Nevada parents who grow a single marijuana plant in their home where children live could be subject to a prison term of up to 15 years, according to a bill that was debated Monday at the Nevada Legislature.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by state Sen. Joe Heck, R-Las Vegas, would subject parents who grow or sell marijuana in the presence of children to the same penalties as adults who operate methamphetamine labs in front of children.

Lawmakers approved a bill in 2005 that created tough prison sentences for people who cook meth, or manufacture or sell any illegal drugs in the presence of children as a way to fight the meth epidemic that many lawmakers say is sweeping Nevada.

[continues 624 words]

The first major marijuana bust of the year that netted nearly $1 million worth of planted and processed marijuana was discovered at a Tahoe Keys home.

Roughly two weeks later more than $560,000 worth of marijuana was found by authorities in a home along Tahoma Drive.

Jeff Catchings, commander of SLEDNET, South Shore's drug enforcement agency, said 117 marijuana plants were discovered Friday at a home near Tata Lane with a value around half a million dollars.

In all, the three busts netted marijuana with a street value in the ballpark of $2 million.

[continues 420 words]

The recent shooting of Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Stagliano offers up an entree of reminders that our local law enforcement has a plate piled high with drug-related crime.

Remember, as I have often mentioned, Carson City is a small city of residency.

Throw a sturgeon into a swimming pool and you can get an analogical idea of how illegal drugs thrust their scaly ugliness and bulky dominance in Carson City. But this particular big fish in a shallow pool flaps and splashes only to gain the attention of its ill-fated clientele - not to give our law enforcers a better chance of netting it.

[continues 736 words]

LAS VEGAS -- Methamphetamine use can turn a healthy set of teeth into a rotting mess and its widespread use is causing a surge in the dental budget of Nevada's prison system.

The oral effects of methamphetamine, an addictive drug commonly made with household products or over-the-counter medicines, are so devastating and so unique that the condition is now known in medical circles as meth mouth.

"The mouths of the addicts we see in prison often aren't pretty," said Dr. Jeff Lissy, the state's top dentist in the correctional system. "Many of the inmates didn't take care of their teeth before they started meth, so use of the drug is just one more assault on their dental care."

[continues 532 words]

Bail was increased to a half-million dollars on Friday for a Carson City man accused of shooting a deputy during a drug raid Thursday morning.

Mark Daniel Fiddler, 50, remains in the Carson City Jail on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer.

On Thursday about 3 a.m., Deputy Joshua Stagliano and 10 other officers attempted to serve a search warrant relating to methamphetamine sales on Fiddler's Fall Street home.

Almost as soon as officers entered the home with a battering ram - after repeatedly knocking and announcing their intention - Fiddler allegedly opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle, striking Stagliano in the wrist, said Carson City Sheriff's Sgt. Darrin Sloan. A report Friday that there was a 20-minute lapse from the time of the first knock and when officers entered was incorrect, Sloan said.

[continues 330 words]

A new kind of methamphetamine that has a strawberry flavor and bright pink coloring was seized for the first time in Carson City during a search of a Como Street apartment on Saturday, an official said.

"(We are) concerned that this new type of meth will be more attractive to a younger crowd and may surface in schools," said Sgt. Darrin Sloan, commander of the Carson City Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Team. "Parents and teachers, please be aware of this new kind of drug that is making its way into our culture."

[continues 365 words]

Can you hear that? It's my applause for Carson City's most recent installment in its dogged battle against methamphetamine use and addiction - a TV special titled, "Crystal Darkness," which aired Jan. 9. My applause is mainly for Carson City's aggressive support of coalitions against this deadly drug - the kind of support that continues to give our city a seat in front of the class of so many other cities.

Mayor Teixeira's strong belief that this once-underground subculture of slow-motion suicide is now uprooted and above ground, and has been sprouting blossoms as ugly as those on the faces of the addicted and afflicted, is one of our city's boldest underscores of war against this fatality flirtation.

[continues 568 words]

9:05 a.m. - Twenty students pile into a room that on any other day would be a math class. Instead of a teacher, the group is met by Chief Probation Officer Doug Swalm who gives a slide presentation showing the accouterments of mobile methamphetamine labs.

Swalm describes the procedure of how the drug is made and compares glass air freshener vials to actual glass meth pipes to show their similarities.

"I think I have some of it somewhere on me," Swalm says as he produces a baggie with a small amount of white powder from his pocket and passes it to the students to get a firsthand look.

[continues 907 words]

The president of the teacher's association told the school board recently he is confident a revised drug and alcohol testing policy is one educators can accept.

Dave Gustafson stopped short of promising to drop a demand that the proposed drug testing policy become a negotiated issue in the master contract.

"The way it is right now, I'll do what I can to work it out," he said. "I think we'll have this worked out before the next (school board) meeting. I'm saying we'll do everything we can, okay?"

[continues 316 words]

Drug paraphernalia including hundreds of glass pipes, several water pipes, digital scales and hashish grinders were seized Thursday from two Carson Valley liquor stores.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office reported that no arrests were made pending a review by the District Attorney's office.

Sale of drug paraphernalia is a Category E felony.

A store manager for Lucky Liquor declined comment. The manager at Rancho Liquors could not be reached.

The sheriff's office Street Enforcement Team was tipped to the paraphernalia sales by a Douglas High School student arrested on campus for distributing marijuana.

[continues 107 words]

Churchill County School District's superintendent is advising the board of trustees to hold off approving a drug and alcohol testing policy for school district employees amid controversy over the draft document.

Trustees will consider the proposed policy at their 7 p.m. meeting tonight at Numa Elementary School.

A memo to the board from Superintendent Carolyn Ross suggests trustees should not approve the policy now but allow further review and discussions. She plans to put the item back on the board's agenda for its Jan. 25 meeting.

[continues 329 words]

Editor's note: The following is an essay Cassandra Gonzales, 16, wrote for school about her older sister Raquel, now 18. Raquel, who had been living with her father in Dallas, overdosed on heroin at age 15 then ran away to live on the streets where she became a prostitute. After being arrested and sent to rehab, she returned to Carson City to live with her mother and sisters. This is Cassandra's account, beginning when they picked up Raquel from the airport:

[continues 703 words]

Part I: Running Away

Stumbling through the front door, she sees the note her father tacked to the wall.

"Get your stuff and get out," it says.

Raquel knows he's scared. He saw her lying for a week in a hospital bed, nearly dead from a heroin overdose.

And for the two weeks since she's been home, they've been fighting constantly about where she goes and who she sees. Then she didn't come home last night.

[continues 3550 words]

The Churchill County School District Board of Trustees meets Tuesday instead of its regular Thursday meeting schedule.

The board could act on a proposed drug and alcohol testing policy that would apply to all employees in the district. The topic is on the agenda as an action item.

A committee that has been studying the proposal is meeting today at 5:30 p.m. to continue discussing whether "reasonable suspicion" should be a criteria before drug testing when a worker's compensation claim is filed.

[continues 337 words]

Nevada voters were just saying no to legalizing marijuana, welcoming a hike in the state's minimum wage and keeping alive eminent domain reform, among other decisions on ballot initiatives on Tuesday's ballot.

With at least 1,620 of 1,913 precincts statewide reporting, Question 7, which would have allowed Nevada residents 21 years of age or older to possess an ounce of marijuana or less, was being rejected by 56 percent of voters. Only 44 percent were in support.

[continues 307 words]

Nicholas Otis's article "Smoking Ballots" quotes opponents of Proposition 7 as stating "marijuana contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than tobacco smoke".

And yet, marijuana smoke, unlike tobacco smoke, does NOT cause cancer. Do a Google search on "marijuana smoke cancer" to see a list of research

By: for example, this article: http://www.counterpunch.org/gardner07022005.html

Note that in that article, a researcher who had identified carcinogens in marijuana smoke found, to his surprise, no evidence at all that smoking marijuana will cause cancer and, indeed, the possibility that marijuana smoking may protect against cancer.

Sincerely,

By: Michael Ham

[end]

There Are a Number of Reasons Why Children Stay Off Drugs and Alcohol.

North Tahoe Middle School eighth-grader Holly Packard thinks "it's selfish" to abuse substances, while eighth-grader Tara Turpin believes fun can be had without drugs and alcohol and doesn't want to disappoint herself. For Sandra Gallaga, it's all about family.

"I want my brother and sister to look up to me," 14-year-old Gallaga said.

Melinda Maehler, Placer County community services officer, is happy to hear all the reasons why teens make positive choices and runs programs at North Tahoe schools to keep those students on the right path.

[continues 530 words]

A Clark County judge made the right call last week when he ruled that elected officials and police officers should be able to give their views on a statewide ballot initiative that would decriminalize marijuana.

The judge said those officials have a right and a duty to publicly discuss political matters like Question 7, which would legalize marijuana possession by adults.

While we agree that's dangerous territory (you wouldn't want a school administrator advocating one school board candidate over another, for example), the marijuana advocates are building their campaign on specific assumptions that require an answer from the police and from government officials.

[continues 194 words]

Your editorial against Question 7 says, "More people will use marijuana if it is legalized."

In 1999, the "Drug Czar" commissioned a study that found no evidence that the severity of laws has any effect on use rates. He wishes this data didn't exist.

You also say marijuana will be more available to young people. It's hard to imagine a scenario where marijuana is more available to young people than it already is. Eighty-six percent of high school students say marijuana is easy to obtain. When asked what substance is easiest to buy, almost twice as many students choose marijuana over alcohol.

[continues 132 words]

Students Comment on Question 7 One Week Before Election Day

The subject of marijuana has become an issue for public debate in recent years, though its use is not necessarily a recent occurrence.

In 2004, 771,605 people were arrested in marijuana-related situations, and many feel that these cases waste law enforcement agents' time that could be spent seeking out more "serious" criminals.

Because of this, politically minded individuals have placed initiatives on ballots to alleviate the situation either by legalizing or regulating it with the government's oversight.

[continues 633 words]