A momth ago, Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson urged county police chiefs to help ease overcrowding in the county jail by not arresting people accused of some minor offenses. Rather than being booked into the Sangamon County Jail, those offenders should instead receive orders to appear in court, Williamson recommended. Now comes Springfield Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson with a suggestion that not only would fit Williamson's request, but might also be a useful tool in the effort to keep Springfield's two branch libraries open in the face of a strained city budget. [continues 438 words]
The Public Safety Committee in Schaumburg unanimously agreed to cancel the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in School District 54 for lack of results and to bolster street patrol duty. The vote was Dec. 11 and became effective this week, said Richard Casler, Schaumburg director of police operations. Casler said the need to cut such less critical programs was driven by a tightening budget, and the police officer released from DARE will join the traffic control unit at $116,000 a year in salary and benefits. [continues 171 words]
Elgin's budget crunch has already resulted in city layoffs and increased fees for residents, but it can claim another casualty: the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program for Elgin Area U-46 District fifth-graders. Elgin Police Chief Lisa Womack confirmed Wednesday that to help save on officer overtime, the three DARE officers that serve U-46 middle schools will be moved back to patrol duty Jan. 1. In early November, the police union cried foul over this and other reassignments, but Womack said the cost-cutting moves were just proposals and nothing was final. [continues 121 words]
CLINTON -- The fight against methamphetamine use in DeWitt County will get a boost from a grant through the University of Illinois and DeWitt County Human Resource Center. "Being in a rural county, it's sometimes very difficult to find grant money for meth abuse because much of that is targeted for the urban areas," said Helen Michelassi, prevention program manager at HRC. "We haven't been able to do much with meth abuse education because of that, and we feel very fortunate that we are going to be able to do work on that." [continues 211 words]
Two remarkable stories about the state of law enforcement--one exasperating, one encouraging--broke in Chicago last week. Both story lines intertwine in one elaborate saga. We aren't often captivated by press releases. But the opening passage of a U.S. Justice Department account succinctly juxtaposed the story lines: A six-passenger, twin propeller engine aircraft flew on May 13 this year into west suburban DuPage Airport where three men awaited its arrival. Two of them--Ahyetoro A. Taylor and Raphael Manuel, both Cook County Sheriff's Office correctional officers--accompanied an individual whom they believed brokered large-scale drug transactions but, in fact, was an undercover FBI agent. [continues 667 words]
I must disagree with guest columnist Jim Gierich's opinion on the legalization of drugs and hope the SouthtownStar editors do share it. Our nation has grown and matured since the Roaring '20s and the days of Al Capone. We must realize that prohibition does not keep people addicted, as Gierich states, but availability and curiosity get people started and possibly addicted. Contrary to Gierich, prohibition is the right of the government to regulate and control illicit drugs and their movement across states lines. Although it has been stated that most drug users are white, that may be because the majority of the U.S. population is white. And the U.S. Department of Health has shown that nearly 40 percent of whites, 33 percent of blacks, 33 percent of American Indians and a quarter of all Hispanics have used drugs sometime in their lives. However, the non-whites admit to using drugs within the past month or the past year. The most common users fall into the 18- to 25- and the 12- to 16-year-old age groups. [continues 164 words]
In November's election, Michigan became the thirteenth state of the United States to legalize medical marijuana, defying federal law in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which classifies "marihuana" as a Class I drug. When Congress passed this act, it audaciously declared cannabis to have a high potential for abuse, a lack of acceptable safety in use, and no medical value. Meanwhile, they scheduled cocaine - - a drug which had caused countless deaths, was known to be dangerously addictive and involved in international organized crime - as a Class II drug. Apparently, the venerable usage of marijuana in medicine was spurious compared to cocaine's highly limited utility in certain anesthetic applications (in which the highly toxic drug can often be replaced by safer medications anyways). [continues 396 words]
WASHINGTON -- America ended Prohibition 75 years ago this 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, has called for nothing less than the legalization of drugs. [continues 538 words]
President-elect Barack Obama's new drug czar needs to be someone other than another friend of Big Al Capone. So, speak up. In a single week in 2004, 50 tons of illicit narcotic drugs were seized in Iran. Four years later, opium production in U.S. troop-cluttered Afghanistan is at a record level. The drug war does not work. Tell Obama. Not only does it not work, but the drug war funds terrorists abroad and gangbangers at home. Prohibition on drugs enables the bad guys (just as it did in Capone's day with alcohol), keeps people addicted, permits amateurish drug manufacturing and packaging, and forfeits the right of government to regulate and control illicit drug dosage, purity and labeling. [continues 480 words]
A job candidate has to be pretty stupid, or pretty something, to take a drug test when he knows he isn't going to pass it. Yet between February and November, 60 people offered jobs with DCFS or one of the private social service agencies it contracts with took and failed a drug test. That's 2 percent of candidates. Those 60 people would be working directly with kids today if it weren't for the drug screening. No telling how many other drug users dropped out of the running for jobs once they learned about the testing requirement. [continues 90 words]
Drug testing high school athletes is not a wise investment for our schools. Drugs, including alcohol and misused prescription drugs, are a problem for some students, but instituting a random drug testing program for athletes would be a diversion from the schools' charge of educating. At a retreat Nov. 1, District 205 board members discussed drug-testing athletes as a way to maintain the health and safety of teens. While such a program would be well intentioned, we have several concerns about it. [continues 359 words]
Sold 'Guns And Badges' FBI agents posed as drug dealers in a year-long sting that targetted alleged corrupt law enforcement officers who "sold their guns and badges" to criminals. In one instance, two sheriff's officers helped count what they thought were bags of cocaine in an airplane, loaded the "80 kilograms of drugs" into duffel bags and then carried it to the car of the "dealer." "When drug dealers deal drugs, they ought to be afraid of the police - -- not turn to them for help," said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U. S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. [continues 446 words]
Cannabis prohibition has failed just like alcohol prohibition failed. When will politicians learn that adults who want to get high will find a way to get high, just like those who wanted to get drunk were able to get drunk during alcohol prohibition? A regulated and taxed cannabis market for adults is long overdue in America. By regulating the market it would make it tougher for teenagers to acquire the substance as well, since our current system of prohibition has no oversight of dealers. By making cannabis sales similar to alcohol sales, with licensed sellers and age restrictions, teenagers would actually have a more difficult time acquiring cannabis. Plus, this would allow adults to purchase the product legally instead of being forced to go through the black market. [continues 394 words]
Why not tax and regulate all currently illegal drugs instead of locking up all those who are involved in their acquisition and use? We could still imprison those who break the law while under the influence of drugs for the crime they committed while under the influence and those who use recreational drugs responsibly could pay a tax when buying a regulated product. Alcohol prohibition failed, and now its use is regulated, although there are still problems associated with alcohol abuse, surely our current approach is better than outright prohibition. [continues 70 words]
Thank you to members of the General Assembly and the Governor of Illinois for prioritizing and voting to restore funding for programs that address the diseases of substance abuse and alcoholism. By doing so, they have voted to save thousands of lives, save millions of taxpayer dollars in the long-run and capture more than $55 million in federal dollars. Since July, the State of Illinois had cut the budgets for drug and alcohol programs by a disproportionate 43 percent, leaving thousands of vulnerable people and families. Statistics show one in three families are impacted in some way. In the last few months the substance abuse industry, the large but once silent community afflicted with the disease, and constituents at large, galvanized to educate our legislature and the community about the past success of Illinois recovery programs that made these cuts, in essence, penny wise and pound-foolish. Illinois substance abuse successful protocols are being heralded as a National model. Illinois programs are showing improved results in mainstreaming those afflicted with a renewed sense of purpose, productivity and accountability to themselves and others. The funding benefits programs that studies show save $7 for every $1 spent on treatment. In addition, by voting to restore the budget for substance abuse the State of Illinois averted the loss of a dollar for dollar federal match. Well done. Vice President A Safe Haven Foundation Chicago [end]
Four Harvey police officers, 10 Cook County jail guards and a Chicago police officer have been charged with providing muscle for what they thought were major drug deals - but were really fake transactions that were part of an FBI sting. In one of the largest crackdowns on law enforcement officers in recent years, the FBI is accusing the officers of accepting between $400 and $4,000 each on one or more occasions to serve as lookouts and intervene if police or rival drug dealers attempted to interfere with shipments of cocaine and heroin. [continues 372 words]
The American Spirit was the banner carried by my class of '75. This we need today like never before. For the love of God, country and my classmates, begin by sharing these truths. During the Bush administration, the hopes and chances of repealing the federal prohibition on industrial hemp and medical cannabis were about zero. Of the G8, only the USA prohibits hemp farming, yet we allow imports. How can I call myself a Christian, and just watch my sick, dying neighbor be needlessly denied God's free, most healing plant? [continues 118 words]
As I have never written to the editorial page before I must commend the opinion of Tom Martin, the editor, for writing about the (former) policeman who has stolen drugs from the police station. Being in my 70s, it is unbelievable how he has gotten by with this so long (18 months) within the police department, let alone the fact that this whole ordeal has been strung out for two years. There have been many arrests on drug charges on the streets of our town, but have there ever been any cases that have taken this long to prosecute? In my estimation, and I am sure many think like me - what's the problem? He's guilty and very undeserving of a pension, only jail time. Pat Mitchell Galesburg [end]
A choked-up Sangamon County Clerk Joe Aiello Friday apologized for taking three years to let the community know that he had undergone drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Aiello also said he's been "clean and sober" since 2005 and intends to serve out his term in office. He said he'll decide later if he'll run again in 2010. "It'll be a decision in the best interest of my family, the office and myself personally," Aiello said. Aiello, 49, revealed the rehabilitation stint in a statement that followed a disciplinary hearing at the State Police Merit Board office in Springfield for a state trooper who is accused of having warned Aiello, a longtime friend, to stay away from a man involved in a local cocaine ring. [continues 613 words]
On Election Day, Michigan voters made their state the 13th to allow seriously ill patients to use medical cannabis upon the recommendation of a physician. Now, 71 million people, about 24 percent of Americans, live in one of the 13 states that allow the doctor-advised, medical use of cannabis. However, suffering patients in Illinois still face arrest for relieving their symptoms with an effective treatment option. Illinois should follow suit and pass SB 2865, the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Pilot Program Act before the Jan. 13 legislative deadline. [continues 141 words]
ST. LOUIS -- It's after-school Thursday, and despite the worn furniture and threadbare carpet, St. Louis City Family Drug Court Commissioner Michael Noble is working his bench like he's on the set of Dr. Phil. "When was the last time you read a book?" he asks a sullen 15-year-old with weighty gold skull earrings tugging at her earlobes. "Would you rather read or get high?" "Read," the girl mumbles from behind a small podium. Noble, a former city prosecutor, steadily grills the girl about her future. Someday, she guesses, she wants to be a nurse. [continues 1129 words]
I am writing in response to Ervin W. Stone's letter to the editor "Substance abusers shouldn't get priority" (Nov. 7). It is correct that addiction to drugs and alcohol is devastating. Addiction ruins lives, tears apart families, and devastates communities. However, the reality is that treatment does work, even mandatory treatment imposed by the court system. Men, women and children who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol do not want to be struggling with a disease that destroys their lives nor do they choose to become addicted. Yet once a person is addicted, countless research studies have shown that physiological changes begin to take place in a person's brain that greatly affect the ability to simply stop using. For many, the only way to recover from addiction is through treatment. [continues 158 words]
I must respond to Ervin Stone's letter ("Substance abusers shouldn't get priority," Friday) regarding substance treatment, as such judgmental misconceptions can literally contribute to needless continued suffering and deaths. As a 24-year substance professional, I will note some important facts. Stone claims that people choose to "drink ... or use drugs to the point of addiction," when volumes of medical research over the past 50 years clearly document true substance dependences as genetic physical conditions characterized by compulsion, increased tolerance (more drug needed) and increasingly severe withdrawal symptoms. [continues 228 words]
Voters in Michigan approved a medical cannabis proposal, following 12 other states in allowing doctors to recommend cannabis for serious medical conditions. It should be noted that it passed in every county, too. This should come as no surprise, since polling on the issue shows consistent support for allowing sick people to use medical marijuana on the recommendation of a physician. In Illinois a lot of progress was made during the 2008 legislative session with the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Pilot Program bill. [continues 110 words]
Drug Problem Cited, but Village Board Is Wary HAMPSHIRE -- This village has a growing drug problem, and one key to fighting that would be to add a four-legged patrolman to the police force, Police Officer James Neblock told the village board's public safety committee last week. Neblock and Police Chief Thomas Atchison proposed buying a dog and sending it and one officer through police K-9 training. Once trained, the canine could smell out hidden illegal drugs and defend its handler, other officers and the public from threatening people. [continues 567 words]
A Flint, Mich., man whose conviction and 12-year prison sentence were overturned by the Illinois Appellate Court has filed suit against the attorney who represented him, claiming legal malpractice. Gregory Terry filed the suit Monday in U.S. District Court, Rock Island, against Kewanee attorney Edward Woller, who represented him and his co-defendant, Keith Sanders, also of Michigan, in a drug trafficking case in state court. The case stemmed from a June 17, 2006, traffic stop in which Terry and Sanders, who was driving, were found to have a box of cannabis in the vehicle's trunk, the suit states. [continues 262 words]
Voters in Michigan approved their medical cannabis proposal, following 12 other states in allowing doctors to recommend cannabis for serious medical conditions. This should come as no surprise since polling on this issue shows consistent support for allowing sick people to use medical marijuana pursuant to the recommendation of a physician. In Illinois a lot of progress was made during the 2008 legislative session with the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Pilot Program bill. SB 2865 picked up three new co-sponsors this year, and the bill's lead sponsor, Sen. John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, sat down with law enforcement to listen to their concerns and then amended the bill to address those concerns. [continues 110 words]
Elementary School Students Put Geneva Mayor On Weekly Broadcast GENEVA -- As President-elect Barack Obama prepared to address the nation in his first post-election press conference, Mayor Kevin Burns stood before a news camera broadcasting to a smaller, but just as important, audience. Burns appeared Friday on Channel 10 News, Harrison Street School's building-wide cable TV network, to accept anti-drug pledges signed by students' families during Red Ribbon Week. Students produce the 15-minute live news show each Friday morning with the help of teachers Becky Furnish and Mark Morrison. [continues 305 words]
I read Keith A. Kuhn's "Governor must sign bills to restore funds" letter in the Oct. 8 newspaper and I'd like to state a different opinion. I know and have known many alcoholics and people who abuse drugs, but I myself am neither. Some are even very close to me and I see firsthand how devastating these addictions can be and what they can do to those who use and how it injures relationships, whether it be friend or family. [continues 278 words]
Felony Could Be Vacated With Completion Of Program GALESBURG -- A former Galesburg Police Department lieutenant will spend the next 180 days in the Knox County jail after pleading guilty to stealing drugs from the department's evidence locker. David W. Hendricks, 50, pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to one count of possession of a controlled substance and official misconduct. In imposing the sentence Thursday in Knox County Circuit Court, Judge Steven Bordner said Hendricks tarnished the reputation of the police department and brought shame to himself and the community. He said failing to impose a sentence of incarceration would further reflect badly on the police department and justice system. [continues 326 words]
Something that Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said the other day in his speech to local dignitaries struck me as one more reason our troubled society has deteriorated to a level never imagined. Weis said he is giving up on trying to stop the sale of drugs in a large part of Chicago by gangs that ruthlessly control these neighborhoods, in favor of concentrating police efforts on reducing violence. In other words, he's saying it's OK to sell dope to a population already overcome with social problems, as long as these poisoners-of-society don't kill too many people. Another downward step in this decaying democracy which held so much promise to the people of the world in past years. Things go from bad to near impossible, it seems. Al Carli, Archer Heights [end]
I totally disagree with the bill for a medical marijuana pilot program. I personally believe if the law allows patients or primary caregivers to grow eight plants, and they are able to walk around with marijuana, people will also want cocaine and heroin to became legal to treat illness and sick people. An illegal drug is an illegal drug whether the drug is marijuana or any other drug. If marijuana is going to be legal for some people and not others is unfair. The bill should ask for marijuana to become a legal drug instead of being partially legal. Ernestine Remer Springfield [end]
Let me illustrate why Peter Bensinger is wrong on drug policy ["Make fighting drug, alcohol abuse a priority," Oct. 31]. There are those who can function and be responsible members of society and use drugs that are illegal. There are also those who abuse these same drugs and are not functional. The problem is that the law does not distinguish between the two. America needs to remember that alcohol prohibition failed, and the war on drugs is just another prohibition. Establishing regulated and controlled policies for illegal drugs is much more sensible than continuing to outlaw these potentially dangerous substances. Treating addiction as a public health matter and not one for the criminal justice systems is beneficial for addicts and their families, plus it has proved to be more cost-effective than incarceration. Dan Linn West Town [end]
Man does this guy Peter B. Bensinger ["Make fighting drug, alcohol abuse a priority," Friday] have his head in the sand -- real deep sand. Kevin Meehan, Park Ridge [end]
State Laws, County Efforts Credited With Decline TOVEY -- It's been a while since Dennis Braeuninger has run across anyone cooking up a batch of methamphetamine in his cornfield about three miles south of Tovey. About five years ago, it was a different story for the Christian County farmer. One day in June or July, while transferring a load of corn from a storage bin to a truck, Braeuninger saw a small pickup speed out of his field just yards from where he was working. The tall summer corn had hidden the truck, and when he walked back to investigate, he found empty blister packets from a package of pseudoephedrine tablets. [continues 571 words]
I would like to thank state Sen. Michael Noland for taking a stand to protect Illinois patients and co-sponsoring Senate Bill 2865. Senate Bill 2865 and its partner bill, House Bill 5938, would protect medical cannabis patients in Illinois. HB 5938 is sponsored by a Republican, so hopefully this vital issue will not get caught up in partisan politics. If passed, the Illinois Department of Public Health would administer the medical cannabis program and to qualify, patients would need written certification from a doctor to obtain a state-issued medical cannabis identification card, which must be renewed at regular intervals. [continues 104 words]
The Sun-Times commentary by Joe Conason of Oct. 23 was a mixed blessing. On the positive side, it brought attention to a subject completely neglected during the presidential debates and by the media in interviews with the candidates. On the negative side, it was misleading. The writer proposes abandoning control of illegal drugs and investing money elsewhere. The result of that action would be more addiction, more crime and much higher social and economic costs. England tried this approach in the early 1970s and made heroin legal and obtainable at pharmacies, with the objective of reducing heroin imports and illegal sales. [continues 212 words]
In Illinois, anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor drug offense is required to pay a fee that helps fund drug rehabilitation programs statewide, such as the Duane Dean Behavioral Health Center in Kankakee. But local officials say the large fees, known as drug assessments, place an impossible burden on convicts already facing incarceration, and often go unpaid. Records show that since the Cannabis Control Act was passed in 1992, drug convicts in Kankakee County have paid $1.4 million in assessments - -- only 40 percent of the $3.5 million charged. This year, $209,080 has been assessed as of Sept. 30, but only $100,181, or 48 percent, has been paid. [continues 135 words]
Hopefully Illinois lawmakers can join 12 other states in protecting some of the most vulnerable members of society by granting them access to an alternative form of treatment, medical cannabis. While some might think that medical cannabis is a joke, for those who consume the plant for their day to day functioning it is no laughing matter. Illinois lawmakers should pass Senate Bill 2865 and let doctors and patients decide what treatment is best for their condition. The act would allow for the compassionate use of cannabis by those whose doctors recommend using the plant. The bill has been amended to limit the amount of patients to just 1,200 statewide and would be administered by the Dept. of Public Health. Plus, it will expire three years after enacted, so any concerns of it being de facto legalization or sending the wrong message to children are wrong. [continues 112 words]
I'm writing about Logan Short's not-so-thoughtful article: "Marijuana poses environmental threat" (10-23-08). I'd like to ask how much tobacco, the kind that contains nicotine, is grown in our national forests? None, because it is legal. Marijuana is the foundation of our so-called war on drugs. Remove marijuana from the equation, and the whole drug war will collapse. The so-called war on drugs is a huge industry and huge bureaucracy. Victory in the drug war is not possible, nor is it the goal. Victory in the drug war would mean that the drug war industry and bureaucracy are out of business. [continues 162 words]
I feel obligated to pen a mild rebuttal to Logan Short's article, "Marijuana Poses Environmental Threat" (Oct. 23). Cannabis (marijuana) is not the cause of the environmental damage described in Short's article. It is actually the prohibition of cannabis that creates this egregious harm to our nation's wild places. Consider that for decades the only federally legal cannabis in the U.S. is grown by the U.S. government on a farm at the University of Mississippi. The pot being grown in our national parks and other precious wild lands is being grown largely by Mexican cartels. And the reason we have foreign drug cartels operating these huge and destructive pot plots? [continues 53 words]
It is time for Illinois to use compassion and pass Senate Bill 2865, the Medical Marijuana Pilot Program Act, which would allow for patients with their licensed physician's approval to use cannabis to treat their ailments. If passed, the law would allow for patients or their primary caregiver to grow, in an indoor locked room, up to eight plants and possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis. A patient and their primary caregiver would be issued a registry ID card by the Department of Health. [continues 205 words]
JOLIET -- Assistant State's Attorney Michael Knick, a member of the Drug Prosecution Unit, and administrative assistant, Kathy Kearney, the secretary supervisor for the unit, were recognized by the Illinois Metropolitan Enforcement Group Directors' and Task Force Commanders' Association, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow announced. Knick and Kearney were honored for their work in processing 858 narcotics cases during 2007 and 2008. The conviction rate for these cases was 95 percent. "I congratulate Mike Knick and Kathy Kearney on receiving this prestigious honor and for going above and beyond their duties to fight the war against drugs in Will County," Glasgow said. "Mike and Kathy, along with my entire Drug Prosecution Unit, have worked tirelessly with the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad (MANS) and our local police departments over the past four years. [continues 163 words]
An argument has long been made that marijuana isn't that bad because it's natural. But is it? Some may argue the effects of marijuana are fewer than alcohol. But perhaps advocates of marijuana are not considering the full scale of destruction the drug causes. On Oct. 13, an ABC News article addressed environmental hazards associated with farming marijuana. National forests, which should be undisturbed, are used by Mexican drug cartels to conduct operations. In another ABC News article on Aug. 12, John P. Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy, claimed 10 acres of forest are harmed for every acre planted with marijuana. [continues 313 words]
The drug bust numbers in residential halls on campus have declined by almost 50 percent since last fall. Every week The DePaulia publishes the local crime reports of the Lincoln Park and Loop campuses, and almost every week there seems to be at least one drug bust. However, reports show that compared to last year at this time, the number of cases has declined. Reports from Public Safety show that so far this year, DePaul has seen four suspicions of marijuana cases and two official arrests for possession. Last fall Public Safety made six arrests for possession of marijuana and filed four suspicions of marijuana cases. [continues 514 words]
URBANA - City council agenda items coming from the city attorney's office in recent weeks are not being made public on the city's Web site. With increasing frequency, items from the city attorney's office are showing up on the city council and council committee meeting agendas with no accompanying information. "There will (be) no packet information on this item except for Council members and Mayor - please contact Legal if any questions," is the standard message when a reader on the city's Web site, www.ci.urbana.il.us, clicks on such an agenda item. [continues 340 words]
Now that the Illinois House and Senate have voted for money to restore the $55 million cut from state alcohol and drug treatment budget, Gov. Rod Blagojevich must promptly sign both bills into law. The Illinois General Assembly recognizes the dire condition of the state's substance abuse prevention and treatment system. There are 42,140 people across the state being denied care. How is that acceptable? The governor must understand that right now, in Springfield, hundreds of people have been unable to access treatment services and/or kicked out of the treatment because programs have closed. Dozens of employees have lost their jobs in Springfield alone. Has anybody paid attention to the police beat recently? Did you notice the increase in drug-related crime happening in Springfield? It's not surprising. [continues 123 words]
Police and child welfare investigators are trying to determine how a 5-year-old boy obtained the bag of marijuana he took to his kindergarten class Monday. Police seized the bag of drugs and notified the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about the incident, which happened at Owen Marsh Elementary School, 1100 Avon Drive, about noon Monday. The kindergarten teacher heard one student make reference to another student who had some "weed" at his desk. The teacher walked over and saw a bag of suspected marijuana sitting on the boy's desk. [continues 85 words]
Lawmakers should turn to regulating and taxing cannabis to help with struggling budgets. It is amazing that nobody even mentions or considers it when it is a budding market ripe to be taxed and regulated. Currently in its illegal form, drug dealers, organized crime and large drug cartels financially profit from the sales and consumption of cannabis. The same was true during alcohol prohibition. The time has come for America to end our policy of arresting and incriminating adults who use marijuana responsibly. Use it recklessly, endanger others and one should be punished accordingly, but for those adults who use it responsibly they should be able to purchase it legally just like alcohol, tobacco or pornography. [continues 61 words]
"Kirk fights gang violence" missed the point like so many efforts to reduce gang violence in that they do not call for an end to drug prohibition. Gang violence erupted during alcohol prohibition, but was reduced with the 21st amendment. Take away the black market of illegal drugs by regulating the drug markets, and gang violence will be reduced. Efforts to increase penalties for guns do not address the cause of the violence. Dan Linn Executive Director Chicago [end]
Inside Illinois
