When he refused to join President George W. Bush's illegal war against Iraq, Prime Minister Jean Chretien did this nation proud. But since then, Chretien and his government have been falling over themselves to convince the Bushites they didn't mean it -- in a manner so fawningly obsequious that it is hard to be anything other than desperately embarrassed. Chretien began the process by pronouncing that the Bush war (illegal under the United Nations charter) was justified -- a curious position that undercut his own decision not to join in. [continues 748 words]
WYE RIVER, Australia - For a day and a half last month, the people of this small tourist town watched in puzzlement as the rusty freighter Pong Su maneuvered off the coast. At times, they say, the 350-foot cargo ship came within a few hundred yards of the rugged shoreline that is famous for shipwrecks. Just after midnight April 16, the ship approached a rocky, deserted beach and launched a rubber speedboat. In it were two men and the only cargo the ship had been carrying: at least 110 pounds of high-quality heroin. The Pong Su was an unlikely drug-running vessel from an unexpected place: North Korea. [continues 2111 words]
I FIND some aspects of the current debate about proposed changes to laws regarding cannabis alarming. Having worked in drug rehabilitation and education for the past 20 years, I am well aware of the dangers of the abuse of this drug. However, it is my experience that only a small percentage of users become dependants and only a small percentage of those suffer psychotic episodes. The outrage shown recently by those opposing the law changes is perhaps fuelled more by religious-based moralistic posturing than a genuine concern for the drug user. [continues 72 words]
Jeffrey A. Schaler's column on medical marijuana, while valid in most respects, misses the mark in several ways ("Decision to smoke pot shouldn't involve doctor," Opinion Commentary, May 12). Medical marijuana advocates are not recreational users who ignore traditional treatments while seeking to deceive the public and the medical community into providing their drug of choice. As the husband of someone who has depended on cannabis as medicine, I can state unequivocally that it is superior to many alternatives for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, both federal and state law make its use prohibitively difficult. [continues 60 words]
When the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that high schools had the constitutional right to make student-athletes undergo drug tests, the reasoning, in large part, was that the invasion of privacy was warranted because of the importance of the issue at hand. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said it was "self-evident" that drug testing would stem student drug use. Last year, the high court expanded its ruling to include not just students taking part in school-sponsored sports, but in any extracurricular activity. The reasoning was the same. [continues 283 words]
Melton can't play judge, jury, too Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Director Frank Melton may have his heart in the right place in wanting to go light on some teens arrested for drugs, but it's really not the role of law enforcement to play judge and jury, too. He told The Associated Press that some teens MBN has nabbed have been put "on Plan B," as he called it, saying: "Now, I've told the kids - and this is not legal but I'm going to continue to do it - that if they don't finish high school, that if they're not enrolled in somebody's college in August, I will pull those charges back up and I will prosecute them." [continues 77 words]
Mayor Pam Iorio said during her campaign that she wanted Tampa to be a more livable city. Her opponents accused her of not offering specifics, but last week she and Police Chief Bennie Holder began a very specific strategy for making east Tampa more livable: Operation Commitment, a hard crackdown on crime. ``There are 18 known drug holes in that community,'' said Iorio. ``That is unacceptable.'' In most parts of the city it would be, but in east Tampa even law- abiding citizens are often ambivalent about police efforts - they want drug dealers and prostitutes off the streets, but they know that it is no long-term solution to simply jail criminals without hope of changing the way these lawbreakers behave. That is why the city's multifaceted approach to the problem is promising. [continues 213 words]
A special prosecutor will be appointed to try Michael Isenberg, a former Cole County deputy charged Friday with perjury. Cole County Prosecutor William M. Tackett said he searched for a way to try the case without having a conflict, but that proved to be impossible. "This problem was unearthed by our office and as a result, we are the investigative body, which is extremely unusual," Tackett said. Several people in the prosecutor's office are expected to be called as witnesses, Tackett said. [continues 480 words]
Thirty-eight residents of Tulia were railroaded on a train of lies. No fewer than two dozen instances of "perjured and misleading testimony" are detailed in the "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" filed this month with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The findings represent facts and recommendations by special prosecutors, defense lawyers and a district judge regarding the 38 Tulia residents who were convicted of drug trafficking in 1999 and 2000. The findings -- and their stark revelations -- stem from court-ordered evidentiary hearings in March. Even special prosecutors are convinced that Tulia residents were wrongly convicted. All agree that convictions of the 38 should be thrown out. [continues 600 words]
Space should be reserved for those who create real threat, not to warehouse small-time crooks. Seldom have I agreed more with a newspaper editorial than I did with the News-Leader's May 16 Our View, "Changes would make jail last longer." The problem: The Greene County Jail opened in 2001, projected to meet needs for a decade, already is full. Why? The editorial explained that just as work expands to fill time available for a project, so incarcerations expand to fill space available for inmates. [continues 336 words]
To the editor: Congratulations, and thanks very much for the fine editorial about U.S. involvement in Colombia ("Rethinking Colombia: U.S. should reconsider its war on drugs," May 13). Everything you said was right on the money. It is a very pleasant surprise indeed to see a paper such as yours to utter the very simple truth that you did. If the U.S. government wants to end the connection between terrorists and drug trafficking, repeal the drug prohibition that makes that connection. Richard Sinnott, Fort Pierce, Fla. [end]
