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Youth Drug Policy Is Ruining Lives
Jack A. Cole | Sun-Sentinel | 02/02/2005

Many thanks for Shahien Nasiripour's thoughtful article, "Students could face up to 15 years in jail" (Saturday), alerting readers that teens caught selling small amounts of drugs in their high schools will be prosecuted as adults.

This policy will accomplish nothing other than ruining the lives of 16 of our children and destroying their families. Treating children as adults will not lower the incidence of death, disease, crime or addiction.

For 35 years, we have fought the War on Drugs with these policies, and all that has changed is drugs are cheaper, more potent and far easier to get than they were in the 1970s, when nearly a thousand young people went to jail as a direct result of my work as an undercover narcotics agent.

I can't say how many of those children would have gone on to become valuable citizens had I not intervened, but I'm sure the number would be huge.

Think of all the folks you know who used an illegal drug as a youngster, then put the drugs behind them and went on to live productive lives. Many are now members of our government.

You can get over an addiction, but you will never get over a conviction.

The author, Jack A. Cole, is a retired officer of the New Jersey State Police, currently living in Medford, Mass.

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Loretta Nall

I am planning a protest in Palm Beach for the students arrested on drug charges.

It may be sometime next week or it may have to wait until after the 17th as I have massive committments here in Alabama between now and that date.

A gentleman in Daytona Beach has offered me his coffee shop as base camp and I have a couple of others who will distribute fliers and round up warm bodies.

Anyone one here from that area of Florida who would be willing to lend a hand?
Do you know people there?

I'll post more details as they become available.

You can email me at cnall1_AT_charter.net

Loretta

Burninbrooke

This is insane, however not suprising. This counrty is so friggin screwed. Things like this make me loose hope and literally sick to my stomach. I guess it is to be expected. I remember when I was applying for a Pell Grant (US Grant to pay for college) I found that if you were a convicted murderer or any other type of felon you were still elidgable however if you had even had a misdemeanor drug charge you were elidgable for no government funds. Sickening!!!

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Unregistered

thats stupid high schoolers are kids there just learning how to live lay off them