Justin Fenton's article, "2 guilty in drug case linked to cartel" (Feb. 8), plus dozens of previous reports related to the actions of drug cartels on both sides of the Mexican border, are extremely disturbing and disgusting.

The distribution and utilization of these drugs by so many Americans is far more damaging to the welfare of our country than some of our global military conflicts when you consider they are actually destroying the hearts and minds of so many of our young people who will be the future foundation of our country.

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The article published today in "Health News" makes the claim that smoking marijuana is "linked" to early onset of mental illness.

However, although the article implies some sort of cause and effect, that conclusion has no scientific basis. In fact, the authors of the study don't even bother investigating whether marijuana use causes mental illness or if people with mental illness have a higher rate of smoking marijuana than the general public.

If marijuana caused mental illness, then cultures that have a higher rate of marijuana smoking than the U.S. should have a higher rate of mental illness. But in fact, the opposite is true. Cultures with higher rates of marijuana consumption have lower rates of mental illness than the United States. This would indicate that rather than marijuana causing mental illness, as your article implies, it is people with mental illness who are self medicating with marijuana in order to alleviate their symptoms.

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Joins Lawmakers in Annapolis; Bill to Be Introduced This Week

An emotional Montel Williams joined state lawmakers Monday in Annapolis to urge the General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana.

The Baltimore-born talk-show host suffers from multiple sclerosis and says he uses marijuana - and nine other medications - every day to alleviate pain. He said tearfully that traditional opiates don't work for him any longer.

"I've used too many," he said.

Available now -- get the new Baltimore Sun Android app!

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Editor:

Rather than debate the pros and cons of cannabis, I encourage Chief DiPino and Ocean City residents to investigate the origins of this Cannabis Prohibition that they are such cheerleaders for.

There is no science or fact included in the original banning of pot.

Rather what there is is a trail of racist sensationalism and fabricated tales of mayhem caused by the degenerate races under the influence of the demon weed.

For justice to prevail our laws need to be based on reality. Cannabis Prohibition is a policy based exclusively (and provably) on lies and yet it serves as official government policy. Fraud is fraud

Allan Erickson

Eugene, Ore.

[end]

Editor:

I spent many of the happiest summers of my life in Ocean City. As a bystander, I know Ocean City's police officers well, and have observed their responses to scores of "breach of the peace" incidents.

Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino's strident opposition to any degree of decriminalization or legalization of marijuana ("Police Chief rails against pot legalization," in your Jan. 14 issue) should certainly be considered when Ocean City decides what to do about proposed local and state changes to medical and recreational marijuana laws.

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Editor:

My colleague Chief DiPino supports marijuana prohibition but never explained why. I know our profession is given $13 billion per year to pursue and arrest the Willie Nelsons and Michael Phelps of our country. This prohibition generates good job security and overtime which are even more important in our recession economy. The Mexican drug cartels and thousands of teen dealers also support marijuana for the same reason as Chief DiPino; namely the money.

Certainly it was my police experience that marijuana is a much safer drug than alcohol for both the user and those around them. Chief DiPino and others in the prohibition crowd essentially drive many people to drink which everyone knows is much more dangerous than marijuana. Sad that money trumps common sense.

Howard Wooldridge

Adamstown. Md.

(The writer is a retired detective/officer.)

[end]

OCEAN CITY You hear about it in California, but in Ocean City?

Legalizing marijuana was briefly discussed during this week's Police Commission meeting and along with it came a loud and clear message.

Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino brought to the commission's attention the legislation initiative of legalizing medical marijuana in California.

"Being active with the International Association of Chiefs of Police that was one of the things we are very strongly against," DiPino said.

According to DiPino, recently 26 states have now had medical marijuana on the legislative agenda in upcoming discussions. The Maryland Chief of Police Association have heard the "pros and cons" of legalizing the drug.

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While the recent election primarily focused on the change of leadership in Congress, perhaps the most interesting factor of the 2010 campaign was a state ballot initiative in California. Proposition 19 sought to legalize marijuana by regulating distribution and decriminalizing possession and growing.

To the disappointment of many activists and cannabis consumers, Prop 19 failed (albeit by a small margin of 54 percent to 46 percent).

Most people think Prop 19 was unsuccessful because people are not ready for legalization. This isn't true. The failure can be attributed to the problems with this specific initiative and not with legalization itself.

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Will this be the year a medical marijuana bill passes the Maryland General Assembly?

Sen. David Brinkley, R-District 4, said that if re-elected, he plans to introduce a bill similar to the one that passed the Senate during the last session that would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A version of the bill failed in the House of Delegates.

Brinkley said the bill, which would license producers, distributors and users, would address the important issue of providing a reliable source for the product as an alternative to buying it on the black market.

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County Council Member Talks Up K2 Ban

The Peace of Sunshine store off the main drag in Catonsville has lately been making more than half its weekly sales in K2, a "legal pot" known also as "spice." But owner Lawrence J. Zwick says he has sold his last bag. As soon as he heard Monday morning that Baltimore County might make it a crime to sell the smokable leaf, he says, he packed up his inventory of two boxes and shipped it back to the distributor.

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(Aug. 13, 2010) Members of the Ocean City Police Commission expressed concern Wednesday that the new taxicab regulations do not allow for the strict enforcement of random drug testing for taxi drivers.

The recently imposed regulations state that if a driver fails a drug test or does not take one within 24 hours of the request, the city can suspend the driver's permit. While this seems straightforward, both Police Commission officials and cab company owners say other issues are holding up the process.

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Footnotes In Ruling By The State's Highest Court Explain Pop Culture References

The marijuana smoke filled the Baltimore rowhouse in a "haze" that "engulfed" the four people sitting around the kitchen table, all of them within arm's reach of the smoldering remains of a "blunt" in an ashtray.

One of the men appeared "groovy" and "relaxed" and was "just going with the program."

It was, the state's highest court said in a ruling issued Friday, "reminiscent of a scene from a Cheech & Chong movie."

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When you lie down with dogs, often you will get up with fleas. Yet another in my profession (Megan Mattingly) has been tainted by the enforcement of drug prohibition. Add her to the many, many thousands who have been corrupted or killed, or who have committed suicide after being corrupted. And for what? We in law enforcement know that every drug dealer arrested is replaced within days. The nine suspects released (or even if they had gone to prison) are meaningless.

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Officer First Class Megan Mattingly has been reassigned to administrative duties while authorities investigate allegations she committed perjury.

Charges have been dropped against nine defendants in drug cases since allegations surfaced that a Frederick Police Department officer perjured herself on the witness stand during a May 20 preliminary hearing, according to court records.

In addition, a 10th case, previously concluded with the sentencing of a defendant, has been reopened so a Frederick woman can try to withdraw her Alford plea of guilt, records state. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment that had the case proceeded to trial, the state had sufficient evidence to convict.

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Austin Lopez's sensible argument in his op-ed "Open your mind to hallucinogen research" (June 8) speaks volumes to the contradictions and inconsistencies in America's body of law, and nowhere is such absurdity more apparent than in our drug laws, in that while we criminalize relatively harmless drugs like marijuana, alcohol, with its often tragic collateral damage, is perfectly legal. Pharmaceutical companies advertise directly to consumers, through all forms of media, drugs that are far more harmful than LSD and other hallucinogens, most notably the psychiatric "medications."

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It's Not a Hippie Fantasy; Drugs Like LSD Could Have Real Medical Benefits

Patients and potheads alike rejoiced a few weeks ago when the District of Columbia Council voted to legalize medical marijuana use. The unanimous decision adds D.C. to the 13 states that have already circumvented national legislation in order to allow doctors to write prescriptions for the infamous herb. (Maryland does not sanction medical marijuana but allows drug defendants to cite medicinal need as a potential mitigating factor.)

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OC Officials Call for Expanded Law

OCEAN CITY -- Police and government officials in Ocean City are taking a hard look at a new substance being sold in Boardwalk shops that they say, when smoked, mimics the effects of marijuana.

Sold as incense or aromatherapy, the herbal substance has been sprayed with chemicals meant to interact with the brain just like tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. In Ocean City, it's available under brand names K2, Spice or Noella, among others.

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Mexico Is Descending into Violent Chaos; We Have Ourselves to Blame

Back in June, after a particularly deadly day in his country's current drug war, Mexican President Felipe Calderon addressed his nation to soothe nerves, predict success and apportion blame. And blame he did. He notified his countrymen that their plight stems from the fact that they live next door to the biggest drug user on the planet.

This astonishing claim was confirmed by Josepha Califano in an NPR interview shortly thereafter. Mexico's former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare explained that though the U.S. comprises only 5 percent of the world's population, it uses fully two thirds of the world's illegal drugs. Mexican drug cartels rake in $30-40 billion annually from our national drug habit.

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Proponents See Progress in State Senate's Approval

The Maryland Senate voted 35-12 on Saturday to give sick people access to marijuana, sending a strong message that the upper chamber is serious about the controversial idea.

House leaders have said they will not take up the measure this year. The legislature's 90-day session ends on Monday.

Nevertheless, advocates hailed the Senate vote as a victory. "We are very happy," said Mike Meno, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization promoting medical use of pot. "To vote by such a margin means that the Senate is in line with public sentiment nationally and here in Maryland."

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Charlie Smith needs a reality check ("Prosecutor at odds with medical marijuana," March 19). His opposition to Maryland's medical marijuana bill flies in the face of all available scientific evidence and the urging of scores of medical professionals, including the Maryland Board of Pharmacy, Maryland Pharmacists Association, and Maryland Nurses Association, who all endorse the bill. Smith is a law-enforcement official -- not a doctor. He has no professional qualifications to decide whether or not medical marijuana is a "proven drug" for certain conditions, and he has no business broadcasting his ignorance on the topic.

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