Free Republic

n the waning days of a record season, a helicopter buzzes treetops here in a remote corner of the "Emerald Triangle," redwood country notorious as the USA's premier producer of marijuana. (Photo gallery: Rooting out pot hot spots) State narcotics officers from CAMP - Campaign Against Marijuana Planting - are searching for "gardens" to eradicate and find six on a warm, cloudless day. They strap onto a 150-foot cable dangling from the chopper, drop into the pot patches, hack down the plants and bundle them for the chopper to haul back to a landing zone.

The California Highway Patrol has ordered its officers to stop confiscating medical marijuana during routine traffic stops, a victory for patients hoping to win broader acceptance of the controversial medicine from balky police departments around the state. Highway Patrol officials sent out a bulletin last week to field commanders spelling out the policy shift, which would allow patients to travel on California's highways with up to 8 ounces of marijuana as long as they have a certified user identification card or documented physician's approval. For the last fiscal year, ending in July, Americans for Safe Access collected reports from 457...

APR 26--When 14-year-old Irma Perez of Belmont, California, took a single ecstasy pill one evening last April, she had no idea she would become one of the 26,000 people who die every year from drugs.1 Irma took ecstasy with two of her 14-year-old friends in her home. Soon after taking the tiny blue pill, Irma complained of feeling awful and said she felt like she was "going to die." Instead of seeking medical care, her friends called the 17-year-old dealer who supplied the pills and asked for advice. The friends tried to get Irma to smoke marijuana, but when she...

The nation's drug czar spent Tuesday touring a Reno drug treatment facility that's a model for others nationwide. John Walters is the Director of National Drug Control Policy. He visited the "Step Two" Lighthouse of the Sierra drug program. "Step Two" provides shelter, food and clothing to women recovering from drug problems. The program could receive more funding under President Bush's "Access to Recovery" treatment initiative. The federal plan would let abusers choose their treatment program. Walters commended Lighthouse staff, executives and clients. In his words, "For those who believe the drug problem just gets worse, it's time to look...