Back in November, when Evangelical leader Ted Haggard was exposed as a homosexual who paid for meth (illegal) and to have sex with a male prostitute (illegal), he was not charged for either of those two crimes. Instead, he was able to enter "rehab." At the end of his "rehabilitation," Haggard didn't announce that he was no longer a meth user or a john. Instead, he proudly boasted to the world that he was no longer a homosexual, the one part of his routine that was not even illegal, and for most people, not even a problem.
At the Governor's office in California, however, faith in rehab is not quite as strong:
For the second year in a row, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to slash funding for Proposition 36, the voter-enacted, treatment-instead-of-jail program.
If Prop. 36 receives only $120 million in funding next year, as the governor proposes, thousands of Californians will not have access to adequate treatment. Insufficient funding will lead to longer waiting lists for treatment, shorter treatment durations and, inevitably, lower completion rates. This, in turn, will mean reduced taxpayer savings.
This move by Governor Schwarzenegger is more than just some of his typical hypocrisy in his attempt to convince people he's a champion of the little guy, it's also fiscally unsound. Proposition 36, which is still strongly supported by California voters, works:
During the first five years of operation, lessons have been learned and flaws identified. SACPA requires a yearly analysis of its effectiveness which has been provided through UCLA. On May 25, 2006, UCLA released a cost evaluation report. Key findings showed that SACPA substantially reduced incarceration costs. It resulted in a cost savings to the community and the state of $4 for every dollar spent in treatment.
When it comes to rehabilitation, our views towards its effectiveness tend to vary upon the distance between ourselves and those in need of rehabilitating. The notion of "Hate the sin, love the sinner," only applies for the people we know. For the tens of thousands of nameless, faceless, people making their way through our nation's criminal justice system every month for drug crimes, we're content to just lock them up, even when study after study shows that treatment for drug offenders saves us money over incarceration. This wasteful duality in our approach to dealing with drug use reveals what many drug law reformers have known for years, that drug laws exist because of a mistrust of certain ethnic groups. When Ted Haggard is caught buying drugs, he's a victim in need of rehab, but when a young black or latino kid in Los Angeles is doing the same, he's a criminal in need of a jail cell.
After too many years of refusing to face this reality, we've ended up with a society that believes that rehabilitation doesn't exist to help people overcome their bad habits, but instead to provide public redemption for those who can't keep up the charade. And as a result, we've become more willing to support rehab when it fixes an imaginary problem for someone who we feel sympathy for than to support it for real problems that are costing us all money.
Over the past two weeks...
Major News
- The amount of money requested for drug control efforts in the Bush administration's 2008 budget is $12.91 billion, a slight increase over 2007. Two-thirds of the money is going towards law enforcement. Incarcerating people for pot runs taxpayers about $1 billion per year alone.
- Pew researchers have released a report estimating that our prison population will rise nearly 13% over the next five years, costing us $27.5 billion, unless we begin reforming our sentencing policies.
- The State Department, according to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is looking into alternatives to eliminating narcotics from Afghanistan. Some lawmakers are still pushing for research into using biological weapons to combat the harvest. A Tuesday Armed Services Committee hearing on Afghanistan drew no attention at all. Thursday, the Senate held a hearing to confirm William Wood, the former ambassador to Colombia, to be the next ambassador to Afghanistan.
- A judge ruled this week to allow independent researchers to grow their own supplies of cannabis for use in research. Libby Spencer notes that DEA head Karen Tandy can overrule the decision. In other medical news, a study from San Francisco found that marijuana is beneficial in reducing foot pain, a common side-effect of being HIV-positive, and a study at Yale University found that long-term marijuana use can lead to respiratory problems.
- Officials in Atlanta plan to file felony murder charges against the officers who were involved in the killing of Kathryn Johnson. Radley Balko looks at the good news and the bad news from this development (more here) and offers Atlanta city officials some excellent advice. John Sugg identifies the real culprit here.
- California medical marijuana patient Dustin Costa received a 13-year prison sentence from a reluctant federal court judge despite having abided by California state law. Medical marijuana dispensaries across the state are starting to come under greater scrutiny for having too many questionable patients. Rolling Stone takes an in-depth look at a medical marijuana entrepreneur in Los Angeles and the LA Weekly interviews two people concerning a dispensary in West Hollywood. There was a protest on Valentine's Day against the rising cost of medical marijuana cards.
- Salt Lake City hosted the Second National Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV, and Hepatitis. Phillip Smith attended the conference and shared some thoughts. The National Survey on Drug Abuse and Health showed that methamphetamine use has been on the decline in the U.S. since 2002.
- A U.S. House subcommittee passed legislation sponsored by Tom Udall (D-NM) that will allow for Indian tribes to receive law enforcement grants to tackle meth abuse.
- The U.S. Military is granting more exceptions than ever to allow individuals with previous drug convictions to volunteer for duty.
- GW Pharmaceuticals, a British firm hoping to market THC-drug Sativex in the United States, is partnering with Japanese company Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.
- Felipe Calderon's war on drugs is running into some problems in Acapulco, where several police offices were raided and three officers were killed. The mayor of Acapulco denies being linked to the cartels. Calderon appears to only want to target to traffickers though, as the Mexican government again proposed decriminalizing minor drug possession.
- New Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says that he will not be allowing the U.S. military drug interdiction forces at Manta to remain there through 2009.
Opinions and Blogposts
- Ryan Grim writes about the increase in funding for anti-drug ads that have already been shown not to work. The ONDCP refused to talk to Grim, but instead complained to Howard Kurtz about the fact that Grim used to work on the Marijuana Policy Project.
- Tucker Carlson humiliated drug warrior Mark Souder (R-IN) in a televised discussion about the dangers of marijuana last week.
- David Borden responds to Lou Dobbs, who has been discussing the war on drugs recently, but making very little sense. Terry Nelson from LEAP recently appeared on Dobbs' show and tried to talk some sense into him. Nelson also writes in a small Central Texas paper that it's time to legalize all drugs.
- Bill Conroy has some new developments in an ugly case of DEA corruption in Colombia. He also sees racism playing a role in the lack of an investigation into the Juarez House of Death case.
- Miguel Contreras writes about the case of a Mexican drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, shot at the border in 2005, resulting in the prosecution of two U.S. Border Agents.
- Marc Emery writes about Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, the only two Presidential candidates who have spoken out against the war on drugs. Ron Paul introduced a bill this week to legalize hemp farming across the country.
- Benjamin Melancon discovers that Haiti has asked for help from the U.S. in fighting drugs. The Haitian authorities might not realize that based upon America's drug war, nearly every citizen in the predominantly black country would instantly become a drug suspect.
- The story of David Ruttenberg just keeps getting uglier. Ruttenberg is a pool hall owner who became targeted by local officials in Manassas Park, Virginia for a series of business and personal reasons. Black Velvet Bruce Li has audio demonstrating that the police turned one of Ruttenberg's bouncers into a narc who then tried to bust Ruttenberg for allowing drug sales to occur in his establishment. Radley Balko has more here. This case is one of the most alarming examples of how police and politicians can use the drug war as a bludgeon against certain people.
- Michael Goldstein writes about being a California medical marijuana patient.
- Phillip Smith is off to Peru to investigate the coca and cocaine industries in that region. In Lima, he discovers how easy it is to purchase cocaine. In Miroflores, he met with a psychologist working to get coca removed from the U.N.'s list of banned plants. He then met with a cocalero leader before heading to more remote areas. He filed this report for the Drug War Chronicle this week.
- The International Herald Tribune suggests that the United States not repeat the failures of Colombia in Afghanistan. The Baltimore Sun illustrates what happens to those who try to fight the system. TIME Magazine's cover story this week provides another example (The Liberty Papers has more on that). Despite all this, American officials are optimistic about 2007.
- Pete Guither discusses the problems that prohibitionists have in distinguishing between "use" and "abuse". He also ridicules a bill proposed in North Carolina that would ban empty spaces in vehicles that could be used for hiding drugs. The latter story sends Jamie Spencer on a ride down the sarcasm slide.
- The Drug War Chronicle takes a comprehensive look at the obstacles that former drug offenders face after they do their time and try to start their lives over again.
- Scott Morgan finds a drug warrior with some crazy ideas. Also, he notes that the drug warriors who argue against hemp farming have no clue what they're talking about.
- John Stossel wants the Federal Government to stop interfering with statewide medical marijuana laws.
- Rob at To The People writes about seeing the same old crap over and over again.
- Scott Henson posts about a judge's dissent against judicial activism on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Michael Gilbert writes about how the ONDCP has started to just omit data from their reports that indicate how badly the drug war is failing.
- Pat Rogers notes that Barack Obama was one of the co-sponsors of the Combat Meth Act, the shortsighted legislation that allowed for Mexican drug cartels to get even more powerful.
- The Dallas Observer writes about Barry Cooper, the controversial ex-drug cop who produced a video in order to help people avoid getting busted for drugs in their car. Windypundit watches the video and thinks that Cooper's video is fine, but a little overpriced, while Loretta Nall is very unimpressed, and Scott Morgan is warning people not to take one particular piece of advice. Cooper responded angrily to Nall and apologized for the fact that NEVER GET BUSTED appeared in the return address of the videos mailed to customers.
- Dominic Holden catches the Seattle Times demonstrating their standard incompetence.
- Joshua Zaffos writes about some people who haven't been protected by Colorado's medical marijuana laws.
- Tony Ryan at the LEAP Speaker Blog has a good suggestion for the Democratic Congress. He also responds to some LTE's supporting prohibition.
- Tanya at Blame The Drug War posts about the trend among companies to modify their workplace drug screenings to consider marijuana use to be the same as alcohol use. She also writes about how the drug war can impact teachers.
- Justin Logan writes about the heavy-handedness and ineptness of the Montgomery County, Maryland Department of Liquor Control.
- Bob Ewegen writes in the Denver Post about how Colorado Republican lawmakers are adjusting to their new minority status by working with Democrats to lower the prison population.
- Marc Mauer and Ron Welch write that it's time for Mississippi to face up to its prison problem.
- Alex Coolman notes that at a recent conference of the American Academy of Pain Medication, cannabinoids are being discussed as a new class of analgesics.
- Kevin Robinson has a nice well-researched post on the failure of the war on drugs.
- A study of injection drug use shows that the average heroin injectors are older (between 35 and 49) and white.
- Matthew Neff writes that the war on drugs is a war that cannot be won.
- Jonathan Perri finds that the comment he left online in response to a sensationalized piece on marijuana was removed from the site.
- Freshman Stephen F. Austin student Misbah Anjum recognizes that it's time to end the useless war on drugs.
- Amanda King wonders what's the big deal about seeing smoking on the big screen.
- Bill Maher sees the death of Anna Nicole Smith as an indictment of the belief that legal drugs are safe and marijuana is dangerous.
- I added some more thoughts to Alex Coolman's post on recreational drug use and the problems with medical marijauna regulations in California.
Regional News - U.S. and Canada
- Former University of Washington employee Majid Al-Massari was deported to Saudi Arabia in part because of a minor drug offense. Al-Massari is the son of an outspoken London-based critic of the Saudi Royal family and was concerned about his fate upon returning to the kingdom.
- Damon Agnos wants Washington Governor Christine Gregoire to take action to protect medical marijuana patients like Sharon Tracy, who have still incurred legal problems despite I-692.
- Southwestern Washington state has seen fewer meth labs in the past two years, but still sees the same amount of meth users.
- JoNel Allecia writes about the growing use and abuse of prescription medications in the Pacific Northwest.
- Two Gonzaga basketball players were busted for being in possession of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.
- A bill was introduced into the Oregon legislature that would allow employers to fire employees who use medical marijuana.
- The California Supreme Court will be hearing the case of People vs. Mentch, where a medical marijuana grower is claiming that the Compassionate Use Act protects his rights to cultivate the amounts of marijuana he was growing.
- California's 2nd District Court ruled that a man who was under investigation for vehicular manslaughter who gave a confession while under the influence of pain medication was not coerced by the state.
- Researchers at Stanford University are studying naturally occurring endocannabinoids to explore ways to combat Parkinson's.
- A local San Diego TV station polled people about drugs, while Pete Guither found one of their questions to be odd.
- A 17-year-old military police officer in Nevada was arrested for allegedly selling cocaine.
- A 20-year-old in Tombstone, AZ alleged recruited two pre-teen boys to help him sell cocaine mixed in with soft drinks.
- A Mexican man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Arizona after he was caught with over 3000 pounds of marijuana.
- A Phoenix detention officer was arrested after smuggling drugs to two prisoners.
- The New Mexico State Senate has overwhelmingly passed a medical marijuana bill.
- A Lafayette, Colorado judge resigned in protest over attempts to implement harsher mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana offenders.
- The Wyoming State House backed off from an attempt to make meth use while pregnant a felony.
- The Montana Meth Project has released an hour-long documentary on the dangers of meth addiction.
- One of the first North Dakota farmers to apply for a hemp farming license doesn't fit the profile the DEA would like you to believe.
- In Dallas, a drug suspect was shot and killed during a shootout with police.
- A man was arrested in East Texas after being pulled over when police found $6 million worth of cocaine in his truck.
- In Houston, a 17-year-old was shot and killed during a drug raid. His family maintains he was unarmed and did not threaten the invading officers.
- A man in Louisiana who was initially released from his life sentence for selling heroin will have to return to jail and finish his sentence after a ruling by the state's Supreme Court.
- A study in Arkansas on Garrett's Law, a bill aimed at pregnant mothers who use drugs, showed that the effects of drug use on unborn children is greatly exaggerated.
- Authorities in Council Bluff, Iowa are reviewing drug cases after an attorney was fired for mishandling narcotics evidence.
- An Iowa man will not be facing charges after he accidentally left a bag of marijuana in a deposit bag for the pizza place he worked for when he dropped it off at the bank. The reason is because the teller gave it back to him the next day.
- A bipartisan medical marijuana bill was introduced in the Minnesota legislature.
- Minnesota has become the latest state to put the names of capable meth cook tutors online.
- In Illinois, a Democratic State Senator from Chicago introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana. The state legislature also introduced a bill that would deny a driver's license to anyone under the age of 18 who tests positive for THC.
- All 17 employees of the town of North Baltimore, Ohio were given drug tests because of rumors that drug use was rampant. Only one tested positive.
- A former Youngstown, Ohio area sheriff's deputy plead guilty to drug trafficking.
- A new county commissioner in Knoxville, Tennessee has admitted to selling drugs as a teenager.
- A Nashville police officer was found guilty of conspiring with a fellow officer to steal 3kg of cocaine from a drug suspect.
- Police in northern Alabama are warning that people often use hotel coffee pots to brew meth.
- A Florida man was convicted of manufacturing ecstasy and faces up to 20 years in prison.
- Seventeen Magazine is printing a story about a teenager who overdosed on prescription medications during a night of partying in Tampa, Florida.
- Legislation was introduced in Georgia to ban marijuana-flavored candy.
- The Atlanta NAACP wants tougher rules on using no-knock raids in drug investigations.
- A Department of Corrections employee in South Carolina was arrested for trying to bring marijuana to an inmate.
- A South Carolina police officer was charged with misconduct after allegedly stealing evidence from drug cases.
- A retired North Carolina police officer was arrested on a variety of drug charges involving the manufacture and sale of cocaine.
- Three more people have plead guilty in the Roanoke, Virginia police cocaine scandal.
- Virginia Tech is the latest campus to have a Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter introduce a bill to reduce penalties for marijuana.
- The Virginia legislature defeated a bill that would have required drug dealers to pay taxes on their supplies through tax stamps on the illegal goods.
- Two Delaware middle school students were busted for possession of marijuana.
- Pittsburgh doctor Bernard Rottschaefer was re-sentenced to 5 years in prison despite a number of problems with the original trial that found him guilty of illegally prescribing pain medications.
- Police in Philadelphia busted some Cambodian ecstasy smugglers based in Canada.
- The near-fatal crash caused by Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's son Garrett, who'd admitted to using heroin, has put the spotlight on drug use among affluent kids in the Philadelphia suburbs.
- A 13-year-old boy in New Jersey was given a drug test at school because he looked scared. His family is not happy about it.
- A former NYPD officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to rob an alleged Colombian drug dealer in the Bronx.
- A jail guard in Westchester County, NY was arrested after she helped a recently arrested individual transfer heroin to another person.
- All 85 Schenectady, NY vice squad investigators tested negative for drugs after some crack-cocaine disappeared from the evidence room, likely because you don't fail drug tests for only selling the drugs.
- Trey Anastasio, formerly of Phish, will be facing felony drug charges after police claim to have found heroin in his car during a traffic stop. He plead not guilty.
- A prison guard in upstate New York plead guilty to smuggling heroin into the prison.
- A 59-year-old substitute teacher near Buffalo is accused of snorting cocaine in front of her fourth grade class.
- A 7-year-old (yes, seven, that's not a typo) in New Haven, CT was arrested for possession of crack-cocaine and will have to appear in a juvenile court.
- The Canadian government is vowing to crack down on drug crimes.
- Calderdale, Nova Scotia has arrested a larger number of drug dealers over previous years.
- Winnipeg police seized several million dollars worth of marijuana grown in two residences.
- Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan released a poll showing strong support for his plan to open a treatment facility for meth and cocaine addicts.
Regional News - International
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