MONTPELIER -- The state Health Department is facing a $1.2 million deficit that officials attribute to the rising costs of treating heroin and other substance addictions, lawmakers learned Wednesday. The director of the Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs told members of a joint House and Senate conference committee that he is over budget by $536,997 this year and is looking at a projected $717,000 deficit in the fiscal year 2003 budget. Thomas Perras said the deficit was the result of a higher-than-expected number of clients seeking state-funded treatment and the state being forced to send many of those clients out of state because Vermont lacks those services. [continues 492 words]
MONTPELIER -- Efforts to pass a measure providing some legal protections to seriously ill patients who use marijuana for medicinal purposes failed Tuesday, raising doubts among some lawmakers that any bill would make it into law this year. Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tried several procedural ways to get his measure through the Senate. All were in vain. Despite the failures, Sears said he was not giving up hope of getting some proposal out of the Senate by the end of the week. [continues 559 words]
The Senate Is Likely To Take The Issue Up Next Week A proposal to provide some legal protections to seriously ill patients who use marijuana won the support of a Senate committee Thursday, but advocates of legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes argued the measure doesn't go far enough. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 to include a marijuana provision in another bill dealing with police arrest powers. The language provides patients who possess up to an ounce of the drug a so-called affirmative defense in court if they were to be prosecuted. An affirmative defense does not make it legal to possess the drug. Instead, it would provide patients with a defense they could mount before a judge or jury. [continues 505 words]
MONTPELIER - A bill legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes emerged from what many believed was a certain death Wednesday, when Senate leaders floated a compromise that would provide some legal protections to seriously ill patients who use the drug. The announcement breathed some life into a measure that was believed idle because of staunch opposition from Gov. Howard Dean and a dwindling legislative session. That changed Wednesday, when Sen. Richard Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told fellow Democrats that he was considering an alternative that would create a so-called affirmative defense for seriously ill patients who use or purchase up to an ounce of the drug. Sears had openly warned supporters of the measure for weeks now, that he would not have the time to take testimony on the bill before the session adjourns. [continues 852 words]
MONTPELIER - The sleeper issue of the session may find permanent slumber in the Senate if opponents of medicinal marijuana, including Gov. Howard Dean, get their way. A bill allowing marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes with a physician's consent passed through the Republican-controlled House last week. But its fate in the Democratic Senate is much less certain. Dean strongly opposes the bill. He has called it a move to circumvent the federal regulatory process and legalize marijuana. The Democratic governor has been evasive about whether he'd veto the bill if it makes its way to his desk. [continues 971 words]
MONTPELIER - The sleeper issue of the session may find permanent slumber in the Senate if opponents of medicinal marijuana, including Gov. Howard Dean, get their way. A bill allowing marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes with a physician's consent passed through the Republican-controlled House last week. But its fate in the Democratic Senate is much less certain. Dean strongly opposes the bill. He has called it a move to circumvent the federal regulatory process and legalize marijuana. The Democratic governor has been evasive about whether he'd veto the bill if it makes its way to his desk. [continues 975 words]
MONTPELIER -- The House gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would bring Vermont in line with eight other states that allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. After four hours of emotional debate that saw more than one lawmaker break down in tears, the Republican-controlled House approved the controversial bill, 81-53. Lawmakers split on the issue with those supporting it viewing the measure as a mechanism to offer seriously ill patients another option in trying to ease their pain. [continues 790 words]
MONTPELIER - Lawmakers are considering a measure that would legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana in the state for medicinal purposes. The House Judiciary Committee began taking testimony Friday on a bill that would exempt seriously ill people and physicians from being prosecuted for using and growing specified amounts of marijuana. "Not just anyone can use this; you need it based on a recommendation of a doctor," Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, told the committee. "There are a number of debilitating medical conditions ... and for some this is the only way they have to alleviate their symptoms." [continues 429 words]
Lawmakers are considering a measure that would legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana in the state for medicinal purposes. The House Judiciary Committee began taking testimony Friday on a bill that would exempt seriously ill people and physicians from being prosecuted for using and growing specified amounts of marijuana. "Not just anyone can use this; you need it based on a recommendation of a doctor," Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, told the committee. "There are a number of debilitating medical conditions ... and for some this is the only way they have to alleviate their symptoms." [continues 429 words]
WOODSTOCK — From a Burlington jail Thursday, Shawn Gibson described the agonizing symptoms of methadone withdrawal. When his attorney asked Gibson to describe his health, the 26-year-old heroin addict recited a list of ailments, from fever and body cramps to the shakes and vomiting. "(I'm doing) very poorly," Gibson said in testimony he delivered to a Superior Court judge Thursday via telephone. "My stomach is in complete knots. ... It's an absolute horror, really." Gibson is the latest inmate to protest the state Department of Corrections' refusal to administer methadone to prisoners who are taking the drug to kick heroin. In an emergency hearing in Windsor Superior Court, attorneys from the Prisoners' Rights Office and the Attorney General's Office haggled over the two main issues in the case — does the law allow the department to dispense methadone to an inmate and is the course of treatment Gibson is receiving in jail adequate in the eyes of the law? Gibson has been held without bail at the Chittenden Correctional Center since last week after allegedly violating his probation. [continues 827 words]
MONTPELIER - Painting a bleak portrait of the state's criminal justice system, Senate leaders on Thursday pledged to devote their efforts in the coming session to finding ways to combat prison overcrowding and the growing number of young offenders. "We feel this needs diligent attention," said Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin. Shumlin, Lt. Gov. Douglas Racine and key senators announced a new initiative that would put the Judiciary and Appropriations committees in charge of taking a comprehensive look at the criminal justice system. [continues 519 words]
MONTPELIER - The Vermont State Police drug task force is so short-staffed that it can't handle the flourishing drug trade in the state, according to its commander. Lt. James Colgan told lawmakers Wednesday that the task force's budget has barely increased over the last decade. As a result, the number of officers staffing the specialized squad has decreased from 21 in 1992 to 10 today. "We flat out do not have enough people to be effective," he told the House Judiciary Committee. "We are getting to the point where the cost is increasing enough that the funding will not keep us afloat." [continues 648 words]
MONTPELIER - The nation's top drug official criticized Gov. Howard B. Dean Wednesday for threatening to veto a bill that would make methadone treatment available to heroin addicts in Vermont. During remarks made at a national conference on methadone treatment in San Francisco, Barry McCaffrey found fault with the governor's arguments against using methadone maintenance treatment to combat heroin addiction. "I find that ... so set up nicely - like central casting stepped forward to articulate a line of argument that doesn't make any sense," McCaffrey said, responding to one of Dean's concerns that a methadone clinic would attract heroin addicts to Vermont. "... Does this mean we're going to outlaw Prozac so that depressed, schizophrenic patients won't move to Vermont?" [continues 649 words]
MONTPELIER - The nation's top drug official criticized Gov. Howard B. Dean Wednesday for threatening to veto a bill that would make methadone treatment available to heroin addicts in Vermont. During remarks made at a national conference on methadone treatment in San Francisco, Barry McCaffrey found fault with the governor's arguments against using methadone maintenance treatment to combat heroin addiction. "I find that ... so set up nicely - like central casting stepped forward to articulate a line of argument that doesn't make any sense," McCaffrey said, responding to one of Dean's concerns that a methadone clinic would attract heroin addicts to Vermont. "... Does this mean we're going to outlaw Prozac so that depressed, schizophrenic patients won't move to Vermont?" [continues 596 words]
