The Supreme Court's decision to allow the federal government to regulate small quantities of homegrown marijuana under the recommendation of a doctor is outrageous. Marijuana is by far a more effective remedy to alleviate pain in those with chronic illness than any over-the-counter or prescription pill.

With all the drugs being pulled off the market lately, marijuana also looks to be the safest. Every month, Americans can pick up a newspaper and read about the latest wonder drug that has been pulled from the shelves because those who take it have been dying. With all these drugs being pulled off the shelves, our director of national drug control policy seems to think we have the highest standards in the world for determining the safety of medication.

[continues 116 words]

MIDDLESBORO - An estimated 300 people attended a rally Thursday evening to protest a downtown clinic that plans to treat drug addicts with methadone.

The rally, organized by M.A.D. (Middlesboro Against Drugs), was held at the city parking lot just a few blocks from the site of Rehabilitation Drug Services.

"We are here to let everyone know that we do not want a methadone clinic in our town," said Dr. Ronald Dubin, an orthopedic surgeon who established M.A.D. to oppose the clinic.

[continues 735 words]

MIDDLESBORO - An overflow crowd packed the council chambers at city hall Thursday morning to voice their concerns to representatives of the state agency responsible for licensing Methadone clinics.

State Narcotic Authority administrator Mac Bell and Heath Dolan from the Division of Substance Abuse took notes as numerous community members spoke about their displeasure of having such clinic in their town.

Bell said a three-person panel would make a decision whether to give Rehabilitation Drug Services a license to dispense Methadone by June 24.

[continues 1281 words]

The Daviess County Detention Center is offering another tool to help inmates in jail because of an addiction find a way to keep from coming back.

This week, more than 80 members of the jail's general population began participating in Recovery Dynamics, a weekly substance abuse counseling program based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

"It's a way for them to see that there's hope out there," said Donna Nolan, coordinator of the jail's GOALS substance abuse treatment program. "It's making them slow down and think about what they do."

[continues 443 words]

'Going Up In Smoke'

Perhaps we are missing the point in the discussion over medicinal marijuana. I do not smoke marijuana, and I am not a "pot-head." I am a high school teacher who works with young people every day, and I completely oppose our nation's failing war on marijuana. This so-called "war" being waged by pompous politicians who want to look tough on crime is a well-documented disaster that is draining our hard-earned tax money and making a mockery of the individual liberties on which our country was founded.

[continues 236 words]

Let me see if I've got this straight. The Supreme Court ruled that sick people can be prosecuted for using medical marijuana even in states where voters approved its use.

The federal government claims marijuana has no medical value, but supplies it to seven people for medical reasons, and has for more than 20 years. Most of these privileged seven live in states that have not approved medical marijuana.

The DEA said that it isn't in the business of locking up sick people and doesn't really plan to enforce the law. The FDA continually blocks marijuana research efforts. Five hundred of the nation's top economists, including Noble Prize winner Milton Friedman, recommend total marijuana legalization, taxation and regulation.

[continues 193 words]

Perhaps we are missing the point in the discussion over medicinal marijuana. I do not smoke marijuana, and I am not a "pot-head." I am a high school teacher who works with young people every day, and I completely oppose our nation's failing war on marijuana. This so-called "war" being waged by pompous politicians who want to look tough on crime is a well-documented disaster that is draining our hard-earned tax money and making a mockery of the individual liberties on which our country was founded.

[continues 236 words]

SEBREE - Police Chief Bobby Sauls promised to protect the community when methamphetamine began moving into rural Western Kentucky.

The 65-year-old, gray-haired policeman and one other officer in the department worked to seize clandestine meth labs and comfort citizens. The mayor lauded them for their efforts guarding the town's 1,700 residents from meth's reach.

So when he was indicted on two meth-related charges this spring, the news shocked the quiet town 30 miles south of Evansville, Ind.

[continues 432 words]

Opponents Fear It Will Draw Hundreds Of Drug Addicts

It doesn't matter that clients of a proposed new methadone clinic in Middlesboro will be coming there for help. Residents of the tiny southeastern Kentucky town say the facility, in a strip mall on Cumberland Avenue, simpy isn't welcome.

They fear it will draw hundreds of people addicted to Oxycontin, heroin and other opium-based drugs to an area that is just steps from an elementary school.

"Most people here are against the clinic for varying reasons -- mostly they are afraid of drugs," said city council member Evelyn Farmer.

[continues 571 words]

California's medical-marijuana law would seem a classic case of states' rights.

It was approved by the voters at large in a ballot initiative and as a law by the state legislature. The commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution would seem not to apply because the product was grown entirely in the state, was never bought and sold and never crossed state lines. And the marijuana was made available to qualified patients by state-regulated doctor's prescription.

Nine other states, from Maine to Hawaii, have similar laws, so this is hardly an ill-considered proposition.

[continues 224 words]

What makes NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard") disputes so hard to mediate is that typically there are sincere, well-meaning people on both sides.

That was certainly the case when Transitions Inc. recently proposed putting a long-term residential drug treatment facility for about 100 men in the Latonia neighborhood of Covington. Transitions included the county-owned property on its application to state officials who are trying to figure out where to place 10 such facilities as part of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's Recovery Kentucky initiative.

[continues 371 words]

It is abundantly easy to become discouraged by this community's substance abuse problem, regardless of the perspective one holds. For people in the vise-like grip of addiction, discouragement is a constant companion. For law enforcement and the courts, is has to be discouraging as those institutions deal with a seemingly never-ending stream of crime and punishment tied to substance abuse. Just as frustrated are elected officials and the community at large as the enormous costs of the problem to society are constantly and painfully revealed.

[continues 395 words]

Treatment for Adolescents Hampered

Local providers have little trouble identifying the gaps in services for substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery.

There's a need for more recovery, long-term residential treatment and detoxification facilities.

Women need additional help as they try to get out of the two-fisted grip of domestic violence and addiction.

Programs are needed that specifically address methamphetamine's deadly grip.

And there's always a need for more funding.

But tackling these are just the short-term solutions, providers say. If this region is ever to get its arms around its substance abuse problem, more prevention and treatment programs must be available for adolescents to keep them from becoming the next generation of drug abusers.

[continues 838 words]

Addicts Can Turn to Several Local Agencies

By 1993, Brenda Oldham was at a point where "everything in my life hurt."

She was in an abusive relationship that forced her to deal with her abusive childhood.

She had turned to crack cocaine for solace 11 years earlier after learning two relatives had been abused.

When she later tried to get away from crack, the social drinker since 18 went from "cute" umbrella drinks, to shots of gin, to drinking from the bottle.

[continues 1797 words]

Struggle For Answers Continue

Numerous agencies in Daviess County can detail a wide range of efforts to address substance abuse at the prevention, treatment and recovery stages.

Local law enforcement has made combating drugs -- particularly methamphetamine -- a top priority.

And city and county governments have provided funding for programs they hoped would reduce a problem whose impact is felt throughout the community.

Despite these efforts, most involved in the fight against substance abuse admit the problem is not getting much better. And that lack of progress has led to frustration.

[continues 1224 words]

Review Process

Applications for centers must be reviewed by a panel of representatives from the Kentucky Housing Corp., the Corrections Cabinet and the Governor's Office for Local Development.

The panel will recommend choices to the governor.

Several other agencies plan to apply for the Recovery Kentucky grants to build treatment centers for substance abusers. Among local groups:

Brighton Center, one of Northern Kentucky's largest social service agencies, coupled with Boone County to apply to build a recovery center on property owned by Gateway Community Technical College off Sam Neace Drive in Boone County. The center would serve women.

[continues 1070 words]

I'm writing in regard to a May 15 Readers Write letter -- "Kipling no place for treatment center."

There are people -- addicts -- who need and desire help. They need to be supported to be successful. They surely don't need the negativity that they seem to get so often.

There are so many families that have been affected by alcohol and drugs. Mine has; however, we are getting through it because of the desire to make it. If the letter writer's family has not been affected by addiction -- good luck -- and I hope it never is, but hers is one of the few that hasn't.

[continues 55 words]

Proposal to Be Outlined Sunday

Transitions Inc. will sponsor a presentation Sunday on the residential recovery center it hopes to build and operate in Latonia for 100 male drug addicts.

The recovery center would be modeled on the Healing Place in Louisville, which has been offering detoxification, residential and continuing care for men and women for 15 years.

Sunday's session will include a short video on the Healing Place with stories of people who have recovered there, according to Mac McArthur, executive director of Transitions. It will run from 2 to 4 p.m. at Latonia Baptist Church on Church Street.

[continues 353 words]

Dear Editor:

As a parent of three children in the Danville School District, I want to applaud the district as well as local law enforcement for the Wednesday drug sweep at DHS. Drug activity is one of the most destructive forces permeating our society, and I am glad to see the message being sent to students that drug use will not be tolerated.

I am sure that people will claim a violation of privacy, but because they are minors they don't have the same expectation of privacy that adults have, nor should they. Young people need to understand that the actions taken yesterday are in their best interest and the authorities whether it be school administrators or police officers are trying to protect them from heading down a pathway that only leads to tragedy. I hope the students found to be in possession will be punished, but will also get some help while they still can be helped.

[continues 193 words]

Purer, Deadlier Form Arriving From Mexico

PADUCAH - A different form of mass-produced meth-amphetamine is moving into western Kentucky, law enforcement officials said, and replacing its predecessor.

Crystal meth, a purer and deadlier version of the narcotic, is the new drug of choice and has been gaining popularity for about six months, said McCracken County Sheriff's Capt. Jon Hayden.

The drug is mass-produced in Mexican "superlabs" and is more potent and faster-acting than its predecessor, which is often made in labs hidden in houses, Hayden said.

[continues 267 words]