When Nevadans go to the polls on Nov. 5, they will find themselves on the national stage - right in the middle of the long-running battle over marijuana. Two years after they gave final approval to a measure that allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes (though a workable system for accomplishing that goal has yet to be developed), Nevadans this year are being asked to go a step further by decriminalizing the possession of less than 3 ounces of the drug altogether (selling it or providing it to children would still be illegal). [continues 459 words]
But Patients Fuming At Health Canada Over Supply Delays They may have come from a meadow in British Columbia -- or a well-lit basement in Brampton, Ont. But whatever their origins, two strains of marijuana have been selected, from hundreds of others, as possible candidates for clinical research in Health Canada's beleaguered program to investigate and supply cannabis as medicine. Both varieties pack a punch, sources say, with a level of THC, marijuana's key active ingredient, of 10 percent and up. The strains have been cloned to produce plants in large quantities. [continues 826 words]
An estimated 80,000 people packed Myrtle Edwards Park along Seattle's waterfront Saturday for the first day of Hempfest, a weekend festival aimed at changing the nation's marijuana laws. Seattle police were out in force for the event, but there was no shortage of joints, pipes or puffy clouds of pot. "This stuff never hurt nobody," said Bud Mack, 54, a Vietnam veteran who attended Hempfest with his daughter, Rainbow. Organizers said they expected a greater turnout than last summer, when 150,000 people attended. Hempfest is billed as the largest such event in the world, with protesters arguing for the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. [continues 377 words]
SANTA FE - Gov. Gary Johnson has appointed 20 people from various backgrounds to the Drug Enforcement Advisory Council. Among those named to the council include Johnson's general counsel Matthew Hoyt and state Department of Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Kelly Ward, a close adviser to Johnson. Others named to the board are: Jose Arguello of the state Attorney General's Office; Col. John Matanock of the New Mexico National Guard; New Mexico State Police Deputy Chief David Osuna; Steven Derr of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Mary Schumacher, a public health official with the state Department of Health; James Bearzi of the state Environment Department; District Attorney Matthew Sandoval of Las Vegas, N.M.; Danny Breuninger, representing tribal and pueblo police chiefs; Angela Pacheco-Chavez of the Office of Indian Affairs; Mark Edwards of the state Children, Youth and Families Department; Mark Radosevich, a representative of the Department of Corrections; Ray Rivera past president of the Drug Enforcement Advisory Council; Mark Rowley of the Motor Transportation Division; Scott Reidel of the state Public Defender's Office; Steve Dean, representing the FBI; Steve McCue of the federal Public Defender's Office; Assistant U.S. Attorney Rumaldo Armijo; and Los Alamos Police Chief Richard Melton. [end]
This time, reefer rebels not so dazed and confused In the fifth grade, one of the best things was the government-issue films on everything from flossing and hygiene to sexuality and interstellar space. Not only were they hilarious, but they were always a welcome reprieve from the monotony of class. I'll always remember the one about human genetic experiments that benefit humanity by giving them plantlike skin that turns sunlight into energy. Then there's the one about drugs. [continues 593 words]
A former Independence police officer was sentenced Wednesday to four years and nine months in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to rob supposed drug couriers. Brian McGarr, 42, and his brother, Scott McGarr, 41, both pleaded guilty in April. Scott McGarr, also a former police officer, awaits sentencing. The brothers planned to rob drug couriers who were actually two undercover federal agents. The sentencing range was 51 months to 63 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs opted for 57 months. [continues 302 words]
U.S. Should Think Twice About Taking On Insurgents With about as much finesse as a county fair shell-game operator, the Bush administration last week took the occasion of Congress' summer recess to change the rationale for U.S. policy in Colombia. What had been an intervention targeted at drug traffickers was transformed into full-bore U.S. support for new Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's aggressive approach to that country's 38-year-old civil war. The United States has provided some $1.7 billion in assistance to Colombian security forces since 1999, on the proposition that tighter government control of the country against the major rebel groups would lead to a reduction in the flow of narcotics from Colombia to the U.S. drug market. It hasn't worked. Exports of Colombian-origin drugs to the United States have increased during the period in question and the Colombian gangs have diversified from cocaine into heroin. [continues 358 words]
I notice you support competing with the U.S. for their world-record incarceration rate because "a majority of Canadians think our courts are not tough enough" (Aug. 16 editorial, Get off the justice pot). Yet you seem to disapprove of cannabis decriminalization, despite the fact a majority of Canadians support it. In answer to your "tough question" on detecting stoned drivers, the empirical evidence is conclusive: cannabis and alcohol are economic substitutes with cross-price elasticities. When cannabis use goes up, alcohol use goes down, resulting in a net decrease in drug-related traffic accidents. Economists Frank Chaloupka and Adit Laixuthai estimate that cannabis decriminalization would reduce youth traffic fatalities by 5.5%, youth drinking rates by 8% and binge drinking rates by 5%. Matthew M. Elrod (And other studies show the exact opposite.) [end]
A bill proposed by Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, would cause Ecstasy dealers to face the same penalties as heroin dealers. This is another example on the part of an elected official of either inexcusable ignorance or pandering to the public. According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only nine deaths were reported in which Ecstasy was involved during 1998, and other drugs were found along with Ecstasy in six of the nine. Compare that with 110,640 deaths from legal alcohol in 1996. [continues 281 words]
I wonder if Max Margolis ("Law would cut into rave scene," Aug. 10) has even read the RAVE Act (S2633). The proposed bill is deeply flawed and would unfairly punish business people for the crimes of their customers. It is a danger to innocent nightclub owners, concert promoters, landlords and real-estate managers. In addition to mandating stiff criminal penalties, the bill would allow the federal government to charge property owners civilly, enabling the government to fine businesses without having to meet the higher standard of proof in criminal cases. [continues 92 words]
Jerry Epstein's (The Daily News, Aug. 9) column on the failure of drug prohibition was right on target. The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country. Yet America is one of the few western countries that wastes resources punishing citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. [continues 112 words]
I have more than a few pet peeves. In fact, I'm something of a Humane Society for peeves. Waste would have to be one of the largest breeds I keep kenneled, along with hypocrisy. When one gets a mutt of both, that's a pet no one wants to adopt. Yet we see examples of it everywhere. For me the war on drugs always has been an offspring of waste and hypocrisy, as we spend billions of tax dollars to see few results in stemming the flow of illegal substances across our borders and through our streets. Our kids can buy drugs as easily as they can obtain alcohol or cigarettes, and without paying sales taxes. Every high-profile drug bust the nation's law enforcement officials hold up before the TV cameras represents an exponentially greater amount of contraband that flows unnoticed and uncontrolled. [continues 414 words]
