Botticelli Promotes Treatment Over Arresting Users WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's nominee to serve as drug "czar" won unanimous approval in the Senate Monday as lawmakers vowed to curb an epidemic that results in more than 40,000 deaths a year from overdoses of prescription painkillers, heroin and other substances. Senators voted 92-0 to approve Michael Botticelli, who has served as acting drug czar since March. A former head of the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, Botticelli has emphasized prevention and treatment and has been in recovery for more than 25 years. [continues 379 words]
Vote Unanimous for Botticelli; 'Czar' Calls for Prevention, Treatment WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate unanimously approved a former Massachusetts official to serve as the US drug "czar," as lawmakers vowed to curb an epidemic that results in more than 40,000 deaths a year from overdoses of prescription painkillers, heroin, and other substances. Senators voted, 92 to 0, to approve Michael Botticelli, who has served as acting drug czar since March and was nominated by President Obama for the permanent appointment. A former head of the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, Botticelli has emphasized prevention and treatment and has been in recovery for more than 25 years. [continues 419 words]
Attacks, Threats and Fights Increase More Than Fivefold It is getting more dangerous to be a forest ranger -- and it is not because of the animals. Attacks, threats and lesser fights involving Forest Service workers reached an all-time high last year, according to government documents obtained by a public employees advocacy group. Incidents ranged from gunshots to stalking and verbal abuse. The agency tally shows 477 such reports in 2005, compared with 88 logged a year earlier. The total in 2003 was 104; in 1995, it was 34. [continues 618 words]
WASHINGTON - For the nation's forest rangers, the serenity of the woods increasingly is giving way to confrontations with unruly visitors. Attacks, threats and lesser altercations involving Forest Service workers reached an all-time high last year, according to government documents obtained by a public employees' advocacy group. Incidents ranged from gunshots to stalking and verbal abuse. The agency tally shows 477 such reports in 2005, compared with 88 logged a year earlier. The total in 2003 was 104; in 1995, it was 34. [continues 286 words]
From Insults To Assaults, Visitors Carried Out Almost 500 Acts Of Aggression On Forest Service Workers Last Year, Records Show WASHINGTON - For the nation's forest rangers, the serenity of the woods increasingly is giving way to confrontations with unruly visitors. Attacks, threats and lesser altercations involving Forest Service workers reached an all-time high last year, according to government documents obtained by a public employees advocacy group. Incidents ranged from gunshots to stalking to verbal abuse. The agency tally shows 477 such reports in 2005, compared with 88 a year earlier. The total in 2003 was 104; in 1995, it was 34. [continues 252 words]
Washington.-.U.S. officials, already concerned about an increased flow of drugs from Canada, are warning that a Canadian plan to decriminalize marijuana use could lead to stepped-up inspections and long border delays. "We don't want the northern border to be a trafficking route for drugs," said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security for the Department of Homeland Security. "If countries have divergent policies on drugs, then that increases the potential of the borders becoming a trafficking route." [continues 383 words]
WASHINGTON -- US officials, already concerned about illegal drugs coming across the Canadian border, are warning that a Canadian plan to decriminalize marijuana use could lead to more inspections and long border delays. "We don't want the northern border to be a trafficking route for drugs," said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security for the Department of Homeland Security. Hutchinson and other US officials said the Canadian proposal is especially troublesome, considering how drug seizures along the vast northern border soared following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - - in part because of heightened security. The amount of marijuana seized from Canada quadrupled in the year after the attacks. [continues 309 words]
Canada's Plan May Pose Problem At Border With U.s. WASHINGTON - U.S. officials, already concerned about illegal drugs coming across the Canadian border, are warning that a Canadian plan to decriminalize marijuana use could lead to more inspections and long border delays. "We don't want the northern border to be a trafficking route for drugs," said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security for the Department of Homeland Security. Hutchinson and other U.S. officials say the Canadian proposal is especially troublesome, considering how drug seizures along the vast northern border soared following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks - - in part because of heightened security. The amount of marijuana seized from Canada quadrupled in the year after the attacks. [continues 352 words]
Connecticut Law Reflects A Backlash Against Drug HARTFORD, Conn. - When Sheila Matthews' son was in first grade, a school psychologist diagnosed him with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and gave his parents information on Ritalin. Matthews refused to put him on the drug. She believed that the boy was energetic and outgoing but not disruptive, and she suspected that the school system was trying to medicate him to make it easier for the teachers. Now the state of Connecticut has weighed in on the side of parents like Matthews with the first law in the nation to bar teachers, counselors and other school officials from recommending psychiatric drugs for any child. [continues 499 words]
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Thousands of felons on probation would have their voting rights restored under a bill approved by the state House Wednesday. The bill, approved 80-63 by the Democrat-controlled chamber, would allow felons to vote while on probation, but not while in prison. Under current law, felons cannot vote until after they complete probation. Eight Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting for the bill, which Gov. John G. Rowland has said he will sign. The House also approved the bill last year, but the measure was not taken up in the Senate. Connecticut is one of 29 states that does not allow felons on probation to vote, according to DemocracyWorks, an advocacy group that supports the bill. [continues 495 words]
