The media have no bleepin' clue how to cover the death of Whitney Houston. That's because she was slowly dying for years and many in the media simply averted their eyes.

It was ultra-disturbing that a beautiful woman blessed with an extraordinary singing voice chose a self-destructive path in full view of the world. I mean, here is a person who signed a $100 million recording contract, actually sold 170 million albums and commanded high six figures to deliver a 90-minute concert. Houston was a genuine international star, and yet she often was seen in public disheveled and confused, her substance addiction apparent. The media simply did not know what to say.

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The ramifications are "huge" if Missouri voters would approve a proposition to legalize marijuana in the state, the head of Franklin County's drug task force said.

A group of citizens under the title of Show Me Cannibis are collecting signatures on petitions to put the initiative petition on the ballot in November.

If approved it would, among other things, legalize the possession of marijuana for people 21 years old and older, allow for the state to collect a $100 per pound tax on marijuana sold at licensed cannabis stores, allow individuals to grow marijuana on their property for personal use in a 10-by-10 plot, and mandate the release of all people serving time in prison for nonviolent possession or sale of marijuana and expunge the conviction from their records.

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Moberly, Mo. - The Westran school district held a public forum Monday night at the high school to discuss implementing a student drug-testing program for students entering grades 7-12 who participate in activities outside of regular coursework.

The program included a presentation from Westran football coach Curtis Jasper, as well as information from John Throckmorton, of Employee Screening Services. A little over 40 people attended the forum, and they were able to ask questions and make comments.

Jasper shared the proposed policy, and added that nothing is set in stone yet. The school district first looked at the issue with a Student Drug Testing Committee. He said the reasoning for considering student drug testing was pretty basic.

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It would be great if our state went to pot Bernice and Wylie Williams walked along Delmar Boulevard in the Loop in University City late Thursday morning. Because they approached everybody they saw, they seemed, at first glance, to be panhandlers. But unlikely panhandlers. Respectable-looking. Kind of old for that sort of thing, too.

They were trying to collect signatures on a petition to put a measure on the November ballot that would legalize marijuana in Missouri. They are unlikely activists in this cause. Wylie is 73. Bernice is 69. They grew up in Texas and met at Texas Christian University. They married after Wylie graduated in 1961. Let me explain something to young people. What we now call the '60s did not start until 1966 or 1967.

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Booze and dope are evil. Kids have that drummed into them from grade school on.

Yet while teenage drinking continues a steady decline, marijuana use is on the rise among American teens, who see the warning message as bogus when it comes to pot.

"Marijuana has become the drug of choice," said Raytown schools Superintendent Allan Markley.

A new national study attributes increased marijuana use among America's youth to the common perception among teens that marijuana is less harmful than adults make it out to be, reinforced by the changing attitudes of the American public to pot.

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Raytown's numbers are low, but district officials intend to continue random checks.

If the numbers are to be believed, illegal drug use may have stopped almost entirely among Raytown high school students.

Results of three rounds of unannounced testing at Raytown and Raytown South high schools are in. A service conducted 150 tests, 75 at each school.

At Raytown South, technicians collected a total of two positive, or what the district calls "non-negative," results indicating drug use.

At Raytown, they collected none.

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COLUMBIA - A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday filed against the city of Columbia and 12 police officers involved in a February 2010 SWAT raid in which two dogs were shot, one fatally.

Jonathan Whitworth was arrested during the raid on the house he shared with his wife and child in the 1500 block of Kinloch Court in southwest Columbia and later pleaded guilty to unlawful use of drug paraphernalia. His child, who was 7 at the time, was present during the raid. MoreStory

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Whitworths Are Exploring Appeal.

A federal judge yesterday dismissed all 18 causes of action in a civil lawsuit filed against Columbia police officers involved in a February 2010 raid.

The suit filed by Jonathan Whitworth, his wife, Brittany Whitworth, and her son was scheduled for a Jan. 23 trial in federal court in Jefferson City. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey granted the defendants' request for a summary judgment, dismissing all counts alleged against the city of Columbia and the 12 police officers who were on the scene during the SWAT raid.

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The Government Spends Roughly $14 Billion Per Year On Prohibition

Legalizing the illegal substance marijuana has been a hot topic for the past decade. A synthetic weed, K2, drug cartels and an increase in potency have put pressure on the government to construct a plan for legalization. Conversely, negative health associations and some law enforcement groups have put pressure on the government to continue the criminalization.

Today it is the top cash crop in the world, worth $35 billion, beating out such staples as wheat and corn combined, according to an article on abc.com. In 2007, 14.4 million Americans ages 12 and older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Advocates can begin collecting signatures for two proposed Missouri ballot measures that would legalize marijuana.

The secretary of state's office said Monday the initiative petitions have been approved for circulation to get them on the 2012 ballot.

One proposal would amend the Missouri Constitution to legalize cannabis for people 21 and older, allow doctors to recommend use of medicinal marijuana and release prison inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses related to cannabis. It would also allow the Legislature to enact a marijuana tax of up to $100 per pound.

The second proposal is similar but would enact a state law instead of amending the Missouri Constitution.

[end]

Attorney Argues With New Policy.

Students enrolling in medical programs at the University of Missouri this fall were required to take drug tests - a new mandate one local attorney says is unconstitutional.

To make his point, attorney Dan Viets cites Linn State Technical College's attempt to screen its students this year. A U.S. district judge last week issued a preliminary injunction blocking those tests and warned the public college that she doesn't think the requirement passes constitutional muster.

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Question: If total legalization of marijuana was a ballot issue in our state, how would you vote?

You would be allowed to grow it, sell it, smoke it, chew it, drink it, eat it legally - no misdemeanor, no felony. Maybe marijuana would be kept under thumb as we do with age restrictions on tobacco and alcohol, but for those older than 18 or 21 - legal.

Question: How much is marijuana worth if it has been legalized?

Question: Is marijuana life-threatening?

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Random drug testing is under debate at Maryville High School. The Maryville R-II Board of Education met Wednesday, Sept. 21 and discussed the need and effectiveness of random drug testing within the district.

The topic of random drug testing within the Maryville school district has been stirring for nearly a year. The discussion started during the October 2010 Board of Education meeting. The topic was tabled until Larry Lithacum, Maryville R-II superintendent, took position in February 2011. The Board then voted to postpone a decision indefinitely. Lithacum re-presented it to the Board during last week's meeting. The Board will not vote on random drug testing in Maryville R-II Schools until Lithacum presents his recommendation.

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When it was legal in both Missouri and Kansas, the herb-based product known as synthetic marijuana was sold openly in coffeehouses, convenience stores and gas stations across the area.

But since legislators outlawed it last year, it appears to have moved out of the stores and into the streets, where police are finding it with regularity.

Kansas City police reported that investigators recovered more than 12 pounds of synthetic marijuana during an early August violent-crime initiative. It was by far the largest amount of drugs seized in the three-day sweep -- more than the amounts of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine combined, according to the figures released by police.

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A group calling itself Show-Me Cannabis is making the state's first overt move to legalize marijuana. If it succeeds, we will be on the way toward a more rational and crime-free society.

The group last month presented petition proposals to the secretary of state for approval. Next would come signature solicitations and public votes. One of the initiatives would enact a statute and the other an amendment to the state constitution. The statutory route would be best. Details of the criminal code are best determined in statutes, not constitutions.

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A New Attitude Dawns

Most of us can remember well the days when "oelaw 'n' order" was the clarion call of society and government. Legislatures fell over themselves mandating harsher punishment for criminals, mainly longer jail sentences, giving judges less latitude for judging.

Lock-'em-up types thought throwing away the key would dissuade criminal activity. Instead, jails got crowded, straining public budgets at all levels.

In the past 40 years a few fledgling alternative sentencing programs have struggled to life, such as Reality House here in Columbia. More recently state government has become more serious, reducing sentences and creating alternative courts for dealing with drug and alcohol offenders with intent to help them recover and stay out of prison.

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Chip Cooper remembers meeting Christy Welliver on the MKT Trail in 1999 and how they hatched an idea for Columbia to have an extensive network of trails.

"She was really psyched about the whole notion," said Cooper, who co-founded the PedNet Coalition with Welliver a year later, serving as the group's first president with Welliver as vice president.

Welliver, 59, died late yesterday at University Hospital, where she had been a patient since June 25. Welliver, who had multiple sclerosis and had used a wheelchair since 1985, was remembered today as an energetic advocate for people with disabilities. She had been in a coma and was surrounded by friends and supporters since entering the hospital. Cooper said he began gathering written tributes and memorials two weeks ago. "She was just a remarkable person in many ways," Cooper said. "Probably above and beyond everything else, it was just her commitment to community service, her commitment to friends and family, and her amazingly optimistic view of everything."

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A petition filed with the Missouri secretary of state's office could be the first step toward the legalization of marijuana if it garners enough support.

Show-Me Cannabis is an initiative organized by a group of Missourians and businesses that believe marijuana prohibition is a failed policy and seek to legalize all forms of marijuana in the state. Local law enforcement, however, sees loopholes that are not written into the petition in regard to enforcement and punishment for those breaking the suggested new laws.

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State Is Looking At 2 Proposals

Missouri voters could decide whether the state will be the first to legalize marijuana in all its forms if organizers of a petition drive can collect the necessary signatures over the next 10 months.

A group calling itself Show-Me Cannabis, led in part by some of the principal proponents of Columbia's lenient city marijuana law, turned in two proposals Wednesday to Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office. Her office will decide whether it is ready to circulate and, if so, write the summary that will appear on the ballot.

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One catches my eye at least a couple of times a month. It will be a big car, moderately old, maybe an Oldsmobile or a Buick, riding low in the back under the weight of its big trunk. The lone driver runs at the speed limit or a little less, casting nervous glances at passing vehicles. If I'm wondering what weighs the car down, you can bet the cops are wondering, too.

My daily commute takes me along Interstate 55-70 through Metro East, a major drug-smuggling corridor where patrols lurk and large-scale busts have been relatively regular.

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