cannabisnews.com: Alcohol, Not Pot, Should Be Police Focus





Alcohol, Not Pot, Should Be Police Focus
Posted by CN Staff on February 07, 2005 at 16:00:10 PT
By Brittany Anas & Ryan Morgan, Staff Writers
Source: Daily Camera 
Marijuana is a much safer drug than alcohol, a new campaign says, and punishments for smoking a joint or taking a hit from a bong are too harsh. "Alcohol has long been linked to overdose deaths, sexual assault, violent crime and vandalism on campus," said SAFER Executive Director Mason Tvert, a recent graduate from the University of Virginia.
SAFER stands for Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation. The nonprofit group was founded last month and is organizing campus chapters at the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, Tvert said. The group is critical of public and campus policies regarding marijuana, and is seeking to get an initiative on campus ballots this spring that would ease marijuana restrictions. "If someone who is 21 years of age or older is using marijuana at their house or at a party inside, they should not be a police priority," Tvert said. "Countless public resources that could be used to battle the problems associated with alcohol continue to be funneled towards the war on marijuana." SAFER members have been on CU's campus recruiting members to join their campaign, Tvert said. CU students who are ticketed or arrested for alcohol- or drug-related charges are referred to the school's judicial affairs board. The university has a "two strikes" policy, which means students can be suspended after two alcohol or drug violations. "The focus of our student code of conduct is on both drugs and alcohol," said CU spokeswoman Pauline Hale. "There has been a great deal of concern about the effects of alcohol, and I don't believe resources are being 'funneled.'" Last weekend, the CU Police Department ticketed eight students for underage drinking. No students were ticketed for marijuana. In 2003, there were 79 drug-related offenses handled by CU police and 240 alcohol-related violations, according to the department. Statistics are not yet available for 2004. Zack C. Tyler, a freshman at CU, sides with SAFER's argument that alcohol is a more harmful drug than marijuana. Tyler was ticketed for possession of marijuana by the university's Police Department in December. Tyler and two of his friends were smoking from a pipe when they were spotted by an undercover officer, according to police. "I know from experience that marijuana doesn't have as drastic effects on your emotions as alcohol does," Tyler said. "You have a lot more control over what you're doing with marijuana. Obviously, the law doesn't see it that way." Tyler said he was sentenced to 26 hours of community service, and the university's judicial affairs placed him on probation — meaning if he is caught smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol during the spring semester he could be booted from the school. He said he was also required to write a three- to four-page paper about marijuana. Lt. Steve Prentup of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said his concern with marijuana is that it causes people to pay less attention to detail and can make them apathetic. "Is it mind-expanding or mind-numbing?" Prentup said. "You've got to ask yourself that. The whole purpose of marijuana is to get to an altered state." SAFER organizers said they are first tackling campus issues, but may eventually expand their campaign to a broader, statewide level. State legislators representing districts that include CU and CSU said they were sympathetic to SAFER's proposals, but also said that the current political climate makes it unlikely that they'll be adopted any time soon. "I don't know of anyone who's died of an overdose of marijuana," said Rep. Angie Paccione, D-Fort Collins. "We know that quite a few students use marijuana, and we haven't seen any of them dying on couches." She said the Legislature would be better off focusing its efforts on booze, particularly hard liquor, which — unlike beer — has been implicated in recent student deaths from alcohol poisoning. House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, said she has long been an advocate of reducing jail sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. But she said efforts to ease back on drug enforcement aren't popular politically. "Under the current political climate, there's just no way," she said. Note: SAFER wants priority shifted to alcohol enforcement.Complete Title: Alcohol, Not Pot, Should Be Police Focus, Group SaysSource: Daily Camera (CO)Author: Brittany Anas and Ryan Morgan, Camera Staff WritersPublished: February 6, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Daily CameraContact: openforum thedailycamera.comWebsite: http://www.thedailycamera.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #12 posted by Jose melendez on February 17, 2005 at 04:53:46 PT
Re: Comments #10, #11
from google's cache ( http://tinyurl.com/4y9lq ) of http://www1.tcpalm.com/tcp/jc_letters/article/0,2545,TCP_1119_3533157,00.htmlhttp://tinyurl.com/4y9lq Youth drug policy is ruining livesTo the editor:(Some recent Letters to the Editor) endorsed the "Operation Schoolhouse" campaign, saying that it's worth it if we consider the heartache caused by a teen being hooked on drugs.We submit in response that any such potential heartache pales in comparison to the heartache in seeing a high school aged teen sentenced to 15 years in the Florida prison system. Such a response is assured to totally destroy the lives of kids dumb enough to sell some pot or a couple of ecstasy pills to an undercover officer.Sure, those kids knew that illegal drug sales can get you in trouble.But they probably didn't think that police would hire paid actors to infiltrate the school, buddy up with them — in many cases using opposite sex appeal as added enticement — and then sucker them into helping get a couple joints for $10.Entrapment is a dirty, nasty way of using police. Those officers involved are worthy of utter disrespect from all citizens.We've got enough problems of public safety in our communities that we don't need disguised police officers in our school actively soliciting our kids to help them commit felony crimes.Stephen Heath
Public Relations Director
Drug Policy Forum of Florida
http://www.dpffl.org'Undercover' letter missed the boatTo the editor:In "Courier Editorial Missed The Boat On Funding Drug Sting(*)," (the letter writer) omits the historical fact that youth drug abuses increase along with illicit profits as a direct result of substance prohibition laws.No one trafficked booze in schools until Alcohol Prohibition. Doing "whatever is necessary" ought to include truth and justice, and not an act of entrapment or otherwise.Get it together, indeed.Jose MelendezDeLand* see also http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n209/a01.html
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Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on February 09, 2005 at 04:40:18 PT:
Maybe off topic for this thread, FoM
But plenty serious, if you ask me. Having read the article and seen the responses of those kids, it really makes me wonder. When Ms. Nall asks the kids what they think about their classmates being incarcerated, the kids get nervous. One says, and I quote: "It's none of my business, the police can do whatever they want."Yep, the public school system strikes again. It's obvious some don't want to say what they really think for fear of being penalized. And could only happen if they didn't trust their own classmates not to pull a Pavel Morozov and fink on them to the school officials, or a reader reports on the interview to the shool officials. And at least one has either learned the lesson well or is truly Pavlovian conditioned to provide officialdom's desired response. Many, many years ago, in the late 1960's, there was a commercial on the Tube for Radio Free Europe that showed a kid with a chain and padlock around his head, just above his eyebrows. A voice in the background, sounding as if it was coming through a loudspeaker, was shouting what had to be some Commie Party slogans in a foreign language (sounded like Czech), and the kid was listlessly repeating them. When I read this kids' response to Nall's question, I flashed on that memory.Tell me again: WHO won the Cold War when our kids have to be scared that someone will report to 'authorities' their honest reactions to a stranger's questions? 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 08, 2005 at 22:05:56 PT
Off Topic: Palm Beach Post
I think some here might be interested in this article so here it is!'News' Anchor Can't Get Story She Wants on School Drug Bustshttp://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/local_news/epaper/2005/02/09/c1b_bino_0209.html
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Comment #9 posted by cannabis4life on February 08, 2005 at 11:02:44 PT
"Is it mind-expanding or mind-numbing?" 
Lt. Steve Prentup of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said his concern with marijuana is that it causes people to pay less attention to detail and can make them apathetic. "Is it mind-expanding or mind-numbing?" Prentup said. "You've got to ask yourself that. The whole purpose of marijuana is to get to an altered state." ----------------------------------------------------------Sounds to me like Lt. Prentup is not speaking from "experience". Whether it be from never trying it at all or smoking "the stuff that looks like dirt", one thing is for sure and it's that this guy is clueless. Like other finer things in life - wine, beer...cannabis is also amongst this group. With higher quality, you always get higher results...the good stuff IS mind-expanding. 
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on February 08, 2005 at 05:43:12 PT
JR Bob Dobbs
She's scared of the "climate" she and others have created. She won't change it because she's a coward just like the rest of them.They lack character. As long as they get that paycheck, and all that social attention...they don't want to do anything about that "climate". It's scaarrreie!! Ooooh! Don't touch it!They're cowards.
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on February 08, 2005 at 05:35:01 PT
Sixtyfps
It sounds like they are talking about what THEY, themselves, do to citizens!"likely will continue to cost, more in terms of lost lives, stolen and destroyed property, quality of life and human dignity than acts of international terrorism." Sounds exactly like what THEY do!Did you see them all drinking at Hank Williams grave? Hank Williams Jr. ought to file some sort of indecency complaint against them.
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Comment #6 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on February 08, 2005 at 02:18:43 PT
No way?
--"Under the current political climate, there's just no way," she said.You're a POLITICIAN! The political climate isn't like the WEATHER - if you don't like it, you CAN CHANGE IT. Especially since it's YOUR JOB.
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Comment #5 posted by sixtyfps on February 07, 2005 at 20:12:13 PT
Hope, I followed a link Loretta Nall posted...
http://www.natlnarc.org/papers/Edward_Byrne_Position_Paper.pdf"Recent pronouncements by the Office of National
Drug Control Policy directly link drug profits with terrorist organizations. Historically, the
most vulnerable victims of the illicit drug plague were our nation’s most valuable asset;
it’s young people.""While the Coalition recognizes that our nation’s war on terrorism will require
significant resources, we believe that decreasing the funding for counter-drug efforts is
shortsighted. The reprehensible events of September 11th were dramatic in terms of
scope and impact. The continuing impact of drug related violent and property crimes on
our communities is no less deserving of recognition and resources. For communities
outside New York and Washington, D.C., these drug-related acts of “community
terrorism” have cost, and likely will continue to cost, more in terms of lost lives, stolen
and destroyed property, quality of life and human dignity than acts of international
terrorism. In simple terms, it makes no sense to protect our nation from international
terrorists while allowing the drug traffickers to destroy our communities from within."---------------------The NNOAC's figurehead, Edward Byrne, highlights his concern for the impact of the (failed!) drug war on its most precious [he almost says:] natural resource.Recognize that, after having taken off one's rose-colored glasses, all these detrimental effects could be solved immediately by the relegalization of currently illicit drugs. The "community terrorism" described by the Coalition (and their ever-increasingly overmilitarized brethren) is directly fueled by their "vigorous enforcement." Friction = Profit, but for whom? Our LOCAL terrorist organizations! As our own kaptinemo and others have articulated time and time again, a perpetual war's enemy is its de facto ally.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on February 07, 2005 at 17:20:28 PT
Yup! You're right Taylor
Check this out.http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/then follow the links to what Loretta Nall has to say about it.
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Comment #3 posted by Taylor121 on February 07, 2005 at 17:10:34 PT
Drug Task Force
The most corrupt grant receiving enforcement organizations in the states by far.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on February 07, 2005 at 17:08:06 PT
What political "climate" is she living in?
"House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, said she has long been an advocate of reducing jail sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. But she said efforts to ease back on drug enforcement aren't popular politically. "Under the current political climate, there's just no way," she said."Oh yeah...that must be the political climate of "pure cowardice". 
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Comment #1 posted by sixtyfps on February 07, 2005 at 16:31:11 PT
Jerk
Lt. Steve Prentup of the Boulder County Drug Task Force said his concern with marijuana is that it causes people to pay less attention to detail and can make them apathetic."Is it mind-expanding or mind-numbing?" Prentup said. "You've got to ask yourself that. The whole purpose of marijuana is to get to an altered state." --------------------------------It causes people to pay LESS attention to detail?!The only mind-numbing cannabis I've come across is stuff that looks like dirt. Sounds like this guy's a closet ditch-digger.
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