Who knew that ditch weed was such a problem?

It is, at least to the Brookings County commissioners.

They recently approved a resolution, being sent to the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners, urging that the state list domestic cannabis as a noxious weed and requiring that landowners take care of the problem themselves.

Brookings is one of only a handful of state counties that uses state money to spray for the wild marijuana on private land.

Commissioners feel that should be the landowner's responsibility, not the county's.

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A Sioux Falls teenager accused of selling drugs to other students is going to prison.

A Minnehaha County judge Thursday sentenced Cuong Nguyen, 18, of 237 N. Cliff Ave. to seven years, with an additional eight years suspended.

Nguyen was a senior at Washington High School when he was arrested this spring. Police said he was a major drug supplier for local youths.

Nguyen pleaded guilty May 5 to possession of a controlled substance and possession of more than 1 pound of marijuana with intent to distribute.

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SIOUX FALLS -- A Hermosa man completed a cross-state bicycle tour to try to gather signatures to put a medical marijuana measure on the 2006 ballot.

Longtime activist Bob Newland pedaled into Sioux Falls on Tuesday night after logging 440 miles and gathering 250 signatures along the Matthew Ducheneaux Trail to Safe Access Bicycle Tour Across South Dakota.

The petitions need about 17,000 signatures by May 2006 to get on the 2006 ballot. Newland said his target is 20,000 to provide a cushion for invalid signatures.

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HERMOSA - A Hermosa man will bicycle across South Dakota to draw attention to what he says is the need for the legalization of medical marijuana.

Bob Newland, 56, Hemphasis magazine publisher, plans to launch his two-week journey to Sioux Falls on June 5. He will log about 500 miles in the interim before returning to Rapid City.

While cycling across South Dakota, Newland plans to circulate a petition for Safe Access Act of 2006, which would allow physicians to prescribe cannabis as part of a course of therapy and allow patients to possess and use cannabis to alleviate certain medical conditions. Newland invites others to join the tour.

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BOYS TOWN, Neb. -- Jalyn Todd said she first used methamphetamine in 1992 to lose weight.

In the months that followed she became heavily addicted, Todd said.

She neglected her two children, lost weight, developed open sores and had other health problems, Todd said. At 40 years old, she weighed 90 pounds.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror and decided she did not want to die, Todd said. She sought counseling and by 1993 had taken steps to turn her life around, she said.

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Sailors from the Navy Reserve Center in Sioux Falls will speak at 2 p.m. today at a student assembly at Laura Wilder Elementary School in Sioux Falls about the dangers of illegal drugs.

The objective of the Navy Reserve's Campaign Drug Free program is to use Navy and Marine Corps members as a community-outreach resource for schools and youth groups.

In 1988, Congress passed legislation directing the Department of Defense to play a larger role in the war against drugs. Sioux Falls sailors distribute items that include coloring books, rulers and dog tags that carry the "Say no to drugs" message.

- - From staff reports

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Drug Wears Out Teeth, Budget For Dental Care

The cost for dental treatment for inmates in the Minnehaha County Jail has nearly doubled during the past two years, due in part to a side effect of methamphetamine abuse - a condition called meth mouth.

"Our dentist tells us as soon as they (inmates) open up their mouths, he is able to recognize the rotting and brittle teeth, all symptoms of meth mouth," Sheriff Mike Milstead said.

Many of the teeth become unsalvageable, said assistant sheriff Michelle Boyd.In 2002, Minnehaha County paid $18,000 for dental treatment for inmates. The cost grew to $32,000 in 2004, Milstead said. Dental costs are a part of the overall medical budget.

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I owe my life to places like Transitional Living Corp. If it was not for a treatment facility I would still be a drugged up zombie. I say thanks every day that they gave me the chance for a nice house, great job and beautiful wife. It took three separate 30-day programs to clean me up, so I can speak with some confidence about what goes on in these types of facilities.

In-patient treatment centers do not belong near residential housing. Especially ones with little or no security. Bad things do happen in and around these centers. There were fights, theft, vandalism, and that's just the beginning. This was not in some big city like L.A., it was right here in South Dakota.

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New County Facility Promotes Lasting Changes

Minnehaha County residents needing detoxification soon will be able to get help at a new center housed in what once was the county jail.

The finishing touches are being put on an $800,000 detox center to provide beds for 25 people in early May.

"They're going to have a program that is much more comprehensive," said Randy DeRaad, the Avera McKennan employee who will direct the center. "If you just lock them up until they sober up, you have accomplished nothing."Originally, the county had planned to open a center to hold those who hadn't necessarily broken a law but were picked up for intoxication. The price tag for that center was estimated at $85,000.

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I truly hope that the Transitional Living Corp. and Lincoln County can come to a positive conclusion and allow the new facility. Substance abuse impacts all economic and age groups. This treatment facility is badly needed.

I saw a woman on television who said her concerns centered on loss of tax revenue, on water use and on road use. While these are serious concerns, I find it hard to believe that these are the real issues. If the applicant were a church wanting to open a spiritual retreat center for teens, would questions of tax status or water and road use even be mentioned? I doubt it.

Let's discuss our real concerns. Only by bringing things out in the open will we be able to remove destructive stereotypes and irrational fears from the process of making decisions.

Sioux Falls

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We've done it again my morally inclined friends. We've struck a very good blow to the proposed rehab center in southern Sioux Falls. We, the neighbors adjoining the land they wish to use, don't believe the traffic this center would bring to the area validates the help these people would receive. We, the citizens of Lincoln County, don't believe that drugs are a problem in this great state. Besides how could we ever spare the water resources? We feel for these people, we really do, but if we're going to give them a place to get better. (Besides the mindless drug addicts might rob our homes to pay for their habit)

Tea

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PIERRE - A drug bust on the heels of a lawman stopping a car for going 3 mph over the speed limit was legal, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled 3-2 Thursday.

The decision upholds the conviction of Carl O. Lockstedt of Houston, Texas, who was riding in a car driven by Billy C. Kinnamon on Oct. 21, 2002. Seventeen bags of marijuana, weighing a pound apiece, were found in the trunk.

Kinnamon, 31, was stopped after a state trooper became suspicious when pulling alongside the pair because Kinnamon was leaning his head against the driver's side window, and neither man made eye contact with the lawman.

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The Argus Leader briefly quotes the attorney general's lobbyist, Charlie McGuigan, in its March 21 story, "S.D. medical marijuana proposal forming." McGuigan was testifying against a bill to allow therapeutic cannabis use in the 2005 legislature.

McGuigan's testimony was actually quite a yuck, beginning with his recitation that "carciginians" and "carciginocens" are found in cannabis.

He said marijuana has "no medical value," and that the usable cannabis allowed by the bill would be "as much as 280 joints, tantamount to a year's supply," failing to mention that the FDA currently sends 300 rolled cannabis cigarettes to each of seven patients each month.

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Marijuana: Signatures Needed To Reach Ballot

PIERRE - A Hermosa man who supported an unsuccessful attempt to legalize industrial hemp in 2002 said last week he is preparing a ballot initiative to allow medical marijuana in South Dakota.

Robert Newland, who also ran for attorney general as a Libertarian candidate in 2002, said Montana voters in November legalized marijuana for medical uses.

"When I saw that Montana did it, I decided to start a campaign in South Dakota," Newland said. "There is no question we can get the signatures in fairly short order. The fact is, medical use has never failed on an initiative."

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PIERRE, S.D. - Robert Newland said he is preparing a ballot initiative for South Dakota voters on whether marijuana use should be allowed for medical purposes.

A bill to legalize medical marijuana died 11-1 in a House committee during this year's legislative session.

In Montana last November, voters approved the Medical Marijuana Act, which protects registered patients and their caregivers from local and state prosecution.

"When I saw that Montana did it, I decided to start a campaign in South Dakota," said Newland, of Hermosa. "There is no question we can get the signatures in fairly short order. The fact is, medical use has never failed on an initiative."

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As a Colorado citizen who voted for Amendment 20 allowing people to use cannabis medicinally in my state, I agree with David Nickel (letter: Medical Marijuana Bill Should Have Passed, Feb. 1, 2005) and point out politicians do poorly in supporting their constituents on this issue, yet in every recent case that reaches the ballot box, it has passed by wide margins.

Now, Coloradoans use the plant cannabis, following state law simultaneously and it works. Since Colorado enacted its initiative, cannabis use has not increased, and the sky hasn't fallen.

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Dear Editor:

The Jan. 29 Pioneer story "Medical Marijuana Bill Falls" was a sad story from the 2005 Legislature. Seriously ill people lost out. Those who believe in true conservative values of small and reasonable government (free from federal government dictates) lost out.

Rep. Lange's H.B. 1109 would have given doctors permission to prescribe medical marijuana to seriously ill folks suffering from things like cancer, chronic pain, or seizures. Doctors would have had to certify these cases in writing and advise patients of the health risks of marijuana. Both doctors and patients would have had to register with the Health Department.

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Patients might prefer pot to popping pills, but they won't be doing that legally in South Dakota.

The House Health and Human Services Committee deferred a bill that would have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana to the 41st day of the legislative session, effectively killing it.

Rep. Gerald Lange, D-Madison, introduced the bill, which lacked any co-sponsors. Lange said that he introduced the bill at the request of one of his constituents who is suffering from a debilitating disease.

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A majority of lawmakers in Pierre favor reducing the penalties for students caught with drugs.

We agree. The current penalty, which bans students from sports and other extracurricular activities for one year, is counterproductive and could lead the student in question into further trouble.

The Criminal Code Revision Commission, according to The Associated Press, has recommended reducing that one-year suspension to 60 days - if the student completes counseling or treatment.

While drugs in the hands of students are a huge concern - and something that should not be taken lightly - getting the student treatment and counselling is the most important part of the solution. Barring that student from extracurricular activities is just handing him or her more free time to get into trouble. And bear in mind that sports are the antidote to unhealthy living.

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Judge Gives Man Probation, Jail Time, Treatment

An Aberdeen man and former Northern State University athlete avoided state prison time Wednesday for a drug-related charge.

Eric L. Dockter, 19, was sentenced on a felony count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Circuit Court Judge Jack Von Wald sentenced Dockter to 60 days in county jail and three years probation. Von Wald also ordered him to complete a chemical dependency evaluation and adhere to its terms. That could involve in-patient treatment. Dockter must also pay a fine of $1,063 and make restitution of $1,000.

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