in this article i would say who gives a rats ass - another person gets busted for having $40 worth of crack. but in this case the cops were willing to waste the resourses of having a helicoptor follow the guy around on foot to make the bust. even if you think the drug war is legal, which i dont it seems like a huge waste of police resources having a helicoptor which costs several hunders of dollars an hour to operate to follow around a guy to bust him for buying one rock of crack. but then that echo one of my matras in that the drug war is a jobs program for high paid cops. Original Article Mesa math teacher seized in drug case JJ Hensley The Arizona Republic Mar. 3, 2005 12:00 AM A Mesa schoolteacher who admitted smoking crack cocaine before school, left campus Tuesday and bought more drugs before officers arrested him during a traffic stop, Mesa police said Wednesday. Police found $40 worth of crack in Shepherd Junior High math teacher David Mark Butler's pocket after stopping his car shortly after 10 a.m., according to a police report. Court records indicate Butler, 40, told officers who stopped him in the 900 block of West Southern Avenue that he smoked crack at 7 a.m. Tuesday. He also said he was going to "leave school, pick up a crack rock, drop it off at his house and smoke it later," the records stated. Butler was booked on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine and driving under the influence. He was later released. Students joked about Butler doing drugs, said Shepherd student Ciara D'Agostino, 14, "but no one really thought he did it." On Wednesday, the mood was somber. "A lot of people were crying," D'Agostino said. "People were close to him, and it's really hard for them to see him put in jail." Police began investigating Butler two weeks ago, after administrators told the school's police resource officer that Butler was acting erratically, according to police. Parents and students took their concerns to administrators, the statement said, after they also noticed Butler's mood swings, disorganization and departures from his classes while they were in session. During the investigation, police said the resource officer noticed Butler would leave campus at 10 a.m., which falls during his planning period, and return to school moments before the start of his next class. Officers in a helicopter followed him Tuesday, said Sgt. Chuck Trapani, a spokesman. The notion of a teacher smoking crack and coming to school was tough to accept for D'Agostino's father, Gary, but he said it's a sign of the substance-abuse problems throughout society. "Nobody's immune to it, by any means, but it's probably more impacting on our society when it's people in a position of responsibility," he said. The district has suspended Butler with pay, officials said. Reporter Senta Scarborough contributed to this article.