His nose is longer than his...

The Drug Czar actually addressed a question I submitted to his web chat today:

Q. Director Walters, Do you think it is a sensible drug policy to strip financial aid from college students with drug convictions? Seeing as how there are already minimum GPA requirements to receive aid, only good students are being affected by this policy. Do you think it makes sense to interrupt the academic careers of these hardworking students who are trying so hard to become productive taxpaying citizens? Thanks for your thoughts

Director Walters: Thanks for your question. You’re a bit late though. Last month, President Bush signed legislation that enables students who weren't in college and receiving federal aid at the time of their drug conviction to apply for federal financial aid. I should note, however, that according to the Department of Education, 98 percent of students who answered ‘yes’ to the question regarding a drug conviction were still eligible for federal aid after completing a form explaining the details of their convictions. This issue was used as a minor distraction by drug legalization groups to promote their political agenda of legalizing marijuana.

While I appreciate the Czar addressing my question, he failed to actually answer it, and lied in the process. As you might be able to tell, I specifically worded the question to ask about the reformed Drug Provision, which only affects people who were convicted while in college - but he took the opportunity to brush that aside and patronize me anyway.

The Drug Czar completely pulls the 98 percent number out of the same place he conjures up most of the things he says - his ass. Actually, according to Department of Education statistics, only 65 (not 98) percent of those who initially indicated they had a drug convictions on their 2004-2005 financial aid form ended up changing their answers on the follow-up form to make themselves eligible.

And Walters's most ridiculous line is his last one. Does he really mean to say that the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Association for Addiction Professionals, the National Education Association, the NAACP, the Presbyterian Church, and more than 250 other prominent organizations are trying to promote a political agenda of legalizing marijuana?

What a loser this guy is.

Are you feeling...

...skeptical about pharmaceutical companies?

...distrustful of those who sell psychotropic drugs for profit?

...leery of the medical establishment?

Ask your doctor about PharmAmorin.

Show and Tell.... And then your mom gets arrested.

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. A 42-year-old mother has been arrested on drug charges after police say her 6-year-old daughter turned up at school with six bags of marijuana.

Lisa M. Phillips, 42, was charged Monday after police searched her home and allegedly found about a half pound of marijuana, Capt. Jeffrey L. Blatter said.

The girl, a student at Noah Webster Elementary School in Hartford, found six packets of marijuana in her jacket and reported it to school staff upon arriving Monday morning, police said.

Phillips was charged with risk of injury to a minor, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was being held with bail set at $10,000.

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Now, how did the marijuana get into her pocket? At 6years old I don't think she was there to sell it for her mom and if the girl was the one who brought it to the attention of school staff then I doubt she was there intending to sell marijuana. Maybe her mom had hid it in her jacket at some point and forgot that it was there. Or maybe the girl found it and decided to put it in her pocket.

As far as the "dangers" of marijuana go, the plant matter in her pocket really posed no threat to her or any other students. However, I do feel that the mom's priorities should be questioned here. A responsible marijuana user will find a secure and safe place to keep this drug out of sight and out of the hands of those they do not want to find it. Obviously there will be a few people who are not so responsible, or with whom circumstance seems to take the upper hand. This also goes for legal prescription drugs, alcohol, guns, and tobacco products that a parent does not want to be in the hands of their children.

What if a more dangerous prescribed drug like Oxycontin or Vicadin was found in her pocket? Drugs like these pose much more danger to a 6-year old than marijuana, and are much easier for a child to use (put in their mouth).

Would such a big deal have been made if this were the case? Would the mother's home have been searched? I am not sure of that. Either way, this is a story I am interested in seeing the outcome of. Hopefully this girl's family will not be destroyed over this incident.

Thanks to Micah Daigle.

SSDP takes over the Midwest

The 2006 SSDP Midwest Regional Conference at the University of Missouri-Columbia wrapped up today, and by all accounts, the weekend was a smashing success. Students and activists from across the region and throughout the country converged at the Mizzou campus to plan strategies for ending the Drug War, network, and have lots of fun.

The Columbia Daily Tribune covered the conference today in a front page article, and the Columbia Misssourian ran a piece. The conference also caught the attention of several local TV and radio stations.
I continue to be increasingly-impressed with the Mizzou SSDP chapter and all the great individual activists working so hard to foster sensible drug policies here and across the nation. Keep wielding those machetes of justice!