Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 196 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia TORONTO - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 242 words]
Alfonso Hernandez stands before a mural of Jesus Christ being ferried on a lion-drawn carriage, trailed by Catholic bishops and priests. Behind them, scores of men in crisp suits - some smiling, some somber, one in dark shades - kneel as they watch the procession. They are among the dead of Tepito. "It's called the mural of the absent. They're people from here," said Hernandez, a native of the famously tough - and famously untamable - Mexico City neighborhood. "These are people who died because of the drug wars. This is to remember them here and not just in the crime blotter of the newspapers." [continues 1312 words]
Cristian Omar Reyes, an 11-year-old sixth-grader in the neighborhood of Nueva Suyapa, on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, tells me he has to get out of Honduras soon - "no matter what." In March, his father was robbed and murdered by gangs while working as a security guard protecting a pastry truck. His mother used the life insurance payout to hire a smuggler to take her to Florida. She promised to send for him quickly, but she has not. Three people he knows were murdered this year. Four others were gunned down on a nearby corner in the span of two weeks at the beginning of this year. A girl his age resisted being robbed of $5. She was clubbed over the head and dragged off by two men who cut a hole in her throat, stuffed her panties in it, and left her body in a ravine across the street from Cristian's house. [continues 1993 words]
RETIRED teacher Ambrose M. Bennett says he is seeking public support for a proposal that will legalize marijuana use in the CNMI. "I must ask our online group to be the ones to present their stance to the people of the island," Bennett said, referring to a group that has a Facebook page calling for the decriminalization of marijuana use in the CNMI. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/CLC.CNMI/). Bennett said the proposed legislative initiative will be called the Marijuana Sunshine Act, and will aim to legalize the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana in designated areas on island. [continues 107 words]
Legal marijuana sales outlets are sprouting like weeds across strait Our neighbours on the Olympic Peninsula will get their first pot shop next weekend. Sea Change Cannabis will open in Discovery Bay, near Port Townsend. Two other marijuana stores hope to be in business in Jefferson County soon. Straight across the strait from Victoria, the state liquor board has allocated six more licences to Clallam County, where stores will include Sparket and Mr. Buds in Port Angeles proper and the Hidden Bush and Weed-R-Us on the highway into town. [continues 1045 words]
Re: Good Samaritan immunity law could save lives - July 14 Regarding Kayla Follett's thoughtful commentary, the drug war is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in easily preventable deaths. Rehabilitation also is confounded. I think it's safe to say that turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
Safety League calls on Wynne to end sale of drug paraphernalia The Ontario Safety League urged the Liberal government Thursday to crack down on corner stores that sell crackpipes, bongs, grinders and other drug paraphernalia by taking away their right to sell lottery tickets. "If the convenience stores are forced to choose between the lucrative sale of lottery tickets and selling drug paraphernalia contrary to the Criminal Code, I believe they'll chose lottery tickets," league president Brian Patterson said. However, Finance Minister Charles Sousa insisted the government was powerless to order Ontario Lottery and Gaming to remove a store from its approved list of retailers unless there has been a criminal conviction, even though the province is the only shareholder in the agency. [continues 419 words]
TORONTO - The Ontario Safety League urged the Liberal government Thursday to crackdown on corner stores that sell crack-pipes, bongs, grinders and other drug paraphernalia by taking away their right to sell lottery tickets. "If the convenience stores are forced to choose between the lucrative sale of lottery tickets and selling drug paraphernalia contrary to the Criminal Code, I believe they'll chose lottery tickets," said league president Brian Patterson. However, Finance Minister Charles Sousa insisted the government was powerless to order Ontario Lottery and Gaming to remove a store from its approved list of retailers unless there has been a criminal conviction, even though the province is the only shareholder in the agency. [continues 248 words]
Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
The law commanded the agency to have at least one treatment center open and serving patients in each county by early last winter. The law is also explicit that until treatment centers are open, qualified patients with a recommendation or their designated caregiver registered with the department may obtain marijuana from the "black market" or grow; clearly, an incentive for prompt compliance by the department with its duties. The department is fiddling and diddling in its duty to register treatment centers. Meanwhile it objects to caregivers with the ability to get marijuana for patients to do so for more than one patient. It is blind to the fact that most patients do not have the ability to grow or otherwise get the variety of the herb they need "on just about every busy street corner or side alley in the commonwealth." [continues 62 words]
Boy Can't Use Cannabis Oil Treatment, the Most Effective Remedy to Combat His Epilepsy OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. "He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy. "He was horseback riding. He was in a boat, he went tubing. He was so happy. We had a little glimpse of what life could be like." [continues 411 words]
This letter is in response to Steve Lafleur's letter to the editor - The case to legalize soft drugs - published in the July 10 edition of The Daily Press. The article creatively tries to convince readers "issues of morality should not be legislated." In my opinion morality can and should be legislated. Let's take for example the fines police can give you if you don't use your seatbelt. One can say it is wrong for people to be forced to use a seatbelt because it only impacts the individual. It should be my choice to use the seatbelt, or not. [continues 154 words]
OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. "He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy. [continues 616 words]
Re: Witness of drug overdose fearful to contact emergency services, by Kayla Follett, Page 8, Truro Daily News, July 16, 2014 To the editor, The drug war is part of the problem. Illegal drug users are reluctant to seek medical attention in the event of an overdose for fear of being charged with a crime. Attempting to save the life of a friend could result in a murder charge. Overzealous drug war enforcement results in easily preventable deaths. Rehabilitation also is confounded. I think it's safe to say turnout at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings would be rather low if alcoholism were a crime pursued with zero tolerance zeal. Eliminating the penalties associated with illicit drug use would encourage the type of honest discussion necessary to facilitate rehabilitation and save lives. Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D. C. [end]
Calls Grow to Keep Drug Items Out of Convenience Stores The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
She Blames Political Pressure for Her Ouster. A University of Arizona researcher who claimed she was dismissed after she lobbied for her study of marijuana for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is fighting to get her job back. Sue Sisley has filed a formal appeal with the University of Arizona asking that she be reinstated as assistant professor with the Department of Psychiatry, assistant director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program and as a researcher. And a Change.org petition to bring back Sisley so far has collected more than 31,000 signatures. [continues 967 words]
I think I have figured out something. Let's combine Josh Moon et al., including Big Brother, and we have a solution for Alabama and America. Legalize pot in America, and Congress will make some important decisions about immigration, the IRS and phony scandals, and even future phony scandals. It might require food because pot makes you hungry, I hear, so the cost of groceries might go up exponentially. Reduce the speed limit to 25 on the Interstate and in Montgomery, because pot makes you sluggish when trying to decide what those yellow things are that hang from poles and wires and have green, yellow and red colors. To a pot user, 25 is like flying an F-22 Raptor with four tires on the Interstate. [continues 127 words]
Boy went from 67 epileptic seizures a day to 10 days seizure-free following treatment using a liquid form of medical marijuana Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The boy from Constance Bay suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. [continues 1004 words]
Boy with rare form of epilepsy has found relief OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time in kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure free, his mother says. [continues 630 words]
Use of cannabis oil suppresses seizures, but is not legal to sell in Canada OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. [continues 611 words]
Parents face complicated procedure OTTAWA * Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures lasting three to four minutes each, which have made it hard for him to attend kindergarten. That's all changed for the better. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he had no seizures, says his mother, compared with the 67 seizures he had the day before. [continues 551 words]
Boy takes extracted oil, in violation of new regulations OTTAWA - Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure free, his mother says. [continues 625 words]
As Washington and other jurisdictions race with dollar signs in their eyes to see who can legalize marijuana first, it seems these political twits forgot one thing: There are still federal laws that govern the use and distribution of "illegal" drugs. Case in point: Two Colorado Democrats, Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Ed Perlmutter have written to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen asking him to "waive" the 10-percent penalty for taxpayers - including those with "legal" marijuana businesses - who pay withholding taxes in cash because they often have trouble getting bank accounts. There also has been a lawsuit filed in Colorado claiming that states cannot collect taxes on activities, such as marijuana sales, that violate federal law. Do I smell another executive order in the pipeline, or will our attorney general turn a blind eye to enforcing those laws, just as he has turned a blind eye to border jumping, hate crimes against white voters, and a totally corrupt IRS? VICKI CARNEY McLean [end]
Chief of Officers' Union Calls Policy a 'Convoluted Mess' On Wednesday, a D.C. police officer who caught someone carrying a small amount of marijuana was required to launch his suspect on an onerous journey through the criminal justice system - possibly involving handcuffs, fingerprinting and forensic analysis. On Thursday, that same officer faces the simpler task of pulling out a ticket book and checking a box: littering, or possession of marijuana? A lengthy civic debate over how to handle the most minor of drug offenses culminated at midnight Wednesday when a marijuana decriminalization law passed by the D.C. Council this spring completed a 60-day congressional review period and took effect. The advent of the new law, spurred by reports of stark racial disparities in marijuana arrests, prompts a sea change in how police handle one of the most common violations they encounter. Under new orders set to take effect Thursday, police can no longer take action upon simply smelling the odor of marijuana. Nor can they demand that a person found in possession of up to 1 ounce produce identification. [continues 855 words]
Berkeley Is Mandating That Poor People Can Get Free Medical Marijuana. S.F. Is Not on Board. Before there was medical marijuana, before there was legalization talk, there was free weed. There are a few happy stories to come out of the dark days of AIDS in the 1980s. One is the woman who roamed the ward at San Francisco General Hospital, where the gay men were dying in droves, giving out cannabis-laced brownies. [continues 766 words]
Re "Crack (law) is wack" by Raheem F. Hosseini (SN&R News, July 3): Raheem F. Hosseini's article on reforms proposing to end the disparity in sentencing laws for crack cocaine, as opposed to cocaine in powder form, is interesting reading. Yet in some respects, the article's claims seem questionable, based on the information provided within the article itself. With respect to mandatory-minimum sentences for possession with intent to sell, the article cites three to five years for crack, vs. two to four years for powder. These are the only figures given comparing prison terms for crack vs. powder, and they do show a disparity, but hardly the "exponentially longer prison terms" claimed earlier on. Hosseini is a good reporter who has contributed many intelligent, perceptive, well-written articles to SN&R. This one could perhaps have been thought out a bit more clearly. David Urman Sacramento [end]
California and Federal Laws Pave the Way for Research Growing While Advocates Push for Looser Restrictions Green, 20-foot-tall fields of research hemp might be waving in the Davis breeze by next year in a startling breakthrough for California hemp advocates who have been working for decades to grow the plant. The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013, combined with the 2014 federal farm bill, has unlocked the possibility of legally growing the ancient food, fuel and fiber crop. "It's remarkable. I'm quite thrilled," said longtime San Francisco hemp lawyer Patrick Goggin. "We had no idea it would come this fast, to be honest." [continues 865 words]
Newsrooms always get a lot of material on financial services-public offerings, merger announcements, that kind of thing. Those materials are getting more interesting these days. For instance, this came in on July 1, datelined from Mesquite in Clark County: "Cannabis Sativa, Inc. (OTCQB:CBDS) announced today that on June 30, 2014, it consummated the acquisition of Kush, a Nevada corporation ('Kush'), and its consolidated subsidiary, following which Kush became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the 'Merger'); ... Kush is a development stage company engaged in the research, development and licensing of specialized natural cannabis products, including cannabis formulas, edibles, topicals, strains, recipes and delivery systems." [continues 164 words]
Dear Stoner: I know that you cannot OD by smoking weed, but what about ingesting it? There are some very strong eatables; what if I get the munchies on marijuana chocolate bars? I would like to know the limits. Garufa Dear Garufa: If by "limits" you mean how much weed an otherwise healthy person would have to ingest to literally die from THC, it's surprisingly less than you'd think - but even so, you'd never be able to come close to doing it. Allow us to drop some science. There's a thing known as the "median lethal dose" for pretty much all foreign chemicals we humans use and occasionally put in our bodies; it's called an LD50 rating. Basically, it's how much of something someone would have to ingest to die at least 50 percent of the time. (LD stands for "lethal dose.") [continues 311 words]
American taxpayers - especially those who reside in the Land of Enchantment - deserve to know if the ends justify the means for U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. As in: Ignoring rules and getting a reformed crack addict back on the pipe is OK if it means busting his dealer. Granted, Aaron Romero says in his federal lawsuit that only sheer, abject poverty got him clean. But Romero also claims DEA corner-cutting helped get him hooked again. He says federal agents knew their informant was paying him in crack cocaine to broker deals in their 2011 "Smack City" operation in Las Vegas, N.M., but they never sought approval from the U.S. Attorney's Office - violating a DEA regulation designed to prevent abuse by law enforcement - and then altered reports on the amounts of cocaine purchased to hide his cut. [continues 149 words]
The San Jose City Council is considering asking November voters to increase the current 10 percent marijuana business tax to as high as 25 percent after just passing strict new regulations on where and how medical marijuana dispensaries can operate. No one knows how the new regulations will impact the current $6 million annual revenue. The council should hold off asking voters to raise the tax until they know how the new regulations will affect the businesses. Dispensaries get all of their funds from their patients, so patients are the ones really paying this tax. This business tax is an attack on patients. It is wrong to place this burden on the backs of sick people. Some of these patients are low income and seriously to terminally ill, and it is unfair to make them pay this tax increase. Their lives already are tough enough. Patients deserve a break. Dennis Umphress San Jose [end]
Ira Glasser on Marijuana Prosecutions To the Editor: Your July 16 editorial "A Sensible Marijuana Policy in Brooklyn" applauds the Brooklyn district attorney, Kenneth P. Thompson, for deciding no longer to prosecute most cases in which people have been arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana, and to focus on serious crimes instead. New York City's police commissioner, William J. Bratton, responded to Mr. Thompson's decision by asserting: "In order to be effective, our police officers must enforce the laws of the State of New York uniformly throughout all five boroughs of the city. Accordingly, the Kings County policy change will not result in any changes in the policies and procedures of the N.Y.P.D." [continues 160 words]
WASHINGTON - Marijuana decriminalization took effect in the District of Columbia on Thursday, part of an easing of pot penalties in the U.S. capital that has drawn fire from Congress. The District of Columbia joins 17 states that have reduced penalties for first-time violators to a fine and a civil, or minor, offense. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized recreational use of marijuana. Mayor Vincent Gray signed the decriminalization law in March. [end]
Neither Liberals nor Conservatives Recognize Their Inconsistencies A crucial feature of libertarianism is consistency: It applies a skeptical lens to all aspects of government, whether economic, social or foreign. As the American political scene becomes ever more polarized, citizens of all political views have tired of both the liberal and conservative perspectives. The two "mainstream" perspectives strike many as inconsistent and hypocritical, and far more similar than different. Both advocate large and intrusive government, albeit in different arenas, despite rhetoric that claims otherwise. What these disillusioned Americans really want is libertarianism, which advocates small government across the board. Misleading or one-sided characterizations notwithstanding, libertarianism is precisely the "third way" that many Americans desire. [continues 711 words]
While in Malta the political sector of the country is greatly engaged in the debate as to whether or not drugs should be decriminalised, it would be wise to propose the Church's view on the subject. As we all know, if the Church simply ignores her golden input she would be betraying one of her main roles in the world, namely that of forming people's consciences. In order that this great ideal is lovingly realised, I shall be offering Pope Francis' teaching on the matter. [continues 622 words]
I read the front-page article ("Parents speak out at medical pot seminar," July 12) and the coverage of the Florida Cannabis Coalition in Boca Raton about the business of "medical" marijuana, where attendees paid $99 to hear industry leaders. What struck me most were the last two paragraphs: "Orthodox Rabbi Aaron of Miami said he attended because he is interested in marijuana both for its medical use and as a potential personal investment. As for its bad reputation, man makes booze, God makes cannabis. Who do you trust?" [continues 148 words]
TUCSON, ARIZ. (AP) - Veterans, medical marijuana activists and scientists welcomed the first federally approved research into pot as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. But their hopes for the research were dashed when the University of Arizona fired researcher Suzanne Sisley, who undertook the study after clearing four years of bureaucratic hurdles. Sisley, a medical doctor who also taught and researched at the university, sought the project after years of treating military vets who told her that marijuana was the only drug that helped them improve symptoms of the disorder that affects up to 20 percent of those who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. [continues 350 words]
At 79, Longtime S.F. Attorney Going Strong As He Prepares to Defend Alleged Mobster Raymond 'Shrimp Boy' Chow On Thursday morning, Tony Serra will put on his best $10 suit and loose secondhand shoes to begin what could be his last big courtroom battle - the defense of Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, presumed leader of a Chinatown money laundering ring and a central figure in an indictment that has also targeted state Sen. Leland Yee. The hearing, in federal court before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, will involve 29 defendants. Among their lawyers, Serra will be easy to spot - shaggy side hair, broken teeth, loud tie, but still at his fighting weight of 195 pounds and arguing for his client at every turn. [continues 2318 words]
OTTAWA- Liam McKnight signed his medical marijuana licence when he was just five years old. The Ottawa boy suffers from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It can cause nearly constant seizures that last three to four minutes each. His condition led him to miss time during kindergarten. Liam had 67 seizures the day before starting cannabis oil treatment. The first 10 days he used cannabis oil, he was seizure-free, his mother says. "He had new words," said Liam's mother, Mandy. "He was horseback riding. He was in a boat, he went tubing. He was so happy. We had a little glimpse of what life could be like." [continues 277 words]
Bill OK'd By U.S. House May Signal Opportunity for Accounts The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed by 39 votes a measure that bars treasury and securities regulators from spending money to penalize financial institutions that work with legal marijuana businesses. But they did so without exactly saying banks could openly, and without worry, work with the industry-what banks have asked for in writing- and without decriminalizing the drug at the federal level. In a separate vote, the House rejected a measure that would have blocked federal guidance given to banks in February for how to work with the marijuana industry- a road map that's all but frozen financial institutions from providing the services because it lacks guarantees against being penalized. [continues 746 words]
The type of responsible reporting by Day Staff Writer Judy Benson on June 18, "Group urges wariness amid marijuana push: 'We need to stop this train'," is doing the country a big favor and may help wake up some of our politicians, attorneys general and judges before another public health crisis occurs like is happening in overgrown-pot Colorado. Kevin Sabet, former senior drug policy officer to the White House, warned a large audience of professionals at Connecticut College that there is ample evidence from Colorado that legalization was a mistake . and that Connecticut should take heed. There may be no stopping the momentum for legalizing pot and playing into the quest by "Big Marijuana" to reap big profits. [continues 96 words]
(AP) - If House Republicans have their way, D.C. residents won't be allowed to walk the streets with a joint in their pocket, and they will be allowed to carry a semi-automatic rifle. The GOP-controlled House approved a spending bill Wednesday that would undo the District's strict gun-control laws and its law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. The fate of the spending bill and the amendments will likely depend on negotiations between the House, Senate and White House. [continues 430 words]
Every day in southern New Mexico, the United States Border Patrol sets up at permanent stations along Interstates 25 and 10, and other highways, and diverts traffic off the roadway into checkpoints. The purpose is to intercept people who are in the United States illegally or to find drugs or other contraband being smuggled in. Agents channel every car off the highway and ask the driver, "Are you a U.S. citizen?" Thousands and thousands of travelers routinely answer "yes," are waved on and continue their travels. A few find the question intrusive and have helped launch a movement to refuse to answer. [continues 1062 words]
