Lawyers waiting for judge's decision before trial starts in September The outcome of two court challenges could impact the next move in the criminal case of a Coe Hill physician stripped of his medical licence, as Crown and defence lawyers gear up to start jury selection in preparation for trial next month. Dan Stein, Rob Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, said there are two things that must be addressed before trial proceedings commence on Sept. 11. "We still haven't got a ruling on a week-and-a-half of motions," Stein said. "The judge indicated that the ruling should come next week. We brought two distinct motions, so we're waiting for two major rulings." [continues 345 words]
BELLEVILLE - The outcome of two court challenges could impact the next move in the criminal case of a Coe Hill physician stripped of his medical licence, as Crown and defence lawyers gear up to start jury selection in preparation for trial next month. Dan Stein, Rob Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, said there are two things that must be addressed before trial proceedings commence on Sept. 11. "We still haven't got a ruling on a week-and-a-half of motions," Stein said. "The judge indicated that the ruling should come next week. We brought two distinct motions, so we' re waiting for two major rulings." [continues 346 words]
The Kenhteke Cannabis Association is pushing back against the Mohawk band council and Tyendinaga police. The association is hosting a meeting on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Reserve to address recent statements about the legality of marijuana dispensaries in the community. "We uphold our people's traditional decision making process through our Clans, Nation, and Confederacy," a statement released by the group reads. "We do not recognize the authority or jurisdiction of foreign entities such as the Tyendinaga Police or the elected band council on our lands, culture, economy, and politics." [continues 393 words]
Police chief Ron Maracle said there is a plan of action, but won't say what it is The Mohawk police chief is set to initiate 'proactive policing' to address the proliferation of illegal marijuana dispensaries on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. "There is a plan of action, but I'm not looking to put it out at this point," said chief Ron Maracle about potential police initiatives to crack down on the dispensaries which have been warned about the risk of continuing operation without proper licences. "I still have another meeting with chief and council, on Monday, before I put my plan in action." [continues 435 words]
A month after a failed bid to have his case dismissed, Dr. Rob Kamermans has launched a challenge aimed at discrediting search warrants executed on several locations including his Coe Hill practise, which led to criminal charges for which he is to be placed on trial in September. "Those warrants should never have been issued, were overly broad and failed to include provisions dealing with the reasonableness of the search, and therefore with the evidence gathered, should be excluded," Dan Stein, Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, told The Intelligencer during the hearings here last week. [continues 441 words]
A Coe Hill physician stripped of his medical licence has lost his appeal to have a string of criminal charges levied against him dropped due to what the defence claimed was unreasonable delays to reach trial. Dan Stein, Rob Kamermans' Toronto lawyer, said Justice Robert Scott ruled in favour of the prosecution which submitted that it was not to be blamed for the inordinate amount of time the case is taking to reach trial. "Our application has been dismissed," Stein told The Intelligencer. "We are waiting for the reasoning. Justice Scott wanted to give us an answer because we have a week of motions setup. Now that the application was dismissed we're faced with a week of pre-trial motions starting on Monday (May 15)." [continues 558 words]
Hearings for Rob Kamermans have been scheduled for February Court proceedings are taking another step toward trial this week for a former Coe Hill physician whose certificate to practise medicine was revoked in July. Court officials confirmed what is expected to be a round of extensive pre-trial hearings is scheduled for Feb. 2 in the case of embattled former doctor, Rob Kamermans, who has been on bail since he was charged in 2012. In July 2016, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario disciplinary committee revoked Dr. Kamermans' certificate of registration. [continues 327 words]
Louis Hopper is appalled by a startling discovery he made in a park space near his Montrose Road subdivision. Hopper found a section of a Montrose Road-area park littered with drug paraphernalia during a routine walk in the neighbourhood with his dog Friday. "I show up and there is bloody Kleenexes all in a pile, about five or six syringes on the ground, a rubber band and spoons to heat up drugs," he said. "They were just thrown there on the ground." [continues 205 words]
Medical marijuana users could end up in a lot of heat if they decide to light up or vaporize pot in public places, said local public health officials and area politicians. Transit chairman Jack Miller said the province is now inching toward reversing rules permitting medical marijuana users to smoke their medicine in a variety of public places. "Apparently, the Ontario government is going to clamp down on vaping medical marijuana," Miller said of the policy u-turn. "The legislation is about to be tightened up." [continues 524 words]
Transit advisory group faces dilemma after Dec. 23 decision to kick man off bus One man's medical marijuana usage on a city bus could now spark a legal debate. The transit advisory committee is asking council to seek legal advice on the nuances and room for challenging provincial legislation permitting the use of medical marijuana in public places. Ongoing discussions around whether or not medical vaporizer usage should be allowed aboard transit was ignited by a Christopher Hobin, who was kicked off a city bus on Dec. 23, when he used the electronic device stacked with pot prescribed for his varied chronic pain and stomach ailments. [continues 287 words]
Council won't be butting-out on proceeding with setting ground rules for medical marijuana production and sale here. Despite opposition from some councillors, the motion to enact a rejigged bylaw sheltering the city's interest went ahead as recommended by the planning advisory committee. Coun. Paul Carr and former police inspector, Coun. Mike Graham, are vehemently against legalization, despite the fact that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has handpicked former Toronto police chief Bill Blair to lead the federal government's agenda for legalization. [continues 288 words]
Despite apprehension from some around the table, the planning advisory committee has lit up bylaw amendments aimed at sheltering the city from improper medical marijuana production and sale. City council will now have to decide if the committee recommendation to clearly define how and where these retail and manufacturing facilities can operate can proceed on to become law. Public input can be submitted on the issue as well. Coun. Paul Carr declined to back the definitions due to reservations about the inclusion of dispensaries and the sale of marijuana and its byproducts from those facilities. A motion to slash the dispensary (retail) aspect failed to pass. [continues 488 words]
Residents have opportunity to discuss city's approach to production, distribution Local residents will now get an opportunity to chime in on the city's bid to set the ground rules for medical marijuana production and sale here. Though the public is expected to have its say once the document reaches the planning advisory committee Monday - then on to council for a vote - the report preceding what's expected to be an amended bylaw indicates "no concerns or objections have been received to date in response to the circulation and public notice." [continues 523 words]
Former City Cop, Current Councillor Vehemently Opposed A former senior police officer turned councillor wants to butt out any grey areas linked to the regulation of medical marijuana production and use here. Coun. Mike Graham, a former police inspector, isn't high on the idea of opening the door to legalization or grey areas linked to production and retail sales, but says he supports usage for medical purposes only. "I don't know what's coming down the tube," Graham said, of the uncertainty of the Liberals' move to institute new more relaxed legislation. "I'm deadly against marijuana legalization, but I'm not against it for medical usage, that's why it's important it has the word medical attached. We need to draw the line there." [continues 563 words]
Wineries and breweries should brace themselves for some unusual competition. Colorado, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012, will get its first "weedery" in early 2016. The $35 million project, Green Man Cannabis Ranch and Amphitheater, the brainchild of Christian Hageseth, is set to open in Denver. Its greenhouses represent a major shift because producers have largely cultivated marijuana indoors; there will also be a performance space, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a gift shop and, of course, a marijuana dispensary. [continues 502 words]
Re "Pot grown outside is a waste of water" (Editorials, July 31): Your editorial on the outdoor cultivation of cannabis is absurd. The size of the cannabis plant will determine how much water she requires and how often she requires watering. I cannot speak to a plant that requires 5 to 10 gallons per day, as I have never come close to growing such a gargantuan plant. Nine plants of modest size drink between 4.5 and 9 gallons every two days, depending on the temperature and their stage of growth. That's a far cry from the 5 to 10 gallons of water per plant cited by your editorial. This amount of water can easily be recovered from one's shower or sink. [continues 79 words]
Appeal Hearings The trial date for a Coe Hill doctor related to his involvement with medical marijuana prescriptions has been snarled by appeal hearings. Delays in the criminal proceedings launched against Dr. Rob Kamermans, who was committed stand trial on a slate of charges in Belleville last fall, has not slowed a string of separate ongoing disciplinary hearings levied against him by the College of Physicians and Surgeons. The family practitioner and his wife have been committed to stand trial for a host of charges including substance trafficking, and fraud and money laundering linked to medical marijuana. He's already facing a host of restrictions on his medical practice as a result and the college is moving ahead with further punitive measures. [continues 516 words]
Rob and Mary Kamermans Face Series of Charges BELLEVILLE - A Coe Hill family practitioner and his wife have been committed to stand trial for a host of charges including, substance trafficking, fraud and money laundering related to his involvement with medical marijuana prescriptions. Rob and Mary Kamermans will face trial for a series of charges stemming from his alleged dispensing of marijuana prescriptions to patients in jurisdictions across Canada, including his Bancroft medical practice, located about 90 minutes north of Belleville. [continues 590 words]
Proceedings to begin next month A Coe Hill family practitioner and his wife have been committed to stand trial for a host of charges including, substance trafficking, fraud and money laundering related to his involvement with medical marijuana prescriptions. Rob and Mary Kamermans will face trial for a series of charges stemming from his alleged dispensing of marijuana prescriptions to patients in jurisdictions across Canada, including his Bancroft medical practice, located about 90 minutes north of Belleville. Both accused where in attendance at the Quinte courthouse in Belleville, Thursday, as Justice Stephen Hunter read his reasons for committal. Though the couple, via their Toronto lawyer Davin Charney, sought to schedule their next appearance in January, Justice Hunter insisted he wanted to expedite the matter, settling instead for Dec. 5 date. [continues 534 words]
DRE: In 2014, Just Three Evaluations Have Been Done on Drivers Suspected of Being High Behind the Wheel Fewer suspected high drivers are being tested as Calgary's team of drug-recognition experts continues to be plagued by attrition. In 2014, only three evaluations have been done on motorists suspected of sitting high behind the wheel. That's down from a total of 11 completed tests last year and 23 in 2012. The dip in the drug-impairment tests comes as the number of DRE agents has fallen to five from 20 over the same span - one more than the Red Deer Mounties, who patrol a much smaller population. [continues 267 words]
State Moves Make Enforcement Hazy Capitol Hill lawmakers are dazed and confused when it comes to dealing with the growing number of states legalizing marijuana use, which has created a glaring conflict with federal statutes outlawing cannabis as a Schedule I drug - the classification for the most dangerous controlled substances. "I'm not aware that Congress is doing anything," said Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, Oregon Democrat. "I don't think anybody wants to wade into it." A couple of dozen House lawmakers are backing bipartisan legislation that would suspend federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug, but the effort has stalled in committee. Most Republicans are urging the Obama administration to strictly enforce federal laws and crack down on the surge in legalization. [continues 583 words]
Ontario's physician watchdog has levied further restrictions against a Coe Hill doctor amidst the beginning of a Belleville court's preliminary inquiry into his involvement with medical marijuana prescriptions. On Feb. 25, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario imposed further limitations on the certificate of registration held by Dr. Rob Kamermans. The new set of reprimands include barring him from "practising medicine in an emergency room setting," college files show. After the conclusion of the preliminary hearing into the criminal case against him, Kamermans will once again have to answer to the college on March 27. [continues 249 words]
Ontario's physician watchdog has placed further medical-marijuana-related restrictions on a Coe Hill physician already facing sanctions for professional misconduct. The additional string of reprimands, including being "prohibited from prescribing, dispensing or administering cannabis," levied against Dr. Rob Kamermans May 24, stem from Kamermans' involvement with medical marijuana and is separate, though triggered by the clampdown on activities at his Coe Hill practice. "As you know, a number of allegations have been referred to ( The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario) discipline committee relating to Dr. Kamermans' medical marijuana practices," said college spokesperson Kathryn Clarke in an email. [continues 218 words]
An embattled Coe Hill family practitioner is facing additional allegations of "disgraceful" conduct from Ontario's physician watchdog. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is pursuing further disciplinary action against Dr. Rob Kamermans, who is already facing Canada-wide medical marijuana-related fraud charges. Kamermans is currently set to face disciplinary proceedings later this month for a host of allegations, levied last fall, including claims of professional misconduct and incompetence linked to his Coe Hill-area general practice. The controversial doctor will now have to answer to a plethora of further charges which the college officials say stem from Kamermans involvement with medical marijuana and is separate from the clampdown on activities at his Coe Hill practice. [continues 194 words]
"Drug's fierce hold gripped woman till her death at 22," Nov. 26 news story. My heart goes out to the family of Amanda Landry. I understand the pain, frustration and devastation her adoptive parents experienced trying to help their daughter get clean. How many more young people must die before we change the way we view and treat addiction? How many more parents have to receive the news that their son or daughter overdosed and died needlessly because adequate treatment was unavailable due to lack of knowledge, resources or health insurance? [continues 224 words]
Lawyer says appeal a game changer A contentious medical marijuana program is flawed, a Toronto lawyer and city physician agree while differing greatly on the exact nature of its problems. Paul Lewin, a Toronto lawyer awaiting a Court of Appeal decision that could change Canada's medical marijuana program, says the program is a cloud of smoke scaring away doctors and denying access to legitimate patients. Belleville physician, William Bates, agreed medical marijuana is receiving waning support from his peers, noting he won't even broach marijuana use for his patients once inhalation is an option. [continues 566 words]
Litany of Charges Facing Coe Hill Doctor Ontario's physician watchdog has launched disciplinary proceedings against a Coe Hill-area family practitioner facing Canada-wide medical marijuana-related fraud charges. Claims of professional misconduct have been served to Dr. Rob Kamermans, who is ordered to answer to a litany of other scathing accusations made by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Documents released by the college allege Kamermans failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession and/or is incompetent in the care of 21 patients. [continues 126 words]
Study Will Be First of Its Kind Marijuana use, despite the legal implications, has been common in America for generations, and it's becoming even more widespread as some communities legalize it for medical purposes. But it wasn't until five years ago that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looked into its prevalence behind the wheel and found that 16.3 percent of the weekend nighttime drivers surveyed at 300 locations across the United States were drug positive. Cannabis stood out as the most commonly detected drug, according to the survey. But what the survey didn't show - and what authorities don't know - is how often drivers are impaired by the drugs, specifically marijuana. [continues 945 words]
Supporters of a contentious medical marijuana program are rallying behind a Coe Hill-area family practitioner facing medical marijuana-related fraud charges across Canada Dianne Bruce is a vocal advocate for the Health Canada operated program and the drug she praises for enabling her to enjoy simple pleasures such as getting out of bed in the morning. Without medical marijuana she said she would be overcome by a barrage of ailments including crippling aches and chronic pains. Bruce's first hand knowledge of the program is fuelling her displeasure about the scrutiny and public backlash being shown to Dr. Rob Kamermans since news of his arrest earlier this month. [continues 565 words]
A decision to stop a program distributing clean crack pipes has disappointed those working to rehabilitate street addicts. Since 2008, Alberta Health Services had been giving out crack pipe kits as part of its Safeworks program, an effort to reduce transmittable diseases. The kits contained a glass pipe, mouthpiece and cleaning tool, and were handed out in an AHS van. Over 14,500 crack pipes were given out as of June. However, AHS has discontinued the Safeworks crack pipe program as of Tuesday, citing the =93potential for a legal challenge with respect to distribution.=94 [continues 373 words]
Project Longarm has placed a $480 million dent into the local organized crime business. Marijuana accounts for more than $450 million of the myriad of drugs seized since the local drug enforcement program was launched in 2001. In the process 1,792 people have been hit with a wide range of drug related charges. The unit is responsible for destroying $240 million in marijuana plants, from grow-ops located in some of the most remote local areas such as backwoods grow locations in places like Bancroft. [continues 569 words]
A homeless woman from Denver faces child abuse and drug charges after Boulder police stopped her in the Alfalfa's Market parking lot and noticed an odor of marijuana inside her vehicle while her baby was in the back seat. Officers had been called to the grocery store at 909 Arapahoe Ave. around 9:45 p.m. Friday on a report of an unrelated assault, according to a police report, and they noticed a car backing out of a space with fogged-up windows. [continues 488 words]
Throughout the United States, the purchase, sale, possession and use of tobacco by adults are not crimes except in some public places in some states. And, in most of the United States, the adult purchase, sale, possession or use of alcohol is not a crime except in some public places or special situations. However, as to tobacco and alcohol, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported: "Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States ... ."More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. .. Cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the United States each year." [continues 471 words]
WASHINGTON -- The American commander in charge of building up Afghanistan's security forces said Monday that in the next 15 months he would have to recruit and train 141,000 new soldiers and police officers -- more than the current size of the Afghan Army -- to meet President Obama's ambitious goals for getting Afghan forces to fight the war on their own. The commander, Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, said the large recruiting number was to allow for attrition rates in some units of nearly 50 percent. [continues 731 words]
Residence halls at the University of Colorado don't have discount arrangements with medical marijuana dispensaries, despite what Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said this morning while debating his Democratic challenger Stan Garnett, CU officials said. In response to a question about whether marijuana should be legalized, Suthers referenced CU as an example of the hypocrisy of law enforcement's current relationship with marijuana in Colorado. "We have situations now where dorms at CU have discount arrangements with particular dispensaries," Suthers said during this morning's attorney general debate on radio station AM 760. [continues 679 words]
Monday was the first day of Boulder's new licensing process for medical marijuana businesses, and the city got about a half dozen inquiries about the new applications, city spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said. No one has submitted an application, which can take a bit of time to fill out, Huntley said. Any business not currently in operation must get a license before it will be allowed to open, according to the new regulations. Businesses that are already operating also must apply for licenses by varying deadlines, depending on each company's situation. [continues 150 words]
Your editorial "Marijuana shops? a bad idea" (March 10) is itself a bad idea. There is mounting proof that marijuana has important medical uses and that it's safer than other legal substances, such as tobacco and alcohol. See ProCon.org. Hawai'i law legalizes marijuana for people who get physician-certified as having a debilitating medical condition. Past efforts to improve the law have failed, largely for unsupportable reasons. A major problem has been that if a certified patient or the patient's designated caregiver cannot grow and process the medical marijuana themselves - and many can't - they have to acquire it illegally, on the street. Most patients seeking medical marijuana, especially the elderly, elect to go without medical marijuana, no matter how effective, rather than break the law. [continues 80 words]
There are just two ways to deal with a sharp decrease in state revenues: Cut programs and find new sources of income. Gov. Linda Lingle has shown how adept she is at cutting vital programs such as public education and health care and imposing layoffs and furloughing teachers and other workers. Education of our kids -- in a state where public education seems to lag behind other states and desperately needs greater support -- is being sacrificed, as are a variety of other essential programs intended to help the poor, the sick, the infirm and the aged. [continues 746 words]
Man Plans to Give Speech at CU Ahead of Trial BOULDER, Colo. -- A Louisville medical marijuana patient who was arrested last year on suspicion of possessing more than a legally allowed amount of the drug is fighting back as he heads to trial in Boulder County District Court next month. Jason Lauve, 38, was arrested June 26, 2008, on suspicion of felony marijuana possession after police searched his home and found more than 30 marijuana plants. The case is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 3, and Lauve is asking people to support him by attending the trial, writing letters to the media and contacting the Boulder County district attorney to "tell him to stop prosecuting sick people." [continues 661 words]
BOULDER, Colo. Few medical-marijuana dispensaries advertise their existence, and almost all of them require customers to make appointments to legally obtain the herbal remedy. But on Wednesday, Boulder's first walk-in dispensary which sells the drug to any medical-marijuana cardholder with or without an appointment publicly celebrated its grand opening. Situated on the second story of the University Hill Plaza, between K's China and the Hookah House at 1325 Broadway, Boulder Alternative Medicine is open from 11 a.m. to 4:19 p.m. Monday through Friday. [continues 671 words]
Other Caregivers Worried About Theft After Boulder Robbery BOULDER, Colo. -- Due to tight privacy regulations built into Colorado law, few people know the names of medical-marijuana caregivers or how many people are certified to provide the drug in the state. In fact, the law makes it so difficult to identify the people who can legally provide marijuana that the Boulder County Drug Task Force doesn't know how many certified marijuana caregivers are in the Boulder County region. That has officers spending considerable time investigating pot-growing operations purporting to be legal; double-checking caregiver certificates and patient cards; and making sure caregivers don't have more than the allowed amount of marijuana, said task force Sgt. Barry Hartkopp. [continues 708 words]
With the growing despair of this recession, California put forth an initiative to legalize and tax recreational marijuana in late February. While this initiative will surely not pass, it demonstrates that legalizing marijuana is not far-fetched and proves to be a very lucrative move for the state's income. The national legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use is past due. By Friday, the War on Drugs has cost taxpayers more than $11 billion, according to drugsense.org. In an economy where every penny counts, I suggest we divert the money being allocated to arresting citizens for possession of small amounts of marijuana to increasing teachers' salaries. Not only do we pay enormous amounts of money to support the multi-decade War on Drugs, but we also pay to house those who are detained because of minor marijuana-related charges. [continues 400 words]
The current push to ban salvia demonstrates the senseless and fear-driven nature of America's war on drugs. Salvia is undeniably a powerful mind altering drug with hallucinogenic properties that rival and even surpass those of other controlled substances like LSD and Psilocybin. But is this reason enough to make criminals out of individuals who want to experience its effects? Do we have the need or even the right to control how sentient individuals choose to explore their own consciousness? [continues 177 words]
Advocates Tout 'Victory' For Patients and Caregivers Outside the University of Colorado Police Department on Monday, cheers erupted from a crowd of marijuana advocates -- some of whom were dressed as giant pot leaves -- when a student was given back medical marijuana that police took from him in May. "I wish I had a chance to talk to the officers who said I'd never get this back," said CU sophomore Edward Nicholson, 20, who's a medical-marijuana cardholder in Colorado. [continues 518 words]
Contrary to some misguided commentators, Gov. Linda Lingle's attempt to saddle our public school teachers with random drug testing is an overtly cynical strategy, designed to win political points by embarrassing the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Board of Education and at the expense of hardworking educators' fundamental rights. Such testing would do nothing to make our students any safer, but would most certainly deprive them of further critical services and supplies and leave taxpayers footing the bill. [continues 627 words]
MEXICO CITY -- From the white roses he laid before a likeness of Mexico's blessed saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe, to the endorsement he gave for an overhaul of American immigration laws, Senator John McCain used a visit to Mexico on Thursday to appeal to residents of both sides of the border: Mexicans and, more urgently, their voting relatives and other Latinos in the United States. "We must secure our borders and then we will address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform," Mr. McCain said at a news conference in a helicopter hangar that was interrupted by the deafening sound of a heavy rainstorm that made his remarks unintelligible. [continues 753 words]
Local Groups Are Battling Police Corruption - Which Fuels Drug-Trafficking - With Programs Such As Ethics Training At Mexico City's Police Academy. Mexico City - Angel Augusto Nunez, a police cadet, knows that cops have a bad rap in Mexico. And as fresh violence has swept the nation's police force into the center of the drug war - with the unprecedented slaying of at least four high-ranking officers this month - new questions about how many officers are colluding with drug dealers and how effective police efforts are have battered its reputation once more. [continues 1000 words]
"Nine, eight, seven ... " A crowd of about 10,000 people collectively began counting down on the University of Colorado's Norlin Quadrangle just before 4:20 p.m. today. Yet the massive puff of pot smoke that hovers over CU's Boulder campus every April 20 - the date of an annual, internationally recognized celebration of marijuana - began rising over the sea of heads earlier than normal this year. "Oh forget it," one student said, aborting the countdown to 4:20 p.m. and lighting his pipe early. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, long drag. [continues 998 words]
Medical Marijuana Advice Isn't Worth What You Think While Dianne Byrum advocates strenuously for "medical marijuana," (Viewpoint, Feb. 23) she based her rationale erroneously and dangerously on physicians' competence as knowledgeable and skilled in prescribing addicting medications for therapeutic medical care. Unfortunately, physicians are poorly trained and not inclined toward assessing the risks and benefits of addicting drugs whether legal or illicit in their medical practices. As the American Academy of Family Practice publicly declared that addiction to prescription opioid medications is a "myth," particularly when prescribing for pain. [continues 429 words]
Deputies Nab Two Suspects, One Gets Away; Officials See Increase in Grow Houses MARION OAKS - Marion County sheriff's deputies dismantled a marijuana grow house Thursday night containing 171 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of approximately $200,000, and arrested two of three men seen fleeing the area. The third man, who reportedly was seen discarding a .38-caliber revolver, managed to escape, according to a Sheriff's Office report. Two of the men - [redacted] - were arrested on charges of cultivating marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest without violence, according to the Sheriff's Office. [continues 423 words]
