COLUMBUS - Ohio lawmakers are taking early steps toward lifting Ohio's driving penalties for marijuana possession.

A resolution up for a committee vote today declares the Legislature's opposition to a 1990 federal law that requires a six-month suspension or revocation of a driver's license after a drug offense conviction. That's the case even when the violation is a misdemeanor unrelated to driving, such as being caught with a small amount of marijuana.

Passage of the resolution is the ammunition Gov. John Kasich needs to request federal clearance for Ohio to opt out of the law, as all but 16 states have already done. Followup legislation would be introduced once federal approval is granted to change Ohio's possession law.

[continues 261 words]

Would Make It Easier to Give Anti-Addiction Medication to Help Users

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) was in Toledo today to generate support for a bill he's co-sponsoring that would make it easier to give anti-addiction medication to help heroin users break their heroin habit.

The bill, still awaiting action in the Senate, would increase the number of patients who would be able to get methadone medication to help them break their drug habits in response to demand from opiate abuse.

[continues 259 words]

Girl Brought Mixture in for Class Assignment

An Anthony Wayne Junior High School student who said she mixed flour and sugar to simulate drugs for a classroom assignment has been accused of bringing the real thing to school.

The eighth grader's parents, Kristine and Joseph Urenovitch of Whitehouse, went to court seeking an order that would prevent the school from suspending their daughter until the powdery mixture is tested in a lab by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Mr. Urenovitch, a lawyer who filed the complaint, said the rush to judgment -- and a proposed 10-day suspension -- was based on a preliminary field test conducted by Whitehouse police.

[continues 605 words]

Attorney General Sees State Conflict

The Ohio Attorney General's Office filed suit Tuesday against the city of Toledo, asking a judge to declare invalid several key sections of the city's new "Sensible Marihuana Ordinance."

The legal challenge in Lucas County Common Pleas Court claims several portions of the voter-approved Toledo law, including restricting fines and incarceration for marijuana possession, contradict Ohio law.

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates and Sheriff John Tharp joined Attorney General Mike DeWine in the lawsuit.

[continues 557 words]

Teens in Lorain County schools are creating this month for an awareness campaign with a message that young people do not need marijuana to succeed in life.

Elaine Georgas, executive director of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services of Lorain County, said teens designed the campaign in the spring, "We don't need weed to succeed."

The youth said there are better things to do with their lives than smoke marijuana, Georgas said.

The contest encourages teens to create 20-second videos and ask their friends to like the videos on Facebook and YouTube or retweet them on Twitter to help promote resilience against peer pressure, she said.

[continues 99 words]

In response to last Friday's letter "Smoking pot has ill effects on adolescents" from Dr. Peter D. Rogers, I do not disagree that smoking marijuana is harmful to adolescents. That is a scientific fact.

What he does with this fact, however, is stretch it into an overly broad, sweeping opinion of all marijuana users.

He mentioned that children showing up to his addiction clinic who smoked marijuana were doing poorly in school, drifting from their families and were unmotivated. That is a clear example of selection bias and does nothing to prove causal effects of marijuana smoking.

[continues 116 words]

The Wednesday op-ed "Drug courts can help reduce recidivism" by Jack D'Aurora certainly offers a step in the right direction. However, it is only a step, not the final destination.

I think we need to put up the white flag in the war on drugs. The most practical approach would be the legalization of most, if not all, of the illicit drugs. We have spent billions of dollars and seen innumerable deaths in the attempt to eliminate the supply and dampen the demand with little, if any, success. Production sites simply shift when confronted with possible destruction and demand remains unabated.

[continues 172 words]

It's hard for parents today to know the best way to guide their children through the years of teen and young-adult alcohol and drug experimentation because so much has changed since today's parents were teens.

Thirty years ago, a policy change mandated by Congress approving the National Minimum Legal Drinking Act forced the states to change their legal drinking age to 21.

Ohio raised the drinking age from 18 to 19 in 1984 and to 21 in 1987, which is similar to what happened across the country.

[continues 1408 words]

I respond to Wednesday's op-ed column by Jack D'Aurora regarding the use of drug courts to reduce Ohio's inmate population. D'Aurora pointed out many of the benefits of drug courts, but the need for specialized dockets extends beyond drug-treatment courts.

I am proud to say that Franklin County's judges have been proactive in reducing incarceration and recidivism rates through the operation of seven specialized dockets, four of which are drug courts.

In the Common Pleas Court, Judge Dana Preisse has operated the Family Drug Court in the Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division since 2002 and the Treatment is Essential to Success (TIES) program has operated since 2004, with Judge Stephen McIntosh currently presiding.

[continues 484 words]

GRANVILLE - The Granville Village Council is considering changes to the village code that would stiffen language that now appears to allow medical use of marijuana.

If the proposal is adopted, it would align the language more with the Ohio Revised Code, which disallows use of marijuana for medical purposes. It also would make driver's license suspensions connected with marijuana offenses mandatory rather than discretionary.

A public hearing will be conducted Sept. 3 for Ordinance No. 12-2014, which was introduced by the council Wednesday night.

[continues 398 words]

There's no magic pill to cure the heroin epidemic but judges in Ohio think they may have found an injection that can at least put a big dent in the problem.

Now Kentucky lawmakers will look at whether Vivitrol could work in Kentucky, where it hasn't been tried in the legal system.

Hocking County, Ohio Municipal Court Judge Frederick Moses will talk to Kentucky lawmakers on Thursday in Lexington about the success he's had in his drug court with Vivitrol to help addicts kick the habit.

[continues 797 words]

One way to gauge the depth of the heroin problem in the area is the increase in the use of Naloxone by local fire departments.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose, and the Hamilton and Middletown fire departments are reporting an increased use of the drug at an increased cost to cities, officials said.

Hamilton Fire Department personnel administered 432 doses of Narcan in 2013, and 342 doses in the first seven months of 2014, an increase of 13 doses per month, according to Mark Mignery, Hamilton's Emergency Medical Services Coordinator.

[continues 780 words]

Legislative Committee Discusses Drugs From A Law Enforcement Perspective

WILMINGTON - Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins joined a mix of state representatives, public officials and local law enforcement gathered in Wilmington City Council chambers Tuesday to discuss the state's drug abuse pandemic - and, in particular, heroin.

A legislative study committee kicked off the start of a four-hearing series scheduled for various locations across Ohio in Wilmington Tuesday.

The meeting was called for the purpose of discussing Ohio's drug problem from a law enforcement perspective.

[continues 550 words]

Police and sheriff's departments have stepped up their enforcement against heroin crimes, but officials say it is too soon to know the effect of their increased efforts.

Geauga County Coroner Dr. Robert Coleman said while there have been some potential heroin overdoses in the county in June and July, complete testing takes time, so final determinations have not been made on those deaths.

Public awareness has certainly increased though, he said.

"Is it really having an effect? It's too early to tell for sure," Coleman said. "It's been around for 3,000 years, so it's probably not going away any time soon."

[continues 510 words]

Kentucky has a growing prescription drug abuse and heroin abuse problem, and the scope of the problem is shocking. Our state has the nation's third-highest mortality rate from drug overdoses, which are largely driven by prescription painkillers. According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, about 1,000 Kentuckians a year fatally overdose on drugs -- that's more than are lost to fatal car crashes. Heroin deaths continue to climb and accounted for 32 percent of the drug overdose deaths last year.

[continues 525 words]

A MILTON Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser thinks he has a plan that will help save teens from becoming the next wave of heroin addicts.

After talking to dozens of addicts three months ago, Gmoser on Friday unveiled an initiative he hopes will take hold in the county's public and private high schools.

In May, Gmoser set up a hotline and put out a call through the media asking for heroin addicts or recovering addicts to meet with him confidentially for a chat on what got them started. He said 85 percent of the cases coming through grand juries were heroin-related and he wanted to find a way to fix the heroin epidemic which county coroner's officials said is responsible for 64 deaths so far this year.

[continues 618 words]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Democratic attorney general candidate David Pepper on Wednesday backed a proposal that would give judges more leeway to sentence low-level felons to prison time instead of probation.

Pepper, speaking at Ohio Democratic Party headquarters in Columbus, urged legislators to roll back a law that requires judges in most cases to offer probation to non-violent, first offenders charged with fourth- and fifth-degree felonies.

The Cincinnati attorney was joined Rep. Nick Barborak, the Lisbon Democrat sponsoring House Bill 251, and local police union president Jason Pappas.

[continues 366 words]

Dear Editor:

Marion owes a debt of gratitude to Rep. Dorothy Pelanda for rounding up a state legislature committee to study drug problems in Ohio.

We all know heroin and other illegal drugs are a cancer on our community and others in Ohio. We have seen increased law enforcement activity for which we are grateful. Rep. Pelanda will head a committee of 10 house members to work with law enforcement officials to learn about this problem from the ground up.

Hopefully, it will produce some meaningful legislation and programs to attack the issue. Once again, Dorothy Pelanda is showing the kind of leadership we have come to expect from her.

Nick R. Chilton

Pleasant Township

[end]

About 30 Butler County churches will come together in a three-day event this weekend in Hamilton to offer hope to heroin addicts and their families.

The event, called Hope Over Heroin, will include a prayer march, testimony from recovering addicts, live music, free food and prizes. Former Bengal Bobbie Williams, who left the Baltimore Ravens after the Super Bowl win, is expected to speak on Saturday.

"This thing is like a death angel. It's going into every house," the Rev. Josh Willis, an organizer, said of heroin. "We need to appeal to heaven because whatever we're doing here on earth isn't working very good."

[continues 243 words]

Congress should change an outdated law that is hindering states in their battle against addiction

Ohio's heroin and opioid epidemic has finally grabbed the attention of Congress. A recently introduced bill would expand treatment by changing an outdated law that restricts the use of Medicaid dollars to respond to addiction.

The 1965 law bans Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and other medical providers that have more than 16 beds. The provision - called the Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion - probably made sense when Congress created Medicaid. Fifty years ago, the federal government aimed to discourage the warehousing of mentally ill patients.

[continues 463 words]