cannabisnews.com: Governors Seek New Way to Halt Drugs
Governors Seek New Way to Halt Drugs
Posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 06:16:55 PT
By Alexandra Marks Staff writer of The CSM
Source: Christian Science Monitor
In a growing shift, some Republicans are calling for treatment rather than incarceration. For decades, the so-called war on drugs was sacrosanct politically - a must-win that both Republicans and Democrats championed, some for fear of being tagged "soft on crime." But a quiet revolution is brewing that could transform the nation's approach to dealing with illicit drug use.
And some of the leading rebels, and newest converts, are state-level Republicans. With drug offenders bulging the seams of the nation's prisons and draining state coffers, officials are talking more openly about the alternative of court-ordered drug treatment, as evidence grows that it is more effective than prison in reducing recidivism and returning people to productive lives.As a result, the roster of the reform movement is expanding rapidly from its traditionally small liberal base to include some big-name Republicans, including Govs. George Pataki of New York and Gary Johnson of New Mexico. "States are going to have to be the engines of reform," says Governor Johnson. "The reason is that it's too hot to touch from a national political standpoint. You're going to have to see it at a local state level, before it really catches fire and national politicians take it on." But some reform advocates, like columnist Arianna Huffington, are hoping the Bush administration will also look for a new way to ameliorate the drug damage done in this country. So far President Bush, who has yet to announce a new drug czar, has sent conflicting signals about how his administration will approach drug policy.His campaign rhetoric hewed closely to the "war on drug" theme. But as governor of Texas, he supported some prison-based treatment programs. And since taking office, he has appointed a conservative criminologist to a high-level White House post who's come out against mandatory minimum sentences for drug users. "I believe he has an opportunity to do a 'Nixon goes to China' on this," says Ms. Huffington. The current drug policy, which is based primarily around mandatory prison sentences for drug offenders, emerged out of frustration with spiraling rates of drug use in late 1970s. New York's then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller decided the best deterrent was guaranteed jail time. What became known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws set long sentences - 15 years to life for selling two ounces of a narcotic or possessing four. That get-tough strategy became a model for the nation.It was designed to stop drug kingpins before their wares got to the streets.But few high level dealers were caught. Instead, the nation's prison population quadrupled, adding hundreds of thousands of low-level dealers, young couriers, and desperate addicts, like Jennifer Lugo. The Brooklyn native starting using when she was 13. When she "woke up" at 40, she was facing her fourth felony conviction for possession and selling narcotics."I was always my own best customer," she says. She did try drug treatment at one time, but ended up getting addicted to methadone and the prescription drug Xanex and soon found herself right back where she started. She was sure she was headed "upstate" to prison once again. "At that point in my life I felt hopeless, helpless, I had no self-esteem, no motivation, and I was actually scared to come off all of these drugs," she says. The fact that she was an addict first and a dealer second caught the eye of prosecutors.She was given an opportunity to participate in New York's Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison Program (DTAP). Under the program, started by the Brooklyn district attorney's office 10 years ago, offenders are offered two years of court-ordered drug treatment.If they fail to complete it or re-offend, they'll end up in prison, facing the same sentence they did before treatment. "I was tired, detox scared me, but it was the first time I took a look at my life," Ms. Lugo says. "I didn't see any kind of a light at any tunnel." That was three years ago. Lugo completed the program and is now a case manager at Samaritan Village, a drug treatment center in Richmond Hill in Queens.When she walks through the halls, it's clear the clients and co-workers think of her as a star - someone who'd been down so far, no one thought she'd manage to come up. "When you meet her on the street, you'd have no idea where she was just a few years ago," says Ann Swern, the prosecutor who heads the DTAP Program. A recent study shows DTAP has reduced the recidivism rates of its graduates by more than 50 percent. It's also saved the state more than $18 million. Studies of similar alternative programs around the country have produced similar results. "Science backs up our analysis that treatment is not only more benign and less expensive, it's more effective in responding to the drug problem than imprisonment," says Robert Gangi, head of the Correctional Association of New York. Those successes prompted Governor Pataki to begin the year by proposing reforms of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. He would reduce some sentences and mandate treatment for some first-time, nonviolent offenders. While it doesn't go as far as some critics would like, they do call it a "good first step." New Mexico's Johnson has gone much further. He's called for probation and treatment for first and second time drug offenders in lieu of jail. Increased spending on prevention and education programs, as well as new funds for voluntary treatment centers. His goal is to move "from an incarceration model to a medical model" as a way to reduce "the harm that drugs perpetrate on society." Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)Author: Alexandra Marks Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Published: February 6, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Christian Science Publishing Society.Address: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115Fax: (617) 450-2031Contact: oped csps.comWebsite: http://www.csmonitor.com/Forum: http://www.csmonitor.com/monitortalk/intro.htmlCannabisNews Articles:Johnson: http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=JohnsonPataki: http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=PatakiHuffington: http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=arianna
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #56 posted by testy on August 26, 2001 at 13:41:25 PT
center
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxaaaaaaaaaaaxxxxxx
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #55 posted by Toker00 on February 08, 2001 at 18:36:21 PT
Test
Hot dam!! Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!! Yall have to look out now. I have learned just enought to be DANGEROUS!!PEACE. REALIZE, THEN LEGALIZE.
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Comment #54 posted by FoM on February 08, 2001 at 18:35:12 PT
Good Job Toker00
Way to Go! Keep up the good work!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #53 posted by Toker00 on February 08, 2001 at 18:30:49 PT
<B>Here goes.</B>
I am about to find out if I learned anything at HTML goodies. here goes.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #52 posted by observer on February 08, 2001 at 13:08:16 PT
test
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #51 posted by aocp on February 08, 2001 at 12:30:28 PT
just a test
This is a testLet's hope this works.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #50 posted by aocp on February 08, 2001 at 12:30:09 PT
just a test
[i]This is a test[/i]Let's hope this works.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #49 posted by aocp on February 08, 2001 at 12:28:32 PT
just a test
This is a testLet's hope this works.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #48 posted by aocp on February 08, 2001 at 12:28:15 PT
just a test
This is a test
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #47 posted by dave in florida on February 08, 2001 at 07:40:03 PT
Testing
This is a test. this is another test. this is test 3. back to normal
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #46 posted by Toker00 on February 07, 2001 at 12:15:48 PT
ummm.....
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #45 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 10:30:42 PT
test
test
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #44 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 10:23:25 PT
observer
I think we don't really want picture posting ability because I would have be on guard more then I would want to be. I've seen enough that I get cautious.You can post with EZBoard codes on my board. I have it since last night that no one but me can post because someone was trying to sell narcotics and I felt that was necessary for a little while if I didn't want to babysit it if you know what I mean.I have other EZBoards that you can practice on though.
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Comment #43 posted by observer on February 07, 2001 at 10:10:19 PT
pics
Nah ... we don't need 'em that bad. You can always just post the link to an image, and if people want to see it they can click on it. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/Image19.gif I was just trying out things from the ezboard page. I think that the administrator can use those commands.
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 10:08:07 PT
Just a note
I'm going to remove a few threads with broken links.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #41 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 09:45:37 PT
Didn't work
I guess you can't post pictures. I could ask Matt about it but do we really want to be able to post pics?
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #36 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 09:15:12 PT
One more
Fun Fun Fun Yessiree
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #35 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 09:08:25 PT
Wait I got a better idea here!
I got this from my EZBoard. This way you can check it out. Why didn't I think of that first. Duh!http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/help/ezcodes.html
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #34 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 09:05:25 PT
Let's see if this works observer
moon earth.orb email address again If this doesn't work email me me and I'll send it to you if you want.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #33 posted by observer on February 07, 2001 at 08:56:18 PT
email markup
Ok ... How did you get the email marked up? :-)mailto:moon earth.orbmoon earth.orb
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #32 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 08:36:00 PT
Test Test Test Why Not!
comments cannabisnews.com
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #31 posted by FoM on February 07, 2001 at 08:32:44 PT
Just Playin'
Thanks Freedom Fighter!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #30 posted by freedom fighter on February 07, 2001 at 08:26:16 PT
testing
You guys/gals are the greatest!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #29 posted by Rainbow on February 07, 2001 at 07:46:45 PT
some basics
Dan gave us the syntax and most works the same way for start and / to end. Hope the following works.So in the brackets you can placep for paragraphbr for a breakol for ordered listul for unordered listb for bold for a space no need for carats herefont face=helvetica for a fontcolor=hex code for a color that matchesli for a list item in an ordered(ol) or unordered listAn example where ( really equals (font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="3" color="#FFFFFF")Market Segment Name(/font)which looks likeMarket Segment Name
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Comment #28 posted by greenfox on February 07, 2001 at 07:39:19 PT
I gotta get in on this...
sweet?sweeter?Sly in green, foxy in KIND...-gf
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #27 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 21:13:24 PT
Play Away Toker00
Hi Toker00,Of course you can play too. I find that playing helps lighten us up so we can deal with this Mad Mad Mad Mad World! I bet you agree so enjoy! I'd try to help you but I'm just learning today too.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #26 posted by Toker00 on February 06, 2001 at 21:00:14 PT
Gone to htmlgoodies.com LOL
Sorry. I'm gonna take my toys and go home. :( JK.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #25 posted by Toker00 on February 06, 2001 at 20:56:49 PT
When all fails, read instructions...
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #24 posted by Toker00 on February 06, 2001 at 20:54:36 PT
Can I play too? Don't know diddly bout this...
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #23 posted by arcturus on February 06, 2001 at 18:57:23 PT
I can't resist
It's been while, but all this testing has tempted me to post. So any html works? Including blockquotes and all that jazz? This is sweet!How about a bulleted list?What the antis are:cluelessheartlesshelplesshopelessThanks for letting me play around! Hope it worked.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 18:15:34 PT
Just a comment
What's happened here is good in my opinion. Dan has helped us learn and that's nice. Since the thread has gone this way we might as well let it be a place to use at least for a little while and learn some of these neat bells and whistles. I don't mind if all of you don't.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #21 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 18:11:26 PT
Just a test
Just a Test
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #20 posted by kaptinemo on February 06, 2001 at 17:29:38 PT:
Another test
Antis lie the way I breathe: repeatedly, unselfconsciously, and without remorse. If all the money that had been wasted in the past 20 years in the pursuit of a Drug-Free society had instead been invested in affordable housing, food programs and medical care and institutions, those most targeted by DrugWarriors would have had the least desire to engage in the behaviors which cause them to be targeted. Someone has one sick sense of priorites
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on February 06, 2001 at 17:18:15 PT:
Testing
Now is the time for all good men to rise up and flip the antis the bird.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #18 posted by Lehder on February 06, 2001 at 15:15:12 PT
thanks, Dan
Boldly go where no one has gone before.-- James Tiberius Kirk "A good German reflected, 'What began under Hitler in 1933 and ended in a world afire 12 years and 50 million casualties later, was the result of acquiescence in the discrimination against less than one percent of our population.'If one group of ordinary people merits attack, it is esy to find other groups of ordinary people to attack as well, at home and abroad." Drug Warriors & Their Prey Richard Miller
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Comment #17 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 15:06:33 PT:
One More Thing . . .
There is a before command and an after command. You already know the before, , and the after is the same except that you place a / before the letter within the . Unfortunately, I can't just show you here because it will read it as HTML. I hope this is clear.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #16 posted by Tester on February 06, 2001 at 14:28:05 PT
Just Testing
italics!bold!underline!!!!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 13:52:11 PT
I hope I can answer the questions
Hi Everyone, Let's see if I can answer these questions. No pictures are able to be posted. Cannabis News has never had that feature. I know posting pics lowers security but I don't know more then that about it. As far as word wrapping. I have that problem on some articles that I post and must use a program to remove line breaks. I use Clipmate. That way I don't have to backspace everything to make it look right and not be laddered and it saves me time. I used the month free of Clipmate then I bought it for $20.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by Lehder on February 06, 2001 at 12:31:02 PT
Remove
Please remove this and my practice tests sometime, FOM. And thanks for reference, meagain; I gotta see how to turn the options OFF as well as ON. thanks
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by meagain on February 06, 2001 at 12:26:37 PT
okay didn't work
Sorry didn't work If it would have worked when page was opened it would have loaded millionmarijuanamarch.com fullscreen over this page lool
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by nuttertry on February 06, 2001 at 12:23:53 PT
try again lol
window.open("millionmarijuanamarch.com","DisplayWindow","toolbar=0,location=0,status=1,menubar=0,scrollbars=1,resizable=0");Fom can the settings be changed so it doesn't wrap text after so many characters??
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by meagain on February 06, 2001 at 12:20:11 PT
How bout some java??
Lets see will it support java scripts too???For those of you wanting to learn basic html I suggest www.htmlgoodies.com window.open("millionmarijuanamarch.com","DisplayWindow","toolbar=0,location=0,status=1,menubar=0,scrollbars=1,resizable=0");
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by Lehder on February 06, 2001 at 11:58:31 PT
drug test
Boldly go where no one has gone before.- -- James Tiberius Kirk another false negative
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by Lehder on February 06, 2001 at 11:56:59 PT
drug test
Boldly go where no one has gone before.- -- James Tiberius Kirk
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 10:44:05 PT:
Way to go, FoM!
And, you're welcome. I'm glad to have been of some help today.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by Lehder on February 06, 2001 at 10:29:13 PT
DRUG USE IS NORMAL
>But a quiet revolution is brewing that could transform the nation's approach to dealing with illicit drug use. >With drug offenders bulging the seams of the nation's prisons and draining state coffers, officials are talking more openly about the alternative of court-ordered drug treatment, as evidence grows that it is more effective than prison in reducing recidivism and returning people to productive lives.I am not fooled by more drug warrior propaganda like these statements. Replacement of the word "jail" with "treatment", even the replacement of jail with some form of actual coerced treatment, is nothing but the continued scapegoating of drug users for all society's ailements. There's no revolution in these words, only thinly revised drug war propaganda.The grudging acquiesence of medical marijuana by some drug warriors may be progress, but it's hardly a solution to the drug war problem. It really represents no change in attitude. Medical marijuana is just barely acceptable to some drug warriors because it still stigmatizes the users: they remain in many senses abnormal, certainly sick, people who are to be regarded with deep suspicion. A normal, healthy person has no use for marijuana according to the drug war zealots. We have two choices. We can accept, as everyone did for thousands of years before Henry Anslinger, that drug use is normal. Or we can continue with artificial repression, scapegoating and brutal prohibition enforced by jail or treatment or whatever and the result will be the destruction of America and democracy; we will live in a police state with tens of millions of normal people in prison, treatment or slave labor while the other roughly 50-60% of the population enjoys their mad sobriety, their slogans and their drug war.The drug war will end and life will return to normal when what was always known and accepted until very recently is accepted again:DRUG USE IS NORMAL
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 08:36:21 PT
Thanks Dan!
Well Golly Yippie! Thanks Dan!PS: See you can teach an old dog new tricks! LOL!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 08:35:00 PT
Test
Like This?
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 08:10:27 PT:
How I (and Observer) Do It
FoM, I wanted to let you in on a secret: this message system supports HTML. Just place around a B for bold, a U for underline, or an I for italics.Dan B
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 06, 2001 at 07:52:44 PT
That's Ok Dan!
Hi Dan,I have no idea how you and observer do what you are doing but the only way we learn is trying something and if it works fine and if it doesn't back to the drawing board. They are shutting down Go Network ( Disney ) where I have lots of my personal web pages and those I've made for others. I have to move them to Tripod or take up Ron Bennett on his kind offer and upload them on his server. I think that's what Ron meant. Some pages I just won't move but most of them I will but I must learn " Oh MY Gosh! The Dreaded FTP Stuff LOL!) We are traveling a fascinating road on the Internet. It can drive you to drink even if you don't drink.Just Kidding!Peace, FoM!
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Comment #2 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 07:33:12 PT:
Woops!
Sorry for all of those underlines! I meant to just underline Christian Science Monitor, but I guess I forgot the close-underline command.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 07:31:26 PT:
Prohibitionist Turnabout? Probably . . .
. . . but considering the history of the Christian Science Monitor with regard to its stance on drug policy, this article is actually an improvement. Consider the following:After 1930, the newly created Federal Bureau of Narcotics made the fight to include marihuana in the provisions of the UNDA an issue of high priority. A policy of misinformation was hastily adopted and formalized in a slickly packaged media campaign. Ironically, this propaganda reflected the prejudice of xenophobic attitudes, the morality of Progressive policy toward narcotics, and the tendency for sensationalized stories, such as the myth of the Assassins. The Bureau’s first move was to cite the Wickersham Commission Report on Crime and the Foreign Born of 1929. One volume of the report, the Warnhuis Study, attempted to justify the blatantly false and racist argument linking marihuana, Mexicans, and crime. Besides the Warnhuis Study, the Bureau brought forth media and police reports regarding alleged marihuana problems in several cities. Like the rumors about the Mexican use of marihuana from the Southwest, these reports had a definite racial and socio-economic bias. For further ammunition against marihuana, the Bureau also cited the findings of the erroneous Preliminary Report on Indian Hemp and Peyote. [122] Whether this material was truthful or believable was not the issue, especially when the point that it made supported the Bureau’s position and goal. The Bureau officially unleashed this propaganda to the public in 1931 through two Christian Science Monitor articles. [123] The headline of the first article read: “Drug Used by Mexican Aliens Finds Loophole in the U. S. Laws - Spread of Growth of Marihuana in Wake of Immigrants Causes Grave Concern at Washington - Effects Described in Wickersham Studies.” [124] Then, in a subsequent issue, a source within the Bureau claimed that: “Instances of criminals using the drug to give them courage before making brutal forays are occurrences commonly known to the narcotics Bureau.” [125] Through propaganda like this, the Bureau attempted to apply pressure on the recalcitrant pharmaceutical and medical interests which opposed the idea of restrictions on marihuana.from Unraveling An American Dream: The Demonization of Marijuana, by John Craig Lupien, 1995.
Unraveling An American Dream: The Demonization of Marijuana
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