12 inches of...

Remember Snow, the one hit wonder from 1993? He had that song, Informer. I always thought his name was a comment on his skin color, but maybe I was wrong....

It seems some parents are all freaked out that their kids (or worse, other people's kids) are wearing t-shirts with a picture of a snowman on it!

“This is part of a phenomena in which parents have no idea what their children are exposed to. There is a code that children are aware of but not parents,” says Sue Rusche, president and CEO of the anti-drug group National Families In Action.

Waaaa! I can't stand it when some people bemoan a subculture, whatever it is, that has codes and adds meaning to everyday items. If you don't get it, shut up or join in! Youth subcultures are particularly vulnerable to adult scorn and it's a shame that groups like Rusche's outfit and others continue to reach for simple answers to the very complex questions about how to help our youth make wise and informed decisions about drug use.

SSDP believes that parents with open and honest relationships with their kids will have children that make wise decisions about drugs, regardless of what's on their shirts.

Yes, these shirts are a bootleg comment on Young Jeezy's former profession -- cocaine dealer. But so what? Now, he's a very successful rapper who presumably makes his living legally. I think it's a wonderful American success story!

Unfortunately, this guy didn't get the memo or the paper. A few days after the above story ran in newspapers across the county, he was arrested as part of a sweep of "some of Tampa’s toughest neighborhoods."

But we shouldn't judge a guy too harshly who gets caught breaking the law while wearing a shirt glorifying breaking the law. Apparently, not even all of Tampa law enforcement could be bothered to read.

"One officer wondered why so many cameras were focused on the drug suspect. “I thought, ‘this is a little early for Christmas clothing.”

Drug Policy Reform Family Reunion

The SSDP staff and other contributors to DGD, along with hundreds of other people who realize that the War on Drugs is causing more harm than good, will converge at the International Conference on Drug Policy Reform this week in Long Beach, CA. Check this space frequently for LIVE updates from the conference. ;-)

photo from the 2003 DPA conference

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you there and hoping to stay in touch with the rest of you through the blog.

Why Get Involved with SSDP?

A little over two years ago I attended my first Hemp Fest at the University of Rhode Island. I had just graduated from high school and was beginning my first semester at the Community College of RI. I willingly admit my reasons for attending the HempFest were primarily selfish. I had no real knowledge of Hemp or even the War on Drugs (despite years of D.A.R.E.), and this was simply a day of relaxation, free musical performances, vendors, and the strong possibility of meeting others who share similar "interests".

I remember seeing a red stop sign sticker saying STOP THE DRUG WAR. It was the first time I had ever heard those words together in a sentence and my first thought was "Why would anyone want to stop the war on drugs, drugs are bad. Marijuana is one thing, but why would anyone support the use of hard drugs?” I honestly thought it was stupid.

I was not even aware that speakers were part of the day's events until Micah Diagle and Justin Holmes began speaking. They described the mission of SSDP and touched on facts concerning the war on drugs that I had never heard anywhere before and I actually started listening to what they had to say. I was shocked to hear about medical marijuana patients like Susan Pfiel, a paraplegic patient who was handcuffed to her bed for using medical marijuana in California, a state that had passed a medical marijuana law. Hearing about the disproportionate incarceration rates of minorities compared to whites disturbed me, as did the aspects of Plan Colombia, the HEA Drug Provision, the amounts of tax-dollars spent to wage this war, and the violation of constitutional rights, something that I had experienced on several occasions with police officers but never knew that I could do anything about it. SSDP seemed like something I needed to get involved in. An opportunity to learn about the political process, the war on drugs, the people it effects, and what other options could be executed to decrease drug use in our country.

After that day I began educating myself about SSDP and the War on Drugs and decided I wanted to get involved. My outlook had been changed. I realized this was not about marijuana; it’s not a bunch of "stoners" hanging out and talking about what their favorite pot strain is. It can become very aggravating when despite the clear mission statement of SSDP, some people refuse to see the group as anything more than advocates of recreational drug use. I cannot emphasize the importance of discrediting this ignorant assumption. In fact the drugs themselves are hardly ever a topic of concern. Rather it is about the laws concerning those drugs and what role they play in our society. It is about non-biased factual education on these drugs' negative effects, not scare tactics and propaganda. It is about people all over the world who are impacted by a war that cannot be won. The very idea that it is possible to rid the world or even a single country of certain chemical substances by incarcerating human beings and eradicating ecosystems is foolish and more destructive than any of these illegal substances could ever be.

So now I have started the first SSDP chapter at Franklin Pierce College in Rindge, New Hampshire. FPC joins the hundreds of schools that have recognized SSDP as a campus club and so far we have received great reception from faculty, students, and even the campus ministry. Through SSDP I have made great friends, received a scholarship to attend the Drug Policy Alliance International Reform Conference in Long Beach CA, and rollerbladed 48.9 miles in the name of justice.

So if you find yourself interested in SSDP or unsure about its mission make sure you research the organization and also the war on drugs. Gain a clear understanding of what is going on in YOUR name and what you can do to change it. SSDP deals with hundreds of issues and I am sure there is one you care about regardless of your political views.

Parents: The Anti-Drug?

I saw this on Saturday in the NY Post. (Yes, I read that rag...for fun, and of course, for the gossip!) but it occured to me that if even this parent (John Timoney, Miami Chief of Police, formerly of the Philly PD and NYPD) can't keep his kids from the lure of illicit drug profits, then what chances do average, everyday Moms and Dads have to keep their kids off drugs?

And yet, even though this tough-on-crime, law and order-type has had not one, but two "druggie" kids, he still never gives up on trying to help them through their difficult problems with drugs. According to the NY Post article...

Sean drifted away from his family years ago, sources said.

But his father never gave up on him and won't give up on him now, a former NYPD chief and close friend of the family told The Post.

The friend recalled when [daughter] Christine was in her mid-teens and addicted to heroin.

"John saved Christine numerous times, getting her to hospitals or rehab. His response never wavered. He always responded to help her, relapse after relapse.

"It became more debilitating and frustrating for him to respond, but time after time, he went to her side. Fatherly love was much stronger than his tough law-enforcement image.

"He knew, or hoped, that age would rescue her. But he had to keep her alive through her teens to get there," the friend said.

The article goes on to say that Christine is now doing well, having graduated college, become engaged and is close to her family.

I certainly don't mean to jump on top of what is clearly a difficult family drama. But I do think it's imporant for all parents -- particularly those who are being influenced by the barrage of ads telling them that it's their fault if they don't stop their kids from using drugs -- to stop and think about how much control over their kids' actions they really have.

Finally, when faced with the choice of abandoning his child to the legal system or standing by him, Chief Timoney chose to do whatever he could to help. Parents across the country should take note!

People are talking about this over on TalkLeft.

We see you, White House!

Thanks to all the visitors and contibuters from around the U.S. (and the world) that have made the recent launch of the DARE Generation Diary a huge success!

And special thanks to the Executive Office of the President for reading our blog today! I would speculate that the visitor was a young intern with the Office of National Drug Contol Policy, attempting to finally find some accurate information regarding our nation's drug policy. Welcome aboard, son!

Or perhaps it was even drug czar Johnny Walters himself, poking around to see what his favorite student organization is up to:

The last time I saw his Czarness (at the 2004 D.A.R.E. National Conference), he was preaching that the most crucial job DARE officers could do is to help the feds combat local efforts to legalize medical marijuana.

DARE to keep kids out of grandma's medicine cabinet?? Get real, Johnny.

Here's an idea: DARE to stop wasting taxpayer money on battling the sick and dying. Instead, spend it on something useful like... oh... treatment for addicts or effective drug education.

Up next: belt and scarf prohibition?

Apparently, a dangerous "new" trend is sweeping the nation:

Experts say parents should be aware of a potentially deadly practice -- called "the choking game" -- that some children are using to get high.

Children as young as 10 years old have participated in "the choking game," so they can feel a rush in their brains before passing out from a lack of oxygen.

Kids use their hands -- or sometimes anything including belts or scarves -- to choke themselves or each other until unconscious.

Oh, the crazy things those youth will do these days...

The biggest tipoff will be changes in mood, attention span and grades because they are causing very small subtle brain damage every time they do this, he said.

"Anytime you see a kid change, you need to take it seriously," he said. "There is something going on that shouldn't be."

Oh, really? I thought adolescents undergo drastic changes all the time due to puberty. Turns out, it's really because of all the simulated drug experiences those little rascals are engaging in. Silly me.

Casualties of Drug War

It's all-too-often that innocent people get caught up in the Drug War. Such was the case last month at Oberlin College in Ohio.

In an unprecedented show of force by law enforcement of Oberlin’s campus, at 5 p.m. on Oct. 19, approximately 30 members of the Lorain County Drug Task Force, assisted by DEA agents and Safety and Security officers, entered North and searched two rooms in response to a tip that two students were operating a methamphetamine lab.

One of the students involved described what the agents were wearing as “full body armor.”

“It was basically a military raid,” the student said. He emphasized the frightening nature of the raid, calling it “terrifying” and “disconcerting.”

“It violated privacy and made kids feel unsafe and confused during exam week,” he said. The student was returning from a chemistry lab when federal agents accosted him.

While one of the students was caught with a bag of marijuana, no evidence of a meth lab was found.

I wonder what would happen if people connected to the Drug War - like complicit politicians, crusading cops, and drug testing profiteers - had their home raided by drug war storm troopers just because someone called in an anonymous tip based on no credible evidence. Maybe if some of them had their homes ransacked, they'd be less likely to support policies that allow it to happen to other people. Not that I recommend anyone make such phone calls...

By the way, the photo above is from the actual raided dorm room. Send a letter to the editor of the Oberlin Review at edsinchief@oberlinreview.org.

Get up. Stand up. Stand up for your rights.

Watch out folks… there's a deadly epidemic sweeping our country.

It's not mad-cow disease. Or avian flu.

No... this disease is a kind of malignant amnesia, whose onset is marked by the loss of historic memory, and as it digs deeper and eats away at the ideological fiber of our country, it sets its sights on the core American values of basic freedoms and civil rights. The diseased become so affected that they entirely forget what it once meant to be American, and their sense of false-patriotism becomes a tumor that blinds, deafens, and makes dumb.

And as I found out last month, even universities are susceptible to infection.

On October 12, 2005, the University of Rhode Island—my university—passed its own version of the USA PATRIOT Act. Among other things, the new rules allow the university to punish students for what they do off-campus, and allow Residence Hall Directors to search dorm rooms without evidence, prior notice, or consent.

A student’s home is no longer his/her castle at URI, on or off-campus. In fact, the rules even state that a “towel under the door” or a “fan on in the room” warrant sufficient evidence to conduct a search (it isn’t yet clear if the intent is to target marijuana users or messy people who enjoy fresh air). The new off-campus jurisdiction isn’t limited to felonies either. ANY violation of law off-campus (including speeding-tickets, jaywalking, and of course, small drug crimes) can potentially bring a student before the campus judicial system.

The week that these changes were enacted, the URI Student Rights Coalition was formed. Spearheaded by members of URI Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the coalition mobilized hundreds of students, and marched on URI President Robert Carothers’s office, demanding that he repeal this draconian attack on civil liberties. Our voices were heard around the country (garnering coverage in USA Today, the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others). The protest was easily the largest demonstration at URI since the Vietnam War, and was organized by a diverse coalition of about 20 student organizations.

The success of our campaign has been tremendous. Whereas the administration had previously ignored our concerns, they are now paying close attention to what we have to say. Members of the Rights Campaign have been meeting with the administration on a weekly basis, and President Carothers has even publicly urged the faculty senate to form a committee of faculty and students to rework these rules.

Such is the power of grassroots organizing and media outreach. And that power is needed now more than ever, because, as I found out recently, URI is not the first university to enact these kinds of policies. In fact, we are one of the last to make the shift.

It’s not too late to change the policies on your campus. People have been asking me: “Why haven’t students at other universities spoken out against these rules?”.

My answer? “The DARE Generation is just now getting organized.”

Truth or D.A.R.E.?

This is from yesterday's Boston Herald. As if we needed more proof of D.A.R.E.'s failure "To Keep Kids Off Drugs".

My question is, who tipped off the school officials? Someone should get this poor little girl a t-shirt.

An 11-year-old graduate of Norwood’s DARE program has been caught with pot at school.
Police said the girl, who is not being identified, had “a small amount” of marijuana in her locker.
Police Officer Richard Giacoppo, the resource officer at the middle school, said the presence of drugs is an unfortunate reality in schools today, but admitted Monday’s incident “was really unusual for that age group.”
Police said school officials acted on a tip and went looking for the pot. The girl was not arrested but will be summoned to juvenile court.
[snipped]
Giacoppo declined specific comment on the 11-year-old caught by the school, but said she had graduated from the school’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

This is my first blog post ever, kids! I'm already hooked. We might have to become Students for Sensible Blogging Policy. This is so addictive, it should be Schedule I. Someone tell HHS!

Appendix: I don't think 11 year olds should have pot or any other drugs in school. And it should go without saying that SSDP does not support children that young using drugs recreationally. Finally, I am glad this girl was not arrested and is heading to juvenile court instead of municipal or criminal court. But snitching is wrong -- unless people are in danger.

Under the Influence of Propaganda

The White House Drug Czar's office is launching a new series of anti-drug ads, aimed at keeping teens "above the influence," rather than under the influence, of drugs.

One ridiculous example:

In one of the new Above the Influence TV spots, a boy through an interpreter tells teens that he's an idiot for allowing his friends to dupe him into smoking marijuana and accepting a dare that led to his fist being stuck in his mouth.

That's almost as priceless as the ad that says marijuana causes teens to construct hats out of ground beef, attempt to e-mail Uranus, and hear their hair grow. Yes, kids, you'd better stay away from drugs or you might end up wearing clothing made out of raw meat and choking on your own body parts.