State lawmakers are looking at legislation to create stricter standards for the use of young people as confidential informants. State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is working with an attorney for the family of Rachel Hoffman to craft the legislation. Hoffman, 23, of Clearwater, was fatally shot in May while helping Tallahassee police with a drug investigation. Hoffman agreed to work with police after she was arrested on drug charges, including possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession with intent to sell Ecstasy. [continues 212 words]
Accountability. That's what got him where he is today. Matt Heath graduated from Plymouth County's Drug Court Dec. 10 as one of the first from the program that celebrated it's one year anniversary in October. "This is the best I've felt since I was 14 or 15," the 34-year-old said. "Drugs do bad things to your life." Heath entered drug court in February, a decision he didn't really want to make because of the commitment and changes he new were ahead. [continues 550 words]
Two Journalists Visiting Ciudad Juarez for Three Days Find That Death Is Always Just Around the Corner. Killings in 2008: 1,350, and Counting. The two victims rest at the same 45-degree angle, embraced by seat belts that at this moment seem an odd precaution, given the manner of death. Gunmen had pulled alongside the forest-green Chevy Tahoe on a gritty downtown street and, in broad daylight, pumped 52 shots into where the bodies now lean. [continues 3524 words]
While no one would begrudge Sheriff Bill Wittman his award for doing his job energetically, the unfortunate truth is that marijuana "eradication" is a myth ("Anti-marijuana campaign earns national honors," Dec. 3). The U.S. government's own National Drug Threat Assessment 2008 reports no decline in marijuana availability despite years of escalating plant seizures and increasing arrests for possession. In fact, the report cites raids on outdoor grows (such as those for which the sheriff is being honored) as one of the factors causing illicit growers to "shift operations indoors," where they "will produce higher-potency marijuana year-round, allowing for an exponential increase in profits derived." [continues 71 words]
Mexican President Felipe Calderon Says His Government Has Made Strides in Combating Graft. But Police Corruption Remains a Big Problem in the Battle Against Drug Trafficking. Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday said his government was making strides against corruption but warned that graft remained a threat to the nation's efforts against crime. Calderon, speaking on International Anti-Corruption Day, said 11,500 public servants had been sanctioned for corruption since he took office in December 2006. Fines against them totaled more than $300 million, he said. [continues 372 words]
Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora Says 5,376 People Have Been Killed So Far in 2008, More Than Twice the Toll for the First 11 Months of 2007. In a chilling assessment of Mexico's drug war, the country's top prosecutor said Monday that more than 5,000 people had been killed in drug violence so far this year, more than double the toll for the same period in 2007. Atty. Gen. Eduardo Medina Mora released the figures in a meeting with a small group of journalists. It was the first official toll provided by the government in many months, and was substantially higher than the tallies being kept by Mexican newspapers. [continues 228 words]
Anonymous Threats Warn of Unspecified Harm If Teachers Don't Hand Over Their Year-End Bonuses. Outside the gaily painted gates of the Elena Garro Federal Kindergarten, the grown-ups are afraid. If daily drug-related killings haven't sown enough alarm in this gritty border city, parents now confront written messages left near several schools warning of unspecified harm unless teachers hand over their annual year-end bonuses. The threats, printed on posters hung near schools last month, have spread panic among teachers and parents throughout a city rattled by a violent turf war between drug gangs that has killed more than 1,300 people here this year. [continues 488 words]
Despite a Recent Military Offensive, at Least 38 People Have Been Killed in the City's Drug Wars Since Saturday, Nine of Them Decapitated. At least 38 people have been killed in Tijuana since Saturday, nine of them decapitated, in escalating drug-related violence that appears to have left in tatters a Mexican military offensive launched two weeks ago. The killing spree marked the end of the tenure of the city's top law enforcement official. Secretary of Public Security Alberto Capella Ibarra was removed from his post Monday evening after a year marked by upheaval in the police ranks and increasing violence. [continues 500 words]
Re "A Plan B for Colombia," editorial, Nov. 22 Regarding your thoughtful editorial, Plan Colombia could spread both coca production and civil war throughout South America. U.S. tax dollars would be better spent addressing the socioeconomic causes of civil strife in Colombia than applying military force to attack the symptoms. We're not doing the Colombian people any favors by funding civil war. Nor are Americans being protected from drugs. Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for cocaine-like drugs. Free-market champions in Congress seem incapable of applying basic economics to drug policy. Instead of waging a futile supply-side drug war abroad, we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home. Robert Sharpe Washington The writer is a policy analyst at Common Sense for Drug Policy. [end]
Medical marijuana and the stereotypes it derails was the topic of the final Socialist and Marxist Studies Series lectureof the fall semester. University of Southern Maine professor Wendy Chapkis discussed her experiences with garden growers who produced medical marijuana and how her perception of the drug has changed. Chapkis, a professor of gender studies, said she decided to explore the topic after she found out her friend, Valerie Carrel, smoked marijuana to relieve the pain she endured from cancer. Chapkis initially shrugged it off, thinking it was an excuse. [continues 487 words]
On Election Day, Michigan voters made their state the 13th to allow seriously ill patients to use medical cannabis upon the recommendation of a physician. Now, 71 million people, about 24 percent of Americans, live in one of the 13 states that allow the doctor-advised, medical use of cannabis. However, suffering patients in Illinois still face arrest for relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option. Illinois should follow suit and pass SB 2865, the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Pilot Program Act before the Jan. 13 legislative deadline. [continues 141 words]
A new probe of the 2001 downing of a plane carrying West Michigan missionaries in Peru concludes the CIA routinely violated intercept procedures and covered up evidence of its failings. U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra said he will press for renewed criminal investigation into the incident and demand a hearing before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee. "We cannot have a community that operates outside the law and covers up what it does and lies to Congress. This is a shootdown that should not have occurred if we had an agency that was working appropriately," said Hoekstra, R-Holland. [continues 511 words]
A new federal probe of the 2001 downing of a plane carrying West Michigan missionaries in Peru concluded the CIA operated outside the law and then lied to Congress and federal officials, according to U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra. "We cannot have a community that operates outside the law and covers up what it does and lies to Congress," Hoekstra said today. Hoekstra said he will press for criminal investigation following release of the report by the Office of Inspector General. [continues 133 words]
The Drug Test Policy Committee of the USD 379 School Board decided by consensus Thursday to recommend the board hire a company to do random testing and set a goal to start drug testing by the start of the second semester. The committee recommends the school board hire Sports Safe, an Iowa based company that does nothing but random drug tests for schools. The committee also revised a policy on how testing will be done. The recommendations will be presented to school board at the December meeting. If approved by the board's January meeting, random drug testing would go into effect at the start of the second semester. [continues 604 words]
West End Dispensary Continues To Operate Unchecked At last Thursday's meeting, the city council voted to close the barn door. The problem, however, is that the "Purple Elephant" escaped last July. The council unanimously adopted an "interim urgency ordinance of the City of Alameda making findings and establishing a 45-day moratorium on the establishment or expansion of medical marijuana dispensaries." The ordinance and the city manager's memorandum that accompanies it infer that city staff will closely investigate every facet of "marijuana medical dispensaries" before allowing one on the Island City. [continues 778 words]
Each October, we observe Red Ribbon Week to honor the sacrifice of DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camerena, who died fighting to stop criminal enterprises from smuggling illegal drugs into the U.S. Each year, we rededicate ourselves to drug prevention programs that help keep our schools and neighborhoods safe and healthy. While we must work to combat all illegal drugs in our state, one drug - methamphetamine - still demands extra efforts. Meth devastates users as well as their family, friends and neighbors. It is the No. 1 problem facing Arizona law enforcement, since it is the proximate cause of more than 70 percent of violent and property crimes. An amazing 65 percent of all child abuse and neglect cases handled in this office cite meth as the major contributing factor. Meth burdens our schools, our health care providers, our businesses and our prisons. [continues 445 words]
Dear Editor, A recent article ("Face Off: Should Marijuana be Legalized? No," Sept. 19) examining marijuana legalization failed to consider the reality of the current situation, which is that despite 70 years of government propaganda and billions of taxpayer dollars wasted this year alone combating conduct that millions of Americans engage in, we are losing the war on marijuana. Notwithstanding Mr. McLaurine's reliance on arguments such as the gateway theory, a supposition that has been repeatedly debunked by scientific studies in recent years, to make his point, he does leave readers with some good advice: Do your own research on the issue and come to your own conclusions. [continues 177 words]
We have all heard the arguments: God made marijuana, man made alcohol - who are you going to trust? Who has ever heard of anyone overdosing on marijuana? It doesn't have any adverse affects on society. I would argue that these statements are sheer ignorance, in its purest form. Overall the legalization of marijuana (for public use) is something that should not be entertained. Marijuana is a drug. It is a substance that alters the inhibitions of an individual on a level different than alcohol. [continues 346 words]
It's the only way for the US to control the demand for drugs, say Andres Rozental and Stanley A. Weiss Despite a surge of military and police forces across the country, the killings continue - more than 5,000 last year. Some regions are terrorized by a wave of kidnappings, assassinations and beheadings. Iraq? Afghanistan? Pakistan? Somalia? In fact, the country - which a recent U.S military study warned could be at risk of "a rapid and sudden collapse" - is none other than Mexico. Two years into President Felipe Calderon's war against the drug cartels, and the cartels' ensuing war with each other, this is a nation at war with itself. To be sure, the government has had its successes. Huge weapons caches have been seized, large tracts of illegal drug crops have been eradicated and an increasing number of cartel kingpins, couriers and foot soldiers have been put behind bars. [continues 465 words]
The Vatican's No. 2 Official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Calls for a 'Harsh Deterrent' To the Drug Violence That Left More Than 5,000 Dead Last Year. Decrying the violence that Mexicans are enduring, the Vatican has suggested excommunication as a possible punishment for drug traffickers whose war with the government has led to the deaths of thousands of people in the last year. But the Roman Catholic Church's severest form of rebuke would probably have little effect on traffickers and killers who lack a religious conscience, the Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, acknowledged. [continues 471 words]
