Everyone's talking about America's racial problems without mentioning the armor-plated Humvee in the room. America's drug policy is the leading cause of the animosity between the police and the communities they're charged with protecting. Everyone cheers the police when they arrest a burglar or arsonist, but it's hard to see how institutionalizing locals for weed does anything other than harm a community. The police are not racist, the laws are. From its Jim Crow origins to the racially coded language of Nixon and Reagan to different sentencing for cocaine and crack, the war on drugs is, and has always been, a racist enterprise. [continues 79 words]
Lawmaker Says Pro-Pot Movement Premature, Dangerous The parade of those clamoring for the legalization of pot in New Jersey includes an odd alignment of progressives, municipal prosecutors and doctors. They see legalization as harmless and inevitable. They make an interesting, if not a compelling case. Legalizing marijuana, they argue, would eliminate from our already crowded court system cases of casual users of pot who pose little threat to the community. Why waste taxpayer money prosecuting these individuals and why burden these people with criminal records for smoking a weed? Instead, they argue, legalize pot, and tax it; filling government coffers with millions of dollars. [continues 600 words]
We get it already -- Gov. Chris Christie doesn't like the state's legalization of medical marijuana. That's abundantly clear at this point, considering the governor continues to maneuver at every turn to block implementation of the law. He's challenged the number and selection of distribution centers and growers, played around with the required strength of the drug and other provisions, and now says he wants assurances from the federal government that those involved in the program will not be prosecuted for that involvement. [continues 405 words]
Earlier this year, the state legislature approved a bill that allowed the use of medicinal marijuana in New Jersey. The measure, signed into law by former Gov. Jon Corzine, was originally supposed to take effect this summer, giving relief to those suffering from chronic pain that defies traditional drugs. But the Christie administration has dragged its feet in implementing the law. That's a shame. With the passage of the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana, New Jersey joined the growing number of states that allow the regulated use of marijuana. The law called for the creation of six private but heavily regulated alternative treatment centers that would dispense marijuana to patients under a doctor's care. [continues 280 words]
You say there are "only benefits" to medical marijuana? Not in San Francisco, where this farce has already been enacted, leading to a sharp increase in crime. Here's how the scam works: well-meaning voters approve the use of pot for "terminally ill" people. Pot dealers get a "medical pot" card for their "glaucoma" and use it to buy pot. Dealers turn around and sell the pot to teenagers. Dealers use the proceeds to acquire harder drugs like heroin and crack. Teenagers become the next generation of drug addicts. The areas where the pot shops are located become crime-ridden slums. [continues 165 words]
We realize it's too much to ask for a debate about the benefits of medical marijuana to focus solely on health issues and not turn into a social morality play. That's what happens when the subject is an illegal drug often used for recreational purposes that generates heated passions on both sides of the legalization discussion. But when it comes to limited legalization for medicinal reasons, critics simply don't have a viable case against it. On Monday, the state Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee approved a bill that would provide chronically ill patients with access to marijuana. The patients would have to petition the Department of Health and Senior Services for permission, with certification from a physician. [continues 231 words]
BERNARDS --The Board of Education remains undecided about whether a random drug-testing program is the right way to tackle the problem of high school students using alcohol and drugs. The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. tomorrow Nov. 10 to hear public comments and receive further information about a proposal that could begin in the 2009-10 school year. The program, to randomly test Ridge High School students who have applied for a parking permit or who sign up for extra-curricular activities, would be similar to existing programs in other Central Jersey high schools. [continues 681 words]
HILLSBOROUGH - Local high school students involved in after-school activities, sports or with parking permits -- will be subjected to random student drug testing under a measure approved by the township's Board of Education. Despite pleas from several parents and students during the past few months urging school board members to vote against the plan, the Board approved the second and final reading of the random student drug policy in a 5-3 vote Monday evening. The program, which is expected to cost $9,000, will be implemented during the 2008-09 school year. [continues 651 words]
HILLSBOROUGH -- A community debate about whether to implement random drug testing of district students grew more intense Monday as school board members discussed the recent arrests of several teenagers on drug charges. The board last month approved the first reading of a random student drug-testing policy, 6-3, and is expected to take a final vote on it Feb. 25. No additional action on the proposal occurred at Monday's school board meeting by Courier News deadlines. The meeting was at Auten Road Intermediate School. [continues 425 words]
Board to Disclose Policy on Random Student Drug Testing at Next Month's Meeting. HILLSBOROUGH -- The public can voice opinions on plans to implement random student drug testing at Hillsborough High School next month before the Board of Education makes a final decision about it. Scheduling conflicts had caused Board of Education members to move the public hearing from this month to the 7:30 p.m. work meeting on Jan. 3. School board member David Kanaby, chairman of the board's Policy Committee, said the board's attorney is drafting a policy for the random drug testing which, if approved, would be implemented in the 2008-09 school year. [continues 349 words]
TRENTON -- TV personality Montel Williams, who says he breaks the law daily by medicating himself with marijuana, presaged emotionally charged testimony expected today when New Jersey, for the first time, considers allowing prescribed marijuana. "I break the law every day. I will continue to break the law every day," a sometimes teary Williams told reporters at a Statehouse news conference where the Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey, which supports medical marijuana, issued results of a poll it commissioned that showed support for its positions. [continues 362 words]
HILLSBOROUGH -- The parents who turned out for a recent "Drug Awareness Night" at Hillsborough Middle School did not have to be persuaded of the threat that illegal drugs can pose to their children. "I think it'll rise anywhere if you don't stay on top if it," said Andy Christian, who has a daughter in seventh grade and a son in fifth grade. "The potential is always there. It can happen in a good or bad community." Michael Nenlsen, whose son is an eighth-grader, said, "Events like this educate the community. ... It all comes down to the parents. They need to take a role in their (children's) lives." [continues 791 words]
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey will become the first state to institute a drug-testing policy for all high school athletes under a plan set to receive final approval next month. The policy, which received preliminary approval Wednesday from the executive committee of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, would bar high school athletes from competing unless they and their parents agree to random tests. Testing would start in the fall if the committee again endorses the plan June 7. Key points of the preliminary plan: [continues 157 words]
TRENTON -- Three New Jersey cities with high rates of HIV infections will be able to establish needle-exchange programs under an order signed Tuesday by the governor. Gov. James E. McGreevey's executive order declared a public health emergency in the cities, paving the way for addicts to exchange used syringes for sterile ones. It leaves Delaware as the only state without a legal method for drug abusers to obtain sterile needles. Cities eligible to participate in the governor's pilot program are Atlantic City, Camden, and a third city yet to be identified. Atlantic City and Camden had already passed local laws to start needle exchanges, but their efforts stalled without legislative authority. [continues 543 words]
