WEST WARWICK - The group of West Warwick High School students sat around drinking, laughing and talking. The SADD truth is that they were drinking Gatorade, eating cupcakes and enjoying one another's company. The group of about 20 students is trying to get the word out that drugs and alcohol aren't needed for teens to have a good time and they said that is one of many reasons they revived the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) organization. One of the founding members, junior Chelsea Carlson, said the students wanted to revive the group because they needed to get the message out there and they needed someone their fellow students could relate to. [continues 601 words]
PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union sued General Treasurer Paul J. Tavares yesterday, challenging new regulations that allow his office to deny or reduce compensation to crime victims who have been convicted of unrelated drunken-driving or drug-dealing offenses. The treasurer administers the state's Crime Victim Compensation Program, which pays claims to crime victims, under certain conditions. Over the past two years, Tavares has adopted regulations that authorize him to deny or reduce compensation if, in the preceding five years, crime victims have been convicted on charges of driving while intoxicated, selling or delivering drugs, or possessing drugs with the intent to sell or deliver them. [continues 876 words]
To the Cigar, A great person and dear friend of many was arrested with many others in a recent drug bust on campus. This person was not a drug dealer. He was not a threat to society. Despite this, he was taken from his room at three o'clock in the morning by the police, who had a warrant for his arrest. In the bust, our friend was taken down and seven other students were arrested for selling drugs to undercover police officers. Although several counts of dealing crack, hallucinogenic mushrooms, ketamine, cocaine and marijuana were among the charges against the students, our friend was accused of "one count of delivering marijuana." [continues 898 words]
To the Cigar, I'm a little confused as to why this whole drug bust is such a huge deal. The police spend so much time and money building up cases against these kids, when liquor stores all across the country sell drugs on a daily basis in broad daylight. This information might be a little startling at first glance but the last time I checked, alcohol and tobacco are drugs. You may now stop your internal dialogue. I'm not sure as to how you can have a "war on drugs" by excluding certain, coincidentally taxed ones. Either you make all drugs illegal or you shut the hell up. [continues 136 words]
To the Cigar, I'm writing about Redford Givens' outstanding letter: "America's war on drugs a failure" (Dec. 1). According to Edward Behr the author of: "Prohibition: 13 Years That Changed America," prior to the era known as alcohol prohibition, there were about 300 legal alcohol distilleries. During our alcohol prohibition era from 1920 to 1933, the authorities shut down more than 179,000 illegal distilleries. For every legal alcohol distillery that operated prior to the prohibition era, about 600 illegal distilleries were shut down during the prohibition era. [continues 58 words]
CRANSTON -- A group of health officials and law enforcement representatives came together yesterday to raise awareness of a drug plague that they say has so far spared much of New England but will come. The spread of methamphetamine use and addiction has ravaged other parts of the country, said U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente. In Hawaii, for instance, methamphetamine addiction has surpassed alcohol abuse, he said. We want "to get out in front of the problem and be prepared when the problem is here," Corrente said. [continues 420 words]
To the Cigar, Noel Marandola is correct about drug prohibition - it is a cruel and worthless policy. [Editor's note: Marandola wrote the letter to the editor "SSDP rallies support for medical marijuana" in yesterday's issue.] America's drug crusaders perpetrate the illiterate attitudes responsible for a drug crusade that causes a hundred, nay a thousand times, the damage done by the drugs themselves. Demanding life destroying prison sentences for a crime where there are no victims is morally reprehensible. Especially when we learn that there was no such thing as "drug crime" before the drug warriors put their prohibition laws on the books. [continues 402 words]
To the Cigar, Welcome back from the Thanksgiving holiday. In this time of thanks and as the holidays are quickly approaching, we can't forget how lucky we as college students are. We are the privileged. We as students have the world at our fingertips. We have the power to organize and affect change. Unlike most of the population, students often find themselves with extra time on their hands, let's say to party. I can say that I have rarely met any college students who don't enjoy their rights to privacy and right to party. Yes, that is a right. These rights are not always free. People, organizations and grassroots movements have paved the way and secured these, among other even more important rights and privileges we all enjoy. [continues 839 words]
PAWTUCKET - If the theory is that keeping kids busy is the key to keeping them out of trouble and away from the temptations of drugs, then the schoolchildren's performances to mark the end of Red Ribbon Week were the proof. More than 100 award-winning youngsters from city schools put on skits, recited poems, rapped anti-drug lyrics and - in the case of award-winning Woodlawn Catholic Regional School - performed a costumed play complete with smoke machines and a Marley-style ghost in showing countless creative ways to illustrate their anti-drug themes in performances in the City Council chamber at City Hall. [continues 517 words]
To the Cigar, Thanks for publishing the story about Norm Stamper, the former chief of police of Seattle ("Former cops says war on drugs 'failed,' advocates legalization"). I'd like to add that just over four years ago, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition didn't exist. Today they have more than 5,000 members and several hundred of their members are current or former drug warriors. Why do so many current and former drug warriors want to end our drug prohibition policies? Could it be that they know from personal experience that our drug war is counterproductive and not winnable? Could it be that they know from personal experience that our drug war is a complete and total waste of money? Kirk Muse [end]
A member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Norm Stamper, came to the Memorial Union Friday night to discuss the legalization of drugs. Students for a Sensible Drug Policy sponsored the discussion and following forum. LEAP is composed of current and former judges, police officers and other law enforcement officials that feel current drug policies have failed. Stamper has worked in law enforcement for 34 years and was the chief of police in Seattle. He said the drug war is a colossal failure and is the most dysfunctional policy since slavery. [continues 539 words]
Police tell us that, at least so far, the reported discovery of a methamphetamine lab in a Coventry home is an isolated incident. Let's hope so. Authorities have charged a Warwick resident and a Coventry resident in their investigation, in which police said they found a Shady Valley Road home full of ingredients used to make the drugs. We commend the authorities involved for acting quickly, and successfully coordinating efforts among various levels of law enforcement - because if they hadn't, the results could have been disastrous. [continues 246 words]
The World Would Be Better If Caffeine, Tobacco, Alcohol And Illegal Drugs Did Not Exist. Period. Even the most 'harmless' of these substances have possible side effects that can ruin your life or kill you. Caffeine kills two-dozen people every year through nasty heart complications, and makes the rest of the world merely unbearably cranky and insomniatic. Marijuana, arguably the safest drug ever discovered from a purely physiological point of view, has moderate users showing significantly higher incidence of schizophrenia than the general populace (although whether its cause or effect is anyone's guess). While recent research shows that it might not be a carcinogen, putting that much burnt tar crap in your lungs can't be healthy. [continues 963 words]
Thank you for raising awareness of the Higher Education Act's denial of student loans to youth convicted of drug offenses ("SSDP mobilizes against Higher Education Act," Sept. 13). Instead of empowering at-risk students with a college degree, HEA limits career opportunities and increases the likelihood that those affected will resort to crime. Speaking of crime, convicted rapists and murders are still eligible for federal student loans. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but not inhaling), former President Bill Clinton opened himself up to "soft on drugs" criticism. And thousands of Americans have paid the price in the form of shattered lives. More Americans went to prison or jail during the Clinton administration than during any past administration. [continues 87 words]
In addition to those patients, 129 "caregivers" have obtained state cards that allow them to supply up to five patients each with marijuana for medical purposes. When Rhonda O'Donnell took her first puff of marijuana -- her first, that is, since her teen years -- the effect was immediate. "I'm a nurse," said O'Donnell, 43, of Warwick. "I was shocked." Her legs often burn with pain from multiple sclerosis, an illness that also forced her out of her beloved job at Rhode Island Hospital. But when she took that first hit of marijuana, she felt a cooling sensation moving up her legs. In seconds, her legs "felt like normal legs just sitting there." [continues 952 words]
University of Rhode Island students don't need to get stoned to have high times. High Times magazine worked with Students for Sensible Drug Policy to formulate a list of the top 10 counter-culture colleges. This year, the marijuana culture magazine's stoner-friendly guide lists colleges based on activism rather than stoner culture. URI ranks number six on the list that appears in the October 2006 issue of the magazine. Brown University, the only other Rhode Island school, ranks number 10. [continues 528 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Students might expect smoking marijuana to make them a little red-eyed or necessitate a late night excursion to Josiah's. What students might not know, however, is that lighting up a joint can also lead to something more ominous -- the loss of federal financial aid. Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization with a Brown University chapter that was founded in 2003, has been working to promote awareness about the drug provision of the Higher Education Act. The act was passed in 1965 to provide federal financial aid to low-income students, and the provision was added when the act was renewed in 1998. The provision prevents students who have been convicted of drug charges from receiving any federal financial aid. [continues 466 words]
Students might expect smoking marijuana to make them a little red-eyed or necessitate a late night excursion to Josiah's. What students might not know, however, is that lighting up a joint can also lead to something more ominous - the loss of federal financial aid. Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization with a Brown chapter that was founded in 2003, has been working to promote awareness about the drug provision of the Higher Education Act. The act was passed in 1965 to provide federal financial aid to low-income students, and the provision was added when the act was renewed in 1998. The provision prevents students who have been convicted of drug charges from receiving any federal financial aid. [continues 466 words]
NEW YORK -- A RECENT SURVEY by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, based at at Columbia University, found that increasing numbers of young people were prone to abuse alcohol along with several kinds of drugs, including prescription drugs, at parties and other social gatherings. Worse yet, the study found that most parents had no clue about such activities, even those who were at home during many of these parties. As parents open their eyes to this reality, they must also know that the intentional abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to get high has quickly established itself as a serious new tier of teen substance abuse, one that deserves great attention and their immediate action. [continues 441 words]
A testimonial dinner will be held Aug. 26 for David Soares, a Cape Verdean native and former Pawtucket resident who was elected district attorney in Albany County, N.Y., in 2004. Soares became that region's first African-American district attorney by beating the incumbent, Paul Clyne, in a Democratic primary and then defeating a Republican candidate by nearly 16,000 votes. In doing so, Soares shocked the political establishment that had backed Clyne, and he broke new ground by making reform of the draconian Rockefeller drug laws the centerpiece of his campaign. [continues 176 words]
The State Issues An Unusual Public Warning PROVIDENCE -- Three and possibly four people have died in the last three days from illegal-drug use -- and authorities suspect that the street-bought drugs were contaminated, the state Department of Health said yesterday. The deaths prompted the department to issue an unusual advisory alerting the public to greater-than-normal risk in the use of illegal substances. A release received by The Journal and other media outlets shortly before 4 p.m. was labeled "high priority." [continues 379 words]
I'm writing about Bruce Mirken's thoughtful May 25 letter, "Pathological on pot." I'd like to add that I've never seen heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine, yet I was offered free samples of these and other illegal drugs when I was a marijuana user. Because marijuana is illegal, it is sold only by criminals (criminals who often sell other, much more dangerous drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine). And they often offer free samples of the more dangerous drugs to their marijuana customers, thus creating the so-called gateway effect. [continues 58 words]
I'd like to thank the Drug Enforcement Administration's Karen Tandy for illustrating the federal government's almost pathological dishonesty about marijuana ("War on marijuana does indeed save teens," letter, May 18). Virtually everything she wrote is incomplete, out of context, or plain false. Tandy pulls out the old canard about supposedly higher levels of carcinogens in marijuana smoke than in tobacco smoke. She fails to mention that repeated studies, often financed by the government, have consistently found that -- unlike tobacco -- marijuana smoking does not increase the risk of lung cancer. Indeed, marijuana's active components have well-documented anti-cancer effects. [continues 111 words]
DURING the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush was asked whether he had ever tried cocaine. His answer was that he hadn't used drugs for 25 years. I take that as a "Yes." That same year, Lincoln Chafee was running for the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island and was asked the same question. He gave a more forthright response, admitting that he had sniffed coke while a student at Brown University. Possession of cocaine, a felony, did not interfere with either politician's Ivy League education. Nor did it stop them from seeking and attaining high public office. Today, taxpayers cover both men's salaries and health-care costs, and will eventually provide their government pensions. All, apparently, is forgiven. [continues 610 words]
America's war on drugs is actually a Raid on Taxpayers. The war costs an estimated $70 billion a year to prosecute, and the drugs keep pouring in. But while the War on Drugs may have failed its official mission, it is a great success as a job-creation program. Thousands of drug agents, police, detectives, prosecutors, judges, anti-drug activists, prison guards and their support staffs can thank the program for their daily bread and health benefits. The American people are clearly not ready to decriminalize cocaine, heroine or other hard drugs, but they're well on their way to easing up on marijuana. A Zogby poll found that nearly half of Americans now want pot legal and regulated, like alcohol. Few buy into the "demon drug" propaganda anymore, and for a simple reason: Several countries have decriminalized marijuana with little effect on public health. [continues 587 words]
A nationwide survey recently released from the US Department of Education has revealed that Rhode Island ranks fifth in denying college aid to drug offenders. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), an activist group committed to providing public education on harms caused by the "war on drugs," obtained the information after filing a Freedom of Information request with the U.S. Department of Education. The data shows that 807 Rhode Islanders have been denied student aid under a provision of the Higher Education Act since it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998 and enacted during the 2000-01 school year. [continues 1101 words]
You can be convicted of armed robbery, rape, even murder. As terrible as these felonies are, you can still apply for, and receive, financial aid should you want to pursue higher education. But don't get caught on a drug offense, because you'll lost all hope of financial aid. A nationwide survey by the US Department of Education ranks Rhode Island as fifth in the nation in denying college aid to drug offenders. They released the information only after Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) filed a Freedom of Information request. [continues 299 words]
On Wednesday, Cigar columnist Chris Ferdinandi claimed that the act of comparing homosexual marriage to inter-species marriage is like comparing Advil to cocaine. "'If people can take Advil for a headache, then what's to stop people from legalizing cocaine next?' Sound absurd to you? Yeah, me too," he wrote. It actually doesn't sound all that absurd to me, Chris. Especially considering the fact that each year approximately 7,600 Americans die from adverse reactions to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Advil, and far less appear to die as a result of cocaine. While it's hard to find a statistic for cocaine-induced mortality rates, in 2000, the Journal of American Medical Association found that approximately 17,000 deaths were the direct or indirect result of illicit drug use. That's all illicit drugs; cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc. (Facts obtained from www.drugwarfacts.org) [continues 307 words]
Students at the University of Maryland, College Park joined a growing national movement this month when they approved a referendum calling for a relaxation of the school's marijuana policies. The referendum, which was included on the ballot for student government elections, urges administrators to penalize marijuana possession the same way as alcohol violations. Nearly two-thirds of students supported the measure, though only 4,500 of the school's 25,000 undergraduates voted in the election. The vote carries only symbolic weight, as students have no power to change the school's drug policy. But administrators said they will examine the issue. [continues 516 words]
Kraig Selken is a student at Northern State University in South Dakota. Like any typical junior in college, he was excited about the prospect of graduating in June 2007. However, after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge for possessing marijuana in October 2000, his dreams of pursuing a career after college are now plagued by a newly-acquired debt. Selkin is one of 200,000 students who have been denied further financial aid by universities in light of minor drug convictions because of federal law. Now the American Civil Liberties Union and Students for Sensible Drug Policy have filed a joint class-action lawsuit against the United States Department of Education in order to amend Section 484 of the Higher Education Act. Selken is one of three individually named plaintiffs. [continues 1009 words]
In the debate over the Higher Education Act provision that disallows students with drug convictions from receiving federal financial aid for college, it is unclear who's right. Should the provision be repealed, as the Students for a Sensible Drug Policy group says, because of unconstitutionality? One of the gripes of the national SSDP is that the provision violates the Fifth Amendment guarantee against "Double Jeopardy," or being tried with the possibility of conviction for the same crime twice. The purpose of this amendment is to make sure that an individual can only be tried for a crime once, but is taking away a convicted student's financial aid the same as convicting them again? It's stretch to say that taking away a student's financial aid is the same as parole, community service or jail time. Financial aid and going to college aren't rights afforded to all U.S. citizens; these are earned responsibilities. [continues 304 words]
Bill Would Roll Back Mandatory Sentencing PROVIDENCE -- Residents, civil-rights advocates and community leaders held a news conference at the State House yesterday to announce widespread support for legislation that would eliminate mandatory minimum drug sentences and allow judges more discretion in doling out punishment. The event, which was hosted by Direct Action for Rights & Equality (DARE), coincided with the introduction this week of House and Senate bills by Rep. Joseph Almeida and Sen. Harold Metts. "For over 30 years, this country and this state have been fighting an ill-conceived war against drugs," Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, told the audience. [continues 697 words]
Chronically ill patients who want to use medicinal marijuana began submitting applications under a new state law. In January, Rhode Island became the first state to sanction the use of medical marijuana since the Supreme Court ruled that the authorities could prosecute marijuana users, even in states that allow it to be used medicinally. Four people submitted applications, and 51 others are being completed, said Maria Wah-Fitta, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Department of Health. The state has 30 days to verify with a physician that the patient is eligible for the program. A patient and a caretaker can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or up to 12 plants. The patient and caretaker must carry cards that identify them as part of the program at all times. [end]
Patients Who Qualify Will Receive a Registration Card Which Allows Them to Possess 12 Plants and 2 1/2 Ounces of Marijuana. People who want to obtain marijuana for medical purposes, such as treating chronic pain or nausea, can start applying for registration cards from the state Health Department. Cardholders will be protected from prosecution by state authorities for growing or possessing small quantities of the otherwise illegal drug. An application form was posted online yesterday at www.health.ri.gov/hsr/mmp/index.php . Forms are also available in Room 104 at the Health Department, 3 Capitol Hill, Providence. [continues 333 words]
HOPKINTON - Charges of improper conduct by a Cox Communications employee at a Hopkinton Town Council meeting have been leveled by Chariho School Committee Chairwoman Stephanie Brown. Brown, of Hopkinton, sent a letter on March 7 to Elizabeth Dias of Cox Communications voicing her displeasure with Daniel Davidson, a regional coordinator at the Westerly office who also serves as a cameraman recording municipal meetings. "As Chairperson of the Chariho School Committee, I was in attendance at the Hopkinton Town Council meeting (March 6). As I was exiting the Hopkinton Town Hall, I passed Mr. Davidson where he was situated with his camera," she wrote. "He stopped me, handed me a copy of the Bill of Rights, told me that he had been handing them out earlier in the night and that I 'needed to learn the Fourth Amendment.' I responded to him that if he in fact understood the law, he would know what he was talking about." [continues 743 words]
SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- One student was suspended after the police conducted the first-ever drug search at South Kingstown High School. Five drug-sniffing police dogs inspected lockers and the parking lots on Friday morning as students and staff remained in the classrooms under a lockdown drill. The dogs -- supplied by the Westerly, Narragansett and the State Police -- detected drugs in five lockers, Capt. Jeffrey Allen said yesterday. As a result administrators searched 15 lockers as the police stood by, he said. [continues 305 words]
It Is The School's First Program Aimed At Students Who Have Tried Or Actively Use Marijuana. BARRINGTON -- Kathleen Sullivan recalled what some high school students here said: that smoking pot doesn't impair driving, that there aren't the risks associated with alcohol. For the first time, the high school will offer this year a voluntary, confidential group for students, generally who have tried or actively use marijuana, to provide information and scientific data about its health effects and dangers. It will also aim to offer ways for someone to effectively refuse marijuana if it is offered in a real-life situation. [continues 523 words]
Perry Middle School Students Take A Break From Classes To Hear A Rock Band And Its Lessons On Substance Abuse PROVIDENCE -- At first blush, it isn't a match made in : Three hundred middle school students, mostly Latino children from Hartford Park, and The Jonas Brothers, a grunge-rock band from suburban New Jersey. Band manager Nathan Smithson takes the stage at Perry Middle School. It's 9 a.m. "This is taking us back," he says, looking at the crowd of quiet, well-behaved preteens and teens. "I forgot how early middle school starts. Don't be afraid to rock out. Feel free to start a mosh pit." [continues 723 words]
WEST WARWICK -- Humberto "Herbie" Guerreiro, arrested at T.F. Green Airport early Saturday for allegedly trying to smuggle drugs onto a plane, has resigned as president of the union representing nearly 100 municipal employees. John J. Tassoni Jr., a state senator and the union's senior business agent, said Guerreiro resigned at his request by telephone on Wednesday. The union's vice president, Elizabeth Costa, who is the administrative assistant for Police Chief Peter T. Brousseau, has assumed the top post. [continues 509 words]
But how can we expect it to be? Its staff is composed of hard-working, full-time college students, living on tight deadlines and meager stipends. For providing such an invaluable service to our community, the staff members of the Cigar deserve far more credit and compensation than they current get. They also deserve our understanding when their articles don't reach the highest echelons of journalistic excellence. This is why I was not shocked and appalled when the Cigar reported earlier this week that LSD is primarily used as a date rape drug, it is most popular between the ages of 12-25, and its sole source is the Hells Angels ("Retired investigator says heroin, LSD use growing in popularity", 2/7/06). These claims, made by retired investigator Gino Rebussini, range from exaggerations to blatant fabrications. Had the reporter had the time and resources to investigate this, Rebussini would not have been able to spread misinformation so easily. But we know the Cigar is doing the best with what they've got. [continues 534 words]
Gino Rebussini, a recently retired Rhode Island Department of Health investigator, spoke on Friday concerning several different types of illegal drugs as part of the weekly forensics lecture series. Rebussini's talk focused on types and effects of specific drugs, and also the criminal activities surrounding them. Specifically, he focused on production and dealing. Although Rebussini is staunchly against illegal drug use, throughout the talk he was honest about why people were involved in them. For example, Rebussini spoke frankly on the motivations behind these activities: "People are getting involved because the money is very big," he said, after listing the average selling price of marijuana in Rhode Island. [continues 332 words]
Regarding your Jan. 5 editorial "R.I.'s marijuana law": If health outcomes determined drug laws, instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspired homicidal rages proved counterproductive at best: White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding "reefer madness" propaganda. [continues 67 words]
On Jan. 3, Rhode Island became the eleventh state to legalize medical marijuana, overriding a June 2005 veto by Governor Donald Carcieri '65. The new legislation "provides an alternative option for those men and women who have clinical pain and who are dealing with a terminal illness (like cancer)," said District 3 State Sen. Rhoda Perry P'91, the Senate's main sponsor of the bill, who has supported similar measures for the past seven years. Under the bill, doctors will be able to recommend that patients be issued medical marijuana registration cards by the state. These registration cards will protect patients from arrest under state law for possession of up to 12 marijuana plants, or 2.5 ounces of the drug. [continues 732 words]
Which Schools Take A Tough Line Against Student Partying, And Which Ones Mellow Out In the spring of 2004, Ross Butterworth, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Rhode Island, was hanging out with friends, "puffing a bowl," in a wooded area behind dorms on the Kingston campus. A pair of South Kingstown police officers approached the group and arrested Butterworth since, he says, "I was the only one they found weed on." This fall, after being pulled over for speeding on his way to a student party in Charlestown, he was arrested again, for possession of a small amount of marijuana. In a sense, Butterworth is lucky. [continues 3069 words]
It May Be Legal, but That Doesn't Make It Easy to Get Providence-- When Debra Nievera went before lawmakers to ask them to legalize medical marijuana, she envisioned a program that would let her safely acquire the drug to alleviate the painful symptoms of the intestinal disorder Crohn's disease and other ailments. She will probably be disappointed. Rhode Island this month became the 11th state to allow sick people to use marijuana as medicine. But federal law still bans the drug, and none of the states where medical use is allowed have found a way for patients to legally, conveniently and safely acquire the drug. [continues 844 words]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- When Debra Nievera went before lawmakers to ask them to legalize medical marijuana, she envisioned a program that would let her safely acquire the drug to alleviate the painful symptoms of the intestinal disorder Crohn's disease and other ailments. She probably will be disappointed. Rhode Island this month became the 11th state to allow sick people to use marijuana as medicine. The list also includes Montana. But federal law still bans the drug, and none of the states where medical use is allowed have found a way for patients to legally, conveniently and safely acquire the drug. [continues 862 words]
BY OVERRIDING Governor Carcieri's veto ("R.I. approves medical use of marijuana," Jan. 4), the Rhode Island House embraced this country's original policy position regarding marijuana. Before Congress effectively criminalized the plant in 1937, marijuana was considered medicine by the American Medical Association. Hopefully this commendable recognition of the will of the people by the Rhode Island Legislature will spur Congress to adopt a common-sense drug policy, too. [end]
Overriding the governor's veto, the Rhode Island House of Representatives voted 59-13 yesterday to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Gov. Donald Carcieri vetoed the original bill, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Slater (D-Providence), last year, but the Senate overrode the veto before it broke for its summer recess. The House saved the override vote for yesterday. The law, with a sunset clause in June 2007, allows a patient with a doctor's prescription to grow or otherwise obtain at one time up to 12 marijuana plants or 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana. In addition, the patient can select two caregivers who can also legally grow and handle the same amount of marijuana. Patients and their caregivers must gain approval from the state Department of Health and register with the department a measure supporters say will prevent abuse of the system. [continues 666 words]
Let us hope that the United States eschews belligerence toward the new Bolivian president, Evo Morales -- despite Mr. Morales's strong language about George W. Bush, whom he has called a "terrorist," in a Hugo Chavez bit of demagoguery. U.S. criticism of Mr. Morales has made him more, not less, popular in his country. We should also go easy on the drug-war rhetoric. The fact is that America, as the buyer, is primarily to blame for the Andean cocaine industry -- not the poor farmers who grow coca in Bolivia and its neighbors. President Morales wants U.S. aid, and we must engage Bolivia if we want its help in combating the cocaine industry and a stake in its natural-gas industry. Both countries need to lower the volume and engage in enlightened self-interest. [end]
A more humane society would not turn its back on suffering -- and, in some cases, terminally ill -- people who find that marijuana eases their agony. So it is good news, on balance, that the Rhode Island Assembly overturned Governor Carcieri's veto of a medical-marijuana bill, to become the 11th state to allow such use. That should give welcome comfort to some Rhode Islanders suffering from, for instance, the rigors of chemotherapy. But the law has big problems. For one thing, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 last year, in a case involving medical marijuana, that federal drug law supersedes state law. [continues 307 words]
Inside Rhode Island
