We note that the National Commission on Ganja is nearing the end of its work. Some nine months of hearings have been held in all parishes aimed at framing recommendations about possible decriminalisation of the drug. As we understand it, the objective is to determine whether the drug should be decriminalised for limited personal use. The Commission, headed by Professor Barry Chevannes, was asked by the Prime Minister to examine the possible economic, cultural, social and international effects if a positive recommendation is instituted. [continues 259 words]
Why do people do drugs? I don't get it. It's like committing suicide only doing it slowly. My opinion is that they should stop making drugs so kids can live their lives without any problems dealing with drugs. TRAVIS BAIR Kimberly [end]
MONTGOMERY - Gov. Don Siegelman said he wants OxyContin drug maker Purdue Pharma to pay for a prescription drug monitoring program to cut the illegal use of the powerful painkiller. "The problem has been largely that a small number of doctors has abused their prescription rights, and what I'm looking for is some means of tracking the issuance of OxyContin and other dangerous drugs so we can curtail the abuse of the sale and abuse of use of it," Siegelman told The Tuscaloosa News. [continues 525 words]
Albany Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Hartford's North End, has played host for months to open drug markets and escalating gunplay, including two drug-related homicides in June. Friday afternoon, Taeza Johnson looked out on "the avenue," as it is called by the locals, and saw a team of state troopers and Hartford police officers stopping cars at a checkpoint. On one hand, Johnson said, the sight of more police officers makes her feel better. On the other, she said, more cops can create more anxiety. [continues 825 words]
Giggle if you want, says the doctor who will lead clinical trial of marijuana. But the weed could ease the suffering of thousands Dr. Mark Ware has heard the question before: "Have you ever smoked marijuana yourself?" He just smiles. "Let's leave this to the patients." Sometimes, it seems nothing can take the giggle out of marijuana research. "You've got to have a sense of humour," says Dr. Mark Ware, who's about to conduct a first-ever clinical trial to measure the effects of smoked pot and pain. "I think I've heard it all and then somebody has another one." [continues 1532 words]
Evidence Gathered In Search Can't Be Used CLEARWATER - Pinellas County sheriff's detectives misled a judge to obtain a search warrant for an Oldsmar house filled with marijuana plants, a judge said in a ruling released Friday. A sworn affidavit used Dec. 11 to persuade Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Judge Dee Anna Farnell to issue a search warrant contained three "misrepresentations" and five "material omissions," Farnell wrote in a July 26 order suppressing evidence against two men charged with felony marijuana trafficking. [continues 366 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia - A Colombian court on Friday ordered a suspension of aerial eradication of drug crops using the chemical glyphosate, the main prong of a U.S.-backed counterdrug offensive in the South American country. The ruling by a Bogota district court came in response to a petition by an organization representing Colombia's native Indian communities. President Andres Pastrana said his legal experts were studying the ruling. He did not indicate whether he was ordering an immediate stop to the spraying against the plants used to make cocaine and heroin. [continues 178 words]
OTTAWA (CP) - Doctors are concerned about a flood of applications from patients - some using fake forms - when regulations on marijuana for medicinal use take effect Monday. Under the new law, severely ill patients with a doctor's approval can apply to Health Canada to grow and use the drug. The Alberta Medical Association told doctors in that province Friday to "think twice" about filling out forms for patients. Dr. Clayne Steed, AMA president, also warned physicians to be extra wary of fake forms after one physician was asked to fill out a form from the Grant W. Krieger Cannabis Research Foundation. [continues 481 words]
Dear Editor: I just finished reading the July 6-12 "This Is Your Country on Drugs" issue cover to cover, and I am both stunned and delighted. The state of drug prohibition is a very hot topic these days, yet it's one that the mass media are reluctant to handle. I'm glad to see that the L.A. Weekly isn't afraid to step forward and give this issue the time it deserves. Adam Wiggins, Pasadena Dear Editor: Re: Michael Simmons' "One Toke Over the Line." Thanks for taking some bull's-eye shots at America's lunatic drug war. Prohibition poses as a moral crusade, but it is based on lies, dissembling and noxious propaganda. It is a destructive policy serving no useful purpose. When drugs were legal, addicts held regular employment, raised decent families and were indistinguishable from their teetotaling neighbors. When addicts used cheap, pure Bayer Heroin, overdoses were virtually unheard-of. [continues 287 words]
Dear Editor: What a wonderfully perverse way to commemorate Independence Day: by celebrating the 1960s narcissistic revolution. It was a fascinating read to see how the rich and upper-middle-class recreational-drug users are piqued by society's refusal to legalize drugs. But what about those lower down the ladder, especially poor minorities? The '60s cultural revolution, led by rich white bohemians, told the world to reject the old-fashioned, unhip Protestant work ethic as oppressive. Unfortunately, a lot of the poor and minorities bought into it. But what the hell, at least the underclass have the crocodile tears of the left to comfort them. I bet not one of the writers for this issue has ever set aside two seconds to think their selfishness might have consequences. [continues 79 words]
