witchlinblue
03-11-2004, 10:55 AM
Bush Reconsiders Financial-Aid Law
3/9/2004
The Bush administration is reviewing the 1998 federal law that prohibits individuals with previous drug convictions from receiving financial aid for college, the Columbus Dispatch reported March 7.
Many, including Republicans who wrote the legislation, said the law is too harsh because it includes all drug convictions, even ones from many years ago.
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana), who wrote the amendment to the Higher Education Act, said the law was only intended to prohibit students who receive drug convictions while in college. He said the Clinton administration misinterpreted the law and applied it to high-school students and older adults trying to return to college.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 25,662 students were denied federal financial aid for the 2002-2003 school year because of past drug offenses. In the previous year, the number was 29,251. Officials said the numbers are probably higher because others don't bother to apply.
In his 2005 budget proposal, Bush has called for a revision to the law so it would apply only to drug offenses that occur in college.
Maryland Police Trained to Identify Medicated Drivers
3/9/2004
More people are driving under the influence of prescription medications, so Maryland authorities have stepped up training of police officers to identify drivers impaired by prescription and illegal drugs, the Baltimore Sun reported March 7.
From 2000 to 2003, arrests of Maryland drivers impaired by illegal or prescription drugs skyrocketed 41 percent. According to officials, more arrests for driving under the influence of prescriptions drugs have been made in HarfordCounty than for "drugged driving" violations.
"Within the past four years or so, it's really picked up with those types of prescription drugs," said Officer Frank Enko, who heads the Baltimore County Police Department's team of 22 drug-recognition experts. "It's really taken off."
Officials said an aggressive campaign, similar to the 25-year effort to curb drunken driving, is needed to address drivers under the influence of legal and illegal drugs.
"The problem of drugged driving is on a scale similar to drunk driving, and yet all of the response has been on drunk driving," said Dr. Robert DuPont, a former national drug official. "It's terra incognita."
Contributing to the disparity between drugged-driving and drunken-driving enforcement, said police officials is a lack of proper training.
Very few officers are trained to recognize drugged drivers. For instance, Maryland has only 125 drug-recognition experts to handle the entire state.
Furthermore, there is no legal intoxication standard for drugged driving like the .08 standard for drunk driving. In addition, only recently has technology been available to conduct roadside drug tests.
"Society recognizes drunk driving. They understand drunk driving and the per-se limit of 0.08 and 0.07," said Sgt. Charles Smith Sr. of the Maryland State Police.
According to a 2002 national survey, an estimated 11 million people drive under the influence of illegal drugs.
Some states have begun to address the problem. For instance, Maryland lawmakers have introduced six bills aimed at increasing the penalties for drugged driving.
"I think a lot of people have recognized this is an issue, but most states haven't done enough about it," said Del. William A. Bronrott, (D-MontgomeryCounty), who co-sponsored several of the bills. "I think the more my colleagues know about the issue and what's at stake, hopefully, the more successful we will be in getting all the laws in place to address this problem."
U.N. Concerned Over Canada's Safe-Injection Site
3/8/2004
The United Nations is concerned that a safe-injection site in Vancouver, Canada, violates international agreements on drugs, the Globe and Mail reported March 3.
A report released by the U.N.'s International Narcotics Control Board said the drug-injection site "is not in line with the international drug-control treaties to which Canada is a party."
Vancouver opened the first safe-injection site in North America last year. It allows addicted individuals to inject drugs while under medical supervision.
The board, which is part of the U.N. International Drug Control Program, said governments have agreed to use prevention and treatment measures to address drug misuse and addiction.
Herbert Schaepe, secretary of the board, said the Canadian government has been notified of the concerns raised. The board also expressed its concerns to several European governments that have either approved drug-injection sites or are considering them.
"When drug abusers can acquire illicit drugs and can take these illicit drugs into premises which are managed by the state or the town, then there is definitely complicity and we cannot accept that under the international drug-control convention," said Schaepe.
U.S. Says North Korea Dealing in Illegal Drugs
3/5/2004
U.S. officials say that North Korea is probably dealing in illegal drugs as a matter of state policy, Reuters reported March 2.
The comments, which were included in the State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, address suspicions of the Bush administration that the North Korean government is involved in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking for profit.
Among the evidence cited by the report was Australia's seizure of the North Korean ship Pong Su last April. The ship was carrying 275 pounds of heroin to Australia.
The report also cited an unnamed defector who said North Korean authorities order the cultivation of poppy, as well as heroin and methamphetamine production.
"State trading of narcotics is a conspiracy between officials at the highest levels of the ruling party/government and their subordinates to cultivate, manufacture, and/or traffic narcotics with impunity through the use of, but not limited to, state-owned assets," the report said.
The report further stated that, "Law-enforcement cases over the years have not only clearly established that North Korean diplomats, military officers, and other party/government officials have been involved in the smuggling of narcotics, but also that state-owned assets, particularly ships, have been used to facilitate and support international drug-trafficking ventures."
Md. County Contract Could Force Treatment Program to Close
3/4/2004
New requirements established by BaltimoreCounty officials could cause the closure of Right Turn of Maryland, a drug-treatment program that gives judges an alternative to jail for nonviolent offenders, the Baltimore Sun reported Feb. 26.
The 10-year contract for Right Turn of Maryland is set to expire in June, and new requirements would reduce the number of beds at the program, extend patient stays, and eliminate an aftercare program that has proved lucrative. John Goings, who runs Right Turn of Maryland, said the center would have to overhaul its entire program in order to comply with the new contract's terms.
"At this time we don't know if we're going to bid on it or not," Goings said.
Right Turn patients pay on a sliding scale, unique among Maryland treatment providers. They can also use money earned at work release to pay for their care. Grants cover those who are unable to afford treatment.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why they dramatically want to change it," Goings said.
Sheryl Goldstein, the county's criminal-justice coordinator, said the changes are aimed at making funding more secure, especially grant money. "This creates a stable source of funding so that the clients in the criminal justice system with the greatest need are ensured 120-day length of stay for residential treatment," she said.
Lawyers and judges said the county should refrain from making any changes because the program has been successful as-is. "We're going to lose the only accessible rehabilitative program we have in the county," said lawyer T. Wray McCurdy. "It's mind-boggling."
Former Baltimore County Circuit Judge John F. Fader II, who retired from the bench last year, added, "They managed to turn around many people that other programs were not successful in turning around. I just had a lot of very, very good luck with them."
Afghanistan Records Highest Opium Crop Ever
3/4/2004
Despite U.S.-backed counter-drug efforts, Afghanistan farmers last year cultivated more opium poppy, the raw material for heroin, than ever before, CBS News reported March 1.
According to a report from the U.S. State Department, the record-high cultivation levels are a result of criminal investors and narcotics traffickers taking advantage of the country's ongoing conflict and weak security.
"They have exploited poor farmers in a rural economy decimated by war and drought," the report said.
Reports Show Bush Administration Losing the Drug War
March 4, 2004
The Bush administration’s failure to meet its drug war goals at home and abroad is laid bare in two recently released government reports. The 2004 White House National Drug Control Strategy and the Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), both released this week, show that the administration’s increasingly cruel domestic and international drug war policies do little to reduce drug supply or demand.
This year’s Strategy, using loaded language about “doctor shopping” and “pill popping,” includes a major new offensive against pain patients, their doctors, and caregivers by focusing even more law enforcement resources on prescription drugs. Already, under President Bush, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has arrested doctors who prescribe pain medications – ranging from OxyContin to prescription versions of Tylenol – and the seriously ill patients who legally use the drugs.
In announcing the Strategy report, President Bush took credit for his claim that the administration achieved an 11% reduction in drug use among youth, while ignoring the fact he failed to reach his goal of reducing overall drug use by 10%.
Almost identical to last year’s report, this year’s White House Drug Policy uses smoke and mirror accounting to downplay the enormous cost of the “war on drugs” by excluding billions of dollars spent incarcerating drug offenders, military expenditures, prison costs, and certain law enforcement efforts – while claiming to spend much more on drug treatment that it actually does. The report shows that the Bush administration continues to perpetuate drug policies that rely on law enforcement and interdiction and focus relatively minor attention on education and treatment.
In the INCSR report, which describes the international drug war efforts of key countries, President Bush identifies more than a dozen U.S. allies as major drug-transit or illicit-drug-producing countries, including Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Thailand, and Venezuela. Most of these countries receive billions of U.S. dollars for military and civilian programs aimed at eradicating drug production and transit, even though many of these programs have serious health and environmental consequences and are implemented by governments with questionable human rights histories.
Brazilian Bill Would Mandate Community Service, Not Prison, for Drug Possession
February 26, 2004
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the country’s lower house, recently approved a sweeping bill that would sentence first-time drug offenders to up to five months of community service instead of arrest and prison. The legislation stresses harm reduction, mandates treatment on demand for drug users, and permits religious uses of drugs. A similar bill before the legislature last year failed to become law.
President Lula da Silva has been criticized for breaking a campaign promise to embrace a more tolerant, European-style drug policy. Pressure on da Silva, which mounted last year when the national health ministry announced that it favored decriminalization, grew again recently after neighbor Venezuela proposed several decriminalization measures.
This latest Brazilian bill would create one unified federal, state, and local body to oversee prevention, education, and drug traffic reduction and another body to manage the dissemination of information on drug use and trafficking. It also contains several tough measures, including drug trafficking penalties, jail time for those who fail to comply with the order of a judge, and asset forfeiture provisions. The bill now moves on to Brazil’s Senate.
3/9/2004
The Bush administration is reviewing the 1998 federal law that prohibits individuals with previous drug convictions from receiving financial aid for college, the Columbus Dispatch reported March 7.
Many, including Republicans who wrote the legislation, said the law is too harsh because it includes all drug convictions, even ones from many years ago.
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana), who wrote the amendment to the Higher Education Act, said the law was only intended to prohibit students who receive drug convictions while in college. He said the Clinton administration misinterpreted the law and applied it to high-school students and older adults trying to return to college.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 25,662 students were denied federal financial aid for the 2002-2003 school year because of past drug offenses. In the previous year, the number was 29,251. Officials said the numbers are probably higher because others don't bother to apply.
In his 2005 budget proposal, Bush has called for a revision to the law so it would apply only to drug offenses that occur in college.
Maryland Police Trained to Identify Medicated Drivers
3/9/2004
More people are driving under the influence of prescription medications, so Maryland authorities have stepped up training of police officers to identify drivers impaired by prescription and illegal drugs, the Baltimore Sun reported March 7.
From 2000 to 2003, arrests of Maryland drivers impaired by illegal or prescription drugs skyrocketed 41 percent. According to officials, more arrests for driving under the influence of prescriptions drugs have been made in HarfordCounty than for "drugged driving" violations.
"Within the past four years or so, it's really picked up with those types of prescription drugs," said Officer Frank Enko, who heads the Baltimore County Police Department's team of 22 drug-recognition experts. "It's really taken off."
Officials said an aggressive campaign, similar to the 25-year effort to curb drunken driving, is needed to address drivers under the influence of legal and illegal drugs.
"The problem of drugged driving is on a scale similar to drunk driving, and yet all of the response has been on drunk driving," said Dr. Robert DuPont, a former national drug official. "It's terra incognita."
Contributing to the disparity between drugged-driving and drunken-driving enforcement, said police officials is a lack of proper training.
Very few officers are trained to recognize drugged drivers. For instance, Maryland has only 125 drug-recognition experts to handle the entire state.
Furthermore, there is no legal intoxication standard for drugged driving like the .08 standard for drunk driving. In addition, only recently has technology been available to conduct roadside drug tests.
"Society recognizes drunk driving. They understand drunk driving and the per-se limit of 0.08 and 0.07," said Sgt. Charles Smith Sr. of the Maryland State Police.
According to a 2002 national survey, an estimated 11 million people drive under the influence of illegal drugs.
Some states have begun to address the problem. For instance, Maryland lawmakers have introduced six bills aimed at increasing the penalties for drugged driving.
"I think a lot of people have recognized this is an issue, but most states haven't done enough about it," said Del. William A. Bronrott, (D-MontgomeryCounty), who co-sponsored several of the bills. "I think the more my colleagues know about the issue and what's at stake, hopefully, the more successful we will be in getting all the laws in place to address this problem."
U.N. Concerned Over Canada's Safe-Injection Site
3/8/2004
The United Nations is concerned that a safe-injection site in Vancouver, Canada, violates international agreements on drugs, the Globe and Mail reported March 3.
A report released by the U.N.'s International Narcotics Control Board said the drug-injection site "is not in line with the international drug-control treaties to which Canada is a party."
Vancouver opened the first safe-injection site in North America last year. It allows addicted individuals to inject drugs while under medical supervision.
The board, which is part of the U.N. International Drug Control Program, said governments have agreed to use prevention and treatment measures to address drug misuse and addiction.
Herbert Schaepe, secretary of the board, said the Canadian government has been notified of the concerns raised. The board also expressed its concerns to several European governments that have either approved drug-injection sites or are considering them.
"When drug abusers can acquire illicit drugs and can take these illicit drugs into premises which are managed by the state or the town, then there is definitely complicity and we cannot accept that under the international drug-control convention," said Schaepe.
U.S. Says North Korea Dealing in Illegal Drugs
3/5/2004
U.S. officials say that North Korea is probably dealing in illegal drugs as a matter of state policy, Reuters reported March 2.
The comments, which were included in the State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, address suspicions of the Bush administration that the North Korean government is involved in heroin and methamphetamine trafficking for profit.
Among the evidence cited by the report was Australia's seizure of the North Korean ship Pong Su last April. The ship was carrying 275 pounds of heroin to Australia.
The report also cited an unnamed defector who said North Korean authorities order the cultivation of poppy, as well as heroin and methamphetamine production.
"State trading of narcotics is a conspiracy between officials at the highest levels of the ruling party/government and their subordinates to cultivate, manufacture, and/or traffic narcotics with impunity through the use of, but not limited to, state-owned assets," the report said.
The report further stated that, "Law-enforcement cases over the years have not only clearly established that North Korean diplomats, military officers, and other party/government officials have been involved in the smuggling of narcotics, but also that state-owned assets, particularly ships, have been used to facilitate and support international drug-trafficking ventures."
Md. County Contract Could Force Treatment Program to Close
3/4/2004
New requirements established by BaltimoreCounty officials could cause the closure of Right Turn of Maryland, a drug-treatment program that gives judges an alternative to jail for nonviolent offenders, the Baltimore Sun reported Feb. 26.
The 10-year contract for Right Turn of Maryland is set to expire in June, and new requirements would reduce the number of beds at the program, extend patient stays, and eliminate an aftercare program that has proved lucrative. John Goings, who runs Right Turn of Maryland, said the center would have to overhaul its entire program in order to comply with the new contract's terms.
"At this time we don't know if we're going to bid on it or not," Goings said.
Right Turn patients pay on a sliding scale, unique among Maryland treatment providers. They can also use money earned at work release to pay for their care. Grants cover those who are unable to afford treatment.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why they dramatically want to change it," Goings said.
Sheryl Goldstein, the county's criminal-justice coordinator, said the changes are aimed at making funding more secure, especially grant money. "This creates a stable source of funding so that the clients in the criminal justice system with the greatest need are ensured 120-day length of stay for residential treatment," she said.
Lawyers and judges said the county should refrain from making any changes because the program has been successful as-is. "We're going to lose the only accessible rehabilitative program we have in the county," said lawyer T. Wray McCurdy. "It's mind-boggling."
Former Baltimore County Circuit Judge John F. Fader II, who retired from the bench last year, added, "They managed to turn around many people that other programs were not successful in turning around. I just had a lot of very, very good luck with them."
Afghanistan Records Highest Opium Crop Ever
3/4/2004
Despite U.S.-backed counter-drug efforts, Afghanistan farmers last year cultivated more opium poppy, the raw material for heroin, than ever before, CBS News reported March 1.
According to a report from the U.S. State Department, the record-high cultivation levels are a result of criminal investors and narcotics traffickers taking advantage of the country's ongoing conflict and weak security.
"They have exploited poor farmers in a rural economy decimated by war and drought," the report said.
Reports Show Bush Administration Losing the Drug War
March 4, 2004
The Bush administration’s failure to meet its drug war goals at home and abroad is laid bare in two recently released government reports. The 2004 White House National Drug Control Strategy and the Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), both released this week, show that the administration’s increasingly cruel domestic and international drug war policies do little to reduce drug supply or demand.
This year’s Strategy, using loaded language about “doctor shopping” and “pill popping,” includes a major new offensive against pain patients, their doctors, and caregivers by focusing even more law enforcement resources on prescription drugs. Already, under President Bush, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has arrested doctors who prescribe pain medications – ranging from OxyContin to prescription versions of Tylenol – and the seriously ill patients who legally use the drugs.
In announcing the Strategy report, President Bush took credit for his claim that the administration achieved an 11% reduction in drug use among youth, while ignoring the fact he failed to reach his goal of reducing overall drug use by 10%.
Almost identical to last year’s report, this year’s White House Drug Policy uses smoke and mirror accounting to downplay the enormous cost of the “war on drugs” by excluding billions of dollars spent incarcerating drug offenders, military expenditures, prison costs, and certain law enforcement efforts – while claiming to spend much more on drug treatment that it actually does. The report shows that the Bush administration continues to perpetuate drug policies that rely on law enforcement and interdiction and focus relatively minor attention on education and treatment.
In the INCSR report, which describes the international drug war efforts of key countries, President Bush identifies more than a dozen U.S. allies as major drug-transit or illicit-drug-producing countries, including Afghanistan, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Thailand, and Venezuela. Most of these countries receive billions of U.S. dollars for military and civilian programs aimed at eradicating drug production and transit, even though many of these programs have serious health and environmental consequences and are implemented by governments with questionable human rights histories.
Brazilian Bill Would Mandate Community Service, Not Prison, for Drug Possession
February 26, 2004
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the country’s lower house, recently approved a sweeping bill that would sentence first-time drug offenders to up to five months of community service instead of arrest and prison. The legislation stresses harm reduction, mandates treatment on demand for drug users, and permits religious uses of drugs. A similar bill before the legislature last year failed to become law.
President Lula da Silva has been criticized for breaking a campaign promise to embrace a more tolerant, European-style drug policy. Pressure on da Silva, which mounted last year when the national health ministry announced that it favored decriminalization, grew again recently after neighbor Venezuela proposed several decriminalization measures.
This latest Brazilian bill would create one unified federal, state, and local body to oversee prevention, education, and drug traffic reduction and another body to manage the dissemination of information on drug use and trafficking. It also contains several tough measures, including drug trafficking penalties, jail time for those who fail to comply with the order of a judge, and asset forfeiture provisions. The bill now moves on to Brazil’s Senate.