Winners in the War on Drugs
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Congressional Family Drug Offenders
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Escape Mandatory Sentences, Get Favorable
Treatment
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-- Cunningham, Shelby,Watts November - December 1998
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First - Our Fearless " Tough on Drugs"
U.S. Attorney General
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A FAMOUS DATE IN DRUG WAR HISTORY
February 7, 2001: After a contentious confirmation process, new Attorney
General John Ashcroft
declares, "I want to escalate the war on drugs. I want to renew
it. I want to refresh it, re-launch it,
if you will." He said this despite the fact that under President
Clinton's two terms in office the
number of jail sentences nationwide for marijuana offenders was
800% higher than under the
Reagan and Bush administrations combined. {
HE'S A TRUE DRUG WARRIOR }
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Drug warrior Ashcroft's nephew
got leniency on marijuana charges while uncle was governor and
others went to prison for growing less -- visit:
http://www.Salon.com
-- politics section to learn more.
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Ashcroft's nephew got probation after major pot bust. Although
his arrest for growing 60 plants should
have landed him in federal prison, Alex Ashcroft was tried in state
court and avoided jail - despite his
uncle's crusade for tougher federal drug laws and mandatory prison
sentences
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By Daniel Forbes Jan. 12, 2001
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The nephew of Attorney General-designate John
Ashcroft received probation after a felony
conviction in state court for growing 60 marijuana plants with intent
to distribute the drug in 1992 -- a
lenient sentence, given that the charges against him often trigger
much tougher federal penalties and jail
time. Ashcroft was the tough - on - drugs Missouri governor at the
time.
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Alex Ashcroft, then 25, and his brother Adam,
19, were arrested and charged with production and
possession of marijuana after police raided their home in January,
1992.A housemate, Kevin Sheely,
then 24, was also arrested. Officials said approximately 60 marijuana
plants were found growing in a
basement crawl space, and a lighting, irrigation and security system
was also discovered.
.
Although growing more than 50 plants often
triggers federal prosecution, and results in jail time -
thanks to federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws Ashcroft fought
to toughen as senator -- Alex
Ashcroft was prosecuted on a state charge and received probation.
His brother Adam did not live in the
house and was never prosecuted.
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According to Sheely's lawyer, Dan Viets, who practices
in Columbia, Mo., Ashcroft tested positive for
drugs during his first post-probation drug test, yet still remained
free.
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"As I recall it, in his first month on probation,
Alex had a positive urine test," Viets said. He asserted
he has spoken to someone who has recently seen documentary evidence
of the failed test.
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Reached for comment, Alex Ashcroft's father
Bob first denied that his son had failed a urine test, then
said, "Anything's possible." Asked about the failed urine test, Alex's
mother, Beverly Ashcroft, told
Salon, "I have no idea. That's such an upsetting time, it's all a little
foggy."
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Ashcroft was sentenced to three years in the
Missouri Department of Correction for a class C felony
involving more than 35 grams of marijuana. The sentence
was suspended, and he was placed on
probation for three years and sentenced to 100 hours of community service,
which he served.
.
Ashcroft's parents point out that Sheely,
who went before a different judge, received even lighter
reatment. Sheely's records are sealed, and all Viets would say
is that his client was officially "not
convicted." Bob Ashcroft says, "The prosecutor was from the other side
of the aisle. He did everything
he could to prosecute my son." His mother, Beverly, adds, "I
think the facts are clear that his uncle as
governor certainly did not bail Alex out."
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Son of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham
(R-CA)
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In Boston,Todd
Cunningham, 29, the son of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke"
Cunningham (R-CA),
was sentenced on November 17 to 2-1/2 years in federal prison for marijuana
smuggling. Rep.
Cunningham, who has supported the death penalty
for drug traffickers, made a tearful plea to
U.S.Judge Reginald C. Lindsay for leniency for his son. Prosecutors
supported the sentence, which is
half the mandatory five year term for such an offense, because Cunningham
provided information about
other offenders involved in the smuggling operation. It was Cunningham's
first conviction. (Bill Murphy,
"Son of lawmaker sentenced to prison," San Diego Union Tribune, November
18, 1998.)
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Prosecutors had agreed to recommend a 14 to 18 month term in
boot camp and a half-way house for
Cunningham, but the Representative's son tested positive three times
for cocaine while released on bail.
On the day of the third failed drug test, Cunningham tried to escape
authorities by jumping out a window
onto a restaurant roof, breaking his leg. He is scheduled to participate
in drug treatment while in prison,
which, if successful, may reduce his sentence by as much as a year.
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Todd Cunningham was arrested on January 17, 1997 by DEA agents for
flying more than 400 pounds
of marijuana into Lawrence Municipal Airport in North Andover, Massachusetts
(see "U.S. Rep.
Cunningham's Son Charged With Drug Trafficking," NewsBriefs,
February 1997, p. 30). On August
14, 1997 , Cunningham pleaded guilty to possession and conspiracy
to sell marijuana. He also admitted
to helping smuggle two other shipments of marijuana out of California
(Bill Murphy, "Lawmaker's son
pleads guilty," San Diego Union Tribune, August 15, 1998).
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Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham - 2238 RHOB, Washington, DC
20515, Tel: (202) 225-5452, Fax: (202) 225-2558, District office in
Escondido - Tel: (619) 737-8438.
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CLAUDE SHELBY - SON OF U.S. SEN. RICHARD
SHELBY (R-AL)
On July 24, authorities
at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport arrested Claude Shelby, the
youngest son of U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), for possession
of 13.8 grams of hashish. Claude
Shelby, 32, is married and has one child. Sen. Shelby is chairman of
the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence ("Drug Charge," USA Today, July 29, 1998, p. 6A).
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U.S. Customs Service inspectors found the hashish in Shelby's
possession using a drug-sniffing dog.
Shelby, who had arrived on a flight from London,
was issued a $500 fine, which he paid on the spot.
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He was then turned
over to the Clayton County Sheriff's Department for state prosecution.
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Responding to the incident, Sen. Richard Shelby responded that he and
his family were "shocked and
saddened" by the charge but that he would "stand by him through this
difficult ordeal." The senior
Shelby added, "My position on fighting drugs is well known. It continues
to be a priority for me
regardless of personal circumstances."
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"The senator may find it hard to be stoic if his drug-fighting colleagues
in the House have their way,"
said Monica Pratt, communications director for Families Against Mandatory
Minimums, in an op-ed in
the Atlanta Constitution. Pratt was referring to the "Drug Importer
Death Penalty Act" (HR 41),
introduced by House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), which would mandate
a life sentence without
arole for offenders who import "100 usual dosage amounts"
of a controlled substance, and a
death sentence for such offenders with a prior conviction
for a similar drug offense The measure
does not define what amounts constitute "100 usual dosages." Pratt
said, "Under this broad definition,
laude Shelby's 13.8 grams of hashish could be enough to qualify him
for life imprisonment (Monica
Pratt, "Congress comes into the courtroom," Atlanta Constitution, August
12, 1998). The U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines provide that 1 gram of hashish is the equivalent
of 5 grams of marijuana and that 1
gram of marijuana is two doses.
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"Luckily for the senior Shelby, he will not know the pain of visiting
his son in prison for the rest of his
life. . .Perhaps his son's brush with the law will convince the senator
that life-and-death sentencing
policies are not trifling matters to be bandied about during election
year politicking," said Pratt.
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Sen. Richard C. Shelby - SH-110, Washington, DC 20510, Tel: (202)
224-5744, Fax: (202) 224-3416, E-mail: senator@shelby.senate.gov
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Monica Pratt - Families Against Mandatory Minimums, 1612 K Street,
NW, Suite 1400, Washington, DC 20006, Tel: (202) 822-6700, Fax:
(202) 822-6704,
E-mail: famm@famm.org
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http://www.famm.org
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DARLENE WATTS - SISTER OF U.S. REP.
J.C. WATTS (R-OK)
Darlene Watts, 34, the
sister of U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK), the new House Republican Caucus
Chairman, the number four position in the House leadership, was given
a 7 year suspended sentence
after successfully completing a boot camp program for nonviolent offenders.
Darlene Watts was charged
with possession and distribution of marijuana, meth
amphetamine and drug paraphernalia, and
maintaining a property where drugs were kept. She pleaded guilty to
six drug related counts in March
1998. (Associated Press, "Watts' Kin Gets Term Suspended," July 20,
1998)
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Rep. J.C. Watts - 1210 LHOB, Washington, DC 20515, Tel: (202)
225-6165, Fax: (202) 225-3512,
E-mail:
rep.jcwatts@mail.house.gov
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CINDY McCAIN - Wife of Sen. John McCain
(R-AZ)
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In 1995, Cindy McCain,
wife of U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), admitted to stealing
Percocet® and Vicodin® from the American Voluntary Medical
Team, which provides humanitarian aid
to Third World countries. The two narcotic painkillers are Schedule
II drugs, in the same category as
cocaine and opium. Sen.McCain is the chairman of the Senate Commerce,
Science and Transportation
Committee. Cindy McCain became addicted to the drugs after undergoing
back surgery. However,
instead of prosecution, the senator's wife was allowed to enter a pretrial
diversion program. An editorial
writer in the Arizona Republic noted: "Conservatives seemed to achieve
some sort of drug-rehab
epiphany when Ms. McCain made her announcement.
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Newspapers that often used words such as drug addict and thug as describing
the same person suddenly
had a new sensitivity to the problem" ( Doug MacEachern, "Painkillers
Took Over Her Life," San Jose
Mercury News, August 23, 1995, p. 8A; James Bovard, "Prison Sentences
of the Politically
Connected," Playboy, April 1997, p. 46 ).
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Sen. John McCain - SR-241, Washington, DC 20510, Tel: (202)
224-2235, Fax: (202) 228-2862,
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E-mail:
senator_mccain@mccain.senate.gov
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DAN BURTON II - Son of U.S. Rep. Dan
Burton (R-IN)
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In January 1994, Dan
Burton Jr., the son of U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), was arrested in
Louisiana for transporting nearly eight pounds of marijuana in the
trunk of his car. Rep.Burton is the
chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Six
months later, Burton was
arrested again, this time at his Indianapolis apartment, where police
found thirty marijuana plants and a
shotgun with ammunition. Federal prosecutors
declined to prosecute the case; Indiana
prosecutors
recommended dismissal of the charges
against Burton; and a Louisiana judge sentenced
him to
community service
.
(Associated Press, "Congressman's Son Arrested With 7 Pounds of
Marijuana," Gary Post-Tribune, January 14, 1994, p. B5;
Eric Schlosser, "More Reefer Madness," Atlantic Monthly, April 1997,
pp. 90-102).
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U.S. Rep. Dan Burton - 2185 RHOB, Washington, DC 20515,
Tel: (202) 225-2276, Fax: (202) 225-0016.
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OTHER CASES:
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According to author
Jim Bovard, other cases that have ended relatively favorable for family
members of politicians include: marijuana and cocaine possession and
distribution charges against
Richard Riley,
Jr., son of Education Secretary Richard Riley;
.
cocaine possession
charges against Gayle Rosten, daughter of
then-U.S. House Ways and
Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski
(D-IL);
.
cocaine
distribution charges against John Murtha, son
of U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA);
.
cocaine distribution
charges against Susan Gallo, daughter of U.S.
Rep. Dean Gallo (R-NJ);
.
marijuana possession
charges against Warren Bachus, son of
U.S. Rep Spencer Bachus
(R-AL);
.
possession of
cocaine with intent to distribute charges against Josef
Hinchey, son of Rep.
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) (James Bovard,
"Prison Sentences of the Politically Connected," Playboy,
April 1997, p. 46).•
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http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/wol/116.html#hypocrisyII
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While the furor over presidential candidate George W. Bush's
alleged past cocaine use has temporarily
abated, another prominent Republican has come under scrutiny for apparent
inconsistencies between his
public policies and family preferences.
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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported this week that Morgan
Grams, 21-year old son of U.S.
Senator Rod Grams, was
driven home and released by Anoka Chief
Deputy Peter Beberg, after
ten bags
of marijuana were found in the car he was driving. In addition
to having marijuana, Grams
was driving without a license and was on probation for drinking and
driving.
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Beberg said he pulled over Morgan Grams after receiving
a call from the Senator, who said he "
learned he might be in trouble, and asked the authorities to find him.
" Beberg, who is also the Mayor of
Anoka, told the Tribune their was no special treament: "Just
because it's Rod Grams' kid doesn't mean
that I would back away from it. But there was nothing I could arrest
him for. "
.
There did seem to be sufficient grounds to arrest Grams' 17-year
old passenger, however, who was
charged with marijuana possession and spent over a month in a juvenile
detention center. 9 of the 10
bags were being carried by the passenger, but one was found under Grams'
seat.
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Marijuana aside, Grams' possible violation of his
parole -- terms of which included a judge's order not
to possess alcohol or other mood-altering substances -- could have
netted him at least three months in
jail. Beberg told the Tribune there were beer cans in the car,
but they were full and unopened, including
the one at Grams' feet. A worker at the car rental agency, however,
said that five or six empties were
found under the seat.
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Senator Grams told the Tribune, "My son has struggled
with addiction and behavioral problems for
years and has received treatment for these problems.. It is my primary
duty as his father to set aside my
disappointment and see to it that he gets
treatment and continues to get help
for his problems."
.
But while Grams was no doubt relieved to have his son
at home and receiving treatment,he has taken
a strong interest in seeing other drug users lose their homes entirely
and get sent to prison. In 1997, for
example, Grams championed legislation requiring eviction of
public housing tenants upon
discovery of any amount of any illegal drug, on or off housing
grounds.
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http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/rapid/1997/5-8-1.html
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In January of this year, he cosponsored
legislation to lower the quantities of powder cocaine
that invoke 5 and 10 year mandatory minimum sentences, and
last week he supported a similar
amendment that passed the Senate.
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Peter Erlinder, a professor of constitutional law and
criminal justice at William Mitchell College of
Law, told the Tribune,"It has all the
appearances of a case of clear-cut preferential
treatment" and
"It would
be easy to find thousands of African-Americans, Hispanics and
working-class white
males who are in prison for exactly the
circumstances that occurred in this case." Neal
Melton,
executive director of the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training
Board, which licenses peace
officers, told the Tribune, "Normally, you'd
arrest everyone in the car. They'd all be
questioned
separately, then
booked on the appropriate charges."
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Preferential treatment for family of members
of Congress is nothing new. The November -
December, 1998 issue of Newsbriefs summarized known cases, including
the son Rep. Dan Burton,
arrested twice on marijuana charges.
.
see
http://www.ndsn.org/NOVDEC98/PUBLIC.html
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Cops and Drugs:
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Police Departments Tolerating Past
Drug Use by Job Applicants
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http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/wol/142.html#copsondrugs
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The Los Angeles Times reported last week
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/...
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that police departments across the country are hiring admitted former
drug users. The article focused on
the Denver Police Department, where controversy over police hiring
policies broke out last year, but
also compared Denver's policies with selected other departments. Denver,
the Times found, is not
unique.
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In Denver, where the Times looked at the employment applications
of every police officer hired last
year, 52 of 80 new hires admitted to past drug use, usually,
but not always merely marijuana. Ten of
the new hires had used other drugs, including LSD, psilocybin, ecstasy
and amphetamines.
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One officer listed about 75 drug experiences over a 20 year period,
including speed, LSD, cocaine, and
Librium. Another admitted to having bought quarter-ounce bags
of weed on several occasions, but
described the buys as " a mistake I deeply regret making. "
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All of the above cases fit the Denver PD's guidelines
for acceptable past drug use, which require only that the applicant's have
been clean for the last year.
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Other departments surveyed by the Times also have
policies that allow the hiring of persons with drug
use histories. In Dallas, you can have smoked
marijuana on as many as 75 occasions, but you must
wait a year for every 10 usages. If you admit to
having smoked 10 times, come back in a year; 10 to
20 times, come back in two years.
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The Tempe (Arizona)
Police Department has different criteria:
You can have smoked pot up to 20 times, but only 5 times after you've
turned 21, and you cannot have
smoked in the last three years. In Tempe, even
hard drug use is not an automatic disqualification.
Fewer than five times gets you a free pass, but only if was more
than seven years ago and before you
became an adult.
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In Austin, applicants can even have sold marijuana in
the past, as long as it was at least 10 years ago
and they were never arrested. For marijuana use alone, a three-year
wait, and a five-year wait after
"narcotics" use.
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Seattle's policy is identical
to Denver's one-year rule, except for a 10-year wait after using
hallucinogens.
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Even the FBI has loosened up.
The agency, which maintained a strict ban until 1994, now operates
under guidelines that allow prospective applicants to have smoked marijuana
up to 15 times, though not
within the previous three years; hard drugs up to five times, though
not within the previous 10 years.
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FBI Denver office
spokeswoman Jane Quimby told the Times, " The general preference is still
to
hire someone who hasn't broken the law, but the harsh reality is...
there just aren't that many people."
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Quimby, who was in charge of Denver police hiring
from 1997 to 1999 said that of 35 agents hired on her watch, 1/3 admitted
to having smoked pot.
.
And, perhaps not surprisingly, the DEA has also made provisions
for at least some drug users, agency
spokeswoman Rogene Waite told DRCNet. "
In the case of marijuana specifically, youthful *
indiscretion is allowed for.
Use of any other drugs is an automatic
disqualifier, " she added.
Unlike many other law enforcement agencies, DEA does not have
a set of quantitative guidelines,
Waite said.
* Ala George W. Bush
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The law enforcement hiring practices mentioned above are replete
with ironies and contradictions. For
one thing, they reflect a growing crisis in police hiring,
which has resulted in departments relaxing their
standards at the same time drug laws have become more severe.
.
"If you think you're going to try to hire police recruits who
have never used drugs, you're just
whistling," former San Jose (California) Police Chief
Joe McNamara told the Times.
.
Such comments inspired the Times to ask, " How can a substance
be so pernicious that thousands of
Americans are arrested every day for using it, yet so acceptable
that a user can still grow up to be a cop?
" In some cases, officers bust people for acts they themselves
have committed. If police are that
permissive with their own, how can the law be so punitive with others?
.
And that question points up another contradiction: the huge disconnect
between relaxed social attitudes
toward drug use, especially marijuana, and the harsh, punitive
laws in place to discourage drug use.
Americans routinely defy drug laws, in numbers so large that police
departments are now being forced to
make allowances for hiring drug law violators, yet police departments
spend billions each year trying to
arrest these same people.
.
When asked to reconcile these conflicts, law enforcers
turn begin to sound like soft-hearted apologists,
the Times reported. They sling around phrases such as " human frailty
" and " putting mistakes in
context."
.
Such selective compassion arouses people like Julie Stewart,president
of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums (FAMM). "It's ironic and sad
that police are given more leniency than the people
they
pick up," Stewart told the Times."
These are people who don't get a second chance...
who aren't
looked at in their entirety."
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The Times turned to renowned criminologist Elliot Currie for
a last word. Most of our institutions
recognize that minor drug use " is not a particularly dreadful thing,
" he told the Times.
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The fact that police, the very symbol of order and authority,
tolerate past drug use tells us
that our Draconian system of drug
laws bears no resemblance to reality.
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Go
back to the War on Drugs Links Page
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Go
back to the Cult of the 55 Chevy web Page
.
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E-Mail
me with your comments, suggestions, name calling, death threats etc.
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Thanks for visiting -
Gary Letterle West Farmington, Ohio
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