FONTANA - Fontana's City Council joined a number of other area cities Tuesday night with a 5-0 vote to ban medical marijuana dispensaries for 45 days. Only one speaker during a public hearing on the issue said she opposed a dispensary in Fontana. A few supported the emergency ordinance enacting the temporary ban, saying the city needs to study the issue before allowing dispensaries. Many more instead asked that the city set aside talk of a moratorium and open the path to bringing a dispensary to Fontana. [continues 377 words]
Use of the Drug, Which Is Associated With HIV Transmission, Has Surged Since 2005, According to Data Collected by a Nonprofit Agency. Crystal meth use among gay men has spiked since 2005, according to preliminary data collected by a Los Angeles nonprofit agency, with those using the drug in the last year five times more likely to test positive for HIV. Of the 6,360 gay men the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center tested for HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases last year, one in four reported using the drug at least once. [continues 516 words]
Accidental Pricking Highlights Chomedey South's Problematic Area Chomedey South is often seen as a paradox, as young families with children co-exist alongside urban problems like prostitution and drug usae and peddling. However, the area's problems were highlighted following an incident last week, when a little girl pricked herself with a discarded needle. Seven-year-old Marie-Jane was walking to her bus stop on 79th Avenue on March 27 when she found the syringe in some nearby bushes. "I was really curious, I wanted to play doctor," Marie-Jane said. "I showed it to all my friends but some of them said I shouldn't play with that. But I stung myself two times with it, I didn't bleed." [continues 648 words]
A doctor described as a giant in the field of addiction treatment will spend six months in prison for forging prescription slips and medical records, a judge decided Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland. As a psychiatrist in Illinois, Marc Shinderman, 64, wrote groundbreaking articles on the proper dose for methadone patients and simultaneous treatment of psychiatric and addiction disorders. But in Maine, where he was not licensed to prescribe controlled drugs, his practice of forging prescriptions and then falsifying log books to make it look as though patients had been seen by doctors with valid registrations led to criminal charges. He was convicted in July of 58 felony offenses. [continues 664 words]
There comes a time in every young girl's life when she has grown up and lets science override personal qualms. And so, this is my own personal catharsis here, folks. The topic: marijuana. Let me cut right to the chase. Regular and excessive use can lead to many problems, both acute and chronic. Some reports show that marijuana weakens the immune system. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the most active compound in marijuana, makes the white blood cells 35-40 per cent less effective than normal during time of intoxication. Sugar, I remind you, reduces the immune system by 50 per cent for several hours after consumption. [continues 919 words]
South L.A., Pomona and a 'gateway' city are identified as possible sites for centers as part of a $100-million plan. Los Angeles County's much-touted effort to shift homeless services from downtown Los Angeles to other areas is beginning to take shape, with county leaders zeroing in on three communities where homeless centers could be built. A year ago, the Board of Supervisors approved an ambitious $100-million homeless plan, the centerpiece of which was a proposal to build five "regional centers" in the county. [continues 1289 words]
Thanks for the great job on the article "Pot Clubs in Peril" (February). I operate the club at 194 Church Street that is mentioned in the article. I hope the article brings attention to the fact that no access is worse than limited access. We now face an additional hurdle: Despite the fact that we serve wheelchair - bound patrons at the door with a discount, there is the possibility that our permit will be rejected due to the fact that we are not wheelchair - accessible. Mike Barbitta, S.F. Medical Cannabis Clinic, San Francisco, CA [end]
A drug court--which provides treatment rather than prison terms for chronic users of illegal drugs--is expected to be in operation in Blaine County by June 1. Blaine will become the 31st of Idaho's 44 counties to have such a court. Drug courts allow those charged with drug-related crimes to have their guilty pleas erased after successfully completing an 18-month treatment program. The option is not available to anyone charged with selling drugs or with a violent or sexually related felony, or to illegal aliens. [continues 322 words]
