JEFFERSONVILLE, GA. - When Georgia authorities found out that smoking marijuana was ridding 15-year-old David Ray of seizures that had plagued him through childhood, the consequences were swift and severe. His mother and stepfather - Suzeanna and Matthew Brill - were arrested and jailed for six days. David, no longer able to medicate with pot, was hospitalized for a week after suffering what his mother called "the worst seizure of his life." He was then discharged to strangers and sent to a Division of Family and Children Services group home after his parents were stripped of custody - another example of "how the war on drugs breaks up families," said Lauren Deal, Suzeanna Brill's attorney. [continues 106 words]
Teachers at Northwest High School near Dalton, Ga. first became concerned when their colleague, 28-year-old cheer coach and English teacher Raquel Spencer, seemed to have trouble carrying on a coherent conversation, according to the Times Free Press. Alarmed by her "unusual behavior," she was escorted to an office and consented to a search of her belongings, Whitfield County Schools spokesperson Eric Beavers told the Dalton Daily-Citizen. That's when the school resource officer found heroin in her belongings, the paper reported. [continues 258 words]
More Georgia voters than ever support changing state law to allow harvesting and distribution of medical marijuana, according to a poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Over three-quarters of those surveyed said Georgia's medical marijuana program should be expanded, an increase from previous years. This year's AJC poll showed that 77 percent want greater access to medical marijuana, compared with 71 percent last year and 73 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, approval of marijuana legalization for recreational use also reached new heights, with 50 percent of respondents backing legalization, compared with 46 percent last year. [continues 752 words]