Orange County should consider Orlando's proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, the sheriff and Mayor Teresa Jacobs said Thursday. Sheriff Jerry Demings stopped short of giving his full support to Orlando's measure, which would allow police to issue a civil citation rather than arrest someone who is caught with 20 grams or less of pot. But he said he "would not be opposed" to the county adopting a similar policy. Jacobs said she wants the county's public safety council to dive into the issue. [continues 635 words]
As heroin-related deaths continue to spike in Central Florida, a task force of education, law-enforcement and public-health experts rolled out more than three dozen recommendations Monday to help Orange County fight the resurgence of the street drug blamed for 82 deaths last year. The group suggested equipping police and deputies with naloxone, a medicine that instantly reverses the potentially fatal effect of heroin; increasing the number of so-called "detox beds" to treat addicts; and creating a program for heroin-addicted inmates in the Orange County Jail. [continues 555 words]
TAVARES -- Two mothers who lost sons to overdoses of prescription painkillers applauded county commissioners for imposing new restrictions on pain-management clinics that dispense the medicine. "I hope this saves lives," said Ellen Tidwell of Clermont, whose 17-year-old son, Justin, died from a prescription-drug overdose in July 2009, a month before beginning his senior year at South Lake High School. Tidwell, who also has called attention to the problem on her Facebook page, stood alongside Kim and Michael Cronin of Howey-in-the-Hills, whose son, Paul Cronin, 32, overdosed on hydrocodone in October 2009. [continues 401 words]
Brunswick Hills Township - A former police constable's son and his fiancee want a judge to free them from drug charges, citing what they call "outrageous police conduct." Steven DePaolo, 45, said police cracked his tooth and forced his girlfriend, Ann Grunder, 34, to stand handcuffed and naked among male officers who broke open his father's door at 5:30 a.m. April 13 in search of them. DePaolo and Grunder are charged with trafficking in crack cocaine, charges punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. [continues 407 words]
Medina- A decision Wednesday by the 9th Ohio District Court of Appeals means Medina is again the worst place in the state to be caught with a marijuana cigarette. Defense lawyers vowed to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court. But Mayor Jane Leaver announced Thursday that city police would "reimplement" the unusual ordinance, which carries a mandatory three-day jail sentence. The appeals court reversed Medina Municipal Judge Dale Chase, who had declared the ordinance unconstitutional because it conflicted with state law. [continues 182 words]
Medina - It was, until Wednesday, almost always better to be caught with a marijuana cigarette anywhere in Ohio but here. Jail was mandatory, fines could be harsher and, if you planned to be a teacher, lawyer, or other licensed professional, your future was suddenly dim mer under Medina's marijuana law. Medina Municipal Judge Dale Chase decided Wednesday that the tough, 14-year-old city ordinance was unconstitutional because it conflicted with the law as written by the state legislature. City prosecutors have not decided whether to appeal. But they previously have argued Medina has the right to adopt local laws that address local problems - including marijuana. [continues 230 words]
He And Son Face Punishment After His Intervention LITCHFIELD - Next time, James Dugan will just say no. Dugan caught his 15-year-old son smoking marijuana at home last week, took away TV and phone privileges, then called Buckeye High School to help catch the student who sold his boy a $5 joint. He said he assumed the student had sold to other kids, too, and should be disciplined. He even ordered his son to wear a hidden recording device to help detectives trap the student dealer. [continues 398 words]
Sheriff Wants Patrol To Pay Inmate's Medical Tab MEDINA - Cynthia Brown carried cocaine, cash and an unborn child. When a state trooper stopped her rental car on Interstate 71 near Lodi last April, the cocaine was Brown's problem. Her pregnancy has become Medina County's, says Sheriff Neil F. Hassinger. The bills for the Youngstown woman and her son, born Oct. 8, total more than $11,000, not including overtime for deputies assigned to watch her around the clock during a hospital stay. [continues 478 words]
Driver In Fatal Accident Says He Wasn't Reckless MEDINA - Jeremy Warren had beer on his breath and traces of marijuana in his blood, prosecutors say, the day he wrecked his pickup truck in rural Medina County, killing his best friend. Prosecutors say Warren, 25, was impaired and driving recklessly, passing cars on the right and veering left of center, before the truck smashed into a culvert on Greenwich Rd., killing Dennis Ellis, 24. But as Warren's trial began yesterday in Medina County Common Pleas Court, defense lawyer Dennis Paul urged jurors to listen carefully to the testimony of medical experts. [continues 340 words]
The Medina eighth-grader who gave a school counselor her mother's crack pipe now wishes she hadn't. "I feel like it's my fault," 15-year-old Kimberly Martin said yesterday after her mother, Linda Sue Martin, pleaded no contest to three felonies, including manufacturing crack cocaine, which carries a mandatory two-year prison term. Her mother is going to prison. "If I knew it was going to get her in trouble I wouldn't have done what I did, I just wanted her to get help," she said. "I can't go without my mom for two years. No girl should. It isn't right. It isn't what I wanted. She's a good mom." [continues 518 words]
