cannabisnews.com: Congressional Subcommittee Hears from Meth War





Congressional Subcommittee Hears from Meth War
Posted by FoM on June 27, 2000 at 18:52:50 PT
Law enforcement, community & business reps testify
Source: Sioux City Journal 
A congressional subcommittee heard testimony from the front lines of the Siouxland war against methamphetamine Monday.Fifth District Rep. Tom Latham hosted Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, for the hearing at the Sioux City Convention Center.
They heard testimony from state and local law enforcement officials, heads of community-based anti-drug efforts, and from businesses coping with drug use among workers. The session was one of about a dozen held nationwide each year.Rep. John Thune, R-S.D., joined his colleagues in questioning the panelists, although he is not a member of the subcommittee, an investigation and oversight body of the Committee on Government Reform.Testimony included a call for better control of illegal immigrants' entry and more jail space, funding for the training of small-town police and firefighters, sustained anti-drug education and empowerment of parents, as well as for more acceptance of drug testing in the workplace.Law enforcement was represented by Sioux City Police Chief Joe Frisbie; Sgt. Marti Reilly, supervisor of the Tri-State Drug Task Force; and E.A. Penny Westphall, Iowa commissioner of public safety.Linda Phillips, executive director of Siouxland CARES, and Carla Van Hofwegen, board member of a Christian coffee house in Spencer, Iowa, presented community efforts.The panel representing business included Leroy Schoon, owner of Schoon Construction Inc. in Cherokee, Iowa, and Jamey Miller, who operates a workplace drug and safety program for Rudy Salem Staffing Services.In his opening remarks, Mica said drug abuse is becoming an increasing problem in rural areas. He cited a recent white paper that showed that eighth-graders living in rural America are 104 percent more likely to use amphetamines, 83 percent more likely to use crack cocaine and 34 percent more likely to smoke marijuana, than their urban counterparts.He called for "close cooperation in a comprehensive, regional approach" and questioned the sworn panelists on what the federal government could do to best help them.Reilly told the congressmen that most of the methamphetamine in Sioux City comes from California where it is manufactured with ingredients from Mexico. It is brought here mostly by undocumented Hispanic men who operate under cover of the area's growing legal Hispanic population, he said. He said 50 to 60 percent of drug arrests are undocumented Hispanics. Reilly said the meth is increasingly transported in compartmentalized vehicles such as semi-trucks or RVs. "I think our roadways are inundated," he said. He asked for federal help in curbing illegal entry and in deportation, as well as for help in tracking money laundering. Specifically, Reilly said he would like to add to the task force an IRS agent with Criminal Investigation Division training. Frisbie cited the "light years" of advancement in drug enforcement and inter-agency cooperation in the 1990s. He said, given more funding, he would apply it to more manpower for investigation and prosecution. He asked for federal support of a new global information system (GIS) to track and share information, but especially for help with jail overcrowding. "We have become victims of our own success, with our jails filled beyond capacity," he said. "We're very exasperated with this problem."Westphall noted that home-made meth is a growing concern. In 1995, just eight manufacturing labs were discovered in Iowa. Last year, more than 500 were "busted" by local and state authorities. She asked for more crime lab space and equipment "as soon as possible" and for financial help for jurisdictions that must pay for costly clean-up of the volatile and environmentally hazardous labs.Frisbie noted that it is difficult for small-town officers to get training, even though it's free. They need someone to "backfill" while they're gone, and they need to pay them, he told the subcommittee.Phillips, calling herself "a globalist," said solutions must include education, intervention and treatment. She cited DARE education and called for a structured anti-drug curriculum across all grade levels. http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/DARE.shtmlPhillips said the solution is to reduce demand for drugs. "The supply will be there as long as there is demand," she said. She also urged making treatment more available. "If we could give treatment to every kid who needs it, we would be saving money down the road." She urged that federal dollars be given to communities to build the programs they think they need. "Make us responsible," she said.Van Hofwegen told the subcommittee about Spencer, Iowa's Christian coffee house, Hava Java. Supported by area churches, it is "both a hangout and a haven," featuring entertainment with a positive message, she said. She noted that the nonprofit offers a place to build relationships and reasons to be drug free. As a former teacher and school board member, she urged the Congressmen to target parents and empower them in the fight against drugs.John Schoon testified that his company had instituted a 100 percent pre-employment drug testing policy last year. It has resulted in better applicants, fewer accidents and better productivity. However, he told the congressmen, it doesn't solve the community's drug problem. The rejected workers simply "go down the street and get a job with no (drug) screen." Schoon urged more businesses to institute drug screening.In response to a question from Mica, he said the company's success when a drug user has been sent for treatment hasn't been good. They go for a few days, then get a job with another firm.Miller said he has personally tested 1,396 workers for drug use in the past 26 months. Of those, 1,107 were negative and 289 either came up "hot" -- or positive for drug -- or walked out, refusing to be tested. "I have only two or three (companies) participating. I think others are afraid" of losing workers, he said. Miller said the federal government could do a better job educating employers about drug screening. Both he and Schoon said they would rather any mandatory screening be an action of the state, not federal government.While the hearing brought forth interdiction, education, treatment and sentencing, several witnesses and Latham concluded that parents are the first front in the drug war. "Wake up the parents and tell them to talk to their kids. Statistically, it's the best way," he said. He wondered how to reach the parents who don't involve themselves.Van Hofwegen called on other adults to step in to provide companionship and a role model for children whose parents may be drug users. Phillips advocated more parent networking. "Catch them," she said of kids using drugs at unsupervised parties and other occasions. "Consequences are important. We need to switch the norm. It takes time, but not money."By Michele Linck, Journal Staff Writer E-mail: edi siouxcityjournal.comPublished: June 27, 2000© 1999 Sioux City Journal Related Articles:Stop the Bankruptcy Reform Act and the Meth Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6183.shtmlObscure Anti-Drug Provision Could Expand Searcheshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5831.shtmlLatest Drug War Tactic An Attack on All Americans http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5830.shtmlBill is a Sneak Attack on Our Digital Libertieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5821.shtmlCannabisNews Drug Testing Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/drug_testing.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by dddd on June 29, 2000 at 08:26:24 PT
rubbish
Even though I have become numb to bogus statistics,I had to chuckle in disgust at the phony,award winning ;  "He cited a recentwhite paper that showed that eighth-graders living in rural America are 104 percent more likely to useamphetamines, 83 percent more likely to use crack cocaine and 34 percent more likely to smoke marijuana,than their urban counterparts." What a WHOPPER!....a "white paper",no less...This completly fabricated phony CRAP,,,is one of my pet peeves....dddd
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 28, 2000 at 13:24:26 PT
My 2 Cents
When we they get it! You can't protect a person from themselves! You just can't! We are free spirits! We are individuals! We aren't a bunch of herded sheep on our way to slaughter! That's what makes us unique!
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Comment #3 posted by CD1 on June 28, 2000 at 12:21:31 PT
RIGHT ON
Right on Nemo! You're absolutely right. I find your last line ironic. "Wake up and smell the burning Constitution..." is a choice phrase, especially since it (and the Declaration of Independence) written on paper made from Hemp.It's time people to stand up for your rights. 
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Comment #2 posted by CongressmanSuet on June 28, 2000 at 10:12:38 PT:
There was a good point..
made in this article. I would agree that the addition of "Christian Coffee shops" to every town square in Amerika might just be the answer to the drug problem. All the kids can get wired on caffeine and chant anti-drug messages. Of course, those kids who are allready on Prozac, Zoloft, or Ritalin, will have to get in the decaffeineated line, but it is a small price to pay for getting out the "Drugs are for thugs, we want hugs," message. I would like to go one step further in suggesting a "new" commandment should be added to the original ten. "Thou shalt not believe in free- will or self-determination" Treatment for children who have fallen into Satan's grasp by smoking Cannabis should be swift, and lengthy, possibly a one year program aimed at building self-esteem in a military style boot camp. "Youth Squads" can be implemented, and rallies where the demon of Marijuana can be burned in effigy[hehe]could be quite effective. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go puke....
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on June 28, 2000 at 05:08:44 PT:
The hollow sound of their 'success'.
Everyone here has heard the old Vietnam Era phrase which succinctly encapsulated the absolute insanity of the war: "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."Now we have DrugWarriors whining about their 'successes':'In his opening remarks, Mica said drug abuse is becoming an increasing problem in rural areas. He cited a recent white paper that showed that eighth-graders living inrural America are 104 percent more likely to use amphetamines, 83 percent more likely to use crack cocaine and 34 percent more likely to smoke marijuana, thantheir urban counterparts.'This, after 20 YEARS, 200 BILLION DOLLARS AND 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN JAIL. And, after all that, kids are even *more* likely to use. What a great victory! But here and there, buried in small spots that many will just scan and dismiss, are the *real* threats and intentions of these people. This is the *new* tack you will see increasingly applied to the ongoing failure of their Drug War: globalization.'Phillips, calling herself "a globalist," said solutions must include education, intervention and treatment. She cited DARE education and called for a structured anti-drugcurriculum across all grade levels. 'Ah, yes, globalization. The very economic concept which has caused the US to lose nearly all of it's manufacturing capabilities to overseas workers, forcing Americans to have to work twice as hard to maintain a standard of living their fathers' easily managed to do with half the effort. Applied to the DrugWar, 'globalization' is code for increasingly proslytizing the DrugWar abroad, while 'working closely with' such shining examples of protectors of civil liberties as Communist China. Who to show their good faith in hoping to join McCaffrey's global crusade have executed something like 30 drug users in the last week, alone.'Frisbie cited the "light years" of advancement in drug enforcement and inter-agency cooperation in the 1990s. He said, given more funding, he would apply it to moremanpower for investigation and prosecution. He asked for federal support of a *new global information system* (emphasis mine) (GIS) to track and share information, but especially for help with jail overcrowding. "We have become victims of our own success, with our jails filled beyond capacity," he said. "We're very exasperated with thisproblem."'Obviously Mr. Frisbee is totally oblivious of the irony inherent in his statement, or the incredible dangers of what he is proposing. If the DrugWarriors are so successful, why are the jails full? Why do they need even more room? If the number of incarcerations are indicative of success, one can only surmise that 100% success will be achieved when all of the United States in jail. If it is so successful, why does he feel the need to build a global surveillance system? (Which, BTW, already exists; it's called ECHELON) Particularly one that would enable governments hostile to the concepts of human rights and individual liberties to tap in and monitor those who seek to change their governments for the better? Governments like the one this is becoming. People like you and me.Wake up and smell the burning Constitution, people.
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