While I have serious questions about whether the Commonwealth is able and ready to effectively regulate the sale and distribution of cannabis, and I am not sure how I will vote on the referendum ballot, I disagree with Joan Vennochi's assertion that marijuana is a gateway drug to opioid addiction ("Like Bill Clinton, I didn't inhale"). Vennochi's evidence is anecdotal, and she overlooks the most likely connection between marijuana and opioid use. When marijuana is illegal, people are forced to buy from dealers who have a financial incentive to offer other, possibly addictive drugs to their customers. Legalization, even more than decriminalization, could close or limit this gateway for the recreational marijuana user. William Graves, Medford [end]
The Fight Against Marijuana Legalization When it comes to marijuana legalization, what do you trust? Studies that conclude cannabis is not a harmful gateway drug - or the memory of a glassy-eyed college roommate who stopped going to class? For me, it's the memory. Like Bill Clinton, I didn't inhale. Honest. I went to college in the '70s, so pot, as we called it then, was obviously all around me. But I had a mother who warned me that the slightest intake would turn me into a heroin addict. I didn't develop deep skepticism toward authority until later in life, so I listened to her. When I finally tried marijuana - after college - I horrified the guy I was with by puffing out, not in. That humiliation saved me from future experimentation that could prove Mom wrong. [continues 491 words]
State Study Shows Path to Addiction At least two out of every three people who fatally overdosed in 2014 had been given an opioid prescription in the years prior, according to new state data, which officials say underscores the long-held theory that even legally prescribed painkillers can help push people toward a deadly addiction. "It certainly confirms what we believe," Marylou Sudders, the state's health and human services secretary, told the Herald yesterday. "It is significant, which is why we said we need to really focus on prescribing patterns, in getting drugs off the street - legal and illegal. ... Frankly we need to accelerate those efforts." [continues 350 words]
The arrival of medical marijuana in Massachusetts and other states is changing the way doctors prescribe conventional medications, a study published Wednesday reports. The study, one of the first to investigate whether medical marijuana laws alter prescribing patterns, analyzed data from 17 states and Washington, D.C. It found that after medical marijuana laws were adopted, doctors wrote fewer prescriptions for Medicare patients diagnosed with anxiety, pain, nausea, depression, and other conditions thought to respond to marijuana treatment. That translated to about $165 million less spent on prescription drugs in just one year in the Medicare program, which provides health insurance for older adults, according to the study published in the journal Health Affairs. [continues 764 words]
Boston (AP) - Massachusetts' highest court on Wednesday cleared the way for a November ballot question on legalizing small amounts of recreational marijuana, but it ordered changes in the wording of the question's title and the brief statement that explains the measure to voters. The justices, in a unanimous opinion, said the current title and statement were "clearly misleading," though otherwise found no reason to disqualify the proposal from the ballot. The ruling from the Supreme Judicial Court came hours before supporters of legalized pot turned in more than 25,000 additional certified voter signatures to the secretary of state, well above the 10,792 needed to assure a spot on the ballot. [continues 346 words]
This week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is scheduled to announce an increase in the number of prescriptions doctors can write for Suboxone from 100 to 275 a year. Congress is considering legislation that would make further increases in the availability of the drug, used to treat addictions to heroin and other opioids. While the effectiveness of Suboxone (generically called buprenorphine) as a heroin treatment can be argued, there is no debate about it being a major problem for those of us who run correctional facilities. At the Norfolk County Correctional Center in Dedham, Suboxone is public enemy No. 1 when it comes to inmates trying to smuggle in contraband. [continues 293 words]
The state's highest court in its latest ruling took it upon itself to actually rewrite the title and the summary that will inform voters about the impact of a ballot question to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana in this state. Now, silly us, but you'd think if something needed that much rewriting to adequately explain it, well then maybe it shouldn't be on the ballot at all - that maybe something so flawed at the petition-signing stage should have to start from scratch. [continues 253 words]
Don't like the message? Well, for the folks behind a campaign to legalize the recreational use of marijuana the answer is just to shoot the messenger. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has filed a petty complaint with state campaign finance regulators, alleging that Walpole Police Chief John Carmichael violated state rules by appearing at an event sponsored by a group opposed to the pro-pot ballot question, in uniform and during work hours. The group alleges Carmichael broke the rules by engaging in political advocacy. And had he shown up at the June 23 event and explicitly called on voters to reject the November ballot question, maybe they'd have an argument. [continues 176 words]
Like many Americans, I want to know how we got to the point that nearly 30,000 of our fellow countrymen and women died last year from overdosing on opioids. Many answers can be found in a report written by staff working in the US Senate. But the senators overseeing the report have failed to release it. As a former investigator on the Senate Finance Committee, I have professional reasons for wanting to see the report made public. I also have personal reasons - I lost two cousins to opioids, and my father unwittingly became briefly addicted to fentanyl when he was prescribed the drug for back pain. [continues 618 words]
A small circle of physicians - 13, to be precise - has provided the vast preponderance of approvals needed by Massachusetts patients to gain access to medical marijuana, state records show, a pattern that underscores the continued growing pains of a new industry. These doctors certified nearly three-quarters of the 31,818 patients who had received permission to use medical marijuana by early June. The concentration of approvals in the hands of so few physicians is a story of both opportunity and fear. For the baker's dozen of doctors, medical marijuana certifications provide a robust stream of patients, who typically pay $200 out of pocket for an initial office visit. [continues 1174 words]
Organizers of a referendum campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts accused Walpole's police chief on Thursday of veering into political advocacy by speaking at a campaign event organized by opponents of the November ballot measure. Chief John Carmichael, who has been an outspoken advocate about the dangers of substance abuse, participated in the June 23 event in Framingham to detail what he said were public safety concerns about the dangers of edible products derived from marijuana. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol said it filed a complaint to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance arguing that Carmichael should not have come to the event in uniform during work hours, and should not have used his departmental car to get there. [continues 358 words]
WEST BOYLSTON - Antwan Stevenson has been behind bars, time and again, for a total of more than five years since adolescence. The 24-year-old has run with a violent Dorchester gang, several friends have been killed, and his father was shot dead in January. "I have to change," he said, sitting on a bunk in a 9-by-11-foot cell. Finally, this father of three thinks he has found a way: an intense six-month program at the Worcester County House of Correction in which inmates confront the reasons they abused drugs or alcohol and the bitter consequences that followed. [continues 930 words]
BOSTON (AP) - A group seeking to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts says it has collected more than 25,000 signatures as a final step toward securing a spot on the November ballot. Sponsors of ballot initiatives face a Wednesday deadline to submit at least 10,792 signatures of registered voters to city and town clerks around the state. Backers typically try to gather far more than that number to protect against duplicated signatures or ones that may be disallowed for other reasons. [continues 58 words]
IPSWICH - Come November, Massachusetts could become the fifth state to legalize recreational marijuana. But a growing group of opponents - - including some of the highest elected state officials - intend to make sure that doesn't happen. The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act likely will go before voters this fall - proponents are gathering the 10,792 additional signatures needed to get it on the ballot - and if passed, it would legalize the commercial sale, taxation, recreational use and growing of marijuana in the state. [continues 1703 words]
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy visited what some locals call "the worst intersection in Boston" on Friday as part of his effort to talk to prescribers nationwide about how they can address the country's rising opioid crisis. The Boston stop on Murthy's "Turn the Tide Rx" tour brought him to the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program on Albany Street, at the heart of "Methadone Mile," so nicknamed for the cluster of homeless shelters and drug addiction programs there that draw people battling substance abuse from across the city. Accompanied by the program's top officials and state Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, Murthy toured the facility and met with patients who shared their stories of stigmatization and recovery. [continues 507 words]
I'm a retired corrections officer and substance abuse counselor, and I'm tired of hearing the same reasons as to why we shouldn't legalize marijuana that we've been hearing for the past 40 years. Massachusetts has a special opportunity to improve public safety and limit marijuana access to the young and at-risk. Marijuana is not harmless, and given my background in substance abuse counseling, I am firmly against any kind of substance abuse. However, marijuana prohibition and its consequences on individuals, families, and communities are far worse than using the drug. [continues 385 words]
Marijuana may soon be coming to your neighborhood. You may smell its aroma wafting over from the deck next door or from a backyard party down the block. Why, it's even possible that a cannabis cafe could open on Main Street. A question proposed for the fall ballot would make marijuana a legal recreational drug and regulate it like alcohol. Although that initiative petition faces a long-shot legal challenge and needs a second round of certified signatures, Massachusetts citizens will likely get to vote on the question in November. [continues 560 words]
State Supreme Court Mulls Marijuana Bill The state's highest court is mulling whether the proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use should go up in smoke after a group of concerned voters said the language of the ballot measure is too vague to be constitutional - and opens the door to all kinds of hyper-potent pot products. "The voters were significantly misled when they were told that this was going to legalize marijuana," said John Scheft, an attorney representing the voters. "It's going to do much more, and wouldn't a fundamental question of any voter be: What are you asking me to legalize?" [continues 368 words]
Six New England governors called on health care professionals Tuesday to work with government officials to combat the opioid epidemic and control prescriptions, describing a grim reality of addiction across the region they govern. "There is not an issue more pressing I know for all of us at this table," said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, addressing an audience at Harvard Medical School. "We are losing good people to the opioid crisis that is sweeping across America, and we need your help." [continues 542 words]
GLOUCESTER - A Boston-based company is seeking to open a dispensary in Gloucester's Cape Ann Industrial Park on Kondelin Road, the second company to try to carve out a niche serving medical marijuana patients from across Cape Ann. Company spokesman Frank Perullo confirmed Friday that Mayflower Medicinals has an agreement in place to lease some 2,000 square feet in a part of the industrial building at 8 Kondelin Road for a medical marijuana dispensary. The building, which houses Glass Tech Boat Service and includes 15,800 square feet of commercial and industrial space overall, is owned by a corporation called New Kondelin Road LLC, according to records in the city assessors' office. [continues 711 words]
Gloucester has taken a step toward joining the list of Massachusetts communities to host a medical marijuana facility. Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken's office agreed not to oppose plans by Happy Valley Ventures of Newton to open a medical marijuana dispensary and cultivation facility at the Blackburn Industrial Park. Department of Public Health regulations require a letter of support or nonopposition as part of the state application process. "Our community is in a unique position to offer meaningful medical solutions to those in critical need, while potentially helping to expand new economic avenues," Theken said. "Any agreement with the city of Gloucester must ensure legal, safe, and secure use of medical marijuana for approved patients, but any opportunity to help provide relief to our elderly, our veterans, our sick and dying, will always be heard." [continues 290 words]
The state has pulled the license of Dr. Tyrone S. Cushing, accusing him of recommending medical marijuana in 2013 for a visibly pregnant woman with a history of substance abuse. Cushing, who worked at CannaMed, a medical marijuana consultant service in Framingham, is the second doctor in recent days to have his license summarily suspended for improperly certifying patients as eligible to receive medical marijuana. In its summary suspension order Thursday, the Board of Registration in Medicine described Cushing as the state's "third-highest provider of medical marijuana certificates," having issued 4,649 certificates as of May 20 while working only two days a week. Cushing acknowledged he did not conduct any physical examination or obtain vital signs of any patients, and may have certified many pregnant women, according to the order. [continues 363 words]
A top retailers group, worried about worker productivity declining and plumes of pot smoke deterring customers from Main Street businesses, came out Wednesday against a ballot question that would legalize marijuana. Jon B. Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, had earlier said he and his members were torn on the controversial issue and likely to stay neutral. But he said Wednesday, after learning more about the potential drawbacks of the proposed referendum - from the proliferation of marijuana-infused edibles like brownies, to its generous limits on the home growing of pot - his group decided, on balance, it would be best if the ballot push is defeated. [continues 528 words]
Governor Charlie Baker and the legislative leadership should be applauded for moving aggressively to address the opioid crisis. This epidemic is not new, but has now reached our most privileged communities. For the less privileged minority communities, it has long paved a road of destruction, incarceration, and death. Our war on drugs over the past 30 years has created a largely forgotten population of citizens in their own drug crisis: those returning from prisons and jails. The shortage of treatment resources in the community perpetuates a revolving door of release, relapse, and recidivism. Although there may be good substance-abuse treatment programs inside prisons and jails, there is a serious lack of support once inmates return to the community. An institutionalized population steps into a maze of underfunded and fragmented services. [continues 552 words]
Massachusetts regulators are pledging to crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries after several shops placed low-income patients on waiting lists for discounted products - creating delays that run afoul of state law. A Globe review found that the delays were often months long, effectively denying those low-income patients the discounts state regulations require for anyone with a verified financial hardship, with no cap on the number. The dispensaries had contended their financial hardship programs were full. The state Department of Public Health said it will now scrutinize dispensary hardship programs as part of the agency's regular inspections to make sure they comply with state regulations. [continues 888 words]
There's growing recognition among public officials that substance abuse is a health problem that won't be solved by police or prisons. "We can't arrest our way out of the problem" is almost a cliche at this point, years into our regional opioid crisis. You wouldn't know it from reading "Opioid crisis hits too close to home for Salem couple" (Page A1, May 25). In detailing the fears of its protagonists - - condo owners in Salem - the article makes it sound like the only reasonable approach is to pay more police to put more people in cages. [continues 118 words]
A veteran Lawrence police officer was arrested late Thursday on charges that he used his power as a police officer to take cocaine from a drug dealer for personal use, then threatened the dealer with arrest if he notified authorities. John R. Desantis Jr., 44, of Methuen, was charged with unlawfully obtaining property by extortion under color of official right, and threatened force and fear. He did not enter a plea during a Friday court appearance, but his lawyer says he denies the allegations. Desantis is being held until a hearing Tuesday. [continues 352 words]
WAKEFIELD -- The state board that oversees physicians on Thursday temporarily suspended the licenses of two doctors, one physician for improperly prescribing medical marijuana on "multiple occasions" and a second for making opiates available to a patient who later died of an overdose. The Board of Registration in Medicine unanimously voted to suspend the licenses of Dr. John C. Nadolny, 57, and Dr. Fred J. Thaler, 60, after about two hours of closed-door hearings at the panel's Wakefield headquarters. Neither doctor could be reached for comment afterward. They will appear for hearings within days before the Division of Administrative Law Appeals to determine the length of their suspensions, which are effective immediately. [continues 421 words]
Federal securities regulators in Boston filed civil fraud charges Thursday against a company and four individuals allegedly involved in a scheme to steal from investors in a purported medical marijuana venture. According to a complaint filed in federal court in Boston, Christopher R. Esposito, 49, of Topsfield, raised more than $550,000 from investors in 2011 and 2012 in his Lionshare Ventures. He allegedly used the majority of the funds for unauthorized personal expenses, such as groceries and pet care, and then spent $75,000 to secretly take control of Cannabiz Mobile Inc. without disclosing that to investors. [continues 279 words]
SALEM - Every night, Shawn Meenan places a 12-foot piece of lumber against the main door of his third-floor condo, bracing it tight against intruders. His girlfriend, Rachel Shellabarger, places a second board against another door. In a cubbyhole, a video monitor for a $1,700 surveillance system shows all activity outside the building - every car that pulls up, every three-minute visit, every mysterious packet that flutters from neighboring windows to people waiting below. The couple bought the two-bedroom condo in January 2015 for its water views and affordable price. But instead of a fresh start, they say they feel under siege in a place where drugs are sold openly. [continues 1029 words]
Just how much marijuana is too much when getting behind the wheel? Is any amount safe? Those questions emerged anew after prosecutors alleged last week that a driver had visited a medical marijuana dispensary an hour before his car struck a State Police cruiser, killing the trooper inside. That motorist, who was authorized to use marijuana for medical purposes and had traces of the drug detected in his blood, was impaired, authorities said. But gauging marijuana impairment is not clear-cut. The risks from drinking and driving have been studied for years, but the data about marijuana's effect on motorists are considerably less robust. [continues 830 words]
There's no easy way to convict someone of being stoned while behind the wheel, and recent high-court decisions tied with patchwork sobriety tests have made things even tougher for state prosecutors. And it could be very difficult to prove that David Njuguna was high, as prosecutors say he was when he crashed into a state police cruiser in Charlton in March, killing trooper Thomas L. Clardy. Any defense attorney in the state would rather handle an OUI marijuana than a standard drunken driving case. Even before pot smokers are pulled over, they have more protections than someone who had one too many beers. [continues 358 words]
More drugs, more problems - it's as simple as that. If you legalize something, there's going to be more of it around. In the case of drugs, any drugs, that availability means more and more losers stumbling around stoned out of their minds, slackjawed enough to hurt innocent people, maybe even themselves, as a result. Innocent people, in this case, like trooper Thomas Clardy, his widow and their six now-fatherless children, ages 4 to 17. I'm pessimistic about the chances of stopping this marijuana-legalization question on the ballot in November. But if the voters are paying any attention whatsoever, this horrific crime in Charlton should certainly be a major issue for Big THC to have to defend. [continues 525 words]
Some local doctors are calling for more scientific evidence to back marijuana's medicinal value, and say close oversight is needed for pot dispensaries and prescribers to ensure that it does not get into the wrong hands. "I think there's a good place and time for use of marijuana," said Dr. Katherine Gergen Barnett, a doctor at Boston Medical Center who specializes in integrative medicine. "But we haven't as a society and as a medical institution done enough to oversee how people are getting prescribed marijuana." [continues 221 words]
A Webster man was driving high on medical marijuana he had just bought at a Brookline dispensary when his car careened off the Massachusetts Turnpike, slamming into the back of a parked state police SUV and killing trooper Thomas L. Clardy, authorities said yesterday. David Njuguna "had an active THC level in his blood at the time of the collision," prosecutor Jeff Travers said after the 30-year-old pleaded not guilty in Worcester Superior Court to numerous charges in the March 16 crash, including manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide by negligence and motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs. [continues 484 words]
BOSTON - The number of people treating their chronic pain, cancer symptoms or other medical conditions with marijuana has nearly quadrupled in a year, but a scarcity of licensed dispensaries and supply shortages are keeping many from getting their medicine, advocates say. At least 24,196 patients are certified to buy medical marijuana in Massachusetts, according to the Department of Public Health, up from nearly 7,846 a year ago. In April, patients bought 9,603 ounces of marijuana from six licensed dispensaries, according to the department. [continues 775 words]
The tomato seedlings in the urban garden were sprouting. The basketball court was filled with men in blue, gray, and brown uniforms shooting hoops and doing pushups. Inside, at vocational classes, men learned the art of tailoring a suit while a group of women studied toward their GEDs. In many ways, the South Bay House of Correction has become a microcosm of the country's evolving attitudes toward drug abuse and drug-related crimes. The facility just off Interstate 93 in Boston is a different place compared with the early 1990s, when leaders in Washington passed a stringent crime bill that authorized stiff penalties for drug crimes and nearly doubled the country's prison population. [continues 1055 words]
Reports of suspected elder abuse in Massachusetts have surged over the past five years, according to state figures - a troubling increase that law enforcement and elder advocates say is fueled in part by the opioid crisis and addicted adult children exploiting parents and other relatives. Since 2011, abuse reports have climbed 37 percent, with more than 1,000 additional cases reported each of the past five years to protective services offices. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the agency that tracks and investigates abuse, recorded nearly 25,000 cases last year, but the state's numbers do not delineate how many involved opioids. [continues 905 words]
Thank you, Dianne Williamson! I applaud your bravery (for admitting your own occasional marijuana use), and your integrity in calling for marijuana legalization and for calling out the absurd scare tactics being used by Massachusetts politicos to keep people from voting in favor of legalization. The debate over legalization needs more sane, honest voices like yours and less fear-mongering about marijuana's purported "dangers." In addition to such personal commentary, we also need to hear voices speaking up for the thousands of people incarcerated for marijuana crimes. Peoples' lives have been ruined, and will continue to be ruined, by marijuana prohibition in this state and across the country. At least in our state, the voters can begin to redress this injustice in November by voting to legalize recreational marijuana use. Patrick Warner Worcester [end]
Sacha Pfeiffer's powerful Globe report ("Overwhelmed by overdoses, clinic offers a room for highs," Page A1, April 26) on Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program's new safe space project, where drug users can receive medical monitoring and support while they are high, is a ground-breaking and essential new intervention in treating and helping those whose lives are most at risk from opioids. Today's unprecedented opioid crisis requires creative interventions on many fronts. The safe space project is highly innovative for Massachusetts, deeply humane for the individual, and realistic in the kind of new interventions we must consider implementing if we are to get ahead of this epidemic. [continues 89 words]
Social workers across Massachusetts are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. We work in treatment programs, community-based coalitions, sheriffs' departments, jails, drug courts, and hospitals. Every day we live with the newly released data on opioid and heroin deaths ( "Heroin, prescription drugs weigh heavily on Mass," Page A1, May 2) as our clients die. These drastic numbers, unique across the country, cry out for new solutions. Our historic attempts to prevent and reduce substance use through harsh penal sanctions have failed. [continues 140 words]
This just in: Overdose deaths in Massachusetts increased 7 percent last year. That figure is significant because the rise in deaths is slower than previous years, an indication that greater awareness and legislation are making a small dent in the epidemic. And the comprehensive opioid legislation signed by Governor Charlie Baker two months ago, including the first law in the nation establishing a seven-day supply limit on first-time opioid prescriptions, should help make a difference over time. Still, there were nearly 1,400 lives lost statewide last year to opioid and heroin abuse, an unconscionable toll that shows there's more to be done. Policy makers must turn their focus to what happens to addicts after they detox or get treatment, a vulnerable population in dire need of community-based, sustainable pathways to recovery. Legislative action must address the real needs for additional services or the Commonwealth risks losing addicts in an overwhelmed provider network. [continues 511 words]
Massachusetts voters are evenly divided over a proposed ballot question that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, but they strongly support another proposed referendum that would allow more charter schools in the state, according to a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll. Voters also overwhelmingly back legislation that would protect transgender people from discrimination in malls, restaurants, and other public accommodations - and allow people to use the public restroom that matches their gender identity. Even more popular was a proposed "millionaires' tax" that would raise rates on residents with annual incomes of $1 million or more. It garnered runaway support in the poll. [continues 1127 words]
BOSTON (AP) - Supporters of a November ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana have misled voters about its ramifications and the measure should be blocked, opponents say in a lawsuit filed with Massachusetts' highest court. The suit, filed with the Supreme Judicial Court, claims the ballot question would allow for the sale of genetically modified forms of marijuana with THC concentrations of 60 percent or higher, the Bellotti Law Group says. It also alleges voters have not been told that high concentrations of THC could be added to food or beverages, such as candy, cookies or soda. Bellotti filed the complaint this week on behalf of 59 voters. Under the proposal, Massachusetts residents 21 or older could possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational use. [end]
Marijuana shouldn't be more regulated than alcohol ("Legalization battle bound for state's highest court," April 29). The states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Colorado have moved to end marijuana prohibition and legalize and regulate pot just as we do alcohol. After almost 50 years of enduring an incredibly harmful and ineffective war on marijuana, the people of these states have finally and rightly concluded that there is no rational or humane reason to criminalize and outlaw the purchase or sale of marijuana. [continues 88 words]
The anti-marijuana legalization committee headed by Gov. Charlie Baker, Mayor Martin J. Walsh and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo is publicly urging legalization backers to come clean about the high potency of the drugs the measure would legalize - and acknowledge that the marijuana industry depends on these high-octane pot products to make a profit. The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts cites claims in a legal challenge - currently pending before the state's highest court - - alleging that the marijuana legalization ballot measure is based on misleading information about the potency of the drugs it would legalize. [continues 239 words]
The former drug-addicted chemist who got high at work nearly every day for eight years handled more than 500 cases in Suffolk County alone - and up to 1,500 total were processed at the Amherst lab during her time there - according to officials sorting through the fallout of the state's latest drug lab scandal. The case count in Suffolk likely represents only a fraction of those district attorneys across the state are now scrambling to identify in the wake of a damning attorney general's report on the misconduct of ex-chemist Sonja Farak. [continues 361 words]
A state chemist at an Amherst drug lab got high on methamphetamines or other drugs almost every day at work for nearly eight years, consumed the lab's own supply of drugs, and cooked crack cocaine in the lab after hours - actions that jeopardize an untold number of cases - according to an investigative report released Tuesday. Investigators for the attorney general's office found that chemist Sonja Farak had tested drug samples or testified in court between about 2005 and 2013 while under the influence of meth, ketamine, cocaine, LSD, and other drugs, according to the report, much of which is based on Farak's own grand jury testimony. She even smoked crack before a 2012 interview with State Police officials inspecting the lab for accreditation purposes, she testified. [continues 768 words]
One delivery service offers gluten-free marijuana brownies. Another promises a free marijuana-laced lollipop with each order. A third touts trained "caregivers" and delivery until 4 a.m. These marijuana delivery services - the objects of an unsuccessful crackdown by Massachusetts health officials two years ago - were expected to fade away once the first state-sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries opened last year. Instead, they have proliferated. More than two dozen of these Internet-based services are now openly advertising long menus of marijuana strains and edibles, plus prices and user reviews, the Globe found. [continues 966 words]
More than half the people who died last year from opioid overdoses had the powerful drug fentanyl in their blood, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Public Health. The department's quarterly report on overdoses included information about fentanyl for the first time, confirming reports from law enforcement that the synthetic opioid - more powerful than morphine or heroin - may be playing a major role in the overdose epidemic. Dealers are believed to be lacing heroin with fentanyl, making it even more deadly. [continues 531 words]
Inside Massachusetts
