Rancho Mirage, medical marijuana dispensary trade barbs

A decision is expected by Thursday evening on whether a medical marijuana dispensary must remain closed until its future is determined in court. Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Evans heard arguments for and against extending a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction at the Indio courthouse Monday. Rancho Mirage Safe Access Wellness Center opened in June at 72-067 Highway 111 and shut down after Evans granted the temporary order requested by the city on Aug. 6, on the grounds the dispensary failed to get a certificate of occupancy and business license before opening.

Safe Access subsequently applied for a certificate of occupancy, but City Attorney Steve Quintanilla said Monday it's been denied because the building didn't meet parking or other requirements for disabled access. “I find it distressing that a business that purports to serve ill patients (some of whom may be physically disabled) does not seem to be genuinely concerned with disability access issues,” Quintanilla said in an email. He said the permit was also denied because of the city's 2011 ban of dispensaries. That law was declared invalid under the state constitution after another dispensary sued the city.

That decision is under appeal, and cities and counties throughout California await a decision from the state Supreme Court on whether they can adopt total bans on dispensaries, after a series of conflicting rulings from county and appeals courts. Safe Access attorney Joseph Rhea said the dispensary never had a chance of getting the permits, and an employee was told as much by two city staffers, one of whom was captured in a video clip saying there is a separate process for medical marijuana dispensaries. He called the city's denial of the certificate of occupancy “transparently a joke. That building has been there for 35 years, and they're finding this out now?” He said it is considered a “heritage building” under the 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act, so requirements aren't as stringent.

He said the city had invented a separate, if unwritten, set of permitting standards for dispensaries: “It's one thing to say you don't like marijuana; it's another thing to create these fraudulent procedures. That's just shady.” Quintanilla said Monday the same rules apply to all businesses, and he'd just thought of another that could apply to Safe Access, since the dispensary has stated on a website it delivers to patients in Rancho Mirage. Medical marijuana delivery is permitted in the city, he said, but any service must also get a business license. “I'm going to tell them that, and if they don't apply for one, we'll cite them for that, too,” he said.

Impact of e-cigarettes measured in Greek study

ELECTRONIC cigarettes used by smokers who want to kick the habit show no connection to heart disease, according to a study that adds to evidence of health benefits of switching from tobacco to smokeless alternatives. E-cigarettes, electronic tubes that simulate the effect of smoking by producing nicotine vapor, prompted no adverse effects on cardiac function in the study, researchers from the Athens-based Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center said in a report presented at the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting in Munich yesterday.

Investigators examined the heart activity of 20 young daily smokers after one ordinary cigarette against 22 people who smoked an electronic cigarette for 7 minutes. Whereas tobacco smokers showed "significant" disruptions of functions such as heartbeats or blood pressure, the effect of e-cigarettes on the heart was minimal, Konstantinos Farsalinos, one of the researchers, said in the presentation. "Currently available data suggest that electronic cigarettes are far less harmful, and substituting tobacco with electronic cigarettes may be beneficial to health," Dr Farsalinos said. Previous studies have found that the electronic devices would have to be smoked daily for four to 12 months to achieve the levels of nitrosamines, a carcinogen, that are present in a single tobacco cigarette, the researchers said. Industrywide e- cigarette sales this year are likely to double from $250 million in 2011, according to UBS AG.

Electronic cigarettes, which mimic the look and feel of traditional versions without generating smoke and ash, are one of the few smoking alternatives that provide users with their chemical need for nicotine and reproduce the psychological effect of holding and smoking a cigarette, the researcher said. About 2.5 million people use e-cigarettes in the US, according to an estimate by the Tobacco Vapour Electronic Cigarette Association. Although nicotine is present in the vapour from the devices, it is absorbed by the blood slower than tobacco smoke, accounting for the lower levels of toxicity, Dr Farsalinos said. No traces of nitrosamine were found in the e-cigarettes in the study, he said.

Springfield council decriminalizes marijuana

Springfield city council Monday night voted to decriminalize marijuana possession. Members had two options for the citizens' initiative: pass it or send it to voters in November. Council voted 6-3 to adopt the ordinance, but clearly stated their plans to amend, or even "gut" the ordinance. The ordinance changes the penalty for possessing about 1.25 oz. of pot to a maximum $150 fine.

It also says a violator can have his or her arrest record expunged after two years, and requires council to create a citizens oversight committee to monitor the ordinance. The city's attorney says Springfield has no authority under state law to expunge records. And he says an initiative ordinance cannot require a directive to form an oversight committee.

  REZONING FOR HOTEL

Council members turned down a request for a zoning change for a proposed hotel near U.S. 65 and Evans Road. The developer wants to build a Hampton Inn near the new Mercy hospital under construction near that intersection. The zoning change would have allowed for more rooms to be built in the hotel. Some nearby homeowners worried their property values could go down if the hotel is built. But even without the rezoning, the hotel can still be built.

 CU BUDGET & WATER RATE PACKAGE City council held a public hearing Monday night to approve the 2013 operating budget for City Utilities, and a proposed water rate increase. The $530 million budget is five percent lower than the 2012 budget and includes a reduction in the number of employees. The 3 year water rate package would become effective in October of 2013. It includes rate increases for 2013, 2014 and 2015. CU says the increases will let the water system meet all operating income requirements in 2016. The bill for the average residential customer would go up about $3 over each of the next three years, or $9 total. Council will vote on both bills at its next meeting in two weeks.

Teenage Marijuana Use May Hurt Future IQ

Teenagers lighting joints may end up less bright, according to new research released Monday. In a study of more than 1,000 adolescents in New Zealand, those who began habitually smoking marijuana before age 18 showed an eight-point drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38, a considerable decline. The average IQ is 100 points. A drop of eight points represents a fall from the 50th percentile to the 29th percentile in terms of intelligence. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, charted the IQ changes in participants over two decades.

Researchers tested the IQs of all of the study subjects at age 13 before any habitual marijuana use. They then split the study into five “waves” during which time they assessed cannabis use -- ages 18, 21, 26, 32, and 38. They again tested IQ at age 38. The authors also controlled for alcohol use, other drug use and education level. The eight-point drop in IQ was found in subjects who started smoking in adolescence and persisted in “habitual smoking” -- that is, using cannabis at least four days per week -- in three or more of the five study waves. People who started smoking in adolescence but used marijuana less persistently still had a hit to their IQ’s, but it was less pronounced than the group that used it early and persistently.

In contrast, those who never used marijuana at all gained nearly one IQ point on average. Madeline Meier, lead researcher and a post-doctoral associate at Duke University, said that persistent use of marijuana in adolescence appeared to blunt intelligence, attention and memory. More persistent marijuana use was associated with greater cognitive decline. “Collectively, these findings are consistent with speculation that cannabis use in adolescence, when the brain is undergoing critical development, may have neurotoxic effects,” Meier writes in the study. Of particular worry is the permanence of these effects among people who began smoking marijuana in adolescence. Even after these subjects stopped using marijuana for a year, its adverse effects persisted and some neurological deficits remained.

People who did not engage in marijuana smoking until after adolescence showed no adverse effects on intelligence. Experts in child development said the reasons adolescents may be more susceptible to the harmful effects of marijuana may have to do with a substance called myelin. Myelin can be thought of as a kind of insulation for nerve cells in the brain that also helps speed brain signals along -- and in adolescent brains, the protective coating it forms is not yet complete. The study appears to lend credence to “stoner” stereotypes in popular media.

However, no previous studies can provide data for this phenomenon, since establishing whether a drop in IQ has actually occurred requires that a baseline IQ be obtained before a person ever started using marijuana. This study did just that. “[The findings] provide evidence for the actual -- rather than ideological and legal -- basis for concerns regarding cannabis use,” said Dessa Bergen-Cico, a assistant professor of public health, food studies and nutrition at Syracuse University. “These findings reinforce recommendations on the importance of primary prevention, evidence based drug education and policy efforts targeting not only adolescents, but elementary age children before they start.”

Though the study was conducted among New Zealand young people, the findings could be extended to adolescents in the United States as well. According to statistics released in June by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American teenagers today are more likely to be using marijuana than tobacco products. Of particular worry is the attitude that marijuana is one of the more harmless drugs.

Physical Activity Can Reduce Desire to Smoke Cigarettes

A study conducted by Adrian Taylor at the United Kingdom's University of Exeter and other colleagues from the UK, United States and Canada found that smokers were able to lessen their cravings for cigarettes by exercising. The study examined 19 previous trials on the subject matter. Most commonly, participants were combined into one of two groups, one tasked with a sedentary activity like watching a video or sitting quietly and the other tasked with a physical activity like walking briskly or riding a bike.

In general, after working out, people had less of a desire to smoke than they had before. Taylor said to Reuters that smokers who had exercised reported their cravings as being a third less than those tasked with completing sedentary activities. It is not clear what accounts for the difference, but Taylor notes that exercise provides a distraction. Physical activity also boosts people's moods, so they may not feel as much of a need to receive that same benefit by smoking. It is also unclear whether exercise actually helps drive people to quit.

Taylor and his colleagues had previously analyzed 15 studies on that subject for the Cochrane Collaboration, an organization that examines medical research. Of the 15, only one of those studies found that exercise helped people quit smoking. Most of the studies had severe limitations though, like small sample size. Regardless, exercise is a healthy habit for anyone to take. In addition, many smokers, especially women, report weight gain after quitting, which causes many to return to cigarettes.

Exercising can help people to reduce weight gain though more research needs to be done on just how much exercise may help. In the study, none of the smokers was in a smoking cessation program or using nicotine replacement gum or patches. Taylor noted that, since nicotine replacement gums and patches reduce cravings, the effects would probably be less for people using such methods.

Courts Upholds Lower Court’s Graphic Cigarette Label Ban

On Friday, a federal appeals court struck down governmental requirements for graphic warning labels on the packages of cigarettes. The court said the government had not provided enough evidence that the graphic labels would lower the smoking rates. The three-judge panel ruled in a decision 2-1 that federal regulators had fallen short of the constitutional requirements of justifying the rules for the labels.

The court ruled that the First Amendment requires that the government not just state a significant interest in why a regulation is needed on commercial speech, but it also must show that its proposed regulation directly aids in advancing the goal. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the court, had failed in provide any data, much less significant evidence that showed that enacting the proposed warning labels would accomplish the stated objective of the agency to reduce the rates of smoking. An attorney for one of the cigarette companies called the decision a major victory.

He said it was a huge ruling for the First Amendment. A spokesperson for the Justice Department said the DOJ would not have an immediate comment on the court’s ruling. The FDA also declined to make a comment, citing an agency policy that does not allow for discussion of court cases. Some observers said they believe the matter will eventually be decided in the U.S. Supreme Court. Last March, another federal court of appeals upheld the majority of the authority the government has to regulate all tobacco products, including what the requirements are for labelling. That created a legal conflict in the court system that could lead to a review by the high court.

Police pounce on illegal cigarette factory

Police have estimated that the Treasury stood to lose over 820,000 zloty (about 200,000 euro) in unpaid duties relating to the haul. Four people aged between 19 and 52 were detained when officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBS) conducted the raid on the property, together with customs officers.

The factory was located in former pigsties, with the walls insulated with styrofoam to contain the noise of the production line. “Policemen estimate that such an amount of tobacco could be used to produce about a million cigarettes,” Karol Jakubowski, spokesman for the National Police Headquarters (KGP), told the Polish Press Agency.

Reynolds American net income up on higher prices

Cigarette maker Reynolds American's net income climbed more than 35 percent in the second quarter as higher prices and cost-cutting helped it recover from year-ago results that had been dragged down by legal charges. But the nation's second-biggest tobacco company also saw a much steeper decline in the number of cigarettes it sold than the rest of the industry.

The Winston-Salem, N.C., company said heavy promotional activity by its competitors drove its cigarette volumes down nearly 7 percent to 18.1 billion cigarettes, compared with an estimated total industry volume decline of 1.7 percent. Its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary sold 4 percent less of its Camel brand and volumes of Pall Mall fell 3.6 percent. Camel's market share fell slightly to 8.3 percent of the U.S. market, while Pall Mall's market share fell 0.2 percentage points to 8.4 percent. The company has promoted Pall Mall as a longer-lasting and more affordable cigarette as smokers weather the weak economy and high unemployment, and has said half the people who try the brand continue using it. Still Reynolds has faced pressure from its competitors looking to attract more smokers looking to save money.

"There's a lot of price competition in the marketplace, there's a lot of promotions out there," CEO Daniel M. Delen said in a conference call with investors. "Because there are so many low-priced offers, particularly from other premium brands in the marketplace, what we're actually seeing currently is the amount of new trialists out there for the (Pall Mall) brand has gone down significantly over time." Reynolds reported net income of $443 million, or 78 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30.

That's up from $327 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago when the company recorded charges related to a legal case that hurt its results. Adjusted earnings were 79 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of 76 cents per share. Its shares fell 39 cents to close at $45.35 Tuesday. Revenue excluding excise taxes fell 4 percent to $2.18 billion from $2.27 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $2.24 billion. Reynolds American and other tobacco companies are also focusing on cigarette alternatives such as snuff and chewing tobacco for future sales growth as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher.

Volume for its smokeless tobacco brands that include Grizzly and Kodiak rose nearly 11 percent compared with a year ago. Its share of the U.S. retail market grew 1.7 percentage points to 32.4 percent. The company on Tuesday also said it will begin a test market in the Des Moines, Iowa, area of a nicotine gum under the Zonnic brand aimed at helping people stop smoking. In 2009, Reynolds bought a Swedish company Niconovum AB, which makes nicotine gum, pouches and spray products. The test market set to begin during the third quarter will be the first of its products to be sold in the U.S. Reynolds American also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings forecast in the range of $2.91 and $3.01 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.95 per share.

Smokers Drop Pricey Cigarettes for Cheaper Alternatives

With cigarette costs rising, more smokers are turning to cigars or "rolling their own" to cut costs, suggests a new U.S. government report that shows a substantial increase in the use of non-cigarette tobacco products. Cigarette smoking continues to decline, according to the report released Thursday. A modest 2.5 percent drop in cigarette use occurred between 2010 and 2011, but use of other tobacco products jumped 17 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"What we have seen is the steady progress in reducing the consumption of the most dangerous forms of tobacco, which are inhaled combustible products, stalled because there had been a substitute of roll-your-own and cigarette-like cigars that have increased in recent years due to loopholes in the tax structure," said Terry Pechacek, associate director for science in the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health. "Smokers overall and youth in particular are price-sensitive and respond to the availability of something that is cheaper that fills their desire for a smokable product," he added. Pechacek noted that small cigars that look like cigarettes except for a dark paper label have been reformulated to bypass the tax law that covers cigarettes.

"These are available for like $1.40 a pack," he said. Nationwide, a pack of cigarettes averages $5.98, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. These products are also not subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations on flavoring and labeling products "light" or "low tar" as cigarettes are, but are just as "lethal and dangerous as cigarettes," Pechacek said. The findings were published in the CDC's Aug.

3 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Since 2008, the dramatic increase in cigar smoking and the use of pipe tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes has offset the decline in cigarette smoking, the agency says. The availability of these low-priced, less-regulated products has blunted the impact of cigarette tax increases and regulations that might have prevented kids from starting to smoke, reduced smoking overall and encouraged people to quit, the CDC says.

Missouri cigarette tax, police initiatives qualify for November ballot

Missouri's November ballot will ask voters to decide whether to increase tobacco and cigarette taxes and whether to allow St. Louis to administer its police department instead of a state commission. The separate petitions each received enough signatures to qualify for the fall ballot, the secretary of state's office reported Tuesday. But election officials concluded two others — increasing the minimum wage and limiting payday and other short-term loans — fell short. Backers for those measures said Tuesday they plan to file a legal challenge to get the initiatives before voters in November.

Under the tobacco tax ballot measure, Missouri's tax on each pack of cigarettes would increase by 73 cents with additional funds steered toward education and smoking prevention and cessation. Taxes on other tobacco products also would be increased. The measure is supported by health organizations including the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association. Missouri currently levies a cigarette tax of 17 cents per pack, and the national average is $1.46. This will be the third time in a decade that a measure seeking to increase tobacco taxes has appeared on the statewide ballot.

In 2002, Missourians defeated a 55-cent increase by roughly 31,000 votes and did the same in 2006, rejecting an 80-cent increase by about 61,000 votes. The other measure on the November ballot calls for St. Louis to oversee the city's police department instead of a Civil War-era state commission. All four initiatives required a number of signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes in 2008 governor's election from six of Missouri's nine congressional districts. That amounts to between 91,818 and 99,600 signatures, depending upon the districts targeted.

The signatures had to be turned in by early May. The secretary of state's said Tuesday that the minimum wage measure had enough signatures from four congressional districts and that the payday loan measure hit the mark in five districts. The minimum wage measure was about 1,100 signatures short in the 1st Congressional District in St. Louis and about 500 signatures short in the 3rd Congressional District near St. Louis. The lending measure was less than 300 signatures short in the 1st Congressional District. Supporters of the two measures that did not make the ballot said they remained confident enough valid signatures were submitted.

They said it appears many signatures were improperly invalidated in St. Louis. Opponents of the lending ballot measure said its review showed more signatures were invalid. The wage initiative would increase Missouri's minimum pay to $8.25 per hour starting in 2013, with an annual cost-of-living adjustment in subsequent years. If the federal minimum wage increases above that, Missouri would adopt the federal rate and apply cost-of-living adjustments to that. Voters approved a 2006 ballot measure increasing the minimum the wage to $6.50 with cost-of-living adjustments.

It also required Missouri to follow the federal minimum wage if it was higher than the state's minimum. Therefore, Missouri currently follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The lending measure would limit the annual interest rate charged on certain short-term loans to 36 percent. In 2009, the Missouri Division of Finance calculated that the average payday loan carried an average annual interest rate of 431 percent. Payday loans give borrowers money in exchange for a check that is cashed on their next payday. Some other types of short-term loans are secured by vehicle titles or other means.

Police seize alleged synthetic marijuana at adult store

State police say an adult store was selling synthetic marijuana, but the store owner claims the items were not illegal. Monday night, police seized a large amount of what they call synthetic marijuana from the Dream World Adult Store on 25E in Knox County. Store owners and customers say it was only potpourri. "I've always put it in dishes at the house to make the house smell good. Never known it to be bad or any chemical in it.

With my children at home, I have grandchildren at home, I still use it," said James Foreman. State police say they received numerous complaints the store was selling synthetic marijuana. Detectives say an undercover witness purchased the substance on Monday, which then led to the search warrant and raid at the store. Police say they also seized cash and alleged drug paraphernalia. The store owners and employees would not talk on camera at the request of their attorney. Off camera, they told WYMT they believe it was not synthetic marijuana.

They think the items were legal substances and do not believe they were possibly breaking the law. "It's a reputable business. They're not trying to break laws here. There's nothing illegal, no contraband here," Foreman said. "We won't know until it's tested at a lab to make sure it's synthetic marijuana; however, we feel that it is," said Trooper Shane Jacobs. No one was arrested. Police are waiting for the lab results on the items and then plan to take the case to a Knox County Grand Jury. The Dream World Adult Store is still open.

Parks smoking ban is heavy-handed

The Columbian editorialized July 26 ("Still deadly, still illegal") supporting the recently enacted smoking ban in Vancouver city parks, propagating the myth that this ban is "not a debate about personal liberty. It's a matter of public health." If true, why does this ban include e-cigarettes, which don't release any carcinogens into the atmosphere?

 Instead of banning smoking in parks, why not enact a reasonable ordinance creating designated smoking areas in most parks? Admittedly, some parks are too small to make this work and a total ban in those parks is realistic. I am an ex-smoker who believes that most smokers will support a reasonable attempt to regulate smoking with a designated smoking area.

 This heavy-handed ordinance is another step in the direction of the nanny state, regardless of what The Columbian says. Sooner or later, the state will come after your freedoms; witness the recent attempt by the city of San Francisco to ban male circumcision, the current attempt by the mayor of New York City to ban the sale of large-sized soft drinks, and attempts elsewhere to ban flying the U.S. flag. How many freedoms must we give up before we wake up?

Federal judge says cigarette makers' suit over FDA tobacco review panel can move forward

A challenge by two of the nation's largest cigarette makers alleging conflicts of interest in the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel's review of tobacco products can move forward, a federal judge has ruled. In an order posted Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon in Washington denied the FDA's motion to dismiss the suit filed by Lorillard Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The suit filed last year alleges financial conflict of interest and bias by several members of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee and asks the court to stop the federal agency from relying on the panel's recommendations.

The panel is tasked with advising the FDA on tobacco-related issues, including the public health impact of menthol cigarettes and dissolvable tobacco, two industry growth areas. "Because of the limited number of viewpoints on these issues, the scientific — as opposed to political — nature of those viewpoints, and the distinct responsibilities of the committee, I believe I have sufficient standards which I can evaluate the agency's discretion," Leon wrote in his order. Representatives for the FDA and R.J. Reynolds would not comment on pending litigation.

In a statement, Lorillard said: "The practice of appointing members to a government scientific advisory committee who have financial interests that violate conflict-of-interest laws and regulations should be subject to judicial review, as the court has now recognized." The FDA won the authority to regulate tobacco in 2009. The law doesn't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco, just regulate what goes into tobacco products, require the ingredients be publicized and limit how tobacco is marketed, especially to young people.

The agency's panels advise it on scientific issues. It doesn't have to follow their recommendations, but usually does. In the suit, the tobacco companies allege that the panel fails to meet the federal requirements that committee members should be fairly balanced and not inappropriately influenced by any special interest. The suit specifically alleges that some committee members have conflicts of interest because they were paid expert witnesses in anti-tobacco lawsuits and have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that make smoking-cessation products.

Md. Police, State Seize Illegal Cigarettes

More than 1,100 cartons of illegal cigarettes were seized in two separate busts by Maryland State Police and the Comptroller's Office on Wednesday. Police said two people from New Jersey, Patrick and Angela Devenny, had 483 cartons of cigarettes in their vehicle when they were stopped around 11:00 a.m. near the Maryland-Virginia state line.

The pair told police they purchased the cartons in Virginia, and were taking them to New Jersey to resell. Thirty-eight-year-old John Michael Padron, Jr., of New York was stopped by police around 5:20 p.m. on Wednesday. Police said Padron had 727 cartons of cigarettes in his van, and that he advised them he transports cigarettes from Virginia to New York about once a week.

 Police said Padron purchased the cigarettes for around $30,000 in Virginia, and the tax loss to the state of Maryland is $14,540. Earl Fowlkes, the assistant director of field enforcement for the Comptroller's Office, told WBOC Rt. 13 is a key corridor for smuggling operations in Maryland. Fowlkes also said with increased cooperation on a local, state and federal level, busts are becoming more common.

Obesity Surpasses Smoking in Terms of Ill Health Effects

This may come as a surprise to some, but data collected from over 60,000 Canadians show that obesity leads to more doctor visits than smoking. The idea that being overweight can be worse for your health than smoking is likely to make many balk, considering how "normal" it has become to carry around extra pounds, but in terms of overall health effects and subsequent health care costs, it's likely true.

The study estimates that if obesity were not a factor, doctor visits in Canada would decrease by 10 percent. The decrease would be even greater if you take into account problems related to type 2 diabetes, which is also directly related to obesity and poor diet. With the obesity epidemic putting pressure on health care systems everywhere, this news may trigger financial penalties or incentives to get people to lose weight, according to Medical News Today [1].

Ore. governor bans smoking on state office grounds

Gov. John Kitzhaber is making life tougher on state workers who smoke. Kitzhaber signed an executive order Thursday banning tobacco use on all property surrounding state offices. It's already illegal to smoke inside most Oregon workplaces, including private jobsites. The governor says tobacco use by state workers costs taxpayers millions in higher health care costs.

And he says he wants to protect employees, clients and visitors from exposure to second-hand smoke. The ban doesn't apply to college campuses or to places meant for the public, like state parks. But Kitzhaber is asking various governing boards to ban or restrict tobacco in those places, too. The order takes effect at most state worksites by the middle of next year, although prisons will have until the end of 2014.

Aegean sailor did not use marijuana during race

A crew member killed during the Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race whose remains tested positive for trace amounts of marijuana did not use the drug immediately before or during the race, a close family member said. Joseph Lester Stewart, 64, of Bradenton, Fla. — one of four sailors aboard the Aegean killed in April during the annual race — used medical marijuana on occasion to treat an injury he suffered during the Vietnam War, the relative said. The Daily Pilot agreed to a request not to publish the name of the relative who called the newspaper, but did use public records to confirm the source's identity.

The relative was angered by Tuesday's story in which the Pilot reported the results of an official toxicology report on the four sailors, which said they all tested negative for alcohol while Stewart tested positive for marijuana. The relative argued that that some readers may have wrongly assumed that Stewart abused marijuana or took it during the race. That was never the case, as Stewart avoided the drug before races, the relative said. Stewart, who won a Purple Heart for his wartime injuries, had a prescription for medical marijuana, the family member said, and only used it to treat a condition. In addition, the relative said, there's no indication that the minor amounts of the drug played any role in the maritime accident.

The relative said the family has been speaking with investigators. The Aegean was found destroyed near North Coronado Island, about 15 miles south of San Diego Bay. One theory about the 37-foot sailboat's demise is that it crashed or was pushed by waves into the small and rocky Mexican-controlled island. TheU.S. Coast Guard, however, is still investigating the incident and has not released an official cause. A representative from the Military Order of the Purple Heart said there was no master list of Purple Heart recipients and was not able to confirm whether Stewart received the medal. The Aegean's skipper, Theo Mavromatis, 49, of Redondo Beach — who was Stewart's brother-in-law — never allowed alcohol or drugs aboard his boat, the family member said.

 Stewart tested positive for cannabinoids in a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry test, which is very specific, but the level in his system likely would not have left him under the influence during the race, according to toxicologist Dr. Terence Sean McGee, who is on a panel of Los Angeles County Superior Court advisors. "All this shows is that this guy had used marijuana, but there isn't enough evidence … to put him under the influence," he said.

 The low amount of marijuana suggests that he may have ingested some in the past, McGee said. Coast Guard investigators have received the information from the San Diego County medical examiner's office, which issued the toxicology report, but could not comment on whether or not it would affect their investigation because it remains open, according to Petty Officer Henry Dunphy. The Coast Guard plans on releasing a report with its findings on the wreck in October.