The RECORD

By Mike Hein

Heath proclaims "major victory" for decent Mainers

Article 11, a proposed ordinance seeking to effectively decriminalize marijuana-related offenses, was soundly voted down this past weekend at the annual West Paris Town Meeting. The vote itself has been officially reported by the Town Moderator, Vern Maxfield, at zero votes in favor of the article offered by the fledgling Maine Marijuana Policy Initiative. Others in attendance report that as many as a dozen town residents voted for the article, but there is a consensus that approximately 80 votes were recorded in opposition to the measure.

The news of this lopsided defeat was greeted gleefully by both the League and by West Paris-area pastors. League Executive Director Mike Heath proclaimed, "This is a major victory for decent, law-abiding Mainers. The League has fought vice like this for 110 years, and although this stunning vote is heartening, we must remain vigilant in our temperance efforts." Heath nostalgically concluded, "I am confident that somewhere in Heaven, Ben Bubar is smiling his famous smile [about this]." Ben Bubar, Jr. was the League's leader for over three decades until 1984, and was a prominent national and local leader in the drug and alcohol temperance movement.

Local pastors echoed Heath's sentiments. Pastor Bruce Tyner leads the First Baptist Church in neighboring Rumford and attended the town meeting as a resident of West Paris. "I was really happy that our town refused to give [the initiative's leader] a platform for notoriety. The vote in opposition to his speaking was as one-sided as the final vote," said Pastor Tyner the day of the meeting. "It's good to be a citizen of West Paris today." Pastor Dallas Henry, who leads Hosanna New Testament Church in neighboring Oxford, said, "The purpose behind this initiative was to do the same thing that the homosexual movement has done [in Maine] in the past, which is to normalize immoral behavior, in this case, marijuana smoking. The West Paris voters were not fooled by this effort by out-of-towners. It is encouraging to see people stand up for what is good, right, and proper."

West Paris resident Sandra Poland stated succinctly the thoughts of the community at the town meeting, "This is wrong for our children and wrong for the town."

The first-of-its-kind pro-pot idea was met with significant local mainstream media attention when first announced late last year. As recently as two days before the town meeting was held, Cape Elizabeth columnist and erstwhile pundit Jim Brunelle was arguing in favor of the legalization of marijuana in Maine and this ordinance. Brunelle wrote on March 1, This ordinance' passage could send a small message to Augusta that there is grassroots sentiment in Maine for pot law reform and that the issue needs to be discussed seriously at the state level.

"It seems that the good people of West Paris have clearly spoken," maintained Heath, "and they have strongly voted on the side of law enforcement and the Biblical principle of temperance. It seems also that they have rejected the elite leftist arguments of people like Brunelle for the legalization of harmful drugs like marijuana. This small town in Maine has sent a message alright, but not the message that the dope peddlers and their apologists wanted."

The MMPI has stated publicly that it is targeting Maine towns to push local ordinances that make marijuana criminal offenses the "lowest law enforcement priority in town." The towns of Sumner, Paris, and Farmington are their current focus regarding the effective decriminalization of these drug offenses. Sumner is scheduled to have a public hearing on March 27 regarding a proposed ordinance of this nature, followed by a possible town vote on the proposed ordinance this June.

By Michael Heath

While the police were training at the Augusta airport this week a man approached them and surrendered a bag of marijuana and a pipe. He was on his way back to New York and spied the police and police dogs in the terminal as he was headed for his plane. He feared that the dogs would sniff his drugs so he surrendered them to the Police. They did nothing.

The District Attorney told the Kennebec Journal there were "no grounds for arrest." Really? There is no law against possesion of drugs in Maine? Of course there is. The man was afraid of getting caught for a reason. He was afraid because we are a nation of laws that get prosecuted. In this case the man walked away without discipline. That is like telling your kids not to do something over and over, but never enforcing consequences.

Now, I am not real familiar with the intricacies of the law here so I'll readily admit that maybe the police were right not to detain the man, under the law. Maybe his mom was dying and he was rushing to her deathbed. I don't have all the details. The League has been an outspoken supporter of law enforcement since the ministry was created in 1897. I am, therefore, reluctant to be too critical here.

It seems to me that the man should at least have received some kind of ticket, a fine of some sort.

I think it should be said that a poor example was set by whoever was in charge of the training, and the wrong message was sent to the students who were being trained. The District Attorney came to the defense of local police saying, "The Augusta Police Department is a first-rate law enforcement outfit that always exercises proper discretion."

According to the District Attorney a "$350 default judgment" is imposed on individuals for possession of marijuana in Maine. This individual was not prosecuted because the police didn't even write up a ticket, or do whatever it is they do to begin a prosecution. They simply let him go reasoning that since he was an out-of-stater he wouldn't pay the fine anyway. This reasoning isn't fair to anyone. The only laws that should be on our books should be laws that we are willing to enforce.

The Kennebec Journal newsman who wrote the story observed, "Should a Maine resident get caught with a small amount of marijuana at the Augusta Civic Center, he or she is likely to receive a court summons and be charged with a civil violation."

While I'm sure the District Attorney is correct about the Augusta Police Department being "first rate," this incident makes one wonder about the discretion exercised by both the Department and the D.A. in this matter.

UMaine News Release
Contact: Jennifer Crittenden

ORONO A recently completed study by the UMaine Center on Aging on alcohol and drug problems among older adults in Hancock County has revealed that abuse is pervasive and getting worse as Baby Boomers age.

The center found through a year-long study that as drug and alcohol problems are increasing among older Mainers, particularly in rural Hancock County, they are poised to become worse as a new generation of boomers, aged 40-60, joins an existing older population already afflicted by substance abuse.

The study, conducted for the Maine Office of Substance Abuse and in partnership with the Healthy Hancock Collaborative, further confirmed what researchers had discovered in previous studies that many older people suffering from alcohol and drug problems go unnoticed if they routinely drink at home alone. Also, some people may not think about how much they are drinking on a daily basis. For example, someone who has a glass of wine with dinner and a night cap later in the evening would be exceeding federally recommended limits on alcohol consumption.

"They are not getting arrested for OUI and they're not getting treatment in large numbers, signs that otherwise would underscore the social and health consequences of this disease," says Jennifer Crittenden, research associate with the Center on Aging. "We're having a really hard time identifying numbers because with older adults, the abuse issues are really hidden."

The study will form a foundation for a more ambitious approach to prevention and treatment work that would be carried out by the Center on Aging, Healthy Hancock Collaborative members in their communities, in addition to physicians, social workers and others who work with aging adults...

On a more positive note, Crittenden says that while many older adults deny they have substance abuse problems and tend to reject professional intervention, members of the boomer generation may be more willing to seek help. Traditionally more liberal attitudes about drugs and alcohol among many boomers, which in some cases leads to addiction problems, also extend to their attitudes about counseling, therapy and seeking help.