At the beginning of the current school year, The Bandon School Board instituted a mandatory drug-testing policy for students who participate in sports and other extracurricular activities sponsored by the Oregon School Activities Association. Many in the community thought the school district overreached in taking this action because there is little evidence that student drug testing reduces drug use. At the same time, the policy is intrusive, expensive, and undermines parental control. The results of a national survey recently published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence revealed that students who participated in sports while undergoing mandatory drug testing stopped using only during the testing period. Students who were already using pretest went back to taking drugs when the testing period stopped at the end of the season. In short, mandatory drug testing had little to no long-term effect on drug use among student athletes. In some cases, students simply substituted drinking hard alcohol for smoking pot, because alcohol does not stay in the blood stream as long, reducing the odds of a positive test. Interestingly, our school district tests for marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and opiates when research shows that today the drugs students most commonly abuse are prescription drugs and steroids. [continues 576 words]
Marijuana is not the root of evil. Nor is marijuana the telltale solution to our state's budget crisis. Marijuana is simply a drug that is illegal under the federal law of the United States of America. The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution states to us that all constitutionally enacted federal legislation and federal executive decisions stand as the supreme law of the land alongside the Constitution, treaties, and other federal legal arrangements. Since the federal government has spoken in a constitutional manner against this drug, the illegality of this drug is considered the supreme law of the land, the illegality of this drug applies to the entirety of the United States, and no law can supersede this drug's legal status except federal law. [continues 372 words]
The majority of West Australians believe repealing the State's cannabis laws will either have no effect or actually encourage the use of amphetamines, according to the latest Westpoll. The State Government wants to repeal Labor's drug laws, which allow people caught with up to 30g of cannabis, two plants or a smoking implement to be given an infringement notice rather than face a criminal charge. The Liberals plan to reinstate the cautioning system for possession only, lower the threshold to 10g and scrap the two plants allowance. [continues 179 words]
ALL members of the Bali Nine will be facing possible death penalties when their drug-trafficking trials begin over the coming weeks. Prosecutors in Bali have handed over files to the Denpasar District Court, clearing the way for trials to begin. Defence lawyers had been hoping they would only be charged with possession, which carries a 10-year jail term. The team of six provincial prosecutors have asked court officials to schedule seven separate trials. Four of the nine Australians, detained at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport in April with blocks of heroin weighing between 1.3kg and 2.9kg allegedly strapped to their bodies, will each be tried separately. [continues 361 words]
CONVICTED drug smuggler Schapelle Corby may have to wait another month to learn if she can go free from a Bali jail after judges wrote to Indonesia's highest court to ask for more time to make up their minds. The appellant court, which could theoretically increase Ms Corby's 20-year sentence, had been due to rule by Thursday whether it would agree to quash or cut Ms Corby's sentence. But lead lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea said today the judges had written to the Supreme Court to request another 30 days. [continues 313 words]
It is an ordeal no parent wants to face. Pushing past a crush of cameras, the parents of some of the Bali nine yesterday visited Denpasar police headquarters where a grim cell block has been their children's home since a heroin bust last Sunday. Christine and Lee Rush, from Brisbane, were stony-faced, saying nothing when they arrived to see their 19-year-old son, Scott. Scott Rush is one of nine Australians detained on suspicion of trying to traffic drugs. Police said they seized a total of 8.65kg of heroin when they nabbed five people at the Denpasar airport and another four in a Kuta hotel. [continues 333 words]
CIVIL libertarian groups in Australia have demanded the federal government clarify whether it is "exporting the death penalty to other countries" after Australian Federal Police (AFP) tipped off Indonesian authorities about the alleged trafficking ring. "What has to be answered by the federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison is why were these people the subject of an arrest in Indonesia where it's already been said quite categorically that if found guilty, no question, they will be executed," Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman said. [continues 238 words]
AUSTRALIAN Schapelle Corby wept today when she appeared in a Bali court for the first time on drug smuggling charges, saying she was glad she now had the chance to fight allegations that could lead to the death penalty. Ms Corby, 27, arrived at the Denpasar District Court in a caged police bus. She was handcuffed to a female prisoner and was led to a barred holding cell along with 20 other prisoners. Dressed neatly in a blue shirt and brown skirt, and with her hair tied in a bun, the Gold Coast beauty student told journalists in a quaking voice that she was pleased that her almost four-month wait for the trial to start was over. [continues 518 words]
OPPOSITION Leader Colin Barnett received a Family Values Award at a special function of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Sunday. The Mormon's public affairs director, John Grinceri, said Mr Barnett had been pro-family in a number of areas, which is fair enough after all he's got two of them, but received his award mainly for his stance against the Gallop Government's drug reform agenda. As far as we know, Mr Barnett is not a Mormon, although around election time he has been known to turn up on the doorstep and ask inhabitants to take the Gospel according to the Book of John (Howard) into their hearts. [continues 481 words]
Do a bloke a favour and look what happens. When Graham Smith lost his house to the State Government after being convicted fo growing 20 marijuana plants with the intention of selling the resulting harvest, Jandakot car wrecker Eddie Crabtree felt sorry for him. "I knew him, he's a good bloke and he certainly didn't get his house from selling mullies," Eddie told IC. In order to give the 60-year-old invalid pensioner somewhere to sleep, Eddie offered to swap Mr Smith's Statesman Caprice for a Mazda van. [continues 158 words]
Editor, The Times: Re: Stop the War on Drugs, Nov. 12, 2001 I agree with the letter to the editor from Alan Randell that the war on drugs is a failure. That begs the question of if it should be fought or not, and how. It may be a main source of funds for terrorists, but he will have to define terrorist. If it is unconstitutional I am sure it will be fought in the courts. I doubt it is designed by the state "to ruin the lives of the innocent few who happen to enjoy certain drugs." [continues 365 words]
FOUR men convicted of being involved in attempting to land a huge consignment of cannabis in the Highlands were the innocent victims of an entrapment operation, it is being claimed. Documents seen by the Press and Journal cast doubt on the convictions of the Dutchmen caught in Operation Balvenie in July, 1996, during which Customs officer Alistair Souter, from Dundee, was killed. They suggest that an aerial surveillance video, used at the trial to show the Dutch yacht Isolda coming alongside a boat belonging to the men's five coaccused, may in fact show a completely different vessel. [continues 676 words]
