My best friend's mom is a Bruce Springsteen-loving fourth grade art teacher at a local elementary school in the suburbs, while my boyfriend from high school worshiped rap and started up his own fraternity at his top-10 party school college. Other than knowing me, their only real similarity is that they both habitually smoke marijuana - and they'll both be affected if the drug is legalized in what would essentially be our biggest government bailout yet. According to a 2006 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, my friend's mom and my ex-boyfriend are two among 14.8 million Americans aged 12 and over - almost one in 20 people living in the U.S. - that have ever smoked marijuana. Statistics and personal experience have me convinced that marijuana use is not only widespread, but is enjoyed among a diverse crowd. [continues 683 words]
Last week Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) introduced legislation to create a panel of experts to review the state of criminal justice in America. It should come as no surprise that such a panel is sorely needed; for the first time, one in 100 American adults is in jail or prison. According to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, a shocking one in nine young adult black men is incarcerated at any given time. No state illustrates the drastic and debilitating effects of this "incarceration epidemic" better than California. [continues 734 words]
To the editor: In addressing Mexico's war on drug cartels, Benjamin van der Horst makes a slew of mistakes that hamper our understanding of the problem - - in fact, the column ("Mexico's Drug War Hits Home," March 27) raises concerns on account of its omissions, snap judgments and, yes, its prejudice. First and foremost, van der Horst fails to acknowledge that the primary reason Mexico has to deal with these powerful and well-established cartels is an outsize demand for drugs in the United States. If demand were to vanish, so would supply lines - as well as most if not all of the related violence. [continues 622 words]
Oscar Reynoso was $300,000 in debt to the drug smugglers he worked with. Gunmen kidnapped Reynoso and locked him in a sweltering basement without food or water for nearly a week demanding payment. Where do you think this took place? Somewhere in Mexico? Wrong. This took place recently in Gwinnett County, 20 minutes from Emory. Drug violence from Mexican cartels has infiltrated the United States and expanded beyond cities like El Paso and Phoenix to Atlanta. Not only are the major drug cartels fighting each other over territory, but they also are battling the Mexican government, which under President Felipe Calderon has waged war on the cartels. More than 9,000 people have died in Mexico from these drug wars since December 2006. [continues 583 words]
It was immediately evident when they stepped on stage Tuesday that the two speakers in the Great Debate on the legalization of marijuana could not have had less in common. Former Drug Enforcement Agency agent Robert Stutman, a stocky man with a shaved head who said he rides a motorcycle, was introduced as the "most famous narc in America" by moderator Jack Zupko, a philosophy professor and director of undergraduate studies in the philosophy department. His opponent, High Times Editor in Chief Steve Hager, a thin man with shoulder-length gray hair and faded jeans, was introduced as the "most famous pothead in America." [continues 537 words]
Smoking marijuana may be a common point of conversation in residence halls, but the topic rarely makes its way onto the stage of a church. Tonight it will, when two prominent national figures on both sides of the war on drugs stage a debate at 7 p.m. in Glenn Memorial Auditorium as part of the Great Debate, an event that organizers hope will become an annual occurrence. College Council Vice President Feras Akbik booked Steve Hager, the editor in chief of High Times Magazine, and Rober Stutman, one of the most successful officers in the Drug Enforcement Agency, as speakers in the event. Akbik said part of his goal is to grab people's attention. [continues 407 words]
A major loophole in WebRoomz has created an environment inconducive to a positive freshman living experience. Throughout the 2003-2004 term, the administration has encountered conduct problems at the Turman Residential Complex. One could cite the physical disconnect from the main campus or possibly the lack of concern by residential staff members. However, both assertions are unlikely. A higher amount of reported incidents involving alcohol and drugs have occurred in Turman than in any other freshman residence hall. While clearly not all students living in Turman abuse alcohol and drugs, a higher percentage likely exists there than in any other freshman dorm. One cannot deny that Turman remains the last choice of most prospective freshmen. The housing lottery sought to heighten diversity, but, as mentioned in previous Wheel articles, the system has appeared to increasingly polarize freshmen. [continues 377 words]
CNN reporter William Moyers Jr., the son of prominent journalist William Moyers, spoke Thursday about his secret decade-long decline into the underworld of Atlanta's drug culture. "Addiction is an equal-opportunity problem," Moyers said. "I am an alcoholic and I am a drug addict. This is what one looks like." His autobiographical lecture, titled "Fame and Fantasy: From the Crack House on Ponce to Recovery," was attended by about 50 people in the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building. [continues 359 words]
After an easy approval by the University Senate and a quick rubber stamp from University President James W. Wagner, Emory implemented a less-intrusive drug testing policy last month. The updated policy, which requires drug testing for hires in safety-sensitive positions only, passed the Senate unanimously. The often criticized old policy, implemented under the administration of former University President William M. Chace, made drug testing mandatory for all new staff hires. Employees who provide animal or patient care, work with dangerous equipment or chemicals, provide campus security and transfer from non-testable jobs into safety-sensitive positions are among those subject to testing under the new policy, which passed the Senate in October. [continues 419 words]
Wagner Hopes To Implement Proposal By January 2004 A proposal limiting the drug testing of new staff to those only in safety-sensitive jobs unanimously passed the University Senate Tuesday. Emory's president said he would make it policy. The Senate's proposal, which is only a recommendation, comes after more than a year and a half of debate on the issue of pre-employment drug testing. It would reverse current policy, which mandates the testing of all new staff before they are hired, but exempts faculty and students. [continues 521 words]
Last week, the contentious issue of pre-employment drug testing here at Emory was put to rest. In a unanimous vote, the University Senate passed a resolution curtailing Emory's year-old drug testing policy, revising its scope to include only "safety-sensitive jobs." These positions include, but are not limited to, operators of heavy equipment, drivers of university vehicles, campus security agents and health care professionals. In March of 2002, the administration of former University President William M. Chace surprised the campus by announcing that Emory would become one of three universities in the nation to require all potential staff employees to submit a "successful" urinalysis. The policy was a public relations fiasco, sparking an uproar from the Employee Council, the Carter Center and an overwhelming majority of students. [continues 482 words]
Faculty And Staff Make Plans To Bring Objections To Wagner The drug testing policy that has caused months of heated debate among faculty and staff will remain in place. For now, at least. Former University President William M. Chace decided the policy, which mandates drug screening for all new staff hires, will stand, despite a cohesive effort from the University Senate to repeal it. The Senate, an advisory board comprised of representatives from all University divisions, reached a compromise for the policy after months of research. It recommended to the administration that only safety-sensitive employees, including police, shuttle drivers and hospital employees, be subject to pre-employment drug testing. Any other division wanting to drug test would have to apply for special approval. [continues 1239 words]
Our Opinion represents the majority opinion of the Wheel editorial board. Our New President Must Reform The Drug Testing Policy Former University President William M. Chace has decided to leave his successor a political time bomb as a housewarming gift. One year ago, Chace shocked the campus by suddenly making Emory one of three universities in the nation with a pre-employment drug-testing policy that requires all potential staff hires to submit a clean urine sample along with their application. The decision was handed down from up on high without any prior consultation of faculty or staff and immediately received a hostile welcome from both. [continues 500 words]
Individual divisions will choose whether to implement pre-employment drug testing, the University Senate voted Tuesday at its last meeting of the year. In passing the new policy 19-7, the Senate concluded a year of often contentious debate on employee privacy rights and the differences in status between staff and faculty. What was passed, however, was merely a recommended policy, as the final decision remains with University President William M. Chace. The recommended policy divides drug testing into two levels. The first level, which is University-wide, mandates testing of all applicants for "safety-sensitive" positions, including operators of heavy equipment and police and security personnel. Such testing has already been in place at Emory. [continues 670 words]
Today, The Senate Should Vote Against Drug Testing Represents The Majority Opinion Of The Wheel Editorial Board This afternoon, the University Senate is poised to vote on Emory's pre-employment drug testing policy, which requires all potential employees to pass a urine test before they are cleared for hiring. University President William M. Chace has strongly hinted that he will follow the Senate's recommendation, meaning that this vote may be decisive in ending or ensuring the policy. There is no longer any question about University sentiment. The students are mostly opposed, the faculty has been polled as "very concerned" and four presidential commissions have signed onto the Senate resolution that calls for revoking the policy. For any policy to be justified in the face of such clear opposition, its benefits must be undeniably significant. However, since its inception a year ago, its effect has been to deny roughly 30 potential employees the right to apply for a job, with the vast majority testing positive for marijuana. [continues 142 words]
University Senate Should Push To End Drug Testing Wheel Editorial Board Emory's pre-employment drug testing policy has been operating for nearly six months, and in that time more than 900 prospective staff employees have been required to urinate in a plastic cup before they can be cleared for hiring. Last December, the Employee Council voted to support a motion "to recommend suspension of the new pre-employment drug screening policy, pending a full consultative review and redesign of a more effective and just policy." [continues 481 words]
A new committee will investigate alternatives to Emory's pre-employment drug testing policy, the University Senate decided Tuesday. In making its decision to form a new committee, the Senate skirted an Employee Council recommendation to suspend the 6-month-old policy outright. Following nearly two hours of debate, the Senate voted 19-2 in favor of the motion, made by John Snarey, professor of human development and ethics at Candler School of Theology. The motion calls for the creation of an ad hoc committee of about six to eight Senate members to research and propose a "more focused" alternative to the one in place. Currently, the policy requires all potential staff hires to submit to a drug test. Faculty members and students are exempt from any drug testing. [continues 529 words]
Recently, the University enacted a new policy subjecting all prospective employees to urine-based drug tests. The Emory Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union feels that this policy is a mistake; it lacks any clear benefit while being costly, inefficient and arbitrary in its application. Worse yet, it is an unjustified intrusion into the personal lives of employees. The concept of universal pre-employment drug testing assumes, without cause, that all applicants are guilty by placing the burden of proof on them to demonstrate their innocence. Regardless of the legality of such a requirement, the policy signals a clear disrespect for civil liberties. The extension of this principle would justify almost any intrusion into an employee's personal life. Should the University also conduct searches of all prospective employees' homes, where they might be hiding illicit drugs? Should it conduct psychological profiles of job applicants to determine criminal tendencies? When the principle of presumed innocence is belittled, we all become suspects. [continues 717 words]
