SUCH A WASTE, to risk the life of one of our finest to accomplish what any high school student can do - purchase $60 of meth in a parking lot. Shouldn't we allocate our resources in more meaningful pursuits? Even if we had succeeded in busting a street level addict/dealer without injury to an officer, what would we have actually done? We would saddle our legal system with tens of thousands of dollars in expenses trying him, we might pay his room and board in jail for years, and does anybody think that would prevent even one other addict from buying $60 of meth from a different dealer that very night? Let's treat our police with more respect. Albuquerque [end]
Drug makers have reformulated some brands to comply with meth laws, but critics say the new mixes are worthless. WASHINGTON - Nose stuffed up? Grabbing a decongestant from the drugstore or supermarket shelf may not provide the relief it did just weeks ago. Makers of dozens of nonprescription oral nasal decongestants sold under familiar brand names such as Dimetapp, Sudafed, Tylenol, Vicks, Benadryl and Triaminic recently changed an active ingredient in some of their products to avoid a new federal mandate that the meds be sold behind the counter. [continues 496 words]
Letter Cites Neil Labs For Dozens Of Violations WASHINGTON -- Neil Laboratories, a manufacturer of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, describes itself on its Web site as "an upcoming young dynamic" company committed to the safety and efficacy of its products. But the public record offers a different picture of the privately held East Windsor pharmaceutical company. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration charged Neil Labs with selling adulterated and unapproved prescription drugs, as well as mislabeling over-the-counter medications. [continues 1393 words]
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court, acting to halt tumult among federal courts, agreed to consider the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines in the wake of its June decision striking down the sentencing system in Washington state. In a rare move on their summer break, the justices agreed to hear arguments in two cases involving the federal guidelines when the new term opens Oct. 4. The Justice Department had asked the court to schedule arguments in the two cases for mid-September. The action highlights the chaos in the criminal-justice system following the Supreme Court's June ruling on state sentencing guidelines. In that 5-4 decision, the high court ruled that any factor increasing a criminal sentence must be admitted by the defendant in a plea deal or proved to a jury. Although the decision, in the case of Blakely v. Washington, technically affected just the guidelines of a single state, federal judges and circuit courts have cited it in dozens of legal opinions. During recent weeks, a number of federal judges and three appellate courts have ruled the federal guidelines unconstitutional. [continues 631 words]
As you note in "A Better Approach to Drug Offenders" (editorial, Oct. 26), treatment is more effective and cheaper than incarceration. But California's Proposition 36, like a proposal in New York to establish a new apparatus of "drug courts," is the wrong approach. As you point out, if offenders fail the drug court treatment, they are then faced with felony criminal charges. What changed? Drug users are repeatedly arrested. Why on one occasion do they deserve treatment, and on another occasion they deserve imprisonment? Drug users who want treatment should receive it. The mass incarceration of drug users in New York and California must be ended, but drug courts are not the answer. Decriminalization of drug possession is the answer. Robert L. Cohen, M.D. New York [end]
A Jan. 2 front-page article on methadone maintenance neglects a critical failure of the treatment. Methadone does not completely block a patient's craving for heroin. Required drug testing in methadone maintenance programs identifies those who continue to use heroin and dispenses punishment in the form of humiliation and daily pickups. Why punish people who seek treatment for heroin use for using heroin? The only significant differences between heroin and methadone are the length of action (methadone stays in the body longer) and the legal status. People who use methadone to help control their heroin use and to avoid entrapment by the police should not be punished for seeking heroin. Heroin and methadone should be dispensed in supportive settings on a monthly basis. ROBERT L. COHEN, M.D. New York [end]
