OGDEN A city police officer, among six gunned down Wednesday night while serving a search warrant at 3268 Jackson Ave., has died from his injuries.

The Ogden Police Department announced around 2 a.m. Thursday that agent Jared Francom, a husband and father to two young children, died after seven years of service to the city.

The six wounded officers were members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force and the Ogden Police Department. They were struck with bullets shot from what neighbors said sounded like a high-powered rifle.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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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"

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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.

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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.

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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?"

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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