Bad news on repeat/How to piss off a rape survivor

People like to quote Einstein a lot. Among the favorite Einstein quotes is the one defining insanity as doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Three students have died of drug overdose at Southern Methodist University in the last five months.

Here are the problems:

On Dec. 2, Jacob Stiles, a 20-year-old sophomore from Naperville, Ill., was found in his room at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house on campus. He overdosed on a mixture of cocaine, alcohol and the synthetic opiate fentanyl.

On May 2, SMU freshman Jordan Crist, 19, also from Illinois, was found unconscious in an SMU dorm room and later died at a local hospital. His death was ruled alcohol poisoning

The Texas Rangers announced Monday that Ms. Bosch died from an accidental overdose of cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone, an addictive pain pill and respiratory depressant... Police believe Ms. Bosch was last with James McDaniel, 46, who was paroled in 2001 after serving 22 years for a Dallas murder. He is identified in police affidavits as a drug dealer who targets SMU students and supplied Ms. Bosch with drugs. Mr. McDaniel has also been charged in a 2005 sexual assault case in Dallas. The victim in that case, which is unrelated to the Bosch inquiry, says Mr. McDaniel drugged and raped her. Police affidavits say Ms. Bosch was spotted at Mr. McDaniel's house apparently high on drugs the day before she was reported missing. The next day, a witness said he saw Ms. Bosch unconscious and barely breathing on Mr. McDaniel's bed.

Here are the solutions currently in place:

"Like colleges and universities across the nation, we are concerned about illegal drug use among some students, habits sometimes developed before they begin college," she [the Dean of Student Life] said. "For this reason, SMU offers numerous programs and services aimed at prevention, education, assistance and enforcement."

"Essential to our efforts, however, is the commitment by students, as young adults, to abide by laws and regulations and to make decisions in their own best interests."

"Those with drug policy violations are subject to fines, suspension and expulsion," said SMU spokeswoman Patricia LaSalle. "Those who are allowed to stay may be subject to drug testing as a condition of continuing as a student at SMU."

Here are the problems with those solutions:

Prevention, or the strong recommendation to abstain from certain drugs, is only part of harm reduction. All three of the students died of an overdose, not from moderate use. Additionally, two of the three students overdosed on multiple drugs. Education needs to address the specific effects of all types of drug use, and students need a resource center where they can safely ask questions about what they may intend to take.

It is true that we as students need to commit to making decisions in our own best interest, but with only poor information available to us, it is no surprise that many make poor decisions. Indoctrination does not count as information. Also, not all drug use in itself counts as poor decision-making. If the best argument administrators can give for not using illegal drugs is that they're illegal, then we'll merely wonder why they're illegal.

Fines, suspension, and expulsion do not prevent drug use. Obviously, they did not deter these three students from using and abusing. These punitive measures make no sense. The only result of fining a drug user is a drug user with an empty wallet. Of course, one of the fastest ways of filling an empty wallet is to sell drugs on the black market. Equally obvious is the fact that blocking access to higher education does not block a former student's access to drugs, leaving the expelled students more vulnerable to drug abuse than they were before. And then there's student drug testing, that good old invasion of privacy that pushes many students to use less detectable, but more harmful substances.

Finally, and most importantly: WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THE SEX OFFENDER? Why isn't he behind bars for allegedly drugging and raping a woman? Why was Ms. Bosch drugged and lying on his bed? Didn't anybody find that shady? Would the witness have spoken of this before her death if he/she had not been afraid of getting punished, or getting Ms. Bosch punished, for using illicit drugs? Should we maybe take care of punishing sex offenders instead of harmless drug offenders? Oh, and the victim's family and friends noticed months earlier that she was becoming withdrawn. Could that have been the drugs, or possibly a combination of the drugs and her correspondence with a sex offender who happened to give her the drugs? Why was she getting drugs from a sex offender anyway? Couldn't she have just gone to the corner store, presented her ID, and... Oh, wait, no, no she couldn't have. Why not? and how is punishing students for drug offenses going to keep them safe from real criminals, i.e. murderers and sex offenders? and why couldn't anybody help her? God damnit. Why isn't anyone asking those questions?

Meaghan Bosch was a student like us and a victim, possibly in more than one way, not of drugs, but of the drug war. She died at age 21 after possibly suffering sexual assault. Last time I checked, sexual assault is not a side effect of any drug. Also, although Mr. McDaniel is innocent until proven guilty in this particular case, it's worth reminding the world that rape is always the rapist's fault. The woman, the clothes she's wearing, the drugs she's taken, and any other choices she's made are not to blame for her victimization. She does not "get raped"; the rapist rapes her.

History and her story keep repeating in spite of their best efforts to blame it all on drugs instead of bad policy and bad social conventions that really wouldn't kill anyone to change. Let's get the real perpetrators out of school communities, start treating students and the powerful drugs they're inclined to use with respect, start treating addiction as a public health issue, and stop insulting sexual abuse survivors by making headlines out of "Dead student's dad asks SMU to step up drug abuse prevention" rather than the more relevant "Rapist and murderer suspected in death of student" or "School policies fail to adequately address criminals on campus and drug use among students." Thanks.

Winning the war on drugs

Great news, guys! The town of Bastrop, Louisiana got an ambulance for their police department. According to the article, this ambulance will be a huge asset in fighting the war on drugs. The article doesn't get much into how - something about vehicular maneuvers - but it makes perfect sense to me. Now if only we could equip all police departments with one ambulance each, as well as several drug testing kits and a few rubber chickens, America's drug war will be won in no time.

Sort of like it's being won in the Midwest, as drug enforcement agents battle the meth epidemic. Although that article from the Baltimore Sun focuses largely on addiction, it does mention some policy failures:

In the two years since the state enacted a law limiting the availability of pseudoephedrine, a major ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, the number of homemade meth lab seizures across the state has plummeted. At the same time, though, investigators say imports of a more powerful meth called "ice," from the Southwest U.S. and Mexico, are soaring.

Fancy that.

The article's case study conveys the view that use of drugs - any use of any drug, not just meth - will result in the user looking like him, a 25-year meth addict. He tells this to his five-year-old. As any member of the DARE generation can testify, even protective lies can be dangerous.

No more spam war?

News from the front of the War On Spam:

Arrest Of Massive Spammer Hasn't Slowed Spam

By ANICK JESDANUN
AP Internet Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Junk e-mail continued to land in mailboxes around the world Thursday, despite the arrest a day earlier of a man described as one of the world's most prolific spammers.

Even if Robert Alan Soloway is ultimately convicted and his operations shuttered, spam experts say dozens are in line to fill the void.

"In the short term, the effect it's going to have is more symbolic more than anything else," said John Levine, co-author of "Fighting Spam for Dummies." "Soloway is a large spammer, but hardly the only large spammer."
Full article

I have a few questions:

1. Where's the headline that reads "Arrest of Massive Drug Dealer Hasn't Slowed Flow of Illicit Drugs"?

2. Is there a book entitled Fighting the War on Drugs for Dummies? How about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wasting Billions of Tax Dollars Annually to Crowd Prisons with Oridinary Citizens and Addicts while Perpetuating Myths and Stereotypes and Invasions of Privacy to Deter Kids from Using Drugs and then just Punishing the Ones Who Do... Well, I don't want to use run-on sentences in two entries in a row, but by now you get the idea.

3. When are we going to stop approaching student drug use with policies that are more symbolic than anything else? Symbolically keeping kids off drugs and keeping drugs out of the community, thus symbolically creating safer and more productive communities at large hasn't been working.

4. Could I have egg, bacon, spam and sausage without the spam?

5. Come on. How did you not see that Monty Python reference coming? My work is done here.

onBeing Norml

Micah just forwarded this great video on the Washington Post's onBeing site of Chris Mulligan from NORML explaining why marijuana law reform is so important. Check it out and maybe add some comments.

If you didn't get the email, your not on the talk list. Sign up!

Woohoo drug tests for everybody!

St. Viator high school in Chicago is going all out. Every one of their students is to be drug tested upon returning to school in the fall, and throughout the year, 20 random students will be tested weekly. I think I should cry, but I'm more inclined to laugh. Here's why:

• They have over 1000 students. Each drug test costs $45. The school has set aside $65000-75000 to fund the program for one year. If they don't have any textbooks, don't ask why. Also, rest in peace, chess club; you were fun while you lasted.
  
• According to school officials: There is no drug problem at St. Viator high school. They are not trying to police students. Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia, and two plus two equals five.
• "A student who refuses to be tested will be kicked out, Egan said."
• "The faculty and staff will not be tested."
• ... 'Nuff said.
• One parent is pleased with the program because "it gives kids a better excuse than 'My mom will kill me.'" Ah yes! Because we are all at the mercy of vile, pressuring peers, and all we need to prevent drug use is a better arsenal of comebacks! Something to replace the formerly prevalent "Dude, I would, but my mom is a scary lady." "Your mom is 4'11". She bakes us cookies every time we come over." "... Damn, you're right. Oh well. Pass it to me, I guess."
  

Look, Reverend. Even just saying NO beats just saying I can't because I'm at the mercy of tyrannical authority figures at home and school who don't trust me to make choices on my own and don't afford me any privacy because they think I need protection from my friends/myself and suffer great costs to make themselves think they hold absolute power over my life long after I've become conscious of my independent will and the fact that their dictatorship stems from insecurities and fears that I think are pitiful and/or bullshit that I shouldn't be responsible for especially when I have insecurity and questions of my own but they force me to comply with their worldview which just makes me angry whether I want to do drugs or not and it also hurts a little that there's no adult in my life that I can truly be open with and plus the whole thing seems hypocritical and like a violation of civil liberties and in conclusion I'd rather they work with me than work above me but I don't have much say in the matter so NO I WON'T DO DRUGS.

For one thing, I don't think any of us could say all that in one breath. This is fine, because we shouldn't have to say these things at all. (It's fun to try, though! In fact, if you can say that sentence in one breath, I would like to see it on youtube. Just don't go suffocating or anything.) The program will probably fall through, and when it does I say good riddance.

As always, SSDP has great resources on students' rights and privacy.

Cocktails 4 Jesus

First, some medical marijuana news: Connecticut residents, please help bring medical marijuana to your state today! That was a long link, which I'm hoping will increase the likelihood of you taking urgent action. Also, rest in peace, Dr. Tod H. Mikuriya.

Now onto Cocktails 4 Jesus. Morse v. Frederick, the Bong Hits 4 Jesus case that will determine whether or not students have a right to speak freely about illicit drugs in school, was argued in March at the Supreme Court. You'll recall SSDP's continuing involvement in the case. As students, we all have a personal stake in this issue. Although I now enjoy the freedom of college, where I can get an article about marijuana policy published in the school newspaper, things were not always so peachy keen. The following is my personal testimony regarding limits on freedom of speech in my own high school.

Our high school newspaper was in its infancy when I enrolled in journalism class my senior year. Hurricane Katrina had just struck New Orleans the previous month, so we decided to release a special edition to raise funds for charity. The majority of articles fell within the hurricane/gulf coast theme. At the time I had not yet travelled to the part of the country affected by the hurricane, but my dad had worked in New Orleans, and once when I was 10 he brought home some fine recipes from the French Quarter. I remembered the excitement of watching him make bananas foster and the mouthwatering taste of the non-alcoholic hurricanes he fixed for us kids. So, I wrote an article that reported on the state of the restaurants he'd visited, provided recipes, and suggested holding a fundraiser/awareness-raising event.

Well, funny thing about bananas foster: it contains alcohol. However, the alcohol goes up in incredibly amusing flames during the dessert's execution, thus rendering the banana liquor and the dark rum called for in the recipe child-safe. I thought it would be enough to recommend parental supervision and explain that parents would have to provide ingredients, but administrators distrusted a recipe containing alcohol in the hands of high schoolers. That sh*t is bananas.

As for the hurricane, I provided a non-alcoholic recipe. One teacher, to whom I was asked to apologize due to the mortal offensiveness of my article, pointed out that students could figure out for themselves how to make my non-alcoholic drink alcoholic. Of course, they can do the same with a can of soda, so her point was lost on me. Nonetheless we were ordered to stop selling the papers (instead of simply issuing an apology and corrections).

I will be the first to admit it was a poorly written and badly edited article, not quite in the realm of stupidity as a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner, but pretty close. That's not the point. The point is, I got in trouble, the paper lost credibility, our best writers lost motivation, and the fundraiser stopped, all because administrators and our on-site policeman felt that the article condoned underage drinking. The paper thereafter endured heavy censorship and required approval from a bureaucratic review board before publication. Fellow students were both angry and amused, and we retaliated by publishing an underground parody paper, which only lasted one issue because we were afraid of it getting into the wrong hands.

Alas, if only I'd known about SSDP! As we the college students reunite with our high school friends this summer, let us spread the word and perhaps plant the seed of a new high school chapter. It takes courage and resolve to tackle drug policy issues under a strict high school regime, and for this reason I propose a toast of any legal beverage you deem to be pleasant in honor of our high school chapter leaders and members.

Brave kid.

Nothing really bothers me about 11-year-old John Martin's DARE essay. It actually makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy that he has an outlet to tell his story about his dad's drug abuse problem, his conflicting feelings of love and anger, and how he finds his personal strength. I really can't criticize a healing process, especially when a kid has the guts to undertake one, so power to him.

That said, it would be nice if any set of policies could prevent individuals, kids, and families from being victimized by drug addiction. As long as there are drugs and families, there will be families rendered dysfunctional by drug addiction (although it's worth mentioning that Martin's father is guilty of violent crimes as well). Even though he's become a poster boy for the DARE program, John Martin falls onto the list of people whose lives would very probably be vastly improved by the repeal of drug prohibition. Encouraging people to be drug free does not change the fact that good people still use drugs, does not help those who become addicted, does not reduce their access to dangerous drugs like crack, sends addicts to prison, and increases the type of criminal activities that rightfully send people to prison - not because drugs make people criminally insane, but because that's how they roll on the black market. Not to mention that the DARE scare tactic approach, those offensive ads featured in the action alert above, and prohibition as a whole have not proven effective in decreasing drug use.

John's personal decision to remain drug free is admirable (as most sincere choices based on rich experience and deep personal truths are), and no one knows the extent to which different policies would help him and his family specifically. What we do know is that the drug-free America strategy fails countless families like his. We are working for those families, even when their children are understandably recruited by the other side.

It's good to be from New England.

Yesterday was a triumphant day for medical marijuana legislation. Connecticut's House passed their bill 89 to 58, and Rhode Island cleared the "final procedural hurdle" with 51 out of 75 votes. I feel like a sports announcer. Of course, we all remember when Vermont won the championship in 2004, joining Maine in the Medical Marijuana Hall of Fame. CT and RI's legislation come as welcome victories in the wake of NH's crushing defeat this past Spring.

And how 'bout them Red Sox? Well, Massachusetts' Lyle Craker is bringing his game to the DEA, backed by Senators Kerry and Kennedy. Our all-star team continues to struggle against the federal government's foul-ridden offensive. I propose that when we win, we launch a victory parade of greater magnitude than the Pats and the Sox combined. Oh yes. That will be one hell of a wicked pissah paahty.

I find the medical marijuana issue somewhat refreshing in that ailments such as AIDS and cancer, sadly but truly, affect people from all walks of life. It's not just a problem that affects youth, nor is it heavily concentrated around poor and/or minority communities that privileged folk often fail to understand. This is a drug policy issue that, if approached delicately, and granted she's alive and well and sane, you can successfully discuss with your grandmother. Your thirty-second sales pitch need not be catered to different customers. It's simply, "People hurt. Marijuana heals. Give hurting people marijuana. Uh-oh! People get arrested! Change marijuana laws. That's better. Almost - pesky federal government." Ideally, lawmakers would see every issue clearly without the blinders of privilege, but at least these successes show that they're not completely blind. And maybe, since we're awesome, our work on this issue can open their eyes to other injustices of the War on Drugs. Game on.

Hope in NOLA's L9

This article deals with a wide range of issues in New Orleans' Lower Ninth ward, and it's a great in-depth read for anyone concerned about said issues. In rebuilding communities, Common Ground's organization actually includes former drug offenders:

In addition to helping people struggle with governments that should be helping them return home instead of treating them as criminals, Common Ground also works with former criminals by engaging them in the rebuilding of L9. Common Ground’s ex-offender program teaches 10 local youth to rebuild houses, which in turn will provide them with marketable skills and careers even once L9 is rebuilt. Malik Rahim points out that most of these youth were drug offenders, meaning that they already had an entrepreneurial spirit. L9 takes that entrepreneurial spirit and channels it in positive directions. Each of the members of the program contributes part of their pay every week to a common fund. This fund will be used to hire the next 10 members of the program. Through this program Common ground proves in practice that no one is disposable – the first and crucial step in building real sustainable communities, based on people’s values and needs, instead of those of government and big business.

Wow. No one is disposable. We should tell that to the policymakers behind things like the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty and drug education and student drug testing. We could even use that argument in our approach to the Campus Change Campaign! Oh wait, we already do all of the above. Like at Maryland, for example, except they didn't listen, thus leading us to believe that students are, in fact, disposable to them. Most victims of the drug war are easily disposed of under the pretense of creating safer communities.

Yet in the most devastated and overlooked sector of New Orleans, youth ex-offenders are valued for their "entrepreneurial spirit" and paid to gain the skills to rebuild. That is an awesome alternative to the prevalent approach of excluding youth drug offenders from various levels of community, from high school sports teams to the university. Every one of our successes indicates that someone in the policymaking department, like those at Common Ground, recognizes both the value of community members harmed by the Drug War and the insanity of punishing non-criminals.

Tell your children!

Actually, this pamphlet (also from my local police department) is called "How to tell if a kid is on drugs and what to do about it!"

The next page advises, "If you suspect that your child is using drugs, question everything. Make sure you monitor what your child is doing as much as possible."

This is what the "protectors" of our communities have been telling our parents: If your child begins to experience any changes, invest a sudden interest in their activities. Pay attention not because you care about your kids, but because you care if they're using drugs. Also, since "these signs may indicate a problem other than drug use" (for example, "a lack of concern for appearance or hygeine" may actually indicate being a communist, practicing witchcraft, or having an unhealthy obsession with the conservation of spotted owls), "drugs, traces of drugs, and drug paraphernalia are more direct evidence of drug use." So in other words, look for direct evidence. Perhaps try drug testing. It's perfectly legal for parents to find the evidence without a warrant. However, "Be prepared that your child will probably lie, and you may have to seek outside help." So please feel free to invite your friends from the police department over.

You know what, Officer What's-Your-Name? Don't you talk about my mother that way. (Of course it comes as no surprise that there wasn't any harm reduction literature.)