A group striving for the legalization of marijuana in Ohio made a stop in Painesville on Sept. 8, but not everyone there was happy to see them. ResponsibleOhio's Green Rush Bus Tour parked outside of the Lake County Courthouse to provide passers-by with information about the Marijuana Legalization Amendment, which will be Issue 3 on the ballot on Nov. 3 and if passed would legalize medical and personal marijuana use for Ohioans who are at least 21 years old. [continues 521 words]
"I can't say 'hell yes,' can I?" Mentor Municipal Court Judge John Trebets answered when asked if all the extra work was worth it. On March 9, the city's drug court expanded and is now the Lake County Drug Court, extending its alternatives to incarceration to the entire county. Mentor's drug court began in April 2010 and has helped dozens of low level, non-violent drug offenders get back on the road to recovery. "We can only help those that want to help themselves," Trebets said of the voluntary nature of the program. [continues 794 words]
Police and sheriff's departments have stepped up their enforcement against heroin crimes, but officials say it is too soon to know the effect of their increased efforts. Geauga County Coroner Dr. Robert Coleman said while there have been some potential heroin overdoses in the county in June and July, complete testing takes time, so final determinations have not been made on those deaths. Public awareness has certainly increased though, he said. "Is it really having an effect? It's too early to tell for sure," Coleman said. "It's been around for 3,000 years, so it's probably not going away any time soon." [continues 510 words]
In an effort to better understand the consequences of drug use in Lake County, the county's General Health District recently released a report on unintentional drug overdoses in the county. Partnering with Lake Health and the Lake County Opiate Task Force, the report details many different statistics about accidental drug overdoses, which saw an increase to 42 in 2013 compared with 36 in 2012, 37 in 2011 and 35 in 2010. Dr. David Keep, a pathologist at Lake Health and at the Lake County Coroner's Office, said he was inspired to gather accurate local overdose data more quickly, as the problem seemed to really increase around 2010. [continues 795 words]
In the wake of Colorado and Washington legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, efforts to change the laws in Ohio are being debated statewide. On May 2, Democratic state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown introduced House Bill 153, which would allow for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The bill did not make it very far through the state legislature, though. Simon Dunkle, director of media relations for the Ohio Rights Group, said a hearing was not scheduled for the bill, and it died in the committee stage. [continues 676 words]
