New Dispensaries Expected to Open This Summer The number of Connecticut's medical marijuana patients is likely to grow more quickly with the addition Monday of six new conditions that can be treated with cannabis. "I would expect there would be additional people," said state Consumer Protection Commissioner Jonathan Harris on Tuesday. "We're pleased that more people with serious diseases will have access to medicine that can help them with pain, with symptoms and their underlying disease conditions." The new conditions eligible for the program are sickle cell disease, post-laminectomy syndrome with chronic radiculopathy, severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), ulcerative colitis and complex regional pain syndrome. [continues 306 words]
Montville Girl Had Moved to Maine for Access to Drug Montville - Just last week, Susan Meehan was in Hartford telling legislators that she left Connecticut to give her daughter, Cyndimae, a better life. But Cyndimae Meehan's life ended Sunday as she napped in her father's arms in Augusta, Maine. She was 13. The former Montville resident moved to Maine with her mother two years ago, as part of the family's fight for access to medical cannabis. Medical marijuana is not approved for pediatric use in Connecticut, but Cyndimae needed it to treat her Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. "She was a happy kid, she really was," Susan Meehan said Tuesday. "In between seizures, she had a smile on her face." [continues 732 words]
I'm sure the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals means well ("Marijuana Bill Draws Criticism, March 3"), however opposing cannabis (marijuana) legalization increases hard drug addiction rates, which is what Connecticut is experiencing. Selling cannabis in a regulated market removes sales from people who may also sell hard drugs. Some citizens who legitimately use opioids for medical conditions may choose cannabis if it is available over the counter like in Colorado. That could lower hard drug addiction rates. The plant hasn't killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use; that's safety on a Biblical scale. [continues 122 words]
This letter is in response to the Feb. 15 headline about state Rep. Matthew Lesser backing legalizing pot for recreational use. Adults, especially our leaders, have to know that marijuana use only leads to heavier usage of other drugs. I do not feel anyone needs more recreational toys and habits in this category and am really shocked that any adult feels this is a contribution to one's life. Please wake up and say no to drugs of any kind. From a concerned mother, grandmother and neighbor. - - Betty Meyer, Higganum [end]
Linda Lloyd doesn't want to leave her home in Pawcatuck, where her 6-year-old son, Henry, attends "the best school ... he could possibly attend" and has a support network of family and friends close by. "Please don't force me to move out of state and leave my home in order to give my son a fighting chance," Lloyd told the state legislature's Public Health Committee during a hearing earlier this month. Lloyd, testifying for the first time at the General Assembly, was among eight parents and more than 20 others supporting legalization of medical marijuana for their children and others with debilitating seizure disorders and other conditions that have not responded to traditional pharmaceuticals. [continues 1031 words]
Norwich - If they're still breathing, there's hope. When somebody overdoses on heroin and is treated in the emergency room at The William W. Backus Hospital, they speak to an outreach worker before they leave. It's one of the steps members the Norwich Heroin Task Force, comprising social services agencies, health care providers, police and others are taking as they try to get a handle on the growing number of heroin- and opiate- addicted residents in the region. More than 120 people attended a forum on the growing public health crisis Thursday, with presentations from social workers, doctors, addiction specialists and parents of addicted children. [continues 869 words]
To the Editor: I'm sure the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals means well ("Marijuana Bill Draws Criticism, March 3"), however opposing cannabis (marijuana) legalization increases hard drug addiction rates, which is what Connecticut is experiencing. Selling cannabis in a regulated market removes sales from people who may also sell hard drugs. Some citizens who legitimately use opioids for medical conditions may choose cannabis if it is available over the counter like in Colorado. That could lower hard drug addiction rates. The plant hasn't killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use; that's safety on a Biblical scale. [continues 122 words]
Awareness Forum Addresses Growing Opioid Epidemic GOSHEN - "Northwest Connecticut has been reeling from an unfortunate epidemic," began Brian Ohler, director of the United Coalition of Northwest Connecticut to an audience of 25 at the Goshen Center School, "one that is plagued by rampant drug-related overdose deaths." Ohler moderated an Opioid Awareness Forum at 50 North St. Saturday. Various area drug counselors and health workers discussed the subject of the burgeoning heroin epidemic and treatment options and possible solutions in Litchfield County. Audience members included health care workers, concerned local politicians, and bereaved mothers. [continues 1321 words]
Approved, Then Rescinded, West River Road Site May Be Appealed MILFORD - A state-approved-medical marijuana dispensary slated to open at 255 West River Road and opposed by nearby residential neighbors, is having an unexpected bumpy ride at the local level. A zoning permit that would allow the facility to open was both approved and rescinded on the same day. The city's Zoning Enforcement Officer approved the application of Arrow Alternative Care #2 for a dispensary on Feb. 23, a day after the application was submitted. [continues 593 words]
HARTFORD - Bills that would legalize marijuana for recreational use in Connecticut are considered a longshot by most political observers, but opponents want to make sure it stays that way. That's why the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals held a press conference this week at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. "Marijuana is not a harmless drug," said John Daviau, executive director of CAPP. Daviau, a community psychologist, was the main speaker at the press conference. He said they don't want politicians to be lured into believing that legalizing recreational marijuana would be "a financial boon" for Connecticut during a time when the state's facing a $1.2 billion deficit over the next 18 months. [continues 389 words]
New Haven Lawmaker Proposed Legalizing Recreational Use HARTFORD - Bills that would legalize marijuana for recreational use in Connecticut are considered a long shot by most political observers, but opponents want to make sure it stays that way. That's why the Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals held a press conference this week at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. "Marijuana is not a harmless drug," said John Daviau, executive director of CAPP. Daviau, a community psychologist, was the main speaker at the press conference. He said they don't want politicians to be lured into believing that legalizing recreational marijuana would be "a financial boon" for Connecticut during a time when the state's facing a $1.2 billion deficit over the next 18 months. [continues 415 words]
Business Is Brisk, and Anticipated Problems Never Happened Montville - For a store that sells a product that was illegal in Connecticut five years ago, Thames Valley Alternative Relief has a pretty boring problem: parking. Laurie Zrenda and her niece, Meredith Elmer, both pharmacists, opened the Uncasville medical marijuana dispensary after a yearlong approval process in September 2014. "It was kind of a big, scary endeavor," Zrenda said. More than a year and a half later, a steady stream of up to 150 customers a day walk through the doors of the small shopping plaza just down the road from the Montville public safety building. [continues 773 words]
Surveys Show Marijuana Among Youths on the Rise in Connecticut Hartford - With surveys showing marijuana use among youth in Connecticut on the rise, substance abuse prevention groups gathered at the Legislative Office Building on Monday to launch a pre-emptive strike against any move to legalize marijuana for recreational use. "We should not consider marijuana innocent until proving guilty given what we already know," said Dr. Sandra Carbonari, a Waterbury pediatrician and immediate past president of the state's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Increased access for adults will increase access for youths, regardless of age restrictions." [continues 746 words]
We recently buried our precious grandson who died from a heroin overdose. I was astounded to read in the article, "Accused heroin dealers free on bond, due in court March 4," (Feb. 23), that one of the heroin dealers who had been arrested last weekend was released on bail. This is insanity. People who sell heroin are purveyors of death. Heroin is like handing a young person a loaded gun to shoot themselves. The article spoke about ridiculous rules that allow criminals to be released on bond. Heroin is lethal and those who sell it are murderers and they should be put away for a long time without the privilege of being released. [continues 99 words]
No one of these steps will solve the crisis, but collectively they can achieve progress. This will take time. Drug addiction will never go away, but as a community and as a nation, we can do much better. In recent weeks our community has had an extraordinary discussion about the heroin crisis that confronts it. That discussion has included families touched by the disease of addiction, law enforcement, educators, the medical and substance abuse and treatment community, and elected leaders. The conversation has provided some consensus, if not universal agreement, on a way forward. Addressing the problem will take time and persistence will be paramount. [continues 647 words]
It's sad that it takes so many recent deaths to bring heroin's ugly face to light. Think of all the young people out there with the disease of addiction, knowing that even if they try to quit, they will often come to a dead end under the process of getting clean in Connecticut. First they'll go to detox, where they'll have to prove that there's enough of the drug in their system to merit a bed (for about a week); if there isn't, they go use again, although they want to quit! Then, if they manage to get a bed and make it through detox, most likely they'll have to wait, their name on a list, until a treatment facility bed is available, at one of too few places, for too short a length of time (probably 30 days). The name of the game is waiting; and heroin addicts are not good at waiting. [continues 63 words]
On April 3, 2013, the City of New London, and other municipalities throughout New London County were ground zero for a series of drug raids that the Department of Homeland Security called "the largest in State history." This 15-month long operation originated in the New London Police Department but grew to involve the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI, Homeland Security, the State Police, and the U.S. Secret Service. In all, over 100 arrests were made on state and federal charges. [continues 648 words]
Substance Abuse Prevention Expert Tells Rotary Parents Must 'Stop Teenagers From Using Anything' New London - Since most addiction starts in the teenage years, the most effective way to combat the rising rates of heroin and prescription opioid addiction it to "stop teenagers from using anything," one of the region's leading substance abuse prevention experts told the New London Rotary Club Thursday. "We need to keep the vulnerability envelope of teens closed for as long as possible," said Karen Fischer, a longtime mental health counselor currently working for the Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut at the Lymes' Youth Service Bureau on a five-year substance abuse prevention grant. [continues 475 words]
Americans consume opioid painkillers at twice the rate of our neighbors in Canada. Since it can't be because people on this side of the border are in twice as much pain as Canadians, we have to conclude that there is a difference in the way that pain medication is distributed. That difference is important to understand. America is in the middle of a prescription opioid epidemic. There are more than 2 million people addicted to pain medication, and more people die of drug overdoses - mostly involving prescription drugs - than are killed in car crashes. [continues 286 words]
Chief Margaret Ackley Says All Resources Deployed to Combat Crisis New London - Police Chief Margaret Ackley said her department is focusing all of its resources to combat the city's heroin problem as a survey of state records shows that proportionately more people are dying from heroin in New London than other municipalities in the state. According to statistics kept by the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner from January 2012 through September 2015, heroin-related overdose deaths have been occurring at a disproportionately high rate in New London for years. [continues 745 words]
Inside Connecticut
