Mike McLeod's statements in his Feb. 20 letter "don't allow the smoking of medical marijuana in Florida amendment proposal," regarding cannabis (marijuana) are seriously incorrect, claiming it's "just as bad or worse" than tobacco. Cigarettes kill over 1,000 Americans daily while cannabis hasn't killed one single person in over 5,000 years of documented use. That's safety on a biblical scale. Alleging the only reason people want to smoke cannabis is to get high is equally misinformed. Many sick citizens prefer smoking cannabis, not to get high but rather desperately seeking relief from cancer, chronic pain, etc. They often wish to avoid strong, highly addictive opiates, which often makes them dysfunctional. Smoking cannabis can also help quicker, allowing people to use only a small amount as needed. A sane or moral argument to cage sick citizens who smoke cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
In 35 states and Washington, D.C., you soon will be able to go into a Walgreens and get naloxone, the heroin overdose antidote, without a prescription. But not in Florida, where heroin is hitting with deadly impact. CVS is another major pharmacy that is increasing its supplies of naloxone, often sold as the prescription drug Narcan. CVS, too, will be selling it widely in 35 states. In 14 of those states, including New York, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the chain will be providing it to patients without an individual prescription. Not Florida. Heroin deaths have soared in this state: from 48 in 2010 to 447 in 2014. And our area is arguably the epidemic's epicenter. A startling seven people have died of suspected heroin overdoses this month in West Palm Beach, bringing the total to 11 deaths since December, police reported Wednesday. At this time last year, there were none. [continues 434 words]
Regarding "Sanctioning drug use in Tampa" (Our Views, Feb. 20): The Tribune gives too much credit to the drug and too little to the process (of prohibition). It is impossible to stamp out anything that millions of Americans want, and trying harder causes more societal damage than it prevents. Our elected leaders are torn between wanting to ease off on possession arrests, but not so much that marijuana use increases. It can't be done, and it's better to know that now. [continues 125 words]
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd's recent published opposition to proposed legislation to curtail Florida's Contraband Forfeiture Act is right on target. Those of us who were in law enforcement in the 1980s worked hard to amend the law in 1982 to allow an attorney representing an agency to file a forfeiture petition in circuit civil court. This has resulted in criminals not only paying their dues to society in criminal court, but also losing any instrument used to further the criminal activity in civil court procedures pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act. A win-win for local and state law enforcement. [continues 97 words]
Stockbroker Who Smokes Pot for Pain Relief Says Latest Referendum Not Enough. Irvin Rosenfeld believes the latest attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Florida will pass. But he doesn't believe it does enough. He wants everyone to be able to grow their own pot. Not for partying. For medicine. The Boca Raton stockbroker knows all about it. He turns 63 on Friday. For a third of his life, he's smoked up to 10 joints a day for which he doesn't pay. Your taxes do. [continues 980 words]
In response to the Feb. 14 Bradenton Herald editorial "Surrendering control on medical marijuana," I hope and pray this legislation to allow people to "smoke" marijuana for so-called medical purposes never passes. What needs to be passed is legislation allowing for the "pill" or "oil" that contains the medical support that comes from marijuana. The only reason people want to smoke marijuana is to get high! This would be detrimental to our society and to our youth growing up. There is simply no reason to allow our society to get high on marijuana when the ingredients in cannabis can be issued by a medical doctor in the form of a "pill" or "oil" prescriptions. [continues 119 words]
Pilot Study in Tampa Will Mean Citations for 20 Grams or Less TAMPA - While Tampa pushes ahead with civil citations for possession of small amounts of marijuana, a plan to give the same break to juveniles caught with the drug also is in the works. Under a planned yearlong pilot program, juveniles found in possession of small amounts of marijuana, 20 grams or less, no longer will be arrested but will instead be cited and required to attend a drug treatment program. [continues 1285 words]
Tampa City Council is playing with fire with a plan to decriminalize marijuana use. Don't be surprised if local drug abuse explodes if the council approves the measure to issue only civil citations for possession of 20 grams or less of pot Passage of the ordinance seems assured. The council voted 6-0 Thursday to hold an initial public hearing March 3 on the measure, which would go into effect after a second public hearing. Only Councilman Charlie Miranda seems skeptical. [continues 1137 words]
Taxpayers beware: There is a dangerously naive proposal making the rounds in Tallahassee. Some politicians want to significantly damage Florida's successful Contraband Forfeiture Act. This is the law that prevents criminals from profiting from their illegal acts. Just like we prohibit killers from profiting by writing books about their crimes, the civil contraband forfeiture law in Florida allows law enforcement agencies to seize assets that are linked to criminal activity with full due process protections for the accused. Bills sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes and Reps. Larry Metz and Matt Caldwell (Senate Bill 1044 and House Bill 889) would make it more difficult, and sometimes impossible, to seize criminals' illegally obtained assets. As a result, more crooks will get to keep their ill-gotten money while you work, pay your taxes, and now will have to pay more to ensure law enforcement has the necessary tools to fight and reduce crime. Why should hardworking taxpayers pay more in taxes while criminals who sell drugs to our kids get to keep their dishonestly acquired money? [continues 363 words]
This is in regard to your Feb. 7 editorial ("As government drags its feet, voters move on medical pot") regarding the acceptance of the medical marijuana initiative on the November ballot. As a 75-year-old Californian who recently moved to Florida, I take no prescription drugs. Medically legal cannabis for chronic pain, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder has changed my life. It's shocking to see the Florida media featuring misleading images and inaccurate representations of what legalization will mean to Floridians. [continues 72 words]
I remain so disappointed in the lawmakers unwilling to see the benefits of legalizing marijuana completely. It helps with more things that ail a person than what will be medically prescribed eventually. I realize this is a backwards state, just one, among several others. The laws imposed upon us, by people who can drink their way into oblivion, if they choose, is kind of hypocritical ... don't you think? They are stuck in a time warp and can't see past their rigid beliefs. Legalize it. Put laws on it. No difference than the rules for drinking. It is not a gateway drug. [continues 134 words]
After utterly failing to bring relief even to children with severe epilepsy through a non-narcotic form of marijuana, Florida officials fully deserve the wrath of voters who are on the way to taking matters into their own hands - with a constitutional amendment that would make marijuana available for a wide range of debilitating medical conditions. The medical marijuana amendment has gained enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. It is sponsored by the same folks who fell just short with a similar amendment in 2014. Then, the measure got 58 percent of the vote. This time - in a higher-turnout, presidential election year - the chances of gaining the needed 60 percent seem in the bag. [continues 478 words]
I'm not surprised that enough petitions have been collected to put medical marijuana on this year's ballot. I believe true medical marijuana would have eased my 73-year-old father's pain before his death due to cancer. I was approached a few weeks ago at a grocery-store parking lot by someone seeking my signature on the petition. I declined because all the activists were high-school and college-aged youth. Did they all need "'medical" marijuana? I doubt it. But apparently they'd like to have "medical" marijuana legalized. Beware of the intent and how this would be administered. Judy Lineberry Clermont [end]
Alachua County officials are heading in the right direction by creating alternatives to arresting people caught with small amounts of marijuana. The police departments of the county's municipalities and college campuses, along with officials in other counties and statewide, should get on board with such an approach. The County Commission voted 4-0 on Tuesday to move forward with an ordinance that would allow civil citations to be issued to someone caught with 20 grams of marijuana or less. The citations are an alternative to an arrest or issuing a notice to appear in court. [continues 536 words]
Regarding 'A first step' (Your Views, Jan. 20): Legalizing marijuana is going to open a can of worms. We have construction workers who have to operate heavy equipment; if they use marijuana, this would endanger everyone around the area. Then there are the ramifications of long-term usage - lung cancer, arterial disease, etc. Education is key to letting these people know marijuana is not the answer. Stephen Burchett, Seffner [end]
Regarding: "Tampa moves to downgrade pot offense" (front page, Jan. 12): As we move toward decriminalization of marijuana, a caveat: Although decriminalization will reduce the cost of enforcement and avoid upsetting the lives of arrestees, it will not reduce the violence, the murders, the drive-by shootings, the deaths of innocents caught in the crossfire, or the grisly murders south of the Rio Grande. Credit the law of supply and demand for all that. Demand will increase, owing to the reduced cost (i.e. just a ticket, not an arrest). Increased demand will increase price, other things being equal. This will add to the wealth and violence of the street market. And if enforcement shifts from users to suppliers, as many of our leaders say it must, price will rise even higher. This is why alcohol prohibition failed. We arrested bootleggers, but not drinkers. The 1920s were, in effect, a time of decriminalized alcohol and ended only when alcohol became legal again. It is very important to decriminalize marijuana, but know that it is just a first step in ending the violence and corruption inherent in enforcing prohibition against a substance that millions of Americans want. John G. Chase Palm harbor [end]
Decriminalization of marijuana is coming as a refreshing breeze. We Americans deal ourselves a triple whammy when we enforce a law that makes a felony of behavior that is not criminal. First, there is the waste of taxpayer money to enforce that law. Second, there's the loss to society of contributions the felon would have made if he had not been fighting the charge. Third, there's the loss of respect by the public for a criminal justice system that focuses on small offenses. [continues 53 words]
The Tampa City Council is right to explore ways to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by issuing civil citations. Council members should look seriously at the issue and adopt a measure that will appropriately punish lawbreakers without saddling them with criminal records as a similar effort continues in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County. In a unanimous decision last week, Tampa City Council members voted to discuss the creation of a civil citation ordinance. In February, the council plans to look at what other local governments have done and determine how to best move forward in Tampa. Separately, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said police and city attorneys have been working on a civil citation ordinance for eight months. [continues 321 words]
Those Caught With A Small Amount Would Face Citations Instead Of Jail TAMPA - Close to 1,900 arrests made by Tampa police last year included charges of possession of small amounts of marijuana. The crime is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison or probation and a $1,000 file. Offenders can also lose their driver's license for two years, making it tough to hang onto a job. A conviction comes with the lifelong stigma of a criminal record, a bar to jobs in law enforcement and the armed services, and eligibility for public housing and some college scholarships. [continues 678 words]
I applaud Sheriff Ric Bradshaw on his response to recent actions taken by the Palm Beach County Commission pertaining to marijuana laws. Our Florida Legislature enacts laws. Our police officers are trained and sworn to enforce those laws. City and county commissions who are enacting civil penalties for marijuana possession are attempting to divert the energies of "law enforcement" to serve as revenue-enhancement agents enforcing civil penalties. Creating ordinances that cater to the pleasures of constituents indirectly supports many poor people forced to grow marijuana in lieu of food crops, the cartel, the street dealer and the families affected by the end result. Don't vilify the police. The responsibility to prosecute or not rests with the State Attorney's Office. Sentencing, civil fines and nonadjudication are the responsibility of the judge and not the cop. MARTIN J. JACOBSON, PORT ST. LUCIE [end]
Just when it seemed Florida might finally be getting off the state's dizzying medical marijuana merry-go-round, new variables promise further delay of the legal, non-euphoric marijuana the Legislature promised two years ago. The 2016 session just became legislators' last chance to deliver compassion for children with intractable epilepsy, and people with advanced cancer and similar debilitating conditions. The priority on this issue should be to clear the regulatory haze and implement the 2014 law - given voters' near-certain approval of a much less desirable constitutional amendment that would legalize euphoric marijuana for medical use. [continues 519 words]
A former deputy U.S. Marshal from Broward County is facing at least 10 years in federal prison after admitting he used his duty weapon to steal 24 pounds of marijuana from drug dealers in northern California. Clorenzo Mack Griffin, 38, who grew up and lived in Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiring to commit robbery at a hearing in federal court in Sacramento, Calif. He was fired after his arrest. Griffin admitted he planned, financed and took part in the Oct. 11, 2014 armed robbery in Yuba City with two friends from Miami, who have already admitted their roles in the crime, according to court records. [continues 315 words]
Eleven companies challenged Florida's limited medical-marijuana program Monday by contesting how the state awarded licenses to start the industry. The challenges mean another round of court proceedings and judges' decisions before anyone can be certain that Knox Nursery of Winter Garden and the four other regional licensees have legal authority to grow marijuana and process and sell medicines derived from it. The challenges will be heard by Florida Division of Administrative Hearings judges. The potential timing of those cases was unclear Monday, though each challenge may be handled on a case-by-case basis. [continues 457 words]
Sellers Can't Use Many Words to Describe It For any medical-marijuana joints interested in coming to Altamonte Springs, the most descriptive business names have already gone up in a puff of green smoke. In fact, the previous sentence contains no fewer than six words that these establishments would be barred from using. All total, Altamonte Springs leaders have prohibited 27 terms from appearing in the titles of medical-marijuana retail centers, including the words "medical" and "marijuana." And "dope," [continues 569 words]
Officials in Altamonte Springs seem really worried about pot. I'm worried about them ... and whether they're smoking it. Because you'd have to be puffing on something pretty strong to pass the goofy ordinance they did this week - one that tells medical marijuana businesses they can't use words such as "medical" and "marijuana" in their business names. First of all, I should mention the tiny little detail that medical marijuana isn't even legal in this state. But Altamonteans don't care about that. They want to regulate any possible medicalpot businesses that might crop up if the state ever does legalize it. [continues 601 words]
The Florida Department of Health has awarded licenses to Knox Nursery in Central Florida and four other growers in other regions of the state to become the first in Florida to legally grow marijuana and manufacture medicines from it. Knox, a Winter Garden greenhouse operator, was selected from among eight companies vying to get the state's exclusive license for the 18-county region that forms a broad swath from St. Petersburg to Daytona Beach and includes Orlando. The Florida Department of Health issued the northwest-region license to Hackney Nursery Co.; the northeast to Chestnut Hill Tree Farm; the southwest to Alpha Foliage; and the southeast to Costa Nursery Farms. [continues 752 words]
Florida State University defensive back Greg Reid was supposed to be a first-round NFL draft pick. University of Florida defensive back J.C. Jackson was supposed to be an elite playmaker in the Southeastern Conference. University of Central Florida running back Will Stanback was supposed to help carry the Knights' offense during what has turned out to be a dismal season. Instead, their links to marijuana altered the trajectory of their promising careers. At least 12 UF players have been linked to marijuana use by law enforcement since the start of former coach Will Muschamp's tenure in 2011, and the number is not considered exceptionally high for major college-football programs. Arrest figures were much higher during former Gators coach Urban Meyer's tenure. When schools announce that football players have been suspended for undisclosed rule violations, many immediately suspect marijuana was involved. [continues 2402 words]
TALLAHASSEE -- Patients who have been given a year to live could soon be allowed to use marijuana to ease their pain. A Florida House panel on Tuesday OK'd legislation that would expand an existing, small medical marijuana program and a law allowing terminal patients to try experimental drugs. Now, with two doctors' approval, a patient can buy marijuana from a licensed grower in the state. "Cannabis should be the first option for patients, rather than the last resort," said Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, speaking on behalf of Cathy Jordan, a Parrish resident who has suffered from ALS for 29 years. "No one should have to go through what I did to get their medication." [continues 323 words]
Authorities say they have arrested a deputy for her alleged role in a marijuanaselling business following a month-long investigation. St. Lucie County sheriff 's deputies said an anonymous tipster told them deputy Heather Tucker, 27, was involved in drug activity. Authorities searched the apartment she was staying at with her boyfriend and another couple Friday and said they found felony amounts of marijuana, packaging materials and other items typically associated with the sale and distribution of marijuana. Tucker was charged with marijuana possession of more than 20 grams, marijuana possession with intent to sell and possessing drug equipment. [continues 56 words]
Civil Citations Can Replace Criminal Arrest, County Says Pot smokers busted by cops in Broward County with a joint or a baggy of marijuana could walk away with a civil fine and a clean criminal record. Broward commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to create a lighter penalty for small-time possessors of marijuana. The county can't decriminalize an illegal drug, and police officers still have the option to treat the offense as a misdemeanor crime. But commissioners lamented the lives they say have been ruined by arrest or jailing on what they consider a minor infraction. Twenty states have decriminalized marijuana under certain circumstances, and voters in Broward overwhelmingly supported legalization of medical marijuana when it hit the Florida ballot, but failed, last year. [continues 829 words]
Prosecutions Are Up, but Formulas Change Quicker Than the Drug Code Can TAMPA - Synthetic marijuana and other drugs continue to bedevil authorities, who say some progress is being made in the battle against unregulated chemicals that are landing teenagers and young adults in emergency rooms with horrifying reactions. Although prosecutions mount, authorities say local law enforcement is frustrated by drug sellers who make minor changes in chemical formulations to get around the law, staying just out of reach of police. Once a substance is specifically listed as illegal, a new formula is created. [continues 1387 words]
The liberal media has demonized mandatory minimum drug sentences, referring to them as punishment for 'nonviolent' crimes. What about the violence that illegal narcotics have done to a large segment of our population? Comparing the cost of incarcerating drug offenders with the cost of drug damage would be instructive. Mandatory minimum sentences played a major role in reducing the flow of illegal drugs into Florida and the rest of the country. We seem to have lost that bit of history. I spent seven years interviewing federal drug prisoners for intelligence on successful drug smuggling. The information was obtained at little cost. None of these inmates would have cooperated were it not for their attempts to reduce sentences. Charles M . Fuss Jr., St. Pete Beach [end]
Florida Gov. Rick Scott is going to have to think outside the drug war box if he wants to reduce heroin overdose deaths. Groundbreaking research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that states with open medical marijuana access have a 25 percent lower opioid overdose death rate than marijuana prohibition states. This research finding has huge implications for states like Florida that are grappling with prescription narcotic and heroin overdose deaths. The substitution effect was documented by California physicians long before the JAMA research. Legal marijuana access is correlated with a reduction in opioid and alcohol abuse. The marijuana plant is incapable of causing an overdose death. Not even aspirin can make the same claim, much less alcohol or prescription narcotics. The phrase 'if it saves one life' has been used to justify all manner of drug war abuses. Legal marijuana access has the potential to save thousands of lives. Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. [end]
A surge in heroin use in Hillsborough County and throughout Florida underscores the need for increased state funding for substance abuse treatment and mental health services. Gov. Rick Scott has wisely recognized that Florida is not doing enough to help people addicted to drugs and living with mental illness, and the Legislature next year should follow his lead and invest more money in these critical services. Heroin deaths in Florida reached an all-time high in 2014 of 447 people, according to a report released last week by state medical examiners. Hillsborough County recorded 22 heroin-related deaths in 2014, up from just three a year earlier. Officials have already linked 18 Hillsborough deaths to heroin in the first half of this year. Public health officials across the country say law enforcement's crackdown on doctor shopping, pill mills and the opioid drug oxycodone has prompted the addicted to look for an alternative. Increasingly, drug users are turning to heroin, a relatively inexpensive opioid that is easy to obtain as drug cartels from Mexico find ways to produce a more potent product and smuggle it north, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The spike in heroin deaths highlights an enormous gap in the care offerings for drug addicts, a problem Florida would be smart to quickly address. [continues 216 words]
Why Is Unclear, But The Surge Comes As Prescription Drug Deaths Drop Heroin deaths are on the rise across the Tampa Bay region - but they're exploding in Hillsborough County. Heroin has killed four times as many people in Hillsborough in the past two years as it did in all of the previous four years combined. Data from the Hillsborough Medical Examiner's Department reflects a dramatic increase in fatalities attributed to the drug, which has seen a resurgence statewide and nationally following a crackdown on the prescription drug abuse epidemic. [continues 956 words]
A jury did not believe a Miami-Dade man who insisted he grew 15 marijuana plants inside his home only to help ease the suffering of his cancer-stricken wife. The six-member jury on Friday night convicted Ricardo Varona of trafficking more than 25 pounds of marijuana and operating a marijuana growhouse. Taken into custody to await sentencing, Varona faces a mandatory minimum of three years in prison. Varona, 43, was the second South Florida man in the past six months to claim "medical neccesity" in operating a marijuana growhouse. Unlike in the Varona case, a Broward jury in March acquitted 50-year-old Jesse Teplicki, who admitted he grew 46 plants to battle years of nausea and fatigue. [continues 381 words]
Supporters of a movement to legalize marijuana for medical use in Florida reached an important milestone last week, gaining enough valid petition signatures to prompt a Florida Supreme Court review of the ballot language. This was expected after the effort fell just shy of winning enough votes in 2014 and the Legislature refused to take up the issue this year. It should be clearer than ever to legislators that they have one more chance to pass legislation that legalizes medical marijuana or voters likely will do it themselves next year by amending the state Constitution. [continues 277 words]
Kudos to columnist John Romano for acknowledging that it is long past time to correct Florida's 'ill-advised anti-marijuana crusade.' No other state routinely punishes minor marijuana infractions more severely than Florida. Under state law, marijuana possession of 20 grams or less (about two-thirds of an ounce) is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Marijuana possession over 20 grams, as well as the cultivation of even a single pot plant, are defined by law as felony offenses - punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Annually, an estimated 60,000 Floridians are arrested for possessing marijuana, the third-highest total of any state. [continues 73 words]
Petitions will hit the streets soon for a proposed constitutional amendment that would fully legalize marijuana use, possession and cultivation by adults in Florida. A political-action committee called Floridians For Freedom, associated with a longtime marijuana-advocacy group called the Florida Cannabis Action Network, said Tuesday that it had received state approval to begin seeking signatures to get their measure on the November 2016 ballot. The measure is distinct from another amendment drive run by United For Care and led by Orlando lawyer John Morgan because Morgan's group wants to legalize marijuana for medical purposes only. Floridians For Freedom wants it legalized for all uses, including recreation. [continues 191 words]
A new federal program that reduces drug offenders' long sentences should cut costs and improve the judicial system. But the exercise requires close monitoring. No one should forget the culprits were sent to prison for grave crimes. The drug trade, after all, kills thousands each year - users and those killed in the violent street crimes related to drugs. Illegal drugs' devastating damage to society should not be minimized as federal officials ease sentencing practices. But, as the Tribune's Elaine Silvestrini found, the Justice Department's Smart on Crime Initiative looks to be a reasonable way to reduce inordinately long sentences without giving criminals a pass. [continues 546 words]
When I was 13 years old, I decided to never touch drugs or alcohol due to my family's history of addiction. And I stuck to it. But if I trust author Johann Hari's recent TED Talk, "Everything you know about addiction is wrong," I should feel free to experiment. In the talk, Hari argues that the sole root of and cure for addiction is human connection, but there are some dangerous flaws in his argument. Hari's thesis is that there is no physical component to addiction, only a psychological one that is specifically an attempt to fill the void of human connection. The evidence he provides to illustrate this, though, is a study on lab rats that showed they would not drink cocaine water if they had friends, Portugal's decriminalizing of all drugs, and a professor who proposed calling addiction "bonding." [continues 472 words]
As America entered the 21st century, Florida became the home of retirees, tourists and prescription drug abusers. Law enforcement officials referred to Interstate 75 as the 'Oxy Express,' as people flooded into Florida to take advantage of the state's easy access to drugs. 'Florida was ground zero for pill mills,' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Simon Gaugush. During a six-month period in 2010 at just one pill mill in Tampa, 1,906 patients from 23 states made 4,715 visits. Doctors at this one facility wrote prescriptions for 1 million oxycodone pills. [continues 2762 words]
Staff Researches Idea for a Much-Reduced Penalty for Small Amounts. WEST PALM BEACH - Palm Beach County is considering making possession of a small amount of marijuana a civil infraction - the equivalent of a traffic ticket - rather than a criminal offense. But a number of issues need to be worked out in order for this approach to receive broad-based support or at least acceptance from law enforcement and the criminal justice system stakeholders," Assistant County Administrator Jon Van Arnam wrote in a memo Aug. 14. [continues 426 words]
TAMPA - On Nov. 1, 120 federal drug offenders sentenced in Tampa will be released from prison as part of a rollback of federal drug penalties. Among the prisoners tasting freedom will be Lucas Lopez, 86, and his son, Benito, 47, Miami commercial fishermen who have served 22 years of their 30-year sentences after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 5 kilos of cocaine in Tampa. For both men, it was their first conviction. Neither had any disciplinary issues in 22 years behind bars, according to their lawyer, Conrad Kahn of the Federal Public Defender's office. [continues 1547 words]
In response to "Hepatitis cases exploding in U.S." (Nation & World, Aug. 8): Twenty years ago that headline could have been written in Switzerland. An AIDS epidemic was out of control. The Swiss were so desperate they tried something radical: They allowed hardA-core addicts to register with the state to receive clean heroin. It was controversial at first, but in 2008 the public voted to include "heroin-assisted treatment" as a normal part of their national health system. They also made methadone freely available as a pharmaceutical. The proA-gram pays for itself in improved public health and safety. It also enables addicts to hold jobs and pay taxes. The average age at registration as an addict is slowly rising, indicating that kids are not becoming addicted, and the number of addicts needing her-oin has stabilized at about 1,300, in a population about the same as Florida. [continues 56 words]
Hallandale Officials Likely to Approve $100 Civil Fine HALLANDALE BEACH - Gone to pot? Get caught in Hallandale Beach with up to 20 grams of marijuana, and you may be looking at a $100 civil fine instead of criminal charges. Following the lead of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County, Hallandale Beach city commissioners are expected to give initial approval to the new law Wednesday night. City Commissioner Keith London won quick support from his colleagues after pitching the idea in June. Should the measure pass, Hallandale Beach might be the first city in Broward County to pass such a measure. [continues 282 words]
A new poll finds that two-thirds of likely Florida voters are willing to vote yes for medical marijuana legalization. The survey, done by St. Pete Polls, finds majority support for medical marijuana in every market of the state. Overall, 68.2 percent of those surveyed say "yes" when asked: "If the new medical marijuana initiative makes it on to the ballot this year will you vote for it?" "No," got 25.3 percent, and just 6.5 percent said they were undecided. [continues 187 words]
There is a destination where you're about five times more likely to be incarcerated than the rest of the world. It's got only 4 percent of the planet's population but claims more than 20 percent of the world's population behind bars. It's not Syria, and it's not Cuba. That place is the United States of America. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the number of prisoners in the United States has increased more than seven times during this author's almost 50 years. Two million people in America live behind the walls. America imprisons at an astounding rate of 716 of every 100,000 people. The Prison Policy Initiative ranks Florida 10th in the U.S., imprisoning people at a rate of 891 people per 100,000. Florida's "lock 'em up" rate ranks well above authoritarian regimes such as Cuba, Rwanda and the Russian Federation. In 1970, the Florida Department of Corrections imprisoned just 8,793. Thirty years later, the number has multiplied more than 11 times to greater than 100,000 men and women in state prisons. [continues 236 words]
Re: Notorious drug kingpin escapes | July 13 In Don Winslow's most recent book, The Cartel, he describes the elaborately choreographed escape of the head of the fictional El Federacin, the world's most powerful drug cartel. The book's time proximity to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's escape (it was just published in June) gives Winslow's story a prescient quality. Winslow's account also undercuts the simplistic accusation (made by Donald Trump among others) that the escape is evidence of Mexican malevolence toward the United States. By portraying the global impact and political complexities of the illegal drug business, he shows that it is the marketplace that determines the direction of the drug business. Thus it is not a problem that will be solved by changing immigration law or policy. How would tweaking immigration policy have curtailed the illegal importation of alcohol during Prohibition? [continues 64 words]
For the past three years, Florida's Legislature has failed to pass a bill that would create a needle exchange program leaving the state without a program to help drug addicts avoid exposure to disease through dirty needles. But stark new figures released this week show heroin use is surging across the country and is up around 63% in the last decade, according to a new report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In another recent study, doctors at the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital found that over one year, cases of infection at Jackson Memorial caused by injection drug use led to 17 deaths at a cost of $11.4 million, much of it borne by taxpayers. [continues 746 words]
Inside Florida
