My conservative is at war with my libertarian. I and myself are having a conversation about Question 2, the initiative petition on the November ballot to decriminalize marijuana. A "Yes" vote would replace the criminal penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marijuana with a new system of civil penalties. Offenders would no longer risk arrest, jail, loss of driver's licenses; they wouldn't have a criminal record. Instead, a $100 fine would be imposed, and offenders under age 18 would also have their parents notified and be required to complete a drug awareness program. If they don't, the fine is raised to $1,000. [continues 771 words]
Fresno County Becomes 41st in State to Adopt the ID Program. People who smoke marijuana for medical reasons will now be able to get an identification card in Fresno County so they can prove to police that they have a doctor's prescription. Fresno County on Tuesday became the 41st county in the state to agree to participate in California's Medical Marijuana Program registry. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to join up. Using marijuana, even for medicinal reasons, is against federal law. But in 1996, California enacted the Compassionate Use Act, which allows patients and caregivers to possess or grow marijuana if a doctor has recommended it for medical use. [continues 475 words]
Fresno Doctor Backs Needle Exchange Without Joining Trade. It's an hour before drug users can get clean syringes at a needle exchange in south Fresno, but a line of people begins to form as soon as Dr. Marc Lasher pulls around the corner behind the wheel of a green and gold bus. There are always patients waiting for the doctor. "I'm always doing something. There's no time I sit here twiddling my thumbs," Lasher says at the end of a recent sweltering Saturday inside the bus that serves as the Fresno Free Medical Clinic. [continues 1457 words]
Fresno CO. Supervisors Face Controversial Issue Surrounding Drug Users Fresno County's health officer has declared a health crisis among intravenous drug users infected with hepatitis C and the AIDS virus, setting the stage for supervisors to face off over the authorization of a legal needle-exchange program. In a 17-page report presented to supervisors Tuesday, Dr. Edward Moreno said 81% of illegal drug users in Fresno County are infected with hepatitis C, compared to 1.8% for the general population. [continues 831 words]
Fresno Area Tops U.S. In Injection Drug Users, Lacks Legal Program Fresno ranks No. 1 for injection drug users among metropolitan cities, but the county doesn't have a legal syringe-exchange program to reduce the use of dirty needles and help prevent the spread of the viruses that cause AIDS and hepatitis C. The Fresno County Grand Jury says this should change. In a report issued late last month, the grand jury recommended that the county take advantage of state laws to establish a system for drug users to exchange dirty needles for clean ones and to allow them to purchase sterile syringes at pharmacies. [continues 1208 words]
A Fresno man who grows medical marijuana for himself and more than two dozen others says an emergency city ordinance limiting the number of people he can serve conflicts with state law and should be nullified. James Mitchell said he will ask Fresno City Council members at today's meeting to void the ordinance, which was approved Oct. 26 at the request of Police Chief Jerry Dyer. "They've opened up a can of worms with all kinds of constitutional issues that they will now have to answer for," Mitchell said Monday. [continues 618 words]
Finding a life-threatening mold growing on marijuana plants confiscated for evidence in criminal cases would be highly unlikely in the the central San Joaquin Valley, law enforcement officials say. For one, they don't store enough of the plants to be a host for mold. "We only store what is required by the penal code. We take five random samples from a field, for example," says Lt. Don Landers of the Tulare County Sheriff's Department. Sonoma County found a dangerous mold growing on marijuana plants stored in its Sheriff's Department evidence room this fall. [continues 143 words]
Recovering drug addicts and those who treat addictions in the Central Valley implored state lawmakers Wednesday to spend as much money on drug victims as they do to fight the war on drugs. "I work with the tragic victims of this war," said James Bowman, a Fresno County chemical-dependency adviser. "I know I have continued job security." Said Ray Tapia, a 33-year substance-abuse counselor from Fowler: "If you get in trouble, there's a bed. But if you need treatment, there's not a bed." [continues 861 words]
Today's Meeting In Fresno Will Focus On Helping The Drug's Addicts. Rachelle Dosty swore she'd never put a needle in her arm like she'd seen her mother do to feed a heroin habit. And Dosty didn't think she was repeating her mother's mistake when she started shooting up methamphetamine at 15. She was only using it to party, she reasoned. She wasn't addicted. "At the time, I didn't see that I depended on it," says Dosty, 28. "Now I think I needed it to get up and I needed it to go out and socialize, regardless of if I was partying or not." [continues 651 words]
