The only hope people like John Westbrook have of ever reclaiming their communities is by repealing the brain-dead drug laws that create crack houses and street dealers in the first place. In a regulated market, drug dealers could be zoned out of residential areas. The violence related to an outlaw market is caused by turf wars, not drug use. In a regulated market, disputes would be settled by licensing boards and lawyers instead of Uzis and AK-47s. It’s time to admit that our disastrous drug crusade is as big a mistake as the noble experiment of alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s. [continues 89 words]
You write "the Green Party supports Tanczos's stance on marijuana and its plans have horrified churchman and community leaders, who point to a new study showing that more than one in five drivers who died had been smoking marijuana in the hours before they crashed." Such figures are so high a child can see they cannot be real. In reality, traces of marijuana remain detectable in the blood for four weeks after consumption, which is the cause for relatively high numbers of drivers testing positive. Given that effects of marijuana cease a few hours after intake, in just a small proportion of the instances the effects may have been present at the time of the accident. Your uncritical repetition of second-hand comments on low-quality research typifies the role the media play in the drug issue. Harry Bego Utrcht, Holland Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1361/a10.html [end]
GOLDEN - Ever since he was a boy, Vincent Hamm dreamed of becoming president of the United States. Now 40 and the owner of a small computer consulting business, Hamm continues to pursue the dream from his Golden home, which doubles as the "Hamm for President'' campaign headquarters. Hamm, a Democrat, ran in the 1996 New Hampshire primary and received 72 votes - compared with 76,754 for President Clinton. He was not discouraged by the lopsided showing. "I was very pleased. My goal when I woke up the morning after the primary was not to have a zero next to my name,'' he said. "I was just amazed at the number of votes I received.'' [continues 452 words]
The state Supreme Court has ruled that police do not need to obtain a court order to be able to tape a conversation without a suspect's knowledge. The unanimous high court decision Tuesday involved a drug suspect who claimed that his right against unreasonable search and seizure was violated. Orlando Almada pleaded guilty in 9th District Court in Teton County to selling cocaine and marijuana, on the condition that he could appeal four rulings. One was the denial of his motion to suppress wiretap evidence. [continues 303 words]
SINCE being elected to the office of mayor of Panama, OK, one of the biggest issues I've faced is drugs and all its illegal uses. The drug problem deteriorates everything it touches such as young people, older people, schools, groups, individuals and most of all homes. Our community is small, with 1,500 people more or less. We operate on a budget much too small to fight drugs and the crimes that drugs produce. Several citizens in the community are crying out for us to rid ourselves of this problem and are wondering why we haven't done so. [continues 234 words]
Marlow - While some people, most notably actor Woody Harrelson, argue about the value of hemp-made products, Bill Wise is quietly going about his business and selling many products made form the controversial plant. Before Wise made the decision to open his Wise 2 B Hemp shop here, he researched his subject thoroughly and believes hemp is an economic and environmentally safe product with hundreds of uses. He also studied the plant enough to know that industrial hemp does not have the same content of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC for short, as its infamous relative, marijuana. [continues 657 words]
Federal drug researchers are mounting an Internet offensive to combat what they say is misleading Web data on "club drugs." Club drugs - Ecstasy, GHB and ketamine - are often considered harmless by young partyers using them at dance clubs and all-night parties called raves. Internet sites have cropped up that show drugs on the tip of a woman's tongue, detail how to make the drugs at home or suggest dosage levels. GHB, gamma hydroxybutrate, is linked to sexual assaults. It's booming on the Web. "This is the Internet drug," says Jim Hall of the Miami Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community. Some Web sites promote "safe use." [continues 188 words]
Think folks in Maricopa County are conservative? Think again: Most Valley of the Sun residents want to reduce the penalty for marijuana possession, according to a new survey. They also want to thwart the federal government's intervention in the state's medical marijuana laws. That survey says seven out of 10 Maricopa County residents would support a new initiative to set up a statewide distribution system for medical marijuana. The same measure also would reduce the penalty for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana from a felony - carrying a possible prison term - to a maximum $500 fine. [continues 646 words]
The governor's attempt to start a debate about legalizing drugs resonated with New Mexico news media more than any other story of 1999. In a year-end survey, Associated Press newspaper and broadcast members voted Gov. Gary Johnson's drug debate as the year's top story. It received a third more points than the second-place story, New Mexico's prison problems, which included the deaths of six inmates and a guard in various incidents. The deaths of four inmates and the guard occurred in private prisons. [continues 718 words]
JACKSON, Miss. - Delays at the state's crime lab caused by employee shortages and a time-consuming switch to a national DNA database have created an evidence-testing backlog that has put more than 800 rape and murder cases on hold. Getting results from the lab can take as long as a year, forcing some law enforcement officials and prosecutors to seek lesser charges against crime suspects - or let them go free. "Until you have your facts, you can't make an arrest," said Oxford Police Chief Steve Bramlett, who waited more than a year for results he used to get a suspected rapist off the street. "I would love to solve every case an hour after the crime occurs, but that only happens on TV." [continues 566 words]
Dec. 26 - Let us suppose that a gang of drug dealers had broken into a house, surprised an occupant who tried to defend himself, and then shot him dead. There would be an outcry that the death penalty wasn't nearly harsh enough for such scum. But when the police do it, it's just an accident - some of that unavoidable collateral damage in the all-important War on Drugs - and if there's any outcry, it hasn't been loud enough to notice. Nobody's marching in the street. [continues 768 words]
In this season of hearth and home, joy and feasting, a moment for better understanding of those who sleep on the streets. On this day, and during the entire holiday season, many gather with family and friends in the warmth and comfort of home. Many without a place to call home during this family-oriented time are benefiting from generous donations of food and gifts at local shelters. But what of the homeless after the holidays fade? How do we, in the best spirit of many religious traditions, go beyond superficial appearances when we think of the homeless? [continues 413 words]
THE YEAR ZERO -- Analysis By Richard Cowan The coming year will hold the imagination in many ways, but there are several points which are real and not symbolic. 2000 will see the first DEAland Presidential election in which the Internet plays an important part, and the last Presidential election in which the Internet is not the decisive medium. One of the purposes of elections is to raise issues, and this will be the first DEAland Presidential election in which medical marijuana is an issue. It will be unavoidable for the candidates and the media, and the Internet will be the dominant medium for this debate. This will require that the candidates actually inform themselves and take and maintain coherent and consistent positions. [continues 1008 words]
If we're lucky, someone enters our lives at this time of year to remind us of the joy and renewal that are the true meaning of the holiday season. This year, that person for me was Janelle Bell. I first met Janelle seven years ago in a homeless shelter that had been started by my church. She was a petite African American woman - her skin a rich, chocolate brown - with an unusual gift for what's known on the streets as "talking trash." She scared off many of the volunteers, but I liked her. And though she was wary of showing it at first, I think she liked me too. [continues 972 words]
Almost three months ago, the injunction banning members of the 18th Street gang from gathering in public was lifted because of an ongoing probe of alleged LAPD misconduct. The investigation centers on alleged police corruption in the Rampart Division's CRASH anti-gang unit. The impact on the people who live and work in the area where the gang operates has been dramatic. Since the injunction was suspended indefinitely, some say drug dealing and gang-related shootings have become more commonplace. SAMANTHA BONAR spoke with M. Daniel Sanchez, a local business owner frustrated by the situation. [continues 392 words]
ENID -- Research tells Mike Fields that juvenile drug courts are sweeping the nation. The assistant district attorney is just glad Garfield County is part of the program. The city of Enid, in conjunction with Garfield County, will open its first juvenile drug court in January. The court will be the second of its kind in Oklahoma. "Where Oklahoma is now, I'd say we're ahead of the game when it comes to drug courts," Fields said. "Crystal ball-wise, I'd say this is the wave of the future." [continues 325 words]
Police searching for indoor marijuana growers cannot use high-tech sensors to "scan" the exterior of homes for unusual heat emissions unless they first obtain a search warrant, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The court, in a 6-1 ruling Wednesday, said drug agents' use of a device that detects heat from powerful indoor lights was akin to searching a home, which requires probable cause and a warrant. The case involved a 1994 arrest by Erie County drug agents. An informant had told police that marijuana plants were being grown inside a house. An Army National Guard drug officer who was helping police scanned the house from the outside with a device known informally as a "Wasp," which detects heat radiating from sources such as furnaces or human bodies. [continues 445 words]
BERNARD MINNIEFIELD'S moment of redemption came at the same time of year as Soapy's in "The Cop and the Anthem." Soapy, you may recall from the O. Henry story, was the "denizen of Madison Square" who awakened on his park bench one chilly autumn day early this century and set out to secure his customary accommodations in jail for the winter. Soapy tried all day to get arrested, but the police kept ignoring his misdemeanors. Then, while pausing outside a church, he heard an organ playing a hymn from his youth and was suddenly stricken with remorse. "Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him," O. Henry wrote. "Tomorrow he would go into the roaring downtown district and find work." In Mr. Minniefield's case, the sounds were not from an organ. They were from teenagers a couple of months ago, chanting, "Crackhead! Crackhead! Crackhead!" [continues 647 words]
Recent killing of officer seen as impetus for reform Less than a week after an inmate killed a guard, the Texas prison system announced it will form a special committee to lobby for higher salaries for the corrections officers, whose pay lags far behind the national average. Allan B. Polunsky, chairman of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, formed the three-member committee Thursday, saying prison guards badly need a raise. Texas, which has the second-largest state prison system behind California, ranks 46th in the nation in pay. [continues 407 words]
DEAR READERS: In 1955, the year I began writing this column, I wrote an essay for Christmas Day. Reader response was extremely rewarding, and I have reprinted that message every year, with a few topical modifications. This is my Christmas message for 1999: Today is Christmas. What has happened to peace on Earth, good will toward men? In many parts of the world, there is no peace, and in the hearts of many men, there is very little that could pass for good will. [continues 484 words]
Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker has solved a problem that has vexed law enforcement ever since California voters approved the medicinal use of marijuana in 1996. The question is how much pot can a patient grow and possess without risking arrest? The law permits patients, usually those in pain or suffering eating disorders from disease, to possess a ''reasonable'' amount of marijuana as deemed necessary by a physician. Determining just what is a reasonable amount has been the sticking point. Deputies would encounter people growing marijuana with a doctor's note but maybe the number of plants would be more than just for personal use, they reasoned. Growers would defend their crop by saying they didn't know the limit. Well, now Tehama County has taken the lead in the north state by setting specific rules on cultivation (18 seedlings leading to three mature plants) and possession (3 pounds of processed marijuana). [continues 244 words]
Tobacco is often the first addictive substance abused by those who later go on to destroy their lives, and the lives of people around them, with other substances. This is one key missing link in the War on Drugs. Tobacco has no significant benefits and is deadly on a massive scale. Rather than seek to raise money by taxing tobacco, it is time to go after the tobacco farmers. I see little difference between them and growers of cocaine. They know their product is deadly but keep producing it out of greed and disregard for the lives of others. F. Stephen Masek Mission Viejo [end]
We're not alone in our drug problems. Record seizures of methamphetamine laboratories in Tulsa and Oklahoma this year are but a snapshot of the bigger drug picture nationwide. A report released by drug czar Barry McCaffrey reflects a surge in methamphetamine trafficking and use, particularly in the Midwest and Northwest. "We do not just have a national drug problem. What we really have is a series of local drug epidemics," McCaffrey said. Although the nation's drug problem is not as intense as it was five years ago, McCaffrey said that "the country is still awash in high purity low-cost drugs." [continues 175 words]
The head of California's troubled juvenile corrections service has resigned amid demands by state officials for a stronger response to brutality in the system. Gregorio S. Zermeno, 53, director of the California Youth Authority, was forced to resign on Wednesday after only 10 months on the job. He was not available for comment. In a statement announcing the resignation, which becomes effective in 45 days, Robert Presley, the state corrections secretary, said, "It has become apparent that the problems of the youth authority require aggressive action and specialized management skills to turn the department around. [continues 542 words]
Officials in California's San Mateo County were slated to declare a local health emergency on Tuesday, in order to legalize needle exchange programs. A law signed by California Gov. Gray Davis in October permits local agencies to declare public health emergencies in order to legally hold needle exchanges, and a growing number of counties in the area have done so. The counties that have issued such declarations--including Alameda and Contra Costa last week, and Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz long before that--will only be protected from prosecution after the law takes effect, on January 1, 2000. A report issued earlier this month indicated that up to 13,000 San Mateo County residents may be infected with hepatitis C, approximately two-thirds of whom were infected via dirty syringes. [end]
The Quaker commitment to nonviolence has direct implications for the United States' failed drug war. It is a spiritual law that we become what we hate. Jesus articulated this law in the Sermon on the Mount when he admonished, "Do not react violently to the one who is evil" (Scholars' Version). The sense is clear: do not resist evil by violent means; do not let evil set the terms of your response. Applied to the drug issue, this means, "Do not resist drugs by violent methods." [continues 3136 words]
Albany -- Inmates chosen in Gov. George Pataki's yuletide decision were all serving time under Rockefeller drug laws Four prison inmates serving time under the state's harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws were granted clemency Thursday in a yuletide gesture of mercy by Gov. George Pataki. The governor's decision to commute the prison sentences of Elaine Bartlett, Robert Bavisotto, Jan Warren and Arlene Oberg does not mean they will be released automatically. All four will appear early next month before the state Parole Board. [continues 652 words]
In "Learning to Live With Drugs" [op-ed, Nov. 2], Ethan Nadelmann makes a clever argument for the legalization of illicit narcotics through the Trojan horse of "harm reduction." Nadelmann is director of the Lindesmith Center, which your paper describes as "a drug policy institute with offices in New York and San Francisco." Your paper also should have noted that the Lindesmith Center is a project of George Soros's Open Society Institute, which has spent $20 million trying to change how Americans look at illegal drugs. [continues 300 words]
The Program Has Drawn Fire, But Officials Say It's A Success. The city of Tulsa's controversial random drug testing policy has traveled a rough road in its first five years, drawing fire from multiple City Hall employee fronts. City management has won most of the challenges, such as the case of the city employee who attributed his positive test to second-hand smoke. An employee who complained about the religious-based treatment program also failed to win back a job. [continues 799 words]
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Gov. George Pataki granted clemency Thursday to four state prison inmates, and, following his pattern of years past, he chose first-time offenders who were serving long sentences under New York's harsh drug laws. The action brings to 17 the number of people the governor has given clemency to in his five years in office. Fifteen of these were convicted under the so-called Rockefeller drug laws, enacted in 1973 under Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. The laws, which are the primary cause of a sixfold growth in the state's prison population, require long sentences for drug offenses. For example, anyone convicted of selling as little as two ounces of cocaine, or possessing as little as four ounces, must be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years to life in prison, which means that the inmate becomes eligible for parole after 15 years. [continues 470 words]
WHAT PURPOSE WAS SERVED WITH THE FISHER ARTICLE? In regard to your article, "Fighting Back" dated Dec. 20, 1999, I take umbrage at your publishing that Mr. Fisher is now a member of Phi Theta Kappa. I am also a member of the same honor society. What other purpose than to dishonor an esteemed hard working group of people did your article serve? I graduated P.T.K. from the College of the Siskiyous with a degree in mathematics. I know how hard it was raising children, holding a job and attacking my school duties with more than tenacity. Looking back I feel that compared to those that I considered my peers, I feel lucky to have made the same grade as those that I would consider true honor students. [continues 135 words]
The Justices Said Using A Heat-Detection Tool To Find Marijuana Indoors Violated The Fourth Amendment. PITTSBURGH - Police may not use a heat-revealing device to gather evidence about whether someone is growing marijuana indoors with high-powered lights, the state Supreme Court said. The court said Wednesday that a 1994 stakeout by Erie County drug agents equipped with a device that detected extreme heat violated Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches. An informant had told Erie County police that a small indoor marijuana farm was operating in a house. [continues 321 words]
An independent review of every case is the only way to resolve the scandal involving the Rampart Division. How many innocent people are imprisoned because of false testimony by Los Angeles police officers? Officers in the Rampart Division's CRASH anti-gang unit now are known to have planted evidence and perjured themselves to gain convictions. Adequate steps must be taken immediately to identify those individuals who might have been convicted or persuaded to plead guilty because of police corruption. Unfortunately, the actions taken so far seem woefully insufficient. There can be no doubt that the burden is on the County of Los Angeles and the district attorney's office to ensure that no person remains in custody because of police wrongdoing. Nothing is more abhorrent in a society that believes in the rule of law than innocent people being imprisoned because of police officers lying and planting evidence. It is horrifying to know that there are people in prison, with every aspect of their lives in shambles, solely because of lies by police officers. [continues 535 words]
Ana Marengo of the American Cancer Society says that because of New York State's increase in the cigarette tax, cigarette sales in the state will drop by 7 percent (news analysis, Dec. 18). As a result, she says, the decline in cigarette use will be twice as large among the poor. But this means that poor people who smoke will have an increased tax burden. At 55 cents a pack, a person smoking a pack a day will pay more than $200 a year in additional taxes. [continues 73 words]
The mother of a 16-month-old boy who was legally drunk when he tumbled down a flight of stairs at an apartment complex saw the toddler take sips of vodka and gin, according to authorities. Latreece Deane, 33, of Euless later told authorities, "He wants what his mama wants. What am I supposed to do about it?" She also demanded to know whether she was "supposed to just stop drinking because her son keeps taking her drink," state Child Protective Services case worker Lisa Lambert said in court documents. [continues 151 words]
Congratulations on the Chronicle's Dec. 16 editorial, "Another way" about the drug problem. Surely, the "war on drugs" is lost, and regardless of the money we expend, it will continue to be a hopeless cause. As we learned in basic economics, if there's a demand, there will be a supply. Creating more border guards, conducting illegal searches and seizures, involving our armed forces and even wiping out drug crops in other countries has done little to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. [continues 98 words]
As we learned in basic economics, if there's a demand, there will be a supply. Creating more border guards, conducting illegal searches and seizures, involving our armed forces and even wiping out drug crops in other countries has done little to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. In Texas alone, more than 60 percent of those in our prisons are guilty of some sort of nonviolent drug offense. Prison construction has become a leading industry! As we should have learned from the Prohibition of alcohol, the current drug war does not reduce adolescent drug use, does not reduce the supply of drugs, does not reduce the harm caused by drugs and does not reduce official corruption. The only answer is strict regulation and treating drug abuse as a medical problem rather than a criminal one. W. C. Burton Jr., Bacliff [end]
Incarceration Rate Shows We're Doing Something Wrong As we enter the new millennium, the population of America's prisons and jails is approaching two million. It will pass that mark, according to the Justice Policy Institute in Washington, around Feb. 15. In the entire world about eight million people are incarcerated, so a quarter of them are in this country. The number of prisoners has been growing at an extraordinary pace, up 70 percent in the last 10 years. We have overtaken Russia for the honor of having the world's highest incarceration rate. [continues 603 words]
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- The U.S. Customs Service said Thursday it seized its largest shipment ever of the drug Ecstasy -- 700 pounds worth $30 million on the street. Customs spokeswoman Jennifer Eisner said six people, all U.S. citizens, had been arrested in San Bernardino and charged with federal drug smuggling offenses. Eisner said that a week ago, customs agents stationed at a mail facility in Memphis, Tenn., discovered and tracked a package containing 100 pounds of the drug shipped from France to an address in the San Bernardino area in Southern California. There, agents working with the Inland Regional Narcotics Taskforce found an additional 600 pounds of the drug, and made arrests. [end]
Hats off to Del. Donald E. Murphy who is proposing legislation to legalize the use of marijuana in Maryland for medical purposes ("Medical marijuana get new supporter." Nov. 27). Congratulations too, to the Howard County Farm Bureau for supporting a member using the drug to help gain enough weight to endure the life-saving cancer treatments. The prohibition of marijuana was achieved by a scare campaign that used misinformation, outright lies and vicious racism to manipulate a public that was largely ignorant about the issue. [continues 56 words]
Police: Officials Fear Frame-ups Went Beyond Informant Perez And His Partner And May Invalidate Hundreds Of Arrests. Authorities increasingly suspect that frame-ups in the Los Angeles Police Department's troubled Rampart Division went beyond then-partners Rafael Perez and Nino Durden, and now are investigating allegations that another officer planted drugs on a man and then committed perjury to send him to prison. The framing of Walter Rivas, a reputed gang member, allegedly was carried out by Officer Michael Buchanan. "Who do you think they are going to believe, are they going to believe you or me?" Rivas quoted Buchanan as saying shortly after Rivas' 1998 arrest. [continues 907 words]
Crime: The FBI says an Arizona deputy is part of a ring of officers who plotted to break into homes in the Los Angeles area to steal drugs and money. A federal probe into the theft of 650 pounds of cocaine from the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement's Riverside office has led to Arizona and the arrest of a fourth law enforcement officer, authorities said Thursday. James Strickler, a Pima County (Tucson) sheriff's deputy, was arrested while on duty and charged with conspiring to distribute illegal drugs. He was freed on bail pending a Jan. 7 court hearing in Los Angeles. [continues 545 words]
Courts: Man says he was held on false drug charge. Both policemen, who are not linked to Rampart scandal, have since left the department. Allegations that officers planted evidence spread to another Los Angeles Police Department division Wednesday in a lawsuit accusing two officers of falsely arresting a man. It also alleges that one of the officers committed perjury to put the man in prison. Jimmy Lee Render, 33, filed suit in federal court over his Nov. 2, 1997, arrest. He alleges that Officers Christopher Coppock and David Cochrane, both of the Central Division, taunted him after he denied having drugs, put him in a patrol car and told him that when he got to the station, "he was going to have some drugs." [continues 799 words]
A federal judge ruled Tuesday there is no evidence two former police officers are being selectively prosecuted for alleged civil rights violations in the shooting death of Pedro Oregon Navarro. But U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas agreed to review defense briefs arguing that the indictments of Darrell Strouse and James Willis resulted from political pressure, not the evidence. Attorneys Joe Porto and Michael Ramsey cited an Aug. 13 letter from four members of Congress urging the Justice Department to prosecute. Porto said he believes the department has letters from other politicians concerning the case and there are internal memoranda as well. [continues 297 words]
Suburban Police Tougher In Screening New Recruits The restrictions that limit anyone who experimented with drugs -- or even abused them -- from becoming a Denver police officer are less severe than elsewhere in Colorado and the nation. In fact, some suburban departments' rules on past drug use are so strict that people intent on wearing a uniform, badge and gun belt sometimes don't even bother applying, suburban police officials said. Not in Denver, where the Civil Service Commission that hires officers revealed that two of every three newly hired candidates admitted to some kind of drug use. Suburban departments say that number is closer to one of every five of their new hires. [continues 1042 words]
All his life, Tommy Billy has faced ridicule for practicing a religious belief as old as the red canyon rocks near his home on the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona. He is a follower of an ancient religion that uses the peyote cactus - classified as a hallucinogenic drug in this country - in the manner that Catholics use sacramental wine. He has come to accept that mainstream America misunderstands his way of worship, the Native American Church, which claims about 250,000 members, 30,000 among the Navajo. But there is another kind of disregard toward his belief that worries him. This time, it is the people on his own reservation who are the perpetrators. [continues 637 words]
Any recovering drug addict with long-time sobriety will tell you the first year of recovery was a nightmare. Most will concede that their brains were like scrambled eggs until well after that first year. And the urge to return to drugs didn't even begin to abate until the first anniversary was reached. That's why the Denver Police Department shouldn't be operating under Civil Service Commission rules that allow hiring cops who used drugs one year earlier. The Colorado State Patrol and Boulder and Colorado Springs police forces all require five years of clean time from hard drugs -- and three years from marijuana, the most innocuous of illegal drugs. Englewood won't look at anyone who has used drugs within the past five years. [continues 278 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The state parole board routinely violates disabled convicts' rights to equal access to their parole hearings and doesn't seem to care about federal anti-discrimination laws, says a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland condemned the Board of Prison Terms' practices Wednesday and issued a broad injunction requiring better facilities and treatment for the disabled. She said there was overwhelming evidence that the board "regularly, consistently and as a matter of routine practice fails to make its programs, services and activities available" to prisoners and parolees with physical and mental disabilities. [continues 198 words]
EARLIER this year, San Jose was one of the first California communities to commit to documenting the race and ethnicity of drivers that the police pull over. Last week, it became the first to release numbers. The results don't prove racial profiling, but they won't end the debate over it either. In the first three months they kept tabs, the police did pull over a disproportionate number of Latino and African-American drivers. While wide enough to feed suspicion, the disparity is also narrow enough to give credence to Chief Bill Lansdowne's explanation for it. [continues 624 words]
TUCKER, Ga. -- Investigators posing as stock brokers seized $72 million worth of cocaine -- some of which was smuggled in containers of frozen fish - -- during an elaborate three-year sting operation. "Operation Juno" also netted more than $10 million in drug dealers' cash that federal undercover agents pretended to launder through the fake firm they set up in this Atlanta suburb, federal officials said yesterday. Five people suspected of being Colombian drug traffickers with links to the Cali drug cartel have been indicted by a federal grand jury on money laundering and drug trafficking charges. [continues 151 words]
Federal agents posing as corrupt stockbrokers infiltrated a major Colombian cocaine-trafficking ring, leading to the seizure of $26 million in suspected drug proceeds and dozens of arrests, the Atlanta U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday. The undercover sting, dubbed "Operation Juno," began after authorities discovered 386 kilograms of liquid cocaine that had been hidden in frozen fish and shipped to a distribution center in Atlanta. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service established a phony stock brokerage firm called Airmark in suburban Atlanta, and offered to provide money-laundering services to the alleged traffickers. [continues 337 words]
Racial Profiling May Be Justified, But It's Still Wrong In Kansas City, a Drug Enforcement Administration officer stops and questions a young man who has just stepped off a flight from Los Angeles. The officer has focused on this man because intelligence reports indicate that black gangs in L.A. are flooding the Kansas City area with illegal drugs. Young, toughly dressed, and appearing nervous, he paid for his ticket in cash, checked no luggage, brought two carryon bags, and made a beeline for a taxi when he arrived. Oh, and one other thing: The young man is black. When asked why he decided to question this man, the officer declares that he considered race, along with other factors, because doing so helps him allocate limited time and resources efficiently. [continues 2316 words]
Vice President Al Gore discussed issues with LA Times Washington Bureau editors and reporters on Monday, December 20, 1999. Regulation of Tobacco and Use of Medical Marijuana Q: If the Supreme Court strikes down the FDA's authority to regulate nicotine in cigarettes which people say could happen, would a Gore Administration push very hard and initiate legislation through Congress that would give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco? And my second question relates to medical marijuana. Can you be very clear under which conditions you would condone and you would support medical use of marijuana? [continues 536 words]
He Says He Was Deceived, Saw No Alcohol Or Marijuana As Palmyra-Eagle Middle Schoolers Partied In His Barn A Town of Eagle father whose son and other middle schoolers videotaped themselves drinking, smoking pot and fondling each other warned other parents Wednesday not to be deceived by their children. During a telephone interview, the man said his experience with the Dec. 11 party had opened his eyes. "There appears to be alcohol amongst teenagers that appears to be much higher than I realized," he said. "I want other parents to be aware of that. They should find out where their kids are going and when the kids are at that place, keep two eyes on them, not one." [continues 586 words]
FCC Makes WMUR Run Unfair Bush-Cocaine Ad A little-known Republican candidate who calls himself "New Hampshire's favorite son" is running an ad on WMUR that says "George Bush had a cocaine problem," a sorry comment on the ad's author, but a sorrier one on the Federal Communications Commission rule that insists TV stations run all political advertisements, regardless of their content. Andy Martin, the candidate in question, determined Bush had a cocaine problem by sizing up Gov. George W. Bush's "sweaty palm testimony... I'm just drawing a reasonable conclusion," from Bush's response to media questions, he told The Union Leader. When asked if he, as President, would enforce laws based on this same standard of evidence, he replied, "Yup." Given this lack of seriousness, Martin's political missteps as a candidate are hardly worth discussing. Thank heaven his only ties to New Hampshire are the facts that his mother was born here, he applied to UNH, and his family vacationed at Hampton Beach. What is really egregious is that federal law forces WMUR to give equal access air time to all eligible candidates. Broadcast stations are not permitted to reject an advertisement if it makes false or questionable allegations. It's wrong for the media to dismiss as "unviable" minor candidates who poll in the single digits, but it's also unfair that the federal government prevents them from dismissing any garbage a candidate puts out. This episode should serve as a warning to advocates of more government regulations on political campaigns -- with the federal government's logic, one never knows what the end result will be! [end]
THE LAST thing the next police commissioner of Baltimore, Ronald L. Daniel, wants to hear this morning are words from the last commissioner, who sent him to Siberia and never imagined he would return. But maybe a little arithmetic will give us all a sense of perspective as Daniel comes in from the cold. The last commissioner was Thomas C. Frazier, now departed against his will. One autumn day a couple of years ago, he sat in his office and began calculating the mathematics of a city's self-destruction. [continues 747 words]
PHILADELPHIA -- Ten truck drivers were arrested on drug charges and their rigs were confiscated Tuesday after officers posed as drug dealers selling crack cocaine, police said. ``This is not only a drug issue but a public safety issue,'' police Capt. David Testa said. ``We're worried about these people driving around in their big rigs high on crack.'' After receiving complaints from residents and businesses that truck drivers were coming into the area to buy drugs, Testa said officers posed as truckers -- with trucks donated from local trucking companies - -- and purchased drugs from six known drug dealers, who were then arrested. [continues 55 words]
Police Will Target Crime, Not Citizens, New Chief Pledges; He Takes Command Jan. 3; His Goals Include Staff Reorganization, Closing Drug Corners Col. Ronald L. Daniel was named Baltimore's police commissioner formally yesterday and immediately promised to begin an aggressive assault on crime in the city. At the same time, Daniel said he wanted to reassure residents that a variety of new policing tactics will be directed against criminals and not law-abiding citizens. "There is no need to fear the police," Daniel said in an interview yesterday. "We will aggressively attack crime, not citizens." [continues 1021 words]
To the editor: I read with much interest the Dec. 20 Viewpoints letter, "Anti-booze, drugs parallels," about the failure of our current war on drugs. There are no drug treatments, thus no real help even for the ones who want another chance in life, all because our current policy is to just simply lock everyone up for many years because a crime (although not violent) is drug-related. We have all these prisons, so the government will be trying to keep them full in order to appear to be "tough on crime." [continues 109 words]
TRENTON, Dec. 22 -- Citing extensive evidence that New Jersey State Police officers have discriminated against minority motorists, the Justice Department announced today that it would appoint an outside monitor to oversee the police agency and to ensure that it enacts policy changes. The monitor, who will report directly to a federal judge, will have broad powers to inspect virtually any function of officers and their supervisors, but will specifically order them to keep records of arrests and traffic stops by race to make sure that minorities are not being singled out. [continues 978 words]
CHICAGO (AP) - If not for her famous last name, few would have noticed the death of a young woman found slumped over at a dining room table at a drug house on Chicago's West Side. Even her last name was, in fact, hers only by marriage. By many accounts, Loren Walgreen was a smart and engaging woman in her best moments. At her worst, she was a junkie haunted by depression. And according to friends and defenders, she was no match for the power and influence of the family that owns America's largest drugstore chain. [continues 722 words]
TAMPA - As a federal drug case continues to generate heat for law enforcement, the defendants try to get the charges dismissed. Pointing to a ``pattern of misconduct,'' the defendants in a big federal cocaine case that has become a major embarrassment for the Florida Highway Patrol and FBI are trying again to get the charges dropped. The three men, facing 10 years to life in prison if convicted, say highway patrol troopers involved in the case ``committed criminal acts under the direction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.'' [continues 553 words]
Cathy Breese's unwavering commitment to the "zero tolerance" commandment of the '90s bothers me ["Jackson, others undermine 'zero tolerance,'" Commentary, Letters, Nov. 28]. She concludes that we must have sets of rules for our children to live by. I agree. But zero tolerance is not a set of rules, it is an unreasonable standard that neither she nor most of the adult population could ever live up to. Why should we expect our children to be mistake-free while growing up? Are there any among us who never drank a beer, smoked a cigarette or, God forbid, even a joint when we were in our teens? That behavior was not condoned then, and it should not be now. [continues 504 words]
TRENDS: Use of steroids and 'ecstasy' are found to be increasing, however. WASHINGTON- An annual study shows that illicit drug use among the nation's teens is leveling off, health officials said Friday, though use of steroids and the drug "ecstasy" is climbing. "Today's report confirms that we have halted the dangerous trend of increased drug use among our young people," said Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services. For the 25th year, the University of Michigan asked more than 45,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students across the country about whether they used drugs and alcohol each day, over the past year, or in their lifetime. [continues 212 words]
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A presidential candidate who is running a television commercial saying Texas Gov. George W. Bush once had a cocaine problem is wanted for contempt of court. On Sept. 29, a Florida court threw out an appeal by Anthony R. "Andy" Martin, of West Palm Beach, and ordered him to serve five months and 29 days in the Palm Beach Detention Center for insulting a judge. Reached by telephone in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, Martin said the matter is on appeal. [continues 222 words]
Court records reveal gaffes by government Two months ago, the federal government made front-page headlines when it announced it had dismantled the Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club on various weapons and drug charges. "We have disrupted, dismantled and destroyed a major outlaw motorcycle gang," U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland said at an Oct. 8 news conference. But now that the case has moved into the courtroom, it appears the government not only failed to destroy the gang, it committed a number of mistakes along the way. [continues 1241 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Terence Hallinan, a pugnacious prosecutor who campaigned as ``America's most progressive district attorney,'' narrowly beat Bill Fazio, according to the latest results from an excruciatingly slow ballot count. Hallinan's lead widened to an insurmountable 1,758 votes Wednesday, or 50.4 percent of the 208,124 ballots counted in the Dec. 14th runoff, election officials said. ``It's claimed. It's done,'' a triumphant Hallinan said after an aide handed him the latest tally at City Hall. ``It was a close hard-fought election. No question about that.'' [continues 640 words]
What concerns me the most about the shooting of Ismael Mena during a no-knock raid on his Denver home is why we are doing such searches at all? For the sake of the "war on drugs", we are trashing the Constitution, destroying people's lives, killing innocent people and spending billions of dollars a year on a "war" we cannot win. The most destructive drug we have is alcohol. Yet we found during Prohibition that making something illegal only increases the crime and violence associated with it. It didn't work for alcohol and it certainly isn't working for drugs. If drugs are legalized, the crime will diminish considerably. there are consequences from drug use, but these are minor compared to the damage we do to society by trying to enforce laws that will not work. Mark A Cottrell Westminster [end]
I'm not surprised that the war on drugs has claimed another innocent victim. Sadly, this will go on until people like the timid folks on the Denver Post' editorial board wake up and realize that the war on drugs needs to end and become willing to say it. Since 1971, Libertarians have recognized that your choices are clear: Either suffer more killings of innocent people and the increasing stupidity of a police state, or re-legalize drugs. David Aitken Denver [end]
Program Is No Cure-all, Officials Say, But It Helps With Drug Fight TWIN FALLS -- Whether it's showing sixth-grade students his patrol car or letting himself get chewed by a police dog, Twin Falls police officer Jeff Sklar tries hard to grab his D.A.R.E. students' attention. Once he has that, he said, he can work in the lessons of responsibility, decision-making, self-esteem and, of course, drug education that make up the curriculum of Drug Abuse Resistance Education. [continues 1272 words]
At home in my lobby, I fit the stats - and went directly to jail. As the youngest of five girls and two boys growing up in Cincinnati, I was raised to believe that if I worked hard, was a good person, and always told the truth, the world would be my oyster. I was raised to be a gentleman and learned that these qualities would bring me respect. While one has to earn respect, consideration is something owed to every human being. On Friday, June 16, 1999, when I was wrongfully arrested at my Harlem apartment building, my perception of everything I had learned as a young man was forever changed— not only because I wasn’t given even a second to use the manners my parents taught me, but mostly because the police, whom I’d always naively thought were supposed to serve and protect me, were actually hunting me. [continues 1017 words]
Police Went To 'Wrong House' Denver Mayor Wellington Webb said Thursday that police blundered in a "no-knock" drug raid that ended in the death of a father of nine. "It was the wrong house," Webb said during an interview with talk show host Mike Rosen on 850-KOA. However, Webb spokesman Andrew Hudson said the mayor does not have inside knowledge of the Denver police internal investigation into the no-knock raid. "His comments are reflecting the community's concerns, and ultimately the investigation will determine whether it was the wrong house," Hudson said. "The investigation will tell that for sure." [continues 387 words]
Mexican National's Death Raises Civil-rights Concerns The FBI launched an investigation Wednesday into the death of a Mexican migrant shot repeatedly by Denver police in a no-knock raid. FBI agents will focus on possible criminal civil-rights violations, said Christine DiBartolo, U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington. Police Chief Tom Sanchez responded: "We're open to scrutiny. U.S. Attorney Tom Strickland formally requesting an investigation Wednesday afternoon after conferring with Justice Department officials in Washington. Such requests require federal officials to follow up with a probe. [continues 709 words]
America's "boot camp" regimes for juvenile offenders - which provided the model for the Thatcher government's ill-fated "short, sharp shock" experiment in Britain in the 80s - are increasingly being closed down as authorities unearth evidence that the get-tough regimes can create more problems than they solve. The latest scandal affecting a system that was once touted as the answer to America's juvenile crime wave has come in Maryland, which last week became the latest state to suspend the paramilitary regime after an investigation revealed systematic bullying by guards and cases of child abuse. [continues 527 words]
EDMOND -- Judge Alan Synar only sees juveniles charged with marijuana possession for a total of 18 minutes through three different court appearances. But that's just one portion of the long judicial process for a juvenile caught with the illegal drug. With 138 juveniles arrested in Edmond for marijuana possession in the last three years and 82 arrested for possession or sale of drug paraphernalia, police and juvenile court officials are kept busy. Picked up ... Most juvenile marijuana arrests are made through routine contact with juveniles, said Sgt. Matt Griffin. [continues 896 words]
With Committee's Action, Number Of Prisoners Sent Elsewhere Will Top 5,500 Madison - Wisconsin, which already leads the nation with 4,107 inmates in out-of-state prisons, will spend $37.2 million to boost that number to 5,514 in the next two years, lawmakers decided Tuesday. At the urging of Corrections Secretary Jon Litscher, the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee approved the release of funding to help ease overcrowding at state prisons. "We are ready to go, and we need to. The urgency is there now," Litscher said. "Our capacity issues are extreme. . . . We have a safety issue as we are speaking." [continues 489 words]
TAMPA - The highway patrol plans to step up training and oversight of its troopers to prevent future affidavit problems. Stung by news reports that have ``attacked the integrity and the trust'' of his agency, Florida's top state trooper vowed Tuesday to step up the training of highway patrol officers who assist in federal drug busts. Col. Charles C. Hall, director of the Florida Highway Patrol, has ordered additional safeguards statewide to ``provide enhanced oversight to all enforcement actions,'' he said in a letter to The Tampa Tribune. [continues 603 words]
One other recruit in the current police academy class has a history of drug abuse comparable to that of Ellis "Max" Johnson, whose appointment ignited a furor after it was opposed by police commanders. Two-thirds of the 35-member class admitted past drug use, Denver Civil Service Commissioners revealed last week in response to criticism of Johnson's appointment. Documents released Monday by the commission under an Open Records Act request from the Denver Rocky Mountain News show that 19 of the 24 recruits admitting drug use list only random or long-ago smoking of marijuana. [continues 412 words]
The caller -- who neglected to leave his name -- was pretty adamant about the influence alcohol played in vehicle crashes in Michigan. It was his contention that drugs played just as big a part, if you not bigger, than alcohol. The caller said that there were no statistics available to compare and contrast drug and drunken driving and that the Michigan State Police usually blended drug and drunken driving into the same statistics. And he was right ... but only up to a point. [continues 533 words]
First In A Series In 1980 the Federal government spent $4 billion on the drug war. This year we are spending over four times that much, and the saddest part is that most of that money goes not to help people stop using drugs or get help for their addictions, but simply to throw them in prison. Drug arrests have now pushed the U.S. jail and prison population to over 1.8 million people, almost the highest in the world, of whom an estimated 1.2 million are alcohol or drug abusers. In addition, 2.3 million are on probation and parole. Few of these people are violent, high-level dealers. In fact, more than 90% of all drug arrests are of nonviolent offenders guilty only of possession or of dealing small quantities to support their own habits. [continues 229 words]
Acid is back on campus - with some changes. The hallucinogen whose heyday seemed to pass in the 1960s has found its place among a smaller, tighter college crowd in the 1990s. Acid still goes by a string of names - tabs, blotter, LSD. Its dosage strength has dropped, and its street price has leveled. But as four current and former University of South Alabama students have discovered, the present-day penalties for distributing acid are stiffer than three decades ago. Justin Pruett Davis is scheduled to plead guilty today to charges outlined in his indictment that include possession with intent to distribute LSD, said his attorney William Kimbrough. The motion hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Charles Butler. [continues 915 words]
Hundreds of miles of interstate and Georgia and South Carolina highways make up the transportation backbone of the Augusta area, bringing commerce and tourism from surrounding states. But on those same roads travel drug couriers either making local deliveries or just passing through. ``We do see it as a problem because we have (Interstate 20) running through Columbia County,'' said Lt. Clay Smith, head of special operations for the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. ``While it's not as bad as I-95, it's there.'' [continues 952 words]
"Three times in college.'' "On a cruise ship off the island of Dominica.'' "Party. Tried it. Didn't like it. Never again.''These are typical responses among Denver Police Academy recruits to a background question about drug offenses. While 24, or two-thirds, of Denver's 35 police trainees have admitted to using illegal drugs, the vast majority did so experimentally - generally having tried marijuana or hashish a few times with friends in high school, college or at parties. However, application records obtained by The Denver Post show two of those 24 recruits acknowledge more extensive drug histories. By far the most extensive is that of Ellis Johnson, whose controversial hiring despite his longtime and varied drug use has made headlines the past several weeks. [continues 576 words]
A Saginaw lawyer plans to spend a good part of next year pushing state constitutional amendments, including one to allow anyone 21 or older to grow and smoke marijuana at home. Gregory Carl Schmid, 39, a criminal defense attorney, says he's "not a kook" but is just interested in "getting government off our backs." He also is behind two other initiatives for the November 2000 ballot. One would make the Legislature part time, meeting from January to April. The state Board of Canvassers approved the petition language Tuesday. [continues 733 words]
Border Patrol Bias Shown, But No Harm, Panel Says Border-area Hispanics can't sue to block Border Patrol officers from stopping motorists simply because they look Hispanic, federal judges ruled yesterday. An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that two Southern Arizona residents presented evidence that they had been stopped, for no apparent reason, on Interstate 19 south of Tucson. But the court said they made no showing that they were likely to be ``wronged again.'' [continues 754 words]
Corrections: Increase in the number of inmates in 1999 will be the smallest in 20 years. Booming economy, diversion programs and tougher sentencing are among reasons cited. SACRAMENTO - California's prison population has registered a surprise year-end decline of 1,446 inmates, the first such drop since November 1992. The latest count, taken Dec. 12, shows 160,935 inmates in California's state prisons, down for two consecutive months from the year's high of 162,381 in September. For 1999, the state's prison population, still the largest in the nation, will show the smallest annual increase in 20 years. [continues 785 words]
LOS ANGELES - A judge Tuesday postponed the sentencing of former Los Angeles Police Department Officer Rafael Perez - the key figure in the LAPD's unfolding corruption scandal - while authorities seek to corroborate his allegations concerning police crimes and misconduct. Under a plea agreement, Perez is expected to receive a five-year sentence on cocaine theft convictions in exchange for his cooperation. If prosecutors determine that Perez has not told the truth or omitted information about police wrongdoing his deal could fall through and he could be sentenced to 12 years in prison. [continues 129 words]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The government accuses the company of conspiring to avoid millions in taxes. The Canadian government sued R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. for $1 billion Tuesday, charging that it and related companies conspired to smuggle tobacco products into Canada to avoid millions of dollars in taxes. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Syracuse, alleges the companies set up an elaborate network of smugglers and offshore companies to flood Canada with cheap cigarettes after the government doubled taxes and duties on tobacco in 1991. [continues 371 words]
14-Year Veteran Officer Guilty Of Drug Possession A jury convicted a prison guard of felony drug possession charges Tuesday, but acquitted him on a loftier charge of conspiracy to deal drugs to an inmate. The District Attorney's Office had alleged that Wilfred Eric Rivera, a 14-year veteran at the California Men's Colony, was dealing drugs to Son Kim Nguyen, a 31-year-old inmate serving time for burglary. Jurors agreed that Rivera, 41, attempted to bring drugs into the prison, but they were not convinced that he was dealing them. [continues 591 words]
NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters Health) -- Drug-abuse treatment programs can result in major reductions in drug use and related crime, but despite these positive effects, most drug users do not receive treatment, researchers report. In fact, the number of treatment programs is declining. According to Dr. Marjorie Gutman, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and Dr. Richard Clayton, of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, less than a quarter of drug users in the United States receives treatment for addiction. [continues 251 words]
Thank God that White House drug policy director Gen. Barry McCaffrey recognizes the war on drugs has failed and we must pursue a more sensible policy. In an address he delivered recently, McCaffrey stated that 85 percent of the 1.8 million prisoners in America were there because of addiction problems. He emphasized there is a critical need for treatment. Scientific research indicates addiction and substance abuse may be permanently eliminated. Those who have studied this research are convinced addiction is a disease and prison is the wrong place for addicts. [continues 170 words]
Wahkiakum High School parents, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued their school district for subjecting student athletes to random "suspicionless" drug testing. The ACLU said it is the first Washington test case challenging urine-testing of students, which it considers an unreasonable search. The tiny district, headquartered in Cathlamet along the Columbia River 25 miles west of Longview, adopted a policy this fall that students who want to be on a high school or middle school team must agree to random urine testing for illicit or performance-enhancing drugs. [continues 514 words]
Please consider calling his office to voice your opinion or faxing a copy of your letter to him. CALL Governor Johnson's Office (505) 827 3000 FAX Governor Johnson (505) 827 3026 Or send a note via the webform on his contact webpage at: http://164.64.43.1/opinion/Opinion.htm ~~~~~~~~~~ Gov. Gary Johnson says his crusade to legalize drugs such as heroin and marijuana is going nowhere because opponents cannot agree on basic facts. [continues 416 words]
BROWNSVILLE -- A federal judge on Tuesday raised the amount of money a drug enforcement officer must pay to remain free on murder-for-hire charges. In a brief hearing, U.S. District Judge Filemon Vela ruled that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Salvador Michael Martinez must post $100,000 in cash or surety by Jan. 10. Martinez is accused of attempting to hire someone to kill the teen-ager who allegedly killed his cousin. A federal magistrate set Martinez's bond at $200,000 last week. He has been out of jail but under house arrest in Floresville since posting $20,000 to secure the bond. [end]
Detroit - Outrageous, The Advocates Say. Insulting. Michigan's plan to test all welfare applicants for drugs is "a vicious assault on their constitutional rights," a cruel case of treating the poor like criminals simply because they are poor. To which many of those same poor reply: So? For to them, the plan makes a whole lot of sense. They call it long overdue. Even as the American Civil Liberties Union prepares to take the state to court in a quest to block the drug tests, many of those who rely on welfare say it's about time the government held them responsible for what they do with taxpayer handouts. [continues 1224 words]
A Los Angeles federal jury convicted three Venezuelans--a banker, a lawyer and a businessman - on Monday after a trial climaxing the biggest narcotics money laundering case in U.S. history. The five-week trial was an outgrowth of Operation Casablanca, a lengthy undercover probe that targeted Mexican and Venezuelan banks along with money launderers for the Juarez and Cali drug cartels. Those convicted Monday were among 100 foreign citizens and three Mexican banks indicted last year on money laundering charges. Sixty people remain fugitives. Prosecutors also seized about $60 million from the U.S. assets of 14 foreign-based banks whose employees were implicated in the case. [continues 1141 words]
The country has been hearing about this War on Drugs for some time now. Cause and effect, etc., etc. While prison population grows to the point of mass unhealthful overcrowding, there exists inside prison walls little if any rehabilitation services. And as the desire to build more prisons grows and is justified by what we watch through the media, statistics show that violent crime is at an all time low. We have built more prisons from the taxpayers money I assume, and our colleges and universities have been at a stand-still in growth. [continues 116 words]
But Bakersfield Company Wants Answers About The Decision Change. CORCORAN - City officials said Monday they're indifferent to the state suddenly scrapping plans that could have brought two prisons into town. Corcoran's Planning Commission canceled a meeting Monday night after hearing that the Department of Corrections reversed its request for private companies to build and operate four 500-bed prisons around the state. The commission had been set to vote on a Bakersfield company's pitch to build two such prisons in Corcoran. [continues 373 words]
I HAVE written this column before. Each time, I figure this has got to be the last one and I'll never have to make these points again. Each time, I'm wrong. So here we go again. Let me lay the situation out for you. There's this kid, a 13-year-old middle-schooler named Benjamin Ratner. One day a girl passes him a note confiding that she has brought a knife to school and might use it to kill herself. Benjamin talks her into giving him the knife, which is hidden inside a notebook. Without opening the notebook, Benjamin puts it in his locker, intending to give it to his mother so that she can speak to the mother of the troubled girl. [continues 620 words]
Groups that contend voters just didn't get it when they passed a medical marijuana initiative twice in the past three years are blowing smoke, according to the latest Rocky Mountain Poll. In fact, more than seven of 10 registered Maricopa County voters polled said they would vote again for the measure, which established a state-controlled network for the distribution of medical marijuana. The measure passed by a 2-1 ratio when it was voted on last year, but the Legislature altered it. Petitions are being circulated to put the measure on the ballot for the 2000 general election. [end]
Inside United States
