The Florida Legislature would rather look tough on crime than actually be tough. That's the irrefutable message that shows up in both House and Senate budget proposals, which dramatically undermine the Department of Corrections and along with it public defenders, sheriffs and local corrections systems. By contrast, the budget of Gov. Charlie Crist, a former attorney general and lawmaker known at onetime as "Chain Gang Charlie," is supportive of the DOC's current allocation of its budget to a mix of substance abuse rehabilitation and education programs and old-fashioned incarceration. He finds revenues in rainy-day funds that can be tapped for essential and wise approaches to public safety. [continues 465 words]
A tentative deal between Marc Emery, Vancouver's Prince of Pot, and the U.S. government over money-laundering and drug charges has been nixed by Ottawa. Emery says the Conservative administration has refused to go along with a proposal that would have seen him spend five years behind bars for selling marijuana seeds through the mail. Under the defunct pact, Emery was to plead guilty on both sides of the border and accept a sentence of 10 years imprisonment on the understanding he would serve half, mostly in Canada. [continues 938 words]
The war on drugs is prejudiced against minorities, a group of Drake University students and professors concluded Wednesday. "America's war on drugs has really turned into American's war on nonwhite youth," said Eric Johnson, an education professor at Drake. Johnson, three other Drake professors and a representative of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition formed the panel Wednesday evening on the Drake campus at a discussion hosted by Drake Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The group of about 50 students who attended tried to brainstorm a better drug policy, one that doesn't unfairly affect minorities and college-bound students, they said. [continues 230 words]
