Roundup: Video Testimony on Life without Parole; SAMHSA Public Health Alert; NJ Supreme Court Rules on Juvenile Right to Counsel; and More

 
Concerned about the kids in the juvenile justice system? Then check out the video above of a 29-year-old woman given life without parole at 16 for killing her pimp. I found it on this blog, without a lot of information about where or when the video was made. But man oh man, it's sure moving.
Other stories:

• Supporters of juvenile justice reform got more data to make their case when an Australian study found that custody is no deterrent to future crime. Amazing how consistent the research is, isn't it? Let's hope it begins to have more impact on policymaking.
• Most Americans support adding addiction coverage to health reform legislation.
• Teens are less likely to engage in substance abuse if they frequently eat dinner with their families.
• From the ATTC Network: "The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is alerting medical professionals, substance abuse treatment centers and other public health authorities about the risk that substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole – a veterinary anti-parasitic drug. There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole. The number of reported cases is expected to increase as information about cocaine adulterated with levamisole is disseminated."
• The National Institute of Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network Southern Consortium Node in collaboration with the Southeastern Addiction Treatment Technology Center is conducting a Regional Dissemination Workshop on Evidence Based Interventions in Community Substance Abuse Programs. This November 2, 2009 event to be held in Charleston, SC features Tom McLellan, Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy and informative workshops offered by national experts.
• From the National Juvenile Justice Network:
  • The New Jersey Supreme Court Holds that Juveniles' Right to Counsel Attaches Early in Delinquency Proceedings
    On July 29, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in State of New Jersey In the Interest of P.M.P. A-63-08, that the right to counsel in delinquency proceedings attaches as early as at the filing of a complaint and obtaining of a judicially approved arrest warrant. The Court found the filing of the complaint and the obtaining of a judicially approved arrest warrant to be a critical stage in the proceedings, thereby triggering the right to counsel. The Court also held that juveniles cannot waive their right to counsel except in the presence of and after consultation with an attorney.