The economics behind our government's war on drugs render it self-defeating. Our focus on reducing supply keeps drug prices high for drug lords, increasing their incentive to supply them and kill both competitors and the government officials trying to stand in their way. Thursday's announcement from Mexico that an astounding 30,196 people have been killed in the country's 4-year-old war against the drug cartels should compel us to consider a new approach to the war on drugs.

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Anti-smoking advocates emboldened by the passage of Sebastopol's smoking ban for multi-unit dwellings are eying a similar ban in Sonoma County's largest city.

Santa Rosa, which already restricts smoking in outdoor patios and public places, may soon be asked to take the ban indoors by restricting residents of apartment buildings and other multi-unit complexes from smoking inside their residences.

Clean-air advocates met with Councilwoman Susan Gorin, who was then the mayor, several weeks ago about bringing such an ordinance to the city, said Pamela Granger of the American Lung Association. They are in a preliminary stage of the process, meeting with the city's largest apartment owners to gain support.

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San diego - the manager of a now-defunct medical marijuana dispensary who was convicted of illegally possessing and selling the drug was placed wednesday on probation for three years and ordered to serve six months in county jail.

Jovan jackson, 32, who once operated the answerdam alternative care collective in kearny mesa, was given until feb. 1 To report to jail. His attorney asked for the additional time so that jackson could spend the holidays with his family and get his affairs in order.

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More than 15 people asked the Perris City Council on Tuesday night to reconsider a code enforcement citation that essentially orders Perris' only walk-in marijuana clinic to close.

Situated among mom-and-pop markets on Indian Hills Circle, the Relaxed Expressions Collective is a medical pot clinic where patients help cultivate an indoor garden of 40 to 60 marijuana plants, said executive director Ryan Raven.

People who spoke from the lectern identified themselves as patients suffering from illnesses ranging from cancer to arthritis to epilepsy. They said the clinic allows them safe access to a substance that relieves chronic pain without severe side effects.

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Medical marijuana dispensaries and medical cooperatives and the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana could be illegal soon in Kingsburg. The Kingsburg City Council voted Dec. 1 to begin the process to not allow any of these medical marijuana uses in Kingsburg.

The new rule will take effect after the City Council approves the second reading of the ordinance on Dec. 15 and the ordinance is published, said Don Pauley, Kingsburg city manager. The council had previously voted in November and December 2009 approving moratoriums on not allowing the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives in Kingsburg after the city had received inquiries about opening them. Those moratoriums expired Nov. 1 this year.

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I have never before thought of myself as an exile. All my life I have traveled between Mexico, where I was born, and Los Angeles, my home since I was 6. What do I, whose parents freely chose to leave their country for the United States so many years ago, have in common with Vietnamese, Cubans, Iranians and Iraqis who were forced to flee their homelands, never to return?

Fear.

The headlines tell the story: "Mexico Under Siege," "Deadly Drug Violence Claims Hundreds of Lives," "U.S. Warns of Danger in Mexico as Violence Increases." Or the one about the 14-year-old who matter-of-factly told authorities he had killed people by chopping off their heads and then added, as if exonerating himself, that at least he "never went and hung the bodies from bridges or anything like that."

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Twenty-four proposals from applicants vying for a chance to open a medical marijuana distribution or processing facility in Eureka were submitted to city hall by Friday's deadline.

A few of the applicants are familiar to medical cannabis patients in Arcata, including The Humboldt Community Cooperative and the Humboldt Patient Resource Center. The Hummingbird Healing Center, previously located just outside of Eureka, also applied for both types of conditional use permits. There are also some out-of-town names applying -- Grandmom Rose's Health Center was proposed by the Ocean City Animal League from New Jersey for cultivation and distribution.

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Re "Pot smoking makes comeback among teenagers," Dec. 15

In 1996, the year California voters passed Proposition 19, 21.9% of high school seniors reported smoking marijuana in the last 30 days. This year, the figure was 21.4%.

If we actually believe the drug czar's claims about the effects on teen marijuana use of passing medical marijuana laws, then the logical conclusion is that such laws have caused a slight decrease in pot use among teenagers.

Anders Froehlich

San Rafael

[end]

The popularity of the social game flies in the face of the site's developer policy.

Legalization Nation has a secret. In the wilds of the national forest, we're growing pot. Lots of it. We got Afghan Dream. We got Time Warp. We got rows and rows of White Widow. We started with just a hippie tent and some seeds, but if this keeps up, we're going to need a plane, and maybe a jacuzzi next to the A-frame house. We're talking, of course, about Pot Farm -- a free game playable on Facebook that's less than a year old and is about to pass 1.5 million monthly users. And, judging by industry estimates, it appears that Pot Farm grosses its secretive and likely small team of young developers an estimated $148,000 a month.

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Re "Probable cause?" (Newslines, by Meredith J. Cooper, Dec. 2):

Mr. Campbell [Letters, Dec. 9] was correct in pointing out that it is wrong to shut down an establishment based on a clerical error. The clerical errors, however, were not due to inadequate training. All of our employees always follow strict procedures when it comes to patient verification.

No, what we are dealing with here are professional con artists using valid recommendations that were then altered using sophisticated "photo shop" computer programs. These forgeries are nearly impossible to detect, especially when we call the doctor and are told that the patient is legitimate. Liquor-store stings involving underage agents that simply look old is one thing, but this goes way beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior.

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Shannon Rooney omitted one important fact about the drug offender being forced to write a report on "the nonsensical character" of California's medical-marijuana program.

The plain truth is that dozens of medical groups, from the Wisconsin State Medical Society, the National Institutes of Health and the Vermont Medical Society to the San Francisco Medical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the Medical Society of the State of New York, to name a few, recognize the medical value of marijuana.

No doubt this judge expects a scathing attack on medical marijuana, but that is a lie. If the judge insists on forcing someone to mouth lies that they do not believe in, he is the biggest hypocrite in Nevada.

Ralph Givens

Daly City

[end]

In today's world, the uneducated person lags behind. Only a very foolish person would do anything that might prevent him or her from receiving a quality education. It has been proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that mind-altering drugs affect a person's drive, maturity and, most of all, the ability to learn. If you're young, it makes no sense to use mind-altering chemicals, including weed, tobacco and alcohol. The personality and emotional development of an individual "freezes" at the time they begin using.

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The medical marijuana community and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office appear to be not only mending fences but collaborating, as county finances tighten and marijuana continues to inch toward legalization.

Sgt. Randy Johnson is in charge of processing applications from growers who want to grow up to 99 marijuana plants, which requires a permit from the Sheriff's Office for an exemption to the county's 25-plant-per-parcel rule under its cultivation ordinance, codified as Chapter 9.31 of the county code.

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The number of possible medical marijuana collectives in Long Beach continues to shrink.

The City Council passed a first reading Tuesday of the medical marijuana ordinance that will eliminate about a dozen more collectives by adding a buffer zone for parks after several different substitutes and amendments were turned away.

The council passed the following rules:

Collectives will not be allowed to exist within 1,000 feet of parks (in addition to the 1,000-foot restriction to elementary and middle schools, 1,500 feet from high schools and 1,000 feet from other collectives). However, beaches were stricken from the definition of parks for the purposes of this ordinance.

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The Assertion That Prop. 19 Is Contributing to a Rise in Teenage Marijuana Use Is Unfounded.

California, whose initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use drew national headlines this year, is notoriously tolerant of a drug considered an evil weed in some parts of the country. But is our lax attitude creating a school system full of Jeff Spicolis, the iconic California stoner from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"? R. Gil Kerlikowske, the Obama administration's drug czar, suspects that it is.

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Mountain View could be the first city in Silicon Valley to permit medical marijuana dispensaries, also known as pot clubs.

At a public meeting last week, residents supported the idea, offering suggestions and input to city officials.

"There are a lot of patients who will benefit from this," said resident Jonathan Steigman.

The Mountain View City Council enacted a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries April 8 to allow adequate time to study the issue and seek resident feedback. The council directed staff members in June to gather input on drafting a regulatory ordinance.

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Lake Elsinore council members Tuesday will consider extending the city's moratorium on businesses that can legally grow, package and distribute marijuana.

In December 2009, the council approved a 45-day moratorium on such activities, then extended it for a little more than 10 months. The current ban runs out Dec. 20, according to the city.

If approved, the extension sought Tuesday will continue until Dec. 20, 2011 -- but would be the last one the council could authorize, city staff said.

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The Long Beach City Council will consider tightening its grip on medical marijuana collectives and loosening its grip on bicycles at Tuesday's meeting.

After deciding last month to rework Long Beach's new medical marijuana regulations, the City Council on Tuesday will vote on the rewritten ordinance.

The updated law would prohibit collectives from operating within 1,000 feet of parks - in addition to already being prohibited in residential areas, near schools, or within 1,000 feet of other collectives.

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The raid of MediLeaf pot collectives in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Jose Thursday has left local medicinal marijuana supporters and MediLeaf's attorney questioning the motives of Santa Clara County law enforcement in their effort to pursue alleged money laundering and illegal sales of marijuana by MediLeaf.

The attorney representing MediLeaf and its founder Goyoko "Batzi" Kuburovich, Jim Roberts, said none of the seven people implicated in Thursday's raid have been charged with any crimes. In fact, Roberts said, Kuburovich wasn't even questioned Thursday despite Roberts calling to arrange a meeting with the County Special Enforcement Team.

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Last Thursday the 4th District Court of Appeals overturned a November 19 restraining order that temporarily halted operation of the Holistic Health medical marijuana collective in Dana Point.

Although a previous injunction against Holistic Health based on zoning violations was also temporarily stayed, the city had hoped that the court would not intervene this time since this recent injunction was granted on the basis of the city's assertion that the dispensary is not in compliance with California law, including engaging in for-profit sales, said City Attorney Patrick Munoz following the November 19 closure order.

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