Add a new name to the list of mind-altering drugs readily available in Maine. Salvia divinorum, a potent hallucinogen closely related to an ornamental plant commonly grown in Maine herb and flower gardens, is for sale at smoke shops throughout the state. It's not illegal, but Maine lawmakers in the coming session will take up a proposal to ban or regulate it. A bill proposed by Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, seeks control over the use, sale or possession of the plant. [continues 670 words]
Michael Chitwood's penchant for tough talk made him an often-quoted public figure in Maine. Now the former Portland police chief is going national. Chitwood's creative slang recently landed his suburban Philadelphia police department on the national news after a couple of officers in Upper Darby, Pa., put one of their favorite Chitwood-isms on the back of a T-shirt. The officers began selling T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Not in My Town 'Scumbag' " -- a term Chitwood has used frequently to describe drug dealers -- to raise money for a scholarship fund. [continues 356 words]
The recent example of several prominent conservative politicians explaining why they became cocaine users sheds an important light on a concept which has been the subject of much debate in America: the gateway drug. I've long believed that imprisoning people because they decide to smoke marijuana, or help other people do that, is one of our worst public policies. It interferes with individual liberties; it spends an enormous amount of money on police, prosecution and prisons, and it has been enforced in the most discriminatory way, with class, race and age determining who is prosecuted and who is not. [continues 772 words]
Regarding Evert Fowle's Dec. 10 commentary, Kennebec County is not the only jurisdiction grappling with overcrowded jails. Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. A study conducted by the Rand Corp. found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars. The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. [continues 116 words]
The State of Maine has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the nation. We have a low property crime rate and the lowest incarceration rate in the country. There are approximately 49 other states that would trade their criminal justice problems for ours. Yet most of our county jails and state correctional facilities are overcrowded. Maine citizens are not eager to pay for new correctional facilities, especially near where they live. Still, the surge of crack cocaine and heroin continues along with increasing violence and property crime associated with drug trafficking and addiction. The arrival of methamphetamine poses greater challenges, and promises greater pressure on our jails and prisons. [continues 670 words]
CHERRYFIELD - Discovery House, a for-profit drug treatment center based in Rhode Island, plans to locate a new outpatient drug treatment center just one-fifth of a mile from Cherryfield Elementary School. There is no state regulation that prevents the licensing of a substance abuse treatment facility located near a school or day care center. The building that Discovery House intends to purchase and turn into a facility for dispensing methadone is located along Route 182. From that parking lot to the school at 85 School St., the driving distance is 0.2 mile. [continues 932 words]
Viagra and tobacco are "OK" (Muse letter, Aug. 10) because they are products pedaled by enormous industries whose lobbyists are permitted by our representatives to determine our national policies. I believe the major force behind the continued criminalization of marijuana use is the pharmaceutical industry -- the largest drug pushers in the U.S.A. -- whose interests are served by denying people access to an herb with many beneficial uses. I suffer from chronic pain partially due to a surgeon's poor skill. I have suspected that marijuana might ease that pain, but Maine's medical marijuana law is extremely restrictive, and chronic pain is not a category for which a physician can prescribe marijuana, a plant I could grow in my own garden. Instead I must use pharmaceuticals, which I do with reluctance. But as long as we allow the drug industry to determine our drug policies, as long as we become hysterical when someone mentions marijuana, many people will be denied the beneficial use of this plant and we will continue having prisons filled with inmates serving long sentences for marijuana possession. Unity crittery@midmaine.com [end]
I must write in response to the letters of Jenny Morales on Aug. 7 and Casey O'Connor on Aug. 5. Both wrote about smoking, one about cigarettes and one about marijuana. But nobody ever talks about alcohol. Perfectly legal to buy and sell, but the second-hand effects of alcohol are many times worse than smoking either pot or cigarettes. Families are broken apart, careers are destroyed, and people are killed by those who drink and drive. And what about the physical and emotional abuse to those around the drinker? I don't remember ever reading about someone being killed by a cigarette-smoking driver, or abused by a crazed Marlboro man, a career destroyed or a divorce over a box of Camels. [continues 133 words]
I'm writing about Casey O'Connor's outstanding letter: "Marijuana not drug at root of U.S. problems" (Aug. 5). Perhaps we should remove the words "freedom" and "liberty" from all American national monuments and currency. If American citizens cannot decide for themselves what substances they can put into their own bodies -- even in the privacy of their own homes -- then the words freedom and liberty are just empty words. Perhaps we should sent the Statue of Liberty back to France, or else rename it the "Statue of Hypocrisy." [continues 64 words]
How much money are taxpayers losing fighting the war against some drugs in central Maine? The infrastructure and equipment used to man and fly the choppers alone must run in the tens of thousands per day. Even "successful" raids send legitimate landowners to prison for years when guerrilla growers plant huge amounts of cannabis without their knowledge. In this post 9/11 world, when the blood of Maine boys stains foreign deserts, terrorism rules the headlines, and skyscrapers fall in our cities, money is being wasted. [continues 173 words]
Marcus Neidner used to watch his friend's dad, a police officer, get ready for work. What little boy isn't fascinated by all that police and firemen represent in our daily lives - courage, the shiny badge, sirens... While for most it's a passing phase, for Marcus Neidner, the time he spent at Brian McMaster's house in his hometown of Gardiner left a lasting impression. He was at the house a lot because McMaster's wife was his babysitter. McMasters is now head investigator for the state attorney general's office. [continues 799 words]
A federal jury on Thursday convicted addiction treatment specialist Dr. Mark Shinderman of forging prescriptions for patients at a Westbrook methadone clinic. Shinderman, a well-known Illinois psychiatrist who is considered an expert in addiction medicine, faces prison time and fines for his convictions on 58 of the 68 charges against him. He was found guilty in U.S. District Court of writing another doctor's name and federal registration number on 25 prescriptions for controlled substances. The prescriptions were written during 2001 and 2002, when Shinderman was seeing patients at CAP Quality Care, the for-profit methadone clinic owned by his wife, Noa. [continues 791 words]
A federal jury convicted addiction treatment specialist Dr. Mark Shinderman Thursday of forging prescriptions for patients of his Westbrook methadone clinic. Shinderman, a well known Illinois psychiatrist who is considered an expert in addiction medicine, faces prison time for his conviction on 59 of the 67 charges against him. He was found guilty in U.S. District Court of writing another doctor's name and federal registration number on 25 prescriptions for controlled substances. The prescriptions were written during 2001 and 2002, when Shinderman was seeing patients at CAP Quality Care, the for-profit methadone clinic owned by his wife Noa. Shinderman was also convicted of 25 counts of aiding and abetting the acquisition of controlled substances by deception and two counts of falsifying records kept by a pharmacy. [continues 737 words]
A new report from the University of New Hampshire concludes that, despite a widely reported surge in the use of the illegal stimulant drug methamphetamine and the continued abuse of other drugs, alcohol remains the leading substance abuse problem in rural areas of the United States. The study has policy implications for the design and funding of rural treatment programs. In Maine, where methamphetamine has yet to surface as a major problem, the abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin, Xanax and methadone is still on the rise, while heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances continue to make their way into the state. But according to treatment data from the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, alcohol abuse outstrips them all. [continues 705 words]
"I think that Houlton has a serious drug problem - and it has been overlooked, big time." That sobering statement from a recovering drug addict Monday evening slammed home the concerns of many in Houlton and surrounding communities, concerns also illustrated by the standing-room-only crowd at a two-hour town meeting on substance abuse. Hundreds crowded into the Temple Theatre for the forum titled "Taking Back Our Communities from Drugs." Those who attended the event sponsored by the Link for Hope Coalition lined the walls and crowded the balcony once seats in the two cinemas had been filled. [continues 608 words]
PORTLAND, Maine -- Hundreds of college students across northern New England have been denied federal financial aid because of past drug offenses or their refusal to answer questions about drug convictions. A federal policy that went into effect six years ago has resulted in financial aid being denied to 669 of 356,394 financial aid applicants in Maine, according U.S. Department of Education figures. At the same time, the policy resulted in 541 of 322,761 applicants being denied aid in New Hampshire, and 204 of 172,625 applicants being denied in Vermont. [continues 368 words]
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hundreds of Maine college students have lost access to federal financial aid in the past six years because of drug offenses or refusal to answer questions about possible convictions. Critics of the federal policy barring aid to such applicants are trying to overturn it. In Maine, the policy has blocked aid to 669 of 356,394 applicants, according to U.S. Department of Education figures. A state-by-state tally was assembled for the first time this month by the advocacy group Students for Sensible Drug Policy. [continues 455 words]
WELLS -- A proposed ordinance to designate certain drug-free safe zones in the town will be left to the voters to decide. Selectmen on March 7 voted 3-1, with Richard Clark opposing, to send the question to the voters on the Town Meeting ballot April 28. When resident Christopher Chase asked Clark at the meeting why he opposed the law, he replied that he had not had a chance to read it. "It's the first time I saw it," Clark said, calling the ordinance a "serious step." [continues 337 words]
The value of the 2006 Maine Kids Count data book, released last week by the Maine Children's Alliance, is found primarily neither in its statewide numbers nor in this year's edition. But by examining the county-level information and looking across several years of data, these annual check-ups show patterns of conditions and behaviors that, in turn, make sound policy possible and inspire Maine to not just talk about problems but help solve them. Or celebrate improving trends. Smoking, alcohol and marijuana use are down, so are teen pregnancies while the number of high-school graduates who intend to go to post-secondary school is up. Compared with national average, Maine's children do fairly well, on average. But there are exceptions within the state. [continues 276 words]
Penalties Higher For Possessing, Selling Illegal Paraphernalia In Certain Sections NEWPORT - A decade ago, Maine's schools and grounds were designated drug-free zones, areas where drug dealers would face significantly higher punishments if caught and convicted. The idea has been so successful, said police Chief Leonard Macdaid, that Newport is expanding those safe zones to include town parks, athletic fields, and other areas where children gather. "The idea is to make the punishment more severe and deter this type of drug activity from these areas," Macdaid told selectmen on Wednesday night. [continues 306 words]
Groups that are working to keep kids from abusing drugs and alcohol want to know what Portland residents and workers feel are the biggest threats to the city's youths. They also want to know what's working to keep kids safe and substance free. "It's part of the mission we came together for . . . to bring down abuse of substances among youth and help them find positive alternatives and help them restore their faith in positive values," said Ronnie Katz, coordinator of substance abuse prevention programs for Portland's Health and Human Services Department. [continues 515 words]
In response to Kirk Muse's letter of Jan. 27, I would like to point out a few facts about the work that the Kennebec Valley Drug Task Force is doing. First, the task force doesn't care about the cost of marijuana. The more that it costs, the more money the dealers have when they are busted. That money can be used to fund other counter-drug details at no extra cost, and with huge benefits to the taxpayers. Second, Muse obviously doesn't see the criminals for what they really are -- a cancer on society. The task force personnel are like the surgeon; they excise the disease to cure the patient (society), even though tomorrow there will be another patient with cancer. [continues 53 words]
There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance trials have been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated black-market prices. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are under way in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. This would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. [continues 115 words]
I'm writing about "Pot bust brings arrest" (Jan. 24). I'm sure that many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the Kennebec Valley Drug Task Force for this latest marijuana bust and others like it. Without operations like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth -- very little. Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth more than pure gold - -- and completely tax-free. Any marijuana growers, sellers or traffickers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
I am a 38-year-old woman from Bangor. I am a recovering addict, just restarting my life. I've been clean for a year, and it's the hardest thing I've ever done. I want teenagers and people of all ages to know that if you think using drugs is fun now, it won't be fun for long. I'm concerned with the recent "Finding a Fix" column in favor of legalizing some drugs. If you are out there thinking that drugs should be legalized, drugs have definitely blinded your judgement. Drugs took everything I loved from me and changed who I really was for a long time. [continues 584 words]
State Officials Alarmed by Grisly '05 Statistics AUGUSTA - Grisly and somber statistics released by state officials Wednesday indicate that last year for the first time in modern Maine history, drug-related deaths outnumbered motor vehicle casualties. Preliminary figures show there were 178 drug-related deaths in Maine in 2005 while 168 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the state. As the grim statistics were revealed during a press conference, Gov. John Baldacci took aim at the Bush White House, saying it continued to turn its back on the suffering of Maine families. He noted that federal funding to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency has been cut by 40 percent. [continues 512 words]
ROCKLAND, Maine --After years of controversy, hearings and protests, a proposal to open a methadone clinic in Rockland has won the approval of the City Council. The panel's 4-1 vote Monday night came nearly a year after Turning Tides Inc. sued the city, alleging that it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and other laws by restricting the clinic to an outlying area along Route 90. Turning Tide originally sought to open the clinic on Park Street, but the Council approved a site at the corner of U.S. 1 and Glenwood Avenue. Turning Tide still must get final approval from the planning board. [continues 179 words]
LINCOLN - Four town areas popular with youth will be named "Safe Zones" if residents of those areas OK the idea. The Town Council voted 4-1 Monday night to tentatively approve naming Prince Thomas Park, Ballard Hill Community Center, the Washington Street playground, and the Little League fields behind Hannaford as Safe Zones. The next step, Town Manager Glenn Aho said, is for police Chief Hank Dusenbery to contact residents who live within 1,000 feet of those areas to hold a community meeting to allow them to voice their opinions on the plan. [continues 265 words]
Portland may designate more than 100 playgrounds, parks and recreation areas as "drug-free safe zones," enabling tougher penalties for drug activity there. The safe zones are patterned after legislation that leads to more serious charges for drug dealing that occurs within 1,000 feet of a school. A misdemeanor drug offense that occurs within a safe zone could be treated as a felony with much more serious penalties. "We always take drug trafficking seriously. This is an area where we would put special attention to ensure there would not be any drug activity," said Lt. Anthony Ward, head of the city's community policing unit. [continues 461 words]
HOULTON - In coming weeks, town officials plan to erect a sign spelling out tougher charges for drug dealers convicted of peddling within 1,000 feet of Community Park. The park, containing a children's playground, skate park and athletic fields, has been declared a "safe zone" under state law. In recent months, town councilors voted unanimously to designate Community Park a "safe zone" in response to state legislation enacted during the first regular session and the first special session. The law enables a municipality to designate athletic fields, parks, playgrounds or recreational facilities as "safe zones." Houlton Police Chief Daniel Soucy urged the council to proclaim the park a safe zone. He told councilors that an informational sign, with wording approved by the commissioner of public safety, would have to be erected in the Park. [end]
I am currently incarcerated at the Aroostook County Jail. I am being held on the charge of possession of scheduled drugs, a Class C felony. At the age of 13, I began smoking marijuana and drinking occasionally. I was hanging around with older people, mostly men, and putting myself in situations that no young teen should be in. At 15, I got pregnant with my first daughter and stopped my drug use completely. Soon after she was born, though, I started using opiates. It wasn't long before I was hooked. I started to forget what was really important in my life. [continues 816 words]
Imagine that when you read the Bangor Daily News tomorrow, the headline states: "Epidemic hits town of Kenduskeag, entire population stricken with death-wish illness."That's right, every man, woman and child is infected with a well-known disease that is almost guaranteed to take their lives prematurely. In the case of Kenduskeag, it would be about 1,171 people (the town's population according to census data); but it could just as easily be Dixmont, Frankfort, Patten, Steuben or Trenton. [continues 944 words]
We encourage readers to share their personal stories in this space, where they may provide information and support to others affected by substance abuse and addiction. A letter to young users I am writing this letter to the young users out there. I am 22 years old, and I got hooked on OxyContin at a young age. I had a good job working on a fishing boat making over $1,000 a week. I was taking between five and 10 [80-milligram tablets] a day. But when I lost my job because of drugs, I couldn't afford it any more. I went to some all-time lows in my life. I stole from friends, family, even my parents. But I wasn't myself; the drug was controlling me. I needed it, and getting it was all that mattered to me. That is why I now write this letter to you from the Aroostook County jail while I am awaiting trial in Washington County Superior Court. I got charged with three Class C burglaries and three thefts by unauthorized taking and a criminal mischief. [continues 778 words]
BANGOR - A settlement has been reached between a Bangor doctor and federal agencies investigating her prescribing practices. Attorneys on both sides agree family practitioner Jean Benson made an honest mistake in overprescribing pain medications for just one of her many patients, but the case is being held up as a warning to physicians everywhere to monitor carefully their use of prescription narcotics. Benson, who has practiced in Bangor since 1995, has agreed to pay $101,241.16 in state and federal fines and to practice for the next five years under the terms of an "integrity agreement" with the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The settlement, which names Benson as well as her practice, Independent Medical Associates of Ridgewood Drive, was announced Monday by the Portland office of the U.S. attorney. [continues 675 words]
Editor's Note: Jonathan B. lives in the Los Angeles area and found "Finding a Fix" online. We of Pills Anonymous are men and women who no longer want to use prescription drugs to provide an illusion of pleasure or to overmedicate a perceived problem with pain or anxiety, with stress or exhaustion - with living life. We have hurt others and ourselves long enough; we now seek recovery and healing for our loved ones and ourselves. We have found our way to this fellowship by many paths, only to find a common road on which we can proceed, one day at a time. Many of us have participated in other 12-step programs, often quite actively, and yet found ourselves still unable to function without the use and abuse of prescription drugs. [continues 864 words]
SKOWHEGAN -- Sitting in a basement office surrounded by drug paraphernalia collected in hundreds of drug investigations, Lt. Carl Gottardi II said marijuana eradication season isn't what it used to be. Gone are the days when investigators flying in helicopters could spot small plantations of hemp and follow a wellDworn path from the plants to a nearby house where the growers lived, said Gottardi, a 24Dyear veteran of drug investigations at the Somerset County Sheriff's Department. Driven partly by pressure from police, marijuana growers, even in rural Somerset County, are increasingly moving indoors to high-tech operations in basements or barns. Growers themselves are less likely to be local and more likely to be using a home specifically as a base for their drug operations. [continues 564 words]
A Belgrade man will serve two years behind bars for supplying the methadone that killed an Augusta woman a year and a half ago. Thomas D. Eaton, 21, had pleaded guilty in March to aggravated furnishing of methadone in connection with the death of Lisa Bickford of Augusta on March 3, 2004. He was sentenced Tuesday by Justice Joseph Jabar in Somerset County Superior Court to six years in prison, with all but two years suspended, then four years of probation. [continues 263 words]
A 1999 Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle parked in the garage at the Fairfield Police Department and more than $22,000 in cash sit waiting to be claimed -- not by the former owner, but by police and prosecutors. The heavy V-8 Magnum SUV and the cash all could end up being public property, split among several agencies if local authorities can prove to a judge that they were obtained by selling illegal drugs. In Winthrop, a single sweep of a marijuana-growing operation netted Police Chief Joseph Young and his department more than $8,000 in drug forfeiture money. [continues 1020 words]
BAR HARBOR - For just about everyone struggling to overcome an addiction to alcohol, narcotics or other drugs, long sections of the road back to normal life are quagmires of shame, guilt and deep depression. But for doctors and other professionals, these personal battles are often compounded by other, external threats - including losing the esteem of their colleagues, the confidence of their clients or patients, and potentially, their license to practice in a field they've committed their lives to. In rural states like Maine, health care professionals are in especially short supply. And the same factors that can delay a physician's entry into treatment can act as powerful motivators to recovery, returning addicted doctors and other professionals to productive life more reliably than in the general population. [continues 685 words]
A nationally renowned and controversial doctor in the field of methadone treatment was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Portland on charges that he falsified records and wrote prescriptions for controlled substances without a permit. Dr. Marc Shinderman was also named in a civil complaint that alleges that through CAP Quality Care, his for-profit methadone clinic in Westbrook, Shinderman engaged in Medicaid fraud by dispensing take-home doses of methadone to patients who did not qualify for them. The complaint alleges that Shinderman billed Medicaid for counseling and treatment that patients did not receive. [continues 449 words]
PORTLAND - A federal judge has affirmed the right of the proprietors of a proposed methadone clinic to sue the city of Rockland under two state laws. Turning Tide Inc., is a company that seeks to open a facility for methadone maintenance treatment, which is used to treat people who are addicted to heroin and other opiate drugs. The company faced vocal public opposition last fall after proposing such a clinic at a downtown location on Park Street. In response, the city council voted to restrict sole-source pharmacies from locating anywhere in the city except for a half-mile stretch of Route 90 on the city's outskirts. [continues 270 words]
In just 24 hours, 24 young men and women living in Washington County went from the dim lights of District Court to the blue brilliance of Cape Cove on Great Wass Island in Beals They took a hike. And it was mandatory, one more court-imposed requirement on the never-easy path to sobriety and turning around lives. The hikers were participants in the Washington County Adult Treatment Drug Court, a yearlong alternative to jail time for crimes stemming from their drug addictions and related problems. [continues 827 words]
BANGOR - A Canadian man's visit to his mother's deathbed will cost him a year and a day of freedom. Joseph Russell Taylor, 47, of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to federal prison for entering the country illegally after he had been deported. Tayler crossed the border so he could visit his dying mother in Attleboro, Mass. He also was ordered to surrender to immigration officials for deportation back to Canada after his release. [continues 407 words]
PORTLAND -- Despite some grim statistics, authorities are winning the war against methamphetamine abuse, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told a national gathering of public prosecutors in Portland on Monday. Gonzales, the nation's top law-enforcement official, appeared at the National District Attorneys Association summer convention to talk about the toll methamphetamine abuse has taken and what is working to combat its spread. In Washington, Gonzales has been mentioned as a leading candidate to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. In Portland, Gonzales stuck to his methamphetamine message, took no questions and said nothing about the high court in his address to more than 550 district attorneys, their spouses and children. [continues 426 words]
Addiction left Ronni Katz's personal life in a shambles, even as she achieved professional success as a musician, a counselor and Nashville's youth program coordinator. Her apartment was a wreck, her car a clunker and she was incapable of sustaining a relationship. She worked to convince young people that staying clean was key to a meaningful life. Eventually, she listened to her own message, joining Narcotics Anonymous in 1997. Now Katz oversees Portland's Overdose Prevention Project, hoping to keep drug users alive so they at least have a chance to change course. [continues 1010 words]
Mainers and other Americans struggling with drug addiction face significant barriers to recovery, many of which were unnecessarily constructed by lawmakers in a counterproductive effort to reduce drug abuse. Perhaps the most detrimental legislatively erected barrier is the law that denies college financial aid to people with drug convictions on their records. Blocking access to education is both senseless and harmful to those who are in recovery, as well as to their families, friends, neighbors and society at-large. This policy, which has barred more than 160,500 would-be students from receiving aid, is the result of a provision added to the 1998 Higher Education Act. Lawmakers from Maine and around the country should work to repeal the HEA drug provision and help affected students get back into school as soon as possible. [continues 468 words]
I would like to thank the Portland Press Herald and reporter David Hench for the article about overdose fatalities that appeared June 10. As program coordinator of the city of Portland's Health and Human Services Division's Overdose Prevention Project, I was pleased to see such important coverage of this very serious and sad issue. Since the formation of the Overdose Prevention Project in early 2003, we have seen a steady decline of fatal overdoses here in Portland, even when preliminary 2004 reports indicate that numbers have increased throughout the state. [continues 175 words]
A Scarborough resident last week warned the Town Council it would be "asking for trouble" if it didn't vote to extend a moratorium on methadone clinics in town. The woman told of the tragic case of her son, a Westbrook resident who died of a methadone overdose at age 18. He got the drug from someone being treated at a methadone clinic, she said. The council ended up voting to extend the moratorium until Nov. 1. Ironically, however, allowing more methadone clinics into communities can help avoid such tragedies. [continues 218 words]
Though there remain additional constitutional issues to resolve, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision handed down Monday, nudged the medical marijuana debate toward the forum where it belongs: Congress. The 6-3 decision upholding the right of the federal government to make the medical use of marijuana illegal disappoints supporters of the treatment. They had hoped the Constitution's commerce clause would limit the reach of the federal government in this case. The court didn't see it that way. It said that the local distribution of marijuana was a matter of legitimate concern for the federal government. That still leaves the issues of whether medical marijuana users are being denied due process or equal protection, constitutional questions that will now be taken up in lower courts. [continues 284 words]
Over the past seven years, more than 160,000 would-be college students have had the doors to education slammed shut in their faces. Our federal lawmakers, including Maine's Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, hold in their hands the key to unlocking those doors for thousands of Mainers. Students around the state need them to act swiftly. The problem stems from a little-known 1998 amendment to the federal Higher Education Act that suspends financial aid eligibility to students with any drug convictions, including misdemeanor possession of marijuana. [continues 453 words]
Inside Maine
