Pubdate: Fri, 07 Sep 2001
Source: Virginian-Pilot (VA)
Copyright: 2001, The Virginian-Pilot
Contact:  http://www.pilotonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/483
Author: Bob Lewis (AP)

EARLEY PLAN WOULD SUBJECT DRUG PUSHERS TO LAWSUITS

RICHMOND -- Mark Earley outlined an anti-drug proposal Thursday that would 
subject pushers to lawsuits from people harmed by their drugs and guarantee 
one-year minimum jail terms for people caught selling drugs at schools.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate and former attorney general said the 
program, Virginia Expel, would also add the synthetic hallucinogenic 
stimulant Ecstacy and prescription narcotics to the list of drugs for which 
dealers can be punished under a state law that targets drug kingpins.

Under current law, those who illegally sell prescription narcotics or 
Ecstacy in large quantities aren't subject to the same harsh penalties as 
people convicted as drug kingpins for selling comparable amounts of other 
drugs such as cocaine or crack.

Earley's plan also includes a key plank of an education proposal he has 
already made public -- the recruiting of 21,000 mentors to work with 
children. He also advocates voluntary programs to teach parents the 
importance of being home before and after school, at dinner and at bedtime 
in protecting their children from cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. ``Families 
that eat together, communicate well and pray together are the most likely 
to have substance-free children,'' said Earley, who has six children and 
rarely overnights away from home while campaigning. Earley's oldest child 
just entered college, and his wife, Cynthia, stays home with the younger 
children.

For households in which both parents work or have odd office hours, mentors 
could help fill the gap, Earley said. The involvement of mentors reduces 
the likelihood of drug use by 27 percent, he said.

``Whatever parents' work schedule is, there's always time for children,'' 
Earley said at a news conference outside Cafine's, a downtown Richmond 
restaurant and night club that closed after state and local investigations 
into alleged abuse of Ecstacy during rave nights at the club.

Earley said that the knowledge that not only jail but also a bankrupting 
lawsuit could result from selling drugs to children could be a formidable 
deterrent.

``Parents, children, spouses and others who've suffered harm from the 
distribution and use of illegal drugs would then be able to file a civil 
lawsuit against the dealer ... making the cost of dealing drugs 
prohibitive,'' Earley said.

Earley's Democratic opponent, Mark Warner, will include school safety 
initiatives in a public safety proposal he plans to announce within two 
weeks, said Warner campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart