The Governor Is Right to Propose a Debate on the Merits of Legalizing Marijuana but His Motive Is All Wrong. On the subject of legalizing marijuana, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is right. And he's wrong. The governor, who is nothing if not flamboyant, grabbed headlines recently by saying it's time for a debate on the question of legalizing and taxing marijuana. "Well, I think it's not time for (legalization), but I think it's time for a debate," Schwarzenegger said. "I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs. What effect did it have on those countries?" [continues 311 words]
Addiction Skyrockets As Drugs Bound For The US Circulate Within Mexico. Mexico City - Gerardo Flores was 16 when he first was offered marijuana, and by the time he was 19 he had tried ecstasy, LSD, and cocaine. He had been arrested for stealing and expelled from school. This is the new face of drug addiction in Mexico. Today the country finds itself not just in a battle with drug traffickers vying for lucrative routes into the US, but with a domestic consumption problem that is ensnaring youngsters such as Mr. Flores. Fortified borders and a fracturing of drug cartels have led to a glut of drugs in Mexico, causing prices to drop and addiction rates to skyrocket. The number of addicts has grown in just six years by more than 50 percent, from 300,000 to 465,000, according to government statistics. [continues 664 words]
Dear Editor: Wherever the Youth Addictions Centre is placed, individuals will have to travel. Does it not make more sense to have the services centrally located to make access more readily available to clients and their family members? Would travel to Grand Falls-Windsor from the western or northern parts of the island not be easier and cheaper than having to travel to the Avalon? Grand Falls-Windsor is a centrally located service area for the island part of Newfoundland. The Exploits Region offers many amenities and is attractive to professionals as it is a wonderful area in which to bring up a young family. Not everyone wants to reside on the Avalon. We need to enhance the already existing professionals and facilities that are currently in central. [continues 314 words]
Valley RCMP And The Courts Continue Their Attacks On The Proceeds Of Crime. For the second time in two weeks the courts have ordered the forfeiture of properties in the North Thompson Valley after police found major marijuana grow operations on them. On April 30 in Kamloops a judge ordered Klondike Elston, age 48, to forfeit a small ranch located near Little Fort. Elston was also sentenced to nine months in jail, two years of probation, plus given a lifetime firearms ban. He was described by his lawyer as an outstanding citizen of Blue River. [continues 177 words]
Wanganui's police chief is concerned about increasing cannabis cultivation in the district and the fact that more people are getting involved in this illegal activity. Police have released details of a four-day district-wide operation earlier this year, which led to a dozen arrests and the recovery and destruction of about 2800 cannabis plants. While Wanganui Police said while the operation - dubbed Operation Kristy - had made a serious dent in the drug trade, cannabis cultivation was still a problem in the region. [continues 591 words]
It was a desperate quest for pain relief that led double amputee Stephen John Tiplady to grow cannabis in his garage, the Blenheim District Court heard yesterday. When police found the growing operation, 12 maturing plants were under lights and in the corner of the garage a converted fridge housed another 20 smaller cannabis plants. The 53-year-old Spring Creek man, who lost an arm and a leg in an accident, had read about the pain relief cannabis could give. He then researched how to grow it because he did not want to buy from dealers. Through trial and error he established enough plants to create a constant supply of cannabis. [continues 187 words]
A former jailer for the Duplin County Sheriff's Office has been sentenced to two and a half years probation, fined and ordered to serve community service for attempting to provide an inmate at the Duplin jail with drugs. Kenneth Wayne Kentrolis, 22, of 290 Halls Pond Road, Rose Hill, pleaded guilty to felonious attempt to provide a controlled substance to an inmate after being taken into custody in January as a result of an undercover operation. Following the plea, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. sentenced Kentrolis to a term of six to eight months in prison, however that sentence was suspended by the court. Kentrolis was placed under 30 months of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $600 fine, court costs and attorney's fees and complete 50 hours of community service. [continues 474 words]
MEXICO CITY -- Revelations that army troops confiscated 14.5 tons of marijuana at a warehouse belonging to the brother of a prominent Mexican senator have heightened feuding in an election season that has been shaken by claims that drug barons have infiltrated the political establishment. Authorities said the seizure, which took place in January and was reported by the Reforma newspaper Monday, happened at a chili-drying facility owned by Candido Monreal, the brother of Sen. Ricardo Monreal. Their brother David, the mayor of Fresnillo, where the warehouse is situated, said Tuesday that the marijuana had been "planted" by his political enemies. [continues 633 words]
CLEVELAND -- Lee Lucas, the federal drug agent whose full-throttle approach led to major convictions and questions about his credibility, faced the toughest court appearance of his 19-year career Wednesday. His own. A federal grand jury in Cleveland charged Lucas, 41, of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in an 18-count indictment that accuses him of perjury, making false statements and violating three people's civil rights. The charges stem from a bungled drug sting in Mansfield that led to the arrests of 26 people in 2005. Lucas led a DEA task force that used informant Jerrell Bray to make undercover drug buys and help scoop up drug dealers. But Bray lied his way through the probe. [continues 884 words]
