University Daily Kansan / Thursday, September 28. 1989
5
Drug policy draws mixed reaction
By Jim Petterson Kansan staff writer
A new "no tolerance" drug enforcement policy enacted Friday by Douglas County District Attorney Jim Flory was met with both concern and praise from area attorneys.
Flory's new policy, aimed at drug users as well as suppliers, banned diversion agreements and put strict limits on the types of plea agreements that can be entered in drug-related cases.
Donald Strole, a Lawrence defense attorney, said he understood Flory's new policy from a political standpoint. "He should be viewed on its own merit."
"There are two simultaneous policies with respect to drugs," he said.
"One, the 'get tough' policy, and two, acknowledging people use drugs and
get addicted.
"The focus of a policy should be on the second. The new policy doesn't fit in real well. If a drug user is convicted, he can be sent to drug rehabilitation. But a fair amount of people that contend have given treatment are going to jail or still be using drugs. That way, neither side wins."
In response to Strole's concerns, Flory pointed to a case in Massachusetts where a similar drug enforcement policy was enacted, and self-initiated drug treatment increased 87 percent.
Jim Clark, director of the Kansas County and District Attorneys' Association, said a "no tolerance" policy is effective in a city such as Lawrence.
"I don't think such a policy would work in a large metropolitan city
with a large ghetto population," Clark said. "But in a place with a large, well-educated population that is considering using dope on an experimental basis, the policy is a good deterrent."
Clark said he had not heard of any other Kansas district attorneys enacting similar policies but said that some counties with a more conservative, rural population might have strict drug enforcement policies in effect.
"The nature of a college town is such that a tough enforcement policy would have a strong deterrent effect," he said. "When I was prosecu- tory, I had to work in the years ago we tried to concentrate on our jobs. It turned out to be a lost cause."
"By concentrating on users, the policy will begin reducing demand and taking the money and corruption
Strole said he also was concerned that the new drug policy might overburden the Douglas County court system.
out of the drug trade."
Flory said, "I think the court system can absorb the increase. I can't dictate policy based on the court docket or the number of beds in the jails and prisons. We'll just have to wait and see."
“It’s clear that the policy will be forcing people into court,” Strole said. “It already takes a month to months for a case to get to trial. Adding these cases to the court docket will keep cases lingering for a long time.”
In defense of the new policy, Flory said the ramifications of drug use on infants and the community had warranted that tougher measures be taken.
Social work shapes, shakes KU students
By Tracy Wilkinson Kansan staff writer
Students doing a practicum placement for the School of Social Welfare are awakening to a world that is both frightening and rewarding.
Lynn Wagner, a social worker for the Menninger Clinic in Topeka and a former KU student, said the importance of practicum placement was providing involved students with a strong network of support while letting them become independent in their work.
"It felt like I was always absorbing new information, ideas, theories and learning from the other counselors," she said. "The supervisors were like a mother would be. In the beginning they would tighten the rope, eventually letting loose of the reins."
Wagner said she did two years of practicum and felt like she learned the most from her second year.
The second practicum was an internship at the Topeka Pre-Release Center where she worked with student social workers doing mental health counselling getting ready to meet with their parole boards.
Wagner said she had many good and bad experiences with the inmates. Some were even
frightening.
"One time, a client tried to make a pass at me during a counseling session," she said. "It was really shocking because it was even close to the end of the term, and all of the other inmates were really respectful of me and of the other two counselors."
Wagner said she dealt with the manner professionally.
"I just told him I would have to terminate my counseling process," she said. "The correctional facility was very good; they let me decide how I wanted to handle it."
Wagner said that during the course of her internships, she worked with juvenile offenders and Social Rehabilitative Services and learned about the frustrations social workers had with the two.
Both the frustrations and the fears of the job were confidential, she said.
Goodwin Garfield, associate professor of social welfare, said the purpose of the practicum itself was to benefit the students.
"We have a basic commitment to provide a field experience that would be a complement to the academic curriculum," he said.
Garfield said students were placed in Lawrence, Topeka, the Kansas City area and Olathe depending on the needs, and personal and geographic interests.
Ninety-five percent of the social welfare students travel, he said.
"It is a case of matching student interest and needs on the one hand, and our resources on the other," Garfield said.
Garfield said there were four main groups of practicum interest for social welfare students: health, community mental health, children and family, and aging people.
Kay Eland, Hoxie senior, is doing her practicum at the Wyandotte Mental Health Center in Kansas City, Kan.
"I am specifically working with a peer counseling program that we've set up in four or five high schools in Kansas City," Eland said. "We poll students and survey to find out who among them would be the most likely for other students to come back." We'd teach kids in basic counseling and initiative resourceing."
These kids act much like a counselor for their friends, she said.
These students are part of Ewing Kaufman's Project Choice, a plan for helping underprivileged high school students attend and graduate from high school and college, she said.
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