Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Two Atlanta cops are headed to prison in the Kathryn Johnston killing, an NYPD narc goes down for drug running, and a strung-out Pennsylvania cop heads to jail for peddling pills.
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Medical Marijuana: Michigan Initiative Organizers Hand in Half a Million Signatures
It looks like medical marijuana will be on the 2008 ballot in Michigan. Organizers of a signature-gathering campaign for an initiative turned in nearly 500,000 signatures this week, almost 200,000 more than needed.
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Southeast Asia: Reports Coming on Thailand's 2003 Drug War Killings
Four and a half years ago, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to wipe out drug use in Thailand. Within three months, 2,500 people were dead. Now, a new government is about to release a series of reports on the killings.
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Sentencing: US Prison Population Could Be Cut in Half With Four Humane Reforms, Including Drug Decriminalization, Report Says
A smarter and more humane approach to crime and imprisonment, including drug decriminalization, could save billions of dollars and greatly reduce the need to put millions of people behind bars, a new report says.
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Canada: Federal Government Introduces Anti-Drug Legislation
Canada's Conservative government this week unveiled its repressive new approach to drugs. It wants mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses, including marijuana growing, and it wants to double the maximum sentence for pot growing. Look for a battle royal in the West's most pot-friendly country.
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Job Opportunity: Outreach Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
SSDP is hiring an Outreach Director. The position is staffed from the organization's Washington, DC office.
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Feature: On the Anniversary of Kathryn Johnston's Death, Poll Finds Most Americans Oppose Use of SWAT-Style Tactics in Routine Drug Raids
A Zogby poll commissioned by StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) has found that nearly two-thirds of likely voters oppose SWAT-style raids to deal with routine drug offenders. The results are released as we mark the one-year anniversary of the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston, the Atlanta woman gunned down by rogue police conducting a forced entry drug raid.
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Job Opportunities: Two Openings at PreventionWorks, Washington, DC
PreventionWorks is hiring a SEP Arranged Delivery Coordinator and a Community Liaison.
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Feature: Higher Education Act Drug Conviction Penalty Repeal Stymied As Democrats Choke -- Again
The movement to repeal the Higher Education Act's drug provision hit a major roadblock last week when House Democrats reneged on pushing an amendment to undo it. But the provision's author, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), keeps scaling it back in self-defense.
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Here we go again
Well,the news is out and it's every bit as depressing as I expected.Under the headline:"Ottawa cracks down on illegal drugs",our government announced THIS:1.a one year mandatory minimum sentence for d
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Mitt Romney Recommends Lying to the Kids About Drugs
Mitt Romney thinks it's just awful that Barack Obama has been honest about past experience with alcohol and illegal drugs:
"It's just not a good idea for people running for President of the United States who potentially could be the role model for a lot of people to talk about their personal failings while they were kids because it opens the doorway to other kids thinking, 'well I can do that too and become President of the United States,'" Romney told an Iowa audience today. "I think that was a huge error by Barack Obamaâ¦it is just the wrong way for people who want to be the leader of the free world." [FOXNews]
But, um, you can do drugs and become the President. This has been proven time and again as of late and it's actually a terrible idea to suggest otherwise. Young people need to know that they can make mistakes and still be successful. Heck, young people should even know that drug use is often not a mistake if done responsibly at the appropriate age. The problem with convincing them that drug use ruins your future is that they might believe you and just give up.
Really, there is nothing more harmful and destructive than attempting to educate children about drugs by lying about your own experiences. Young people need someone to talk to. They need to know that you understand, and the best way to create that environment is by being honest. If you do understand, don't pretend not to. That's insane.
The truth here is that Barack Obama's experience with drug use is typical. He experimented, aged out of it, and went on to pursue a rewarding career. There's nothing miraculous or shocking about his failure to become a walking after-school special. Most people don't.
But if Barack Obama has been unlucky enough to get arrested, I doubt we'd even know his name. Indeed, drug use won't disqualify you from a high profile career, but the drug war will crush your dreams every time.
If we want to send children the right message about drugs, let's stop threatening to arrest and ruin them for things so many of us did without consequence.
[Thanks, Tom]