Largely below notice of all but the legal community, the federal government had been systematically denying criminal defendants fundamental rights under the Sixth Amendment. These are the right to trial by jury and proof of guilt of each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court, finally, has decapitated the mandatory federal criminal sentencing guidelines, established by Congress in 1987 to bring uniformity to sentencing. They are now advisory only, an adjunct of a judge's discretion in sentencing. [continues 155 words]
The anonymous author of the Dateline D.C. column reveals great ignorance of drug war economics in his latest piece, "The needle and the damage done" (Opinion and Commentary, Jan. 9). By highlighting the connection between drug distribution and terrorism, the author unwittingly makes the case for ending prohibition. The war on drugs makes easily producible substances literally worth more than their weight in gold, and turns over their production and distribution to criminals and terrorists. By regulating drugs, the government would immediately eliminate a major terrorism funding source. Tom Angell The writer is communications director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (www.ssdp.org). [end]
Prohibitionists like Mr. Dateline continue to insist that the only way to legalize drugs such as cocaine and heroin is to put pretty labels on the bottles and sell them over the counter like vodka. Sure, that's one way. But how about this: We allow addicts to go to a doctor to get a prescription for whatever drug is involved, which is then filled by a pharmacist. Consider it the first step in a multi-step program: weaning the addict away from the pusher. [continues 66 words]
Juan Curtis McCargo is a convicted drug offender whom a Fayette County judge would like to spend more time with school students. Even if youngsters in the Uniontown Area School District don't know his name, chances are they won't forget the 29-year-old when they see him. Under a court order handed down this week, McCargo, of 39 Whiteman Ave., Uniontown, will appear regularly over the next eight weeks wearing a sign telling students about the negative consequences of drugs. [continues 230 words]
WASHINGTON -- Those of us who live and work in major cities are all too aware of the problems of drug addiction. We don't need the Office of National Drug Control Policy to say that 19.5 million of us are junkies or, to be politically correct, "illicit drug users." The number of Americans poisoning themselves never seems to drop. Based on official statistics, 10 percent of our population buy, sell and use illicit drugs. Where does this cornucopia of dope originate? [continues 687 words]
Eight months ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of the stimulant ephedra in dietary supplements. However, an ephedra compound, pseudoephedrine, remains a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold and asthma medications. The compound acts as an amphetamine, and its purpose in over-the-counter medications is to constrict blood vessels, aiding the decongestant process. But it may be attracting consumers with a different agenda. Pseudoephedrine is a common ingredient in the production of methamphetamines. Illegal "meth" labs have been a growing problem in western Pennsylvania. Earlier this year, investigators raided labs in Bell and Hempfield townships along with Kittanning Township in Armstrong County. [continues 1119 words]
Regarding your Dec. 2 editorial on medical marijuana and the case Raich v. Ashcroft, now before the U.S. Supreme Court ("Reefer madness"): If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until an entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. [continues 69 words]
"By countersigning this grant letter, you agree that your organization will not promote or engage in violence, terrorism, bigotry or the destruction of any State, nor will it make sub-grants to any entity that engages in such activities." The Drug Policy Alliance, a medical marijuana advocacy group, turned down a Ford Foundation grant because federal pressure imposed the above grant application wording. DPA declined not because the terminally ill are murderous terrorists, but because the federal view has become so broad, anything is game. [continues 109 words]
Your medical marijuana editorial helps clear some of the confusion of the Supreme Court case. The case is not (or should not be) about medical cannabis. It is about the federal domain over something that is wholly intrastate. If the justices are ethical, they will stick to their opinions of federal jurisdiction regardless of the subject matter. Though the country is swinging toward medical cannabis, the FDA refuses to evaluate it despite endorsement by federal DEA judges, the surgeon general, IOM report and other federal agencies. Reefer madness does appear to be a real thing -- just look at our drug policies. Don Konecny Oakland Calif. [end]
Your "Reefer madness" editorial asked, "Should Americans be allowed to smoke marijuana to ease their pain?" Since this is a biblical issue, I'd like to give a biblical response. Ending cannabis prohibition, persecution and extermination is biblically correct. Our unwavering God said He created all the seed-bearing plants and said they were all good on the very first page of the Bible. The Bible is against cannabis prohibition. For example: 1 John 3:17, "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?" Obedient Christians would like to see clergy speak up on this issue since Jesus Christ risked going to jail to heal the sick. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Should Americans suffering from AIDS or cancer be allowed to smoke marijuana to ease their pain? The voters of California think they should -- as long as the patient's doctor agrees. Absolutist drug warriors in the White House and Congress, however, believe strict federal rules outlawing all marijuana use supersede state and local authority. Even brain cancer patients like Angel Raich of Oakland, Calif., must not be allowed to use medical marijuana. Raich and a woman with a degenerative spine disease who grew her own marijuana filed suit against the federal government in 2002 after their homes were raided by federal drug agents. [continues 141 words]
A former municipal police officer from Washington County on house arrest for heroin possession apparently has become involved with drugs again. Joseph H. Impiccini Jr., 27, of 75 Low Hill Road, Centerville, was a corporal on Centerville's police force. He was sentenced in Fayette County court in October to 23 months' intermediate punishment with 180 days of house arrest and electronic monitoring. Impiccini was convicted of buying heroin from a house in the Menallen Township community of Keisterville. His parole officer filed a court motion alleging that marijuana was found in a vehicle Impiccini was driving on Nov. 2. That day, Impiccini allegedly told parole officials that he would test positive for marijuana and opiate use. The motion states that lab results are pending. A hearing on the alleged house arrest violations is set for next week. Impiccini resigned from the Centerville police after his arrest in September 2003. [end]
PITTSBURGH --Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr.'s office seized $3.3 million in cash and assets from suspected drug dealers between 1998 and 2003, records show. But exactly how the money bolstered the war on drugs is a secret. Under the state's Controlled Substance Forfeiture Act, prosecutors can use drug forfeiture money to finance witness protection efforts, bolster drug law enforcement or fund drug awareness programs. But the public has no right to know how prosecutors use the money. [continues 770 words]
Monroeville is hoping for a fresh approach at its second town hall meeting next week focusing on substance abuse. Mayor Jim Lomeo said because the issue of substance abuse has been debated so extensively, he asked the speakers to come with one new idea to approach the prevention issue. "It's not an easy thing to solve," Lomeo said. "But if we can save one person, the effort is worth it." Lomeo, in conjunction with the Coalition for Human Dignity, is conducting a town hall meeting, "Working Together in an Effort to Combat Substance Abuse in Children and Young Adults," at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Monroeville Municipal Building, 2700 Monroeville Blvd. A similar session was held last year. [continues 267 words]
America is prime for credible drug law reform at every facet. As a deputy attorney general with Pennsylvania's Drug Strike Force, Mark Serge conveniently overlooks reasons why people deride law enforcement's effort to enforce the nation's drug laws ("Freedom vs. the drug war," Letters, Aug. 5). After decades of history, it's clear that drug laws are discredited and arguably unconstitutional. America is prime for credible drug law reform at every facet. Remember when police used to say, "If you don't like the laws, change them" and "I don't make the laws; I just enforce them"? Police don't recite those anymore because police and prison guards unions that support perpetuating and expanding the war on drugs gain job security by keeping them. [continues 81 words]
Greensburg is getting more money to fight the war on drugs. The city will receive $5,000 from the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office, Greensburg City Council reported Tuesday during an agenda meeting. The money is from an investigative fund established from the forfeiture of money seized by drug traffickers through investigations conducted by the Westmoreland County Detectives Bureau and the Greensburg police department. The detectives bureau operates under Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck's jurisdiction. Mayor Karl Eisaman said the money must be used only for enforcing the state's Controlled Substance, Drug Device and Cosmetic Act. [end]
It is far too easy to sit back and deride law enforcement's effort to enforce the nation's drug laws when one's focus is solely on personal freedom and "my rights." I am writing in response the Trib's recent articles regarding the so-called "drug war" (most recently, Ralph Reiland's "Drug war's dirty deal," Aug. 2). Yes, our society has a drug problem. As a prosecutor, I have seen that problem firsthand, along with the devastation it causes individuals and families. [continues 262 words]
Ending prohibition is not about drugs, but about ending the evil empire of the drug lords and their network of drug dealers. As one who has researched the failures of our drug policy for much of the past 10 years, I want to thank the Trib, Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, and National Review magazine for more dialogue about ending the prohibition on marijuana ("Protesting the drug war," Q&A with Bill Steigerwald, July 10). Prohibition is an economic system that inevitably enriches criminals who use their profits to make the drug problem worse. Ending prohibition is not about drugs, but about ending the evil empire of the drug lords and their network of drug dealers. Right now we are financing our worst enemy. [continues 159 words]
One issue not covered by Nadelmann is the right of a so-called free country's government to dictate which substances its adults may or may not consume -- even in the privacy of their own homes. If our government can punish its adult citizens for consuming the wrong (politically selected) recreational drugs (note that Viagra is legal, but marijuana is not), it can also punish its citizens for eating the wrong (politically selected) foods. Obesity kills about 400,000 Americans each year. Illegal drugs kill about 17,000 Americans each year. So, do we want our police arresting and jailing adult citizens who consume unhealthful foods? Hopefully not. Do we want our police arresting and jailing each other for eating doughnuts? Maybe. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Christine Campbell, 20, of Latrobe, smiled over her plate of macaroni salad and hot sausage as she watched a man in a striped polo shirt toss water balloons Sunday afternoon. However, the slender young woman in shiny hoop earrings wasn't at a picnic or a family reunion, and the man in the striped shirt wasn't her father or uncle. He was Joseph Boggio, Jr., her probation officer. Minutes earlier, Campbell had spoken publicly for the first time about her past addiction to ecstasy, cocaine and heroin at the Family Program on Drug Awareness at the Latrobe Elks Lodge. [continues 368 words]
