Emergency ban gives city time to deal with complex issue You can't sell marijuana in Taft now, even if it's for medicinal purposes. The Taft City Council passed an emergency ordinance last week to ban the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries for the next 45 days. Chief of Police Bert Pumphrey requested the emergency ordinance, which went into effect immediately and required a four-fifths vote of the council. The ordinance prohibits the current businesses from providing the drug as well as the opening of a business for the purpose of dispensing marijuana. [continues 313 words]
Dispensary: The City Says It Violates Land-Use Ordinances; the Owners Plan to Fight the Ruling. NORCO - Owners of a medical marijuana collective have vowed to keep the dispensary open despite a legal challenge from the city. Collective Solution opened Dec. 1 on a stretch of Sixth Street known for veterinary clinics and animal feed stores. Owner Ken Andersen said he and his partners opened the dispensary after a 45-day moratorium on the businesses ended. "When the moratorium expired, we rented this building, applied for a business license and started signing up patients," Andersen said. [continues 279 words]
Ranks Fifth in Seizures Under State Eradication Program The devious mountain landscape almost masked a big mystery from a random hiker who stumbled upon 1,500 marijuana plants one day in July. While it was a significant find, sheriff's deputies familiar with the rugged terrain ventured farther into the Angelus Oaks woods and found about 53,000 more plants, one of the largest busts in county history. It's been a good year for San Bernardino County law enforcement in terms of marijuana plant seizures. The Sheriff's Department found and removed more than 97,000 plants, the most since 1991. And the county ranked fifth in the state for plants seized with the assistance of a state eradication group. [continues 652 words]
San Francisco joined other cities such as Oakland, Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, and Seattle that have passed similar legislation to make marijuana arrests a low priority in a quite move on December 1, World AIDS Day. The bill was overwhelmingly supported by the Board of Supervisors by an 8-3 vote on November 21 and passed a second vote 7-3 on November 28 before being sent to Mayor Gavin Newsom. "I feel really good about it. It's a policy that's endorsed by a majority of San Franciscans, reflecting what they feel about the issue," said Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who authored the legislation. [continues 346 words]
Gilroy - Redemption is a faraway thing for many Gilroy teens. South County's deliquents face long drives or even longer bus rides to San Jose programs that wean them from drugs and help dim their rage, programs they can't find closer to home. To twist the old adage, South County has its pound of teen crime, but barely an ounce of prevention. "Young people in Gilroy who are trying to correct the problems in their lives have to go 30 miles north to San Jose or 30 miles south to Salinas, in order to overcome their problems. Problems they experienced in Gilroy," said Timoteo Vasquez, a youth organizer working with Communities United in Prevention, a grassroots coalition in Gilroy. [continues 739 words]
Meth Deaths on the Rise, 2006 Statistics Show Humboldt County is poised to tie a grim statistic: the record set in 2003 for drug overdose deaths. That year, there were 50 deaths, 18 times the national average of 2.2 per 100,000 population. With a few days left in 2006, there are 46 confirmed drug overdose deaths in the county this year, said Humboldt County Coroner Frank Jager on Wednesday. "But that's not the whole story," he said. Another three or four possible overdoses are still awaiting toxicology screening, he said. So the total could be around 49. [continues 127 words]
A Group of Kings Beach Teens Will Become Movie Producers, Actors and Camera Operators This January -- All in an Effort to Educate the Community About the Dangers of Methamphetamine. In November, Placer County handed out six grants totaling $10,781 for production of a DVD for the county's campaign "It's a Fact: Meth is our Problem." Sierra High School in Truckee received one of the grants, while Kings Beach-based Creciendo Unidos, which focuses on providing alcohol- and drug-free activities for Latino youth, received another. [continues 650 words]
More than half of Vallejo fifth-graders questioned don't feel safe at school and, in some cases, outside of school, a California Healthy Kids Survey has found. Even more students in higher grades said they feel unsafe at school - - 59 percent of seventh-graders, and more than two-thirds of freshmen and juniors. Also, the survey found a growing percentage of students are drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Slightly more than 10 percent of freshmen and juniors said they've participated in binge drinking - having five or more drinks within a few hours. [continues 555 words]
San Francisco -- Kevin Reed launched his medical marijuana business two years ago, armed with big dreams and an Excel spreadsheet. Happy customers at his Green Cross cannabis club were greeted by "bud tenders" and glass jars brimming with high-quality weed at red-tag prices. They hailed the slender, gentle Southerner as a ganja good Samaritan. Though Reed set out to run it like a Walgreens, his tiny storefront shop ended up buzzing with jazzy joie de vivre. Turnover was Starbucks-style: On a good day, $30,000 in business would walk through the black, steel-gated front door. [continues 1926 words]
Few cases illustrate the senseless cruelty of California's sentencing laws than the case of Annette Imboden. In September 1998, the former mental patient with a history of drug abuse was given a life sentence for stealing from family friends. At the time of her offense, Annette had relapsed into a depression-driven cocaine binge that resulted from a broken romance. Annette was sentenced under California's rigidly constructed "three strikes" law because of a prior instance of burglary and check fraud. [continues 621 words]
SANTA CLARITA -- Specialists who work with local kids in therapeutic programs and in the schools say drug and alcohol use among teens and adolescents is skewing younger and younger. Statistics are hard to come by, but workers in the trenches say more 13- and 14-year-olds are paying a price for tangling with off-limits substances. "We're getting called more and more by the middle schools to do drug tests for kids and we're coming in and doing early interventions on kids a lot," said Cary Quashen, founder of the nonprofit ACTION parent and teen support program. "We're finding pot, alcohol, and over-the-counter drugs like (cough medicine) seem to be real big with young people." [continues 912 words]
I must object to Ms. Stanford's Dec. 16 letter for several reasons ("Keep fighting marijuana laws"). Regardless of what the San Diego County Board of Supervisors does or doesn't do, young people will experiment with marijuana and other kinds of stimulation, legal or not, because they are young people and crave adventure. It would presumably be less expensive to obey state law and print ID cards for medically certified patients than to pay legal fees to appeal an ill-designed measure that has been rejected twice by a Superior Court judge. [continues 131 words]
Regarding your Dec. 10 article "Patients say they'll appeal to county over medical marijuana law," I applaud the Board of Supervisors' legal action and I hope they will continue to protect our young people and the public by seeking legal relief from SB420, an ill-conceived legislative bill. SB420 forces San Diego County to spend our tax dollars to create the marijuana ID card program. The county should not be involved in an expensive and fraudulent program. San Diego County's Health Department has the responsibility to provide for the best public health measures available, and smoking a plant is not it. [continues 89 words]
A 32,500-plant medical marijuana garden grown in plain sight along a Lake County highway in 2004 cannot be used as evidence in a federal case against high-profile marijuana activist Charles "Eddy" Lepp, a federal judge has ruled. "The biggest bust in the history of the DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) just did go up in smoke," Lepp said. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel has ruled that evidence seized in 2004 must be disallowed because the warrant used in the police raid failed to identify the evidence to be seized, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Luke Macaulay. [continues 374 words]
Governor Backs One Good First Step: A Sentencing Commission A federal district court judge would have been justified last week in moving toward capping the number of inmates in the state's prisons and ordering some of them released. The state's cramped and wasteful prisons are a mess, and the governor and legislators have proven incapable of fixing them. Gov. Schwarzenegger in effect admitted as much when he declared an official emergency in October and ordered that some inmates -- only a handful of volunteers so far -- be transferred to private, out-of-state prisons. [continues 534 words]
I respectfully challenge the Times' editorial coverage of the meth problem. A docudrama, moving youngsters to tears, is touted as an effective tool of prevention and endorsed by members of law enforcement. I disagree with your summation, as do the members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). I invite the Times to critique a video from LEAP at http:/leap.cc/. Listen to ranking members of state and federal drug task forces telling audiences why they no longer support the war on drugs. LEAP's video provides rational insights for responsible solutions to drug abuse rather than a flashy sequel to "Reefer Madness." [continues 78 words]
DONALD TRUMP has figured out that America is addicted to addiction stories. With Tara Conner, the current Miss USA, you see the pattern with red-white-and-blue efficiency: Young hottie works hard, makes it, parties too hard, is seen bouncing half-naked on Fox News every 20 minutes, middle-aged male solons on same network tut-tut young babe's immorality, and when that gets old even for middle-aged men, she enters rehab. Yes, this is the age of the short- attention span scandal. Over-achievers hit rock bottom before they're 21. [continues 440 words]
Council Voted to Take Action Against CannaHelp Last Week in Closed Session PALM DESERT - A Palm Desert medical marijuana dispensary is staying open despite a cease-and-desist letter the city issued on Tuesday ordering it to close. The letter was issued to CannaHelp at 73-350 El Paseo after an undercover police officer "who did not have correct credentials to buy medical marijuana" bought some there, according to city officials and as reported Tuesday on thedesertsun.com. Owner Stacy Hochanadel sent his employees home Tuesday, but he stayed behind with a few volunteers. Hochanadel said his attorney has advised him that it's a civil matter and that he cannot be arrested if he stays open. [continues 406 words]
Tom Riley's response on behalf of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to calls for cannabis to be regulated is a non sequitur at best. He uses examples of the failures associated with control of coca in Colombia and opiates in Afghanistan in an attempt to support the same failed prohibition policies for cannabis in this country. His logic makes as little sense as allowing criminals to control the markets for dangerous drugs. David Lane Santa Cruz [end]
Re "Pot Is Called Biggest Cash Crop," Dec. 18 No doubt the report is accurate, but its "real" market value would be much smaller should marijuana be legalized. Prohibition is an effective price-support program. Other economic effects would be loss of income for the law enforcement and prison/industrial complex, as well as competition against the pharmaceutical companies' products. Gerald M. Sutliff Bakersfield [end]
The Taft City Council will consider an emergency ordinance to stop anyone from opening up a medical marijuana-dispensing business in the city. Chief of Police Bert Pumphrey is asking the council to approve the proposal to allow the city to draw up long-term policies to address the issue of selling marijuana for medical purposes. The council would have to approve any ordinance by a four-fifths vote. The council will vote on the issue at the regularly scheduled council meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center Council chambers. [continues 127 words]
Epicurean Delights, a local medical-marijuana dispensary located on West Ridgecrest Boulevard, closed its doors, but the circumstances of the closing are unclear. The business opened its doors in July. The closure comes at a time when the Ridgecrest City Council is considering an ordinance regulating the operation of such facilities. Some believed the facility was closed as a result of action by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. DEA Public Information Officer Special Agent Casey McEnry said the federal agency did not conduct an enforcement operation at that location. [continues 385 words]
HAYWARD -- A week after federal agents put a quick end to one downtown Hayward medical marijuana clinic, the Hayward City Council will decide today what to do about the only other pot club in town. The council is scheduled to vote on whether to extend its three-year operating agreement with the Hayward Patients Resource Center. The agreement with the Foothill Boulevard dispensary expires Dec. 31, and the club would be forced to close if the council does not extend the agreement. [continues 317 words]
Regarding "County to Appeal Medical-Marijuana Ruling" (Local, Dec. 14): I just learned the county Board of Supervisors has voted to appeal the court's rejection of its frivolous lawsuit against the state concerning medical marijuana. Proposition 215 is called the Compassionate Use Act, and our supervisors are proving they don't have any compassion for sick and suffering people. They apparently don't have any passion for doing their job either, because they are not representing their constituents. Supervisors Bill Horn, Dianne Jacob and Pam Slater-Price have their own agenda, and it is not in the best interests of the majority of people in their own districts. And they have the gall to think they can force their will on the entire state. [continues 76 words]
Officials Stall On Program While Legal Challenges Resolved It's been 15 months since California's counties were given the OK to roll out a state-mandated medical marijuana identification card program, and so far two-dozen counties have done so. Ventura County isn't among them. Legal wrangling over the law prompted the county to put a halt to creating its own program. "We decided to take a prudent and practical approach to this," Public Health Director Linda Henderson said. "We're waiting until all legal issues are resolved." [continues 536 words]
SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Schwarzenegger's administration is considering moving Proposition 36 drug treatment funding into a new program that requires counties to put up $1 for every $9 they receive. At present, counties don't have to provide money for implementing the voter-approved initiative requiring treatment instead of prison for first- and second-time drug offenders. The funding shift is one of many ideas under consideration as Schwarzenegger makes the final decisions on the budget proposal he'll present in January. [continues 325 words]
Medicinal Pot Cards Will Likely Be Issued in February Merced County will begin issuing identification cards for medical marijuana users after a state judge recently rejected its challenge to California's medical marijuana law. The Board of Supervisors announced the decision Tuesday, saying the county would not appeal the week-old ruling. "After reviewing a number of options and having received the ruling from the court, we are now positioned to move forward with the implementation of (a medical marijuana identification card) program," board chairman Mike Nelson said. [continues 800 words]
Since the war on drugs began some $47 billion a year is reserved from federal, state, and local treasuries to combat the so-called menace that encompasses the trafficking, sales, and use of drugs directly affecting the citizens of the United States of America. This obviously reflects the government's view on the subject of drug abuse and related activities as very grave indeed. It is apparently serious enough to lawmakers who deem it necessary to spend that insane amount of tax money, and commit entire agencies of human resources annually in an attempt to try and bring the problem to a halt. The trouble is that through all the searches and seizures, television campaign ads, and mandatory minimum sentencing there is no end in sight and it seems to have fueled a kind of evolution in the world of mind altering substances. [continues 728 words]
A New Wave of Addiction Treatment Centers Is Turning Malibu into the Capital of Luxury Rehab -- and Raising Questions About Whether Five-Star Service and Recovery Mix. MALIBU, Calif. -- Each sumptuous bed here at a retreat called Promises has been fitted with Frette linens and a cashmere throw. The elongated pool beckons as does the billiard room beyond, tucked into the Santa Monica mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But not just anyone can come to this exclusive getaway -- and really, not many would want to. Promises is an addiction-treatment center that caters to a mix of celebrities, corporate chiefs, their families and people who want to live like them. [continues 2099 words]
Democracy In Action, It Surely Isn't. I'm not entirely clear whose interests the politicos on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors think they're representing when they file suit to overturn a law passed by the voters. In fact, it's not particularly clear that they know what they're doing. Earlier this week, the supervisors decided to appeal a court ruling that had dismissed the county's lawsuit against a state law that legalized medicinal use of marijuana. [continues 452 words]
Some say that the state of Michoacan, deep in south Mexico, is where the "war on drugs" really started, back in 1985. It was there that Mexican drug lords upped the stakes by burying in a shallow grave the body of a young Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique Camarena, whom they had kidnapped and killed. The U.S. Congress responded months later with strict anti-drug laws, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for anyone trafficking in five grams of crack cocaine or 500 grams of powder cocaine. [continues 629 words]
OROVILLE -- Plea bargains were struck in court Wednesday for two of three men accused of taking part in an Oct. 22 drug transaction that ended in the shooting deaths of three others at an Oroville motel. A fourth suspect being sought by police could face murder charges. According to police, four Oroville-area men were attempting to sell thousands of dollars worth of medical marijuana, when one of three would-be buyers from Vallejo, Djuan Dean, 33, pulled a pistol. Dean exchanged 17 gunshots with one of the pot sellers, Thomas John Kile, 38, of Concow, in a room at the Best Value Inn in Oroville. The two gunman died, along with Lee Miles Nixon, 22, of Vallejo, one of the suspected buyers who got caught in the crossfire. [continues 458 words]
Supervisors Again Cite Clash With Federal Law A week after a Superior Court judge threw out their case against California's medical-marijuana laws, San Diego County's supervisors have voted to appeal the ruling. The case will be sent to the 4th District Court of Appeal, with county lawyers again arguing that San Diego County should not have to enforce state laws that conflict with federal laws. Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. "kind of gave us the politically correct opinion that we ignored the will of the voters," Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Horn said. "Maybe the 4th District will give us an answer." [continues 308 words]
Ross Valley teens will have a place to go starting Friday night. After hearing teens complain there was nowhere to go and nothing to do, Fairfax Councilwoman Mary Ann Maggiore persuaded Fairfax Coffee Roasters to stay open later than normal to be a gathering spot for teens. The business at the corner of Broadway and Bolinas Avenue will remain open until 11 p.m. Friday - as well as Dec. 22, Dec. 29 and perhaps other Fridays if attendance is good. Maggiore said young people need an alternative to drugs and alcohol. [continues 476 words]
Why More Women -- and Especially Black Women -- Are Behind Bars Some years ago I briefly worked as a social worker. Occasionally I would visit clients in jail to determine their eligibility for continued benefits. They were all men -- with one exception. She was a young black woman serving time for theft. She had two small children. She entered the visiting room handcuffed to another woman and dressed in drab prison garb. We talked through a reinforced glass window. The guards stared hard and barked out gruff commands to the women. [continues 769 words]
While it's almost unanimous that drugs and alcohol present a major problem for students in Weed, what to do about it remains a controversial issue, especially concerning activities. The community drug task group at Weed High School met on Dec. 5 to discuss results of a survey and drug testing. But after an involved discussion between administrators, educators, coaches, parents and students, it was concluded that more time is needed. Principal Mike Matheson presented the task group with results of a California healthy kids survey given to WHS ninth and 11th graders. According to the survey, taken in 2005, alcohol and marijuana showed the most frequent use of any drug. [continues 594 words]
PERHAPS NOW THAT a federal judge has given California a six-month deadline to ease prison crowding, the Legislature will do something constructive about the problem. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton made the obvious conclusion that a prison system with 173,000 inmates that was designed to house 100,000 is grossly overcrowded. He said that unless the state does something to solve the problem, he will be forced to order a cap on the prison population, which could result in the early release of convicts. [continues 395 words]
Investigators Find 30 Pounds of Pot on Premises, 10 Times City's Legal Limit HAYWARD -- The Local Patients Cooperative marijuana dispensary was raided by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday as part of a yearlong investigation that also involved the Internal Revenue Service and Hayward police. "The distribution of marijuana is a federal offense, and this place was making millions of dollars," said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Chapman. Along with the Foothill Boulevard marijuana club, two additional residences in Hayward were raided and searched, authorities said. Northbound traffic on Foothill, between B and C streets, was halted during the police activity. [continues 658 words]
OROVILLE -- A life prison term for a convicted Oroville drug manufacturer has been overturned by an appeals court ruling that found the state's three-strikes law was improperly applied in the case. Lenny Ross Maestas, who has served about six years of his sentence, could now be released within a year, according to his lawyer. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey criticized the appellate ruling as "tortured logic," and said he feared it could impact other three-strikes cases. Maestas was convicted by a jury in 2000 of manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon, after a police raid on his Oroville mobile home and shed turned up drug-making chemicals and three guns. [continues 427 words]
The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that deny farmers the right to grow industrial hemp [Matt Coker's "A Friend in Weed," Nov. 3]. Apparently government bureaucrats in Washington can't tell the difference between a tall hemp stalk and a short marijuana bush. Prior to the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, few Americans had heard of marijuana, despite widespread cultivation of its non-intoxicating cousin, industrial hemp. The first anti-marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke marijuana until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the very same federal Drug Enforcement Administration that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism. Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, DC [end]
SAN DIEGO -- As expected, San Diego County supervisors voted Tuesday to continue their controversial legal challenge to overturn California's 10-year-old, voter-approved medical marijuana law. Board Chairman Bill Horn said the board voted in closed session to appeal Superior Court William R. Nevitt's week-old ruling that dismissed the county's argument that California's Compassionate Use Act should be pre-empted by federal law because federal law is "supreme." The county's challenge has national implications, patients and government officials say, because it marks the first time that any county has sued to overturn any of the medical marijuana laws voters have approved in 11 states. [continues 768 words]
Merced County officials say a state judge's ruling against the county upholding California's medical marijuana law is inadequate. County officials haven't decided whether to appeal the recent ruling, but said in a brief statement issued by the Board of Supervisors on Thursday that the decision "doesn't fully address" whether the county should comply with state or federal marijuana laws. San Diego Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt, Jr. ruled Wednesday against Merced and two other counties when he refused to overturn California's law permitting medicinal uses of the drug. [continues 308 words]
With the New Hires, Some Campuses ADD Counselors to Deter Drugs, Violence. SAN JACINTO - Sometimes, San Jacinto students did not know their school counselors, much less their purpose. The district hopes to improve counseling services with Department of Education funds, allowing the district to hire more counselors, add programs and focus on individual students. "Counseling was seen as 'for crisis,' but now it's defined and at the end of the year there are outcomes," said Diane Perez, director of student support. Last year, the district received a $351,000 three-year, elementary-school counseling grant through the Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools Division. The district matched the counseling funding with in-kind contributions valued at $358,100. It hired three new counselors for its six elementary schools this year and is seeking a fourth one for the district office. Last year, the district could only afford to hire one for those schools. [continues 495 words]
If you're like many parents of teenagers, there was probably a moment last night, as your child left to hang out with friends, when you wondered, "Where is she going?" or "What is he going to be doing?" But then she came home safely, and he wasn't drunk when he walked through the door, so all's well with the world this morning. Or is it? Experts say if parents aren't having crucial conversations with their teenagers - about sex and drugs and alcohol - they can pretend nothing's wrong. And for the umpteenth time, this week some of those experts all but begged parents to start talking. [continues 751 words]
To ensure students make good choices and stay drug free, Santa Maria Police Officer Alfred Torres will offer scholarships for eighth- and 12th-graders in 2007. It's the first time the Santa Maria DARE Program has offered such incentives to students, he said. The scholarship wouldn't be a reality without a $5,000 donation from the family of a slain Drug Enforcement Administration agent and former Santa Marian. More than 600 students, police officers, school officials and family members of the late Timothy Markey gathered at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge Friday morning. [continues 150 words]
Newport Beach aims to hold a conference in March on oversight. A transplant from the East Coast, Bob Rush settled into the sandy rows of west Newport Beach 20 years ago and thought he had "died and gone to heaven." A few years back, though, Rush sensed a little trouble in paradise as the quaint bungalows that once captivated him began housing men and women struggling to kick drug and alcohol addictions. The newcomers maintained odd hours. They smoked heavily, used profanity and loitered "menacingly." [continues 1227 words]
For some, being homeless is the result of misfortune, loss of a job, marital problems, etc., but for others, it is self-imposed. This is a true story that begins with a seventh-grader in middle school who is introduced to marijuana -- you know, that harmless drug that some want legalized. Subsequently, his interest in school and sports trails off. In high school, his attention span is diminished, and he is frequently truant. Due to truancy, he is placed in a youth "boot camp" in Santa Barbara County for six months. He later is held in custody at a youth corrections facility at Camarillo Airport. [continues 627 words]
Supervisors' efforts to ban outdoor smoking, medical marijuana infringe on liberty Friends of liberty in San Diego County suffered one important defeat and one important victory last week. Both struggles involve smoking, and both find the San Diego County supervisors on the wrong side of freedom. First, the good news: The Board of Supervisors' errant crusade against medical marijuana was dealt another setback Wednesday thanks to an astute judge. While smoking is only one means of taking this medicine approved by referendum and state law, county supervisors opted to stand between the sick and suffering and their ersatz medicine cabinets - and trampled liberty along the way. [continues 634 words]
Agency Working With Model Set by San Diego Co. to Curb Drug's Use. VISALIA -- Tulare County officials gathered Tuesday to hear a presentation from a San Diego County consultant on organizing a multi-agency task force to fight methamphetamine use. Local officials are forming their own task force using the San Diego County model, and they hope better coordination of law enforcement, substance-abuse treatment, health and other community resources will equal more success in battling the illegal drug. "We're looking at who's doing it here, why they are doing it," said Randy Davis, prevention program supervisor for Alcohol & Drug Program Prevention & Treatment Services for the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency. [continues 295 words]
Re "Judge rejects counties' medical marijuana suit," Dec. 7 Good for the judge who upheld California's law permitting medical marijuana use over the objections of three counties. The California law might be weaker than federal law, but people who need marijuana for medical reasons need all the help they can get. When pharmaceutical companies find a way to make a profit from marijuana, it will become legal. Sandy Sand West Hills [end]
Inside California
