Thursday, May 16, 1968
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
11
Marijuana users face imprisonment in Kansas
By Charla Jenkins
Picture a small room with only one light burning. Four average-looking college students are listening to the music blaring from the stereo. One boy is lying on the floor staring at the ceiling, another is watching dim snow on the television.
From all appearances this scene is an innocent get-together, an average example of college life. But each person present at this quiet party is taking a big risk. Each is just a step away from spending the next seven years in the state penitentiary.
Why?
Because each was in a place where marijuana was being smoked; each had smoked it himself, and each was in possession of the drug.
During the past year, more than 35 college students in Kansas have been arrested for violation of the state statutes concerning the possession and use of marijuana. Some feel these arrests have served a purpose; they will be an example of what can happen if you are caught with marijuana. Others will argue that the arrests have been worthless and senseless.
"What good will it do to make someone serve time in prison with hardened criminals, when they are using something less larmless than taking a drink of liquor?" they are heard to say.
Each side of the argument has its strong points, each just as reasonable as the next. The arguments vary as widely as do the people making them.
In an address before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, Dr. Stanley F. Yolles, a consultant for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, estimated that at least 20 per cent of today's college students and two million high school students have had some experience with marijuana. A large percentage of these use the drug regularly.
Why then is the use of marijuana so restricted and so heavily penalized? Law and health officials cite several reasons, including the possibility of marijuana leading to other drug use, the potential a user has for violence and the effect the drug has on the psychotic condition.
Publications advocating the legalization of marijuana and the majority of users repudiate all these reasons and cite many more for using the drug. Law officials declined comment on the moral and health issues of marijuana, saying only that they would continue to enforce the law until the statutes were changed.
Marijuana is a concoction made from the pulverized leaves, flowers and resins of a plant cannabis. While classed as a narcotic under federal and state law, it is more of a mild hallucinogen with the qualities of a psychedelic drug. It is commonly used by smoking in a cigarette or pipe. In some cases, marijuana or "grass" is mixed with food. Ingestion of the drug has a somewhat different effect on the user, especially in the type of feeling he gets from it and the time it takes to get an effect.
In an article in "California Medicine," Dr. Edward R. Bloomquist describes the effect of marijuana by saying, "After inhalation of the smoke the user notices a feeling of 'inner joy' described as being 'high.' If he is alone, he may 'trip off' and be drowsy or watch the passing parade of technicolor illusions. In company he may be talkative and hilarious. His awareness, touch and perception are altered, particularly as they relate to time and space."
The effect of marijuana last anywhere from two to five hours, depending on the quality of the drug used. As the effects begin to
wear off, the user will usually feel slight lethargy and hunger. One user described the feeling: "All I could think about was ice cream and it never tasted so good before."
The quality and strength of marijuana affects almost all aspects of the drug. Price varies throughout the country depending on the type of "grass" used. Many times marijuana is mixed with other drugs to lower the cost and raise the weight. The most expensive and reportedly the best type is called "Acapulco Gold." This type is grown and processed in Mexico and is called "good stuff," as contrasted to the Kansas product.
Marijuana is common to the KU campus and the Lawrence area, not only in quantity but also in availability. According to Dan Young, Douglas County attorney, the plant cannabis grows wild throughout the county. "There's even something in my yard that could be marijuana," he said.
A KU student who uses marijuana regularly said it was very easy to obtain the drug if "you had the money and knew the right people." He said there was a chain of pushers from Kansas City westward who supplied the local pushers. These people supply large quantities to local people, who then sell it in smaller packages to users. Prices and quantities offered vary in Lawrence with the type of grass. Pure marijuana is seldom sold, and it is high-priced, he said.
Two cases of possession of marijuana have been prosecuted in Douglas County. John I. Tyler was found guilty of possession of the drug in 1966 after being investigated more than a year. One case is now pending. Young said.
Young stressed the fact that he was not making a moral judgment in prosecuting these cases. Tyler was paroled after serving some time in the county jail. "He was
a first offender so he was paroled," Young said. "We would have been a lot harder on him if he had been selling it to high school kids or something. At no time will I reduce or dismiss a charge in this county against someone who has broken this law."
National reports say that use of marijuana is becoming more common for high school students. There have been no reports of use in Lawrence High School, according to William Medley, Lawrence High principal. Medley said some students have probably tried the drug, "but we don't have any problem that we know of."
Recently the Lawrence High Budget published a series of articles concerning the use of marijuana. It reported that several Lawrence students had admitted
using marijuana, but that none of them used it regularly.
Medley explained that teachers, especially those in physical education, were on a constant watch for symptoms of marijuana use. "We watch for the student that is unusually drowsy or tired," he said.
The main question in most people's minds is why today's youth feel it is necessary to use marijuana. Reactions vary on this just as they do on anything concerning the drug. Some people are convinced that young people enjoy doing anything that is wrong. Others think that today's morals are going down-hill.
But the most wide - spread answer to this long-debated question came from a junior at KU. He said, "I like it. I like what it does for me. It turns me on"
Lack of facilities besets state juvenile homes
By Janet Snyder
A major deficiency of Kansas is its lack of facilities for juvenile delinquents.
As a result, some juvenile offenders must spend time in the juvenile jail until there is a place for them in an institution or home.
Mary Ann Douglas, case work supervisor for the Shawnee County Juvenile Court, said 15 boys and girls are or have been recently in the juvenile section of the Shawnee County Jail because there is no room for them anywhere else.
Miss Douglas said the Shawnee County Youth Center has room for 16 boys and girls, and most of the time has had up to 30 vouchers.
"The state and county health boards said the center must get
down to limit, plus the budget was cut. So, now they have to cut down on expenditures and staff," Miss Douglas said. "And this will have an effect on the kids."
Jack Pulliam, supervisor of Boys Industrial School (BIS), the only long-term facility in Kansas for boys, said the capacity is 195 but that there now are 242 boys there.
Pulliam said that in 1970 a new 24-bed cottage, provided by this year's legislature, should be opened at BIS "But now we will need a staff."
The idea of juveniles, anyone to the age of 18, being in jail "is not good," Pulliam said.
But black actors seldom trained enough
Negro theater groups have positive role
By Linda McCrerey
American Negroes have used many forms of protest in their struggle to gain equal rights. Demonstrations and riots may be the most widely publicized and notorious means, but behind the chaos of violence are constructive movements.
Perhaps the most positive of these movements are the new Negro theater groups. Found mainly in large cities, these groups do not advocate militant "black power" ideas, nor do they seek violent means to gain equality.
They have one or both of two goals: to help black actors gain experience in the theater, and to make both black and white Americans aware of the Negro's rich cultural heritage.
In New York City, for example, at least six theater groups have been active recently in using the stage to advance the Black cause.
Some recent Negro plays present African music and dance, such as "Kongi's Harvest" by Nigerian Wole Soyinka. It is a political comedy about a new African nation's problems in adopting modern government.
Other plays show the frustrating situation of the black man seeking to find a place in Whitey's prejudiced world. Ed Bullins's current three one-act plays, "The Electronic Nigger and Others," vividly depict the black experience.
Many groups, such as the Waddington Society, The Voices, Inc., the New Lafayette Theatre and the East River Players, bring theater into Black ghettos. They are seldom reviewed by professional critics, but they bring art and a message to ghetto audiences seldom reached by professional theater.
Another new training-ground for Negro actors is the Afro-American Studio for Acting and Speech. Its director, Ernie McLintock, is an Equity actor and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He believes "Negro actors are seldom trained enough" for professional theater.
At least one group, the Negro Ensemble Co., is considered professional. For the past three years, the company's 14 full-time instructors, all professional actors, have used a Ford grant to operate a free school to train 100 young Negro actors in all aspects of theater production.
After two years of a sporadic existence, the Studio finally has a new 100-seat theater on the West Side. Its controversial current play, "Fortune and Men's Eyes," shows the need for reform in detention homes and was well-received by critics.
In addition to theater training, McLintock also offers classes in Negro history.
Another organization, the Afro Arts Cultural Center, is using the theater as an educational medium to present Negro arts. Directed by Simon Bly, the Cultural Center presents a varied program of theater, jazz and opera in the Afro-American tradition.
"We respect the true greatness of the Afro-American people," Bly said. "Our concern is to make American people aware of the dignity of Black arts.
"There is a treasury of literary works done by African and Afro-Americans that the public has never seen," Bly said. He stressed that the Cultural Center is not connected to any political, religious or commercial ideologies; rather, it is a "cultural projection," the first, in fact, to bring up the idea of Afro-American courses in the public school system.
The Cultural Center's current play, "None of Us Are Ever Born Free," dramatizes the independent spirit of the black man in Africa and the Americans, Bly said.
Bly said there is a resurgence of popular interest in African culture, but the feeling "has really been there all the time."
In this wave of black pride sweeping the U.S., groups of Negro students have organized, many condemning violent means of gaining equal rights. Among these is the Black Allied Student Association at New York University. Their purpose is "increasing our awareness of our black culture," said James Watkins, president of the 50-member group.
"You can't gain respect if you don't know your own history," said Watkins.
The Black Allied Student Association has been successful in demanding several considerations from the administration.
"Burn, Baby, Burn is NOT the answer," Watkins said. "However, it does have a purpose." Although Watkins and his fellow members are bitter about the situation of the American Negro, they seek to accent the positive aspects of their race.
The play, "Hip, Black and Angry" was presented at NYU shortly after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. It showed in 20 brief sketches various situations in the black man's existence. Many contained attacks on Whitey's racism, but most scenes presented black contributions in poetry, music and dance, subjects traditionally ignored in American history texts. These scenes were told in Black man's hip language.
"The play was directed to the white man and his community, to instruct him in the Black man's plight." Watkins said.
With new plays depicting Black man's plights while showing his contributions to the arts, another outlet for Negro talent has arisen. Negro authors can now "write Black," explained an NYU English student. Black writers want to succeed, but they don't want to fall into the usual superficial themes.
Awareness of their cultural heritage gives them an identity, so they don't have to adopt white man's standards. As the student explains, "We now have an audience."
"But return to realities—this is actually what is available," Pulliam said. "Only in the four big counties, Shawnee, Sedgwick, Wyandotte, and Johnson, are there detention homes.
"Because of overcrowding or the way a facility was built, many kids with serious problems have been removed to jail. In jail is the worst type of solitary confinement," Pulliam said. "Juveniles are separated by law from the adults and often there is no jailer on duty—there is rarely someone to talk to.
"If a juvenile is in jail, he needs supervision and someone to talk to." Pulliam said.
Pulliam said that right now there are no provisions for what to do with boys 16 and 17. He said that in January of 1966, the juvenile age was changed from 16 to 18.
"We need institutions for about 250 for the older boys," Pulliam said. "They can be admitted to BIS but we're overcrowded."
Kansas also needs a larger professional staff to work with the juveniles.
Pulliam said low salaries was a problem, and that there are not enough trained social workers.
Malcolm Copeland, juvenile judge for Shawnee County, said there is a "great shortage of people to assist the court."
He said 2,500 juveniles were dealt with in 1967 and "most courts are short of professional help to do a social history and psychological investigations on the kids."
Judge Copeland said facilities for making evaluations of the juveniles' need are lacking. There is a 37-bed evaluation center at Atchison but it is "crowded and slow," he said.
"Because of the lack of evaluative facilities, we try probation. But the success of probation is limited because of limited evaluative processes and the type of service than can be rendered by persons not professionally trained in this area."
He said that of all juvenile offenders only 18 per cent are repeaters. Of the 18 per cent, "a kid violating the law won't change, not in the environment involved."