The Fort Wayne Allen County Board of Health took a closer look on Monday at national and local trends in the illegal use of opiates. Capt. Kevin Hunter of the Fort Wayne Police Department gave an overview of what is going on nationally and in the city. Since 2013, many prescription opiate abusers have turned to heroin as a cheaper, more readily available source to feed their addictions. According to Hunter, today's heroin, which comes from Mexico, is much stronger and more addictive than the drug of the 1960s and 1970s. Most users are injecting the drug, which is a public-health concern. Recently police have seen an uptick in the number of people using fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid used as a pain reliever and anesthetic. It is a schedule II substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Recently three people died from overdoses of the drug, which was sold to them as heroin. [continues 415 words]
Regarding Andrea Neal's June 14 column, the days when our federal government can get away with confusing the drug war's collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an end. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. [continues 54 words]
"For first time, majority in U.S. supports public smoking ban." That was the headline in July 2011 as cigarette bans swept the country. In 2000, just one major U.S. city banned smoking at work sites, restaurants and bars. As of last year, 60 percent of the 50 largest cities did, including Indianapolis. Last July, Indiana became one of 38 states with smoke-free air laws. "Majority now supports legalizing marijuana." That headline appeared this spring amidst growing debate over liberalizing marijuana laws. Although marijuana use is still against federal law, 26 states have legalized medical marijuana, decriminalized recreational marijuana or both. Indiana has flirted with the idea. [continues 536 words]
Re: Your Aug 1. editorial, "Change the law when the people are ready for it." The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2009, there were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not necessarily lower rates of use. [continues 87 words]
In the Meantime, Though, Always Enforce the Laws We Have. Most of the people who appeared before Indiana's Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee last week spoke in favor of legalizing marijuana in the state, or at least greatly reducing the criminal penalties on the possession of small amounts. In support of that position, they said many things that are undoubtedly true, including: - -Marijuana prohibition in the United States has failed. - -Indiana's too-draconian laws governing possession have probably done more harm than good. Lives have been ruined over something that is safer than drinking. [continues 357 words]
Summer study committees of the Indiana General Assembly are tackling two important issues. They're even related, so perhaps suggestions will be merged later on and discussed by one group. The issues: ♦Prison sentencing reform. A bill calling for major reforms that would save millions and reduce prison crowding by making greater use of alternative sentencing was drafted based on some think-tank recommendations. The proposal crashed and burned last term, though, over objections by county prosecutors that it was soft on crime. [continues 388 words]
Once again, we have been duped by the dealers -- the dealers of drugs, that is. And of course in their wake will follow all the special interests, including the users who wish no interference in their quest to do whatever drugs they desire without the law breathing down their necks. There are the thinkers, who have never experienced personally the impact that drugs have on our young, yet try to make the status of drug usage of an intellectual exercise much in the same manner in which they debate the existence of God. [continues 680 words]
Bob Rinearson's rationalization ("War on drugs important to nation's future, and worth every dime spent," May 7) to continue cannabis (marijuana) prohibition is ignorant. Perhaps it's time for Rinearson to stop thinking of cannabis as a drug and start thinking of it as a plant. God created all seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good on the first page of the Bible. A sane and moral argument to continue caging humans for using the plant cannabis doesn't exist. Caging humans for using cannabis can only be rationalized based upon personality traits associated with bigotry, racism or discrimination. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Columnist Bob Rinearson on May 7 made the common mistake of assuming that punitive drug laws actually reduce use. The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most popular illicit drug. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States than any European country, yet America is one of the few Western countries that criminalizes citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to many Americans. [continues 99 words]
"A lot of good has come from drugs. I think 'Penny Lane' is worth 10 dead kids. 'Dark Side of the Moon' is worth 100 dead kids. Because a lot of kids wouldn't even be born if it weren't for that album, so it evens out." - Bill Maher Jeffery Miron is a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. It certainly seems lately that when someone associated with Harvard speaks we all should listen, since Harvard knows what's best for America. [continues 611 words]
This is the sixth and last in a weekly series of stories leading up to the presidential election examining the candidates' positions on various issues that affect northeast Indiana residents. Barack Obama used cocaine and marijuana as a teenager and says he could have ended up in prison if he didn't straighten out. John McCain's wife stole from her charity to feed her addiction to prescription painkillers, and he frequently sprinkles 12-Step philosophy language in his speeches and books. [continues 1055 words]
WASHINGTON -- Looking for a way to improve the responsibility-taking among black fathers? Or to improve the economic standing and stability of black families overall? Or for confronting these statistics: One of every three black kids is being raised by a never-married mother; one of 20 white children is being raised by a never-married mom. One step to addressing this complicated problem is to rewrite a law that forces federal judges to send people to jail for mere possession of one type of drug, a substance more commonly used in the black community than by whites. Crack cocaine is created by adding powder cocaine to baking soda and water and then baking the mixture. The result is broken into "rocks" and can be sold in very small quantities. In the mid-1980s crack became a significant problem in cities. [continues 976 words]
Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Souder recently took to the airwaves to defend one of the Bush administration's sacred cows: the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign. If you've had access to a television or a newspaper over the past few years, you're familiar with the federal ad campaign. It's the one that's spent over $2 billion since 1998 to produce public-service announcements implying that smoking pot supports al-Qaida and may make you pregnant, among other dubious anti-drug messages. So dubious, in fact, that the campaign has flopped miserably among its target audience. Of course, this fact matters not to the White House, which recently demanded $130 million to run the ads through 2008 -- a 31 percent increase over current funding levels. [continues 545 words]
Medical marijuana has had a lot of successes. Eleven states have legalized the therapeutic use of cannabis for people whose doctors think they can benefit from it. The Supreme Court has upheld the right of physicians to recommend pot to their patients. A 1999 report by the federal government's Institute of Medicine concluded, "Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation." But elsewhere, medical marijuana has stalled. Most states still don't allow it, and even in those that do, federal laws still ban the possession of cannabis. That means sick people who need marijuana for symptoms that don't respond to approved drugs must either do without or risk going to jail. Despite the IOM's call for more research, studies have been few and far between. As a result, the therapeutic value of cannabis remains largely unknown and untapped. [continues 290 words]
When I read letters from smokers whining about not being allowed to suck on cigarettes in public, it makes me wonder if all their synapses are clicking. Here are these poor addicts crying about not being allowed to destroy their health and the health of those near them, wringing their hands and ranting about future government interference, never realizing how absurd they sound. My mom used to tell me not to stare at such people. It was hard then, and it still is. [continues 601 words]
Number Of Cases In 06 Could Hit 700, Nearly Double Last Year's INDIANAPOLIS -- Authorities say heroin has become increasingly easier to find in Indianapolis and other parts of the state. The Indiana State Police estimate they will investigate nearly 700 heroin cases this year -- twice as many as last year and triple the number of cases in 2004. "I'm seeing a lot, lot more heroin," said Jamie Guilfoy, with the Indianapolis Police Department. Guilfoy and other IPD narcotics investigators have confiscated more than 2 pounds of heroin this year, more than 10 times what they seized in 2005. [continues 212 words]
Young people pledge to remain drug-free in honor of Enrique Camarena, a fallen DEA agent. This week marks the 21st annual Red Ribbon Week for schools in Allen County and across the United States. Local schools are participating in all types of fun activities designed to promote saying "no" to drugs. The events range from basketball free-throw shooting contests and a special appearance by Ronald McDonald to a drug-free pledge that will be recited over intercoms after the Pledge of Allegiance. [continues 868 words]
When North Side High School teacher Nita Auer began volunteering in the D.A.R.E. program 16 years ago, she never imagined it would need reviving. Despite the program's struggles, the 55-year-old Fort Wayne native has been honored as the 2006 D.A.R.E. America Educator of the Year. Seven years ago, former Fort Wayne Community Schools Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn discontinued D.A.R.E. in the district, citing a lack of funding. "The D.A.R.E. program is effective in educating young people about the harm done with tobacco, alcohol and violence," said Michael Ward, executive director of D.A.R.E. Indiana, which reaches 500 schools and 62,000 students across the state. "It puts police officers in a classroom with a positive environment." [continues 363 words]
But State Survey Shows Smokeless Tobacco Use Up INDIANAPOLIS -- Fewer middle and high school students are drinking alcohol or using marijuana and other drugs, but more in grades 9-12 are trying smokeless and pipe tobacco, an annual survey shows. Surveys completed this spring by 131,017 public and private school students in grades 6-12 show students at all levels generally were using alcohol and marijuana less than in previous years, and students in grades 6-8 used tobacco products less, according to the survey released Monday by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University in Bloomington. [continues 363 words]
HAGERSTOWN, Ind. - Students who participate in extracurricular activities will be subject to random drug testing beginning next year under a new policy approved by the Nettle Creek School Board. Students at Hagerstown Junior-Senior High School will be assigned numbers, and the testing company, ASL Testing in Elkhart, will select numbers at random when administrators request a screening. Students whose numbers match those chosen by the testing firm must submit to oral tests, which school officials say are less invasive than a urine test. [continues 201 words]
Robert M. Easterday Jr., 32, of Bloomington, faces seven drug-related charges including dealing in crack cocaine and attempting to sell psilocybin mushrooms between September and January, prosecutors said. Six members of a grand jury heard testimony in the case before returning the indictments Wednesday. Easterday was being held Friday in the Brown County Jail on $20,000 bond. "No one is above the law, and it's really disturbing when a police officer is accused of breaking the law," Brown County Prosecutor Jim Oliver said. [continues 134 words]
The inauguration of Evo Morales, a former coca grower and an avowed socialist, as the still popular president of Bolivia, highlights what appears to be a strongly leftist trend in Latin America. Is this trend real, and is it something U.S. policymakers should address? Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, says Fidel Castro is his hero and delights in tweaking Uncle Sam's nose, hosting a World Social Forum in Caracas this week that will feature denunciations of U.S. "imperialism." Chile's new president is Michelle Bachelet of the Socialist Party. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have elected presidents recently with "backgrounds in social activism," as a Washington Post story phrased it. [continues 319 words]
Students in Southwest Allen County Schools will be turning in more than just their homework this school year. Thanks to the district's new drug-testing policy, students will soon be required to randomly submit their urine to school authorities for mandatory drug screening. Chances are, however, this latest 'test' may be more than its proponents bargained for. Though couched by advocates as a silver bullet in the ongoing battle to curb teen drug use, random student drug testing is often ineffective and costly, and it opens a Pandora's box of serious ethical questions. That's according to the only federally commissioned study ever to assess the efficacy of student drug testing on a national basis. The study, conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, found no difference in the level of illegal drug use between students in schools that test for illicit drugs and those in schools that do not. [continues 483 words]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Like a lot of other users of cold and allergy medicines, Heidi Schallberg ran into a learning curve after a new Missouri law went into effect. The law requires drugs with ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as their main active ingredient to be sold from behind the pharmacy counter, making it a little harder for the bad guys who make methamphetamine from the pills. At least 16 other states, including Kansas, have already enacted similar laws. It means that the days of running in and grabbing a box of cold pills off the shelf are over. And that's what Schallberg forgot the first time she tried to buy her Claritin-D allergy medicine under the new law. [continues 753 words]
U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-4th District, is continuing his criticism of the Bush administration's response or, rather, lack of it to the country's methamphetamine crisis. The measures just announced, Souder says, are too little, too late. "We're looking for a scream, not a peep," he says. "This proposal, unfortunately, doesn't have anything new in it. At my last hearing they waved a report with a list of recommendations, and this was all in it." Souder, chairman of a subcommittee that authorizes legislation involving drug-control efforts, has had repeated hearings criticizing the administration for not taking strong enough measures to fight meth. [continues 510 words]
I'm writing about your thoughtful July 28 editorial: "The Scourge of Meth." This headline could be used in hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States. So far, the drug czar's solution to this epidemic has been to go after marijuana users and growers, including medical marijuana users and their caregivers. This is like an emergency-room surgeon treating a knee scrape with a Band-Aid while the patient's blood is gushing out of a severed artery in his neck. Not exactly the best priorities. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Rep. Souder Is Right That The Federal Government Needs A Comprehensive Strategy U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says methamphetamine has surpassed marijuana as America's most dangerous drug. Communities desperately need help from the federal government in fighting the scourge of meth. Third District U.S. Rep. Mark Souder keeps saying that. Some people are listening. Last week, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales called meth "the most dangerous drug in America." Some apparently aren't listening. In a subcommittee hearing conducted by Souder on Tuesday, Office of National Drug Control Policy deputy Scott Burns defended the administration's policy of targeting regional drug problems, such as cocaine in Chicago and heroin in the Northeast, and said marijuana would continue to be treated as the most significant problem because it is a "gateway drug." [continues 644 words]
You don't have to be a raving libertarian who thinks the whole war on drugs is misguided to wish that Washington would at least re-think its priorities. A survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states reveals what news stories have already made apparent: Methamphetamine is this nation's most serious drug problem. Arrests for the drug have packed jails and swamped counties, which face additional work, such as caring for children whose parents have become addicted and cleaning up toxic chemicals left behind by meth cookers. [continues 54 words]
Regarding your Nov. 30 editorial, "Who has the power?" : While you wrote U.S. Rep. Mark Souder may call himself a "unionist," meaning he sides with Washington when the issue is of national interest, and a "status-quo conservative," which means he would resist efforts to add to the federal government's power as well as attempts to lessen the power it already has, I call him a hypocrite who flip-flops his position to suit the issue at hand. Souder himself acknowledges that by agreeing that his views are inconsistent, as quoted in the editorial. [continues 97 words]
In his editorial on medical marijuana, Leo Morris quotes Mark Souder as saying that nobody is very consistent when it comes to federalism. Not correct, Mark. A minority reads and understands the limitations on government power written into the Constitution and amplified in the Federalist Papers. Our present-day contempt for hard limitations on the powers of the national government has not always been the case. Consider that when the idea swept the nation in 1919 that the evils of alcohol outweighed a citizen's right to pollute his or her own body, the people had enough respect for our constitutional form of government to record their prohibition of alcohol in an amendment rather than a simple majority act of Congress or an executive order or a "ruling" from the bench. The Constitution is still on the books as the supreme law of the land, and we will see its restoration to favor when we get bored with our long dance with socialism, say, about the time the bill for Social Security comes due. Tom Jaquish [end]
IMAGINE IF IT was against the law to drive home after consuming one glass of wine at dinner. Now imagine it was against the law to do so after having a glass of wine two weeks ago. Sound absurd? No more so than proposed legislation by U.S. Rep. Mark Souder mandating that each state enact laws sanctioning anyone who operates a motor vehicle "while any detectable amount of a controlled substance is present in the person's body, as measured in the person's blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance." [continues 383 words]
But Reducing Possession Penalties Alone Wouldn't Uncrowd Prisons. Reducing sentences for some drug crimes wouldn't solve the problem of prison overcrowding, but it's worth investigating. The real answer lies in swallowing hard and paying the cost of the long sentences for more dangerous crimes to protect society. Easing up on penalties for drug possession is hardly a novel suggestion for reducing prison populations. What's different now is that the leaders of the Indiana Senate and the House of Representatives agree that the time has come for a new look at drug laws. [continues 658 words]
Lawmakers Are Discussing Changes To Drug Sentences. INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Joe Kernan joined legislative leaders on a tour of two state prisons Wednesday and urged lawmakers to discuss ways to ease overcrowding that could include sentencing and parole reforms. The governor toured a medium-security women's prison in Rockville and a low-to medium-security men's prison in Putnamville, both in western Indiana, to get a firsthand look at the crowding problem. "We come today with no solutions but instead the idea that we can work together, pool our resources and look for ways to impact the situation," Kernan said after returning to his Statehouse office. [continues 353 words]
I wish Rush Limbaugh well. Truly. After a story in the National Enquirer that actually turned out to be true, the radio star admitted an addiction to painkilling drugs. Limbaugh announced his intention to begin a treatment program, his third attempt to kick a habit that started in the late 1990s. Addiction to drugs or alcohol is an illness that has touched many families in some way. When someone, even someone with whom you share very little, is affected, your first reaction should be best wishes for a complete recovery. [continues 424 words]
Many users' children wind up in foster care OPKINSVILLE, Ky. - The physical withdrawal from methamphetamine wasn't so bad. It was knowing what she had done to her children, then ages 7 and 10, that made Teresa Cannon cringe in her jail cell. "I forgot about my kids," Cannon says of the four years she spent cooking and smoking meth while her children fended for themselves. "Looking back at the way they had been treated, you hate yourself. I was so ashamed - so ashamed." [continues 768 words]
(KRT) - Back in the 1980s it was common for some law enforcement officer from a local department or a special task force to call up TV stations and invite them on a drug raid. Reporters and cameramen jumped at the ready-made story, knowing they would have good "film at 11" because they would have easy access to people and places ordinarily out of reach. It didn't take long to figure out that the targets of most of these arrests were people in low-income areas, who didn't know their rights - which include ordering a reporter off of their private property - and whom the rest of society frankly didn't care about. [continues 590 words]
Schools Are Equipped To Do Some Things And Not Equipped To Do Others. Fort Wayne Community Schools board members are right to be cautious about a new drug-testing plan from Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn. There's one fairly good reason for the caution, which board members seem well aware of, and a very good reason they might not have even considered. Fowler-Finn wants to test students at school at their parents' request. Hair samples would be taken from a child at school in the parents' presence, with the strand sent to an independent lab for testing. The results would be given to the parents, who could then decide whether they would share the information with school officials. The superintendent says the plan will help parents who feel they have students they can't control. [continues 365 words]
