Opioid crisis leaves Americans seeking alternative options for pain relief – and how doctors were prosecuted! – kra
This is an interesting reminder of the abject failure of our War on Drugs … opioids everywhere. But this article discusses the fast growing alternatives to pain pills, holistic medicine, with treatments like message and meditation, acupuncture hypnotism, and more.
There has been an interesting and awful consequence of this, and I am now helping some physicians who were doing just this – practicing holistic medicine. I won’t name names here, or even the state in which they were practicing, but here is what happened: they were so successful that word spread in their community, and before long they were “stealing” patients from other doctors and hospitals – the “powers that be” in their area of the state. Upset by the loss of revenue, these doctors and corporations had connections with the federal prosecutor in their district, and they got him to charge several doctors with trumped up charges, crimes! Several went to prison …. innocent doctors!
Well, Dr. L, one of the targeted doctors, found me, told me the story, and I now have both sleeves rolled up to help Dr. L get a Pardon and to address issues for some of the other doctors, and get them out of prison. The whole tale is a tragedy of “follow the money”, and when I get further into it, you’d better believe I shall try to get that federal prosecutor disbarred, and arrested if possible!
Excerpts from the Article:
After more than 700,000 overdose deaths in 20 years, Americans are sadly familiar with our nation’s opioid epidemic.
In looking to the source of the problem, experts have blamed aggressive marketing by manufacturers and over-prescribing by doctors. But according to Dr. Alexis LaPietra, chief of pain management and addiction medicine at St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson, there is another cause: forgetfulness. As a country, she says, we’ve been here before. “During the Civil War, we weren’t doing a good job of treating pain, but there was a lot of morphine, so everyone got a lot of it,” she says. “It started with soldiers, then housewives, and then the man with a headache got it. Doctors forgot the catastrophe that comes from liberal opioid prescribing.”
While opioids — narcotics such morphine and oxycodone — play an important role in treating acute, uncontrolled pain, LaPietra says, “They should be the last line of intervention in pain management. We should entertain everything else first.”
The search for a better way to treat chronic pain has led many people to turn to holistic medicine for relief. Defined by the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine as “the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person,” holistic pain management involves treating the body and mind together.
Holistic practitioners believe that while patients are free to see their regular doctors, integrating physical therapy, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture and other procedures achieves best results in a majority of cases. It’s a conclusion patients are coming to, as well; according to the National Institutes of Health, a third of Americans seek help for their health in a place that’s outside their doctor’s office, and the trend seems to be on the rise.
To diagnose and treat pain, Evan Chait, owner of Kinetic PT in Ramsey, Park Ridge and Paramus, believes in an all-of-the-above approach. A physical therapist, acupuncturist, nutritionist and herbalists, he asks clients a series of questions and puts them through simple tests looking for clues to find the source of their pain. In one, he has patients stand with their feet together and eyes closed. “The side they move to is the deficient side,” he says. “If one part of the body is out of position, the whole body is.” he says.
He also looks for poor positioning of the jaw, pelvis, shoulders and other parts of the body. “You can have pain, but the source isn’t necessarily what you think,” he says. “You might have an injury to your left shoulder, and over time, the nerve becomes sensitized, the pain grows and it travels up to your neck and down to your elbow.”
What clients put into their bodies is also important. “Arthritis doesn’t have to be painful, but if you inflame it by eating gluten, it can be,” he says.
And because one problem area often creates another, an inflamed gut might lead to a misalignment of the diaphragm.
Stress has long been recognized as a source of physical ailments including headaches, chest pains and upset stomachs. “Our bodies undergo several powerful internal changes when we are under stress,” says Dr. Sally Nazari, a psychotherapist and holistic health practitioner based in Closter. “Adrenaline pours into our bloodstream, preparing us to fight off the potential danger of the stressor, and muscles throughout the body tense in anticipation of the challenge… We generate more muscle tension than we need in most situations.”
The way to reverse this process, she says, is by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” system that slows the heart rate and relaxes muscles. “We tend to notice our tension only when the pain level increases to the point where we can no longer ignore it,” says Nazari. “Relaxation is an essential skill.” To beef up that skill, she guides clients in mindfulness meditation, which trains them to empty thoughts and breathe deeply, and progressive muscle relaxation, which calls for consciously tightening and relaxing muscle groups. Other practices that slow the body down and encourage relaxation include guided imagery (focusing on a calming image) and yoga (combining breathing techniques and meditation with movement).
Caryn Bregman, a physical therapist who owns Renaissance Physical Therapy Arts + Wellness in Montclair, helps clients get moving again after injuries and long-term pain using ice for inflammation, massage, re-positioning and take-home exercises. But she keeps her eyes open for red flags signaling that more is needed, she says.
If clients say that their pain wakes them up in the middle of the night, if they experience sustained weight loss or they’ve just had an acute sports injury, she’ll send them to a doctor for an MRI. In most cases, though, she says, it isn’t necessary.
What’s needed, she says, is “more education for patients so they’re attuned to what’s happening in their bodies, and they don’t get dependent on pain medication. Painkillers are more like band aids.”
Federal addiction treatment dollars off-limits for marijuana
This is another problem posed by the federal criminalization of marijuana. Many experts say pot can help beat opioid addiction, and all scientists agree pot is preferable to opioids for pain treatment.
Excerpts from the Article:
The U.S. government is barring federal dollars meant for opioid addiction treatment to be used on medical marijuana. The move is aimed at states that allow marijuana for medical uses, particularly those letting patients with opioid addiction use pot as a treatment, said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, whose federal agency doles out money to states for treatment programs.
“There’s zero evidence for that,” McCance-Katz said. “We felt that it was time to make it clear we did not want individuals receiving funds for treatment services to be exposed to marijuana and somehow given the impression that it’s a treatment.”
It’s the latest example of the legal standoff between federal and state governments on marijuana. While cannabis is considered an illegal drug by federal officials, 33 states allow patients, with a doctor’s approval, to use it for medical purposes. About a dozen allow recreational use, too.
The new restriction applies to the federal government’s two main grant programs for opioid treatment and an older grant program that supports state efforts to treat alcoholism and drug addiction. The rule affects billions of dollars from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Last week, federal officials held a phone call with state officials to spell out the restriction: Grant money can’t be used to directly or indirectly buy marijuana or permit treatment with pot. The rule also applies to using marijuana to treat mental health disorders.
Addiction treatment programs must document their efforts to urge patients to stop if they are currently using marijuana for mental health disorders or addiction, or the programs risk losing federal money, McCance-Katz said.
Each state decides which ailments are on their medical marijuana lists. Many allow patients, with a doctor’s approval, to use it for chronic pain and symptoms of multiple sclerosis, where there is good scientific evidence. Other states have approved health conditions with less scientific backing, like post-traumatic stress disorder or anxiety, swayed by firsthand experience from residents.
The evidence that marijuana helps some patients use fewer opioids comes from anecdotal reports or surveys of drug users, which is not the type of research that can prove cause and effect. Earlier this year, a study shot down the notion that medical marijuana laws can prevent opioid overdose deaths, challenging a favorite talking point of legal pot advocates.
Yet, the ongoing overdose crisis has caused New York, New Jersey and other states to turn to marijuana on the premise that pot “is far less risky than injecting heroin or fentanyl, so why not try it?” said Leo Beletsky, a public health policy expert at Northeastern University in Boston.
In 2018, Pennsylvania became the first state to add opioid use disorder to its medical marijuana list. Gov. Tom Wolf, in an announcement of the decision, also designated eight universities to conduct research on marijuana’s use for that and other medical conditions.
It is too early to tell if the new federal rule will affect care, said Rachel Kostelac, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. “But we will continue to monitor to ensure individuals are receiving appropriate treatment to combat the opioid epidemic.”
New Mexico, which added opioid use disorder in June, determined that no federal money was going toward marijuana-related treatment, said David Morgan, spokesman for the state’s Department of Health.
Michael Bloomberg launches Democratic presidential bid
It looks like he’s serious … in it to win it! I don’t think it is fair, wise, or reasonable to say things like “He should not buy his way in”, though that does appeal to the envy of the masses. The fact is that he is a proven DOER, with a record of success in many areas. He just happens to have a boatload of money.
You know that I suggest that money be taken out of politics ENTIRELY. We need a federal law that nobody can spend more than x amount of money ($200,000?) for any national office, whether via donations, their own money, PACs, or any other source! Citizens United is one of the MAJOR idiotic rulings of the Supreme Court! The result is obvious: money is poisoning the electoral process.
Why is this article here? Because he’s on the right track with criminal justice, and because he could beat tRump, who is such a disaster for criminal justice!
Excerpts from the Article:
Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, has formally launched a Democratic bid for president. Ending weeks of speculation, the 77-year-old former Republican announced his candidacy Sunday in a written statement posted on a campaign website describing himself as uniquely positioned to defeat President Donald Trump. He will quickly follow with a massive advertising campaign blanketing airways in key primary states across the U.S.
“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America,” Bloomberg wrote.
“We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions,” he continued. “He represents an existential threat to our country and our values. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage.”
As a centrist with deep ties to Wall Street, Bloomberg is expected to struggle among the party’s energized progressive base. He became a Democrat only last year. Yet his tremendous resources and moderate profile could be appealing in a primary contest that has become, above all, a quest to find the person best-positioned to deny Trump a second term next November.
Forbes ranked Bloomberg as the 11th-richest person in the world last year with a net worth of roughly $50 billion. Trump, by contrast, was ranked 259th with a net worth of just over $3 billion. His businesses — among them are financial data services and news services in various formats — employ more than 19,000 people in 69 countries. They are also certain to raise ethical questions about how his news-oriented businesses will cover the campaign and financial conflicts of interest for a possible presidency.
Already, Bloomberg has vowed to spend at least $150 million of his fortune on various pieces of a 2020 campaign, including more than $100 million for internet ads attacking Trump, between $15 million and $20 million on a voter registration drive largely targeting minority voters, and more than $30 million on an initial round of television ads.
He did not say how much he would be willing to spend overall on his presidential ambitions, but senior adviser Howard Wolfson did: “Whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump.”
Wolfson also said that Bloomberg would not accept a single political donation for his campaign or take a salary should he become president.
Even before the announcement was final, Democratic rivals like Bernie Sanders pounced on Bloomberg’s plans to rely on his personal fortune. “We do not believe that billionaires have the right to buy elections,” Sanders said as he campaigned in New Hampshire on Sunday. He continued: “That is why multibillionaires like Mr. Bloomberg are not going to get very far in this election.”
Elizabeth Warren, another leading progressive candidate, also slammed Bloomberg on Saturday for trying to buy the presidency. “I understand that rich people are going to have more shoes than the rest of us, they’re going to have more cars than the rest of us, they’re going to have more houses,” she said after a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire. “But they don’t get a bigger share of democracy, especially in a Democratic primary. We need to be doing the face-to-face work that lifts every voice.”
Bloomberg does not speak in his announcement video, which casts him as a successful businessman who came from humble roots and ultimately “put his money where his heart is” to effect change on the top policy issues of the day — gun violence, climate change, immigration and equality, among them.
Bloomberg has devoted tens of millions of dollars to pursue his policy priorities in recent years, producing measurable progress in cities and states across America. He has helped shutter 282 coal plants in the United States and organized a coalition of American cities on track to cut 75 million metric tons of carbon emissions by 2025.
Still, he has endeared himself to many of the nation’s mayors, having made huge investments to help train local officials and encouraging them to take action on climate, guns and immigration in particular.
Bloomberg plans to bypass the first four states on the primary calendar — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — and focus instead on the crush of states that vote on Super Tuesday and beyond. It’s a strategy that acknowledges the limitations of entering the race at this late stage and the opportunities afforded by his vast personal wealth.
He explored a run earlier this year, too, but decided there was no path with establishment-favorite Joe Biden in the race. Biden’s perceived weakness, along with the rise of progressive firebrand Warren, convinced him to reconsider.
Biden, lone top 2020 Democrat to oppose federal marijuana legalization, cites ‘gateway drug’ concern – With Letter to Editor – kra PUBLISHED
UPDATE: My Letter was PUBLISHED on page 4 of the Delaware State News of 11/25/19.
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Wow. He lost my vote! I have known Joe Biden since we both were young lawyers in Delaware in the ’70s, and I used to think he’d be ok for president, with all the experience he got as Obama’s VP. Not anymore.
He says that his concern is that marijuana needs more research because he thinks it a “gateway drug”. That opinion is ill-informed, outdated, and flat-out harmful to many citizens. He says things like: “there has not been nearly enough evidence acquired as to whether or not it’s a gateway drug.” Absurd! Marijuana probably is the most studied drug – legal or illegal – on the planet!
At this point we are well aware of some of its significant medicinal benefits, which is why 33 states and D.C. allow medical marijuana! We also know that it damages growing brain cells, so it should not be allowed for minors. I have read literally thousands of reports and articles about marijuana, and there is not one credible report that it is a “gateway drug”! Not one! Yet it is classified by federal law right in there with heroin and other killer drugs! That law is nothing less than insane, and should be changed… the very change Biden says he opposes.
To his credit, Biden says things like “anyone incarcerated for marijuana should be released and criminal records should be expunged of any marijuana charges”. But this, along with his opposition to legalization, just makes him look like and old-time politician, “talking out of both sides of his mouth”, trying to please everyone!
READ my Letter, Below!
Excerpts from the Article:
Former Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that more study is needed to determine whether marijuana is “a gateway drug,” making him the only one of the leading Democratic presidential primary candidates to oppose legalization on the federal level.
Biden – who said in 2010, “I still believe it’s a gateway drug,” and “legalization is a mistake” – was asked at a town hall in Las Vegas if his position had changed.
“No, it hasn’t changed,” Biden said. He explained that although he supports allowing states to determine their own marijuana policies, “the truth of the matter is, there has not been nearly enough evidence acquired as to whether or not it’s a gateway drug.”
Though Biden opposes legalization on the federal level, he said anyone incarcerated for marijuana should be released and criminal records should be expunged of any marijuana charges. He supports removing marijuana from the list of Schedule 1 drugs, which says it has no medical use, to Schedule III, which would make it easier to research.
Biden’s stance contrasts with most other Democratic candidates who seek the nomination from voters who heavily favor legalization. According to a poll from the Pew Research Center that was released Thursday, 78% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say marijuana should be legal.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed to legalize marijuana by executive order in his first 100 days if he is elected president. Sanders is a co-sponsor of a bill, along with fellow 2020 candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Michael Bennet, that would make marijuana legal and expunge criminal records.
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who acknowledged last month that he used pot a “handful of times a long time ago,” favors total legalization and the expungement of records. He opposes incarceration for the possession of any drug.
Eleven states and the District of Columbia have approved the use of recreational marijuana, and 33 states allow the use of medical marijuana. Fifteen states have decriminalized marijuana possession.
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Letter to the Editor or Commentary/ Op Ed Submission – 11/21/19 – Biden is greatly off base about Marijuana – kra
Wow. He lost my vote! I have known Joe Biden since we both were young lawyers in Delaware in the ’70s, and I used to think he’d be ok for president, with all the experience he got as Obama’s VP. Not anymore, due to his stance on federal marijuana law!
He says that his concern is that marijuana needs more research because he thinks it a “gateway drug”. That opinion is ill-informed, outdated, and flat-out harmful to many citizens. He says things like: “there has not been nearly enough evidence acquired as to whether or not it’s a gateway drug.” Absurd! Marijuana probably is the most studied drug – legal or illegal – on the planet!
At this point we are well aware of some of its significant medicinal benefits, which is why 33 states and D.C. allow medical marijuana! We also know that it damages growing brain cells, so it should not be allowed for minors. I have read literally thousands of reports and articles about marijuana, and there is not one credible report that it is a “gateway drug”! Not one! Yet it is classified by federal law right in there with heroin and other killer drugs! That law is nothing less than insane, and should be changed… the very change Biden says he opposes.
To his credit, Biden says things like “anyone incarcerated for marijuana should be released and criminal records should be expunged of any marijuana charges”. But this, along with his opposition to legalization, just makes him look like an old-time politician, “talking out of both sides of his mouth”, trying to please everyone!
The federal criminalization of pot is a cause of much injustice ( federal law enforcement agencies continue to imprison thousands of people for possession of marijuana!) , and it wreaks havoc with laws and policies in states with legal marijuana. The situation is so crazy that governments are trying to dance around those problems with measures like “Safe Banking Acts”! It’s nuts … a very costly mistake!
And the revenue! Colorado alone now takes in more than a BILLION dollars annually from taxing marijuana! It has taken in more than $6 billion in total sales of cannabis since the birth of the new industry — over $6.5 billion at the end of May, according to just-released monthly data from the state, and created tens of thousands of new jobs. And that is just one state!
Yes, we need more study of the benefits and drawbacks of pot, now greatly hindered by its federal criminalization (research hospitals and universities are afraid their employees may be arrested), but there is nothing to show that pot is a gateway drug!
Joe! Don’t do this to yourself! Change your stance on this important issue!
Ken Abraham, founder of Citizens for Criminal JUSTICE, former Deputy Attorney General, Dover, DE 302-423-4067
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I get lots of letters published, and ghost write for others. The keys to getting your Letter published are:
1. Keep it to 250 words or fewer.
2. Do not make it about “poor little old me”. Describe the problem as one which not only affects the individual, but is a senseless or ineffective measure, policy, or law which also harms communities and society. For example, with reentry, the obstacles make it unnecessarily difficult for the individual, but also harm society by making it hard to become productive, spending money and paying taxes in the community, and they cause increased recidivism = increased crime.
3. Speak from your heart.
4. Google any facts you are not sure about.
5. Do not name-call.
Do what works: Write that Letter! 🙂
…………
Letter to Editor – sign name, town, state, and your phone number (they often call to verify that you sent it), and “Member of Citizens for Criminal JUSTICE” if you like – shows you are part of a large group.
Send the email to yourself, and put on the “bcc” bar the email addresses for Letters to the Editor for the top ten newspapers in your state and several national ones – The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, U S A Today (google the Letter to Editor email addresses). Any questions, CALL me at 302-423-4067! 🙂
Need a Letter on some criminal justice issue and not a great letter writer? NO EXCUSE! Email me a rough draft and call me and I’ll polish it up! kenabraham3138@gmail.com .
Colorado passes $1 billion in marijuana state revenue – Super! – kra
Get with it, every state without legal pot! Colorado has made A BILLION $$$$ from taxing pot! That is HUGE! 🙂
Excerpts from the Article:
Colorado has now generated more than $1 billion in total state revenue from the legal marijuana industry, another milestone for the state that legalized cannabis in 2014.
Colorado already has posted some big numbers: More than $6 billion in total sales of cannabis since the birth of the new industry — over $6.5 billion at the end of May, according to just-released monthly data from the state. And the state’s revenue from adult-use marijuana sales has accelerated.
April and May were the two highest-grossing months in the five-year history of the new industry, with Colorado revenue reaching its highest monthly take ever in April (which includes the 420 holiday), at roughly $24.2 million. The state’s legal marijuana sales revenue doubling from the $500 million mark to $1 billion ($1,017,120,136 exactly) took under two years, while getting to $500 million took close to three and a half years. Since July 2017, Colorado total monthly tax and fee revenue from marijuana sales has never dipped below $20 million. In February 2014, the first month with sales tracking data, total state revenue was $3.5 million.
At CNBC’s recent Net Net event held in Denver on May 1, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said, “It’s going very well. … It’s creating tens of thousands of jobs, tax revenue for the state, filling up buildings for landlords and reducing crime. … Although I like to tell my peer governors in other states ‘It’s not going well, don’t do it.’ There is obviously more advantage to us when we are all a little bit more special, and obviously more and more states are moving in this direction.”
Illinois recently became the 11th U.S. state to approve cannabis for recreational adult use, joining the state of Washington, Alaska, Colorado, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, Michigan and Nevada. Washington, D.C., also has legal marijuana sales. The Illinois law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Illinois became the second state after Vermont to legalize marijuana through its legislature rather than a voter referendum. Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker endorsed the policy as a way to help shore up a state that is in fiscal crisis. His budget proposal for the year starting July includes an estimated $170 million from the sale of marijuana producer licenses.
More than 30 states already have medical marijuana use.
Recreational marijuana was legalized by California voters in November 2016, but its marijuana industry is struggling to compete with the black market and is facing challenges that include banking access and high taxes. Last month the California governor’s new state budget plan slashed cannabis tax revenue projections by $223 million.
Lack of access to banking options led California’s senate to approve state-chartered cannabis banks to help the industry get around restrictions on access to banking services. The federal government also is considering the SAFE Banking Act.
Colorado Gov. Polis told CNBC’s Scott Cohn that its first mover advantage in the cannabis business will be key to developing a much broader economic engine for the state than just tax revenue on marijuana sales. “We are always going to be relatively small potatoes on the actual sales. … We are just not going to be as big as states like California or New Jersey. … We want to make sure that 10 years from now, point-of-sales systems, chemistry, genetics — all those pieces — are housed here in Colorado with successful companies that power a multibillion national industry.”
Colorado has 2,917 licensed marijuana businesses and 41,076 individuals who are licensed to work in the industry.
More than 30 states already have medical marijuana use.
Recreational marijuana was legalized by California voters in November 2016, but its marijuana industry is struggling to compete with the black market and is facing challenges that include banking access and high taxes. Last month the California governor’s new state budget plan slashed cannabis tax revenue projections by $223 million.
Support the Delaware ACLU – and the ACLU in YOUR Area! – kra
All of these are good ideas, and badly needed to curb injustice.
Just Announced:
2020 Legislative Priorities for the Coalition for Smart Justice
We made historic progress in criminal justice reform this year. From expanding access to second chances to reforming the drug code and more, there’s a lot to be proud of! But our work isn’t done yet. You helped us get this far, so we wanted you to be the first to know about our priorities for the 2020 half of this legislative session.
Next year, we’ll be tackling these key issues:
Fines, Fees & Drivers’ License Suspensions
We want to end the criminalization of poverty that traps people in a punitive cycle by allowing the court to consider a person’s ability to pay court fines and fees, and ending the practice of automatic suspension of drivers’ licenses where someone is unable to pay.
Data Collection & Transparency – Collect and publish data to understand racial disparities, measure policy impacts and inform better policy choices.
Sentencing Reform – Eliminate most mandatory minimums and expand opportunities for sentence modification and early release.
Pretrial Reform – Reduce the number of people in prison before they’ve been convicted of a crime and ensure fairness through the pre-trial process from arrest to trial.
Probation Reform – End the revolving door to prison by implementing post-release policies that promote success after incarceration.
Treating Children as Children – House all children in juvenile facilities and increase the minimum age at which children can be prosecuted criminally.
Stay up-to-date on our work by following us on Twitter and Facebook, and keeping an eye out for emails as they come through.
We can’t wait to make more history with you as we continue to work toward our goal of ending mass incarceration and challenging the racial disparities in Delaware’s criminal justice system!
ACLU: 302-654-5326 ext. 106, 100 W. 10th Street, Suite 706, Wilmington, DE, 19801
www.aclu-de.org
My Little Statue Tells the Sad Tale! – kra
Just read so many of the articles on my website, field just a few of the calls I get every week, to realize the sad truth of My Little Statue, below!
Raise some hell about it. Here is How: READ Practical Tip – Get Empowered! How YOU Can Create a Powerful, Effective Force for Reform of our Criminal Justice System
Oklahoma Set to Release 462 Inmates Monday in Largest-Ever Single-Day U.S. Mass Commutation – Grrrrrreat! – kra
ALL states should be doing this, for it will greatly reduce prison costs, and make us safer! Voters approved a state question in 2016 that made simple drug possession and low-level property crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies. Stitt signed a bill earlier this year that applied those sentences retroactively.
And there need not be a public vote! The Governor’s office can take the initiative and make it happen!
Excerpts from the Article:
Oklahoma will release more than 400 inmates after a state panel approved what they say is the largest single-day mass commutation in U.S. history.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board unanimously approved the commutations Friday, and Gov. Kevin Stitt said his office would process the recommendations for final approval. The 462 inmates are expected to leave prison Monday.
Voters approved a state question in 2016 that made simple drug possession and low-level property crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies. Stitt signed a bill earlier this year that applied those sentences retroactively.
Pardon and Parole board head Steve Bickley says the mass release is the most on one day since former President Barack Obama commuted the drug sentences of 330 federal prisoners on his last day in office.
Child, 11, injests heroin, suffers heart attack
Wise up, America! End the war on drugs! Every day we see an article about some “major” drug bust, and yet the flow of poison onto our streets is not slowed by one kilo, or one pill! What a waste of money and police resources!
We continue to read about deaths and disasters, like the one which befell an 11-year-old!
READ – I remember when the system worked well; justice nearly always was the result. Today it is a total train wreck – perhaps the most vivid manifestation is that we are imprisoning hundreds of innocent people every year. This is WHY it is a train wreck!
Excerpts from the Article:
An 11-year-old was hospitalized after unknowingly ingesting heroin received from a school friend earlier in the day, authorities said Friday. The child went into cardiac arrest Monday night at a home in Millsboro and was transported to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, according to police. The youth’s updated condition was not immediately available Friday.
According to Delaware State Police spokeswoman Master Cpl Melissa Jaffe, arriving troopers found several small bags of heroin in the child’s pocket and 30 bags were located. Police were dispatched to the 2700 block of Pot of Gold Circle at approximately 9:12 p.m.
Investigation determined that the juvenile received an unknown substance at Laurel Elementary School. The friend had located an Altoids container in a vehicle when driven to school by his stepmother, and opened it to find a concealed and unknown substance eventually given to victim, police said.
The vehicle was owned by Gilbert M. Dickerson, whose Little Creek Apartments home was subsequently searched by DSP and Laurel Police, Cpl. Jaffe said. Approximately 65 bags of heroin weighing .455 grams were found, authorities said.
Three children ages 13, 12 and 6 were present in the time, police said. No updated status was immediately available Friday.
Mr. Dickerson was taken to Troop 4 and charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, first-degree reckless endangering (two counts), and allowing a child to remain in a place with dangerous drug activity (three counts).
Following arraignment at Justice of the Peace Court, Mr. Dickerson was released on $10,500 unsecured bond.
School staff was unaware of the exchange at Laurel ES and administrators cooperated fully with police once notified “and helped ensure that this event was an isolated incident,” Cpl. Jaffe said.
Dover Interfaith (DIMH) searching for new home for the homeless … With Letter to Editor
It was my great good fortune to land at DIMH when I was released from prison on 2/2/12. Fortunately, I was a resident there for only 3 months, because my first social security check enabled me to get an apartment. But I volunteered there for months, then I was hired as staff part-time for a couple of years. With all of my other work, I had to give up that part-time staff job, but I still volunteer there and I counsel their residents and former residents every week. Why do I devote time to DIMH? Because it is a fantastic homeless shelter, which makes a huge difference in the lives of those it serves and in Central Delaware!
With the work I do, I have learned much about many homeless shelters and their services, and DIMH truly is the best of its kind “either side of the Mississippi”!
Ms. Jeanine Kleimo and Herb Konowitz, the co-founders, have assembled a top-notch staff to help the homeless in so many ways!
Since my time living there, DIMH has built the Resource Center – it helps the homeless living on the streets, as well as DIMH residents – on the Forest Street property, has 7 transition housing properties, and has purchased a property in Felton to help the homeless who are on the sex offender registry. But now they must relocate the heart of their operations, the Forest Street facilities.
When we help the homeless, we help our communities in many ways. Ms. Kleimo has the statistics to prove that an investment in DIMH yields a ten fold return on investment! So, if you can help them relocate, don’t just sit there! Call them at 302-736-3600 to make a donation or donate your prime piece of land! 🙂
Excerpts from the Article:
The Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing’s lease at its property at 684 Forest St. is scheduled to run out in 2020, which has city of Dover officials and members of the Downtown Dover Partnership keeping their collective eyes open to help find a new home for the nonprofit organization.
The Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing serves as a shelter and transitional home for homeless men. It serves around 36 men year-round and has helped more than 1,000 since the program’s inception in 2008, with more than 700 of them obtaining permanent employment in the community. Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen said it’s a priority for the city to help find a new home for the organization, currently located at the intersection of Forest Street and Railroad Avenue in a building owned by the DDP.
The mayor said there have been serious discussions in bringing a light industrial company to the current site of DIMH, which would bring jobs to the downtown area.
“I think it’s really important for us to continue to work with Interfaith to continue their mission of helping the homeless move to permanent housing and jobs and just to be taken off the street and deal with the issues that they have to deal with,” Mayor Christiansen said. “I think we have a responsibility to participate in their relocation effort because we, as the Downtown Partnership and the city of Dover, granted them a lease for the initial property.
“I think it’s only fair for us to help find them a new place. Their lease ends in 2020, but there are provisions for it to be extended for a year. At this point we’d really like to have something in place and the sooner the better – so all parties know what’s going to happen.”
Mike Harrington, a board member of the DDP, said DIMH has identified three possible sites for relocation. “I think we all recognize the fact that the lease is running out and we’re trying to do everything we can to relocate it,” Mr. Harrington said. “The highlights of what the committee is looking at is one (property) at 630 West Division Street that’s quite a large property that is owned by Crossroads Christian Church. It’s probably too much property for them and it’s probably not the best location (downtown), so they’re not looking at that very much.
“The other two locations are on Walker Road. One is the (former) St. John’s Lutheran School, which is vacant and a very large 6,000 square foot building. Across the street is the Everett Building, at 1151 Walker Road. We have prices on both of those buildings, and we have offered, but we haven’t signed the offer.”
The positives with the two proposed sites off Walker Road are that ancillary services could be located near the locations, which could help move the homeless population away from the downtown area.
Todd Stonesifer asked Mr. Harrington if they have looked outside of the city for a possible new location. “If we expand the footprint of where we’re looking, we might find more possibilities that might be more cost effective,” Mr. Stonesifer said. Mr. Harrington replied that it would be difficult to move the men outside of the city because they need transportation to get to jobs and services.
“We’ve not looked outside the city of Dover,” Mr. Harrington said. “The Interfaith Mission group has purchased some properties outside of the city of Dover, down near Felton. They purchased an abandoned hotel down there and it seems to be working rather well.
“But being sympathetic to the people that occupy (DIMH), they need to have transportation to get food and things like that.”
That is a big concern, considering the volunteer organization is made up of more than 1,000 volunteers who serve 12,000 meals per year at no cost.
The Whole Story:
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Letter to the Editor – Lend a Hand! 10/28/19
It was my great good fortune to land at DIMH when I was released from prison on 2/2/12. Fortunately, I was a resident there for only 3 months, because my first social security check enabled me to get an apartment. But I volunteered there for months, then I was hired as staff part-time for a couple of years. With all of my other work, I had to give up that part-time staff job, but I still volunteer there and I counsel their residents and former residents every week. Why do I devote time to DIMH? Because it is a fantastic homeless shelter, which makes a huge difference in the lives of those it serves and in Central Delaware!
With the work I do, I have learned much about many homeless shelters and their services, and DIMH truly is the best of its kind “either side of the Mississippi”!
Ms. Jeanine Kleimo and Herb Konowitz, the co-founders, have assembled a top-notch staff to help the homeless in so many ways!
Since my time living there, DIMH has built the Resource Center – it helps the homeless living on the streets, as well as DIMH residents – on the Forest Street property, has 7 transition housing properties, and has purchased a property in Felton to help the homeless who are on the sex offender registry. But now they must relocate the heart of their operations, the Forest Street facilities.
When we help the homeless, we help our communities in many ways. Ms. Kleimo has the statistics to prove that an investment in DIMH yields a ten fold return on investment! So, if you can help them relocate, don’t just sit there! Call them at 302-736-3600 to make a donation or donate your prime piece of land!
Ken Abraham, former Deputy Attorney General, founder of Citizens for Criminal JUSTICE, Dover, DE 302-423-4067
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