Burbank Unified students report below-average consumption, according to survey. Nine percent of Burbank Unified ninth-graders have carried a weapon to school, 5% of seventh-graders have smoked marijuana at least once, and 18% of 11th-graders have been drunk or high on campus, according to the recent California Healthy Kids Survey. Funded by the California Department of Education, the biennial survey is designed to gauge the health of a school site by assessing health-risk behaviors that hinder academic success. [continues 461 words]
Clergy in Illinois are supporting the legalization of medical marijuana, arguing that its use in treating pain and nausea associated with chemotherapy treatments for cancer, the pain of multiple sclerosis and other conditions is moral. What do you think? I tend to side with the Illinois clergy. True, some of them may be duped by those who want free pot anywhere and everywhere. But I think the relieving of suffering is of paramount importance. Also, part of me wants to say, "What's the big deal? We have legalized drugs now that we can purchase in our supermarkets." I am speaking, of course, of alcohol; we can buy as much as we want, and drink as much as we want. I think the same ought to be true for marijuana. Maybe there should be a prescription attached; I don't know. But why should there be no laws against alcohol consumption but stringent laws against marijuana consumption? [continues 1472 words]
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments over whether a banner a student displayed in 2002 on his school's campus could be censored by the school. "Bong hits for Jesus," was the message on the banner. The student, Joseph Frederick, who was suspended from the school for displaying the banner, reportedly said the message was a "free-speech experiment" and "was not intended as a drug or a religious message." The school has argued that it has a right to muffle the speech that promotes illegal behavior and does not adhere to school policy. [continues 1588 words]
National Red Ribbon Week Kicks Off at Disney Elementary School With Students Denouncing Drugs. Students at Walt Disney Elementary School know what to do if someone offers them drugs. "Stop! Say no and go, go go!" said Bailey Harrison, 9. Bailey and members of the school's student council came up with the cheer for Red Ribbon Week, a national campaign that promotes drug-free lifestyles, to help students remember what to say when they are asked to use drugs. Student council members did the cheer on Tuesday during an assembly to help send the message to their peers. [continues 277 words]
City attorney's office dismisses citation against woman for not having identification for carrying medical marijuana. A charge of violating a state law on possession of medical marijuana was dropped Thursday against an advocate who helped get the law passed. The Burbank City Attorney's office dismissed a citation against Valerie Corral for allegedly not having proper identification that allowed her to carry marijuana under the state's Compassionate Use Act. Corral, of Santa Cruz, was cited July 27 when she was found with 5 grams of marijuana at Bob Hope Airport. [continues 81 words]
HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- A 42-year-old Burbank man was arrested Wednesday after he called police to report that his home had been robbed only to have police allegedly find a marijuana plant growing in his basement. Jeffrey Marc Selco called police to report that stereo equipment had been taken from the living room of his home in the 1000 block of East Palm Avenue by four men. During their investigation, police could smell an odor of marijuana, which led them to the basement of the man's home, where they found a potted marijuana plant and a system used to dry the leaves, Burbank Police Sgt. John Dilibert said. [end]
That's The Message At Burroughs High School, As Red Ribbon Week Begins. MAGNOLIA PARK -- Red hands were the order of the day at John Burroughs High School's kick-off of Red Ribbon Week. Guests attending the lunchtime program Monday allowed their hands to be painted red before putting their prints on a large poster that declared "Hands Off Drugs." Event chairwoman Teresa Mackey joked that PTA President Ruth Frechman would have preferred the red paint on guests' feet so that the slogan, "Stamp out drugs," could be used. However, for the benefit of everyone who consented to be slathered in red paint, the organizing group opted for hands. [continues 217 words]
Now Approved by the State, Facility Seeks Referrals While City Tries to Have a Say in Licensing Process. HILLSIDE DISTRICT -- Almost two months since being licensed as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation house, Pride and Serenity is still without clients. "We're getting in contact with different doctors in the community in order to get different referrals to the facility," chief executive officer Bob Ridenour said of the six-bed, $7,500 per month residential rehab home. It is not uncommon for it to take this amount of time for a facility to establish its reputation, and secure the confidence of referring agencies, said Laurie Snyder, executive director of the Grandview Foundation Inc., which operates 10 Pasadena treatment facilities. The lack of clients doesn't mean that neighborhood opposition has died down on the 400 block of Grinnell Drive. Residents have voiced concern about the house's proximity to a school and about having a business in the neighborhood. [continues 217 words]
Significant advancements in work by substance abuse counselors, therapists, parents and schools was hurt and trivialized by an irresponsible frontpage article in the Los Angeles times. The March 18 article, "Pot Has Uses as Medicine, U.S. Panel Says,"misquoted the U.S. Institute of Medicine by stating "...a panel of experts found that marijuana is not addictive, and said there is no clear evidence that smoking it leads to consumption of heroin, cocaine or other narcotics." This was an irresponsible misinterpretation of the Institute's original press release of March 17, the source of the Times article. The Times article sent a dangerous message to the public: Pot is okay. [continues 783 words]
School board OKs pilot program one year after establishing policy. Seventy new employees will be screened this summer. Almost one year after passing a school district policy to screen job applicants for drug use, the Burbank Board of Education has approved a pre-employment drug testing pilot program. In a unanimous vote Thursday, the school board allocated $3,150 to drug test approximately 70 new employees at $45 per person in July and August, district officials said. The program was delayed a year because district resources ~ money and personnel ~ were tapped to comply with a state law requiring fingerprinting of prospective employees, said Robert Fraser, district human resources director. The state law passed around the same time the testing program was to begin. [continues 294 words]
