There's An Antidote for Heroin Overdose, and a Former Addict Is Among Those Working to Spread It Far and Wide

Joshua Livernois woke up hazy, sick and splashed with Dr. Pepper in a hospital bed in Salinas, California. He couldn't piece together the events of the previous day or so, and he's still not even sure which year it was, probably 2005 or '06. He'd been using heroin off and on for about 10 years and almost daily for five.

[continues 2388 words]

In a June 7 editorial, the Las Vegas Review-Journal claimed, "And no matter how much pot enthusiasts argue otherwise, marijuana is both addictive-one in 10 people who try pot will become hooked on it-and a gateway to more deadly drugs that kill more than 45,000 Americans a year."

The gateway theory has been around for decades-long before any research on drugs had been done. Thus, it plainly originated as a product of supposition, not of science. One version of it in the early 20th century said that tobacco always leads to harder stuff. Con man Charles Towns, who ran "clinics" where alleged cures for drug addiction were offered, said, "It [tobacco use] always precedes alcoholism and drug addiction. I've never had a drug case or an alcoholic case (excepting a few women) that didn't have a history of excessive smoking."

[continues 175 words]

I'll say this for the drug legalizers: They're persistent. Once again, for the third time in the past 10 years, the usual suspects are back in Nevada with an initiative petition to legalize "recreational" marijuana in the Silver State.

We defeated them twice before on 60-40 votes and I hope we hand them another well-deserved setback in November. Led by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and financed by people like left-wing radical George Soros, fast-talking potheads will try to convince Nevada voters recreational marijuana would be good for our state. Not satisfied with so-called "medical" marijuana, they want to push the legal drug boundaries even further.

[continues 507 words]

The risk of developing lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is 10 times higher in those who smoke anything. All forms of smoking, including smokeless tobacco, put the user at increased risk for cancer of any part of the oral cavity, from lip and tongue to mouth and throat.

The American Medical Association in an updated report labeled marijuana "a dangerous drug." Tolerance in users develops rapidly and leads to escalating use.

These facts should be taken into consideration before voting to legalize recreational use. Many physicians feel continued use can lead to psychological changes.

Donna Andress

Searchlight

[end]

Veterans recently joined a tour of a local dispensary and testing lab to tell their stories of how medical marijuana has improved their lives since they left the military.

The tour was hosted by the Las Vegas Medical Marijuana Association, which was formed to promote the medical marijuana industry in Nevada. The association recognizes the use of cannabis to treat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments.

"Marijuana changed my whole life," said Cristina Alfonso-Zea, an Army veteran who uses medical marijuana to treat PTSD. "From the time I left the military, I attempted suicide every year."

[continues 348 words]

Nevada Voters Should Turn Down Legal Pot

At the same time Nevadans will help elect a president, they will also determine whether to legalize recreational marijuana

And while it may seem like a no-brainer in a free-wheeling state known for legalized gambling and a lax approach to prostitution, recreational weed comes with health, safety and social costs that make legalizing marijuana a dangerous proposal for Nevadans.

State ballot Question 2 in the November election would make it legal for people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational use. A 15 percent tax would be applied to legal pot sales and revenues generated would be earmarked for education.

[continues 435 words]

Police and prosecutors across the country have for years beaten back most serious efforts to reform civil forfeiture statutes, which allow law enforcement to seize property from people who have never been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime.

But signs abound that justice and due process may eventually prevail.

Civil forfeiture laws proliferated in the 1980s as part of the war on drugs and were intended to ensure that crime bosses didn't profit from their shadowy pursuits. But their aggressive application in many jurisdictions has also led to hundreds of high-profile abuses involving innocent people forced to surrender cash, homes, cars, jewelry and other valuables that the authorities merely suspected of being connected to a crime.

[continues 333 words]

Kudos to letter writer Richard Shengulette for calling out the drug users who imperil innocent drivers on our highways (May 31 Review-Journal). Back in my day as a police officer, booze was the drug of choice and almost 50 percent of fatal traffic accidents were attributed to it. In this new age of the millennial, we can now add heroin, pharmaceuticals, cocaine, and of course, marijuana, to the list of causation factors.

Mr. Shengulette ended his letter by stating that the public should know who the politicians are that promote the legalization of such drugs. I can give him the name of one politician whose name pops up constantly here in Las Vegas as a chief supporter for the legalization of marijuana movement: state Sen. Tick Segerblom.

[continues 72 words]

Regarding the drug issue, let's cut through all the political correctness and revert to reality.

For most of my adult years, I drove big rigs. Perhaps you are aware of a federal law stating that any driver can be drug tested at any time. I wonder how this would work for all the drug users. As soon as a company looking for quality employees at top wages mentions a drug screening test, half of the potential applicants spontaneously get up and leave.

[continues 311 words]

Workers with the state of Nevada are using regulatory power to stop many cancer patients from getting medical marijuana, in an effort to curb pot tourists from California.

By law, Nevada allows visitors from other states to use their home state's medical marijuana cards to buy medical weed at dispensaries. This is called "reciprocity."

As much as half of Nevada dispensary business comes from reciprocity, especially from California, where doctors typically hand patients paperwork instead of making them go fetch state-issued ID cards.

[continues 699 words]

Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe missed most of the 2015 National Football League season after he tore a shoulder ligament against the Arizona Cardinals last October.

After having the torn labrum surgically repaired in December, doctors prescribed Monroe the usual gamut of opioid painkillers like oxycodone to manage his pain.

Pain is an accepted part of the profession for Monroe and other athletes. Before NFL games even start, players are shot up with the drug Toradol, which helps numb the body and relieve pain, he said. But Monroe said those numbing effects can be so strong that players often get seriously injured without knowing, sometimes not discovering the injury until days later.

[continues 550 words]

Recently we received a letter to the editor in response to Brad Bynum's report "Licensed to ill" (cover story, April 28). The letter claimed, "California medical marijuana cards are only good in California as Nevada medical marijuana cards are only good in Nevada."

Pam Graber, spokesperson for the Nevada program, reports in a prepared statement:

"The following states have medical marijuana programs and issue medical marijuana cards: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington. The Medical Marijuana dispensaries of the State of Nevada are authorized to sell medical marijuana to card holders from the states above if the patient presents a state or local government-issued medical marijuana card."

The Nevada card may not be recognized in some states.

[end]

Editor:

Nevada voters should brace against millions of dollars from out-of-state "Big Marijuana" interests supporting legalization of recreational pot on the November ballot.

These corporate pot promoters will try to repeat what worked for them in legalizing marijuana in Colorado in 2012. There, they financially overwhelmed opponents by 5 to 1, spending $3.4 million (90 percent from outside Colorado) in passing legalization.

The enormous financial advantage for pro-pot advertising in Colorado overcame opposition to legalization from most all public officials -- across the political spectrum from liberal Democrats, like Denver Mayor Hancock and Colorado Governor Hickenlooper, to Republicans, like Attorney General Suthers and Tea Party favorite Congressman Buck.

[continues 70 words]

A Down and Dirty Guide to Getting a Medical Marijuana Card in Nevada

It took me a grand total of about two hours and less than $70 to get my medical marijuana card. And then I was able to go to a dispensary, buy pot, and smoke it-fully compliant with Nevada law.

The part of my brain that regularly corresponds with my inner teenager checked in with 15-year-old me, and, between spins of Nirvana's In Utero, the young dude confirmed he was stoked.

[continues 2307 words]

Jim Hartman is mistaken (Legal Pot - Bad For Nevada, Apr. 2, 2016) regarding many aspects of legalized cannabis (marijuana) in Colorado. Claiming "alarming growth in underage marijuana use" is patently false as noted in the Denver Post (http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_29313651/after-two-years-debate-remains-over-marijuana-legalizations) reported by Larry Wolk, the head of Colorado's public health department who said, "There's really no statistically significant data yet to demonstrate that there is increased use among adults or teens."

[continues 97 words]

Medical marijuana establishments authorized to cultivate or dispense marijuana products were authorized in 2013 by Senate Bill 374. They had to be in unincorporated areas. On Washoe County's website, look up the MME map and you will find almost every parcel in Old Washoe City has been so approved! We have several grow facilities and a proposed 6,500-square-foot grow and dispensary building.

Why? Because we are centrally located, have a highway and lots of unused commercial zoning.

[continues 92 words]

Out-of-state pot industry promoters are pouring millions of dollars into Nevada to legalize recreational marijuana in this state. To qualify for the ballot, these promoters raised nearly $800,000, with 60 percent from outside Nevada - given by pot industry corporate donors from California, Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, Massachusetts - and including $250,000 from the Washington D.C. pro pot lobby group, Marijuana Policy Project.

Nevadans need to know what this initiative is NOT. This initiative is NOT a Nevada-based libertarian "live and let live" effort to permit limited "backyard marijuana grows." Instead, the initiative will require the Nevada Department of Taxation to be radically transformed into a massive bureaucracy and become the single most powerful agency in state government.

[continues 433 words]

While Nevada looks to the prospect of legalizing recreational marijuana, the state is also gazing into a future that puts its teenage population at risk for higher drug use and high school dropout rates if what's happened in Colorado and Washington are any indication of what's destined to occur in the Silver State.

According to statistics in those states, the legalization of recreational marijuana resulted in a significant increase in teen marijuana use - Colorado rose to 18.9 percent and Washington is at 17.5 percent. The 2013 Nevada Kids Count data indicate nearly one in five Nevada youth ages 12 to 25 already smokes marijuana one or more times a month.

[continues 57 words]

This November, Nevada voters will not only help elect the next president and select our newest U.S. senator, we will also decide whether or not Nevada joins the small but growing ranks of states that have legalized recreational marijuana. I am not a gambling man, but would be willing to wager that Nevada voters will approve the Nevada Marijuana Legalization Initiative on the upcoming ballot.

If approved, the measure would legalize one ounce or less of marijuana or cannabis for recreational use for people at least 21 years old. It would also levy a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale sales of marijuana and direct revenue generated from these taxes to support K-12 education.

[continues 406 words]

Paiute Dispensary to Be Built on Tribal Land Near Downtown

The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe is primed to open the state's first medical marijuana facility on Native American lands.

Right next to Downtown Las Vegas.

Tribal Chairman Benny Tso on Monday announced the tribe's plans to jump into the Southern Nevada medical marijuana industry full-bore this year.

The tribe partnered with New Mexico-based medical marijuana company Ultra Health to build the facility. Ultra Health operates six other facilities in Arizona and New Mexico.

[continues 674 words]

Sheriff Ken Furlong blamed a marijuana deal gone bad for a murder that occurred here last Monday morning. And that got me thinking about the "medical" pot shop that will open in Carson City later this year. It was going to open last year, but that didn't happen.

In a recent Appeal column, Jim Clark pointed out since marijuana is still illegal under federal law, "no state credit union is going to open an account" for a pot dealer, and that's true for states that have already legalized recreational marijuana, like Colorado and Washington.

[continues 500 words]

Re "Liberals should learn from pot regulation" (Let Freedom Ring, July 30, 2015):

While I agree with Brendan Trainor's premise that government can screw up policy implementation, I choose to not agree that all government participation in economic strategic planning is bad. Yes, Nevada has had numerous missteps rolling out the medical marijuana dispensaries, but does that really mean that they can do nothing well? What is the alternative to some degree of government oversight, a free-for-all? Government's role is to establish the rules of the game so people and the environment are not ruined by endless greed. Do they get too heavy-handed on occasion? Of course.

[continues 154 words]