Whenever the people argue about marijuana, they always claim that it "has never killed anyone,"but who's to say it has improved anyone? Legalization of this drug seems to be a waste of time. This drug is a gateway drug and once a user feels comfortable with it, they may eventually feel as though they are capable of trying something stronger. There are currently many people attempting to try and pass this piece of legislation and quite frankly, if s because they basically want laziness to become legal. [continues 114 words]
It has become abundantly clear that not only are Americans asking for medical marijuana in increasing numbers, more are speaking in favor of recreational marijuana. When does this become too lucrative for the federal government to ignore? The war on drugs has not only been futile, it has been extremely expensive. In the poll reported by the Times , nearly half of Floridians favored recreational legalization. We live in an unequal America that supports medical marijuana in 21 states, two of which have legalized recreational marijuana. Dozens of other states have begun decriminalizing marijuana, and our nation's capital recently passed a law making simple marijuana possession no more serious than running a stop sign. [continues 55 words]
The fight is starting to heat up, and the power brokers are flexing their might. Months away from a deadline to get a medical marijuana amendment approved for the 2014 ballot, political and economic forces are suddenly on the move. In Tallahassee, the attorney general has contested the language in the proposed amendment. In Miami, a consultant has hired a high-priced firm to gather signatures for a needed petition. Across the state, political operatives are trying to weigh the amendment's potential impact on the gubernatorial race. [continues 757 words]
Thanks for your well-written article regarding the potential for ballot legalization of medical marijuana. As usual, the naysayers base their arguments on ignorance rather than fact. A particularly egregious error: 'Legalizing medical marijuana could spawn a seedy black market for unscrupulous physicians.' Really? As opposed to the very scrupulous backstreet dealers that cancer patients deal with now? As Robert Jordan, who currently obtains the product illegally for his sick wife, said: He is buying on the street and 'keeping fingers crossed they don't get a contaminated batch.' Secondly, 'We will see a flood of people coming down from Kentucky or Georgia.' I call pants on fire. There is absolutely no evidence of that happening in any state where medical marijuana has become legal, largely because state-issued IDs are required of all patients. [continues 82 words]
Re: "High Stakes", June23 Opponents are using tired old arguments in favor of marijuana prohibition. Their reasoning is based on opinion, not data. They point out that there is already a legal drug, making smoked pot unnecessary. That is Marinol, a pill that contains marijuana's active ingredient. It was rushed through DEA/FDA approval several years ago to blunt criticism of marijuana prohibition. But Marinol is less effective than smoked marijuana because its dose cannot be fine-tuned and it can be vomited. [continues 90 words]
PARRISH -- Sitting at the kitchen table in her wheelchair, arms useless at her sides, Cathy Jordan begins another day with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease. She turns expectantly to her husband, Robert, who fires up a pungent joint and holds it to her lips. Smoke curls through her blond hair as she inhales, holds and exhales. Jordan is well into her third decade with a disease that often kills within five years. She credits marijuana with slowing progression of the condition that destroys nerve cells, ultimately leading to total paralysis and death. [continues 1959 words]
Marijuana prohibition is the most wasteful, destructive social policy since the Jim Crow laws of the Deep South. I don't know what it will take to reach the tipping point toward legal cannabis, but data is accumulating that may help. Researchers at universities in Colorado, Oregon and Montana have studied the 17 states that enacted medical marijuana laws between 1990 and 2010. They found that the law was accompanied by significant decreases in traffic fatalities, with strong indications connecting this to decreases in alcohol consumption. These researchers also plan to look at crime rates. Does anyone believe legal cannabis will be found to be associated with more domestic violence, barroom fights, turf battles and murders? Not I. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. It's time to stop the arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington [end]
When enough states legalize marijuana, the federal government will probably do the same. This will lead to many more people using it because they didn't want to break the law. I predict that after federal law allows the recreational use of marijuana, the drug activists will begin campaigning for the legalization of cocaine. The arguments for legal marijuana will also apply to cocaine. It seems that America is heading down the path of moral degradation. William Armstrong, St. Petersburg [end]
I am 71, and I've had three puffs of a marijuana cigarette in my entire life. This occurred about two years ago - not in Florida - and I ended up coughing and hacking so badly that I didn't enjoy the experience at all. I'll never try it again. Nevertheless, after having long opposed the introduction of additional intoxicants into our social fabric - after all, I was Dunedin's city attorney for nearly four decades - I've come to the conclusion that the legalization of marijuana and its sale at the local convenience store is in the best interests of my country. [continues 906 words]
Already shaken by a series of high-level defections, accounts of abuse among its staffers, and the high-profile breakup of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, the Church of Scientology now faces scrutiny over its controversial drug treatment program, Narconon. Four deaths at Narconon's signature treatment facility in eastern Oklahoma have prompted local law enforcement and health officials to investigate the center and its program. The inquiry began after Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, was found dead in her room on July 19 after returning to the facility from a one-day leave. The cause of death is under investigation. [continues 1153 words]
In their latest salvo in the on-going struggle against synthetic marijuana, Pinellas County officials are seeking to ban the sale of bath salts and certain herbal incense products. The proposed ordinance is an attempt to close the loophole created when Florida banned more than 90 chemicals used in synthetic marijuana. County officials said that by the time those products were off the shelves, drugmakers had already adapted by concocting new, legal cocktails that are as dangerous as their predecessors. "What we want to do is make sure that we took the opportunity to close those gaps to ensure those things don't come growing back," said Tim Burns, the county's director of Justice and Consumer Services. [continues 458 words]
Paso sheriff's candidates Fortney, Nocco and Radford discuss ways to fight drugs in county Pasco County sheriff's candidate Roger Fortney's solution to fighting drug crime is simple: Keep close tabs on offenders. Really close. "I believe if we worked closer with parole and probation we could convince them to stop committing the crimes or to move out of the county," said Fortney, 59, who worked in road patrol for 23 years at the Pasco County Sheriff's Office before retiring as a corporal in 2009. He is one of three candidates -- along with Maurice Radford, 50, a former major with the Sheriff's Office and current Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, 36 -- vying for the top spot in the Republican primary Aug. 14. The winner will square off against Democrat Kim Bogart in November. [continues 1296 words]
Paul Giavannoni of the Narcotics Unit Quits After Seeing Evidence Against Him LARGO - The three narcotics deputies who pursued marijuana growers by monitoring a Largo hydroponics store have now all left the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, snared by allegations of trespassing and other misconduct. Paul Giovannoni, 31, resigned Friday after reading evidence against him collected by the Internal Affairs Division, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. Detective Michael Sciarrino and Sgt. Christopher Taylor, the other members of the grow house team, resigned earlier this week. [continues 509 words]
LARGO =AD Amid allegations that narcotics deputies trespassed and lied to gather evidence, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that it is dismissing charges against an accused St. Petersburg marijuana grower and will reconsider dozens of similar cases. The dropped case was against David Cole, 60, who said he was growing pot in his shed to treat his multiple sclerosis symptoms. His attorneys were scheduled Tuesday to grill a key deputy under oath about possible misconduct within the narcotics unit. But that opportunity evaporated along with the case. [continues 998 words]
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has sent 15 cases to internal affairs in recent weeks from the narcotics unit. That suggests Gualtieri will hold responsible parties accountable when they are accused of breaking department rules and violating constitutional rights. But the breadth of apparent misconduct suggests there is more to find, and it is troubling that Gualtieri didn't uncover the wrongdoing. Defense lawyers and the media revealed it. The sheriff should launch a thorough review to determine if the culture of cutting legal corners that pervaded the narcotics unit is more widespread. [continues 378 words]
The story of a Pinellas County sheriff's detective posing as a Progress Energy worker reminded me of a similar situation we had in Northern California when I worked for a utility company in the 1980s. The growing of marijuana in densely wooded rural areas was common. Federal agents would dress as utility line workers posing to work on the high-tension lines but were actually conducting surveillance operations. This became known to the growers and they began shooting at utility line workers. The practice of posing as agents was stopped, and an extensive outreach campaign was mounted in the rural communities, assuring people that agents would no longer pose as utility workers and pleading with them not to shoot at unarmed utility employees. Mike Wightman, Safety Harbor [end]
When a Pinellas County sheriff's detective dressed up as a Progress Energy worker as a "ruse" to get a homeowner he suspected of growing marijuana to open his door, the detective should have known it was wrong. And when Pinellas deputies tried to find home-based marijuana operations by putting a camera outside a hydroponics store and investigating customers, red flags should have gone up. Both incidents occurred because some in the sheriff's office don't seem to understand when a novel investigative technique crosses into a violation of the public trust. [continues 469 words]
