Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat It! Beat it!

Today in class (actually, about 3 minutes ago), I chose my "beat" or area of interest for the semester. Naturally, I chose "crime" with a specific interest in drugs (mom, you can roll your eyes now). I decided to take this because Kylee chose sports and she sits next to me and got to choose first, but also because it's an area that interests me.

Here are some main issues that I plan to cover:

• new street drugs
• college life and crime
• laws
• drug culture

Here are the story ideas I've gleaned from these issues:

• NORML - activities and meetings
• Possession laws, local and state
• Snurf, khat, DXM, what the kids are taking
• Prescription drug abuse
• Treatment centers and programs
• Music festivals and drug culture
• April 20th celebrations (on campus and off)
• Steroids and athletic culture
• Violent crime in the city of Boulder
  
• Date rape statistics and reporting
• Crime rates during football season
• On-campus crime vs off-campus crime
  
• Medicinal marijuana
• The paraphernalia shops - economic impact
• Federal control of performance-enhancing drugs