Category Archives: Public

Public Info

2/3 of DUIs in CO Test Positive for Marijuana

For Immediate Release:

August 10, 2018

Contact: Justin Luke Riley

New Report: Two-Thirds of DUIs in Colorado Test Positive for Marijuana

More than half admit marijuana use within two hours of getting behind the wheel

(Denver, CO) – In one of the most concerning developments to date, a published report by the state of Colorado found that in 2016, about 73% of some 4,000 drivers charged with driving under the influence tested positive for marijuana. The report, by the Division of Criminal Justice, also revealed that half of the drivers who tested positive were over the legal limit of THC in their blood. That’s the psychoactive compound found in pot. And 53 percent admit they smoked marijuana within two hours of getting behind the wheel.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and affiliate Marijuana Accountability Coalition (MAC) stand in firm opposition to the industry’s lies about marijuana’s effects and incessant promotion of their highly potent products. With 77% pot shops in Colorado already recommending pot to pregnant mothers, this is just one more reason why legalizing the recreational use of marijuana was a step in the wrong direction.

“I have read thousands of research reports over the last 25 years – and this one is one of the most alarming,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, founder and president of SAM. “To make matters worse, marijuana impairment is most likely underrepresented in data due to the fact that it is so hard to gauge. Other states considering legalization must pump the breaks and take note of such damning reports.”

Since legalization in Colorado, the marijuana industry has created a whole host of issuesincluding the targeting of minorities and children, workforce problems, a thriving black market, and increased poison control center calls and emergency room visits.

“Each day, the marijuana industry in Colorado gives the rest of the nation one more lesson to learn from,” said Justin Luke Riley, founder of the MAC – a marijuana industry watchdog in Colorado. “The MAC will continue to work to shine a light where Big Marijuana doesn’t want it shown.”

www.MarijuanaAccountability.co

www.learnaboutsam.org

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Sentencing Guidelines’ Possibly Modifying Policy

Dear Criminal Justice Stakeholders, Meeting Notice Subscribers, and Commission Members:

The Chair of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission is requesting input from various criminal justice stakeholders regarding the pros and cons of adopting one or more possible modifications to the Sentencing Guidelines’ criminal history score policy. For further explanation and details, please refer to the memo to stakeholders here.

The next MSGC meeting will take place in St. Paul on September 13, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. If you have input, please provide it to us at the meeting. (If you wish to speak at the meeting, Staff requests that you send us advance notice by e-mail at sentencing.guidelines@state.mn.us.) If you have written comment for the Commission, please submit it to MSGC staff by e-mail or U.S. mail by September 5, 2018.

Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission

658 Cedar Street, Suite G-58, St. Paul, MN 55155

Main: 651-296-0144 | mn.gov/sentencing-guidelines

Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Public Comment Period

From: MN_DHS_Opioid
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2017 1:00 PM
Subject: Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Public Comment Period *** Comments accepted until December 30, 2017 at 4 pm

Good Afternoon,

As many of you are aware, the complete set of opioid prescribing recommendations developed under the DHS Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program was announced on Friday, December 1. The draft prescribing recommendations are available on the Opioid Prescribing Work Group web site here or at https://mn.gov/dhs/opwg. I have also attached the guidance for your review and distribution.

DHS is accepting public comments on the prescribing guidelines until 4 pm on December 30, 2017. Please distribute the guidance to members of your communities or networks who are interested in this topic.

DHS will collect comments and respond to questions about the guidance during the public comment period. After the public comment period, the Opioid Prescribing Work Group will review the comments submitted and determine whether to make changes to the recommendations. Revisions are subject to approval from the commissioners of Human Services and Health.

DHS may post public comments on its website, but will not post comments it finds to be inappropriate or comments that contain confidential information. Comments that contain confidential information may be posted, however, if the confidential information is redacted.

Comments may be submitted to this email address: dhs.opioid@state.mn.gov or by mail to the address below.

Minnesota Department of Human Services
Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program
PO Box 64983
St. Paul, MN 55164-0983

Thank you,

Sarah

Sarah Rinn, MPH

OPIP Coordinator | Health Care Administration

Minnesota Department of Human Services

Toll of the failed Colorado experiment

Five years later, Colorado sees toll of pot legalization

Published: Tuesday, November 14, 2017 | Colorado Springs Gazette Opinion

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of Colorado’s decision to sanction the world’s first anything-goes commercial pot trade.

Five years later, we remain an embarrassing cautionary tale.

Visitors to Colorado remark about a new agricultural smell, the wafting odor of pot as they drive near warehouse grow operations along Denver freeways. Residential neighborhoods throughout Colorado Springs reek of marijuana, as producers fill rental homes with plants.

Five years of retail pot coincide with five years of a homelessness growth rate that ranks among the highest rates in the country. Directors of homeless shelters, and people who live on the streets, tell us homeless substance abusers migrate here for easy access to pot.

Five years of Big Marijuana ushered in a doubling in the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana, based on research by the pro-legalization Denver Post.

Five years of commercial pot have been five years of more marijuana in schools than teachers and administrators ever feared.

“An investigation by Education News Colorado, Solutions and the I-News Network shows drug violations reported by Colorado’s K-12 schools have increased 45 percent in the past four years, even as the combined number of all other violations has fallen,” explains an expose on escalating pot use in schools by Rocky Mountain PBS in late 2016.

The investigation found an increase in high school drug violations of 71 percent since legalization. School suspensions for drugs increased 45 percent.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found Colorado ranks first in the country for marijuana use among teens, scoring well above the national average.

The only good news to celebrate on this anniversary is the dawn of another organization to push back against Big Marijuana’s threat to kids, teens and young adults.

The Marijuana Accountability Coalition formed Nov. 6 in Denver and will establish satellites throughout the state. It resulted from discussions among recovery professionals, parents, physicians and others concerned with the long-term effects of a commercial industry profiteering off of substance abuse.

“It’s one thing to decriminalize marijuana, it’s an entirely different thing to legalize an industry that has commercialized a drug that is devastating our kids and devastating whole communities,” said coalition founder Justin Luke Riley. “Coloradans need to know, other states need to know, that Colorado is suffering from massive normalization and commercialization of this drug which has resulted in Colorado being the number one state for youth drug use in the country. Kids are being expelled at higher rates, and more road deaths tied to pot have resulted since legalization.”

Commercial pot’s five-year anniversary is an odious occasion for those who want safer streets, healthier kids and less suffering associated with substance abuse. Experts say the worst effects of widespread pot use will culminate over decades. If so, we can only imagine the somber nature of Big Marijuana’s 25th birthday.

  • — Colorado Springs Gazette