Your War on Drugs

[Tiassa]

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29474-2004Nov5.html
Title: "Jonathan Magbie's Last Hours"
Date: November 6, 2004

"Another inmate named Jason Foster and I were cleaning the floor around 11 or 11:30 at night when we noticed Jonathan was in his cell, and he was sweating. He could barely talk," said Darryl Carter in a phone call from the Youngstown, Ohio, jail where he is now assigned. Carter was describing what he saw in a D.C. jail annex called the Correctional Treatment Facility (CTF) on Sept. 23 -- Jonathan Magbie's last night on Earth. Magbie is the 27-year-old quadriplegic who was sentenced to 10 days in the D.C. jail on Sept. 20 for simple possession of marijuana. Magbie used a ventilator at night to sleep but was without it for five consecutive days. Magbie died on Sept. 24 while in the city's custody.

Carter, a convicted felon, said he made sure Magbie got some water, then went to the nurse on duty, named "Binka," and told him that Magbie needed some help. "But Binka said, 'He's okay,' and never went to see him," Carter said. A little later, Carter said, "Jonathan was making some noise with his wheelchair, banging it into the door of his cell. . . . An officer named Singly wanted to lock Jonathan's cell door, but I told her, 'Don't do that because he can't push the button if he needs help.' " The officer locked the door anyway, Carter said, and he didn't see her check on Magbie anymore.

Carter said he saw Magbie in the hallway the next morning. "Jonathan was saying, 'You hear them calling me?' " Carter said. "I told him, 'Nobody's calling you, Jonathan,' but Jonathan keep saying someone was calling him," Carter said. (In a second phone conversation on Wednesday evening, Carter described Magbie's lips on the morning of Sept. 24 as "dry and whitish" and said he was stuttering.) Carter said he was unable to stay around because he was taken from the CTF for a scheduled court appearance. Friday morning, Sept. 24, was the last time he saw Magbie alive.

Washington Post

Colbert I. King writes the sad tale of Jonathan Magbie for the Washington Post. The cause of Mr. Magbie's death is listed as, "acute respiratory failure following dislodgement of tracheotomy tube placed for treatment of respiratory insufficiency due to remote upper cervical spinal cord injury with quadriplegia due to blunt impact trauma". His death is ruled accidental.

A physician who's had an upsetting experience with the Superior Court wrote to me: "Anyone at all familiar with the care of quadriplegics knows that sentencing Mr. Magbie to 10 days in jail was a probable death sentence. In settings where medical issues are raised [Judge Retchin's office was advised of the possible adverse medical consequences of her sentencing of Magbie], the Court always has an obligation to act to preserve life and health. While the Court will undoubtedly almost always object to having Court decisions questioned or objected to by those outside the purview of the Court, it is the height of arrogance, of which I believe there is an abundant supply in the Superior Court, to assume that judicial decisions in arenas with which the Court is supremely incompetent are, nonetheless, infallible."

Washington Post

Judge Retchin declined any discussion of the case according to advice from an ethics counselor, but noted that the tragic outcome was one nobody intended.

This is your War on Drugs.
____________________

Notes:

King, Colbert I. "Jonathan Magbie's Last Hours". Washington Post, November 6, 2004; page A23. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29474-2004Nov5.html
​

 

[Mystech]

Unfortunately sometimes Justice isn't just blind. . . it's also stupid and negligent. You’d figure with such an overwhelmingly republican administration in Washington they’d be prone to deregulate drugs and let market forces resolve the whole situation. After all, isn’t the free market the only true source of social stability and wellbeing? It can do no wrong, why must we continue to meddle so?

 

[Roman]

Republicans, like all politicans, are lying hypocrites. Unfortunately, they follow the Good Goddamned Book, and so must muck everything over with morals that isolate and protect only a minority of the 'chosen.'

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

I'm currently working in Washington. This incident got a lot of press and people are outraged. Unfortunately people are outraged most of the time over the shenanigans of the D.C. police force. It is one of the most corrupt, incompetent police forces in the nation.

Everything in D.C. is corrupt and incompetent. A few months ago it was leaked to the press that the level of lead in drinking water is about fifty times the legal maximum in major parts of the city -- and the city government had known about it for months and wasn't doing anything about it.

Cops don't enforce the parking laws because the trucking companies pay them off, so it's virtually impossible to drive through town in rush hour.

The subway system is falling apart. The escalators don't work. A couple of days ago one train actually crashed into another one. Fortunately the engineer saw it coming and got everyone off. (The moving train was empty.) I can't remember the last time there was a subway train crash on this planet.

D.C. is run by the federal government. They have elections and a city council and everything, but Congress can overrule anything they decide. Medical marijuana was overwhelmingly approved by the voters, and Congress just repealed it.

D.C. is not a city of drug warriors. The mayor got busted for cocaine a few years ago, and when he got out of jail they re-elected him.

 

[Repo Man]

That reminds me of one of The Onion's faux funny stories from Our Dumb Century.

 

[spidergoat]

...You’d figure with such an overwhelmingly republican administration in Washington they’d be prone to deregulate drugs and let market forces resolve the whole situation. ...

but, they're not really republicans.

The officer that arrested this guy should be rolled up in cigar leaves and set on fire.

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56425-2004Dec10.html
Title: "Missing Answers About Jonathan Magbie"
Date: December 11, 2004

The first thing you notice when you read the D.C. Health Department's report into the death of 27-year-old quadriplegic Jonathan Magbie is that several critical pieces of information have been blacked out. The second thing that becomes obvious is that while the Health Department correctly points an accusing finger at Greater Southeast Community Hospital for giving Magbie substandard care, the report gives the medical staff at the Corrections Department a pass, even though the jail's doctors failed to make it clear to the hospital that Magbie could not be properly cared for at the Correctional Treatment Facility. Third, the report raises as many questions as it answers. And finally, you can't help wishing that Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin would read the report too, because there is no way on earth that a human being in Magbie's condition, and a first-time offender found guilty of simple possession of marijuana, should have been sent to a place such as the D.C. jail.

Washington Post

I'm not sure where to start. Really. "More questions"? Oh, yes, indeed.

And why was the urine drug screen result also blacked out? A possible clue: Page 11 of the report contains this entry at the time of his second and final admission to Greater Southeast on Sept. 24: "1:20 pm: Disposition time: Clinical impression: Altered mental status, Multi-substance abuse, Pneumonia, Urinary tract infection-Urospesis."

"Multi-substance abuse"? Yes, drugs. Magbie, the report shows, was given Narcan, which is a reversal agent for narcotics.

Which raises the question: What kind of recent narcotic substance would Magbie have had in his system, since at the time of the test he had already been in the custody of the Corrections Department for four days? As a quadriplegic, Magbie surely couldn't have taken anything by himself. There are no answers in the Health Department report.

Washington Post

And there are questions about how Magbie's breathing tube came dislodged, as well as what happened to the inner cannula, to which the breathing tube connects. Portions of the report are redacted, which only adds to the list of questions.

Yet one question still remains: Why was this man sent to jail?
____________________

Notes:

King, Colbert I. "Missing Answers About Jonathan Magbie". Washington Post, December 11, 2004; page A23. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56425-2004Dec10.html​

See Also -

King, Colbert I. "Who Judges the Judge?" Washington Post, November 20, 2004; page A19. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64034-2004Nov19.html​

 

[0scar]

Repo Man that is one of the funniest things ive ever read!

 

[Tiassa]

Source: Washington Post
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112500959.html
Title: "A Searing Portrait of Abuse"
Date: November 26, 2005

The sad tale of Jonathan Magbie continues:

.... paramedics arrived at approximately 9 a.m. During an interview, one stated that they found Magbie 'unconscious, very sweaty, and sitting at a 45-degree angle in his wheelchair.' His diaper was saturated with 'very dark' urine and his catheter drainage bag was filled with 'tea-colored urine.' One of the paramedics stated . . . that it appeared that 'Magbie had not been cleaned for several days' ....

.... Both paramedics stated that the CTF physician they consulted upon arrival informed them that Magbie probably had been in this state for several hours before being noticed ....

Colbert I. King, of the Washington Post, continues with his twelfth article discussing the mortal fiasco of Jonathan Magbie's incarceration. Drug warriors should raise a toast; through both malice and incompetence, another dangerous druggie is dead. That is, a quadriplegic, first-offense marijuana possessor is dead.

I hope the drug warriors are proud of themselves. It must have been hard work killing a crippled pot smoker.
_________

Notes:

King, Colbert I. "A Searing Portrait of Abuse". Washington Post, November 26, 2005; page A25. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112500959.html​

 

[c20H25N3o]

<div align=center>It's EVIL I tell you .<br><iframe src=http://ukcultivator.biz/attachment.php?attachmentid=37068 width=325 height =340 ></iframe><br>
My own quality of life would drastically suffer if I didn't grow my own. I am badly allergic to prescription painkillers and after a cop car hit my stationary vehicle at 160kph (they were chasing thieves and I was wrong place wrong time) I have 2lbs of scar tissue around my spine. I am very lucky to be alive. The pain (particulary in cold weather) is acute but becomes manageable with medicinal :m: . It makes me very sad when I hear stories such as the one above. There is just no need for all the false propaganda 'reefer madness' hysteria. </div>
<div align=left>peace

c20</div>

 

[duendy]

Hi C20....Shit, truly sorry about that awful accident. Just sitting teir mdinging your own business and that happens. altho black humour and i in no ay want to ofend you.....itislike 'whereas a cop when you need one?, and ten you get tem ramming in to you. ,,,,,this might be totally off te wall for you and dont reply to it if you dont want, buthave you thought also of seeing a healer--as in 'spiritual healer'? a good one? about war on SOME drugs. it is EVIL. and the sadddest saddest thing is how this fascism is ACCEPTED, taken for granted by so many people......! it is unfukinbelieveable, and you know what. you have heard me go on about te Illuminati?....well i am not trying to derial this tread onto that issue only to say, in regard to thi subject, IF people put up with the war on drugs, where what happened to Jonathan is tip of iceberg, qhat te fuck wilo tey FURTHEZR put up with as te fascists take more and more freedoms away?
why ddn't people march in teir fukin thousands for what happened to Jonathan?

 

[MetaKron]

Unfortunately sometimes Justice isn't just blind. . . it's also stupid and negligent. You’d figure with such an overwhelmingly republican administration in Washington they’d be prone to deregulate drugs and let market forces resolve the whole situation. After all, isn’t the free market the only true source of social stability and wellbeing? It can do no wrong, why must we continue to meddle so?

I don't like resorting to such labelling, but the circumstances of this kind of death are typical of right-wing neo-conservative thinking. We didn't kill those poor people, the cold winter did. We didn't kill Magbie, his medical condition did and it wasn't our fault we chose not to take care of it. Doubletalk, doublethink, doublespeak, doubleplusgood, and the right-wingers prosper over another corpse.

Someone needs to send this story to George W. Bush and tell him "You did this."

 

[Baron Max]

Someone needs to send this story to George W. Bush and tell him "You did this."

Unless I'm badly mistaken, the "war on drugs" began long before President Bush was elected to office. If so, now who are ya' gonna' blame?

Baron Max

 

[MetaKron]

Unless I'm badly mistaken, the "war on drugs" began long before President Bush was elected to office. If so, now who are ya' gonna' blame?

Baron Max

You, of course.

You walked right into that one. I was happy to oblige.

 

[Baron Max]

Ooh, great answer, Metakron! It was, as seems to be your style, highly intellectual and presented with great sources of information to support your allegations/accusations/statements. Thank you for sharing your great intellect,

Baron Max

 

[MetaKron]

Ooh, great answer, Metakron! It was, as seems to be your style, highly intellectual and presented with great sources of information to support your allegations/accusations/statements. Thank you for sharing your great intellect,

Baron Max

Your sarcasm is usually more intelligent than your opinions, Baron.

 

[duendy]

Ooh, great answer, Metakron!

me))Yes, it was!

It was, as seems to be your style, highly intellectual and presented with great sources of information to support your allegations/accusations/statements. Thank you for sharing your great intellect,

Baron Max

you arcastic nincompoop. you hit this thread wit your put downs to genuine feeling about a fascistic war on drugs. yes you ARE to fukin blame--people like you, cause you indifferent attitue to tis fascism makes it acceptable, and tthus prolongs it!....yu are as much to blame as the majoy players who use it as an oppressive socializing force, ad a racialist oppressive specifilly targetted to marginialized peoples, including as we see even the disabled

so you have NO right to come here with your empty sarcastic criticisms fool, but with out getting some stick

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

In 1971 President Nixon called drug abuse "public enemy number one" and created the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention. The press began using the term "War on Drugs" at that time. Sadly, the Nixon administration was the only period during the era of the War on Drugs when more resources were devoted to treatment than to law enforcement. The first head of the SAODAP was a methadone treatment specialist.

The dismal milestones in the War on Drugs have occurred regularly since then, regardless of the party in power. Recriminalization, paraquat, D.A.R.E., asset forfeiture without due process. And the prison statistics: majority of prison inmates convicted of non-violent offenses, higher percentage of U.S. population in prison than any other country, more black men in prisons than universities.

My favorite ironic image of this crazy Alice in Wonderland era: President Reagan and the president of Mexico toasting the War on Drugs... with glasses of wine.

 

[tablariddim]

President Reagan and the president of Mexico toasting the War on Drugs... with glasses of wine.

That reminds me of an 'anti drugs' rock concert I went to a few years ago, here in Cyprus.

Before the bands came on, we had a few politicians get up on stage and spout something about the 'evil' of drugs, then, some bishop and some priests got up and did the same, and all the time, on either side of the stage, were these 2 gigantic dancing effigies (the sort of thing which is like a sack and when air is blown through it, it expands and flops around, like its dancing) promoting the goodness of Smirnoff vodka.

All around the site, were kiosks and vans selling beer and wine but there was not one, not even one, kiosk, with any literature or any medium of help for drug abusers or their families. The irony would have been laughable, had it not been so sad.

 

[Baron Max]

My favorite ironic image of this crazy Alice in Wonderland era: President Reagan and the president of Mexico toasting the War on Drugs... with glasses of wine.

Wine is not considered an illegal drug. ...neither is aspirin, by the way! So how does even the mention of wine relate to this topic?

Baron Max