Warren County task force is investigating a large supplier operation. Sixteen area deaths since March have been linked to bath salts and area law enforcement and medical officials say the designer drug remains a problem in the region despite a statewide ban that went into effect in October. The fatalities included nine overdoses from bath salts or from bath salts in conjunction with other drugs; five accidental deaths; and two suicides, said Laureen Marinetti, chief forensic toxicologist for the Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory. The most recent death case was from November, after the state ban went into effect, she said. [continues 806 words]
Ohioans May Get to Decide Legality With 2012 Vote Marijuana could be grown and used for medical purposes under a state constitutional amendment Ohio voters may consider in 2012. The Ohio Alternative Treatment Act recently met initial criteria to allow supporters to begin collecting the more than 385,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the 2012 general election ballot. The amendment would allow medical practitioners in a "bona fide practitioner-patient relationship" to recommend cannabis as a treatment for qualifying medical conditions. These would include cancer, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and other diseases, conditions or treatments that produce severe nausea, pain or muscle spasms. [continues 937 words]
The Ohio Ballot Board approved a medical-marijuana ballot issue yesterday, clearing the way for supporters to begin gathering signatures to place it on the statewide ballot in November 2012. The backers of the bill must now gather at least 385,000 valid signatures of Ohio registered voters to submit to the secretary of state in order to qualify for next year's fall ballot. The Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment would allow qualified practitioners to prescribe marijuana for patients at least 18 years old with a "qualifying medical condition." Patients could obtain up to 3.5?ounces of marijuana at a time. [continues 127 words]
Grand Jury Hands Down Secret Indictments Against 68 People. HAMILTON - A joint drug roundup operation this week has led to the arrest of 44 people by Wednesday afternoon on felony charges, according to the Butler County Sheriff's Office. The Butler County Prosecutor's Office, the warrants division and regional narcotics unit with the sheriff's office, county probation department, United States Marshals, and police departments from West Chester Twp., Fairfield Twp., Monroe and Oxford all participated in the operation that began Tuesday. [continues 277 words]
COLUMBUS - An effort to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio was stopped in its tracks Wednesday when supporters failed to get enough valid signatures on petitions, according to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office. The proposal needed 1,000 signatures, but just 534 of the 2,134 turned in by supporters were deemed to be valid, according to a release to the media from DeWine's office. The signatures were needed to begin the process of giving voters a chance to consider the proposed Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment to the Ohio Constitution in 2012. Supporters proposed making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients and for those patients to possess it. [end]
Group Submits Petitions To Legalize Marijuana Kettering Woman Supports Constitutional Amendment DAYTON - A group supporting legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio has taken the first steps to place a Constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot. Supporters turned in 2,143 signatures on petitions containing summary language of the proposed amendment to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who has sent the signatures out to local boards of election to verify. The group needs 1,000 signatures before DeWine will determine if the summary is a fair and truthful statement. After that, it is forwarded for review by the Ohio Ballot Board and to Ohio secretary of State Jon Husted. The group would then need to gather at least 385,245 valid signatures on petitions to place the amendment on the ballot, said Matt McClellan, press secretary for Husted. [continues 413 words]
Kettering Woman Supports Constitutional Amendment. DAYTON - A group supporting legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio has taken the first steps to place a Constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot. Supporters turned in 2,143 signatures on petitions containing summary language of the proposed amendment to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who has sent the signatures out to local boards of election to verify. The group needs 1,000 signatures before DeWine will determine if the summary is a fair and truthful statement. After that, it is forwarded for review by the Ohio Ballot Board and to Ohio secretary of State Jon Husted. The group would then need to gather at least 385,245 valid signatures on petitions to place the amendment on the ballot, said Matt McClellan, press secretary for Husted. [continues 416 words]
A story in Monday's Times headlined "'Bath salts' shop owner is due in court today'" reported on a local businessman's unenviable position of experiencing the legal system after police arrested him on drug-related charges. A more accurate title would have been "Police arrest non-violent individual doing stupid, voluntary actions." The arrest of non-violent offenders is completely illegitimate with few positive consequences, even recognizing the harmful and non-beneficial effects of drug use. To combat drug use and violence within society, one fact must be acknowledged: the war on drugs has exacerbated the drug problem and prevents positive solutions from developing. [continues 355 words]
The Drug Enforcement Agency has a warning to parents -- if your child wants to be buy some herbal incense, be aware they may be purchasing a potentially harmful product. Just like bath salts -- a phenomenon that has nothing to do with scented bath water additives -- a product known as Mad Hatter incense is being sold in central Ohio. Instead of sticks designed to burn and emit fragrant scents, this incense is a green leafy substance that can cause medical issues from increased heart rates to hallucinations. [continues 760 words]
LORAIN COUNTY - Bath salts, sold over the counter but with the potential to become hallucinogens, are beginning to be a problem in 2the area, according to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. "Basically, what this stuff does is give you the effects of methamphetamine and LSD at the same time," said Detective Gregg Mehling of the Lorain County Drug Task Force. Mehling said the bath salts can be purchased online or in stores. The danger involves the effect of the bath salts, which are typically snorted, but can also be smoked or injected, he said. In addition to hallucinations, bath salts also speed up the heart rate and respiration of users. [continues 556 words]
On Sunday evening, 10 July 2011, Director Gil Kerlikowske of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) visited Portsmouth and hosted a town hall-style discussion on prescription drug abuse. Fittingly, the meeting was held in the auditorium of the newly dedicated Second Chance Center, a facility that offers hope for people recovering from addiction. Invited to sit on the panel with the Director of ONDCP were U.S. Senator Rob Portman, U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Chief Ken Parker, Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine, Director of Ohio's Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Orman Hall, Scioto County Health Commissioner Dr. Aaron Adams, and me. [continues 800 words]
Two different groups are moving ahead with plans to put medical-marijuana issues to a statewide vote in Ohio next year. While Cleveland billionaire Peter Lewis already had sent up smoke signals about organizing and funding a medical-marijuana ballot issue, another group quietly has been laying the groundwork for a constitutional amendment. If approved by voters, the Ohio Medical Cannabis Act of 2012 would establish a regulatory system modeled after the Ohio State Liquor Control system. There would be an Ohio Commission of Cannabis Control, plus a state division and superintendent to run it. Marijuana purchases would require a doctor's prescription and would be subject to state and local sales taxes. [continues 480 words]
Three years ago, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative that authorized doctor-approved patients to use marijuana for medical reasons. There is considerable scientific evidence that carefully limited use of the drug relieves suffering from such diseases as cancer, glaucoma, and AIDS. Despite opposition from social conservatives, Michiganians were sympathetic. Yet the law has created big administrative and legal problems since it took effect. A few unscrupulous doctors have been happy to certify (for a fee) just about anyone to use medical marijuana. [continues 229 words]
Designer Drug Linked to Three Area Deaths and Suspected in Two Others. The designer drug marketed as "bath salts" is appearing statewide as an emerging drug trend, according to officials from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. "We are seeing it in some of the different regions, but it is hard for us to say just how big of a problem it is right now," said Brad DeCamp, the department's assistant chief of treatment and recovery services. [continues 326 words]
Some Police Say It's Time for End What became clear to me while speaking about marijuana legalization with volunteers of the organization Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is that the argument is really about responsibility. Are we as a society responsible for controlling what adults put into their own bodies? Or are individuals responsible for themselves? And is the Nixonian "war on drugs" -- now in its 40th year -- responsible for creating more problems than it solved? No matter what your view on America's relationship with controlled substances, you probably have a ready, emotionally charged answer. Debates get heated fast and rational discussions are in short supply. Proponents of legalization are often assumed to be potheads looking for a legal high. Retired Cincinnati Police Capt. Howard Rahtz defies this preconception. He's a conservative and has no interest in using drugs but he supports legal, controlled and public sales of marijuana. [continues 951 words]
In November 2008, a whopping 63% of Michigan's electorate affirmed that "modern medical research ... has discovered beneficial uses for marijuana in treating or alleviating the pain, nausea, and other symptoms associated with a variety of debilitating medical conditions." Since then, however, various politicians, judges, prosecutors and cops have been attempting to convince all of those voters that they were bamboozled. A prevailing argument made by these naysayers is that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act is being abused by physicians and patients who recommend and/or use marijuana to alleviate pain. [continues 408 words]
Recently, my son and I attended a great concert at The Q. However, when the band "fired up," so did a lot of patrons. I am speaking of marijuana, pot, weed, pick your poison. Never once did I see security. At intermission, I went outside to legally smoke a cigarette. The security outside was like the Gestapo. We were treated horribly -- worse than crackheads in a dark alley. I work in a job where I am subjected to drug tests. At what point does secondhand smoke put me at risk of failing one? We did not return to our seats. If Cleveland is laying off professionally trained police officers, maybe they can be replaced by these rent-a-cop wannabes. Laura Pennington, Akron [end]
Michigan medical-marijuana patients and the entrepreneurs who supply them with the drug say they're being driven underground by police raids. Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C., held workshops around Michigan this month advising people how to avoid police attention and what they should -- or shouldn't say during a raid. The group considers the police actions in Michigan aggressive. During a workshop at Ferndale's community center, Steph Sherer, executive director of the group, told people who operate dispensaries - -- people who sell the drug to medical users -- that they should expect at some point to see shouting drug agents with pointed guns. [continues 770 words]
A substance that unexpectedly has appeared on the shelves at tobacco shops and drive-throughs has transformed into a trendy -- and legal -- way to get high. But Ohio lawmakers are attempting to join at least 10 other states in banning the substance, which is marketed as a "bath salt" but has a different chemical composition than the aromatic salts meant to be poured into the tub. Bath salts are sold for up to $80 each in plastic bags the size of tea bags and in canisters the size of a quarter with a simple warning -- "Not for consumption." [continues 1058 words]
ELYRIA -- Jose Reyes Ferriz, the internationally heralded former mayor of Juarez, Mexico, called "the most dangerous city in the world," told a largely Hispanic Lorain County audience yesterday morning ,"We're going to take Juarez back." Reyes Ferriz brought his message to the 16th annual Hispanic Leadership Conference at Lorain County Community College. Reyes Ferriz, now living in Washington, D.C., travels the U.S. and Latin America speaking and acting as a consultant informing governments about what can be done to battle the drug trade and battle cartels. [continues 607 words]
Inside Ohio
