Ohio's drug overdose deaths rose 39 percent -- the third-largest increase among the states -- between mid-2016 and mid-2017, according to new federal figures. The state's opioid crisis continued to explode in the first half of last year, with 5,232 Ohio overdose deaths recorded in the 12 months ending June 31, 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. The death toll increased by 1,469 or 39 percent, which trailed only the 43.4-percent hike in Pennsylvania and 39.4-percent increase recorded in Florida. Ohio's total number of dead also only fell behind Florida (5,540) and Pennsylvania (5,443). [continues 297 words]
Ohio lawyers are inquiring about the legal ethics accompanying medical marijuana. A committee of the Board of Professional Conduct is examining the issue and expects to make a recommendation on an advisory opinion in August. Two lawyers have sought guidance on ethical issues since lawmakers recently legalized the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medical purposes. The questions being asked include the type of services lawyers can provide to marijuana-related businesses, attorney ownership in related businesses and the personal use of medical marijuana. [continues 81 words]
Despite Penalties, Scores Are Caught Each Year Trying To Smuggle Them In The contraband was lobbed over the fence in tennis balls, swapped and swallowed from a shared cup of coffee, and tucked into gutted TV converters and hollowed-out books. Some Ohio prison inmates with a craving for drugs regularly succeed in recruiting friends and family in hopes of scoring an illicit high behind the confines of the razor wire. The methods used to smuggle narcotics into state prisons last year ranged from the ingenious to the obvious, but at least 115 attempts met the same fate: They failed. [continues 733 words]
COLUMBUS - The 10-second argument is simple: Should minor first-or second-time drug offenders receive treatment in lieu of prison? The answer, of course, is yes. Absent other crimes, little can be gained - and much more lost - by sending non-violent addicts to prison simply because they cannot resist the poison which has enslaved them. And, Ohio law indeed counsels addiction treatment over incarceration for those convicted of low-level felonies such as drug abuse and possession involving small, personal-use amounts. [continues 607 words]
COLUMBUS - His re-election campaign won't be Ohio Gov. Bob Taft's only political fight in 2002. The Cincinnati Republican also may find himself battling ballot issues asking voters to mandate get-out-of-jail-free cards for drug offenders and to authorize video slot machines at horse racing tracks. Add a showdown with lawmakers over a bill to allow most law-abiding adults to carry concealed handguns and Taft could confront a trifecta of measures - -- in addition to a Democrat -- he has sworn to defeat. [continues 711 words]
COLUMBUS - An increasing number of Ohio high school students are popping open beers, smoking cigarettes and using cocaine. The disturbing trend emerged Thursday from the Ohio Youth Risk Behavior Survey completed by 2,061 students in the ninth through 12th grades at 55 public and non-public high schools. "It's troubling, but not a surprise. We've seen this trend coming. Kids are experimenting, getting high or drinking a few beers on the weekend and don't realize it will lead to problems later. [continues 363 words]
COLUMBUS In an emotional debate that included an unsuccessful attempt to ban the socalled abortion pill, the Ohio House of Representatives has revoked the medical marijuana legal defense. The House voted 6433 on Wednesday to overturn a neverused and, until recently, littlenoticed law enacted last year to allow those charged with marijuana possession to argue in court they needed it for medical purposes. Lawmakers who supported the removal of the medical marijuana defense argued it was mistakenly included in a massive rewrite of felony sentencing laws and could foster criminal abuse of marijuana. Others argued the state should allow those suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and terminal illnesses to use the medical defense if marijuana helps with nausea, lack of appetite or pain. [continues 209 words]
