StoptheDrugWar.org Newt Gingrich Wants to Kill Dealers, Drug Test Everybody Else By Scott MOrgan Ever since Newt Gingrich became the latest front-runner for the republican presidential nomination, a lot of people have been reminding us how horrible he is on drug policy issues. Heck, even Next Gingrich has been reminding us how horrible Newt Gingrich is on drug policy issues: “I think the California experience is that medical marijuana becomes a joke.” “My general belief is that we ought to be much more aggressive about drug policy.” “In my mind it means having steeper economic penalties and it means having a willingness to do more drug testing.” “I think if you are, for example, the leader of a cartel, sure.” (When asked if he supports killing drug smugglers) “Places like Singapore have been the most successful at doing that. They’ve been very draconian. And they have communicated with great intention that they intend to stop drugs from coming into their country.” [Yahoo News] Well yeah, by hanging people. They’ve been killing people for marijuana, which can’t even kill you by itself. And photo by Gage Skidmore Newt Gingrich thinks that’s cool, even though he himself has smoked marijuana. It makes you wonder why Newt Gingrich doesn’t go track down the people who gave him marijuana in college…and kill them. Seriously, this guy is such a screwball he should be hosting a show on AM radio, not polling in first place among republican presidential candidates. I mean, Singapore? Really? I’ve been following the drug war debate for a long time, and I’ve seen a lot of the worst drug warriors in the world perform live: John Walters, Bill Bennett, Nora Volkow, David Murray, Kevin Sabet, to name a few, but I’ve never heard anyone come along saying that we need to be more like Singapore. It’s an idea so violently ignorant, so recklessly unhinged, that only a lone fool acting alone would propose it, perhaps months after the resignation of the people whose job it is to stop you from saying such things. (This article was published by StoptheDrugWar.org’s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)
THIS MONTH’S CORRUPT COPS STORIES By Phillip Smith Busy, busy! Quite a crew of miscreants this week, including a former national Sheriff of the Year. Let’s get to it: In Littleton, Colorado, a former Arapahoe County sheriff was arrested late last month for trading methamphetamine for sexual favors from young men and hit with additional charges last Friday. Retired Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan, 68, a one-time national “Sheriff of the Year,” was first charged with possession and distribution of meth and now faces additional counts of soliciting a prostitute and attempting to influence a public official. Two informants told investigators they had sex with Sullivan in exchange for drugs, and one of them agreed to set up a meeting with Sullivan for another tryst. The meeting was videotaped, and Sullivan was arrested after handing drugs over to the snitch. The influencing a public servant charge came from a September incident when a caller reported that “an old guy,” later identified as Sullivan, was trying to get his roommates to use drugs and wouldn’t leave the house. When police arrived, Sullivan falsely told them he was part of a state task force trying to help drug users. At last report, Sullivan was being held on $500,000 bail. Ironically, he is being detained at a jail that bears his name. Police are investigating whether Sullivan was engaged in illegal activity while still sheriff and whether underage boys were involved. In Marksville, Louisiana, an Avoyelles Parish Detention Center officer was arrested Saturday for bringing drugs into the jail. Guard Jaworski Toussaint, 34, was caught bringing synthetic marijuana and other contraband into the jail. He is charged with introduction of contraband into a penal institution and malfeasance in office. In Poughkeepsie, New York, a former Poughkeepsie police officer was sentenced December 1 to 3 ½ to 10 ½ years in prison for taking bribes from a cocaine dealer. David Palazzolo admitted revealing the name of a female undercover officer and identifying a vehicle used for undercover work by the Dutchess County Drug Task Force in exchange for bribes. He earlier pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, receiving a bribe, and computer trespass. In Rochester, New York, an Orleans County sheriff’s correction officer was arrested Sunday for smuggling contraband into the county jail. Guard Shawn Nicholson, 35, was arrested after a weeks-long investigation and went down after a sting operation. He is charged with two counts each of promoting prison contraband, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a controlled substance, conspiracy, and one count official misconduct. Bail was set at $10,000; there is no word on whether he has paid it.
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