(Re "Marijuana and Scripture") just dropping in to say that I completely agree. The drug war is based on hate, violence and lies, the very things Jesus does not want us indulging in, as tempting and fun as they are. Please keep looking into and reporting the truth, then implore our leaders to base laws on science, peace and truth. Our drug war is as shameful as witch burning (I can't believe good Christians actually did this, but they did, didn't they?), slavery (ditto), and alcohol prohibition (which caused massive corruption and crime). Melanie Marshall Jacksonville Beach [end]
Thank you for publishing this refreshing perspective ("Tiger Bay Club Ponders Decriminalization of Illegal Drugs") on the failed war on drugs. We certainly have lost this war. Drug use statistics have varied little over the last 30 years, other than the increase to 10 percent of high school seniors having tried MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy. High school students obtain these drugs through the underground black market, where there is not a license to lose for selling to minors, or regulations that will be followed to ensure there are no chemical adulterants poisoning those of our children who decide to experiment with drugs. [continues 86 words]
Thanks for this enlightening look at the drug problem ("Tiger Bay Club Ponders Decriminalization of Illegal Drugs"). I certainly agree with Peter Christ. Our drug policies border on insanity. Tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals contribute to more deaths each year than all illicit drugs. Problems don't go away because the government makes them illegal; they go underground, creating a black market, causing worse problems. Patients testify to cannabis' help in treating chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, gastrointestinal tract disorders and HIV/AIDS. [continues 66 words]
PALM HARBOR - History teaches that relaxing prohibitory drug laws diminishes the combined net damage caused by the drugs and by their enforcement. In the 1920s, federal alcohol prohibition caused more societal damage than it prevented. In 1933, we ended it and tossed the ball to the states. Most of them began some form of regulation, and the lawlessness of Prohibition stopped. At the other extreme was tobacco, promoted in an unfettered free market until the mid-1960s. Tobacco's regulation has reduced its damage to public health without criminalizing those who sell it. There have been no serious proposals to go back, either for alcohol or for tobacco, two drugs as intoxicating (alcohol), and as addictive (tobacco) as any illegal drug. [continues 57 words]
It's time for credible drug law reform ("Tiger Bay Club Ponders Decriminalization of Illegal Drugs") and at the very minimum that includes re-legalizing cannabis. Another reason to stop caging cannabis users that doesn't get mentioned, is because it is Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father, The Ecologician, indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on the very first page (Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). Stan White Dillon, Col. [end]
Prohibition didn't work for alcohol, so maybe it's about time to realize that it's not working for drugs, either, and should be stopped. That's the position Peter Christ of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition put forth for Tiger Bay Club members to consider. Also commenting on the issue were Brad Copley from the office of the state attorney, 10th Judicial Circuit, and Marion Moorman, public defender. Christ said his main objective was to end the drug war. He believes that the war is ineffective, and causes more harm than legalizing and regulating drugs would. [continues 1218 words]
Polk County has made dramatic strides in shutting down methamphetamine labs in Polk, but drugs from Columbia and Afghanistan are filling the void. That was the message from Congressman Adam Putnam and Sheriff Grady Judd at Wednesday's "Just Say No" luncheon at the Bartow Civic Center. The luncheon followed a "Just Say No" parade and a rally for fifth graders at the Bartow High School gymnasium. Participants came from 13 public and private elementary schools in Bartow, Fort Meade, Highland City, Mulberry and Eagle Lake. [continues 474 words]
