Government agencies have spoken their opinions on the ballot initiative crafted to regulate marijuana usage in Alaska. While they are certainly entitled to their beliefs, they have been silent on the facts: People who want to smoke marijuana will do so whether illegal or not; the drug war is not stopping people from using drugs; and only those with medical degrees should decide if marijuana is an appropriate treatment for their patients. I am a responsible wife and mother. I have no desire to smoke marijuana and think that doing so recreationally is a ridiculous, irresponsible choice. Nevertheless, it should be my choice. I am tired of the government continuing to make the choice for me, taking police away from real crime fighting and spending millions of dollars of our taxes to fight a miserably failing drug war. That money could be better used to, say, create jobs or fund education, or to make America's big cities safer. [continues 414 words]
Low attendance at a methamphetamine workshop Thursday indicates the community may not yet be concerned about the threat the drug poses to Pitt County, an area health official says. "The presentations were very good; the attendance was not," said Dr. David Ames, chairman of The Pitt County Substance Abuse Coalition. "People really need to know what this is all about. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get the participation we were looking for." Coalition officials distributed about 700 flyers to individuals and businesses, but only 12 people showed up for "Is There A Meth Lab Cookin' In Your Neighborhood?" at the Eastern Area Health Education Center near Pitt County Memorial Hospital. [continues 218 words]
The Daily Reflector Programs such as an upcoming methamphetamine workshop will now be more feasible, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Federal Drug Free Community Support Program, officials said. "We'll be able to do a lot more because we will have a director who can put in the time to make things happen," said Dr. David Ames, chairman of The Pitt County Substance Abuse Coalition. "We can pay for odds and ends so we anticipate a lot more community training, education, parenting workshops and many more of those efforts." [continues 190 words]
With methamphetamine looming as a rival to common narcotics such as cocaine and marijuana, Attorney General Roy Cooper praised the efforts of a local group trying to combat the growing drug problem. "We need to train retail merchants to make sure they know that someone who comes in and buys 20 packs of Sudafed does not have a big family with a bad cold," Cooper said Friday. "They're likely going to make methamphetamine." Methamphetamine lab busts statewide have more than tripled since 2001, with 237 found so far this year. A lab was found outside Bethel in 2002, but none have been found in Pitt County so far this year. While cocaine continues to be one of the primary drugs in the area, The Pitt County Substance Abuse Coalition wants others to know the production signs of methamphetamine, commonly called "meth." [continues 412 words]
House to be home to women recovering from drug addiction By Stanley B. Chambers Jr. The Daily Reflector Inside a white house on the corner of West Fourth and Latham streets, three rolls of linoleum lie on one side of what will be the kitchen. Molding has to be put around a recently installed wall, the floors redone and the banister repainted. Reminiscent of a home construction project, the 3,800-square-foot residence soon will become a home for women hoping to change their lives. [continues 741 words]
Officials Debate Significanceof Rising Statistics For Region HUNTINGTON -- Steve Ross is frightened of his neighborhood. What used to be a quiet residential area just outside downtown Huntington has turned into a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes, says Ross, a resident of the 600 block of 5th Street. From his living room window, he watches prostitutes solicit motorists and drug dealers sell merchandise to their customers. He takes notes. On Wednesday alone, he saw as many as eight prostitutes buy drugs 12 different times in a church parking lot or on the sidewalk in front of the church, he says. [continues 1763 words]
In the hopes of closing the door on marijuana grow operations and the production of other illegal substances in community homes city council is on the verge of passing a new bylaw which would hold landlords and tenants responsible for the havoc they wreak. But prior to approving three readings of the bylaw Tuesday, council rescinded the initial bylaw and tabled another as the former contained prohibitions on the indoor use of pesticides which the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection deemed too broad. [continues 582 words]
PASCAGOULA -- "Two drug enforcement grants are paying off but the rising cost of gas is causing an opposite effect," Sheriff Mike Byrd said Monday. "We spent $26,000 on gas in a five-week period. This last week, our gas bill was $5,700. I don't know if it's going to get any better or what, but I just wanted to prepare you if we run short in that area," Byrd told Jackson County supervisors during their monthly meeting. [continues 416 words]
Yesterday Chilliwack Addictions and Prevention Services opened its doors in the community. CAPS, operated by the Pacific Community Resources Society, will be operating under a recently announced one-year contract with the Fraser Health Authority to provide addiction and prevention services to the residents of Chilliwack. Although the society is not new to the community its mandate has changed. For the past 10 years it offered youth outreach and intervention services under the banner of Nisha Family and Children's Services Society. [continues 178 words]
HUNTINGTON -- A community-based group has launched a Web site in an effort to eradicate drugs and crime in Huntington. The Web site, www.huntingtonsafety.net, provides information on and links to law enforcement agencies and drug rehabilitation programs, among other things. It was established by The Neighborhood Institute, the umbrella agency for Huntington's 13 neighborhood organizations. The goal of the site is to consolidate all local crime prevention and drug rehabilitation programs, whether they be church, government or community based, under one computerized roof, said John Belcher, a member of the Neighborhood Institute and president of the West Huntington Organization. That way, it will be easier and more discreet for someone wanting to report criminal activity or seek help with substance abuse problems, he said. [continues 270 words]
HUNTINGTON -- The Rev. Paul Willis knows that eradicating drugs and violence from the city of Huntington is a monumental task. But if it's going to happen, neighborhoods and churches can no longer look the other way or rely on law enforcement alone, he said. "If we truly are concerned about the welfare of this city, we as citizens have to take responsibility," Willis said. "If you don't want to be part of the solution, then you are part of the problem." [continues 484 words]
Juneau, Alaska -- Wev Shea has been fighting Alaska's marijuana laws for more than two decades. And what a long strained trip it's been. As a U.S. attorney in Alaska a decade ago, Shea took a tough stand against illegal drugs and was often criticized for it. In 1990, he backed the initiative that criminalized pot in the state. In 1998, he unsuccessfully fought a voter initiative for medical marijuana. And in 2000, he helped defeat what he called a "bizarre" attempt to legalize marijuana and consider reparations for some drug convicts. [continues 990 words]
JUNEAU -- Proponents of an initiative to decriminalize marijuana will get another chance to put the measure on the 2004 ballot, a Superior Court judge ruled. Anchorage Superior Judge John Suddock ordered Lt. Gov. Loren Leman and the state Division of Elections to reconsider nearly 200 petition booklets that were rejected earlier. Suddock said in a lengthy and, at times, scathing ruling issued Tuesday that state elections officials did not do enough to help the marijuana proponents work through the complicated initiative process. The Division of Elections received the ruling Thursday. [continues 458 words]
JUNEAU, Alaska - The state attorney general told Alaska law officers Tuesday to continue to confiscate all marijuana, even though a state appeals court made it legal for people to possess up to four ounces in their homes. Officers should investigate the cases in a manner that would allow for federal prosecution, Attorney General Gregg Renkes wrote to the public safety commissioner. Possession of marijuana remains a federal crime. "This includes seizing and treating as evidence all marijuana found, even if under four ounces in the home, and writing reports documenting the investigation," Renkes wrote. [continues 150 words]
Citizens and law enforcement officials gathered at the Greenville Hilton on Saturday to discuss how substance abuse affects every level of society and to look for solutions. The program was a gathering point for organizations to share ideas and gain inspiration. Substance abuse is either the cause of or a factor in the majority of crimes, said Dr. David Ames, president of the N.C. Council on Substance Abuse. The idea for the event came after the council approached Greenville leaders about doing a program together. Ames said drugs was one of the major issues the Greenville City Council wanted to focus on. [continues 490 words]
JUNEAU (AP) A state appellate court has affirmed the right of Alaskans to possess a small amount of marijuana in their home in a ruling handed down Friday. The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, reversed a 2001 conviction of a North Pole man found with marijuana in his home and ordered a new trial. In striking down the conviction of David S. Noy, the court called into question a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana. [continues 265 words]
AG Says State Will Take Issue To The Alaska Supreme Court JUNEAU (AP) -- A state appellate court has affirmed the right of Alaskans to possess a small amount of marijuana in their home in a ruling handed down Friday. The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, reversed a 2001 conviction of a North Pole man found with marijuana in his home, and ordered a new trial. The state will petition the Alaska Supreme Court for review, Attorney General Gregg Renkes said in a statement Friday. [continues 325 words]
AG Says State Will Take Issue To The Alaska Supreme Court A state appellate court has affirmed the right of Alaskans to possess a small amount of marijuana in their home in a ruling handed down Friday. The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, reversed a 2001 conviction of a North Pole man found with marijuana in his home, and ordered a new trial. The state will petition the Alaska Supreme Court for review, Attorney General Gregg Renkes said in a statement Friday. [continues 326 words]
RULING: Alaskans Can Have A Small Amount Of Marijuana In Their Homes; State Vows High Court Review JUNEAU -- In a ruling handed down Friday, a state appellate court has affirmed the right of Alaskans to possess a small amount of marijuana in their homes. The state Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, reversed a 2001 conviction of a North Pole man found with marijuana in his home and ordered a new trial. In striking down the conviction of David S. Noy, the court called into question a 1990 voter initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana. [continues 265 words]
Counties Concerned About How They'll Pay For New Regional Jail As Wayne County Sheriff Dave Pennington listens to a correctional officer tell him there are 50 inmates housed in his jail, which is designed to hold 20, he can only shrug his shoulders. "Well, what's new?" Pennington asks. Pennington has dealt with a swollen population at the jail since he took over as sheriff in 2001, he says as he enters a 20-by-15 foot room that is meant to be out-of-cell relief for inmates. Instead, the room is lined from wall to wall with 11 mattresses for the jail's trusties. [continues 1398 words]
I was shocked and dismayed by the allegations of Vancouver police beating drug dealers. We live in a civilized society, and in a civilized society we don't beat people. When we as a society, especially the police, condone the devaluing of society's lowest rung, then we can learn to devalue anyone. And where will this precedent lead? Will it some day be OK for the police to beat drug users? Thieves? Traffic violators? Where do we draw the line? Sam Chambers, Penticton [end]
An Edmonton man who ate two grams of marijuana a day for about 10 years to deal with lower back pain is in limbo after a judge stayed possession charges against him, his lawyer said Friday. Meanwhile, advocates of decriminalization called on the federal government to end the confusion surrounding the medical use of marijuana by legalizing the substance. Brian Oates, the 45-year-old welder at the centre of the case, wasn't available for comment Friday. But his lawyer, Barry McMullan, said his client "is in a bit of limbo" after police seized 71 plants and a growing operation from his modest north-end home. [continues 329 words]
In his May 3 column, Dan Rodricks writes that City Solicitor Thurman W. Zollicoffer Jr. owes the Police Department an apology for his actions on behalf of his sister and nephew ("Zollicoffer owes police apology for his remarks"). But Mr. Zollicoffer doesn't owe any more of an apology than he has already given. Mr. Rodricks gets the small picture - a city official should not get between a relative and the police, especially when the city official represents the police in civil matters. [continues 495 words]
A proposal by the Bush administration to cut several policing programs could have a devastating impact on some Tri-State law enforcement agencies, authorities say. Without federal help, several local agencies say high-tech equipment would not be purchased, drug task forces would be drastically reduced or dismantled and some officers could lose their jobs. These grants are a huge part of our department," Huntington Police Chief Gordon Ramey II said. "It would be a major blow if we lost this money." [continues 1090 words]
In response to, "We'll never make drugs legal," Oct. 23: I have to admit, when I started reading this article, I thought it would be entirely different than what it is. This writer asks some very valid questions. I would like to see an end to the drug wars. But I, too, often wonder how it could be done. I think the outright legalization of marijuana is the first step that is needed. Along with that, releasing every nonviolent pot offender, restoring their rights and allowing this to become the industry that it already should be. There is no valid reason that marijuana is still illegal except that it's illegal, and that's just not enough. [continues 1339 words]
Four Born Addicted To Cocaine; Most Suffer Emotionally PONTIAC -- A mother of 13 children, including a baby who died two weeks after birth and four others who tested positive for cocaine at birth, gave up her parental rights to her nine youngest children Thursday. Rochelle Pennex, 33, wept as she told Oakland Probate Court referee Joseph Racey that she wanted to terminate her parental rights to her children, who range in age from 23 months to 14 years old and live in foster care. [continues 390 words]
Get Tough Laws Pushed Up Number of Inmates TAMPA - The prison population in Florida has shot up about 2 1/2 times as fast as the general population in the past decade, according to new U.S. census figures. The result is a lower overall crime rate off by as much as one-third since the 1990s. But experts say there's a time bomb buried in the numbers, and it could explode when the convicts in prison are freed. The new census figures show that 60.7 percent more people a total of 71,319 were behind bars in Florida's 106 prisons last year than in 1990, when 44,381 were in jail. In the same period, Florida's general population increased by 24 percent, from about 13 million to 16 million. [continues 706 words]
LANCASTER--Paula's Kitchen is out of business. Authorities said Friday they have closed down one of the largest methamphetamine operations in the Antelope Valley, seizing drugs and drug-making chemicals with a street value of $30 million and arresting three people. The yearlong investigation, named "Operation Paula's Kitchen" after one of the alleged leaders of the enterprise, uncovered what authorities said was a "one-stop shopping center" for the illegal drug. "This place was like opening up a stinking Wal-Mart for methamphetamine," said Jerry Hunter, special agent of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. "Usually you have one crook out there who supplies the chemicals, one crook who supplies the apparatus. But this organization was one-stop shopping." [continues 336 words]
The horrible death of LaVenia Morrison received little attention in the city's other local news outlets ("Grip of drugs seen in woman's death," Sept. 15). But here is something to consider: As we as a society become more and more inured to the horrors and the devastation of cocaine, heroin and alcohol, we become more prone to accepting drug travails as just another aspect of everyday life. Charles Chambers Jr. Baltimore [end]
In late June, hundreds of federal agents fanned out across six states armed with arrest warrants, and prosecutors held a press conference to announce that they had shut down some major drug-dealing operations linked to the Colombian cartels. What they failed to mention was that only 17 of the 159 people snared in Operation Wild Card -- a sting that offered foreign nationals green cards in exchange for drugs or cash -- were charged with drug offenses. Now, with defendants housed in at least six county jails in upstate New York, defense lawyers and even the judge hearing the cases are questioning the fairness of luring immigrants into criminal behavior with the promise of permanent residence. [continues 783 words]
SPRINGFIELD -- There's one thing missing from sentencing hearings for drug dealers, Cook County prosecutors say: testimony from people victimized by drug crimes in their communities. "Pastors are willing to stand up and say, `This is how it's affected my congregation. This is how it's affected people coming to my church,' " said William T. O'Brien, chief of the Narcotics Division in the Cook County state's attorney's office. "Principals are willing to stand up and say, `This is what my kids have to face every day."' [continues 1060 words]
DR CLIVE FROGGATT, an architect of the Thatcher government's "free-market" NHS reforms, who fell from grace when he was convicted of drugs offences, is drawing on the therapy he underwent for his heroin addiction to counsel others. Leaflets offering troubled people "help and advice from someone who will listen" are being distributed to households in Dr Froggatt's home town of Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire. Dr Froggatt, 50, worked as a GP for 20 years before being suspended from medical registration in 1994 for faking prescriptions to feed his heroin habit. His suspended one-year jail sentence also cost him his privileged role as medical guru to a succession of former Health Secretaries including Kenneth Clarke, Virginia Bottomley and William Waldegrave. [continues 626 words]
