LORAIN COUNTY - Bath salts, sold over the counter but with the potential to become hallucinogens, are beginning to be a problem in 2the area, according to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office.

"Basically, what this stuff does is give you the effects of methamphetamine and LSD at the same time," said Detective Gregg Mehling of the Lorain County Drug Task Force.

Mehling said the bath salts can be purchased online or in stores. The danger involves the effect of the bath salts, which are typically snorted, but can also be smoked or injected, he said. In addition to hallucinations, bath salts also speed up the heart rate and respiration of users.

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On Sunday evening, 10 July 2011, Director Gil Kerlikowske of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) visited Portsmouth and hosted a town hall-style discussion on prescription drug abuse.

Fittingly, the meeting was held in the auditorium of the newly dedicated Second Chance Center, a facility that offers hope for people recovering from addiction.

Invited to sit on the panel with the Director of ONDCP were U.S. Senator Rob Portman, U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Chief Ken Parker, Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine, Director of Ohio's Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Orman Hall, Scioto County Health Commissioner Dr. Aaron Adams, and me.

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Two different groups are moving ahead with plans to put medical-marijuana issues to a statewide vote in Ohio next year.

While Cleveland billionaire Peter Lewis already had sent up smoke signals about organizing and funding a medical-marijuana ballot issue, another group quietly has been laying the groundwork for a constitutional amendment.

If approved by voters, the Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 would establish a regulatory system modeled after the Ohio State Liquor Control system. There would be an Ohio Commission of Cannabis Control, plus a state division and superintendent to run it. Marijuana purchases would require a doctor's prescription and would be subject to state and local sales taxes.

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Three years ago, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative that authorized doctor-approved patients to use marijuana for medical reasons. There is considerable scientific evidence that carefully limited use of the drug relieves suffering from such diseases as cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS. Despite opposition from social conservatives, Michiganians were sympathetic.

Yet the law has created big administrative and legal problems since it took effect. A few unscrupulous doctors have been happy to certify (for a fee) just about anyone to use medical marijuana.

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Designer Drug Linked to Three Area Deaths and Suspected in Two Others.

The designer drug marketed as "bath salts" is appearing statewide as an emerging drug trend, according to officials from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

"We are seeing it in some of the different regions, but it is hard for us to say just how big of a problem it is right now," said Brad DeCamp, the department's assistant chief of treatment and recovery services.

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Some Police Say It's Time for End

What became clear to me while speaking about marijuana legalization with volunteers of the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is that the argument is really about responsibility.

Are we as a society responsible for controlling what adults put into their own bodies? Or are individuals responsible for themselves? And is the Nixonian "war on drugs" -- now in its 40th year -- responsible for creating more problems than it solved?

No matter what your view on America's relationship with controlled substances, you probably have a ready, emotionally charged answer. Debates get heated fast and rational discussions are in short supply. Proponents of legalization are often assumed to be potheads looking for a legal high. Retired Cincinnati Police Capt. Howard Rahtz defies this preconception. He's a conservative and has no interest in using drugs but he supports legal, controlled and public sales of marijuana.

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In November 2008, a whopping 63% of Michigan's electorate affirmed that "modern medical research ... has discovered beneficial uses for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions."

Since then, however, various politicians, judges, prosecutors and cops have been attempting to convince all of those voters that they were bamboozled. A prevailing argument made by these naysayers is that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act is being abused by physicians and patients who recommend and/or use marijuana to alleviate pain.

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Recently, my son and I attended a great concert at The Q. However, when the band "fired up," so did a lot of patrons. I am speaking of marijuana, pot, weed, pick your poison. Never once did I see security.

At intermission, I went outside to legally smoke a cigarette. The security outside was like the Gestapo. We were treated horribly -- worse than crackheads in a dark alley.

I work in a job where I am subjected to drug tests. At what point does secondhand smoke put me at risk of failing one? We did not return to our seats.

If Cleveland is laying off professionally trained police officers, maybe they can be replaced by these rent-a-cop wannabes.

Laura Pennington, Akron

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Michigan medical-marijuana patients and the entrepreneurs who supply them with the drug say they're being driven underground by police raids.

Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C., held workshops around Michigan this month advising people how to avoid police attention and what they should -- or shouldn't say during a raid. The group considers the police actions in Michigan aggressive.

During a workshop at Ferndale's community center, Steph Sherer, executive director of the group, told people who operate dispensaries - -- people who sell the drug to medical users -- that they should expect at some point to see shouting drug agents with pointed guns.

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A substance that unexpectedly has appeared on the shelves at tobacco shops and drive-throughs has transformed into a trendy -- and legal -- way to get high.

But Ohio lawmakers are attempting to join at least 10 other states in banning the substance, which is marketed as a "bath salt" but has a different chemical composition than the aromatic salts meant to be poured into the tub.

Bath salts are sold for up to $80 each in plastic bags the size of tea bags and in canisters the size of a quarter with a simple warning -- "Not for consumption."

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ELYRIA -- Jose Reyes Ferriz, the internationally heralded former mayor of Juarez, Mexico, called "the most dangerous city in the world," told a largely Hispanic Lorain County audience yesterday morning ,"We're going to take Juarez back."

Reyes Ferriz brought his message to the 16th annual Hispanic Leadership Conference at Lorain County Community College.

Reyes Ferriz, now living in Washington, D.C., travels the U.S. and Latin America speaking and acting as a consultant informing governments about what can be done to battle the drug trade and battle cartels.

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Students lay on the Esplanade in front of the MAC Center and had their bodies outlined with chalk Monday.

Emily Haft, Students for Sensible Drug Policy president, said the goal of the demonstration was to bring awareness about the Mexican drug war and border violence.

"A lot of people who are not from the Southern states are not aware anything is happening in Mexico," said Haft, sophomore zoology major.

Every person outlined on the Esplanade represented 100 people killed in Mexico. SSDP's goal was to outline 350 people to represent the approximately 35,000 people who have died due to the drug war since 2006.

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The News Journal headlines of March 29 led with "Drug charges possible after TV Program" and upon further reading I was horrified to find that Shelby Police filed charges against the Oprah network because they actually showed the truth about drug addiction in America. It was real reporting, not the news we have been spoon fed by other media. It wasn't pretty, but it was real. Death and dependency are ugly, but the final result of a life of chemical dependency.

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In 2008, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment that legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, making their state one of more than a dozen that have done so. But the amendment didn't spell out how legalization would work, and state officials haven't done much better since. The people the law is intended to help deserve an improved approach.

Marijuana has been shown to ease the symptoms felt by patients who have glaucoma, cancer, and some other illnesses. There was widespread agreement among Michigan voters that legalization was an acceptable method of relieving these patients' suffering.

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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA - When someone hears "deployment" nowadays, Iraq or Afghanistan most likely comes to mind.

This isn't the case for New Philadelphia native U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Zachary Armstrong, assigned to the 673d Security Forces Squadron.

He recently returned from a six-month deployment to Curacao, an island in the Caribbean, in support of the drug interdiction.

Since May 1999, the United States has operated out of Curacao, a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, combating narco-terrorism. Previously, the United States flew these missions from Howard Air Force Base in Panama.

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The state and nation's excessive debt has progressively increased in recent years. Could legalizing marijuana be a solution?

Marijuana is the third-most-common recreational drug in America, after alcohol and tobacco, and the usage is steadily increasing, despite decades of anti-drug advertising campaigns. According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2009 there were 2.4 million persons aged 12 or older who had used marijuana for the first time within the previous 12 months. We levy sky-high taxes on alcohol and tobacco, so why are all these potheads getting their buzz on tax-free?

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LANCASTER -- Fairfield County Commissioner Steve Davis declared war on the county's opiate drug addiction problem at Tuesday's State of the County luncheon.

"We're asking the sheriff for enforcement ideas," he said. "I've asked juvenile (court) judge Steve Williams how we could better address the problem from the juvenile court standpoint and we've asked Job and Family Services what we can do to stem the tide of addiction."

Saying the commission must do all it can to fight opiate drug abuse, he said the commissioners will give a higher priority to the drug problem when devising the 2012 budget.

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I am astounded at all this talk about wanting to stop the abuse of narcotics, and how they want to help people. That's so typical.

I have tried repeatedly for more than a year to get help for a family member who has overdosed twice -- and has actually died and been on a respirator -- and no one would help me. I have written letters to judges; I wrote to the editor; and I have called the courts, and I can't get one person to direct me anywhere.

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With many social service programs, most taxpayers want to make sure of two things -- that the truly needy get the assistance and that no tax money goes to something outside of what it should.

But there's growing concern that state assistance payments are being used to fund illegal drug habits.

Enter State Sen. Tim Schaffer, a Lancaster Republican who represents part of Pickaway County. He again has proposed requiring a drug test for anyone seeking cash, medical, housing, food or energy assistance from the state of Ohio before they can receive any help. The bill excludes unemployment compensation from the testing requirement.

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Ohio Sen. Tim Schaffer recently introduced a bill that would establish drug-testing requirements for adults who receive public aid in the forms of cash, medical, housing, food or energy assistance. Schaffer said taxpayers' money used to help those in need should be spent on necessities, such as food and clothing, and not squandered on drugs.

This proposed bill has been hotly debated throughout the past week. Readers commented on the Tribune's online story, and there have been numerous discussions around dinner tables and water coolers.

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