A Southfield substance-abuse center for teens has closed after 16 years because of the economic downturn, leaving roughly 20 staffers without jobs and dozens of young addicts without treatment.

Pathway Family Center, 23100 Providence, closed Jan. 23, a couple of months after the nonprofit group's facility in Milford, Ohio, was shuttered, spokeswoman Laurie Franke-Polz said Thursday.

Pathway's two other sites, in Porter, Ind., and Indianapolis, remain open.

"It was closed because of the economic conditions, so we'll be keeping very close tabs," she said. "We're hoping the economy will turn, so we can reopen."

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The City of Detroit has closed its methadone treatment center, which assisted about 500 heroin addicts in battling their problem, because of budget constraints.

Although the discontinuation of the program on Jan. 23 was not part of the plan to eliminate a $300 million deficit that Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. will present Friday to the City Council, it is an example of the kinds of services that will end as the city grapples with its budget crisis.

The city could no longer afford the $1.7 million program, which it has run for more than 30 years, said Coraleen Rawls, general manager of the city's Department of Human Services. The city referred each of the 500 clients to other providers, officials said.

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A local group pushes for a low priority city ordinance for those who smoke marijuana.

The Michigan Chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) sees Kalamazoo as a progressive community in which the liberalization of marijuana laws can be fostered.

A petition to make the use of cannabis a low priority for arresting authorities is being organized by Louis Stocking of Kalamazoo. Stocking has been writing letters to the MINORML and finally has their attention. "By low prioritizing it we basically don't allow them to focus as much time (on marijuana-related arrests)," stated Stocking.

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Thanks to Curt Guyette for his excellent and informative article on the new medical marijuana law ("Still rolling out," Jan. 14), as well as his accurate reporting. We don't often get to enjoy a lot of accuracy on this issue with regard to the press, nor have many of the stories published around the state been very comprehensive

Metro Times has stood apart from many of the others since the Proposal 1 campaign began - a fine tribute to you and your staff.

David Light,

Saginaw

[end]

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are joining together to combat escalated gang activity in Oakland County.

The FBI says the Michigan State Police, state Department of Corrections and Oakland County Sheriff's Office -- as well as police departments from Pontiac, Waterford Township, Auburn Hills and Bloomfield Township -- are working together on targeting violent crime enterprises.

The federal agencies involved in the Oakland County Violent Gang Task Force include the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI.

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TROY -- Law enforcement officials say a recent drug bust in Troy may indicate a resurgence of ecstasy being sold on the streets.

Three people are awaiting federal charges after they were caught with more than 5,000 tablets of the drug with a street value of more than $100,000.

"I worked 20 years in narcotics; I've been out of it for about five or six years. But I've haven't seen anything significant like that in some time," Troy Police Lt. Chuck Pappas said.

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Welcome to our first Drug Action Team news column, Beyond the Influence.

Like a growing number of other communities, our beautiful island is not immune from the drug problem.

By writing this column, the DAT expects to educate our community on substance abuse and addiction and restore hope to individuals and families. And at the same time, heighten awareness on the goals, activities and outcomes of the Kaua'i Community Drug Response Plan.

In 2003, the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste formed four teams to investigate the elements of the drug problem: drug prevention, enforcement, treatment and integration. DAT is composed of representatives from each of these four interconnected components of the drug problem.

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The St. Clair County Drug Task Force reminded us this week that the war against illegal drugs continues -- and it punctuated that reminder with a significant victory.

Two men, one from Kimball Township and the other from Port Huron, were arrested Wednesday in Clyde Township. Police seized 409 pounds of marijuana from the trailer they were hauling, the largest amount in the Drug Task Force's history.

Some county residents and others in this state and nation insist marijuana is not a dangerous drug and should be decriminalized if not legalized. Last year, Michigan voters approved a new state law that permits patients suffering from a variety of chronic illnesses to use marijuana.

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KALAMAZOO -- A group that advocates for the decriminalization of marijuana sees the city of Kalamazoo as fertile ground in its push to liberalize marijuana laws in Michigan.

MINORML, the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, is beginning to organize a petition drive to push for a local ordinance that would make the possession of small amounts of marijuana the "lowest possible priority" for law enforcement.

The ballot language has not yet been drafted, but organizers are hoping to have the issue voted on as early as November. If adopted, Kalamazoo would be the only city in Michigan to have such a law.

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To the editor:

As a Michigan police officer for 18 years, I was sent to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana.

While Mr. Lehman throws out a stat that shows 20 percent of Woodland's patients have an issue with marijuana, what he did not tell you is that courts give people a choice: jail or treatment.

Of course, they all choose treatment, whether they abuse marijuana or not.

Moreover, Mr. Lehman's claim that pot use will go up because it is available for patients is false.

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To the editor:

If it were up to Steve Lehman (Lehman: medical marijuana "big mistake," Jan.9, 2009), the state would still be able to cage responsible sick adults who use cannabis (marijuana) with the approval of their doctor.

That's why states have the ballot initiative process: to avoid ignorant, mean-spirited people from ruining responsible citizens lives.

I hope the Dowagiac Daily News will also get an opinion from sick people who use the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis and see if they believe legalizing cannabis for them has been a "big mistake."

Stan White

Dillon, Colo.

[end]

Slower than molasses in January.

It's the speed of government in the case of too many laws, and too many lawsuits.

In a highly competitive, computer-enabled age in which only the nimble are expected to survive, government tucks into its shell of regulations and oozes along at the pace of a snail. A snail stuck in molasses. In January.

On Jan. 1, for example, the Michigan Department of Community Health was supposed to begin licensing all tattoo parlors in the state.

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CASSOPOLIS - Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare Network serves as a "safety net" for Cass County citizens. Seventy percent of its consumers are unemployed or employed part-time. Males outnumber females 2:1. Consumers' median income is $16,000. Their median age is 33, Steve Lehman reported to the Board of Commissioners Thursday night.

Lehman, who has been addiction services supervisor for 24 years during a 37-year career which also includes Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties, told Commissioner Ron Francis, R-Cassopolis, he believes Michigan voters made a "big mistake" in approving medical marijuana Nov. 4.

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A first draft of rules of the state's new medical marijuana law incites protest from patients and advocates.

The frustration of Desmond Mitchell, a state Department of Community Health policy adviser, was almost palpable at a public hearing Monday morning regarding the department's draft rules for the state's new medical marijuana law.

Mitchell sat at a long conference table, slightly slumped, as lawyers, patients, advocates, and even one self-proclaimed pot-growing expert gave impassioned speeches about medical marijuana, as if they were being faced with the revocation of their constitutional rights.

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My heart goes out to Chuck D. Ream of Ann Arbor, who lost his sister to alcoholism. His letter on medical marijuana as far as I'm concerned was 100 percent accurate. What bothers me the most is some people think that pot is a "gateway" to use other drugs. I do not believe that for a minute.

It is finally legal to smoke and grow marijuana in the state of Michigan; however, under federal law it is still quite illegal. Who is the federal government to dictate state law? Drugs such as Vicodin, Oxycontin and other narcotic painkillers are a lot worse on the human body than pot ever was. In fact, some of the teenagers these days are becoming dependent on painkillers, and even the anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax and Atavan.

So with this said, you be the judge. Sorry again for your loss, Chuck.

Brad Nasarzewski

Ypsilanti

[end]

SOUTHFIELD - The state's first medical marijuana clinic is defending its legality as residents, government officials and law enforcement agencies learn more about the controversial proposal voters approved in November.

"I am in the exploratory stages, trying to figure out what is what," said Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, who had a meeting scheduled for Jan. 12 with the president, founder and CEO of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, Paul Stanford. The clinic recently opened up shop in the Southfield Town Center.

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Plants' Disposal, User Interviews Among Concerns

About 100 people gathered at state offices Monday to voice their concerns about the rules and regulations written by the Michigan Department of Community Health, which will oversee the medical marijuana program starting April 4.

A spokesman for the Michigan State Police said the department does not want the responsibility of destroying excess medical marijuana, as written in the draft rules discussed Monday.

Greg Zorotney of the state police executive division said a better solution would be for users or caregivers to destroy excess supply or for the Michigan Department of Community Health to write rules allowing for the transfer of medical marijuana from a retired user to a new user.

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LANSING -- State officials are proposing overly restrictive rules that would undo the intent of compassionate medical marijuana law that voters approved in November, backers of the new measure claim.

At a hearing Monday on proposed rules to govern medical marijuana use, supporters especially objected to requirements that patients and caregivers keep inventories of the marijuana grown for medical use.

Some said a tentative rule against public use could mean patients would face prosecution for smoking pot on their front porches, or in their living rooms with the drapes open.

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Marijuana has the ability to wreak more havoc on the lungs than cigarettes!

Surprisingly, it is reported that nearly 40 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.

It is also considered the most commonly used illegal drug in the U.S. As time goes on, the pot is getting more potent and the number of users is sure to climb now that Michigan has approved the medical marijuana laws. Things like cotton mouth, high (red) eyes and the munchies are all classically known symptoms of the effects marijuana use has on our bodies, thanks to movies like Half Baked and '70s pot icons Cheech & Chong. However, what about the lesser talked about ways pot affects our body?

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GRAND RAPIDS -- George Wagoner does not smoke marijuana, but he has seen firsthand the benefits it offered his late wife while she battled ovarian cancer.

While he cannot attend Monday's public hearing in Lansing on the proposed rules for those receiving medical marijuana, the 74-year-old retired obstetrician from Manistee wants state officials to know how important it is to make it available as a medicine.

"It's reasonable to have rules and, if we are a compassionate society, we should have a mechanism where legitimate producers can provide the medicine to those who need it," said Wagoner from his Florida home.

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