State Rep. Jim Neely's bill that would legalize medical marijuana in a smokeless form for Missourians with terminal illnesses has been criticized as too restrictive and narrow. But the measure could jump-start the push to make Missouri the 30th state to allow medical marijuana. More than 20 lawmakers, including three Democrats, have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. It passed out of committee this week and awaits consideration in the full House. The legislation would permit the use of hemp extract for terminally ill patients. The state's current "Right to Try" law allows patients with terminal illnesses to try experimental drugs without approval from the Food and Drug Administration. It doesn't include marijuana. [continues 370 words]
Rep. Jim Neely has seen firsthand how a terminal illness like cancer ravages the body. His own daughter died from cancer three years ago. With a background in health care working as a physician and managing a hospice agency, Neely, R-Cameron, knows the importance of patients receiving comfort. That's why he's sponsoring a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in a smokeless form for Missourians with terminal illnesses. "It's for people who are terminal to gain access for comfort," Neely said. "This seems to me aE& as a good way to get started and seeing if there are some benefits." [continues 1242 words]
Timothy Durden Jr. made it a habit to throw his arms around his grandmother, plant a big kiss on her cheek and proclaim, "I love you, Grannie." The former Park Hill High School basketball and football player had a passion for joking, dancing, lifting weights. But the 18-year-old also enjoyed "smoking his weed," family wrote in his obituary, and that habit cost him his life when he allegedly tried to rob the teenager who was selling him 2 ounces of marijuana in the Northland. [continues 1107 words]
More than 100 people in five states, including Missouri, have been treated in the past month for "serious unexplained bleeding" believed to be linked to inhaling fake marijuana laced with rat poison, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Illinois alone has reported 107 cases, and three people have died, the state's Department of Public Health said Monday. People have been hospitalized for coughing up blood, blood in the urine, severe bloody nose and bleeding gums. Elsewhere, two people have been hospitalized in Indiana, one in Maryland, one in Wisconsin and one in Missouri. [continues 283 words]
The Kansas House of Representatives rejected medical marijuana legalization Monday. But the closeness of the 54-69 vote and the hour of emotional testimony that preceded it made advocates more confident that Kansas is now closer to joining the 30 states that allow marijuana by prescription. "Today was the most legislative discussion we have ever had in three years of the Kansas Safe Access Act," said Lisa Sublett, the founder and president of Bleeding Kansas Advocates. Sublett noted the bipartisan nature of the vote on the medical marijuana amendment, which came up during debate on a bill to update the state's controlled substances listings. [continues 572 words]
Earlier this month, Kansas state Rep. Steve Alford embarrassed himself by mistakenly repeating racist rhetoric that was originally used by Henry Anslinger, an avowed racist from the late 1920s, when referring to use of marijuana by people of color. I do not believe Alford is a racist. But I do believe, like so many others, he is misinformed when it comes to the facts and issues related to marijuana and the history of marijuana prohibition. Presently marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 drug under the federal government's Controlled Substances Act -- right next to heroin. I think most of us would agree marijuana is not the equivalent of heroin. Nevertheless, it remains as a classified drug for the purposes of federal prosecution. [continues 521 words]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Two plainclothes detectives were driving a white unmarked pickup truck through a heavily forested road in Polk County on an overcast day in March 2012. A woman had called the sheriff's office in December. Her identity had been stolen, she said, and new credit cards were being sent to an address in Polk County. The detectives couldn't find the home in the rural area 45 miles north of Springfield, so instead they stopped at the next closest address -- the home of Charles Frederick White. [continues 895 words]
Jackson County announced Tuesday that it will join St. Louis County in a prescription drug monitoring program as a way to fight abuse of painkillers. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a system to track the sales of prescription drugs. Despite repeated attempts over the past decade and wide support from health advocates, law enforcement and others, the General Assembly has been unable to pass legislation that would set up a statewide program. A small number of opponents have blocked those bills, citing privacy concerns. [continues 324 words]
Mandatory drug testing of students at a two-year technical college in Linn, Mo., has been banned by a federal appeals court. The court has reinstated the ban on mandatory drug testing for most students at the State Technical College of Missouri. The decision was the latest ruling in a 5-year-old lawsuit. The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Associated Press reported that by a 9-2 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit overturned an earlier decision by a three-judge panel of the court. [continues 132 words]
Last week a group of Missouri prosecutors announced it had taken legal steps to block voter consideration of a medical marijuana proposition on the November ballot. In a news release, the group said it opposes the measure because pot is illegal under federal law. "Missouri law cannot usurp federal law," the prosecutors claim. That doesn't seem to have been a problem in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is sold, but let's leave that aside for the moment. Instead, let's focus on the prosecutors' central argument: state law, they say, must give way to federal law whenever there's a conflict. [continues 383 words]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Proponents of initiatives aimed at sales taxes, cigarette taxes and medical marijuana submitted petitions Sunday in hopes of getting their proposals on the November ballot in Missouri. The petitions submitted Sunday involved two proposed constitutional amendments, one that would prohibit state and local governments from charging sales tax on any services that weren't taxed as of 2015, and another that would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A third ballot initiative would phase in a 23-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax from 2017 to 2021. [continues 495 words]
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) -- The Missouri House has rejected a proposal to legalize medical marijuana. The legislation failed on a 66-87 vote Thursday after lawmakers scaled it back to only permit cancer patients in hospice to use the drug. The pro-legalization National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said of the 23 states to permit medical cannabis, only Florida's laws were comparably narrow. Some supporters of expanding access to marijuana said they could not support such a limited measure. Other opponents said permitting any form of legalized marijuana would lead to higher use among teenagers and, potentially, even looser drugs laws in the future. [end]
ST. LOUIS - Clara Walker, a mother of nine and grandmother of eight, was peering out the window of her home three years ago after hearing what she initially thought were gunshots from a television crime show. But at that moment, Anthony Jordan, who the authorities say was a gang enforcer known as "Godfather," was spraying gunfire on the street outside, and two bullets struck Ms. Walker, killing her. "St. Louis is a dangerous place right now," Johnny Barnes, Ms. Walker's longtime boyfriend, said during a recent interview. "It's all around us." [continues 1222 words]
Prison Reform Measures Have Helped Lower Rates of Incarceration Half of the Nation's Prison Population Has Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders For-Profit Companies Are Maneuvering for Contracts With Cash-Strapped States Nancy Reagan's recent death was a reminder of the shallow moralizing of the Just Say No anti-drug campaign she once championed. Thankfully, attitudes have changed. We're more attuned to the fact that untreated mental health issues are often a precursor to drug use. Nancy's slogan to fight peer pressure won't help much there. [continues 676 words]
Regarding the editorial "Pot or not?" (Nov. 16): As a sitting chief of police in Missouri, I've seen the rift that our failed marijuana policy continues to create between peace officers and the citizens we serve. Young people aren't prevented from getting marijuana now, because drug dealers don't have to ask for an ID. Families are torn apart, parents lose their children, and racial minorities are arrested and incarcerated for marijuana far more often than whites. Continuing to arrest nonviolent, responsible, adult marijuana users is generating public distrust of their police. This makes it very difficult to do our job of protecting communities and solving crimes. [continues 140 words]
COLUMBIA - Initiative petitions have begun circulating that would revive a proposal for the decriminalization of growing up to six marijuana plants in Columbia. The petition would limit cultivation to a person's home in locked area indoors inaccessible to children. It would make cultivation a municipal offense with a fine of $250 or community service or counseling. The petition also states that medical marijuana may be obtained, possessed and cultivated by seriously ill patients. Under the proposal, cultivation and/or possession of up to six or fewer plants would not result in arrest, loss of driver's license, detention, incarceration or require the posting of a bond. Punishment would be limited to a city summons and a fine of up to $250. In 2004, 62 percent of Columbia voters approved an ordinance that made posession of up to 35 grams of marijuana a municipal offense with a fine of no more than $250. [continues 248 words]
Kin, Lawmakers Argued Sentence Too Stiff As Attitudes Have Changed Jefferson City, Mo. (AP) - A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed Tuesday from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for two decades - a period in which the nation's attitudes toward pot steadily softened. "I spent a third of my life in prison," said Jeff Mizanskey, 62, who was greeted by his infant great-granddaughter. "It's a shame." His release followed years of lobbying by relatives, lawmakers and others who argued that the sentence was too stiff and that marijuana should not be forbidden. [continues 482 words]
JEFFERSON CITY - After 21 years behind bars for marijuana-related offenses, Jeff Mizanskey is now a free man. Mizanskey, 62, of Sedalia, was released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center early Tuesday morning with a crowd of family, friends and members of the media ready to greet him. His supporters wore black shirts with the Show-Me Cannabis logo and white lettering that said #WeFreedJeffMizanskey 09-01-2015. Mizanskey wore a similar shirt that said "I'm Jeff and I'm Free." [continues 835 words]
(AP) - A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for more than two decades - a period in which the nation's attitudes toward pot steadily softened. Family, friends, supporters and reporters flocked to meet Jeff Mizanskey, 62, as he stepped out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center into a sunny morning, wearing a new pair of white tennis shoes and a shirt that read, "I'm Jeff & I'm free." His release followed years of lobbying by relatives, lawmakers and others who argued that the sentence was too stiff and that marijuana should not be forbidden. [end]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed Tuesday from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for more than two decades - a period in which the nation's attitudes toward pot steadily softened. Family, friends, supporters and reporters flocked to meet Jeff Mizanskey as he stepped out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center, wearing a new pair of white tennis shoes and a shirt that read "I'm Jeff & I'm free." [continues 106 words]
Thank you for making the case for drug decriminalization in the editorial "Descriminalizacao" (July 26). There is a misguided effort underway nationwide to replace the punitive drug war with drug courts. This effort is effectively a war on non-corporate drugs funded by taxpayers and carried out with the heavy hand of a bloated criminal justice system. Drug courts use drug tests and the threat of jail to force illicit drug users to switch to legal alcohol or prescription pharmaceuticals, both of which are arguably more harmful than marijuana, the most popular illicit drug. [continues 104 words]
The Sunday editorial "Descriminalizacao" on the war against drugs seems to confirm what I've been carrying on about for some time now. The war on drugs is an entirely misguided effort. We keep blaming the Mexican and Colombian cartels for the sale and use of drugs in this country. The fact of the matter is that the American people must take most of the blame for what is happening. Readers of my letter who don't want to deal with this reality will write me off as being unpatriotic, but the real truth is that the American people have created the demand for drugs. Americans want drugs. We want cocaine, marijuana, meth and anything we can get our hands on. Drug cartels are simply supplying a product to a marketplace we have created. [continues 125 words]
It's been a busy couple of weeks in America's futile War on Drugs. It's a war that can't be won, a war that makes billionaires of some of the world's most vicious criminals, a war that began 44 years ago and has cost more than $1 trillion. It's time to think about what we as a nation are doing wrong. It's time to honestly face the facts. Yes, we can and should let nonviolent drug offenders out of prison, as President Obama has advocated and some conservative states already have done, and as bipartisan legislation pending in Congress would do. [continues 973 words]
As heroin use jumps in Springfield and throughout Missouri, the Show Me State stands alone in not having a prescription drug monitoring program - a key to curbing the drug's proliferation, according to federal experts. Nationally, heroin use has been on the rise. It has become more prevalent among women and the middle class, and many of its users came to the narcotic after having first become addicted to prescription drugs, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [continues 1501 words]
We have lost the War on Drugs and are now losing the battle for an emotionally stable society. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that 52 million Americans have used prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes, that 54 percent of such drugs are obtained free from friends and relatives, and that 62 percent of teens that abused prescription drugs did so because they are legal, cheap, easy to get and provide plausible deniability when caught. Americans consume 75 percent of the world's prescription drugs even though we only represent 5 percent of the world's population. We also have the world's largest percentage of population incarcerated for illegal drugs. [continues 404 words]
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has commuted Jeff Mizanskey's life sentence for marijuana offenses, allowing him a parole hearing - an indication of the public and political shift on draconian drug laws. ATLANTA - Back in the day, Jeff Mizanskey was a bit of a pothead, at least that's how the police in Sedalia, Mo., knew him. The third time Mr. Mizanskey got busted for weed - during a 1993 sting at a Super 8 motel - he lost his case at trial and received a mind-boggling punishment: Life in prison, with no chance of getting out. [continues 1096 words]
KANSAS CITY, MO. - Shona Banda says she had a clear choice: Live in misery or use medical marijuana to ease her Crohn's disease and risk going to jail. Turned out to be an easy call for the Garden City, Kan., woman. She said her symptoms eased to the point where she could return to work and once again play with her young son. But she didn't count on that same son, now 11, speaking out in school recently about the benefits of medical marijuana, including saying that it had saved his mother's life. School officials contacted police, who searched her house and found marijuana and cannabis oil. [continues 334 words]
Katie Wightman argues against marijuana legalization (Don't legalize marijuana in Missouri, Dec. 11) on the basis of legal, criminal, and medical consequences. Legalization is designed to remove the criminal consequences. This will free police, prosecutors, courts, and jails to focus on more serious criminal problems and reduce the expenses involved. The legal consequences Ms. Wightman advances are increased car accidents. Colorado saw a decrease in car fatalities in the first six month after legalization compared the average per month from 2002 to 2014. [continues 220 words]
On Nov. 4, voters in Oregon and Alaska passed initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana. This, of course, follows Colorado and Washington state, whose voters did the same not long ago. The trend is obvious - and hardly surprising considering in a recent poll Americans said, by 56 percent to 44 percent, that marijuana should be legalized provided it is appropriately regulated, as with alcohol. There is a great irony here. Just as the legalization trend accelerates, maybe to the point of being unstoppable, the accumulated medical and scientific evidence proving marijuana is in fact a dangerous drug is overwhelming. Here are some of the studies and useful facts: [continues 935 words]
COLUMBIA - A civil liberties expert and a former drug law enforcement officer will weigh in on marijuana legalization during two talks at MU on Thursday. The events will take place a week after marijuana law reform advocates filed an initiative petition to the Missouri Secretary of State for the 2016 ballot. Both events are free and open to the public. The first presentation will be by Neill Franklin, national executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and will be held at 4:30 p.m. in Room 2-07 of the MU Agriculture Building. Franklin is also a former law enforcement officer who oversaw drug task forces with the Maryland State Police. [continues 295 words]
Over the past two decades a silent epidemic has swept the nation, killing tens of thousands of people. The health care industry is quietly battling the problem of prescription drug abuse but has yet to make substantial progress. The release of long-acting opioid pain medications by drug companies has led to their use in the management of chronic pain. Though the management of chronic pain is not a direct misuse of the drug, the U.S. has seen a dramatic rise in opioid prescriptions: 402 percent between 1997 and 2007. [continues 796 words]
A Persistent Scourge Today we return to a continuing failure of American policy that is primarily responsible for illegal immigration troubles and criminal violence on our southern border -- the utterly failed U.S. war on drugs, which produces the world's most active black market and provides funding for murderous cartel traffickers in nations to our south. Four-star Marine Gen. John Kelly, who heads the U.S. military's Southern Command, says homicide rates in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are higher than in recognized combat zones like Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Central American region has become a "killing zone" mainly because of the U.S. black market in drugs and "because of the insidiousness of the vast resources of kingpins. It's the malignant effects of immense drug trafficking through these non-consumer nations that is responsible for accelerating the breakdown in their national institutions ... and eventually their entire society, as evidenced today by the flow of children north and out of the conflictive transit zone." [continues 241 words]
To the Editor: In response to the letter encouraging us to support legalizing/decriminalizing drugs, I'll address the last point first-if the majority of prison inmates are incarcerated for drug offenses, it seems we are not losing the drug war. Next-yes, society and alcohol have come to an understanding-alcohol purchase and usage require laws to protect us from drunk drivers and underage drinkers. We spend millions of dollars to rehabilitate alcoholics. The damage to their families is often not fixable. I think it would be difficult to convince the Missouri families of the 19 people killed July 4, 2013, plus those injured due to alcohol-related accidents that use of alcohol is under control. [continues 198 words]
Springfield City Council members believed that they could work around the democratic process because they knew what was best for the city. That arrogance has cost nearly a quarter-million dollars. The city agreed to pay $225,000 to a group of marijuana activists in a settlement City Attorney Dan Wichmer called "in the best interest of all parties." In exchange for the payment, most of which will go to the plaintiffs' lawyer, petition sponsors Maranda Reynolds of Springfield, Show-Me Cannabis Regulation and American Victory Coalition will drop their lawsuit against the city. [continues 314 words]
Missouri's marijuana laws made an inch of progress last month, but they are still among the strictest in the nation and yes, you can still get arrested for a joint. However, people with severe epilepsy will have better access to medicine and the severest marijuana penalty in the country has been somewhat taken off the books. In the omnibus crime bill that passed both the House and Senate and is now awaiting Governor Jay Nixon's signature, the most progressive change is a law that will allow patients with severe epilepsy to use cannabis oil for treatment. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate (32-0) and overwhelmingly in the House (130 to 12). One reason for the easy passage could be that patients can only use it after a doctor has recommended three other medications that have proven not to work effectively. [continues 410 words]
Medical Extract to Treat Their Seizures Legal in Colorado KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Otis Reed will soon move to Colorado so he can get marijuana every day. No hurry. One night last week, he happily chomped on string cheese and broccoli. Well, spit broccoli out anyway, the florets landing on the toy frog in his lap. Otis is 2. He and little ones like him have become the new face of America's discussion about marijuana. Forget Bill Maher and Willie Nelson for now - that's old weed thinking. [continues 1695 words]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Springfield officials said they have reached an agreement in a lawsuit filed by groups trying to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. However, neither side is disclosing the terms of the settlement until it is signed by all interested parties. The details are likely to be revealed in the next few weeks, The Springfield News-Leader reported. City Attorney Dan Wichmer said the City Council approved the settlement during a closed session April 15. All court proceedings in the lawsuit were put on hold April 17. [continues 194 words]
Attendees at the Missouri Cannabis Conference, held Saturday at the University of Missouri campus, agreed that simply by talking about marijuana they are benefitting the legalization movement. The daylong conference - sponsored by several groups, including Show-Me Cannabis, NORML and the MU student chapter of NORML - included speakers ranging from a state legislator to national marijuana legalization advocates. Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project, offered the keynote address. He said multiple times during his address that his experience is that the more people talk about an issue, the easier it is for them to understand and come to accept change. [continues 322 words]
Otis Reed will soon move to Colorado so he can get marijuana every day. No hurry. One night last week, he happily chomped on string cheese and broccoli. Well, spit broccoli out anyway, the florets landing on the toy frog in his lap. Otis is 2. He and little ones like him have become the new face of America's discussion about marijuana. Forget Bill Maher and Willie Nelson for now - that's old weed thinking. Now it's about kids who suffer hundreds of seizures every day because of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. A growing number of health professionals, buoyed by new research and positive results, say medical marijuana, specifically an oil extract called Charlotte's Web, can help those children. [continues 1687 words]
The Barry County Connections Coalition will host a town hall meeting, Think Again, this month in Monett. The Wednesday, April 30 discussion will center around facts and myths about underage alcohol and drug abuse. The event will feature food, prizes and games, including an impaired driving simulator. Guest speaker Chuck Daugherty, executive director of ACT Missouri, has more than 30 years of experience in prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support to at-risk youth, adolescents and special needs populations in community-based and clinical settings. He is a national trainer for the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, and is chairman for the Missouri Alliance for Drug Endangered Children. [continues 206 words]
KANSAS CITY, MO. - An attorney for Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe filed a motion Friday to suppress evidence related to Bowe's arrest in November for allegedly speeding and possessing more than 10 grams of marijuana. Bowe was pulled over during a traffic stop on Nov. 10 in Riverside. The motion contends the search of his vehicle and person was conducted without a valid warrant, without probable cause and in an unreasonable manner. It also contends Bowe's statements were obtained without police reading him Miranda rights. [continues 687 words]
JEFFERSON CITY - Christine McDonald remembers standing in line at food pantries for hours to get food for two or three days. She had a newborn son, was newly blind and out of work and could have used some help. But because of a drug conviction, she was not eligible for food stamps. "You couple finding a job with a criminal record, with having no eyeballs, you're going to face some societal barriers," McDonald said. "If I would've killed someone I could've gotten food stamps." [continues 791 words]
State Rep. Paul Curtman's attempt to get an additional $7 million added to the state's drug court program was unsuccessful in the Missouri House, but he plans to keep up the effort. The Missouri House passed its version of the budget without the additional funding that Curtman proposed. Now the budget has gone to the Senate, where Curtman hopes he can work with senators to put more funding into the system. State Rep. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, plans to help Curtman work with the Senate to get additional drug court funding added to the budget. However, they may not be able to get the full $7 million, but any increase will be better than nothing, Curtman, R-Pacific, said. [continues 226 words]
ADRIAN, Mo. - As usual, Gene Halbin rolled a fat one after lunch. He'd taken a couple of hits when two strangers appeared at the front door. Halbin's place sits way out of town, off the blacktop, down a dirt road, round a bend, over a bridge and deep into some woods in northwestern Bates County. Good bet they weren't solicitors working the neighborhood. But they did come with purpose and the first words out of one of their mouths stated it clearly: [continues 1651 words]
SIKESTON, Mo. -- About 50 people attended the Show-Me Cannabis town hall meeting Tuesday at the Clinton Building in Sikeston to discuss the possibility of legalizing marijuana. John Payne, executive director of Show-Me Cannabis, said his efforts are not motivated by a desire to legally get high -- he doesn't use cannabis. His motivations include freedom, human-rights issues, meeting medical needs and economic development. The sale of hemp products is a $500 million-a-year industry in the U.S., according to Payne. [continues 895 words]
EAST ST. LOUIS - Federal prosecutors and lawyers for disgraced St. Clair County judge Mike Cook filed a response Wednesday to a federal judge who had rejected an 18-month prison term, but it was not clear whether a new deal had been reached. The filing is sealed and says only that is is a "response" to U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade, who rejected a prior plea deal Feb. 26 as "not sufficient." One of Cook's lawyers declined to comment Wednesday morning. Prosecutors couldn't be immediately reached for comment. [continues 545 words]
Missouri Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, recently gave an interview about the proposed revisions to the Missouri criminal code. During this interview, he talked at length about a section of the bill that he saw fit to remove, a section that was intended to revise certain drug offense laws. While I don't necessarily disagree with his stated reason for removing it (the idea being that "controversial" law reform should not be buried in 800-page bills, but instead debated on its own), I think his personal views on the subject have led him to prematurely dismiss these reforms. [continues 222 words]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a potential presidential contender in 2016, told a gathering of Missouri Republicans on Saturday that America's drug laws have gone "overboard" in severity and unfair application, and that it's time to scale back penalties. "The war on drugs has had a disproportionate effect on people of color," Paul said. "I'm not for legalizing any of this stuff, (but) let's try to make sure it's fair. We've gone overboard on some of this stuff." [continues 477 words]
Regarding the letter "View cannabis legalization as a moral issue" (Feb. 14): I personally do not find anything of value from the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes. Marijuana use is associated with working memory impairment. Researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois did MRI brain scans of young adults who had smoked pot daily in their teens but then abstained for at least two years. The scans showed changes in the areas responsible for working memory, which appeared to shrink and collapse inward compared with the brains of subjects who had not used marijuana. The marijuana users also did worse on memory tests, and the abnormalities in their brain scans were similar to those of people with schizophrenia, the authors concluded. [continues 60 words]
In "Back to the future: A wager on weed" (Jan. 29), James E. Fisher correctly urges readers to consider the moral implications of marijuana legalization, but I think his article gives an incomplete picture of the moral considerations at play. Under cannabis prohibition, around 20,000 people are arrested for possession of cannabis every year in Missouri. These individuals often receive criminal records that impede their ability to go to college, rent an apartment and get a job. I find that to be immoral. [continues 190 words]
Inside Missouri
