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November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009 - November 19, 2009
Volume XII, Issue 33
In This Issue...
Should Marijuana Be Legalized for Recreational Use?
Capitola Library Likely to Remain on Wharf Road
Target Drops Plans for Scotts Valley Store
Marijuana Use -- Facts and Figures
Capitola Completes Wharf Repairs
Attendance Up at Santa Cruz County Fair
Lime Works Plaque Dedicated
Commission/ Board Vacancies
Call for Holiday Art & Craft Faire Vendors
Hidden Antarctic Lakes to Be Studied
Save the Salmon Fundraiser
Smart Teen Driving Classes
Think Local First Celebrates 300th Member
Auto Body Program Gives Inmates Valuable Job Skills
911
Series of Serious Crashes Plagues County
Around Aptos
Chamber Members Hear from Sheriff and Keep Abreast of Community Projects
A Rail Tale from Aptos
Business Profile
Rainbow Carpet One Combines Product Knowledge, Service and Value
Crimebeat
Crime Beat 11/06/09
Environment
Grocery and Purchase Bags May Be Outlawed
Health
So Far County Has Low Number of H1N1 Cases With More Vaccine on the Way, Clinics Are Scheduled Around County
Some Interesting Running Facts
Opinions
Celebrating the County's Investment in Live Oak and Soquel
Education in Focus -- Pajaro Schools
Postmarked 11/06/09
People
Capitola City Manager To Retire
Morton Marcus Dies
The Mid-County Post > News
Marijuana Use — Facts and Figures
Some of the studies and statistics being cited in the discussion on taxing and regulating marijuana:

• A recent World Health Organization study found that 42.4 percent of Americans have tried marijuana. That is the highest percentage of any country surveyed and compares to a 20 percent rate in the Netherlands, where the drug is legal.

• A National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggested California may be producing a whopping 38 percent of the marijuana grown in the United States. The study suggests there are an estimated 3.3 million cannabis users here, representing about 13 percent of the nation's marijuana users.

• Studies have ranked the state as the national leader in both outdoor and indoor marijuana production, with an estimated 4.2 million indoor plants valued at nearly $1.5 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.

• Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction. A number of studies have shown increased rates of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia with long-term use. More commonly accepted medical consequences from marijuana use include increased heart rate after smoking that can last three hours, a bigger concern for older users. Marijuana smoke also contains carcinogens - some 50 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

• National statistics show 872,000 arrests last year related to marijuana, 775,000 of them for possession, not sale or manufacturing — sparking some critics to suggest that the resources of the criminal justice system, including the crowded state prisons and courts, might be better used elsewhere.
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