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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #984 -- 8/3/17
Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/984

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. JUDGE FORCES FIRST-TIME DRUG OFFENDERS TO TAKE CHRISTIAN DRUG TREATMENT COURSE
But there's this thing called the First Amendment... http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/02/judge_orders_christian_drug_treatment

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
The fight to defund federal law enforcement in medical marijuana states continues, the NFL is ready to work with players on medical marijuana for pain management, Puerto Rico is banking on medical marijuana to boost its economy, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/02/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A crooked police scandal is brewing in Baltimore, a crooked Chicago-area cop heads for federal prison, so does an Alabama prison guard, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/02/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. CHRONICLE AM: MA GOV SIGNS MJ LAW, GAO REPORT FINDS DRUG POLICY FAILURES, MORE... (7/28/17)
An anticipated Justice Department decision on what to do about legal marijuana hasn't happened yet, Massachusetts' governor signs the legal marijuana implementation bill, the GAO reports on federal drug policy, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/jul/28/chronicle_am_ma_gov_signs_mj_law

5. CHRONICLE AM: FED BILLS WOULD SHRINK CSA REACH, SLOW START TO SESSIONS DRUG WAR, MORE... (7/31/17)
New federal bills aim to remove state-legal marijuana and industrial hemp from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act, Jeff Sessions' drug war is slow getting off the ground, an Indian minister comes out for medical marijuana, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/jul/31/fed_bills_would_shrink_csa

6. CHRONICLE AM: WH OPIOID PANEL CALLS FOR DECLARATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY, MORE... (8/1/2017)
Federal bills to legalize pot and to allow drug testing of people seeking unemployment benefits get filed, the presidential commission on opioids issues a preliminary reports, the NFL offers to work with the players' union on medical marijuana, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/01/chronicle_am_wh_opioid_panel_cal

7. CHRONICLE AM: WYDEN WANTS DOJ TO RELEASE MJ RECS, PRESSURE ON DHS OVER METH DEATH, MORE... (8/2/17)
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden has asked Attorney General Sessions to release recommendations on possible changes in federal marijuana enforcement, congressmembers want changes at Customs and Border Protection after video of a Mexican teen's death after
drinking meth in front of Customs agents went public, and more. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/02/chronicle_am_wyden_wants_doj_rel

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1. JUDGE FORCES FIRST-TIME DRUG OFFENDERS TO TAKE CHRISTIAN DRUG TREATMENT COURSE
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/aug/02/judge_orders_christian_drug_treatment

A municipal court judge in Louisiana with an apparently limited understanding of the US Constitution is forcing first-time drug offenders seeking probation to attend a Christian program called "Life Choices" offered by a local church.

The First Amendment's Establishment clause mandates that the government cannot in any way promote, advance, or otherwise endorse any religion, a principle well-established in federal jurisprudence. That bright dividing line between church and state also
applies to court orders and terms of probation that require participation in religious programs, as can be seen in a line of cases (https://www.dropbox.com/s/sgwgrrdm7t65u2d/Sulphur%20City%20Court%2C%20LA%20-%20religious%20probation%20program.pdf)
decided in federal appeals courts over the past 20 years.

The fundamental principle behind Establishment cause jurisprudence is, as noted in Lee v. Weisman (https://www.oyez.org/cases/1991/90-1014) (1992), that government must remain neutral toward religion because "the preservation and transmission of
religious beliefs and worship is a responsibility and a choice committed to the private sphere."

Not in the court of Sulphur City Court Judge Charles Schrumpf, though. As the Freedom From Religion Foundation (https://ffrf.org) noted in a July 20 complaint letter (https://www.dropbox.com/s/sgwgrrdm7t65u2d/Sulphur%20City%20Court%2C%20LA%20-%
20religious%20probation%20program.pdf) to Schrump and probation officer Barbarba Adam, Schrump's way of handling those cases is completely unconstitutional. Probationers in the program receive a Bible and have to complete homework that involves reading
passages from scripture, as well as from the evangelical text "Made to Crave."

According to the letter, probationers who objected to participating in the Life Choices program because of its religious content have been told by Probation Officer Adam to "take it up with the judge" in a threatening tone and warned that failure to
complete the program would result in the revocation of their probation.

According to the blog Friendly Atheist (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/07/21/louisiana-judge-forces-first-time-drug-offenders-to-take-christian-rehab-class/), which spoke with a person ordered to take the course, the course teacher
said that while attendees weren't required to be Christian, that was the ultimate goal, and Probation Officer Adams responded to an attendee who said he was an atheist by saying, "We'll see how you feel after eight weeks [of class]."

The foundation is demanding that the practice be ended and that if the court is going to impose drug treatment or counseling as a condition of probation, it does so through programs that are "medical and secular, not religious in nature." At this point,
the foundation is not threatening a lawsuit; only seeking notification "of the appropriate actions taken by the Court and the Probation Office to protect the right of conscience of probationers in their care."

There is no word yet on whether Judge Schrumpf will heed the foundation's complaint and restore the Constitution in his court or whether he will double down in defiance. In the meantime, if you get caught with drugs in Sulphur Springs, may God help you.

================ ...


___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar <http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out
why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

Stoners are people too: <http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
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It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
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