To the Editor: Tennessee has such a fine bunch of representatives and lawmakers. We have them so drunk in session they can hardly walk, so enthusiastic about stuffing graft in their pockets they need more pocket space, too ashamed of the American flag to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance and now Sherry Jones wants to sell us some weed ("Plan is to implement safe, effective program," Nov. 30). Makes me all tingly when I think about it, I suppose this is how it will work: "Try this kid, it never killed anybody, it's all natural and it will be legal soon, if Sherry Jones gets her way." So, pot is the only drug that will help sick people. No legal drugs on earth can do the trick. Well, if you buy that one, try this - pot makes you so stupid the voters in the 59th district will likely vote for old Sherry one more time. Ron Miller, Hendersonville 37075 [end]
In the article, Dope houses grow like weeds (Nov. 21), it says "police and firefighters have long tried to impress on the public the danger of grow houses." Indeed they have, but the public isn't buying it. The usual arguments put forth by law enforcement (electricity theft, fire hazards, live wires, mould, etc.) are simply scare tactics. These arguments fall flat when one realizes these problems are a product of prohibition. In 2002, the Senate special committee on illegal drugs recommended that cannabis be legalized for both therapeutic and recreational use, and that its production and distribution be licensed and regulated. [continues 154 words]
Investigation Precedes Medical Board Hearing To understand the legal and medical debate over the predicament of Dr. Michael Huff, talk to Lisa Sage and Kirsten Sackett. Sage went to Huff about five years ago because she was depressed. The Oxnard pain specialist prescribed her 9 milligrams of Xanax per day, a higher-than-normal dose. The 45-year-old Ventura woman eventually tried to stop taking the anti-anxiety drug. That's when the seizures began, and she nearly died. She blames Huff for over-drugging her. [continues 1189 words]
AUGUSTA - Heroin abuse in Maine's capital continues to grow at an alarming rate. After the largest heroin bust in Augusta's history on Sunday, police arrested another man Tuesday afternoon for allegedly selling the highly addictive drug. Police arrested Ed Arbour, 23, at his residence on Bond Street on charges of heroin trafficking and violation of probation. Arbour was the 18th person to be arrested this year in Augusta on heroin-related charges, according to police. Before 2002, said detective Lt. Dennis Passmore, "I don't think we've had 18 heroin arrests in the last 20 years." [continues 468 words]
It has been reported that the RCMP are driving around the back roads of the Valley with their windows open. Their intent is to smell out marijuana grow operations. One of these operations was sniffed out over the course of several days. Sgt. Dwayne Wetteland is quoted as saying, "Some of us have colds and we all wear parkas." A loaded hand gun was found when officers raided the house on Okanagan Centre Road East. In Vernon, with the average cost of a police officer being $84,000 each a year, I can't help thinking what a waste of manpower and resources this is. [continues 189 words]
RESEARCH: Locking up low-level offenders ineffective, Justice Policy Institute says. Since 1980, Ventura County has the highest arrest rate for minor drug offenses among California's largest counties, while its violent crime rate has increased slightly during the same period, according to a study being released today. Research by the Justice Policy Institute, based in Washington, D.C., attempts to show that an aggressive police policy against drug users and dealers in California -- which leads the nation in imprisoning drug offenders -- doesn't influence violent crime. [continues 459 words]
James used drugs for four years as a teen-ager before he landed in the usually unforgiving hands of law enforcement. Two years ago, a judge likely would have sentenced him to probation, maybe even jail time, for his transgressions. Then he would have been released to fend for himself. But last year, Ventura County started its juvenile drug court program. It wasn't for everyone, just those with drug problems who were not arrested for violent or sex crimes. James and Daniel were the first participants. And Thursday, they were the first to graduate. [continues 421 words]
PUBLIC OFFICIAL: School superintendent urges Ray Gonzales to step down from post. In 1993, Ray Gonzales was hailed as a hero for saving the Oxnard mayor's wife during one of Ventura County's most notorious crimes. Friday, the Oxnard School District trustee stood in a blue Ventura County Jail jumpsuit and pleaded not guilty to accusations he sold methamphetamine to a Los Angeles man during a street-level drug deal. Gonzales' latest troubles could signal the final thud to a fall that has happened as quickly as he was thrust into the public light for his heroic act seven years ago. [continues 682 words]
PASADENA -- IN THE 1970s, it was routine to see comical scenes in movies where hip young boys and girls were getting high smoking pot. Meanwhile, on TV, Richie Cunningham and the kids down at Arnold's Drive-In were acting out their retro-1950s ``happy days'' with soda pop and malts. But now that TV is starting to do retro 1970s sitcoms, will America still think doing dope is funny? We're about to find out. Next month, the Fox network will premiere its new fall sitcom ``That '70s Show,'' which includes a scene in which three of the show's main characters are stoned from smoking marijuana in the basement. We don't actually see them toking on a joint, but we see them trying to clear the air of smoke when a grown-up appears. [continues 710 words]
Pasadena - Gary Busey, the hell-raising, motorcycle-crashing, coke-snorting actor who has spent most of his 54 years burning bridges, is finally dead and buried - or so he says. "That's where I was before - in the dark," says Busey. "I'm in a new place now." The Oscar-nominated star of "The Buddy Holly Story" and acclaimed villain of "Under Siege" and "Lethal Weapon" nearly died in a 1988 motorcycle accident and again in 1995, when he overdosed on steroids, cocaine and tequila. Last year sinus cancer had Busey swearing he had seen the Grim Reaper. [continues 528 words]
Bill Moyers' Son Taught Him Hard Truths About Drugs LIKE most of us, Bill Moyers thought he knew all he needed to know about addiction. Then it came into his home and pulled up a chair. ``I had covered addiction, done documentaries about drugs and alcohol,'' says the veteran newsman, ``but not until it came close to home did I really begin to see deep into the experience of addiction.'' The eye-opener for Moyers and his wife, Judith, was their discovery that their oldest son, William, a seasoned journalist who had worked for the Dallas Times Herald, Newsday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and CNN, was a drug addict. [continues 838 words]
