Jackson-Madison County Schools superintendent authorizes new policy Police soon will begin using drug dogs for random searches of Jackson-Madison County Schools buses and buildings that serve fifth- through 12-grade students. Superintendent Nancy Zambito authorized the new policy this week. Police began conducting random searches for drugs in the parking lots of school properties earlier this school year, though nothing has been found so far, to Zambito's knowledge. "What prompted this decision was there was concern among the principals, and I received several calls from parents whose children have seen drugs on the school buses," Zambito said Friday. "We will start the searches before the school year is over," she added. "We're very lucky to have the wonderful relationship that we have with our law enforcement agencies." [continues 236 words]
It is commendable to fix prejudicial elements of the Higher Education Act ("Drug Conviction Denies Students Financial Aid," Mar. 1, 2007), since the government's war on drugs primarily targets cannabis plant users. Do students lose financial aid if caught with alcohol? Further discrimination exists because students convicted of murder or rape, are still eligible for financial aid in school. Government's attempts to persecute, prohibit and exterminate cannabis (kaneh bosm/ marijuana) is luciferous to begin with since Christ God, Our Father, indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page of the Bible (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). [continues 53 words]
Students who have drug convictions shouldn't lose their financial aid, say members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). UTC students are varied in their opinions on this issue. "We recognize the "War on Drugs" has caused a lot of harm and that now there is far too much emphasis on crime and punishment and not enough emphasis on effective strategies at preventing drug use," Tom Angell, the head of SSDP, said. As a part of the "War on Drugs," the Higher Education Act prevents students who have drug convictions from receiving federal student aid, Angell said. [continues 472 words]
Tullahoma and other surrounding communities may be gaining ground in a methamphetamine battle due to legislation regulating over-the-counter drug product sales, but the move has shifted the illegal consumption focus to imported narcotics and a past trend -- crack cocaine. Members of the 14th Judicial District Drug and Violent Crime Task Force made a presentation at the Tullahoma Drug Free Task Force's February meeting, airing that point. Billy Cook, 14th Judicial District Task Force director, said laws passed more recently statewide after Tullahoma had its own restrictions on over-the-counter drug sales have made a tremendous difference in curbing methamphetamine abuse. [continues 392 words]
U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon's legislation designed to stem the scourge of methamphetamine in the nation's communities cleared the U.S. House of Representatives today. "We have a duty to protect innocent families not only from the criminals who make and use this illegal drug, but also from the aftereffects of that crime," said Gordon, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology. The House approved H.R. 365, the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007, and the bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. [continues 333 words]
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon's legislation designed to stem the scourge of methamphetamine in the nation's communities cleared the U.S. House of Representatives today. "We have a duty to protect innocent families not only from the criminals who make and use this illegal drug, but also from the aftereffects of that crime," said Gordon, Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology. The House approved H.R. 365, the Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007, and the bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. [continues 333 words]
SURGOINSVILLE - Meth lab seizures in Hawkins County last year were cut to one third the level of the previous several years as scores of traffickers and manufacturers have gone to prison and state laws make it harder to obtain meth ingredients. But, as is usually the case in the world of illegal drugs, when one product is taken off the market, another steps up to take its place. The next big drug problem to be faced by area law enforcement may be cocaine, which has been popping up in arrests in greater quantities in recent weeks. [continues 489 words]
Students' Brazen Acts May Expand Zero-Tolerance List Bringing a crack pipe to school, having sex on campus or vandalizing school property are among student conduct violations likely to get harsher punishment soon in some Midstate school systems. School officials say they're forced to revise their policies annually to keep up with students' more brazen behaviors. "We look at what's going on in our schools. What are we running into?" said Rick Miller, discipline coordinator for Wilson County schools and principal of MAP Academy, an alternative school in Lebanon. [continues 500 words]
Tennessee collected almost $1.8 million in taxes on cocaine, crack, moonshine and other "unauthorized substances" in 2006, the second year the tax was in effect. The $1,773,535 collected last year marked a 3.4 percent increase from 2005. Drug dealers, moonshiners and other purveyors of controlled and illicit substances are supposed to purchase tax stamps under the 2-year-old law, the state Department of Revenue said in a release. The tax, dubbed the "crack tax" when enacted, has come under attack from attorneys across the state because it is assessed against the accused before their guilt or innocence was decided. [continues 119 words]
To the editor, I'm writing about D. David Darcy's thoughtful letter: "Nation's war against drugs has never worked" (12-30-06). Our so-called drug war and our war and occupation of Iraq are very similar. Both were started with lies and false pretenses. The war in Iraq is over. We won. What we have now is an occupation of Iraq. Occupations cannot be won. Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty? The so-called war on drugs cannot be won. Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty? The war on drugs is an occupation, a career, an industry and huge bureaucracy. The goal of the drug war is not to win, but rather to continue and expand. [continues 63 words]
To the editor, Redford Givens, in his letter, wants the rest of us to believe that the current war on drugs should be given up. "After 92 straight years of failure," he states, "it is amazing that The Daily News Journal still thinks there is any virtue in a lunatic drug crusade. Rather than saving kids from dangerous drugs, drug prohibition exposes everyone to a dangerous criminal black market that functions in the shadows of Murfreesboro and every other city in Tennessee." [continues 287 words]
Parents must talk with their children about all kinds of drugs. When parents are having "drug talks" with their children, they need to include legal pharmaceuticals in the warnings. A national survey on teen use of drugs in 2006 found that while abuse of illegal drugs and alcohol is on the decline, high school and middle school misuse of prescription narcotics and over-the-counter cough and cold medicine is still going strong. Regular marijuana use among teens has declined for the fifth year in a row, according to the annual survey conducted by the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Other drugs on a decline are methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Unfortunately, the use of LSD, inhalants, cocaine, crystal meth, heroin, narcotics other than heroin, tranquilizers and sedatives remained steady. [continues 200 words]
It's one thing to have criminals in jail, they belong there. But crime in jail is something different. Gibson County residents should be outraged by news of illegal drug activity in the Gibson County Correctional Complex. Fortunately, a crack down has begun. It should continue until all signs of illegal drug activity are removed from the jail. A county mechanic and two inmates were charged Tuesday with various illegal drug crimes involving introducing drugs into the jail complex. Later in the week, a third inmate was charged with possession of illegal drugs in the jail. The arrests came following an investigation and thorough searching of inmates. Gibson County Sheriff Chuck Arnold said jail and inmate searches would continue. [continues 191 words]
But Most Don't Volunteer To Pony Up; Collections Usually Come After Arrests NASHVILLE -- Tennessee's tax on illegal drugs was a head-scratcher when the state legislature enacted it in 2004 -- What drug dealer would pay it? -- but it netted nearly $1.8 million in 2006, state tax collectors announced Tuesday. The Department of Revenue said it collected $1.774 million in "unauthorized substances tax" last year, up from the $1.715 million the tax generated in 2005, the first year it was collected. [continues 288 words]
To the editor, Mr. Sharpe's article was right on the money for such a short piece. Unfortunately, at some point in the future, history will record America's 20th century as the nation hiding its head so far in the ground that only its shoulders kept it all above ground. From January 1990 through December 1999, because of Iraq, America was NEVER at peace with itself. First, we fought ourselves over booze as we created some form of Al Capone in every city. No, not just major cities; every city in America, as gangsters and innocent citizens died in gang wars over the underground rights to selling booze. Almost as the anti-booze war ended, World War II brought some peace or at least a semblance of it, but McCarthy created his own era of Nazi fear as his "committee" lynch mob raided America's entertainment industry. [continues 344 words]
To the editor, Regarding your Dec. 15 editorial: Rutherford County's police-state approach to substance abuse will make for an interesting class discussion when the Bill of Rights is covered, but it won't likely impact rates of drug use. The steady rise in drug-sniffing dogs in schools, warrantless police searches, and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties in America, while failing miserably at preventing drug use. Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition and perhaps because of forbidden fruit appeal, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country. [continues 129 words]
To the editor, After 92 straight years of failure, it is amazing that The Daily News Journal still thinks there is any virtue in a lunatic drug crusade. Rather than saving kids from dangerous drugs, drug prohibition exposes everyone to a dangerous criminal black market that functions in the shadows of Murfreesboro and every other city in Tennessee. History shows that no one was robbing, whoring and murdering to get drugs when addicts could buy all of the heroin, morphine, cocaine and anything else they wanted cheaply and legally at the corner pharmacy. A legal heroin habit cost less than tobacco addiction (25 cents per week) and "drug crime" was unknown. [continues 365 words]
$4.7b Estimate Exceeds Top 3 Legal Crops By Jennifer Brooks, Staff Writer Tennessee's biggest cash crop isn't cotton or soybeans or corn. It's marijuana. State officials have known this for years and responded with an ever-escalating war on the drug -- patrolling the skies, searching remote mountainsides with heat sensors, sending in the National Guard, burning the crops to the ground and casting a wide net to catch the drug as it moves across the state. Using law enforcement's own records of marijuana seizures, a group dedicated to the legalization of marijuana has released a new report, ranking Tennessee number two in the nation in marijuana cultivation. [continues 366 words]
$4.7b Estimate Exceeds Top 3 Legal Crops Tennessee's biggest cash crop isn't cotton or soybeans or corn. It's marijuana. State officials have known this for years and responded with an ever-escalating war on the drug -- patrolling the skies, searching remote mountainsides with heat sensors, sending in the National Guard, burning the crops to the ground and casting a wide net to catch the drug as it moves across the state. Using law enforcement's own records of marijuana seizures, a group dedicated to the legalization of marijuana has released a new report, ranking Tennessee number two in the nation in marijuana cultivation. [continues 366 words]
DeSoto County officials bailed out an endangered drug enforcement squad that roots out dealers and traffickers in Hernando and rural areas. The Board of Supervisors OK'd $150,386 Monday to offset a loss of federal funds that threatened to shut down the Metro Narcotics Task Force after Jan. 1. The funding will keep the team going through Sept. 30, 2007. The action came after Dist. Atty. John Champion and Sheriff James Albert Riley made strong pitches for county taxpayers to pick up a tab left unpaid by a federal grant. [continues 438 words]
Inside Tennessee
