When women enter the Harbor House Halfway House, many of them are essentially homeless, lacking in life skills and hope. The 120-day program, with 60 days of after-care, helps change all that. Sixty-one people participated in the program during the fiscal year July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008. The program provided 3,426 nights of residential treatment. The halfway house provides residential substance abuse treatment for women who have been victims of domestic violence. Their children also stay at the house. They attend school or watched by staff while their mothers are in counseling. The remainder of the time, the mothers are responsible for their care. Harbor House, a division of Personal & Family Counseling Services of Tuscarawas Valley Inc. at New Philadelphia, has operated the halfway house since March 2006. "Most of the women have stayed with relatives and friends and worn out their welcome," said Marilyn Henry, PFCS chief executive officer. "Typically, they have no income, home or medical care, so we try to help get them established. We teach them preventative health care, how to do a budget, make nutritious meals and to prepare a resume and fill out job applications." [continues 411 words]
To the Editor: On Dec. 8, you wrote a piece applauding the state patrol in keeping illegal drugs off state highways. Please allow me to object to your statement because it might lead some weak-minded people to think that stricter law enforcement would do some good regarding our illegal drug problem. That is just plain wrong. Prohibition does not work. The same law that made alcohol illegal also made heroin illegal. It did not work for alcohol and it will never work for heroin. The lawmakers, those gutless politicians, again made alcohol legal in 1933 but they did not make heroin legal. [continues 183 words]
Legislators Want Hallucinogen Barred Columbus- Purchasing a psychoactive herb known as Salvia divinorum for a mind-bending trip soon could be illegal in Ohio. Gov. Ted Strickland is reviewing a bill passed by the General Assembly at the end of its lame-duck session. If he signs it, Ohio will become at least the sixth state to ban the obscure Mexican herb in the mint family, putting it on a par with marijuana as a plant that is illegal to purchase, possess or sell in any quantity. [continues 177 words]
According to several Yellow Springs youth, the schools and the village are not as supportive and inclusive of youth as they should be, and the youth need more of a voice in making the decisions that affect them. According to several Yellow Springs elders, the adult community makes the decisions necessary to keep youth safe, but the youth do need positive support and a place in town where they feel welcome. These were some of the opinions that were expressed at a meeting of 57 people who came to the Senior Center on Saturday, Dec. 20, to talk about youth in the community. [continues 1103 words]
If you haven't heard of the potent psychedelic plant Salvia divinorum, don't bother looking for it: It's on the verge of being declared illegal in Ohio. The Ohio House yesterday voted 90-4 to pass legislation making the plant from the mint family a controlled substance. Ohio will become the sixth state to make it illegal. The bill now goes to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is directed by the bill to develop chemical standards for the amount of the drug in the bloodstream that would trigger a driving-under-the-influence charge. [continues 207 words]
The current county budget crisis and its direct impact on public-safety spending present an excellent opportunity for our county to make a shift toward proven, cost-effective approaches to reducing crime. The recent Vera Institute jail study showed that 20 percent of 2007 Hamilton County jail inmates, or about 9,500 people, were locked-up more than once in just that year. How many more have cycled through our jail -and at what cost -over the course of several years? [continues 440 words]
Non-violent drug offenders could spend more time in halfway houses instead of in prison. Well-behaved inmates who earn their GEDs could get out early. Others could serve the final months of their sentences outside prison while wearing GPS devices. These are just some of the options Gov. Ted Strickland's administration is considering to contend with crowded prisons amid forecasts of plummeting state revenues. "To me, it comes down to a simple formula," said state prisons director Terry Collins. "Either we spend a whole lot more money on building a whole lot more prisons to lock up everybody in Ohio, or we can figure out some other solutions so that all those other programs _ like social services, education, Medicaid _ have the money they need." [continues 665 words]
Ohio Senate Considers New Medical Marijuana Legislation Backed by Doctors Marijuana is a medicine. Not many doctors are willing to make that kind of statement publicly, especially when U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raids result in the jailing of physicians, terminally ill patients and statelicensed marijuana growers in states where the medicinal use of marijuana is permitted by law. But Richard J. Wyderski, a physician at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, believes the benefits of the herbal therapy far outweigh the risks of pushing for legalization. In this case he's publicly backing Senate Bill 343, most commonly referred to as the Ohio Medical Compassion Act sponsored by Sen. Tom Roberts (D-Dayton). [continues 907 words]
More than 4,200 Americans have been killed in Iraq since that country was invaded in 2003. More than 4,000 people have died this year alone in another war, this one much closer to home. Drug-related murders in Mexico - at more than 4,000 for the year - are a concern north of the border. They involve a bloody trade in illegal drugs flowing into the United States. Some killings by Mexican drug lords have involved Americans, and some have occurred on our soil. [continues 215 words]
Blade Ombudsman and columnist Jack Lessenberry seems to have misunderstood virtually every aspect of Michigan's medical marijuana law and the other 12 states' medical marijuana laws in his Dec. 5 column, "Medical marijuana mess confronts Michiganders." First, only one aspect of the law is in effect now: Those using marijuana for medical purposes can now use evidence to that effect as a defense if they are arrested. Protection of patients from arrest doesn't take effect till April, when the state begins issuing ID cards to patients legally authorized to possess marijuana. No mystery there. [continues 138 words]
GREENUP, Ky. -- An anti-drug program launched recently by the Greenup County sheriff and the prosecutor involves a connection between the jail cell and the classroom. "It's hard to fix people once they're broken," said Greenup County Attorney Mike Wilson said. "(Greenup County Sheriff Keith Cooper) said we need to reach them before they get to that point. That's why we're going into the elementary schools." Wilson and Cooper began their new anti-drug initiative in November at Worthington Elementary School. Last week they were in Russell-McDowell Intermediate School dealing with fourth- and fifth-grade students. The plan is to take it into every elementary school in the county's three school districts. [continues 413 words]
Village To Pay Officer's Salary, Costs So Liberty Union-Thurston Schools Can Revive Program BALTIMORE - It's been three years since Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools lost its DARE program to budget cuts at the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office. But that will all change next school year when the district welcomes a full-time DARE and resource officer to the schools. Baltimore Police Officer Jason Harget was appointed by the school board in November to be the resource officer in all three schools and help jump-start the long-dormant drug abuse resistance education program. [continues 447 words]
Cuyahoga Falls -- The rules for reporting, remediating and re-occupying clandestine drug labs in the city will go before City Council for a vote on Dec. 8. The legislation has been in the making since June. "The clandestine drug lab ordinance is the only one of its kind in the state," Hope Jones, the city's deputy law director, told the Falls News-Press. "I am proud that the administration and City Council took the lead on this issue." The purpose of the proposed legislation is to reduce public exposure to health risks where law enforcement officers have determined that hazardous chemicals from a suspected clandestine drug lab site or associated dump site may exist. [continues 366 words]
ANN ARBOR - Yesterday, medical marijuana officially became legal in Michigan, except, well, it isn't. That is, you can use it legally, as long as you don't ever try to obtain any of it. And all this has bewildered state bureaucrats scratching their heads, trying to figure out what to do. Here's what happened: Michigan voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly approved allowing the use of marijuana to help the symptoms of those suffering from illnesses such as glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and cancer. The vote was 3 million yes to 1.8 million no. [continues 414 words]
Three Kent State students disagree with the laws concerning drug policy and are going to Washington to do something about it. "We see things that need to be changed, and we're going to DC to change them," said Chris Wallis, president of the Kent State chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Wallis said they will speak with Rep. Tim Ryan and Sens. George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown about the sentencing difference for cocaine offenders. The three students will join students from 50 other chapters of SSDP at colleges nationwide. [continues 104 words]
No Felony In Paraphernalia Cases People caught in Cleveland with drug residue in pipes and syringes will no longer be charged with a felony beginning early next year, Mayor Frank Jackson said Monday. The goal is to get addicts treatment without saddling them with a felony that could hamper them in turning their lives around, Jackson said. He warned that the new protocol will not provide a free pass to criminals and that police will still aggressively pursue drug arrests. But the new policy gives offenders a chance to treat their addiction, Jackson said. [continues 497 words]
Whoever thought that a simple banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" could spark a six-and-a-half-year outcry? Thursday marked the day that a former senior high school student was finally freed from the court system's long and arduous grasp. Yes people, I am talking about Joseph Frederick. Since we were all much younger people when little Joseph's crime initially took place, allow me to explain his story. In 2002, high school senior Joseph Frederick was suspended from an Olympic torch relay at his high school in Juneau, Alaska, for displaying a sign reading "Bong Hits for Jesus." The school's accusation? The sign promoted illegal drug use. He faced suspension from school due to his antics. [continues 421 words]
Students for a Sensible Drug Policy could be seen on campus last week running a "bake sale"; pun intended; to help raise money for their trip to Washington, D.C., for the 10th annual SSDP conference. Nov. 21-23, about 20 Ohio University SSDP members are planning to attend the national event, lobbying congressional and senate leaders in an attempt to open up the discussion of drug policies in the country and their respective states, explained Erin Dame, president of OU's chapter of SSDP. [continues 744 words]
Ohio Considers Banning Hallucinogen Lee Eubanks didn't really like the high he got from smoking salvia. It made him paranoid, and whenever he used it, said Eubanks, 17, of Milford, he felt almost paralyzed. He got a much better buzz from alcohol and marijuana. But salvia is cheap and legal - and it doesn't show up on a drug screening, so he kept using it. "It would free me from the problems I was dealing with and just allow me to run away from them," he said. [continues 608 words]
STATE Rep. Fulton Sheen, a Republican from the western part of Michigan, is a reliably conservative vote on most issues, from opposition to abortion to support for the National Rifle Association. Originally, he predictably regarded the idea of legalizing marijuana use for certain suffering patients as a bad one. But that was before he saw it ease the symptoms of his dying brother. "When I saw the relief it gave him, it changed my mind," he said. As a result, he will vote yes on Nov. 4 for state Proposal One. [continues 281 words]
A man with ties to an imprisoned snitch and an embattled DEA agent has been arrested and ordered to testify before a grand jury investigating how a series of lies led to the arrests of 23 people. Darren Transou's testimony on Tuesday is expected to detail his link to informant Jerrell Bray and describe Transou's role in a Mansfield cocaine case that imploded because of Bray's perjury and poor police work, according to interviews and court records. Transou was picked up last month in Detroit on a warrant identifying him as a material witness in an investigation. [continues 883 words]
MANSFIELD -- Richland County's heroin problem will be the focus of upcoming segments on "Nightline" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Nightline" producer Katie Hinman got the idea after reading a state wire story in which a Drug Enforcement Agency agent compared Ohio's heroin problem to Miami's cocaine quandary in the 1980s. "I'm an Ohio native," Hinman said. "It's one of the reasons I was so surprised at how aggressive the heroin problem has become." METRICH Enforcement Unit officials referred Hinman to Richland County, which has a reputation for heroin in Shelby and Plymouth. Producers and reporters also visited Willard in Huron County. The story has been in the works since spring. [continues 357 words]
Judge John M. Durkin declared the Youngstown house to be a public nuisance on Aug. 27. YOUNGSTOWN -- The city's strategy of filing lawsuits to have drug houses declared public nuisances, boarded up and padlocked is effective because it bars drug dealers from returning to them -- and hits the property owners in the pocketbook, city officials said. Their comments came in the wake of a magistrate's order that keeps a reputed South Side drug house closed for a year after final disposition of the lawsuit, or until the property owner resolves the matter. [continues 669 words]
Jim Payne is looking forward to the ribbon cutting on Aug. 29 for the Dawson-Bryant Elementary School. Over the past couple of years, the school superintendent has seen the renovation of the high school building and the construction of a middle school and the phased construction of the elementary. "We are going to celebrate what's gone on the past couple of years trying to get that ready," said Payne, who added the elementary has more classrooms, four new tech labs, an expanded library with a computer lab and a music room that leads right onto the stage in the cafetorium. In all it has about 25,000 more square feet of space. [continues 455 words]
White, Suburban Ohioans First Hooked On Prescriptions Heroin abuse among white youth and young suburban adults is increasing in Ohio, according to a new report released Wednesday. The report, which detailed drug trends in the state, attributed the increase to more young people becoming hooked first on prescription drugs. ''For some youth, they start off with prescription drug abuse and it's not a strong enough opiate and then they go to heroin,'' said Amanda Conn Starner, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. [continues 412 words]
The New York TImes editorial ("Afghan opium trade can be reined in, but only with years of relentless work," Aug. 6) which The Enquirer chose to repeat, does little but illustrate the mind set that helped George Bush get the U.S. into an unnecessary war. Talk about the "mother" of unnecessary wars! That would be the worldwide war on drugs. If all drugs were to be legalized everywhere tomorrow, the war on Afghanistan would evaporate like the summer dew. David E. Gallaher [end]
Acquittal of Officer Who Fatally Shot Mother Spurs Mixed Reactions in City LIMA, OHIO - The fatal, split-second decision Police Sgt. Joseph Chavalia made the night of Jan. 4 widened the divide in the already racially tense city of Lima. "Police department! Get on the ground!" he yelled for the third time that night at a figure ducking in and out of cover in an upstairs bedroom doorway illuminated by a light in the room. Sergeant Chavalia wrote in his report about the drug raid how he twice ordered the person to get on the ground when he heard gunshots. [continues 1345 words]
LIMA, Ohio - The Rev. Jesse Jackson weighed in yesterday on the Monday "not guilty" verdict for the Lima Police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Lima mother during a Jan. 4 drug raid in her home while she held her infant son in her arms. Tarika Wilson, 26, was killed that night by Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, and her 13-month-old baby, Sincere Wilson, who was shot in the shoulder and hand, with an injured finger amputated afterward. Sergeant Chavalia, who has remained on paid administrative leave for the last six months, was acquitted Monday of misdemeanor negligent homicide and negligent assault. The sergeant is white; Wilson was black. [continues 811 words]
Jury Determines His Actions Weren't Negligent LIMA, Ohio - Police officers filling the cramped courtroom breathed a sigh of relief, and family members of Sgt. Joseph Chavalia gasped and whispered, "Thank God." And those who loved Tarika Wilson cried out in anger and frustration as a judge read the two "not guilty" verdicts for Sergeant Chavalia yesterday. "We're supposed to take this with a smile? We're supposed to believe in justice?" asked an incredulous Ivory Austin II, whose half-sister was shot to death by the veteran police officer during a Jan. 4 drug raid at her home. [continues 1381 words]
A family member of the woman who was fatally shot during a police raid at her home seven months ago filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Toledo against the City of Lima and police Sgt. Joseph Chavalia, claiming a violation of civil rights. Darla Kaye Jennings filed the lawsuit on behalf of Sincere Wilson, her 1-year-old grandson who was injured when his mother, Tarika Wilson, 26, was shot. The lawsuit asks for compensation for Sincere's injuries as well as seeking an end to "police abuse by requiring that high risk search warrant executions be limited to situations where they are truly needed and where the least amount of force necessary to the situation is employed." [continues 288 words]
Defense Says Sergeant Did 'Everything Right' LIMA, Ohio - No onedisputes the fact that Sgt. Joe Chavalia couldn't see who he was aiming at when he shot Tarika Wilson with her 1-year-old son in her arms. The question before jurors hearing evidence in the case against the veteran Lima police officer is whether he was justified in pulling the trigger. Special Prosecutor Jeff Strausbaugh told the jury yesterday that what Sergeant Chavalia did was criminally negligent -- that he should have had a clear target before pulling the trigger. [continues 919 words]
LIMA -- The community and other watchful eyes from around the nation will learn today the circumstances that led to a police sergeant shooting and killing an unarmed biracial woman during a drug raid. Opening statements in the trial of Lima Police Department Sgt. Joe Chavalia will begin at 9 a.m. with Special Prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh laying out the facts he believes proves the officer is guilty of negligent homicide and negligent assault in the Jan. 4 shooting death of Tarika Wilson inside her home at 218 E. Third St. [continues 854 words]
BOARDMAN -- The township's DARE police officer returns to the department's patrol division next week because of decreased manpower and falling budget numbers. The department, which staffed 63 officers in 2006, has dropped to 51 with three more officers expected to leave this year either through retirement or resignation. The township received an $18,000 state grant last year to help fund the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, but the officer's pay, with salary and benefits, is $84,000, Chief Patrick Berarducci said. [continues 356 words]
Panel of 8 Whites to Weigh Case With Racial Overtones LIMA, Ohio -- After a full day of questioning, a jury of four white men and four white women was seated yesterday to decide the fate of a Lima police sergeant charged with shooting a biracial woman and her young son during a drug raid. Joseph Chavalia, 52, is charged with negligent homicide stemming from the Jan. 4 death of Tarika Wilson, 26, and negligent assault for the wounding of 1-year-old Sincere Wilson. Both charges are misdemeanors. [continues 775 words]
The Stark County drug culture has produced needless and unprecedented violent crime in our community, but it does not have to continue. To fix it, we must first understand where law enforcement went wrong. In years past, we had an active, professional and capable Stark County Metropolitan Narcotics Unit. It was Stark County's first line of defense against the drug problem and the related gang activities and violent crime. Under the leadership of Sheriff Tim Swanson, this unit has lost its effectiveness and its reputation. Every time I see an article about violent crime in Canton, I think this did not have to be. The Metro Unit was the single most effective deterrent to drug-related violent crime, and Swanson has let us down. Where there is a greater likelihood of apprehension, crime is reduced. [continues 161 words]
Task Force Recommends Creating Web Site To Identify Houses And Cleanup Efforts Summit County should create a Web site identifying all properties that have been tainted by methamphetamines, a county task force recommends. The site would provide a much-needed resource for home buyers and renters when they are deciding where to live, members said. The Summit County Methamphetamine Property Awareness Task Force - a mix of health agencies, county leaders and law enforcement - wrapped up several months of discussions last week about how to better inform residents about properties damaged by meth. [continues 396 words]
CANTON - Donald Beadle walked into a bar and out of his job. For two-and-a-half years, he supervised defendants sentenced to community service by judges of the Canton Municipal Court. Then, last month, he found himself facing criminal charges in the same court - accused of fighting with a police officer during a drug raid on a Louisville bar. A jury heard the case and said Beadle, 51, wasn't guilty of resisting arrest and obstructing official business. But before the case went to trial, he already had lost his job. [continues 938 words]
CUYAHOGA FALLS -- Taxpayers and landlords would share the financial burden of cleaning up former meth labs in the city, according to a revised version of a proposed ordinance considered by City Council July 7. After hearing concerns from several landlords and Councilmembers, Council's public affairs committee deleted language in the proposal requiring property owners of former clandestine drug lab sites to pay for cleanup and police administrative costs. By requiring the property owners to assume the expense, Fatima Rita, owner of an apartment building on Fourth Street, said, "You're making us responsible for behavior we don't want." [continues 345 words]
A Norwalk woman who promoted drug testing in Norwalk City Schools has been indicted for selling heroin. A Huron County grand jury on Friday indicted Stephanie L. Broz, 22, of 154 W. Main St., Apt. C1, on three counts of trafficking in heroin and one charge of possession of heroin. She had been arrested June 5 during a traffic stop on Benedict Avenue. Officers located a significant amount of suspected heroin in Broz's possession. The arrest came pursuant to two Norwalk Municipal Court warrants, which were for trafficking in heroin. [continues 166 words]
Randy Brush got some solid whiffs of what ails America in recent years, after serving nearly a year of a three-year prison sentence for getting caught growing four marijuana plants on the roof of his rural Wellsville home ("Just What the Doctor Ordered," Jan. 24, 2007). The middle-aged, now-divorced father of three teens was adamant: He was using the home pharmacy to calm the effects of a multitude of medical ailments and pharmaceutical side-effects: Arthritis. High blood pressure. Depression. And on... [continues 389 words]
Cuyahoga Falls -- A new set of rules would govern clean-up of meth lab sites in the city, and require owners to tell the next owner or occupant about the property's history. The purpose of the proposed legislation, which City Council's public affairs committee will discuss June 16, is to reduce public exposure to health risks where law enforcement officers have determined that hazardous chemicals from a suspected clandestine drug lab site or associated dumpsite may exist. Police Chief John Conley said last year he and Mayor Don L. Robart formed a team made up of representatives of the police, law department, narcotics unit and community development, dedicated to cleaning up former "meth houses" in the city. [continues 280 words]
Cuyahoga Will Set Up Treatment Program Cuyahoga County judges didn't let the chance to start a drug court slip through their grasp a second time. Common Pleas Court judges unanimously voted in favor of a countywide drug court this week - 11 years after voting against such a measure. Court officials hope the treatment program will be up and running within a year. "We are not going to be soft on crime," Court Administrator and former Common Pleas Judge Tom Pokorny said. "We are going to be smart on crime." [continues 282 words]
A Dayton Man Was Killed In The 2100 Block After A Police Sting Went Wrong. DAYTON - When looking for drug activity in the 2100 block of Edwin C. Moses Boulevard, police pay attention to the little things. It could be a car bearing out-of-county plates in the back of a parking lot, vehicles circling around businesses multiple times, or someone in the front seat looking down, perhaps working up a fix. Buyers often use the pay phone outside of the Econo Lodge or a cell phone to contact a nearby dealer, according to police. [continues 781 words]
Marijuana is more potent now than at any point during the past 30 years, fueling concerns about how it's affecting users. "It's very scary when you see adolescents smoking especially potent marijuana because they're going through a developmental period for parts of the brain," said Brad Lander, a psychologist at Ohio State University Medical Center. "It's unlikely they're going to catch up with that development." A study by the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project found that the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, called THC, is at 9.6 percent in samples from 2007. Ten years earlier, it was at 5 percent. [continues 341 words]
A Norwalk woman who promoted drug testing in Norwalk City Schools was arrested Thursday for trafficking in heroin. Stephanie L. Broz, 22, of 154 W. Main St., was arrested by Norwalk police pursuant to two Norwalk Municipal Court warrants which were for trafficking in heroin. Broz was arrested without incident during a traffic stop on Benedict Avenue. Officers located a significant amount of suspected heroin in Broz's possession. Broz was transported to the Huron County Jail. Norwalk Police Detective Sgt. Todd Temple said Broz awaits a bond hearing at Norwalk Municipal Court. [continues 210 words]
SPRINGBORO - Three weeks after being sentenced in two cocaine possession cases, former Springboro City Councilman Michael W. Hemmert will accept a Republican Congressional Medal of Distinction during a two-day celebration in the nation's Capitol culminating in a dinner honoring President George W. Bush. "I will be attending my second President's Dinner on Wed., June 18, 2008. This is considered the 'Event in Washington, DC' each year," Hemmert said in an e-mail press release. On May 27, Hemmert, 53, of Springboro, was granted treatment in lieu of conviction on two sets of charges of possession of cocaine and marijuana and a single count of possession of drug paraphernalia during a hearing in Warren County Common Pleas Court. [continues 351 words]
Ohio Grants $1.5m to 9 Wood County School Districts for Drug Prevention BOWLING GREEN - When money got tight in North Baltimore Local Schools two years ago, a student drug-testing program was among the first things to be cut. With the help of two federal grants that could bring more than $1.5 million to Wood County over the next three years, the drug-testing program is to be reinstated in North Baltimore, introduced at Perrysburg, Northwood, and Elmwood, and expanded at Rossford and Otsego high schools. [continues 757 words]
COLUMBUS -- More Ohio teenagers are engaging in healthy behaviors today compared to 1999 and 2003, according to the 2007 Ohio Youth Risk Behavior Survey released Thursday, May 29. They're still not consuming enough milk, fruit and vegetables, the survey found, but a number of risky behaviors are on the decline, including not using a seat belt, physical fighting in schools, suicide attempts and alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use. "Ohio teenagers are on the right track," Ohio Department of Health Director Alvin D. Jackson said in a news release. "While the overall results are encouraging, we must continue our efforts to instill healthy habits in our young people." [continues 236 words]
Under Proposal, Owners Would Be Required To Disclose Former Use Of Homes, Rentals To Prospective Buyers GREEN: The city might make it a crime to knowingly sell a methamphetamine-tainted property without disclosing the condition to the prospective buyer. Councilwoman Christine Croce will introduce legislation tonight that would require owners of homes and rental properties once used as meth labs to fill out a city form detailing the property's meth history and give it to the buyer. Under the proposal, anyone who knowingly sells a property without disclosing the information could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. [continues 241 words]
Sen. Tom Roberts, D-Trotwood, unveiled plans on Wednesday to introduce legislation defining and regulating the legitimate medical use of cannabis in Ohio. If made into law, Roberts' Ohio Medical Compassion Act would allow qualified patients, those with the approval of primary caregivers, to use medicinal marijuana by virtue of a cardholder system. "The OMCA would give patients the opportunity to choose the type of medicine that most effectively treats them," Roberts said. "Our laws should reflect the latest in medical research, which has shown that medicinal cannabis has a variety of benefits for treating pain, nausea and other symptoms related to a wide range of disease." [continues 575 words]
Inside Ohio
