Regarding Howard J. Wooldridge's Apr. 10 guest column, there is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users. Addicts would not be sharing needles if not for zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean syringes, nor would they be committing crimes if not for artificially inflated black market prices. Providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting eliminates many of the problems associated with heroin use. Heroin maintenance pilot projects are underway in Canada, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. [continues 147 words]
151 Marijuana Plants Found, Cut Near Milton State police destroyed multiple fields of marijuana growing around the Milton area Monday. With the aid of a helicopter, the state police found and cut 151 plants growing along Cooper's Ridge and Rock Camp Road near Milton. State police believe the marijuana finds will net one arrest in the near future. The state police use the helicopter in Cabell County about once a year to find marijuana, said Sgt. A.H. Arnold, the Cabell County detachment commander for the state police. [continues 231 words]
WAYNE -- Law enforcement is in the air and on the hunt -- for marijuana, that is. The marijuana growing season is at its peak during the months of July and August, making this time of the year a prime opportunity for police officers and other law enforcement to crack down on the growth of marijuana. As reported previously by the Herald-Dispatch, nearly every year West Virginia is ranked among the top 10 states in the nation for the number of marijuana plants eradicated. The value of the marijuana destroyed by police surpasses the value of any other single cash crop in the state, according to the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a division of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. [continues 111 words]
Writing about America's new, environmentally friendly hemp industry, a letter printed here May 28 asked, "Is our Legislature asleep, dead or held hostage by existing industries?" The West Virginia Legislature does seem busy profiting from the opportunities that prohibiting cannabis provides. This is one reason I support Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. He has put in writing on his Web site a promise that, if elected president, he will decriminalize cannabis and regulate it similar to alcohol. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
In 1750, hemp was the largest industrial crop in the world. Up until 1883, between 75 to 90 percent of all paper in the world was made of hemp. In 1937, growing hemp was made illegal in the United States. Why can we import $300 million worth of hemp products per year from Canada and China, but can't grow it here? The West Virginia Legislature passed an industrial hemp bill in 2002, and the governor signed it. The last I heard of it, the Department of Agriculture was working on a plan to grow it experimentally, under strict controls, working with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Involving the DEA is absurd because unlike its cousin, marijuana, one thing industrial hemp cannot do is produce a narcotic effect when smoked. [continues 69 words]
Along with her dog "Tigger," Artisan Avenue resident Brandi Jacobs speaks with neighbor Trellis Tyson on Friday, May 14. Tyson has lived on Artisan Avenue for 26 years. Jacobs is trying to rally her neighbors and community service organizations to join efforts in elevating the community rather than trying to accomplish the task alone. HUNTINGTON -- Brandi Jacobs watches with a heavy heart as drug deals go down in her neighborhood. She sees youngsters -- some who should be exiting a school bus -- spending their days peddling crack-cocaine. But unlike many people in her community, Jacobs stands in a position to do something about drugs plaguing parts of Fairfield West. At only age 27, the Artisan Avenue resident has been elected as the Democratic nominee for the District 5 seat on Huntington City Council and faces no opposition in November. [continues 950 words]
Area Residents Get Chance To Meet Candidates At Two Regional Forums HUNTINGTON -- Safety and drug prevention were top concerns for Fairfield residents who attended a Meet the Candidates Forum Tuesday at the A.D. Lewis Community Center. The Huntington Chapter of the NAACP hosted the forum, where Mayoral candidates Dave Felinton (incumbent), Rick Houvouras, Tom McCallister, Larry Patterson and Charlie Thompson, all Democrats, and Republican Leonard Samworth discussed ways to stop drug crime, along with issues such as improving city streets and communication between the City Council and administration. [continues 837 words]
This letter is in response to the recent letter headed "New plan needed to fight illegal drugs". Does this letter writer realize that many leading politicians have admitted to using illegal drugs? So is it that you just have to elude the police to escape these "work gangs?" The drug war is a farce. Prohibition has always been detrimental to society, and it always will be. It helps no one and causes an increase in crime, corruption, death and disease. Let's hold adults responsible for their actions and quit making criminals out of those who are not criminals. Arrest those who sell to our children and who harm others or others' property. I urge everyone to contact their elected representatives and let them know we demand social and health care solutions for those suffering with addiction. Not criminal justice solutions that leave the user and society in a terrible mess. Just say "know." Scott Russ Baton Rouge, La. [end]
I have a suggestion for a recent letter writer here: Before he comes up with too many plans to fight illegal drugs, he should read the major studies on the subject. He can find the full text of nearly every major government commission report on the drug laws in the last 100 years at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer. The collection includes the largest studies ever done by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, just to mention a few. The first thing he will find is that all the major commissions concluded that drug prohibition is a lost cause -- just like alcohol prohibition -- and should have been repealed long ago because it does more harm than good. Clifford Schaffer, Agua Dulce, Calif. [end]
Out-Of-Town Drug Dealers Becoming More Prevalent, Local Officials Say IRONTON -- Though it's a small town nestled along the river in rural southern Ohio, Ironton is facing a big-city problem. Half of the drug trafficking arrests -- or 13 of 26 -- in the Ironton area in the last seven months have been suspects from the Columbus area, and most of those cases involved crack cocaine, said Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton. A Lawrence County grand jury indicted four Columbus residents earlier this month on drug charges, and one defendant from Columbus was sentenced to 16 years in prison on a crack cocaine-related drug conviction. [continues 479 words]
I am writing in regard to a recent letter-writer's thoughtful letter, "New Plan Needed To Fight Illegal Drugs," published here March 25. In a drug transaction, there is a willing buyer and a willing seller, and both walk away happy unless one or both get arrested. Adult citizens of a so-called free country should be free to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance they want -- as long as they are personally responsible for the consequences. Our government cannot protect adult citizens from themselves and has no legitimate authority attempting to do so. A free country should be -- a free country. Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Here are my thoughts on the illegal drug trade: Dealers just relocate. Drug users don't want to quit the habit, just look at smokers for an example. Marijuana is considered by many users to be only recreational, like alcohol, and should be put into the same legal category and taxed as such. Punishment proves to work in only a few cases. Rewards may be the answer. Work gangs should be established for offenders, sellers or buyers. Loud repeating tapes of the evils of drugs and subliminal messages of how to modify their behavior should be played. Those who work could get ear muffs, while those refusing to work or causing a disturbance couldn't. Those who accumulated a predetermined number of hours working would be released, while those who refused to work would be taken to a work site each and every day. Anyone convicted three times of drug trafficking should receive a life sentence. Jay Bowen Huntington [end]
This is an open letter to the person or persons responsible for posting the anti-drug signs along Hal Greer Boulevard. It is uplifting to see this willingness to confront those responsible for degrading your community. The narcotics trade and crime in our city are out of control! This being said, I would strongly encourage you to work through your neighborhood association and or community watch group. These organizations have access to resources needed to be effective in your fight on drugs. There are highly effective methods and procedures that you can use that will actually diminish drug traffic and lessen the chances of someone getting hurt. John Belcher 2nd District Community Watch Huntington [end]
HUNTINGTON -- While their source is a mystery, their message resonates with people throughout the Hal Greer Boulevard community where they're posted. Two signs just north of Hal Greer Boulevard's intersection with 7th Avenue proclaim "CRACKHEADS YOU ARE BEING WATCHED" and "WE CARE. DO YOU?" People started noticing them Thursday, including Thomas Kincaid, a member of the Fairfield West Improvement Council. "I was out today and saw them," he said. "I wonder where in the world they came from." Kincaid, a Fairfield West resident, said there is no question, however, about the problems the signs address. He has watched drug trafficking continually shift from one neighborhood street to the next, infesting once peaceful neighborhoods. [continues 411 words]
HUNTINGTON -- A community-based group has launched a Web site in an effort to eradicate drugs and crime in Huntington. The Web site, www.huntingtonsafety.net, provides information on and links to law enforcement agencies and drug rehabilitation programs, among other things. It was established by The Neighborhood Institute, the umbrella agency for Huntington's 13 neighborhood organizations. The goal of the site is to consolidate all local crime prevention and drug rehabilitation programs, whether they be church, government or community based, under one computerized roof, said John Belcher, a member of the Neighborhood Institute and president of the West Huntington Organization. That way, it will be easier and more discreet for someone wanting to report criminal activity or seek help with substance abuse problems, he said. [continues 270 words]
Who are our real enemies? Those who bring drugs into our communities, or the one who export our jobs? According to "Lou Dobbs' Money Line," more than 250 major corporations have left the United States, leaving many of our brothers and sisters to struggle to make ends meet. "Can We Maintain?," a study by Ronald R. Pollina, Ph.D.. published in Economic Development Journal, notes that U.S. manufacturing jobs have decreased by more than 2.6 million since mid 2000. [continues 124 words]
Well, U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner did it again. Now, Rush Limbaugh and his buddies won't be sending their housekeepers to West Virginia to get their drugs anymore, costing West Virginia more money. Anthony Lott Culloden, W.Va. [end]
HUNTINGTON -- The Rev. Paul Willis knows that eradicating drugs and violence from the city of Huntington is a monumental task. But if it's going to happen, neighborhoods and churches can no longer look the other way or rely on law enforcement alone, he said. "If we truly are concerned about the welfare of this city, we as citizens have to take responsibility," Willis said. "If you don't want to be part of the solution, then you are part of the problem." [continues 484 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Money taken from the assets seized from the owner of a crack house in Huntington was presented to the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force Friday. United States Attorney Kasey Warner presented a $36,000 check taken from the assets of William T. Craft who was prosecuted recently for operating a crack house in Huntington. Investigators first began investigating the operation in 2002. Law enforcement officials credit the asset forfeiture program for reducing the supplies of drugs on the street. With the program, someone convicted of dealing drugs must forfeit all possessions bought with the drug money to the task force, which uses the money for day-to-day operations. This often serves as a greater deterrent to selling drugs than jail does, Warner said. [continues 159 words]
Most of the law-abiding population remains unaware of the large sums of money involved in illegal drug transactions. Of course, supply and demand drives the market. Users in West Virginia, despite the state being economically depressed, pay a comparatively high price for illegal drugs. While prices can vary with purity, potency, amounts purchased, buyer-seller relationships, transportation costs and proximity to sources, the following average figures from the Narcotics Digest special issue on illicit drug prices in the second half of 2003 may be instructive. [continues 352 words]
