No Change To Tobacco Policy In 2011

The Head of the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy says that there will be very few changed in 2011. Jeanne Prom is the Director of the center says that they will not introduce legislation that would change tobacco policy in the state.

Prom said that her group will continue their education efforts. The Center is concentrating those education efforts on legislators with the hopes that there is a “groundswell in 2013” for a statewide ban on smoking in public places. In the mean time Prom says that they will also work to push for individual communities to implement bans.

Prom said that there no indication that there will be any changes to state tobacco policy “I don’t know of any legislators that are interested in putting forth a bill to increase the tobacco tax in the 2011 session.”

She says that North Dakota’s low tobacco tax makes it hard for people to stop using tobacco and it is also easy for people to start “We really feel that as long as tobacco is really cheap in North Dakota there are going to be people who find it hard to quit and easy to start” said Prom.

Rutherford students arrested on marijuana charges

Three Rutherford students were arrested at the school Tuesday after a witness saw what appeared to be a drug transaction on campus.

The witness, who saw the trade at about 11 a.m., alerted the principal who asked the school resource deputy to investigate, according to a news release from Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Randolph John Hodges, 17, of 401 S. Burkett Drive in Callaway, is charged with sale of marijuana and two other students, Austin Michael Simons, 15, of 727 Arrow Street in Callaway, and Joseph Houston Jordan, 16, of 1404 Foster Avenue in Panama City, have been charged with purchasing marijuana.

Michigan's medical marijuana law shrouded in haze

Michigan's two-year-old law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes is leaving communities, courts, patients and police locked in disputes over what is legal and what isn't.
Many patients who have the state's OK to use marijuana to ease their pain from conditions ranging from cancer to Crohn's disease have been arrested and others have been fired because of different interpretations of the law approved by Michigan voters in late 2008. Courts face a rash of medical marijuana cases, with the law raising so many questions one state appeals court judge described reading it as a "maze."
Local governments are jumping in and passing their own ordinances, mostly trying to limit, ban or regulate a wave of businesses popping up to grow and sell the drug.
Michigan isn't alone in trying to sort out hazy medical marijuana laws. Fourteen other states have similar statutes — prompting raids and debate over local regulations in California, disputes over which doctors can recommend pot in Colorado and fights over proposed regulations in New Jersey.
Many of the clashes are between medical marijuana advocates who say they're acting within the law and police who say they aren't. Adding to the tension is federal law that continues to ban the use and possession of marijuana. Although it won't be a top priority for lawmakers in a state swamped by economic and state government budget problems, Michigan's next Legislature likely will devote some time to clarifying the law.
A class on legal issues is a staple at Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, one of the few medical marijuana trade schools in the nation. Nick Tennant, who last year opened up the trade school in suburban Detroit, said the goal of the class is to provide students some clarity about a law that has gray areas.
"A lot of people want definitive answers," Tennant, 25, said. "It's just hard, because sometimes the attorneys can't really give a definitive answer. They can give almost a 'best practices, here's how you stay out of trouble, don't raise your risk tolerance in this gray area' type of thing."
The school also provides students with instruction on the medical and horticultural aspects of growing pot for medicinal use.
"We don't want the people and the public to be afraid of us or to think we're drug dealers, because that's really a popular misconception as well. We're here to help," said Travis Williams, a 38-year-old Detroiter who took classes at the school and now provides marijuana he grows himself to patients.
Michigan's more than 45,000 licensed medical marijuana patients can possess up to 2½ ounces of usable marijuana and have up to 12 plants kept in an enclosed, locked facility — or have a registered caregiver grow the drug for them.
Some police agencies want a better system to verify the authenticity of authorization cards. Physicians must certify patients would benefit from the pain-reducing aspects of marijuana, but it's left to the patients to register with the state and to self-regulate the amount and quality of the drug they take.
"There is absolutely no connection to medicine and what's going on with medical marijuana right now," said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. "You don't have a required patient-doctor relationship. You don't go to a state-licensed, inspected and regulated facility like a pharmacy. ... It's creating already a lot of problems and a lot of misconceptions."
Advocates of medical marijuana say nothing in the law prohibits dispensaries and collective growing facilities, and that communities are ignoring the will of Michigan voters by cracking down on those businesses. Advocates of the law say it's broad by design to protect a wide range of activities.
Many Michigan communities have said state law isn't clear or is largely silent on how the drug can be grown and distributed by anyone other than patients or caregivers, or how plants and seeds can be bought in the first place.

Outdoor smoking ban weighed

Smokers soon may no longer be allowed to light up at Town of Poughkeepsie parks and playgrounds.
The Town Board is to vote tonight on a proposal that would post signs designating such areas as tobacco-free zones. The town has 22 parks, many of which are used by youth sports leagues.

Officials hope the signs discourage people from lighting up and protect others, especially children, from secondhand smoke. But leaders acknowledge the policy will be difficult to enforce. It is unclear whether the proposal would include fines for people found smoking in town parks.

Supervisor Patricia Myers said she hopes the signs help prevent smokers from lighting up.

"When smokers are around small children, it's not good," Myers said.

Communities across New York and America have approved outdoor smoking bans, part of an effort to improve residents' health. Hyde Park has limited smoking in its major parks and the Town of Wappinger has enacted similar measures.

Scott Santarella, president and CEO of the American Lung Association in New York, said 200 communities across the state have policies against smoking at parks, pools and playgrounds.

"It seems to be a growing trend," Santarella said, adding such policies "certainly help with extending protection against secondhand smoke."

He said about 2,500 New Yorkers die from secondhand-smoke-related problems each year.

According to the American Cancer Society's website, secondhand smoke each year in the United States leads to 46,000 deaths from heart disease in nonsmokers who live with smokers, and about 3,400 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults.

Resident Doreen Tignanelli said she supports smoke-free parks, but she questioned how the measure would be enforced.

"I would really hesitate to just go up to someone and tell them they are not allowed to smoke," Tignanelli said. "I would be concerned about approaching someone directly."

Poughkeepsie Councilman Todd Tancredi, R-6th Ward, said he hoped people abide by the new policy and that fines would not be necessary.

"I hope people use common courtesy and stay out of the park when they are smoking," Tancredi said.

Myers said the signs should remind smokers to "just be respectful" when they are near nonsmokers and children at parks and ballgames.

This is not the first time officials have discussed banning smoking in parks.

Two years ago, the board debated whether to ban smoking in parks after a youth baseball official complained that smokers were lighting up during games.

The board never took action and the matter was tabled.

Tom Meyering, the town's recreation chief, said he recommended the board adopt a tobacco-free policy for the parks, rather than a more formal ordinance that would carry fines.

Meyering said the smoking issue came up again recently after the group SmokeFree Dutchess contacted town officials.

Anti-smoking gets 'ugly'

A handful of Sioux Falls elementary schools have already taken part - with more schools expected to later - in a new tobacco-free initiative being promoted by the South Dakota State Medical Association Alliance.

The 12-minute animated film, "Smoking Makes Me Ugly," is designed to educate children about the harms of tobacco use before they begin to smoke, said Grace Wellman, co-president of the Alliance. It's targeted at fifth-grade students, she said.

"The project presents the hazards of smoking through an animated video that captures the attention of children while delivering the lesson content," Wellman said.
The DVD only became available a few weeks ago. It costs $74.95. The Alliance has purchased 75 DVDs and placed them in schools throughout South Dakota, Wellman said. The Alliance is working with local law enforcement to help implement the video in school districts.

The film contains interactive lessons. Worksheets, handouts and teacher guides can be printed from the files included on the DVD, Wellman said.

Christine Bruzvoort, a Sioux Falls school resource officer, said she has been contacted by principals this school year on three different occasions about smoking at the elementary level.

So far, she has shown the video to fifth-grade students at Lowell, Longfellow, Hayward, Hawthorne and Renberg elementary schools.

"It shows you what smoking does to you," Bruzvoort said. "All the kids already know that smoking gives you cancer and it's bad for you, but this actually gives you a visual picture of what this does to your actual body."

Minnehaha County Sheriff's Deputy Josh Phillips works with the West Central School District. He will show students the DVD in early January. Other school districts such as Garretson, Dell Rapids and Tri-Valley will soon follow, he said.

"It's just not a video itself," Phillips said, "it's a Power-Point with interactions that I think will really keep the kids interested in the video and keep them talking about it."

Cigarette dispute leads to domestic assault

A Columbia man was arrested over the weekend on charges that he hit and bit his ex-wife over a pack of cigarettes.

Officers were dispatched at 2:10 p.m. Sunday to 1402 Court St. for a disturbance. A dispatcher told the officers Charles Silvey was involved in a physical fight in the house, Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jill Wieneke said. Following the incident, 24-year-old Charles D. Silvey of Columbia was arrested on three different assault charges.

"In particular, he assaulted a female there who is his ex-wife," Wieneke said. "It looks like he hit her and bit her. He had also threatened some other people there and punched a male victim in the head, arm and wrist."

One of the officers had dealt with Silvey before and knew he had a history of violence. Three officers went inside the house and found three people in the back bedroom.

"It sounds like they had been screaming and yelling and fighting physically," Wieneke said.

Witnesses and victims said the fight had been ongoing throughout the day between the people in the residence. Silvey had been agitated all day because he thought someone stole his cigarettes, Wieneke said.

Silvey was arrested at the scene for second-degree domestic assault and third-degree assault, a charge that was enhanced because he had at least two past charges, Wieneke said.

Both victims declined medical attention.

At the time of his arrest, Silvey complained of some medical issues, including minor abrasions on his chest from one of the other people there. Per CPD policy, the police transferred Silvey to the hospital that afternoon. He was released from the hospital at 2 a.m. Monday and returned to CPD custody.

Silvey has been charged with other crimes in the past, including assault, domestic assault, property damage and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended driver's license.

The 13th Circuit Judicial Court of Missouri issued a child protection order against Silvey in April 2009

Thief stuffs pants with cigarettes

Surveillance video caught a man stealing cartons of cigarettes from a 7-Eleven store in Virginia Beach.

Authorities say the suspect went into the back stockroom of the store in the 2200 block of Red Tide Road Friday afternoon, stuffed multiple cartons of cigarettes into his pants and then left the store.

"He could be using them for personal use because cigarettes are expensive, or he could be selling them to make a profit off of them at different flea markets and trade shows," said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesperson.

Police are investigating a similar incident that happened at the 7-Eleven store in the 300 block of Lynn Shores Drive on August 16. Police say it appears the same suspect targeted both stores.

Bernstein thought this crime was a bit unusual. "I did find other reports of people just jumping over the counter and grabbing a bunch of packs and running out the door. These are the only two I was able to locate where the person concealed several cartons of cigarettes and walked out the door," said Bernstein.

In each case, police say $300 worth of cigarettes was taken.

The suspect is described as a black male, in his 40s. He can be seen in the photos attached to this story. Authorities say the suspect got away in a light colored four door car with a sunroof.

If you can help police in this case call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

Store criticized for promotion offering beer and cigarettes for food stamps plus $1

Fla. - A new advertisement from a Plant City grocery store is causing some concern. The promotion basically offers to accept food stamps in exchange for cigarettes and beer.

The ad offers beer and cigarettes for $1 for customers who use food stamps to purchase large quantities of meat. The store owner calls it a promotion, but some call it a loophole in the law.

It’s illegal to use food stamps to buy things like beer and cigarettes, but what’s listed in the ad appears to be perfectly legal.

The ad for the Price Buster Food Center in Plant City offers large quantities of meat, such as 27 pounds of beef for $60. The very top line of the ad reads, "EBT & Food Stamps Accepted." If the customer pays just one extra dollar, the store will throw in cases of beer or cigarettes.

The bargain has some customers concerned. “It bothers me. Cigarettes and beer should definitely not be part of a food stamp promotion,” said customer Tina Brodowski.

ABC Action News asked store owner Jeffrey Housholder if the promotion is a loophole that allows customers to use food stamps to buy beer and cigarettes. “Well, they can use their EBT cards, they can use their credit cards, they can pay me cash. It’s all the same deal to everybody,” Housholder responded.

Housholder says he’s not doing anything illegal, and he’s right. The USDA says because the deal is available to anyone, even customers who aren’t using food stamps, and because the beer and cigarettes are a separate charge, it appears to be within the law.

But Terry Field with the Florida Department of Children and Families says that insignificant one dollar charge appears to be just a way to sidestep the law.

“It may not be technically illegal, but it certainly doesn’t seem to pass the smell test,” Field said.

Housholder argues that his store has been hit hard by the economy, and this is just another way to bring customers in.

“Plant City has lost probably about 8 to 10,000 residents in our area. We’re just trying to broaden our advertising and reach out to more people,” Housholder said.

Field says it could lead to misuse of the food stamps program.

“To know that they’re using food stamps to buy food simply because they’re getting a bonus of cigarettes or alcohol, that’s a little problematic,” Field said.

After ABC Action News brought this to the attention of the USDA, representatives said they hadn’t heard of a promotion like this before and they will investigate.