Family members of those who died of opioid overdoses embrace at the "Fed Up!" rally to end the opioid epidemic on September 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. Some 30,000 people die each year due to addiction to heroin and other opioids. Family members of those who died of opioid overdoses embrace at the "Fed Up!" rally to end the opioid epidemic on September 18, 2016 in Washington, DC. Some 30,000 people die each year due to addiction to heroin and other opioids. (John Moore) [continues 1044 words]
Re "Grading the foothills" (Newslines, by Tom Gascoyne, Aug. 8): "A graded hillside east of Oroville is one of at least seven properties whose owners have been sued by the county." Robyn DiFalco, executive director of Butte Environmental Council, said she is very aware of and concerned about what is going on in the foothills. "I think this is one of the most alarming and egregious environmental violations taking place." Say what? Robyn, time to wake up: The environmental damage you claim is caused by marijuana cultivation is nothing compared to the cataclysmic destruction perpetrated by Sierra Pacific in its quest for profit. If you are not aware of this, you may wish to take a ride up Highway 32 and hike back behind the yellow gates. You will discover multitudinous, huge clear-cuts. Massive amounts of soil have been churned up and left exposed by Sierra Pacific throughout the upper Big Chico Creek watershed. Do you really think that the marijuana production in our foothills is a more alarming and egregious environmental violation than the logging by Sierra Pacific? Thinking before you speak would be good. Waking up to reality would also help. John Moore Chico [end]
Conservatives need to stop pretending harm reduction doesn't work and just admit they don't like the concept Facts and science found refuge in Canada's Supreme Court last Friday. The court delivered a smack down to ideology, finding that the success of Vancouver's safe injection program in providing better outcomes for drug addicts and improving public order is inarguable. The court's highly technical decision hinged on the unanimous conclusion that the program's goals have been provably met. Debate over. [continues 626 words]
I was shocked to read in the Oct. 21 Kalamazoo Gazette family newspaper, the words of singer George Michael, talking about marijuana: "This stuff keeps me sane and happy. I'd say it's a great drug -- but, obviously it's not very healthy." What a disgusting and objectionable way to influence youth and readers of the Gazette. Having recently conducted the funeral of an intelligent 19-year-old young man killed by a drug overdose, you get my "righteous indignation" up to a high level. May God have mercy on you and forgive you for printing these words in our Gazette. John Moore Associate Pastor The Lighthouse Church Portage [end]
KABUL - NATO-led troops killed 38 suspected insurgents in two separate confrontations in southern Afghanistan, and western troops and Afghan police elsewhere seized over nine tonnes of marijuana from a truck, officials said Wednesday. The fighting in Kandahar's Zhari and Panjwaii districts on Tuesday targeted rebels who were attacking the alliance's "development efforts" in the area, said Maj. Luke Knittig, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Details on the fighting were not available, nor was the nationality of the troops involved. [continues 372 words]
Bluebird Patrons Get Sober News The interpretation of those two tiny words turned Denver's final live concert with alcohol at certain all-ages shows Sunday night into the first under a new city policy that bans alcohol when minors are present at venues with a capacity of fewer than 2,000. Sunday's lineup of five punk bands at the Bluebird Theatre was intended to defiantly usher out a 10-year era during which alcohol was allowed to be served to those of age while minors were kept physically separated from adults. [continues 724 words]
Mar. 24, 2001 - Denver is changing its liquor license policy in an effort to better fight the use of the drug Ecstasy in nightclubs, but it may mean significantly fewer all-ages shows and serious economic hardship for promoters of shows at local clubs. As of April 15, Denver no longer will allow alcohol to be served anywhere in clubs or small live-music venues where minors are present, Helen Gonzales, director of excises and licenses, said Friday. Since 1991, patrons younger than 21 have been allowed into some clubs but were seated separately from adults who were served alcohol. Holders of cabaret licenses will be officially notified by Tuesday, Gonzales said. [continues 892 words]
The Tipple Of Choice For fin-de-siecle Decadents Tempts A New Generation Called the cocaine of the 19th century, absinthe was so central to that era's artistic life that it appeared in the paintings of masters ranging from Van Gogh to Picasso, and in the writings of such luminaries as Oscar Wilde and Emile Zola. No wonder it piques the fantasies of today's explorers, especially those who travel to Czechoslovakia, Spain, and other parts of Europe where it can still be sampled. Be forewarned, however: Despite its renewed celebrity status as Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor's "perfect drug," the stuff can be nasty, and its active ingredient, wormwood, even nastier. (Last September, a leading U.S. medical journal reported renal failure in a man who drank essential oil of wormwood.) [continues 1131 words]
