Surveillance Cameras, Random Drug Checks and More Are Planned to Ease Residents' Concerns After a String of Slayings. NEW ORLEANS -- Responding to residents' outrage over a sharp increase in crime that claimed nine lives in the first eight days of 2007, Mayor C. Ray Nagin announced a slate of crime-fighting initiatives Tuesday, two days before a planned residents' march on City Hall. "We are drawing a line in the sand and saying we've had it," Nagin told reporters at a briefing held at the site of the year's first slaying -- that of a man who was shot in the head on the evening of Jan. 1. [continues 695 words]
The halcyon months after Hurricane Katrina when peace ruled the streets of New Orleans officially ended in June when police allege 19-year-old Michael Anderson gunned down five teenagers in Central City. After the incident, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco dispatched the National Guard and state troopers to New Orleans to patrol the city's largely uninhabited neighborhoods in the Ninth Ward and eastern New Orleans. The move freed police to concentrate on high-crime zones but the bloodletting continues. In late July, Raymond Amison, 18, and Kevin Amison, 21, were charged with gunning down three brothers and a friend in Treme. Through last Monday, 150 people had been murdered in New Orleans in 2006. [continues 746 words]
Another reason to RE-legalize cannabis, kaneh bosm or marijuana, that doesn't get mentioned, ("Cannabis: A Token Issue No Longer," Nov. 14, 2006), is because it is biblically correct since Christ God our Father indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the first page - see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30. The only biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness - see 1 Timothy 4:1-5. It's time to stop caging humans for using what God says is good. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
This past Tuesday was sort of depressing, not because of the election results; but studying for two exams the following day meant I could not participate in any planned election night drinking hijinks or dull my pain each time CNN saw fit to "check in on the bloggers." Adding to that pain was the major media outlets' coverage of Amendment 44 in Colorado, Question 7 in Nevada and Initiative 4 in South Dakota which with the usual array of bad puns and metaphors: they went up in smoke, voters just say "no," a hazy issue, a pipe dream, etc. [continues 759 words]
This week, students and everyone associated with Vernon Parish Schools saw red and it was one of the rare occasions in life when seeing red is actually a good thing. Students, faculty and staff at all of the Vernon Parish public schools have spent the week participating in various events linked to National Red Ribbon week. At Leesville Junior High, the students participated in two community service projects. "We just completed a can drive for Helping Hands," Lois Spurgeon, LJHS' Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Resource Officer, said. "We're also doing a community-service project called 'Wash Out Drugs.' We'll collect soap products to be donated to a worthy charity." [continues 656 words]
Walk into the smallest primary school or the largest high school, and all the public schools in between here in Webster Parish this week and you will likely see more than one hint that it is "National Red Ribbon Week." This campaign carries with it a strong message to our youth: only they can take a stand and eliminate alcohol and drug abuse from their lives. Students in each school are celebrating this campaign in several different ways. Some are distributing flyers, decorating the schools with posters and red bows, inviting guest speakers who explain tragic statistics with students regarding the adverse effects of drug usage. [continues 335 words]
The subject of whether marijuana should be legalized in Louisiana has been a highly debated topic even among the students on the campus of Southern University. The laws involving marijuana use differ from state to state, however there are only twelve states in which marijuana is decriminalized. These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Nebraska, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Maine and Ohio. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is a non-profit organization that allows people to speak out about resisting the prohibition of marijuana. [continues 333 words]
Many students in the United States have lost their financial aid due to the use or possession of marijuana. According to Tom Angell, campaign director for Student for Sensible Drug Policy, about 200,000 students in the U.S. were denied financial aid because of drug convictions. "Yearly there are about 35,000 students that are denied financial aid," Angell said. "There have been a few years where the numbers have dropped, but it mainly stays persistent." According to the SSDP, Indiana has the highest percentage with 50 percent of its students being denied aid due to marijuana charges, preceding California with 36 percent. According to the SSDP, approximately 22 percent of students have been denied federal or state financial aid in the state of Louisiana. Some students on Southern University's campus agree that financial aid should be denied if students have been convicted for using or possessing illegal drugs. [continues 215 words]
More Parents Will Be Notified Of Infractions The University is looking toward revision and stricter enforcement of student conduct policies, and regulations involving underage drinking and drugs seem to be a main priority on judicial officials' list. Office of the Dean of Students officials are becoming more proactive in notifying the parents of students who are caught engaging in underaged drinking or partaking in drug-related activities on campus, residential halls in particular. The non-academic misconduct portion of the Student Code of Conduct states the University's prohibition of any student under the age of 21 from "consuming, possessing or serving without the proper authorizations, alcoholic beverages in a campus residence (including Greek houses). These rules also prohibit "illegal manufacture, sale, distribution or use of narcotics or... any controlled substances." [continues 740 words]
Next time he goes "On the Road Again," Willie Nelson might want to be careful about what he packs for the trip. The 73-year-old country music legend and four fellow musicians were cited for misdemeanor drug possession yesterday after Louisiana cops boarded their tour bus and seized 1-1/2 pounds of marijuana and a small amount of psychedelic mushrooms, police said. The five were busted after their bus was stopped just east of Lafayette for a routine commercial inspection and a state trooper smelled marijuana, cops said. Cited along with Nelson were (redacted). Nelson has long advocated pot's legalization. He appears as himself in the new movie "Beerfest," looking for teammates to join him in a mythical world championship marijuana-smoking contest in Amsterdam. [end]
Willie Nelson made a brief stop in Acadiana early Monday and left with less than he came with, after a Louisiana state trooper seized marijuana and mushrooms from the country music legend's tour bus. Trooper Willie Williams, spokesman for Louisiana state police, said authorities seized a pound-and-a half of marijuana and two-tenths of a pound of hallucinogenic mush mushrooms from Nelson's tour bus after it was stopped just east of Breaux Bridge on Interstate 10. After The Daily Advertiser broke the story at theadvertiser.com Monday, a media frenzy quickly followed, bringing national attention to singer's run-in with State Police. Nelson, 73, a country music hall of famer and strong advocate for the legalization of marijuana, appears to have been heading back to his home in Texas from a Sunday night show with country music legend Ray Price in Montgomery, Ala. [continues 165 words]
Drugs Were Found on Bus, Police Say LAFAYETTE, La. - Willie Nelson and four others were issued misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop Monday morning on a Louisiana highway, state police said. The citations were issued after a commercial vehicle inspection of the country music star's tour bus, state police said in a news release. "When the door was opened and the trooper began to speak to the driver, he smelled the strong odor of marijuana," the news release said. A search of the bus produced 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and slightly more than three ounces of narcotic mushrooms. [continues 265 words]
Country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson and several fellow musicians were charged with misdemeanor drug possession by state police after a search of their tour bus turned up marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. State police spokesman Willie Williams said the bus was pulled over about seven miles east of Lafayette for a routine commercial inspection, and a state trooper smelled marijuana inside the bus. Officers seized about 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and about a quarter-pound of mushrooms from the bus, Williams said. Nelson and four other passengers were cited for possession and released; the driver had his commercial driving privileges suspended in addition to being cited for possession. "There was no trouble whatsoever," Williams said. "They were all cooperative." [end]
How can we put this? Ah, yes. Herb-friendly country star Willie Nelson and several members of his band were issued misdemeanor citations for drug possession Monday during a traffic stop in Louisiana. The detective work? "When the door was opened and the trooper began to speak to the driver, he smelled the strong odor of marijuana," a state police news release said. A search of the bus produced 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and 0.2 pounds of narcotic mushrooms. [end]
Willie Nelson and four others were issued misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop yesterday morning on a Louisiana highway, state police said. The citations were issued after a commercial vehicle inspection of the country music star's tour bus, state police said in a news release. A search of the bus produced 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and 0.2 pounds of narcotic mushrooms, according to state police. Nelson's publicist, Elaine Shock, declined comment. [end]
Farmer's friend Willie Nelson, who will sing out for Farm Aid at Camden's Tweeter Center on Sept. 30, ran into trouble with the law in Louisiana yesterday over some organic material, the Associated Press reports. Nelson and four others were on the road again, on Interstate 10 near Lafayette, La., when they received misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after the singer's tour bus was stopped for a commercial vehicle inspection, according to Louisiana state police. [continues 116 words]
LAFAYETTE -- Country music singer-songwriter Willie Nelson was cited on drug counts in St. Martin Parish after a traffic stop of his tour bus Monday allegedly yielded more than a pound of marijuana and a bag of psychedelic mushrooms. Nelson, 73, and four others traveling with him face misdemeanor charges of possession of Schedule I drugs, State Police spokesman Trooper Willie Williams said. Williams said officers found 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and two-tenths of a pound of hallucinogenic mushrooms on the tour bus during a traffic stop for a commercial vehicle inspection on Interstate 10 westbound near Breaux Bridge. [continues 333 words]
Willie Nelson and several members of his band were issued misdemeanor citations for drug possession early yesterday at a traffic stop on Interstate 10 near Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish, La., The Associated Press reported. State Trooper Willie Williams said troopers noticed a strong odor of marijuana when the driver opened the bus door, and about 1.5 pounds of marijuana and about 3 ounces of mushrooms were found during a search. Mr. Nelson, 73, of Spicewood, Tex., and four members of his band were released after they were given the citations. [end]
Willie Nelson and four others were issued misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop Monday near Breaux Bridge, La. Police issued the citations after an inspection of the singer's tour bus produced 11/2 pounds of marijuana and 0.2 pound of mushrooms. [end]
Louisiana State Police issued a misdemeanor citation to country music legend Willie Nelson for possession of marijuana and mushrooms early this morning after stopping his tour bus near Breaux Bridge. Trooper Willie Williams, State Police spokesman, said today that a trooper with the Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped Nelson's bus on Interstate 10, near milepost 110, for a commercial vehicle inspection, a common procedure on Louisiana roadways. Williams said when the trooper entered the doorway of the vehicle, he immediately smelled marijuana. After searching the bus, the trooper confiscated one and a half pounds of marijuana and two-tenths of a pound of mushrooms. [continues 57 words]
Inside Louisiana
