If there is any news story that should dissuade future illicit drug use on campuses, it would be the untimely and near fatal fate of Daniel Chong, an undergraduate at UC San Diego.
If there is any news story that should dissuade future illicit drug use on
campuses, it would be the untimely and near fatal fate of Daniel Chong, an
undergraduate at UC San Diego.
After being locked up then abandoned in a holding cell following a raid by
the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the student suffered from terrible
hallucinations, starvation, and dehydration in a holding cell.
and consuming a left-over piece of meth just to survive. Fearing that he would
die after being abandoned and forgotten for four day, Chong tried swallowing
broken shards from his glasses, then carving into his forearm a final good-bye
to his mother. Fortunately, drug enforcers discovered the emaciated and weary
college student before it was too late. The hallucinations he endured during
that period of time most likely enabled him to stay alive longer than if he had
gone without food or water.
The circumstances of his arrest leading to his incarceration are hardly
praiseworthy. He had gone to a friend's house to get high on April 20, a cult
holiday for marijuana enthusiasts. After staying over for the night, the DEA
raided the home, where the federal officials uncovered 18,000 ecstasy pills,
other illicit substances, and firearms.
of controlled substances, it would be this timely yet disconcerting account.
College students were rolling joints in a neighbor's kitchen, stocking and
selling large numbers of controlled substances without any quality control,
substances which have skyrocketed in value because of drug criminalization. The
news account provided no record that the DEA officials produced a warrant
following their sudden invasion and arrest of the college students, which
ultimately lead to the incarceration, neglect, and near death of one young man.
campuses should uphold strict rules regarding the conduct of students and sale
of illicit drugs on their campuses. Yet as private citizens who choose to use,
or who are addicted and in bondage to these drugs, cannot be served or reformed
by such arrogant and arrogating state power. The rights and efficacy of our
courts systems are also in jeopardy because of drug laws which neither protect us or enforce a drug-free culture in
our state.
The arbitrary and forceful natural of the seizure and abandonment of Daniel
Chong, coupled with the inhumane treatment, does not warrant such an
overwhelming, immoral response from the state. Daniel Chong's four days of fear
and loathing in a holding cell may serve as a resounding death knell for the
draconian drug laws in California and the entire country.