Votes in favor of a Washington ballot measure that would legalize marijuana possession but not retail sales in the nation's capital were ahead of opposition to the initiative, according to early election results Tuesday. The measure, which would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis and grow up to six plants, had the support of roughly 64 percent of voters, to about 31 percent opposed, according to early results posted on the District of Columbia Board of Elections website. [continues 383 words]
We all know Mike Holmes - the guy with biceps the size of tires, who rights wrongs when it comes to home renovations. But at Marketplace, we team up with Mike tonight to tackle a growing (no pun intended) problem in Canada - homes that are used for marijuana grow-ops, then sold to unsuspecting buyers. The RCMP estimates there are thousands of houses being used for grow-ops today, often in quiet, suburban neighbourhoods where you'd least expect them. They're often quietly patched up - leaving new homeowners stuck with mold, structural and electrical issues. [continues 300 words]
EL PASO -- The state of Texas will be represented by El Pasoan Pat Guerin on Saturday as she helps lead a huge rally of recovering addicts and supporters across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Guerin and 50 others were selected to represent their states and Washington, D.C., in the 2009 Recovery Rally, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. The group of 51 delegates, made up of people who have been in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction for at least 10 years, will lead more than 5,000 people across the bridge for the event. They'll also share their stories of recovery. [continues 548 words]
William G. Brooks III, deputy chief of police in Wellesley, asks in his recent article, "How did we get here?" with respect to the results of Question 2 on the Massachusetts ballot of 2008. The answer is law enforcement intransigence and recalcitrance forced drug law reform advocates to the initiative/referendum system in state after state. The bitterness and sour grapes at the end, however, reveal the true problem: "The system that brought about this change in our drug laws is flawed and the public was hoodwinked. Now law enforcement is left to deal with this mess." [continues 174 words]
Dear Editor: Regarding the article about Obama's choices for Drug Czar and AG, as a medical marijuana patient myself, but a Republican one, let me be the first to say, "I told you so." I say this here and have said it in the comments in the NORML blog article, the one which appeared in The Hill blog. The sick and dying are not an important voting block, and I can guarantee that President elect Obama's response to medical marijuana will be or already has been, "Pfffffffft," as he shoves the folder off his desk onto the floor, which will be followed by the Presidential directive, "don't let this come across my desk again, ever." [continues 197 words]
EL PASO - Local officials received assurances from federal agencies Wednesday that there is no coordination between the United States and Mexican governments to transfer patients wounded in Mexico's drug wars to Thomason Hospital. Thomason CEO Jim Valenti, the hospital's Board of Managers Chairman Ron Acton and County Commissioner Veronica Escobar traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, and leaders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security to discuss the issue of people injured in Mexico crossing the border to receive treatment at the hospital. [continues 789 words]
According to the state constitution, when there is a conflict between state and federal law, state officials and law enforcement are to follow the California state law on the issue in question. This, for example, is how and why the California Highway Patrol has adopted a policy of not confiscating medical cannabis discovered during traffic stops from authorized patients. It is also why the vast majority of counties have approved and implemented the (medical marijuana) patient ID program. When Yuba County Supervisor Dan Logue says, "Because federal law does not support state ordinance, I'm going to side with federal law," he is violating his oath of office ("Pot ID cards," April 4). [continues 81 words]
Paul Armentano asks in his letter on Thursday, Nov. 8, "Why is cannabis being withheld from patients if it has all these positive effects?" This question is answered with one word: euphoria. Believe it or not, euphoria is the only side effect in U.S. medicine that is absolutely intolerable. Pain medications are regularly withheld from patients based upon worries that they might "enjoy it." If one listens to the warnings on any given pharmaceutical that is advertised on morning or evening national news programs, one finds politically tolerable side effects that range from dry eyes or mouth to gastrointestinal distress, including inability to hold bowel movements until one reaches the toilet, and even death. That's right, death. Our old favorite acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol, causes big problems, according to the National Institutes of Health: "Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison Control Centers (100,000/year) and accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure each year." [continues 245 words]
[Re: Riff-Raff, July 12] Regarding the rant entitled "Oh, Cannaba!" (Oh, gawd, can't we have just one article about marijuana that isn't headlined by a pot-pun? Please?), would someone please explain the author's point? I cannot find a coherent thread running through this piece that constitutes a point, vague or otherwise, except, perhaps for the obligatory Netherlands bashing, which signals this as an anti-pot piece. Clue: Coffee shops began in 1975, and not earlier. ERIC JOHNSON [end]
Dear Editor: Re: RCMP target grow ops, Burnaby NOW, June 13: "Cpl. Jane Baptista of the Burnaby RCMP noted the plants would have made more than 192,000 joints." How does she know? A "joint" is not a standard of weight and measure of any type. The same amount of cannabis can produce 284,000 joints, or 96,000 joints, or perhaps 135,711, depending upon: Total harvested yield of the plants (which in turn depends upon seed, growing skill, environmental conditions); [continues 515 words]
Did someone say hash? Kudos to the Toronto Hash Mob for staging their Out Yourself Smoke Out (NOW, April 26-May 2). I do, though, agree with lawyer Alan Young's suggestion to drop the Hash Mob moniker in favour of becoming a pot collective, not because I care that "collective" sounds more acceptable than "mob," but because hash is so damned hard to find in this city. For the love of god, tell me where I can get some. Toronto [end]
Dear editor, It's 2 a.m. Saturday. Johnny has come to the hospital stating he's a drug addict and he's had enough. The waiting room is full of coughs and sprains; there is a crying baby, an assault victim with a fat lip and goose egg on his head. An elderly lady lays on a stretcher confused and incontinent. Unfortunately for Johnny, his cry for help is way down the list of priorities and he is asked to wait. [continues 428 words]
Once again I must remind you that the drug war and the resistance to medical cannabis are fully bipartisan efforts [Re: "Choosing Science," May 11]. Your article only acknowledges Bush administration intransigence on the issue while completely ignoring the Clinton administration's equal intransigence on the issue and that of the Democrat leadership in the Congress between 1996 and yes, 2001, before Bush took office. The Democrats have had 10 years to impart change in the federal government's stance on the issue, and each branch, in whichever time period you choose has come down solidly in favor of abusing the sick and dying in order to save the drug war from any kind of defeat or perceived setback. And they have refused to do so, just like Bush and his administration. [continues 97 words]
Judge Who Founded Program Ends Retirement There is usually little to cheer about in Drug Court. But cheers abounded last week as Drug Court participants welcomed back to the bench the once-retired judge who founded the program more than a decade ago. Before beginning court proceedings on Wednesday, Senior Judge Jack Lehman, 75, settled into his chair and, with a broad smile, re-introduced himself to about 75 participants who packed the crowded courtroom. "I'm back to stay and I will be handling Drug Court forward into the foreseeable future," he said. "I'm happy to be back." [continues 1042 words]
Thank you for your excellent piece on medical marijuana refugees in Canada ("The Drug War Refugees," by Eric Bailey, Feb. 2). I too emigrated from the U.S. in order to best treat my medical condition. Since 1997 I have spent as much time as the law will allow in the Netherlands. I have a severe neuromuscular disease called Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathy, also known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. It is a painful degenerative disease--much like multiple sclerosis. Unless I can smoke or eat pot, I am in excruciating pain from morning to night. In addition to cannabis, I use two different opiate medications. Given the pain relief provided by marijuana, I am able to bicycle great distances in the Netherlands and pursue my hobby of digital photography. I also can attend concerts, movies and plays, and remain comfortable enough to sit through entire performances. Eric Johnson, Amsterdam [end]
It may be true, as Pamela White writes in "OD at the DOC" (News, Nov. 21) that the war on drugs is "an enormous waste of money." It may be true that "about $50 billion in taxpayer money could be saved if the war on drugs ended." However, while I would be willing to see that money put to better use elsewhere-or simply returned to the citizens who earned it-White can't have it both ways. That is, if the war on drugs were ended, I for one would certainly not want to pay for state-run "treatment" programs for drug users. [continues 311 words]
Kelly Thompson used to think that marijuana should be legalized. Then her mother, Sun Associate Editor and Vice President Sandy Thompson, was killed in August in a car crash caused by a driver under the influence of pot. Now Kelly Thompson has become a vocal opponent of a state ballot measure to make possession of 3 ounces or less legal. "Before any of this happened, I thought, 'Why not? It doesn't hurt anybody. It's all about the right to freedom,' " she said Friday. "But now I think, 'What about my mother's freedom to live?' " [continues 450 words]
Governor Calls Deficit 'Devastating' On his first day officially back to work after prostate surgery, Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday called figures reflecting Nevada's deficit "devastating." Guinn, 66, called a news conference to assure the media he was in good health and has returned to work full-time after a three-week recovery. He underwent the surgery to remove his cancerous prostate Sept. 23. Data Guinn reviewed within the past few weeks show the state's deficit could be well over $300 million, he said. [continues 596 words]
With regard to the election concerning marijuanas' re-legalization in Nevada, I have only one question for the voters to ponder once I point out that marijuana prohibition itself is the experiment in social engineering, and attempts like this effort to correct the problem are not such experiments, as is often postulated by marijuana foes. Do drinking, gambling and whoring occupy a moral space above that of pot smoking? Eric Johnson Reno [end]
After reading James Kilpatrick's July 2 column regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on Fourth Amendment protections, I still don't understand his argument against the court's finding. The Fourth Amendment was intended to protect the sanctity of the home, which was clearly violated by the police department in Florence, Ore. Using thermal imaging equipment to seek out heat sources within the home is simply a more advanced means of searching the home. What used to require physical entry into the house can now be accomplished from across the street, and the technology will only improve as time passes. [continues 106 words]
