Re "Born with a burden" (Page A1, June 28): First, let me commend the Globe and Felice J. Freyer for an excellent article on the emotionally charged and difficult topic of the effects of opiate dependence on pregnant women and their babies. It showed that pregnancy during addiction can be a positive life-transforming event, as impossible as this seems. Rather than being a victim, as the article's subhead suggests, the baby can be a catalyst for change. With proper medical care and addiction treatment, the pregnancy can be healthy and the mother ready for her role as a parent. [continues 130 words]
Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed legislation to deal with the serious problem of an emerging class of drugs known as "synthetic cannabinoids." The new law, which went into effect Oct. 1, prohibits the sale and possession of drugs intended to mimic the effects of marijuana, commonly sold under brand names such as "K-2," "Spice," "Voodoo Spice" "Scooby Snax," "Mr. Nice Guy" and "Mystery," to name just a few. Particularly troubling is that the packaging of these products often depict cartoon characters or images that are appealing to young people. Commonly, the packaging label contains language advising that the product is "incense" and "not for human consumption." In the past, however, retailers have sold it to buyers with a wink and a nod. They intimate the product is to be smoked and that it will give the user a high similar to marijuana. [continues 393 words]
I couldn't agree more with Chicago Tribune reader James E. Gierach's letter to the editor, "Drug prohibition is the source of many social ills" (Voice of the people, July 13). Never in the history of human civilization has prohibition curbed the use of mind-altering substances. Human beings by nature look beyond their present reality. There was a time when Christopher Columbus was thought a crackpot for proposing that the world was round. Galileo nearly got lynched for proposing the revolutionary thought that the Earth revolved around the sun. [continues 131 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Mansour Bey credits a drug treatment program for helping him kick a crack cocaine addiction. Nola Tinkey says a tough love approach that briefly sent her to jail got her off drugs. The two are on opposite sides of an Ohio ballot initiative pushed by three billionaires - and strongly opposed by the Republican governor and much of the criminal justice establishment. The proposal, listed as Issue 1 on Ohio's Nov. 5 ballot, would require judges to impose treatment, not jail time, for nonviolent first- and second-time offenders who request it. [continues 380 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Mansour Bey credits a drug treatment program for helping him kick a crack cocaine addiction. Nola Tinkey says a tough love approach that briefly sent her to jail got her off drugs. The two are on opposite sides of an Ohio ballot initiative pushed by three billionaires -- and strongly opposed by the Republican governor and much of the criminal justice establishment. The proposal, listed as Issue 1 on Ohio's Nov. 5 ballot, would require judges to impose treatment, not jail time, for nonviolent first- and second-time offenders who request it. [continues 685 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The only statewide issue on the Nov. 5 ballot has three billionaire businessmen battling Ohio's justice establishment over how nonviolent, first- and second-time drug offenders are sentenced. State Issue 1 would require judges to order treatment instead of prison for those offenders. Currently, a judge has the option of sentencing them to as much as one year in prison for a first offense and up to 18 months for a second offense. However, judges routinely require treatment for those convicted of simple possession of cocaine, heroine or other felony-level narcotics. But they use the prison option as a motivator for staying clean, opponents of the issue say. [continues 509 words]
