Synthetic marijuana: It's here and it's a problem

CORBIN

At 28,251 feet, K2 is the second highest mountain in the world. Located on the Chinese-Pakistan border in the continent of Asia, it's the highest peak in Pakistan.

But some say that high's nothing compared to the high they get from a package of K2, which they can easily buy.

The Scooby Doo that's become popular in the Tri-County region in recent months has nothing to do with the cartoon character of the same name -- the Scooby Doo that parents of a generation ago used to watch on TV.

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Jonathan Miller hit many bull's-eyes. I want to add, in thousands of years of recorded usage not only are deaths from cannabis (marijuana) overdose extraordinarily rare, as he said, they are completely nonexistent.

That's safety on a Biblical scale.

For Kentucky's farmers: It's interesting that free American farmers may not grow hemp, while communist Chinese farmers can and America's greatest foreign debt is with China. It's time to re-introduce hemp as a component of American agriculture. It's time to end the vulgar and sinful practice of caging responsible adults for using what God says is good on the very first page of the Bible.

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

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Regarding Jonathan Miller's Jan. 15 op-ed, the drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2010, there were 853,839 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession.

At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long overdue step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete.

As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst,Common Sense for Drug Policy

Arlington, Va.

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I want to remind former treasurer Jonathan Miler that marijuana is often referred to as the "gateway" drug. This is because users who first smoke it will often move on to bigger and "better" drugs to get the high they long for - like OxyContin and meth.

Ask any recovering addict. Most started out using marijuana. How could this be better for our state? We already have some of the highest drug-abuse rates in the country.

Furthermore, how much more of the state's budget can we afford to supplement drug-rehab centers? Legalizing marijuana would only increase the need for more rehab centers. Most importantly though, what about the negative effect drugs and addicts have on our families? How will legalizing marijuana help the already-declining home and family lives of Kentuckians?

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Kentucky Loses a True Original With the Death of Gatewood Galbraith

Gatewood Galbraith, one of the most memorable and iconic figures in the history of Kentucky politics, died in his sleep on Jan. 4 at the age of 64.

Galbraith - standing at 6-foot-4, with his booming baritone voice, classic one-liners and signature fedora - was a larger-than-life character. Like a pop star, he was typically referred to as simply "Gatewood."

He will be remembered for his many quixotic campaigns - running for governor five times, Congress twice, as well as commissioner of agriculture and attorney general.

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When my one-time political rival and always friendly acquaintance Gatewood Galbraith passed away this month, his eulogies invariably noted that his insightful political reform ideas were often overshadowed by his strident advocacy for marijuana legalization, consigning him to the role of perennial candidate and courthouse jester.

Part of Gatewood's problem was that he looked the part: often disheveled, always mellow. He also preached an admirably consistent, but widely controversial, libertarian philosophy that scolded government whenever it tried to establish moral standards for society.

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There have been plenty of eulogies already for perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith, who died last week at age 64 at his Lexington home, so this column isn't going to focus on his wit, his humanity, his intellect and his toothy grin.

No, what hasn't been talked about much is the fact that Galbraith missed a real opportunity to more effectively push for the things about which he cared deeply because of his marijuana activism and because he refused to step onto a smaller stage and run in races he could afford.

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Gatewood Galbraith, an iconic Kentucky political figure and perennial candidate who won many hearts but never enough votes, died early Wednesday, just two months after running his fifth campaign for governor.

He was 64. Mr. Galbraith died at home in his sleep, surrounded by family after suffering pneumonia that was complicated by chronic emphysema.

Although widely popular for his wit and unconventional stances, Mr. Galbraith's political life was led outside of Democratic and Republican party machinery, which meant he nearly always trailed in fund-raising totals. Mr. Galbraith ran unsuccessfully for governor five times. He also made failed bids for agriculture commissioner, U.S. representative and attorney general.

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Gatewood Galbraith, a perennial candidate for public office who advocated the legalization of marijuana and was one of the most colorful characters on Kentucky's political landscape for three decades, died at his home in Lexington, the Fayette County coroner's office said Wednesday. He was 64.

The cause of death was listed as complications from chronic emphysema.

Family members found Galbraith unresponsive in his bed Wednesday morning, the coroner's office said in a statement.

"He had been sick for several days with congestion in his lungs (and) . had been suffering from cold-like symptoms which had been complicated by chronic asthma and emphysema," the statement said.

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In his autobiography, The Last Free Man in America: Meets the Synthetic Subversion, Gatewood Galbraith described his efforts to get the letters of recommendation he needed to take the bar exam.

As a University of Kentucky law student Galbraith had already taken up the campaign to legalize marijuana that he carried on until his death early Wednesday at the age of 64. He struck out when he approached some prominent men for letters. They initially agreed to endorse the young law student but changed course as they considered the impact of associating with a pro-pot radical.

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Last year, I wrote a grant proposal on behalf of three organizations seeking a total of about $300,000 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to fund a mentoring program for ex-offenders re-entering the community.

BJA was one of two offices administering Second Chance Act Grants, funding meant to help nonprofit organizations implement programs that would "improve re-entry planning and implementation," the purpose of the Second Chance Act of 2007.

After reading Dr. Michelle Alexander's book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," and hearing her keynote address at the Anne Braden Institute's memorial lecture last week, I feel like the grant was a sham and a glaring example of the government waste we hear is so prevalent.

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Regarding W. Bryan Hubbard's Aug. 1 op-ed, the steady rise in drug-sniffing dogs in schools, warrantless police searches, and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties while failing miserably at preventing drug use. With national debt soaring, we can no longer afford to throw good money at bad drug policy.

Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition, lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country.

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On Oct.13, 2005, Lexington police pursued a man suspected of dealing drugs into the breezeway of an apartment complex. During their pursuit, they passed the residence of Hollis King and thought the smell of marijuana smoke emanated from it. They knocked on his door, identified themselves and asked to enter his home.

They then heard movement within the apartment, at which point they broke down his door. Police explained that their warrantless and forcible entry into his apartment was triggered by sounds they believed to be consistent with the destruction of incriminating evidence.

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Arrested in 2004 after a scuffle with police for possession of a loaded firearm and 3.4 grams of crack cocaine, William Freeman of Louisville faced a maximum penalty of life in prison.

So it wasn't a difficult decision for him to accept a plea bargain from federal prosecutors requiring him to serve 106 months in prison, including 46 months on the crack charge.

Then in 2007, responding to a mounting chorus of criticism that harsher sentences for crack than powder cocaine disproportionately punished African Americans, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reduced the sentencing guideline range for crack.

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The numbers are staggering: We're losing 82 Kentuckians a month to drug overdose, from the cities to rural areas in Appalachia. Nearly 1,000 of our fellow Kentuckians died from drug overdoses in 2009, more than those killed in traffic crashes. Last year, law enforcement responded to 1,100 meth lab sites across the state, up from 738 in 2009. And Kentucky ranks in the top three of marijuana-producing states.

Too many of our children are experimenting with drugs. Kentucky ranked 8th in the nation for abuse of prescription pain reliever drugs among 12- to 17-year-olds, and in Eastern Kentucky the average age when a child first gets high on prescription pills is 11. Drug abuse persists as a serious problem in all 120 counties of the commonwealth.

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NORML brings in Marijuana advocate and governor candidate Gatewood Galbraith

Criminal Defense Attorney Gatewood Galbraith spoke at a NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) meeting on Tuesday in Ferrell Auditorium. Galbraith is running for Governor in November as an independent. He spoke about his life growing up in Kentucky and how he got into politics.

But, more importantly, he spoke to students about his reasoning for becoming an advocate on legalizing marijuana. He explained that he suffered from asthma his entire life until one day a friend of his offered him some marijuana. "It cured my asthma just like that," said Galbraith with a snap of his fingers. Since that moment, he decided to get into law so that he could change the legal system to make marijuana legal.

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An easily accessible drug, often called White Lightning, has made its way onto Eastern's campus.

The drug, known as "legal cocaine," has become popular for being just that - legal, and cheap.

"It won't show up in urine, [and] it's cheap," said Henry Spiller, director of Poison Control in Louisville. "This is why people are buying it, to replace other drugs, like methamphetamine and cocaine."

Being packaged as a variety of products, such as bug repellant, bath salts and plant food, the drug has yet to be regulated by the FDA.

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It's 9:15 p.m. Monday night.

A smoky haze blurs the view of the Louisville basketball game playing on the television, the chattering of voices drowning out the commentator's voice.

Another puff.

Pipes and bongs litter the scene, and the smell of marijuana fills the room.

"It's better smoked in a pipe or bong," says Mr. X, a senior at Eastern, who asked to remain anonymous. "All of your friends come over and hang out, and that's what we do - it's like a social event."

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I am writing in response to Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain's editorial in which he suggests that Kentucky's methamphetamine problem is best combated by the continued use of the MethCheck network which is now known as the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx). While MethCheck might be a good tool to block or limit the sale of pseudoephedrine to individuals who are attempting to purchase more than the legal limit, it does not stop "smurfing." Smurfing is when an individual purchases the legal limit of pseudoephedrine and in turn sells it to a third party with the full knowledge that it will be utilized in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

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Passage of California's Proposition 19, which aims to legalize recreational marijuana, could help ease the spiraling violence of Mexico's drug war.

Approval of the statewide ballot initiative on Nov. 2 would allow local governments to tax and regulate the limited possession and cultivation of marijuana for adults age 21 and over.

Besides offering the cash-strapped state a new source of revenue and jobs, Proposition 19 would also help pave the way for a much-needed drug policy shift south of the border.

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