I too share the outrage of Health Minister Rona Ambrose concerning the Supreme Court allowing marijuana derivatives to be used for medical purposes. This decision was made to accommodate children being prescribed medical marijuana. In my way of thinking, if these prepubescent potheads can't spark up a doobie like the rest of the potheads, they have no right to be using it in the first place. And everyone seems to be ignoring a glaring side effect of this marijuana use by these children. I don't know which U.S. president funded it, but a scientific paper that was released in the late '60s outlined a serious consequence of marijuana use. [continues 270 words]
It seems the marijuana party has begun, and many people are rolling a joint and smiling broadly. THE ISSUE: Legalizing cannabis COMMENT: We need more research Vancouver has begun regulating its cannabis dispensaries, and the Supreme Court of Canada last week ruled that medical marijuana users can now ingest edible forms of the drug, in addition to being able to smoke it. Marijuana proponents, including dispensary owners who currently operate in a legal grey zone, are high on the excitement that we are in the midst of a societal change. [continues 344 words]
VPD Targeted Seven Dispensaries in 18 Months The business of investigating and prosecuting illegal marijuana dispensaries in Vancouver has yet to result in the successful prosecution of any suspects whom police arrested over an 18-month span while executing nine search warrants at city pot shops. In examining court records and conducting interviews with Vancouver police, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and a dispensary operator, the Courier learned that only three people were charged in connection with raids on two pot shops. [continues 1444 words]
In their op-ed article against cannabis legalization (June 17, "What happened to the pot stigma?"), former drug czar William J. Bennett and Seth Leibsohn yearn for a time when shaming and fear-mongering, not facts, drove the marijuana policy debate in America. Those days are largely over. Bennett and Leibsohn blame the "marijuana lobby" for re-shaping the way Americans think about the cannabis plant and the public policies governing it. But the reality is that voters' views on pot have evolved in recent years based on both the failures of marijuana prohibition and the success of its legalization and regulation. For decades, those opposed to amending cannabis criminalization warned that any significant change in marijuana policy would lead to a plethora of unintended consequences. Yet the initial experience in Colorado and Washington, in addition to many other states' deep-rooted experiences regulating the production and distribution of marijuana for therapeutic purposes, has shown these fears to be misplaced. [continues 730 words]
Sheila Polk in her guest column has taken vague statistics and strung them together to misrepresent the truth to push her personal agenda ("Safe pot? Tell that to the 62 kids who died, My Turn). If she's willing to do that in this instance, how often has she done the same thing as a county prosecutor? Is she willing to twist a few facts to convict someone? Let's face it folks, a lie is just that, a lie. When will we stop electing public officials who are willing to lie to us? - - Bob Sewell, Glendale [end]
Marijuana advocates in Denver have enjoyed a tremendous amount of public support over the past decade, but they may be pushing their luck with the latest proposal. Backers want to ask voters to approve a ballot initiative that would allow marijuana consumption in commercial establishments, including bars and clubs, that meet certain guidelines. "We're confident that voters will agree that adults should be able to use marijuana socially in private venues when around other adults," said proponent Mason Tvert. "Overconfident" may be a better description. [continues 220 words]
The state's first medical marijuana dispensary, Alternative Therapies Group in Salem, is expected to open shortly, after receiving a temporary waiver Friday that will allow it to sell cannabis that has not been fully tested for pesticides and other contaminants. The one-time waiver was granted because laboratories in Massachusetts are not yet able to complete the quality testing required by state health department rules, according to Governor Charlie Baker's office. "Patients have waited to access marijuana for medical purposes for far too long," Baker said in a statement. "This waiver will allow industry laboratories a little more time to reach full operation while providing safe amounts of medical marijuana for qualifying patients who need it." [continues 689 words]
Hepatitis C and HIV Outbreaks Test Public-Health Resources in Midwestern States Every Friday afternoon, dozens of drug addicts carrying bags and coffee cans filled with dirty needles stream into a makeshift clinic in downtrodden Portsmouth, Ohio. As the only such facility in a region blighted by heroin and painkiller abuse, it attracts addicts from as far away as Kentucky and West Virginia. City health workers run the clinic on a shoestring, handing out clean needles and encouraging addicts to get tested for hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, and to seek addiction treatment. But the best treatment options are at least an hour away. [continues 2096 words]
