profession expressed their opinions. Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, has a draft version of a bill for consideration. Efforts to legalize the use of the drug for medical reasons should move straight ahead, and caring citizens should urge legislators to approve the legislation.

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Have you ever had a friend or loved one who was being treated for cancer, and the medicine prescribed by their doctor simply did not help relieve the constant nausea or pain?

Have you ever known a family member or friend in chronic pain due to bone degeneration, diabetes or neuropathy? Have you known anyone who has suffered from Crohn's disease, glaucoma, MS, convulsions, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, severe spasms, AIDS, arthritis, epilepsy, Parkinson's or anorexia?

There is a natural remedy used by many civilizations for more than 5,000 years, that was a significant part of our country's medical profession until 1937. Canada, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Israel have all concluded that, unlike many prescription drugs, this medicine provides significant medical benefits with virtually no side effect. The Medical College of Virginia in 1975 concluded this medicine is a powerful tumor fighter and has been confirmed by scientists in many other countries. This wonder drug is cannabis. You may know it as marijuana.

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In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued a report stating that there are "no sound scientific studies supporting the medical use of marijuana ... and no data to support the safety of marijuana."

The American Medical Association has recommended that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I controlled substance which is a drug that has high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use, and has a lack of acceptable safety. Even former Sen. Bill Frist has weighed in on the matter, stating "based on current evidence, I believe that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms."

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