Heroin has made a comeback, and it is destroying lives in the Cape Fear region. It's cheap, plentiful, addictive - and deadly. What is most discouraging is that the experts admit demand for the opiate will ensure a steady supply, even as police take down major dealers and traffickers. Arresting key players disrupts the market for a while, but soon other suppliers will take their place. StarNews reporters Mike Voorheis and Adam Wagner dug beneath the surface for a grim look into Wilmington's heroin problem and the people who can't function without it. It was a stark look at just how easy it is to get heroin, and how tough it is to kick the habit. [continues 462 words]
Regarding Ned Barnett's March 9 column "When might N.C. go to pot?": The sooner the better. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as criminals control marijuana distribution, consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Marijuana prohibition is a gateway drug policy. Marijuana is less harmful than legal alcohol. The plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death. It makes no sense to waste tax dollars on failed marijuana policies that finance violent drug cartels and facilitate the use of hard drugs. Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly. WASHINGTON, D.C. [end]
The Durham boom has been something to behold, from the American Tobacco Campus to the ever-expanding reputation of Duke University in the City of Medicine to the Durham Performing Arts Center, drawing big shows and big performers and big audiences from all over. So why can't a city with so much going for it get the police department right? Here we go again. Now a coalition examining drug law enforcement and punishment has offered documents it says support its contention that there is racial profiling in the Durham Police Department's drug enforcement unit. In the cases examined by the coalition, called Foster Alternative Drug Enforcement or FADE, all suspects were black or Hispanic. [continues 401 words]
In September 2012, the then-captain of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office's Vice and Narcotics Unit predicted that efforts to curb prescription drug use could be a "double-edged sword" causing users to seek out heroin instead. Now, 18 months later, that prognosis looks spot-on as the streets of Wilmington and highways of Brunswick County are awash with heroin, a drug Ben and Jon David, the district attorneys for New Hanover and Brunswick counties, respectively, both call "suicide on the installment plan." [continues 2327 words]
DURHAM -- A coalition presented evidence Wednesday that it says shows Durham police paid informants extra money for convictions in criminal cases without telling defense attorneys or the district attorney's office. The FADE (Fostering Alternative Drug Enforcement) coalition says the documents support its claims of racial profiling by the Durham Police Department's drug enforcement officers; all the suspects in the cases were black or Hispanic. Ian Mance, an attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, said the documents indicating $300 paid to informants as a "bonus" for convictions and/or testimony show the department participated in unconstitutional conduct. [continues 526 words]
Polarization and gridlock create the impression of a nation stuck, but beneath the frozen political machinery cultural and demographic currents are shifting dramatically. The most obvious is the speed with which the nation is changing its mind about same-sex marriage. The next big sea change may be in attitudes about legalizing marijuana. Opposition to easing laws on marijuana has gone up in smoke in Colorado and Washington state. Last week, the Washington, D.C. city council voted to decriminalize small quantities of pot, joining 17 states. Since California voters approved the medical use of marijuana in 1996, 19 more states have followed. More than a dozen states are weighing doing the same this year. [continues 680 words]
The death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman from an apparent heroin overdose is but a high-profile example of what plays out every day in Main Street America. The main difference is that most of those victims remain virtually anonymous, statistical casualties in a futile war on drugs. Hoffman died Sunday in a New York, but our corner of North Carolina is not immune to the addiction that drives the illegal drug trade. Commenting on the latest crime report, Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous blamed heroin as a factor in the recent increase in violent crimes. It's cheaper than ever, and more potent. Also more deadly. [continues 470 words]
Kathleen Parker ("Weed should be a choice," Jan. 20) scored lots of points, supporting the legalization of cannabis (marijuana). Another reason to re-legalize cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it is biblically correct, since God created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they're all good, on literally the very first page of the Bible. A sane or moral argument to continue punishing and caging humans for using cannabis simply doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Everybody's doing it - confessing their youthful, pot-smoking ways - so here goes. I don't remember. Kidding, kidding. Anyone over 30 recognizes the old adage: If you remember the '60s, you weren't there. Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk. It is true that marijuana smoking tends to affect one's short-term memory, but the good news is that, while stoned, one does relatively little worth remembering. At least that's my own recollection. So, yes, I toked, too. This doesn't mean anyone else should, and I haven't in decades, but our debate might have more value if more of us were forthcoming. [continues 566 words]
Everybody's doing it - confessing their youthful, pot-smoking ways - so here goes. I don't remember. Kidding, kidding. Anyone over 30 recognizes the old adage: If you remember the '60s, you weren't there. Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk. It is true that marijuana smoking tends to affect one's short-term memory, but the good news is that, while stoned, one does relatively little worth remembering. At least that's my own recollection. So, yes, I toked, too. This doesn't mean anyone else should, and I haven't in decades, but our debate might have more value if more of us were forthcoming. [continues 561 words]
The other day I read George Will's "Sledgehammer Justice." I always thought he was a conservative, but after reading this piece, he has me confused (which, I admit, is not hard to do.) Is he a real conservative, or is he just another bleeding-heart liberal? The subject he wrote about was prison sentences dealt to drug pushers. I could be wrong, but it seemed to me he thought life in prison -- or even 10-20 years -- in prison for pushing illegal drugs was too harsh. Hmmm. [continues 119 words]
Since Jan. 1, it has been legal to buy and sell marijuana in Colorado and Washington states. News reports predict that this is the first step toward nationwide acceptance of this drug as a legal product on par with alcohol. If our country's experience with lotteries and gambling is any precedent, those reports are likely correct. How can that be? Federal law provides for up to one year in jail for a first conviction for possession of any amount of marijuana. The answer is "prosecutorial discretion." In much the same way the federal government allows certain illegal aliens to continue to live openly in our country, a memorandum from the Department of Justice directs U.S. Attorneys to defer to the states (with some exceptions) in enforcing laws pertaining to marijuana. [continues 476 words]
After weighing the pros and cons, the good citizens of Colorado voted to allow the sale and use of pot. What are the cons? It is a means of impairing drivers. It is potentially addictive. It will be even easier for teens to obtain it. It will be bootlegged and marketed outside the state. It will probably lead to at least one federal case to set a precedent. It is purported to cause learning impairment in teens. It is one more thing that young people see us accept as normal behavior. [continues 144 words]
Regarding George Will's recent column "Blunt force justice for drug offenses" regarding federal "draconian sentences": I applaud publicity of the problem but remain frustrated that the media fail to see the elephant in the room. That elephant is: Why do (sometimes innocent) defendants bend to the federal prosecutors' pressure to plead guilty in the face of Section 851 notice of enhancements or mandatory minimum sentences or threat of superseding indictments elevating risk of increased prison exposure? The answer: Because of a prosecutorial conviction tactic neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers have any incentive to reveal. [continues 388 words]
Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. has long marched to the beat of his own drum, politically speaking. A Republican who once led the effort insisting that the House cafeteria bill its crispy potato sticks as "Freedom Fries" to spite the French, he broke ranks with his party on the war in Iraq and has So it is not surprising that Jones, who represents North Carolina's 3rd Congressional District, which includes a chunk of the Cape Fear region, has stepped forward on behalf of parents seeking to allow their children who suffer from life-threatening conditions legal access to an oral form of medical marijuana. These parents say they and their family doctors have tried every available treatment. Some of the most vocal advocates have been parents whose children who suffer uncontrollable epileptic seizures that have not responded to other medications. [continues 404 words]
CHAPEL HILL - A top Orange County probation officer has been charged with operating a marijuana-growing operation in her Efland home. Carlisha Lakwan Davis, 38, of 3306 Loganberry Court, Efland, was charged Dec. 9 with felony maintaining a dwelling for the sale, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, felony marijuana manufacturing and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to court records. The charges stem from a June break-in, Orange County sheriff's investigator Randy Hawkins said. Davis' arrest was delayed because investigators "were making sure we had what we needed" to file the charges, he said. [continues 408 words]
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones has taken up the case of a number of desperate North Carolina parents who are hoping state lawmakers will legalize medicinal marijuana for children with uncontrollable seizures. In a statement, Jones said that several North Carolina parents of children with life-threatening illnesses have come to him with a "compelling argument that political leaders in North Carolina should consult with medical professionals to determine the efficacy of the use of medical marijuana in certain instances." The Republican congressman, whose 3rd District covers parts of Pender and New Hanover counties, said these parents have "exhausted all other available options to provide relief for their kids." [continues 596 words]
It seems to be simply a matter of time before the United States federal government legalizes marijuana for medicinal purposes. Whether it's 10 years or 50 years, it almost seems inevitable. And even if the feds don't act, states are taking the proverbial bull by the horns and enacting legislation that is intended to help make the acquisition of medicinal cannabis easier. Since 1998, 20 states and Washington D.C. have taken steps to legalize medical marijuana. Even more states, such as Maryland, have enacted laws that allow defendants in a court of law to claim medical necessity as a mitigating circumstance on charges of marijuana possession. And in North Carolina, the N.C. Medical Cannabis Act got past only the first reading before dying in committee in February. You can bet, however, that's not the last time such a bill is introduced. [continues 211 words]
Five years ago, I answered a call familiar to pastors and others of faith; the call to a ministry. Mine was received with great anxiety because it involved admitting to unlawful acts; the use of cannabis (a.k.a. marijuana) for medicinal purposes. After much prayer, and a couple of miracles, I accepted this calling and chose to write a column for The Richmond County Daily Journal to explain my calling and to ask for understanding and forgiveness for anyone offended by my choice. [continues 412 words]
As a rule, the public holds law enforcement officers in high regard. Most live up to that standard. But when a cop sullies the uniform by breaking laws he was sworn to uphold, he betrays the people who put their trust in him. The case of former New Hanover County vice and narcotics Lt. Joey LeBlanc is a reminder that police are human and subject to the same demons that tempt the rest of us. He faces 122 charges involving drugs, embezzlement, obtaining property by false pretenses, and altering or destroying evidence. [continues 453 words]
During a 20-day period in December 2012, the then-second-in-command of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office vice and narcotics unit forged court orders to acquire prescription pain medication from a College Road pharmacy 10 times, court documents released Tuesday allege. Indictments handed up by a New Hanover County grand jury Monday indicate former lieutenant Joey LeBlanc's alleged criminal activity, all of which involved pain medication such as oxycodone or OxyContin, became increasingly common in December 2012 and January 2013. The final activity he was indicted on occurred May 7. [continues 969 words]
That danged dog had better not drool on my Nabs. Even as I stood on the side of Interstate 85 in Spartanburg, S.C., on Thursday night, surrounded by three cops and a dog, that was my first thought. I had been pulled over nabbed, so to speak - while driving through the Palmetto State on my way to Atlanta in a rental car. I knew I wasn't speeding, so I wondered what creative reason the cop - - oops, make that cops; two more drove up before he reached me - would give for stopping me. [continues 782 words]
North Carolina parents of children who suffer severe seizures are lining up for access to and pushing for legalization of medical marijuana where it's not already allowed. They want people to know they're not radicals. And they're not going rogue. They are searching for options. They freely admit they are desperate parents staring down nightmares with their children, having watched them develop early skills only to lose them at the hands of numerous seizures, only to have tried cocktails of medications with debilitating side effects and watch them not work. [continues 1930 words]
It didn't get a lot of attention, ended abruptly and took a back seat to the likes of tax reform and the budget, but the issue of medical marijuana legalization in North Carolina did get a hearing this year in the Republican-controlled legislature. Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr., D-Mecklenburg, sponsored a bill he said would have "permitted dispensaries to be created in North Carolina, and would have permitted it (medical marijuana) to be taxed and appropriately regulated." His efforts were quickly shut down - but not before a brief hearing. [continues 1058 words]
Any unexpected death is a devastating blow, but losing a loved one to an accidental drug overdose carries a unique burden - stigma, whispers, shame and the loss of support from friends and neighbors. I lost my son Michael to a drug overdose in 2012. Michael was a vibrant, well educated, working professional. He was in recovery from substance abuse and proud of where he was in his life, but as with most people who struggle with drug addiction, he relapsed. My life has never been the same since. [continues 226 words]
North Carolina has always had a split attitude toward recreational drug use: Tobacco is OK, alcohol not so much. Now more attention is being focused on a third widely used drug - marijuana. It is now legal to buy marijuana in Colorado and Washington. The venerable New York Times recently called for its national legalization. Even the sharply conservative North Carolina legislature recently took a modest, noncontroversial step by allowing patients with persistent seizures to be treated with cannabidiol extracted from hemp, as long as they qualify for pilot studies. The law allows selected universities in the state to grow cannabis for study. [continues 459 words]
The Sun Journal recently published an opinion entitled, "Tobacco, pot are on different paths". The opinion piece stated how acceptance of tobacco use is in a decline as compared to marijuana. Coastal Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention (CCSAP) is concerned with the social acceptance marijuana is gaining. States legalizing marijuana can show us what might happen if North Carolinians began seeing marijuana as an acceptable drug. The most common reason given to support less restricted marijuana use is "for medical purposes." The Colorado Department of Health and Human Services has published several studies on who is using marijuana for medical purposes in their state. They found that, "the average 'medical' marijuana user is a 32-year old white male with a history of alcohol, cocaine, and meth use, but NO history of a life threatening illness." Furthermore, only 3 percent reported using marijuana for cancer or HIV/AIDS. "The vast majority (94 percent) reported 'severe pain.'" [continues 475 words]
The North Carolina House of Representatives Rules Committee buried a bill to legalize prescription marijuana because committee members heard from so many pro-marijuana constituents, the representatives were feeling "harassed." [end]
Only hard-core drug addicts overdose, right? Actually, this statement may be one of the most dangerous misconceptions driving the overdose epidemic in our country. In the United States, accidental overdose, which includes alcohol, illegal drugs and prescription drugs, has now overtaken motor vehicle crashes as the No. 1 cause of injury death (i.e., non-disease-related death, like falling or homicide). Opioid pain relievers, like Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, currently account for more overdose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined. Prescribed for acute or chronic pain, these drugs provide relief for thousands of people. But, as with any drug, they carry the potential for abuse and overdose. In order to fight this growing epidemic, we must challenge misconceptions about overdose victims. [continues 562 words]
The war on drugs is costing us more than we're getting back. On average, it costs $30,000 a year to incarcerate an inmate. However, the nation spends an average of $11,665 per public school student. Is incarceration an appropriate punishment for all drug offenses? Over 50 percent of people in jail were put there for drug law violation, most of which are for possession (85 percent to 90 percent).The war on drugs is often compared with Prohibition, and it's easy to see why. Prohibition brought an increase in consumption of hard liquor and saw more organized crime taking over legal production and distribution. Banning alcohol didn't stop people from drinking; it just stopped people from obeying the law. [continues 72 words]
Regarding Froma Harrop's Jan. 2 column "Time to end the marijuana farce": Marijuana should be legalized for medical reasons, as in some cases the substance aids in relieving pain in the terminally ill. It should also be legalized for everyone over the age of 21, the same as for alcohol. Most people can get access to it if they want, whether it's marijuana or alcohol. It seems the justice system really has no positive influence on repeat marijuana users through court costs, jail time or community service. If marijuana were legalized, the government could tax it and use the money to assist in substance-abuse education purposes. Kelly Hill Cary [end]
About one-fourth of the estimated cost of the new Davidson County Sheriff's Office project will be funded through confiscated drug money. Davidson County Sheriff David Grice budgeted about $1,050,000 in forfeiture funds to acquire the site of the proposed office and pay for site preparation and construction. While the Davidson County Board of Commissioners has yet to approve any building, Grice said he thinks the forfeiture funds have helped the project progress so far. "It's expedited the situation because it is one-quarter of the theoretical cost of the project," Grice said. [continues 601 words]
Seven years ago, Durham resident Chad Sanders lost his sister, Shelly, to drug overdose. Shelly had been using drugs with a friend in her dorm room when she became unresponsive. Her friend, recently released from jail on parole, did not call 911 for fear that he could be arrested for drug possession. Shelly didn't make it through the night. Unfortunately, Shelly's story is far too common. Drug overdose deaths have surpassed automobile deaths as the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. In North Carolina, antiquated laws and practices lead to over 1,000 preventable overdose deaths each year. It's time we do something about it. [continues 632 words]
Colorado passed Amendment 64 Tuesday night, becoming the first state in the nation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. The measure, which will allow adults 21 or older to use marijuana without a medical prescription, will also make it possible for the state to tax and regulate the drug and its distribution. The legal red tape remains complicated, however, as there is still a federal ban on marijuana. Washington state passed a similar measure Tuesday, allowing for small sales of marijuana, while Oregon residents rejected an amendment on the issue. The Chronicle spoke to Duke students from Colorado about their reaction to the news. [continues 283 words]
People have been using marijuana as a natural medicine for years. In 2010, an ABC News poll showed that 81 percent of Americans believed that medical cannabis should be legal in the United States. Seventeen states have already legalized the use of medicinal marijuana and seven more states are now pending legislation. THC, the principle psychoactive drug found in marijuana, can also be found in the form of a prescription drug called Marinol. Oncologists recommend it to patients who are going through chemotherapy to help combat the painful side effects that accompany it, such as nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. [continues 598 words]
Amber Spivey tilts her head back and swigs the vial of methadone. "Oh," she moans, shaking her knees back and forth like engine pistons. Her face contorts in disgust. She chases the Kool-Aid-colored liquid with water. The taste, she says, is like a thousand pills dissolving on your tongue. Methadone is helping Spivey, a 28-year-old freckled mother of three, reclaim her life after years of heroin addiction. She is among dozens who line up each morning at the New Hanover Metro Treatment Center, a white space of offices hidden off a highway heading downtown. Some wait inside to take their daily dose. Other patients pick up their "take-home" doses for the next days, weeks or month, a privilege earned by attending counseling and passing random drug tests. [continues 2078 words]
Libertarian vice-presidential candidate Jim Gray called the country's anti-drug policies a disaster on a trip to Salem College today. Gray, a retired superior court judge from California, said the country's drug enforcement laws and efforts only put big profits into the pockets of major drug dealers without putting a real dent into the supply of drugs or their effects on society and the people who use them. "We couldn't do it worse if we tried," Gray said. "Drug prohibition is the biggest failed policy in America." [continues 135 words]
ROCK HILL Rubell Alexander has lived in Carnegie Estates -- a middle class Rock Hill subdivision just off Saluda Road -- "ever since there's been a Carnegie Estates." Along with manicured lawns and teens playing basketball, she has witnessed several cycles of crime trickle into the neighborhood -- from rampant break-ins to the "hoodlums" she said once brought their conflicts into the area. But none of that rattled her like finding out that two convicted drug dealers spent six months in a two-story, four-bedroom home around the corner from her house -- growing indoors what officials say was a "high-grade" type of marijuana. [continues 1699 words]
Mary Jane. Weed. Pot. Reefer. All are nicknames for marijuana. Some people are against the drug's use, yet 17 states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Other states have decriminalized marijuana by allowing people to have small amounts on their private property, according to the Associated Press. Some say marijuana is harmless. Others say it's not a drug because it's natural. So how do kids see it? Stephen Pasierb, president of the Partnership at Drugfree.org, said marijuana's legalization and medical use has "created a perception among kids that this is no big deal." [continues 736 words]
Technological advancements have given today's teenagers access to a lot of things their parents could hardly envision at that age: The Internet. iPads. And marijuana many times more powerful than what people smoked in the 1970s. The rise in marijuana use among teens, as documented by recent national surveys, comes as particularly alarming to health advocates because marijuana is more potent than ever before, experts say. That means the pot youth are smoking today carries a greater risk of harm than what their parents might have experienced a generation ago. [continues 778 words]
So the push is on again to legalize marijuana, with both a front-page article ("Bill to legalize marijuana gets local boost," Marblehead Reporter, March 15-21) and an editorial ("Messages and marijuana," Reporter, March 15-21) claiming that marijuana smoke has medical benefits. But these benefits are easily available without having people blow the smoke in my face. Unfortunately, the harm to me from having the smoke blown in my face is real. If there are chemicals in marijuana smoke that have a medical benefit, these chemicals are either distilled from the leaves by the heat or formed during the combustion process. In either case, the chemicals can be isolated in a factory or a laboratory and administered to those who need it with subjecting the whole world to whatever side effects there may be (not the least of which is the hideous and penetrating odor). We don't spread penicillin in an aerosol over the whole community just because a few people have strep infections. Edward Friedman, Lehman Road [end]
In response to Tamara Dietrich's column, "Pat Robertson, a hero to hippies," this is the first thing he has said in many years that makes sense: Legalize pot, marijuana, whatever name you put to cannabis. Robertson said, "I think it's just shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hard-core criminals because they had possession of a very small amount of controlled substance. The whole thing is crazy." Let's look at the numbers. According to this column, 2.5 million are incarcerated for "soft" nonviolent drug offenses. This costs billions of dollars: $41.3 billion a year on enforcement, $25.7 billion to state and local governments. Legalizing pot alone would save $9 billion. Then, if these drugs are taxed at rates comparable to alcohol and tobacco, it would yield $46.7 billion a year, $8.7 billion from pot. [continues 119 words]
From the outside, the one-story brick house seemed like any other in this tranquil Ogden neighborhood screened front porch, navy blue shutters, chain-link fence around the backyard. But when local authorities raided the home last August, what they found inside was anything but ordinary: row upon row of pot plants under an elaborate display of lamps and ballasts, a ventilation system designed to shield the tell-tale aroma from neighbors and wiring harnesses replete with outlets and timers. The indoor garden was hidden in the garage, steps from the tire swing hanging in the neighbor's front yard. [continues 1114 words]
Methamphetamine busts reached a record high last year in the state because of new methods of cooking the drug and more organized efforts to access it, according to N.C.Attorney General Roy Cooper and county sheriffs. Meth lab busts totaled 344 in 2011 - a 57 percent increase from 2006, when new state laws restricted the purchase of pseudoephedrine, meth's key ingredient. Cooper said the laws are working because the number of large-scale meth operations is down, but busts have risen with the popularity of the simpler and cheaper "one pot," or "shake and bake" method. [continues 834 words]
WAXHAW, N.C. - The family of a 13-year-old student kicked out of school for handing a friend a bag of oregano is considering a lawsuit if he's not immediately allowed back to school. At the end of January, the eighth-grader at Cuthbertson Middle School handed a classmate a baggie of oregano and told him it was marijuana. The school immediately handed down a 10-day suspension. When that suspension ended the school added an additional 45-day suspension to be served at a special alternative school. [continues 465 words]
CLAYTON -- After a Clayton High School parent took his 16-year-old out of school three weeks ago over concerns about drug use on campus, parents and community members have begun to question the pervasiveness of drug use in Johnston County high schools. Mark Grady, a local filmmaker, put his son into a private school, claiming the boy had been offered drugs on campus. After that incident, Grady began posting a number of statements on his Facebook page, urging parents to become aware. [continues 319 words]
Thanks for publishing Richard Page's thoughtful letter, "Legalizing Drugs" (Nov. 16). I am sure that many will claim that legalizing our now illegal drugs will increase drug usage. I submit that it will not. Before marijuana was criminalized via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the commissioner of narcotics, Harry Anslinger, testified before the U.S. Congress that the United States had a total of 100,000 marijuana users. Now the U.S. government estimates that at least 107 million Americans have used marijuana. People, especially children, want what they are told they cannot have. The lure of the "forbidden fruit" is very powerful. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
I believe in the legalization of all drugs that are currently - -illegal, such as marijuana and cocaine and everything else. Any reasonably intelligent person understands that organized crime has made a world of money off the drug business for many years. I favor putting illegal drugs under the control of the states, just like alcoholic beverages, and thus making them legal. Such action by the states would do severe and almost instant economic damage to the white collar criminals, some of whom have been lawyers. This result would please me and other concerned citizens very, very much indeed. James Richard Page Aberdeen [end]
John Huffman, the Organic Chemist WHO Put Together Cannabinoids to Study Brain Receptors, Is Taking Heat As Compounds Find Their Way into Dangerous "Herbal" Concoctions. John W. Huffman is a bearded, elfin man, a professor of organic chemistry who runs model trains in his basement and tinkers with antique cars. At 79, he walks a bit unsteadily after a couple of nasty falls. Relaxing on his back porch in the Nantahala National Forest, watching hummingbirds flit across his rose beds, Huffman looks every bit the wise, venerable academic in repose. [continues 1021 words]
The Star asked our Facebook fans to chime in on the war on drugs. Should marijuana be-come legal? What do you think? Find 'The Shelby Star' on Facebook, click 'like, and join in on this and other conversations. If done correctly this could be a brilliant way to help the economy. Crystal Buff Make it legal and tax the crap out of it! Sharon Ervin Hawkins It will create a much-needed relief on the courts and prisons. Legalize it already. Regulate it like cigarettes and alcohol. Kimber Lail-Caldwell [continues 408 words]
Inside North Carolina
