INC NEWS - Ask to ban drug stem tomorrow

[Rev. Melvin Whitley]

On tomorrow Thursday September 21, 2006 @ 4:00 (Second Floor) we will ask the Durham City Council  to pass an ordinance to ban the sale of Drug Stems in Durham. Please consider writing letters, calling and/or appearing before the Durham City Council to speak in support of this initiative. Why we are for your support ?

Jenny, a former social worker with a master's degree, has been on the streets for four years. She is the mother of two children that she has not seen in three years. This night she was calling because she was depressed and suicidal. Jenny was sexually abused in her childhood, and her marriage was plagued by physical abuse. She started snorting cocaine in college--just for kicks. After six years of marriage, someone gave her crack in a glass stem, and her life began a downward spiral. 

I left my home in the middle of the night knowing that only three out of ten addicts really want help with their addiction and will seek treatment. I was praying that she would be one of the three. This night I would not be one of the good people that did nothing. 

When I found Jenny, she had cuts on her face, neck, and arms--from a fight over stolen crack cocaine and a new crack pipe. Her last John had given her crack for sex, and to smoke it, she planned to use her last three dollars to buy a glass tube called 'rose in a glass.' Jenny was in physical and emotional pain, not the least because of the violation that was a necessary part of her job.  "Where would she get another drug stem?" she asked. For Jenny and others, the answer is right down the street, in a nearby Durham Community store. 

Make no mistake about it: the use of illegal drugs is increasing in Durham. We currently have 19,000 Substance Abusers in Durham County. Durham County Substance Abusers 10 Year Plan tells us that for every dollar invested in treatment, there is a $12 dollars saving in reduced health-care cost, drug-related crime, criminal justice cost and more granulation. In addition, it costs us $53,000 dollars to keep abusers in jail for a year. Keep in mind that most of the people living in these high crime areas do not make $53,000 a year. 

These drug pipes are sold as a product called 'rose in a glass' in Durham community stores, particularly in high crime areas. They are comprised of a little fabric rose in a small (approximately 3-4 inches) test-tube-like, glass tube with one open end and one end enclosed by aluminum foil. Their name offers little cover for their lack of legal, practical use. However, their sale is legal because they are not considered 'drug paraphernalia' until the legitimate equipment is modified for drug use (i.e. the tiny rose and aluminum foil are removed). Thus, we are told that enforcement of a law prohibiting the sale of these glass stems is too complicated, too difficult. This is despite the fact that Chicago, Ill, California, Michigan, and Florida have pass laws. Our own Charlotte and Greensboro, has already outlawed these drug stems four year ago, making Durham the new source of drug-pipes for our neighbor! 



Your Servant
Rev. Melvin Whitley
2614 Harvard Ave
Durham NC  27703
(919) 596-9691 - Home
(919) 308-2844 - Cell
tellmelvin at nc.rr.com 
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