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Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Measures to Test Welfare Applicants for Drugs Advance in Texas, Kansas
Bills that would require drug testing for welfare applicants advanced in Texas and Kansas this week.
In Texas a bill that would have resulted in children permanently
losing benefits based on a third failed drug test by a parent was
amended. The bill’s author accepted changes to ensure children would
continue to receive benefits while their parents are in rehabilitation
programs, the Austin American-Statesman reports.
Based on these changes, the state’s Health and Human Services Committee voted to approve the bill.
Under the bill, welfare applicants in the state would undergo drug
screening. If the results indicated good cause to suspect drug abuse,
applicants would be required to undergo drug testing. Applicants with
previous felony drug convictions, or a prior positive drug test, also
would be required to undergo drug testing. Applicants who tested
positive would lost benefits for a year, but could reapply in six
months, after they passed another drug test.
Children would receive benefits regardless of their parents’ drug test results.
The Kansas House approved a bill that would require drug testing of
applicants for welfare or unemployment if they were suspected of drug
abuse, according to The Wichita Eagle.
Under the Kansas bill, applicants who failed drug tests would be
required to participate in drug treatment and job skills training, paid
for by the state and federal government. If they applied and failed
again, they would lose benefits for a year.
Anyone convicted of a drug felony would be barred from receiving
welfare for five years. A second conviction would lead to a lifetime
ban, the article notes.
The Kansas Senate has already approved the measure. According to the
newspaper, the Senate is likely to agree to several minor changes
approved by the House, before advancing the bill to Governor Sam
Brownback.
Supreme Court Rules Drug-Sniffing Dog Searches are Unconstitutional
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police must first
obtain a search warrant before bringing drug-sniffing police dogs onto a
suspect’s property to look for evidence, the Associated Press reports.
The decision may limit how investigators use search dogs to look for
drugs, explosives and other hidden items, the article notes.
The court voted 5-4 to uphold a Florida Supreme Court ruling that
threw out evidence seized based on an alert by a chocolate Lab named
Franky. That court ruled the dog’s ability to detect marijuana growing
inside a home in Miami by sniffing outside the house was
unconstitutional.
Franky, who recently retired after seven years with the Miami-Dade
Police Department, is responsible for the seizure of more than 2.5 tons
of marijuana and $4.9 million in drug-contaminated money.
Government organizations around the country use thousands of dogs to
sniff out illegal items, track criminals and search wreckage sites,
according to the AP.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme court ruled police do not have to extensively document a drug-sniffing dog’s expertise to justify relying on the canine to search a vehicle.
The unanimous ruling overturned a Florida Supreme Court decision
involving Aldo, a German shepherd. After the dog detected drugs in a
pickup truck, a police officer searched the truck and found 200
pseudoephedrine pills and 8,000 matches, which are used to make
methamphetamine. The Florida Supreme Court ruled police must compile
detailed evidence of the dog’s reliability before probable cause to
search the vehicle is established.
FedEx, UPS Say They Are Targets of DEA Probe Into Online Pharmacy Shipments
FedEx and UPS say they are targets of a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation into online pharmacy shipments, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The DEA effort is aimed at cracking down on the country’s
prescription drug abuse epidemic, the article notes. The agency will not
confirm its involvement in the investigation, but both shipping
companies have disclosed the probe in corporate filings, according to
the newspaper.
Federal officials want the companies to take responsibility for the
prescription drugs inside the packages they are shipping, the article
states. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald responded, “We are a
transportation company — we are not law enforcement, we are not doctors
and we are not pharmacists.” He added, “We have no interest in violating
the privacy of our customers by opening and inspecting their packages
in an attempt to determine the legality of the contents. We stand ready
and willing to support and assist law enforcement. We cannot, however,
do their jobs for them.”
Fitzgerald said FedEx asked the DEA to provide a list of online
pharmacies that are suspected of illegal activity, so it can stop doing
business with them. He said the agency has refused to provide a list.
UPS would not comment on the investigation, but stated in a corporate filing that it is cooperating with the probe.
Earlier this month, U.S. Representative John Mica of Florida sent a
letter to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart and Attorney General Eric
Holder, asking them to recognize “the difficulty and unfairness of
requiring those carriers to assume responsibility for the legality and
validity of the contents of the millions of sealed packages that they
pick up and deliver every day.”
Mica told the newspaper, “You can’t stop commerce; you can’t open
every package. I’m only asking them [the DEA and Department of Justice]
for a reasonable approach.”
Thursday, March 28, 2013
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THE PARTNERSHIP OF DRUGFREE .ORG
Dear Joseph,
Last December at our annual Winter Wish Gala, we announced a new fund for children and families, in memory of our friend, our leader and our inspiration, James E. Burke.
His son, James, shared with us something very personal that night:
“As I look at my two young daughters, I am scared by the dramatic rise of prescription drug abuse among teens in this country…substance abuse and addiction would move my father in a way that would make him angry…make him cry at the devastation of young lives lost.”
His father’s passion for serving children and families remains with us today, and we often ask ourselves, “What would Jim do?”
It was Jim’s belief that parents and kids who struggle with substance abuse and addiction deserve the same quality of care, and open arms of support, that they would get with any other disease. It’s now our job to make that a reality.
To date, through donations to the James E. Burke Fund for Children and Families, we have raised close to $200,000 to provide valuable resources to families across the country, including sustaining our Parents Toll-Free Helpline, where our staff of caring professionals help callers every day.
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