In Our View The regional crime laboratory at Missouri Southern State College has enhanced the capabilities of area criminal-justice agencies that rely on analysis of crime-scene evidence for making many of their cases in court. Lab personnel have also helped investigators in processing evidence at the scenes of major crimes, a forensic plus that can help narrow investigative avenues for authorities. During the life of the regional lab, Southwest Missouri has evolved into an entrepreneurial center for meth makers who apparently find the seclusion of rural areas and the availability of basements, garages and motel rooms in the more populated locales to their liking and profit. The proliferation of the meth labs and of drug raids over the years has been dramatic, and has focused much of the lab's resources on the war against drugs. [continues 251 words]
Interior and Municipalities Minister Elias Murr has announced the end of the "illegal crops issue" in the Bekaa, following the destruction of 114 million square meters of cannabis and 9 million square meters of opium. Speaking during a visit to the area Wednesday, Murr said the destruction operation was carried out by the Internal Security Forces with the army's cooperation and Syria's support. He added that the government was "serious" in preventing the cultivation of drugs "until we reach the day when no one will think of it anymore." [continues 54 words]
It has been a busy first seven months for criminals in the metropolis. Crime incidents in Metro Manila from January to July this year rose to 15.56 percent, according to the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO). Statistics showed there were 11,154 incidents recorded compared to the 8,868 during the same period last year. Worse, the crime solution efficiency fell slightly from 94.42 percent last year to 94.16 percent. Despite the figures, Metro Manila police chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco remains unperturbed. [continues 394 words]
What exactly is the point of the seemingly never-ending persecution of medical-marijuana activist Marvin Chavez (Matt Coker's A Clockwork Orange, Aug. 30)? The 48-year-old Santa Ana resident originally got six years for providing medical marijuana to undercover cops who used a fake doctor's note. A cop commits fraud, and Chavez, guilty of compassion, is sentenced to prison. If punitive marijuana laws are intended to deter use, they've failed miserably at doing so. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country. Yet America is one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal-justice system to destroy the lives of citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis-or who use it as medicine. The only clear winners in the war on some drugs are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians. The big losers are American taxpayers. Robert Sharpe Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C. [end]
Some of the country's leading medical specialists and researchers are trying to produce a synthetic cannabis substitute that will hopefully relieve the pains and spasms of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers. Researchers on the project have now concluded that the cost of the pill will actually be far greater than just administering plain cannabis or marijuana - both of which are still illegal in this country. According to early projections, a year's supply of the new pill will cost DKK 65,000. Patients claim that, for the same amount, they could purchase 1.3kilos of cannabis or marijuana, the equivalent of four grams per day, and far in excess of what is required. [end]
REDUCING demand for illegal drugs is the "key" to winning the war on drugs, said the new British High Commissioner to Jamaica yesterday. Jamaican and British authorities have been working together to interdict illegal drug shipments. But this is not enough, said Peter Mathers, who arrived in Jamaica six weeks ago. "We are also giving appropriate emphasis to the reduction of the demand for drugs and, frankly, this is the key to this whole problem," said Mathers, speaking to a lunch-time gathering of the Lions Club of Kingston. [continues 255 words]
Dear Editor, How many of us who read this article know someone who has lost their life due to an inconsiderate person who believes it is alright to operate a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs? How many of us know people who at one time had a promising future before they became involved with drugs and threw it away? Does anyone out there have any memories of watching loved ones hug and kiss their children goodbye because they were sentenced by the courts to pay a debt to society? Unfortunately, I have to say yes to all of the above. [continues 651 words]
The next time you're out enjoying a trek through the woods, you may encounter something more than just trees. According the Six Rivers National Forest system, growing and harvesting marijuana on national forest land has increased almost tenfold in the last decade. Last year alone, more than 10,000 marijuana plants were taken from Six Rivers National Forest lands. "We want to make sure forest visitors know this is going on and what they should do if they encounter a growing site when they are in the woods," said Six Rivers National Forest Supervisor Lou Woltering in a press release. [continues 312 words]
Proposal Would Bring Pot To Store Shelves TORONTO -- A Canadian Senate committee has proposed that Canada legalize marijuana, allow it to be grown by licensed dealers and perhaps be sold in corner stores to people 16 or older. Such a policy would make Canada one of the world's most tolerant countries toward the drug. In a report, the committee found that marijuana was less harmful than alcohol and shouldn't be treated as a criminal problem, but as a public health issue. The report called for amnesty for people convicted of marijuana possession. [continues 251 words]
Statewide Survey Of Students Shows Their Emergence While most illicit drug use by Indiana youths continued to decline, a statewide student survey earlier this year has confirmed the disturbing emergence of "club drugs" among some young teens. Use of these drugs -- including Ecstasy, GHB and Rohypnol -- is minimal among middle school students, but it grows slightly as students go through high school, says the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University in its 12th annual survey. "It's very scary to me," said Lisa Hutcheson, project director for the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking. "We have enough to worry about with drugs and alcohol." [continues 380 words]
DAVENPORT - Federal agents raided a medical-marijuana club's garden Thursday, carting off 130 plants, arresting the club's outspoken director and leaving 238 members wondering where they will get their medicine. Drug Enforcement Administration agents busted the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana garden just north of Davenport about 7 a.m. The cooperative grows marijuana for members, who must have a doctor's prescription. The club does not sell to the public. Alliance director Valerie Corral and her husband, Michael, who live on the property, were arrested on federal charges of intent to distribute marijuana, DEA spokesman Richard Meyer said. [continues 1076 words]
GOLIAD - Sheriff Robert DeLaGarza vows the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program will continue as always despite not receiving financial backing from either the county or city. "We definitely have enough to get started, so Oct. 1 it's going to be like nothing ever happened," DeLaGarza said. "I'm still hopeful. In fact I'm confident that we're still going to make it." Last month, Goliad County commissioners pulled the plug on the $43,500 program, explaining that they would possibly reconsider putting money towards DARE if other entities, such as the school district and the city, assisted with funding. [continues 275 words]
