E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
K.C. Alfred / Zuma Press
Daniel Chong appears at a news conference Tuesday in San Diego where he discussed his detention by the DEA.
So far, the facts of the case are not in dispute: College student Daniel Chong was picked up by federal agents during a raid on a party in the San Diego area where there were illegal drugs, and after questioning he was left locked up in a holding cell with no water, food or access to a toilet for nearly five days.
The mystery is the reason for the nearly fatal treatment. How could the federal Drug Enforcement Administration misplace a person in custody? Does it represent one serious mistake or a systems failure?
"It’s just incredible," said George Kirkham, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida State University. "It’s in the genre of a parent locking a child in a car in 100-degree heat … And this is a major federal agency, not a Podunk sheriff’s operation out beyond Yuma."
See the full account by NBCSanDiego.com and The Associated Press
Chong, a 23-year-old student at the University of California-San Diego, was taken into custody with eight others during a DEA raid on April 21 of a "suspected MDMA distribution operation." Chong said he had gone to the house to get high with his friends.
After processing and questioning the nine young men, "seven suspects were brought to county detention … one was released and the individual in question (Chong) was accidentally left in one of the cells," according to a statement from the DEA.
Chong said he could hear agents outside his cell, but no one could hear his cries, according to an NBCSanDiego.com/Associated Press report. He said that after 48 hours, he started hallucinating, and that to survive, he drank his own urine. After he was "found" in the cell, Chong spent three days in intensive care at a hospital, according to the report.
Chong’s case is extreme, and the DEA issued an apology Wednesday.
"I am deeply troubled by the incident that occurred here last week," said DEA San Diego acting special agent-in-charge William R. Sherman. "I extend my deepest apologies to the young man and want to express that this event is not indicative of the high standards that I hold my employees to. I have personally ordered an extensive review of our policies and procedures."
DEA would not discuss the case beyond what was said in the statement.
"The DEA rightfully put out a pretty forceful apology and said they will review procedures … and that is appropriate," said Kevin Sabet, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida and a former senior policy adviser to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "This was an extraordinary situation and, as far as we know, an isolated incident."
College student Daniel Chong has filed charges against the DEA for $20 million after agents forgot him for almost five days while he sat in a cell so small, he couldn't even spread his arms out wide. KNSD's Tony Shin reports.
Symptom of systemic problem?
But organizations advocating the reform of drug laws say that the problem is a symptom of the system of the war on drugs.
"Not that (Chong’s case) is typical, but that it is an example of what happens when you are arresting millions of people a year and putting them behind bars where all sorts of terrible things happen," said Ethan Nadelman, executive director and founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates alternatives to the criminalization of drugs.
According to the Drug Policy Alliance, the number of people behind bars for drug law violations rose from 50,000 in 1980 to more than a half of a million today — a 1,100-percent increase. The group said that in 2008, more than 800,000 people were arrested for marijuana alone — nearly 90 percent for simple possession.
"The system is unable to meet its basic responsibilities with respect to the people we arrest and incarcerate because there are just too many of them," said David Borden, executive director of StoptheDrugWar.org, which advocates for regulation of drugs instead of prohibition. "There’s a general devolution of standards from the sheer volume."
Arrest for marijuana possession in April 2003 had fatal consequences for Jonathan Magbie, 27, a first-time offender in Washington, D.C. Magbie, who was quadriplegic, was riding with his cousin when they were pulled over by police, who found some marijuana and a gun in his pockets. In September 2004, a judge sentenced Magbie to 10 days in jail for the pot, according to a Washington Post report. Magbie needed a respirator at night, but the jail infirmary didn't have one. He died four days into his 10-day sentence.
Watch the most-viewed videos on msnbc.com
The death led to a substantial settlement for Magbie’s mother and changes in the way that the District of Columbia screened inmates with medical problems and disabilities, the report said.
"A typical characterization from authorities when things go wrong is that it was unacceptable what happened, but the rare exception," said Borden. "In my opinion this misses the central point. In the past few decades we have escalated the drug war and the criminal justice system generally, to the point where we are running huge numbers of people through it, the system becoming incapable of reliably carrying out its basic responsibilities as a result."
The DEA said that in the April 21 raid that led to Chong’s arrest, it had seized 18,000 MDMA, or ecstasy, pills as well as marijuana, prescription medications and hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to a statement. Agents also reported seizing a Russian M91/30 rifle, a Glock 17 handgun, and a Beretta 92fs handgun, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition.
"The individual in question was at the house, by his own admission, to get high with his friends," the statement said.
Chong was not charged with a crime. With his lawyer, Chong announced that he was filing a claim for $20 million against the federal government over the incident.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Video: Elephant plays harmonica at National Zoo
- Two dead, one critical in Md. church shooting
- Kids' racist hockey tweets put schools in bind
- UVA lacrosse killing: Victim's mom sues coaches, state
- Bullied gay student faces expulsion over stun gun
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Why does every goddamn article on this site have at least one glaring error in it?
Because it's the internet. The drive to get news (even followups like this) out ASAP means there's no time for niceties like reading what you've written.
contempt of the law by law enforcement is a growing problem; once in custody he must be brought before a Judge within 48-72 hours for a probable cause or a bond hearing; this is not the first time this has happened, remember about a year ago, a old lady locked up in New york for over a year, before someone checked to find out what she was charged with, found out no charges pending; it is all a symbol of government gone wild.
They almost killed this kid (kidney failure). He should and will get a good chunk of change for his suffering but will the agencies involved really change their procedures and practices or will they spend all their effort to cover their asses??
Thank ALEC, the Chamber of Commerce's legislative hit man, for a lot of the stupid laws we have in this country. Correction Corp. of America has sponsored bills in dozens of state legislatures to increase sentences for minor offenses and lock people up for life under "three strikes" provisions.
Why?
Money, of course. Private prison companies have contracts to house 8% of the prisoners in this country, and they'd like to make that percentage a lot higher.
http://www.afscme.org/news/publications/privatization/pdf/AFSCME-Report_Making-A-Killing.pdf
They're using GOP candidates as marketing tools, and situations like Chong's are the result.
Yeah it will probably cost more to settle this case than put a away a few inmates for non-violent crimes...
I don't know about $20 Million, but being starved, in solitary and drinking your own piss with no filter for days should earn you some kind of hefty cash in the millions!! People have done less on Fear Factor and earned at least $1Mil!
Also, check out goatse.info for more detailed coverage of this conspiracy.
Chong was seen and set to be released. They put him back in the cell awaiting release THEN forgot him. It sounds to me like they didn't have a full house or they'd have been checking the cells.
As an insulin-dependent diabetic who doesn't have the resources to even make low bail, this is the sort of thing that frightens me the most. I could be arrested - say during a protest roundup - and if I'm kept in custody for more than a few hours without access to my drugs it could screw my health up permanently. And don't give me the "if you're innocent you've got nothing to worry about" stuff. Lots of innocent people end up in jail. Hell, in Texas we've executed at least one innocent guy - probably more. All those rules the cops complain about are there to protect the innocent as well as the guilty.
The coast guard officers referred to above, had direct information on the BP spill, which was ordered suppressed by the Interior dept., both arrested by federal agents as being mentally troubled and prone to suicide, kept in isolation , one murdered, the other sent to a mental institution and kept under heavy drugs ; the entire thing was kept under raps, both high ranking career officers who were respected by the men and women they commanded , something very serious here !
Don't you know that smoking marijuana is so much more dangerous than being kept in a dark room/cell for 5 days with no food or water or toilet?
It would be safer to just shoot marijuana users rather than let them smoke pot. They will ruin their lives smoking pot.
I always love law enforcements excuses when they pull over Willie Nelson's bus and arrest the 60+ year old guys on it for smoking pot. They will ruin their young lives smoking that poison....
These are the reasons we need to keep drugs illegal.
The DEA had forgotten about this prisoner? It is a dubious excuse. Since Chong could hear the DEA agents outside his cell, and as sound travels both directions, the DEA agents could hear his plead for help. In addition, all prisons have a check-in and out system as well as several person in charge of the facility.
These DEA agents wanted to torture Chong and they succeeded. These agents, like most in the law enforcement business, are not the brightest light --In possession of more bravado, muscle, and ego than intelligence. This is the major reason behind the news reports about accidental death or even intentional death at the hand of police: a grenade is tossed into a suspect's home; gun shots fired into a home; brutalizing suspects based a presumption of guilt; shooting at fleeing suspects based on presumption of guilt; spraying Mace on sitting demonstrators; the killing of mentally handicapped persons who failed to respond to police orders.
In a police state, the government wants their policemen to be aggressive, obey orders, and not ask questions. Intelligence in the policeman is a threat to government .
thanks. fixed.
@ northernlights4me i would love to see the studies you have seen where using cannabis ruin lives ....i have to say the only way cannabis ruins someones life is through the prohibition of cannabis and not through its use .....one of the newest studies from ucla & uab was a 20 year study that shows it is not harmful at all for a long term user of cannabis.....never in the history of humankind was there ever a recorded case of someone overdosing from cannabis ....hell more people will die per year from eating peanuts then from smoking cannabis in the whole history of humans using cannabis...... prohibition of cannabis is the true threat to people
Northernlights4me I would like to see the evidence you are spouting off about. I have a friend who's a carpenter and he started smoking pot in Vietnam in the late 60s. He started his own business as a carpenter in 1970 and he's never missed a day of work in over 40 years. He put 3 kids through college and I consider him a fine friend. He smokes weed several time a day and has never been arrested. So how has pot ruined his life? I guess you would have just shot him you moron!
Dear William Steele & Diamond60,
please go look up the word "sarcasm" in the dictionary. Then sit down and smoke a joint and read my post again. Gotcha!
Youse guys obviously don't smoke.
Also, Google or Bing Northern Lights and cannabis
Diamond60: use wikipedia to look up the term "SARCASM."
On another note, I'd hazard a guess that Daniel Chong won't be going to any pot smoking parties any time soon.
I do wonder if he was able to make up his finals.
Oi!
whats wrong with Yuma?
Just a literary way of saying Maricopa County - Sheriff Arpaio (aka a podunk sheriff's operation).
No, Sheriff Arpaio isn't a podunk sheriff's operation, it is more like a Hitler & Nazi Germany wannabe.
Thank ALEC, the Chamber of Commerce's legislative hit man, for a lot of the stupid laws we have in this country. Correction Corp. of America has sponsored bills in dozens of state legislatures to increase sentences for minor offenses and lock people up for life under "three strikes" provisions.
Why?
Money, of course. Private prison companies have contracts to house 8% of the prisoners in this country, and they'd like to make that percentage a lot higher.
http://www.afscme.org/news/publications/privatization/pdf/AFSCME-Report_Making-A-Killing.pdf
They're using GOP candidates as marketing tools, and situations like Chong's are the result.
DEA drug envourment agency. They consume a major portion of what they find...money included. They are not different than any other agency....FRAUD continues to be rampant.
He went to a house to get high, and while he was there it got raided by the police. The po-po find everything above in the quote. That's a lot of guns and the DEA/Justice system goes down HARD on ecstacy. Don't portray this kid as someone who just went to a friend's house to do some bong hits and listen to Phish. Had he not been forgotten for 5 days, Mr. Chong would be in a HUGE world of hurt. His legal fees would be enormous. Instead, he wasn't even charged and his settlement will make him rich. Only in America. Imagine being caught in an Iranian home with 18000 hits of ecstacy + a small arsenal?
I'm not saying Mr. Chong wasn't wronged or doesn't deserve his settlement. I'm just saying 'Only in America'. Since Mr. Chong says he was only trying to get high, it's mandatory Cheech and Chong time! Can't get more American than Cheech and Chong.
It's for my parole officer. I got my sister to pee in it. And she's pregnant.
Does Howdy Doody got wooden balls, man?
Oh, don't eat those. Hope your not busy for about a month.
I gotta drop a stool. I gotta pinch a loaf. I gotta do a do-do, alright?
I had to follow him around with a baggy for 3 days. Really blew the dog's mind.
If he had died in that cell they would have dumped him in a road side ditch. he's lucky they didn't do it anyway. The DEA is a state sponsored street gang full of criminal thugs who break more laws than anyone they arrest.
JM
Arpaio is not a PODUNK SHERIFF, he is a MONSTER!!! And Maricopa county may have wide open spaces, but it has the largest metropolitan area in Arizona as well. Now is you want PODUNK, look at Pima county just south of maricopa county. Yeah, Pima county has Tucson, but it has a whole lot more nothing than something.
Harold - the DEA didn't claim to have found all (or any) of those things in the house where the arrested Chong. They just said they found them during their sweep that night.
You have to read carefully - they're better at spin than you are at ciphering.
One of the things this young man could have done was not to go to the house to smoke 'pot' in the first place. He was violating the law. If he had been doing the 'right' thing he would not have been picked up in the first place.
His doing wrong has no bearing on the fact the DEA totally messed up, but it is mine and your money who is going to reward this young man for doing wrong, if you will.
Again, the cost of illegal drugs in the US is staggering and this will be another 20 mil added to that costs.
The DEA and it's agents won't miss a beat and their lives will go on...well, one or two might lose their jobs but in the scheme of things....
Well, they can take some money out of the cash they confiscate every year. They'll sell a few seized vehicles and other property. I'm sure the taxpayer impact will be little.
BIG GOVERNMENT at work nuff said?
No. This was atrocious, but an agency of a smaller gov't could have done the same. I hope you do not want to privatize law enforcement. Private contractors could act just as stupidly, as we see from some of the scandals in privatized prisons.
I love the title of this piece. Tomorrow they'll come out with an article like "Why did you have to stand in line at the DMV for 4 hours?" . . . .
Not big government. ALEC.
Profit motive over public welfare.
They just want you to think it's "big government" at work, but they're pulling the strings behind the mask. Because the more you break up government, the more powerful they are.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-03/alecs-secrets-revealed-corporations-flee
This is big government using drugs to give their own version of "corporate welfare" to the prison system. Just legalize soft drugs, tax and regulate them, and let anyone who was convicted of crimes related to these drugs leave prison. While we are at it, legalize, regulate and tax prostitution. If we could just get out of the way of what reasonable people want to do on their free time this country would be much happier! (I am not saying that we should legalize cocaine, hard drugs, or child prostitution).
All drugs should be legalized and hookers too..............
Cigarettes are the perfect example...........
More kids smoke weed than cigs...........WHY?
Because propaganda works..............LEGALIZED and then SHUN there use with propaganda and promote personal responsibility.
Most kids get into drugs to be cool and 007ish at weekend parties and then get a record and their tax paying status is KILLED FOREVER.
The money saved from prisons police and a war on folks who are just parting some in their youth would make it all work out............
The drug war is 20 times WORSE than legalization is.......the only ones saying otherwise are the ones BENEFITING from the BS drug WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I figure we could balance the budget and pay off the deficit in 10 years if we just cancelled the "war on drugs".
I'm no druggie, but has it really been worth a trillion dollars and all those millions of ruined lives just to say we're "tough on drugs"?
Pay for schools, fix the roads, fully fund Social Security and give everyone healthcare. Then we can talk about being macho.
Marijuana is an extremely powerful drug which sometimes causes extreme memory loss in those who don't take it :P
Step 1: Keep cell doors open when not in use.
Step 2: ????
Step 3: Avoid getting sued.
step 2- once or twice a day, go through and make sure that everyone that should be there can be accounted for, and that there's no extras!
You beat me to it. I was thinking that it should be basic procedure to do a cell check every day.
Our Goverment waste's so much of our tax dollar's, On something they should be making BILLION'S on. This is time for a change, Its not a war on drugs now, Its a war on our Goverment !!!!.
Most places DO have something like that in effect. I briefly worked for a police department. Four daily checks were made of each cell -- mealtimes and sometime in the late evening (not sure when, wasn't working at that time).
Even unoccupied cells were "checked off".
It is my understanding from the articles I've read on this is that Chong wasn't in a formal cell. He was in something akin to a broom closet.
The question is why?
I thought that holding cells were placed where the were monitored at all times considering the detainee is either going to be released immediately and is, or they are transferred into custody at a larger facility. For someone to be locked up in a holding cell for almost five days shows that the facility is not properly monitored at all, and I doubt this was the first time it happened.
My big question is: Had Mr. Chong died, who would have known?
Yeah, it's kind of eerie when you ask that question. Has anyone else died there? And do you think they'd say anything to anyone or do you think they'd cover their ass? I'm going for option 2.
Billions are being made every year on this "war on drugs" The money sucked out of the taxpayers pockets for the DEA, money to support the prisons and the vendors that support them, lawyers (from both sides), judges, courthouses,bail bondsmen, local police, money paid to politicians at every level of government by the vested interests.
But what the hell, being tough on drugs never cost anyone an election now has it.
This is not a "war on our (sic) goverment". It's a war being waged on the citizens by the government and their cronies.
Didn't anyone miss him for 5 days? No parent, roommate, friend searching?
Some heads better be rolling over this-who is in charge of this gulag?? Like a crazy third world country-if we can't keep track of a college kid smoking a joint, how can we possibly stay on top of drug kingpins and terrorists?
I see another problem here..........
So, they finally realized that Chong hadn't been released, now when are they going to get around to releasing Cheech?
CA Chris- earlier articles about this incident reported that his housemates filed a missing person report for him. So yes, people missed him and were searching for him.
That he admitted (if he did) to being at a drug house because he wanted to get high is irrelevant. We don't lock up even admitted murderers, even convicted serial murderers, without water. It is troubling that the spokesman thinks the statement relevant.
As for procedures, why was a supposedly empty cell locked?
What if he was from a poor neighborhood and not going to a major college? Would people be so upset? It was a drug house, he was going there to get high. He was not on his way home from working at the homeless shelter when they wrongfully arrested him and detained him. If he was some poor kid (of any color, lest some ignorant poster tries to accuse me of pulling some sort of race card) I don't think people would have a lot of sympathy for him. Having said all of that, what the DEA did was incredibly wrong and I hope he wins his case. Not that I think he deserves the money, but if they have to pay him, they will make sure that they treat everyone else a lot better going forward. Whew, those were my two cents.
"of any color, lest some ignorant poster tries to accuse me of pulling some sort of race card)"
So choose the stupid card instead. His reason for being where he was prior to the DEA taking him, like his race, is irrelevant. The problem is what happened after that. If it happened to you or one of your kids, what do you think would be deserved?
traceman2000, YUR NUTS if yu think for a New YORK second that those people give a shytt about how much their UTTER IGNORANCE & STUPIDITY costs the system!!!~YES NUTS if yu really believe they could give a shytt!!! Treat people better >>> THAT'S really funny too.
I think your 2 cents are worthless. My buck says, people would have cared, regardless of race, gender, creed, national origin, religion, or economic status, the vast majority of Americans would have found this appalling.
The DEA has amassed so much power -- like the EPA and the TSA and the FCC -- that it can just do this sort of stuff without detailed paperwork. It's big government and it is inherently possible, since they seem to always have bigger fish to fry.
lol well we have a problem with our county jail that Arpaio runs...inmates end up dead, choked to death, beat to death, etc, guards are involved, and yet there arent any investigations because somehow the evidence, like a larynx, or video, vanishes or the video miraculously turns into nothing but snow...while i feel bad for the kid, id like the national media to take more of an interest in humans needlessly losing their lives, which turns into a cover up so arpaio can continue as sheriff. by the way, records indicate that most involved in said incidents are not even written up, but rather promoted.
And child abuse, Nazis and communists are bad. Got anything relevant? Arpaio has nothing to do with thsi.
who was dumber, the DEA agent that forgot this kid or the secret service agent that forgot to pay the hooker. First guy to ten wins dumbest agent award.
I'm casting first vote on the secret service agent. He's a real bone head.
Violation of Constitution Rights and Human Rights are cited on this case. The student may proceed to file a civil lawsuit and criminal investigation of the fallout and he is entitled to receive cash compensation. This is a lesson for the authority to learn.
What lesson will authority learn? They aren't paying the compensation. Taxpayers pay.
individual officers are immune from being sued to stop nuisance suits. The thought being that in cases of gross negligence the officers involved will be disciplined and/or charged for misconduct. Unfortunately the people in charge just make excuses for what happened.
Billie, >>> tis a moot point simply because those FOOLS do NOT have to pay for their mistakes because us saps/taxpayers are here for that purpose, uno-it 2. They laugh at whiners!
Traceman2000 is right on the money. He is a 23 year old "man". The use of the term "student" prompts readers to think of him as a naive teenager. Had he not been enrolled in an educational institution, the media would be portraying him with a little less sympathy. "Student" makes all of the middle-class suburban moms with kids off at college shudder; however, people need to remember that he was 23 and he wasn't just involved with good 'ol marijuana (doing meth in a holding cell is in a whole different ballpark). Give him the $20 mil if you think he deserves it. If this rock star is doing meth, he won't be using the money to pay off his college loans.
And you know him so well how?
Traces of meth found inside of a DEA holding cell? Gee how could that even be possible unless the guy was in there using meth??
Even assuming he had meth on him when he was in the cell, this is supposed to be the USA. You know, Land of the Free, innocent until proven guilty, all the stuff that used to make this country better than say, the Soviet Union? There's absolutely no excuse for throwing someone into a gulag and leaving them in there to suffer for days on end, Comrade.
jimb,
Regarding your comment on meth: that presupposes that you buy the DEA's account of the powdery substance. Right!!! Cause cops would never lie to cover up their f'ups. How easy do you think it would be for a DEA agent to sprinkle some powdery substance in the cell?
One more thing: how many upper-classmen in an engineering program do you think are also methheads? Math and meth do not mix my friend. This story reaks of setup.
I hope he wins his case.
It was likely the DEA's meth. Will they be charged with possession? H@$$ No!
Let's see, mailman, fireman, soldier, nurse, would have toned down the incident right?
If arrest means you will be in the hands of people that could care less if you live or die then get ready for more incidents of violent response to the indifference of law officials. The Fight or Flight response will certainly tip toward Fight to resist arrest more often.
Unknown1 I agree 100%
What i fail to understand is why a federal agency is busting people for violating state laws. Why do we need the DEA, FBI, ICE, San Diego Sheriff, San Diego Police, and the CHIPS all to stop people in CA from smoking pot?
Get rid of the DEA, we don't need them. Like most of these govt agencies they are fat and lazy, it is easier to bust medical marajuana places or college kids that going after the bad guys, getting out on the border. No agency has had more agents go bad, corruption, bribery etc. Hell send them to Mexico, not any better than the cops down there anyway.
Im 54 don't smoke dope but our drug laws are just stupid, and Obama has had the Justice Depart. raid more medical marajuana place than were done in 8 years of the Bush Admin.
Dan, I appreciate your sentiments and agree with you wholeheartedly but I don't think you're correct about the number of raids ordered under each administration. I know Bush's administration (not the man himself) was responsible for over 200 hundred as well as the raid on Tommy Chong which cost the taxpayers over twelve million dollars. Where are you finding the numbers for Obama's number of raids? You might be correct but it doesn't sound right.
Actually, their newest target is legitimate doctors who treat chronic pain patients. Though there are bad doctors out there, the DEA is busting any doctor who prescribes over "x" amount. Disregard that fact that most doctors are scared to write a script for a narcotic now and therefor the few that will treat a pain patient has seen their patient load skyrocket. To the DEA that means that they must be a dirty doctor. Few doctors have guns to fight the agents so the agents would just as soon bust a doctor than an actual drug kingpin who will shoot back. Just the thought of all that forfeiture money makes the doctors an even more appealing target.
This BS war on
drugscitizens is an even bigger and more deadly war than the over hyped war on terror. Even IF marijuana were bad for you, which it isn't, the drugs laws are even more dangerous for people than all drugs combined. The drug laws are more of a religious law than they are a true legal law, or at least that is who pushes these kinds of ridiculous laws. It is way past time to end the failed war on citizens and come into the 21st century, before even more people are killed by these BS blue/morality laws.Every cent that Chong gets rewarded should come from these "authorities" personal finances, including members of the cartel consisting of this country's congressional crooks. Take the remainder from the budgets of the DEA, TSA, homeland insecurity, and anyone else who engages in this egregious scam of the war on citizens. After the money is taken from their budgets, disband every damn one of these fear mongering agencies, as they are only in place to limit the freedoms and liberty of the citizens. Only the morally superior, and the cowards, who are afraid of every boogie man that the government comes up with to scare people into submission would complain.
The only SOLUTION here is to vote EVERY SINGLE F---ing REPUBLICAN (as well as democrats who support this STALIN type PURGE) out of office!!
I would imagine nothing will happen to these DEA agents... they are GOD after all...
BTW there is a DEA agent in town here that sells coke to pretty girls... now that's America baby! : )
Turn him in squid
Simple. Because the DEA assumes everyone is a criminal. They can steal - errr, "confiscate" - more money that way in their "drug" raids.
Believe it or NOT people there is a way we CAN fight back..It's called Jury NULLIFICATION.
The next time YOU are ON a JURY and the defendants "crime" is something MINOR like pot possession/smoking - just VOTE NOT GUILTY!!! If EVERYONE were to do this the government - even one as CLUELESS and STUPID as our's would have NO CHOICE but to give up this FAILED war!!
Wait til King Oblobo's second coronation. The detension/slavery camps are just getting ready. What a surprise!!!!!!!
The DEA put out a forcefull apology. We apoligize by god and you had better accept it. Really I mean WTF! There are literaly thousands of people locked up in this country for possesion of weed why because of the privatized prison system. Note to judge hey buddy were gettin a few cells empty ya think ya can get some of those low risk pot smokers in here. The envelope with the usual will be waiting at the drop thanks have a good day.
This is obviously the result of the failed Bush policies.
I don't care about the monetary settlement but every one of the jailers should be jailed for kidnapping and attempted murder
Better yet these DEA agents should be charged with CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, as well as the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN party and sent to the Hague for trial!!
As mr Mackey said Drugs are bad "ummkaaay"
The Agent that placed him into the cell should be the one held responsible. Period. He should have known to make sure that Daniel was released and not left in the cell. I have worked in a jail settings before, and the duty officer checks every cell, every night. Why was that not done? Either done on purpose or just plain incompetence... :-(
When are we going to make all drugs legal? Puts those gangs out of business (Koch Industries or Mars Candy could even sell the stuff). Spending zillions to keep the religious nuts happy?...
As someone who works with drug addicts only a daily basis (in the criminal justice system), I have to say that I would NOT agree that all drugs should be legalized. Weed, yes but heroin,, crack, PCP?? No way. PCP is unbelievably dangerous and so are its users. It should NEVER be legalized. Meth is another drug that is too dangerous to legalize.
I work on the defense side and still cannot advocate legalizing anything but weed (or synthetic MJ).
You seem to ignore the fact that addiction has nothing to do with whether or not a drug is illegal. Quick research will show you that the percentage of Americans addicted to drugs is almost exactly the same as it was before the war on drugs started. You will also find that the most abused drug (alcohol) was more heavily abused and easier for young people to obtain when it was illegal. Then, there is also the fact that it is harder for kids to buy cigarettes than illegal drugs. Legalization of drugs would eliminate drug gangs, make drugs easier to control and harder for kids to get, greatly reduce the number of people in prison, and probably have no effect whatsoever on the number of people addicted.
Oh, I forgot...we could also eliminate the DEA and quite wasting billions of tax payer's dollars on the war on drugs. Just think of the thousands of young people with felony procession convictions that will probably never be able to obtain any meaningful job because they made a mistake. Felony convictions play hell with future job choices. Many millions of us have been lucky enough to not get caught and went on to be very productive citizens.
The fact they are illegal makes them SEXY.....
007ish type of behavior is required to play the drug party weekend game and this life style is highly ADDICTIVE especially to young men trying to impress girls.
Studies have shown that the mere act of trying to get drugs; calling and arranging a smuggling operation shows the same areas of the brain light up just like when they get high; in fact the lifestyle is more addictive then the DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take the sexiness out of doing drugs..........................and use propaganda to SHUN legal drug use as NOT COOL............just like cigarettes..................
Any body that dont get this is an IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the drug war causes 20 times more harm than GOOD!
Clearly we should ban nutmeg. It can really screw you up.
Hey Nicki - I hear you but I think even the "hard" stuff should be DE CRIMINALIZED. As for the addicts you work with - many are poor and see no HOPE for a better life - that's WHY they retreat into hard drug use - to DULL the PAIN of a society and country that views them as nothing MORE than expendable HUMAN CATTLE!!!
And we have CORPORATE AMERICA & the RETHUGLICAN party to THANK for this!!
can't agree with the opiates and mind altering drugs, for people advocating making marijuana legal you would be better served to leave the hard stuff off your agenda. You will turn those of us non-users against you. I support your efforts on marijuana, but if hard drugs are part of the package I'm going to side with the Gov.
Ron Paul says to make them all legal....then treat when it becomes a problem. If they make heroin legal tomorrow, are you likely to try heroin? I'm not. I do marijuana should be legal, but not so much the other stuff.
Daniel Chong is about to be well compensated. It is what it is. When the money is offered, take it and run. Don't look back.
The Feds can make this disappear. DEA may have been the agency to mess up here, but the Secret Service may be In a position to fix this mess by offering the set Chong up with one of their special lady friends. If that doesn't placate Chong, the GSA can offer to pay him off from the agency's Vegas party fund. In this era of ubiquitous government corruption, the possibilities are endless. Hehe.
Obviously the DEA acted badly, and there should be legal action on that.
Drugs being illegal is not really working well. Illegal drugs are still flowing into the country, and being purchased. The money spend on that might be better spent on something productive. Maybe at least some drugs should be legalized and regulated/taxed like alcohol.
Until they are legalized, though, and until law enforcement learns to treat druggies with velvet gloves so as not to offend: Maybe it would be a better idea to stay away from drug parties, dealers and other drug users. Just for your own safety.