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DOT to Publish Final Rule on Drug and Alcohol Testing

The Department of Transportation today gave notice of a Final Rule for transportation workplace drug and alcohol testing programs which includes testing for the drug Ecstasy, lowering cut-off levels for cocaine and amphetamines and conducting mandatory initial testing for heroin. DOT notes that it is required by the Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act (Omnibus Act) to follow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requirements for the testing procedures and protocols.

Shield Banks that Deal with Medical Marijuana Industry: The Federal Government Should Clearly State That Banks Won't Be Targeted for Doing Business with Legal Pot Producers (Opinion)

The Denver Post opines that as Colorado embarks on the laborious process of writing rules for the medical marijuana industry, it is clear that regulators would be in a much better position to enforce the complex new law if they had banking records to review. Unfortunately, that is becoming more difficult as banks, concerned that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, shy away from holding accounts for medical marijuana businesses.

Marijuana Entrepreneur Tries to Trademark the Word "ganja" with U.S. Copyright Office

On April 1, the U.S. patent office announced a new trademark: "Processed plant matter for medicinal purposes, namely medical marijuana." The category was killed three months later when the Wall Street Journal asked about it, but in the meantime ganjapreneurs nationwide filed some very interesting pot trademarks -- with some of the most colorful coming from Colorado.

U.S. Marines to Costa Rica: What's Behind the Story?

Why is the Costa Rican government now inviting the U.S. Navy to patrol its local waters? Offically, the Americans will be deployed to help stem the flow or drugs northward. But, moves to bring the U.S. Navy to Costa Rica have sparked widespread suspicions that Washington is looking for a justification to remilitarize the Central American region.

US closes its consulate in Ciudad Juarez

Drug prohibition violence is constantly taking its toll on the safety of American interests. Now, subsequent to a "credible threat", the US has closed indefinitely its consulate in Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city worst affected by the drugs war being fought by rival gangs.

Second Chance Conference Website Released

 

 

Justice Center

July 14, 2010

Making Second Chances Work
Conference Website Released

The National Reentry Resource Center, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, has launched the Making Second Chances Work conference website. Conference participants and others interested in reentry can view the videotaped sessions with experts and download materials used during the conference on some of the most pressing issues facing the field.

Making Second Chances Work: A Conference for Grantees Committed to Successful Reentry was held May 26-27, in Washington, D.C. It brought together 2009 Second Chance Act grantee representatives. Individuals from state and local governments, community and faith-based organizations, and federally recognized Indian tribes participated in two days of meetings with experts in the fields of housing, employment, mental health and substance abuse treatment, community supervision, and other areas important to people transitioning from prison or jail to the community.

Many sessions focused on grantees making the most of the federal investment in their programs by highlighting accountability issues and key practices such as assessing an individual's risk for committing future crimes, designing data-driven programs, and effectively allocating the limited resources available for people returning from prisons and jails. Special attention was dedicated to sharing strategies on meeting the distinct needs of youth returning to schools and families from detention in a secure facility in an effort to interrupt the costly cycle of crime and incarceration.

To visit the website, please click here.

If you have any questions, please contact Shawn Rogers at 646.383.5745 or by e-mail at [email protected].

 

The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) provides education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections institutions working on prisoner reentry. The NRRC is coordinated by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA). For more information, visit http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org. For more about the CSG Justice Center, see http://www.justicecenter.csg.org.

The NRRC was established by the Second Chance Act (Public Law 110-199), which was signed into law on April 9, 2008. The Act was designed to improve outcomes for people returning to communities from prisons and jails. This first-of-its-kind legislation authorizes federal grants to government agencies and nonprofit organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services that can help reduce recidivism. For more information about the Act, see http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/about/second-chance-act.

The NRRC's work also is directed by the Justice Center's key project partners: the Urban Institute; Association of State Correctional Administrators; American Probation and Parole Association; and Shay Bilchik, research professor/center director, Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. Additional guidance is provided by advisory committees that include representatives of nearly 100 leading nonprofit organizations and service providers in the reentry field.

 

 

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Press Release: $90 Million in Federal Funds Going to CA Counties for Drug Treatment

DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE

www.drugpolicy.org

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli (213) 291-4190
March 8, 2010                                                       or Tommy McDonald (510)229-5215

$90 Million in Federal Funds Going to California Counties
for Drug Treatment & Probation

Advocates Applaud Investment in Crime Prevention

Top-Receiving Counties are Los Angeles, San Diego & Orange

SACRAMENTO – California’s 58 counties are in line to receive almost $90 million in federal funds for community-based drug treatment and probation supervision. Local advocates applauded the investment in crime prevention, which is expected to reduce recidivism and associated criminal justice costs, and called on the Legislature to repeat the investment in next year’s budget.

In 2010, Los Angeles County, the state’s largest county, will receive $10.6 million for community treatment and $11.2 million for probation supervision, according to the California Emergency Management Agency, which administers the distribution of these annual federal funds. The State Legislature has yet to determine how to spend the next batch of these federal resources.

“Investing in the front-end of California’s public safety continuum is good for public safety and the budget. Alcohol and drug treatment reduces problematic drug use and prevents crime, which means fewer crime victims and lower costs throughout the criminal justice system – from policing and courts to incarceration and re-entry,” says Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Southern California.

As drug treatment funding is slashed and probation departments struggle to provide adequate supervision, advocates are concerned that the county-level crime prevention network is breaking down. Individuals on felony probation who do not succeed – many of them with untreated drug problems – are sent to prison at a cost to taxpayers of $49,000 per person per year. In contrast, drug treatment and probation cost a fraction of that amount.

“It’s essential that California maintain community services like drug treatment in order to prevent crime and cut costs. More federal dollars are coming to California. The question for the Legislature is simple: do we want to spend $5,000 for drug treatment and probation or $50,000 for a year in prison? Drug treatment can make the difference between success and failure for many people. Let’s keep investing in success,” Dooley-Sammuli continued.

The federal funds came to California through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. In the next few months, California will receive another $35 million in federal JAG funds and the Legislature will determine how to spend it. Advocates are urging the Legislature to direct these new monies to treatment and probation systems in order to prevent crime and cut costs. According to UCLA researchers, each $1 invested in California’s ten-year-old, voter-approved treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, Proposition 36, cuts state costs by $2-$4.

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