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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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When she visits schools, drug counselor Darcy Jensen hears kids tell stories of how meth provides a burst of energy and causes dramatic weight loss. Then she tells the part the kids don't hear -- where you often become hooked on the first hit and eventually die.

"In the beginning, you have more energy because meth is a stimulant. You are changing the brain chemistry. People are not sleeping for two or three days at a time," Jensen said. "You lose weight because you're not eating when you are high. When you have more of a patterned (meth) use, there is weight loss that could be anywhere from 20 to 40-plus pounds (in two months)."

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"Meth Is Going to Be a Big Problem for Some Time to Come," Concedes Yankton Police Chief Duane Heeney.

Despite increased public awareness of its devastating consequences and law enforcement efforts to combat the problem, methamphetamine use continues to plague much of the Midwest.

And the progression of its long trail of desperation -- littered with broken bodies and broken homes -- shows few signs of slowing down.

South Dakota, and the Yankton area in particular, has not been spared.

According to the Yankton Police Department, it had 38 meth-related arrests in 2006 -- a number that Det. Neal Anderson says is about average.

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PIERRE - Drug abuse awareness and education is an integral part of school curricula nationwide.

For this reason local educators are pleased at the results reported in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which shows the number of high school students in South Dakota who have used some types of drugs has decreased since 1997.

The information was recently reprinted in the South Dakota "Kids Count Factbook," which is published every January by the University of South Dakota.

The survey itself has been performed every two years since 1991 by the South Dakota Department of Education.

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RAPID CITY -- After a year of wrangling with the petition-circulation policy at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the city council may end up leaving it basically unchanged.

The policy allows people to circulate petitions outside the building 15 feet from entrances. It was challenged a year ago when Bob Newland, a petitioner seeking the legalization of medical marijuana, was arrested inside the civic center during the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo for refusing to circulate his petitions outside. He was charged with failure to vacate, a misdemeanor.

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