ASUCI hosted an unprecedented debate regarding the legalization of marijuana held in Humanities Instructional Building 100 on May 28. More than 200 people showed up to get the highs and lows on marijuana from two local speakers. Judge James Gray, a superior court judge in Orange County, strongly condemned current drug policies, while Dr. Michael Stone, addiction medicine specialist, focused on the physiological ramifications of smoking marijuana. Marcy Lopez and Carmen Reynaga, co-commissioners of campus affairs programming for ASUCI, were moderators of the event. [continues 591 words]
'Failed War On Drugs' Spurs Presidential Bid O.C. Judge Wants To Carry Libertarian Party Banner And Seek Decriminalization The epiphany was trigged by a young thug's war whoop, a triumphant "yee-ha!" as he was led away in handcuffs for a short stint in jail. The punk was 17. Dangerous. Mixed up in drugs, with a nasty habit of robbing prostitutes and roughing them up. Judge James P. Gray was sitting on the Municipal Court bench back then, enforcing a plea bargain that was worked out up the food chain, in Superior Court. The kid would be behind bars for a few weeks. It was nothing. "He had gotten away with it, and he knew it," Gray says. "It was wrong." [continues 1831 words]
James Gray, Who May Make Presidential Run, Speaks At ReconsiDer Meeting Today California Judge James Gray this week is courting Central New Yorkers to join him in ending the war on drugs and to sign on to his potential race for president of the United States. Gray, a Republican turned Libertarian, has been speaking with judges, city councilors, county legislators, drug law reform advocates, reporters and members of the medical community in Rochester and Syracuse. Today, he is to be the keynote speaker at ReconsiDer's annual meeting, at 1 p.m. at the May Memorial Unitarian Society, 3800 E. Genesee St. [continues 595 words]
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Superior Court judge sharply criticized the drug war and renewed his call for the decriminalization of marijuana at a pro-marijuana rally Saturday. Judge James Gray of Orange County, Calif., said the drug war has cost billions of dollars and resulted in the United States having the world's highest incarceration rate - with no end in sight to rampant drug abuse. The former federal prosecutor said he has never smoked marijuana, but supports the strictly controlled distribution of pot to adults. [continues 330 words]
Reno (AP) - A Superior Court judge sharply criticized the drug war and renewed his call for the decriminalization of marijuana at a pro-marijuana rally Saturday. Judge James Gray of Orange County, Calif., said the drug war has cost billions of dollars and resulted in the United States having the world's highest incarceration rate -- with no end in sight to rampant drug abuse. The former federal prosecutor said he has never smoked marijuana, but supports the strictly controlled distribution of pot to adults. [continues 199 words]
For more than two decades I was a soldier in the War on Drugs. In the course of my career, I have helped put drug users and dealers in jail; I have presided over the break-up of families; I have followed the laws of my state and country, and have seen their results. At one point, I held the record for the largest drug prosecution in the Los Angeles area: 75 kilos of heroin, which was and is a lot of narcotics. [continues 1853 words]
VANCOUVER - A man seeking asylum in Canada because he smokes pot to fight a rare form of cancer would do well to stay out of the United States, where the "corrupt system" would prosecute him, a California judge testified Thursday. "His chances would be overwhelming, I regret to say, of being tried and convicted," Judge James Gray of the Orange Country Superior Court said by phone at a refugee hearing for Steve Kubby. Kubby, a former California resident who now lives in Sechelt, B.C., said between puffs on a joint outside the hearing that he suffers from adrenal cancer and would die within four days if he didn't smoke marijuana. [continues 450 words]
James McDonough is fuming. McDonough, Florida's first drug czar, is sitting on a makeshift dais in a ballroom of the Orlando Renaissance Hotel March 14 as part of a three-member panel convened for a town-hall meeting on substance-abuse policy. The panel was put together by groups for and against relaxing drug laws. McDonough, though, is clearly tired of answering questions from the former. "I do enjoy the occasional joint or so," says Brian Cregger, a University of Central Florida staff engineer and former vice president of UCF's NORML chapter. "There are good people out there who [smoke pot]." [continues 1276 words]
Of all the wars the United States has fought, the modern-day war at home could be chronicled as the nation's most frustrating and dismal failure. It was almost two decades ago that Congress championed a national war on drugs with the pledge America would be drug-free by 1995. In 2003, that failed promise is long forgotten and drug abuse is worse than ever. Count in millions the lives broken or ended because of drug abuse. Count in millions the families and friends who experience heartbreak because of it. [continues 1909 words]
A Suspect Is Charged With Murder, Assault After Surrendering. Salem - Bob Brendell tinkered with the floodlight in front of the Dent County Courthouse, making sure it would illuminate the flag flying at half staff. "Everybody's in shock," the maintenance worker said. "This type of thing doesn't happen in a nice little town." Residents in Salem and the surrounding areas are trying to rebound after a shocking series of events left three people dead, including the chief deputy of the Sheriff's Department. [continues 1016 words]
The King's College Public Policy and Social Research Institute couldn't have picked a better speaker to discuss the drug war than Judge James Gray. As a former federal prosecutor, Judge Gray makes a compelling case for harm reduction alternatives to the never-ending drug war. So-called drug-related crime is invariably prohibition-related. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor bootleggers no longer gun each other down, nor do consumers go blind drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and drug prohibition have the potential to cause harm. Examples of harm reduction include needle exchange programs to stop the spread of HIV, marijuana regulation, and treatment alternatives that do not require incarceration as a prerequisite. Unfortunately, fear of appearing "soft on crime" compels many U.S. politicians to support a failed drug war that ultimately subsidizes organized crime. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Program Officer Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C. [end]
THIS PAST Sunday was one of those crisp, clear autumn days often heralded here in Northeast Pennsylvania, but rather than spend my day outside the way I prefer, I joined a crowd of about 50 people at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Wilkes-Barre Township. We had come to hear the words of James Gray, an Orange County, Calif., Superior Court Judge and former prosecutor, who was in town to speak about what he considers our country's failed drug war. He is the author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed, And What We Can Do About It," a book critical of our nation's drug laws. [continues 757 words]
U.S. Should Stress Rehab, Treatment Instead Of Punishment, Expert Says WILKES-BARRE - Terrorists, drug kingpins and prison officials are all winning the war on drugs, a California judge said Saturday. Meanwhile, the country's children are losing. That was the message from Judge James Gray, a former federal prosecutor, who called Saturday for sweeping changes to the nation's anti-drug policies. Gray's comments came during a lecture sponsored by the Public Policy and Social Research Institute at King's College. "In my view, the most critical issue facing our country today is our drug policy," Gray said. Gray, an Orange County Superior Court judge, is the author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed, and What We Can Do About It," a book critical of the nation's drug laws. [continues 338 words]
Candidates vying to become the next Orleans Parish district attorney slammed Harry Connick's office Tuesday night during a forum, saying it bungles violent cases. They cited a Faubourg St. John killing Friday in which two of the suspects had recently been released from jail because prosecutors failed to charge them in an earlier case. The slaying Friday morning of Christopher Briede, 32, and the subsequent finger pointing between prosecutors and police about why the suspects were on the street, dominated Tuesday's candidate forum, sponsored by the Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association. [continues 580 words]
New Orleanians are faced with almost daily reminders of the ravaging effects of violence on families, neighborhoods and the city. Thursday brought an especially horrifying example. A 7-year-old child was stabbed to death in front of an Uptown church, where police say he had fled from his mother's enraged boyfriend. A crowd watched the man repeatedly plunge a knife into the child's chest. This ought to be a crime that is easily solved and easily prosecuted. There are numerous witnesses; the police arrived quickly. But even when the evidence seems strong, such cases often fail to win convictions in Orleans Parish. [continues 349 words]
Most Back Leniency for Young, New Users Candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney addressed the city's illegal drug trade at a forum Wednesday night, with most saying that cases must be "prioritized" before being brought to trial, and almost every candidate promising counseling for first- and second-time nonviolent offenders. Gary Wainwright, a defense attorney whose campaign is based on decriminalizing simple drug possessions, especially first-time marijuana offenses, said addicts need treatment, not prosecution. "We need to take the sick people out of the criminal district courthouse and put persons who have harmed other persons in the crosshairs," he said. "Murderers, rapists, armed robbers and politicians will be the only persons tried at Tulane and Broad if you give me the chance." [continues 364 words]
It is precisely because prohibition increases the risks from drugs to our children that many so vehemently oppose the drug war. Good intentions are no justification for terrible results. When the head of the Scotland Yard anti-drugs squad, Edward Ellison, retired in 1998, he wrote a long article for the London Daily Mail. His two themes: "Quite obviously, prohibition has failed. I saw the misery that drug abuse can cause. I saw at first hand the squalor, the wrecked lives, the deaths. I've seen too many youngsters die. I'm determined my children don't get hooked -- which is why I want all drugs legalized. [continues 427 words]
Have you ever used illegal drugs? The government says a third of Americans have at some point -- and about 5 percent use them regularly. The number may be higher, because how many people honestly answer the question, "Have you used an illicit drug in the past month?" What should America do about this? So far, our approach has been to go to war -- a war that police departments fight every day. A war that U.S. politicians tackle in a different way than their European counterparts. And a war that is not going away. [continues 1399 words]
ANNOUNCER This is an ABC News Special. The world is going to pot. Country by country, drug laws are going up in smoke. MAN That's good weed. ANNOUNCER In Amsterdam, we found a new Dutch treat: coffee shops with marijuana on the menu. RED Chocolate bon-bons. We have them in all three kinds of chocolate. ANNOUNCER And a church basement where addicts have their prayers answered. JOHN STOSSEL, ABC NEWS Feel good? (Man nods) JOHN STOSSEL Feel great? ANNOUNCER But in America, police smash down doors, filling prisons with thousands of drug offenders. [continues 4793 words]
[continued from part 1 at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n1435.a08.html ] ANNOUNCER War On Drugs, A War On Ourselves with John Stossel, continues after this from our ABC stations. (Commercial break) ANNOUNCER War On Drugs, A War On Ourselves, continues. Once again, John Stossel. JOHN STOSSEL People do abuse drugs. So, what do we do about it? Government talks about treatment, but for the most part, our policy has been, `Lock them up.' And we do arrest 4,000 people a day for selling or using drugs. [continues 3152 words]
