Gov. Ted Strickland signed a law yesterday that will add the hallucinogen Salvia divinorum to Ohio's controlled substance list.

The law, which takes effect in 90 days, classifies salvia as a Schedule I controlled substance alongside drugs like marijuana. Ohio joins at least nine other states to ban the use, possession or distribution of salvia.

State Senator Jimmy Stewart, R-20, said the law will be enacted in the same way as previous additions to the Schedule I controlled substance list.

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Dealing a blow to years of work and recent gains in youth drug prevention, Massachusetts has joined a growing, but still short, list of states to decriminalize marijuana possession. At least that is the intention of some 65 percent of voters checking "Yes" on a ballot initiative that makes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a civil offense (punishable by a ticket) as opposed to a criminal one. And this on the same day that the same voters approved a ban on greyhound racing.

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MASSILLON, OH -A substance abuse problem may have driven a former Massillon union leader to embezzle more than $15,000 in cash, according to prosecutors. Kenneth Saltz Jr., ex-president of United Steelworkers Local 1124, was placed on two years probation last month by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Gaughan. Saltz also was ordered to serve six months electronically-monitored house arrest, court records show. As part of the sentence, Saltz was ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol. Local 1124 president Ray Perez declined to comment Tuesday. In September, Saltz pleaded guilty to stealing $15,800 from the union. According to court documents, Saltz forged and cashed 55 union checks totaling $14,042 between May and August 2006. Saltz reportedly wrote the checks on an account funded by union dues.

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Defendants Allegedly Could Buy Secret Friend In Courtroom

Hoping to crack a federal drug case, investigators were listening in on telephone calls when they stumbled across a conversation that is sending shock waves through Hamilton County's judicial system.

On that wiretap, federal officials heard what they believe was an attempt by convicted drug dealer Charles Johnson to buy his freedom by arranging a meeting with a court bailiff he hoped would fix his sentence.

That alleged incident is the centerpiece of a criminal investigation into Damon Ridley, who was the bailiff for Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge John "Skip" West until Ridley was confronted with the allegations and resigned.

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