War On Drugs Or On Minority Communities? Alan Bean couldn't miss the headline splashed across the top of his hometown paper one summer morning in 1999. It spoke of big news for the 5,000-person burg in West Texas: a big drug bust that landed a sizable portion of the town's black community behind bars. "Tulia streets cleared of garbage," the banner headline read. Like many aspects of the American war on drugs, the wording smacked of insidious racism. [continues 1291 words]
To the Editor: The new prohibition ignores history and is a bigger disgrace and scandal than sex in the oval office. The statistics reveal that racism is epidemic in the drug war. It fuels corruption of public officials and injustice in our courts. "Tulia, Texas" exposes this worldwide problem. It also triggers violence in our streets and in other countries, Mexico's bloodbaths and 300 body acid stew, a case in point. The black market supports despicable people who sell drugs to children and recruits them to sell to their peers. [continues 170 words]
When 31-year-old Freddie Brookins Jr. looked up at the big screen at the Universal City Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles earlier this month, he thought, "I can't believe I went through all this." Brookins was attending the Television Press Critics Association Conference and the promotional screening of the PBS documentary, "Tulia, Texas" produced by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen. Brookins was one of 46 Tulia residents who was arrested -- then later pardoned -- on drug charges in what became one of the most controversial drug cases in history. [continues 804 words]
************ Sane U.N. Drug Policy Or The Same Old Failed War-On-Drugs Routine? By Allan Clear, AlterNet. Posted January 27, 2009. America's current foreign policy has very little impact on reducing supply, consumption or cultivation. Obama has a big chance to turn it around. http://drugsense.org/url/kM0f3u1G ************ The international community is evaluating the implementation of the political declaration and action plans of the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs in 1998. A year long 'period of global reflection' will lead up to a Ministerial Segment at the CND in March 2009. This site will guide you through the process and provide critical background. [continues 281 words]
By Keith Jones Regarding your story of Oct. 29 reporting the seizure of $118,000 in an I-40 traffic stop: Chalk up one more highway robbery to the mis-named "war on drugs." Let's be real; this is an industry living off of the pretense of protecting us from ourselves. If you deal in or carry cash, beware! Ninety percent of the cash in circulation has drug residue embedded in it and once it is seized, it is your problem to hire the lawyer and prove your innocence. [continues 169 words]
Regarding your story of Oct. 29 reporting the seizure of $118,000 in an I-40 traffic stop: Chalk up one more highway robbery to the mis-named "war on drugs." Let's be real; this is an industry living off of the pretense of protecting us from ourselves. If you deal in or carry cash, beware! Ninety percent of the cash in circulation has drug residue embedded in it and once it is seized, it is your problem to hire the lawyer and prove your innocence. [continues 164 words]
If DrugSense and the Media Awareness Project (MAP) are known for one thing, it must certainly be our DrugNews Archive. This incredibly important information resource now holds over 195,000 clippings on all aspects of drug policy, regardless of spin. We have been collecting articles on this topic since 1995 and have some stories dating back as far as 1991. Here is a sample of some of landmark articles that have become the foundation of this unique and dynamic resource: 1990 -- "Test Negative," Scientific American. Thursday, March 1, 1990. This was the very first full-text article in the archive, and it covers a topic that is still controversial: drug testing. [continues 488 words]
The Dallas County district attorney who has built a national reputation on freeing the wrongfully convicted says prosecutors who intentionally withhold evidence should themselves face harsh sanctions possibly even jail time. "Something should be done," said Craig Watkins, whose jurisdiction leads the nation in the number of DNA exonerations. "If the harm is a great harm, yes, it should be criminalized." Wrongful convictions, nearly half of them involving prosecutorial misconduct, have cost Texas taxpayers $8.6 million in compensation since 2001, according to state comptroller records obtained by The Dallas Morning News. Dallas County accounts for about one-third of that. [continues 2061 words]
By Arianna Huffington Pollster Mark Mellman was hired by Lockheed Martin to push for funding for drug tracking planes in Colombia and doesn't like being called on it. http://alternet.org/drugreporter/82624/ The much awaited Entheon Village 2007 Final Report is now available online. The 2007 final report also includes some information about plans for Entheon Village 2008. http://www.maps.org/burningman/2007_Annual_Report.pdf [continues 424 words]
Remember when we elected Bill Clinton to give us health care and got a comprehensive crime bill instead? It looks like Hillary is following in her hubby's footsteps. In an April 11 speech in Philadelphia, Ms. Clinton unveiled her "Solutions For Safe & Secure Communities" plan, which will provide 100,000 new cops and invest $1 billion in federal monies for local law enforcement or prevention programs. By many accounts a brilliant legal scholar, Hillary's solutions to the drug problem are surprisingly stale. [continues 791 words]
Portland, Ore. -- From Arizona to Oregon and east to Kentucky, county sheriffs are bracing for stiff cuts in a federal funding program that has helped them battle drug cartels. Congress in January cut funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant by two-thirds, from $520 million to $170 million for fiscal 2008. Local agencies say that's a threat to the teams that do much of the law enforcement spadework. The Byrne program is not without controversy, having drawn allegations of abuse. But many enforcement organizations consider it essential to their local efforts. [continues 554 words]
Clovis, N.M. Program Cited As Example The Clovis, N.M. school district is a trendsetter in regard to student health. And, hopefully, more school districts in New Mexico will follow Clovis' lead. The Lovington, N.M., school board is considering implementing a random drug-testing program for students choosing to participate in extracurricular activities such as athletics, choir and band. Lovington is basing its proposal, in part, on a similar drug-testing program in Clovis, which was approved in 2001. [continues 205 words]
The story of how a Jacksonville lawyer helped free a Dallas man who had been condemned to life in prison for what essentially amounted to smoking a joint isn't just a tale of justice. Strains of redemption run through it, as well. Charlie Douglas, a personal injury attorney with Harrell & Harrell in Jacksonville, gave more weight to his conscience than his wallet when he took on the case of Tyrone Brown, who spent 17 years in prison after a judge used a positive marijuana test to turn an armed robbery conviction that netted $2 and no injuries into an excuse to confine him for life. [continues 653 words]
Every year, American taxpayers fund an estimated $60 billion for our incarceration system. This system staples together a network of public and corporate-run jails, prisons, pre- and post-release centers, juvenile detention centers and boot camps. All together, these facilities hold well over two million human beings, locked away without public oversight or scrutiny. Yet throwing money at the perceived scourge of criminality in the United States doesn't appear to have had the desired effect: Despite the staggering incarceration statistics, violent crime has actually begun to creep up over the last two years, according to the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report. [continues 1652 words]
Will The Final Cost Be Tallied In Lives Lost Or Freedoms Surrendered On November 21st of last year, police in Atlanta violently broke down the door of a 92-year-old woman's house. They did so without knocking, and without announcing their presence. The woman, Kathryn Johnston, opened fire upon the officers, presumably unaware that they were the police. The police then returned fire, fatally wounding Johnston. The police were using a no-knock warrant, a somewhat controversial type of permission that is designed to give police more leverage in fighting the all-important War on Drugs. (The idea is that it's better to risk shooting up an old lady than it is to allow dope addicts a chance to flush their pot after cops knock on their door). [continues 1015 words]
California's criminal-justice system often convicts innocent people. In recognition of this fact, the state Senate created the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. That commission is now considering the government's use of criminal informants or "snitches," a public policy that has become a disturbing contributor to the wrongful conviction problem. Snitches, of course, have powerful incentives to lie and often provide false evidence. But their unreliability is just one facet of their challenge to the justice system. [continues 906 words]
Most of us probably agree that Texans who spend years in prison for crimes they didn't commit should be compensated. And most of us probably agree that includes the 35 residents of Tulia, a small Panhandle town, who did time based solely on the testimony of a rogue cop who has since been convicted of lying under oath during an investigation of his undercover operation. The story of Tulia played the national news as a tawdry example of Texas injustice. But the state responded well to the scandal. [continues 598 words]
Attorney Has Filed for Wrongful Imprisonment Funds for 18 More At least one defendant in the discredited 1999 Tulia drug busts has received money from the state for wrongful imprisonment, and a West Texas attorney representing 18 others expects more to receive money. "We believe and hope they'll be paid," Plainview lawyer Brent Hamilton said Monday. "We do believe that the claims met the requirements." Forty-six people, 39 of them black, were arrested on drug charges in Tulia in July 1999, leading civil rights groups to question whether the busts were racially motivated. The sting involved undercover agent Tom Coleman, who is white and worked alone without audio or video surveillance. The case focused an international spotlight on the small farming and ranching town of about 5,000 between Amarillo and Lubbock. [continues 478 words]
TABLE OF CONTENTS: * This Just In http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2006/ds06.n464.html#sec1 (1) New Strategy Pushed In Afghan Drug Fight (2) School's Fight To Censor Poster Ensures We'll Never Forget It (3) Feds Take Aim At 'Guru Of Ganja' (4) Drug Policy Forum Reflects On Successes * Weekly News in Review http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2006/ds06.n464.html#sec2 Drug Policy (5) GAO: $1 Bil Anti-Drug Effort Ineffective (6) Editorial: This Is Your Ad Budget on Drugs (7) DEA's Khat Sting Stirs Up Somali 'Culture Clash' (8) Starr Joins Juneau Bong Case [continues 279 words]
At least one defendant in the discredited Tulia drug busts has received money from the state for wrongful imprisonment, and a West Texas attorney representing 18 others expects more to receive money. "We believe and hope they'll be paid," Plainview attorney Brent Hamilton said Monday. "We do believe that the claims met the requirements." Forty-six people, 39 of them black, were arrested on drug charges in Tulia in July 1999, leading civil rights groups to question if the busts were racially motivated. [continues 323 words]
