The Supreme Court recently considered a 2002 Alaska case involving the question of limits on the free speech rights of public school students. In a 5-4 vote it said that school principals could punish students for making statements that could be "reasonably" construed as advocating illegal drug use.

At the center of the case was a banner spread in public view at the Olympic Torch Relay as runners headed for Salt Lake City. In big letters the banner proclaimed "BONG HiTS 4 JESUS."

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The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation warned that our children don't fully appreciate or respect the rights protected by the First Amendment.

The foundation released a national study in 2006 that showed nearly half the students surveyed believed that the First Amendment went too far in the rights it guarantees, and 46 percent believed that newspapers should not publish stories without government approval.

The report blamed educators for not doing a better job of teaching students how essential free expression is to our system of government.

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Students have constitutional rights to free speech, as do all Americans, but in public-school settings, their rights can be limited.

That is because students are underage, and schools are charged with providing a safe environment in which they can learn.

Still, limits put on students' First Amendment rights should apply only to activities that could impede others' education or directly incite disruptive or illegal behavior, according to past U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

A ruling by the high court Monday could expand those guidelines and open a Pandora's box of conflicting views about when school officials can limit a student's rights.

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WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is trying to roll back a Supreme Court decision by pushing legislation that would require prison time for nearly all criminals.

The Justice Department is offering the plan as an opening salvo in a larger debate about whether sentences for crack cocaine are unfairly harsh and racially discriminatory.

Republicans are seizing the administration's crackdown, packaged in legislation to combat violent crime, as a campaign issue for 2008.

In a speech June 1 to announce the bill, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urged Congress to re-impose mandatory minimum prison sentences against federal convicts - and not let judges consider such penalties "merely a suggestion."

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It has been said the one universal taboo is betraying a friend. And the new unspoken campaign to punish snitches shows that taboo is alive and well among criminals.

According to recent studies, police officers are having a harder time solving crimes because informants are becoming unwilling to talk with them. Being a "snitch" has become a bigger crime in some circles than burglary and assault. Salt Lake City police are already seeing "Stop Snitching" T-shirts around town, while in some coastal cities tight lips and stonewalling have become a growing social movement.

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The bill Gov. Bill Richardson signed (12 States Give OK To Medicinal Cannabis, April 14, by Ed Kociela,) isn't just morally and compassionately correct, it's also Biblically correct since Christ God our Father (The Ecologician) indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). And, "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (see: 1 John 3:17)

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

[end]

Cache Board Of Education Calls Step Regrettable But 'Wise'

NORTH LOGAN -- Voicing disappointment in the necessity of such a change, the Cache County Board of Education voted Thursday to approve a drug testing policy for any high school student who participates in Utah High School Activities Association events.

Starting this fall, students who take part in every UHSAA-sanctioned sport or activity will need to pass a urine test that looks for several drugs and alcohol. Participation fees will increase by $20 to help pay for the tests.

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Prescription overdose deaths are now second only to motor-vehicle crashes as a cause of death from unintentional injury. Television is filled with pro-drug messages paid for by alcohol and pharmaceutical companies. The Bush administration doesn't have a problem with corporate drug pushers. But hoist a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner at an off-campus high school rally in Alaska, and you'll be fought all the way to the Supreme Court.

It's not clear how this nonsensical phrase somehow merits limiting free speech. Culture warriors in the White House seem to think the war on pot is more important than the Constitution. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there: By raiding medical marijuana providers in California, the very same Bush administration that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently, marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism, too.

Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va.

[end]

Suppose that all types of recreational drugs were re-legalized and the drug were legally sold in local licensed business establishments for pennies per dose.

Would this solve your drug problems? No.

It would however, greatly reduce your violent and property crime. Many judges and prison wardens have said that 70 to 80 percent of all property crime and violent crime is drug-related. Actually, almost 100 percent of all so-called "drug-related crime" is caused by drug prohibition policies, not drugs.

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PROVO -- Just because the mother of three young children is caught using meth in her home doesn't mean prosecutors can immediately charge her with child endangerment. "We have to prove actual exposure," says Utah County prosecutor Dave Sturgill. "We can have people with 100 pounds of marijuana in the basement and a child upstairs, and if there hasn't been actual exposure, then we're out of luck." Exposure would mean the child had touched, consumed or inhaled the drug. "Our statute should be drafted in such a way that children and drugs don't mix," Sturgill said. "I don't care if they're not actually exposed.

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Utah County Task Force, DCFS Pulling Kids From Homes

PROVO - A 9-year-old girl sketches a marijuana bong for her social worker, saying she found one beside her bed.

A young boy shows the social worker a cigarette burn on his hand given to him by his dad.

Stories like these are heart-wrenching. And unfortunately they're all too common, say Utah law enforcement officers and social workers who pull babies, toddlers and school-age children out of drug houses and meth labs. During the six-month period between last July 1 and Jan. 1, Utah's Division of Child and Family Services removed 631 children from homes due to drug and alcohol problems. Not unexpectedly, the Salt Lake Valley had the most: 223.

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How far can a school go in regulating what students say, even off campus?

That's the question the Supreme Court is wrestling with in the case of Morse v. Frederick, also known as the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

The case dates back to 2002, when the Olympic Flame was making its way to Salt Lake City. When the torch run passed through Juneau, Alaska, students from Juneau-Douglas High School were given a break from class to watch. Joseph Frederick, then a senior, was across the street from the school holding up a sign that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" (whatever that means) as the torch passed.

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She's the woman you see at the mall, with her 13-year-old tagging behind her.

Getting into her sedan at the end of the trip, new pink sweater in the Macy's bag, her cell phone rings.

But sometimes when Mechelle Leifson's phone rings, the mother of four recovering drug addicts' heart jumps.

There have been too many late night phone calls in the past six years for her stomach to not still drop, for her to not worry about her boys.

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Between hourly updates on the decomposing body of Anna Nicole Smith and the balding of Britney Spears, we can confidently declare that the Jerry Springerization of America is complete.

The travails of these two tragic characters would be of little interest in a normal world, but "celebrity" is the new normal. Like it or not, we're all in this together.

Britney and Anna Nicole, after all, are our inventions. We made them celebrities, awarded them icon status, gave them life. Now, like Dr. Frankenstein upon realizing he's created a monster, we've become instruments of their undoing.

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Cheap, available and addictive, prescription and over-the-counter medications have fast become the drug of choice for many, local and national health officials say.

"It's really taken off. It's a big problem," said Brock Alder, director of the substance abuse division of the Bear River Health Department.

The department treated 19 people for opiate addiction in 2002, according to BRHD statistics. In 2006, that number jumped to 92.

Behind marijuana, prescription pills are the second-most abused drug among teens, according to a White House analysis. In a report released last week, the Office of the National Drug Control Policy said new users of prescription drugs have caught up with new users of marijuana.

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What should be done to help Americans who are using drugs and experiencing collateral consequences, such as HIV and hepatitis?

Those attending the second national Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis in Salt Lake City this week voiced a clear consensus: More research about the effects of meth on women, an understanding about the universal draw to the drug and continued justice-system reform that emphasizes treatment over incarceration.

The focus needs to be on education, prevention and treatment, experts agreed.

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The second National Conference of Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis has drawn scientists, politicians, teachers and front-line workers from across the country to Utah this week to discuss a new era in meth treatment and prevention.

The opening address Thursday included remarks from Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who summarized the state of meth in Utah and beyond with alarming figures of growth - meth-related emergency room visits have more than doubled since 1995 and there are five times as many people in treatment for meth today as 1992. The mayor also congratulated Utah's Harm Reduction Project director, Luciano Colonna, calling his organization's meth policy "sensible and effective."

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Program Focused On Parolees With Drug Problems Aims To Save State

Mike Wulf's drug addiction began at age 14 atop a building, when a relative offered him methamphetamine - dubbed "go fast" - to help him get a roofing job done quickly. Mark Naylor was a returned missionary when he was introduced to Ecstacy at a club, then got hooked on heroin. Steve Fenstermaker began using drugs after his wife died, leaving him three young children to raise. He eventually became a leader in a ring that was cooking meth and stealing credit cards, police said. Felix Strong, introduced to crack by friends, soon found how profitable it was to sell and couldn't resist the easy money, despite multiple arrests. For months, the men have been living at the First Step House in Salt Lake City as part of an experiment known as DORA, or the Drug Offender Reform Act. The goal: Give intense treatment to addicted criminals while they are on probation, hopefully saving the state money in the long run as they re-enter society. Each man's focus is on how success or failure will affect his own life. But the group's choices also will affect the decisions of policymakers, who must decide whether to invest more tax dollars once funding for the $1.4 million pilot program ends in 2008.

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In 1997, Marty Ann Young was the optimistic first graduate of Utah's pilot drug court. "I want to cry every time I think about how I was," the 36-year-old told The Salt Lake Tribune, describing a cocaine addiction that led her to drop out of nursing school, give up custody of her four children and serve stints in jail. Today, Young is being sought on two warrants for drug-related charges. Her story illustrates what judges do and do not know. There are no long-term studies on whether, or which, drug-court graduates stay off drugs and out of trouble.

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$4.5 Million Treatment Push

For Single Moms, Failure And Relapse Rates Are High; For The State, Kids Are Safe And It's Cheaper Than Jail

TOOELE - As 28-year-old Tori Curran walks down a narrow hallway in the county courthouse, portraits of smiling Miss Tooele pageant princesses gaze down at her.

She steps into Judge Mike Kouris' courtroom, where the young women inside have led less than picture-perfect lives. Like Curran, many are single mothers who want to raise happy children but who struggle with addiction and relationships.

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