In his letter in the Sept. 12 Argus Leader, Dr. Mick Vanden Bosch erroneously claims that marijuana is a "more dangerous drug" than cigarettes. Such a wildly inaccurate statement calls into question the merits of his opposition to the medical marijuana measure South Dakotans will be voting on this November. Almost 440,000 Americans die every year as a direct result of tobacco use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 20,000 die from prescription drug overdose. [continues 145 words]
Emmett Reistroffer said he has personally witnessed the healing power of marijuana. As a 10-year-old, he watched as his grandmother wasted away from chemotherapy treatments. Sitting behind a table in a tent Wednesday at Dakotafest in Mitchell, Reistroffer said the family's difficult decision to obtain marijuana for his ailing grandmother turned out well. "She kept losing weight. They didn't think she was going to live another year," Reistroffer said. "We found some (marijuana), gave it to my grandmother and, for the first time in her therapy, she gained weight. I sincerely believe it prolonged her life." [continues 325 words]
My tongue was bound. My typing fingers were paralyzed. On July 6, 2009, these acts were performed by a circuit court judge because I am a visible and ardent advocate of informed personal discretion regarding one's choice of intoxicant or medical palliative. The Court, of course, decides such cases in favor of alcohol, without which there wouldn't be a need for much of current court time. I was convicted of possession of 3.67 ounces of cannabis. Two ounces is a felony. I was sentenced to a year in jail, with all suspended except 45 days, during which I slept nights in the work-release facility on East North Street in Rapid City. The balance of the year was spent on probation, with regular visits to a probation officer, under the constriction that I was to "take no public role in any program advocating legalization" of currently-illicit "drugs." [continues 475 words]
Vote yes for compassion. Vote yes on Initiated Measure 13. I was proud to sign the petition that circulated last year to place medical marijuana on the November ballot in South Dakota. Recently, I learned the group behind the petition, the Coalition for Compassion spearheaded by the former chairman of the South Dakota Multiple Sclerosis Society, collected twice as many signatures as was required for getting the measure on the ballot. I only can hope this is a true testament to the growth of support for patients' rights in South Dakota. [continues 133 words]
Here are some facts that substance abuse and prevention counselor Darcy Jensen overlooked in her April 19 Argus Leader column opposed to the legalization of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana is not the only drug being used in the workplace. Employers have the same liability with narcotics prescribed by physicians, which, by the way, have a long and proven history of addiction, accidents and deaths associated with their use. There are laws on the books for operating motor vehicles under the influence of drugs. If faced with the choice of meeting a driver or teacher under the influence of marijuana or prescription narcotics, I'd much rather be on the road or in the classroom with the person using marijuana. [continues 252 words]
Two self-evident truths stood out in Darcy Jensen's con essay against legalizing medical marijuana in the April 19 Argus Leader. Yes, synthetic medical marijuana exists under the trade name Marinol, and it's true that relatively few Americans are imprisoned solely for pot possession. But each of the more than 800,000 annual marijuana arrests nationwide are made on the grounds that cannabis and cannabinoids lawfully are listed in Schedule I, having "no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision." [continues 143 words]
Another reason to stop caging sick citizens who use cannabis (marijuana) that didn't get mentioned in Tony Ryan's essay in the April 19 Argus Leader regarding legalizing medical marijuana is because it's biblically correct since God indicates on literally the first page of the Bible (Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30) that he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good. The only biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see I Timothy 4:1-5). "But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (I John 3:17). Jesus Christ risked jail to heal the sick. Stan D. White . Dillon, Colo [end]
I'm writing about Tony Ryan's outstanding opinion regarding legalizing medical marijuana in the April 19 Argus Leader. I'd like to add that one of the medications prescribed by my personal physician for my arthritis pain and inflammation has the rare potential side effect of death. In other words, if I take this medication as prescribed, I can die as a result. On the other hand, marijuana never has been documented to kill a single person in the 5,000-year history of its use. For me, marijuana is the more effective medication. [continues 64 words]
While there have been studies showing that marijuana can shrink cancerous tumors, medical marijuana essentially is a palliative drug. If a doctor recommends marijuana to a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy and it helps him or her feel better, then it's working. In the end, medical marijuana is a quality-of-life decision best left to patients and their doctors. Drug warriors waging war on noncorporate drugs contend that organic marijuana is not an effective health intervention. Their prescribed intervention for medical marijuana patients is handcuffs, jail cells and criminal records. This heavy-handed approach suggests that drug warriors should not be dictating health care decisions. It's long past time to let doctors decide what is right for their patients. Sick patients should not be jailed for daring to seek relief from marijuana. Robert Sharpe Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C [end]
There's been talk of legalizing marijuana and even some good arguments in favor of it for medicinal use only. California obviously made its medicinal marijuana laws so vague that it's easy to get a prescription card for it by your doctor. Allegedly, moms are using medicinal marijuana instead of antidepressants, anxiety medications and painkillers so they can be mellow when caring for their children. It's also OK to drive under the influence of medicinal marijuana as long as you carry a medicinal marijuana card with you. [continues 217 words]
Fear of Arrest Shouldn't Be Part of Care for Some As a retired police officer, I know well what it is like to work the front lines of keeping a community safe and secure. From this experience, and having relatives who have suffered from cancer, I have become a passionate supporter for safe access to medical marijuana. I am urging fellow South Dakotans to support the Safe Access Act (Initiated Measure 13) on the ballot this November. The therapeutic use of marijuana is supported by an ever-growing consensus in medical and scientific communities. To name a few: the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Academy of HIV Medicine, American Medical Students Association, Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association, American Pain Foundation, National Women's Health Network, several state medical associations and societies and the Federation of American Scientists. [continues 389 words]
Proposal Packed With Unintended Consequences This question will be one each South Dakota resident will need to answer in the fall election. I believe to make a sound decision it is important to analyze the issue by gathering facts, looking at the outcome for states that already have legalized marijuana, and determine the impact of this decision on your personal life, business, community and state. If medical marijuana use is legal, how do you regulate legal use and what about the cost incurred? Looking at three states that have medical marijuana might provide some answers. [continues 424 words]
Thousands of South Dakota parents are hoping the threat of arrest will steer their kids clear of a run-in with the law. A new report, however, shows that nationally, marijuana use does not go down as marijuana possession arrests go up. In "Marijuana Arrests in the United States in 2007," a study funded by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, Jon Gettman, adjunct assistant professor of criminal justice at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., concludes that "nationally, there is little apparent relationship between increasing marijuana arrests and the rates of use." [continues 584 words]
Medical marijuana advocates plan to file petition signatures Monday seeking a statewide vote on a proposal to legalize marijuana in South Dakota for use in treating pain, nausea and other health problems. Emmett Reistroffer of Sioux Falls, one of the organizers of the petition drive, said he had planned to file the signatures Wednesday but decided not to drive to Pierre because of icy roads. He said he will file the signatures with the secretary of state's office on Monday if travel is safe. [continues 304 words]
Jack Delaney Imposed a Gag Order on Political Activist Bob Newland Circuit Court Judge Jack Delaney had given plenty of thought to his sentencing options by the time he arrived in court July 6. It was a fairly typical charge but a not-so-typical defendant: Bob Newland. The well-known public advocate for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes had previously pleaded guilty to felony possession of the drug. And Delaney wanted to make the sentence sting without imposing an unduly harsh prison term on a 60-year-old man with a relatively clean criminal record. [continues 600 words]
The gag order imposed by a Rapid City judge on medical marijuana advocate Bob Newland as part of his sentence is an unusual penalty that injects political views over public policy into a legal process, a spokesman for a national criminal-defense association said Friday. Jack King, director of public affairs and communications for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Washington, D.C., said Judge John "Jack" Delaney took an unusual step in forbidding Newland from taking any public role in the campaign to legalize marijuana for medical uses for one year. The restriction was part of the judge's sentence issued Monday for Newland's conviction for felony pot possession. [continues 378 words]
Medical marijuana proponent Bob Newland's advocacy days are over - at least for a year while he is under court supervision. Newland, who pleaded guilty to felony possession of marijuana, was sentenced Monday to one year in the Pennington County Jail. Before his sentencing, Newland told Seventh Circuit Judge John "Jack" Delaney that he has had butterflies in his stomach since his arrest in March. Newland said he was humbled by the letters of support that were forwarded to the judge. [continues 404 words]
A longtime South Dakota supporter of legalized marijuana has been sentenced to serve 45 days in jail for possessing the illegal drug. Authorities say Bob Newland of Hermosa was found with four bags of marijuana, a scale and $385 in cash when he was stopped for speeding in March. He pleaded guilty in May to a possession charge under a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious charge of possession with intent to distribute. Newland will be on probation for the rest of the year following his jail term. During his probation, he is barred from publicly advocating the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. [end]
This letter is in response to the column by Matt Okerlund in the Feb. 28 Argus Leader titled "Some bad company to keep." This was the classic case of someone projecting the qualities they don't like about themselves onto someone else. In this case, Okerlund was trying to claim that people who smoke pot are responsible for the violence in Mexico when it actually is anyone who has supported this immoral war on drugs for the past 40 years who are responsible for the violence. They finally are getting what they wanted: a war. [continues 78 words]
We've come a long way from "I didn't inhale," former President Clinton's rather lame attempt to explain away a marijuana toke. President Obama has been candid about his use of marijuana and cocaine as a young man, when he was grappling with his identity. In his autobiographical "Dreams From My Father," he wrote, "I got high (to) push questions of who I was out of my mind." The revelation barely caused a ripple during the campaign. Maybe America is maturing on the question of what to do about illicit drug use. When youthful experimentation no longer dooms a career in politics, it means that people have stopped equating former drug use with degeneracy. Most adults in our country have either used a banned drug themselves or know someone who has - someone perfectly upstanding today. And that will help us move beyond the sensational and destructive "war on drugs" rhetoric to a place where drugs are viewed primarily as a public health problem. [continues 517 words]
PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota isn't ready to legalize marijuana as a medical treatment for severe and chronic pain, a legislative committee decided. The House Health and Human Services Committee voted 9-4 on Tuesday to kill HB1127, which would have legalized limited use of marijuana to treat symptoms of illnesses such as MS or the nausea that can accompany chemotherapy treatments. Supporters of the bill said marijuana relieves symptoms that other drugs can't touch. But opponents said marijuana already is a major law-enforcement problem and legalizing a medical version of the substance would make that worse. [continues 406 words]
Bob Newland's op-ed, "Depriving ill people marijuana is `evil' (Thursday, Jan. 8) is outstanding. Kudos to The Weekly News for publishing it. Newland rightly points out that those who dismiss cannabis as medicine are, uh, free to go outside and play while we adults discuss reality. I would like to add a few points to Mr. Newland's article. - - While it denies any medical use, the U.S. government happens to be the only federally legal growers and distributors of medical cannabis in the U.S.. That marijuana, grown in Mississippi, is distributed as medicine to the few remaining patients in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug program (CIND). [continues 107 words]
Anything causing harm, pain, etc." is the definition of the word "evil" as a noun in my dictionary. For "evil" as an adjective, the definition reads, "morally bad or wrong." While the argument over what is "morally wrong" too often extends to trying to criminalize the merely annoying, I'd think we could agree on the following premises: It is morally wrong to purposefully withhold relief from someone suffering the pain and nausea caused by many medical conditions. To withhold such relief is synonymous with "causing pain, harm, etc." [continues 468 words]
Supporters of a medical marijuana law in South Dakota are preparing to ask the 2009 Legislature to reconsider the issue. After the 2005 Legislature rejected a bill to legalize the use of marijuana for legitimate health problems, a 2006 ballot measure drew 48 percent support. Bob Newland of Hermosa, who has pushed the issue for years, says marijuana can be a savior for people undergoing cancer treatment, dealing with glaucoma, or experiencing severe or chronic pain or nausea. "That 48 percent is a pretty big hammer to take to the Legislature," he said. [continues 143 words]
The Yankton Police Department, Yankton School District and Sacred Heart Schools have renewed their joint effort to keep kids away from drugs and alcohol by reintroducing the D.A.R.E. program to the local elementary schools. Entering into its 19th year of joint education, the D.A.R.E. program was initially started in Yankton in 1989. Offered nationally to children in grades k-12, the local program is targeted at the elementary school-age children, with the fifth grade classes of Yankton receiving the entire 10-12 week program. [continues 746 words]
VERMILLION, S.D. -- So your college-age daughter comes home and tells you that in order to learn more about drug culture and policies, she's going to Europe to spend a few days in Amsterdam. Yes, that Amsterdam. The one that's famous worldwide for its red-light district and coffee shops in which you can order various types of marijuana off a menu much the way you can order different cuts of beef in an American steakhouse. And remember, your kid is still in college and heading over there with a group of other students. You've seen the Cheech and Chong movies. You're no dummy. [continues 560 words]
Former fifth grader and 2007 D.A.R.E. graduate in the Spearfish School District, Maddie Drumm, said in an essay: "Officer Candi Watts is the best D.A.R.E. officer ever. She really helps you make good decisions." Others in the state expressed similar feelings recently by awarding Watts the Ron Tennill D.A.R.E. Officer the Year Award. Watts accepted the award at the annual D.A.R.E. officers training conference in Pierre, which also marked the 20th anniversary for the South Dakota D.A.R.E. Officers Association. [continues 950 words]
Sioux Falls Police See Surge In Coke-Related Arrests Law enforcement's assault on methamphetamine in recent years has succeeded in suppressing the drug's production here, but it might have opened a hole in the local drug market that now is being filled by cocaine. In recent years, cocaine has increased in prominence, with arrests for possession and distribution on the rise in the Sioux Falls area. Cocaine offers a similar high for about the same cost as methamphetamine, and its popularity hinges in part on the decreased supply of locally produced methamphetamine. [continues 802 words]
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) culmination ceremony for the fifth-grade students at Sturgis Williams Middle School (SWMS) was held last week with 108 students participating. The special speaker was Luke Lynass, president of the student council at Sturgis Brown High School. He began by reading from his personal-commitment essay that he wrote and was selected to read when he was a fifth-grader at SWMS. "So many people and families have been destroyed each day by drugs and alcohol; don't you be one," he said to the students. "None of us is perfect, but I know that by staying drug-free, I am able to be active and involved in school, and to help others. It is cool to be drug-free," he said. [continues 1345 words]
PINE RIDGE - Death to Meth, an all-day music and art event Saturday at Pine Ridge High School, hosted several bands connected to the reservation in addition to local speakers and an art workshop, providing a positive, drug-free message for the youths of Pine Ridge. Death to Meth, which began as a memorial for Saunie Wilson's 15-year-old niece who died from a methamphetamine overdose, continues in its third year to grow as a community awareness event addressing the negative effect drugs have on reservation youths. Eight-year-old Jaden Turning Holy of Pine Ridge has attended each year and has learned the message well: "I'd say meth is very bad to do, and it will actually ... make you die." [continues 372 words]
This letter is in reference to the letter in the April 7 Argus Leader by Tony Ryan, a former police officer. What a stupid idea to legalize drugs. This only would create more problems. Those people who are afraid of getting caught now would start using drugs, which only would create more problems. With this type of reasoning, maybe Ryan would believe lowering the drinking age also would help - and lowering the driving age, and the age to buy tobacco products, and on and on. [continues 59 words]
The March 2 article in the Argus Leader about meth labs - "Buyer beware: Labs leave toxic legacy" - details more malfunctions of our failed drug policy. I'm a former police officer, and I believe we've created the problem of meth-contaminated homes by making this drug illegal. In fact, most of our current drug woes have been created specifically because of our prohibition-style drug policies. How can a former cop blame our drug woes on the policies aimed at stopping the scourge of drugs? Let's examine the facts. [continues 298 words]
Attorney General Larry Long will get to build a new, secured building in the Rapid City area to store vehicles confiscated in drug busts and other criminal cases, presuming that Gov. Mike Rounds agrees with a bill passed by the South Dakota Legislature. The state Senate gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to HB1068, which authorizes Long to spend up to $100,000 from a drug-control fund in his office budget to build a structure to store confiscated vehicles - mostly through busts on drug dealers. Long said the new building is needed because thieves have been raiding confiscated vehicles in the storage area now used in Rapid City. [continues 511 words]
Belle Fourche Schools Retain Services Of Private Company The Belle Fourche School District has hired a service that uses dogs to detect drugs on campus, and the public can watch a demonstration of the dogs at work today. The demonstrations are at 1 p.m. at the middle school gym and at 2 p.m. at the high school gym. Superintendent Bill O'Dea said the school has contracted with Interquest Detection Canines to make random, unannounced visits to the middle and high school. [continues 141 words]
RAY, N.D. I am proud and honored by the negative comments of Jeanette McDougal and John Coleman, as well as mystified by their statements that provide little in the way of statistical evidence to support their negative stance on industrial hemp ("The plan: First hemp, then pot" and "'Legalize pot' groups use hemp arguments as front," Page 4A, Jan. 16). I am honored that McDougal would recognize North Dakota farmers as solid citizens: "What group is perceived as more 'solid' than America's farmers, especially North Dakota farmers?" Even in Arkansas, people who disagree with us recognize farmers in the entire Midwest are hard-working folks who supply the food needs of not only this great country but also major portions of the world. [continues 565 words]
Methamphetamine use among women in South Dakota has contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of women incarcerated in the state, more so than with men, but a new program to battle the problem is showing some progress. Between 2005 and 2006, the state penitentiary system had a 19 percent increase in the female offender population. "That's way bigger than what we typically see," said Laurie Feiler, deputy secretary for the South Dakota Department of Corrections. Over the past decade, the number of male inmates rose 53 percent to 3016 in 2007, and the number of female inmates rose 143 percent to 362, according to department records. [continues 933 words]
Staff and volunteers hosted a reception Tuesday in Sturgis for three of the six participants who have worked to advance from level I to level II. Kristi Haberman, the director of drug court, said these people have done well under her supervision. "They'll get more freedom, they'll get to come to the office for a visit instead of all in the field, and so they'll get more freedom and we'll see how they do," she said. The participants have kept their jobs, paid their fines and passed all tests and screenings. "This is an amazing number, but we've had over 793 contacts with our participants in four months. And over 500 of them are face-to-face," she said. [continues 148 words]
Day after day, it chews and grinds. Its only purpose is chewing and grinding. The chewing and grinding gives it no satisfaction, only another day of existence. Another day of chewing and grinding. The War on Some Drugs has endless hunger. Eric Sage, 31, works at a family-owned manufacturing company in Sidney, Neb. He was riding his motorcycle home Aug. 7, after spending a couple of days at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, accompanied by his friend Jorge Reyes, who was driving Sage's pickup with passengers Kalie Pogar and Barb Coughlin. [continues 1149 words]
Regarding your thoughtful editorial: "Long sentences costly solution to drugs" (Dec. 3). Actually, long prison sentences are a costly non-solution to drugs. Long prison sentences do not deter drug use. Largely because of our so-called "tough on drugs" policies the United States is the most incarcerated nation in history. We now have greater than 2.2 million total prisoners. For comparison Great Britain has only about 80,000 total prisoners and India which has almost four times our population has fewer than 330,000 total prisoners. What message does this send to the rest of the world? Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
It's not that we approve of drug abuse. We don't. And we do take a very dim view of armed robbery. Really, we do. But a 62-year prison sentence for using a BB gun to stick up a pharmacy for prescription painkillers? It seems like a lot to us. Seventh Circuit Judge Jeff Davis sentenced Terry Vicars, 32, to 62 years in the state penitentiary for robbing a Walgreen's pharmacy in Rapid City on July 19. Vicars got away with more than 2,000 tablets of morphine and OxyContin, both highly addictive drugs. [continues 326 words]
PIERRE -- South Dakota school kids are smoking tobacco less and marijuana more than they did a decade and one-half ago, a state survey of risky behaviors suggests. The state Board of Education received the latest Youth Risk Behavior survey earlier this week in Pierre. The report, based on responses from South Dakota students in grades nine through 12 at randomly selected public, private and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, is done every other year. The most recent survey is based in 2005 data, and state officials compared the outcome with 1991 responses to outline trends. [continues 228 words]
Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council who were suspended for not taking a drug test have been reinstated, after a tribal judge struck down the requirement. In October, the tribal council passed a resolution requiring members and other elected officials to take a "hair follicle" drug test. The ordinance was in response to the arrest in New Mexico of Councilman Don Garnier, who faces a federal charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute it. Tribal Judge Lisa Adams earlier this month upheld the test for council members but struck down the requirement for the tribe's treasurer. [continues 185 words]
The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council has suspended some members for refusing to take a drug test, and a tribal judge in Pine Ridge upheld the suspensions in a ruling Friday afternoon. In the same ruling, Chief Judge Lisa Adams reversed the suspension of the tribe's treasurer, Crystal Eagle Elk, saying the council did not have authority to suspend her. "My ruling was really simple," Adams said late Friday afternoon, after a court hearing that lasted all day. It was not clear Friday how many council members had been suspended for refusing the test. Adams' list had six members, and possibly a seventh, but council members put the number at four or five. [continues 610 words]
HURON, S.D. (AP) -- The well-traveled interstate highways in South Dakota aren't the only roads getting attention as drug transportation routes. Beadle and Brown counties are among 74 counties in the government's High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas in the Midwest because of U.S. Highway 281. "It's not a major artery; it gets them off the interstate and I think that's why it was identified as a route because it does get the traffic, and it's a great alternate north-south route rather than using Interstate 29," said Beadle County State's Attorney Mike Moore. [continues 182 words]
Kathleen Parker's July 9 column ("Bogarting Sanity In the Drug Wars," Press & Dakotan) was right on target. Marijuana prohibition has done little other than burden millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens with criminal records. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country, yet America is one of the few western countries that punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. [continues 111 words]
WASHINGTON -- News that Al Gore's 24-year-old son, Al Gore III, was busted for pot and assorted prescription pills has unleashed a torrent of mirth in certain quarters. Gore-phobes on the Internet apparently view the son's arrest and incarceration as comeuppance for the father's shortcomings. Especially rich was the fact that young Al was driving a Toyota Prius when he was pulled over for going 100 mph -- just as Papa Gore was set to preside over concerts during a 24-hour, seven-continent Live Earth celebration to raise awareness about global warming. [continues 636 words]
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has been asked to reinstate a lawsuit that seeks to strike down a law denying federal financial aid to students convicted of drug offenses. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of students who lost their eligibility for college loans, argues that the federal law violates the constitutional ban on double jeopardy by subjecting students to a second criminal punishment after they have already served a court-imposed sentence. [continues 514 words]
RAPID CITY -- The two Stevens High School seniors who showed up for class last fall wearing T-shirts supporting medical marijuana are headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rapid City Stevens High School students David Valenzuela and Chris Fuentes will address a free-speech rally Monday on the front steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The two will be speaking as the High Court prepares to hear a free-speech case that addresses the suspension of an Alaska student who displayed a banner "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" at a school outing. (Journal file photo) [continues 524 words]
A state Division of Criminal Investigation agent spoke Monday about the dark side of illicit drugs in the state as part of South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy's Spring Convocation. Jason Even of Brookings discussed methamphetamine, effects of new laws restricting over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine in South Dakota, how pharmacists are dealing with the problem and other forms of illegal drugs coming into communities. Bernie Hendricks, pharmacy instructor and continuing education coordinator, said the seminar revealed a behind-the-scenes look at the battle to control illegal drugs in the state. Pharmacy Dean Brian Kaatz said the meth situation has improved because a law restricts how pseudoephedrine, a decongestant with chemicals to make meth, is sold at pharmacies. It's more difficult to buy large amounts of the drug, he said. [end]
I'm writing about: "Meth Plague: Law Enforcement Sees No End To War On Meth" (Press & Dakotan, Jan. 20). I have a simple solution that would eliminate 99 percent of the illegal methamphetamine labs. The solution is Desoxyn, the pharmaceutical form of methamphetamine legally available in local pharmacies for less than $2 per dose with a doctor's prescription. Start selling it at local pharmacies without a prescription with no questions asked to any adult just like we do with tobacco products. [continues 150 words]