Re: "Legalizing pot doesn't make us safer -- We are winning the fight against drug use and abuse, says James Capra," Tuesday Viewponts. Mr. Capra's opposition to liberalizing U.S. marijuana policies is understandable. After all, his job security depends on it. Since the early 1990s, police have arrested more than 10 million Americans for marijuana offenses. Nearly 90 percent of these arrests are for minor marijuana offenses, not sales or cultivation. In Texas, more than 95 percent of all pot arrests are for simple possession. [continues 86 words]
EL PASO -- Emilio Gutierrez Soto only had time to take his teenage son, a few clothes and memories of 25 years as a newspaper reporter when he fled his native Mexico last month, fearing for his life. Gutierrez, of the small town of Ascension, Chihuahua, is among the more than 60 Mexican citizens who have asked for political asylum at border crossings in the El Paso region since October, spurred in part by a raging drug cartel war. "I have no desire to return to Mexico. It would mean death," Gutierrez, 45, said in a recent telephone interview from an immigration detention center in El Paso. [continues 842 words]
Perhaps this has some merit ... OK, amid the foolishness of it all? We would turn El Paso into an pseudo pirate haven by hijacking the billions of dollars in drug money being hauled back to the Mexico drug lords. People may not know this, but we're one of the biggest funnels in the U.S. Drug money goes through El Paso by the stacks upon stacks of used bills every day. That's because we don't check as much for stuff going into Mexico as we do for stuff coming out. For instance, we don't care if our sausage meat goes into Mexico as much as we care about their sausage meat coming here. We're kind of uppity about that kind of stuff. [continues 500 words]
FORT WORTH -- One of the teens caught on video teaching his toddler nephews to smoke marijuana has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Demetris McCoy, 18, reached an agreement with prosecutors on Thursday afternoon and pleaded guilty to two charges of injury to a child/causing bodily injury. In exchange for the eight-year sentence, McCoy must also testify against his co-defendant, Vanswan Polty, officials said. If McCoy had gone to trial and been convicted, he would have faced a maximum of 10 years in prison. [continues 267 words]
A Watauga man who was caught on video laughing as his 2- and 4-year-old nephews smoked marijuana last year pleaded guilty to charges in the case Thursday and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Tarrant County district attorney's office. Demetris McCoy, 18, pleaded guilty in two cases of injury to a child causing bodily injury for laughing and poking fun at the boys as they smoked inside a home. As part of the plea deal, Mr. McCoy agreed to testify against his friend and co-defendant Vanswan Polty, 19, who was also seen on the video. [continues 196 words]
A drug testing policy will be put into effect this fall for Olney ISD students following action taken at a called meeting of the Board of Trustees Friday, July 18. Members in attendance were David Ickert, Steve Stephens, John Meredith, Jeff Harvey, Kelly Mahler and Jan Williams, and all approved the drug testing policy. Mark McClelland was the only member not present. "I've talked to the school's attorney and TASB legal services, and everyone is ok with the policy," Superintendent Tom Bailey noted. [continues 1210 words]
Arresting street-level drug dealers doesn't have an effect on local drug supplies, but finding their bosses can. The 65.4 grams of crack cocaine seized in a Friday night bust is enough to dent the drug trade here, Police Chief Bruce Ure said. "These guys were way up there on the food chain," Ure said. "It could have a significant impact on the drug trade." Federal authorities have taken over the investigation, Ure said. They are charging [redacted], 43, and [redacted], 40, with possession of a controlled substance and felons in possession of firearms, said Francesca Perot, information officer for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Houston. [continues 156 words]
Students in sports or who drive to school will have to take the tests A $178,290 drug prevention grant means 5,900 drug tests for the Victoria school district. Four hundred of these will be test for anabolic steroids. The grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Education and money set aside in the district's budget allow for 10 times more drug screens. "There is a chance that a student could be tested twice," Diane Boyett, communication's specialist for the district said. [continues 284 words]
Re: "War on drugs undermines the safety of our children - Substances need to be decriminalized, controlled, says Joy Strickland," Friday Viewpoints. Zero tolerance is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are often reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in easily preventable deaths. Also, that turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero-tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. [end]
The column last week by the local CEO of Mothers Against Teen Violence once again highlights the misguided understanding and myths about marijuana legalization. Joy Strickland is on point when she writes, "every child deserves a safe and supportive home, school and community." But how does decriminalizing marijuana ensure that this will happen? There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that legalization or decriminalization would reduce crime in our communities. However, ample evidence suggests that such action would result in more users and health costs. [continues 538 words]
Re: "Taylor's Law is deterring steroid abuse -- As program expands next year, it should help even more, says Donald Hooton," Monday Viewpoints. Mr. Hooton says, "If the cost of the [random steroid testing] program can prevent our student-athletes from heading down the path that caused my son to take his life ... it is worth it." The problem is it can't. The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research conducted the largest study of student drug testing ever done, on 76,000 students. It found no difference in use of banned substances between students in schools that test and those in schools that do not. [continues 98 words]
Substances Need to Be Decriminalized, Controlled, Says Joy Strickland As an advocate in the crusade to prevent teen violence, my starting point is that every child deserves a safe and supportive home, school and community. Prevention strategies such as mentoring and conflict resolution - not to mention personal responsibility - are key pieces of the strategies of Mothers Against Teen Violence and other groups committed to preventing violence in our communities. But those pieces are only part of the solution and must be balanced and supported by a rational and effective national drug policy. [continues 515 words]
The arrest of a former Collin County deputy constable who allegedly protected an international drug ring in exchange for cocaine while working in Frisco has come as a surprise to local authorities. Melissa resident Robert Benavidez, 41, was arrested July 8 and charged with six counts of abuse of official capacity. He was indicted by the Collin County Grand Jury on all six counts Tuesday. He is being held at the Collin County Jail on $1.5 million bond. According to arrest records, Benavidez periodically checked the National Crime Information Center computer database to determine if his cousin and leader of a North Texas drug cell, Sergio Maldonado of McKinney, had any warrants out for his arrest. He is also accused of using a database to check the registration for license plates that Maldonado thought may be on law enforcement officials' vehicles. [continues 688 words]
It is truly amazing when three seemingly unsolvable crisis-type problems coalesce with one relatively simple solution. Those three crises are: The significant illegal drug problem in this country. The extreme violence in Mexico with the drug cartel killing all levels of officials. The public cost of illegal aliens flooding into this country. The solution is moving our military to the border of Mexico with orders to use whatever minimum force is required to eliminate illegal border crossing. This action eliminates U.S. access by drug runners and would significantly reduce the volume of illegal drugs. The drug cartels would no longer have any business in Mexico. Illegal immigration would be stopped. The big question is, does our government have the courage to take this controversial action that benefits so many so much? I think not! It would appear the desire for more illegal aliens trumps the other two issues. Bill Hughes Fort Worth [end]
An appeals court has overturned the conviction and lengthy prison sentence given to a Greenville man, whom authorities said sold crack cocaine and ran prostitution and gambling operations from a residence near a local school. But the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas did more than just throw out the 85-year sentence for drug possession a Hunt County jury handed down after convicting Allen Lane Whittaker and order a new trial in the case. In an opinion issued Thursday, the panel ordered Whittaker's acquittal, claiming the evidence used to convict him was insufficient and the sentence was improperly enhanced. [continues 550 words]
FORT WORTH -- Christian Phillips said today he wanted nothing more than to complete his community service when he was accused of delivering tainted cookies to area police stations. Mr. Phillips, 18, of Watauga spent 54 hours in jail before tests confirmed that the chocolate chip cookies left for officers in Lake Worth and Blue Mound did not show any traces of drugs. "The emotional toll is staggering," Mr. Phillips said. "There are points when you feel angry. We are just frustrated with the process. My dad should know before the media tells him." [continues 186 words]
A Watauga teen accused of delivering drug-tainted cookies to the Lake Worth police department told investigators he did not put drugs in the cookies but that friends may have been using marijuana while he baked them, police said Wednesday. Christian Phillips, 18, was delivering the cookies as part of his court-ordered community service for a previous arrest, officials said. He was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of tampering with a consumer product, a second-degree felony. Police said Phillips was arrested Tuesday when a field test on the cookies he delivered in Lake Worth indicated the presence of LSD, a hallucinogenic drug. Blue Mound police said cookies delivered to them Monday field-tested positive for marijuana. [continues 800 words]
Merida Plan Is Best Answer to Mexico Drug Chaos Buried inside the $162 billion war spending bill recently signed by President Bush was a $465 million counter-narcotics aid package for Mexico and Central America. That's a far cry from the full $1.6 billion that the House and Senate need to approve immediately for the president's Merida Initiative. Members of Congress who aren't from border-area districts might need reminding about why this funding is so important. Drug gangs are marauding through Mexican border cities, killing police, kidnapping hundreds of people, shooting up streets and using terror tactics - including beheadings and torture - to instill a sense of fear and submission. [continues 267 words]
AUSTIN -- Rosemary Guerrero used to visit her doctor in Juarez regularly, making the trip from her home on El Paso's East Side across the bridge for treatment and to take her 14-year-old son for checkups. The family can't afford health insurance and the doctor's visits and medications south of the border were a lot less expensive, Guerrero said. But as the death toll from drug battles in Juarez has mounted in recent months, Guerrero said, the family has stopped crossing the border. [continues 906 words]
Let's keep watch on how Mexico spends our money, warns Clarence Page As if our military forces didn't have their hands full in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Minuteman Project border security group seems to think they might also make good narcotics cops. Minuteman co-founder Jim Gilchrist suggested in recent radio interviews that the United States give Mexico 12 months to corral its criminal drug cartels and rising violence, particularly in border towns like Juarez and Tijuana - or deploy the U.S. Army to do the job. [continues 450 words]
Inside Texas
