As a physician working on the front lines of addiction treatment and research in Baltimore, I read Lisa Lowe's recent op-ed with great interest but also with some perplexity ("Addiction services needed more than statistics," Dec. 18). I share Ms. Lowe's frustration with the difficulty that many patients and families - especially those with private insurance - have accessing affordable addiction treatment and transitional housing. However, despite her impassioned advocacy for "evidence-based best-practice therapies," Ms. Lowe's piece contains misleading and frankly false information about effective addiction treatments. [continues 238 words]
I am sick of Republican politicians who follow their own agenda rather than the will of the people who elected them. Rep. Andy Harris has done just that by making something that's none of his business a rider on the budget bill ("Harris becomes the face of latest anti-pot measure," Dec. 10). The District of Columbia voted by a majority to legalize marijuana. But Mr. Harris, who is from Maryland's Eastern Shore, disliked the measure and so piggybacked his opposition to it onto the new budget. [continues 82 words]
Writing as a retired detective, I know the damage and danger of marijuana use ("Time for a pot caucus? Dec. 8). It is no play toy. And I believe it should be given the same rules and respect as beer. The Boston Herald editorial argues that the current system should continue. That means the cartels produce and transport marijuana and thousands of teens sell it to their friends and others. What are the advantages and benefits of marijuana prohibition? The harm is that kids may be shot or even killed selling a green plant. - - Howard Wooldridge, Adamstown, Md. The writer is a co-founder of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [end]
Thank you for your strong, compelling editorial on heroin and drug addiction and on Gov.-elect Larry Hogan's pledge to focus on solutions to this statewide epidemic ("Overdose emergency," Dec.11). I appreciate the recognition given to Maryland-based treatment facilities such as Father Martin's Ashley and the Pain Recovery Program at Ashley. For more than 32 years, from our campus in Havre de Grace, we've been providing treatment solutions that improve lives and restore hope. I support greater access to treatment programs and a comprehensive public information campaign that reaches the most vulnerable of audiences. My years as a practicing and supervising physician have taught me that an essential first step for public policy and public awareness strategies is to understand that addiction is a matter of brain science and chemically driven cravings. Too many people ascribe addiction to a moral failing and/or character weakness. Addiction, in fact, is a disease of the brain. [continues 236 words]
Spending Bill Contains Provision That Would Block D.C.'S Legalization Effort WASHINGTON - Rep. Andy Harris re-emerged Wednesday as a leading opponent of legalizing marijuana after lawmakers included a provision in the $1 trillion federal funding bill that appeared to block the District of Columbia from loosening its pot laws. The controversial addition, which took D.C. officials and legalization advocates by surprise, also served to solidify the conservative Republican's position as a top target of those Washingtonians who believe Congress is meddling in the affairs of the nation's capital - and ignoring the will of its voters. [continues 639 words]
Gov.-Elect Hogan Is Right to Prioritize Maryland's Rising Number of Heroin Deaths; He Must Expand Upon the State's Efforts to Reduce Addiction The announcement by state officials Tuesday that 140 Maryland pharmacies will begin stocking a medication that can reverse the effects of heroin overdoses comes at a time when deaths from abuse of the drug are rising throughout the state. Making the overdose antidote Narcan, also known as naloxone, more widely available could help save the lives of hundreds people addicted to opiates and help steer them into treatment and recovery programs. [continues 733 words]
Hogan Pledges Action Amid Rise in Heroin-Related Deaths As Gov.-elect Larry Hogan pledged to declare a "state of emergency" to combat the spike in heroin-related deaths, state officials said Tuesday that about 140 pharmacies in 22 counties have agreed to stock a powerful overdose antidote. The agreement with CVS, Safeway, Walgreens and some smaller businesses is part of a broader push in Maryland and elsewhere to make the overdose-reversing drug, known as naloxone or narcan, easier to access. [continues 801 words]
Dr. Leana S. Wen Appointed Health Commissioner, Will Focus on Substance Abuse Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has tapped a high-profile emergency room physician and former Rhodes scholar to be Baltimore's new health commissioner and guide the city in addressing the root causes of substance abuse. The appointment of Dr. Leana S. Wen, a Chinese immigrant who entered college at age 13, will be announced today. She is expected to start Jan. 15, pending City Council confirmation. "She has a lot of good energy and a strong desire for public service," Rawlings-Blake told TheBaltimore Sun on Thursday. "She has a passion for public health, and I think she has the right experience to help move the Health Department forward." [continues 723 words]
Task Force Puts Total at 19,000, Up From 11,000, Based on National Data Baltimore officials have again adjusted the estimated number of heroin users in the city - to nearly 19,000, up from11,000. The new figure comes from a task force Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appointed in October to study heroin use and treatment, and is based on data from a national survey of drug use. "Our goal here is for the task force is to come up with a better understanding of who needs treatment, who's trying to get it and who's not getting it. That's the core," said Bernard McBride, president of Behavioral Health System Baltimore and co-chairman of the task force. [continues 338 words]
State Commission Sets High Fees for Medical Growers, Dispensers Maryland's medical marijuana program cleared a key hurdle Thursday as a state panel approved draft rules to govern the new businesses. The medical marijuana commission set license fees for growers and dispensaries - at rates among the highest in the country - and developed rules for patients to obtain the drug in either a smokable or liquid form, among other new regulations. While the rules must clear bureaucratic obstacles, Thursday's vote marks a significant milestone for patients who have waited years for the state to act. The panel has at least twice delayed approving the regulations, which were due nearly two months ago, and the decision comes during the state's second attempt in as many years to create a viable medical marijuana system. [continues 636 words]
Once largely relegated to Baltimore City, heroin use and its related adverse consequences are spreading to every part of the state, and an increasing number of Maryland's citizens are dying of heroin overdoses. This shift reflects national trends showing a 74 percent increase in heroin use from 2009 to 2012 and a doubling of heroin overdose rates in 28 states sampled by the Centers for Disease Control. After a sharp reduction in heroin overdose deaths from 2007 to 2010, Maryland heroin deaths have risen to mirror these increases, reaching 464 deaths in 2013. In Baltimore City, conversely, the number of heroin overdose deaths had declined from its peak in 1999 to a low of 76 in 2011 and has not risen as sharply as it has in other parts of the state. [continues 592 words]
A medical marijuana regulations panel in Maryland delayed a vote Tuesday in order to take a second look at fees for growers, dispensers and patients, which critics say are too high. The commission, which has been criticized for taking too long to finalize regulations, also has added marijuana extracts to the regulations, so patients could ingest the drug without smoking, after receiving input from the public. Maryland passed legislation this year authorizing 15 licensed marijuana growers after a medical-marijuana law approved in 2013 stalled. [continues 78 words]
Commission Decides More Time Needed to Tweak Fees, Allow for Cannabis Extracts A state commission charged with launching Maryland's lagging medical marijuana program hit the pause button Tuesday, postponing a final vote on already tardy regulations to tweak licensing fees and make cannabis available to patients in liquid as well as smokeable form. Dr. Paul W. Davies, chairman of the 15-member panel, said officials needed more time to craft rules, particularly to allow for the production and sale of extracts containing concentrated doses of marijuana's therapeutic ingredients. [continues 596 words]
Earlier this month, marijuana was partially decriminalized in Maryland, making possession under 10 grams (about a third of an ounce) subject to a citation, a fine and no jail time. Despite some problems with the language of the law, taking jail time off the table and ensuring no criminal records for owners of small quantities of marijuana are positive first steps in changing the state's drug policy. That said, the Maryland legislature has been far too timid in its approach and should instead adopt a Colorado-like model for legalization. [continues 541 words]
The Central Baltimore Partnership, a federation of more than 60 organizations dedicated to the renaissance of Central Baltimore, commends Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake for forming a task force that will spend the next nine months studying heroin and substance abuse in Baltimore while developing new ideas about how the city can better coordinate treatment options ("Mayor appoints task force to study heroin, substance abuse," Oct. 14). For the past year and a half, a CBP task force has been considering similar issues in the Central Baltimore area. Known as the Saturation of Metropolitan Service Agencies (SMSA) task force, it was formed to address the high concentration of methadone clinics, drug treatment facilities and other social services providers located in the neighborhoods of Old Goucher, Charles North and Charles Village. [continues 142 words]
Baltimore City does not need another task force to address the current heroin epidemic affecting the city; it needs more affordable residential treatment ("Mayor appoints task force to study heroin, substance abuse," Oct. 14). The mayor, local county executives and the governor need to work together and turn the state's empty and closed psychiatric hospitals into affordable, long-term residential treatment centers for all the addicts who cannot find help. I know this will work because I did this in Baltimore County by opening several treatment programs on the grounds of Rosewood State Hospital. This will get the addicts off the street and away from their drug environment, thus reducing crime, street violence and the spreading of HIV and Hepatitis C, which is often associated with drug addiction. At the same time we could provide addicts with goodquality treatment, job-training services, GED classes and family support programs for the thousands of addicts who need help. This can be done by a public/private partnership, thus costing the taxpayers much less than we currently pay to put addicts in prison. [continues 113 words]
Advocates Say State Licensing Costs, Among Highest in U.S., Could Hurt Program, Patients With Maryland's proposed licensing fees for growing and selling medical marijuana among the highest in the nation, some advocates warn that the steep costs could drive off applicants, crippling the nascent program and limiting access to treatment for tens of thousands of state residents. Prospective medical marijuana growers would have to pay $125,000 a year for a two-year license, while dispensaries would have to pay $40,000 a year, according to the recommendations of a state commission. Only one state - Illinois - is charging a higher upfront cost for growers. [continues 1506 words]
With Maryland's proposed licensing fees for growing and selling medical marijuana among the highest in the nation, some advocates warn that the steep costs could drive off applicants, crippling the nascent program and limiting access to treatment for tens of thousands of state residents. Prospective medical marijuana growers would have to pay $125,000 a year for a two-year license, while dispensaries would have to pay $40,000 a year, according to the recommendations of a state commission. Only one state - Illinois - is charging a higher upfront cost for growers. [continues 1494 words]
Problems with state marijuana decriminalization are already apparent; legislators should fix the obvious ones but wait and see on others Maryland's legislature decided to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for a few reasons. Lawmakers concluded that police and prosecutors should not be focusing their attention on what is increasingly viewed by the public as a relatively harmless vice; they expressed concern that criminal convictions related to marijuana possession were harming the employment and educational prospects of thousands of Marylanders; and they were alarmed at the massive racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests between blacks and whites despite equivalent rates of use. [continues 601 words]
Having Under 10 Grams Can Result in $100 Ticket, Not Jail Starting today, you can no longer be arrested in Maryland for possessing a small amount of marijuana. But how the rest of that interaction with police plays out might depend on what jurisdiction you are in. Lawmakers did not legalize marijuana, but made possession of less than 10 grams an offense that results in a $100 ticket for a first infraction. That means that thousands of cases each year will no longer lead to a criminal record. [continues 1156 words]