cannabisnews.com: Parents Condemn Drug Busts





Parents Condemn Drug Busts
Posted by FoM on March 22, 2000 at 23:03:39 PT
By Rene Stutzman & Leslie Postal of the Sentinel S
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Nearly two dozen students arrested in a high-profile drug sweep at Oviedo and Seminole high schools found themselves Wednesday in juvenile court, a place most of them had never been before.It was better, though, than where they had spent the night, which was the juvenile detention center.
The students were arrested after a seven-month undercover operation in which two law enforcement agents posed as students, one at each school.On Wednesday, some parents of those arrested blasted the investigation, saying the undercover officers entrapped their children. Two parents of Oviedo students said their children sold small amounts of marijuana to a female undercover officer only after she nagged them repeatedly.All of the students arrested are suspended from school and face expulsion, some of them with less than two months until graduation.Retired Circuit Judge Robert E. Lee let all but one go home. Assistant State Attorney Lynda Crager said most of the students had never been in trouble with the law before.Many of the parents were angry that their children's faces had appeared on television as suspected drug dealers.Dan Stapp, whose 17-year-old son was arrested on a charge of selling marijuana on the Oviedo High campus, was livid."He's not a drug dealer," Stapp said. "He's never been in trouble in his life." At both schools, the bust was a hot topic Wednesday as rumors swirled about which one of their classmates had actually been a cop. At Seminole High, speculation was that the undercover officer was an 11th-grade girl."She was hanging with everybody," freshman Tony Mccray said.At Oviedo High, speculation about the identity of the undercover agent ran the gamut from male to female, from black to white.Some students were stunned to learn friends or classmates had been arrested. A few said they had been scared -- at least momentarily -- by the masked, armed officers in their classrooms."Oh my God, Columbine all over again," one remembered thinking. While most of the cases involve the sale or possession of small amounts of marijuana, school administrators and law enforcement officials say the operations serve as a deterrent and give officers a better idea of what goes on in the schools.Sheriff's officials would not talk about specifics of the undercover operations, such as whether the agents socialized with students outside of school.Dorita Rodriguez, the mother of one arrested Oviedo student, said the undercover officer harassed her 17-year-old daughter, Gina, into selling her some marijuana. Stapp said his son, Adam, sold the officer a single marijuana cigarette so that she would leave him alone."She bugged him to death," Stapp said.In the courtroom, before releasing the defendants, the judge asked the parents whether their teens were troublemakers."At home, she's very helpful. I really don't have problems with her," said the mother of a 17-year-old Oviedo High student accused of selling the designer drug Ecstasy on school grounds."Well, she's certainly gotten herself in trouble this time," the judge said.Kevin Connolly contributed to this report.Published: The Orlando Sentinel on March 23, 2000 © 2000 orlandosentinel.com CannabisNews Search:http://www.google.com/search?q=cannabisnews
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #10 posted by Avid Reader on March 23, 2000 at 19:13:03 PT
Good Luck FoM !
Get well soon !
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #9 posted by FoM on March 23, 2000 at 18:03:20 PT
For kaptinemo & everyone!
Just checking the posts and I'm glad to see your back kaptinemo. I hope this weekend I'll get to read lots of good comments. I might as well say it here. I am having major dental surgery tomorrow and won't be in any condition to do the news. I will work as late as I find news tonight and I'll look early in the morning before I must go but then the news getting posted might be a little sporadic. I will probably miss a few good articles but I'll catch up when I feel a little better. I might be feeling fine but I might not be too.PS: If anyone wonders please tell them why the news postings are slow and yesterday our phone line was down from the time I posted the one article for 6 or so hours.When it rains it pours!!!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on March 23, 2000 at 17:00:38 PT:
Overkill
Dan Stapp, whose 17-year-old son was arrested on a charge of selling marijuana on the Oviedo High campus, was livid."He's not a drug dealer," Stapp said. "He's never been in trouble in his life." So, the parents of little Johnnie and Suzy are finally seeing what their tax dollars have bought in this DrugWar? They're finally finding out that the DrugWar is not just directed at 'those people' (Black, Hispanic, Poor-White-Trailer-Trash, etc.) but at themselves, too. That they are not immune from the juggernaut they feed with their tax dollars? Good!When SWAT teams were first formed back in the 1970's, the basic idea was that they would be used in special situations - the 'S' in SWAT. They were formed to fight two main types of crime: political (such as domestic radical groups i.e. the Weathermen, Black Panthers, etc.) and the occasional nutcase with a shotgun who 'hears voices'. But over time, they have suffered from mission creep. They are doing almost everything that a regular officer does... but much more violently. And the glamorization of these 'special units' has done a lot towards their adoption and implementation. The use of special insignia, uniforms, and the cache of being in an elite force often attracts what I refer to as military wannabes; the guys who couldn't pass the ASVAB if given an open book, but like the idea of being able to 'bust caps' on the bad guys without the usual restraints necessaary in police/civilian interaction. But if they are not allowed to go out and 'hunt' said bad guys, they become frustrated. That frustration can take some very dangerous turns. Like this one. Because if they can't turn their righteous wrath upon dirtbags, they'll exercise their belligerance upon less deserving but no less suspect parties. In this case, schoolchildren.The implied threat is very clear. But as usual, the DrugWarriors wear blinders; they are unable to see the unintended consequences that this will have upon the students. With this one lesson, they have been taught to fear. That is well and good, as far as the cops are concerned; they like you to be fearful and therefore easily manipulated. But what the cops fail to see - and will learn to their surprise - is that some of those kids are going to remember this incident. The fear they were made to feel will be turned to anger. Some of them are going to start asking questions - and a few will become activists of one sort or another. By doing what they've done, the police have created enemies. Among future... voting...taxpayers. Not a very smart move, guys. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #7 posted by MMM on March 23, 2000 at 11:35:43 PT
Thinking this through...
Calling a swat team for kids sounds ridiculous, but remember, teenagers can carry weapons (as we've all seen in those attrocious news reports of school shootings), so police are paranoid about kids. Kids will become paranoid about police "sting" tactics for MJ use. Something has to give.European countries may find it easier to decriminalize because guns aren't rampant in Europe. Interesting, no?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #6 posted by dddd on March 23, 2000 at 09:00:58 PT
# %$&$#
It dont get more disgusting than this..........
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by observer on March 23, 2000 at 08:13:14 PT
Sold One Joint = Felony Distribution
> Stapp said his son, Adam, sold the officer a single marijuana cigarette so that she would leave him alone.Simply passing a marijuana cigarette to a friend counts as "distribution". People have been given LIFE in prison for merely possesing less marijuana than that.``Mandantory sentencing guidelines are ruthless. A first offense of simple marijuana posession now carries a five-year federal penalty.234 Escalator clauses take advantage of the repetitive nature of drug use. First-time possession of crack can be punished by five to twenty years if the amount exceeds five grams. A second offense brings the same punishment if the weight exceeds five grams. And a third offense brings the same punishment of the weight exceeds one gram. "Three felony convictions for drug offenses carries mandantory life with no parole, and it is a felony to commit a drug offense within 100 feet of a pinball or video arcade containing more than 10 games."235 Possession of a marijuana cigarette is such a felony. Federal law permits a $10,000 fine for possessing one marijuana cigarette.236 An Oklahoma man received a life sentence for felony possession of marijuana, 0.005644 of an ounce.237 ''(Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pgs.63-64) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425/Cannabisnews/ How does the punishment in any way fit the crime? 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by observer on March 23, 2000 at 08:01:55 PT
en·trap·ment
en·trap·ment (noun)"the action of luring an individual into committing a crime in order to prosecute the person for it"
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by Barry Smith on March 23, 2000 at 07:36:05 PT:
Law Enforcement Really Screws You Up
Ah, proof that it's not drugs that ruin peoples lives, it's ridiculously over zealous law enforcement which ruins peoples lives. Here we have a handful of students who would have graduated soon and gone on to further education or employment who now risk having criminal records, unfinished schooling and difficulty gaining employment - and it's the criminal justice system that's screwed their lives up!Still, at least it sets an example to the rest of the students - it shows them that the police are a bunch of idiots who should on no account be trusted - now that IS a lesson worth learning.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by earthsinger on March 23, 2000 at 07:23:04 PT
School Raid
I was listening to POT-TV(THCNN) last night & they reported on this raid. What this article fails to mention is the cops called the principal an hour before the raid to say they were coming by to arrest some students.When they arrived they surrounded the school with police cars and sent a SWAT team in to arrest the kids!!Everyone thought they were being attacked!Is this the message they want to send to "the children"? To fear the police and the govt.? If so I imagine they accomplised that and more.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Dave in Florida on March 23, 2000 at 04:46:35 PT
Don't They Have Somthing Better To Do ?
>The students were arrested after a seven-month undercover operation in which two law enforcement agents posed as students, one at each school.>Stapp said his son, Adam, sold the officer a single marijuana cigarette so that she would leave him alone.>"She bugged him to death," Stapp said.6 months of work and probaly less than an ounce of pot.give me a break!>While most of the cases involve the sale or possession of small amounts of marijuana, school administrators and law enforcement officials say the operations serve as a deterrent and give officers a better idea of what goes on in the schools.yes, normal things, like learning, learning not to trust your own government, entrapment is just a bad idea and people will rebel.
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: