Rumors about high levels of drug use at Lake Stevens High School reached football captain Robert Castaneda over the past few years in the form of a question: Is it true that Lake Stevens is a drug school? Last week, the Lake Stevens School Board voted unanimously to implement a random drug-testing program for student athletes and those in other after-school activities, becoming the first Snohomish County district to do so. "I think it's a good idea," said Castaneda, a senior, who was preparing for the upcoming football season the old-fashioned way -- by lifting weights. [continues 442 words]
Livid over the vague voter-enacted state law allowing use of medical marijuana, a crusading lawyer tries to untangle unintended consequences. The law has driven the supply system underground, pot patients are getting busted, and some cops, prosecutors, and judges just don't get it. Jon Graves heard noise behind his house one evening last October. The house backed onto an alley in the University District, and he was always watchful. He went to the back of the house to investigate. A woman was banging on his bedroom window from the alley below. [continues 4881 words]
In Washington State, Some Seek A Union To Give Them Louder Voice With Agencies That Make Decisions OLYMPIA, Wash. -- In 18 years as foster parents, Steve and Daniele Baxter have seen drug-addicted newborns taken from strung-out moms; angry, abusive teenagers; kids bounced from home to home a dozen times or more; suicidal kids; sexually aggressive kids; slow learners; adolescent bed-wetters -- you name it. The couple also has seen -- and this refrain is heard across the USA - -- inadequate support from child-welfare agencies, high turnover of foster parents, meager training in caring for severely troubled children, erratic reimbursement for kids' needs and, most troubling, a bureaucratic deaf ear to foster parents' opinions. [continues 917 words]
The Lake Stevens School Board needs to educate itself on the limitations of student drug testing. Student involvement in after-school activities like sports has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation. Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only illegal drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. Marijuana's organic metabolites are fat-soluble and can linger for days. More dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. If you think drug users don't know this, think again. [continues 98 words]
Every so often I read a book that stays with me for days. "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke" (Bloomsbury, 374 pp., $24.95), the story of how two pro-marijuana activists were killed in 2001 on their Michigan farm, is such a book. It's not that the author, Dean Kuipers, is a polished writer. A Michigan native and Los Angeles journalist, he clearly is outraged at the deaths of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, two gay marijuana-loving property-rights advocates shot to death by FBI agents and Michigan state police. He seems to have interviewed every last person involved: Crosslin's family, his stoner entourage, law-enforcement authorities. [continues 752 words]
Two candidates with apparently similar philosophies but dramatically different life stories are seeking the GOP nomination for Cowlitz County Commissioner. At a meeting Monday with The Daily News' editorial board, two-term incumbent Jeff Rasmussen described himself as a man in love with "being able to dig into policy at the state level," but "not so much with being a politician." Rasmussen, 38, served as a Young Republican leader, a Olympia legislative aide and on the Longview City Council before winning his current county seat in 1998. [continues 462 words]
The School Board Is Expected To Approve A Random Testing Program For Students In Leadership, Sports And Other Activities. LAKE STEVENS - An estimated 600 of Lake Stevens High School's 2,200 students could be subject to random tests for drug use this school year. The school board on Wednesday is expected to approve a final policy for a drug testing program at the high school. For the first year, the urinalysis testing will include student leaders, as well as those involved in athletics and other competitive activities sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, such as cheerleading. [continues 432 words]
The pot proponents are getting antsy. The folks behind Seattle's Hempfest, a huge summer festival promoting marijuana legalization, filed a lawsuit against the city and the Seattle Art Museum on Monday. The suit in King County Superior Court accuses park bureaucrats and the museum of taking too long to grant a permit for the event at Myrtle Edwards Park, adjacent to the museum's incoming sculpture park. All sides agree the 15th annual event will go on as planned Aug. 19-20. But the museum and the city each said it's up to the other to take the next step. [continues 404 words]
School District Makes Penalties for First-Time Offenders Less Harsh ISSAQUAH -- A new drug policy offers softer penalties for Issaquah School District athletes who participate in drug and alcohol assessment, but broadens the application of penalties for second or third violations. The policy, which takes effect this fall, was released Thursday after the school board approved rewriting the rules last spring. "I think it's just good policy that takes into account that we're not a penal institution, we're an educational institution," said school board member Mike Winkler, one of the advocates for change in May. [continues 216 words]
With a recent uptick in crime, tough prosecutors who are ready to convict and imprison perpetrators are likely to be more popular than ever. But a warning flag is being hoisted by American University law professor Angela J. Davis, past director of the District of Columbia Public Defender Service. Prosecutors, notes Davis, are "the most powerful officials in the criminal justice system" -- more so even than judges. Why? "The charging and plea-bargaining power they exercise almost predetermines the outcome of most criminal cases. Over 95 percent of all criminal cases are resolved by a guilty plea." [continues 661 words]
Vote for Axel Swanson or Chuck Wallace. Cowlitz County Commissioner Jeff Rasmussen wants to take the money out of the free needle exchange and put it into education and prevention. What's up with that? We need to continue to give the free needles to the junkies. Enable, enable, enable, that's what I always say! Now you can't be racist, sexist or complain about any other addiction. The experts say an addiction is an addiction, no matter what. So, we need to send money to the casinos so they can have free gambling nights. Really, why shouldn't they get our money for free? Education, prevention -- really, what is Rasmussen thinking? Lonnie Knowles Longview [end]
U.S. Judge Notes Seriousness Of Drug Trade In Jailing Surrey Men Who Dug Under Border Three Surrey men who dug a sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnel under the border near Aldergrove were sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to nine years in jail. The sentence imposed on Francis Devandra Raj, 31, Timothy Woo, 35, and Jonathan Valenzuela, 28, was nearly double the term requested by defence lawyers in the case, said Emily Langley of the United States Attorney's Office. [continues 526 words]
VANCOUVER - Three B.C. men who dug a drug-smuggling tunnel under the U.S.-Canada border were sentenced yesterday to nine years in jail in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The sentence imposed on Francis Devandra Raj, 31, Timothy Woo, 35, and Jonathan Valenzuela, 28, all of Surrey, B.C., was nearly double the term requested by defence lawyers, said Emily Langley of the United States Attorney's Office. According to Ms. Langley, the defence had asked the judge to consider a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for their clients, all of whom pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of conspiracy to import marijuana. [continues 161 words]
Term Should Send Message, Judge Says VANCOUVER - It cost $16,000 for lumber to build an underground tunnel between Canada and the United States and 90 kilograms of marijuana were transported before police shut down operations after months of watching the builders haul in wood and concrete. Now a U.S. district court judge has given three B.C. men a nine-year sentence for building the 110-metre tunnel and importing marijuana. Francis Raj, Timothy Woo, and Jonathan Valenzuela, all from British Columbia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import marijuana and were sentenced yesterday in a U.S. district court in Seattle. [continues 776 words]
In the spirit of Vancouver's groundbreaking laws on fireworks usage, why not take other things that are illegal to use, sell or buy most of the year, and make them legal for a week. Say, oh I don't know marijuana. How about setting aside April 20 as "Let's Get High Day?" But why keep the fun restricted to one day when we could make it a week of stoned, carefree bliss? The city could sell permits for little stands to sell an assortment of gnarly sticky bud none of that good stuff you can buy outside the city limits, only city-approved dope with the proper THC content. [continues 109 words]
Pierce County Drug Court is trying an experimental treatment for methamphetamine and cocaine addiction called Prometa, and so far, officials like what they see. This spring, eight people addicted to cocaine and 32 addicted to meth underwent Prometa treatment, which consists of a several weeks of common prescription drugs plus dietary supplements and counseling, through the county's drug court program. After 60 days of treatment, almost all the addicts had no or only one relapse and no additional drug arrests, according to Terree Schmidt-Whelan of the Pierce County Alliance, a private drug treatment agency that provided the Prometa on behalf of the court. [continues 761 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The slight figure in neon orange moccasins beats a hide drum cradled in his arms. His voice soars in the cavernous auditorium as he spins the tale of Dashkayah, a huge, hairy creature who hunts and devours children in the night. Only when the cannibal's young victims face their fears will they escape her clutches. "Ana kush iwasha: This is the way it was," says Terry Tafoya, known across the U.S. and Canada as a pre-eminent American Indian psychologist from Seattle. [continues 3548 words]
Less than 48 hours after being picked second overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA draft, Len Bias went on a 3 a.m. cocaine bender with some buddies. The cocaine, reportedly piled high on a dorm room table, shut down his heart. Dead ... just like that. The two-time ACC Player of the Year at Maryland was a basketball talent comparable to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski repeatedly has called Bias and Michael Jordan the two best players he's competed against. [continues 783 words]
Supreme Court says don't bother to knock The Supreme Court, with the recent additions of John Roberts and Samuel Alito, made a ruling last week (Hudson v. Michigan) that ignores prior rulings with regard to serving a warrant upon a residence, specifically requiring the government to knock and announce itself. Under the legal principle of stare decisis, or to stand by that which has been decided, case law seeks stability so that we, the people, can have confidence in the continuing impartiality of the law. [continues 97 words]
A federal judge who sentenced five Indians from Canada for marijuana-smuggling advised them to spread the word back home about harsh U.S. penalties. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez on Friday sentenced the five to six months in prison and two years of probation. They were arrested Oct. 30 at the border crossing at Sumas, Whatcom County, riding in vans that each carried about 80 pounds of marijuana. By traveling in a large group, with a treaty right to unrestricted travel between the two countries, they hoped to disguise their purpose, prosecutors said. [continues 111 words]
SEATTLE -- A federal judge who sentenced five Indians from Canada for marijuana-smuggling advised them to spread the word back home about harsh U.S. penalties. U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez sentenced the five First Nation members Friday to six months in prison and two years of probation for their roles in the smuggling scheme. They were arrested at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Sumas on Oct. 30, riding in vans that each carried about 80 pounds of marijuana. By traveling in a large group, with a treaty right to unrestricted travel between the two countries, they hoped to disguise their purpose, prosecutors said. [continues 156 words]
A Wahkiakum County judge ruled Monday that Wahkiakum School District's random drug-testing policy is constitutional. In a 20-page decision, Superior Court Judge Douglas E. Goelz wrote that being as none of the facts in the case were disputed by either party, it was reasonable to conclude that drug use was an existing problem that presented a "real and serious threat" to the school district and students. The school district resorted to drug testing only after less intrusive methods of addressing the threat failed, the judge wrote. [continues 281 words]
The Wahkiakum School District hopes to resume random drug testing for student-athletes as soon as possible, even though the issue could end up back in court on appeal. A Wahkiakum County judge ruled Monday that the district's random drug-testing policy is constitutional. "We are definitely pleased with the decision. There is no question about that," Wahkiakum School District Superintendent Bob Garrett said Tuesday. "It is in the best interest of the kids, and we are excited to be able to help kids curtail their drug use." [continues 253 words]
In 30 years and 1,600 columns, I never once wrote on the issue of sex crimes against children. Until today. The man whose powerful pitch convinced me is Christopher Largen, a Texas-based journalist and social activist who was a victim of repeated sexual assaults from age 5 through 14. On one occasion he was drugged by a child pornographer, on another he was driven to contemplate suicide. Now a recovered and spirited man in his mid-30s, Largen is crusading for toughened police, prosecutor and judicial action to arrest, sentence and hold child molesters. And not for vengeance, but because "American children are being molested, raped, tortured, even murdered." [continues 470 words]
BELLINGHAM - Neither Joshua Sutton nor Joseph Hubbard had any criminal history when they bought $15,000 worth of marijuana from an undercover detective in Whatcom County last year. Both were arrested and charged with unlawful possession with intent to deliver, a felony. But then their cases diverged dramatically, thanks to a practice which has been routine for nearly three decades in this county on the Canadian border, where federal agents dump reams of drug cases on local officials every year. Sutton, who put up most or all of the money for the drug buy, paid $9,040 to a fund administered by the Whatcom County prosecutor. He was allowed to plead guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge, received a suspended sentence and went on his way. His payment was nearly double the maximum fine for the misdemeanor. [continues 877 words]
Some Liken Plea-Deal Donations To Restitution; Others Doubt Legality BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Neither Joshua Sutton nor Joseph Hubbard had a criminal record before they bought $15,000 worth of marijuana from an undercover detective in Whatcom County last year. Both were arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver, a felony. But then their cases diverged dramatically, thanks to a practice that has been routine for nearly three decades in this county along the Canadian border where smugglers crowd the courts and jails. [continues 448 words]
County Lets Smugglers Pay Down Charges BELLINGHAM, Wash. . Neither Joshua Sutton nor Joseph Hubbard had a criminal record before they bought $15,000 worth of marijuana from an undercover detective in Whatcom County last year. Both were arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver, a felony. But then their cases diverged dramatically, thanks to a practice that has been routine for nearly three decades in this county along the Canadian border where smugglers crowd the courts and jails. Sutton, who put up most or all of the money for the drug buy, paid $9,040 into a fund set up by the county prosecutor's office. He was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, received a suspended sentence and went on his way. [continues 386 words]
Both Democrats launching campaigns for Cowlitz County commissioner graduated from Longview high schools in 1997 and both say incumbent Republican Jeff Rasmussen erred in opposing the county's needle-exchange program. "Jeff was way off the mark," Axel Swanson said. "I like the way the needle-exchange program is working right now," Chuck Wallace said. Swanson, 26, and Wallace, 27, have filed as candidates with the Public Disclosure Commission against Rasmussen, who announced last week he will seek a third 4-year term as 3rd District commissioner. [continues 576 words]
It's simply disgraceful that the Food and Drug Administration is the federal government's agency trusted to provide accurate advice with respect to the medications submitted by drug companies, and to guarantee their safety for consumption prior to them being placed on grocery or pharmacy shelves. Bad things happen to good people. Reactions to prescription drugs kill thousands of people every year I mean the drugs that the companies advertise the heaviest, and the ones that are ineffective. The pharmaceutical industry corrupts the part of Congress that Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay didn't, and some owe their seats to these professional drug pushers who don't want to compete with medical marijuana because they would lose. [continues 91 words]
The city of Seattle is assembling new data tracking drug crimes. Some Seattle neighborhoods don't have to see the city's numbers to know about problems on their streets and sidewalks. As Pioneer Square residents have discovered, 911 comes up short as a magic set of digits to call for solutions. Neighbors are understandably unhappy with the city's failure to stop drug crime in Fortson Square, at Second Avenue and Yesler Way. Gutsy Pioneer Square neighbors are after the dealers and the city. The fun part of the residents' in-your-face approach is an ad in The Stranger with a map and a photo of the mayor and the city's top cop. The almost official-looking ad proclaimed: "Mayor Nickels & Chief Kerlikowske welcome you to Fortson Square's Open-Air Drug Market." In the harder part of the neighbors' campaign, they shot video of drug deals in the square for several days. Some dealers became angry, but the citizens stuck with their filming. [continues 128 words]
A Five-County Effort to Stop Smugglers Leads to 187 Arrests. Busted taillights and expired license plate tabs led police to a medley of drugs and triggered 187 arrests during a five-county crackdown on smugglers. Snohomish County has long been a pass-through on the drug pipeline between Canada and Mexico. Drug traffickers are running cocaine from the south and marijuana from the north. Mass-produced methamphetamine from Mexico and more recently Canada has added to the burgeoning border-to-border trade. [continues 653 words]
Regarding "Pot's low cancer risk a surprising finding" (Wednesday), despite what scientists may think, apples simply are not oranges. When comparing the effects of pot smoking with the effects of tobacco smoking, it might be useful to note that the average tobacco smoker is accustomed to lighting up a commercial filter cigarette usually 10 to 20 times a day. That cigarette does contain tobacco, but also includes myriad other ingredients -- most are additives and few are likely to be good for you when the smoke and fumes from burning them are inhaled. Even the tobacco in that cigarette is not just tobacco, as it has been grown on a commercial plantation where it has been fertilized with super-phosphates and other commercial fertilizers and treated with chemicals. Super-phosphates typically contain Radium 226, a radioactive element. So, it seems highly likely that the average tobacco smoker is inhaling numerous free radicals other than tar and nicotine and a few radioactive particles, with every puff. Some of the "radio daughters" of Radium 226 emit very harmful forms of radiation. [continues 64 words]
LAKE STEVENS - Keith Kubec dreads the day his son will be sent to a urinal at Lake Stevens High School as part of a test for drug use. "I believe in retaining as many rights as possible. Random drug testing is just a total invasion of our privacy as citizens of this country," Kubec said. His son sees it differently. "It's just a pee," said Kelly Kubec, 17, a junior who competes on the wrestling team. "If you're not a user, it shouldn't be a problem at all." [continues 712 words]
Those "before" and "after" mug shots of meth users that are seen on billboards and posters offer visual proof of the physical toll of addiction. But how often do observers take an Alfred E. Newman "What? Me Worry?" approach to the problem? As pilots have learned, sometimes it's good to replace a visual approach with a more scientific system. Let the horrifying mug shots continue to impart warnings, but here are a few statistics about the problem in Washington state, starting with an encouraging trend but followed by more troubling numbers: [continues 431 words]
Has America Become a "Prison Nation"? Check our culture. We wink an eye as our youth are exposed to such films or television offerings as "Slam," "Prison Break," HBO's "Oz" and "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." Or such highly violent video games as "Grand Theft Auto." The constant message: If you're angry, strike out violently; if you're crossed, seek revenge. Prison images are spreading across society. Example: baggy trousers. The "fashion" started in prisons, where belts are forbidden because they can be used as weapons. Result? Trousers fall. Now the dropping-pants, underwear-exposing trend can be seen on almost any street, in almost any mall. [continues 639 words]
WASHINGTON -- If Bolivian President Evo Morales has his way, you may find yourself soon ordering a cup of mate de coca instead of your morning cappuccino at your favorite cafe. Morales wants to give thousands of Bolivian coca growers access to new markets. He envisions an expanded use for coca as an ingredient in beverages, chewing gum, toothpaste and as a food-flavoring agent. Traditionally, the leaf has been used in the Andean region to stave off hunger, cold and fatigue as well as for medicinal and sacred practices. More recently, the illegal drug trade has transformed coca into the lucrative drug cocaine. [continues 669 words]
Robert R. Larimer Jr.'s May 11 letter, "Preferential treatment," might lead one to believe, because of his acerbic tone, that he is a member of the "School of Limbaugh." His derisive, mocking letter contains nothing more than anti-liberal Rushisms. While the Patrick Kennedy case does indeed show the very real existence of preferential treatment, I would remind Larimer that Limbaugh also received his fair share of preferential treatment. One of the great tragedies of our war on (some) drugs is the war on patients seeking treatment for severe pain, which apparently was the motivating factor for Limbaugh. Study the case of Richard Paey of Florida. Unlike Limbaugh, Paey is not a celebrity. He is a patient whose excruciating pain is exacerbated by his also having multiple sclerosis and being confined to a wheelchair. Paey received 25 years in prison for his conviction of doctor-shopping charges. [continues 70 words]
Intravenous drug users in Clallam County prefer to shoot methamphetamine almost 2-to-1 over heroin. In Jefferson County, it's about half and half. Either way you cut it, if a person is addicted to either of the two drugs, officials with the health departments in the two counties can help them get help. But the primary mission of a needle exchange programs in either county is to prevent the spread of disease by taking used needles off the street. [continues 238 words]
So I jump in my car, swerve around and have a wreck at 2:45 a.m., stumble around red-eyed, mumbling incoherently. Will the police take me home, like a personal taxi service, tuck me into bed and avoid annoyances such as drug and alcohol testing? Or will they frog-march me to jail to face court dates, fines and prison time for destruction of public property and attempting to use influence to sway an officer of the law in the performance of his duty? [continues 88 words]
I think meth really stands for "morally empty through highs." I am an average man offering personal advice to individuals. I recently watched my wife get so bent on meth, she had no reasoning left. I begged her to quit, I yelled at her, I held money back. My business is now closed. Our utility bill was not paid, nor was our business phone things my wife had been trusted to care for and had done for a long time. She became deceitful, and we became distant. Meth has taken our credibility, the trust I had for my wife, our credit, our business, our future, our health body, mind and spirit. [continues 56 words]
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Five people have been arrested and charged with robbing and trying to kill a man whom they had arranged to sell crack cocaine. Only after federal agents swarmed into the house as the man fled through a window did the five learn he was a confidential informant from the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to documents filed Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court. [Names redacted], pleaded innocent to charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. [continues 180 words]
Vancouver Woman Gets 15 Months In Jail For Trying To Traffic 15,000 Ecstasy Pills A young Vancouver woman who had political aspirations tearfully apologized in a Seattle courtroom Friday for her attempt to traffic ecstasy in the U.S. last year. "I messed up and I am very sorry," Ravinderjit Kaur Puar told U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour. The judge sentenced Puar to 15 months in jail and three years supervised release after she pleaded guilty last fall for her role in a cross-border drug trafficking ring. [continues 415 words]
Students at Seattle University spent nearly $31,000 in the 2005-06 academic year to attend the school. Many parents willingly made the sacrifice to them, four years at a small private university in an urban atmosphere would provide their children with an intimate education, both in the classroom and on the streets. But on campus, illegal drugs have taken their place alongside alcohol as a popular way to unwind at the end of the day. Terms like "the Stoop" have made their way into the vocabulary of marijuana smokers and drug-free scholars alike. [continues 1226 words]
While low-level drug use may be regarded as a low priority in a city that had 8,606 assaults and more than 1,600 robberies in 2005, the move from using to dealing drugs crosses a serious threshold. For Ray*, an undergraduate student who lives in the dorms and until recently was selling at least an ounce of marijuana a day, it was all supply and demand: people wanted weed. At the beginning of the year, when dealers had yet to establish themselves and it was essentially a free market, Ray was happy to assume the role of a "slanger." [continues 661 words]
Well, it looks as though Mexico is going to decriminalize certain drugs for personal use. How long will the United States be shown a fool by allowing that country to cloud our minds and destroy our generations? We have become a nation of fools. Warren Schnackenberg Vancouver [end]
From the Washington State Bar Association's backing of medical marijuana use to the more extreme stance of former Seattle Chief of Police Norm Stamper, many Americans are voicing their opinion that current drug laws are not working, and their opinions are becoming more of a mainstream movement. "Drug laws attack drug use rather than the [symptoms] leading the person to use the drugs," said Cameron Collins, a third-year law student at SU. "We should be looking at the socio-economic conditions that lead to the drug use rather than the drug use itself, along with the problems of prisons and their lack of actual rehabilitation of their inmates." [continues 660 words]
Outside of Tacoma, he's known as the godfather of needle exchange. But in his hometown, few seem to know much about Dave Purchase or the empire he built. What began as one man handing out clean syringes to drug users along Pacific Avenue in the 1980s has become the Point Defiance AIDS Project, a nonprofit corporation that with the backing of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department gives away more than 800,000 clean needles each year. The North American Syringe Exchange Network, one of its programs, includes a buyers' club that purchases syringes for virtually every needle exchange program in the country. [continues 1254 words]
As The Tacoma Neighborhood Makes A Comeback, Some Residents Say It'S Time For A Needle Exchange Van That Serves Drug Addicts To Go Elsewhere David and Terrie Vestal wanted to be part of the Hilltop revival. They smelled new paint, new carpet, new life when they moved into their two-bedroom, two-bath home on South G Street in the fall of 2003. They thought they were buying into an urban lifestyle. They didn't expect drug addicts shooting up in their yard. Used syringes littering their landscape. People dropping their pants and defecating on their property. [continues 2112 words]
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it does not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The FDA said it and other agencies with the Health and Human Services Department had "concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use." Eleven states, including Washington, have passed legislation allowing marijuana use for medical purposes, but the FDA said Thursday, "These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process and are proven safe and effective." [continues 309 words]
Students Build Six-Foot Replica Of Smoking Pipe A politically-motivated, six-foot-tall bong pipe is not something most Western students would normally find in the center of Red Square, or anywhere for that matter. Members of the WWU Libertarians club will protest by displaying the bong pipe from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday in Red Square to show their support for the fight to legalize marijuana. Graduate student and club member Hannah Pendergrast said the club members hope to inspire students to discuss the war on drugs and aren't condoning marijuana use. The bong is to gain students' attention, she said. [continues 364 words]
Inside Washington
