As I watched the Bob Costas' interview of Jerry Sandusky (Penn State) , I had a flashback to an arrest I made in about 83 or 84 in Hollywood. I was walking a foot beat (most fun I've ever had in my life!) on Hollywood Blvd. when a young boy of about 10 pointed to a guy in an arcade and told me that the guy had touched his genitals. My partner and I went into the arcade, and after a brief struggle arrested the guy. Back at the station I interviewed our arrestee at length. He said, "You know what they do to people like me in prison." Of course, I pursued that line of thought - as in "What kind of person are you?" But the arrestee clammed up and refused to talk.
When I reported to work the next day, I was met by the legendary LAPD Lt. Higbie and his OIS team. It seems my pervert-arrestee hung himself - successfully - in the Hollywood Jail. (Investigators later found the typical stash of photos of little boys in the decedent's hotel room.)
Jerry Sandusky sounded just like my arrestee. Flat affect, little emotion, monotone, not fully admitting, but not fully denying either. If Sandusky were in jail, and I were the Watch Commander, I'd definitely make sure he was on suicide watch.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Legalize Marijuana article: My response
The November 2, 2011 edition of Detroit's Metro Times contained an article by Larry Gabriel titled "Top Cop Changes his Mind." (http://metrotimes.com/mmj/top-cop-changes-his-mind-1.1226308) In the article, former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon was quoted as saying marijuana should be legalized. In response to this article, I emailed the following letter to the Metro Times.
Dear Editor:
Former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon said "I can't think of anybody who has died from marijuana." I also can't think of a case where somebody died from an overdose of LSD. The problem with marijuana, and LSD for that matter, is its effect on thinking and behavior. And it's this behavioral toxicity, such as impaired ability to pay attention while driving, that's the real problem with marijuana. The only reason marijuana is used in the first place is because it has a primary effect on the brain, the central nervous system. After all, people don't use marijuana because they like to have bloodshot eyes. The CNS effects include impaired attention, impaired depth perception, amotivation, and more. Knowing these effects, I certainly do not want my doctor, dentist, police officer, child-care worker or professor to use marijuana.
And frankly, to suggest that almost all the "problems and violence" associated with drug use result from the laws is indicative of pharmacological ignorance. Stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine mimic the body's activation of the Sympathetic nervous system. It's this system that's responsible for the body's fight or flight response. In fact, they are correctly termed "sympathomimetics." These drugs cause the user to feel that they are in danger. But the user is responding to the drug, and not the environment. And people who feel threatened, feel paranoid, are dangerous and often violent. PCP ("angel dust") has similar effects.
Like Ike McKinnon, I also am a retired police officer. I also know and respect Dr. Michael Whitty. (In the interest of full disclosure, Mike Whitty was one of my U of D professors many years ago.) But when it comes to drug legalization, including that of marijuana, Professors McKinnon and Whitty are wrong.
Thomas E. Page, M.A.
Drug Recognition Expert Emeritus
Dear Editor:
Former Detroit Police Chief Ike McKinnon said "I can't think of anybody who has died from marijuana." I also can't think of a case where somebody died from an overdose of LSD. The problem with marijuana, and LSD for that matter, is its effect on thinking and behavior. And it's this behavioral toxicity, such as impaired ability to pay attention while driving, that's the real problem with marijuana. The only reason marijuana is used in the first place is because it has a primary effect on the brain, the central nervous system. After all, people don't use marijuana because they like to have bloodshot eyes. The CNS effects include impaired attention, impaired depth perception, amotivation, and more. Knowing these effects, I certainly do not want my doctor, dentist, police officer, child-care worker or professor to use marijuana.
And frankly, to suggest that almost all the "problems and violence" associated with drug use result from the laws is indicative of pharmacological ignorance. Stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamine mimic the body's activation of the Sympathetic nervous system. It's this system that's responsible for the body's fight or flight response. In fact, they are correctly termed "sympathomimetics." These drugs cause the user to feel that they are in danger. But the user is responding to the drug, and not the environment. And people who feel threatened, feel paranoid, are dangerous and often violent. PCP ("angel dust") has similar effects.
Like Ike McKinnon, I also am a retired police officer. I also know and respect Dr. Michael Whitty. (In the interest of full disclosure, Mike Whitty was one of my U of D professors many years ago.) But when it comes to drug legalization, including that of marijuana, Professors McKinnon and Whitty are wrong.
Thomas E. Page, M.A.
Drug Recognition Expert Emeritus
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