Woman drives SUV into church

CLAYMONT, DE. Dawn Johnson, 36, drove her Chevy Trailblazer at speed across oncoming traffic, off the road, and through the wall of the Discipleship of Christ Baptist Church at 1:15 a.m. Her SUV went about 25 feet into the church. Police arrested her and charged her with driving under the influence. Source.

Brief interventions effective for alcohol abusers

Doctors and nurses should screen and counsel patients for alcohol abuse during routine visits, a doctor-led advocacy group recommended in a recent report.

Dr. Thomas Esposito, co-chairperson of End Needless Deaths on Our Roadways (END), [web site] said studies have determined that 5- to 15-minute counseling sessions have proven effective in decreasing consumption among at-risk drinkers.

The recommendation is part of an annual report ranking the deadliest states of the union in terms of drunk driving. Washington D.C. and Hawaii topped the list this year. Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, North Dakota, and Washington also made the list of the bloodiest states. Details.

Author of crack sentencing bill calls it a mistake

The author of the 1986 bill that mandated a 100-times more severe sentence for crack cocaine than for powder now calls the bill "a terrible mistake."

Eric Sterling was the lawyer for the House Judiciary Committee from 1979 to 1989 and wrote the mandatory sentencing bill that requires five years imprisonment for possession of five grams of crack cocaine.

In an op-ed piece, Sterling also says that the way the Justice Department has enforced the bill has been "a disaster."

Sterling writes that "almost all federal crack prosecutions involve people of color. Indeed, for years no whites were prosecuted for crack offenses in many federal courts, including those in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Dallas or Boston."

Fixing the 100-1 disparity is only part of the solution, Sterling writes. It's also necessary to focus prosecution on the big dealers, the people who import the drug by the tens of kilograms. Federal prosecutors have wasted millions of dollars and countless hours prosecuting small time neighborhood dealers and couriers, Sterling says.

Read the full article here.

Source.

He quit drinking without AA

WILMINGTON, DE: Jerry Dorsman, 59, quit drinking without AA and wrote a book about how to do it. The Delaware News Journal features the author's story in its current online issue. Dorsman, who is now 25 years sober, attended AA but found the spirituality "too narrow and forced," and he saw inadequate attention being paid to stress reduction and nutrition, among other points. Dorsman's book, How to Quit Drinking Without AA, shares his approach. Details.