Re: "Let's think soberly about legalizing pot" (letter, Aug. 4). Ms. Hartsfield asks, "If marijuana is legalized, what will keep people from smoking a joint during their smoking breaks at work?" The same thing that keeps us all from drinking on the job: the honor system and the threat of getting fired. Mary Schaad [end]
He Was Convicted Of Illegally Obtaining Medicine To Fight Constant Pain TALLAHASSEE - The family and attorney of Richard Paey, the Pasco County man serving 25 years for illegally obtaining pain medication, pleaded his case Thursday. Basically, they asked for the chance to plead his case again. But next time they hope to do so before the governor and the full Florida Parole Commission, which has the power to grant Paey clemency, or commute his long prison sentence. Paey's attorney, John Flannery II of Virginia, answered questions Thursday posed by a panel of staffers who represent different members of the Florida Parole Commission. [continues 420 words]
Americans are disgusted with light punishment of criminals. Only really bad murderers are sometimes executed after years of waiting, and everyone else gets tasty food, air conditioning, exercise, television, and other amenities in prison. Why? Liberal interpretation about what "cruel and unusual" punishment means, plus ignorant interpretation of Jesus' teachings by religious activists. Swift, severe punishment controls crime but lawyers and judges might lose their jobs. The Founding Fathers would turn in their graves if they could see what liberal judges and lawmakers have done for "justice." Horse thieves were once hanged and inmates had few of the "constitutional rights" that today's lawyer's demand. [continues 109 words]
State Attorney Can Show Independence in Police Scandal The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union isn't the first and likely won't be the last to raise questions about how authorities should investigate alleged misconduct by three recently departed Bradenton police officers. It's important to clarify the direction now to ensure the probe is fair, thorough and as beyond reproach as possible. ACLU officials want the local state attorney's office to recuse itself from the investigation and ask Gov. Charlie Crist to assign it to a prosecutor elsewhere in the state. [continues 332 words]
A Collier County judge who sentenced a 26-year-old Tampa man to 15 years in a state prison on marijuana trafficking charges on Tuesday set aside the hefty term a day later and ordered a mandatory presentence investigation. Collier County Circuit Judge Frank Baker will hold a sentencing hearing Aug. 15 for Neury Rivero Morera, who was sentenced Tuesday, just minutes after a jury deliberated roughly 10 minutes and convicted him of trafficking 25 to 20,000 pounds of marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia. [continues 195 words]
"I was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when I was 12 years old. Tourette's syndrome causes severe, involuntary movements and vocal outbursts. By the time I was 19, the twitching was so bad that I had dislocated joints all over my body. My doctors tried everything to relieve my pain and vocal outbursts. When all else failed, I decided to try medical marijuana. Marijuana seems to perfectly complement the many prescription medicines I take on a daily basis. It eases my pain and allows me to reduce my intake of painkillers, and my dosage of Orap, a Tourette's syndrome drug that can negatively affect the heart. Marijuana also stimulates my appetite, which is weakened by Adderall, an amphetamine-based drug that treats my ADHD, but causes unwanted side effects like appetite loss. Marijuana has provided me with hope and inspiration that I can lead a normal life. Though I am on disability and don't have to work, I choose to work because I want to contribute to society. I would not be a functioning member of society if it were not for marijuana, and it's essential that people like me make our voices heard." [continues 270 words]
MIAMI - In a landmark ruling, an appeals court has dismissed a case against a Saudi prince's former lover and a Colombian man convicted two years ago of conspiring to smuggle two tons of cocaine. The pair were found guilty of using the prince's Boeing 727 to transport cocaine from Venezuela to France. But a three-judge panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that no crime had been committed "against the United States," because the drugs never touched U.S. soil and were never intended for the American market. [continues 292 words]
Colombia must prepare to stand starkly alone. It is very likely that military aid from the United States will vanish in the near future, as Republicans and Democrats do battle. President Alvaro Uribe may be winning the war in the Colombian jungles, but he's losing it in Washington. It is not true that the two U.S. parties unite patriotically when faced with major foreign-policy challenges. That's part of the American mythology. If there's any electoral advantage in throwing overboard a foreign ally (or supporting him), Republicans and Democrats will do it. The only immovable principle is that elections must be won at any cost and under any pretext. [continues 643 words]
Wednesday's column by Tallahassee Democrat Senior Writer Gerald Ensley ("Reefer madness: It's time to fix the marijuana laws") has resulted in numerous calls to the Florida Office of Drug Control (ODC). The callers are not from Mr. Ensley's "otherwise law-abiding citizens" who choose to break the law and smoke marijuana. The callers are Floridians who do not want to change the marijuana laws. They want to protect our youth. They want to abide by our laws. They want informed decisions about marijuana, a harmful drug. [continues 561 words]
OK, so you're rich and famous and have a drug problem. You relapse and get arrested. What do you do? It seems the latest trend in countering your likely conviction is not hiring a "dream team" of legal defenders but immediately enrolling in a rehab drug program. Lindsay Lohan, the troubled Hollywood starlet, joins a host of other high-profile celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and the son of the former vice president, Al Gore III, who have adopted this novel strategy. [continues 532 words]
Re the July 21 editorial "Drug court's making a difference": As the policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy in Washington, D.C., I agree that drug courts are definitely a step in the right direction, but an arrest should not be a necessary prerequisite for drug treatment. Would alcoholics seek help for their illness if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Likewise, would putting all incorrigible alcoholics behind bars and saddling them with criminal records prove cost-effective? [continues 133 words]
TAMPA - Prosecutor Darrell Dirks couldn't help but be suspicious. He had offered Mark O'Hara an out on a 25-year prison sentence. All O'Hara had to do was tell prosecutors the truth about why he had 58 Vicodin pills in his possession. But O'Hara, a bread business owner from Dunedin, wouldn't cooperate. Three years in prison didn't sound like a deal, given that a doctor had prescribed the pills. He took his chances at trial and lost. [continues 508 words]
Prosecutors May Retry Him For Having 58 Pills TAMPA - Prosecutor Darrell Dirks couldn't help but be suspicious. He had offered Mark O'Hara an out on a 25-year prison sentence. All O'Hara had to do was tell prosecutors the truth about why he had 58 Vicodin pills in his possession. But O'Hara, a bread business owner from Dunedin, wouldn't cooperate. Three years in prison didn't sound like a deal, given that a doctor had prescribed the pills. [continues 1293 words]
All of a sudden "green" has gotten very sexy. In light of Americas' newfound awareness of global warming, it seems that everybody's going green. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says state government is going green with new energy efficiency standards and other initiatives. Automakers are touting their "green" cars, and even oil company ads are trying to hide the black stuff behind an emerald hue. Politicians are being greener-than-thou out on the campaign trail. And Wal-Mart has gone so green it's promising to illuminate the world with flourescents. [continues 106 words]
Does moving open-air drug markets from one Manatee County neighborhood to the next constitute a drug war victory? Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime. Drug policy should focus not on the Sisyphean task of eliminating drugs, but rather on reducing the death, disease, crime and suffering associated with both drug abuse and enforcement. [continues 67 words]
In the Newsmakers column last Wednesday, I read all about Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears ("11 days out of rehab, Lohan arrested again" and "Magazine to cash in on Spears' latest meltdown"). These are stories that I already had seen on TV, the national news, local news and in magazines. It is disgusting what these young celebrities are doing - being irresponsible citizens, driving under the influence with a suspended license and possessing cocaine plus endangering the lives of law-abiding citizens. They do not seem to care or learn a single thing about being ethical or law-abiding and are in and out of rehab. [continues 84 words]
NEW PORT RICHEY - When the wind blew just right Monday morning, neighbors across the street from the modest home in Golden Acres caught a whiff of an odd odor. "I thought it was my garbage," said Debbie Zelinsky, 48. But with vice and narcotics deputies and forensic investigators busy at work at 9530 Osceola Drive, there was no mistaking the distinct smell: marijuana plants, and lots of them. Inside the white house with green trim and a brick facade, a secret was secreted until Monday. Looking nothing like a typical 2,000-plus-square-foot home inside, it had hidden rooms dedicated to growing pot plants, Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Doug Tobin said. [continues 461 words]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - If anyone besides police had fatally shot 80-year-old Issac Singletary on his own Jacksonville property, they'd be charged with murder and in jail awaiting justice, his family said Friday. Standing on the front lawn of the Westmont Street property where police fired four shots that killed Singletary six months ago Friday during an undercover drug operation, some local leaders along with the family's lawyers demanded that the police officers be held accountable. Singletary came outside on Jan. 27 to tell two undercover detectives he mistook for drug dealers to get off his property, "which the law said he had every right to do," lawyer Benjamin Crump said, also standing with local NAACP President Isaiah Rumlin and state Sen. Tony Hill. [continues 255 words]
The insanity continues. Last week, law-enforcement officials busted two local marijuana-growing operations. They arrested two men growing more than 80 plants in the Apalachicola National Forest and one man growing more than 730 in Gadsden County. The cops were just doing their job, enforcing the law. But that's the problem: We continue to ban marijuana even as people continue to smoke it. Surveys show that 28 million Americans smoked pot last year - and as many as 47 percent of all Americans have smoked it at some point. [continues 904 words]
Roadblock In Troubled Neighborhood Helps, But More Is Needed When the Sheriff's Office barricaded an entrance to a drug-riddled southeastern Manatee County neighborhood this spring, longtime community activist Remonia Lewis was one of many people who said it was worth a try. But, she cautioned, "You're not going to change anything until you get rid of the people who are causing all the problems." The warning is still appropriate, three months into the experiment. The Sheriff's Office and some residents say the effort has driven away drug dealers, but other residents are skeptical of the results and critical of the inconvenience. [continues 170 words]
Inside Florida
