SPRINGFIELD -- During his 30 years as a Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. Bob Hillenbrand said, he encountered a number of folks whose treatment could have been enhanced by medical marijuana. Hillenbrand, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Rockford, recently joined an effort to allow those with debilitating medical conditions to legally possess the drug in Illinois. "I think there's a lot of ignorance about this," he said Monday. "I'm certainly not an expert myself, but I have heard quite a number of doctors say -- and I happen to agree with them -- that treatment like this might very well be in order." [continues 86 words]
SPRINGFIELD -- There's one thing missing from sentencing hearings for drug dealers, Cook County prosecutors say: testimony from people victimized by drug crimes in their communities. "Pastors are willing to stand up and say, `This is how it's affected my congregation. This is how it's affected people coming to my church,' " said William T. O'Brien, chief of the Narcotics Division in the Cook County state's attorney's office. "Principals are willing to stand up and say, `This is what my kids have to face every day."' [continues 1060 words]
