Judge's Ruling Could Benefit Patients If U.S. Agrees to Legal Crop for Medical Research. Medical researchers need more marijuana sources, because government supplies aren't meeting scientific demand, a federal judge has ruled. In an emphatic but nonbinding opinion, the Drug Enforcement Administration's own judge is recommending that a University of Massachusetts professor be allowed to grow a legal pot crop. The real winners could be those suffering from painful and wasting diseases, proponents believe. "The existing supply of marijuana is not adequate," Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled. [continues 295 words]
WASHINGTON -- Medical researchers need more marijuana sources because government supplies aren't meeting the demand, a federal judge has ruled. In an emphatic but nonbinding opinion, the Drug Enforcement Administration's own judge recommended Monday that a University of Massachusetts professor be allowed to grow a legal pot crop. The real winners could be those suffering from painful and wasting diseases, proponents say. "The existing supply of marijuana is not adequate," Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner ruled. Researchers say the federal government's 12-acre marijuana plot at the University of Mississippi provides neither the quantity nor quality scientists need. [continues 139 words]
Together the City of Merritt and the RCMP are making a difference in the community. Local RCMP officer Cst. Tracy Dunsmore says the city's new controlled substance bylaw is helping them fight the growing drug problem in the community. "It sends a message that Merritt isn't friendly to grow ops," she says. "There's still a lot out there we don't know about, but we're getting there. " Dunsmore notes that Merritt is not unique in its battle against drugs, but she adds that Merritt is a difficult community in which to battle drugs. She's not sure why, but residents don't tend to complain when there is a suspicious house on their block. Lately that is beginning to change as more people are issuing complaints. Although she is unsure of the reason, Dunsmore is happy to report that the trend is starting to change. [continues 897 words]
So it's only marijuana. Many individuals do inhale marijuana and the youth have been given the message that smoking this drug isn't as bad as those "other" drugs. That is if the person that is giving the message even acknowledges that marijuana is a drug. But today's marijuana is not yesterday's marijuana. I find this to be very interesting information for parents, teachers and anyone who has had the questions asked or will be asked: What's so wrong with smoking marijuana? It's not a drug? Right? [continues 683 words]
Massive haul for '06 reflects huge demand for drugs Bermuda's voracious appetite for drugs yesterday prompted fresh calls for an urgent national debate. Figures released to the Bermuda Sun show Customs and police seized massive amounts of drugs last year worth more than $33m - 80 per cent more than in 2005. There is also disturbing evidence that there is a growing demand for the club drug ecstasy after Customs seized more than 20,000 pills in one haul in May. A man pleaded guilty to ecstasy importation last month and is due to be sentenced on Friday. [continues 799 words]
A Cop Pulled The Trigger, But The Perp Is The Money-Driven 'War On Drugs' In the inflammatory ruckus about the Atlanta police killing of an elderly woman, Kathryn Johnston, what's overlooked is the backdrop to the tragedy. Cops fired the fatal bullets on Nov. 21 in Johnston's west Atlanta home, but the real culprit is the 36-year-old "war on drugs." That war is just as much a disaster, just as ill-conceived, just as deadly to innocents and just as big a waste of tons of cash as George Bush's "war on terrorism." [continues 1043 words]
Broward's jail population, long the subject of controversy, comes under the microscope this week. A team of federal auditors is working this week to unravel the mysteries of how and why Broward's jail population has grown so rapidly. Consultants from the National Institute of Corrections, a branch of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, started work Tuesday and will continue through Friday. The three auditors will find a system where some 5,800 people sleep behind bars every night, 7,800 await trial on monitored release programs or house arrest and thousands more serve probation, never more than a missed appointment away from returning to jail. [continues 697 words]
Test yourself, 'Prince' readers: What's the one crime that causes a student to automatically lose federal financial aid? It's not murder. It's not sexual assault. It's not treason. It's drug possession or distribution.While rapists remain eligible, someone who's found guilty of an insignificant crime like smoking a joint unavoidably loses his or her federal financial aid. Under the Drug-Free Student Loan Act of 1998, a person who is convicted of possessing or distributing narcotics while receiving federal loans will have aid suspended for at least one year and possibly for as long as a lifetime. [continues 525 words]
