Friday, December 19, 2003

Justice Department sues Mississippi Via Atrios, this CBS news report Feds Allege Youth Camps Abuse Among the abuses uncovered: suicidal girls were stripped naked and placed in solitary confinement in a dark cell with only a drain for a toilet, boys were forced to run with mattresses strapped to their backs, girls who threw up while running in the heat were forced to eat their vomit, and youths were tied to poles or hog-tied.... According to a June letter from the Justice Department to Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, investigators found the camps also lacked proper sanitation and educational services, and violated the youths' First Amendment rights by "forcing them to engage in religious activities." The letter said youth were sometimes forced to get up in the middle of the night and walk around their dormitory with their hands on their head. Counselors were reported to have slapped and choked youths, and used pepper spray on them when they refused to exercise, or when they were tied up. Further details and reports on these youth gulags, which were apparently not only tolerated by the state for many years, but actually encouraged as a form of "rehabilitation," are available here and here. Note that many of these youngsters are there for low level drug possession charges. If you're a parent, I ask you: Would you rather your child deal with the risks and temptations of drugs under your guidance and rules, or would you have them sent to a place like this? 8:25:35 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Missouri considering drug stamp tax Senator Proposes Taxing Illegal Drugs. This isn't particularly new - 23 states have similar stupid laws. Each gram of marijuana would be subject to a $3.50 tax.  Other controlled substances would be taxed $200 for each gram or portion of a gram.  For drugs not sold by weight, such as Ecstasy, every 50 doses would be taxed $2,000. Note: for those of you who haven't converted to metric yet, for marijuana that's about $100 tax per ounce. Keep in mind that this is not an easing of penalties -- it is adding an additional penalty on top of criminalizing drugs. The idea is, once you're arrested for possession of drugs, not only do you get the jail time and fines for the charge, but they also go after you for tax evasion because you probably haven't bought the stamps (they don't really expect you to). A similar bill was passed in Kansas in 1987.  Last year it collected $883,846 in revenue from people arrested in possession of drugs without stamps and $370 in stamp sales. Most drug tax stamps are purchased by collectors, not drug dealers (the Texas one is quite entertaining). These taxes are really a kind of dishonesty on the part of legislatures. If you want a tougher penalty for something illegal, then make that part of the legal penalty -- don't go around looking for some other hook. Many of these taxes have run into legal trouble. Some of them have been termed unconstitutional due to the prohibition against self-incrimination. Others, if providing a serious enough penalty, have been determined to constitute double jeopardy (some Texas drug dealers in 1996 were getting off of their drug charges in court by putting a deposit down on their tax liability). For now, those in St. Joseph, Missouri may want to spread the word that Republican Senator Charlie Shields wants to raise taxes. That could make it interesting. Earlier this year, TalkLeft reported on a similar tax in Iowa. Protesters of the tax came up with the memorable line: No taxation without legalization. 7:44:52 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []