MY HAT is off to Alan I. Leshner (June 29 commentary, "Addiction is a brain disease - and should be treated as such"). With drug addiction already passing the epidemic stage in America, then why don't we treat it like it is - a mortal wound to our society? If we want to keep available space in our prisons, we must get serious in our treatment programs. (Most programs have a cure rate of 15 percent or less.) Leshner states that 50 percent to 70 percent of those arrested are addicted to illegal drugs, and most studies bear this out. [continues 79 words]
A sign often seen at demonstrations to protest racial profiling depicts two men, one white the other black, under the writing, "The man on the left is 75 times more likely to be stopped by police while driving than the man on the right." The man pictured on the left is Martin Luther King Jr. The man on the right is Charles Manson. It's a powerful image that illustrates the feelings of many -- that "DWB," Driving While Black, has become a crime on our nation's highways. A Gallup poll conducted in late 1999 showed that 59 percent of Americans believe that racial profiling is widespread and 81 percent disapprove of its use by police. [continues 445 words]
It is a fact that I have my faults and God knows that I have been a terrible person at times on this Earth, but it is still my humble opinion that we are crazy to throw people in jail for smoking weed. I will mention that I think smoking marijuana is wrong, but people should quit when they are ready, and no person should be thrown in jail for smoking weed. We legalize cigarettes in America and people have to do no jail time for smoking. To me smoking cigarettes is wrong, and I think people should quit when they are ready, and no person should serve jail time for smoking cigarettes. If I get elected president of America by some weird Earth-shattering way, I will parole at once all persons who are in jail because they got caught with marijuana. - --Kevin Michael Ferduson, Sacramento [end]
ABINGDON -- A former minister and recovering drug addict told a federal jury Tuesday he worked as a volunteer for Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark at the same time he was receiving narcotics prescriptions from him. Harold Underwood, 66, of Wytheville said he worked for several months at Clark's clinic, sometimes taking patients' vital statistics and medical histories despite a lack of medical training. "I was just trying to help out," said Underwood, who also was an alcoholic. "I didn't have anything else to do." Underwood said he "tried" to take readings of patients' blood pressure when asked by the doctor to do so and sometimes would talk to patients about their personal lives while taking down their histories. All the while, Underwood said, he was abusing narcotic OxyContin, Darvocet, Percodan, Tylox and Lorcet pills Clark was prescribing for his back and neck pain. "When I get on something, I have to be locked up to get off it," he said. It was the fifth day of trial for Clark, 43, who is charged with 298 counts of prescribing narcotic painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose. [continues 438 words]
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A Russian court Tuesday rejected a new appeal by John Tobin, a U.S. Fulbright scholar jailed in Russia on a drug conviction, Tobin's congressman said. Rep. James Maloney, D-Conn., said the court refused to overturn the conviction for marijuana possession. Tobin, 24, has denied any wrongdoing. He has said he was framed by Russian authorities after he refused their request to become a spy. A court in Voronezh, 300 miles south of Moscow, sentenced Tobin to 37 months in prison in April. On appeal the Voronezh Regional Court reduced the sentence to a year and dropped convictions on charges of drug dealing, operating a drug den and drug distribution. [continues 181 words]
ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) -- A lawsuit contends that Rapides Parish is improperly referring all drug-related cases to specialized drug courts, whether the defendant wants to participate in the program or not. Generally, defendants go to Louisiana drug courts only if they have agreed to plead guilty -- the idea being that defendants who admit their problems are rewarded with the opportunity for sentences that focus more on treatment than incarceration. The Rapides Parish drug court, however, allows defendants to plead not guilty, and one judge, Tom Yeager, presides over all drug court cases. [continues 155 words]
One of the most damaging developments of the 20th century was the increase in addictions for human beings. Whether the cause was alcohol or other drugs, addictions have been a blight on society. There have been addictions for centuries, but they have become greater over the past 100 years due to availability. Addiction can be overwhelmingly painful and difficult to deal with, and strikes all ages. Overcoming an addiction is a complicated process. Whether you may be facing addiction yourself, or interested in the recovery process for someone close to you, it is worth understanding the many steps on the road to recovery. [continues 517 words]
Ida Crall's Ordeal With Son's Drug Dependency Illustrates The Toll Addiction Takes On A Family GLASFORD - Ida Crall sat in the audience at her granddaughter's DARE graduation program and cried hard tears of a tough-to-pinpoint origin. The steady leak - brought on by a confusing mix of pride, guilt, shame, hope, sadness - stirred a sympathetic reaction from those around her. A soft pat on the back. A squeeze of the shoulder. A "God bless you and your son," whispered in her ear. [continues 1578 words]
Taking advantage of a law that went into effect only nine days ago, Avenger quarterback Todd Marinovich won a victory in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday by requesting to be convicted of felony heroin possession. Marinovich's sentencing agreement allowed him to enter a new phase in his drug treatment and sidestep sanctions--and possible jail time--for violating the conditions of his court-ordered rehab program. Judge Stephen Marcus granted attorney Tom Johnston's request to have Marinovich's treatment switched to a more personalized program structured under Proposition 36, a voter-approved initiative that requires California judges to sentence most nonviolent drug offenders to treatment instead of jail or prison. The change was sought after Marinovich failed to attend a required number of court-ordered counseling sessions, sources said. [continues 401 words]
CARBONDALE, Ill. — After two failed attempts to let Southern Illinois University-Carbondale study the industrial use of hemp, the "Industrial Hemp Act" is back in the Legislature — but this time, the University was erased from the bill. The bill would now only allow the University of Illinois to study the agricultural advantages of growing hemp among corn and soybeans —Illinois' most prosperous crops. Legislators and university officials say it is too costly to extend the research to SIUC. The bill passed the House April 6 and was assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee, and is likely to be discussed within the next 10 days. [continues 492 words]
