Denver -- Inside the green neon sign, which is shaped like a marijuana leaf, is a red cross. The cross serves the fiction that most transactions in the store -- which is what it really is -- involve medicine.

The U.S. Justice Department recently announced that federal laws against marijuana would not be enforced for possession of marijuana that conforms to states' laws. In 2000, Colorado legalized medical marijuana. Since Justice's decision, the average age of the 400 people a day seeking "prescriptions" at Colorado's multiplying medical marijuana dispensaries has fallen precipitously. Many new customers are college students.

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DENVER - Inside the green neon sign, which is shaped like a marijuana leaf, is a red cross. The cross serves the fiction that most transactions in the store -- which is what it really is -- involve medicine.

The U.S. Justice Department recently announced that federal laws against marijuana would not be enforced for possession of marijuana that conforms to states' laws. In 2000, Colorado legalized medical marijuana. Since Justice's decision, the average age of the 400 persons a day seeking "prescriptions" at Colorado's multiplying medical marijuana dispensaries has fallen precipitously. Many new customers are college students.

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Change -- even change you can believe in -- rarely comes easily.

If Americans lose their cool over the president encouraging students to study, imagine what they'd do if someone suggested legalizing marijuana.

"We can't even get a primary seat belt law passed," said Rep. Charlie Roth, R-Salina. "We can't get a smoking ban in Kansas."

Allowing the use of marijuana (or cannabis), even for medicinal purposes, doesn't appear to have much support among public officials in Kansas. Locally, Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said he believes relaxing the rules would be ill-advised. Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell, who was deep into preparing for the third murder trial of Cameron Nelson, expressed skepticism. Salina Police Chief Jim Hill didn't return a call seeking comment.

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Discussions are dominated by definitions.

Sometimes the severity you sense depends on what you think the problem is.

Take the Netherlands for example. They are closing prisons.

You'll never guess why.

They don't have enough criminals to fill them.

At least that's the story of Justice State Secretary Nebahat Albayrak. "Currently, there is detention capacity of some 14,000 cell places, while according to the estimates there is a need for about 12,000 cells. This overcapacity is expected to continue for some years," she said while almost certainly clogging about in wooden shoes. "The cell surplus is caused by falling crime in general and more serious crime in particular."

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New Drug Czar Brings Fresh Common Sense To Wasteful 'War On Drugs'

Angry Americans pounced on the "Bridge to Nowhere" as an example of wasteful congressional pork-barrel spending. The now-dead $398 million project would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska, population 8,000, with Gravina Island, population 50, and home to the Ketchikan airport.

Most are silent, however, when it comes to Washington's "war on drugs" that costs Americans more than a 100 times that much in public dollars. This $44 billion per year expense is just as wasteful, but there is little political resolve to end the farce.

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Eighth-grader Oasis Hernandez has one piece of advice for parents who want their children to be drug-free: Be a good role model.

Oasis and four other track team members from Emporia Middle School spoke out against drug use this week, in preparation for the school's annual Drug-Free Fun Run on Friday.

In addition to Oasis, the panel included seventh-graders Gabby Solora, Bazill Santos, Max Detwiler and Drew Stapp.

Gabby competes in relays and distance medley; Bazill does relays, dashes and discus; Max competes in mile, half-mile, distance medley, 4x100 and hurdles; and Drew competes in 100 and 200 medleys, 4x100 and high jump.

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Editor,

After reading the article on the legalization of marijuana, I was let down. One article was a brief, vague and weak argument on why to not legalize marijuana. It was followed by a narrative, that after reading a few times, still has no point, nor does it address legalization/decriminalization. Therefore, I would like to send this out to educate and debate the other side.

First, Frank Male has an issue with the fact that legalization would increase government bureaucracy. We are in a horrible economy; people are getting laid off left and right. In a worst-case scenario in which the government can't afford to create jobs, let farmers, gardeners, florists, anyone start growing. It's agriculture. Unlike cigarettes and alcohol, marijuana is a plant. It grows. It's ready. If corn got you high, would you have the same problem?

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The push for legalizing marijuana has some star power behind it. From staunch conservatives like the late William Buckley, Jr. to libertarians like the late Milton Friedman, from Representative Barney Frank to musician Carlos Santana, public figures have lined up to legalize taking a toke.

Why do I, along with 60 percent of Americans, disagree? Although I can't speak for everyone, I think I can boil it down to a few factors. Legalization will increase government bureaucracy even more, it will increase the availability of drugs to underaged people and it will not seriously help crime or abuse rates.

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The criminalization of marijuana is rooted in racism, propaganda and the Drug Enforcement Agency's manipulation of both to further the white man's agenda. The continued persecution of cannabis users symbolizes the last gasp of a government studded with closed doors and sweeping generalizations about substances that alter the conscience. But beyond the historical statues of dissent forever looming over marijuana users like gargoyles bugged by the DEA are plumes of hope for a better tomorrow -- or at least a more entertaining episode of "Family Guy."

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The number 420 has represented cannabis culture for over 30 years. But where did it come from, and has it always been related to marijuana?

The answer comes from a group of high school boys in San Rafael, Calif., in 1971. Every day at 4:20 p.m., they would meet at a statue of chemist Louis Pasteur on their campus. At first they used the time to follow a map in search of an abandoned pot patch.

As time passed, the boys found use in "420" as not only a time to light up, but also as a code around parents, cops and teachers. They had no idea their code would become an internationally accepted term for pot users.

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WICHITA -- A federal grand jury is investigating the head of the Pain Relief Network for her role in the case of a Kansas doctor whose clinic prosecutors have linked to 59 overdose deaths.

Siobhan Reynolds, president of the Santa Fe, N.M.-based group, is a subject in the grand jury investigation of possible obstruction of justice in the case of Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, according to court documents. A subject is a person of interest the prosecution may be considering charging.

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Profits from smuggling draw organized crime, murders and corruption Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting less attention because of violence along the Mexican border -- battles that could prove more dangerous to U.S. security than overseas terrorists.

Unlike the war on terror, this one is of our own making; a byproduct of a wrong-headed, ineffective, expensive and failed government drug policies.

When feds clamp down on drug traffic it raises prices and creates huge profits for smugglers and dealers. With those dollars, Mexican narco gangs can buy weaponry that outguns local police.

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With the growing despair of this recession, California put forth an initiative to legalize and tax recreational marijuana in late February. While this initiative will surely not pass, it demonstrates that legalizing marijuana is not far-fetched and proves to be a very lucrative move for the state's income. The national legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use is past due.

By Friday, the War on Drugs has cost taxpayers more than $11 billion, according to drugsense.org. In an economy where every penny counts, I suggest we divert the money being allocated to arresting citizens for possession of small amounts of marijuana to increasing teachers' salaries. Not only do we pay enormous amounts of money to support the multi-decade War on Drugs, but we also pay to house those who are detained because of minor marijuana-related charges.

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Decriminalizing pot better than sending our troops into danger

Drug cartels are responsible for murdering 6,300 in Mexico last year and even more will be killed in 2009.

Law enforcement has broken down in border cities like Juarez and Tijuana, where police are told to either take bribes or take a bullet. Public officials are beheaded along with journalists who dare criticize drug lords.

Thousands of Mexican troops have moved into hot spots where they are outgunned and out-maneuvered by well-funded gangs. According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, the U.S. Joint Forces Command considers Mexico's government in critical danger of failing.

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Drink and drive and it's grrrrrrrr-eat! Smoke pot and your flakes are frosted, dude. So seems the message from Kellogg, which has decided not to renew its sponsorship contract with Michael Phelps after the Olympian was photographed smoking marijuana at a party in South Carolina.

That's showbiz, of course, but the cereal and munchie company had no problem signing Phelps despite a prior alcohol-related arrest. In 2004, Phelps was fined and sentenced to 18 months of probation and community service after pleading guilty to driving while impaired.

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I've been a common pot smoker for more than 50 years -- most of my life. It's caused me some trouble a time or two, but only because it's illegal. It shouldn't be.

During these past 50 years, I have met and known many people who share that opinion. A few behaved badly and drew attention to themselves. These rare exceptions give the rest of us a tarnished name in many circles.

I've met pot smokers who are some of the finest people anyone could ever wish to know, from wealthy humanitarians to people who have next to nothing but are happy to share it. Every one of them lives by the Golden Rule.

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Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Sheriff Leon Lott of South Carolina's Richland County are being forced to treat seriously a crime that shouldn't be one.

As everyone knows by now, Phelps was photographed smoking from an Olympic-sized bong during a University of South Carolina party last November. As all fallen heroes must, Phelps has apologized for behavior that was "regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," and has promised never to be a lesser role model again.

Lott, meanwhile, is threatening action against Phelps because... he has to.

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WASHINGTON - It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.

And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Thus it is that Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Sheriff Leon Lott of South Carolina's Richland County are being forced to treat seriously a crime that shouldn't be one.

As everyone knows by now, Phelps was photographed smoking from an Olympic-sized bong during a University of South Carolina party last November. As all fallen heroes must - by writ of the Pitchforks & Contrition Act - Phelps has apologized for behavior that was "regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," and has promised never to be a lesser role model again.

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The Drug Test Policy Committee of the USD 379 School Board decided by consensus Thursday to recommend the board hire a company to do random testing and set a goal to start drug testing by the start of the second semester.

The committee recommends the school board hire Sports Safe, an Iowa based company that does nothing but random drug tests for schools. The committee also revised a policy on how testing will be done. The recommendations will be presented to school board at the December meeting. If approved by the board's January meeting, random drug testing would go into effect at the start of the second semester.

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Four hundred and forty people attend SUA's debate between the editor-in-chief of High Times magazine and a retired DEA agent.

You couldn't smell any marijuana in the crowd Monday night during the "Heads Versus Feds" SUA event, but there were plenty of tie-dyed, 1960s band shirts sprinkled through the crowd of 440 people.

Steve Hager, editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, and Robert Stutman, a retired special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency of New York City, argued until they were both red in the face about the legalization of marijuana in front of an emotionally charged crowd, but they also inspired a few laughs.

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