Students lay on the Esplanade in front of the MAC Center and had their bodies outlined with chalk Monday.

Emily Haft, Students for Sensible Drug Policy president, said the goal of the demonstration was to bring awareness about the Mexican drug war and border violence.

"A lot of people who are not from the Southern states are not aware anything is happening in Mexico," said Haft, sophomore zoology major.

Every person outlined on the Esplanade represented 100 people killed in Mexico. SSDP's goal was to outline 350 people to represent the approximately 35,000 people who have died due to the drug war since 2006.

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The News Journal headlines of March 29 led with "Drug charges possible after TV Program" and upon further reading I was horrified to find that Shelby Police filed charges against the Oprah network because they actually showed the truth about drug addiction in America. It was real reporting, not the news we have been spoon fed by other media. It wasn't pretty, but it was real. Death and dependency are ugly, but the final result of a life of chemical dependency.

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In 2008, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment that legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, making their state one of more than a dozen that have done so. But the amendment didn't spell out how legalization would work, and state officials haven't done much better since. The people the law is intended to help deserve an improved approach.

Marijuana has been shown to ease the symptoms felt by patients who have glaucoma, cancer, and some other illnesses. There was widespread agreement among Michigan voters that legalization was an acceptable method of relieving these patients' suffering.

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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA - When someone hears "deployment" nowadays, Iraq or Afghanistan most likely comes to mind.

This isn't the case for New Philadelphia native U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Zachary Armstrong, assigned to the 673d Security Forces Squadron.

He recently returned from a six-month deployment to Curacao, an island in the Caribbean, in support of the drug interdiction.

Since May 1999, the United States has operated out of Curacao, a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, combating narco-terrorism. Previously, the United States flew these missions from Howard Air Force Base in Panama.

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The state and nation's excessive debt has progressively increased in recent years. Could legalizing marijuana be a solution?

Marijuana is the third-most-common recreational drug in America, after alcohol and tobacco, and the usage is steadily increasing, despite decades of anti-drug advertising campaigns. According to a National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2009 there were 2.4 million persons aged 12 or older who had used marijuana for the first time within the previous 12 months. We levy sky-high taxes on alcohol and tobacco, so why are all these potheads getting their buzz on tax-free?

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LANCASTER -- Fairfield County Commissioner Steve Davis declared war on the county's opiate drug addiction problem at Tuesday's State of the County luncheon.

"We're asking the sheriff for enforcement ideas," he said. "I've asked juvenile (court) judge Steve Williams how we could better address the problem from the juvenile court standpoint and we've asked Job and Family Services what we can do to stem the tide of addiction."

Saying the commission must do all it can to fight opiate drug abuse, he said the commissioners will give a higher priority to the drug problem when devising the 2012 budget.

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I am astounded at all this talk about wanting to stop the abuse of narcotics, and how they want to help people. That's so typical.

I have tried repeatedly for more than a year to get help for a family member who has overdosed twice -- and has actually died and been on a respirator -- and no one would help me. I have written letters to judges; I wrote to the editor; and I have called the courts, and I can't get one person to direct me anywhere.

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With many social service programs, most taxpayers want to make sure of two things -- that the truly needy get the assistance and that no tax money goes to something outside of what it should.

But there's growing concern that state assistance payments are being used to fund illegal drug habits.

Enter State Sen. Tim Schaffer, a Lancaster Republican who represents part of Pickaway County. He again has proposed requiring a drug test for anyone seeking cash, medical, housing, food or energy assistance from the state of Ohio before they can receive any help. The bill excludes unemployment compensation from the testing requirement.

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Ohio Sen. Tim Schaffer recently introduced a bill that would establish drug-testing requirements for adults who receive public aid in the forms of cash, medical, housing, food or energy assistance. Schaffer said taxpayers' money used to help those in need should be spent on necessities, such as food and clothing, and not squandered on drugs.

This proposed bill has been hotly debated throughout the past week. Readers commented on the Tribune's online story, and there have been numerous discussions around dinner tables and water coolers.

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LANCASTER - People in Ohio asking for government assistance from the state would have to be screened for drugs if a bill introduced last week in the Ohio General Assembly is passed and signed into law.

Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, introduced Senate Bill 69, which would establish drug-testing requirements for adults who apply for need-based programs.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville.

"I've got a lot of people, from police agencies, courts, and human service agencies, saying there are a lot of people out there needing assistance," Schaffer said. "But some are not getting shoes on their feet, food on their tables or shirts on their backs, because the money is being hijacked to feed drug addictions."

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There's little doubt taxpayers don't want to see their generosity in the form of state assistance payments squandered on illegal drugs.

But that's what Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, claims is happening across Ohio.

"I've got a lot of people -- from police agencies, courts and human service agencies -- saying there are a lot of people out there needing assistance," Schaffer said. "But some are not getting shoes on their feet, food on their tables or shirts on their backs because the money is being hijacked to feed drug addictions."

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LANCASTER -- People in Ohio asking for government assistance from the state would have to be screened for drugs if a bill introduced Thursday in the Ohio General Assembly is passed and signed into law.

Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, introduced Senate Bill 69, which would establish drug-testing requirements for adults who apply for need-based programs.

The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville.

"I've got a lot of people -- from police agencies, courts, and human service agencies -- saying there are a lot of people out there needing assistance," Schaffer said. "But some are not getting shoes on their feet, food on their tables or shirts on their backs, because the money is being hijacked to feed drug addictions."

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The United States officially declared a "War on Drugs" in 1971. Despite other narcotics posing much greater risks to public health, efforts have been focused largely on the prohibition of marijuana.

After all these years, supply and demand for marijuana has only increased (as well as organized crime, incarceration of nonviolent offenders and costs to taxpayers), leading many to the conclusion that the government is fighting a losing and unworthy battle.

This is why many individuals and organizations, such as Students for Sensible Drug Policy, support drug policy reform.

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Group Supports Ohio House Bill 478 Twice a Week

Four demonstrators waving cardboard signs near the Lucas County Courthouse got honks, waves, and thumbs-up from downtown drivers Saturday.

Their hand-painted messages? "Honk 4 Weed" and "Legalize the Leaf."

Their cause? Support for Ohio House Bill 478, which includes legalization of medicinal marijuana.

The group has been demonstrating downtown every Saturday at "high noon" for several months.

Demonstrators gather at Adams and Erie streets, near the courthouse's Ten Commandments monument, for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the weather, and recently added weekly demonstrations at noon Wednesdays.

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Methamphetamine is a very addictive drug and very destructive to both the mind and the body. The drug is legally prescribed for ADHD, obesity and depression. However, it's easily made illegally in clandestine laboratories with relatively inexpensive and easily available over-the-counter ingredients. This is why the drug has high potential for widespread abuse. The illegal drug is also known as meth, crank, ice, chalk, and speed.

Adverse effects of methamphetamine abuse include serious lung disorders, severe weight loss, and aggressive behavior. Complications of long-term use include bad teeth, skin ulcers, itching, depression, high blood pressure, hyperthermia, increased wakefulness, stroke, and even death. Psychological effects include euphoria, anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. Other problems include domestic violence, increased crime, and increased traffic violations and accidents.

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Situation It should be no surprise that 85 percent of people caged for cannabis (marijuana) infractions were African American since the plant's prohibition was first enacted in the 1930s for racist reasons by bigots ("Pot Law a Bust, Critics Say," issue of Dec. 7).

Except for police and their unions, every facet of cannabis prohibition is a lose-lose situation: lost taxes, prison overcrowding, the deficit, higher hard drug addiction rates, contempt for government, prohibition of hemp farming, etc. Cannabis prohibition is even Biblically discredited since God indicates He created all the seedbearing plants, saying they're all very good on literally the very first page of the Bible. What kind of government cages citizens for using what God says is good?

Yet the point being made is if government could afford the luxury of this discrimination it would continue.

Stan White, Dillon, Colo.

[end]

Repeal Would Save City of Cincinnati $350,000 Annually

As Cincinnati City Council frets about how to close a $62 million budget deficit, some local activists are asking officials to consider repealing an ordinance they say isn't enforced evenly and wastes taxpayers' money.

Critics allege that city's Anti-Marijuana Ordinance is being used to target specific races and is adding to the city's crippling budget deficit.

"When the ordinance was first passed, they said it was just to give police broader leeway to pull people over and search for guns," says activist Justin Jeffre. "However, it has had no effect on the guns in the city and has actually resulted in less guns being found."

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POMEROY - Products known as synthetic marijuana are being pulled from store shelves beginning Dec. 24 not by the Grinch but by the government.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has announced its seizing control of five chemicals used to make the products in order to study them - the ban will last for at least one year. This means beginning on Christmas Eve, possessing products which contain these five chemicals will be illegal. Chemicals being targeted are CP-47,497, JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, cannabicyclohexanol. However, there are other chemicals used to produce that synthetic high which means this move many not slow down the sale of other fake pot products which aren't using the five chemicals in question.

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Marijuana. Pot. Cannabis. Mary Jane. The list of names can go on and on.

This drug has been a main focus in the War on Drugs since the Regan presidency. It's a drug that the majority of Americans have tried and yet still is a source of much debate.

Fourteen states now have legalized the drug for medicinal use. Marijuana is said to help patients suffering from epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS, among a multitude of other medical conditions. The only state that has attempted to legalize the drug completely is California; however, Proposition 19 failed in the 2010 elections.

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Federal marijuana prohibition began in the thirties when Congress passed the 1937 Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. The first drug czar, Harry Anslinger provided the testimony before Congress which ensured passage of the law. Mr. Anslinger later admitted that his testimony was untrue and that with marijuana being relatively harmless, it was not really a problem. The law said that to possess marijuana one must first purchase a tax stamp for it, but in order to get the stamp you had to have the marijuana in your possession. Additionally, there were few stamps printed because there was no intent to use them anyway. Police started arresting people based on the law and continued to arrest them until the law was declared unconstitutional for obvious reasons in 1970.

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