As a retired narcotics officer, I was concerned by the misdirection of the title to your Feb. 8 article, "Police blame drugs for many crimes." I was a detective lieutenant with a 26-year career in the New Jersey State Police - 14 as an undercover narcotics officer. The 10,000 cops, judges, prosecutors, prison wardens and others who belong to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition know it is not drugs that cause crime. It is drug prohibition. Al Capone was not high on alcohol when he ordered the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The cartel leaders were not high on illicit drugs when they ordered the deaths of thousands of police, solders and innocent bystanders along the Mexican border over the last year. That is just the way business is conducted when the substance you distribute is illegal. [continues 118 words]
There's an old adage about the foolishness of asking a fox to guard the henhouse. Yet in many areas of public policy, that's exactly what we've done. The politicians who make decisions about how our government runs are not doing the job we want them to do. Like foxes at the henhouse, they're doing what's best for themselves, not for us. For example, President Barack Obama's nominees to several high-level administration posts have been found to be not quite on the straight and narrow. [continues 917 words]
Decriminalize Marijuana. Fines, Legal Medical Use Both Make Sense Are Olympic champion Michael Phelps or Super Bowl hero Santonio Holmes going to jail for using small amounts of marijuana? Probably not. In which case, neither should anybody else. Massachusetts overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure last year making possession or use of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil infraction that carries a $100 fine. In other words, it's not a crime. Two New Haven lawmakers, Sens. Toni Harp and Martin Looney, have proposed a similar law here. They note that the state is facing a major budget crisis and that committing police, court and prison resources is, as Ms. Harp put it, not a good use of the people's money. [continues 308 words]
To the editor: Re: Difficult Battle To Win Right Now, Capital News Feb 18. You hit the nail on the head when you remind readers that we, the public, are a big part of the problem when we're talking about gang violence or, indeed, organized crime. The elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about is the demand for drugs, both here and across the border. Who buys these drugs? We, the Canadian and American public, do. Many people like to justify using cocaine or marijuana as a (relatively) harmless thing to do to their bodies, but as the law stands your dealer commits a crime when you buy it. And worse, you encourage yourself, your friends and society to think nothing of breaking laws. [continues 149 words]
Re: Careful when picking up discarded needles (News, Feb. 6). The Victoria Downtown Business Association has partnered with AIDS Vancouver Island and the Downtown Clean and Safe Committee to have a "tool kit" available for those who have issues with inappropriately discarded needles around their properties, especially since the closure of the fixed site needle exchange. The tool kit was developed with materials offered by Streetsafe in Edmonton. The tool kit is not an alternative for safe needle pick up and is not meant to provide those who use needles the freedom to leave their paraphernalia anywhere. It is meant for those who don't mind cleaning their areas and would like to do it safely. [continues 153 words]
TRENTON - The state Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would decriminalize marijuana use for some medical purposes in New Jersey, and one of the bill's sponsors said he was taken aback by residents' reactions to the proposal. "I've been pleasantly surprised that the overwhelming response has been positive," said state Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, who is sponsoring the measure with Sen. Nicholas Scutiari, D-Union, Somerset Middlesex. The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to issue registration cards to patients who have been diagnosed with debilitating medical conditions. They would then be allowed to keep six marijuana plants and have an ounce of marijuana in their possession. [continues 438 words]
Mexican Cartels Wage a War of Unprecedented Violence That's Spreading into the USA VILLA AHUMADA, Mexico -- It was 3 a.m. when Griselda Munoz says she got the first terrifying phone call: "Mom, there are people all over, and they're shooting!" A convoy of gunmen had invaded the ranch where her son, Jorge Marrufo, 32, was working. As shots crackled in the background, he told her he was running into the desert to hide in the sagebrush. Before dawn, another call: "If anything happens to me, tell my kids I love them." [continues 2576 words]
