The Supreme Court has just further eroded states' rights. The feds now officially have the right to arrest and prosecute chronically ill people living in states whose voters have approved the use of medical marijuana. So much for being a republic. In spite of the fact that Canada has approved a cannabis-based inhaler for multiple sclerosis (Sativex, made by a British company), and ever more enlightened countries throughout the world have recognized the medicinal value of the plant, our government continues to insist that it is in the same category of evil as heroin. [continues 209 words]
The population of the United State's prisons and jails increased by 900 inmates weekly during 2003 and 2004, or from a total of 2 million to 2.1 million prisoners during a one year period, as reported by the federal Bureau of Prisons on April 24. The social activists, "enlightened" multiculturalists and civil-rights extremists who are already whining about the recent increase in our prison and jail populations should consider this: We are all so much better off for such judicial cleansing of our population. The Bureau of Prisons also clearly confirms that America's crime rate has steadily fallen over the past 10 years as its prison population has risen proportionately. With increasing numbers of felons receiving prison sentences, it is logical to assume that the incidence of felonies might fall. Until recent mandatory sentencing increases started, a high incidence of recidivism relentlessly stoked higher crime rates. [continues 57 words]
Restrictions On Cold Medicine Will Disrupt Spread Of Dangerous Drug The next time you get a stuffy nose, you may discover that your favorite over-the-counter remedy is now behind the counter. In an effort to disrupt the spread of methamphetamine labs, Florida lawmakers recently passed restrictions on the sale of allergy and cold medicines containing a common decongestant called pseudoephedrine. The measure, which Gov. Jeb Bush says he'll sign into law, will require stores to place pseudoephedrine products behind the counter and limit sales to a few packages at a time. [continues 389 words]
NEW YORK -- A reputed Afghan drug lord who officials accused of smuggling $50 million worth of heroin into the United States and operating his network with the protection of the Taliban is now in a New York jail. Bashir Noorzai, who was on the U.S. list of most-wanted drug kingpins, was ordered held without bail at his initial court appearance Monday. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. An indictment alleges that between 1990 and 2004 Noorzai and his organization "provided demolitions, weapons and manpower to the Taliban," U.S. Attorney David Kelley said. "In exchange, the Taliban allowed Noorzai's business to flourish." [continues 370 words]
Should you feel the urge to wander outside pinching a hand-rolled cigarette for a late-afternoon smoke break this Green Day -- that's at 4:20 p.m. on 4/20 for those in the know -- you'll be a part of a tongue-in-cheek observance meant to spotlight that official policy and public perception of marijuana use have never been more at odds. Evidence of a wider acceptance of the drug can be interpreted in the recent, popular remake of the cult-classic anti-pot film "Reefer Madness," which recently began showing on cable TV's Showtime. And comedian Tommy Chong's "The Marijuana-Logues" was scheduled to play Wednesday at Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, but recently was postponed until late summer because of fears that Chong's appearance would violate his probation for marijuana possession. [continues 1010 words]
Normally, Sarasota teachers union executive director Barry Dubin wishes every teacher would join his organization. But when he checked a few days ago and found that Venice High math teacher Michael Ziemian was among the 20 percent of the Sarasota County school system's teachers who are not union members, Dubin was more than fine with that. Ziemian is the teacher who admitted to sharing his homegrown marijuana with two of his students at his home. Ziemian had told the two girls they would have to come to his house to get materials for a class assignment they had missed. When they arrived, the girls later reported, he served them vodka tonics, showed off the marijuana plants he was growing in the garage and then started smoking pot in a glass bong and suggested they try it. They did. [continues 497 words]
Should you feel the urge to wander outside pinching a hand-rolled cigarette for a late-afternoon smoke break this Green Day -- that's at 4:20 p.m. on 4/20 for those in the know -- you'll be a part of a tongue-in-cheek observance meant to spotlight that official policy and public perception of marijuana use have never been more at odds. Wider acceptance of the drug is evidenced by a recent remake of the cult classic film "Reefer Madness," which recently began showing on cable TV's Showtime, and "The Marijuana-Logues," a comedy starring Tommy Chong that is scheduled to go on tour this summer. [continues 966 words]
The author of a recent letter titled "Prison privatization not working" offers little more than a bold misrepresentation of facts and misleading assertions in making his case. First, more than 20 detailed, independent studies validate the important cost savings of private partnerships in corrections. Second, the "documented corruption" actually indicts the performance of a few state employees, not private corrections. Because the Florida Police Benevolent Association represents groups of these corrections employees, it is ironic that its executive director, David Murrell, is in essence criticizing his own people. [continues 155 words]
Can a single city do anything to change drug policies that are delivering terror to our inner-city streets, diverting police, clogging our courts, breaking up families, and making a once-proud America quite literally the incarceration capital of the world? It's tough because federal and state drug laws, passed by tragically misguided "law- and-order" politicians, are highly intrusive. But Syracuse, N.Y., with a detailed analysis of drug law impact by outgoing City Auditor Minchin Lewis, followed up by recent City Council hearings, is courageously asking tough questions and searching for alternatives. [continues 741 words]
Thank you for the medical marijuana cartoon on your Tuesday op-ed page. Research shows overwhelming benefits of using marijuana in pain control. When thousands of people, including myself, have had to stop taking Cox-2 inhibitors, such as Vioxx, it is time to make medical marijuana a choice available for doctors to prescribe for chronic-pain sufferers. I am sure your readers have family or friends with Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, chronic-fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia, to name a few conditions and diseases which cause severe pain and/ or sleeplessness. Should we not have the freedom to use this centuries-old drug to make life bearable? It's time for Florida, and the country, to offer this option. Nancy Orcutt, Sarasota [end]
BOGOTA, Colombia -- Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, the most powerful Colombian drug trafficker ever extradited to the United States, said he was innocent in an interview shortly before he was flown to Miami. "I feel innocent of the charges they are making against me and I will respond to them," he told the radio station W. Excerpts were published Sunday by the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. Rodriguez Orejuela, 65, is charged along with his brother Miguel with running a drug network that produced 80 percent of the U.S. cocaine supply in the 1990s. [continues 446 words]
Charlotte County - Authorities are concerned about a rise in heroin use in the county, where four men have been charged with dealing heroin in the past two weeks. Sheriff Bill Cameron said Wednesday at an anti-drug alliance meeting that local heroin use is increasing. Sheriff-elect John Davenport has promised to hire more detectives for the agency's narcotics unit. Deputies on Wednesday arrested Kalier Rosado, 20, of Port Charlotte, on charges of trafficking heroin and cocaine. Rosado was being held at the county jail Thursday with bail set at $750,000. [continues 366 words]
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. -- Okaloosa County sheriff's deputies think they have found a solution for getting rid of drug dealers and prostitutes who congregate under a giant oak tree: chop it down. The sheriff's office is seeking permission to have the tree removed from a county right of way on Cypress Street. "We're not attacking the tree," Deputy Don Hess said. "The tree hasn't hurt anybody." But Hess said it provides cover for drug dealers and prostitutes and their customers. He said 30 to 40 arrests per month stem from criminal activity at the oak. [continues 216 words]
Regarding Tom Lyons' column on drug testing for all students at Sarasota Military Academy being potentially destructive for American rights: My son will be attending SMA as a freshman this fall. He is not only proud to be part of a school that has high standards for their students but supports the drug testing for all. It gives students a way out when faced with other teens who make the "destructive decisions" to experiment with or use drugs. This school policy is no different than applying for a job with a company that promotes a drug-free workplace, which most businesses do now. The worst that could happen is that someone would test positive and get early intervention. [continues 179 words]
I am writing you regarding Tom Lyons' commentary of July 6, "Drug testing for all students may be destructive for American rights." I may be mistaken, but I always thought that students' years in public schools were supposed to prepare them for their adult lives -- they learn how read, write, add, think critically and learn about what is expected of them so they can succeed in the adult world. Tom Lyons and the parents who are upset about mandatory drug testing at Sarasota Military Academy must not have been out in the "real world" lately. [continues 105 words]
The new drug test policy at Sarasota Military Academy worries Vannessa Kegel. Her daughter, Stephanie, is supposed to be a sophomore there in the fall, and she really liked her freshman year, including the strict rules. The military style suits her, because she wants to become a military lawyer. The charter school, paid for by the Sarasota County school district, has 420 students, a waiting list and well-known principal Dan Kennedy, once the Sarasota High principal. Kennedy just sent a letter to notify parents that to attend this fall, the students will have to take a urine test for drug use. And throughout the year, kids will be chosen by lottery to be tested again. [continues 533 words]
The announcement is about as routine as any over the high school's public address system. Just before classes begin, a voice reads the names of about 30 student athletes and asks them to report to the office. No reason is given, but most students already know why: The school wants to test them for drugs. In the war on drugs, the students at Frostproof Middle/Senior High School in Polk County are on the latest front line. While they casually wait their turn, talking about classes or the latest movies, their parents, educators and government officials fiercely debate whether 14- and 15-year-old kids should be required to provide urine samples in school. [continues 1127 words]
This is in response to the Charlotte County School Board's plans for random drug tests for students. It's another half-baked idea from a group of people who can't seem to understand that their job is to see to the education of students. Looking at the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores leads one to conclude that they ought to be looking for new jobs, because they aren't doing the job they were elected to do. Forty-five percent of the eighth-graders in Charlotte County did not pass the FCAT for reading (up from a 41 percent failure rate in 2003); 60 percent of the ninth-graders did not pass the FCAT for reading; and 67 percent of the 10th-graders did not pass the FCAT for reading (up from 59 percent in 2003). [continues 134 words]
Children in the Charlotte County school system will be tested randomly for drugs and alcohol, the School Board announced this week. Not right away, but maybe starting the next school year or soon afterward. The same day this news appeared in the Herald-Tribune, another story reported the problems 10th-graders have had with the state reading test. Many of them, too many of them, can't pass it. The juxtaposition of the two stories begs the question: How do we want our public school district to expend its limited resources? Do we want our educators to teach our children to read, write and develop critical thinking, or do we want them to probe their bodies for drugs? [continues 508 words]
UNITED NATIONS -- The drug-fueled war in Colombia has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western hemisphere, with more than 2 million people displaced and Indian tribes threatened with extinction, the U.N. humanitarian chief said Monday. In the last four years, the number of people forced to flee their homes has increased by about 1 million, Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland said. Colombia now has the third-largest number of displaced people in the world - behind Congo and Sudan, he said. [continues 327 words]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Students in Palm Beach County suspected of using drugs are now subject to a new type of drug testing that's administered with a swab and an aerosol spray. Administrators at all 23 county high schools are being trained to use the test whenever they have a "reasonable suspicion" that a student is using illegal drugs, said schools Police Chief Jim Kelly. The school district is one of 22 across the country, and the only one in Florida, taking part in a free trial program that puts the drug detection kits in schools. [continues 173 words]
The 2002 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey reported that the state's biggest teen drug problem wasn't in Miami, Tampa or any county with an urban center. According to the survey, Charlotte County ranks as the state's worst when it comes to teen substance abuse. The Herald-Tribune analyzed the results and methodology of the survey. The review included interviews with experts in the field of surveys and teen drug use, as well as with representatives of the company that created and administered the survey. The goal of the analysis was to answer some of the questions a skeptic of the survey's findings would have, such as: [continues 871 words]
Re: Ephedra ban: According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year more than 400,000 Americans die from cigarette smoking. The National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependency reports that 105,000 Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported 564 Viagra-related deaths in 1999 alone. According to the Institute of Medicine, 7,400 Americans die each year because of prescription drug errors. My point is not that cigarettes, alcohol and prescription drugs should be banned by the Food and Drug Administration, but rather why ephedra with 155 deaths over a period of eight years? What does this mean and what will be next? In 2004, let us all be alert, aware and protective of our great and free society. We have so much to lose. Danee Barnett, Longboat Key [end]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A small group of Florida doctors are drugging the poor at taxpayer expense and exploiting the Medicaid system by prescribing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of dangerous drugs, a newspaper reported Sunday. Regulators have largely failed to curb excesses in billing as pain-relief patches, sleeping pills, tranquilizers and other highly abused drugs have poured out of pharmacies over the past three years, feeding a booming black market and adding to a torrent of fatal overdoses. "This is a crime in plain sight," said David Moye, director of economic crimes and health care fraud for the Florida Attorney General's Office. [continues 747 words]
LOS ANGELES -- A federal judged cited a "lesser harm doctrine" when he ruled Monday that three men who pleaded guilty to running a West Hollywood medical marijuana center would receive no prison time. U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz expressed admiration for the men's work in helping sick patients during the sentencing hearing in which he ordered they serve only one year of probation and up to 250 hours of community service. The each also were ordered to pay a $100 fee, but their bail of $25,000 was exonerated. [continues 509 words]
Plan To Videotape Use Of Chemical Irritants Makes Sense Whether or not there's any substance to a federal lawsuit accusing some Florida corrections officers of torturing inmates with pepper spray and tear gas, a recent proposal by the state Department of Corrections to "tighten" procedures for using chemical irritants is wise. The proposal would require most uses of chemicals on prisoners to be videotaped. The policy proposal, which would take effect after a public-hearing period, is in response to the lawsuit, DOC Secretary James V. Crosby Jr. told Herald-Tribune reporter Michael A. Scarcella. [continues 293 words]
PORT CHARLOTTE -- The tattooed man jailed on charges he injected his girlfriend's 4-year-old with heroin has a history of inflicting domestic abuse, civil court records show. Women here have obtained three temporary restraining orders against Shawn Edward Malsky in the past five years for alleged abuse against them or their children. Documents detail the acts of a man who reportedly bruised the cheek of a girlfriend's daughter when the child refused to eat, and who tried to strangle his wife in front of her children. [continues 943 words]
The Herald-Tribune has acted irresponsibly by printing an article, editorial and columns regarding the reverse sting operations carried out in Sarasota by Sarasota Police Department undercover detectives working with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. In a weak attempt to present some level of investigative reporting, the paper has done little more than endanger the lives of dedicated police officers and their families. It is not newsworthy that high-level crime goes on in Anytown, U.S.A. Criminals do business in nice places and stay in nice hotels. To ignore that fact is sophomoric and will certainly not make crime go away. [continues 135 words]
Florida Should Restore Funding Of Drug Programs Addiction is a disastrous thing, but Rush Limbaugh is a lucky man in one respect: He can afford rehabilitation therapy for his drug habit. Thousands of offenders in Florida's jails and prisons aren't so fortunate. For them, substance-abuse treatment is often out of reach, even when they've been ordered to get it. The state doesn't fund enough program slots to accommodate the thousands of offenders who need help. Even in good times, Florida was far from generous in funding drug and alcohol treatment. But in the fiscal crunch of the past two years, the dollars haven't even matched inflation, much less population growth. Millions of dollars have been slashed from the Department of Corrections' treatment budget. [continues 309 words]
Will Limbaugh's Experience Change View Of Addiction? It is tempting to respond to Rush Limbaugh's dramatic revelation last week about his addiction to painkillers with the same dismissive disdain the popular radio host has aimed at other drug addicts in the past. It is tempting to throw words from Limbaugh's show back in his face: "And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up." [continues 208 words]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A man whose son was accidentally shot to death by a federal drug agent has sued the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI for negligence. Curt Ferryman, 24, was fatally shot in August 2000 as he sat in his car with a DEA informant north of Jacksonville. Christopher Sean Martin, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, accidentally fired his 9mm pistol as Ferryman was sitting in the front seat of a car after making a sale to an undercover agent. [continues 158 words]
Police Are Attracting The Wrong Kind Of Business Chamber of Commerce officials like to cite the benefits of attracting high-income tourists to town: Once these upscale visitors see beautiful Southwest Florida, so the story goes, they'll want to move here and maybe start a business. The Sarasota Police Department's efforts to lure major drug dealers to the area, however, are probably not what the Chamber has in mind. In fact, police and city officials should rethink the wisdom of exposing the community, local residents and police officers to what has become a lucrative but dangerous sideline. [continues 343 words]
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh announced during his radio program Friday that he is addicted to painkillers and is checking into a rehab center to "break the hold this highly addictive medication has on me." "You know I have always tried to be honest with you and open about my life," Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach County, said during a stunning admission aired nationwide. "So I need to tell you today that part of what you have heard and read is correct. I am addicted to prescription pain medication." [continues 770 words]
Has the time come for the federal government to cede the "war on drugs" to America's state and local governments? A powerful case for devolving critical drug policy -- choices of which substances to forbid, whether to focus police on drug cases, imprisoning vs. treating offenders -- has been made by two Florida State University economists, David Rasmussen and Bruce Benson. The common-sense case for fresh thinking has become overwhelming. Largely because of drug cases, the United States, with 2,071,686 people behind bars, had the world's highest incarceration rate in 2000. It cost the country $26 billion that year to imprison 1.3 million nonviolent offenders - -- including hundreds of thousands of drug offenders. [continues 665 words]
Kemba Smith Vowed To Help Others If God Helped Her Through Her 24-Year Sentence SARASOTA -- Seven months' pregnant and facing more than 20 years behind bars on drug charges, Kemba Smith made a solemn vow from her prison cell. If God would help her through the ordeal, she would spend the rest of her life helping others. "I would cry at night and pray and ask God for a voice," said Smith, now 31. After five years in a Connecticut women's prison, her prayer was answered. [continues 584 words]
I am writing to express my sincere disappointment over concerns expressed by Tallevast residents regarding the safety of the Salvation Army's South Bay Adult Rehabilitation Center in Manatee County. I am also deeply saddened and troubled that there are folks who have expressed disinterest in touring the ARC facility in Pinellas County. If they were to visit, they would discover the truth: The ARC will not compromise the safety of their children. As a board member of the Salvation Army in Pinellas County for more than 25 years, as well as former principal of Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, it's difficult for me to understand why anyone would be against a facility and a program that has impacted thousands of lives, both locally and throughout the world, and will serve a major need in Manatee County. As an educator involved with the school system for 42 years in St. Petersburg, I understand parents' fears about protecting their children, but I'd like to assure the residents of Tallevast that the ARC will not be a threat to safety. [continues 149 words]
SARASOTA -- In the eighth grade, Ashley Parker smoked pot with her friends a couple times. She thought they were cool until she got arrested with them for trespassing, and watched her friends turn their backs on her to save themselves. Her misguided choices also put her parents through pain and stress. She's not proud of it. But she knows it could have been worse. She didn't have to serve any jail time; she was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and to attend life-management classes, and her parents made her write apology letters to the homeowner whose property she entered illegally, and letters of appreciation to those who helped her resolve the issue. Her penalties, coupled with the discomfort of coping with her parents' disappointment, made an impression on her. [continues 1596 words]
The Recommendation of a $950,000 Budget Hike Now Goes To The Governor and The Cabinet. TALLAHASSEE -- Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Clement is entitled to a $950,000 budget increase, a state panel unanimously recommended Monday. Trying to settle a budget dispute between the sheriff and the Charlotte County Commission, aides to Gov. Jeb Bush, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, and Attorney General Charlie Crist settled on the recommendation, which represents more than a third of the $2.3 million increase Clement sought in his appeal to the state. [continues 714 words]
OAKLAND, Calif. - A doctor who recommended that thousands of his patients use marijuana is facing charges that could cost him his medical license, but the physician and his supporters say the case is merely an attempt to hush a vocal advocate for medicinal use of the drug. Tod H. Mikuriya, 69, wrote marijuana recommendations for 7,500 of his patients without conducting sufficient medical examinations, according to officials with the Medical Board of California, which has moved to revoke or suspend the doctor's license. [continues 575 words]
SARASOTA -- Local drug-prevention programs are expanding their focus beyond alcohol and marijuana this fall to combat the rising trend of prescription drug abuse. "Drug abuse comes in fads, and right now any prescription use is popular," said Barbara Kochmit, prevention director at the Sarasota Coalition on Substance Abuse. A prescription painkiller, OxyContin, has been singled out as a threat. According to a survey released in March, a higher percentage of middle and high school students in Sarasota have tried OxyContin than in any other county in Florida. [continues 991 words]
Regarding your June 1 story "Judge's tough love fights drugs": I was so exhilarated to read of the holistic approach used by Circuit Judge Janette Dunnigan to help the addicts she has in the Manatee County drug court program. It is wonderful to see someone who cares, and who takes the time to teach addicts to care about themselves physically as well as naturally. I'm a huge fan of natural cures for the body's problems, and I think exercise and diet are wonderful avenues for her to explore. I wish more people in such positions would take the time and to try to help solve the problems these people face, instead of just seeing them in court as they fail over and over. [continues 67 words]
BRADENTON - Once a week, Circuit Judge Janette Dunnigan sheds her black robe and leads a fast-paced walk along city streets. "C'mon, slowpokes," she calls out to the recovering drug addicts who trail behind. The 30 minutes of walking and talking gives her and counselor Charles Mead more than just one-on-one time with drug addicts struggling to overcome their addiction. It also lets her practice her "holistic approach" to drug treatment, which includes diet, exercise, a dose of mothering and even acupuncture treatments. "If you're taking drugs to feel good and you can feel good by doing something healthy, then why not substitute that?" she asks. "We try to treat the mind and body." [continues 964 words]
CHARLOTTE COUNTY -- Making the varsity basketball team takes practice. So does winning the lead in a school play, or becoming drum major in the marching band. Come August 2004, they also could take a clean drug test. The county school district plans to take a hard look at drug tests for students in athletics and other extracurricular activities. Testing programs have been bolstered by a June 2002 U.S. Supreme Court opinion on an Oklahoma school district's random drug testing program. In a 5-4 decision, the court upheld testing for middle and high school students in sports and other competitive extracurricular activities. [continues 756 words]
Federal prosecutors charge bad cops planted guns on the unarmed victims of four police shootings, and their police buddies covered it up. The officers' defenders say it never happened and it wasn't proven during a 10-week trial. Jurors will be asked this week to decide the corruption case involving 11 Miami officers who face possible 10-year prison sentences and loss of their careers. None of the defendants testified, but two officers on their special teams broke the police "code of silence." [continues 785 words]
U.S. anti-drug officials Thursday rejected lawmakers' claims that they are doing little to eradicate Colombia's opium, the raw material for most of the heroin sold in the United States. Members of the House Government Reform Committee said a $1.8 billion anti-drug program in Colombia is so focused on eradicating coca, little is being done about opium. Fewer opium crops are being fumigated this year than before U.S. helicopters and other anti-drug aid began arriving two years ago. [continues 435 words]
A San Francisco Researcher Says The War On Drugs Is Causing More Harm Than The Drugs Themselves More than a thousand public health workers and researchers are in Seattle this week for the National Harm Reduction conference. These people work with drug addicts and favor "harm reduction" strategies. That means needle-exchange programs to stop Hepatitis C and AIDS, drug substitution and compassionate counseling for addicts. They disagree with the "just say no" approach. Patt Denning is director of clinical services and research with the Harm Reduction Therapy Center in San Francisco. In her words -- "Drug prohibition is what causes the greatest harm, not drugs." Denning dismisses the idea that users must hit rock-bottom before they can be helped. And she criticizes methods of drug therapy that use punishment to get addicts to kick their habits. [end]
Police must return 8.2 grams of marijuana confiscated from a medical marijuana patient because he has a valid prescription, a judge ruled. Donovan No Runner, 23, of Grover Beach was stopped by police Aug. 8 while smoking pot in public. After he was searched, police found marijuana and arrested him for misdemeanor possession. No Runner has a prescription for the marijuana to treat symptoms of his bipolar disorder. After determining No Runner had a valid prescription, the District Attorney's Office dismissed the charges on Oct. 1. But police wouldn't return the $100 worth of pot. [continues 223 words]
A Worker's Cocaine Arrest Reveals Differences Of Interpretation About The City's Hiring Policy Punta Gorda - Nobody disputes that the deputy city clerk had cocaine in her purse at City Hall one morning in July. Facing termination under the city's zero tolerance drug policy, she resigned last month. What's uncertain is whether she's allowed to return to work here. The zero tolerance policy means an employee caught with drugs at City Hall, or anywhere else, may face termination, but firing the employee isn't required. City Manager Willard R. Beck said Friday he will issue a memo next week that offers an interpretation of the city's hiring policy, specifically regarding employee eligibility following a drug arrest. [continues 484 words]
A breeze billows the pungent smoke from the marijuana cigarette around his face, and Irvin Rosenfeld immediately feels better. A stock broker, Rosenfeld deals with millions of dollars while smoking up to 12 joints daily - marijuana he gets from the federal government to treat a rare bone ailment. "It has made my life much easier to live and kept my condition in check," Rosenfeld said Wednesday, 20 years to the day he received his first marijuana shipment from the government under a program which today has only six other members. [continues 698 words]
The Deputy City Clerk, Who Quit After A Drug Arrest, Is Back As A Temp. PUNTA GORDA -- Former deputy city clerk Mary K. Kelly returned to City Hall on Tuesday as a temporary employee, working in the same office she left after her drug-related resignation early last month. Kelly, a city employee since 1996, was arrested in July at her office on a cocaine possession charge. She avoided prosecution through a community service and rehabilitation arrangement, and quit her city job in October. [continues 312 words]
