I liked your article, "Prohibition, pot and politics." Bill C-26 will be terrible for Canada if it passes and the details of this bill need to be exposed as much as possible. Thanks for including my Web site URL as well! (cannabisfacts.ca) Frank D. [end]
Recreational intravenous drug usage has been regarded as one of the most effective methods of drug administration associated with a rapid effect and primary factors in disease transmittance. Despite the high addictiveness associated with this type of drug use, recent research shows that there are intriguing network patterns among users. A cross-sectioned study regarding the social network patterns and HIV risk behavior among intravenous drug users was conducted this year in three separate Los Angeles communities by researchers JB Unger and MD Kipke. Participants were aged 15 through 23, and had to fulfill the requirement of having intravenous drug usage within three months and/or sexual intercourse with an IV drug user within 30 days prior to the conducted study. [continues 458 words]
Re: "Medical marijuana should get OK" Dec. 1, Our View. There is a reason that there is no pharmaceutical that does what the marijuana smoker gets. It is because the tetrahydrocabinol (THC) is only oil soluble and our body system operates on a water system. With all the experiments it has not been possible to produce a substance that can be dose related. Why don't we face the facts that the relief that can be obtained from ingesting THC is medically available. This issue is not about a medical cure. The pot smokers want their pot. [continues 161 words]
The City Council is set to approve a resolution today asking the state Legislature to legalize medical marijuana use. Supporters say controlled dispensing of pot can provide "therapeutic relief for many New Yorkers who are suffering from grave, chronic conditions and life-threatening illnesses." The resolution signals the first time the liberal-leaning Council has come out in favor of medical pot, although some advocates had hoped the 51-member body would have joined their cause long ago. The resolution's main sponsor, Councilman Philip Reed (D-Manhattan), said the Council had been in danger of becoming irrelevant in the fight because even the more conservative lawmakers in Albany are close to enacting enabling bills. [continues 286 words]
The City Council is getting puffed up about marijuana. After sitting on the shelf for nearly a year, a resolution calling on the state to legalize the medical use of marijuana got its first airing yesterday at a Health Committee hearing. The measure had 13 sponsors before the session, but quickly picked up four more backers during the hearing. Ann Wilson of the Bronx tearfully testified that her brother, John Holmberg, had used marijuana to ease the side-effects of chemotherapy to combat pancreatic cancer before dying two years ago at the age of 40. [continues 187 words]
At Least Until September, There's No Shelter Especially For Those On Drugs, Alcohol Until it was shut down June 20, an average of about 20 men and women under the influence of drugs or alcohol would sleep every night at the Rescue Mission's detoxification center. It's unclear where they are spending their nights now or where they should go, until Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare starts up its detoxification center in September with the $630,000 a year Onondaga County pulled from the Rescue Mission operation. [continues 939 words]
Religious Affiliation For Centers Appears To Run Counter To Court Decision Both secular and religious providers of services to people with drug and alcohol addictions were wondering Tuesday how President Bush's proposal to offer vouchers for treatment would work in New York state, where providers of such services are licensed and closely monitored. And a recent federal appeals court ruling on a rehabilitation program raises the question of whether Bush's proposal would survive a constitutional challenge. In his State of the Union address, Bush called on Congress to authorize $200 million from which people in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation would draw vouchers for use at any treatment center, even those with a primarily religious approach to the problem. [continues 501 words]
Why must we finance government lying? During the Super Bowl, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) financed, with our tax dollars, two anti-drug advertisements to the tune of $1.6 million each. The messages attempted to connect illegal drug use to support for terrorist activities. These statements were flat-out lies. Initial reports by federal investigators who have been tracing the financial underpinnings of the Sept. 11 attacks did not mention illicit drug profits as a source of funding for the attacks. [continues 54 words]
The city and county of San Francisco had the vision to reject Oakland's ill-advised solution. Still, other cities may follow Oakland anyway for the revenue. I could conceivably be driving in your city and stop to ask for directions. An unscrupulous or rookie police officer could simply consider me suspicious and seize my car. I find this most troubling and outrageous. Your ordinance should have limits to protect innocent drivers and car owners as specified in California state law and federal law. Will you make the effort to amend the unfairness out of your ordinance? Otherwise, I'll be staying far away from Oakland. I'll go to the ball games at Pac Bell Park and not put my car at risk. Frank J. De Smidt, Milpitas [end]
I WON'T be visiting Oakland any time soon, due to your outrageous car seizure law. That the state Supreme Court turned away the ACLU challenge doesn't make this excess in law enforcement justifiable. I recognize the need to enforce the laws against drug dealing and prostitution. However, Oakland has gone too far. The city and county of San Francisco had the vision to reject Oakland's ill-advised solution. Still, other cities may follow Oakland anyway for the revenue. [continues 107 words]
2-Year Sting Operation Leads To Drug, Weapons Charges Dozens of airline employees were arrested yesterday on drug smuggling charges in a series of predawn raids at their homes by federal agents. The arrests ended a two-year government sting operation at Miami International Airport targeting ramp workers who would smuggle anything from cocaine to hand grenades from Latin America to cities in the northeastern United States. The sting, dubbed "Operation Ramp Rat" by the government, focused on ramp workers at American Airlines -- who service airplanes on the ground, pumping gas and loading baggage -- and food handlers employed by Lufthansa Service Sky Chefs. Also arrested were an employee of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, one from the Agriculture Department and a part-time deputy from the Broward County Sheriff's Office. [continues 645 words]
