he United States is not paying the total cost for its stance on drugs. If I were a widow of a Mexican law enforcement officer who was killed by a drug gang, I would blame the United States for his death because I just paid the real price for the U.S. drug demand. A demand exists, and someone will always fill it. By making drugs illegal, we have put the costs of filling that demand on Mexicans. Do we blame the liquor store for a drunk? [continues 85 words]
As I have watched the increasing and horrific violence and murders in Mexico related to the drug cartels, I have to ask, is it not time that we try something different? The "war on drugs" is not working on either side of the border. Legalization of drugs would result in the ability to control the quality and quantity of drugs and to eliminate shared-needle disease, much drug-related crime and the growth of the prison industry. The money saved could support drug rehab treatment. [continues 120 words]
The following editorial appeared Friday in The Dallas Morning News: The vast majority of illegal immigrants in the U.S. come from Mexico. That shouldn't surprise anyone. A big surprise is that Mexican migration appears to have fallen to a trickle because of several factors, not the least of which is an improving job market south of the border. Exhaustive academic research suggests multiple, overlapping circumstances are affecting the migration decline, creating a perfect storm of good news for both sides of the border. [continues 403 words]
SALT LAKE CITY - Having endured chemotherapy for cancer, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says he isn't opposed to exploring the legalization of medicinal marijuana. "I'm open to it now because I've experienced it, and I've seen others suffer," he said Thursday on KSL Newsradio's "Doug Wright Show." Shurtleff said he would consider a law legalizing medicinal marijuana provided it came with proper restrictions like other controlled substances. "Some states haven't had controls, so it becomes kind of a free-for-all," he said. "If you had controls, I don't know why you couldn't do that." [continues 311 words]
I'd like to correct Diana Glenn's thoughtful letter, "Mexicans flee drug war" (Forum, May 11). Mexicans are not simply fleeing drug violence in their country. They are fleeing violence caused by U.S. drug prohibition. How much crime do the United States and Mexico have related to the drugs caffeine, Tylenol or aspirin? None. None whatsoever. Why? They are legal. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Medical marijuana has been de-prioritized by federal substance enforcement, meaning that while it's still illegal, the FBI won't pursue cases against medical marijuana depots. While the public is divided on the moral and ethical issues, no one can argue against the fact that medical marijuana has rapidly ascended as one of the fastest growing markets in America. According to the MSNBC article "Medical marijuana becoming blockbuster drug" by Al Olson published on March 24, de-prioritization has opened up a $1.7 billion a year industry in 15 states. By comparison, Viagra maker Pfizer made $1.9 billion last year. [continues 731 words]
Humans will always attempt to alter their consciousness. By prohibiting the 100 percent pure, relatively safe and extremely popular God-given plant, cannabis (marijuana), society ends up with fake cannabis that contains untold crappy ingredients ["High Times," Feb. 17, City Weekly]. There's no spice without cannabis prohibition. It's clearly time to legalize and regulate cannabis. Another reason to stop caging responsible cannabis-using adults that doesn't get mentioned is because it's biblically correct, since God, "The Ecologician," indicated on literally the very first page of the Bible that he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good (see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only restriction placed on cannabis is to accept it with thankfulness (1 Timothy 4:1-5). Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
As the federal government moves closer to controlling spice, law enforcement officers in Utah believe it's likely a half-hidden industry that's producing it will attempt to go underground. Spice, as it is commonly called, is an herbal concoction mixed with various chemicals that some people smoke to get a marijuana-like high and is sold under several different names, including K2, Blaze and the Wacky Weed. Most of the products are labeled as incense and not for human consumption. [continues 893 words]
Tears slide down his hardened face as the 41-year-old drug addict and convicted felon begins to cry about his estranged children. "It hurts so bad," Jason Park finally says, breaking a temporary quiet outside 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy's drug court in Salt Lake City. Now in their early 20s, "my kids are so disgusted with me, they don't want nothing to do with me." Homeless and living at a downtown shelter, Park clings to every word that might bring a chance, possibly his last, at redemption. During a long drug-use career, "I'd done a little bit of marijuana, a little bit of coke, but meth is the grabber," he says. "That's the one that really pulls you in" [continues 1652 words]
A legislative committee Wednesday unanimously approved draft legislation that would regulate statewide the drug known as spice. The draft bill, sponsored by Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, would limit the manufacture, distribution and possession of spice. The Health and Human Services interim committee gave the proposal a favorable recommendation, which gives it momentum going into the upcoming legislative session. Spice, which is often marketed as incense, consists of plant material that has been treated with chemicals that include synthetic cannabinoids, the active ingredient in marijuana. Because the chemicals do have medical benefits, such as prevention of nausea during chemotherapy, doctors and researchers would be allowed to continue working with the drugs but would not be allowed to prescribe or dispense them for home use. [continues 222 words]
In response to Larry James pro-marijuana legalization letter, "Legalize marijuana" (Forum, Oct. 31): Medical marijuana and general legalization are complicated measures that cannot be implemented lightly. As a business owner of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Utah and Arizona, I am relieved that the medical marijuana and several legalization propositions in Western states in the recent midterm elections did not pass: Oregon, New Mexico, South Dakota, Arizona ('no's ahead in recount) and California. While Journey Healing Centers has always supported giving marijuana to critically ill patients, these propositions were about deceptions to legalize an addictive drug for profit. After watching too many people and families suffer from drug abuse, we could not support laws that made it way too easy to get marijuana for almost any pain. The definition for qualifying illnesses, health risks and messages to kids need more careful review first. [continues 52 words]
CENTERVILLE - When Rick Freeman asks his kids how many illegal drugs are good for them, they have a ready answer: "As many as none," say Sami and Josh. The Freemans weren't alone in discussing the harms of drug abuse last week. Fathers walked hand in hand to school with their children at Centerville Elementary School for an event held in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week called "Dads Do Donuts not Drugs." "We want the kids to talk to their dads about the dangers of using drugs," said Lindsay Zesiger of the school PTA, which sponsored the event. Dads were enthusiastically eating donuts and anxiously talking about the dangers of drugs. Lists left on the tables to encourage discussion suggested questions such as, "What are the consequences of taking drugs?" or "Who can I talk to?" or "Who might try to make me take drugs?" [continues 262 words]
Alcohol prohibition didn't work. Marijuana prohibition isn't working. People who choose to engage in substance abuse are going to do so whether or not millions of dollars are spent on law enforcement or collected in taxes from retail sales of marijuana. Why not legalize marijuana and drive the black market marijuana suppliers out of business, picking up a much needed source of revenue at the same time? In Utah, the infrastructure is already in place: the state liquor stores. Larry James [end]
Editor: Why would it be "hard to legalize marijuana with a Mormon majority population" (SSDP petitions to legalize marijuana, Sept. 30)? Another reason to stop caging responsible adults for using cannabis that doesn't get mentioned is because it is Biblically correct since Christ God Our Father indicates he created all the seed bearing plants saying they are all good, on literally the first page, see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30. The only Biblical restriction placed on cannabis is that it be accepted with thankfulness, see 1 Timothy 4:1-5. Caging or punishing responsible adults for using what God says is good is immoral and just plain wrong. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. Green Collar Worker [end]
More than 60 vendors were showcased at the U's third annual Hempfest. Vendors were selling a variety of hemp products such as clothing, hand bags, jewelry and an assortment of food. Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a group that petitions for more lenient drug laws, put on the festival. However, students attending didn't seem to understand the group's objective. Pamphlets that were passed out stated the purpose of SSDP, but students walking by the festival were unclear of the purpose of Hempfest. [continues 231 words]
Campaign Fights War On Drugs Hempfest took place Wednesday, and several students let their voices be heard about marijuana legalization. Students lined up to sign the petition for Just Say Now, a campaign against marijuana prohibition. The campaign's purpose is to show the "higher-ups" that there are a lot of voices that support marijuana legalization and to educate people on the benefits of legalization. The message was spread in large part by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a student group dedicated to fighting the war on drugs. [continues 501 words]
Group Aims To Dispel Misconceptions About Substance Sustainability is a prevalent topic of discussion at the U, and the Students for Sensible Drug Policy are promoting another method of sustainability-hemp. The third annual Hempfest begins Sept. 29 on the Union Patio. "Hempfest is dedicated to promoting the sustainability and versatility of hemp and marijuana," said Valerie Douroux, director of SSDP at the U and a film and media arts major. Douroux wants students at the U to know the difference between hemp and marijuana and how they could be used to better the community and world, she said. [continues 287 words]
The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers ["Pot Not," Opinion, Aug. 26, City Weekly]. In 2008, there were 847,863 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. The United States has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long overdue step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Arlington, Va. [end]
During the 1920s, my uncles and grandfather had a profitable business in Salt Lake City. They produced and sold bootleg whiskey. This family business fell on hard times when prohibition was repealed. Now, fast forward to 2010. Today, instead of Prohibition, we have the "Gang and Drug Cartel Enabling Act," mislabeled as the "War on Drugs." Give the gangs and cartels their greatest nightmare by legalizing drugs in America. Establish state stores all across the country where a person can register, sign a liability release, and purchase a week's supply of most drugs for $5 to $10. Keep the anti-drug laws we now have, but have fines of $300 to $5,000, rather than taxpayerfunded jail time for illegal purchases. [continues 143 words]
Sound the alarm! Man the battlements! Another threat to Utah's guarded way of life looms large on the horizon. Colorado, California, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon now allow use of marijuana as medicine. That the West is going to pot is a troubling development for those Utahns already feeling besieged by socialists, Mexicans, homosexuals and garden-variety nutcakes. I worry about the prevalence of a siege mentality; I don't worry at all about sick people using pot to ease pain or nausea. Anyone having firsthand experience with medicinal marijuana would hold similar views. When a friend was dying of cancer last year, my wife brought pot from Northern California. It was easy to come by. It is so commonplace there that radio stations advertise supplies for the "indoor gardeners" whose cannabis crop is a mainstay of the California economy. [continues 820 words]
Legal and Undetected Smoking marijuana may not destroy your life like a heroin addiction or damage your body like cocaine. It does, however, destroy trust and damage relationships; no parent wants to be lied to, to lay awake at night wondering what's going on with their children or to explain to a 5-year-old girl why her brother isn't around much anymore and doesn't seem to like his family very much. Now, a new substance that mimics the effects of marijuana is sold legally as an incense. It could be causing the same worries - except most parents have no idea that the marijuana substitute even exists. They don't know what signs to watch for. They don't recognize the smell. It's sold by legitimate businesses and does not show up in drug tests. [continues 5976 words]
BRIGHAM CITY -- After a controversial start, the Box Elder School District drug policy was deemed a success and will be used again in the upcoming school year. Bear River High School Vice Principal Chad Kirby told the school board he did not believe there needed to be any amendments to the policy. "It is working with what we are currently doing," Kirby said, adding that in this school year the resource officer will give the anti-drug information to all students rather than just the students who sign up for sports. [continues 271 words]
SALT LAKE CITY -- A new state council that originated from a Clinton lawmaker's legislation will consider cracking down on the use of two unregulated herbs circulating as recreational drugs. The Controlled Substances Advisory Committee met for the first time on Wednesday to consider suggesting state regulations on three items: the herb Salvia divinorum, the herb called Spice and the prescription drug Tramadol. Earlier this year, the Weber School District banned Spice and Hill Air Force Base banned Salvia divinorum from use at their locations and were among the first entities in the state to take action on the herbal items. The products are legal and do not show up on drug tests, but both produce hallucinogenic or marijuana-like effects in some people when smoked. [continues 366 words]
I'm writing about: "12,000 marijuana plants removed in hills above Centerville" (6-27-10). I'm sure that many marijuana growers and sellers are thankful to the Davis Metro Narcotics Strike Force, the David County Sheriff's Office, the Centerville Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for this latest marijuana eradication effort and others like it. Without operations like this, marijuana would be worth what other easy-to-grow weeds are worth--very little. Thanks to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other so-called "drug warriors," the easy-to-grow weed is worth almost as much as pure gold--and completely tax free. Any marijuana growers, sellers or traffickers arrested will soon be replaced. They always are. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
CENTERVILLE -- Police removed more than 12,000 marijuana plants on a rugged hillside above here on Forest Service Land on Sunday morning. The operation took several hours. Centerville resident Troy Carlson, who lives about a mile below where the plants were removed on the 100 block of 700 East, said he was surprised to hear helicopters about 9:30 a.m. and then to find out that police had found the drugs growing there. "We just watched all day," he said. "Of course, we are concerned about it. It's about a mile from our fence line. It's not a long ways." [continues 326 words]
"You have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this all while not appearing to." -- Richard Nixon as quoted by H.R. Haldeman, supporting a get-tough-on drugs strategy. "They give black people time like it's lunch down there. You go down there looking for justice, that's what you find: just us." -- Richard Pryor. Michelle Alexander was an ACLU attorney in Oakland, preparing a racial profiling lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol. The ACLU had put out a request for anyone who had been profiled to get in touch. One day, in walked this black man. [continues 565 words]
California is on the verge of legalizing marijuana for general use - within certain age limits, of course. Debate on the subject is now raging, but the measure will be on the November ballot in the Golden State. Fourteen states, including California, already permit the use of cannabis for medical purposes, mainly pain control. The arguments for the general use of pot are simple: It would make the state money, and it would save the state money. Legalizing marijuana, supporters claim, would fatten the state's coffers by applying a sales tax on the product when it is sold. [continues 562 words]
Richard Bracken has brought forth a very controversial topic. He has brought forth his ideas formally, but his argument is fairly weak. The author states that "marijuana being more harmful than alcohol or cigarettes have no basis in fact." This is a double-edged sword because he is making an appeal to the masses by saying that everyone knows that alcohol or cigarettes are worse than marijuana, when it actually depends upon the person on whether or not it is more deadly. [continues 160 words]
I'm writing about Richard Bracken's thoughtful column: "Legalizing Marijuana Just Makes Sense." I'd like to add that it makes no sense, economic or moral, to jail marijuana users or sellers. Our jails and prisons should be reserved for those who harm others against their will. We don't jail or imprison those who produce, sell or use tobacco products, even though tobacco is a highly addictive and very deadly product. We don't have criminals growing tobacco in clandestine locations. We don't have tobacco producers or sellers attempting to settle their disputes with each other with gun battles in the streets. If we were to criminalize tobacco, the situation would change. We learned our lesson about criminalizing alcohol in only 13 years. Why can't we learn the same lesson about marijuana? Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz., resident [end]
Another reason to stop caging responsible adults who use marijuana that doesn't get mentioned is because it's biblically correct. God indicates he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page (Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30). The only biblical restriction placed on marijuana is it is to be accepted with thankfulness (see 1 Timothy 4:1-5). The list of reasons to end marijuana prohibition, persecution and extermination is growing faster than the plant itself. Stan White, Dillon, Colo., resident [end]
A petition in California has placed a measure in support of the legalization of marijuana on the ballot for November, and the success of this measure will demonstrate the resolve of the American people not to be ignored by their government. The federal government has exhausted all avenues through which to block the legalization of marijuana. They have inflated the budgets of law enforcement and bloated our prisons; they have refused the acknowledgment of well-known and well-regarded medicinal benefits, and they have demonized a harmless plant and the proponents of its use. They have done so consciously and maliciously, and the public has lost patience. [continues 820 words]
Ceremony - Fifth-Graders Have Mayor, Police Chief Onboard. Murray - If high school graduation is the seminal moment of teenagers' lives, then D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) graduation just might be the equivalent for fifth-graders. On Dec. 17, students at Longview Elementary had their D.A.R.E. graduation, each receiving certificates and new crisp, white D.A.R.E. T-shirts. The ceremony was attended by Murray City Mayor Daniel Snarr, Police Chief Peter Fondaco, D.A.R.E. officer Keith Huber and assistant superintendent Steven Hirasse. [continues 539 words]
Right now, everyone is wondering how we will pay for health care reform. No one wants to be taxed more. No one wants money to be taken from other programs. No one wants to be left uninsured. I have a solution: Legalize, tax and regulate marijuana like we do alcohol. State and federal governments spend an estimated $44 billion a year on the war on drugs, and by legalizing cannabis, a significant part of that amount would be saved. Additionally, the tax revenue from legalization would net around $12 billion. This money could go toward health care reform, eliminating the need for tax increases or money being taken from our schools or other programs. Adrienne Murphy Salt Lake City [end]
"The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason... But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small." When I first read that one of our state lawmakers is thinking the poor should be drug tested if they receive "welfare," the story of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" came to mind; but not even Dr. Seuss could imagine that. Yet, it's a dilemma policymakers face. [continues 588 words]
Their Cases Dismissed, Officers Say Working Around Drug Labs Sickened Them. Utah County sheriff's Lt. Dennis Harris may be the best example of the divide between science, the law and police who say methamphetamine sickened them. Harris spent the past month undergoing a treatment purporting to alleviate symptoms of meth exposure. In the midst of Harris' 30-day effort to sweat out poisons, an administrative judge dismissed his worker compensation claim for lack of evidence. "Physically I feel a lot better," said Harris, 54, whose treatment ended Nov. 19. "Mentally, I feel fantastic." [continues 447 words]
PLEASANT VIEW -- High schools in Weber School District are giving kids an excuse to say no to drugs and alcohol. In order to participate in such extracurricular activities as sports, student government, cheerleading, drama, debate, the band or choir this year, students must submit to random drug testing. "This is a way to say, 'I am on the team and can't do this if I want to stay on the squad,' " said Weber High School Principal Steve Elsnab. Bonneville High School implemented drug testing during 2008-09, and things went so smoothly, the program was expanded to other high schools in the district. [continues 556 words]
Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Sterner ticked off the ailments he attributes to methamphetamine exposure. Headaches, joint pain, esophageal problems. "Let's see. What else," Sterner said. "Memory loss," replied his lawyer, Susan Black Dunn. "Oh, yeah." But science has not yet supported the claims made by police officers like Sterner. Neither has Utah law. The Utah Labor Commission this year has dismissed 19 cases filed by the so-called "Meth Cops" or their survivors seeking workers compensation benefits. Many of the cases, which were first filed four years ago, were dismissed at the requests of the officers, who wanted more time to find evidence that busting meth labs contributed to their ailments before they refile their claims. [continues 654 words]
This year marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's start of the war on drugs, and it now appears that drugs have won. "We've spent a trillion dollars prosecuting the war on drugs," Norm Stamper, a former police chief of Seattle, told me. "What do we have to show for it? Drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency. It's a dismal failure." For that reason, he favors legalization of drugs, perhaps by the equivalent of state liquor stores or registered pharmacists. Other experts favor keeping drug production and sales illegal but decriminalizing possession, as some foreign countries have done. [continues 697 words]
Purity Problems ; Might Lead To More Crime, Addict Says. Methamphetamine in Utah just isn't like the old days. The quality of the drug has declined and the price has increased, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the state. In some cases, the drug is so poor, agents have a hard time making a criminal case against the seller. "It's more difficult to find methamphetamine in Utah right now than it's ever been," said Frank Smith, the assistant special agent in charge of the DEA in Salt Lake City. [continues 387 words]
I am encouraged to hear serious legal talk about the legalization of marijuana. For too long we have adhered to the archaic rhetoric originally propagated by Harry Anslinger, who made Americans believe that smoking pot and shooting heroin was the same thing. If marijuana were discovered today, and didn't carry the bad political baggage, it would be called a godsend. It has proven medical benefits, it doesn't lead to social deviancy and it's far better for you than cigarettes. [continues 75 words]
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court is about to get involved in one of the most difficult of American subjects -- middle schools and the care of their inmates who as they emerge half baked from babyhood more resemble zoo animals. Any parent can tell you it is this in-between age that's the most difficult for them and their charges, a sort of purgatory where the occupants without constant vigilance can go from promise to long-term disaster in a split second. It is a land of temptation and experimentation that taxes to the limit the oversight capabilities of educators and leads them often into dangerous uncharted waters where the rights of young people can be sucked into a vortex by overzealousness. [continues 615 words]
Hempfest, an event held in the Union on Thursday, helped to educate students about the benefits of industrial hemp and the societal costs of America's often misinformed war on drugs. The fear and untruthful arguments that have been used to keep hemp illegal have propagated the myth that hemp and marijuana are one and the same. While hemp and marijuana are from the same genus Cannabis, hemp is extremely low-less than 1 percent-in the marijuana-high producing psychoactive cannabinoid delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and high in the antipsychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD). Marijuana is the exact opposite, with a high level of THC and a low level of CBD. CBD actually blocks the marijuana high, and hemp's high percentage of CBD makes it not only an impossible means to a drug fix, it essentially makes hemp the "antimarijuana," according to a study by David West for the North American Industrial Hemp Council. [continues 546 words]
Maybe we should legalize drugs. I come neither eagerly nor easily to that maybe. Rather, I come by way of spiraling drug violence in Mexico that recently forced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to acknowledge the role America's insatiable appetite for narcotics plays in the carnage. I come by way of watching Olympian Michael Phelps do the usual public relations song and dance after being outed smoking weed, and knowing the whole thing was a ritualized farce. Most of all, I come by way of personal antipathy: I have never used illegal drugs. [continues 576 words]
The greatest nightmare of the drug lords is the legalization of drugs in the United States. Every night, they pray that we will continue our stupid policies. That said, I want it noted that I do not smoke, drink, or use drugs. I'm a health nut, and I believe that all drugs are harmful. But the stupid war on drugs is putting every American at risk! Ninety percent of all burglaries are for the purpose of getting money for drugs. Most shootings and murders are also tied to drugs. By making them illegal, we keep the price high and force people to steal to supply their addiction. [continues 186 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 516 words]
It's discouraging and revealing that Tad Trueblood (Is Mexico really collapsing? from Jan. 29) doesn't ask how today's prohibition is similar to the original prohibition with alcohol, with all its violence, gang activity, deadly bath-tub tainted concoctions, police and political corruption etc. The original prohibition's biggest achievement was to escalate undesirable consequences with very little good to show and now the sequel is even worse on an international scale. At the very least it's time to re-legalize the relatively safe, socially acceptable, God-given plant cannabis (marijuana), bringing credible drug law reform and putting the gangs out of business, adding stability and utilizing the additional tax money for the good of North America. Murder rates decreased for 10 years after ending the original prohibition, and there's reason to believe ending the sequel will have the same results. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
If you've read this column for a while, you've recognized there's a contrarian streak in me. That usually shows up in my choice of topics, as I often avoid the "big story" plastered in headlines and on CNN in favor of something not being covered well. When I do address a topic that's reached the mainstream, I look for aspects not being addressed. The first column I wrote regarding Mexico was almost three years ago, in February 2006. It concerned a confrontation near El Paso pitting Texas state troopers and sheriff's deputies against a group of heavily armed men in military uniforms coming across from Mexico. My thoughts then were, "When a country cannot or will not keep foreign armed forces from crossing into its territory, it may not be a country for much longer." [continues 403 words]
ST. GEORGE - The one certainty about crime statistics is that they constantly change, sometimes rising, other times falling back. In 2008 St. George Police Department crime statistics showed a little of both. The statistics are made up of part one and part two crimes. Part one crimes are more violent crimes and most of them are felonies. Part two crimes include charges such as fraud, prostitution, drug abuse violations, vagrancy and more. Sgt. Scott Lemmon said part two crimes can be prevented by people just being observant. Part one crimes aren't preventable because the person has already made up their mind up to commit the crime. [continues 507 words]
Car Search) Defendant Says Canine Inadequately Trained To Do His Job An injury had kept K-9 officer Oso from completing an eight-week narcotics certification course, but his law enforcement partners insist he had the skills to perform his job. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals isn't so sure. The court has ordered a federal judge in Salt Lake City to review whether Oso was qualified to sniff out evidence on the night he helped find a handgun and drug paraphernalia in a Utah man's car. Police say Oso had 10 weeks of training with his handler, although he hadn't completed certification. [continues 259 words]
Some recent local news stories are reminders that drug use remains a problem simmering under the placid surface of life in Utah Valley. * A Provo man was accused of having methamphetamine and marijuana at a day care facility, according to court records. At the Provo home, police found several bags believed to contain meth, a glass pipe used to ingest it and water bongs used to smoke marijuana. The suspect reportedly told officers he had smoked meth in the home when children could have been around. [continues 472 words]
Inside Utah
