Commissioners Say They'll Look at Land-Use Laws, Urge Legislature to Deal With Grow Operation Complaints, Which Include High Traffic, Bright Lights Cultivating medical marijuana is legal, but complaints are growing from neighbors over the pungent smell, bright lights and traffic at all hours. Jackson County commissioners Thursday said they might consider altering land-use laws to allay these concerns or urging legislators to address the issue of public nuisance, but they wanted to stay clear of any actions that would conflict with state laws. [continues 779 words]
Authorities seized $3 million worth of illegal Mexican drug cartel marijuana in Josephine County, $1 million in Marion County, $2 million in Deschutes County. An astonishing $1 billion was found just across the border. In the words of Sen. Everett Dirksen, "Pretty soon you're talking real money." Accepting the estimate that less than 15 percent of the illegal crop is found, there really is "real money" out there, and that's just the wholesale value. The Mexican drug cartels consider that 15 percent as the cost of doing business, and they quickly turn the remaining crop into "real money," selling it to the Americans who readily seek it out, and then just as quickly they ship the money off to Mexico. [continues 648 words]
Federal Marijuana Studies Should Be Passed Around to Different Institutions When the federal Department of Health and Human Services recently issued a request for proposals, seeking competitive applications for the production, analysis and distribution of "marijuana cigarettes," the request might have seemed a bit unusual to those unfamiliar with Washington's dance around cannabis research. The federal government, after all, is not widely known to support marijuana cultivation. But those in the know just shrugged. The department has issued similar requests every few years to select a contractor to conduct government-approved marijuana research, and with depressing regularity it has then awarded an exclusive contract to the University of Mississippi. For 40 years now, Washington has sought such "competitive applications" and Mississippi "wins" every time. [continues 270 words]
New Smoke Shop Provides Assistance for Those Needing the Drug for Medicinal Purposes A local woman's struggle with arthritis and muscle spasms compelled her to start a business that would educate others on the benefits, growth and consumption of medical marijuana. Cynthia Townsley Willis, 52, and two partners whom she declined to identify opened the Medical Marijuana Patient Services Smoke Shop, 1252 W. McAndrews Road, Medford, in late February. The shop is one of seven in Southern Oregon that caters to the needs of medical marijuana patients. [continues 1364 words]
The Southern Oregon chapter of a national group backing marijuana law reforms will offer education, advice, support for patients Advocates for legalizing marijuana have opened a Cannabis Resource Center in downtown Medford. Organizers of the Southern Oregon chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said the center will provide education, advocacy and support for medical marijuana patients and providers, information on marijuana legislation and a place for support groups to meet. But the center will not distribute marijuana, medical or otherwise, they said. [continues 380 words]
Judge rules Ashland church can use hallucinogenic tea during services A federal judge Thursday confirmed the right of worshippers to drink hallucinogenic tea during services at an Ashland church. Members of the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen, a Brazilian-based church with branches in Ashland and Portland, filed the motion to drink Daime tea during services, because they believe its hallucinogenic properties allow them a direct connection to Jesus. Church leader Jonathan Goldman, 58, said U.S. District Court Judge Owen Panner's ruling was a boon for religious freedom and liberty in the United States. [continues 470 words]
Grants Pass Lawmaker Says Medical-Marijauna Program Is In 'Shambles' A bill introduced in Salem Wednesday would put the state in the marijuana-growing business. Rep. Ron Maurer, R-Grants Pass, said House Bill 3247 would address problems in the medical-marijuana program and ensure patient safety. "The system we have currently is in shambles," Maurer said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Salem. He said marijuana grown for medical use has been diverted to illegitimate uses, and some medical-marijuana growers have had their plants stolen. Others may be using cannabis laced with herbicides or toxic chemicals. [continues 516 words]
Ashland's Santo Daime Sect Says Sacramental Tea Is Part Of Ritual Members of a Brazilian-based Christian church in Ashland await a decision from U.S. District Court Judge Owen Panner over worshippers' right to drink hallucinogenic tea during services. The Church of the Holy Light of the Queen took the case to federal court under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act after federal agents in 1999 arrested Jonathan Goldman, head of the Ashland-based branch of the Santo Daime (pronounced Die-May) sect, searched his home and seized a shipment of the disputed tea leaves. [continues 362 words]
The following are highlights of an interview with Barack Obama by Gary Nelson, Mail Tribune editorial page editor: Q: You mentioned timber payments to counties in passing in your speech. Do you support those payments? A: What I'd like to do is convene meetings between federal agencies, local and state governments and interested parties, and start hammering out a long-term solution that acknowledges the revenue issues that are at stake for local governments and preserves the natural resources that are so important to Oregon. [continues 513 words]
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" cried Chicken Little. "Emergency! Emergency!" cries Don Harmon (guest opinion, Feb. 17) with just as much connection with reality. For over three legislative sessions, Harmon has proclaimed an emergency in the workplace because some workers use marijuana therapeutically. He wants to fire any such person, no matter when or where that use occurs. It is a safety issue, he says. Oregon law says, "Patients and doctors have found marijuana to be an effective treatment"| and therefore, marijuana should be treated like other medicines;"|". In most workplaces there are established guidelines for other medicines and therapeutic marijuana is best treated like them. If there is an issue of impairment, Oregon law already allows impaired workers to be removed, no matter the cause. [continues 668 words]
The good news is no meth labs were found in Jackson County last year, thanks in large part to tough state laws that have dried up the source of ingredients. The bad news: Methamphetamine remains a huge problem because of its availability in other countries throughout the world, local law enforcement officials say. "There are super-labs in Mexico making pounds of meth a day," said Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters. "There is no border control, making Interstate 5 a pipeline for meth into the Rogue Valley." [continues 343 words]
Eagle Point and Medford Opportunity high schools were among 13 schools statewide removed from the state's watch list for schools with a high ratio of student expulsions for drug, weapon or violence-related crimes. The schools were added last year to the "persistently dangerous" watch list, which is maintained by the Oregon Department of Education under safety provisions of the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind Act. The change means no Jackson County schools are on the "dangerous" list. [continues 489 words]
Children born into families shattered by drug addiction often end up as victims of abuse and neglect. Many are placed into an already overburdened foster-care system, social services officials say. "Southern Oregon's high rate of methamphetamine use has devastated families and overwhelmed our fragile foster-care system," said Dr. Rita Sullivan, OnTrack's executive director. OnTrack on Thursday received a 5-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. The money is designed to help Southern Oregon children grow up in healthy, drug-free families, said Sullivan. [continues 150 words]
Cops Realize Medical Marijuana Garden Is Within The Law; Grower Wishes Neighbors Had Called Him First The officers serving a search warrant on what they thought was a massive marijuana-growing operation had swarmed a greenhouse filled with plants and were poised to kick in the door of a house on the property when the word came. This was a registered medical marijuana site and it complied with Oregon law. "This is a frustration for us," said Sgt. Rick Valentine, supervisor of the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team, who coordinated the seven Jackson County Sheriff's Department employees making this search earlier this month. "When we spend time on what turns out to be legal activity, it takes away from what we could do on illegal activities." [continues 887 words]
Medford Woman Turns Her Life Around After Years Of Addiction EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 12th in a series of stories on addicts recovering from meth use. The stories run on the first Sunday of each month. Disguised as a benign mood-booster, drugs first entered Cerella Powell's life by way of her mother. At 14, Powell struggled to balance school, chores and a dysfunctional home life in Rogue River. Diet pills, Powell's mother promised, would give her daughter energy. [continues 833 words]
Prescription for Trouble Legal Drugs Become a Popular Fix; Experts Say Rush to Treat Pain Opens Door to Addiction A brush with methamphetamine addiction couldn't begin to prepare Nathan Wick for the crushing grip of prescription-opiate dependency. "Cocaine and meth and all those are nothing compared to the addictions your body goes through with pain medication," the Medford resident said. Off meth for seven years, Wick, 32, started taking Vicodin to alleviate the pain of a 2002 back injury. As his tolerance for the prescribed drug increased, he turned to Percocet, an opiate-derived painkiller. Soon Wick was downing more than his prescribed dosage and looked to emergency rooms, urgent-care centers and, finally, street-level dealers for his next fix. [continues 1174 words]
Alleged Assailants Offered Their Victim Painkillers Before Driving Him Home Authorities in Josephine County are looking for four men they believe kidnapped a Williams man Sunday afternoon, beat him with an ax handle and then gave him medication for the pain. The 35-year-old victim told Josephine County sheriff's deputies that four men he knew burst into his [redacted] home at about noon Sunday and accused him of stealing their medical marijuana, the sheriff's office reported in a press release Monday. [continues 290 words]
Medical-Marijuana Dispensary Can't Find Welcome Home SAN FRANCISCO -- Kevin Reed launched his medical marijuana business two years ago, armed with big dreams and an Excel spreadsheet. Happy customers at his Green Cross cannabis club were greeted by so-called "bud tenders" and glass jars brimming with high-quality weed at red-tag prices. They hailed the slender, gentle Southerner as a "ganja" good Samaritan. Although Reed set out to run it like a Walgreens drugstore, his tiny storefront shop ended up buzzing with jazzy "joie de vivre." Turnover was Starbucks-style: On a good day, $30,000 in business would walk through the black, steel-gated front door. [continues 1042 words]
A massive, ongoing marijuana investigation in the Applegate area has expanded as officers continue to discover and remove plants. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters reported that officers had located 15 drug gardens by Saturday afternoon. Firefighters from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 and the Oregon Department of Forestry joined officers pulling up plants Saturday as state police and other regional agencies moved on to another project, he said. By 4 p.m. Saturday, crews had pulled 16,243 plants and planned to finish out the day and keep yanking up plants today. [continues 121 words]
Early morning raid reveals large-scale marijuana operation in dense woods near Cantrall-Buckley Park In the largest marijuana raid in Jackson County this year, officers removed more than 7,000 plants from a complex of eight gardens in the Applegate area Friday. They expect to continue today removing plants from large scattered growing operations in steep, rugged terrain in the hills south and west of Cantrall-Buckley Park. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department estimated the complex had at least 10,000 plants, most of which were 6 to 12 feet tall. [continues 827 words]
Your Aug. 7 front-page article by Chris Conrad, "Medical marijuana dilemma," presents only one side of the story. The medical marijuana law was not passed to make life easier for cops; it was passed to make life easier for patients. It is doing that. Over 2,000 Oregon physicians have qualified more than 14,000 patients. These doctors recommend marijuana because it works. It turns out that marijuana is much safer than morphine, oxycontin or most of the other pharmaceutical painkillers. [continues 89 words]
I read with amusement your front-page article concerning medical marijuana. After looking carefully, however, I couldn't find any facts in the report, with the exception of the gray box showing what illnesses support the use of medical marijuana. What I did find was a typical law-enforcement philosophy which I believe was put best in the statement about pulling up plants and asking questions later. The article entirely misses the point. Medical marijuana is not the problem. The problem is this bizarre persecution of a substance that is natural and proven therapeutic. It harkens back to the "good old days" of Prohibition. Remember how well that worked? Talent [end]
Lt. Tim George's ignorance concerning medical marijuana (Mail Tribune, Aug. 7) is appalling, as is his condescending attitude towards thousands of Oregonians who rely on this medicine. His ridicule of the possession limits and of such legitimate maladies as chronic pain is wholly inappropriate. But what can we expect from folks who get their medical information from the DEA? As one who has worked statewide on medical marijuana issues, I assure you that medical marijuana is not laughed "out of the room" in all Oregon cop shops. Most professional law enforcement officials accept the revised law and understand the "bright line" it draws for all parties. Only in Oregon's "deep south" is commentary like George's common. [continues 93 words]
It's not surprising that medical marijuana interferes with enforcement of Reefer Madness laws based on fictions like: "The primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races." "Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality and death." "Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind." "(Smoking) one (marijuana) cigarette might develop a homicidal mania, probably to kill his brother." See the U.S. government lies used to outlaw marijuana, at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/t3.htm. No doubt enforcing absurd marijuana legislation is more difficult when faced with the truth about medical cannabis. Richard Givens Medford [end]
Medford police Lt. Tim George remembers the good old days when a cop could simply chop down a marijuana plant and ask questions later. Now, eight years after medical marijuana became a reality in Oregon, the line between right and wrong has become somewhat murky, George said. "You ask any dope cop in Oregon about medical marijuana and they'll laugh you out of the room," he said. "There are probably some scenarios where people really need it for things such as glaucoma or cancer, but we have people with symptoms such as 'chronic pain' that are clearly taking advantage of the act." [continues 522 words]
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of stories on addicts recovering from meth use. The stories run on the first Sunday of each month. When child welfare workers came to collect his son and daughter, Louie Soto blamed them for all his problems, including addiction to methamphetamine. After all, theirs was the system that raised him. "I'm a total throw-away," the 38-year-old said. But after years of enduring abuse, homelessness and pain that he masked with drugs, losing his children was the incentive Soto needed to stop wishing he would die and to start living life. Drug-free for the past three and a half years and a full-time father again, Soto encourages other addicts on the path to sobriety. Preaching hope, he's found, exorcises his own demons and helps him give his children the childhood he never had. [continues 638 words]
Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories on addicts recovering from meth use. The stories run on the first Sunday of each month on the Local section front. Once he decided to get clean, staying off methamphetamine was a test Manny Pacheco passed easily. Getting an education after a lifetime spent in and out of jail caused him the most trepidation. "It was scary for me in an anxious way, but it was also scary in a good way," Pacheco said of his first day at Rogue Community College. [continues 692 words]
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is the first in a series of monthly features on methamphetamine addicts' attempts at recovery. The remainder of the series will appear the first Sunday of each month in the Local section. In her struggle to rout methamphetamine addiction, Dawn Jackson has had an angel by her side. But this angel doesn't always live up to her name. Jackson's daughter, Angelique "Angel" Risley, has been tainted by her mother's demons. The 12-year-old suffers mental and behavioral disorders likely caused by exposure to meth in the womb. For four years, Angel was a ward of the state, living in foster care and treatment centers for children diagnosed with acute mental illness. [continues 695 words]
Few police, teachers or counselors have even heard of it, but the drug salvia -- a powerful psychedelic herb from Mexico -- is legal in the U.S. and easily purchased over the counter in Medford or on eBay. Also known as Diviner's Sage or Sally-D, salvia divinorum is extremely intense, say those who have tried it. They say it is as powerful or more so than LSD and produces vivid, often terrifying hallucinations and out-of-body experiences lasting five to 10 minutes. Effects vary widely; a few users report little or no effect. [continues 1074 words]
The following are some of the new materials proposed for the Medford School District's new health curriculum for grades seven through 12: "Protecting Oneself and Others" is a high school program designed to alert students to the health consequences of using tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. It promotes risk-assessment and decision-making skills and gives kids opportunities to practice resisting drugs. It's produced by Education Development Center, a Pennsylvania nonprofit. On the Web, see http://main.edc.org. [continues 140 words]
Medford School District Proposes To Update Its Health Curriculum For Grades Seven Through 12 As a mom, Amy Tiger worries whether her eighth-grade daughter is ready to hear about condoms and other forms of birth control at school, but as principal at McLoughlin Middle School, she knows students are experimenting with drugs and sexual activity. In the principal's office Tiger has had to suspend a student for selling prescription medication at school and guide a conversation between a shocked mother and a girl whose behavior problems stemmed from her budding bisexuality. [continues 1405 words]
When Meth-Addicted Moms And Dads Lose Their Parental Rights, Grandparents Often Step Into The Child-Care Void When their 24-year-old daughter was suspected of neglecting her two children while using methamphetamine, Betty and Ryan Bleser agreed to take the girls temporarily so they wouldn't live with strangers. More than two years later, the Blesers are full-time parents and just weeks away from permanently adopting Justice, 5, and Jennica, 4. The girls' mother legally lost her parental rights. Their father - convicted of assaulting their mother - is in jail on a felony weapons charge. [continues 654 words]
On last week's episode of "The Shield," there was discussion of a property-forfeiture program. Police would seize and sell homes and vehicles paid for or used in the manufacture or distribution of drugs. A third of the proceeds would go to police, a third to the district attorney and the last third toward community-improvement projects. Does the Medford Police Department or Jackson County Sheriff's Department have a program like this? Or are these forfeiture programs just a bunch of Hollywood make-believe? [continues 198 words]
More than $400,000 in grants and public money will fuel a focused fight against local methamphetamine use. About $215,000 was awarded Thursday to drug-treatment agencies, Kids Unlimited and the Southern Oregon Child & Family Council. Recipients are working with the Jackson County Meth Task Force to enhance treatment and support for meth addicts and education for at-risk, middle-school students and Head Start families. The remaining funds have been pledged by Jackson County. "We are taking back our community, and we have done the first mile," said Carin Niebuhr, county alcohol and drug program manager and task force coordinator. [continues 428 words]
When a group of Medford parents brought a petition to the school board, asking for an official look into the possibility of randomly testing students for drugs, they knew the suggestion would spark a debate. So did we. That's why we made it our question last week ... and you folks didn't fail us, as we received dozens of responses with various opinions on the subject. After you have had a chance to read through them, please take a moment to answer this week's question. [continues 1328 words]
As The Tide Of Meth-Damaged Children Rises In Jackson County, Foster Parents Like Sharon And Jim Bowling Provide An Island Of Safety When he showed up on Sharon Bowling's doorstep last fall, the 2-year-old boy was eerily quiet. "He showed no sign of emotion," Bowling recalls. "He didn't speak at all. Nothing." The bouts of silence were broken only by screaming tantrums so severe that Bowling could do nothing but hold the toddler tightly until they passed. [continues 1200 words]
Parents Will Ask The Medford School Board To Study The Idea A Medford dad wants to give kids a reason to say no to drugs. And he says random drug tests for students participating in extracurricular activities is the way to do it. Kevin Lamson, whose son attends North Medford High School, has rallied a group of parents and plans to ask the school board at its regular meeting Tuesday to consider a drug-testing policy that would randomly test kids who play sports, participate in activities or get school parking permits. He also would like all parents to have the chance to enroll their children in the testing program, even if the kids don't participate in school activities. [continues 565 words]
Marijuana Patients Need Easier Access, but the Initiative Goes Too Far The state's medical marijuana law has one big flaw: It provides patients with no safe, legal route for getting the drug. They can smoke marijuana, but they can't buy it. Measure 33 on the Nov. 2 ballot would resolve that by creating state-run dispensaries where patients would buy their marijuana. And if it stopped there, it would serve the state well. But it doesn't stop there, and that's why we recommend a no vote. [continues 355 words]
