Pot dealer linked to Kansas players

[Chris Yates]

This is a developing story arising from a federal marijuana-distribution case:

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/29...ot-dealer.html

“At one occasion law enforcement had Mr. Villeareal this basketball season at the Sprint Center sitting behind the KU basketball bench with a number of the players,” she said. “So we know that he had probably not only a personal relationship with them but a professional relationship as well.”

Who knows where this may lead?

[HeartofaChampion]

No pun intended, but where there's lots of smoke, there's a fire. And guessing that law enforcement already have evidence of specific players accepting drugs from Villareal. This could get ugly, you'd think.

[Chris Yates]

Originally Posted by HeartofaChampion

No pun intended, but where there's lots of smoke, there's a fire. And guessing that law enforcement already have evidence of specific players accepting drugs from Villareal. This could get ugly, you'd think.

It took a federal grand jury investigation to throw open the Fab Five mess. The U.S. Attorney's Office has investigative tools at its disposal that are unavailable to virtually everyone else on earth. When the U.S. Attorney's Office begins to dig, they typically don't stop until they've unearthed all of the wrongdoing in the vicinity.

This could get very interesting.

[IlliniKat91]

Pass the popcorn? I have a feeling I'll be following this even as I travel this summer. Nothing like good ol' fashioned NCAA drama!

[Sullivan]

I don't know guys, Kansas basketball has quite the history of illegalities and very few actual penalties. If the investigation is put in the NCAA's hands don't expect much to come from this.

[Sure Shot]

Originally Posted by Sullivan

I don't know guys, Kansas basketball has quite the history of illegalities and very few actual penalties. If the investigation is put in the NCAA's hands don't expect much to come from this.

Especially since there is no NCAA rule mandating any sort of school-level drug enforcement policy at all. Nor should there be. Who on earth cares?

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Sullivan

I don't know guys, Kansas basketball has quite the history of illegalities and very few actual penalties. If the investigation is put in the NCAA's hands don't expect much to come from this.

There sure was a lot of smoke around the ticket scandal and Pump brothers, but nothing came of that. Ditto for the Darnell Jackson payments.

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

Especially since there is no NCAA rule mandating any sort of school-level drug enforcement policy at all. Nor should there be. Who on earth cares?

The point is that in the process of investigating the drug relationships, other issues may come to light. The ability to force people to testify under oath can be revealing.

[Sure Shot]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

The point is that in the process of investigating the drug relationships, other issues may come to light. The ability to force people to testify under oath can be revealing.

Hey, if this indirectly reveals that Kansas has been cheating, then I guess I'll take it, but I don't want to hear any "How dare college kids smoke marijuana!" nonsense.

[Groundhogday]

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

Hey, if this indirectly reveals that Kansas has been cheating, then I guess I'll take it, but I don't want to hear any "How dare college kids smoke marijuana!" nonsense.

That dealer isn't sitting behind the bench because he sells players a few joints.

[Sure Shot]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

That dealer isn't sitting behind the bench because he sells players a few joints.

Well hold the phone there. What else is there for a wealthy Overland Park, KS drug kingpin to do other than go to KU games?

I would let this play out before jumping to any conclusions.

[redriver]

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

Hey, if this indirectly reveals that Kansas has been cheating, then I guess I'll take it, but I don't want to hear any "How dare college kids smoke marijuana!" nonsense.

I don't think that is the important thing here. It may be the fact that Kansas' testing policy is non existent. Unless this is outdated, the penalty for street drug use is loss of one year of eligibility. This was under the FAQ's on the link. One of the people at Kansas involved in the ticket scandal said their testing was a joke. The FBI agents out of Kansas City were not interested in burning Kansas basketball. They have to live there. It is a nice recruiting pitch. 'Come to Kansas, we don't test.'
http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/...Landing%20Page

'What is the penalty for a positive drug test?
The penalty for positive tests of both performance-enhancing and street drugs is strict and automatic. Student-athletes lose one full year of eligibility for the first offense (25 percent of their total eligibility) and are withheld from competition for a full season. A second positive test for street drugs results in another lost year of eligibility and year withheld from competition. A second positive result for PED usage will render the student-athlete permanently ineligible.'

[Sure Shot]

Yes, but those rules are for NCAA tests (during the tournament and the like)

Schools can test in whatever way they like, and enforce them however they like.

[hermie1985]

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

Well hold the phone there. What else is there for a wealthy Overland Park, KS drug kingpin to do other than go to KU games?

I would let this play out before jumping to any conclusions.

Agreed. I bet we have had some questionable friends, uncles or brothers sit behind our bench on occassion. How many rows back until it doesn't matter who is in your stands? Background checks for everyone "hanging around" a basketball program would be kind of revealing.

[Calilama]

Originally Posted by hermie1985

Agreed. I bet we have had some questionable friends, uncles or brothers sit behind our bench on occassion. How many rows back until it doesn't matter who is in your stands? Background checks for everyone "hanging around" a basketball program would be kind of revealing.

Hell...background checks for posters might be just as interesting

[hermie1985]

Thank goodness the SOL has run out on the foolishness of my childhood. One of the few perks of getting old.

[PeoriaSteve]

When will this country wake up? How did Prohibition work? Gang violence (see Al Capone etc.) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. How is our drug policy working? Gang violence (see our border with Mexico) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. Most importantly we're costing ourselves billions in prison costs, law enforcement dollars wasted (in neither case was law enforcement remotely successful in their efforts) and huge loss of tax revenue.

Being a history grad from UI, all I can say is that those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it!

[MTILLINOIS]

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

Well hold the phone there. What else is there for a wealthy Overland Park, KS drug kingpin to do other than go to KU games?

I would let this play out before jumping to any conclusions.

+1

[Kramer116]

Originally Posted by PeoriaSteve

When will this country wake up? How did Prohibition work? Gang violence (see Al Capone etc.) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. How is our drug policy working? Gang violence (see our border with Mexico) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. Most importantly we're costing ourselves billions in prison costs, law enforcement dollars wasted (in neither case was law enforcement remotely successful in their efforts) and huge loss of tax revenue.

Being a history grad from UI, all I can say is that those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it!

Legalize pot, make the government regulate or sell it, let them tax it, you begin to make up massive amounts of the budget deficit immediately.

And you also save all that money not prosecuting those cases involving marijuana, not wasting time putting those people in jail, not wasting resources on stings/busts.

You get to focus all your attention on the really hard drugs and you begin to clean up some things (at least in my opinion).

[IlliniKat91]

Originally Posted by PeoriaSteve

When will this country wake up? How did Prohibition work? Gang violence (see Al Capone etc.) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. How is our drug policy working? Gang violence (see our border with Mexico) and tons of otherwise law-abiding citizens violating the law. Most importantly we're costing ourselves billions in prison costs, law enforcement dollars wasted (in neither case was law enforcement remotely successful in their efforts) and huge loss of tax revenue.

Being a history grad from UI, all I can say is that those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it!

Originally Posted by Kramer116

Legalize pot, make the government regulate or sell it, let them tax it, you begin to make up massive amounts of the budget deficit immediately.

And you also save all that money not prosecuting those cases involving marijuana, not wasting time putting those people in jail, not wasting resources on stings/busts.

You get to focus all your attention on the really hard drugs and you begin to clean up some things (at least in my opinion).

While I agree with both these posts, the fact remains that at the moment, marijuana is considered a controlled substance and selling it for recreational purposes is illegal. This alleged "drug king pin" may have some ties to the Kansas athletic programs, and I'm not exactly sad if it turns out that they get slapped with legal issues. Boo hoo. Shoulda stayed on top of it before it became a legal issue, in my opinion.

[justsomedude]

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

That dealer isn't sitting behind the bench because he sells players a few joints.

Actually, he may be. However a dealer who's selling a few joints isn't probably the subject of a federal investigation.

[jhayton]

Originally Posted by Kramer116

Legalize pot, make the government regulate or sell it, let them tax it, you begin to make up massive amounts of the budget deficit immediately.

And you also save all that money not prosecuting those cases involving marijuana, not wasting time putting those people in jail, not wasting resources on stings/busts.

You get to focus all your attention on the really hard drugs and you begin to clean up some things (at least in my opinion).

Pot won't get legalized until they can do an accurate field sobriety test (like a breathalyzer for alcohol). Also you can't control how much THC is each marijuana plant unlike Tobacco or Alcohol so legalization is difficult with regards to that as well.

[JSpence]

Originally Posted by jhayton

Pot won't get legalized until they can do an accurate field sobriety test (like a breathalyzer for alcohol). Also you can't control how much THC is each marijuana plant unlike Tobacco or Alcohol so legalization is difficult with regards to that as well.

This is an excellent (and suspiciously well-informed) post! You taught me something there, and I never thought about a sobriety test.

[Sure Shot]

Originally Posted by jhayton

Pot won't get legalized until they can do an accurate field sobriety test (like a breathalyzer for alcohol). Also you can't control how much THC is each marijuana plant unlike Tobacco or Alcohol so legalization is difficult with regards to that as well.

The breathalyzers they use for field sobriety tests are NOT accurate. So much so that they are inadmissible in court.

But as for the other stuff, let legitimate science work with marijuana for a decade and they'll have it all worked out.

[jhayton]

Originally Posted by Sure Shot

The breathalyzers they use for field sobriety tests are NOT accurate. So much so that they are inadmissible in court.

But as for the other stuff, let legitimate science work with marijuana for a decade and they'll have it all worked out.

You are correct about Breathalyzers (it does seem like a legit deal though and Americans don't really question law enforcement tactics enough), but legitimate science is already working with marijuana and they can't develop a strain of plant with consistent THC levels. Which makes it almost impossible to measure the dosage within each joint unless it comes from same plant. Thus making it impossible for the FDA to approve it.

[illinicb]

Originally Posted by jhayton

Pot won't get legalized until they can do an accurate field sobriety test

Pot wont get legalized until a politician can run for office without the fear of being a drug dealer for decriminalizing pot.