KINGSPORT - Police Chief Gale Osborne said on Tuesday the "wheels of justice" are moving toward addressing the synthetic drug situation in the Model City, noting that the department has been in contact with the city of Knoxville, which shut down four "head shops" last week.

In response to the growing number of people using synthetic drugs, such as synthetic marijuana and so-called bath salts, Kingsport approved a citywide ban on the products Dec. 6 with the penalty for the sale and possession of such products being a $50 civil penalty.

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I'm writing about a thoughtful Dec. 24 letter titled "State senators should be tested." I suggest that in addition to drug testing all politicians, you should make all politicians subject to full body searches, including their body cavities.

That's what they do at all jails and prisons. And we all know how completely drug-free all jails and prisons are. Obviously, only drug users and sellers will object.

Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz.

[end]

According to the News Sentinel, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, speaker of the state Senate, advocates drug testing for people who essentially receive government money, and state Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville is said to agree with this and to push for such legislation.

One assumes this means that Tennessee legislators who receive compensation from the state will also be included, as well as all state employees.

One also can't help wondering if drug-testing companies may not also be supporting this idea.

I am sure the state senators in favor of instituting this intrusive and costly testing would want to participate in it as recipients of compensation from the state.

Virginia M. Jones

Oak Ridge

[end]

Proponents of marijuana legalization often argue it will do everything from fixing our economy to ending violent crime ("Marijuana legalization bill offers safer alternative," Tennessee Voices, Aug. 15). Yet, the science is clear: Marijuana use is not a benign drug and it is harmful to public health and safety.

Decades of scientific study, including research from the prestigious National Institutes of Health, show marijuana use is associated with addiction, treatment admissions among young people, fatal drugged driving accidents, and visits to emergency rooms. Data also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled in the past 20 years. This is especially troubling for use among teens because the earlier a person begins to use drugs, the more likely they are to develop a more serious abuse and addiction problem later in life.

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A new Tennessee law is strengthening state and local law enforcement's efforts to combat dangerous new synthetic drugs marketed under harmless-sounding names such as "bath salts" and "plant food."

My office has joined forces with the District Attorneys of Tennessee to spread the word that these substances sold as a legal way to get high are both illegal and extremely harmful. Legitimate businesses should remove them from their shelves. Individuals need to stop using them.

In the ever-changing war on drugs across the country and in Tennessee, authorities have discovered that these synthetic drugs are growing in popularity and are being sold broadly from music festivals to local convenience stores. The products are labeled "not for human consumption" but have been widely promoted on the Internet and in chat rooms as alternatives to ecstasy, cocaine, or other controlled substances. The Internet-based ads target young people with flashy symbols in bright colors on their tie-dyed packages. These recreational drugs have caused severe physical and psychological side effects in a number of cases.

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Four decades ago, I was a drug warrior. I was recruited in 1972 to administer the think-tank portion of the Drug Abuse Council.

Addictive drug use (heroin and cocaine) was on the rise. "Recreational" use of marijuana, hashish and other substances were increasing. An alarmed public looked at drug abuse as the leading cause of property crime.

Youth values and attitudes were considered to be running amok - like protests and resistance to Richard Nixon's conduct of the Vietnam war. He had run for president appealing to the "silent majority" who wanted government to get tough on crime and pot-smokers.

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'Boro-Made 'Incense' Likely to Be Labeled As Synthetic Drug

MURFREESBORO -- A "powerful" designer drug that mimics the effects of marijuana when smoked is being manufactured, packaged and sold right here in Murfreesboro, and it's "100 percent legal" -- for now.

Vampire Blood is marketed as an incense but is being smoked by buyers looking for a high, according to local police and emergency officials. At least two individuals required emergency care in recent weeks after experiencing ill effects from smoking the product.

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Oh, the perils of this dark and twisted age! I thought the baby boomers were the lost generation, but their children's generation is the worst yet. They're not only into drugs, they concoct and peddle them, giggling all the while to equally enlightened Generation X'ers. That's tragic, of course, but it's not Gen-X's fault. It's my fault.

It is. I helped elect the people who came up with the War on Drugs and who now spend tons of taxpayer money trying to stop illegal drugs from entering the country. I have to ask myself, and now you, why?

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After back-and-forth heated debates for the last two months on how to curb the production of meth in Tennessee, a proposal is one step closer to a state House vote.

A bill that would require all pharmacies in Tennessee to log the sales of products containing pseudoephedrine into an electronic database passed out of the House Human Resources Subcommittee Tuesday morning.

"I'm hopeful this is going to work," said Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, who sponsored the bill.

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KNOXVILLE - The Republican plan to cut off congressional earmarks could cripple Tennessee's efforts in the war on drugs, officials said today.

Police agencies and communities around the state have relied for the past decade on the Tennessee National Guard's Counterdrug Task Force for anti-drug education programs, intelligence analysis and other support. Three-quarters of the funding for that task force comes from a $4 million add-on - or earmark - to the National Defense Appropriation Bill each year, said Maj. Randy Harris, spokesman for the National Guard.

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The Cleveland Board of Education should be commended for considering random drug testing for voluntary extracurricular activities. With the raging drug problem in Tennessee, it's important for everyone with the ability to influence kids to do so in a positive way. The school system is in a crucial authoritative position that can really deter kids from doing drugs, especially when something they love is at stake.

The board's desire to make sure the program they choose to implement is effective and covered financially shows their dedication to the cause. A haphazard program certainly will not do anything to help, but a program that is well thought out can make a big difference by providing students extra incentive to avoid drug use in favor of focusing on the extra-curriculars.

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As a Colorado resident, I strongly disagree with the opinion that the "Dangers of legalizing marijuana" (editorial, Oct. 23) are good a reason to continue caging sick citizens who use the relatively safe, God-given plant cannabis (marijuana). Most all the "dangers" are a consequence of prohibition, not the plant itself.

One important reason to re-legalize the plant cannabis for sick citizens 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 literally the very first page (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30).

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WASHINGTON -- In 2000, Hollywood released a critically acclaimed and (I thought) important movie, "Traffic," about the futility of the so-called war on drugs. I was naive enough to believe it would spark a national conversation about the stupidity of our generations-long policy of drug prohibition.

It didn't. We continued as we had since the 1960s: locking up drug offenders, spending countless billions on police and prisons, and abetting the devastating violence that attends the market in illegal narcotics. The United States, with about 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly 25 percent of its prisoners -- many of them drug offenders.

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In Aiding Sick, We Should Consider All Resources.

There's an old public service announcement that features a father and his son sitting at the breakfast table, eating and not saying a word.

"Another missed opportunity to talk to your child about marijuana," the screen reads.

Today, it's time to have a talk with Tennesseans about marijuana, albeit within a much more serious context. Thousands of Tennesseans suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, neurological diseases and degenerative muscle disorders are faced every day with a choice:

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Humboldt High School has begun random drug testing of student athletes and plans to expand the program to students in other extracurricular activities. It is an unfortunate decision that sends the wrong message to students that only those who participate in popular extracurricular activities are required to stay drug free.

We have long supported random drug testing of students. But such a program should apply to all students, not a select few. Testing only student athletes or participants in extracurricular activities sends the message that students will be punished for using drugs by being kicked out of the extracurricular activity. We find it hard to justify only holding a few select students accountable.

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Humboldt High School began a random drug-testing program Thursday for students involved in athletic activities.

Student athletes and parents were required to sign letters authorizing drug testing in order to participate in athletic programs, such as cheerleading and football. Ten students were randomly selected for the first round of testing through a numbering process, Principal Arthur Moss said.

Drug testing will occur every other month, with the next round beginning in November, he said. School officials plan to expand the program to include all students involved in extracurricular activities once an organizational structure is in place to randomly test a larger group of students.

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Shelby County Schools could begin random drug testing as early as this school year.

Supt. John Aitken and board members were still hammering out the details of the newly proposed policy at a Thursday board meeting.

If approved in October, random drug testing would touch nearly 30 percent of the district's 47,000 students, which take part in extracurricular activities.

Aitken wants to make sure jocks won't be singled out. "I don't think we need to narrow it down to sports," he said.

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The superintendent of Shelby County Schools plans to propose a measure that would allow schools to perform random drug tests.

On the agenda for Thursday's school board work session, the new policy would allow schools to test students involved in sports and other extracurricular activities for drugs and alcohol, regardless of whether there is a reasonable suspicion.

Supt. John Aitken would not discuss the agenda item.

"He doesn't have anything to say until he has the opportunity to present it to the board," said county schools spokesman Mike Tebbe.

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National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, was presented to SGA by the local chapter's founders and it became official an official student organization on April 13th of this year.

Chris Cahill, a senior from Memphis, Tenn., and president of the UTC chapter of NORML, said he felt inspired to start a local chapter of the national organization after writing a paper about NORML for an intro to non-profits class at UTC.

"Membership is open to all UTC students with a 2.0 GPA for $15, and you get a T-shirt," Cahill said. "You can find us on Facebook at UT Chattanooga NORML."

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DeSoto supervisors plan to review ordinance to cover rest of county

The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors has set a public hearing on Monday at 10:30 a.m. during its regular meeting in Hernando to review adopting an ordinance banning sales of synthetic drugs.

"It's consistent with what the municipalities have been doing," County Administrator Michael Garriga said Friday. "The ordinance would affect merchants in the unincorporated areas of the county," and close any gap, he said.

Southaven, Hernando, Horn Lake and Olive Branch already have passed ordinances outlawing possession and sale of synthetic marijuana and cocaine that are popular with teenagers and college students. The products have been deemed hazardous after reports surfaced of people getting sick after smoking the herbs.

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