A wide-ranging series of questions and answers at Monday's Penticton Herald election forum provided a broad if not deep overview of the positions of the candidates in South Okanagan West Kootenay and their parties.

For two hours, New Democrat Richard Cannings, Liberal Connie Denesiuk, Conservative Marshall Neufeld and the Green party's Samantha Troy took questions from a panel of six area journalists. The subjects ranged from economic policy to the environment, international relations, seniors housing, the legalization of marijuana and beyond.

[continues 2155 words]

Most people believe in second chances, but not everyone thinks marijuana should be legal.

That was the message underlying Tuesday's announcement that marijuana legalization backers were filing 236,759 signatures for a "Fresh Start Act." It would give people with misdemeanor pot convictions a chance to have them erased.

The Fresh Start Act would only work next year if Ohioans approve State Issue 3 this Nov. 3. The constitutional amendment would legalize recreational use for those 21 or older and for medicinal purposes.

[continues 394 words]

Participants at a Hope Over Heroin kickoff event braved cold wind and rain for a chance to mingle and find like-minded individuals in a winnable war.

Hope Over Heroin organizers delayed a start of a program until about 8 p.m. Sept. 11 to allow rain to pass.

Rev. Tim Williams, Greater Victory Christian Ministries, 559 Reid Ave., Lorain, estimated about 600 people attended the event in spite of the rain.

"You don't see many homeless people out here getting cold and wet," Williams said, "because if you're homeless and you get wet, you're wet and cold all night."

[continues 768 words]

TRENTON - Does marijuana have any connection to religious scriptures and priesthood?

Anne Armstrong, a self-described Originalist Judeo-Christian who hopes to influence Pope Francis and President Barack Obama, says the cannabis flowering plant is indeed mentioned in the original Hebrew language editions of the Bible as a key ingredient in an oil mixture for priests.

In Exodus 30:23, many English-language interpretations of the Bible refer to the herb in question as "sweet-smelling cane," but Armstrong, 55, of Providence, Rhode Island, said the correct Hebrew-to-English translation would be "cannabis" as she chilled Saturday afternoon in the rear courtyard behind NJ Weedman's Joint restaurant off East State Street.

[continues 341 words]

CHEYENNE - Another statewide organization has come out against a possible ballot initiative that would legalize medical marijuana in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Medical Society recently published a position paper opposing the proposal.

The organization counts more than 700 physicians and physician assistants across the state as its members.

It announced its opposition citing concerns that legalizing medical marijuana at the state level would subvert the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process.

"The WMS opposes legalization of medical marijuana outside of the regulatory process of the (FDA), recognizing however that marijuana may be an option for cannabinoid administration for children and adults with life-limiting or severely debilitating conditions for whom current therapies are inadequate," said Sigsbee Duck, president of the group's board of directors, in a statement.

[continues 421 words]

Along with the nation's sharp jump in heroin overdoses has come a startling revelation, often called "the new face of heroin." It is a white face, mostly middle-class and suburban, "far from the stereotype of the shivering urban junkie," as the Christian Science Monitor put it this year.

In an article about a white high school soccer star's ultimate triumph over heroin, the Deseret News in Salt Lake City put the emergence of the new face this way: "Leaving sports and school behind, she morphed, in her own words, from a 'pretty girl' to a 'ghetto Barbie,' sinking into a lifestyle once thought to leave young people like [her] untouched."

[continues 621 words]

In the United States, and in Michigan, autism is growing. In fact, it is growing at such an alarming rate that it has just recently been identified as a significant public health issue, due to statistics provided by the Center for Disease Control's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a nationwide federal program that tracks autism rates around the country.

Estimates show that autism rates have risen in every report since tracking began in 2002, from one in 150 in 2002 to one in 68 in 2010. There is not a cure, however, new studies show, autism can be treated.

[continues 378 words]

Wineries and breweries should brace themselves for some unusual competition. Colorado, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012, will get its first "weedery" in early 2016.

The $35 million project, Green Man Cannabis Ranch and Amphitheater, the brainchild of Christian Hageseth, is set to open in Denver. Its greenhouses represent a major shift because producers have largely cultivated marijuana indoors; there will also be a performance space, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, a gift shop and, of course, a marijuana dispensary.

[continues 502 words]

Whether Denver voters in November will face a choice about allowing patrons to use marijuana in bars and some other businesses wasn't in dispute Monday, though ballot certification still could be weeks away.

Instead, the city attorney's office and initiative backers, who said they turned in more than 10,700 petition signatures Monday - double what's needed - aired a long-standing debate.

It centers on state law's prohibition on using marijuana "openly and publicly" and if that law would trump a local decision to allow vaping or edibles inside publicly accessible bars or other establishments that opt in. Smoking could occur only outside, at least 25 feet from public property.

[continues 82 words]

CHEYENNE - A Wyoming law enforcement group is planning a campaign to fight back at efforts to legalize medical marijuana in the state.

The Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police is gauging interest in starting a statewide outreach effort to inform residents on the "harmful personal and societal effects of marijuana."

But Byron Oedekoven, executive director of the group, said he expects there will be support for the project and that it will be launched this month.

"We are looking for statements of support for this education campaign," he said. "We anticipate that there will be support, and armed with that grassroots support, we will undertake an educational campaign."

[continues 601 words]

Employers Can Enforce Zero-Tolerance Policies

Marijuana has been legal in Oregon for nearly a month now, so Cyd Maurer's cautionary tale is well-timed. The morning weekend news anchor on KEZI-TV in Eugene was fired after a routine drug screen detected marijuana in her system. Maurer is now complaining of a double standard, and she has a point - but the law is entirely on the side of the station's managers and any other employers who wish to require being drug-free a condition of employment.

[continues 226 words]

Toddler's Mom Relieved Charges Have Been Filed.

The mother of a toddler severely injured by a flash bang grenade expressed relief Thursday that federal civil rights charges were filed against a Habersham County sheriff 's deputy involved in the botched drug raid.

"This is a good start towards justice," said Alecia Phonesavanh, whose son, Bounkham "Bou Bou" Phonesavanh, then 19 months old, sustained severe injuries to his face and chest, along with possible brain damage, after a stun grenade landed in his playpen during the May 2014 raid.

[continues 321 words]

The Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society is concerned about the upcoming Colorado Board of Health hearing regarding adding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana.

As child psychiatrists, we are concerned that marijuana may be toxic to brain development. Numerous studies show marijuana exposure during critical periods such as pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood may alter brain development and predict future serious mental health problems. Also, there are no controlled trials showing marijuana to be safe and effective for PTSD. On the contrary, there is evidence that marijuana worsens the course of PTSD, which has been shown in recent studies. Therefore, while we support researching marijuana-based medications for various conditions, we do not support adding PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions at this time.

Amy Becker, M.D., Denver

Christian Thurstone, M.D., Denver

Amy Becker is president of the Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society. Christian Thurstone is a former president of CCAPS and a current executive committee member.

[end]

He Was Stealing Seized Evidence Even As Agency Was Hailing His Work

"How do you tell someone you've idolized your entire life that you're a heroin addict?" Matthew Lowry, who kept his addiction hidden from his father and others

Matthew Lowry was out of pills and getting desperate.

The doctor who prescribed pain medication to ease his chronic and painful inflammation of the intestines had disappeared. He went to clinics, but his wife had begun questioning the bills. He was shaking, sweating, tired.

[continues 2360 words]

With time running out to make the November 2015 ballot, activists and Denver officials on Friday discussed a revised initiative that would allow pot consumption in places now offlimits.

After the first comment hearing last week between Brian Vicente and Mason Tvert - who co-wrote Amendment 64, which voters approved in 2012, legalizing the sale and use of recreational marijuana - and assistant city attorney David Broadwell, the activists revised their proposal to clarify that their target locations to allow marijuana consumption are nonresidential properties where people under 21 are not permitted and the owner consents, such as bars.

[continues 104 words]

What would Jesus do? Legalize drugs.

Some mainstream Christians are flexing their muscles in the name of a more restorative approach to substance abuse. A group of 600 United Methodist churches in New England is calling for an end to the War on Drugs.

They say it's the Christian way.

This isn't just about marijuana, though the marijuana legalization folks are covering the story.

The resolution approved over the weekend by the New England Conference of United Methodist Churches says "the public policy of prohibition of certain narcotics and psychoactive substances . . . has failed to achieve the goal of eliminating, or even reducing, substance abuse."

[continues 173 words]

I'm going to cause a rip in Trenton. No not a bong rip, I take those all the time I'm talking about a rip (Religious Interruption in Procedures). We live in America and despite the claim that we have religious freedom in America we don't. The very prohibition issued by the founding fathers in the Bill of Rights was: "the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion" We commonly call this our Right to Religious Freedom, the first amendment.

[continues 1043 words]

After four consecutive months of record-setting growth, sales of recreational pot in Colorado leveled off in April - the same month pot taxes earmarked for school construction capital reached an all-time high, according to new Department of Revenue data.

Around $42.4 million of recreational pot was sold in Colorado in April, down from $42.7 million in March - the first decline in retail marijuana sales in the state in five months. Meanwhile April's medical sales, which totaled $31.9 million in Colorado dispensaries, were nearly identical to March's tallies.

[continues 134 words]

Imaginative Approaches to Pot Laws.

It's no surprise that some of the people working to reform marijuana laws are a little out of the norm, shall we say. And with the era of Reefer Madness waning, it also makes sense that weed advocates and drug-policy reformers would begin to try new-some might even say wacky-approaches. Here are some personal favorites.

Hundreds of cities and municipalities in legal states have attempted to ban marijuana with various ordinances, but now there's one related to the smell itself. The city of Pendleton, Ore., recently banned the odor of weed within the city limits. To counter this ridiculous regulation, a man wrote the local paper, the East Oregonian, suggesting that if they are opposed to the aroma of ganja, they should also ban farts-as that dank cloud truly is offensive. "While farting may be legal in Oregon, many (including myself) are offended by the flatulent stench," wrote Peter Walters. "Too often, homeowners and businesses fail to contain farts to their property, forcing the rest of us to put up with the smell. Some habitual farters argue that they need to fart for medical reasons, but that doesn't mean my kids should have to smell their farts. The city council should stop looking the other way and pretending not to notice . . . I call on our city council to set aside all other work and address this problem."

[continues 623 words]

BERLIN - A conservative politician who crossed the aisle and has joined the German Green Party's campaign to legalize marijuana has revived a long-running debate about the drug in Europe's largest economy.

Lawmaker Joachim Pfeiffer, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, recently co-sponsored legislation that would lift Germany's ban on marijuana and regulate the drug like alcohol and tobacco - and, supporters say, bring in billions more marks in tax revenue.

[continues 999 words]