I'm responding to the not-so-thoughtful oped from John Biffany:

"Logic eliminates medical marijuana" (5-22-09). Should we be surprised that someone who makes his living from the status quo of marijuana prohibition, wants to continue the status quo of marijuana prohibition?

I'd like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation, has the rare potential side effect of death.

On the other hand, marijuana has never been documented to kill a single person in the 5,000-year history of its use.

[continues 74 words]

If health outcomes, not cultural norms, determined drug laws, 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.

[continues 70 words]

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Senate narrowly approved a bill Wednesday that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat seriously ill patients, though the proposal faces an uncertain future in the House as lawmakers scramble to meet their end-of-month deadline.

The 30-28 Senate vote split largely along partisan lines. Supporters said it marked the furthest the idea has gotten after several defeats.

Republican Sen. Dale Righter of Charleston argued the proposal was lax and wouldn't require criminal background checks for people who handle or grow marijuana. Sponsoring Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) said there was enough oversight to prevent abuse.

[continues 296 words]

As the legalization of medical marijuana in Illinois comes closer to reality, law enforcement agencies continue to maintain their opposition.

Senate Bill 1381, which passed the Illinois Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 30-28, also passed the House Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday and is expected to move to a floor vote.

Advocates such as Bruce Mirken, of the nationwide Marijuana Policy Project, hope that the bill will come to a vote and be on the governor's desk by the end of the General Assembly's current session, which is scheduled for today but could be extended.

[continues 782 words]

I don't know exactly where I stand on the legalization of marijuana, so I eagerly read "Think about this before legalizing pot (Fence Post, May 17) with the idea that it would clarify my thoughts. Instead, I ended up a bit confused.

Mr. Yohn describes marijuana users as people who are unproductive and sickly, who are at greater risk for mental illness, who will likely become violent and steal, and who pollute the rest of their environment and our children with secondhand "intoxicating" smoke.

[continues 210 words]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A measure legalizing medical marijuana finally made it through the state Senate on Wednesday, but a major hurdle remains before it can become Illinois law.

The Senate voted 30-28 for Senate Bill 1381, giving the measure right at the 30 'yes' votes needed to pass. The measure would allow doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients with diseases like AIDS and glaucoma.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Charleston, raised concerns about the lack of background checks for people who would handle the drugs. But Sen. Bill Haine, the measure's sponsor, insisted only those who were prescribed cannabis would have access to the drug.

[continues 129 words]

Gov. Quinn has threatened to eliminate funding for drug treatment and wipe out two extraordinarily successful drug treatment prisons, releasing 2,200 offenders (Gov. Quinn paints "doomsday" budget picture, May 18).

Some are not taking the governor's threats seriously. I am.

The elimination of drug treatment would be a disastrous move. For families who need help for loved ones, the absence of treatment is tragic. For communities beset by drug use and crime, the absence of treatment is dangerous.

Offenders mandated to community-based drug treatment are a third less likely than other probationers to re-offend. Without treatment in the community, there will be more crime.

[continues 118 words]

I understand that supporters of "medical" marijuana legislation in Illinois will soon mount a publicity campaign involving anecdotal accounts by marijuana smokers. The question is whether smoking marijuana is an effective medicine, and this should be answered by scientific research -- not politicians.

"Medical" marijuana is a misnomer. Marijuana is a plant containing more than 400 different compounds plus more than 60 cannabinoids. Scientific research has found a few medically beneficial cannabinoids and these are already available by prescription. Current research of marijuana suggests that more cannabinoids may have medical benefits and advanced medicines may be available in the near future.

[continues 208 words]

Two bills have been introduced in the Illinois Legislature intending to make legal the medicinal use of smoked marijuana. The companion bills, entitled the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, have been filed in both the Illinois House and Senate and are supported by a surprisingly large percentage of the Democratic caucuses in both chambers. Legislative members, however, have been misinformed by supporters regarding both the impact the bills will have upon Illinois and the long term motivations of the bill's supporters. Lobbyists are making no attempt to conceal their long range goal for Illinois: cannabis legalization.

[continues 671 words]

What Can The Community Do To Fight The Spread Of Methamphetamine?

Make the drug unattractive

It's hard to say how we can effectively combat methamphetamine in our community, or anywhere else. We already attack the enemy on two fronts. We try to educate our kids about the dangers of drug abuse and advertising campaigns show teens and adults the horrifying effects of meth addiction. We attempt to limit access to the ingredients, infringing on the freedoms of law-abiding cold-medicine users. Farmers lock and monitor their anhydrous ammonia supplies.

[continues 601 words]

In response to Rockton police Chief Stephen Dickson's 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.

Like any drug, 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.

[continues 111 words]

This is in response to the Wednesday editorial. ("Make U.S. drug laws more realistic") There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization.

Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. The success of the Swiss program has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction.

[continues 136 words]

I find it disheartening that the Rockton chief of police is using scare tactics and false logic to express his opinion of the medical cannabis legislation ("Allowing medicinal marijuana could lead to a slippery slope," Opinions, May 17).

The FDA classifies cannabis as a schedule 1 narcotic with no accepted medical use. However, the federal government supplies medical cannabis to a small group of patients from the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program, which was phased out because of an overwhelming amount of applications.

[continues 126 words]

Hopefully, the Illinois State Senate will vote on and pass a bill this week that will legalize medical marijana in the state of Illinois. Following in the footsteps of 13 other states, the Illinois legislature will vote on a tightly written bill that provides for a three-year pilot program and a ban on driving cars for registered cannabis users.

While critics suggest the bill's passage could throw the state down the slippery slope of increased youth drug usage and even the eventual legalization of all marijuana in all cases, frankly, the chance that the downfall of Illinois' state structure will collapse because of these lawmakers' decisions is minimal. Crime rates in states that have passed the bill, including California (where a much more loosely written bill passed almost a year ago), suggest that the disastrous results presaged by anti-marijuana advocates are seriously unlikely.

[continues 173 words]

If you've followed the debate regarding a bill to stop criminalizing seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana, you might believe Illinois' law enforcement community has lined up unanimously to oppose this sensible, compassionate legislation.

It's true that a few of our chiefs and police union leaders have appointed themselves spokespeople for the rapidly dwindling few who would still arrest suffering Illinoisans whose doctors recommend medical marijuana for relief.

But they do not speak for all who serve in law enforcement. We see laws requiring officers to harass and even arrest seriously ill people fighting for their very lives as cruel and wasteful not only to those suffering patients, but also to those of us who swore to protect and defend them.

[continues 519 words]

Illinois medical cannabis patients cannot wait another year to be protected from arrest for using a medicine their doctor recommends. Illinois' medical cannabis patients need safe and legal access to their medicine.

Over the past few years, the law enforcement lobby in Springfield has constantly opposed our efforts to protect these patients, all the while claiming to be "compassionate" toward the sick. If law enforcement were willing to work with the sponsors of these bills, perhaps Illinois medical cannabis patients would be protected today.

[continues 220 words]

PRESIDENT Barack Obama's request that Congress eliminate the disparity between sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses would abolish a clearly discriminatory law.

In general, the Obama administration seems to be taking a more fact-based and less ideological approach to drug enforcement, a welcome change from decades of elected officials upping the ante on sentencing to prove who's the toughest on crime at election time.

The result of that has been 500,000 people imprisoned in the United States for drug crimes, more than all of more-populated Western Europe combined for all other crimes, according to the Drug Policy Alliance Network, a critic of U.S. policy.

[continues 414 words]

CHARLESTON -- A longtime advocate for marijuana legalization and veteran of the countercultural Yippies has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession in eastern Illinois.

Sixty-two-year-old Irvin Dale "Dana" Beal of New York City was ordered to pay $1,300 in fines after pleading guilty Monday in Charleston. Obstruction of justice charges were dropped.

Beal was arrested in Mattoon in June 2008 after an argument at a Steak N' Shake restaurant. Police say Beal was carrying more than $150,000 in cash. Federal authorities are trying to force him to forfeit the money.

Beal has long advocated marijuana legalization for medical use. In the 1960s, he was a well-known member of the Yippies, or Youth International Party.

[end]

Hopefully, the Illinois State Senate will vote on and pass a bill this week that will legalize medical marijana in the state of Illinois. Following in the footsteps of 13 other states, the Illinois legislature will vote on a tightly written bill that provides for a three-year pilot program and a ban on driving cars for registered cannabis users.

While critics suggest the bill's passage could throw the state down the slippery slope of increased youth drug usage and even the eventual legalization of all marijuana in all cases, frankly, the chance that the downfall of Illinois' state structure will collapse because of these lawmakers' decisions is minimal. Crime rates in states that have passed the bill, including California (where a much more loosely written bill passed almost a year ago), suggest that the disastrous results presaged by anti-marijuana advocates are seriously unlikely.

[continues 168 words]

BENTON - Federal drug trafficking and weapons charges led to the Monday arrest of veteran Gallatin County Sheriff Raymond M. Martin, who is accused in a criminal complaint of dealing marijuana while on duty and in uniform.

Martin, sheriff since 1990, is charged with three counts of distribution of marijuana and two counts of carrying a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Benton.

The distribution charges allege Martin, 46, distributed a total of more than 1,000 grams of marijuana between April 27 and May 11, while the weapons charges allege he carried a stainless steel revolver during the drug sales.

[continues 438 words]