YSD Officials Requesting Help From Community

Yankton school officials are asking the community for its help in dealing with a problem they are seeing grow exponentially in area schools -- the use of alcohol and illegal drugs by students.

In the first four months of the school year, there have been 10 high school students and three middle school students caught under the influence of alcohol or drugs on school property. Its a rate that high school principal Dr. Wayne Kindle says is beyond anything he has seen in his 17 years in the district.

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Only a week has passed and already there are rumblings about another vote on medicinal marijuana in 2012.

Last week, South Dakotans overwhelmingly voted against legalizing medicinal marijuana, with 63 percent of voters saying they do not want it in our state. This comes after another medicinal marijuana issue was voted down by 53 percent of South Dakota voters in 2006.

So after two votes in four years, we'll have to go through this same issue again in 2012?

It's frustrating.

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Freshman Anna Hyronimus, a first-time voter, chose to vote against Measure 13.

"Knowing that South Dakota is a conservative state, I realized that there was a very slim chance that the use of medical cannabis would pass," Hyronimus said.

In 2006, medical marijuana made its way onto the South Dakota ballot. Though a conservative state, the measure came close as medical marijuana only neglected to pass by a margin of 4 percent. Once again, medical cannabis was on the ballot for legalization.

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Regarding Thomas Emanuel's Oct. 27 column, if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.

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After reading "PRO: Vote yes, stop reefer madness" by Thomas Emanuel and "CON: Yes Is Not A Stepping Stone" by Frank DePaula (Oct. 26, 2010) it's apparent DePaula doesn't know the truth about the issue. Historically even government studies discredit the "gateway" theory.

Insinuating, "Yes will not work because the federal government does not recognize state laws on cannabis (marijuana)," isn't the truth; the laws work properly to protect sick citizens in the 14 states which have legalized the God-given plant. And they're not experiencing "gangs from Mexico."

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To the Editor:

Stop the reefer madness, Mr. Kaemingk, and let people educate themselves with facts instead of uninformed and misguided propaganda.

Medical marijuana is not a gateway drug; alcohol is, as it lowers inhibitions to make rational choices. Denny Kaemingk's editorial on Oct. 9 gave absolutely no substantial reasoning as to why sick people with MS, Parkinson's, glaucoma, cancer, fibromyalgia, etc., should not have the right to ease ailments with medical marijuana, which has absolutely no known side effects and is compatible with prescription and non-prescription medicine, again without added side effects.

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Another reason that doesn't get mentioned to re-legalize the plant cannabis for sick citizens (Medical Marijuana - YES: Strict Measure Would Provide Needed Relief; Press & Dakotan, Oct. 26) is because it's Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it be accepted with thankfulness (1 Timothy 4:1-5). And, "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?" (1 John 3:17).

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Medical marijuana is once again on the ballot for South Dakota voters after a narrow defeat in 2006; but this time community members think it's going to pass.

Initiative Measure 13, which would allow the use and cultivation of marijuana by people with debilitating illnesses such as cancer or multiple sclerosis, was placed on the ballot in March after more than 30,000 people signed a ballot petition.

Vermillion Police Chief Art Mabry, who also serves as the head of the South Dakota Police Chiefs' Association and is an opponent of the measure, said it is only a matter of time before medical marijuana becomes legal in South Dakota.

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As I write this, I am listening to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" - namely the song "Time." This is no coincidence. I figured if I'm going to write about pot, I should put myself in the proper frame of mind. Word choice is important here: "frame," not "state." I am not, in fact, high right now.

Now that we have established that, South Dakota voters should vote yes on Measure 13 to legalize medicinal marijuana.

Marijuana has been found to be an effective remedy for a number of medical conditions. It can be used as a painkiller, a relaxant and an appetite stimulant in conjunction with everything from Alzheimer's disease to breast cancer.

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For conservatives:

Nation, people do not know what is best. Some cannot be trusted to make their own decisions, especially about marijuana.

Think of California. Medical marijuana is a slippery slope to full repeal of marijuana laws.

Yes, freedom is important but at what cost. Think of the children. Marijuana is a gateway drug. If this measure passes, it won't be long before violent crimes, hard drugs and gangs from Mexico invade our neighborhoods.

As former U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics Harry J. Anslinger uncovered, "Those who are accustomed to habitual use of the drug (marijuana) are said eventually to develop a delirious rage."

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Through a variety of events and a well-known speaker, those involved with the annual Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week are hoping to get the entire community involved.

At least that's the goal for this year, according to Pauline Akland, chairman of the Yankton Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

For the first time at this magnitude, organizers have decided to merge the two weeks into one seven-day stretch in which the six pillars of character and drug-free themes are instilled city-wide.

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If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.

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In 2009, Paul Walery was diagnosed with lymphoma and began the treatment process of chemotherapy and radiation. In 1995, Eric Kritzmire was in a diving accident and suffered from a spinal cord injury that made him a paraplegic.

Walery remembers the loss of appetite, the nausea and cramps that came from the chemotherapy. Kritzmire suffers regularly from severe muscle spasms.

Based on clinical definitions, both of these men know what it's like to experience a debilitating medical condition. The only difference is their way of treating the pain.

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For as long as I can remember, I have been told that marijuana is a very dangerous and harmful drug that can lead me down a path to destruction. This may be true in some rare occurrences; but there are also many positive uses for this drug.

The South Dakota ballot initiative 13 addresses such uses. I would be willing to bet that a fair number of the people reading this article have been forced to watch a loved one waste away in front of their eyes, knowing that nothing is within their grasp that can help this person. I personally have watched people that I care about deal with the terrible effects of advanced multiple sclerosis and also have seen the wasting away effect of cancer treatments knowing that nothing I could say or do would ease the pain. While doctors have the ability to write prescription after prescription, these prescriptions often hold side effects that are just terrible as the original cause for the medicine. This causes patients to be forced to consume, in many cases, multiple medicines to the point that their medicine cabinet begins to resemble an apothecary's shop.

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Bruce Price attended Tuesday's medical marijuana rally for his father.

Price said his dad was diagnosed with melanoma in 1985, and the medical treatment for the cancer made him "so sick."

A military man, Price's father initially rejected his son's suggestion to try medical marijuana for relief. "His mindset was totally against it," Price said. "But at the end he was open to it."

Price believes the medical marijuana was the only thing that gave his dad relief at the end of his life, and he wants to see the drug legalized for medical purposes so others can be helped as well.

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Supporters cite healing benefits; full legalization next, foes argue

Supporters of a measure to legalize small amounts of marijuana for medicinal use Monday sought to assure the public that it would not create pot dispensaries or open the door to full legalization.

"This is about ill people. It's only about ill people. It's not a free-for-all," said Tony Ryan, a retired police officer whose wife suffers from multiple sclerosis.

The assurances are being made amid concerns among some Americans that marijuana legalization will lead to addicts. Monday's Sioux Falls rally also comes in the midst of a nationwide trend of states legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes. In some of the 14 states that have approved marijuana legalization laws, shops dispensing the drug already have popped up on city streets.

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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.

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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."

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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."

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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.

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