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]
There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. [continues 81 words]
Writing as a retired Michigan street cop, you need to rethink your support for marijuana prohibition. Per the feds (and ask any teen), marijuana is today readily available, and most teens can buy pot easier than alcohol. Worse, as my colleagues chase a green plant, we miss pedophiles raping our kids. Most marijuana retail sales are handled by teens, getting them shot and killed. Medical experts will tell you that more teens try marijuana because of the glamor of the "forbidden fruit" than are deterred by another factor. [continues 61 words]
State Sen. Karen Tallian wants to make most marijuana possession cases misdemeanors. What a change that would be from a toke-free Indiana. Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, did not request a committee vote on Senate Bill 347 but took nearly an hour to explain how reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession could benefit Indiana. It would have the effect of freeing up at least 250 beds a year in the state prison system and thousands of beds in county jails, according to the nonprofit Legislative Services Agency. [continues 262 words]
The Indiana House passed a bill 73-23 today that would establish a pilot program for drug testing for people who receive welfare assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, and Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, will sponsor the legislation in the Indiana Senate. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is a grant program that seeks to help recipients find jobs. Under the legislation, people who fail the test would lose their benefits from the federal-aid program, unless they enter a drug treatment program and subsequently stay off of drugs. The office of the Secretary of Family and Social Services would develop the program in three yet-to-be-determined counties. Several Democrats opposed the legislation, saying that other states do not test people under this program for drugs, and that the pilot program is not well thought out. [continues 122 words]
Three years ago, Bloomington resident Sharon Blair lost her oldest child, 29-year-old Jennifer Reynolds, to what most people might not call a disease: drug addiction. But Blair, 54, believes an illness is what caused her daughter's accidental overdose on Jan. 15, 2009. "The brain is malfunctioning. It's not processing," she said. "So it is a disease. That is something no one wants to talk about." However, Blair intends to get the attention of lawmakers in Indiana and Florida, where Blair and her family lived when her daughter died. [continues 577 words]
Shortly before senior Kat Rodriguez's last home football game as a student, she was returning to a tailgate near Notre Dame Stadium when she tripped on a bicycle and gashed open her forehead. Blood and beer spilled to the ground as Rodriguez, who was of legal drinking age, fell to the ground. Senior Tom Burns and a friend saw Rodriguez fall and helped her to a Notre Dame Security Police (NDSP) officer. But before doing so, a thought crossed Burns' mind -- Would Rodriguez, or his friend who was intoxicated and underage, get in trouble? "For a split second, it crossed my mind," Burns said. [continues 1531 words]
A couple weeks ago, I was going through the exciting process of ND Roll Call when I noticed something a little different: a memo to all students reminding us of the University's notably stringent drug policy. Of course, we all know the one recreational drug to which this policy most frequently applies: marijuana. Possession alone can cost you a year's suspension from the University. It got me thinking, what is it about marijuana that inspires such widespread fear and evokes extreme punishment directed toward non-violent offenders, not only at ND, but throughout the country? [continues 272 words]
INDIANAPOLIS | State Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, knows sometimes the best way to win support for a change in the law is to give people time to get used to the idea. That's why Tallian did not request a committee vote on Senate Bill 347 last week but still spent nearly an hour explaining to a panel of state senators how Indiana would benefit by reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession. Indiana's marijuana laws are among the toughest in the nation. Possession of any marijuana is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. [continues 367 words]
INDIANAPOLIS - A committee passed legislation today that is meant to help police crack down on a synthetic drug known as "bath salts," sending the bill to the full Senate for consideration. But members of the Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters Committee opted not to act on a bill that would have reduced penalties for those caught using marijuana. Senate Bill 347, authored by Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, would have reduced the charges for possession of pot. Under the proposed bill, possession of less than three ounces of marijuana would have been reduced to an infraction. Similar to a speeding ticket, this offense would be accompanied by a fine but no jail time. [continues 274 words]
FORT WAYNE -- With the help of a friend, a woman came into the Butler Police Department's lobby one day last summer gasping for breath. Her friend immediately placed her on the floor and frantically asked officers to call an ambulance. The woman, described by Butler police as in her early to mid-20s, wheezed as she said it felt as if an elephant were sitting on her chest. Later, medics and police learned she had been smoking synthetic marijuana - a substance becoming popular among those who want to get high legally and resistant to state lawmakers' attempts to eradicate its sale, distribution and use. [continues 1101 words]
Bulletin: Michael Shafer turned himself in to the Gibson County Sheriff's Office Saturday afternoon and remains in custody with bond set at $50,000 cash. He's scheduled for arraignment Tuesday morning. Shafer was sought by authorities for a week in connection with the discovery of a meth lab on the main campus of East Gibson schools in Oakland city before Christmas break. OAKLAND CITY -- Oakland City Police Chief Alec Hensley and East Gibson schools superintendent Franzy Fleck faced a crowd of upset parents Friday afternoon in the Wood Memorial Junior High Cafetorium, where the crowd had the opportunity to air their views, their suggestions and ask questions to police about the discovery of a one-pot methamphetamine lab found on campus Dec. 21. [continues 761 words]
PORTER Two LaPorte County woman face drug charges after police said they found hypodermic needles and a container of "clean" urine in their car. A Chesterton police officer running drug interdiction about 6 p.m. on Interstate 94 stopped a car without a lit license plate just east of the U.S. 20 exit. The officer said the driver, Krystel Catlin, 27, of LaPorte, was acting nervously and trembling as she said she and two passengers were on their way to visit relatives at a Portage Township residence. [continues 158 words]
THERE is good news and bad news that can be pulled from a recent survey of sixth-to 12th-grade students in Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. schools about the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The good is that the use of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana among these young people has decreased from what was reported in the 1990s. The bad is that binge drinking along with the use of prescription drugs and steroids in that age category has increased. [continues 416 words]
Subtle reminders of the vast extent of the illegal drug problem are around us, yet we too often overlook them. Drug-related crimes, including thefts from homes and vehicles, are filling our jails and driving up the cost of the criminal justice system. But for many, the signs are more obvious. They see the effects of addiction on the faces of loved ones and are anguished by the difficulty in helping those friends and family members escape the grip of drug abuse. Many families, rich and poor alike, are facing this same struggle. [continues 330 words]
Re: Your Aug 1. editorial, "Change the law when the people are ready for it." The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2009, there were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. [continues 87 words]
Issue Might Prove Excellent Starting Point in Consideration Of Criminal Code Overhaul In the years that this newspaper has known and endorsed Tom Knollman in his role as a Republican...- 11:08 pm To the contrary, this Union County farmer, while struggling with his speech and movement as a consequence of battling multiple sclerosis, is soft-spoken, thoughtful and deliberate in his positions and subsequent votes in the General Assembly. His conservative, law-and-order credentials are above reproach. So when Knollman testified in favor of keeping marijuana available for people like himself, suffering lifetime disorders, his remarks deserve an audience. [continues 212 words]
The General Assembly's attempt at comprehensive sentencing reform crashed and burned in the last session. So prospects for any effort to reduce criminal penalties look like a long shot. But a targeted attempt at addressing marijuana laws could fare better, provided the bill receives a good public discussion before the full legislature considers it. Financially, Indiana needs marijuana sentencing reform. The legislature's Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee heard last week that reducing or eliminating penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana could save up to $200 million a year in law enforcement and corrections costs. [continues 450 words]
In the Meantime, Though, Always Enforce the Laws We Have. Most of the people who appeared before Indiana's Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee last week spoke in favor of legalizing marijuana in the state, or at least greatly reducing the criminal penalties on the possession of small amounts. In support of that position, they said many things that are undoubtedly true, including: - -Marijuana prohibition in the United States has failed. - -Indiana's too-draconian laws governing possession have probably done more harm than good. Lives have been ruined over something that is safer than drinking. [continues 357 words]
INDIANAPOLIS -- Lawmakers didn't say whether they will proceed with legislation to legalize marijuana after advocates for such law dominated a four-hour Statehouse hearing last week. Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, who proposed a study of the issue this year, told the Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Committee that she had no agenda other than to "start talking about this." She said the idea for the study came from her "experience sitting in court as an attorney" and "looking at young kids pleading to minor possession charges." [continues 398 words]
Indiana, though thoroughly conservative, might see changes in its marijuana policy if Thursday's presentation on decriminalizing and legalizing medical marijuana had any effect on legislatures. On Thursday, the legislature's Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study committee heard numerous testimonies from policy and medical experts as to the benefits of marijuana and the negatives of complete prohibition. The hearing was streamed live on the Indiana government website for public viewing and The Exponent watched. Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, prompted the committee hearing, and began with a short presentation on her concerns with Indiana's "draconian" marijuana laws. Her concerns ranged from the industrial use of hemp to the legalization of medicinal marijuana. She questioned the impact of legal repercussions that come with prohibiting marijuana. [continues 338 words]
When a first-time offender is caught in West Lafayette with a small amount of marijuana, he is given a citation and a court date. Though technically arrested, rarely is the person booked into the Tippecanoe County Jail, police Chief Jason Dombkowski said. Last year, in Tippecanoe County courts, marijuana accounted for only 4 percent of higher-felony drug cases -- 8 out of 156, Prosecutor Pat Harrington noted. "There's this urban street myth that people in the Department of Correction, the only thing they've done is smoked a joint," Harrington said. "It's more fiction than reality. [continues 927 words]
Business leaders asking government to stop interfering in their work is a common occurrence at the Statehouse, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly usually is eager to remove obstacles impeding entrepreneurship. But when that business is marijuana, the lawmakers who normally would do just about anything to help -- and claim credit for new jobs and tax revenue -- disappear. That's why state Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, is eager for Thursday's meeting of the legislature's Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee because the state's marijuana laws finally will get a thorough review. [continues 370 words]
INDIANAPOLIS - When State Sen. Karen Tallian first floated the idea of introducing a bill to look at legalizing marijuana, her Statehouse colleagues warned the Portage Democrat that it could kill her chances for re-election. But the 60-year-old mother of three thought there might be some public support for taking the crime out of pot, so she sent out an informal survey, via email, to constituents in her Northwest Indiana district. Within 72 hours of sending the email, she got back more than 2,000 responses. Almost all of them were supportive, and most of the supportive ones said the state should treat marijuana like alcohol: Control its sale and tax it as a revenue-enhancer. [continues 469 words]
Summer study committees of the Indiana General Assembly are tackling two important issues. They're even related, so perhaps suggestions will be merged later on and discussed by one group. The issues: ♦Prison sentencing reform. A bill calling for major reforms that would save millions and reduce prison crowding by making greater use of alternative sentencing was drafted based on some think-tank recommendations. The proposal crashed and burned last term, though, over objections by county prosecutors that it was soft on crime. [continues 388 words]
After gaining support from Gov. Mitch Daniels in December, 2010, an important sentencing reform effort was derailed in March when Indiana's county prosecutors accused supporters of being soft on crime. SB 561, which passed the senate 46-3 but died in a house committee, would have sought to fix an Indiana sentencing and corrections system that has spiraled out of control. The push for reform came after a report commissioned last year by the Pew Center on the States and the Council of State Governments Justice Center found Indiana's prison population increased by 47 percent between 2000 and 2010, and its spending increased by 37 percent from $495 million to $679 million. [continues 513 words]
INDIANAPOLIS -- When state Sen. Karen Tallian first floated the idea of introducing a bill to look at legalizing marijuana, her Statehouse colleagues warned the Portage Democrat that it could kill her chances for re-election. But the 60-year-old mother of three thought there might be some public support for taking the crime out of pot, so she sent out an informal survey, via email, to constituents in her northwest Indiana district. Within 72 hours of sending the email, she received more than 2,000 responses. Almost all of them were supportive, and most of the supportive ones said the state should treat marijuana like alcohol: Control its sale and tax it as a revenue enhancer. [continues 476 words]
DOWAGIAC - Dowagiac officials are one step closer to amending the zoning ordinance to regulate the use of marijuana for medical purposes. During a Dowagiac City Council meeting Monday night, Mayor Don Lyons recognized the controversy surrounding the issue. "I cannot remember an issue that we've had as much debate as this one," he said. The City Council approved the first readings of the proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson said he expects passage at the next City Council meeting on July 25. [continues 217 words]
Years of trying to add Porter County to the Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finally succeeded in getting federal approval for the newly expanded effort. The federal government on Monday included Porter County among eight areas around the nation added to the HIDTA program. That allows federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in both counties to work together to fight drug trafficking and its consequences. It's a logical move. The same attributes that make Northwest Indiana a great place for the transportation, distribution and logistics industry make it an important part of the illegal drug trade between Mexico and the Chicago area as well as Detroit and beyond. [continues 206 words]
Gatewood Galbraith is once again running for governor -- and he's quit smoking marijuana to prove he's serious. "I gave up smoking pot about two months ago after 40 years," he said Monday during an interview with The Gleaner. "I want people to trust that I'm going to be as clearheaded as I can possibly be." This is the fifth time the Lexington defense attorney has run for governor; the first time he made headlines with his outspoken advocacy for legalizing marijuana. He's not pushing that issue as hard as he once did, but it's still in his platform. [continues 465 words]
Once again, we have been duped by the dealers -- the dealers of drugs, that is. And of course in their wake will follow all the special interests, including the users who wish no interference in their quest to do whatever drugs they desire without the law breathing down their necks. There are the thinkers, who have never experienced personally the impact that drugs have on our young, yet try to make the status of drug usage of an intellectual exercise much in the same manner in which they debate the existence of God. [continues 680 words]
But Effect on Cases Is Still Unknown Questions about the validity of some drug and alcohol test results by the Indiana State Department of Toxicology have yet to affect Southwestern Indiana overtly. An audit of the lab's results from 2007 through 2009 has turned up problems with at least 200 of the marijuana test results in that time period, said Larry McIntyre, a spokesman for the department. The errors deal with issues such as handling of samples, lab processes and, in some cases, interpretation. He said the potential seriousness of the situation is not yet known. [continues 629 words]
Indiana's state legislature is currently debating Senate Bill 192 and reviewing the state's marijuana laws, specifically on criminal law and procedure. Senate Bill 192 focuses primarily on marijuana's effect on Indiana's criminal justice system, whether marijuana should remain illegal in Indiana, the implementation of medical marijuana and if marijuana does become legal, how sales and taxation will be handled. The Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters administered the study regarding the concerns conferred in the bill. [continues 560 words]
New Albany Police on Tuesday cited seven stores that they say sold synthetic marijuana to undercover officers in violation of a new city ordinance prohiting the sale of such products. Police Chief Todd Bailey said the stores were each fined $50 as called for in the ordinance passed last November. Products displayed by officers in a news conference included Kimchi Blueberry Spice, Candyman Blends, Fuego Spice, Nirvana Spice and Buddha's Blend Spice ranging in price from $9.99 to $16.04 per package, typically 1.5 grams. [continues 275 words]
Flawed Results From State Toxicology Lab Give Defense Lawyers New Ammunition In what was otherwise a routine drunken-driving trial, defense attorneys in Hamilton County this week attempted a strategy that legal experts predict might become increasingly popular -- and successful -- in Indiana courtrooms. They tried to put the state's Department of Toxicology on trial. The legal maneuver comes on the heels of last week's report in The Indianapolis Star that revealed the depth of testing problems at the lab: An ongoing audit found lab errors in 10 percent of 2,000 positive blood tests for marijuana. [continues 930 words]
An auditor hired by the state Department of Toxicology is reviewing all of the department's drug test results from 2007-09 -- including those used for criminal convictions -- because of concerns about accuracy. The tests cover thousands of cases. Most Indiana law enforcement agencies, including the Indiana State Police, use the lab for blood testing. Marion County, which has its own lab, does not. Former Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman, hired in August to fix problems at the troubled agency, stressed that he doesn't know yet whether any results are inaccurate. But he said the situation was such that "a person who is responsible would not feel comfortable and would feel the need to investigate." [continues 880 words]
Inside Indiana
