To the Editor: Dr. Joe Gay, executive director of Health Recovery Services, falsely claims in The Athens NEWS' March 13 article "SRO Crowd Inhales Controversy at Marijuana Panel Discussion," that Colorado has an "increase in violence" due to legalizing marijuana. Colorado crime rates have decreased since re-legalizing marijuana for the sick over a decade ago and fully re-legalizing marijuana over a year ago. In fact, the crime of caging responsible adults for using a God-given plant has completely vanished. And make no mistake, caging humans for using what God says He created and is good on literally the very first page of the Bible, is a crime. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Marijuana is still not legal in Ohio, but state law enforcement officials worry driving while stoned is destroying nationwide efforts to reduce fatal car crashes. Deadly collisions involving marijuana use have tripled in the last 10 years, according to a recent study from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The study was published Jan. 29 in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The analysis showed 28 percent of driver fatalities and more than 11 percent of the general driver population tested positive for non-alcohol drugs, with marijuana being the most commonly detected substance. [continues 782 words]
What Will Ohio Voters Say If the Issue Is on the Ballot? Medical marijuana proponents are continuing efforts to bring legalization of the drug to Ohio voters in November. Libertarian candidate for governor Charlie Earl announced his endorsement for the "Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment" earlier this month, and John Pardee, president of the Ohio Rights Group that's pushing to get the amendment on the ballot, praised Earl for his support in a recent news release. "It clearly shows that attitudes of Ohio's political candidates are beginning to align with those Ohio voters who support the medicinal use of cannabis by almost nine to one," Pardee said. [continues 847 words]
At Ohio University's Baker Center Theater Tuesday, a panel discussing the potential legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio aired opinions from both sides of the debate. The Health Promotion department of OU's Campus Involvement Center presented "The Amazing Blazing Marijuana Debate," a 90-minute conversation about the merits and problems of medical marijuana. Even after additional chairs were imported, attendees lined the wings of the theater, signifying either heavy student extra-credit involvement or an unanticipated level of interest in the topic. [continues 999 words]
Brenda Heidinger, executive director of the Mahoning County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board, will be presenting "Marijuana 101 What Ohio's Proposed Marijuana Legislation Means for Our Communities" at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Brookfield High School auditorium, 614 Bedford Road, Brookfield. The presentation looks at how passage of this legislation will affect schools, businesses and Ohio taxpayers. Medical marijuana advocates in Ohio are currently circulating petitions and must gather more than 300,000 signatures to get the effort in front of voters. If voters approve the Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment, it would not only legalize medical marijuana, but would also establish a commission to regulate it. States that have approved medical marijuana use: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and District of Columbia. [end]
Colorado RE-legalized cannabis (marijuana) over a year ago and the sky hasn't fallen (Budding movement to legalize, Feb. 14, 2014): Ohio will likely witness the same results. Another reason to end cannabis prohibition that doesn't get mentioned is because it's biblically correct since God (The Ecologician) created all the seed bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page of the Bible. A sane or moral argument to continue caging responsible adults who use cannabis doesn't exist. By Stan White [end]
After dozens of election cycles, Ohio has earned its name as a swing state, but now it is ready to test the limits of that title on the issue of legalizing marijuana. To date, medical marijuana has been legalized in 20 U.S. States plus the District of Columbia, and Ohio might be joining this list after the 2014 election, according to an article on Cantonrep.com. However, for this to even be possible, the state must first overcome a number of milestones. In order to have the issue of medicinal marijuana on the 2014 ballot, the organizations vying for legalization, such as the Ohio Rights Group, must obtain approximately 385,000 signatures of registered Ohio voters, according to an article on Morningjournal.com. [continues 875 words]
PORT CLINTON - In a Jan. 22 letter to Port Clinton City Council, Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan urged members of council to give more to the drug task force in 2014 than the $10,000 that had been budgeted. In the past, the city has contributed $35,000 of the Ottawa County Drug Task Force's annual budget of about $275,000. Port Clinton Mayor Vince Leone provided a copy of a letter to township trustees and village officials, which he said was his response to Mulligan's request - which showed a majority of the cases were worked within the city limits. [continues 264 words]
It's almost impossible to discuss legalizing marijuana, whether for medical or recreational purposes, without a few giggles. But the issue really deserves the type of serious attention Ohio gives to the bad economy, government budget issues, women's rights and LGBT rights. It's not funny, for example, that an Ohio cancer patient struggling with nausea and loss of appetite as a result of chemotherapy has three options: use inadequate, potentially addictive medication; pay for a costly trip to a state where marijuana is legal; or buy it illegally, risking fines and marks on a criminal record. [continues 645 words]
There are states that will be asking voters to approve or disapprove the legal use of marijuana by the public. People with knowledge of the dangers associated with the drug would wonder why. It has been proven that the use of marijuana damages the brain. According to research published June 4, 2008, in the American Medical Association's journal Archives of General Psychiatry, marijuana users were more likely to exhibit mild signs of psychotic disorders and memory loss equivalent to that of patients with a traumatic brain injury. [continues 358 words]
Agricultural Pilot Programs Allowed in 9 States That Have Legalized Industrial Hemp. The recently-passed farm bill contains a provision that will permit universities and state agricultural departments to research and grow industrial hemp, which is derived from the cannabis plant. This same plant is also utilized for its medicinal and therapeutic properties, albeit illegally in states such as Ohio. For the purpose of this bill, the concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis, many not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. [continues 668 words]
Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is yet another victim of the war on drugs. Prohibition is not working. It is time to try something new. Hoffman, 46, was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment Sunday morning, apparently the victim of a heroin overdose. According to widely published reports, there was a syringe in his arm. Hoffman had lived through a familiar pattern: experimentation, addiction, rehab, abstinence, relapse, more rehab, more abstinence, another relapse. Why would a man held in such high esteem, a man with so much going for him and so much to live for, risk it all by buying illegal drugs from a criminal on the street and then injecting them into his veins? For the same reason any addict uses drugs: to get high. [continues 565 words]
Pro-Medical Marijuana Organization Targets the 2014 Ohio Ballot; Entrepreneurs Prepare for Eventual Legalization Ohioans could soon legally toke up if the Ohio Rights Group succeeds in its efforts to legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp across the state. The 2014 ballot effort tackles the issue as Colorado and Washington move along with full-on marijuana legalization and President Barack Obama, a vocal skeptic of legalization, allows both states to pursue their "experiments." But before Ohio can vote on the issue in November, the Ohio Rights Group first needs to gather 385,247 petition signatures, which in large part must come from at least half of Ohio's 88 counties, and present them to Ohio's secretary of state before a July deadline. For a grassroots campaign, that presents a considerable -- and costly -- statewide undertaking. [continues 1067 words]
I'm writing about a letter writer's thoughtful letter: "The politics of legalizing pot" (Jan. 29). I'd like to add that the cannabis legalization issue is not whether cannabis is completely safe for everybody, including children and adolescents. It is not. The issue is freedom of choice for adults. Children have died from eating peanuts and peanut butter but we don't cage peanut growers, sellers or consumers. And the voters of Colorado and Washington state have decided that we should not cage cannabis growers, sellers or consumers. Ohio adults have the freedom of choice of whether or not to consume legal alcohol. Shouldn't they have the same freedom of choice regarding legal cannabis? Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
By criminalizing certain chemicals, Ohio could finally have a way to cease the sale of drugs such as bath salts and synthetic marijuana. The rule change, set to take effect in March, comes from the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy. It will list certain pharmacophores - molecules that elicit a response from the human body - as Schedule I controlled substances, which also include heroin and ecstasy. That classification will make the drugs illegal to possess or sell. Drugs known as bath salts, synthetic marijuana and incense have thwarted Ohio lawmakers for several years because of their chemistry. To keep them off the street, lawmakers have repeatedly banned the chemical structure of each specific drug, starting in 2010. [continues 206 words]
While An Ohio legislator claims cannabis (marijuana) is not a high priority, re-legalizing the God-given plant changes the entire political landscape (Going to pot? Jan. 9, 2014). It brings out younger voters, exposes which politicians get it and don't get it and those who don't get it will be left behind. The majority of registered voters support ending cannabis prohibition which is one of North America's worst policy failures in history. It becomes a litmus test exposing which politicians reflect their constituents and who disregards them. A sane or moral argument to continue caging responsible humans for using cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Prohibiting sick citizens from using cannabis (marijuana) is vile and lacks compassion ("Blowing smoke: Legalizing pot in Ohio" (Jan. 15). Another reason to allow sick citizens to use cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it's biblically correct, since God created the plant, saying it's good on literally the very first page of the Bible. Further, many people know of cannabis as the tree of life, and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. The Christ Jesus risked jail in order to heal the sick. A sane or moral argument to cage sick humans for using cannabis doesn't exist. DILLON, COLO. [end]
Heroin overdoses claim about 11 lives each week in Ohio, it has been estimated. The epidemic, which has spread to the Mahoning Valley, also ruins thousands of lives and makes battlegrounds out of some neighborhoods. Various initiatives have been undertaken to reduce the enormous human carnage caused by the spread of heroin use in Ohio. State Attorney General Mike DeWine has established a task force to focus on it. More than two dozen health care providers have had their licenses revoked for prescribing or providing opiate painkillers improperly. And street-level arrests and raids occur frequently. [continues 403 words]
The phony justification for banning hemp because someone might secretly grow pot makes even less sense than it did before Colorado and Washington State legalized marijuana. Take a moment and look around you. Look up. The sky hasn't fallen, has it? People in Colorado are buying marijuana - legally - and civilization hasn't come crashing to its knees. At this point, we've all seen TV journalists reporting from Colorado dispensaries, noting long lines around the block and shop owners worried their supplies can't keep up with demand. It's quite a spectacle, which will be repeated in Washington state later this year. [continues 573 words]
We've gotten quite a bit of response to retired Miami University Prof. Richard Erlich's recent guest column about the relaxation of marijuana laws. Here's mail from a reader who asked that his name not be used: "It was nice to hear such a logical and American view on marijuana legalization. There are so many reasons to legalize marijuana, but the most obvious is freedom. Marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol and tobacco so adults should have the freedom to responsibly enjoy it the same as alcohol and tobacco. Common sense would be another great reason to legalize marijuana. We should focus our expensive and limited resources on keeping drugs from kids instead of responsible adults. Marijuana should be taxed and regulated just like alcohol and tobacco. Freeing up our courts and law enforcement to go fight crime that actually has victims and getting tax money from those that are happy to pay it makes a lot of sense to me." [end]
Inside Ohio
