Cleburne County Sheriff Joe Jacks along with the Cleburne County Commission held a work session and Officer Alex Gonzales with the Villa Rica Police Department (Ga) I.C.E. Unit spoke to the group. The 2002 statistics from that department indicated a total of $6,721,696 along with 31 vehicles, valued at $430,000 seized; a total of 90 arrested of whom 63 were charged with felonies and over $26,500,300 worth of narcotics seized. Gonzales noted the I.C.E. unit trained 4,399 federal, state, county and municipal police officers and helped 62 state, county and municipal agencies establish successful "specialized" interdiction units. Sheriff Jacks and the commissioners are considering establishing a similar unit in Cleburne County and held out the possibility of hiring Gonzales and another officer to operate in the county. Sheriff Jacks said the relationship with the Calhoun-Cleburne Drug Task Force is excellent but he would also like to see the county have their own interdiction unit as well. [end]
Patients, Physicians Draw Line In The Sand Legalizing the use of marijuana for medical treatments has followers and detractors. At this time, the issue is rife with tangled information, with both sides using the same studies to prove their conflicting points. Even as words fly, an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision due soon may finally settle some of the dust. Still, new drugs in the pipeline might have a big impact in the future. Among them, an arm patch or inhaler might deliver marijuana's chief ingredient medicinally. [continues 1481 words]
