Senate Majority Leader Says There's Not Enough Support In That Body HARTFORD - The drive to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana appears to be coming up short in the legislature this year. Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, conceded Friday that a bill to soften the penalty for possession of a half-ounce of pot or less does not currently have enough support in the chamber. "We did have a caucus last week and we were somewhat short of the number to pass it with purely Democratic votes," Looney said. "We may circle back around to that issue again." [continues 329 words]
Two prominent lawmakers pushing for reform of the state's marijuana laws have a potent new ally: the budget deficit. Sen. Toni Harp, chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee, and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney hope economics will succeed where other arguments have failed in convincing their colleagues that the costs of prosecuting and punishing pot smokers is an expense Connecticut can no longer afford. "We've got to take a strong look at what we want to pay for as a state," said Harp, D- New Haven, who with Looney is co-sponsoring a bill that would punish low-level marijuana users with a fine, not a criminal charge. [continues 837 words]
CANTON - - The 30 or so people who attended an informational meeting Monday on last month's controversial drug sweeps at Canton middle and high schools fell into two camps: those who support it and those who believe it went too far. "I applaud the superintendent for going forward with this search," said Sandy Sarmuk, a grandmother who is also a retired teacher. "The presence of the police in the building should be [a] comfort to every kid in the school." Others, including Elisa L. Villa, the mother and lawyer who organized the meeting, sharply disagreed. In their view, the searches chipped away at students' civil liberties, created a climate of fear and violated the school board's policy, which permits such searches only in response to a specific concern. [continues 360 words]
Joseph Macca did not have a famished infant in mind when, according to police, he and an accomplice stole eight cases of Enfamil from the Shop Rite supermarket in Manchester. Instead, police say the homeless drug addict told them, he was planning to feed a booming black market for baby formula. ``It's a hot item,'' said Lt. Brian Smith of the Vernon Police Department, which has seen several instances of baby formula theft in recent months. ``It's expensive and it's easy to unload on the street. [Drug users] steal it to finance their drugs.'' [continues 458 words]
