2 State Lawmakers Plan To Seek Ban; DEA Studies Illegal-Drug ClassificationThe days of Spice, K2, Yucatan Fire, Smoke, Skunk and Red X Dawn may be numbered. In fact, "fake pot" needs to be off store shelves in 30 days.

While federal regulators are promising a yearlong crackdown, two Minnesota lawmakers are pushing statewide legislation to ban fake pot, or synthetic marijuana, an increasingly popular recreational drug that police say has led to a proliferation of calls to poison control centers for symptoms far more serious than anything typically associated with cannabis.

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This debate over the legalization of marijuana is getting old. If you take a look at states with legalized medical marijuana, it's pretty evident that it can easily be cheated.

Under California law, you don't even need a prescription to gain access to the medical marijuana dispensaries. All you need is a written or oral recommendation from a physician. The medical marijuana is not regulated by FDA standards. For obvious reasons, the FDA must do extensive testing on drugs hitting the market in case the drugs are potentially harmful or ineffective.

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At the start of the school year, school officials got a startling realization - there's a new drug in town. And, it's legal.

"Basically, it's poisonous," Angie Horner, chemical health coordinator at Detroit Lakes Public Schools, said of synthetic marijuana.

The fake marijuana contains JWH-018, a chemical similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, only it's higher potency and gives a stronger, longer high.

"It's sold as incense, that's why it's legal," Horner said of the tobacco shops that sell the fake pot. "They know what it's being used for though."

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Advocates for medical marijuana are awaiting the results of the Nov. 2 election, which will factor into the success or failure of their causes.

Dr. Philip Denney walked into an examination room in his Sacramento, Calif., office and sat across from a 19-year-old who complained of insomnia.

As Denney considered the teen's chains, piercings and tattoos, the patient asked him for a marijuana prescription.

Denney's skepticism was confirmed by a quick look at his medical history. Denney declined the request, walked into the next room and rolled his eyes when he saw his next patient. Another one, he thought.

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The city of Duluth, Minn., said Tuesday that its ban on fake pot is constitutional, but it has agreed not to enforce it until a court decides the issue.

In a three-page response to a lawsuit filed this month, a deputy city attorney disputed claims made by the owner of a Duluth head shop who said the new law is so broad that it not only outlaws synthetic marijuana but also such over-the-counter remedies as Vicks VapoRub.

The city also denied the shop owner's claims that there was no scientific evidence that synthetic marijuana has any psychotropic effect and that it poses no health or safety threat.

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Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program Is Reinventing Itself After Years Of Being Dropped By Schools And Police Departments

D.A.R.E. isn't just about drug prevention anymore.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is reinventing itself after years of being dropped by schools and police departments struggling with stretched financial budgets.

To prove its relevance, D.A.R.E. has added lessons about online safety, bullying, choosing good role models and other current topics. It also is teaming up for certain subjects with experts from the community - not just police - to save cities and schools money.

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Even if you believe that using marijuana can kill you - it can't - and even if you believe that marijuana will lead to harder, addictive drugs - it won't - and even if you believe that marijuana has no proven medicinal purposes whatsoever - it does - you should still read California's Proposition 19.

The proposition proposes the legalization of marijuana for personal use and allows local governments to regulate and tax marijuana-related activities. I believe it is one of the most sensible pieces of state-level legislation this country has seen in a generation.

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Council President Bob Finsland and Police Chief Floyd Peters will introduce the ordinance at the Sept. 7 council meeting.

Following the lead of the Duluth City Council, Superior will attempt to pass an ordinance banning the sale, purchase or possession of synthetic marijuana in the city of Superior, according to a news release from Mayor Dave Ross' office.

Council President Bob Finsland and Police Chief Floyd Peters will introduce the ordinance at the Sept. 7 council meeting.

Ross and other city officials will hold a news conference on the proposed ban at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Government Center.

The Duluth City Council voted unanimously Monday to outlaw synthetic marijuana in the city. Duluth becomes the first Minnesota city to make synthetic marijuana illegal.

Jim Carlson, owner of the Last Place on Earth, has threatened to sue Duluth over the ban.

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The Number Of Pre-Employment Drug Screenings Is On The Rise. It May Signal Businesses Are Set To Do More Hiring. Or Maybe Not.

Searching for signs of an improving economy, analysts have scratched their heads over statistics and surveyed the hearts of consumers. Now comes another hopeful indicator -- the bladders of potential hires.

Pre-employment drug tests are rising significantly. Drug test companies in the Minneapolis area say numbers of such exams for new hires have doubled, or in one case, increased more than 500 percent, in the last year.

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Marilyn Rhodes Aug. 11 letter dealing with violence in Mexico suggested giving them more help in dealing with the drug war. There are some facts we should consider:

1. The Mexican drug cartels operate in more than 2,500 cities in the U.S.

2. The U.S. joint forces command has warned that the Mexican government could experience "A rapid and sudden collapse" due to the drug cartel violence. There have been 28,000 people killed by the cartels since 2006.

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Use of synthetic marijuana has skyrocketed nationwide in the past two years.

Inside the cellophane pouch is a mixture of herbs one might find in a spice rack, but these herbs are anything but garden variety.

They have been sprayed with chemical compounds like JWH-018 to give consumers a legal high similar to marijuana.

Use of synthetic marijuana has skyrocketed nationwide in the past two years, leading politicians to question whether they should ban the products.

The issue hit Minnesota earlier this month when Sen. Katie Sieben, DFL-Cottage Grove, announced her plans to introduce a bill that would outlaw the substance.

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Having just returned from California and Colorado, then reading "Almost an epidemic" (July 11), about the cannabis caravans in Montana where physicians go on the road issuing marijuana cards at the rate of 150 a day, this aging hippie is hoping Minnesota does not join in the medical-marijuana mirage.

As a cancer survivor, I had thought that medical marijuana was a good idea. I may yet be one of those who could legitimately use it for medical reasons. But if it were really a medical drug, I should be able to have my prescription filled at my normal pharmacy. Instead, what I saw in California and Colorado were seedy shops with hand-painted signs as subtle as "Dr. Reefer." Some storefronts shared billboard space with their recommended source of a doctor willing to issue a quick prescription for any type of pain -- sometimes by webcam.

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Regarding Ronald Fraser's July 4 guest column: The financial incentives created by civil asset forfeiture laws create a dangerous precedent.

Police can confiscate cars, cash and homes without bothering to charge owners with a crime.

Vague allegations of drug trafficking don't justify turning protectors of the peace into financial predators.

The drug war threatens the integrity of a country founded on the concept of limited government.

Police searches on public transit, drug-sniffing dogs in schools and random drug testing have led to a loss of civil liberties, while failing miserably at preventing drug use.

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As baby boomers grow into their golden years, one hallmark of their youth has stayed with them: drug use.

From 1992 to 2008, treatment of people 50 and older for heroin abuse more than doubled in the United States.

Cocaine abuse among those 50 and older quadrupled, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

"In all of the regions among those who are older, we see pretty dramatic increases," said Kathleen Kane-Willis, a drug policy researcher at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

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For decades, law enforcement agencies have used property seizures to break up large criminal organizations, but with the rise of the so-called drug war, seizure and forfeiture of personal property owned by innocent citizens have skyrocketed.

When police officers, often working with faulty evidence, merely suspect that your boat, vehicle or cash has been involved in a crime, the property can be seized under civil forfeiture laws.

In 44 states, your property will not be returned until you, the legal property owner, prove that the property was not involved in a criminal activity. Only in California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Michigan and Oregon must the government prove that the property was used in committing a crime.

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For many years I had in my possession four medical prescriptions, issued in 1926, for different patients with various ailments. No matter what the "illness," the doctors' prescribed remedy printed on the official government form was the same: Whiskey.

This was during "prohibition," that 13-year period in American history when the "manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors" was forbidden under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment, ratified in 1919, went into effect in 1920.

Under the National Prohibition Act of 1919 (also known as the Volstead Act), there were a couple of exceptions. Alcohol could be obtained for medical reasons with a physician's prescription, and the clergy were allowed to secure wine for the sacrament.

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Drug abuse on campus extends beyond violations of the alcohol policy and students who are caught face harsher punishments than under the alcohol policy.

St. Olaf does not classify alcohol as a "drug" and the alcohol policy has a different set of rules and consequences. "Drug" refers to illegal substances, regardless of age, or abuse of prescription drugs. If caught with drugs, students face consequences, which depend on if the person is using or supplying the drugs.

If caught using drugs on campus, the offending student enters an online drug course on how drugs affect the body, which is a consequence similar to the penalty for students caught with alcohol.

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Minnesota's proposed ban on salvia is completely absurd given the drug's effects. It is not an addictive drug, and there are hundreds of species naturally growing all over the world. The only proven consequence is the possible hallucinogenic effect that lasts up to fifteen minutes. Based on this effect, scientists are able to monitor certain brain activity that could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of various mental illnesses including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's.

But none of this is important enough for the various legislators who want to ban salvia based on some ill-conceived notion that it is evil and will greatly contribute to the moral downfall of our country. Salvia has no proven long-term effect on overall health, including brain function, and may help improve the lives of those suffering from mental illness. Now, tax payer dollars will have to cover the costs of every 'crime' committed. To instill fear based on a lack of solid consequential evidence does a complete disservice the American people.

David Zak, University undergraduate student

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Legalization of Drugs Is the Only Solution to an Out-Of-Hand Problem.

I was astonished by yesterday's letter to the editor "Illegal drugs don't make the criminal." This is an extremely misled and perverted view on our war on drugs.

The author slanders Mexicans and skews reality with factoids such as "these people were violent, murderous psychopaths independent of (and before) entering the drug trade." How well does he know these people?

This makes the border violence seem irrational and unstoppable. "Plata or plomo" (in English "silver or lead") is the slogan of the drug cartels. This means that to maintain power, cartels bribe politicians and police, and if that fails, they remove their obstruction via assassination. How can you arrest all the instigators of the violence when they themselves are the puppetmasters manipulating a marionette government?

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A Baseless Drug Prohibition Would Stifle a Unique Strain of Medical Research.

If H.F. 2975 (companion S.F. 2773) authored by Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, becomes law, Minnesota will ban the sale of the psychedelic herb Salvia divinorum and criminalize its possession as a misdemeanor offense. Lanning has authored a separate House bill which would make salvia a Schedule I controlled substance.

Research on salvia has been increasingly popular. According to Dr. Bryan Roth at Case Western Reserve University, salvia is "the most potent naturally-occurring hallucinogenic drug." By 2006, studies had suggested that its primary active ingredient, salvinorin A, could lead to treatments for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

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