It has that distinct scent that is easily recognizable and can often be found in college dorms. And although it's illegal, marijuana is still a drug that is easy to come by.

Marijuana, also referred to as "pot" or "weed" by many, is increasingly becoming a popular topic of discussion.

It seems that no matter where you go, most people have an opinion on whether or not it should be legalized. However, that hasn't dissuaded some Keene State College students from using the drug.

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CONCORD, N.H. - New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free Or Die" and yesterday House lawmakers said that includes the right to grow hemp, a close relative of marijuana.

The 199 to 168 vote in favor of the proposal came despite opposition from law enforcement authorities and advice from legal experts saying it may violate federal regulations.

Supporters of the measure said hemp has unfairly been characterized as like marijuana, and that it is used legitimately in a wide range of products, including clothing, canvas, rope, fiberglass, insulation, cement and paper. "Hemp is one of the oldest, most useful plants known to man," said Rep. Derek Owen, Democrat from Hopkinton. He said it is known for its strong fiber. He said New Hampshire farmers could grow it as a niche crop. "This is not marijuana," Owen said. "This is hemp."

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CONCORD -- The House voted yesterday to allow farmers to grow hemp -- a close relative of marijuana -- despite federal hurdles to planting the controversial crop.

Several local lawmakers said they voted against the bill because of opposition from law enforcement agencies.

State Rep. Paul Hopfgarten, R-Derry, was among those who opposed the measure, saying he "didn't see the necessity of doing this until we are clearer on the issues about how (marijuana and hemp) are different." Supporters argue that hemp, which has a very low content of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, has unfairly been characterized as the same as marijuana. "This is not marijuana. This is hemp," insisted Hopkinton Democrat Derek Owen, who added that hemp has been grown for thousands of years. Hemp, known for its strong fiber, is used in a wide range of products, including clothing, canvas, rope, fiberglass, insulation, automobile clutch- and brake-liners, concrete and paper. It can be grown legally in other countries, including Canada and China.

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Editor, The Citizen:

I'm writing about: "Gilford man arrested for growing pot" story published on Feb. 16.

I'm sure that many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the Laconia Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for this latest marijuana bust and others like it.

Without operations like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth -- very little.

Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth more than pure gold -- and completely tax free.

Any marijuana growers, sellers or traffickers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz

[end]

MANCHESTER -- City prosecutor Kenneth Bernard, brother of an accused murderer and brother and uncle of three murder victims, is charged with three counts of possessing marijuana.

Bernard, 34, is free on $1,000 personal recognizance bail and is to be arraigned on March 10 in Manchester District Court, where he prosecuted individuals on violations and misdemeanors, including possession of marijuana.

Bernard is charged with possessing marijuana on Nov. 30 at his then-120 Huse Road home, and having it in his possession twice on Dec. 4, again at his home. He has not been on the job since Dec. 4, when he was placed on paid administrative leave by the city Solicitor's Office. On Tuesday, he turned himself in to police, who had obtained a warrant for his arrest.

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CONCORD - Two New Hampshire drug dealing cases are among the 400 the U.S. Supreme Court has sent back to lower courts for resentencing after it found the federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional earlier this month.

The New Hampshire cases are those of Robert Champagne and James Coyne, who were sentenced to more than 12 years in prison in separate cases.

U.S. District County Clerk James Starr said he expects appeals may be filed by other federal inmates sentenced in U.S. District Court in Concord.

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DOVER -- As head of the executive board overseeing the Attorney General's Drug Task Force, Dover police Chief William Fenniman agrees the actions of the officers involved in two scuffles in March were juvenile, improper and inexcusable.

But that is all Fenniman agrees with when it comes to Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams' report on his investigation into whether the officers committed a crime.

The Rockingham County Attorney's Office said in a report released Friday that officers involved in the incidents failed to cooperate with the investigation. Furthermore, Reams recommended changes to the Drug Task Force's management in order to restore its credibility.

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BRENTWOOD -- The 200-page report released by the Rockingham County Attorney's Office Friday may not have found sufficient evidence to charge anyone connected to the alleged assault of a Portsmouth police officer, but it does state that a 10-month investigation into the St. Patrick's Day incident raised "disturbing facts" about the New Hampshire Attorney General's Drug Task Force.

What follows is a description of events that started it all, as described in the report:

Paddy's Restaurant

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BRENTWOOD -- An investigative report on two separate bar altercations last March in Portsmouth concludes the behavior of several off-duty state Drug Task Force officers was "juvenile, embarrassing to the individuals, to their departments and to law enforcement."

But barring any new information, the involved officers, who represent several Seacoast police departments in the drug unit, will not face criminal charges, according to the report issued yesterday by Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams.

"It's sort of a black day for law enforcement in this county," Reams said after releasing the 212-page report. "It's behavior that you would expect from high school or college students who've been drinking, not sworn law-enforcement officers."

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Every summer, this community gets romantic about the Keene Swamp Bats, a fixture in a New England college-age league. The way the game is played at Alumni Field is nostalgic and pure, what with the crack of the wooden bat, the playfulness in the stands, the mid-game entertainment outside the basepaths, and so on.

The sweet innocence of the game there sustains us through the rest of the year, when baseball — particularly as it's performed by major leaguers - - is everything but sweet, pure and innocent.

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DOVER -- The trial of a downtown smoke shop got under way Wednesday in Strafford Superior Court with testimony whether items seized during a raid in March are drug paraphernalia.

The prosecution presented its case during six hours of testimony from police officers who collected evidence from Smoke Signals and from the investigators who analyzed the evidence.

Smoke Signals LLC is charged with five misdemeanor charges of selling drug paraphernalia.

The raid netted 177 pipes and chillums, which are pipes used for small amounts of smoking materials, from the store.

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NASHUA - The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment will decide whether a Florida-based company can open a clinic here to treat people addicted to heroin and prescription drugs.

Colonial Management Group is seeking to open the outpatient methadone clinic in the former state Department of Employment Security office on Pine Street, a few blocks from downtown.

The company has clinics in 17 states, including one in Manchester.

The James N. and Shirley C. Tamposi Revocable Trust owns 33 Pine St. The owners applied for a change-of-use variance from the zoning board to open a medical facility.

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To the editor:

I'm writing about: "Police reveal details on how undercover work led to 480 pounds of marijuana" (Dec. 16).

I'm sure that many marijuana growers, sellers and traffickers are thankful to the Attorney General's Drug Task Force for this latest marijuana bust and others like it.

Without operations like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth - very little.

Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth more than pure gold -and completely tax free.

Any marijuana growers, sellers and traffickers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz

[end]

To the editor:

As a Colorado citizen who voted for Amendment 20, allowing sick citizens cannabis, I support limiting government's ability to cage sick citizens for using cannabis. ("Marijuana: Medical hope or illegal drug?" Dec. 5, 2004).

Since Colorado enacted its initiative, rates of cannabis use have not increased, and the sky hasn't fallen. Every state in recent memory that's seen an initiative allowing medical use of cannabis passed it, batting a thousand.

For perspective, imagine a family member with cancer being allowed to self induce morphine every six minutes for pain, but be prohibited from using cannabis to even see if it helps. That's the way I looked at it when my son was dying with leukemia.

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HAMPTON - Winnacunnet High School's planned drug forum in January seems all the more appropriate following this past week's seizure of 400 pounds of marijuana that was headed for the Seacoast and southern Maine.

"We see a lot of it in the area," said Hampton Police Chief William Wrenn on Thursday. "It's not surprising the police recovered that amount of marijuana and that it was headed to the Seacoast area."

Marijuana and heroin are the two most common drugs in the Seacoast, according to Wrenn.

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DOVER - Do you think states to be able to make it legal for people to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes, or should the federal government have the right to ban the drug?

We posed that question in our reader's poll this week, and among the 260 people who responded, more than 85 percent said they were in favor of state control, while just under 14 percent said the federal government should be able to veto state laws.

Some responders, such as Liz of Rochester, said legalizing marijuana makes sound fiscal sense.

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Portsmouth High Scoured By Dogs

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Portsmouth High School student Sarah Dicks says she felt violated when her modern European history class was interrupted recently so police dogs could sniff student backpacks for illicit drugs.

"They announced that no one could leave the rooms at all, not even to go to the bathroom," said Dicks, 18.

"Someone came by and announced they were doing a drug search, and we should put our backpacks in the hall. Then we came back to class and waited."

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Her eyes swollen and reddened following another sleepless night, Linda Macia wearily named off her multiple illnesses as tears slowly began trickling down her face.

"I have nerve damage, fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and degenerative arthritis," said the 51-year-old Manchester resident, as she pulled out a copy of an X-ray of the twisted, mangled nerve endings near her spine.

"I've tried every prescription drug you can think of -- OxyContin, Demerol, methadone, codeine, Percocet -- but my body either can't tolerate them or I'm allergic. I'm in constant agony except briefly when I go for treatments every fifth week. Marijuana is the only thing that provides any significant relief, but the federal government won't show compassion and allow it to be used for medical purposes."

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NEWTON - A schoolwide assembly to address alcohol and drug use was held Oct. 28 at the Sanborn Regional Middle School, but the message was delivered in a unique way. The Improbable Players performed for students in a humorous, yet true to life enactment. The message: Alcoholism and drug addiction is a disease that can happen to anyone, and it's OK to talk to someone and to ask for help.

The previous night, a Halloween dance was held at the school, and the following week, students enjoyed theme days, including "Reach for Your Dreams" where students wore their pajamas to school with the message being "Don't let drugs ruin your dreams."

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Dover Police Chief William W. Fenniman, Jr. announced last week that the Dover Police Department will be offering a special drug prevention program for the parents of fifth-grade DARE students. The program is known as the Drug Free Dover - Parents Program.

The Parents Program will be offered in the months of November, December, and January. A culmination celebration follows the conclusion of the program as an incentive for those parents and students that complete the program. The three sessions, which last approximately two hours each, will be offered several times to make it easier for the parents to attend. Child care will be available.

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