STUDIES on the impact of drugs and substance abuse on school students carried out by the National Substance Abuse Advisory Council of the Education Ministry should be extended to include teachers. The recommendation by Hassan Khan, the executive director of the Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS), comes in reaction to claims by the Fijian Teacher's Association (FTA) that its members are dying from stress. "It is very stressing to read that our teachers are dying of stress as claimed by the president of FTA. This is indeed a very serious assertion and there is an urgent need for a full study on the issue," Mr Khan said. [continues 173 words]
This April, the New York State Assembly passed important legislation to reform the draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens, increases drug treatment alternatives to incarceration, expands judicial discretion to restore fairness in our courts and, critically, allows for people currently serving harsh prison terms for low-level drug offenses to seek much-needed relief. The Assembly should be commended for passing smart reforms. But where are the governor and the state Senate on drug law reform? [continues 732 words]
Teens Face Up to 6 Years in Prison Three Pulaski High School students have been charged with aggravated battery for allegedly beating a friend who they believe told police another friend sold marijuana at the school. [redacted] appeared Thursday in Brown County Circuit Court for the balance of an initial appearance. They're accused of beating up a 17-year-old on April 23. [redacted] is also charged in the case. The 17-year-old male was also a student at the school, according to a criminal complaint. [continues 366 words]
Figures for Last Year Show That Cocaine Is Cheaper, Purer and Widely Available. MEXICO CITY -- The United States and its Latin American allies are losing a major battle in the war on drugs, according to indicators that show cocaine prices dipped for most of 2006 and U.S. users were getting more bang for their buck. Despite billions of dollars in U.S. antidrug spending and record seizures, statistics recently released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy suggest that cocaine is as available as ever. [continues 708 words]
Don "Buzz" Fowler has seen people at their worst make their way to his business. The owner of El Sobrante's M E Delivery, one of two medical marijuana dispensaries in Contra Costa County, says the majority of his more than 800 clients come to him under the most dire of circumstances. "I get people coming in crying and skinny and dying," Fowler said. "Four months later, they've gained weight and they're smiling...these people got to eat to get over these cancers." [continues 532 words]
An indoor marijuana crop that authorities valued at $8.5 million was uncovered Friday in Norco, the latest in a fast-moving flood of suburban homes-turned-illegal greenhouses that began in Canada and spread to the Inland area last year. Law enforcement up and down the West Coast have been busting these home-grown operations in record numbers over the past year with several high-profile seizures in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. State authorities believe many of the operations are tied to Asian gangs. [continues 1150 words]
Re: the story headlined Hunt for drug barons, Friday, April 27. When I saw The Sentinel news bills outside the newsagents on Friday, declaring: Drug barons target city, I expected to read about crack cocaine or heroin, but no, it's those pesky cannabis plants grabbing the headlines again. The report included the police admitting just what an easy target otherwise law-abiding cannabis growers are. "We would have just kicked in the door, taken the plants, made an arrest and we wouldn't have gone beyond that."This is not to mention the devastating effect on the family, court appearances, a hefty sentence, and a conviction which can lead to losing jobs (in healthcare, teaching, etc) and possible evictions, as well as an average cost of UKP4,000 per tax payer - well done there! [continues 132 words]
IT has never been so trendy to be green. By that I don't mean that suddenly everyone is installing solar panels at home or making a commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle as many goods as possible. Now you can think of yourself as an environmental champion just by going shopping. These days the greening of America seems to be all about spending money, sometimes silly amounts of money, to buy stuff simply because it is labeled "organic," "sustainable" or carries some other tag that reassures the buyer that the purchase is environmentally friendly. [continues 719 words]
To the Editor, I have an update on Jean Marlowe and her effort to have her right to use Cannabis/marijuana for medicine. I know a lot of people are aware of Jean's battle. In 1997, Superior Court Judge Ray Warren ruled in a state case that Jean "had no choice due to her medical condition" and had at least two doctors monitoring her condition. That left the Federal government, who says "no" for marijuana use. On Feb.13 of this year, Jean was ticketed at a routine traffic check in the Great Smokies National Forest with possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. On April 18th, Jean went to U.S. District Court in Bryson City, NC. She was very nervous going into court, but she carried with her the Federal guidelines for "necessity", which she has met; a recommendation from a doctor in California; two letters from her internal medicine specialist from Asheville; and a pocket copy of the Constitution of the United States. [continues 110 words]
