Lawmaker Says Taxing Marijuana Could Undo Deep Cuts To Drug, Alcohol Programs Mary Lou Dickerson had seen enough. After wrenching cuts to Washington's state drug and alcohol treatment programs, Dickerson, a Democratic representative, introduced a bill this year to sell marijuana in state liquor stores -- and tax it. Dickerson is an unlikely crusader for marijuana legalization. A 63-year-old grandmother who doesn't use it, she says money was the reason for proposing her controversial bill. "According to the state's own estimates, it would bring in an additional $300 million per biennium," she says. "I dedicated [in the bill] a great deal of the proceeds from the tax on marijuana to treatment." [continues 459 words]
The killings in Ipswich have shone a dismal light on the extent of prostitution in Britain today. The figures are horrifying: more than 100,000 girls working in brothels, massage parlours and on the streets, while the number of men using their services, particularly in younger age groups, has doubled. As David Harrison reports, the stark truth behind the sex trade is abuse, violence, exploitation and addiction The Evening Star in Ipswich summed it up succinctly: "Things like this are not supposed to happen in our part of the world." Serial killers are meant to strike in big, edgy cities, not in an unassuming agricultural town whose last claim to national fame was the fleeting success of the local football team 25 years ago. [continues 1844 words]
Computer Title Features Police Using Crack, Pot Acomputer game in which players use crack cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis to give themselves a "power boost" was condemned Saturday as irresponsible by anti-drug campaigners. Critics said the game, called Narc, would glamorize drug-taking and undermine respect for the police, who are depicted in the game as taking the drugs to help them to catch criminals. In the game, which will be released in the United States this week and in Britain in May, the players are elite undercover narcotics officers whose aim is to eliminate an international drug cartel. [continues 329 words]
Marijuana user with MS spreads word about medicinal use of drug Debbie Stultz-Giffin isn't the stereotypical marijuana user you often see in the movies or on television. The 46-year-old mother of four and chairwoman of Maritimers Unite For Medical Marijuana has multiple sclerosis. She sat in a wheelchair at Dartmouth Commons on Canada Day handing out information on medical marijuana and on Hemp Fest, a rock concert her organization is holding at the end of the month to promote medical marijuana. [continues 581 words]
Safety a Concern at Sunrise Manor Walter Briand, and other residents of an apartment building for seniors say unwanted visitors are selling drugs in their building's lobby and making them fear for their safety. Mr. Briand, a tenant at Sunrise Manor on Gottingen Street, is one of several residents who says the number of people coming into the building off the street worries him. "The security here is nothing," he said. "People come right in here and there's no one to stop them." [continues 473 words]
Ministers are planning to launch a television and poster campaign in an attempt to cut the rising number of road deaths caused by drivers under the influence of drugs. One poster shows the gravestone of a 19-year-old youth, with the message: "His last tablet. Never ever drive on drugs". Another shows a chalk outline of an accident victim's body on the road, pools of blood, and the slogan: "Not the hit he was hoping for". The campaign, which will be tested in Northern Ireland, comes amid growing evidence that increasing numbers of young people in particular are driving after consuming a cocktail of alcohol, Ecstasy and other drugs including cannabis and amphetamines. Official figures show that the number of drivers and passengers killed in road accidents after taking drugs has risen from three per cent of the total to 18 per cent in the past 15 years. [continues 380 words]
MOTORISTS could face roadside tests for "drug-driving" following a huge rise in the number of deaths on the road involving drugs. Six police forces have been using the tests in pilot schemes. Now a report from an influential group of police, doctors and road safety experts - to be published in the autumn - will urge the Government to introduce the tests nationally. The report will reveal that a growing number of drivers involved in fatal accidents are taking a "cocktail" of hard drugs. [continues 638 words]
