GRAND BEND - Included in a list of people charged in a huge drug bust in Sarnia and Lambton County, were two Warwick Street residents. Last week, officers from the Windsor Unit of the Ontario Provincial Police Drug Enforcement Section and the Sarnia Police Service arrested and charged 27 adults and one young person with 135 drug-related offences, and seized more than $767,069.50 worth of illegal drugs destined for Sarnia, and Lambton County. Through the investigation undercover officers successfully purchased Ecstasy (MDMA), Cannabis, Marihuana, Cannabis Resin, Hashish, Psilocybin, Cocaine Powder, Crack Cocaine, and Percocet Tablets. [continues 122 words]
I could not believe Florida Today actually printed the recent Associated Press article headlined "Excessive pot-smoking, body fat hurt male fertility." The "pot-smoking causes infertility" myth has been debunked time and time again, yet journalists persist in giving ink to bad science. The author admits it was two "small" studies and even suggests two marijuana cigarettes a day was used to indicate "heavy use." P. Cushman's study headlined "Plasma testosterone levels in healthy male marijuana smokers," published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in 1975, and a follow-up study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence in 1991 debunk this myth. [continues 112 words]
We recently heard of the personal tragedy of radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, which we hope will work out for the best for him during and after his treatment for drug addiction. Perhaps this is a good time to re-examine the entire federal drug policy in this country. No thinking person can look at the results of the so-called war on drugs and conclude it is anything but a disaster. I won't reiterate all the pros and cons of the drug issue, but sooner or later we must examine the whole issue of illegal and legal mind-altering drugs and the respective policies both in the legal and illegal marketplace. This, of course, bumps up against the current prescription drug debate. [continues 95 words]
Several months ago there were many articles in the Morning News about the dilemma doctors are facing because of the rising cost of insurance due to medical malpractice lawsuits. Doctors allege that the suits have caused fees for their services to skyrocket. Perhaps overbilling the patients' insurance companies have occurred, but doctors seem unwilling to realize the high cost of insurance premiums paid by their patients. I have no idea how to remedy that, but only 5 percent of civil suits are for medical malpractice. However, this letter is to address a problem much more serious than insurance. [continues 144 words]
Past Marijuana Use Now More Acceptable Near the end of the Rock the Vote presidential candidates' forum in Boston this week, the moderator posed a question that once filled politicians with dread. "Which of you are ready to admit to having used marijuana in the past?" Though Howard Dean joked that the candidates would "keep our hands down on this one," only former ambassador Carol Moseley Braun declined to answer the question. Dean, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said they had. The Rev. Al Sharpton said he had not. [continues 829 words]
Rush Limbaugh has gotten off free! You see, he has lots of money. He checks in to rehab, where he hopes the heat won't be on him anymore. That's the way "games" are played. When you are a regular "drug head," your money can't get you off, but it can get you more drugs. Like Rush said in his own words, you are what you are. Raymond Carter Chester [end]
Dear Editor, Following is regarding your story "Call for help alerts police to pot farm" (News, Oct. 29) Punishing people who sell or use some harmful recreational drugs while leaving alone those who sell or use other harmful recreational drugs can have no other logical purpose than to entertain the majority by persecuting an innocent minority. Our government is merely goose-stepping along the path. Please, I'm begging you, please leave room in any future drug bust stories for the comments of those like me who oppose our shameful drug prohibition law. Alan Randell, Richmond [end]
Re: methadone clinic opinion of Linda Morris [Nov. 2]: While the scenario presented by Morris certainly warrants some compassion, this one isolated case does not constitute at all the placement of a methadone clinic anywhere in Horry County. With a minimum amount of research, one can easily see just what a deterrent these clinics can be and are, not only for the community, but for the people who are supposedly assisted by methadone. In sworn testimony given by Michael J. Chitwood, chief of police, before Sen. Susan Collins in Bangor, Maine, in August, Chitwood clearly demonstrates abuses of methadone in his community and the state of Maine. [continues 227 words]
"There is more to life than chasing a high," says a Steinbach resident who is recovering from a 15-year battle with drug and alcohol addictions. But his struggles with addictions didn't end three years ago when he admitted he had a problem and asked for help. "They say life gets easier the longer you stay clean but it is hard to stay clean," says Dan, adding job offers, family support and community acceptance are important pieces in the recovery process. [continues 839 words]
Drivers on SH9 in east Norman might be doing a doubletake these days. The Oklahoma Chapter of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has adopted the two-mile stretch from Peebly Road to 180th Avenue SE. "We have adopted the highway to show that we are just regular tax paying people involved in our community and our state," said Norma Sapp, the local chapter's director and a resident of the Little Axe community. Sapp has been involved with NORML for 13 years. She notes police arrested 697,082 persons in 2002 for marijuana violations. "This is my hobby," she said. [continues 349 words]
OLYMPIA, Wash., - After two decades of passing ever tougher sentencing laws and prompting a prison building boom, state legislatures facing budget crises are beginning to rethink their costly approaches to crime. In the past year, about 25 states have passed laws eliminating some of the lengthy mandatory minimum sentences so popular in the 1980's and 1990's, restoring early release for parole and offering treatment instead of incarceration for some drug offenders. In the process, politicians across the political spectrum say they are discovering a new motto. Instead of being tough on crime, it is more effective to be smart on crime. [continues 1503 words]
