FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CALLING FOR TOUGHER DRUG LAWS

Posters littering residence halls and billboards around campus warn
students of the dangers of drugs like Ecstasy.

As more and more studies show the long-term physical effects of the drug,
the federal government is taking measures to crack down on distribution and
use.

By May 1, the U.S. Sentencing Commission must submit a proposal to Congress
that calls for stricter sentencing laws for distributors of Ecstasy.

Don C. Nickerson, a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, has
recently made suggestions for anti-drug programs that he thinks would work
better than harsh sentences or convictions.

Nickerson, who was raised in Delaware and whose father currently resides in
Wilmington, suggests that more focus be spent on drug education so that
fewer adults will be incarcerated for drug use in the future.

"Arresting and penalizing low-level crack dealers has proven to be a
disaster," Nickerson said. "Our state and federal prisons are too crowded
and people could be much better served through treatment programs and
programs within the community."

Nickerson said the current system places offenders in jails, where there is
no opportunity for treatment.

When offenders are released, they are not prepared to reenter the community
and often resort to drug crimes once again, Nickerson said.

He said that although changes need to be made, he is not supportive of the
legalization of drugs.

"Legalization would be the worst mistake in the war against drugs," he
said. "There has been extensive research done with methamphetamines that
show use of this drug results in a physical change in the brain.

"Legalization would just result in brain functions being altered, and this
can lead to hereditary effects among future generations."

Nickerson said Iowa began several programs in the last five years to help
educate middle-school students.

These demand-reduction programs are run for seventh, eighth and ninth
graders and teach the dangers of methamphetamines, he said.

Nickerson said the program is not designed to reiterate the message that
drugs are bad, but instead includes videos of young people discussing how
they were physically and emotionally harmed by drug use.

"Students are always concerned with peer pressure, and these videos show
how methamphetamine use leads to rotting teeth, marks and pimples and bad
breath," Nickerson said.

"There needs to be a creative approach in giving kids reasons to stay away
from drugs."

Nickerson said some videos have been developed for high school and college
students, due to the country's wave of rave drugs.

He said the U.S. Attorney's Office is gearing up to start anti-rave drug
messages, especially in regards to Ecstasy.

Tammy Anderson, assistant professor of criminal justice and ethnographer
for the university's Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, said she agrees
that changes need to be made in the war on drugs.

"[Nickerson] is not the first to say that [drug laws are not
working],"Anderson said. "He is definitely correct that the current
policies are not having the impact they were supposed to."

Drugs are the second-leading cause of incarceration in the world, she said.

Current laws do not distinguish between small- and large-time offenders,
Anderson said, which leads to greater arrest rates.

She said there is a need for harm reduction through expanded drug
treatment, needle exchange programs and greater availability of medical
marijuana.

Anderson said she thinks current laws can coexist with an increase in
treatment programs if money is properly shuffled to support both systems.

Mandatory minimum sentences given to drug users and distributors, Anderson
said. There must also be more programs to divert minor drug users with
specialized drug courts and treatment alternatives.

"There are a lot of other strategies in the war on drugs that show great
promise," she said.

Sophomore Zack Gold, president of the university's chapter of Students for
a Sensible Drug Policy, said his group is constantly focusing on the issue
of different drug laws.

"Two-thirds of our current drug policy spending is going toward
incarceration, when it should be spent equally on education and treatment,"
Gold said.

He said the goal of his group is not to legalize drugs, but to educate
people about the dangers of drugs and what can happen if they are caught.

"Many of the drug policies were implemented to catch the big dealers, but
that is not what is happening," Gold said. "These people can hire lawyers
and get off.

"It's the low-level dealers and small-time users that get caught, and these
people are easily replaceable."

Gold said he is most concerned that policies are taking control away from
judges and placing it in the hands of legislatures.

"These policies do not help people better their lives," Gold said.