Once upon a time, I stood in a batter's box and faced a baseball pitcher who threw so hard I could not even see the ball. I just heard it go by. The 1960s were like that, too. I apparently missed the 1960s though I was standing in the batter's box. Missed drug temptation and curiosity, except for Novocain. It's a gap in my life, which probably means I won't be enlisting in the "transformational" anti-drug crusade in Porter County. [continues 657 words]
DR. WALLACE: I'm an 18-year-old female. I have never taken any type of illegal drug in my entire life, and I seriously doubt that I ever will. I'm also positive that all of my many close friends are drug-free, and we all talk about not getting involved with guys who are doing drugs. We are thinking that it must be a male thing to be into drugs. Do you agree? - - Nameless, Goshen, Indiana NAMELESS: I agree. The American Council on Drug Education has stated that of teen drug addicts, 72 percent are males. But females do become addicted to drugs, and their addiction is every bit as serious as addiction for males. Please read the following letter from a young mother who had a difficult time overcoming her drug habit: [continues 349 words]
Despite the efforts of area educators, law enforcement and medical personnel, the death toll from drugs continues to climb in Tippecanoe County as area residents succumb in increasing numbers to the suffocating grip of addiction. Accidental drug overdoses killed more people here last year than in any of the previous 20 years, according to the findings of a report compiled by Deputy Coroner Matt Wietbrock. And Coroner Donna Avolt said a preliminary review of this year's deaths suggests the region is on pace to tie 2013's unprecedented high. [continues 1063 words]
The war on marijuana is a smashing and overwhelming success, if you measure success by how many violations of civil rights, liberties and constitutional rights it has generated. In a far-flung suburb of Chicago named Shorewood, the Drug Enforcement Agency and local cops entered the house of Angela Kirking for shopping for organic fertilizer. It seems that in itself is reasonable suspicion, if you shop at an Illinois home-and-garden store. Police ran her plates and found her address. They looked through her garbage, which supposedly had a marijuana scent to it. Also, her electric bill was deemed too high. Finally, they got a judge to sign off on a warrant. [continues 114 words]
Judy Brown smokes pot on a regular basis and she's not afraid to say so. "I need it to help offset my chronic pain from injuries I sustained in a car accident in 1986," the LaPorte woman told me while waiting to see her pain management physician. Along with her husband, Brown, 60, sat in the office lobby of Indiana University Health in Michigan City and studied a word puzzle. The elusive words she continues to search for in this state, however, are "medical marijuana." [continues 878 words]
The legalization of marijuana is becoming an ongoing issue and is one that doesn't deserve all of the media attention that it gets. On March 14, an article was written in The New York Times titled "Medical Marijuana Bill Dies in Washington State." The article was aimed toward the House and Senate attempting to pass a bill that would bring Washington state's largely unregulated medical marijuana system under control of local governments. The amendments were made anticipating that revenue from marijuana sales could be distributed to local governments. Many medical marijuana dispensaries and patients opposed the new regulations fearing that their system would be crushed by the commercial market. [continues 133 words]
Ind. Considers Bill to Allow Farmers to Grow Hemp. Indianapolis, IN - Gregg Baumbaugh has 4,000 pounds of cannabis sitting in his automobile parts manufacturing plant. It wasn't illegal for him to import it, but it's against the law for Indiana farmers to grow the variety of cannabis he buys in bulk. Baumbaugh wants to see that changed. The "weed" he uses to make the insides of interior doors and armrests at his Elkhart County facility doesn't have enough of the psychoactive ingredient THC to give anyone a marijuana mind-altering high. [continues 673 words]
We as a nation continue to engage in a war on drugs, which is predominately focused on arrests for marijuana, that violates our basic civil rights. In New Mexico, David Eckert was subject to digital anal penetration in order to search for drugs in his body. All from a common traffic stop and a drug sniffing dog supposedly smelling drugs on/in him. In the end he got a huge medical bill when not found with any drugs. Also in New Mexico, a woman experienced (with a vaginal search thrown in) the same dehumanizing procedure off of a drug dog search. [continues 96 words]
The time has come for Indiana to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis just like alcohol. Every time I read someone's name in the arrest section for marijuana possession, I am stricken with a profound sense of injustice. Indeed, if the person has driven under the influence, or has otherwise caused trouble, then on that basis they should be punished. But the simple act of possessing or using cannabis should not be a crime. If the burden were mine to justify legalization, I could fill several pages of newsprint making a persuasive case. The evidence is overwhelming. But in a nation that is supposed to be founded on freedom, it should be the burden of the prohibitionist to justify why an adult citizen should be deprived of his liberty for consuming a relatively benign natural substance. If such a case were made on the basis of harm, then the prohibitionist should be equally willing to outlaw alcohol, tobacco and nearly every form of junk food available. All of these are infinitely more harmful than cannabis. [continues 152 words]
Gee, 90 years ago, if someone had snitched on me, I could have gotten arrested for making gin in my own bathtub for my personal use. Wow, now someone gets arrested for growing plants in their basement. If the good doctor had been in another state, such as Washington, nothing would have happened. Sometimes criminality is just a question of geography! Ray Andersen, Newburgh [end]
La PORTE - Officials say it is up to the community as a whole to combat substance abuse in the area, starting with the most prevalent drug of choice - heroin. Following the recent arrests of citizens caught dealing or using heroin and the deaths of young adults following overdoses of the drug, grieving families have organized a walk for heroin awareness. La Porte resident Chris Day and his family were recently directly affected when Ethan Day was found dead in his home with his girlfriend on June 4. Ethan's toxicology report stated his death was a result of heroin, benzodiazepines and alcohol in his system. [continues 1394 words]
Regarding Andrea Neal's June 14 column, the days when our federal government can get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an end. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. [continues 54 words]
"For first time, majority in U.S. supports public smoking ban." That was the headline in July 2011 as cigarette bans swept the country. In 2000, just one major U.S. city banned smoking at work sites, restaurants and bars. As of last year, 60 percent of the 50 largest cities did, including Indianapolis. Last July, Indiana became one of 38 states with smoke-free air laws. "Majority now supports legalizing marijuana." That headline appeared this spring amidst growing debate over liberalizing marijuana laws. Although marijuana use is still against federal law, 26 states have legalized medical marijuana, decriminalized recreational marijuana or both. Indiana has flirted with the idea. [continues 536 words]
Regarding Andrea Neal's June 4 column, if the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. It's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. - - Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. [end]
Columnist Andrea Neal has quaffed heartily of the Prohibition Kool-Aid. Her column is major league jerky knee. If she is so miffed on smoking, perhaps she should peruse the writings of Donald Tashkin of the University of California, Los Angeles, while eating a cannabis medible. This is not the end of western civilization; it is but our governance slowly catching up to reality. Don't smoke it if you don't want to. It's a free country and all. But please quit putting people like me in jail for our tastes, our appetites. It is not fair, and you know it. - - Jay Bergstrom, Forest Ranch, Calif. [end]
"For First Time, Majority in U.S. Supports Public Smoking Ban." That was the headline in July 2011 as cigarette bans swept the country. In 2000, just one major U.S. city banned smoking at work sites, restaurants and bars. As of last year, 60 percent of the 50 largest cities did, including Indianapolis. Last July, Indiana became one of 38 states with smoke-free air laws. "Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana." That headline appeared this spring amidst growing debate over liberalizing marijuana laws. Although marijuana use is still against federal law, 26 states have moved to legalize medical marijuana, decriminalize recreational marijuana or both. Indiana has been flirting with the idea. [continues 565 words]
"For First Time, Majority in U.S. Supports Public Smoking Ban." That was the headline in July 2011 as cigarette bans swept the country. In 2000, just one major U.S. city banned smoking at work sites, restaurants and bars. As of last year, 60 percent of the 50 largest cities did, including Indianapolis. Last July, Indiana became one of 38 states with smoke-free air laws. "Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana." That headline appeared this spring amidst growing debate over liberalizing marijuana laws. Although marijuana use is still against federal law, 26 states have moved to legalize medical marijuana, decriminalize recreational marijuana or both. Indiana has been flirting with the idea. [continues 564 words]
Thanks for publishing Mike Travelstead's thoughtful letter: "Making sense of marijuana debate" (April 14). I'd like to add that those who think that marijuana prohibition somehow protects our children and society, I'd like them to view a short Youtube video featuring former California Superior Court Judge James P. Gray. Go to Youtube.com and search for "Judge Jim Gray" or search for "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition." You will see that marijuana prohibition substantially increases all other crime. Back in the 1960s, police solved more than 90 percent of all homicides. Today they solve just over 60 percent. Why? Because of our so-called war on drugs. There are great financial incentives for police to make drug busts and confiscate the drug dealers' money and property, but no financial incentive to solve rapes or murders. - - Kirk Muse [end]
I have been listening to the debate about marijuana laws. The argument being made to keep pot illegal which I have no problem with is that it keeps pot away from our kids. But applying that argument to alcohol makes me ask why alcohol is not illegal? The CDC and the AMA state that there are 75,000 alcohol-related deaths a year, and 50 percent of adult auto fatalities and 39 percent of teen auto fatalities are alcoholrelated. They state that alcohol, not pot, is the most abused drug in the USA. [continues 331 words]
I'm not a politician but a pastor. I know little of the process a state engages in to write or overturn a law. However, I'm near 60 years old and over 38 years ago I tried multiple substances in an effort to dull my senses, emotions and/or "get high." Years ago, as it is still today, the use of marijuana is one of those drugs that aids in reaching that euphoric "high" that the user desires. It was then and is today (with most users) like a drug in "step therapy," when the use of one drug doesn't quite do it you go to the next more powerful choice that provides what the previous couldn't. [continues 426 words]
Push For Marijuana Decriminalization Alive And Well In Indiana. INDIANAPOLIS - The politics of pot may keep Indiana lawmakers from rolling back the state's tough marijuana laws this session, but it won't eradicate the push for decriminalization. State Sen. Karen Tallian, a Democrat from Portage, has vowed to bring back a bill next year that would turn most marijuana possession offenses into an infraction, the same as a speeding ticket. Tallian is convinced her proposal, first introduced two years ago, is gaining traction among the public and with some conservative legislators -- despite opposition from Republican Gov. Mike Pence. [continues 848 words]
INDIANAPOLIS - In the flurry of activity at the Statehouse in recent weeks, I missed reporting some sad news for stoners: The legislation to decriminalize marijuana is dead. State Sen. Karen Tallian's bill to make possession of 2 ounces of marijuana into an infraction, like a speeding ticket, died when it didn't get a hearing in the Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law before a critical deadline passed. Tallian's response was anything but mellow. The Democratic grandmother from Ogden Dunes told The Times of Northwest Indiana reporter Dan Carden: "I don't understand why they refused to even hear it. We have certainly heard some really idiotic bills in that committee." [continues 446 words]
Both Republicans, Democrats Call for Lighter Penalties. INDIANAPOLIS - On the subject of Indiana's marijuana laws, state Sen. Karen Tallian may be in the minority for the present, but even on the other side of the political aisle, she's gaining some allies. The Michigan City Democrat has been in the media for her marijuana bill, which proposes turning most possession offenses into an infraction, the same as a speeding ticket. The law doesn't consider an infraction to be a criminal offense. [continues 494 words]
Mistakes As Teens Haunt Adults, Legislator Says INDIANAPOLIS - On the subject of Indiana's marijuana laws, state Sen. Karen Tallian may be in the minority for the present, but even on the other side of the political aisle, she's gaining some allies. The Michigan City Democrat has been in the media for her marijuana bill, which proposes turning most possession offenses into an infraction, the same as a speeding ticket. The law doesn't consider an infraction to be a criminal offense. [continues 676 words]
This is response you the Tribune-Star editorial of Dec. 17, "Don't let pot smoke obscure bigger issue." Indiana legislators need to consider that penalties for minor marijuana offenses do little other than burden otherwise law-abiding citizens with criminal records. The voters of Colorado and Washington state have made it clear that legislators can no longer get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a failure. [continues 73 words]
Ah, the great American West, where man can generally breathe free and also inhale - woman, too. Thank you, thank you, voters in Colorado and Washington state, for legalizing marijuana. But will Washington, D.C., leave you alone? Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that the Justice Department will weigh its response to the state referenda. A new national poll finds 58 percent of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal and only 39 percent against. A raft of other state laws easing the prohibition on pot and growing public contempt for the existing law should be enough to change the policy. And so should a basic sense of decency. [continues 515 words]
The national buzz over decriminalized marijuana is threatening to cast a smoky pall over a vitally important, long-time-coming improvement in Indiana's criminal sentencing laws that deserves to gain General Assembly approval in 2013. Don't confuse the limited legalization of pot in Washington state and Colorado with what is happening in Indiana. Instead of making possession of even a small quantity of marijuana legal, Indiana is, so far, taking another approach. Here, an arm of the General Assembly, the Criminal Code Evaluation Committee, will put forth recommendations on marijuana possession violations as part of a comprehensive balancing of penalties - the sentences those convicted of crimes receive. That committee's work, some of which stretches back at least three years, is designed to better use Indiana's prison capacity and corrections dollars to punish the most serious offenses, such as rape, child molesting and other violent crimes. [continues 567 words]
Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell should be commended for speaking out against drug war failure. Police time spent arresting marijuana consumers is police time not spent going after child molesters, rapists and murderers -- real crimes with real victims. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. It's time to stop the arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. Robert Sharpe is a policy analyst with Common Sense for Drug Policy. [end]
Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell created a stir last week when he said that if left to him, he would legalize and then tax marijuana. Left to us, and we suspect to a majority of Hoosiers, it is not going to happen anytime soon. One day, it will likely happen in Indiana and most other states -- that is, the decriminalization of marijuana use. Fifteen states have already decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, as two Indiana lawmakers have proposed. And just last month, Colorado and Washington voted to legalize the use of marijuana, while voters in one other state, Oregon, turned down legalization this year. [continues 335 words]
The head of the Indiana State Police may have surprised legislators last week when he told a state budget committee that he personally favored legalizing marijuana. But the push to rethink Indiana's pot laws isn't new. A legislative commission set up three years ago to review Indiana's criminal code is recommending that the Indiana General Assembly overhaul the state's drug laws to reduce penalties for low-level marijuana and other drug crimes. The commission's recommendations don't include legalizing pot or even decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the drug. [continues 705 words]
State police superintendent said he'd legalize and tax it EVANSVILLE -- Local law enforcement officials brushed off comments last week by the head of the Indiana State Police that appeared to support the legalization of marijuana and said they don't expect the state's laws on the drug to change any time soon. During an appearance in front of panel of state legislators Tuesday, State police Superintendent Paul Whitesell said marijuana was "going to stay" and that if he could he would legalize and tax it. [continues 607 words]
Dude! First you say let's legalize pot. Then, just hours later, you say let's not. Or that's what an ISP spokesman says you meant to say when you said the opposite, anyway. Not cool. Not cool, at all. What are you, a superintendent - or an average intendent? Come on now, be real. Tell us what you really think. Just think if pot were legal and taxable. Gnarly. It'd be vacancy time at the county lock-up and the state pen. Fewer marijuana laws, fewer criminals, dude. And just think of all the bread Joe Taxpayer would save. First Colorado and Washington. Now Indiana! But, Mr. Whitesell, if you really didn't mean it, then I gotta ask: What you been smokin' that made you say it in the first place? [continues 171 words]
SOUTH BEND - The Indiana State Police superintendent's opinion that marijuana should be legalized and taxed isn't finding much support among local law enforcement officials. Superintendent Paul Whitesell responded to a question on the issue this week during a State Budget Committee meeting, saying that the drug is here to stay and pointing to voter-passed measures in Colorado and Washington that allow adults to have small amounts of marijuana. Some Indiana lawmakers plan to push during next year's legislative session for making possession of small amounts of marijuana an infraction carrying a fine rather than a criminal misdemeanor, arguing that too much money is spent on prosecuting and jailing people in such cases. [continues 212 words]
South Bend (AP) - The Indiana State Police superintendent's opinion that marijuana should be legalized and taxed isn't finding much support among local law enforcement officials. Superintendent Paul Whitesell responded to a question on the issue this week during a State Budget Committee meeting, saying that the drug is here to stay and pointing to voter-passed measures in Colorado and Washington that allow adults to have small amounts of marijuana. Some Indiana lawmakers plan to push during next year's legislative session for making possession of small amounts of marijuana an infraction carrying a fine rather than a criminal misdemeanor, arguing that too much money is spent on prosecuting and jailing people in such cases. [continues 115 words]
I never thought I'd see our leaders engage in an honest discussion about the merits of legalizing marijuana, especially here in the Midwest. But then along came Paul Whitesell. "If it were up to me, I do believe I would legalize it and tax it," the superintendent of the Indiana State Police told the State Budget Committee on Tuesday. He was responding to a question from state Rep. Sheila Klinker about the possibility of letting Hoosiers have a small amount of the drug without the threat of criminal penalties. [continues 577 words]
A conversation about whether to decriminalize marijuana already was percolating in the Indiana Statehouse before State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell on Tuesday shared his thoughts on the matter with members of the State Budget Committee. Whitesell, a 40-year veteran of law enforcement, went further than lawmakers might have expected, saying that, if left up to him, marijuana would be legalized and taxed. Although state legislators are unlikely to embrace outright legalization (at least for now), recent public opinion polling shows that a majority of Hoosiers is ready to accept dropping criminal penalties against marijuana users who are found with small amounts of the drug. [continues 241 words]
When it comes to legalizing marijuana, the politics can be tricky. Paul Whitesell, superintendent of the Indiana State Police, learned that Tuesday after he told the State Budget Committee: "If it were up to me, I do believe I would legalize it and tax it." Later in the day, after news of his comments spread, the Indiana State Police issued a written statement clarifying the words of the agency's leader. The statement described Whitesell's comments as a "philosophical" opinion, not an official one. [continues 625 words]
The war against drugs has lessened in some arenas to a gentle slap on the wrist. That's due, in part, to America filling its prisons and jails with low-level drug dealers and abusers. In the state's correction system, 40 percent of the Class B felony convictions are due to drug dealing. Judges have lately been relying on alternative programs such as drug courts or treatment programs to help reduce the prison population. Since 1988 in Indiana, gathering sites for have youth been such as schools, churches, and parks have been ringed by a 1,000-foot and border known as a drug-free zone in which dealers can get more prison time than, say, if dealing at 1,001 feet away. [continues 330 words]
It's not uncommon for state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, to field phone calls and emails from worried parents and grandparents whose children or grandchildren were arrested for possessing marijuana. Their concerns are almost always in the same vein: " 'Senator, my kid made a bad choice. ... He's going to get a felony out of this. It's going to ruin his life forever' for, relatively speaking, a small amount of marijuana," Alting recalled Tuesday. " 'It's going to limit him. ... It's a black eye when he's looking for a job. It's a felony that won't go away.' " [continues 543 words]
The legalization of marijuana has been a hot-button issue across the United States for decades. Some claim marijuana has virtually no detrimental effects. In fact, proponents say it's good for your health. Others say it not only removes inhibitions, it slows reflexes and kills brain cells. One thing's for sure: It costs millions of dollars to enforce penalties against those who grow, use and deal the weed. Motivated mostly by economics, 14 states have already voted to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. In Indiana, the effort, led by Republican state Sen. Brent Steele, is afoot. [continues 233 words]
Last week, the Mexican Navy nabbed one of the world's biggest drug kingpins, a man said to be responsible for billions of dollars in drugs flowing into the United States and for tens of thousands of deaths. Score one, you might say, for the war on drugs. But in a speech at Elmhurst College earlier this month, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner, one of our nation's most distinguished jurists, called it "absurd" to criminalize the sale or use of marijuana and questioned whether even cocaine is all that dangerous. [continues 513 words]
NBC reported last week that voters in three states - Colorado, Washington and Oregon - will decide in November whether they want to make marijuana legal in their states. Several states already allow marijuana for medical purposes, with about 20 having already considered or about to consider such an option. Indiana is stepping up now, too, if not quite going so far as to make it legal. State Rep. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, told the Indianapolis Business Journal last week he plans to add decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana to a bill designed to better match charges and sentencings with offenses to which they're connected in the next session of the Legislature. [continues 267 words]
Retired Logan Corrections Officer Pushing to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession. INDIANAPOLIS - Chad Padgett is a retired juvenile corrections officer from Logansport who found himself in an unexpected place last summer: Testifying in front of the legislature's sentencing policy study committee holding a hearing on the merits of relaxing the state's marijuana laws. Padgett, representing a national organization of former and current law enforcement officers, said locking people up for possessing pot was a waste of public resources that could be better spent targeting what he called a "true threat to society." [continues 705 words]
INDIANAPOLIS -- An influential Republican lawmaker believes it's time for Indiana to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and plans to include language to do so in legislation to overhaul the state's criminal code. State Sen. Brent Steele, who's played a critical role in criminal justice issues as chair of the Senate corrections committee, said the state's marijuana possession laws are too harsh. Indiana law dictates that marijuana possession is a felony unless it's a first-time offense and the amount is less than 1 ounce. [continues 684 words]
In 1974, the federal government tried to build up a case for why marijuana should continue to be illegal, but instead found that it slowed breast cancer, lung cancer and a virus-induced form of leukemia in mice. Why have these results been ignored? Well, all further public cannabis research was ended by the federal government through either the DEA or President Ford. Why do we tolerate our government covering up medical advances? So the legal drug companies can make profits on synthetic THC drugs that don't work as well as real THC? Maybe. [continues 214 words]
The war on drugs in our nation and the world doesn't make any sense and is leading to a loss of liberty. In cities across America, police can take away your money by threatening you with jail time, even if you have no drugs in your car after being pulled over for a traffic offense. Yes, you don't need to be charged with an actual crime under civil asset forfeiture to lose your property. Not much more than mere suspicion is necessary. [continues 218 words]
EVANSVILLE -- Vanderburgh Superior Court's seven judges will change the way the court operates to better address issues largely linked to a rising tide of methamphetamine abuse in the county. Chief Judge Mary Margaret Lloyd said the changes will begin in September. She said they are designed to resolve two main problems: How to better handle cases involving substance abuse and addiction issues and how to address a backlog of paternity cases in a Juvenile Court strained by a growing number of other cases. [continues 813 words]
SOUTH BEND -- Cane in hand, 56-year-old Guy McDaniel listened as a St. Joseph County judge admitted in court that he was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. That admission, however, comes with limits -- one of them being 52 pounds. In February, police arrested McDaniel at a West Washington Street home after a postal investigator reported finding something suspicious. According to a police reports, the post office inspector contacted narcotics officers after receiving two suspicious packages en route to a South Bend home. [continues 317 words]
For many years there has been a "war on drugs" in this country. The phrase was itself a piece of propaganda authored by John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon's assistant on domestic affairs. Integral to this "war" has been an extensive and expensive assault on a substantial portion of American society people who use marijuana. Not only has it been wrong; it is a terrible failure. My opinion, shared by a growing number of conservative, liberal and libertarian thinkers did not arise out of thin air. [continues 329 words]
Thanks for publishing Howard Wooldridge's thoughtful letter Feb. 12: "Marijuana Prohibition Drains Law Enforcement." Is there any legitimate reason that a natural herb that has never killed anybody should be classified the same as heroin? I think not. I know from personal experience that marijuana is a good substitute for potentially deadly painkillers such as Vicodin and is also a substitute for alcohol. The pharmaceutical industry knows this, and so does the alcohol industry, and this is probably why marijuana remains a criminalized substance. - - Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Inside Indiana
