As Louisiana's medical marijuana program takes shape some patients might have to make a difficult choice: keep their gun ownership rights or participate in the program. Louisiana is one of 30 states that have approved medical marijuana laws in some form. Although the state's nine dispensaries won't open until later this year, patients who qualify for medical marijuana under Louisiana law may be surprised to learn that federal law restricts their ability to purchase a gun if they use marijuana. [continues 462 words]
A group of Louisiana parents of children with severe autism had cause for celebration Wednesday (May 2) as a bill (HB 627) that expands medical marijuana as a treatment option for the condition cleared another hurdle through the legislature. It was one of two medical marijuana medicals aimed at expanding the patient base in Louisiana that passed through the Senate Health and Welfare committee. The other bill (HB 579) authored by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, adds glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and Parkinson's Disease to the roster of conditions already approved for treatment with medical marijuana. Both bills will head to the Senate for a full vote. [continues 488 words]
Louisiana's nine future medical marijuana dispensaries have been selected. The two grow sites, managed by LSU and Southern University, are preparing to start growing and processing the drug by next February at the latest. Legislators have been focused on the issue, too. Two bills are making their way through the Legislature that would potentially expand the number of medical marijuana patients. But after all these preparations are made, will there be doctors for medical marijuana patients to go to? [continues 1090 words]
A car ride anywhere with Denise Young's 16-year-old son Seth can be extremely dangerous. Seth was diagnosed as a young child as having low-functioning autism, a severe form of the disorder that makes him hypersensitive to sound and light and which can trigger tantrum-like meltdowns. "They call it a rage," Young said. "He has thrown punches in the back of my seat, the back of my head (while driving)." Medication hasn't worked, according to Young. One prescription only made Seth's rages worse, she said. Another one caused excessive thirst and hormonal imbalances. [continues 858 words]
A Louisiana House committee voted Thursday (April 5) in favor of a proposal to expand the use of medical marijuana to treat people with chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and glaucoma. The bill cleared committee with an 8-4 vote. HB 579, sponsored by Rep. Edward James, D-Baton Rouge, met some debate before the vote. Opponents questioned whether there was enough medical research establishing medical marijuana as an effective treatment for people with chronic medical conditions. A 2016 law allowed the use of medical marijuana to treat certain conditions, including HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease, muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. James' bill would add glaucoma, severe muscle spasms, intractable pain and PTSD to the list. [continues 502 words]
A Metairie business could obtain permission Tuesday to operate one of the state's first medical marijuana pharmacies. The Louisiana Pharmacy Board is meeting in Baton Rouge for two days to discuss, and possibly give final approval, to companies seeking to obtain one of the state's operating permits. According to the board's agenda, 44 applicants have applied for permits, although some of those companies have withdrawn from consideration. The Rx Greenhouse announced in February its plans to open an office building at 3131 North Causeway Boulevard in Metairie after gaining preliminary approval from a state subcommittee. If approved it would open by September, the pharmacy owners have said. [continues 268 words]
People arrested and held on simple marijuana possession became nearly non-existent in New Orleans in the year since the City Council passed an ordinance that allowed police to issue summons instead of using a custodial arrest. City Councilwoman Susan Guidry shared data on Tuesday (March 27) showing that just 1 percent of encounters between police and someone accused of possessing marijuana resulted in an arrest between June 2016 and May 2017. A year before, 15 percent of people were arrested for simple possession. [continues 317 words]
The Rx Greenhouse, one of the state's first marijuana pharmacy is looking to open in Metairie. This rendering is a picture of the pharmacy's waiting area. One of the state's first marijuana pharmacies is looking to open in Metairie nearly two years after Louisiana lawmakers authorized the use of medical marijuana for certain conditions. The Rx Greenhouse last month got preliminary approval from the state Pharmacy Board and plans to be operational by Sept. 1, according to CEO Dr. Sajal Roy, who is also a pharmacist. [continues 407 words]
Lawmakers and those who testified on behalf of a bill that would expand access to a drug that reverses the effects of opiate overdoses discuss the legislation outside the House Health and Welfare Commitee meeting Wednesday, April 2, 2014. Pictured from left are Rep. Bernard LeBas, D-Ville Platte; State Fire Marshal Butch Browning; Rep. Helena Moreno, D-New Orleans; East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Williams "Beau" Clark; and Louisiana Fireman's Association President Kenny Hunt. Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the bill into law on Wednesday, May 28, 2014. (Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) [continues 241 words]
Fewer people are being hospitalized for opioid-related conditions in Louisiana, according to a new federal study. (txking) Louisiana was one of only four states to show a decline in the rate of opioid-related hospital stays between 2009-2014, new federal data shows. During that same time period, opioid-related hospitalizations nationwide increased by a rate of nearly 24 percent. The report, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Louisiana showed a 6.4 percent decline in hospitalizations due to the misuse of prescription pain relievers and the use of illicit opioids like heroin and fentanyl. [continues 674 words]
Dog treats containing Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant, are a growing business as owners seek ways to treat hyperactive and nervous canines. Even for a puppy, Kat Donatello's black Labrador, Austin, was hyperactive. After experimenting with natural supplements on her older dog, Donatello slipped a special biscuit to Austin. "It just kind of took the edge off of him," she recalled. The treat contained Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant. [continues 992 words]
BATON ROUGE -- Growing up on a cotton farm in Missouri in the 1950s, Bill Richardson didn't know a thing about marijuana. Nobody talked about it, he never saw it and he certainly never smoked it. "I didn't inhale," Richardson, LSU's 71-year-old vice president for agriculture and dean of the College of Agriculture, said with a smile in a recent interview. Richardson has become the unlikely leader of an effort to get LSU into the pot business. [continues 1125 words]
A community can get a federal grant to mentor teens about drug use, but our government refuses to uphold the federal law stating that marijuana is a Schedule I narcotic and therefore is illegal. Thus many states are now practicing unregulated pharmacology in their sales of marijuana. These states are seeing increases in vehicular accidents and deaths, calls to poison control, arrests for use in schools, teen admissions to treatment centers and hospital emergency admissions. New Orleans City Council just reduced the penalties of simple possession of marijuana to a fine, which to the legalization movement is a victory. Louisiana's Legislature is now offering us "medical marijuana," of which there is no such thing. The FDA, however, has approved Cesamet, Marinol and soon Epidiolex for various epilepsy syndromes. These drugs have passed through an effective and rigorous scientific process unlike what will be produced in select Louisiana pharmacies. [continues 223 words]
In a series of speeches in 1971 President Richard Nixon called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one in the United States." In remarks from the White House on June 17, 1971, Nixon said, "In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive." This, as best anybody can tell, is the opening salvo in America's War on Drugs. You'd think that if something really were public enemy number one that people would know to be afraid of it without prompting. [continues 730 words]
RE: "43 died of heroin overdoses in New Orleans in 2015, coroner says." Metro. January 29. The spike in heroin overdoses in Orleans and Jefferson parishes is alarming. Also alarming is the lack of resources for people who are battling opioid addiction. Until the barriers to treatment are addressed and access to care is available, opioid abuse and the corresponding overdoses will not decrease. The quickest and most efficient way to address the current opioid crisis is to make sure that substance abuse treatment services, including detox, are readily available to the community. Treatment beds are severely limited in both Orleans and Jefferson parishes, leading to long wait lists at most substance abuse treatment facilities. This uptick in opioid overdoses should be recognized as a public health issue. Without readily available treatment options, an addict will continue to use until, inevitably, that person is met with deadly results. [continues 62 words]
Last Thursday, Hank Green was one of three Youtube celebrities tasked with making President Obama seem accessible to millennials. Green asked Obama about marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington during an interview in the White House. After assuring Colorado and Washington marijuana residents the feds won't go kamikaze on their crop, Obama called U.S. drug policy "counterproductive," suggesting a public health approach to drug use. It was the first time in awhile I'd heard him talk about the issue. Despite, speaking to new people, however, the stance is nothing revolutionary from Obama . The President ran on this approach in 2008, when he promised to steer the Department of Justice away from raiding medical marijuana patients. [continues 647 words]
Re: Jerome McCollum, "We should be realists when it comes to marijuana," Oct. 7, 2B As a growing body of data reveals the dangers with marijuana use and the increasing problems in Colorado, where recreational pot is now legal, I continue to oppose the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. As mentioned in a Times column (10/5/14), I explained why at a recent conference. Interested readers should go to www.valuesvotersummit.org and scroll down on the front page to find my speech. [continues 265 words]
Congressman John Fleming does not believe in marijuana being legal. During a recent conference when asked to compare marijuana with alcohol, he said alcohol has been accepted by cultures for thousands of years while marijuana hasn't. While that is generally true, so what? If marijuana is safer than alcohol and causes less harm for the individual and society, which it clearly does, than it is illogical to keep marijuana illegal with alcohol being legal. I don't care about what tradition has been. If someone is right on a public policy, than he/she doesn't need to bring up tradition. Their argument should stand on its' own merits. [continues 191 words]
Thirty years ago, a college kid in Kentucky was caught growing marijuana plants in his closet. That turned him into a convicted felon, and though he's been on the right side of the law ever since, he still can't vote. On any job application, he must check the box next to "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" All this misery for growing a plant whose leaves the past three presidents admit having smoked. We know this story because Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky keeps telling it. That a Southern Republican probably running for president is condemning such prosecutions as unfair speaks volumes on the collapsing support for the war on marijuana - part of the larger war on drugs. [continues 501 words]
'The rest of the world kind of slowly recedes from memory, experience' Marijuana activist Marc Emery returns to Canada on Tuesday morning after a four-and-a-half-year stint in American prisons for selling marijuana seeds to a U.S. buyer. Postmedia phoned him at a Louisiana detention centre to learn more about his return. Q: What's the plan for today? A: I get put on a plane at probably about 10 or 11 (EST) in the morning and arrive in Detroit around three. At that point, U.S. marshals deliver me under the tunnel to the Canadian border point and Jodie (his wife) and some friends of mine should meet me there. If it's nice weather, we'll have (a few) hours in Centennial Park by city hall. Hopefully by nine or 10 o'clock, Jodie and I will retire and go get something to eat. Then we've got to get on a plane at six in the morning and fly to Toronto for a whole variety of things, not the least of which is to buy some stuff like new glasses and a cellphone. I've never texted in my life so people have to show me how these things all work. [continues 556 words]
B.C. marijuana activist Marc Emery returns to Canada on Tuesday morning after a four-and-a-half-year stint in U.S. prisons for selling marijuana seeds to a U.S. buyer. Nick Eagland of Postmedia News phoned him at a Louisiana detention centre to learn more about his return. Q What's the plan for today? A I get put on a plane at probably about 10 or 11 (EST) in the morning and arrive in Detroit around three. At that point, U.S. marshals deliver me under the tunnel to the Canadian border point and [wife] Jodie and some friends of mine should meet me there. If it's nice weather, we'll have [a few] hours in Centennial Park by city hall. Hopefully by nine or 10 o'clock, Jodie and I will retire and go get something to eat. Then we've got to get on a plane at six in the morning and fly to Toronto for a whole variety of things, not the least of which is to buy some stuff like new glasses and a cellphone. I've never texted in my life so people have to show me how these things all work. [continues 555 words]
He's back. Pot activist Marc Emery returns to Canada on Tuesday morning after a four-and-a-half-year stint in American prisons for selling marijuana seeds to a U.S. buyer. Postmedia phoned him at a Louisiana detention centre to learn more about his return. Q: What's the plan for today? A: I get put on a plane ... in the morning and arrive in Detroit around three. At that point, U.S. marshals deliver me under the tunnel to the Canadian border point and Jodie and some friends of mine should meet me there. [continues 313 words]
Medical Marijuana Bill Dies in the Senate Medical marijuana has been legal in Louisiana since 1991, allowing doctors to prescribe pot to certain patients. But sometimes-conflicting federal law and no state infrastructure for dispensing and regulating marijuana have effectively neutered that law, though it remains on the books. On April 30, the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare voted to defer Senate Bill 541 from state Sen. Fred Mills, R-Breaux Bridge. That bill deletes the current law and replaces it with a comprehensive means of regulating the prescription of marijuana, including creating a Therapeutic Marijuana Utilization Review Board and coordinating authority with the state's Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy and the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners. The committee voted 6-2 against the bill. [continues 423 words]
When the sheriffs and district attorneys team up in Baton Rouge, they are pretty much guaranteed to have their way. So Louisiana remains out of step, spending millions putting harmless potheads in prison long after the rest of the South has recognized that marijuana possession poses no serious threat to civic order, and made it a relatively minor offense. A Senate committee shot down the latest attempt Tuesday to inject some humanity and common sense into our laws. That we need to do so is apparent from the case of Bernard Noble, as the Lens recently reported. Noble was sentenced a couple of years ago to five years after police found he was carrying enough dope for a couple of joints. That sentence would surely be savage enough for most tastes, but Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro is a tough hombre. Cannizzaro pushed for more time on grounds that Noble is a multiple offender. Indeed, he is, but all but one of his busts have been for simple possession, and the 13 years that Noble is serving cannot square with any decent concept of justice. [continues 501 words]
Regarding your recent story, "Strange bedfellows push incarceration limits": So state Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, is "not concerned by Louisiana's high incarceration rate." He remains dead set against House Bill 14, which would reduce sentences for second and third convictions of marijuana possession, which even "hard on crime" Gov. Bobby Jindal supports and would save the state about $4 million a year. He says, "If you do the crime, you do the time," and "We're not putting innocent people in jail. We're not incarcerating people unless they've been convicted and are guilty." [continues 269 words]
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws legalizing the use and production of medical marijuana for qualifying patients under state law. Some states have legalized marijuana for public use with across-the-counter purchases. Approximately 50 years ago, Switzerland legalized drugs. The result was the drug users took over all public facilities like parks and swimming pools. Used needles were strewn on lawns, sidewalks and overflowing trashcans. My wife and I witnessed that mess in Lucerne in the early 1960s. [continues 226 words]
Thank you for making the case for marijuana legalization in your Feb. 2 editorial. The days when politicians can get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous 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 is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure. [continues 79 words]
Another reason for re-legalizing cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned is because it is biblically correct since God created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page of the Bible. Christ Jesus requests that we love one another, and you can't do that by caging humans for using what God says is good. A sane or moral argument to continue punishing and caging responsible adults for using cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Marijuana has been in the headlines a lot lately. Partly, that is because it is now being sold legally for medical use and recreational use in Washington and Colorado. In recent meetings, there have been indications Louisiana lawmakers might once again revisit the possibility of easing the penalties faced by those caught with marijuana in this state. That would certainly be a good start, but lawmakers really should take the issue much further. Louisiana should be the next state to legalize it. No matter from what angle one looks at the issue, that makes the most sense. [continues 659 words]
I'm writing about the not-so-thoughtful letter from Quentin Johnson, Jr. titled "Marijuana logic faulty" on Jan. 25. The cannabis legalization issue is not whether or not cannabis is completely safe for everybody, including children, it is not. But rather freedom of choice for adults. Children have died from eating peanuts but we don't cage peanut growers, sellers or consumers. And the voters of Colorado and Washington state have decided that we should not cage cannabis growers, sellers or consumers. I submit that all adults should have the same freedom of choice that they have in Colorado and Washington. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
It has been well documented by many organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society and the surgeon general of the United States that tobacco smoke is harmful to your health. It contributes to more than 400,000 deaths a year in the U.S. and about $90 billion a year in medical costs. It is a major contributor to lung diseases, cancer, coronary artery disease as well as other health issues. And, according to the American Theoretic Society, marijuana contains most of the same chemicals as tobacco and therefore just as harmful. [continues 87 words]
One room in the state Capitol was buzzing Tuesday and could've led to an old-fashioned stoning, and maybe it did for some. The Louisiana House Criminal Justice Committee held a public meeting to discuss a study requested by state Rep. Dalton Honore regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of legalizing marijuana possession and use. Pardon the pun, but with a large public turnout, tensions were high. Medical professionals, law enforcement officers and Louisiana residents from college-aged to much older filled up the seats. The public was able to give prepared testimonials; most of those cases were in support of legalization. [continues 518 words]
The recent article citing the coroner's information on the heroin epidemic is alarming, and certainly in keeping with what I am seeing in the patients I treat. I am an addictionologist and provide detoxification services for two programs in the area. The surge in heroin use has continued over the past year. Many of my patients "graduated" to heroin because the price of pain pills, such as Roxicodon (roxies) has increased to $25 to $30 each. Suboxone costs $20 per tab, or strip, on the street. If you are using 6 "roxies" a day, that's close to $60,000 a year. My patients tell me heroin is cheaper and easily acquired if you are in the drug culture. I want to emphasize Louisiana is not the only place with a heroin problem. I also treat patients from out of state and their stories are the same. My younger opioid addicted patients, who are in their 20s (and younger), frequently report using heroin. [continues 335 words]
The Greater New Orleans Drug Demand Reduction Coalition was formed in 2011 to develop and implement a comprehensive strategic plan using prevention, treatment and law enforcement to reduce the negative consequences of the use of illicit drugs and other drugs of abuse and the abuse of alcohol in the Greater New Orleans area, with a primary focus on youth and the prevention of youth substance abuse. In response to the Sept. 6 front-page article, "Majority favor legalizing marijuana," the GNODDRC would like to call your attention to the following: [continues 257 words]
Bossier City resident Missy Matthews is keeping a close eye on the Arkansas medical marijuana ballot initiative. Arkansans will decide Nov. 6 whether patients with a limited number of chronic conditions can use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. The proposal applies only to Arkansas residents. Arkansas is the first state in the South to vote on the issue. Matthews is a member of Moms for Marijuana, a national organization that promotes education, discussion and research about marijuana's benefits. She chats online with other members who use marijuana in foods like cannabutter to help treat bipolar disorder, ADD and other mental health issues in their children. [continues 1003 words]
A state legislator told the Jindal administration that he is not ready to go the way of Washington state and Colorado by asking voters to legalize and tax marijuana. Instead, state Sen. Dan Claitor said, he thinks the Jindal administration is missing the opportunity to generate revenue through a decades-old law that attempts to collect taxes from the drug trade through a different angle. A law on Louisiana's books since the 1990s requires marijuana dealers to pay taxes on their product by buying stamps from the state revenue department or face seizure of their valuables if they are arrested. [continues 607 words]
Journalist John Stossel has an article in his Fox News Blog on the so-called war on drugs. He points out that because of this federal policy, the United States has more people in prison than Russia and China do. Stossel believes, as we did about alcohol after Prohibition, that we should decriminalize drugs. This won't end drug use, of course, but it would end this terrible policy of imprisoning drug users as well as end the killings on our borders and in Mexico. The money spent on this program should then be spent on rehabilitation, not imprisonment. We should write our congressmen and state legislators, calling Stossel's article to their attention, and ask them to act to decriminalize drug use. Wesley Bowers Nashville 37215 [end]
BATON ROUGE - If anything good comes out of the expulsion of Tyrann Mathieu as far as the LSU football team is concerned, it will be this. Current athletes in any sport continuing to smoke marijuana or synthetic marijuana or partaking in any other drug use, better light up their brains with some smarts. If LSU is going to kick the Honey Badger - one of its greatest players in history - it will surely dismiss anyone else in a heartbeat. Tailback Spencer Ware and cornerback Tharold Simon were both suspended for a game last season because of positive drug tests that revealed marijuana use. They could be next, and they better know that. [continues 195 words]
BATON ROUGE - Less than a month ago, LSU released an interesting story that went largely unnoticed. The athletic department gave $4 million of its own money - largely earned from a Microsoft-type football program - to the university to help with a budget crisis that it has has been dealing with for years through layoffs and early retirements. LSU also said it would take over the university's financial responsibilities of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes at a cost of $1.5 million a year. [continues 1039 words]
Depression, delusions and hallucinations tied to the use of synthetic marijuana are giving a whole new meaning to the term "reefer madness," law enforcement officers and physicians said. "You can call it what you want -- Russian roulette, roll of the dice. People just do not know what is in it," said Mark Ryan, director of the Louisiana Poison Center, "It is highly dangerous." There have been numerous raids across Louisiana targeting the sale and manufacturing of so-called synthetic marijuana with the Terrebonne Sheriff's Office recently getting in on the action. [continues 880 words]
Pro-marijuana legalization activists plan to gather in Shreveport and five other cities across Louisiana on Saturday to march in favor of ending prohibition. In Shreveport, the march is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at Clyde Fant and Cotton Street downtown. The rallies are the brainchild of Legalize Louisiana founder Donnie Griffith, of Monroe, who believes marijuana can be used to help those suffering from medical conditions. "We need to take the patients off the battlefield in the war on drugs," said Griffith, who stressed that patients in Louisiana deserve the same rights as those in other states. [continues 155 words]
Legalization of illicit drugs is a touchy subject for college students. We often bear the brunt of jokes about the topic as major media outlets usually characterize proponents of legalization as young hippies or crazy libertarians. But what happens when those yelling loudest for a new plan for drugs are your neighbors on the world stage? The Summits of the Americas is a series of summit meetings to discuss regional issues among the nations of North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The last summit took place April 14 and 15 and was hosted in Cartagena, Colombia. [continues 567 words]
A 27-year-old man who died after a drug stop in Houma Thursday night choked to death after trying to swallow plastic bags of suspected cocaine, marijuana and heroin, according to preliminary results from an autopsy performed Monday. Gary Alford, an investigator with the Terrebonne Coroner's Office, said the autopsy results for Wayne Michael Williams of Houma are not yet final pending toxicology tests that take several weeks to complete. "The primary cause is going to be asphyxiation," Alford said. "His drug levels might be very high if one of those bags broke. So that could be a contributing factor also. We're going to have to wait and see." [continues 431 words]
Terrebonne and Lafourche public schools enroll more than 32,000 students combined, but so far this year, fewer than three dozen have been arrested for bringing drugs onto campuses. Education officials and police readily acknowledge that more students are involved in drugs and that more can always be done to keep them out of schools. But one reason such a relative few arrests are made is that schools -- with teachers and principals and in some cases police constantly on alert -- appeals to common sense, one officer says. [continues 855 words]
I wish to respond to Michael Gorman's Aug. 26 column, "Rethinking this nonsense." As the prosecutor who handled the case in question from its inception, I would begin by counseling Mr. Gorman against trying to analyze a legal proceeding without looking at all of the facts. As a prosecutor, that is what I do for a living, and I have come to learn that there is no one punishment that fits every crime nor one sentence that fits every defendant. [continues 818 words]
The crowing tone of the press release is a pretty good indication that the Lafourche District Attorney's Office took the drug charge against Matthew Zugsberger seriously. "A California man on a self-professed crusade to change Louisiana's marijuana laws instead pled guilty to felony drug charges Monday rather than face a jury of his peers," the release begins. At issue was the case against Zugsberger, who was caught receiving a shipment of more than two pounds of pot. Zugsberger argued that his prescription for use of medical marijuana should be respected in Louisiana even though it was issued in California. The local district attorney disagreed, opting instead to spend more than three years going after a man whose only crime was possessing marijuana. [continues 577 words]
Re: "Huge news in War on Drugs," Leonard Pitts Jr.'s column July 31 in The Times. Support for the drug war would end overnight if whites were incarcerated for drug offenses at the same rate as minorities. And racially disproportionate incarceration rates are not the only cause for alarm. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Incarcerating non-violent drug offenders with hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior. [continues 83 words]
With its current focus on the dictatorships in Middle Eastern countries, the United States has largely been ignoring an issue closer to home. Namely, the "War on Drugs" raging in Mexico. In Mexico, the term takes on a more literal definition than in the U.S. In 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon called on military forces to handle the growing problem presented by increasingly powerful drug cartels specializing in marijuana and methamphetamine (who have grown so powerful and violent since the '90s that many have labeled them insurgencies). [continues 530 words]
Protesters outside the federal courthouse in downtown Shreveport made their demands clear Wednesday - legalize marijuana and legalize it now. Nearly 100 people turned out in front of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to condemn laws criminalizing marijuana and to ask lawmakers to tax and regulate it instead. Organized by Legalize Louisiana, a statewide organization calling for the legalization of medicinal and recreational marijuana, the march was part of a broader day of protests that included similar events in Lafayette, New Orleans and Monroe. [continues 358 words]
With reference to the upcoming statewide march for rights concerning marijuana, there has been a lot of talk and debate about the "terms of use." There is a bit of a straw man afoot which appears to purport outlandish doomsday scenarios if the state were to decriminalize this rather harmless plant. In discussions with like-minded advocates, I have yet to find any individual who supports legalization without reasonable regulations. There is virtually unanimous agreement that responsible use ought to be enforced, in much the same way alcohol and even cigarettes are regulated in their recreational use. The latter two are examples of legal substances which are not only harmful, but indisputably deadly. [continues 150 words]
Inside Louisiana
