cannabisnews.com: DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 124 September 8, 1999 





DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 124 September 8, 1999 
Posted by FoM on September 08, 1999 at 16:49:28 PT
Florida Plan Gives Money to Drug Warriors 
Source: Map Inc.
Despite the refreshing voice of New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, other state governors remain unwilling to retreat at all on the drug war. In Florida, a major escalation appears to be in the works. That's right, from the same people who can't understand why mutant dope-killing fungus is a risky proposition comes a plan to spend half a billion dollars on drug control in the state next year. 
The windfall will be divided among the special interest groups that tend to benefit most from the drug war. According to the Miami Herald : "The crusade will include a massive increase in drug-treatment beds, more specialized drug courts, more prosecutors, better security at airports and seaports and a renewed emphasis on the need for parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs." While the profiteers dance in the street, the people of Florida have much to fear from this plan. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is proposing to take away the right of defendants in drug cases to depose police officers before trial. Defense lawyers in the state worry this will bring more weak cases to trial. Please write a letter to the Miami Herald or other Florida newspapers to suggest that the "drug experts" who are embracing this plan need to look beyond their own desires, and that Florida residents need to stand up for themselves before another one of their basic rights disappears. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAYIt's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.)Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to MGreer mapinc.org Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness.CONTACT INFOSource: Miami Herald (FL) Contact: heralded herald.com Extra creditWrite to other Florida newspapers to protest this plan To find other Email addresses for other Florida newspapers search at:http://www.mapinc.org/resource/email.htmPubdate: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald Page: 1 - Front Page Contact: heralded herald.com Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693 Fax: (305) 376-8950 Website: http://www.herald.com/ Author: Steve Bousquet, Capital Bureau Chief Bush vows new assault on drugsAmbitious Florida goals revealed TALLAHASSEE -- Saying drugs ''poison our community,'' Gov. Jeb Bush promised Wednesday to spend a half-billion dollars next year with the goal of reducing drug use by 50 percent over five years in Florida -- an ambitious goal in a place known worldwide as a magnet for illegal drugs.Speaking to a statewide conference of alcohol and drug abuse experts in Orlando, Bush said the state will embark on a two-part strategy of punishment and treatment, while streamlining the state's cannibalized and disconnected anti-drug efforts. The crusade will include a massive increase in drug-treatment beds, more specialized drug courts, more prosecutors, better security at airports and seaports and a renewed emphasis on the need for parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs. The Bush plan would attack drug use in all its guises -- from pot plants growing in the Keys to cocaine being smuggled through Miami International Airport cargo holds to suburban teens snorting it. ''When people sell drugs and poison our community, they should be punished, but we also need to expand treatment,'' Bush said before his speech to the Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association. ''We've kind of gone back and forth on one side or the other, but it's clear we need to do both.''Jim McDonough, Bush's drug policy coordinator, who worked in the White House drug control office before joining the state administration, said he would also push for more U.S. Customs agents in South Florida. ''We have to bring down the demand and bring down the supply,'' he said.McDonough cited recent revelations of rampant drug trafficking at Miami International Airport as the latest example of the ''cavalier, casual'' attitude toward illegal drugs in Florida. ''It's atrocious. It's a wink and a nod, and here come the drugs,'' McDonough said. ''That's the kind of stuff that kills people.'' Florida's rate of drug use -- about 8 percent of the population -- is much higher than the national average of 6.2 percent, McDonough said. Nearly two-thirds of all cocaine seized in the U.S. last year came to Florida, a year in which the state also experienced a 51 percent increase in heroin-related deaths. He called it a troubling result of the state's mobile, transient population and laid-back atmosphere. Bush will formally unveil his anti-drug strategy on Sept. 10. An estimated $360 million in the first year of the program will come from the state, with the rest coming from the federal government -- though none of it is new money.The state is coordinating anti-drug programs now scattered through various state agencies -- like health and corrections departments and the Department of Law Enforcement. But even that step is a novel approach, officials say.About 60 percent of the money would be spent on education and prevention, said Tim Bottcher, spokesman for the six-person drug policy office, a branch of the governor's office. The rest, he said, will go to law enforcement.Expert approvesA Miami-Dade drug treatment expert welcomes Bush's promise to add more than 9,000 new drug-treatment beds. ''There is a tremendous shortage of beds,'' said Dr. Moraima Trujillo, chief of general psychiatry at Veterans Administrators Hospital, who specializes in substance abuse and serves as the medical director at several Miami-Dade rehab and detox centers. ''Outpatient treatment is not the answer. Patients need to be removed from their environment in order to truly be helped. It's a major problem. At the centers where I work, patients are constantly being pushed out the door. There are never enough beds to keep them.'' ''If the governor is able to pull this off, I think it would be a tremendous help to the community,'' Trujillo said. ''If you eliminate the bottom of the pyramid, which are the users, you will be eliminating the market for the pushers. And it's the community at large that's suffering. They are the ones being hit by drunk or drugged drivers.''Controversial pointOne aspect of Bush's anti-drug program is sure to be controversial among civil libertarians and some legal experts: The governor is proposing to take away the right of defendants in drug cases to depose police officers before trial. Bush said that would stop police from spending ''All their time in depositions when they're trying to apprehend the major drug dealers.'' Miami defense lawyer Chris Mancini said eliminating pretrial depositions is ''a terrible idea,'' because the investigative legwork turns up examples of sloppy police work that save prosecutors from taking weak cases to trial.''Anybody who's been in the system for a long time, other than a politician like Jeb Bush, understands depositions actually work to everyone's benefit,'' Mancini said. ''I don't know who they're pandering to.''Bush also proposes tax breaks for companies that submit their employees to random drug testing. In renewing the war on drugs, Bush also is confronting the post-baby boom culture that generally takes a so-what attitude toward alcohol and marijuana.Questionable goalsDr. Andres Fernandez, medical director at Center Intake Unit, a Miami drug rehab center, said Bush's goals were admirable -- but questionable.''I think that if the government increased the number of beds and at the same time increased the amount of drug education given to young people, and if we controled the drugs coming into Florida, the governor could do it in five years. But that's a whole lot of ifs,'' Fernandez said.Even some drug experts who heard Bush's talk were skeptical of his lofty goals.Asia Eichmiller, a drug counselor at Brevard Correctional Institution, said reducing drug use by 50 percent is unrealistic. ''It's very entrenched in our culture,'' Eichmiller said. But Kerry Wilensky, a drug treatment expert in Clermont, applauded the shift in focus away from purely punishment to prevention. ''Traditionally, we've had too much emphasis on interdiction instead of prevention,'' Wilensky said. ''As long as there is no demand, there is no supply.''Police applaudSome local law enforcement experts applauded Bush's commitment to fighting drug abuse.Danny Wright of the Broward Sheriff's Office, who serves as chief of the Pompano Beach police, called Bush's target of a 50 percent reduction in drug use ''a reachable goal.'' He cited two key factors: constant drug-abuse awareness efforts in public schools and pressing apartment owners to write leases threatening immediate eviction for drug-dealing tenants.''At one time, we were only doing enforcement. The education and prevention mechanisms were missing. But it's changing,'' said Wright, who is organizing a drug summit Oct. 16 at Ely High School in Pompano Beach.SAMPLE LETTER (sent)Governor Bush's "ambitious" plan to cut drug use by 50 percent over five years could be laughed off if it didn't present such a terrible threat to the people of Florida. It's funny because every couple years federal legislators have mandated similar reductions with great fanfare, fanfare that is nowhere to be found when the plans fail miserably to meet stated goals. But, the latest plan is also deadly serious. Like the idea to test plant-killing fungus within the Sunshine State, the new plan shows Florida officials are so eager to display their intolerance of drugs they are willing to risk the safety of residents in the process.This time anti-drug bureaucrats want the people of Florida to give up their right to depose police officers before trial should they be accused of a drug crime. Defense lawyers have said this will mean more weak cases will go to trial, instead of being thrown out before trial. People who stay away from illegal drugs probably feel they have nothing to fear from this provision. However, with more money being spread around the state for more drug law enforcement, every citizen has a great deal to fear. State anti-drug officials will want to see results from increased law enforcement budgets, which means more arrests. So when the police are having a slow day, they are more likely to make questionable arrests. Floridians caught in this trap will no longer have the protection provided by pre-trial depositions. But again, the courts and the cops look like they're working hard, because more cases will be flowing through the system. But even when that happens, illegal drugs will also continue to flow through the state. And after a while, some other politician will suggest it's time to get really tough before he snatches another right from the people.Stephen YoungIMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone numberPlease note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Young http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist 
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