New Mexico Public Regulation Commission member E. Shirley Baca is facing criticism after her arrest for marijuana possession. And that includes a call for her resignation - if she's guilty - from one Republican leader. "Frankly if she is guilty of this, it seems to me it would be in her best interest and the PRC's best interest and the state's best interest if she resigned," said state Rep. Ted Hobbs, an Albuquerque Republican and House minority leader. Baca, 53, a Las Cruces Democrat, was arrested Wednesday morning at Albuquerque International Sunport after baggage screeners found less than an ounce of marijuana inside a pipe concealed in her checked baggage, according to a Metro Court criminal complaint. [continues 652 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court sided Friday with a New Mexico church that wants to use hallucinogenic tea as part of its services this Christmas by lifting a temporary stay the government had won last week. The U.S. administration contends the hoasca tea is illegal and dangerous. Nancy Hollander, the lawyer for the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, told justices in a filing that hoasca is not only safe, but to members it "is sacred and their sacramental use of hoasca connects them to God." [continues 70 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- A member of the powerful state Public Regulation Commission who advocated zero tolerance on drugs and alcohol in the PRC workplace has been arrested on drug charges. E. Shirley Baca, 53, of Las Cruces, was taken into custody shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday at Albuquerque's international airport. A container with a glass pipe and green, leafy substance that tested positive as marijuana was found in Baca's suitcase, according to a Metropolitan Court criminal complaint. [continues 510 words]
WASHINGTON - Many teen drivers believe it's less dangerous to drive after smoking marijuana than after drinking alcohol, a perception the government wants to change. "Driving sober means no alcohol, no marijuana, no drugs," John Walters, the Bush administration's drugpolicy director, said Thursday as he showed a new television ad aimed at stopping teens from driving after smoking pot. Walters' office is spending $10 million on the ad and other efforts to teach teens and their parents about the danger of drugged driving. Brochures also are being distributed in high schools and state motor-vehicle offices. [continues 258 words]
In the last week of October, children don red ribbons to proclaim their stand against drugs, and display their personal commitment to stay drug-free during Red Ribbon Week. This week is also a time for communities to visibly take a stand against the devastating effects substance abuse can have on their youths through education, parent training, and networking. Red Ribbon Week was conceived after Kiki Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Agency undercover agent, was murdered in Mexico City by drug traffickers in 1985. [continues 405 words]
Gov. Bill Richardson presented his plan to expand the Lottery Success Scholarship to the UNM community on Thursday afternoon. Under his plan to revamp the lottery scholarship, students would get a flat dollar amount rather than have tuition paid directly. The money would be deposited into an account under the student's name at his or her university. Richardson said this initiative, one of five proposed changes to the lottery scholarship, would make families eligible for federal tuition tax credits. "That will keep up to $6 million in New Mexico that our families won't have to pay in federal taxes," Richardson said. [continues 410 words]
U.S. drug czar John Walters met with Hispanic community leaders Tuesday to unveil a national media advertising campaign aimed at deterring Hispanic youth from smoking marijuana and educating Hispanic families about the dangers of pot use. The Office of National Drug Control Policy's "National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign," started in 1998, aims at educating teens and parents about the dangers of drug use, particularly marijuana, and deterring illegal drug use. The new program targets Hispanic teens and families, using Spanish television and radio commercials and Spanish newspaper and magazine advertisements to persuade Hispanics to not use marijuana. Walters spoke at a press conference at the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority. The Housing Authority helps low-to middle-income families in Santa Fe find housing and deal with drug abuse and addiction. With Secret Service agents posted in the parking lot, Walters emphasized that marijuana is a "gateway drug" that can lead to other chemical dependencies. [continues 618 words]
While Iraq remains the Bush administration's most tragic misuse of our military against terrorism, the Republican Congress is compounding a minitragedy of its own making: It has authorized 400 more troops, and 200 more civilian contractors, to help wage a kind of dope-and-terror war in Colombia. We already have 400 soldiers and 400 spies there. "Plan Colombia" began under President Clinton, as help -- or was it institutionalized nosiness? -- toward that nation's struggle with drug cartels. As U.S. Ambassador Lew Tambs noted back in the 1980s, there was a "narc-FARC" connection: The guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia finances its terrorism through control of cocaine -- at least some of it. [continues 400 words]
ALBUQUERQUE -- More New Mexicans are dying from drugs. Substance intoxication caused 347 deaths in New Mexico last year, according to a report from the state Office of the Medical Investigator. Fourteen other people died of alcohol intoxication. "That there's a drug problem I don't think is a surprise to anyone," said Dr. Sarah Lathrop, OMI epidemiologist. "But it's still distressing." The OMI's annual report, released last week, details 5,183 deaths across the state that the office was called in on last year. The OMI investigates sudden, violent or untimely deaths or those in which a person was found dead from an unknown cause. [continues 508 words]
A new drug and alcohol prevention program at Valencia Elementary will be one of the first programs introduced to a New Mexico school, according to Roosevelt County Teen Court Coordinator Barbara Rogers. Rogers was in training with two other facilitators -- Marcia Brown, DWI Program coordinator ,and Riki Seat, DWI Compliance coordinator for Roosevelt County -- on Tuesday afternoon with 10 fourth-grade teachers at Valencia Elementary. Rogers said the Hobbs School District had the only other school which was going to implement the program in New Mexico this fall. [continues 598 words]
People addicted to alcohol and drugs who receive treatment at taxpayer expense should be required to repay that debt, Lincoln County commissioners contend. They voted during their meeting last month to send a letter to State Rep. Dub Williams, a Republican from Glencoe, asking him to draft legislation that would require reimbursement once a person is working, in much the same way as student loans that must be repaid. Commissioner Rick Simpson proposed the action as a follow-up to a vote in June that included the New Mexico Rehabilitation Center as an eligible health care provider to be reimbursed from the county's indigent care fund. The money for that fund comes from a county gross receipts tax. [continues 738 words]
Perceptions among teens and their parents about marijuana use often do not reflect the realities of short and long-term health impacts and increase emergency room interventions and treatment admissions associated with the more potent marijuana of today. A survey of 1,987 teens aged 12 to 17 indicates that perception of harm is a crucial factor in a teenager's decision to use marijuana. Among teens who see marijuana as very harmful, 9 percent admit to having tried it, while among those who regard marijuana as not too harmful or not harmful 45 percent, five times as many admitted to having tried it. Perceptions of risk associated with smoking marijuana are decreasing, and this may signal future increases in use. [continues 396 words]
The Socorro community is invited to join a display of solidarity against crimes and drugs during National Night Out on Aug. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Clarke Field. This is a nationwide event and is sponsored locally by the Socorro Police Department. "It's an excellent time for people to come out and meet the police and learn about Neighborhood Watch," said Detective Lawrence Romero. Romero said speakers would be available during the event to talk about Neighborhood Watch, a program that bands neighbors together in an effort to prevent crime. Handouts will also be available about Neighborhood Watch and other anti-crime programs. There will also be a march around the field to promote a safer nation. [continues 158 words]
Most elected officials in eastern New Mexico say they want to learn more, but they support proposed legislation that calls for voluntary drug testing for all elected officials in the state. Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, introduced the legislation on Wednesday and said results from the voluntary drug tests would be sent to the Secretary of State and be posted on its Web site. The proposal will be addressed during next year's legislative session in Santa Fe. "I want a chance to prove that I am clean," Komadina said. "Government has the responsibility to prove that it is not being run by a bunch of druggies." [continues 721 words]
Dr. Joan Lewis has asked the state Supreme Court to take superintending control over her hearing before the state Board of Medical Examiners. The board has charged Lewis, an Albuquerque practitioner who specializes in patients with severe, chronic pain, with six counts of "injudicious prescribing." Lewis has developed a unique program using narcotics, or opioids, that measures and tracks the severity of pain and the effects of the drugs. Lewis's license to practice in New Mexico rests on the outcome of the board proceedings. Groups of patients, doctors and national organizations have filed amicus briefs in support of Lewis. [continues 364 words]
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE -- A trade organization is asking the Air Force to clarify that its ban on marijuana use doesn't apply to personal care products that contain hemp seed oil. The California-based Hemp Industries Association and the Indoor Tanning Association have sent Air Force Secretary James Roche a letter this week criticizing a recent article in the Cannon Air Force Base newspaper -- Mach Meter. The article warned airmen not to use products containing hemp seed oil, hemp oil or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- known as THC -- marijuana's main active chemical. [continues 387 words]
Medical marijuana supporters gathered Friday in front of Rep. Heather Wilson's Downtown office to protest her anti-legalization stance. Last July, Wilson voted against an amendment that would prevent the federal government from interfering with state medical marijuana laws. The Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, a new amendment, will be proposed to the House of Representatives this summer. It would prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from prosecuting and imprisoning medical marijuana patients and caregivers who are acting in compliance with state law. [continues 436 words]
Cherie Haymes says smoking pot provided the best relief for her chronic pain until Santa Fe police confiscated her marijuana plants last fall. A California doctor prescribed medical marijuana for Haymes, and she used it in that state for four years to soothe her colitis symptoms and arthritis pain, she said Friday at a press conference in front of the office of U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., in Albuquerque. Haymes, who now lives in Santa Fe, spoke in favor of patients being allowed to use medical marijuana. [continues 558 words]
Just say no -- to suntan lotion? Cannon Air Force Base is warning airmen about suntan lotions and oils that contain hemp byproducts, including an active chemical found in marijuana. The April 23 edition of Cannon's newspaper, the Mach Meter, notes that some local tanning salon are selling products containing hemp seed oil, hemp oil or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- THC -- marijuana's main active chemical. The military prohibits its members from using marijuana and tests them for THC levels. Although there is a "statistically small" chance of testing positive for THC with such a lotion, that possibility "is simply not worth the risk," the newspaper notes. [continues 238 words]
Editor, The column "Marijuana's Illegality Keeps Harmful Drugs In Check" uses the most absurd reasons I have heard next to "Reefer Madness" to keep cannabis illegal. I find it amazingly insane that some would justify repealing civil rights for such ludicrous logic. This is un-American thinking and should truly be reconsidered. One has to be truly brainwashed to justify taking away the civil rights of American citizens. The government is doing this everyday without the help of citizens. It is our American duty to see that this does not happen. Eric Knudsen Daily Lobo reader [end]
Inside New Mexico
