ALBANY -- Long-stalled efforts to permit the medicinal use of marijuana in this state appear to have a good chance of passage before lawmakers end their session in June. It would make New York the 15th state to legalize the drug for medical reasons. Advocates say they believe the Democratic-controlled Senate and Assembly have the votes to pass legislation permitting qualified patients to grow their own marijuana plants, or obtain the drug on the streets or through a state-sanctioned dispensary.Gov. David A. Paterson also is said to be supportive of the legalization. [continues 1062 words]
The battle lines have been drawn. Let the political war over the dismantling of the Rockefeller Drug Laws begin. A political firestorm ignited across the state on Friday, starting with Gov. David A. Paterson and Democratic legislative leaders announcing an agreement to make "sweeping changes" in the Rockefeller Drug Laws, during a late-morning news conference in Albany. Not long after those cameras were turned off, Republican legislators and law enforcement officials held their own news briefings to counter the Democrats' claims and cry foul over the way the agreement was hammered out in secret and put into the state budget. [continues 701 words]
Columnist Clarence Page, in his March 16 column, has it exactly right: The decision by the Obama administration to end Drug Enforcement Administration raids aimed at undermining state medical marijuana laws is a good start, but it's only a first step. Federal policy on medical marijuana simply ignores the growing mass of scientific evidence that it can safely and effectively treat certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and other symptoms that cause great suffering to patients battling cancer and other illnesses. [continues 93 words]
When Charles Lynch asked local officials for permission to sell an herbal medicine in the central California town of Morro Bay, they granted it to him -- even though the medicine was marijuana. That's because marijuana recommended by a doctor has been legal in California since 1996. A dozen other states have passed similar laws. About ten states that have been debating similar measures. So Charlie applied for a business license, joined the Chamber of Commerce, talked to lawyers and even called the Drug Enforcement Administration before opening his medical marijuana dispensary with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony. Unfortunately for Charlie, none of this prevented him from being arrested in March 2007 when federal authorities raided his home and small business. That's because the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Gonzalez v. Raich in 2005 that in the issue of medical marijuana federal law trumps the states. [continues 459 words]
Thousands of stories across the country have captured the plight of Michael Phelps and his recent bong incident. Phelps has apologized for his youthful indiscretion. It seems that his apology was accepted by most Americans, including the corporate sponsors that gave Phelps lucrative contracts for his endorsements. Only one spoiler is making noise about the incident. Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County has said that he will charge Phelps with a crime if he determines he smoked marijuana. Coincidently the Phelps story broke the same day that Santonio Holmes became MVP of Super Bowl XLII. Let's put this in context. [continues 391 words]
The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2008, there were 847,863 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police officers, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. The United States has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long-overdue step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
Guidelines for a new Massachusetts law that ends minor marijuana arrests say the law may also apply to other drugs with the same psychoactive ingredient, such as hashish. The guidelines obtained Monday by The Associated Press say the law that takes effect Friday ends criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of THC - the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, hashish or hash oil. Voters passed a referendum in November that instead imposes a civil penalty of a $100 fine and forfeiture of the drug. [continues 96 words]
A trucker from Grimsby, Ontario, was sentenced to three years in federal prison today for smuggling 247 pounds of hydroponic marijuana into America over the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. Stipan Krak, 51, was convicted on Sept. 5 of smuggling the pot, which was hidden in six hockey equipment bags in the cab of his tractor-trailer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas S. Duszkiewicz said. Krak was arrested at the bridge on March 20, 2007. Agents from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and from U.S. Customs & Border Protection investigated the case. Authorities estimate the street value of the hydroponic pot at $938,000. Krak was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. [end]
This election year, crime and drug issues seem to be off the table. Yet in a campaign season two decades ago, Congress made a hasty mistake that continues to plague our justice system today. In the weeks before the 1986 election, I was part of the congressional clamor for tough mandatory drug sentences after the cocaine overdose death of basketball star Len Bias. Amidst the panic around crack cocaine, as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, I helped Congress adopt long, quantity-based sentences to stop drug abuse and trafficking. [continues 352 words]
New York became the first state in the country to require all state- run addiction treatment centers to help their patients quit smoking. The plan, which went into effect last week, requires treatment centers to help patients quit smoking by offering nicotine replacement therapy, including nicotine gum and patches, to all smokers. For those lacking health insurance, the nicotine replacement therapy will be free of charge. The treatment centers also will be required to be smoke-free. Officials estimate the new law will impact up to 250,000 patients. Approximately 92 percent of those in alcohol and other drug treatment programs are cigarette smokers, according to estimates. [continues 379 words]
New York State Court of Appeals judges recently made an ignorant and short-sighted ruling that a small amount of marijuana in prison is not considered dangerous contraband, and reduced the sentences of both inmates and visitors caught introducing contraband into state correction facilities. Contrary to the court's ruling, any illegal substance smuggled into a correctional facility is dangerous and causes major security, death or injury threats to both staff and inmates. This is a court creating the law rather than merely interpreting what legislatures enacted. [continues 378 words]
I commend the work of all the agencies involved in the March 26 drug bust in Erie and Niagara counties. I'm a retired police captain from the Town of Tonawanda, and I understand the difficulty of the job they have to do. But I do have one question: Why do we put our police officers in this position? Look at the manpower used in this drug bust. The agencies used 100 officers to track down 36 suspects. They also say that at 4 a.m. they used 300 officers, so that's using 8.3 officers per arrest. There's nothing wrong with that except that while those 300 officers are doing that, what other jobs aren't being done? You've got 300 of them pulled off the streets for a day. [continues 402 words]
Does former President Bill Clinton want to become a drug policy reform advocate? On its face, it would seem that way, following Clinton's keynote speech at the University of Pennsylvania commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Kerner Commission report that addressed the causes of racial disturbances in the 1960s. Clinton admitted his administration's failure to end the racial disparities in sentencing of powder and crack cocaine offenses. He said he regretted not doing more about it, and that he would be prepared to spend a significant portion of his life trying to make amends. [continues 389 words]
Incarceration Ratedeclines for 8th Year ALBANY -- As other states see an increase in prison inmate populations, New York State has been bucking that trend for the past eight years thanks to falling crime rates and new laws that have kept an increasing number of nonviolent offenders out of jail. "It is a success. When you look at the other major states, and states all over the country, we haven't gone in a direction that they have," said Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, a Queens Democrat and chairman of the Assembly's corrections committee. [continues 878 words]
Federal prosecutors in Buffalo have decided not to use a controversial legal strategy to prevent convicted crack cocaine dealers from having their prison terms shortened. U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn will not oppose reductions in crack sentences based on a legal waiver that is routinely included in plea agreements filed in the federal courts of Buffalo and Rochester. "After a lot of discussion, this decision was made in the interest of justice, in the interest of national uniformity of sentencing and in the interest of not tying up the courts with a lot of additional litigation," said Joseph M. Guerra III, chief of drug prosecutions in Flynn's office. [continues 357 words]
Waivers May Block Bids for Early Release Crack dealers convicted in Western New York may face a legal fight from federal prosecutors if they apply for early releases from prison under new sentencing guidelines approved late last year. Federal court officials took action last year to give a break to people convicted on federal crack cocaine charges. They enacted changes after years of complaints that crack sentences were exceptionally harsh and that African-Americans from poor, inner-city neighborhoods were the ones most likely to be convicted. [continues 839 words]
Area Attorney, Sports Expert Offer Advice for Youngsters Last year, high school athletes from Cheektowaga, Clarence, Elba, Evans, Grand Island and other communities were suspended from their teams after underage drinking incidents. Allegations of unruly behavior by soccer players -- which the players denied -- led the Lackawanna School Board to cancel its team's entire season. Five Niagara University basketball players were arrested in 2006 after a confrontation with a baseball player outside a Niagara Falls bar. Amherst attorney Michael S. Taheri looks at all these incidents, shakes his head, and offers a simple piece of advice for student-athletes everywhere. [continues 858 words]
Ecstasy, a designer drug believed to have died out with the dance raves popular a few years ago, is making a comeback as both Canadian and American drug authorities recently warned that Canada has become a major exporter of the drug across the U.S. border. The new twist is that the newer Ecstasy is laced with methamphetamine, according to reports by both the Royal Canadian Mountain Police and the White House Office of National Drug Policy, giving a dangerous new face to the drug. [continues 532 words]
Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's approval rating is at an all-time low of 36 percent, according to a survey by the Siena College Research Institute. This is a far cry from his 69 percent approval rating when he took office. The survey polled about 1,000 voters in December, of which 47 percent said the governor should become a "kinder, gentler governor." But 41 percent of Republicans said they doubt whether the transformation can be made. The question I pose is: "How can Spitzer counter his downward spiral and start winning back the voters of New York State?" One answer is to show the citizens of New York that, despite the negativity generated from the trials and tribulations of his governorship, he is still an individual who shows compassion for others. Compassion, a virtue found in many great leaders, is said to be not sentiment but the act of making justice through works of mercy. [continues 314 words]
