On Nov. 30, Ryan Snodgrass sat in a wooden chair in a small courtroom and tapped his right foot. When US Immigration Judge William Cassidy - one of the toughest immigration judges in the country - called Snodgrass to testify, the hazel-eyed 19-year-old ambled to the stand. A lot was to be decided that day. The judge could take away the only home Snodgrass has known for the past 15 years. [continues 562 words]
Of the 184 US needle-exchange programs - a means of helping drug users reduce the risk of contracting and spreading deadly diseases - only two are in North Carolina, and neither are in Mecklenburg County, the state's largest metropolitan area. "It's desperately needed," said Eloise Hicks, executive director of the Regional HIV/AIDS Consortium. It's also entirely illegal. But that didn't stop Thelma Wright from starting a program in High Point. Stung by the havoc wreaked by HIV in her community, Wright began giving out clean syringes to drug users in 1999. She'd search areas around bridges, ravines and empty houses, where addicts, mostly street people or "soon-to-be street people," would shoot heroin. She'd crawl through windows and lift up mattresses to collect dirty needles. At first, users greeted Wright with skepticism. "But once they learn who you are, they're your friend," she said. [continues 626 words]
Teen stats show preference for pharmaceuticals Twenty years after the first Reagan-era public service announcement that warned young people to "just say no," Mecklenburg County's kids just don't seem as interested in street drugs as they were a decade ago. Now, it appears, they're high on pharmaceuticals. A survey of 3,400 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students by Substance Abuse Prevention Services of the Carolinas showed drug, alcohol and tobacco use declining by a third to three-quarters over the last decade, depending on the substance. [continues 333 words]
Amen, Kirk ("The Drug War and Prohibition," Letter to the Editor, Feb. 2). When will the lessons of Prohibition be learned? As a victim of the laws against the medical use of marijuana I would ask that all citizens support HJR 1038, a bill in the NC General Assembly that would allow the medical use of marijuana. Too late for me but perhaps others will not have to suffer as I have. Please let your legislators know how important this is. Also let them know that those who have already suffered deserve to have their rights restored. RR Gregg Marshville, NC [end]
In reference to Robert Sharpe's letter, "Drug War Worse Than Drugs" (Jan. 26), I'd like to add that if tough-on-drugs policies worked, the quixotic goal of a drug free America would have been reached a long time ago. And if liberal marijuana laws created more drug use, the Netherlands would have much higher drug usage rates than the US. It does not. In fact, the Dutch use marijuana and other recreational drugs at much lower rates than Americans do. See http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm. [continues 209 words]
Regarding Nate Blakeslee's Jan. 19 "The People Left Behind": When it comes to the drug war, mandatory minimum sentences have done little other than turn the alleged land of the free into the world's biggest jailer. If draconian penalties deterred illegal drug use, the goal of a "drug-free" America would have been achieved decades ago. Instead of adding to what is already the highest incarceration rate in the world, we should be funding drug treatment. The drug war is a cure that is worse than the disease. Drug prohibition finances organized crime at home and terrorism abroad, which is then used to justify increased drug war spending. It's time to end this madness and instead treat all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Apparently mandatory minimum sentences, civil asset forfeiture, random drug testing and racial profiling are not necessarily the most cost-effective means of discouraging unhealthy choices. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Robert Sharpe Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, DC [end]
Supreme Court's Reversal Of "Mandatory Minimums" Too Late For Some Shortly before Thanksgiving 1983, a modest drug deal went down in a beauty shop in Harlem. Elaine Bartlett, a 26-year-old mother of four, agreed to carry four ounces of cocaine by train from New York City to Albany. Bartlett was not a drug courier by trade. She worked as a hairdresser and lived in one of Harlem's big public housing projects. A man named Charlie stepped into the back room of the beauty shop one morning and offered her $2,500 for one day's work. When she said yes, she had in mind a huge Thanksgiving feast for her extended family and some new furniture for her tidy little apartment. By the time she sat down to dinner with her family again, 16 years later, it was in a household ruined by years of frustration and neglect, and her children were no longer really hers. [continues 1811 words]
Former Officers, Judges, And Prosecutors Say Anything Would Be Better They were two white guys cruising through the black part of Paterson, NJ, back in the 1970s. One was an undercover police officer named Jack Cole, the other an informant known as Fast Eddy. Posing as heroin buyers, they ran into trouble with three thugs who tried to rip them off and who slashed Fast Eddy's hand with a knife before being chased off. Luckily, Cole recalls, a Good Samaritan came out into the road. He was a young black man who was going to college to get out of the ghetto. He went into his house to get bandages for Fast Eddy and then, since Cole continued to pretend like he needed a fix, brought them to a supplier who wouldn't take advantage of them. [continues 965 words]
Of course Tara Servatius is right in her comment that certain behaviors are risk factors for HIV/AIDS ("Yes, Sex Causes AIDS," August 27). However, people have been engaging in risky sexual behaviors since the beginning of recorded history. One program which would at least help to reduce the spread of HIV would be a clean-needle program -- the distribution of unused, sterile syringes to anyone, no questions asked. As a former public health nurse, I know that these supplies are cheap and easy to obtain. [continues 119 words]
Re: "Drugs R Us" by Lucy Perkins (June 11). Having spent a number of years as a teacher in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg School system, I have seen the failures of the current drug enforcement program. The drug problem is very complex, therefore it is not likely to be solved, because our politicians are incapable of thought beyond a single solution, whether a single answer satisfies all or not. The starting point for reasonable decision-making has to be facts, truth, and scientific evidence. I would like to see unbiased research about each of the drugs now subject to restriction. It would be refreshing to have researchers who simply let the facts fall where they may and report them honestly. [continues 110 words]
Lucy Perkins is absolutely right ("Drugs R Us," June 11). Almost every state in the Union is facing budget shortfalls, yet we continue to waste billions in pursuit of the failed social policy of Prohibition. What began with the noblest of intentions, to protect society from the ravages of drug addiction and to protect citizens from themselves, has morphed into the Drug War, Inc., a massive workfare program for police, courts and prison guards. Establishing a legal, tightly regulated market where adult citizens who so chose may purchase alcohol has proven to be vastly more successful in keeping booze out of the hands of children, eliminating the violence of turf wars, getting help for problem drinkers, and generating a reliable revenue stream for the state than Prohibition ever did. Why wouldn't we expect similar results by extending the same model to cannabis? - -- Greg Francisco, Paw Paw, MI [end]
A Surefire Solution To The State Budget Crisis It hasn't taken me long to grow bored of the state budget crunch. Once you get used to hearing the word "crunch" on the news, a budget crunch simply doesn't make for interesting drama. Government officials having affairs or making loopy decisions -- now that's drama. This year I'm voting only for people who seem capable of stirring up a decent controversy or scandal every now and then.What makes the budget shortfall even more boring and annoying is that it could be so easily remedied. Spend Less Money. There, problem solved. If we were dealing with a household budget, we'd simply decide what was essential and what was nonessential, then cut the nonessential spending. Example: groceries are essential, but a new wardrobe is not. So we keep the groceries in the budget and kick the clothes out. Of course, when you're talking about government it can never be that simple. Everything is essential to somebody. I suppose I should just be grateful that Dillard's doesn't send lobbyists! over to my house to take me out for expensive lunches trying to persuade me to blow my budget on clothes. [continues 687 words]
Cannabis-Based Pharmaceuticals Could Hit Europe By Next Year For eons, cannabis has been ingested for the treatment of common and chronic ailments, but now, the march of technology is propelling wacky tobaccy into a brave new century of pharmaceutical development. Scientists around the world are studying not only whole, smoked marijuana, but also pure extracts that would make Louis Armstrong blush. The fruits of their labors could hit European pharmacies as soon as next year. The leading-edge cannabis pharmaceutical company is the publicly owned British firm, GW Pharmaceuticals. Their Cannabis Based Medical Extracts (CBME) have proven extraordinarily safe and effective in relieving medical conditions such as neuropathic pain and muscle spasms with effects occurring after 15-45 minutes, depending on the patient's condition. [continues 754 words]
Shopowner Bemoans Loss Of Rights For almost a decade, my stores sold an assortment of cleansing teas, detoxification drinks and urine additives. Customers sought to clean out their systems for four to six hours and I did not ask them why. They could buy similar products from some health food stores, pharmacies and even convenience stores. The products had names as vague as Detoxify, Black Magic and Ready-Clean. My guess is that the ingredients include some creatine and a lot of powdered fruit pectin. Everyone says they taste awful. A new law was passed in North Carolina, effective December 1, 2002 making it a first offense misdemeanor and a second offense felony to sell these products. No one informed me of this until Clear Choice, a brand I haven't carried in years, sent me a copy of the law and stated that they would no longer ship product to North Carolina. [continues 409 words]
What Former Drug-Using Boomers Tell Their Kids About Drugs All the warning signs were there: the furtive phone calls, the vague explanations, the red eyes, and the unmistakable smell. John and Debby knew something was going on with their then 15-year-old son. They demanded to see what was inside his footlocker, which he had recently secured with a padlock. Grudgingly, he opened it. Both parents peered inside. Aha, they knew it. There, in a little box, was a baggie of pot, some rolling papers, and a pipe. Just as John was getting ready to unleash his patriarchal wrath, he took a closer look. Hmm, that pipe looked mighty familiar. Debby was thinking the same thing. They looked at each other. Oh man, how were they supposed to handle this? "I had had that pipe for over 20 years," John said. "It had been in my sock drawer or something, but I smoke so infrequently that I hadn't even noticed it was missing." [continues 3502 words]
HBO's The Wire Goes Against Stereotype Sergeant Joe Friday would probably flip in his fictional grave at the sight of HBO's new cop show, which just concluded its first season last month. The Wire looks at the war on drugs as it is waged in the inner cities of Baltimore by an inter-agency team of federal agents and local police officers. The cop genre has come a long way from the strait-laced corn served up on Dragnet, the mother of all TV police dramas, but The Wire may be pioneering a sub-genre of its own. Created by David Simon, a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun, and co-written by ex-police officer Ed Burns, The Wire challenges some of the core assumptions that underlie the typical cop show. [continues 1022 words]
Why Did Sgt. Futrell Have to Die in the Futile War on Pot? At his funeral, they called Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Sergeant Anthony Scott Futrell a hero. But Futrell, who died in a plane crash two weeks ago while scouting marijuana plants in the fields of Chowan County, was more than a hero: he was also the latest victim of this country's increasingly absurd war on illegal drugs. That this gifted, multi-talented individual who served on the SWAT team, was an EMT, a pilot and a member of ALERT (a terrorist attack emergency response team), should perish the way he did seems even more tragic. [continues 755 words]
The Housing Authority Says New Rules Are Designed To Boost Accountability. Critics Say They're Persecuting The Poor And Powerless They're tough new rules that demand accountability but will also improve the lives of some of the Queen City's poorest. Or they're draconian mandates handed down by an inefficient agency that's unfairly putting the screws to already disadvantaged people. That's the issue at hand ever since the Charlotte Housing Authority (CHA) recently proposed new rules and regulations for public housing residents. These new rules range from doubling the security deposits for new tenants and shortening the grace period for rent payments, to making the head of household responsible for the criminal conduct of any household members and guests on or off the property. One measure even bans residents from hanging clothes on balconies or porch railings.CHA spokespersons say these more stringent lease rules are needed because of ongoing problems within Charlotte's public housing, including drugs and crime, as well as residents skipping out on their rent or leaving the housing units trashed and in disarray when they move out. [continues 2125 words]
Staying Open Past City Council's Bed Time Costs Them Big It's getting ridiculously expensive for dance clubs to stay open after 2:30am, say some of the owners of Charlotte's hottest clubs. Last year, when the Charlotte City Council voted to force dance club owners who wanted to stay open into the wee hours of the morning to get a dance hall permit, city officials said that club owners could obtain the permit for a nominal fee. Club owner Andy Kastanas took that to mean that the permit might cost him around $100. But since the ordinance went into effect last July, the already pricey fees for the permit have nearly tripled. Combined fees and charges for a 2003 permit now total $2,210. That's a big jump from the fees the police department charged in 2002, when total fees for the permit came to $760. [continues 422 words]
Teachers who visited the federal anti-drug website recently, theantidrug.com, found some unusual suggestions for drug prevention. Just after the drug czar's $3.5 million advertisement linking drug use to terrorism premiered at the Superbowl, the site featured a link to a report about a conference held at the White House last summer on how to use media literacy techniques to keep kids off drugs. Now, the site's teachers' guide section includes links to two other media literacy lesson plans sponsored by the drug czar's office: Media Literacy for Drug Prevention with the New York Times, posted in February, and Anti-Drug Education with the New York Times, developed last year. [continues 1258 words]
To The Editors: Tara Servatius' April 3 column ("Time To Clean House") on the "one- strike, you're out" policy of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development failed to fully acknowledge the law's potential collateral damage. The zero tolerance measure requires that entire families be evicted from public housing if anyone, even a guest, uses drugs. The youthful indiscretions of a rebellious teenager could result in homelessness for an entire family. According to the Monitoring the Future Survey, over half of all high school seniors have tried an illegal drug at least once. Exposing 50 percent of all families living in public housing to the dangers of living on the street is not the answer to America's drug problem. Most teenagers outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. [continues 131 words]
Boot Drug Dealers Out Of Subsidized Housing I've lived and worked in neighborhoods a lot rougher than the one I currently live in. If there's one thing I've learned, it's the value of making what goes down on your street your business. Over time, I've learned that the backslide of a neighborhood follows an almost scientifically predictable pattern. It's not politically correct, but the truth rarely is. The fact is, unless something changes, there's almost nothing that does more damage to a street than a new Section 8 landlord salivating over a government-guaranteed rent check. [continues 1187 words]
The Department of Justice says we're in a New Marijuana Epidemic; at least it's giving those who participated in the Old Marijuana Epidemic something to share with the young folks. "Drugs have gone all to hell," a veteran of that halcyon era of ingestion, the 1970s, complains, his main quibbles being that they aren't as good as they used to be, they're harder to find, and they're more expensive. A recent college graduate sounds a similar lament about scarcity and cost, although she can't make quality comparisons with the earlier decade's product, because she wasn't even alive then. She has heard tales, however, of sticky gold buds, and dark, fragrant hash, from people like the veteran, who pass along such testimonials as proof that there once was a kind of Periclean Age of Pot. That Age had as its hallmarks both better, cheaper stuff and a greater public acceptance of the smoking of it, as well as numerous other freedoms that exist now only in hearsay. [continues 950 words]
Students Denied Federal Aid After Drug Convictions You can murder, maim, and molest and still get federal financial aid for your college expenses. But get caught smoking a joint, and you have to pay your own way; if you can afford it, that is. The Bush administration has stepped up efforts to enforce a relatively new law that suspends financial aid to anyone convicted of any drug crime, felony or misdemeanor, state or federal. Those convictions can range from smoking marijuana to dealing hard narcotics. [continues 1871 words]
To The Editors: How lucky we are to have Kenny Cannon and his dog Pita sniffing out drug use among workers and students ("A Man, A Dog, and a Stoned Employee" by Sam Boykin, August 15). I wonder if Cannon would be so enthusiastic about setting Pita on the trail of a corporate CEO or a high school administrator, if an employee or student suspected their erratic behavior may be caused by drug use. Does a recently laid-off worker who thinks the CEO of his company was stoned while making job cuts have a chance to hire Mr. Cannon to prove his case? Will a student wondering why his classes have doubled in size while being forced to use outdated textbooks have the opportunity for Pita to challenge his principal's sobriety? Of course not. [continues 149 words]
On the way out of the movie theater after seeing Traffic a few weeks ago, I told my friend that I was depressed by the film -- a dark depiction of this country's decades-long "war on drugs" and the extent to which substance abuse permeates every segment of our society. I was discouraged, not for the obvious reasons, but because I was afraid the majority of people who see it will probably miss the movie's point. Judging by some comments made by Charlotte's Mayor Pat McCrory recently, it turns out those fears were on the mark. What's even more interesting, though, is that the city's Chief of Police, Darrel Stephens, got it right. [continues 1053 words]
How the Drug War Harms, Not Helps, Our Kids When George W. Bush recently revealed his drug war plan, which would pull another $2.7 billion from federal coffers to end the illegal narcotics trade, his speech was all about the children. "The job of protecting our children falls to us," he pontificated, calling drugs "the enemies of innocence and hope and ambition." This year the federal government will spend more than $18 billion to, in retiring Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey's words, "protect the lives of 68 million American children." Two-thirds of that money will be spent on interdiction and enforcement, an effort that McCaffrey says is aimed at "keeping drugs out of the hands of young people." State and local governments are expected to spend twice that much. [continues 2991 words]
Operations such as Bladerunner are but one small part of MANTA's mission. MANTA (Mid-Atlantic Narcotics Training Academy) is just a tiny part of a big, new plan to combat drugs (called CounterDrug) on a global level emanating from the Office of National Drug Control Policy ( http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/ ), headed up by General Barry McCaffrey, US Army (ret.). ONDCP and McCaffrey's plan consist of using the personnel and assets of the US Department of Defense to interfere with drug production and transit, using an intelligence-based strategy to affect both the supply and demand side of the business. DOD operations outside the border of the United States (like the current and growing one in Colombia) fall to military personnel classified as Title 10. [continues 190 words]
Canada's Hemp Legalization Sparks Growth of New Industries Now that the jokes about getting high on hemp are trailing off, Greg Herriott is happier. It means people have a better grasp of the differences between hemp and marijuana. Industrial hemp, like marijuana, is a member of the cannabis sativa family, but has negligible traces of the hallucinatory chemical THC. Herriott is in the hemp business, one of a growing number of entrepreneurs developing a new industry now that hemp can be grown legally in Canada. [continues 1079 words]
Risk of Marijuana Arrest Varies Greatly from State to State, County to County Across America The risk of being arrested for marijuana smoking is far greater in some states than others, and far greater in some counties within a state than in other counties. So says a surprising new report that demonstrates the enormous inconsistency in the enforcement of drug laws across America. An unlucky marijuana smoker in Alaska or New York, for example, is three times more likely to be arrested than a marijuana smoker in Pennsylvania, North Dakota or Hawaii. Similarly, a smoker in New York City is nine times more likely to be arrested than a smoker in Nassau County, NY, a suburb of the city. [continues 604 words]
When Black Helicopters Meet Green Thumbs My Viking soul had been telling me for weeks that something was about to go down -- the feeling was getting stronger and stronger. "It will come tonight," I told my photographer friend, Michael Traister. That very night, the TV announced "it" and the next day North Carolina launched a fleet of helicopters. I had called the start of " Operation Bladerunner," the state's air and ground marijuana eradication program, almost to the hour. Suddenly there were choppers dropping in on friends living in the country, choppers doing night sweeps over Raleigh -- choppers everywhere. After a few days of this, I picked up the phone. I had to find out. [continues 2528 words]
