Anne Marie McCormack Brookfield -- Letter writers James Gierach's "Parents who oppose drug test have few options" and Brian Bennett's "Drug testing" (Voice of the people, July 10) illustrate two of the (myriad) reasons I am so glad I don't have children: I'd have to expose them to and, perhaps more difficult, try to explain the moronic policies of the adults in charge. Supreme Court decision aside, random drug testing is a violation of student rights. The irony of the ruling allowing testing of those involved in extracurricular activities, of course, is that high school drug abusers tend not to participate. Those teens who are both experimenting with illicit materials and considering joining marching band or the school newspaper now will opt not to join anything in order to avoid the risk of drug tests. Thus, instead of spending their after-school hours under the guidance of an adult and in the company of the fellow students least likely to be drug users, they will choose to continue to hang out with their also-uninvolved friends. [continues 169 words]
Mary Beth King's July 13th column on the Supreme Court's latest drug war 'Exemption to the Constitution' was right on target. Student involvement in extracurricular activities has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation in such activities. Drug testing may also compel users of relatively harmless marijuana to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Despite a short- lived high, marijuana is the only drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. [continues 152 words]
Editor -- Regarding the news story, "Cry for peace in Oakland streets" (July 14): One's heart goes out to the people of Oakland. They were marching, pleading for an end to violence against their children. It will do no good. The people who should listen and care, the Congress and the president, have heard it all before and they aren't going to do anything that will help. Although there are many things that could be done, nothing will change. A most obvious change that would produce a dramatic transformation of life in the city is to repeal the laws making drug use a crime for adults. The drug war has created criminals where none existed. [continues 139 words]
BOGOTA -- Colombia's brutal right-wing paramilitary organization has splintered after an internal dispute over individual units' involvement in drug trafficking, the group's founder said. Carlos Castano, the founder of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) said on the group's Web site that the loosely organized "confederation" had become impossible to sustain. "We find ourselves with several groups that are scattered and highly involved in drug trafficking," said the statement signed by Castano and the group's military commander, Salvatore Mancuso. The two men said they would try to reorganize a national paramilitary group. [end]
INDIO, Calif. - A judge went "out on a limb" for actor Robert Downey Jr. yesterday, declaring him well on the road to sobriety and dismissing his drug case. The ruling by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Randall D. White brings down the curtain on Downey's arrest during Thanksgiving weekend of 2000. Downey completed one year of drug rehab after cops busted him with cocaine inside his posh suite at a Palm Springs resort after an anonymous tipster called police. Prosecutors asked that the actor spend six more months on probation and in an after-care program. [continues 292 words]
Canada may follow Britain's lead in decriminalizing marijuana use by making simple possession of small amounts of pot a ticketing offence, said Justice Minister Martin Cauchon. "We're not talking about making it legal. We're talking about the possibility of moving ahead with what we call the decriminalization of that," said Cauchon. "It would still be illegal. It wouldn't be criminal, of course; but it would still be illegal. (The law would be) easier to apply. You would get a contravention (ticket) and you would have to pay something. I guess we would be maybe more effective, more efficient in proceeding that way," he said in response to reporters' questions after a cabinet committee meeting. [continues 104 words]
HILO - Big Island Mayor Harry Kim signed two sets of rules yesterday intended to guide police dealings with marijuana. But the rules appeared to do nothing to quiet critics of police. Residents of Puna Beach Palisades south of Hilo were angered Thursday when a marijuana eradication helicopter landed on a vacant lot to seize 14 plants, said resident Judith Mura. Residents are circulating a petition to Kim to halt such activity, she said. But new eradication rules signed by Kim say nothing for or against helicopters landing in residential areas, although they do say helicopters are supposed to stay 500 feet away from homes. [continues 209 words]
HILO, Hawai'i -- Big Island residents in Kona and Puna are up in arms over recent raids that some claim are targeted against medical marijuana permit holders. Honolulu attorney Jack Schweigert yesterday said he plans to file a lawsuit in Kona's Circuit Court next week on behalf of at least three victims of the raids. He said they appear to be the focus of "frustrated police who have not yet accepted the state law." Police and county officials denied they're targeting medical marijuana users. [end]
He told the truth. It takes us by surprise. And not just truth ("I smoked some dope") but truth enhanced beyond the politician's style: "Of course I did." What happened to his mesh of guile? Beside Martin Cauchon, the Pope sounds insincere, a pro at telling lies. An honest pol? No wonder we're struck dumb. The Chretien crew will talk and talk and never say a thing that has the ring of real. The Minister of Justice, looking to repeal An unjust law, decides to mock Their pose and take a chance with what will come. [continues 110 words]
Students angered by the death of a youth at police hands clashed with authorities at the University of Nairobi. An official of the Kenya Red Cross Society said at least 17 students and 10 police officers were injured in the fighting, in which students threw stones and officers wielded batons and eventually used tear gas and water cannon. The riots forced closure of all major highways connecting the city center to its western suburbs. The authorities said the police were questioning a group suspected of selling marijuana and shot the student in self-defense when he rushed them with a knife. [end]
A jubilant Phillipe Lucas departed Victoria provincial court July 5, after being given a complete discharge on charges of marijuana trafficking and possession. Lucas is the founder and director of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS), a registered non-profit society that has been supplying medical marijuana to 230 members who suffer from a variety of medical ailments since October, 1999. The charges of drug trafficking and possession were laid against Lucas in November 2000, following a police bust at VICS' then offices on Bowker Avenue in Oak Bay. The VICS is still in operation, but has since moved its headquarters to an undisclosed location on the edge of the downtown area. [continues 422 words]
"IT'S MOVING FURTHER towards decriminalization than any other country in the world," warned Keith Hellawell, the ex-policeman who was the British "drugs czar" until the Labour government belatedly realized that his job was as ridiculous as his title. He was responding to British Home Secretary David Blunkett's announcement on July 10 that being caught with cannabis will be treated no more seriously than illegally possessing other Class C controlled drugs like sleeping pills and steroids. He was technically wrong, but in terms of its political impact he was right. [continues 830 words]
WASHINGTON - Drug, alcohol and cigarette use among sixth-through 12th-graders is at the lowest level in years, partly because adults are doing more to keep their kids away from illicit substances, according to a survey released Wednesday. Parents and teachers are warning students about drug use and encouraging kids to nurture other interests by joining extracurricular school and religious activities, the 2001-02 Pride Survey said. The percentage of students using any illicit drug, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and others, dropped to 22.3 percent, the lowest level registered by the study since the 1993-94 school year. [continues 388 words]
Regulation of cannabis remains a superior solution to decriminalization. The decriminalization of simple possession of cannabis, in, of and by itself, would simply establish a system of ticketing that would rise exponentially based on any increased volume of those ticketed. Fines ultimately could still lead to incarceration, either because of failure to pay or the number of times caught. The decriminalization of simple possession of cannabis would not address the multitude of problems inherent with prohibition. Dr. Patrick Smith of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs that: "If we discovered three drugs today and they were alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, there isn't an expert in the country who would recommend that marijuana be the one that is banned based on individual and societal harm." (Doc says pot less harmful than booze and tobacco; calls for legalization, June 7, Windsor Star). [continues 100 words]
I applaud Great Britain's recent move to liberalize its marijuana laws. It's about time someone took action to show the world the benefits from this benign herb far outweigh any dangers. It's one thing for countries such as the Netherlands to go legal, but for a major power to do so offers hope for mankind. That society misunderstands and is apprehensive of marijuana and the culture it has already sprouted is understandable, given the proximity to our neighbours to the south and their demonization of the herb. [continues 165 words]
