"It is a battle law enforcement officials know they will never win." We can win. We can stop the corruption of the environment and the Mexican cartels' marijuana trade and all other illegal profiteers as well. Treat marijuana like we treat alcohol. Regulate its production, distribution and sales. It will end the criminal profits with a multitude of benefits and little risk to society. The cannabinoids chemical name for marijuana and its associated chemicals have been shown repeatedly to be extremely safe if used by responsible adults. They have considerable therapeutic benefits as well. Yes. We can win. Boulder Creek [end]
I was impressed to read the article on the environmental and social impacts of large-scale marijuana farming in our mountains. Hopefully, some people in our community will get an eye-opener that participating in the marijuana trade actually supports organized crime, violence and crimes against nature, and is incongruent with their "peace-loving" lifestyle. Joy Magi Santa Cruz [end]
SUMMIT -- Sheriff's patrol Sgt. Mark Yanez surveys the mess the pot farmers left behind: trash, empty propane tanks and gardening supplies. A blue jug of Power Force Multi Insect Killer and a paper sack with crumbly remains of ammonia sulfate are most damaging to the forest, he says. The high-yield chemical fertilizer is "real bad for the creek," Yanez says. Yanez will haul the pesticides and chemicals with him when he makes the 45-minute hike out Friday afternoon. But a camp stove, cans with Miracle-Gro residue, rat traps and miles of rubber irrigation tubing will stay, for now, on public land off Highland Way near Soquel Demonstration Forest. [continues 713 words]
A pot-smoking billionaire in Cleveland has bankrolled nearly all the $32,000 raised for the ballot measure to make marijuana crimes the lowest priority for Santa Cruz police. Mega-donor Peter Benjamin Lewis, 71, chairman of the Cleveland-based Progressive Insurance Corp., is known in political circles as a leftist who gives millions to liberal causes and anti-war movements - -- in the same league as his friend, financier George Soros. The two are the country's biggest contributors to liberal candidates and causes such as marijuana legalization, gay rights and the environment. [continues 480 words]
Members vote 3-2 in favor of a ban on medical dispensaries, but four votes were required. The proposal could be brought back. A proposed ordinance that would have denied business licenses to dispensaries of medical marijuana stalled at this week's Torrance City Council meeting, falling one vote short of passage. The council, normally a seven-member panel, was down to five Tuesday night. As a result, the final vote was 3-2 in favor of keeping licenses out of the hands of businesses that violate federal law. [continues 489 words]
A Santa Cruz police officer would be forced to crack down on littering before arresting someone for selling pot to an adult in a private parking lot if a ballot measure to make marijuana crimes the lowest priority for police becomes law. The littering scenario was cited in a letter from City Attorney John Barisone to the City Council this month that warns of possible legal tangles the city could face if an ordinance is adopted that eases up on adult marijuana offenses. [continues 474 words]
SANTA CRUZ A federal judge will decide if medical marijuana patients and a proposed city-owned dispensary should be protected from federal prosecution. American Civil Liberties Union attorneys and other lawyers presented arguments to a San Jose federal court Friday in a case aimed at forcing the U.S. government to recognize California's 10-year-old medical marijuana law and to allow Santa Cruz to establish an Office of Compassionate Use the nation's first government-owned medical pot shop. [continues 399 words]
In a 6-1 vote Tuesday night, the Santa Cruz City Council denied two appeals aiming to halt opening the city's second medical marijuana dispensary. The dispensary was unanimously approved by the city Planning Commission in April; that approval was challenged and the matter brought before the council. On Tuesday, several neighbors and business owners from the Harvey West neighborhood voiced concerns over parking, lighting and litter removal. Most in the overflow crowd at the meeting, however, spoke in favor of the shop. [continues 75 words]
Money and marijuana are on the November ballot. County Clerk Gail Pellerin announced Tuesday that the required number of signatures had been collected for two initiatives -- one that would boost the minimum wage to $9.25 an hour in the city of Santa Cruz and an another that would make marijuana offenses the lowest priority of the Santa Cruz Police Department. Two community groups -- Working Alliance for a Just Economy and Santa Cruz Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Policy -- turned in some 6,000 signatures to county elections officials in April, more than the 3,300 signatures of registered city voters needed to qualify the issues for the ballot. [continues 539 words]
Scotts Valley May Not D.A.R.E. Anymore. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which aims to instruct school children in the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs and violence through police officer-led classroom lessons, will not take place in Scotts Valley Unified School Districts next school year. Founded in 1983 in Los Angeles, D.A.R.E. is now implemented in 75 percent of the nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. [continues 406 words]
Some time ago, a medical marijuana clinic was opened in Santa Cruz with the stated intention of giving compassionate help to people with debilitating medical conditions who have symptoms that were not relieved by any other medication. And there are such people. As time went on, the amount of marijuana that a person could get at any one time was increased. As for oversight -- is there any at all? How are these people running the dispensary accountable? Recently, another individual has applied to open still another dispensary, possibly in the Harvey West area. There are not that many people who have debilitating conditions that can't be helped by any other means. Why should we have another place? [continues 378 words]
A 27-year-old Castroville man is dead after being taken off life support at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, a week after he was stunned with a Taser twice by Monterey County sheriff's deputies on top of a roof in Castroville. Jaime Coronel, who was known at Moss Landing Middle School and North Monterey County High School as Johnny Teran, suffered a heart attack and was declared brain dead earlier this week. His mother, Elvira Teran, took him off life support on Tuesday afternoon at a doctor's urging. [continues 547 words]
An area medical marijuana cooperative should be free from harassment by federal agents as should the city's recently enacted ordinance that would establish a compassionate use office for the drug, an amended federal court complaint filed this week contends. Attorneys for the city and county of Santa Cruz and the Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana filed the amended complaint in U.S. District Court in San Jose. It is basically an updated version of a lawsuit filed in 2003. [continues 420 words]
A San Francisco assemblyman is expected to take up the controversial issue of legalizing hemp for commercial growing when he presents the bill before the Assembly's Public Safety Committee today in Sacramento. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is scheduled to bring the bill forward this afternoon, arguing that California farmers are losing out to 30 other countries, including Canada, where hemp can be grown. Many Pajaro Valley farmers are backing the bill, AB 1147, which was introduced last year in November and could well make it to the Assembly floor in a matter of weeks. [continues 489 words]
DESPITE A VARIETY OF EFFORTS, DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE REMAINS AN ISSUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE It has long been a mystery: Why do so many local kids take to medicating themselves with alcohol and drugs? The yearly Community Assessment Project sponsored by the United Way of Santa Cruz County was released late last week, and it showed an increase in teen substance use -- as well as an increase in smoking. There are few surprises in the report. In other areas, such as health care, employment and housing, it gives a look at Santa Cruz County that shows a community suffering from high housing prices, but one with good education and an economy that seems to be steady. [continues 441 words]
The state approved a policy this week that opens the door for medical marijuana distributors to collect and pay state sales tax. The policy, while requiring marijuana retailers to feed state coffers just like department stores or any other California retailer, also considers their unique fear of being targeted by federal authorities because of legal questions surrounding their product. While California approved medical marijuana in 1996, it remains illegal under federal law. Under the new policy passed by the state Board of Equalization, businesses can get what is known as a sellers permit, allowing them to collect sales tax, without indicating whether their merchandise is lawful to sell. [continues 460 words]
SANTA CRUZ- - Some city leaders want to sell medical marijuana to ill residents by creating a new department within the city: an Office of Compassionate Use, with a five-member advisory commission and the capacity to archive patient records. The office would provide the drug to people suffering from serious illnesses who have a note from their doctor. "I see it as a real opportunity to do something that can help people," Councilwoman Emily Reilly said Monday. The city has long struggled with balancing strict federal marijuana laws with looser state and local laws. [continues 559 words]
Misdemeanor pot possession charges against local medical marijuana advocate Valerie Corral were dropped Thursday, but the fight isn't completely over. Aided by the American Civil Liberties Union, Corral said she will battle to get back the confiscated pot and seek a change in how the city of Burbank addresses medical marijuana laws. Corral was charged July 27 for possessing a small amount, about 5 grams, of pot while passing through security at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. She along with husband Mike are co-founders of the Santa Cruz-based Wo/mens Alliance for Medical Marijuana. [continues 239 words]
SANTA CRUZ - The pungent odor of marijuana wafted through the office Wednesday as the city's first medical marijuana dispensary opened. "Finally," sighed owner Lisa Molyneux, a Boulder Creek resident who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1997. Molyneux has worked 14 months for the necessary city permits and approvals to start Greenway Compassionate Relief Inc. The City Council, faced with almost no public opposition, gave Molyneux its unanimous approval in July. Molyneux said she's spent about $100,000 to start the business, including monthly rent for the 5,000-square-foot office and arranging security. [continues 473 words]
The effects of incarceration on kids? Grant writers talk of things like "intergenerational patterns of criminal behavior." But in short - according to one 15-year-old county teen - it "sucks." It means taking off your shoes to go through metal detectors to see your dad, and sitting in a room with other inmates, said the teen, who spoke to the Sentinel on the condition he remain anonymous. It means "kickin' with your dad, you know father-and-son," and getting reacquainted only to see him return to prison. [continues 431 words]
Inexpensive Drug Appears Harder To Kick Than Others Jan Tice has a story about methamphetamine addiction. The director of Janus of Santa Cruz, a substance abuse treatment center, tells his story of a meth addict who lost his business, almost lost his daughter and was a gun-click away from losing his life. This particular gentleman owned a card room and bar. And he employed a bouncer who was with a biker gang. "I was using cocaine," Tice said. "He (the bouncer) introduced me to meth. He said it was a better high and it would last longer." [continues 2179 words]
Serious And Not-So-Serious Issues Highlight Local Pot Club's Festival SANTA CRUZ - He's smoked pot since he was 14. Eighty-four-year-old George Van Vlaenderen's early experiences with marijuana were in the mid-1930s, before its use was prohibited by federal law. Now, smoking the drug relieves eye pressure caused by his cataracts, the World War II veteran Navy pilot said. He stood in the sunshine near a members-only smoking tent at the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana gathering Saturday and shared his thoughts. [continues 401 words]
County Medical Marijuana Limits Not Without Its Critics SANTA CRUZ -- Roughly one year after the county established possession limits for medical marijuana users, the policy is getting mixed reviews. Medical pot advocates say the policy is working and they feel more at ease when their medicine is on them. Deputies say the policy has put a "black mark" on the medical marijuana movement. Fewer calls of concern are coming from patients, said Valerie Corral, co-founder of the Santa Cruz-based Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. [continues 601 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- A well-known local medical marijuana advocate is considering a lawsuit after getting caught with the drug at a Southern California airport in late July. Valerie Corral said she was at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank when security officials found about "5 or so grams" of pot in her bag. She had a Santa Cruz County medical identification card and a doctor's recommendation, she said. That didn't keep her from being detained for about 45 minutes, having her pot taken and getting a citation. [continues 279 words]
Third Annual Event Allows Co-op to Focus on Positive SANTA CRUZ -- Picking up the phone at her Westside office, Valerie Corral was a little preoccupied. The co-founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana was trying to hunt down a 33-year-old member of the group who's ill with breast cancer. And homeless. "They get ill and they're not able to make rent," said Corral with an air of familiarity with these kinds of situations. [continues 345 words]
Residents across the county are joining Neighborhood National Night Out events Tuesday, celebrating efforts to give crime and drugs a going-away party. For more than 20 years, National Night Out has encouraged people to participate in planned neighborhood events in a show of solidarity against crime. The activities also seek to increase participation in anti-crime measures, such as neighborhood watch groups. This year Capitola, Watsonville, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley police departments and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office are sponsoring events. [continues 346 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- Seriously ill patients who need marijuana to ease their pain should soon be able to buy the drug at a dispensary in the city. Plans by Boulder Creek resident Lisa Molyneux to open a medical marijuana dispensary on DuBois Street in the Harvey West Business Park were unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday. "There will always be something too complicated and too cumbersome to deal with," Councilwoman Emily Reilly said. "We should move forward, stay conscious and aware and responsive." [continues 342 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- The city nationally recognized as a medical-marijuana booster-- including a law on the books sympathetic to the cause since 2000 - -- may soon see its first medical-marijuana shop. A proposal for a medical marijuana outlet on DuBois Street in the Harvey West Business Park sailed through the Planning Commission. Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday night, with members Deanna Purnell and William Schultz absent, to approve a special-use permit for Boulder Creek resident Lisa Molyneux to operate Greenway, a medical marijuana dispensary. [continues 559 words]
S.C. Mayor Declares July 16 Medical Marijuana Day SANTA CRUZ -- It was short on floats and balloons. But Saturday's downtown procession of medical marijuana users and their supporters was long on clarity. Several hundred members and friends of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana rode in wheelchairs or walked slowly up Pacific Avenue, most of them holding signs with headshot photos of deceased loved ones who had counted on relief from medical marijuana during their final months or years. [continues 489 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- Every time Lisa Molyneux makes the 150-mile round-trip to Oakland to buy medical marijuana, the Boulder Creek resident wonders why she can't find a safe place to buy closer to home. Molyneux, diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1997, has relied on marijuana to ease nausea caused by radiation treatment, and to stimulate a diminished appetite. Even now, with her cancer in remission, Molyneux, 45, said she smokes pot a few nights a week to help her sleep. [continues 567 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- Members of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana plan a July 16 march through downtown Santa Cruz -- while carrying some pot plants. The group hopes to attract 1,000 like-minded supporters to participate in the noon march down Pacific Avenue as a protest against an adverse U.S. Supreme Court ruling and recent raids of medical marijuana operations in Northern California. WAMM wants to make the statement that people who use marijuana as medicine have legitimate health reasons, they are not just a bunch of potheads and the general public supports the use of marijuana as medicine. [continues 206 words]
For a little more than a year, members of the Santa Cruz-based Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana have run what is, in effect, the only legal medical pot farm in the country. The garden's safe status is now in peril after Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted by the federal government. The 6-3 decision reverses a 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision in 2003 that allowed for medical marijuana use so long as no money changed hands and the marijuana crossed no state lines. California and nine other states have versions of a law that allow people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. [continues 1090 words]
Don't Expect To Burn One Down, It's A Meet-And-Greet Event SANTA CRUZ -- If you've got the munchies, DeLaveaga Park is the place to be Saturday. From noon to 5 p.m. at Lone Tree picnic area, marijuana supporters will meet for the local celebration of the Million Marijuana March. There, the UC Santa Cruz chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and Students for Sensible Drug Policy will host a barbecue they hope will be an opportunity for members of the local marijuana community to come together and meet each other. [continues 365 words]
U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, joined U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., this week to highlight legislative efforts to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest. Farr is an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act, which Frank introduced this week. The bill would ensure that medical marijuana patients, as well as doctors and pharmacists, in states with medical marijuana laws would not be subject to prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act for state authorized medical marijuana activities. [continues 52 words]
Berry Grower Wants U.S. Farmers to Reap Benefits of Hemp's Value WATSONVILLE -- George Washington grew it. And so did Thomas Jefferson. It's hemp, and now Watsonville organic strawberry farmer Vanessa Bogenholm would like to grow it as a profitable cover crop when her berries are not in season -- and she took her case to Sacramento on Wednesday. She tried to convince the Assembly's Agriculture Committee that nothing but fear and a lack of education stand behind the legalization of this controversial, yet misunderstood plant. [continues 634 words]
Well, Farr out. U.S. Rep. Sam Farr's efforts in the nation's Capitol on medical marijuana policy has garnered the Central Coast congressman an honor from a national advocacy group. Farr, D-Carmel, is set to be honored by the Marijuana Policy Project when it celebrates its 10th anniversary May 4 in Washington, D.C. "He has stood up and taken the lead," said Bruce Mirken, the organization's spokesman. "When someone has taken the lead, we think they deserve some recognition." [continues 347 words]
SANTA CRUZ - Move over, strawberries? Step aside, lettuce? OK, that's probably an exaggeration. The top cash crops of the Central Coast likely won't be supplanted in economic importance, but the distant cousin of one of the area's more illicit crops could hold promise for the state's farmers: hemp. Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, is pushing a bill that would allow California farmers to grow industrial hemp. That comes about a year after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the federal government did not have the authority to regulate hemp under the 1970 Controlled Substance Act. [continues 641 words]
The Marijuana Policy Project, a marijuana advocacy group, will honor Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, May 4 in Washington, D.C. Farr has led efforts in Congress to protect medical marijuana patients from federal prosecution, including supporting the 2003 States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act. Television talk show host Montel Williams also will be honored at the event. Williams, who uses marijuana to treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis, visited Capitol Hill and the New York Legislature to advocate for medical marijuana patients who appeared on his show. A second gala May 9 will recognize actor and comedian Tommy Chong. [end]
Scales, Big Cash Rolls Have Deputies Skeptical Of Some Medical Claims SANTA CRUZ -- The county's Marijuana Enforcement Team says it is up to its ears in questionable medical-marijuana cards as it tries to weed out card carriers who abuse the system by selling pot for profit. Deputies have arrested five men at two Santa Cruz homes in the past week, four of whom had medical-marijuana cards yet also had items associated with drug dealing, said sheriff's Sgt. Steve Carney. [continues 562 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- A 34-year-old Santa Cruz man faces a possible life sentence under the state's "three strikes" law after jurors Wednesday convicted him of selling methamphetamine. Jurors deliberated about eight hours before finding Jaime Aguilar Chavez guilty of possessing drugs, conspiracy and drug sales, said Ariadne Symons, head of trial operations for the District Attorney's Office. Chavez was arrested Jan. 8, 2004, and accused of possessing almost 5 pounds of methamphetamine, Symons said. "We don't see drugs at this level very often," Symons said. "It's a very good victory for our community, and it was a very difficult case due to the cagey way these drugs are sold. It was a circumstantial case based on phone calls and other evidence, and (prosecutor) George Dunlap did an excellent job." [continues 226 words]
This past week, I traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the Supreme Court hearing in which the legal fate of WAMM, the 8-year-old Santa Cruz medical marijuana cooperative, will be decided. The case argued was Raich v. Ashcroft, a medical-marijuana case out of Oakland. Like WAMM, Angel Raich had successfully argued in federal court in San Francisco that she was entitled to an injunction against the attorney general of the United States, John Ashcroft, and his Drug Enforcement Agency. The injunction in both cases prohibited the federal government from interfering with the patient's cultivation, possession and use of medical marijuana. While WAMM's case was the first brought at the trial-court level, the Raich case was the first ruled on and thus was the case that went to the Supreme Court on appeal, leaving WAMM waiting for the court's ruling. If Raich wins, WAMM wins. Should Raich lose? [continues 1081 words]
Ruling Could Legalize Local Marijuana Farm SANTA CRUZ - The eyes of the area's medical marijuana community will be on the nation's capital this week. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to weigh the extent of the federal government's authority in enforcing marijuana laws in states that have approved it for medical use. Whatever the court decides in Raich v. Ashcroft would have a major impact on the Santa Cruz-based cooperative Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. [continues 605 words]
COUNTY - Monday marks the start of Red Ribbon Week, and events to commemorate the week will be held in Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley. Red Ribbon Week was launched in response to the 1985 murder of federal drug agent Enrique Camarena in Mexico and honors the fight against drugs and promotes healthy communities. The first Red Ribbon campaign was organized in 1986 by parents wishing to combat the destruction caused by alcohol and drug abuse, Santa Cruz police officer Jim Howes said. [continues 302 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- A proposed county ordinance outlining the amounts of pot that medical marijuana patients can possess could go further, but is a good law that deserves support, a leading area activist on the issue said Friday. The Board of Supervisors will consider a proposed ordinance Tuesday that would allow patients to keep 3 pounds of pot on hand, and even more if a doctor recommends it. The ordinance would need a second round of approval to become law. The ordinance allows for possession of 3 pounds and, for growing purposes, a 100-square-foot garden canopy. The rules are based on suggestions from a team of physicians led by Dr. George Wolfe, who crafted the guidelines at the request of the Board of Supervisors. [continues 380 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- Enrico Mellone uses marijuana in his battle against cancer and Crohn's disease. He doesn't belong to a medical marijuana cooperative. Up until now, he hasn't grown it himself. Sometimes he goes to buyers' clubs in Oakland, but finds that to be expensive and the product low-grade. So when the county Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday that allows medical patients to possess 3 pounds of pot and keep a garden with a 100-square-foot canopy, Mellone and others like him who rely on the marijuana were pleased. [continues 610 words]
Hemp-food sellers praise FDA for ending legal food fight Santa Cruz retailers Monday hailed the federal government's decision not to pursue a ban on food made with or from the controversial hemp plant. The decision comes three years after the Bush administration tried to stop sales of food made with hemp, which contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannobinol, or THC, the mind-altering chemical in marijuana. "It seems ridiculous to me that it shouldn't be legal," said Kiona Pfeiffer, a vitamin sales clerk at Staff of Life Natural Foods Market in Santa Cruz. [continues 489 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- Hundreds of people drifted in and out of San Lorenzo Park on Sunday to help the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana commemorate the two year anniversary of a federal raid on the group's medicinal marijuana garden in Davenport. "At around noon on this day two years ago, we were already in jail in a federal facility in San Jose," said Michael Corral, who co-founded WAMM with his wife, Valerie. But on Sunday, he and his wife were celebrating the regrowth of their garden, the support of the Santa Cruz community and the fight to get the feds to recognize marijuana's medical benefits and stop arresting medicinal marijuana patients at the Santa Cruz WAMMFEST 2004. [continues 132 words]
Santa Cruz - County attorneys are expected to submit an ordinance by October outlining the amounts of medical marijuana patients in the county may possess. Meanwhile, county planners are grappling with the issue of where medical pot dispensaries may be placed in the county. With little discussion, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed county counsel to craft an ordinance that would allow patients to possess 3 pounds of pot and maintain a 100-foot canopy of plants. Canopy is a measure of leaf coverage in a given area. Experts say using canopy as a measure, rather than the number of plants, is a better method as it accounts for large plants. [continues 276 words]
Santa Cruz -- Medical-marijuana patients in Santa Cruz County would be allowed to possess 3 pounds of pot under guidelines recommended by a group of physicians. No kidding - 3 pounds. As in, 48 ounces. While that amount might even make Cheech and Chong blush at first glance, doctors and patients alike say it's appropriate for medicinal purposes. Three pounds over the course of a year is understandable when a chronically ill person is trying to avoid such medicines as pharmaceutical opiates, said Valerie Corral of the Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana. [continues 498 words]
Local educators and law enforcement are lamenting the loss of DARE programs in the county, the victim of lean economic times and changing attitudes. Since 1991, the county Sheriff's Office had been sending deputies into classrooms to spread the drug-prevention message behind DARE, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Deputy April Murray visited about a dozen elementary schools last year, showing kids the consequences of using drugs and teaching them ways to say no. Drug and substance abuse "is a problem in Santa Cruz County, just like any other county," Murray said. [continues 540 words]
