The gentleman from Browns Mills misread the report from the feds on medical marijuana (letter, May 25). The study did say there can be medical benefits accrued from the ingredients in marijuana; however, it also said that smoking marijuana is not a good vehicle for its benefits. You can't get the medical benefits by smoking pot, sorry. Catherine Baggaley Browns Mills [end]
Addicts Don't Always Behave Like Barbie And Ken. The drug and alcohol counselors gathered yesterday in Oxford Valley recounted the horror stories. There was the recovering addict thrown out of the support group meeting because he was gay, and the edict from a group therapy counselor to keep the secret of sexual orientation hidden away. "A lot of people can't feel comfortable about who they really are in rehabilitation, therapy or Narcotics Anonymous meetings," said David Shaw, a therapist and addictions therapist, "and honesty and acceptance are key factors in sobriety." [continues 465 words]
Appeal: Drug Case Tossed Out The state Superior Court this week threw out an appeal of a key ruling in a major drug case filed by the Lancaster County district attorney's office because the prosecutor failed to submit legal paperwork on time. In a ruling filed May 25, the appellate court, without opinion, dismissed the prosecution's appeal. The district attorney's office had appealed a Lancaster County judge's ruling in the case against 45-year-old Kenneth Ray Potter of Fulton Township, District Attorney Joseph Madenspacher said Thursday. [continues 492 words]
JENKINTOWN -- School district officials have released the results of a drug survey that showed alcohol to be the drug of choice for the majority of students in grades six through 12. Alcohol use exceeded the national average among Jenkintown's eighth through 12th graders, district officials said at a meeting Monday. The PRIDE survey, conducted by the Atlanta-based National Parents' Resource for Drug Education, was administered to 285 Jenkintown students in February. This was the fourth year students in Jenkintown participated in the survey. The tiny district, which has only two schools, had a total enrollment of 610 this year. In addition to which drugs were used, the report also included statistics on when they were used, their accessibility, and students' perception of the danger of drugs. [continues 215 words]
He Answered A Question And Was Arrested. Police May Have Found Drugs. WALLINGFORD -- A 12-year-old Strath Haven Middle School student, arrested in class Thursday after making a remark construed as a threat against the school dean, has been scheduled to appear in Delaware County Juvenile Court on June 7. The student, a Swarthmore resident, is charged with the making of terroristic threats, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, and disorderly conduct. What is suspected to be marijuana and a pipe were found on him at the time of his arrest, according to a Nether Providence police report on the incident. [continues 277 words]
Alcohol and marijuana use topped U.S. average, according to students. JENKINTOWN -- School district officials have released the results of a drug survey that showed alcohol to be the drug of choice for the majority of students in grades six through 12. Alcohol use exceeded the national average among Jenkintown's eighth through 12th graders, district officials said at a meeting Monday. The PRIDE survey, conducted by the Atlanta-based National Parents' Resource for Drug Education, was administered to 285 Jenkintown students in February. [continues 399 words]
I was in a serious car accident on Jan. 5, 1997. I have chronic pain in my back and other complications. I have chosen to use marijuana as a natural but illegal substance for my medical needs. I, like millions of others, consider marijuana a much safer medicine than many that have been prescribed to me in the past. Last year, I was protesting Rep. Robert E. Andrews' planned vote against the "Medical Marijuana Bill" before Congress. I demonstrated my use of marijuana as a medicine twice, once at Andrews' office in Haddon Heights and again at the Democratic Party headquarters in Cherry Hill. I was arrested. [continues 74 words]
He Ran A Cocaine Ring In The 1980s And Got A 42-Year Term. He Says A 25-Year Deal Was Offered. Larry Lavin, the Ivy League-educated Main Line dentist who helped run a massive cocaine ring in the 1980s, was back in a Philadelphia federal courtroom yesterday, trying to shave time off the 42-year sentence he was handed in 1986. Gaunt and gray after 13 years in prison, Lavin, 44, testified that he was given bad advice by his then-attorney, Thomas Bergstrom, when Bergstrom told him "he could beat" a 25-year plea bargain being offered by prosecutors in 1986. But the prosecutor in the case testified that a 25-year deal was never on the table. Yesterday's hearing in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Diane Welsh was a step in a complicated legal process that Lavin hopes will lead to a federal judge accepting a 25-year plea bargain. That would allow Lavin, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, to possibly be released sometime next year with time off for good behavior. Without that reduction, a more likely date for parole would be in 2010. [continues 600 words]
Doris Leffler, 61, a nurse who wrestled with her own addiction before helping others in their fight, died Sunday of emphysema at Pennsylvania Hospital. Mrs. Leffler, a psychiatric nurse and a recovering alcoholic with 24 years' sobriety, was the director of the Alcoholism Recovery Program at Friends Hospital until late last year, when she became too ill to continue. She had worked at Friends since 1980. She founded the Philadelphia Recovering Nurses Association, a support group for chemically dependent nurses, in 1982. She also was a consultant to Pennsylvania's Impaired Professionals Program, a state organization she helped form. [continues 300 words]
A maintenance worker accused of nurturing 130 marijuana plants -- some as tall as eight feet -- in the courtyards of a Cinnaminson motel was spared at least temporarily yesterday when the jury considering his case deadlocked after four hours of deliberations. Richard Rowand Jr., 41, who lived and worked at the Garden State Motel on Route 130 when he was arrested last year, was charged with the first-degree crime of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Rowand's attorney, James Logan Jr., had argued that his client "was the low man on the totem pole" and was made into a scapegoat after police discovered the plants on Aug. 18, 1998, while investigating a complaint of a Peeping Tom on the premises. No Peeping Tom was found. [continues 154 words]
Drug Policy And Loans Divide Council Candidates Michael P. Mcguire And Frank Fulbrook. CAMDEN -- As the city approaches Tuesday's nonpartisan Council election, one race in particular has turned ugly: the First Ward contest, pitting Frank Fulbrook against Michael P. McGuire. The two, in a slugfest of accusations, are competing for the seat held by Michael H. Devlin, who is not running again. It is one of four four-year terms, which pay $13,700 a year, that have drawn a field of 10 candidates. Fulbrook fired the opening shot by trotting out a senior citizen who accused McGuire, a Camden County housing inspector, of driving the senior into poverty by failing to repay a $60,000 loan. A 1997 Camden County Superior Court judgment found McGuire in default, but did not specify when the money was to be repaid. [continues 342 words]
The former Dade City police officer will serve between 11 1/2 and 23 months in jail for having sex with a 13-year-old. Douglas Nickels, a former Dade City police officer fired in disgrace in 1990, will serve at least 11 months in jail in Pennsylvania for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Nickels, 51, whom police in York, Pa., accused of giving his victim liquor in a child's sip cup, pleaded no contest to a charge of statutory sexual assault. [continues 268 words]
The Lancaster County countryside is a contrast of old-farm charm and modern-day despair. And it's about to become the home turf for a heated debate on an illegal crop that some say could be the salvation of struggling farmers. Tucked among the meadows of grazing cows, the fields of cornstalks reaching for the skies, are rows and rows of tobacco plants - a crop that robs the soil of its nutrients, robs people of their lives and robs farmers of their livelihoods. [continues 564 words]
NORRISTOWN -- When Eleanor Brown decided to rent her East Moore Street apartment a month ago, she had seen it only during the daytime. But what a difference dusk can bring to the neighborhood, Brown said. That's when drug dealing, loitering and blaring music take over the corners between the 400 and 500 blocks of Moore Street -- which, borough police say, is fast becoming known as Norristown's marijuana capital. Brown, 39, says she is wondering whether she will be able to make it to the end of her lease. She is waiting to see whether Operation Fresh Start, the neighborhood-cleanup program that moved to Moore Street yesterday, will have any effect. [continues 455 words]
Burned by sagging tobacco sales and worried over sluggish prices for other crops, Balmer has joined a small but increasingly vocal group of farmers in Lancaster County and elsewhere who are looking to boost their fortunes by raising industrial hemp, the nonintoxicating cousin of marijuana. "It would fit right in as a replacement for tobacco," says Balmer, 60, a widowed mother of two who raises corn, barley, wheat, alfalfa, soybeans and chickens on two 200-acre farms in this pastoral borough 10 mile from the Susquehanna River. [continues 755 words]
Alicia Watkins had just pulled the hypodermic needle from her arm when the bathroom door swung open. Through a heroin-induced cloud, Watkins, then 21, saw her mother drop to her knees in the doorway and burst into tears. Her half-closed eyes allowed her to see the shame creep across the faces of her stepfather and grandparents as they stared at the black leather belt she had strapped around her left arm as a tourniquet. That was Easter Sunday last year. Today, Watkins, who grew up in Chatsworth, boasts that she has been clean since November. And the woman who says she spent roughly $45,000 on drugs and danced in Philadelphia strip joints to fuel her daily habit for three years credits the support of her family and a 5-inch pellet surgically implanted in her abdomen for the recent success in the fight against her addiction. Some in the medical community believe that this pellet, or a variation of it, may be the first step in the transformation of the treatment of the nation's estimated 600,000 heroin addicts and, along the way, help clear the clogged arteries of the criminal justice system. Watkins' pellet is based primarily on a drug called naltrexone, which prevents her from getting high on opiates such as heroin by blocking the drug's path, much like gluing the keyhole of a lock. Already, local justices are requiring addicts to use naltrexone implants as a condition of probation. [continues 1067 words]
Alicia Watkins had just pulled the hypodermic needle from her arm when the bathroom door swung open. Through a heroin-induced cloud, Watkins, then 21, saw her mother drop to her knees in the doorway and burst into tears. Her half-closed eyes allowed her to see the shame creep across the faces of her stepfather and grandparents as they stared at the black leather belt she had strapped around her left arm as a tourniquet. That was Easter Sunday last year. [continues 1181 words]
The state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a Bucks County man did not have to surrender his entire million-dollar property because of a 1995 conviction for selling marijuana from his home. The high court rejected the Bucks County district attorney's attempt to have all of Cyrus Kinney's 24-acre Buckingham Township property forfeited. It said the commonwealth was entitled to seize only Kinney's house and two surrounding acres on Anderson Road that were directly related to the crime. The court upheld lower-court rulings that the remaining 22 acres were not subject to seizure. [continues 351 words]
Advanced treatment Systems is looking at six other sites in York County to locate the clinic. The six people crowded behind the podium all but kissed and made up. There will definitely not be a methadone clinic in the Tri-Hill Professional Center on South Queen Street, sang three political figures, a Spring Garden Township resident, a health official and a businessman at a Tuesday morning press conference. All parties involved in the four-month disagreement finally announced that Advanced Treatment Systems of Coatesville will find another location for the methadone clinic that the York-Adams Drug and Alcohol Program insists is needed - the same clinic that residents argued would invite criminals into the area and push property values down. [continues 477 words]
Residents Could Learn Today If A Proposed Spring Garden Methadone Clinic Will Be Scrapped Or Altered. HARRISBURG - Spring Garden Township residents who have protested plans to open a methadone clinic in their neighborhood may get good news today. Local officials and a clinic representative will address the issue at a 9:30 a.m. news conference in the county commis sioners meeting room. Commissioner Chris Reilly called the conference Monday afternoon but did not divulge its nature. Reporters were told to expect an announcement regarding drug and alcohol programs. Later, Reilly acknowledged that the announcement would deal with the proposed treatment center for heroin addicts. [continues 553 words]
By Cooperating With Authorities, The Former Hospital Technician Got A Relatively Light Sentence. A Philadelphia man who authorities said was a leading player in a major area cocaine ring was sentenced yesterday to 18 months to three years in Bucks County Prison by Common Pleas Judge Isaac S. Garb. Luis Rivera, 32, pleaded guilty in January to charges of possession with intent to deliver and delivery of a controlled substance, and agreed to cooperate with authorities as they continue to investigate the drug organization. A former dialysis technician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Rivera had faced a maximum of 30 years in jail. Gary Gambardella, chief deputy district attorney, said Rivera received a light sentence because of his extensive cooperation at "the risk of life and limb," which had led investigators to other members of the ring. Last August, authorities seized 228 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $16 million from the trunk of a car parked in the garage of Rivera's Northeast Philadelphia duplex. [continues 246 words]
As a community pharmacist, I found the editorial "Marijuana as medicine" (Inquirer, April 10) quite intriguing. I have always advocated that any pharmaceutical preparation that enhances the quality of life and eases suffering be made available to the consumer. Therefore, I agree with your editorial in philosophy. The problem with making medical marijuana available for pain therapy is summed up in the phrase allow individuals to smoke the drug. Now we are talking about a never-before-used, drug-delivery system. If marijuana can be produced to be an oral tablet, injectable, transdermal or any other conventional dosage form, then we can anticipate FDA approval of medical marijuana in the near future. Bob Spera, Philadelphia [end]
In the editorial "Marijuana as medicine" (Inquirer, April 10), you acknowledge that marijuana is not addictive, dangerous or a gateway drug. Given this, it's clear that there is no legitimate basis for marijuana prohibition. But you reject the notion that marijuana should be legalized simply for the purpose of getting high. According to the latest edition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report, federal, state and local law enforcement arrested nearly 700,000 Americans on marijuana charges during 1997. FBI data indicate that 87 percent of marijuana arrests are for "possession" only. The figures for 1998 are expected to be even higher. The continuing legal persecution of Americans who use marijuana is an injustice - an injustice you apparently support. Walter F. Wouk, President Capital Region Chapter National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Cobleskill, N.Y. reply2@midtel.net [continues 5 words]
Khalid El-Amin, who last month helped Connecticut win its first national basketball championship, was arrested yesterday and charged with possession of marijuana. The sophomore point guard was picked up on a Hartford street about 5:30 p.m. yesterday and charged with possession of less than four ounces of marijuana, police said. El-Amin was hustled out of a police substation in the city's North End shortly after 6 p.m. and taken to the main station to be booked. [continues 479 words]
The State Superior Court Ruled, 5-4, In A Case Involving Random Stops At A Toll Bridge Random police searches for drugs in buses at the Delaware Water Gap Toll Plaza are unconstitutional, the state Superior Court has ruled. In a 5-4 decision last week, the court said police have no right to stop Greyhound buses randomly, question passengers, and check luggage "in the absence of reasonable suspicion or probable cause that an individual on the bus is transporting narcotics." [continues 332 words]
State and federal laws should be changed to allow use of this drug to ease suffering. After years of fighting with no cease-fire in sight, perhaps a settlement of the 1960s marijuana wars finally can be negotiated. The prize would be the chance to do serious, long-term scientific research into marijuana's effectiveness as a medical drug. It also would aid some of the nation's most helplessly ill: terminal cancer patients. To achieve those goals, Americans must acknowledge that a drug demonized by some as emblematic of wanton drug use and moral degeneracy is - while not the equivalent of aspirin - not exactly a pipeline to crack cocaine, either. [continues 462 words]
The "Date Rape" Drug Has Shown Promise In Treating Cataplexy, A Rare Neurological Disorder. A push in Pennsylvania to criminalize a drug used in date rapes is worrying patients who need the drug to treat a rare sleep disorder. GHB, or gamma hydroxybutyrate, is a clear, flavorless, liquid sedative that can have intoxicating effects. Slipped into a drink, it can bring on unconsciousness and amnesia. GHB is easily obtained over the Internet, and has been involved in more than 20 sexual assaults and 3,500 cases of recreational abuse, including 600 overdoses and 32 deaths, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. [continues 881 words]
County Official wants Government to Lift Ban on Growing Crop With sinking prices for corn, soybeans and tobacco, the time is ripe for farmers to consider planting alternative crops, according to county Farm Bureau president Jane Balmer. One of her suggestions is a crop that was grown abundantly here for more than 200 years, providing textiles, food, oil and paper. Trouble is, it's presently illegal to cultivate industrial hemp in the United States and has been since a 1937 ban was imposed to eliminate harvests of marijuana, industrial hemp's intoxicating cousin. [continues 536 words]
W. Russell G. Byers (column, March 30) is confused. The greatest risk for medical marijuana users is getting caught in the judicial system. However, Byers overstates the risk of marijuana for young people. He buys into Joe Califano's illogical "gateway" theory - that marijuana use will "lead" to harder drugs. The gateway theory becomes more believable when Byers places it into context. The only way to obtain marijuana is through the black market. Entering that black market exposes the marijuana buyers to other, more dangerous black-market drugs. If marijuana buyers didn't have to go to the black market, this exposure would not take place. [continues 79 words]
MC moves to ban electronic devices Sharon Petrosky has been breaking the law every day since the morning a stranger attacked her on her way to school. Petrosky, 17, broke free of her attacker, but resorted to carrying a telephone pager, or beeper, for her safety - despite a 1989 state law making it illegal for students to carry paging devices on school property. Now, the Manheim Central school board may strengthen the law with a new policy barring electronic devices such as beepers, laser pointers and cellular telephones from school property, vehicles and activities. [continues 461 words]
A man who admitted he set up cocaine sales from behind bars in a Philadelphia jail was sentenced yesterday to two to four years in Bucks County Prison. Michael Diaz, 37, of Grant Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to drug charges last month and admitted he used a cell phone to arrange cocaine transactions -- including one in Bensalem -- while he was an inmate in Curran-Fromhold Prison. Bucks County Court Judge Isaac S. Garb authorized Diaz yesterday to participate in a work-release program. [continues 202 words]
BRISTOL TOWNSHIP -- Those of us in the market for a pair of size 10 men's Gucci loafers, queen-size satin sheets or a 1989 Geo Spectrum just got lucky. In a case of Miami Vice meets Monty Hall, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office will auction off personal property seized from convicted drug dealers during the last eight months. Scheduled for April 24 in Bristol Township, the auction is the 16th in a series that since 1987 has generated $745,342 to pay for undercover narcotics investigations and crime-fighting equipment in the county. [continues 167 words]
BRISTOL TOWNSHIP -- Those of us in the market for a pair of size 10 men's Gucci loafers, queen-size satin sheets or a 1989 Geo Spectrum just got lucky. In a case of Miami Vice meets Monty Hall, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office later this month will auction off property seized from convicted drug dealers during the last eight months.Scheduled for April 24 in Bristol Township, the auction is the 16th in a series that since 1987 has generated $745,342 to pay for undercover narcotics investigations and crime-fighting equipment in the county. [continues 325 words]
Michael Diaz Set Up Cocaine Sales From Curran-Fromhold Prison. A man who admitted he set up cocaine sales from behind bars in a Philadelphia jail was sentenced yesterday to two to four years in Bucks County Prison. Michael Diaz, 37, of Grant Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to drug charges last month and admitted he used a cell phone to arrange cocaine transactions -- including one in Bensalem -- while he was an inmate in Curran-Fromhold Prison. Bucks County Court Judge Isaac S. Garb authorized Diaz yesterday to participate in a work-release program. Diaz was a carpenter before he was sent to jail. [continues 237 words]
Controversy has grown quickly around the prospect of a methadone clinic locating in Spring Garden Township: 1990 : Stepping Stone discontinues methadone treatment for York County heroin addicts. Fall 1998 : York/Adams Drug and Alcohol Program asks Advanced Treatment Systems of Chester County to open a clinic in York County. Dec. 7, 1998 : ATS Executive Vice President Jeff Kegley applies for a license to operate a methadone clinic in York County. March 10, 1999 : Spring Garden Township residents gather 150 petition signatures against locating the clinic in the Tri-Hill Professional Center, 1601 S. Queen St. [continues 91 words]
A Methadone Clinic In Coatesville Operates So Quietly, Its Neighbors Don't Notice COATESVILLE - When the night sky starts hinting at sunrise, before the McDonald's sign lights up across the street, a half dozen people sit in their cars and wait for the doors to unlock. By 5:30 a.m., they can come in. A bright blue-eyed blonde in leggings and a fleece sweatshirt checks in with the receptionist. "You're here early," the reception ist tells her. [continues 1204 words]
WEST VIEW, Pa. (AP) -- Beer is to sell, not to drink. That motto has served Angelo Cammarata well for the more than 60 years he has given faithful patrons cold brew, a sympathetic ear and a joke or two in his homey ``shot and a beer'' tavern. At 85, Cammarata, or ``Camm'' as his customers and neighbors affectionately call him, has been anointed the world's oldest bartender by the Guinness Book of World Records. ``I don't know how much longer the good Lord will keep me here,'' Cammarata said, sipping ``just plain old Pepsi'' and nattily dressed in a striped shirt, blue tie and light blue cardigan sweater reminiscent of TV's Mr. Rogers. ``I retired 20 years ago, but my boys won't let me quit.'' [continues 853 words]
UPPER MACUNGIE -- Two Texas men are being held in Lehigh County Prison after state police found $40 million to $50 million worth of cocaine in their flatbed trailer truck. Police said the driver was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change. Authorities were uncertain whether Saturday's bust was the largest drug haul ever seized by the Fogelsville barracks of the state police in Lehigh County, but they called the amount "significant." Police said the cocaine did not appear to be bound for the Lehigh Valley. They would not speculate on where it was headed or where it came from, saying only that they were continuing to investigate. [continues 159 words]
Several thoughts for a Monday morning: Political expediency: Isn't it amazing how quickly Pennsylvania's legislators can act when a politically attractive piece of legislation hits their desks? Last week, amid hysteria about a methadone clinic planned for Spring Garden Township, the state House rushed through legislation designed to prevent its opening. The haste was in response to pressure from suburbanites who may have based their judgment more on fear than fact. Perhaps this bill is needed, but there's no way of knowing without a thoughtful process that includes time to study the issue before voting. [continues 413 words]
To the Editor: U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., who leads the effort against the medicinal use of marijuana, told the Los Angeles Times, ''When smoking a dangerous and highly addictive drug is labeled 'therapeutic,' we are sending the wrong message to our youth.'' The summary of the Institute of Medicine report released on March 17, ''Marijuana and Medicine, Assessing the Science Base'' states, relative to McCollum's description, ''Although few marijuana users develop dependence, some do.'' The good scientists do not make it sound like it is highly addictive. [continues 224 words]
A new Institute of Medicine report sides with those who say it can help the chronically ill. In the eyes of the law, they are criminals who could go to prison for what they do every day. But, across the country, many chronically ill people say that smoking marijuana provides significant relief from their often debilitating symptoms. "I can smoke a joint, and five minutes later, I can eat every last drop of food," said Kiyoshi Kuromiya, 55, a Philadelphia AIDS activist who uses marijuana to combat the nausea, appetite loss and wasting syndrome common to AIDS patients. [continues 1191 words]
An Easton man whose wife smoked the drug before she died from AIDS, is a plaintiff in the case. A class-action lawsuit challenging the federal government's refusal to legalize marijuana for medicine can move ahead, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Senior Judge Marvin Katz concluded that the plaintiffs have a right to delve more deeply into the fairness of a federal program that gives marijuana to some ill people but not others. More than 160 people -- many with serious illnesses -- are suing the federal government, claiming that marijuana should be legalized for all people who want to use it as medicine. Al Smith of Easton, whose wife, Denise, smoked marijuana before she died from AIDS, is one of the plaintiffs. [continues 679 words]
I am writing out of a deep concern for the methadone clinic which I understand has leased space within a group of doctors' and dentists' office on South Queen Street in York. My concern is from past experience. In the '80s while living in York, my job headquartered in New York City and required that I live in New York during the week. The apartment was in a nice neighborhood, but there was a methadone clinic around the corner. During that time, my car was broken into twice, stolen once and my apartment, which was on the first floor, was almost broken into - only the steel door and four locks kept the intruder out. [continues 111 words]
Two Pieces Of Legislation Would Ban Methadone Clinics From Certain Areas. HARRISBURG - Plans for a methadone clinic on South Queen Street in Spring Garden Township took a hit this week when the state House approved two pieces of legislation that would regulate where such facilities are located. Critics claim that methadone clinics, which treat heroin addicts, pose a public safety risk because they attract drug dealers. Separate bills that sailed through the state House would ban the clinics from areas where children learn and play and where families live and pray. [continues 631 words]
A Federal Study Concludes That Marijuana's Active Ingredients Have Potential Value In Treating Americans With Cancer And AIDS WASHINGTON - Marijuana is often less helpful for relieving symptoms of debilitating illnesses than drugs already on the market, but its active ingredients do have potential value as medicine to treat thousands of Americans with cancer and AIDS who are suffering from pain, uncontrolled nausea and vomiting or loss of appetite. That's the conclusion of an advisory panel from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, which the White House commissioned two years ago to review the scientific benefits and risks of medical marijuana. [continues 606 words]
WASHINGTON -- Research indicates that the active ingredients of marijuana can be helpful in treating an array of medical conditions. Here is a summary of findings from recent studies of the medical use of marijuana: Pain relief. Three studies on cancer pain have shown that THC, an active component of marijuana, is as effective as codeine in reducing pain. The studies also showed that THC curbed nausea and enhanced feelings of well-being. Marijuana compounds are most likely to help with problems of chronic pain caused by cancer, nerve damage or AIDS. Studies on acute pain, surgical pain and migraine headaches have been less conclusive. [continues 274 words]
WASHINGTON - Entering the fractious debate over medical marijuana, the Institute of Medicine recommended yesterday that marijuana cigarettes be made available for short periods to help cancer and AIDS patients who can find no other relief for their severe pain and nausea. Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services almost immediately responded by saying they would not dispense marijuana to individual patients until more clinical research showed it was safe. Still, the report was seen as a victory by many who advocate the use of marijuana as medicine. The response from drug-fighting groups was subdued. [continues 1086 words]
WASHINGTON -- Entering the fractious debate over medical marijuana, the nation's Institute of Medicine recommended Wednes-day that marijuana cigarettes be made available for short periods to help cancer and AIDS patients who can find no other relief for their severe pain and nausea. Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services almost immediately responded by saying they would not dispense marijuana to individual patients until more clinical research showed it was safe. Still, the report was seen as a victory by many who advocate the use of marijuana as medicine. [continues 448 words]
(PHILADELPHIA) - A federal judge is refusing to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to legalize the medical use of marijuana. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz says the plaintiffs in the class-action suit deserve the chance to prove the government has no reason to deny the drug to seriously ill people. Justice Department officials say they stand by the fact that marijuana remains an illegal drug, but the lawyer representing the 165 people who are part of the suit says medical research has shown that marijuana can help patients suffering from glaucoma and combats the nausea caused by drugs used to treat cancer and AIDS. [end]
Alba Restrepo's Plea Followed Her Husband's. The Cocaine Ring Was Called The City's Largest. Her husband pleaded guilty on Friday, and yesterday a frightened-looking Alba Restrepo confessed in court to helping a violent drug ring distribute millions of dollars of cocaine in Camden in the last decade. The petite Restrepo, 35, her dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail above an orange prison jumpsuit and manacles, admitted through an interpreter that she conspired to help distribute between 50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine in Camden with the assistance of her husband, Eduardo "Quattro" Vargas, and a relative. [continues 192 words]
Inside Pennsylvania
