Tobacco Down, But Officials See Upward Trend For Marijuana

Ledyard - Results from the 2011 youth drug and alcohol survey, which show that tobacco use among the town's seventh-through 12th-graders is down but alcohol and marijuana use is trending upward, were presented to members of the Board of Education last week.

"The survey asks some really good questions about alcohol, drugs and tobacco use and gives us a baseline to determine if there are any trends of concern," Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner said Wednesday. "Overall, tobacco use is way down which is a good thing, but the two areas of concern that I know the youth survey has looked at throughout the region are marijuana use and alcohol use."

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This is in response to the Dec. 16 letter, "Mayor's drug attitude sends wrong message," concerning Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio's policies on marijuana use.

Our government, backed by the DuPont Paper Company, engaged in a campaign of misinformation and blatant lies in the 1920s to sway public opinion towards marijuana prohibition. We were told smoking it makes people violent, causes massive surges in crime, and is a gateway to harder, more harmful drugs.

Not only is all of this untrue, the gateway theory has been thoroughly disproved. The crime associated with marijuana use is a direct result of it being illegal, and users being forced to obtain it on the black market. I am not saying, however, that using marijuana will not cause you to use other drugs. But, in the grand scheme, alcohol and tobacco are infinitely more dangerous and harmful than marijuana, and cause tens of thousands of deaths a year, while marijuana use has never been solely attributed to a single death.

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In the last two features we discussed aggression and resilience. The concepts discussed included some causes of aggression and a few ways to become more resilient to the many forms of excessive stress in these very challenging times.

As students return to school, please keep those concepts in mind; such as the need to eat nourishing well-balanced meals, exercise the right amount -- not too much, not too little, and to find safe and productive ways to relax.

When I was a boy, kids would often play more outdoor games and tell stories and just before school started to help deal with the stress regarding the uncertainty of who your teacher would be, what friends would be sitting nearby in class and how much homework to expect in the next school level.

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Putnam, Conn. - The Putnam Partnership to Reduce the Influence of Drugs for Everyone, or PRIDE, is nearing the end of its five-year grant and has applied for funding to keep the organization going for another five years.

In 2006, Putnam applied for and received a Drug Free Communities grant, which is funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. PRIDE has worked to create awareness in the community about drug and alcohol abuse, especially among youth.

Project coordinator Romeo Blackmar has applied for a second cycle of funding, which would last through September 2016.

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It's understandable why Connecticut medical marijuana advocates are looking to Rhode Island as a model. Rhode Island's already approved homegrown medical pot, authorized three marijuana growing/dispensary operations, picked out who should run them, and has a governor who appears to be fully behind the program.

Except there seems to be a weird disconnect between Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee's office and his state's chief medical marijuana advocates about the urgent need to get those state-licensed dispensaries up and running.

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MIDDLETOWN - Pharmacists are now allowed to sell marijuana in Middletown, but only if and when the state legalizes the drug for medicinal use.

The Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously passed a zoning amendment Wednesday that permits the sale of "marijuana or medical marijuana" if the state legalizes its use, but only by licensed pharmacists at a pharmacy in certain zones of the city.

Deputy Director of Planning, Conservation and Development Michiel Wackers explained that only licensed pharmacists with doctoral degrees could dispense marijuana, and only at pharmacies in certain zones of the city. The zones were focused along Washington, Newfield and South Main streets, away from the city core.

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MANCHESTER -- Last month, Connecticut decriminalized the possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana. In light of rising prison populations, gang violence and recent studies that suggest the so-called "War on Drugs" is a failed law enforcement policy, many would say the move was overdue.

Like Joe Brooks.

"Decriminalization is a half-step, a step in the wrong direction," Brooks says.

Brooks is no frou-frou relativist tree-hugger. He's the former commanding officer of the detective division of the Manchester Police Force, a commander of a tri-town Connecticut narcotics task force and a local representative for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a nationwide organization of cops, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement professionals who are devoted to the legalization of drugs in America.

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Ever hear of the Ogden Memo? Back in 2009, the Department of Justice issued a memo telling the feds how to deal with medical marijuana dispensaries (which conflict with state law). It told federal lawyers, you "should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana." It even went on to say, "prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana... is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources." Pretty much, the memo discouraged federal raids on dispensaries and patients who comply with state law. Since they're still violating federal law, the administration couldn't really just say not to pursue them, so they just strongly suggested not to.

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Two interesting milestones were recorded recently.

Forty years ago, on June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon declared drug abuse in the United States as "Public Enemy No. 1," launching the nation's four-decade "war on drugs" that has cost the country about $1 trillion -- with little success shown for that investment.

Illegal drugs are still widely available, and it's estimated that the global industry of producing and distributing them is now a $320 billion per year operation. It's estimated that here in the United States, 25 million Americans use illegal drugs.

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When David Simon, creator of HBO's late dramatic crime series "The Wire," heard through news media that Atty. Gen. Eric Holder wanted to see the series return for a sixth season, he offered the nation's top prosecutor a deal.

He'll start working on a sequel season, Simon responded in an email to the Times of London, "if the Department of Justice is equally ready to reconsider and address its continuing prosecution of our misguided, destructive and dehumanizing drug prohibition."

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Don't expect marijuana use to increase now that possession of small amounts will be treated as an infraction.

States that have decriminalized marijuana have among the lowest use rates, statistics show.

As of July 1, Connecticut will become the 14th state to reduce the penalty for possession of marijuana, and the ninth in the group to decriminalize it, meaning offenders will not have a police record.

The changes in Connecticut come a week before the 40th anniversary of the "war on drugs" as declared by former President Richard M. Nixon in 1971, and in the same week a report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy said this worldwide battle has failed.

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Regarding Jim Miron's June 8 op-ed, 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 immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.

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House follows Senate in backing decriminalization

Hartford - Connecticut is set to become the 14th state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana after a bill to downgrade the penalties cleared the state House Tuesday on a 90-57 vote.

The measure passed the Senate Saturday, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he will sign it into law. The bill does not affect the legality of marijuana, which remains illegal for nonmedical use in all 50 states.

The bill reduces the penalty for possessing less than a half-ounce of marijuana from a crime with a potential prison sentence to a $150 violation on the first offense. Second and subsequent offenses carry a $200-$500 fine, and third-time offenders must enroll in a drug education program at their own expense.

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On June 4, the Connecticut State Senate passed, by a 19-18 vote, a bill decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill was then approved in the Connecticut House of Representatives and will be sent to the governor for signature. Gov. Dannel Malloy is in support of the bill.

According to a Harvard economist, Connecticut spends more than $130 million every year in enforcing marijuana prohibition laws. This is real money that can be better spent in Connecticut.

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Starting next month, getting caught with a small amount of marijuana could cost Connecticut tokers as little as $150.

Over the weekend, the State Senate passed a bill decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill is backed by Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and is likely to pass the House.

Connecticut follows a string of state that have decriminalized pot, including New York where a first offense of 25 grams (almost an ounce) or less is treated with a civil citation and a $100 fine. New Jersey passed a law last year to legalize medical marijuana, but possession of up to 50 grams for nonmedical purposes still is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

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Hartford - A bill that would decriminalize but not legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana passed the state Senate Saturday afternoon by the thinnest of margins and is headed to the House.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, a Democrat, broke an 18-18 vote tie. The bill sets a $150 fine for a first offense of possessing a half-ounce or less of marijuana. Second-time offenders would be fined between $200 and $500 and required to enroll in a drug education program at their own expense.

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HARTFORD -- Proponents hope amended language and a persuasive governor will guarantee the General Assembly passes one of a pair of controversial marijuana bills before next Wednesday's adjournment.

"At least one of the two is going to pass," Michael Lawlor, Gov. Dannel Malloy's criminal justice undersecretary, said Wednesday as lawmakers worked behind the scenes to refine proposals decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana and legalizing it for medicinal purposes.

The two bills survived the Legislative Committee process and await action in the Senate, which must pass them on to the House of Representatives.

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Since 1972 when marijuana was placed as a Schedule I drug in the Federal Controlled Substance Act, there have been many questions about the safety and effectiveness of this drug in combating a variety of medical ailments.

Arguments against the medical use of marijuana often focus on issues that have less to do with its therapeutic value and more to do with broader policy implications. Opponents frequently claim that the medical use of marijuana would set a bad example for youth, encourage more wide-spread use of the substance and generate other social problems.

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A couple of weeks ago, as the legislature was debating two marijuana bills, a 29-year-old Oxford man named Cheyne Mazza pleaded guilty in federal court to involvement in a major marijuana-growing operation. He and his crew were nurturing more than 1,400 plants when the feds showed up in 2008.

His maximum sentence is life in prison and and a $4 million fine. There were several others involved, including a former Ansonia alderman. They'll be sentenced in August, and will likely spend hard time in Club Fed.

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Senate Majority Leader Says There's Not Enough Support In That Body

HARTFORD - The drive to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana appears to be coming up short in the legislature this year.

Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, conceded Friday that a bill to soften the penalty for possession of a half-ounce of pot or less does not currently have enough support in the chamber.

"We did have a caucus last week and we were somewhat short of the number to pass it with purely Democratic votes," Looney said. "We may circle back around to that issue again."

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