For nearly three decades, Elise Segal has worried that police might arrest her for using marijuana. The 58-year-old Deptford nurse started smoking the drug in her 20s to relieve pain and muscle spasms brought on by her multiple sclerosis. "I was blessed enough to find something to give me quality of life but the flip side of it . . . if I got caught or not I was breaking the law," Segal said. "That made me a criminal every day and that was very hard for me." [continues 1567 words]
Collingswood resident Peter Rosenfeld has tried chiropractors, yoga and assorted medications to alleviate the spasms and burning pain caused by an autoimmune disorder of his cervical spine. "Either they didn't work at all or the side effects were too incapacitating," said Rosenfeld, 54. In 1999, he flew to California to try marijuana treatment at a clinic that bred plants specifically targeted at his symptoms. It was the only thing that provided consistent relief without making him so foggy that he couldn't function or work, he said. But it wasn't legal in New Jersey. [continues 942 words]
Random Checks Using Dog Aims To Keep Drugs, Guns Off Campuses In Fort Mill Tosca, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, trots around cars parked in the Fort Mill High School student lot, her nose pushed against the sides of the vehicles. She holds back at one sedan, circling by the door. Then, after a few more good sniffs, she looks up at her handler and sits down. That's her alert signal. Tosca has been trained to recognize the scents of gunpowder and all sorts of drugs -- and she smelled something suspicious here. [continues 634 words]
