DRUG BUSTS

CLERGY SUPPORT LEGALIZED MARIJUANA IN NEVADA

ED VOGEL, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL - Sister Toni Woodson believes
Nevada's marijuana laws encourage criminal activity. The Roman Catholic
nun, who lives in Henderson, would like to see those laws replaced with
a system in which the state regulates sales of marijuana. Such a change
would remove the drug from the criminal market and restrict sales to
adults older than 21, she said. . . Woodson was among religious leaders
endorsing on Tuesday the ballot question that would allow adults to
possess and use up to one ounce of marijuana. A total of 32 ministers,
rabbis and other members of the Nevada clergy signed statements saying
they support Question 7, the Committee to Regulate and Control
Marijuana's initiative to establish a state-regulated system in which
marijuana would be grown by licensed farmers, sold in state-approved
stores and taxed by the state. . .

The Rev. Ivan Gunderman, senior pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Las
Vegas, who did not attend the news conference but was among those
endorsing the measure, said in an interview that the penalties for using
marijuana are far worse than the offense merits.. . . Gunderman said he
knows people suffering serious illnesses who needed marijuana as
medication. He said they did not qualify for the state's medical
marijuana program, so they were forced to acquire it illegally and
technically become criminals. . . A poll commissioned by the
Review-Journal last month found 42 percent of voters back Question 7,
while 51 percent oppose it and 7 percent are undecided.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Oct-04-Wed-2006/news/10029627.html


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LOCAL HEROES: SENIOR LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS REFUSE DRUG TESTS

KAREN VOYLES, GAINESVILLE SUN, FL - Levy County's public libraries are
struggling to get books checked out or reshelved because retirees who
usually handle many of those chores have balked at a requirement that
they "pee in a cup" as part of a mandatory drug test for all county
volunteers. . . The situation has gotten to the point where the pool of
55 volunteers has dwindled to two and the number of hours worked by
volunteers in the county's five libraries plunged from 330 in September
2005 to 11 this September, according to county library records. None of
the former volunteers contacted by The Sun wanted to be publicly
identified in a story about drug-testing.

"A large part of the problem is how the test is administered - it is an
affront to some people's dignity, especially people who grew up in
another generation," said the county's library director, Bonnie
Tollefson. Most of the volunteers are between the ages of 60 and 85.
Under the county's year-old contract with First Lab, all drug tests are
done on urine samples that are collected in plastic cups while a lab
employee stands within hearing distance of the person providing the
sample. County officials said they realize that some people may find the
test intrusive.

"But our public risk management insurance says we should treat
volunteers no differently that any other employees," said Levy County
Coordinator Fred Moody. . .

Additionally, the volunteers were initially told they needed to drive to
Gainesville to provide a urine sample at a specific medical laboratory.

"And I told them that the only way I am going to be driven into
Gainesville these days is in an ambulance," said a former volunteer.
"When you get to be my age, driving in that much traffic is a hazard to
me and everybody around me."

To overcome the transportation concerns, the county arranged for the
testing to be done at each of the county's five public libraries later
this month.

Moody said that when the county signed the contract with First Lab to
provide drug-testing a year ago, urine samples were the only means
considered.

voylesk@gvillesun.com

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006210070330

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