As a former educator and mother of two children, I applaud Superintendent James Merrill for his response to the drug problem in our schools. Sometimes as parents, citizens and educators, we need to exercise "tough love" in our dealings with adolescents. Most children seek limits so that they will feel more secure. If we abdicate our responsibilities and don't set these limits, we may have created a monster that will come back to haunt us. Even with its limitations, undercover police strategy in our schools seems to be the most effective means of detecting drug sellers and users. Although the sale of drugs is the most serious offense, the use of drugs may often lead to the sale of drugs. Also, those adolescents who use marijuana often "graduate" to more harmful drugs like heroin and cocaine. Parents of adolescents, confused and anxious about these problems, often compromise their value system in the hope they are "saving" their kids. Finally, the drug problem in schools is not unique to this area. It has become a global issue. We should present a united front in developing and implementing a program to protect our children from harmful drugs. Ellie Borst Elon [end]
Aggression is never a behavior I display after smoking marijuana or engaging in pre-marital intercourse. In fact, on those occasions, I have to avoid pugnacious people in order to maintain my buzz. Before discovering the freedoms of sex and psychedelia I was dead set on following my father's footsteps and joining the military. Attempting to understand my former inclination toward this occupation and sudden departure from it has led me to analyze my influences, environment and psychosexual development since birth. [continues 563 words]
A Browns Mills man stood before three appellate judges Wednesday, asking them to overturn his prior indictments on marijuana charges stemming from a 1997 incident. Ed Forchion, a marijuana advocate, claims the courts, prosecutor and public defender's office denied his constitutional rights on numerous fronts, including due process and equal protection and illegal search and seizure. Donning his favorite uniform - a cannabis leaf on the back and the slogan, "I love my country; I fear my government" on the front - Forchion made an impassioned plea. "Just because I advocate legalization doesn't mean I am denied certain rights," the 40-year-old said. [continues 456 words]
There have been various calls from numerous sectors for the legalization of the use of marijuana, with reasons ranging from the drug being part of a religious sacrament for Rastafarians to its uses as a recreational habit. Perhaps it is time for the government to once again take a look at the legalization of the drug, if for no other reasons than the potential revenue it can bring into a country where the economy is in a downward spiral with no signs of recovery in sight and to prevent what has happened to the entertainer becoming a re-occurrence. Granted, the United States has made various threats every time this possibility has come up, but the question is, is Jamaica a sovereign nation or not? Should what is best for Jamaica be done or not? - -- Jamaica Star, Kingston [end]
To the Editor: Re "Make Peace With Pot," by Eric Schlosser (Op-Ed, April 26): Too much money and time are being invested in the "war" against drugs, with little to show for it. All of the arrests and imprisonments are not stopping the epidemic, nor is our current system preventing children from acquiring and using marijuana. The mere "dealing" itself has become a problem of its own. This black market allows kids to make more money than if they got a high school or college degree. Putting a murderer in jail means one less murderer in the streets; putting a dealer in jail means one more position that is open to fill. SONYA BRYSTOWSKI Oak Park, Mich., April 26, 2004 [end]
To the Editor: Cheers to Eric Schlosser (Op-Ed, April 26) for laying out the truth about marijuana. For nearly a century, Americans have been brainwashed by the dogma that marijuana is no less deadly than cocaine or heroin, even though all available scientific evidence points to the contrary. Somehow it's not surprising to find this administration waging yet another costly and unending war in defiance of the facts. RICHARD ZILI Bloomington, Ind., April 26, 2004 [end]
To the Editor: Eric Schlosser's freedom to publicly criticize the government's war on marijuana is at the core of the constitutional protection of free speech. Unfortunately, thoughtful critiques such as his may soon be effectively outlawed in many public places. On Wednesday, a federal court in Washington heard a challenge to a law that cancels all federal financing to transit authorities that display ads promoting reform of marijuana laws. Evidently, criticisms of marijuana policy are so threatening to the government that it has resorted to enacting laws that blatantly trample our First Amendment rights. [continues 67 words]
To the Editor: Although Eric Schlosser (Op-Ed, April 26) makes a valid point that medical marijuana should be made available to anyone with chronic pain, epilepsy and so on, his plea to decriminalize marijuana is dangerous and shortsighted. As Mr. Schlosser clearly states, "marijuana is a powerful, mind-altering drug." This country presently has scores of individuals battling alcohol addiction, addiction to illegal drugs and addiction to legal, over-the-counter drugs. Making marijuana legal will send the signal to children that using this "mind-altering" drug is perfectly acceptable and will only add to our country's growing problem of drug dependency. WILLIAM LOWN Bronxville, N.Y., April 26, 2004 [end]
To the Editor: The argument for legalizing marijuana (Op-Ed, April 26) falls apart when one considers the impact on teenagers and children. If society gives marijuana a green light, more kids will use and abuse the drug. The majority of teenagers entering drug treatment programs list marijuana as their primary drug of abuse. For those who've used marijuana without consequence, this may be hard to believe. But for thousands of kids, marijuana is not harmless. Educating young people about the risks of drugs may be imperfect, but increasingly is proving effective. One published study, for example, documented a 27 percent decline in marijuana use among high-risk teenagers exposed to our media-based education campaigns. Teenagers themselves help shape such communication efforts, which are lowering social acceptance of marijuana and increasing understanding of the drug's risks. STEPHEN J. PASIERB Pres. & Chief Exec., Partnership for a Drug-Free America New York, April 26, 2004 [end]
Every smuggler here shares his profits with God Less than 10 km from the gleaming and swishy National Highway 76, Narendra Mistry is supervising the renovation and construction of ''the temple of thieves''. As devotees swerve off the four-lane highway between Udaipur and Chittodgarh and wind their way to the famous Sanwariyaji temple devoted to Lord Krishna, what they can see is the foundation of a new 'Akshardham', bang in the heart of opium country. ''This is going to be bigger and better than Akshardham,'' says Mistry, who is just back from a field visit to Ahmedabad to check out the real thing. ''Actually, the real shrine in Gujarat is not much to write home about. This temple is much better and we will make it even more beautiful.'' [continues 679 words]
Just say no -- to suntan lotion? Cannon Air Force Base is warning airmen about suntan lotions and oils that contain hemp byproducts, including an active chemical found in marijuana. The April 23 edition of Cannon's newspaper, the Mach Meter, notes that some local tanning salon are selling products containing hemp seed oil, hemp oil or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- THC -- marijuana's main active chemical. The military prohibits its members from using marijuana and tests them for THC levels. Although there is a "statistically small" chance of testing positive for THC with such a lotion, that possibility "is simply not worth the risk," the newspaper notes. [continues 238 words]
Federal Money May Be At Risk For Noncompliance The Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority did not meet the federal government's minimum requirements for employee drug and alcohol testing in 2003, according to documents obtained by The Sun News. The authority receives millions of dollars in federal grants that are, in part, tied to compliance with those requirements. Failure to meet the requirements "may result in the suspension of federal transit funding," according to Federal Transit Administration regulations. The documents, included among correspondence between the authority and government officials and obtained through the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, also said the authority had a driver who tested positive for cocaine use after an on-duty accident last year. [continues 561 words]
The April 26 article about the medical facilities within the prison system was good reading until near the end, when they talked about a program to teach inmates how to bleach needles used for injecting illegal drugs into their system. As for the inmates who are addicted to opiates and heroin, they are offered methadone treatment so they can legally continue using drugs. What do we have prisons for? I thought it was for punishment, but undoubtedly I am mistaken. If a person is sentenced to a federal penitentiary (one has to be sentenced to a two-year term for this privilege) and enters the system all cranked up on drugs, then it would seem appropriate to put him or her through a rigid withdrawal program. It would be very unpleasant for the individual, but a worthy effort. To be sent to prison for a felony conviction and then offered free drugs through an existing drug program is futile, and definitely not conducive to any form of rehabilitation. [continues 86 words]
Surrey Now SURREY - Drug dogs could be used to search students' lockers under a new policy proposed by the Surrey school district. But it doesn't mean authorities will have carte blanche to conduct random searches of lockers. The powers are contained in the school district's new Safe and Caring Schools policy which trustees debated at Thursday's school board meeting. Trustees are expected to approve the policy, which deals with a number of issues, at their May 13 meeting. [continues 80 words]