Documents Detail Allegations of Lies on Drug Arrest; Lawyer Says Account Is Overblown Dallas police said Monday that they are investigating everyone involved in the decisions surrounding the actions of two officers accused of lying about the arrest of a man for drug possession and the circumstances leading to a raid on a pot den. Police spokesman Lt. Paul Stokes released a news statement saying that "the Dallas Police Department is continuing the administrative investigation into the actions of all personnel involved" after the Friday firings of Jon Llewellyn, 30, and Randolph Dillon, 44, who are charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and aggravated perjury. Both are third-degree felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. [continues 749 words]
Accusations of Lying, Tampering Recall Similar Events a Decade Ago In an episode reminiscent of the city's embarrassing 2001 fake-drug scandal, two Dallas police officers were arrested Friday on accusations that they lied in court and tampered with evidence in drug cases. The officers' arrests, and the circumstances that caused them, have raised questions about whether Police Chief David Brown's top commanders dragged their feet for about a year after concerns arose about the two officers' truthfulness. In a brief telephone interview late Friday, Brown categorically rejected any assertions that his department was slow to react. He declined to elaborate. [continues 1293 words]
U.S. Troops, Pilots Routinely Deployed to Chase, Capture Traffickers The crew members aboard the USS Underwood could see through their night goggles what was happening on the fleeing boat: Someone was dumping bales. When the Navy guided-missile frigate later dropped anchor in Panamanian waters on that sunny August morning, Ensign Clarissa Carpio, a 23-year-old from San Francisco, climbed into the inflatable dinghy with four unarmed sailors and two Coast Guard officers like herself, carrying light submachine guns. It was her first deployment, but Carpio was ready for combat. [continues 1297 words]
The point is being made by both sides of the political spectrum: Prisons and jails are needlessly stuffed with low-level drug offenders. Just this month in Austin, the state's muscular Texas Association of Business joined the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation in advocating for less expensive and more effective approaches than incarceration for small amounts of illicit drugs. On the other side of the political spectrum, a new report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition clarified how much these prison-for-possession cases are costing taxpayers: $700,000 a day, just for those sent to state lockups in 2011. [continues 519 words]
Colorado's Tight Rein on Pot Will Be Emulated, Enhanced in Washington State DENVER - Inside the industrial-scale marijuana farms that dot Denver's lowrise warehouse districts, it is perpetual summer - 78 degrees, moderate humidity and fields of shoulder-high plants with fat, sticky buds swaying in the breeze. Photos by Alan Berner/seattle Times In a former bus barn near Denver, marijuana plants are constantly on camera, part of an intense seed-to-sale scrutiny of Colorado's medical-marijuana industry. Measures include investigating entrepreneurs' finances for links to organized crime and monitoring the black market. [continues 634 words]
As drug warriors go, 69-year-old Suzanne Wills has been one of the most steadfast - just not on the side you might expect. And at long last, she's seeing major success. As of last week, marijuana is legal in Colorado. Washington state is next. She cheerfully predicts that other states will follow suit. "I'm optimistic," said the grandmother of seven, who lives in Far East Dallas. "The reform movement is really well organized now. We understand what works. And we have a lot of people with us." [continues 608 words]
The recent successful efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use in Colorado and Washington have placed an imprimatur of increased societal acceptance on the use of the drug, particularly among young people. I question if legalization advocates appreciate the incredible temptations that children's impressionable minds already face from the many vices that threaten to derail their social and educational development. We are facing the real possibility of more state-based legalization efforts, coupled with free-market, competitive forces bent on increasing supply and demand. It has long been anticipated that broad-based legalization would lead to mass marketing by major tobacco companies, which have the expertise, financial incentives and infrastructure to do so. These companies recognize they stand to make billions in profits from legalization, and getting users hooked at an early age assures a likely lifetime of consumption. [continues 547 words]
Among the results of last month's elections was a startling cultural development: two states, Colorado and Washington, became the first to legalize the sale of marijuana for any purpose to adults over 21. This coincides with national polls that show increasing support for marijuana legalization. Yet on this issue, conservatives and liberals alike have balked at defending individual rights and states' rights. Since 1996, when California allowed the medicinal use of marijuana, 17 more states and the District of Columbia have followed suit. A Washington Post-ABC News poll three years ago found overwhelming support for legalizing medical marijuana use: 81 percent were in favor. More recent CBS News and Quinnipiac polls have shown Americans almost evenly split on legalizing recreational sale of marijuana to adults, with supporters ahead by 3 to 4 percentage points. In 1969, only 16 percent favored legalization. [continues 497 words]
Student's Addiction Came Early; Escape Almost Elusive In a cramped bathroom stall at Edward Cary Middle School, Mariela and her crew passed around a binder and a school badge to divide the lines of powder. Jeff Lautenberger/staff Photographer Mariela, who has shared her experiences on television, has replaced drugs with education. She is pursuing an associate of applied science degree at Eastfield College in Mesquite in hopes of becoming a substance abuse counselor. She expects to graduate in May. [continues 3263 words]
Mass Incarceration Has Gone Too Far and Helped Little, Critics Say TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Stephanie George and Judge Roger Vinson had quite different opinions about the lockbox seized by police from her home in Pensacola, Fla. She insisted she had no idea that a former boyfriend had hidden it in her attic. Vinson considered the lockbox, containing a half-kilogram of cocaine, to be evidence of her guilt. But the defendant and the judge fully agreed about the fairness of the sentence he imposed in federal court. [continues 1812 words]
A state trooper criticized for conducting body cavity searches of two Irving women during a traffic stop has been placed on paid suspension. The two women have filed a federal lawsuit against trooper Kelley Helleson and another trooper, as well as the head of the state Department of Public Safety. The lawsuit accuses Helleson of using her fingers to conduct cavity searches - using the same latex gloves - on both women in July on State Highway 161. The women were searched for illegal drugs after the other trooper stopped them for throwing cigarette butts out of their car. No drugs were found. The Dallas County district attorney's public integrity division is investigating the case, which will go before a grand jury in January. Helleson will remain suspended during the investigation, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said. [end]
Marijuana Destroys Lives, Says Angelia Megahan The progressive folks of Colorado and Washington recently sowed the weed issue into the forefront of our collective consciousness. The case for the decriminalization of THC certainly grows. Yet I remain a holdout, even though the arguments, as put forth in the Dallas Morning News, are compelling - albeit nothing new. Ten years ago, a woman told me that marijuana usage was "no big deal." I, a prosecutor at the time, waxed on about how it leads to a dead end. She laughed. A melodic guttural laugh complete with a beautiful smile dimmed only by pain that lay languishing in her eyes. [continues 529 words]
Colorado, Washington Must Hash Out What to Do If Off-Hours Tokes Affect On-Job Drug Tests DENVER (AP) - Pot may be legal, but workers may want to check with their boss before they grab the pipe or a joint during off hours. Businesses in Washington state, where the drug is legal, and Colorado, where it will be by January, are trying to figure out how to deal with employees who use it on their own time and then fail a drug test. [continues 356 words]
SEATTLE - More than 100 hard-core tokers gathered under the Space Needle at the stroke of midnight to light one up in celebration of Washington state's new marijuana law, which made it legal on Thursday for those 21 and older to possess an ounce or less of pot. Voters in Washington and Colorado approved the nation's first recreational marijuana laws in November. The Colorado law doesn't take effect until January. The Washington initiative allows for pot possession, but it's still illegal to buy, sell or grow marijuana. [continues 114 words]
Re: Meeting Of The Presidents - Drug strategy should be part of conversation I applaud the editorial board for confronting the destructive results of the drug war and calling for "more realistic marijuana policies." It is far past time. I am mystified by how "decriminalizing consumption" might "remove mega-profits from illicit trade." Decriminalization would save tax dollars because police would be handing out tickets for marijuana possession instead of making arrests. There would be further savings for the courts and the jails. Decriminalization would make us all safer because police would have more time to pursue serious crime. The production, distribution and sale of drugs would still be in the hands of criminals. The megaprofits would not be removed. Only legalization and regulation could do that. Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas, Dallas [end]
Finally, politicians with fortitude have opened a discourse on the subject of marijuana. With nothing to lose, two old lame ducks - odd couple Barney Frank and Ron Paul - broached the subject of federally legalized pot after evidence that the drug war has proven to be unwinnable after 40-plus years of trying. Like alcohol and tobacco, pot is evidently here to stay. But, is it enough simply to legalize? Why not grow marijuana under strict license to take out a large chunk of drug cartels' profits? The cost of implementing the drug war may be partially saved along with a true "cash crop" of pot for farmers to sell and the feds, states and cities to tax - and even to export. This idea, whose time has come, is not without complexities and concerns, but obviously alternatives to prohibition need serious consideration. Bob Dewberry, North Dallas [end]
The voters of Colorado and Washington state have made it clear the federal government can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. [continues 70 words]
Texas legislators should follow the recommendations of the Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services and significantly expand Veterans Treatment Courts throughout the state. Texas has already saved $2 billion through aggressive criminal justice reform, including the expansion of drug courts. Now is the time to further these cost-effective programs while coming to the aid of the men and women who have sacrificed for our country. Veterans Treatment Courts operate similar to drug courts, but are reserved for veterans suffering from substance abuse, mental illness or trauma. They actually save money because in most cases the VA covers the treatment. [continues 53 words]
2nd 911 Call From Complex Judged to Be Same Case Matthew Sanchez had been popping Xanax pills for hours and was fading fast. When he finally collapsed to the floor of his Far North Dallas apartment during the early morning hours of Nov. 16, a friend dialed 911 for him and disappeared. At the time of the call, Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics were already working an emergency at the same apartment complex that had been phoned in only 11 minutes earlier. Emergency responders thought the calls were the same because of miscommunication so they did not respond to Sanchez's apartment while saving the first caller. [continues 1225 words]
Re: "Young pawns in the drug war -- Police are enlisting youthful offenders for work that's risky, unregulated and sometimes deadly, says Sarah Stillman," Sunday Points. Thank you, Sarah Stillman and The Dallas Morning News, for publishing this commentary on current insane, violence-promoting drug-war tactics. It is morally bankrupt to punish nonviolent adults for making a safer health choice, cannabis or marijuana, compared to other medicinal or social drugs. Young nonviolent informants' deaths and other triggered violence from drug prohibition across the nation are an outrage that can no longer be tolerated. [continues 91 words]
