If you put THC in a lollipop, it will end up in a child's mouth. That's the reasoning behind House Bill 1250, which would ban the sale of edible forms of medical marijuana. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Cindy Acree, R-Aurora, claims she became aware that pot brownies, beverages and candy were accidentally being ingested by kids and landing them in the emergency room. She wants to stop this before some child ends up very, very stoned. OK, she didn't say that. What she did say is this: "I've never heard of anybody dying from it, so that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about kids that have never exhibited psychotic episodes that end up having reactions or young children who have reactions." [continues 733 words]
If the County Sheriffs of Colorado has its way, law-enforcement agencies will soon be able to take your house, cars, cash and jewelry, sell it off and divvy up the proceeds quietly and privately among themselves. This organization, which lobbies for the interests of sheriffs across the state, is the force behind House Bill 1238, which rolls back a 2002 law guaranteeing Colorado residents reasonable protections against "asset forfeiture" - a fancy legal term for when the cops use the force of law to take your stuff. [continues 941 words]
Every once in a blue moon the federal government says something we need to hear. On Sunday, Aug. 17, the government admitted that 1 in 37 American adults is serving or has served time in federal or state prison. As the Associated Press wrote in their headline on the subject, "5.6 million in U.S. have prison experience." The statistics were released by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics in its first-ever glimpse at the pervasiveness of prison "experience" among American adults. According to the report, 2.7 percent of the U.S. adult population have served time or are currently locked up a state or federal prisons. The report projects that an estimated 7.7 million peopleabout 3.4 percent of the nation's projected adult populationwill have served time by 2010. [continues 817 words]
NINE YEARS AGO - JULY 7, 1994 "The hemp initiative," the cover story, explained the high-jinks on the Colorado Hemp Initiative Project, an organization advocating not just the legalization of marijuana, but also the use of hemp for paper, fiber, fuel, food and medicine. Nine years later, marijuana is still a no-no in Boulder, though one of the initiatives' supporters, Paul Danish, is now a county commissioner. [end]
Inmate's Death Highlights The Need For More Drug-Treatment Programs, Critics Say Charlene Marquez, 39, had a drug problem. It eventually killed her. But unlike junkies who overdose in their homes, are killed in drug-related violence or die of hypothermia on the streets, Marquez died in prison. She was found dead in her cell early in the morning of Sept. 1, 2002, two days after her 39th birthday. An autopsy revealed bits of rubber and plastic in her stomach, the remains of a balloon that had been filled with heroin. [continues 2986 words]
Legislators Try to Reign-in Asset Forfeiture Abuses by Police A Mexican worker, employed legally in Alaska, stops at DIA on his way home to Mexico with $15,000 in perfectly legal cash in his pocket. He pays cash for the ticket for the last leg of his journey home. Police, tipped off to the cash purchase by airline employees, search the man and find his money. They discover no drugs and no evidence of a crime, but they take his money anyway. After he hires an attorney and fights them, he gets 40 percent of it back. [continues 2516 words]
[Photo caption] Five years ago, Sabra Erving spent her time in Colorado Springs hotel rooms selling and using crack. Today, the 43-year-old is drug-free and in her second year of college studying business administration. Erving, now living in Denver, says an intensive drug rehabilitation program gave her a new chance at life, and she is doing everything she can to make the most of it. Former crack dealer Sabra Erving is now in college and working a full-time job. [continues 3688 words]
Colorado's Drug Policy Reform Needs Reform Five years ago, Lydia spent her time in Colorado Springs hotel rooms selling and using crack. Today, the 43-year-old is drug-free and in her second year of college studying business administration. Lydia says an intensive drug rehabilitation program gave her a new chance at life, and she is doing everything she can to make the most of it. "Life is serious," she says. "I don't have a bunch of time to lollygag. I've wasted half of it already." [continues 3684 words]
Some Say Ritalin Helps. Others Are Addicted. Critics Say Teachers Use Drugs Rather Than Discipline. In many ways, Tom is the quintessential American boy. He's also a troubled child. Tom skips school almost as often as not. On any given weekday, he's as likely to be found fishing, smoking, and lying on his back staring at the sky as he is to be found in the classroom. When he is at school, he can be difficult, disrupting the classroom with puerile pranks and driving his teacher to distraction. [continues 3710 words]
