Indiana State Police will announce the launch of a methamphetamine resource website at 11 a.m. Friday in Bristol, Ind. The Indiana Methamphetamine Investigative System (IMIS) will keep track of retailers who sell common household products, such as pseudoephedrine, that can regularly be used in the production of meth. That information will be analyzed by law enforcement officials to determine if the practices are consistent with meth production. State police said in a release that the web-driven system would use together public and private partnerships to combat the production and use of meth. [end]
If health outcomes, instead of cultural norms, determined drug laws, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate health interventions and ineffective deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. [continues 87 words]
HAUBSTADT - Police officers asked the owner of local convenience store to discontinue sales of K-2, reported Lloyd Jones, town marshal. Jones reported to town council members on Monday night that the owner of the Sunrise Mini-Mart listened to concerns about K-2 and made the decision to comply with the request. Jones said that although police had only been aware of the product for a few weeks, they believe it poses a possible danger as well as other unknown health risks. [continues 339 words]
The hard-luck city of Oakland, Calif., an aging port and factory town, has decided to reinvent itself as an agricultural center. The City Council voted 5-2 this week to license four large facilities where marijuana could be grown and processed. The hope is that the grass factories will create hundreds of jobs, pay millions of dollars in taxes and give Oakland a jump on rival cities if Californians vote this fall to legalize recreational marijuana. The measure attracted heated opposition, but not from the people you might think, those who believe that approval of the cultivation and sale of marijuana would lead to rampant drug use. [continues 114 words]
The only difficult thing about responding to John Elliott and Grant Monahan's statements in the July 3 edition of the Tribune-Star is deciding where to begin. None of the assertions are accurate, and none of the claims are based upon the realities we're facing here in Vigo County. The logical thing to do is to refute this misinformation in the same order it appeared in reporter Lisa Trigg's news article. The notion that over-the counter PSE sales are done in the name of "patient care" sounds very nice. Especially when the legitimate consumer has been led to believe that prescription-only sales will force them into a co-pay every single time they need relief from nasal congestion. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have been speaking with several doctors in the Wabash Valley since beginning the push for prescription-only. [continues 1445 words]
If a neighbor throws his garbage out into his yard and leaves it, it won't be long before your neighborhood will be swarming with flies. The same is true for mosquitoes if the water is allowed to collect in buckets or tires and such. Having the authorities come out and swat a few flies or mosquitoes won't come close to solving the problem. You have to get rid of the garbage or the water. Nothing else will work. The point is that drug dealers, like flies and mosquitoes, are drawn into neighborhoods by the garbage that buys what they're selling. [continues 330 words]
I'm confused. When I walk around busy midtown Manhattan, I often smell marijuana. Despite the crowds, some people smoke weed in public. Usually the police leave them alone, and yet other times they act like a military force engaged in urban combat. This February, cops stormed a Columbia, Mo., home, killed the family dog and terrorized a 7-year-old boy -- for what? A tiny quantity of marijuana. Two years ago, in Prince George's County, Md., cops raided Cheye Calvo's home -- all because a box of marijuana was randomly shipped to his wife as part of a smuggling operation. Only later did the police learn that Calvo was innocent -- and the mayor of that town. [continues 540 words]
Is the war on drugs a fight against stereotypes? According to many officials, the stigma of being associated with drugs, for whatever reason, has slowly changed through the years. "Not only has the stigma changed, so has the mentality of those involved in the drug culture. There used to be shame attached to being arrested for drug use," Clay County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Rob Gambill said. "But today, so many of the people arrested think it's nothing to worry about, almost like it's s right of passage. They think it gives them street credibility and lifts them above their peers." [continues 1238 words]
While sex was the headlined hypocrisy behind U.S. Rep. Mark Souder's resignation, the pietistic politician's sanctimony didn't stop there. Most of them wouldn't know Souder from Torquemada, but more than 200,000 Americans have taken a hit to their college educations thanks to his vigilance for virtue. Souder is the Moses of legislation denying federal financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. No other crimes. Just drugs. Say your prayers every day, call Mom every night, get busted for pot and that big tuition bill is all on you. [continues 405 words]
Dear Editor, Regarding Sara Conn's Friday column ("What are the pros and cons of Mary Jane being legal in California?"), if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration 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 pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda. Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war otherwise known as the war on some drugs should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com. Robert Sharpe Common Sense for Drug Policy, policy analyst Washington, D.C. [end]
California will vote in November on a proposal to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol or tobacco, but local legislators said any similar initiative in Indiana remains remote. "The current system is an utter failure," said Aaron Smith, Marijuana Policy Project California policy director. "More teens are smoking marijuana than cigarettes." If approved by the people, the proposal would allow adults 21 and older to posses up to an ounce of marijuana and for the state, along with counties and cities, to tax marijuana sales. [continues 333 words]
California should legalize marijuana. I can already hear people's fingers typing on keyboards for letters to the editor, but hear me out. I'm not basing my assessment on an obsession for Mary Jane, but from a real belief in the economic power of the reefer. Last week, California's secretary of state certified a November vote on a ballot measure that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana. The new campaign for legalization does not focus on altering the social stigma surrounding the drug but highlights its potential cash benefits. It's a bold, intelligent move for those in favor of legalizing marijuana. [continues 768 words]
In my work as an emergency physician and as a county coroner, I frequently order tests to determine whether a person has illicit drugs in their blood or urine. While I am not naive enough to think that all people will turn out to be clean and sober, I am amazed at how many people have a positive test for cannabinoids, which are the active ingredients in marijuana (Cannabis sativa). I recognize that there are some legitimate medical uses for cannabinoids. However, the people with the positive tests are generally not suffering from nausea, vomiting, pain, loss of appetite, asthma, glaucoma, nor spasticity. They have been consuming marijuana for other reasons. [continues 618 words]
Every day on the news we hear again that there just isn't enough money for "government" to do its job. There is such a simple solution to the problem, but politicians just don't have the courage to tackle it. Unfortunately, simple idealism stands in the way of that solution. The current national attitude toward drugs is nothing if not idealistic. It's not effective at all, but it is indeed idealistic. Of course, no one should abuse drugs, but laws against it do not prevent drug abuse. Nearly every schoolchild can tell you drugs are readily available. Oddly enough, for all its idealism, the United States offers the biggest market for illegal drugs in the world. [continues 283 words]
Fourteen states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and nearly 100 million Americans older than 12 have admitted to smoking it. Weed is more visible and available than ever these days, and thanks to the Internet, advocacy for its legalization has never been so vocal. After the Ogden Memo was issued last year, in which President Barack Obama instructed federal prosecutors to stop pursuing drug cases against medical marijuana patients, many lobbying for marijuana legalization across the country began feeling as though this would be the first administration to address the issue seriously. After all, unlike Bill Clinton, Obama did inhale, and in his own words, has done so "frequently" in the past. Though he insists that a legalization-regulation-taxation trifecta wouldn't help the still struggling economy, he has publicly supported the prescription of pot by physicians to treat certain ailments. [continues 683 words]
To the Editor: Nobody in the history of the world has overdosed from marijuana. Many people in America depend on medical marijuana for their medical conditions and symptoms such as glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, nausea, epilepsy, etc. It's sad how people with chronic pain and deathly illness are deprived of the only medicine that will work for them. Prescription medication can become very addicting, and cause death from building up a tolerance, requiring the patient to use more than prescribed. [continues 211 words]
I'll admit to being one of the multitude of fans who have made shows like "NCIS" and "CSI" such hits. It isn't that I don't recognize how unrealistic they are; no publicly financed lab could afford such cutting-edge equipment even if someone invented it. But I love watching the search for hard evidence, and the characters' willingness to abide by what that evidence shows even when the result is to exonerate some really unattractive suspect. Wouldn't it be nice if those we elect to make policy were similarly devoted to evidence-based decision-making? [continues 419 words]
MADISON, Ind. - The high school girlfriends weren't known as troublemakers. One was a cheerleader, another a soccer player and the third grew up working on her family's farm. But the Madison Consolidated High School seniors found themselves shivering on a winter night three years ago in a deserted church parking lot, surrounded by police, being questioned about drugs - and then strip searched. "We were all so scared," one of them, Kristy Lessley, said in the first interview the women have granted since the incident Jan. 19, 2007. "We just froze." [continues 1189 words]
The criminal justice system in this country is broken. We have a greater percentage, by far, of our population in jail than any of the other western democracies in the world. We sentence more persons to the death penalty than any other western nations. The percentage of adult, black males in our prison system is a national disgrace and a disaster. As I've argued on these pages previously, we need to decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use and legalize, plus tax, their proper distribution. [continues 244 words]
PLYMOUTH - The message that Plymouth sixth graders learned during the nine-week course of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) may be the most important lesson of them all. The formal graduation for this year's class was held at Riverside Intermediate Thursday. The program was launched in Plymouth in 1989. Officer Mark Owen has been the DARE instructor over the last several years. During the graduation ceremony, Owen said, "There are more personal family stories now than ever before." Each of the students in the class was asked to write an essay on what they had learned. A panel then chose 12 of the authors to receive special recognition at the ceremony. [continues 333 words]
To the editor: The solution to overcrowding at jails and prisons everywhere is simple: Just decriminalize the possession of substances for personal use. It's far past time we realize the policies we have been pursuing for years have not worked and will never work! It's costing us billions of dollars every year to pursue failed policies. Isn't it time to change? Ray Andersen Newburgh [end]
Overcoming Addiction Has Proven Difficult For Many People Sentenced To Drug Court; Those Who Succeed Praise The Program. MUNCIE -- If the Guinness Book contained a category for most expensive single drug binge, Jeff Branham might very well own the record. By Branham's account, he smoked almost $20,000 worth of crack cocaine in an 11-day period, a bender that left little time for sleep or anything else but getting high. What's worse, he financed the drugs by forging checks from his 83-year-old father's savings account, drawing the attention of authorities who charged him with 66 felony crimes. [continues 970 words]
Law Enforcement Has Fought The Constantly Evolving Threat Of Meth Addiction And Manufacturing Since Its First Appearance In 1988. ELKHART -- Less than a year after a series of significant arrests in 2005, members of Elkhart County's undercover law enforcement unit concluded they had crippled a drug-trafficking organization importing Mexican methamphetamine into the area. But in that eight months, the market for meth had been established. The drug began affecting Elkhart County in a violent new way. Small, volatile and dangerous homemade labs began cranking out meth. [continues 1405 words]
DENVER -- Inside the green neon sign, which is shaped like a marijuana leaf, is a red cross. The cross serves the fiction that most transactions in the store -- which is what it really is -- involve medicine. The U.S. Justice Department recently announced that federal laws against marijuana would not be enforced for possession of marijuana that conforms to states' laws. In 2000, Colorado legalized medical marijuana. Since Justice's decision, the average age of the 400 persons a day seeking "prescriptions" at Colorado's multiplying medical marijuana dispensaries has fallen precipitously. Many new customers are college students. [continues 669 words]
We tend to forget as a country that our longest and most costly war has been the war on drugs. Many people believe that this is a long-failing battle, and I tend to agree. This year, drug arrests are expected to exceed 1.8 million people, and law enforcement made more arrests for drug abuse violations than any other crime in the past two years. In May, the head of the National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, said that he wanted to eliminate the idea of a "war on drugs" and instead focus on treatment as opposed to incarceration in order to reduce the drug problem. [continues 382 words]
The most surprising response to Attorney General Eric Holder's recent announcement that the federal government would cease raids or arrests in states where medical marijuana is permitted is the general lack of response. Sure, Holder was simply making good on a pledge delivered by candidate Barrack Obama. But on another level, the administration's announcement could change the entire balance, or some would say historic imbalance, where drug enforcement and punishments are concerned. Politics in practice demands nothing less than a tough posture against crime. [continues 312 words]
WASHINGTON -- In an act of merciful sanity, the Obama administration has made good on its promise to stop interfering with states that allow the medical use of marijuana. Clink-clink, hear-hear, salud, cheers, et cetera, et cetera. The announcement from Attorney General Eric Holder surely comes as a relief to the many who rely on cannabis to ease suffering from various ailments. This new, relaxed approach doesn't let drug traffickers off the hook. It merely means that 14 states that now provide for some medical marijuana uses no longer need fear federal raids on dispensaries and users operating under state law. [continues 667 words]
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana's prisons are experiencing an increase in inmate assaults and attacks on staff -- a trend the state's prison chief blames largely on overcrowding caused by inadequate funding for new beds. In the first half of 2009, Indiana's prisons had 514 inmate-on-inmate attacks, 62 of which caused serious injuries. That compares with 719 such attacks, 101 with serious injuries, during all of 2008, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported on Sunday. Edwin Buss, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, said the shortage of bed space in parts of some state prisons has created a volatile situation. [continues 475 words]
To the editor: I wrote to you in April asserting that Indiana and the United States should drop the war on drugs. Instead of criminalization, we should regulate certain drugs as we do alcohol. Since then, lawmakers in 14 states have begun considering the legalization of marijuana. Since that time 14 states are considering legalization of marijuana. The Obama administration has floated the idea as well. Recently, a columnist in the The Guardian newspaper of London called for an end to the drug war: "The anti-drug crusade will go down as among the greatest foibles of modern times," John Gray wrote. "The fact is that the costs of drug prohibition now far outweigh any possible benefits the policy may bring." Empty our prisons of drug users. Save money. Use money to treat, not imprison. F. Wesley Bowers Evansville [end]
As a retired Michigan police officer, I heartily agree with the comments of Alex Derry (Readers' Forum, June 22). Many of us in law enforcement would appreciate the major drop in crime when we repeal this prohibition. In a post-prohibition world we could do an effective job protecting our children from predators and all of us from the deadly DUI. Our troops in Afghanistan would no longer be killed by bullets bought by the profits from the drug trade. Someone please tell me all the positive benefits, good outcomes of this "Modern Prohibition" which make it worth keeping. I never read or hear of any. Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired) Founding Member of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (www.leap.cc) Washington, D.C. [end]
I've been following the ongoing debate in the opinion section of the Tribune-Star concerning the legalization of marijuana. It seems as though we as Americans suffer from memory loss, or it's possible that there are those among us who don't know American history. He who knows not history is destined to repeat it. On Jan. 16, 1920, the Volstead Act was enacted. The Volstead Act, also known as The National Prohibition Act, banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Prohibition became known nationally as "The Noble Experiment" and an experiment it was. The result of the experiment was complete and total failure. As a matter of a fact, Prohibition was one of the most monumentally failed social experiments in the history of America. [continues 335 words]
Bob Rinearson's rationalization ("War on drugs important to nation's future, and worth every dime spent," May 7) to continue cannabis (marijuana) prohibition is ignorant. Perhaps it's time for Rinearson to stop thinking of cannabis as a drug and start thinking of it as a plant. God created all seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good on the first page of the Bible. A sane and moral argument to continue caging humans for using the plant cannabis doesn't exist. Caging humans for using cannabis can only be rationalized based upon personality traits associated with bigotry, racism or discrimination. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Columnist Bob Rinearson on May 7 made the common mistake of assuming that punitive drug laws actually reduce use. 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 criminalizes citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to many Americans. [continues 99 words]
Shirley A. Thomas' letter ("Marijuana is a dangerous drug", May 27, 2009) wants people to believe cannabis (marijuana) is a dangerous drug, but relatively speaking it is neither. Cannabis is less addictive than coffee, safer than beer, wine or whiskey and hasn't killed a person in over 5,000 years of documented use, while cigarettes kill over 1,000 Americans daily. Is it 100 percent safe? No. Should underage youth use the relatively safe, God-given plant? No. Should responsible adult humans be caged for using the plant cannabis? No, absolutely not. Should citizens lose their jobs for using cannabis after work instead of drinking a glass of wine? No, that's discrimination. [continues 61 words]
To letter writer Michael T. Lawson, who recently wrote that marijuana isn't addictive and that there are no withdrawal pains: Are you nuts? I am a college educated woman who has had personal experience with what the use of this drug can do to a person. I have seen users become violent and abusive if they didn't have their daily fix. I have seen users explode with anger. I am neither uninformed nor ignorant about what this drug will do to a person. I have seen users steal, lie, and cheat their families of money that was needed to pay rent and buy groceries so they could buy a joint. [continues 250 words]
I’m responding to the outstanding letter on Saturday from Michael T. Lawson: “Yes, marijuana use should be legalized”. I’d like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation, has the rare potential side effect of death. In other words, if I take this medication as prescribed, I can die as a result. On the other hand, marijuana has never been documented to kill a single person in the 5,000 year history of its use. [continues 76 words]
In a couple of previous letters (pertaining to marijuana), I left out what should be considered a very pertinent fact. Shirley A. Thomas says she's a "college educated woman." What degree does she have, and in what field? A relative of mine has a master's degree in psychology. He worked his way up (while working on his master's) from suicide hot-line counselor to the top dog at San Diego County Mental Health in California. All the while, he was a marijuana user! It certainly ruined his life; didn't it? My relative and I both know "many" college graduates who don't have sense enough to come in out of the rain. He would, and has recommended its use to many of his clients. And, yes, I do (and so does he) advocate it's legalization. [continues 82 words]
Niles Man's Marijuana Use, While Legal, May Cost Him His Home. NILES - On a scale of 1 to 10, says Steve Allain, his pain is somewhere between 4 and 5. On a good day. "When my Crohn's flares up, it's like a saber-toothed badger trying to eat its way out," he said. The 54-year-old Niles man, a victim not only of Crohn's disease but hepatitis C and acute depression, has run the gamut of medications. Just a few months ago, he hit upon a viable alternative: marijuana. [continues 500 words]
"A lot of good has come from drugs. I think 'Penny Lane' is worth 10 dead kids. 'Dark Side of the Moon' is worth 100 dead kids. Because a lot of kids wouldn't even be born if it weren't for that album, so it evens out." - Bill Maher Jeffery Miron is a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. It certainly seems lately that when someone associated with Harvard speaks we all should listen, since Harvard knows what's best for America. [continues 611 words]
BLOOMINGTON -- Legalizing marijuana use for chronic pain relief would be a compassionate move and its time has come, supporters said. But opponents argue that allowing marijuana -- even for medical reasons would open the door to all sorts of abuse. Thirteen states allow marijuana use for medical reasons. Illinois legislators are considering a bill that has more support this year than when it was defeated in the Illinois Senate in 2007. Senate Bill 1381 says when a person is diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, the patient -- with his or her physician's permission -- would be allowed to have up to seven marijuana plants and two ounces of cannabis for medical reasons. [continues 653 words]
More than a dozen teens gathered in front of the Logan Tabernacle on Monday evening to rally for the legalization of marijuana. It's 4/20, and where this is national marijuana day and we want to legalize marijuana (we came to rally)," said Jamie Gurinch, 15, of Logan. Internationally, April 20 typically motivates a series of rallies and special events among those who favor the legalization of marijuana. Dylan Lofthouse, a 14-year-old who goes to Willow Valley Middle School in Wellsville, attended with his two brothers, ages 13 and 15. He said both his mom and his step-mom would agree with the cause as well. [continues 362 words]
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb's Parade magazine article "Why we must fix our prisons" (March 29) has an important local angle. Webb laid out statistic after statistic showing the terrible stupidity of America's incarceration policies, especially when it comes to marijuana. One of the most powerful opponents of reforming marijuana laws has been northeast Indiana's Congressman Mark Souder, R-3rd. At least Souder's party is out of power now. I hope the Democrats will have the courage to establish the commission sought by Sen. Webb and give the American people sound alternatives to our destructive incarceration policies. An important step in that direction would be to stop filling prisons with pot smokers. Evan Davis Fort Wayne [end]
Mr. Jimmy Cox, Here are some of the fallacies with the things you had to say. The first issue is you started out saying "drugs," but you really only meant marijuana the whole time. I've never heard anyone claim all drugs should be legal, and if you have, then it is from a small population that won't ever really have a noteworthy backing. You then go on to talk about the issue of making drugs more available, and this leading to increased use. Although this argument sounds reasonable, it ignores reality. When I was in high school, it was considerably easier to get marijuana than alcohol. The fact that it's always illegal to acquire sets up the system to get it to you illegally, whereas alcohol requires you to ask someone to break the law for you. You cannot just pretend the broken system works. [continues 162 words]
Carroll School Board members had their annual meeting with the Student Council during the school day on March 17. Among the topics discussed were drugs, cell phones, economic impact on the schools, 10-year plan, and students' "wish list." Students were asked about Carroll students' drug use. Among high school students, the Student Council estimated that 15-20 percent are regular users of drugs, and maybe as high as 40 percent use occasionally or at least have tried drugs. Their perception is that the students use recreational drugs, not performance enhancing drugs. [continues 682 words]
It's an indictment of our fact-averse political culture that a statement of the blindingly obvious could sound so revolutionary. "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Wednesday as she flew to Mexico for an official visit. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border . . . causes the deaths of police, of soldiers and civilians." Amazingly, U.S. officials have avoided facing these facts for decades. This is a moral failure that has had horrific consequences for Mexico, Colombia, Peru and other Latin American and Caribbean nations. [continues 372 words]
Another beneficial component of re-legalizing cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned (Editorial: "Legalizing Marijuana," March 9) is that it will lower hard drug addiction rates. Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, will have to stop brainwashing youth into believing lies, half-truths and propaganda concerning cannabis, which creates grave future problems. How many citizens try cannabis and realize it's not nearly as harmful as taught in DARE-type government environments? Then they think other substances must not be so bad, either, only to become addicted to deadly drugs. The old lessons make cannabis out to be among the worst substances in the world, even though it's less addictive than coffee and has never killed a single person. [continues 82 words]
A few years ago, I visited Mexico as part of an international delegation of journalists seeking to learn more about an enduring problem in that country, the corruption of the press. It is widely known that reporters there routinely supplement their salaries by accepting fees, bribes, even monthly stipends, from the sources they cover. However, something happened during our visit that changed the nature of the trip. The nation's chief drug enforcer, a general who operated with a presidential mandate and the backing of the Mexican army, was arrested and revealed to be on the take from drug lords. [continues 568 words]
The Illinois House committee gave the go-ahead for a plan that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. As you could assume, some people aren't too happy about this decision. However, we think Illinois is thinking along the right lines. Relieving the pain of cancer, AIDS and other diseases motivated lawmakers. By legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, people suffering ailments of all sorts will be able to use this drug for relief. We think citizens who have a doctor's permission to use medical marijuana should be able to do so. People unnecessarily endure pain and suffering from diseases every day, and medical marijuana could help. For example, marijuana has been shown to help chemotherapy patients quell their nausea. It helps curb pains without some of the side effects heavier drugs tend to have. [continues 219 words]
A former Greencastle man got what his court-appointed attorney James Recker said "might look like the deal of the century" Thursday in Putnam County Circuit Court. Thomas L. Gorham III, 28, of Centralia, Mo., was in court to be sentenced on what were originally charges of Class A felony dealing in methamphetamine and Class B felony dealing in methamphetamine. But under the terms of a plea agreement Gorham -- who spent one day in jail after being arrested and posting bond in October of 2007 -- pled guilty to one Class D felony possession of meth charge and was given an 18-month suspended sentence. [continues 446 words]
I'm writing about DJ Funkhouser's thoughtful column "It's weed, get over it." Our government is wasting countless billions of dollars attempting to eradicate an easy-to-grow type of marijuana that at least 95 million Americans have used. The net result is that the drug is just as available today as it was in the 1970s. Instead of attempting to nullify the immutable law of supply and demand, our government should regulate, control and tax marijuana. We could easily tax it at about 90 percent of its retail price. The vast majority of marijuana's current price is the result of the "prohibition tax," which is now going to organized crime. It seems to me that non-users would be very much in favor of taxing a product that they don't use. Around here, taxing somebody else's vice is very popular. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Inside Indiana
