Just Say "Help Yourself!" To Drugs
Former D.A.R.E. officer (in charge of communicating drug hysteria to students), Lt. Thomas Foye, was arrested for stealing drugs from the evidence locker. Via MassLive:
Foye, 49, is charged with theft of drugs from a depository and possession of a class B substance (cocaine)....Foye, a former school committee member who was appointed as a provisional lieutenant in May, is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Palmer District Court.
The incident remains under investigation by state police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Marina Moriarty and Criminal Bureau Chief John Verner of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.
In the 1990s, Foye served on an anti-gang unit, and as the department's D.A.R.E. officer -- a role in which he was charged with teaching students in grades 2, 4, 5 and 7 about the dangers of drug use.
Foye's more recent history at the department includes an incident in which a suspect in a drug case allegedly went to his home to intimidate him for his role in the investigation.
The suspect was convicted in January of 2012 on a range of charges, including possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He was convicted trespassing, intimidation of a witness, and resisting arrest for the incident at Foye's home, during which he threatened to "get even" with Foye from jail and then chest-bumped him, leading to a scuffle.
In an April, 2012 interview with The Republican about a rise in drug arrests and house breaks in Ludlow, Foye said the drug problem in the town was the worst he had seen in 25 years on the force.
via @Broadsnark
When I went to school, we had representatives of the police force come to our schools and lecture us about the evils of drugs. After I grew up and realized that I knew a lot of people who smoked pot and so forth, I looked back and wondered if any of those officers actually did drugs.
Fayd at August 22, 2013 10:37 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/08/just-say-help-y.html#comment-3870109">comment from FaydTwo of the truly brilliant people I know who've made a difference in science and medicine smoke pot in the evenings. Actually, vape pot, because they know better than to smoke it.
Amy Alkon
at August 22, 2013 10:50 AM
Is that about avoiding damage to the lungs, or what? How does it work? Does using a hookah help?
lenona at August 22, 2013 5:16 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/08/just-say-help-y.html#comment-3870641">comment from lenonaIs that about avoiding damage to the lungs, or what? How does it work? Does using a hookah help?
Hookahs are terrible because you're breathing in smoke. With the vaporizer, you're breathing in water vapor, I believe.
I'm a little traumatized from my doggie's first grooming session, so sorry that my memory isn't working properly!
Amy Alkon
at August 22, 2013 6:20 PM
Let's see, the one who is responsible for telling the kids not to use drugs was caught stealing and using drugs. He was also an LEO.
So how do they justify the drug laws?
Jim P. at August 22, 2013 7:11 PM
When a LEO came to my health class during the early 80's he gave us a bit of an education. He told us all sorts of stories about how they caught stupid drug dealers. It was an excellent primer on how to not get caught if you are selling drugs. Very educational.
The information he gave us on the drugs themselves (effects danger etc) was right in line with government propaganda and without merit, easily discredited by anyone who had ever smoked pot or done coke. I.E 80% of the students in class.
Assholio at August 22, 2013 7:31 PM
Most of the people I know who use pot do it in candy or vapor form. It eliminates all the lung issues.
MonicaP at August 22, 2013 8:53 PM
"The information he gave us on the drugs themselves (effects danger etc) was right in line with government propaganda and without merit, easily discredited by anyone who had ever smoked pot or done coke. I.E 80% of the students in class. "
That seems to be the pattern. I was fortunate. When I was in school back in the '70s, they brought in an M.D., a guy who worked in the ER at the local hospital. He was very frank and straightforward. He brought in real data and studies. He even brought in some real drugs to show us. He talked a lot about the specific short-term and long-term effects of various drugs, and told us about some cases that they had seen come into the ER. He'd say stuff like "No one ever O.D.'ed on pot. Lots of people O.D. on heroin." I appreciate to this day that the school was willing to stick its neck out to bring him in.
Cousin Dave at August 23, 2013 7:17 AM
Wow. In the 1970s? How often did THAT kind of common sense prevail?
Reminds me of Barbara Ehrenreich, who wrote in her essay Drug Frenzy (1988):
"Alcohol is the drug that undid my parents. When my own children reached the age of exploration, I said all the usual things - like 'No.' I further told them that reality, if carefully attended to, is more exotic than its chemically induced variations. But I also said that, if they still felt they had to get involved with a drug, I'd
rather it were pot than Bud."
(And I assume she meant she would always feel that way, no matter how old the kids got to be. The essay is in her book The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed.)
lenona at August 23, 2013 12:32 PM
An informative interview with an expert on street drugs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqZKW1WEVlM
Ken R at August 23, 2013 12:43 PM
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