Regarding the subject of compassionate care and medical marijuana in our state, please consider that there is a pill called Merinol that is the man-made form of marijuana. Its main ingredient is THC. And some against medical legalization will say, even argue, that the pill form exists and there is no need for another form, the smoked form. Please know that because the pharmaceutical companies have developed this pill, they have proved that marijuana and the main active ingredient, THC, does, in fact, have medical properties. It is no longer a question of whether it has medical/clinically proved benefits; apparently the pharmaceutical companies believe it does, as well as the doctors who have prescribed marijuana/THC in any form. [continues 117 words]
Funding cuts are becoming a common occurrence, but the Brewton Police Department has taken bad news and turned it into good news for the residents of the city. Since Sept. 1, the Brewton Police Department has been operating a two-man unit with full focus on drug crimes, and is having some success in curbing some of the illegal activities. "Federal funding cuts that hit the 21st Judicial Drug Task Force caused them to have to cut back on agents," Brewton Police Chief Monte McGougin said. "We certainly didn't want to lose any ground on the war against drugs in Brewton. That's why we felt it was necessary to establish the Brewton Narcotics Unit." [continues 255 words]
Tax us, please What a shame that Alabama students will be the first to suffer the effects of the economic downturn when Alabama already has some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation. According to the most recent data that I can find, Alabama on average spends a little more than $8,000 per student per year. Yet we spend a minimum of $13,000 per year to lock up a non-violent resident for smoking pot. Instead of making responsible adult cannabis consumers a burden on state tax payers by forcing taxpayers to pay for incarceration, why not regulate and tax marijuana like we do with alcohol and tobacco and use the taxes collected to make our education system better? After all, we use the taxes from the sale of alcohol to fund the Department of Human Resources. There's a whole base of cannabis consumers in Alabama who would be more than happy to be taxed in exchange for a safe, regulated market. [continues 95 words]
What a shame that Alabama school students will be among the first to suffer the effects of the economic downturn, when our state already has some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation. According to the most recent data that I can find, Alabama on average spends a little over $8,000 per student per year. Yet we spend a minimum of $13,000 per year to lock up a nonviolent citizen for smoking marijuana. Instead of making responsible adult cannabis consumers a burden on state taxpayers by forcing taxpayers to pay for incarceration, why not regulate and tax marijuana like we do with alcohol and tobacco? We could use the taxes collected to make our education system better. [continues 90 words]
Dear Editor: What a shame that Alabama students will be the first to suffer the effects of the economic downturn when Alabama already has some of the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation. According to the most recent data that I can find, Alabama on average spends a little more than $8,000 per student per year. Yet we spend a minimum of $13,000 per year to lock up a non-violent citizen for smoking pot. Instead of making responsible adult cannabis consumers a burden on state taxpayers by forcing taxpayers to pay for incarceration, why not regulate and tax marijuana like we do with alcohol and tobacco and use the taxes collected to make our education system better? After all, we use the taxes from the sale of alcohol to fund DHR. There's a whole base of cannabis consumers in Alabama who would be more than happy to be taxed in exchange for a safe, regulated market. [continues 96 words]
Regarding Frank Winkler's letter headlined "Legalization clearly unhealthy": I've never partaken of marijuana in any form. I've suffered chronic pain for more than half my life. If marijuana for treatment of pain were legalized and prescribed by my doctor, I'd try it to see if it relieves or diminishes my pain that nothing else has relieved. I don't think government should be able to say what a person can or cannot do in order to relieve pain. [continues 139 words]
Re "Prohibition makes no sense" (Froma Harrop column, Dec. 4): Yes, there is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. The success of the Swiss heroin maintenance program has inspired pilot programs in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 102 words]
Should we legalize marijuana for medical use? ("State should join marijuana list" by Loretta Nall, and endorsed by Sarah Wires.) Proponents argue marijuana should be legalized for the chronically and terminally ill to medicate themselves, and that laws prohibiting sale for such use are "unjust." Several states are wrestling with this issue. California legalized medical marijuana locally and statewide. Why shouldn't we? First, why and how does marijuana "work" as a medication? The key is the psychoactive chemical Delta-9 tetrahydrocannibanol or THC. THC mimics cannabinols produced naturally by the brain -- analgesics that reduce nausea, stimulate the appetite (the "munchies") but in much stronger dosage that induces a strong sense of elation (the "high.") What's wrong with that? [continues 146 words]
Re "Prohibition makes no sense" (Froma Harrop column, Dec. 4): Yes, there is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. The success of the Swiss heroin maintenance program has inspired pilot programs in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 101 words]
Zero Meth Campaign Goes Into Its Second Phase The state upped its focus on teens and the dangers of drug use Thursday when some Etowah County students got an advanced peek at a DVD that goes along with the Zero Meth campaign. Gadsden City High School's ninth graders were the first to preview the DVD titled, "The Harsh Realities of Meth," last month. Some Southside student were also shown the film at the Etowah County judicial building. Gadsden District Attorney Jimmie Harp joined Gov. Bob Riley and other district attorneys in Montgomery for a press conference to unveil the DVD for the state. It is the second installment of the Zero Meth campaign. [continues 199 words]
America ended Prohibition 75 years ago this past week. The ban on the sale of alcohol unleashed a crime wave, as gangsters fought over the illicit booze trade. It sure didn't stop drinking. People turned to speakeasies and bathtub gin for their daily cocktail. Prohibition -- and the violence, corruption and health hazards that followed -- lives on in its modern version, the so-called War on Drugs. Former law-enforcement officers gathered in Washington to draw the parallels. Their group, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), has called for nothing less than the legalization of drugs. [continues 537 words]
In response to "State should join marijuana list" by Loretta Nail, executive director of Alabama for Compassionate Care: Thank you for printing the letter and keeping this subject before the public. For patients who are chronically and/or terminally ill, marijuana can mean the difference in a normal life for the time they have left and being asleep on the couch or in bed from other legal medicine that might relieve the symptoms but leaves one unable to truly function, live, be normal. [continues 162 words]
Dear Editor: Regarding Loretta Nall's request ('Make medical marijuana legal,' letters, Nov. 21): Colorado legalized medical cannabis (kaneh bosm/marijuana) use and it has worked properly, protecting sick citizens from confrontation with government. One reason to permit sick humans to use the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it's Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father, the Ecologician indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page. [continues 73 words]
Michigan voters this month approved a measure that will protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a licensed physician. Michigan thus became the 13th state in the United States to remove penalties for the use of medical marijuana. Nearly 25 percent of all Americans now live in a medical marijuana state. Marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent that eventually will be legal for patients throughout the country to use. The Alabama Compassionate Care Act has been tied up in legislative committees for four years, despite polls that show 76 percent voter approval. This bill would allow patients to use marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it. Alabama patients would be issued state ID cards so law enforcement personnel could easily see they are legal medical marijuana users. [continues 118 words]
Michigan voters this month approved a measure that will protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a licensed physician. Michigan, thus, became the 13th state to remove penalties for the use of medical marijuana. Nearly 25 percent of all Americans now live in a medical-marijuana state. Marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent. The Alabama Compassionate Care Act has been tied up in legislative committees for four years, despite polls that show 76 percent voter approval. This bill would allow patients to use marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it. Alabama patients would be issued state ID cards so law-enforcement personnel could easily see they are legal medical marijuana users. The American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and many other professional health-care organizations have endorsed medical marijuana. [continues 86 words]
Dear Editor: Michigan voters this month approved a measure that will protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a licensed physician. Michigan thus became the 13th state in the U.S. to remove penalties for the use of medical marijuana. Nearly 25 percent of all Americans live in a medical-marijuana state. Marijuana is a safe, effective and inexpensive therapeutic agent that eventually will be legal for patients throughout the country to use. The Alabama Compassionate Care Act has been tied up in legislative committees for four years, despite polls that show 76 percent voter approval. This bill would allow patients to use marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it. Alabama patients would be issued state ID cards so law-enforcement personnel could easily see they are legal medical-marijuana users. The American College of Physicians, the American Nurses Association, the American Public Health Association, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and many other professional health-care organizations have endorsed medical marijuana. [continues 83 words]
This is in response to The News article "Busted indoor pot farm" (Oct. 11), which was riddled with marijuana misinformation. Authorities said growing marijuana hydroponically makes it more potent. Hydroponics is simply a growing method. It in no way increases the potency of marijuana or any other plant. Breeding and genetics can increase potency and quality, but the growing method itself has no bearing on the potency of the final product. Authorities also claimed hydroponic marijuana is responsible for organized crime, home invasions, armed robberies, arsons and homicides. So, the growing method is responsible for all that? Now, I have heard it all. Why not throw child molestation and wife beating in there, too? Doing so couldn't possibly make that statement any less believable. [continues 146 words]
I'm writing in response to The News' article about the indoor marijuana operation police recently discovered. The article said an operation like that could generate $1 million a year. Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale said, "It would be impressive if it was a legitimate business." Well, why not make it a legitimate business? There has been a bill submitted every year since 2004 to the Alabama Legislature calling for the legalization of medicinal marijuana. There are many people who could benefit from this legitimate business. [continues 100 words]
A grant from the state will fund the Lawrence County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force for another year. The $50,000 grant, signed by Gov. Bob Riley, comes from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Justice and administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. "Illegal drugs threaten the health and safety of Alabama Communities," Riley said, "The investigations and arrests conducted by the task force send a clear message that drug distributors and pushers will not be tolerated in Lawrence County." [continues 90 words]
Elaborate Dirt-Free Operation Based in Kingston Warehouse Authorities say the largest indoor marijuana growing operation in the state's history was quietly thriving in a warehouse in a northeast Birmingham industrial pocket, operating covertly and producing top-grade pot that sells for four times the price of traditionally grown marijuana. After a two-month investigation, Jefferson County sheriff's deputies raided the Kingston warehouse Thursday night, busting up a sophisticated hydroponic system in which plants are grown in water, without dirt. [continues 573 words]
Inside Alabama
