A blue ribbon commission led by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom deserves a pat on the back for taking a thoughtful approach to a likely 2016 initiative to legalize marijuana in California. In its first major progress report, the panel called Thursday for detailed study on issues such as how to tax marijuana in a fair way that eliminates the black market, how to determine driving under the influence of marijuana and how to protect children and teenagers. That last priority is a central concern, the panel said in its 18-page report, because it's clear that non-medical marijuana, while technically illegal even for adults, is easily available to young people. It cites the 2014 survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which found that 34 percent of 10th-graders and 44 percent of 12th-graders had used marijuana. [continues 471 words]
Supply and demand is one of the most fundamental concepts of economics and it is the backbone of a market economy. Demand refers to how much (quantity) of a product or service is desired by buyers. Supply represents how much the market can offer. This basic economic concept is in full play in NH's current illegal drug epidemic. As long as the demand for illegal drugs such as heroin is high, the supply will continue to flow into our state. [continues 664 words]
In Allegheny County, Common Pleas Judge Lester Nauhaus Sees His Drug Court As an Alternative to the Carnage of the Drug War. Drugs drive crime. But locking up addicts doesn't stop crime. Nor does it stop drug addiction. "Nail 'em and jail 'em wasn't working," Judge Nauhaus said. "All it was doing was costing everybody a fortune." Instead of locking up defendants, drug courts allow prosecutors, public defenders, judges and others to work together to get defendants to much-needed drug treatment. [continues 1683 words]
WHEELING - An HIV epidemic in southeastern Indiana is forcing the governor of that state to introduce a needle exchange program, something one local advocate believes could help decrease rates of the disease everywhere. The hike in HIV cases in Indiana is being linked to intravenous drug users sharing needles. Locally, residents across the Ohio Valley are battling heroin addiction, and their neighbors are often left cleaning up the mess - including picking up used needles left behind on playgrounds, in parks and on roadways. [continues 502 words]
Recently, I read that Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing to legalize marijuana in California. I am against it because marijuana requires large amounts of water to grow and California is in the midst of a severe drought. This is the man who wants to be California's next governor? Norman Spruill, San Francisco [end]
If the Yuba County Board of Supervisors is so worried about the impending drought and water shortage enough to deny medical marijuana patients their right to grow pot, why is the county selling water to Alameda County? You can't have your cake and eat it, too. And if Randy Fletcher is so worried about the safety of people in District 5, maybe he should take a drive up La Porte Road ... growers are just people in a counter-culture society but not nearly the threat dangerous roads create. Jonathan Riebli Loma Rica [end]
Complaint Says They Stole Hundreds of Thousands in Probe of Drug Website Attorneys for the former federal agents said they were innocent but declined further comment. Two former federal agents in Baltimore who led an undercover hunt for the head of an online drug marketplace called Silk Road have been charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars during the investigation. The agents, Carl M. Force, 46, a 15-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration who resigned last year, and Shaun W. Bridges, 32, a special agent with the Secret Service who resigned this month, made their first appearances in court Monday after the unsealing of the criminal complaint in California. [continues 1257 words]
After lengthy debate Monday, the Alaska Senate shot down an amendment that would have made marijuana concentrates illegal in two years and passed a marijuana crime bill along to the House. The bill, SB 30, passed the Senate by a vote of 17-3. The bill addresses marijuana and Alaska's criminal statutes, and was introduced as part of the response to the voter initiative approved in November that legalized recreational use of marijuana in Alaska. The bill has changed substantially as it has made its way through the Senate. The version passed Monday afternoon was crafted in the Senate Finance Committee. Voting against the bill were three Anchorage Democrats: Sens. Bill Wielechowski and Johnny Ellis and Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner. [continues 384 words]
