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]
Citation, 'Yoga Tax' And Wage Boost Among New Laws in Region Getting caught with a small plastic bag of marijuana in Maryland used to carry the risk of both criminal charges and jail time. But once the clock struck midnight, Maryland's decriminalization law took effect, replacing criminal charges, in most cases, with a civil citation and a fine - similar to getting a parking ticket. The law is one of hundreds that, as of the first day of October, are on the books in Maryland, the District and Virginia. [continues 761 words]
License for Growing Medical Marijuana Could Shut Out Small Local Businesses Running a medical marijuana operation could cost each grower more than $125,000 a year in fees, a sum so steep some officials believe it may shut out small businesses. Maryland's medical marijuana commission is tentatively proposing that fee for each of the 15 potential growers envisioned for the state's new program. The panel also is recommending a $40,000-a-year charge for dispensaries, according to a draft plan expected to be released for public comment today. [continues 537 words]
MD. Woman Says Officer Saved Her With Overdose Antidote Danielle Hall injected a quarter of her normal heroin dose the afternoon of June 29, but that day's particularly potent batch was strong enough to shut her body down. She was slumped in her car when an Annapolis police officer found her, her breathing shallow and her lips blue. Suspecting she had overdosed, the officer sprayed naloxone into her nose. Hall, a 30-year-old mother of two from the Annapolis area, said the officer saved her that day. [continues 951 words]
Stoping Prescription Drug Abuse Requires a Multi-Pronged Approach State officials are hoping a new public health initiative to track the distribution and sale of highly addictive prescription drugs in Maryland can help reduce the number of people who abuse such medications. The initiative, inspired by a program originally developed in Kentucky 15 years ago, has led to a drastic drop in prescription drug abuse there, and it has the potential to become an important element in Maryland's overall effort to reduce overdose deaths from both legal and illegal drugs. [continues 579 words]
New Draft Regulations Expected Today, but Some Details Remain A state panel on Tuesday hashed out more of the nitty-gritty details to create a medical marijuana industry from scratch, but some key points remained unresolved as the commission nears a deadline next week. Maryland's Medical Marijuana Commission plans to release today a second draft of regulations to create the program. Those 81-pages of rules have been reshaped after the first draft came under fire at a public hearing last month. [continues 475 words]
Prescription Monitoring Program Is Intended to Curtail 'Doctor Shopping' "We want to use data to drive people to treatment and services." Dr. Laura Herrera of the state health department A database in Kentucky that has tracked potentially dangerous and addictive prescriptions dispensed in the state for the past 15 years has become a national model by helping significantly reduce so-called doctor-shopping for pain drugs. Federal data show the state has dropped from the second-highest abuser of prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet to 31st. [continues 1233 words]
As members of the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission's policy subcommittee, we are honored to be able to serve our fellow citizens to develop a program that makes medical marijuana available to those Marylanders who have not found relief from conventional treatments and may benefit from its many medicinal uses in a safe, affordable manner ("Proposed medical marijuana rules under fire," Aug. 27). As we have been writing the regulations to implement this new law, we are very mindful to balance the concerns of the General Assembly to assure ease of access for the patient and provide necessary security safeguards. To aid our drafting process we chose the unusual step to release to the public informal drafts of our concepts for public comment. Indeed, the recent article and subsequent editorial ("A medicinal plant," Aug. 28) in The Baltimore Sun highlighted our process. [continues 112 words]
The 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 holds special significance for Baltimore in the next few weeks ("More details announced for Star-Spangled Spectacular Celebration" Aug. 12). On Aug. 25, 1814, President James Madison, and his wife, Dolley, were forced to flee for their lives when the British army sacked and burned the White House. The later attack on Fort McHenry led to the creation of the "Star-Spangled Banner," our national anthem. Why is so little attention being paid to this uniquely historic time? I am visiting England now for a few weeks and the people here have certainly taken note. [continues 182 words]
Last year, 858 Maryland residents died due to alcohol or drug intoxication; that's enough to replace the entire University of Maryland football team more than eight times. This year is on track to be even more deadly, with a 33 percent increase in accidental opioid overdose deaths recorded in the first three months of 2014 alone. We do not want any more families, friends and communities to grieve their fallen loved ones. It is time for all of us to call this problem what is: an epidemic. [continues 545 words]
Proposed Maryland rules on access to medical marijuana are so restrictive that many patients may never be able to receive it Astate commission meeting this week to draft rules governing access to medical marijuana by patients and physicians has left advocates for the drug's therapeutic use wondering whether it will ever become available to those who need it. The commissioners need to balance the scientific and medical issues raised by medical marijuana against the legal constraints imposed by state and federal statutes. [continues 704 words]
Critics took aim Tuesday at proposed regulations to create a medical marijuana industry in Maryland as a state commission tasked with writing the rules rushed toward a deadline it might not meet. Physicians, patients, advocates and potential growers said the commission did not collect enough public input before drafting the rules - which they said appear to forbid a medical marijuana dispensary anywhere within Baltimore city limits. Final regulations are due in less than three weeks, but the public hearing in Annapolis Tuesday was the commission's first. [continues 603 words]
If you thought 'The Wire' made Baltimore look bleak... Drug sales in broad daylight at Lexington Market. An addict telling viewers Baltimore "is where you want to be for heroin," and then letting the camera watch her cook and shoot up in her car on a street that appears to be in Hampden after she scores. A masked drug dealer sitting at a table full of dope, pointing his gun at the camera and saying, "Coming to you live from Baltimore." An on-screen headline that says, "Baltimore is the heroin capital of America." [continues 614 words]
Emergency physicians are bracing for a new rash of overdoses of a drug that looks like heroin but may not respond to commonly used doses of the opiate-reversal drug naloxone because it is so powerful, a new study reports. The threat comes from an emerging street drug called acetyl fentanyl - -- an opiate that is five to 15 times as powerful as heroin and is being mixed with street drugs sold as heroin. An article appearing in the Annals of Emergency Medicine on Monday warns emergency physicians to expect "an upswing in what appear on the surface to be heroin overdoses" but are in fact tied to acetyl fentanyl. [continues 265 words]
The Mother of a College Student Who Died at an Electronic Dance Music Event Stresses the Need for a Harm Reduction Approach Thank you for your insightful editorial on August 5th, advocating for a harm reduction approach to drug use at electronic dance music (EDM) events ("High risk high," Aug. 5). As the mother of a college student who died of a heat stroke last summer after taking "Molly" at one of these events, I have come to understand more than I ever cared to about this issue. But the death of my daughter has made activism an imperative for me, and I want to see similar tragedies come to an end. [continues 743 words]
At a Drug Conference, Pope Francis Wrongly Derided Medication for Drug Abusers On June 21, the Vatican press office published the presentation made by Pope Francis to the 31st International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) in Rome. The pope told the conferees, "The problem of drug use is not solved with drugs! ... Substitute drugs are not an adequate therapy, but rather a veiled means of surrendering to the phenomenon." These comments represent an unfortunate, categorical rejection of "maintenance" treatment of opioid addiction with medications such as methadone. [continues 495 words]
Mike Gimbel's short-sighted and reactionary opinion that the Moonrise Festival at Pimlico should be canceled is something I'd expect to hear from a so-called "drug czar," but it's speech that is uninformed at best and counterproductive at worst. ("After deaths at Merriweather, Moonrise Festival should be canceled," Aug. 8.) As someone who regularly attends electronic music events of all shades (raves, club nights, festivals, and so on) throughout the Mid-Atlantic, I've heard speech like Mr. Gimbel's ad nauseam. People like him seem to think these events are nothing more than thinly veiled open-air drug markets where shady characters prey on unsuspecting children and everyone is high all the time. [continues 156 words]
A year after manufacturing lab raid, synthetic marijuana products still sold over-the-counter Synthetic marijuana, also known as "spice," can be easier to get than cigarettes in Harford County, and while police last year broke up what they say was a significant distribution ring, the intoxicant remains a problem locally and is being treated by local law enforcement the same as other illicit drugs. "It's still out there. We've seen a lot of people's lives affected by it," Capt. Lee Dunbar of the Harford County Sheriff's office said in a recent interview. Dunbar also is head of the Harford County Task Force. [continues 990 words]
Op-ed writer Nate Greenslit is exactly correct in arguing that it would benefit the proponents of the use of psychedelics to focus the discussion toward the treatment of medical ailments ("Are psychedelics the next medical marijuana?" Aug. 6). However, unlike medical marijuana, which is primarily being used to treat pain and glaucoma, the benefits to the field of psychotherapy and healing from psychedelics is enormous. Psychedelics actually have the potential cure depression, anxiety, phobias, PTSD and other mental illness. Psychedelics, specifically natural plant ethnobotanicals like ayahuasca, have also been demonstrated to be effective in treating alcohol and drug addiction. Medical studies being conducted at Johns Hopkins and New York University suggest that both psilocybin and MDMA therapy help in the treatment of imminent death related anxiety. [continues 66 words]
In March 2014, for the first time in over 40 years, a study of the therapeutic benefits of lysergic acid diethylamide - more commonly known as LSD - was published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. It showed that LSD-assisted psychotherapy significantly reduced anxiety in individuals with "life-threatening diseases," including Parkinson's disease and breast cancer. This study is part of a recent wave of clinical research on psychedelic substances like LSD and psilocybin - the psychoactive component of "magic mushrooms." Although they are illegal for the general public, researchers at some of our most reputable academic centers are securing government permission to study them as a powerful new drug therapy for a host of illnesses for which our current pharmacopeia does not always work, including post-traumatic stress disorder, cluster headaches and alcoholism. [continues 692 words]
Faculty at the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Medicine conclude, in a letter responding to the July 25 article "Medical marijuana rules for doctors raise concerns" that requirements on physicians recommending marijuana for medical use are "not a burden" ("Physicians need periodic checkups in medical marijuana use," Aug. 1) That might be true in an ideal world. However, imposing unnecessary hurdles for doctors, like mandatory registration and special training, will invariably chill physician participation in the Maryland medical marijuana program. Of course doctors should educate themselves on the therapeutic effects of cannabis, a process that can only improve the health of their patients. However, many doctors are fearful of what the federal government might do to them. Although this fear is generally misplaced given physicians' right under the First Amendment to recommend cannabis to their patients, most doctors refuse to get involved. An even greater hurdle to doctor participation could be the requirement for doctors to specify the strain, dosage, and amount in their recommendation to patients. [continues 84 words]
The Program Will Be Replacing a 38-Year-Old System This university's Center of Substance Abuse and Research is beginning development of a national drug data collection system this month. The National Drug Early Warning System will contrast with traditional substance abuse tracking. Previously, researchers used surveys and studies that were outdated by the time data were released. This new system will monitor Internet content to provide information on drug trends as they emerge, said CESAR Director Eric Wish. "Drug abuse creates problems in every state," said Kathleen Rebbert-Franklin, deputy director of population-based behavioral health at the state Health and Mental Hygiene Department. [continues 422 words]
Advocates' Concerns About Some Aspects of Maryland's Proposed Medical Marijuana Regulations Reflect the Lunacy of Federal Treatment of the Drug Advocates are generally praising Maryland's proposed new medical marijuana regulations as a step in the right direction after an initial effort failed to make the drug available to patients with chronic pain, nausea and other conditions thought to be alleviated by it. But they have raised concerns about some details that essentially boil down to this paradox: They object that the regulations would treat marijuana like any other medicine and that they would not. [continues 601 words]
A veteran Baltimore County police officer was suspended this week and faces several criminal charges after the department said he tried to break into a Dundalk home in search of drugs. Officer Joseph Stanley Harden, 31, of Towson told investigators he became addicted to Oxycodone after a work-related injury. He was charged late Thursday with attempted burglary, drug possession, attempted robbery and malicious destruction of property. The department said he has been suspended without pay. His police powers also have been suspended. [continues 568 words]
A recent article raised a number of questions about medical marijuana in Maryland and the risk its use poses to public trust in the medical community ("Medical pot rules raise concern," July 26). As health care providers for this city's children, adolescents and young adults, we witness the harmful effects of chronic marijuana use on health and development in our practice every day. We are thus skeptical of Del. Dan K. Morhaim's assertion that the requirement for continuing medical education for physicians prescribing medical marijuana in Maryland is too burdensome. [continues 166 words]
Advocates Worry Proposed Regulations Will Discourage Doctors From Participating Proposed rules for Maryland's nascent medical marijuana system are drawing objections from a leading advocate, who says the regulations could discourage doctors from participating. Del. Dan K. Morhaim, one of the chief sponsors of the legislation, criticized the draft regulations for requiring training and continued education in the medical use of marijuana for physicians who want to help their patients access the drug. "Please don't create any barriers for physicians," Morhaim, a Baltimore County Democrat and the General Assembly's only physician, told the state's Medical Marijuana Commission at a hearing this week. [continues 1091 words]
Commentator Jonathan David Farley claims that the violence in Central America is that is driving the influx of children illegally crossing the border is "not our problem" ("#Sendthemback," July 22). Really? The violence these children are fleeing is directly attributable to drugs and drug cartels. It's our demand for drugs, our dollars and our archaic drug laws that have created the problem; therefore it's our responsibility to assist in the solution. On another level, we should thank our lucky stars that young people are still clamoring to come to our shores, despite our own not insignificant domestic problems, including our gun violence. [continues 89 words]
(AP) - The Montgomery County Council is calling on Maryland lawmakers to decriminalize the possession of devices used to smoke marijuana. The council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution calling on lawmakers to change the laws for marijuana paraphernalia possession for adults. State lawmakers in April adopted a bill decriminalizing the possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, and Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the bill into law. Under the new rules, adults caught will get a fine with no jail time, court appearances or criminal record if caught with less than 10 grams of marijuana. But possession of the drug paraphernalia used to smoke marijuana is still a crime. [end]
D.C.'s call to boycott Eastern Shore over pot decriminalization dispute unlikely to move a congressman who is often wrong but never in doubt Last week, D.C. Vote, a 40,000-member advocacy group pushing for District of Columbia voting rights, called on supporters to boycott Eastern Shore vacation spots - including Ocean City - this summer. Outgoing D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray even suggested that city residents who do end up in a vacation destination anywhere in Maryland's 1st Congressional District may want to bring along a picket sign. [continues 672 words]
After reading Mike Gimbel's letter criticizing harm reduction programs ("Narcan won't solve the problem of addiction," June 23), I must say that I have heard remarks like his for years. Yes if you really want to waste public dollars, after overdosing and being revived take a drug user to a residential program. Obviously this guy doesn't get it and may never get it. How do you engage drug users? By forcing them to stop? I think not, most people working in drug treatment know about the stages of change but they often forget about the first part which is precontemplation. This is where harm reduction fits into the picture. [continues 121 words]
Your recent editorial, "The Harris boycott" (July 7) put far too much emphasis on the politics and not enough on what really matters. The Washington, D.C., City Council has just passed the most lenient marijuana decriminalization law in the nation, with a $25 fine that is not only less than the average traffic ticket but involves no point system. Do we really want the capital of our nation and mecca for family tourism to go down this path? The data show that states with lenient decriminalization laws have higher rates of youth use, as reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, than those that have stricter decriminalization with higher civil penalties for the first offense, increasing penalties for repeat offenders, and/or requirements for drug education. In some states that have decriminalized in practice, the offense is still a misdemeanor criminal charge that is removed from the books only if you go through the court system. Most counties in Maryland had a similar "diversion" system for those apprehended for possession, even before our recently passed, and relatively strict, decriminalization law. As much as marijuana advocates may claim that laws don't make a difference to drug use, their position flies in the face of common sense and the truth. Christine L. Miller, Baltimore [end]
Inside Maryland
