Quick Hits (page 3)
Medical Pot Law Gains Acceptance
By: Bob Egelko (SF Chronicle)
Californians are higher than ever on medical marijuana.
Proposition 215, the state's pioneering initiative that made it legal for doctors to recommend pot to patients, has gained significant support across all segments of California's population since voters approved it in 1996, according to a Field poll released today.
The survey of 500 registered voters in the state found that 74 percent now favor legal protections for patients who use marijuana to cope with illnesses, compared with 56 percent who approved it on the ballot. And, the poll shows, support for Prop. 215 comes from all political, ideological and age groups.
Democrats favor Prop. 215 by more than 5-1 and Republicans by nearly 2-1. Conservatives are 53 percent in favor, middle-of-the-roaders 78 percent and liberals 92 percent. All age categories back the measure by more than 3-1 except those 65 and over, who were 59 percent in favor.
In another finding, the poll found that 50 percent of those surveyed agree that using marijuana is no more dangerous than using alcohol. That's a shift from 44 percent who held that position in 1983 and 16 percent who believed it when the question was first asked in 1969. Legalization of marijuana for general use is still opposed by a solid majority, 56 to 39 percent.
"I think people are realizing that (marijuana) is a medicine, and we all get sick in our lifetimes,'' Prop. 215 author Dennis Peron said Thursday when told of the poll results.
"Everybody knows someone with cancer. If one person is easing their nausea, feeling better with marijuana, that resonates with others. ... These people are not strangers. They're not hippies and drug addicts. They're regular people.''
Prop. 215's chief antagonist has been the federal government, which has fought its implementation with raids and shutdowns of pot clubs, and by prosecuting suppliers and growers. Federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal and dangerous drug with no legitimate medical use.
Richard Meyer, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco, said the poll reflects "the success the marijuana lobby is having in deceiving the public by distorting all the facts.''
"At the DEA, we feel that the public needs to be protected from marijuana and drug dealers,'' Meyer said.
Prop. 215 allows Californians to grow and use marijuana if their doctor has recommended it to treat a medical condition. The chief uses are to relieve pain and side effects from therapies for cancer and AIDS, but the measure does not limit the illnesses for which the drug can be used. Eight other states have followed California in passing their own medical marijuana laws.
Federal opposition to Prop. 215, in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, has restricted the scope of the measure, with courts generally deferring to the absolute federal ban on marijuana.
But last month a federal appeals court carved out an exception for individual users of medical marijuana who grow their own pot or obtain it for free from within the state. The court said enforcement of the federal ban against those patients would exceed the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. The Bush administration is expected to appeal.
Jonathan Hayes, whose responses were included in the Field Poll, said Thursday that the government's war on marijuana in general, and medical pot in particular, is "a ridiculous waste of taxpayers' money.''
"Our jails are filled with law-abiding citizens who smoke a little marijuana,'' said Hayes, 60, a Mountain View resident and self-described conservative. "People who are ill should be able to smoke a little weed. ... Prohibition didn't work in the '20s either.''
"It never was a problem until they made it illegal'' about a century ago, said another poll respondent, Gloria Shinn, 74, a retired nurse from San Francisco. "Now it's forbidden and they overuse it because it is. I don't think children should be given it, but if there's a (medical) need for it, it should be available.''
A respondent who opposes Prop. 215 said she doesn't object to medical use of marijuana if it is regulated properly.
"They need to handle it like other strong medication, through pharmacies, '' said Marinda Thomas, 39, a dental hygienist from Sonoma County. She said the state law is open to abuse because marijuana is supplied by pot clubs and less-formal sources.
The poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 5-13 among randomly chosen registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
The responses underscore the obstacles faced by federal prosecutors in trying medical marijuana cases before pro-Prop. 215 California juries.
A San Francisco federal jury convicted prominent marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal of felony cultivation charges last January, but only after a federal judge barred jurors from hearing that Rosenthal was growing pot for medical purposes.
When jurors learned after the trial about the excluded evidence, a majority renounced their verdict and called for leniency. A federal judge then granted Rosenthal probation on a charge that normally requires a five-year prison sentence. The government has appealed the sentence, and Rosenthal has appealed his conviction.
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Growin' Our Own (page 3)
Drug Sweep Elicits Reaction
By: Bette Keva (CNC)
Asked about the drug sweep and lock-down at Marblehead High on Dec. 2, American Civil Liberties Union lawyer John Reinstein said he is troubled by an apparent "disappearance" between the roles of school officials and law enforcement.
"Police searches have to be based on probable cause. There is a different threshold of search by the school for school purposes," he said.
[Drug sweeps and lock-downs] "erase the distinction between the two. The school officials are acting as police. School officials don't want kids on narcotics, nor do they want them bringing drugs into the school." But, he said, it's quite another matter to then turn the school into a temporary lock-down center so it can be searched for drugs.
Nevertheless, at least 10 high schools in addition to MHS have used the Essex County Sheriff's Department for its canine units to sweep for drugs, most in the last year. But not all of them used the lock-down technique, locking students inside their classrooms while police patrolled with dogs.
Essex County Sheriff spokesman Paul Fleming said among the schools searched by dogs were Haverhill High, Newburyport High, Saugus High, Pentucket Regional High, Beverly High, Swampscott High, Triton Regional, Hampton, N.H., Pelham, N.H. and Boston English.
While Reinstein cautioned that the authorities must have "probable cause" to do a "more intrusive" search, such as dogs sniffing students and backpacks, the law isn't as strict for dogs walking the corridors.
"Different legal issues are involved" depending on what is being searched, said Fleming. "If two dogs make a hit on a locker, the principal or his designee can open that locker and make a search of it," he said. "It's the principal, or designee, that would make a search of that locker. It wouldn't be the police."
Furthermore, said Fleming, it is up to police and the school whether or not to press charges if something is found.In the drug sweep and lock-down at MHS on Dec. 2, "small amounts" of marijuana were found in the lockers of two juveniles, according to Marblehead Police Chief James Carney. The students were suspended and are to be brought to court.
During the Dec. 2 operation, 14 police cruisers, the sheriff's department with up to 15 canines, and police from Marblehead, Peabody and Salem came to the school in a surprise sweep and lock-down. Students were confined in their classrooms during the last two periods of school, about 90 minutes. According to two students, they were told they could not leave their rooms, even to go to the bathroom, while police and dogs walked the hallways.
Reinstein questioned whether the lock-down was legal and said he had not heard of it in Massachusetts.
"The more fundamental question is what is happening in the school when there is a massive police search to find small amounts of marijuana," said Reinstein.
Three calls to MHS Principal Marilyn Hurwitz were not returned. Two calls to superintendent Ellen Minihan were not returned, but her secretary said to call Hurwitz's office.
School Committee Chairman Larry DiGiammarino was reached in his office, but said he was leaving on business and would call back. He did not.
School Committee member Jonathan Lederman did not return a call.
Reached at home, School Committee member Joan Rosenthal said the School Committee had no communication with the superintendent on the matter.
It was a matter between police and the high school principal, "and that's all the information I have," said Rosenthal. "It's not my jurisdiction to micromanage the superintendent nor the building principal. In Marilyn Hurwitz' professional [judgment], she felt it was her responsibility and I fully support whatever she did."
She added, "We did not know anything beforehand and there has been no communication since."
Rosenthal noted, "Under Education Reform, whatever goes on, especially if it's a police matter, is the jurisdiction of the building principal and the police. Our jurisdiction is solely policy-making and budget."
She said she has not received any phone calls from parents regarding the lock-down. She herself is a high school parent.
School Committee member Patricia Pollard added, "The School Committee doesn't have a role in this."
Other schools' experiences
Following up on a rumor that a similar operation occurred at St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers a month ago, the Reporter called Albert Shannon, the school's headmaster to verify it.
"There was no lock-down, no police, no search, no indictments, no sheriff. Nothing," he said. "I would not allow a lock-down. We simply don't. I respect Marblehead's decision to do that, but that would not happen at St. John's Prep, not that we are above or below it. That method is not something we would use."
He added, "There are 1,150 boys here. I guarantee you we have had drug suspensions here. We handle it on an individual basis. If we have evidence or a rumor, we will confront those young men and those families individually."
In Shannon's three years at St. John's, no hard drugs have been found, he said. The school has "zero tolerance" for drug use either on or off campus, he added.
While St. John's Prep does not support drug sweeps, Saugus High School's Assistant Principal Walter Keddy is in favor of dog-sniffing drug sweeps to let students know that the school means business.
Three years ago, the Saugus High school brought in 25 to 30 dogs to search the corridors. It was accomplished in 10 to 15 minutes, said Keddy. The school has a population of 950 students in four grades, similar to the size of Marblehead High, where fewer dogs searched for 90 minutes. With fewer dogs, the search takes longer, according to the sheriff's office.
"I would never use the word 'lock-down,' " said Keddy. "Students are asked to stay in their classrooms. Students and others may be fearful of seeing dogs in the corridors."
An official speaking off the record confirmed that the dogs are high-strung, and having students present in the corridors while the dogs are doing their job may not be advisable. That could possibly be the reason for locking the students in their classrooms and keeping them separate from the dog, the official speculated.
Keddy said if one dog hits on a locker, another dog is brought over to confirm it. If the district attorney is present, the locker can be opened, he said.
"I'm supervisor of it. If you do nothing, it gives the message that you don't have a problem," said Keddy, who said he will schedule another sweep as a routine matter.
During the sweep three years ago, dogs hit on two cars in the parking lot of Saugus High, but a search came up empty.
"The sheriff's department told me these dogs are so well trained that they would still smell the odor of pot that was in the car two years ago, even if someone riding in the vehicle had it. That's how sensitive the dogs are," explained Keddy.
He said there had been no negative reaction from parents or students to the sweep.
In contrast, several people telephoned or came to the Reporter office to express their dismay over the Dec. 2 lock-down, and two letters to the editor arrived, though one was retracted by the writer who feared the personal consequences of having it published.
One student who did not want to be named said the search in Marblehead on Dec. 2 wasn't thorough enough because the dogs never went into the library where there were study periods taking place and many students using the room.
Another student who did not want to be named said the younger students haven't learned the ropes yet and are more vulnerable to being caught. The upper classmen are more sophisticated in how to avoid being caught.
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Pipeline (page 3)
Prosecutors Refuse Rehab Deal for Limbaugh, Insist on Guilty Plea
By: Peter Franceschina (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the conservative commentator to enter drug rehabilitation rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse.
Prosecutors say they think they have evidence that Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies by illegally obtaining overlapping drug prescriptions, according to documents released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
They offered to end the investigation if Limbaugh pleaded guilty to a single felony for "doctor shopping" and agreed to a three-year term of probation, a deal that Limbaugh's Miami attorney Roy Black called "preposterous."
Limbaugh, 53, admitted in October to a prescription drug addiction as the result of chronic back pain and entered a month long treatment program. He has not been charged with any crimes.
Black wrote to Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer on Dec. 11, asking whether his office's investigation could be resolved by having Limbaugh enter an intervention program that allows drug offenders to seek treatment and not face criminal convictions.
James Martz, the prosecutor heading the investigation into Limbaugh's prescription drug use, responded to Black with a Dec. 15 letter saying such an intervention program was not appropriate. The program is typically offered to minor, first-time drug offenders.
Martz noted that prosecutors reviewed records from a pharmacy near Limbaugh's $24 million Palm Beach mansion coupled with records associated with four search warrants served on Limbaugh's doctors for his medical records. Martz said those records "indicate evidence that would support in excess of 10 felony counts for violations" of doctor shopping, which makes it illegal to obtain prescriptions secretly from more than one doctor.
Martz offered to end the investigation through a plea agreement. "We believe this case can be settled without a trial," he wrote in the Dec. 15 letter.
Prosecutors said Limbaugh would have to admit to doctor shopping, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Limbaugh would be placed on three years of probation, required to undergo a treatment program approved by a judge and subjected to random drug tests during that time.
"Mr. Limbaugh would provide community service during his probationary period in a manner approved by the court," Martz wrote. "We would suggest that those efforts be utilized to raise public awareness of the dangers of prescription drug addiction."
And since Limbaugh does not have a criminal record, the prosecutors' offer would have allowed the judge to withhold a formal finding of guilt, meaning Limbaugh would not be a convicted felon if he successfully completed all terms of his probation.
"This proposed resolution is offered as an alternative to unsealing your client's medical records and in an effort to bring this case to a swift and just resolution," Martz wrote.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the letters, which were released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in response to a request under the state's public-records laws. Prosecutors consulted with the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Florida Bar before determining the letters are not confidential and had to be released as public records.
"My request of Mr. Krischer was for the same treatment anyone else in this situation would receive. The state's response was preposterous, and I declined to respond to it," Black said.
Black said in his statement that he expected prosecutors to keep his communications with them private, and he noted that his Dec. 11 letter was marked confidential. Black has been critical of the investigation, which he has said is politically motivated, and of leaks about the case to the media.
"What is even more troubling is this office's continued violations of Florida law and Bar ethics," Black said. "The disclosure of these highly confidential communications violate the Florida statutes, the rules of procedure and evidence, and the Florida Bar rules. Once again, because the state has no case against Mr. Limbaugh, they continually seek to discredit him in the media."
In a Dec. 18 letter to Krischer asking for an investigation into alleged leaks from his office, Black wrote that he had been contacted by the media the day before and asked whether Limbaugh was pleading guilty to a felony.
"The planting of a story that a suspect, in a highly publicized investigation, was about to plead guilty clearly interferes with the investigation and the adjudicative process. No leak could have more impact than this," Black wrote. "Any person would know that this type of story would have a major impact with potential jurors and others."
While the exchange between prosecutors and Black was going on, Black also was fighting to prevent prosecutors from gaining access to Limbaugh's medical records by arguing they were improperly seized with search warrants rather than being subpoenaed after giving Limbaugh a chance to contest the issue in court.
The fight over Limbaugh's medical records now is with the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.
"It is certainly clear by now that Rush Limbaugh was addicted to prescription pain medication. The latest round of search warrants seizing Rush's medical records will show that he had serious medical problems, was prescribed pain medication and took large amounts of it. He subsequently became addicted to these highly addictive substances," Black wrote in his Dec. 11 letter.
"He has admitted as much on his radio show. Not only that, he checked himself into one of the nation's finest drug rehabilitation centers. He has followed his rehabilitation with almost daily sessions with his own psychologist following up on the treatment he received at the center."
Since Limbaugh admitted his problem and sought treatment, Black wrote that an intervention program would be appropriate because it would "require him to continue his addiction treatment."
Black wrote, "I believe this proposal would be in keeping with the public interest. The public is better served by treating addicts as patients rather than criminals."
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