It took only a simple phrase to see how Mary Louise Swing's life would improve from cannabidiol. On vacation with family in Myrtle Beach last weekend, Mary Louise stunned her mother, Jill, and a roomful of relatives with a simple "Hi everybody" as she got out of bed. For 6-year-old Mary Louise, who suffers from intractable epilepsy, it was a small, uplifting first step. "She just doesn't say that," Jill Swing said. "It's been delightful. She was nonverbal, but she's saying more words now. She's a chatterbox." [continues 641 words]
South Carolina superintendent of education candidate Sheila Gallagher called for legalizing marijuana when she addressed Democrats at the South Carolina Democratic Party convention in Columbia on Saturday afternoon. Gallagher, of Florence, said legalizing marijuana should be put to a vote and the revenue that would be gained could go toward investing in the state's education system. "It isn't about getting high," Gallagher said. The revenue that could be obtained from legalizing marijuana could be used to invest millions of dollars into the education system until S.C. has the best schools in the nation, she said. [continues 167 words]
News that Al Gore's 24-year-old son, Al Gore III, was busted for pot and assorted prescription pills has unleashed a torrent of mirth in certain quarters. Gore-phobes on the Internet apparently view the son's arrest and incarceration as comeuppance for the father's shortcomings. Especially rich was the fact that young Al was driving a Toyota Prius when he was pulled over for going 100 mph -- just as Papa Gore was set to preside over concerts during a 24-hour, seven-continent Live Earth celebration to raise awareness about global warming. [continues 591 words]
New regulations aimed at curbing production of methamphetamine For allergy and cold sufferers this spring, finding relief in a popular nasal decongestant might not be as easy as heading down an aisle at the local pharmacy, as the television ad for Sudafed suggests. With new federal guidelines that took effect last week and a bill restricting the sales of pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in Sudafed, on its way through the state legislature, local pharmacies are stocking this over-the-counter drug behind their counters. They also are limiting the amount one person can purchase -- if they hadn't already. The regulations are all in an effort to reduce and deter the production of methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant drug concocted with relatively inexpensive household items that has plagued communities in the Midwest and worked its way into the Upstate of South Carolina. [continues 620 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it does not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The FDA said in a statement that it and other agencies with the Health and Human Services Department had "concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use." A number of states have passed legislation allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, but the FDA said, "These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process and are proven safe and effective." [continues 274 words]
More Drug Cases Getting Reviewed The Beaufort County solicitor investigating whether Bluffton police officers interfered in a Sheriff's Office drug investigation broadened his inquiry this week. Deputy Solicitor Duffie Stone said Thursday he is examining Bluffton Police Department practices on every active narcotics case, a process he said could wrap up as soon as the middle of next week. Stone requested the case files from interim Chief Alex Ferguson on Wednesday and received them Thursday. He did not know the exact number of cases he will be reviewing. [continues 369 words]
RIDGELAND -- The Ridgeland Police Department is more than $500,000 richer. The department on Friday received its share of nearly $640,000 seized during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 in 2004. A check for $511,635 was handed over by agents from the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration. The $640,000 went to the government after Paul Andres Marin, 31, of Miami was pulled over by a Ridgeland police officer on Sept. 22, 2004, for speeding. Marin later pleaded guilty to money laundering, authorities said. [continues 209 words]
Company Still Must Clear Hurdles Before It Can Open In Jasper County BY JESSICA FLATHMANN, The Island Packet Published Wednesday, June 8th, 2005 Recovering drug addicts throughout the Lowcountry should have better access to treatment this summer. The state gave official permission for a methadone clinic to prepare to open off of S.C. 170 in Jasper County. But before the clinic can begin operating, it needs federal approval to distribute methadone and state confirmation that it's staffed and set up properly. [continues 441 words]
Sheriff's Office, School Team Up To Create Facility BLUFFTON -- In Sgt. Renita Berry's old laboratory, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office chemist could stand in the middle of the room and touch every piece of equipment. Looking around her spacious new laboratory Thursday in the University of South Carolina Beaufort's south campus Science and Technology building, she said, "Here, there's more room to grow, to do your job." Berry's job is to analyze suspected illegal drugs. That's an important task because to take someone found with drugs to court, it's not enough for an officer to identify the drugs by sight. [continues 471 words]
System Earns Praise, Weighs Fundraising On a recent Monday at the Beaufort County Courthouse, assistant solicitor Christine Grefe sat in for the judge during county Drug Court, an alternative-sentencing program for defendants addicted to drugs or alcohol. The prosecutor listened as two counselors gave progress reports on each participant. "Doing well ... really knows how to present himself in interviews ... but still has to stay in a halfway house" was the update on one man. Another had "acclimated well" in a halfway house and recently landed a job at a Hilton Head Island restaurant. [continues 983 words]
To The Packet: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Colombia, South America, this week to support continued U.S.-Colombian cooperation in the war on drugs. However, there's a major catch: the drug war in Colombia is a certified flop. Last year a record number of acres of coca, the raw material for cocaine, were sprayed with herbicide. Despite the millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars that went into supporting this policy, Colombia ended the year with slightly more coca than it had in 2003 -- and almost the exact amount that it had in 2000, when the policy began. U.S. policy also has failed to reach human rights goals; the U.N. found that in 2004, as in 2003, human rights violations (rape, torture and death) by the Colombian military are on the rise. [continues 68 words]
Recovering drug addicts using methadone could get their treatment in Okatie starting this summer. That's because the legal battle over whether a methadone clinic should be located in Okatie, greater Bluffton or both should be coming to an end, said Jimmy Long, a Columbia lawyer representing a Pennsylvania-based group that wants to put a clinic in greater Bluffton. Judge John Geathers, with the Administrative Law Court, said last month he would issue a ruling allowing the state to consider applications for clinics in both areas separately instead of in competition with each other. [continues 392 words]
Priority Set On Closing Cases, Repeat Offenders Beaufort County citizens won in the court of common sense last week, thanks to innovative work by the solicitor's office. Beaufort County General Sessions Court dedicated a full court term to drug cases -- a first for the court. And the solicitor's office set a priority of dealing with career criminals first. That results in a more realistic chance for defendants to get the swift and fair justice Americans expect. And it ultimately could result in safer streets and neighborhoods. [continues 352 words]
BLUFFTON -- An unannounced search Friday didn't uncover any drugs inside Bluffton High School, but police dogs detected remnants of marijuana in a student's car in the parking lot, Principal Aretha Rhone-Bush said. The drug search was conducted by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office's K-9 Unit and the Bluffton Police Department, and it was the first in what Rhone-Bush said will be ongoing random inspections at the school. The searches are part of the principal's overall plan to eliminate illegal activity from the school and increase security measures. [continues 333 words]
BLUFFTON -- Part of Lt. Thomas Loving's job as the Bluffton High School resource officer is to find ways to get a thousand different teens to be straight with him about drugs, alcohol, gangs and violence in the school. "In my job, you have to find what makes a kid click," said Loving, a Bluffton police officer who has been the 1,084-student school's resource officer since it opened in August. Loving knows his job would be easier if each student's parent was trying just as hard to do the same thing. So he has helped organize a two-part drug awareness seminar for parents, guardians and other community members on Tuesday and April 7 at the school. [continues 355 words]
To comment Comments on either application can be made to: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, Division of Planning and Certificate of Need, Attn: Albert Whiteside, 2600 Bull St., Columbia, SC 29910. Daily trips to Charleston or Savannah could end soon for recovering drug abusers taking methadone to break the habit. Two methadone clinics have been proposed for Beaufort and Jasper counties, state officials say. Methadone is a drug given to recovering opiate addicts to break their dependency on substances such as heroin, morphine, OxyContin and other opioid drugs. [continues 576 words]
More youths in Beaufort County were charged with violent or serious offenses during the 2002-03 fiscal year than the year before, according to statistics from the state Department of Juvenile Justice. The figures did not show a similar rise in the overall caseload. The numbers, however, do not match those kept by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office or Solicitor's Office. Local officials said the numbers greatly underrepresented the volume of juvenile cases they dealt with last year. Statistics released earlier this year by the Department of Juvenile Justice show 583 cases for the 2002-03 fiscal year, which ended in June. But Sheriff's Offices officials said the actual number of cases was 1,197 in 2003, a number that includes youths sent to diversion programs. Officials from the Solicitor's Office agreed with the Sheriff's Office number for the January through December period. [continues 837 words]
The Beaufort County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force continues to make undercover controlled drug buys and take dealers and users off the street one at a time, but it is a perhaps never-ending effort, said Sheriff P.J. Tanner. The Sheriff's Office on Monday released its year-end report of the task force's activity for 2003, showing hundreds of charges. But Tanner says their work has just begun. The numbers tell "only part of the story," Tanner said. They only show where the task force met success in fighting drugs in Beaufort County, but cannot tell the tale of thriving drug businesses that operate under the radar of police. [continues 263 words]
South Carolina Cannot Afford to 'Throw Away the Key' The South Carolina legislature must listen to the prison system leader who says more alternatives to jail time are needed for nonviolent offenders. Jon Ozmint, director of the S.C. Department of Corrections, says the prison system also needs greater flexibility on cutting sentences for good behavior. A look at the cold facts shows why change is needed. The bottom line is that the state cannot afford all the measures approved by legislators who in recent years felt they must be considered "tough on crime" to get elected. The result is a system that is tough on crime, but also tough on common sense. It has taken years of state budget shortfalls to make the problem obvious. [continues 281 words]
To The Packet: At Stratford High School near Charleston, 14 police officers, several with guns drawn, rushed into the school early in the morning of Nov. 5. They told students in the halls to lie on the floor while they put plastic restraints on some and dumped out their backpacks. No drugs were found. The paramilitary-style raid has the community angry and distrustful. In Miami, for three days in November, 2,500 police in full riot gear beat peaceful demonstrators with wooden clubs, shot them with rubber bullets, shocked them with Tasers and pepper-sprayed their faces. The protesters, mainly seniors and union workers, were objecting to the Free Trade Area of the Americas they believe will hurt U.S. workers. Miami's mayor called the police actions "a model for homeland security." [continues 125 words]
BEAUFORT -- Some Beaufort City Council members are balking at a plan to give the Beaufort County Drug Court $30,000 this year until Judge Manning Smith justifies having spent more than $6,000 on a conference in Reno, Nev., last May. After the council on Sept. 23 passed first reading of a budget amendment to support the court, Mayor Bill Rauch faxed Smith a letter asking for information about the national drug court conference. Rauch said he wanted "to make sure the money's being spent in a way that's consistent with the city's policies and procedures." [continues 384 words]
To The Packet: If you are caught with one or two joints of marijuana or a couple of rocks of crack and don't have multi-thousands of dollars for a lawyer, then they will lock you up and throw away the key. But if you are the darling of the right and king of the hypocrites and your name is Rush "I just use them because my back hurts" Limbaugh, then they whisk you away to a country club till the tempest blows over, then it's back to the same old corner and business as usual. When will people wake up to what we have become in the last three years? Frankly, I'm scared. Paul Leff Hilton Head Island [end]
Study: Life Itself Can Cause Problems For Teens Columbia University's National Center on Addiction says its annual study of American children and parents identified boredom, stress and extra money as pathways to substance abuse for young people. Why does this sound so intuitively wrong? Could it be that it's time to stop spending money on surveys that seem to miss the point completely and only add more murk to subject matter that is already murky enough? Judging from the results, the way to raise children in America is to keep them abjectly poor (25 uncommitted dollars a week seems to be the danger point), occupied in mundane tasks and, essentially, isolated from the realities of life, which are inherently stress-producing. [continues 400 words]
Legislature Cannot Afford Its Crime Policy State Corrections Department director Jon Ozmint is sending strong signals that his department's budget problems need quick attention by the legislature next year. Ozmint is throwing out ideas right and left to raise revenue and cut expenditures. Two of the most recent ones sound like clunkers: cutting in half the time families can visit inmates and increasing the prison system's production of eggs from 10,000 to 100,000 a day. It may be a privilege, not a right, for prisoners to get visits from home, as Ozmint says. But families and friends counter that the cutback will hurt morale and rehabilitation. It's hard to see the cutback producing enough gains to overcome those downsides. [continues 439 words]
Ridgeland Police Chief Richard Woods shows off the 30 kilograms of cocaine his officers confiscated Sunday during a traffic stop on Interstate 95. RIDGELAND -- A Sunday morning traffic stop on Interstate 95 turned into perhaps the largest cocaine bust in Jasper County history when Ridgeland police seized 30 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated value of $4.2 million. Standing before 30 bricks of cocaine, each weighing a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, Chief Richard Woods told those gathered at a Town Hall news conference Monday that he believed the drugs originated in Colombia, were taken by boat to Miami and were headed to Columbia, the state capital. [continues 475 words]
To The Packet: One aspect not considered in your article, "Drugs, crimes often linked," is that once a person decides to use drugs, he or she already is a criminal. They have nothing to lose by committing more crimes. You rarely hear about someone committing a robbery to support their tobacco habit. Jay Hunter Pittsburgh [end]
As convicted burglar Arthur Garfield pleaded guilty in court last month to five break-ins at villas and condominiums on Hilton Head Island, he told the judge he stole because his crack cocaine addiction was out of control. If local law enforcement officials are correct, Garfield is not alone. Like the numbers from other parts of the country, a high percentage of crime in Beaufort County is drug-or alcohol-related, said Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. About 85 percent of both local and national crime -- everything from theft and robberies to domestic violence and murder -- can be tied to drugs or alcohol, Tanner said. The statistic includes crimes committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and disputes over drugs where those involved are not necessarily under the influence, as well as actual arrests for drugs. [continues 720 words]
New Study Raises Questions About the Value of Student Drug Tests Adults have tried a lot of different methods to discourage teenagers from using drugs. One of the more popular ideas of recent years is random drug testing of public school students involved in sports or extracurricular activities. Last year, the Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge of such testing, with the majority of the justices calling it "a reasonably effective means of addressing the school district's legitimate concerns in preventing, deterring and detecting drug use." [continues 405 words]
BEAUFORT -- A Hampton County man who last month admitted to smoking marijuana before causing the traffic accident that killed a Hilton Head Island teacher will serve less time in prison after a circuit court judge on Thursday reconsidered his earlier ruling and reduced the man's sentence from 12 to 10 years. Micah Taylor was 17 on Dec. 18, 2000, when he ran a red light on William Hilton Parkway, causing the accident that killed a Hilton Head Middle School science teacher. Stephenie Cecil, 29, who had been turning onto the highway from Gumtree Road, died at the scene. [continues 635 words]
To The Packet: The Packet is to be commended for the recent editorial regarding local teen drug abuse and the fact that, according to a survey at Hilton Head High School, it is significantly higher than the national average. This fact should be a matter of concern for all of us. While the school's principal shrugged off the survey because she believes the students "didn't take the survey seriously," one wonders if it is the school administration that didn't take the results seriously. It is indeed difficult to deal with a problem if one denies its existence. [continues 162 words]
Whatever Survey Is Used, Bottom Line Remains The Same Without getting too picky about the validity of surveys on drug use among high school students, our community needs to simply accept the fact that it is a problem that needs attention. A survey taken by students at Hilton Head High School last year shows cause for concern. It shows that the number of students who said they had used Ecstasy, marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs was well above the national average. Principal Helen Ryan said the results lack credibility because she didn't think the students took the survey seriously. [continues 366 words]
Ecstasy use varied most from average The number of Hilton Head High School students who said they had used Ecstasy, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms was well above the national average, according to a survey last school year. The survey was part of a statewide effort to gauge risky behavior among 6th- through 12th-grade students, including the use of illicit substances, violence and not attending school. The S.C. Department of Education and the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services administered the survey to 54 of the state's 85 school districts from late 2001 and early 2002. [continues 890 words]
COLUMBIA -- South Carolina prison officials asked state legislators last week to force counties to absorb more state prisoners into the county jails - -- a move that local jailers say would burden their already overcrowded facilities. In a cost-cutting measure during a tight state budget year, the S.C. Department of Corrections has asked that the current law be changed so the state prison system would be required to house only those inmates serving sentences of a year or more, said Cheryl Bates-Lee, a spokeswoman for the department. [continues 588 words]
To The Packet: The Island Packet has just told every Hilton Head Island/Bluffton area child who reads the comics page that there is really nothing wrong with marijuana (Doonesbury, Sunday). Now I have some questions: Does The Packet support that position? Does The Packet management really believe there is nothing wrong with marijuana? Or will The Packet management print a prominent statement of regret, including the physical, mental, psychological and emotional problems that we know can result from marijuana use? [continues 101 words]
To The Packet: In response to the recent article about mandatory drug testing at Hilton Head Prep, drug testing remains terribly controversial and in the opinion of many, constitutionally questionable. Assuredly, all parents want to raise children in a safe and healthy environment. But the focal point of such a policy is wrong. By imposing such controls while eroding personal freedoms, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "you destroy the spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own door." [continues 68 words]
Hilton Head Preparatory School will require all middle- and high-school students and staff to be tested for drug use next year, based on a policy still in the works. Headmaster Robin Byrd said Tuesday he thinks the policy -- the first of its kind in Southern Beaufort County -- will motivate students not to experiment with drugs and, in turn, will make the school free of drugs. "We have the ability, we think, to structure a world where children are safe from the environment of drugs," he said. [continues 735 words]
America Needs To Clarify Its Expanding Mission In Colombia One of the more serious cases of mission creep in the war against terror can be found in the rising U.S. military role in war-torn Colombia. What was originally cast as U.S. military aid to stamp out Colombia's cocaine production is becoming a U.S.-led effort to stamp out leftist rebels there. The strategy for closing the noose and furthering America's regional interests is problematic. The American people need to know what our priority is: drugs, the rebels or a stable supply of oil? [continues 368 words]
BEAUFORT -- Beaufort County's drug lab already has made an impact on getting criminal drug cases moved through the system in its first six months of operation, Deputy Solicitor Steve Knight said. The lab is handling new drug cases, as well as a 2-year-old backlog. "Now we get the reports from next door," Knight said. "We also don't have to coordinate with the chemist in Columbia because (Beaufort's chemist) can walk from her office and testify." In some cases, Knight said the lab helped prevent drug dealers from getting a reduced bond and being released because the case will come before court in weeks rather than years. [continues 392 words]
So Jasper County and Ridgeland police are trying to figure out how to best split money seized from drug offenders after the federal government first takes its cut. The financial incentives created by civil asset forfeiture laws create a very dangerous precedent. The government can legally confiscate cars, cash and homes without even bothering to charge owners with a crime. This is a clear abuse of power. Vague allegations of drug trafficking hardly justify turning protectors of the peace into financial predators. The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government. The steady rise in police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools, racial profiling and suspicionless drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing miserably at preventing drug use. [continues 80 words]
RIDGELAND -- Jasper County Sheriff Ben Riley and Ridgeland police Chief Richard Woods probably will meet soon to discuss whether the two entities will continue splitting drug seizure money. Former Chief Rick Zareva and Riley had an agreement in which each drug-related bust that involved cash would be shared with the other's department. Under the agreement, Ridgeland gave the county 30 percent of money they seized after the Drug Enforcement Administration's 20 percent cut. Likewise, the county gave Ridgeland 30 percent of its proceeds, despite where the raid occurred or if Ridgeland played a role in the seizure. In seizures that involved a joint effort, money was split down the middle. [continues 326 words]
The 14th Judicial Circuit's drug court program in Beaufort County has funding for another year, after facing financial problems earlier this summer. The $105,000 needed to cover the 21 Beaufort County residents in the program has been raised, said Beaufort attorney Manning Smith, who volunteers as the drug court's judge in Beaufort County. The Town of Hilton Head Island, the city of Beaufort, the town of Port Royal and Beaufort County all pitched in, Smith said. The drug court's expenses are $5,000 per participant, plus a $1,065 fee that each participant pays, Smith said. Those amounts cover drug screenings, counseling and administrative costs. [continues 194 words]
Rules Already In Place That Punish Drug Abuse Fairly Local schools should not do random drug tests on students participating in extracurricular activities, despite a court ruling giving them that right. The Beaufort County School District already has in place a clear and appropriately punitive policy against possession or use of drugs on campus or at school-sponsored events. Beyond that, Hilton Head High School has used random, unannounced school-wide checks of lockers and cars with drug-sniffing dogs to reinforce to the students that drug abuse will not be tolerated. [continues 392 words]
Officials Say New Lab May Help Trials The Beaufort County Solicitor's Office has tossed out more than 300 drug cases in the past few months, officials said. Beaufort County Deputy Solicitor Steve Knight said the cases had collected dust for more than three years because authorities couldn't find investigators and witnesses in order to prosecute the defendants after waiting months for a state agency to analyze the drug evidence. Before the Beaufort County Regional Drug Lab opened in March, evidence from the drug cases would be sent to the State Law Enforcement Division in Columbia. The agency also analyzes evidence for several law enforcement agencies throughout the state. [continues 306 words]
The Beaufort County School District has no plans to begin requiring drug tests for students participating in after-school activities, even though a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling indicates they could. Any drug testing policy would have to be decided at the district level, said John Williams, spokesman for the district, and Beaufort County schools are unlikely to start any such checks. The issue has reached national prominence since the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on June 27 in favor of an Oklahoma school district whose policy required drug tests for all students who take part in after-school activities. The district's policy states all students who participate in competitive extracurricular activities from chess club to football be subject to random "suspicionless" drug testing. [continues 667 words]
The 14th Judicial Circuit's drug court program received a boost last week when a Beaufort County Council committee voted to contribute $35,000. The Finance Committee recommendation is expected to come before the full council at its meeting today. In 1999, the Drug Court was funded by a three-year federal grant, which was intended to help start the program, said Susan Chapin, director of the Drug Court program, serving Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton and Colleton counties. "But the agreement was after three years, the counties or towns that are participating in the programs were supposed to start funding it," she said. [continues 497 words]
To The Packet: Parents of Hilton Head High School students should be very worried the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office drug task force is targeting their children. According to the Monitoring the Future Survey, more than half of all high school seniors admit to having used illegal drugs, so it should come as no surprise that roughly two dozen students recently were caught on video smoking marijuana. Most teen-agers outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. [continues 135 words]
School officials have no plans to discipline students taped over a six-day period smoking cigarettes and marijuana around Hilton Head High School, according to a news release sent from the school Tuesday. "We will use our discipline codes to deliver consequences for misbehavior when we see it firsthand," Principal Helen Ryan said in the statement. "I have asked all staff to be mindful that students may forget the rules so close to school being over for the summer, but all school rules will apply through the last day, May 30," Ryan stated. [continues 131 words]
A weeklong drug sting at Hilton Head High School ended Friday morning with a videotape of alleged drug activity, but no arrests. About "two dozen" students had been "observed and videotaped" smoking marijuana outside the school since May 3, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office drug task force. Police at 7:30 a.m. Friday temporarily detained several students "on suspicious activity," but none had drugs, the report states. "The video is pretty cut and dried," Sheriff P.J. Tanner said. "It's very obvious what they are doing." [continues 220 words]
To The Packet: I am a historian by avocation, so I have read much of the history of our past U.S. attorneys general. Therefore, I am able to conclude that John Ashcroft is the worst abuser of civil, legal and Constitutional rights since A. Mitchell Palmer during the Woodrow Wilson administration. The fact that Ashcroft has absolutely no regard whatsoever for the rule of law makes me sick. His willingness to abridge the Constitutional rights of criminal defendants by eavesdropping on their conversations with their attorneys is disgusting. He claims it is for "national security" reasons, but I do not believe it. It is a small step to move from eavesdropping on defendants charged with terrorism to eavesdropping on all defendants. If he is allowed to continue, that is exactly what he will do. [continues 99 words]
To The Packet: Thank you for raising awareness of the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youths convicted of drug offenses in your Jan. 11 editorial. Anyone born into a wealthy family need not fear the impact of the act. Instead of empowering at-risk students with a college degree, it limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murderers are still eligible for federal student loans. [continues 153 words]
