Monday, February 13, 2006

Drug Czar begs for $$$

The Drug Czar put out a press release today, in which he essentially begs Congress to give him more money to put anti-drug propaganda on the airwaves.

Just take a look at the headline and sub-headline:
New Ads Call On Parents To Set Clear Rules About Drugs

*Ad Campaign Is The Last Planned TV Effort Targeting Parents This Year, Due To Limited Funds*
The release goes on to detail how his budget has been slashed.
Due to limited funds, the campaign is the last planned TV advertising effort targeting parents this year. Congress reduced the President's proposed budget for the Media Campaign by $21 million this year, but the President has proposed restoring funds next year to the 2004 level. "Parental disapproval of teen drug use plays a strong role in preventing teens from drug use," said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "We risk losing the hard-won momentum we have gained over the past few years and seeing youth drug use rebound."
It's really sad that the Drug Czar is pitching the fact that Congress cut his budget as a story to reporters.

Sugar high

Via The Agitator, we learn that a sixth-grader in Aurora, IL has been arrested for bringing a bag of sugar to school.
Police in Aurora have confirmed that a 12-year-old boy who said he brought powdered sugar to school for a science project last week has been charged with a felony for possessing a look-alike drug.

The sixth grade student at Waldo Middle School in Aurora also was suspended for two weeks from school after showing the bag of powdered sugar to his friends.

The boy, who is not being identified because he is a juvenile, said two other boys asked if the bag contained cocaine after he showed it to them in the bathroom Wednesday morning. The boy's mother said he told them it did, but then added, "just kidding."

Aurora police arrested the boy after a custodian at the school reported the boy's comments. The youngster was taken to the police station and detained before being released to his parents that afternoon.
While shocking, this is nothing new. There have been plenty of other pre-teens arrested for bringing fake drugs to school.