Edgy campaign features cheeky menus, radio spots In the mood for a garlic gummy worm burger with iceberg lettuce and mustard-fudge drizzle? Or how about an order of spaghetti and gumballs with gravy and licorice? Sound delicious? Then you're stoned! If you have a bad case of the munchies, indulge but just don't drive high. Ridiculous fare from fictitious Dave's Drive-Thru is part of a new campaign aimed at keeping drug-impaired partiers from getting behind the wheel. [continues 371 words]
Justin Trudeau should be setting the right tone for young Canadians, Kevin Richard says. A little over a decade ago a wandering federal government stuck its finger to the wind to see what would carry them back to power in the next election. It openly dithered with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana only to make a half-hearted attempt that was doomed to fail. As a result of this irresponsible attempt to gain popular favour, police officers commonly encountered confused young people who believed that decriminalization was all but a done deal. Unfortunately, many of them now have criminal records. [continues 562 words]
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, A little over a decade ago a wandering federal government stuck its finger to the wind to see what would carry them back to power in the next election. It openly dithered with the idea of decriminalizing marijuana only to make a halfhearted attempt that was doomed to fail. As a result of this irresponsible attempt to gain popular favour, police officers commonly encountered confused young people who believed that decriminalization was all but a done deal. Unfortunately, many of them now have criminal records. Considering, therefore, the still-present legal implications of its use, and considering the ever-present health implications of its abuse, I ask, sir, that your government tread carefully so as not to make light of what is a serious issue. [continues 511 words]
The libertarian side of me thinks we should legalize all drugs. There would have to be some adjustments in our criminal procedures and additional laws dealing with punishments for those who commit crimes while under the influence of drugs. There could be sentencing enhancements. Those who commit crimes while under the influence of any drug should have a mandatory five years added to the sentence for the crime itself. Ten years could be added to the sentence for each and every injury caused during the commission of a crime while under the influence. A mandatory life sentence would apply to any conviction of a crime committed while under the influence, where a death occurs. [continues 747 words]
New research shows that retelling your past drug and alcohol experiences to your adolescent children is possibly a bad idea. A study by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that kids whose parents spilled the beans were less likely to hold anti-substance abuse perceptions. "Why would we tell them our gory or law-breaking behaviours of the past? What good would possibly come from that except maybe a release of guilt for the parent?" says teen expert Mary Jo Rapini. "They may tell themselves that you did it so it's okay for them to. Remember our kids use us as a guide for what is the norm for them," she says. [continues 719 words]
New research shows that retelling your past drug and alcohol experiences to your adolescent children is possibly a bad idea. A study by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that kids whose parents spilled the beans were less likely to hold anti-substance abuse perceptions. "Why would we tell them our gory or law-breaking behaviours of the past? What good would possibly come from that except maybe a release of guilt for the parent?" says teen expert Mary Jo Rapini. "They may tell themselves that you did it so it's okay for them to. Remember our kids use us as a guide for what is the norm for them," she says. [continues 714 words]
Loreta Jent's response to my June letter regarding medicinal marijuana was written with good intentions ("Illinois shouldn't OK medical marijuana," July 8; "Other drugs carry more danger than marijuana," June 12). She does not want to see our nation fall further into "criminal behavior, auto accidents, broken families and lost productivity." I agree. However, I question how she linked marijuana usage to these problems. The only criminal behavior connected to marijuana usage is the use of the illegal drug and the people who deliver it for personal, untaxed profit. There are no cartels shooting up houses over marijuana. There are no fathers abusing their wives and children while high on pot. [continues 165 words]
This is in response to Shirley Bradley's letter regarding medicinal marijuana ("Marijuana law would send mixed message," YourViews, June 5). She acknowledges that medical marijuana is available to anyone suffering from pain, headaches and attention deficit disorder, not just dying patients. This is no surprise. Cannabis has been shown to effectively treat anxiety, depression, glaucoma and pain. There are other drugs available to treat these conditions. However, they can be just as debilitating as the diseases themselves. Hydrocodone is just as addicting and harmful as heroin because it's derived from the same plant. Acetaminophen is found in most medicines and treats pain, but is also linked to liver failure. One can overdose or die on 10 pain pills. Marijuana has yet to be the direct cause of any known deaths. [continues 138 words]
There has been alot of advertising against drinking and driving, specifically, but how much advertising has there been about driving under the influence of drugs? According to Constable Deanna Alford, not much. "Since there is already a difference between the two advertising campaigns, the perception of the two tends to be different," said Alford. A police officer will enter into an impaired driving investigation the same way whether it's impairment by drugs, alcohol, or sleep deprivation. Depending on what information the officer gathers during the investigation, such as the smell of drugs, empty beer bottles, or other signs of impairment, an officer may then enter into a more specialized investigation, such as impairment by drugs. [continues 314 words]
San Bernardino became the latest Inland city to ban medical marijuana dispensaries late Monday. City Council members voted unanimously, with Dennis Baxter and Rikke Van Johnson absent, in favor of a ban, Deputy City Clerk Linda Sutherland said. California voters decriminalized medical marijuana in 1996, but San Bernardino and San Diego counties filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision. The counties declined to issue permits until after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal earlier this year. [continues 142 words]
In November 2005, Denver passed a measure that allowed adults over the age of 21 to possess an ounce or less of marijuana without criminal prosecution. While not exactly legalization (fines are still able to be imposed, and it is still illegal to sell or buy it), it's a step closer for this hot-button topic. On Thursday, the debate takes center stage at The Union as the Heads vs. Feds debate rolls into town. The event, which has become intensely popular on college campuses around the country, is headed by Steven Hager and Robert Stutman. [continues 588 words]
In recognition of National Addictions Awareness Week (NAAW) on November 20 to 26, AADAC would like to emphasize the importance of a whole community working together to prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug and gambling problems. NAAW is a time to celebrate the joy of an addictions-free lifestyle, to provide information and promote activities that prevent addictions. One way of getting involved during NAAW is to work together to create a safe and caring community which values young people. As adults, we have the opportunity to make a difference in a young person's life by investing energy and effort in building assets for and with them. [continues 309 words]
Last year the Supreme Court rejected an appeal that would have prevented physically ill patients from smoking pot if they get a doctor's recommendation. The Justices turned down the Bush administration's request to consider whether the federal government can punish doctors for recommending or perhaps even talking about the benefits of the drug to sick patients. An appeals court said the doctors cannot be punished and the Supreme Court affirmed that decision by refusing to take the case. Nine states have laws legalizing marijuana for patients with physician recommendations or prescriptions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and 35 states have passed legislation recognizing marijuana's medicinal value. But archaic federal laws ban the use of pot under any circumstances. [continues 675 words]
The U.S. government calls them criminal aliens, but they are as American as drive-by shootings and crack cocaine. . Deportees sometimes come back Many came to the United States as children, often in the arms of men and women fleeing poverty and war. They went to school here, but usually not for long. They came of age on city streets from Los Angeles to New York. Eventually they broke the law. In 1996, Congress banished them from America for life and directed immigration agents to hunt them down. The biggest dragnet in U.S. history is well under way. Already, more than 500,000 have been deported, according to government figures, and this year they are being banished at a rate of one every seven minutes to more than 160 countries around the world. [continues 354 words]
REGARDING the controversy over the proposed methadone clinic in Roanoke County: The proposed site is in a neighborhood. In March 1989, Dr. William Ball received his rezoning for a family practice medical office after assuring his neighbors that he would do no harm. People are aware of the negative impact the clinic is certain to have on a neighborhood. Life Center of Galax is a for-profit facility and Ball, with full knowledge of that impact, signed a lease with them for profit. [continues 153 words]
James Madison once said, "I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." This, my friends, is a good way to describe the toll the war on drugs has taken. The war on drugs was started by Richard Nixon, who promised prior to his election that he would be our law-and-order president. But neither law nor order had much meaning to Nixon, other than it was a good lie to tell the people who'd vote him into office. He ended his presidency in ignominy and shame. He broke the laws he'd promised to uphold and lost any and all credibility when it came to law and order. [continues 662 words]
WHITE CLOUD, Mich. -A member of an American Indian tribe wants to be able to give peyote to his 4-year-old son during spiritual ceremonies. It's a matter of religious freedom, he says. Jonathan Fowler, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, belongs to the Native American Church of the Morning Star, where the hallucinogen plant is taken as a sacrament. Mr. Fowler, a 35-year-old resident of Traverse City, wants his son to join him in the rite, if the boy wishes. His ex-wife, Kristin Hanslovsky, objects, saying it could harm her child. [continues 600 words]
