ALBANY -- Long-stalled efforts to permit the medicinal use of marijuana in this state appear to have a good chance of passage before lawmakers end their session in June. It would make New York the 15th state to legalize the drug for medical reasons. Advocates say they believe the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly have the votes to pass legislation permitting qualified patients to grow their own marijuana plants, or obtain the drug on the streets or through a state-sanctioned dispensary.Gov. David A. Paterson also is said to be supportive of the legalization. [continues 1062 words]
The battle lines have been drawn. Let the political war over the dismantling of the Rockefeller Drug Laws begin. A political firestorm ignited across the state on Friday, starting with Gov. David A. Paterson and Democratic legislative leaders announcing an agreement to make "sweeping changes" in the Rockefeller Drug Laws, during a late-morning news conference in Albany. Not long after those cameras were turned off, Republican legislators and law enforcement officials held their own news briefings to counter the Democrats' claims and cry foul over the way the agreement was hammered out in secret and put into the state budget. [continues 701 words]
Columnist Clarence Page, in his March 16 column, has it exactly right: The decision by the Obama administration to end Drug Enforcement Administration raids aimed at undermining state medical marijuana laws is a good start, but it's only a first step. Federal policy on medical marijuana simply ignores the growing mass of scientific evidence that it can safely and effectively treat certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and other symptoms that cause great suffering to patients battling cancer and other illnesses. [continues 93 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him -- even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. About ten states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. Unfortunately for Charlie, none of this prevented him from being arrested in March 2007 when federal authorities raided his home and small business. That's because the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Gonzalez v. Raich in 2005 that in the issue of medical marijuana federal law trumps the states. [continues 459 words]
Thousands of stories across the country have captured the plight of Michael Phelps and his recent bong incident. Phelps has apologized for his youthful indiscretion. It seems that his apology was accepted by most Americans, including the corporate sponsors that gave Phelps lucrative contracts for his endorsements. Only one spoiler is making noise about the incident. Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County has said that he will charge Phelps with a crime if he determines he smoked marijuana. Coincidently the Phelps story broke the same day that Santonio Holmes became MVP of Super Bowl XLII. Let's put this in context. [continues 391 words]
The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2008, there were 847,863 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police officers, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. The United States has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
Guidelines for a new Massachusetts law that ends minor marijuana arrests say the law may also apply to other drugs with the same psychoactive ingredient, such as hashish. The guidelines obtained Monday by The Associated Press say the law that takes effect Friday ends criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of THC - the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, hashish or hash oil. Voters passed a referendum in November that instead imposes a civil penalty of a $100 fine and forfeiture of the drug. [continues 96 words]
A trucker from Grimsby, Ontario, was sentenced to three years in federal prison today for smuggling 247 pounds of hydroponic marijuana into America over the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Stipan Krak, 51, was convicted on Sept. 5 of smuggling the pot, which was hidden in six hockey equipment bags in the cab of his tractor-trailer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz said. Krak was arrested at the bridge on March 20, 2007. Agents from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and from U.S. Customs & Border Protection investigated the case. Authorities estimate the street value of the hydroponic pot at $938,000. Krak was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. [end]
This election year, crime and drug issues seem to be off the table. Yet in a campaign season two decades ago, Congress made a hasty mistake that continues to plague our justice system today. In the weeks before the 1986 election, I was part of the congressional clamor for tough mandatory drug sentences after the cocaine overdose death of basketball star Len Bias. Amidst the panic around crack cocaine, as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, I helped Congress adopt long, quantity-based sentences to stop drug abuse and trafficking. [continues 352 words]
New York became the first state in the country to require all state- run addiction treatment centers to help their patients quit smoking. The plan, which went into effect last week, requires treatment centers to help patients quit smoking by offering nicotine replacement therapy, including nicotine gum and patches, to all smokers. For those lacking health insurance, the nicotine replacement therapy will be free of charge. The treatment centers also will be required to be smoke-free. Officials estimate the new law will impact up to 250,000 patients. Approximately 92 percent of those in alcohol and other drug treatment programs are cigarette smokers, according to estimates. [continues 379 words]
New York State Court of Appeals judges recently made an ignorant and short-sighted ruling that a small amount of marijuana in prison is not considered dangerous contraband, and reduced the sentences of both inmates and visitors caught introducing contraband into state correction facilities. Contrary to the court's ruling, any illegal substance smuggled into a correctional facility is dangerous and causes major security, death or injury threats to both staff and inmates. This is a court creating the law rather than merely interpreting what legislatures enacted. [continues 378 words]
I commend the work of all the agencies involved in the March 26 drug bust in Erie and Niagara counties. I'm a retired police captain from the Town of Tonawanda, and I understand the difficulty of the job they have to do. But I do have one question: Why do we put our police officers in this position? Look at the manpower used in this drug bust. The agencies used 100 officers to track down 36 suspects. They also say that at 4 a.m. they used 300 officers, so that's using 8.3 officers per arrest. There's nothing wrong with that except that while those 300 officers are doing that, what other jobs aren't being done? You've got 300 of them pulled off the streets for a day. [continues 402 words]
Does former President Bill Clinton want to become a drug policy reform advocate? On its face, it would seem that way, following Clinton's keynote speech at the University of Pennsylvania commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Kerner Commission report that addressed the causes of racial disturbances in the 1960s. Clinton admitted his administration's failure to end the racial disparities in sentencing of powder and crack cocaine offenses. He said he regretted not doing more about it, and that he would be prepared to spend a significant portion of his life trying to make amends. [continues 389 words]
Incarceration Ratedeclines for 8th Year ALBANY -- As other states see an increase in prison inmate populations, New York State has been bucking that trend for the past eight years thanks to falling crime rates and new laws that have kept an increasing number of nonviolent offenders out of jail. "It is a success. When you look at the other major states, and states all over the country, we haven't gone in a direction that they have," said Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, a Queens Democrat and chairman of the Assembly's corrections committee. [continues 878 words]
Federal prosecutors in Buffalo have decided not to use a controversial legal strategy to prevent convicted crack cocaine dealers from having their prison terms shortened. U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn will not oppose reductions in crack sentences based on a legal waiver that is routinely included in plea agreements filed in the federal courts of Buffalo and Rochester. "After a lot of discussion, this decision was made in the interest of justice, in the interest of national uniformity of sentencing and in the interest of not tying up the courts with a lot of additional litigation," said Joseph M. Guerra III, chief of drug prosecutions in Flynn's office. [continues 357 words]
Waivers May Block Bids for Early Release Crack dealers convicted in Western New York may face a legal fight from federal prosecutors if they apply for early releases from prison under new sentencing guidelines approved late last year. Federal court officials took action last year to give a break to people convicted on federal crack cocaine charges. They enacted changes after years of complaints that crack sentences were exceptionally harsh and that African-Americans from poor, inner-city neighborhoods were the ones most likely to be convicted. [continues 839 words]
Area Attorney, Sports Expert Offer Advice for Youngsters Last year, high school athletes from Cheektowaga, Clarence, Elba, Evans, Grand Island and other communities were suspended from their teams after underage drinking incidents. Allegations of unruly behavior by soccer players -- which the players denied -- led the Lackawanna School Board to cancel its team's entire season. Five Niagara University basketball players were arrested in 2006 after a confrontation with a baseball player outside a Niagara Falls bar. Amherst attorney Michael S. Taheri looks at all these incidents, shakes his head, and offers a simple piece of advice for student-athletes everywhere. [continues 858 words]
Ecstasy, a designer drug believed to have died out with the dance raves popular a few years ago, is making a comeback as both Canadian and American drug authorities recently warned that Canada has become a major exporter of the drug across the U.S. border. The new twist is that the newer Ecstasy is laced with methamphetamine, according to reports by both the Royal Canadian Mountain Police and the White House Office of National Drug Policy, giving a dangerous new face to the drug. [continues 532 words]
Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's approval rating is at an all-time low of 36 percent, according to a survey by the Siena College Research Institute. This is a far cry from his 69 percent approval rating when he took office. The survey polled about 1,000 voters in December, of which 47 percent said the governor should become a "kinder, gentler governor." But 41 percent of Republicans said they doubt whether the transformation can be made. The question I pose is: "How can Spitzer counter his downward spiral and start winning back the voters of New York State?" One answer is to show the citizens of New York that, despite the negativity generated from the trials and tribulations of his governorship, he is still an individual who shows compassion for others. Compassion, a virtue found in many great leaders, is said to be not sentiment but the act of making justice through works of mercy. [continues 314 words]
The first county-by-county look at U.S. drug imprisonment rates uses hard numbers to document what many already know: The drug war is primarily waged against African-Americans "despite solid evidence that they are no more likely than their white counterparts" to use or sell drugs. And Erie County is one of the places where that drug war hits blacks hardest. "In Erie County, African-Americans are admitted to prison for a drug offense at 30 times the rate of whites," according to the Justice Policy Institute, which analyzed per-capita drug imprisonment rates in large counties. [continues 510 words]
Much Has Changed in 10 Years Since Nushawn Williams Case Caused a Panic A decade ago, Chautauqua County health authorities made history by making public the name of a living carrier of HIV -- turning Nushawn Williams, a 20- year-old drug dealer, into a poster boy for the AIDS epidemic. Williams became a symbol for a disease spread by a million bad choices, reckless sex and careless drug use. Part of his infamy was based on unproven accusations that are dubious in retrospect: that he was a deliberate infector, a twisted Johnny Appleseed of AIDS. [continues 2115 words]
Robert Chambers spent 15 years in prison for the notorious murder of Jennifer Levin, whom he claimed he accidentally strangled during rough sex. Despite his horrific crime, Chambers was allowed to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter instead of second-degree murder and was sentenced to serve between five and 15 years in prison. Now, 21 years later, Chambers has been arrested again, this time on charges of selling cocaine to undercover officers. He faces life in prison. Those who remember his 1986 slaying case will have no sympathy for Chambers. What's most outrageous about this case, though, is that Chambers faces more time for a drug offense than he did for taking someone's life. [continues 364 words]
The News recently published a column calling for Congress to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, giving the federal Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco. Regulation of tobacco may be reasonable, but this bill is fatally flawed. It would effectively prevent the nation's 45 million smokers from learning that smokeless tobacco products are vastly safer alternatives. That message is absolutely critical to the life-saving strategy known as "tobacco harm reduction." Harm reduction was the focus of a recent article in the prestigious medical journal Lancet, which made a compelling case that tobacco regulation based on scientific and medical principles: [continues 361 words]
Members of a federal task force said Friday they broke up a drug ring based on Buffalo's West Side that was distributing more than 2 pounds of heroin a month in the city and its suburbs. More than 150 officers from two dozen police agencies began arresting suspects Thursday evening and Friday morning in the sweep against what they called the Antonetty Organization. Named for [Name redacted], the crew is alleged to have set up drug houses on Niagara Street, Massachusetts Avenue and West Utica Street, authorities said. [continues 435 words]
Alaska High School Drug Sign Case Not a Banner Day for Supreme Court If you were the principal of a public high school anywhere in the United States, would you go all the way to the Supreme Court to establish the fact that your students are dunderheads? That is just what the principal of Juneau-Douglas High School did, and last week a fragile majority of the court agreed that what is in operation in Alaska's capital is less an institution of learning than a day-care center for teenagers who cannot handle any thought that has not been predigested by their elders. [continues 307 words]
It Could Become the 13th State to Legalize Medical Marijuana, a Move Some Say Could Mean Relief ALBANY -- Joel Peacock, a registered member of the Conservative Party, has little use for liberal politicians. "I'm as far from liberal as you're ever going to get," the 57- year-old Buffalo construction inspector said. Yet Peacock said he hopes state lawmakers in Albany this week will pass a bill legalizing marijuana for certain medical uses. Peacock, who said "never in a million years" did he think he would ever promote such a plan, has been in severe pain since a 2001 car accident on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. In the years since, it has affected nearly every facet of his life. [continues 887 words]
Governor Changes Position After Earlier Opposition ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer, in a reversal of a campaign position, said Tuesday he could support legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for certain medicinal purposes. The governor's position comes as lawmakers stepped up a push in the final two weeks of the 2007 session for New York to join 12 other states and allow marijuana for those suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis and other painful conditions. In a debate last summer, Spitzer said he opposed medical marijuana. Now he said he is "open" to the idea after being swayed by advocates in the past couple of months. [continues 925 words]
Alters Guidelines For Crack Crimes A federal commission has taken a small step toward eliminating a cocaine sentencing disparity that has upset civil rights advocates for almost two decades. The U.S. Sentencing Commission recently approved a change in federal court sentencing guidelines for crimes involving crack cocaine. The change will take effect Nov. 1, unless Congress votes to override it. "This would be a small step toward closing up the disparity in sentencing for crimes involving crack cocaine and powdered cocaine," said Timothy W. Hoover, a federal public defender in Buffalo. "This is just a start, and it's an incomplete reform, but it's a step, at least." [continues 371 words]
It didn't take long for New York's new governor, Eliot L. Spitzer, to emulate his predecessor's action in proposing the establishment of a commission to accomplish something he knows will be controversial. The governor wants a commission to study the possibility of closing some of the state's correctional facilities. Former governor George E. Pataki did succeed in getting approval for a commission to study the possible closing of some hospitals in the state, and it recommended closing at least 20 of these facilities. The report also suggested the shrinking or merging of many other hospitals. The final report of the Pataki hospital commission has evoked cries of anguish around the state and has resulted in some legal actions designed to thwart the recommendations of the commission. [continues 527 words]
Fourth-Grade Pupils At Lew-Port School Say They Witnessed Substitute Using Drugs LEWISTON - A substitute teacher who admitted snorting cocaine in front of her fourth-grade pupils will be arraigned Feb. 21 in Town Court on charges that could send her to jail for up to three years, police said Friday. Joan M. Donatelli, 59, a Lewiston-Porter substitute who lives in the Town of Lewiston, has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Each count carries fines and up to a year in jail. [continues 205 words]
SARANAC LAKE - A guard has pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle heroin into the prison where he worked. The plea resulted from an investigation into contraband that has led to the firings or resignation of several other guards. Michael D. Bradish, 34, of Plattsburgh, pleaded guilty Friday in Franklin County Court to attempted promoting prison contraband and attempted drug possession as well as misdemeanor official misconduct. Prosecutors said Bradish was part of a network that delivered heroin mailed from New York City to Bare Hill, a medium-security facility for men. Authorities also charged two other state corrections officers. [end]
Recent opinion columns have postulated that growth in the prison population is a moral failure of society, and the expansion of drug rehabilitation programs should be paramount. But a moral failure of whom? And doesn't New York State have extensive drug rehabilitation programs? The state spends an exorbitant amount of money on rehabilitation, and the moral failure lies not with society but the individual. That is like calling the shooting of two Buffalo police officers or the murder of a nun a "mistake," thus taking the responsibility out of the hands of the offender. It is much simpler to place the onus on the system or society rather than the moral breakdown of individuals who generally have lengthy criminal records. [continues 355 words]
Gubernatorial Candidates Address How To Stem Flow Of Drugs To Incarcerated Addicts New York should do more to stop the flow of deadly drugs into state prisons, said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot L. Spitzer, who outlined a four-point approach he says ultimately will reduce crime on the streets. The state prison system, Spitzer said, needs to beef up officer training and use more drug-detection technology to identify inmates smuggling drugs into its 69 prisons. Internal affairs - the main investigatory arm inside the prison - should be strengthened and vigorously prosecute anyone caught with drugs, he said. [continues 635 words]
I beg to differ with County Executive Joel Giambra's statement that our war on drugs is a failed policy, and that the only solution is to legalize them. Someone should inform him that we have a policy of containment, not only on drugs, but on murder, rape and all criminal activity. When the murder and rape rates rise, we don't suggest that we should legalize them, do we? Of course not. We intensify our efforts to contain them, and our law enforcement officials show very good results. Of course, human nature being what it is, we will never guarantee that these weaknesses of mankind will ever be eradicated. But let us not put up the white flag so soon, or better yet never. Ina Decarlo Buffalo [end]
Officer Arrested, But Some Implicated In Deal Remain On The Job Joseph Lattanzio worked for 20 years as a New York State corrections officer, but his part-time job helped pay the bills. He was a drug dealer. He sometimes made drug deals on his cell phone, perched in a guard tower in Wende Correctional Facility in Alden. And his long customer list included at least nine other corrections officers, from Attica to Wyoming to Gowanda to Wende, according to court papers and federal officials. [continues 1587 words]
Giambra Ways It's Time to Try a New Approach; Others Say No When County Executive Joel A. Giambra floated the idea of legalizing outlawed drugs, critics responded as if he was on one. But Giambra is hardly alone. The idea of using the government to regulate and control banned substances in order to put the illegal drug trade out of business has gained ground in recent years, with support coming from surprising quarters: law enforcement officials. Their involvement is an example of how calls to revamp the nation's drug policies are no longer solely the province of the left, which has historically favored legalization. Conservatives such as William F. Buckley Jr. and former Reagan-era Secretary of State George Schultz support liberalized drug policies. So, too, does Walter Cronkite, known in his heyday as "the most trusted man in America." [continues 1417 words]
After more than 35 years of fighting the current war on drugs, the latest excuse for drugs being cheaper, purer and more available than ever is that the police aren't filling out the paperwork correctly. ("How effective is drug war?" May 24) Gov. Nelson Rockefeller told us that we could put a stop to this drug business if only we had tough laws. The threat of life in prison would cause smaller dealers to turn in those above them in exchange for lighter sentences, and soon all the dealers would be in prison. We filled the prisons, but it had no effect on drug dealing. [continues 397 words]
After Double Tragedies, Mother Rallies To Organize 'Pat's Place' Last summer, Beverly Artemyak took her youngest son, Nicholas Sciandra, to the cemetery to visit his brother's grave - and to remind him what drugs can do. Nicholas, she said, was depressed over his brother's death. Patrick Sciandra, 22, had died from drug-related cardiac arrest in March 2005. Nicholas thought he might be headed down the same road. "He told me he was caught up in it, too, and he couldn't get out," Artemyak said. "I took him to Mount Olivet Cemetery to see his brother's grave. He dropped on his knees and just sobbed." [continues 851 words]
Erie County Executive Joel Giambra is to be commended for boldly speaking out against the drug war. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime. With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor boot-leggers no longer gun each other down in drive-by shootings, nor do consumers go blind from drinking unregulated bathtub gin. While U.S. politicians ignore the drug war's historical precedent, European countries are embracing harm reduction, a public health alternative based on the principle that both drug abuse and prohibition have the potential to cause harm. [continues 82 words]
After Flurry of Arrests, Many Cases Dismissed or Suspects Released Thirty-eight suspected drug houses raided. Seventy-six people arrested. The police dubbed the three-day blitz "Operation Shock and Awe," after the mass bombings that launched the beginning of the Iraq War, and even invited the media along, like embedded war correspondents, to witness the dramatic busts. Many politicians and residents have applauded the city for taking action against drugs in Buffalo, but they also question how much impact the raids ultimately had. [continues 1259 words]
Mountain States Lead the Rise, Fueled Mostly by Drug Convictions NEW YORK - Oklahoma, Mississippi and the Mountain states have set the pace in increasing the imprisonment of women, while New York and several Northeastern states are curtailing the practice, according to a new report detailing sharp regional differences in the handling of female offenders. The report, to be released today by the New York-based Women's Prison Association, is touted as the most comprehensive state-by-state breakdown of the huge increase in women prisoners over the past 30 years. [continues 420 words]
Years from now, they may look at him in the same way we see Susan B. Anthony and other pioneers for women's rights. The women's movement began in the 1830s. Yet it wasn't until nearly 100 years later that women walked into a voting booth. And the equal-rights battle hardly ended there. Joel Giambra is not a crusader in a dress. But he recently came out of the closet for a cause. After Sister Karen Klimczak was killed by an addict she caught robbing her room, the county executive said the unthinkable for a politician: We should think about legalizing some drugs. [continues 553 words]
The illegal drug trade in Western New York has turned many of our inner-city streets into war zones. The simple act of sitting on one's porch to converse with a neighbor or watch the kids play ball in the street is to risk one's life. Turf wars or retaliation for a drug deal gone bad have filled our morgues and cemeteries with both intended and unintended casualties. Yet the game plan stays the same, the strategy of reducing drug use and peddling goes unchanged, despite the same devastating results. [continues 460 words]
County Executive Joel A. Giambra's recent call to legalize some drugs was, predictably, ridiculed by most in law enforcement around here. But a St. Louis newspaper columnist said this week that Giambra should be lionized, not criticized. "Giambra had the courage to state the obvious. The war on drugs isn't working," said Bill McClellan, writing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McClellan said he supports the argument comparing the current drug war to alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s. He asked his readers who they would rather have as a powerful man in their community, gangster Al Capone or beer magnate August Busch? "It's good to see a politician join in the discussion. Here's to Joel Giambra." Written by Bruce Andriatch with contributions from John F. Bonfatti and Brian Meyer. [end]
As a law enforcement officer, I would like to extend kudos to County Executive Joel Giambra for his brave acknowledgment that society's "same old, same old" approach to drug violence is not working. Although it is true that legalizing drugs would not eliminate addiction, or the type of crime visited upon Sister Karen Klimczak, it would definitely lessen the frequency of them. A more reasonable model of substance control other than outright prohibition could usher in honest education about drug use/abuse - something that is more realistic to the type of person who would kill a nun for her cell phone. Something that goes beyond the limited policy of "just say no to drugs." Under regulation, there could be licensed points of sale, age limits and guaranteed product safety by taking the manufacture and distribution of narcotics out of the hands of untrained and unscrupulous criminals and place it within the realm of professionals. Products could be subject to taxation. Terrorist gangs (here and abroad) would lose their major source of funding. John A. Gayder Founding Secretary Law Enforcement Against Prohibition St. Catharines, Ont. [end]
Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra said Wednesday that a rash of drug-related killings in Buffalo over the past few days should prompt a serious discussion about legalizing some narcotics. Giambra noted that the alleged killer of Sister Karen Klimczak confessed that he was high on crack cocaine when he committed the murder on Friday, while drugs are thought to be involved in other recent slayings. Drugs also are listed as the cause of many of Buffalo's 56 homicides last year, according to city police. [continues 617 words]
Earlier this month, a survey from the National Association of Counties reported that local law enforcement agencies think the federal government has its anti-drug priorities backward, putting too much emphasis on marijuana and not enough on truly lethal drugs like methamphetamine. Now a new report suggests that even the federal government's top drug cops - the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration - - know something is very wrong. They'll never say it explicitly, of course. Executive branch agencies don't openly criticize White House policies. But the message in the DEA's 2005 "National Drug Threat Assessment" - prepared in February but released with no publicity this month - is unmistakable: The war on marijuana is a failure, and cops overwhelmingly see meth as a greater threat. [continues 350 words]
I address the following to our youth in Buffalo, who may or may not be headed down the wrong path, the path of destruction. Sixteen years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I became a drug dealer. I knew it was wrong but I did it anyway. My so-called reasons for selling drugs, I now realize, weren't reasons at all. I never considered the individuals I hurt or the things I did out of greed. I was more concerned about my reputation, driving flashy cars to get noticed, sporting a Rolex to be called the man, buying expensive clothes to replace my low self-esteem and carrying guns because that's the only time I had courage. [continues 528 words]
Young Woman Struggling to Turn Life Around Benefits As Judge Uses Recently Granted Discretion on Sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara gave a huge break Wednesday to a 21-year-old drug defendant from Youngstown. It almost certainly could not have happened before last week's landmark Supreme Court decision giving federal judges freedom from sentencing guidelines. Jamie Lynn Chilberg, a college student who joined a drug treatment program and turned her life around after a September 2003 smuggling arrest, is among the first people in the nation to benefit from the Supreme Court's Jan. 12 ruling. [continues 445 words]
