cannabisnews.com: Vigil To Honor Children Lost To Drug Abuse










  Vigil To Honor Children Lost To Drug Abuse

Posted by CN Staff on June 07, 2006 at 22:15:58 PT
By Keyonna Summers, The Washington Times 
Source: Washington Times 

Washington, DC -- The telephone call that forever changed Therese Pelicano's life came in the middle of the night two years ago. "The police have called, and Dominic is gone," Ms. Pelicano recalls her ex-husband saying to her on the phone about their 23-year-old son.   "It's like your life stops," the Damascus resident says of her son's fatal heroin overdose May 11, 2004. "I didn't believe it, and I just wanted to see him. It's hard even now. It has been two years, and a part of me now doesn't believe it." 
Ms. Pelicano, 51, is among an estimated 600 parents from across the country who will attend the "Vigil for a Lost Promise" tonight in Arlington, where victims of drug abuse will be honored by their families during a candlelight ceremony.   For the first time, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is teaming up with other agencies and drug prevention groups to hold the vigil, which will feature music, photographs and speeches. It is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at 700 Army Navy Drive in Arlington.   Catherine Harnett, chief of DEA's Demand Reduction Office, said the issue of drug abuse is often reduced to statistics.   "One of the purposes of the vigil is to really bring to light the fact that ... drug abuse is a problem that is not limited to any particular socioeconomic class or neighborhood," she said.   There appears to be no central agency that collects information on drug-related deaths, but a 2004 report in Journal of the American Medical Association showed that an estimated 17,000 people in the U.S. died from illicit drug use in 2000.   The Office of National Drug Control Policy indicates that more than 800 drug-induced deaths were reported in Maryland in 2003, and the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported 498 drug-caused deaths in 2004.   Statistics were not available for the District.   The vigil will focus on deaths by substances such as alcohol, inhalants and prescription medicine and by illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana.   Parents and specialists say victims of drug abuse face a stigma: Police and other parents sometimes feel less sympathetic because the victims had made a conscious choice to take the drugs that cost them their lives.   "I belong to a support group for people who have lost children, but sometimes it's difficult even in that environment because someone will say, 'My son was a good kid and he never did drugs,' " Ms. Pelicano said. "My son was a good kid and he did do drugs, and that addiction is a disease and I don't want people to think less of that."   Dominic was an aspiring artist and a senior who was on the dean's list at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore. He grappled with anxiety and mental health issues since childhood, began using marijuana in high school and battled addiction to doctor-prescribed medications, Ms. Pelicano said.   A mugging the night before his death likely prompted Dominic to ingest a liquid mixture of heroin and methadone to calm his nerves, she said.   "He was self-medicating and under treatment and was supposed to enter rehab. He told me he knew this problem was bigger than he was," Ms. Pelicano said.   Some of Dominic's artwork and his father's band, in which Dominic was a guitarist, will be displayed tonight.   Joyce Nalepka, president of the Silver Spring-based Drug Free Kids: America's Challenge, said she hopes the vigil will urge families to connect and form local support groups.   "We need national leadership," said Miss Nalepka, who also is an advocate of student drug-testing and family involvement with children to prevent drug use.     Source: Washington Times (DC)Author: Keyonna Summers, The Washington TimesPublished: January 8, 2006Copyright: 2006 News World Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.washtimes.com/Contact: letters washingtontimes.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Tom and Rollie Memorial Pagehttp://freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htm A Searing Portrait of Abusehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21336.shtmlFamily Files Lawsuit in Rainbow Deathhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17896.shtml

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Comment #35 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 22:19:13 PT
Whig
I agree. I am so glad we met. What a way to end the day watching the Muppets. Manamana to you! LOL!
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Comment #34 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 22:11:01 PT
Better wavelength
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4668196322523357460
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Comment #33 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 21:52:02 PT
FoM
You understand because we're sharing a wavelength. It's pretty cool to be able to do that at a distance.The getting together in person and talking thing is really good, and I know Toker00's coming up to visit with you in a few months too. Hopefully I'll be meeting Max when we get out to the left coast. As we get to know one another in person we will understand each other better when we talk here too.You really started something, FoM. This is your home and you've made it good.
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 21:42:55 PT
whig 
Why do I understand? I do though. 
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 21:32:43 PT
Toker00 
Oh I HOPE too!
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Comment #30 posted by Toker00 on June 08, 2006 at 21:28:09 PT
FoM
I'm not surprised they canceled Houston. Country music is very BIG here. There are lots and lots of beer swilling blind patriots around. But I am sorry to hear they canceled anywhere, really. Souders state wasn't much of a shock. If they support Souder for re-election, what does that tell you about the people? They are the home of the most rabid drug warrior in history. They must all be infected by his madness.That's ok, Chicks. I'm ashamed that Bush is from Texas too. And I'm no where near ready to make nice, either. Oh, and...I HOPE.Toke.   
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Comment #29 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 21:15:36 PT
Seriousness
It's hard not to be serious especially when we think about how things are and who is running the country now. I don't think it's crystal clear enough for people.What kind of so-called Christians are these in the Republican Party? The kind that would burn a cross in your yard. They are racists, they are nativists, they are hateful people. They are the current, cleaned up and friendly incarnation of the Confederacy, the former Ku Klux Klan, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC), they are now the Republican Party.That's your Christian spirit. Antichrist. Hatred. Obedience. Slavery. They will RALLY this year on the issue of "Illegal Immigration." That is their issue. They are going to run AGAINST the White House. They are going to try to hold on to the Congress on THIS issue.Check their own websites. They are broadcasting this on every frequency.http://www.cofcc.org/This is the KKK. This is the KKK. This is the KKK. They are just renamed. Kinder and gentler. Compassionate killers.
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 19:36:53 PT
Whig
Yes we are serious a lot these days. I want to laugh and be happy but it's hard. People in our country are getting very angry and I can't ever figure out what tomorrow might bring. It's serious like it was back in September of 01. 
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Comment #27 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 19:29:31 PT
FoM
We're so serious here all the time.We should have some humor once in awhile.Here's something: Pot brownies cause munchies.
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Comment #26 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 19:21:07 PT
FoM
I don't know either but there may be something to the Pfizer thing. One thing he did say to me was that Pfizer was the lifeblood of their city. I didn't even bring up cannabis with him because I just had a weird feeling that it wouldn't be constructive even when he asked me what would work better than the pharamacuticals for people. I don't know if it was just something in his eyes, because this was before he started talking about mass murder. He told me that people should be free to take Vioxx and such things because I don't realize how much it helps some people and they are willing to take that risk to be free of pain. Even though I know they don't have to risk their life to treat pain.Weird. Once he got into killing all the Muslims I thought he was joking. I really did. He said he was a redneck and proud. I still thought he was joking. He wasn't. Eventually I just had to walk away.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 18:53:51 PT
whig
I don't know what sets off people like that. Muslims are human beings. They have bad people but they also have good people. Not all Americans are bad people even though most of the world thinks we have gone off the deep end.
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Comment #24 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 18:48:43 PT
FoM
I got into a discussion last weekend with a guy from Indianapolis. He was reasonable sounding for awhile, and then he went nutzo and started talking about killing every single Muslim. Maybe it is the drugs in the water but if not I don't know what makes people that bloodthirsty. He even said he wasn't religious, there was no identifiable belief behind it except some kind of madness.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 18:41:40 PT
whig
That must be right. I was looking at their tour schedule and only the three I mentioned are canceled. I ask Stick why Indianapolis. They have Souder and don't like what the Dixie Chicks have to say. Stick said it's probably all the drugs in the water from Pfizer or one of those drug companies. That made me laugh.
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Comment #22 posted by whig on June 08, 2006 at 18:32:43 PT
Chicks
They pissed off the Confederacy, I guess. Not going to win them back either, but it's no big loss. They'll make it up in the long run.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 18:29:51 PT
Toker00
The Dixie Chicks are canceling some tour dates because of lack of sales. One city is Houston and Nashville and Indianapolis I think. What I would like to see is for the Dixie Chicks to join CSNY at one of the concerts. That would welcome them in to their new world very nicely. They are Chicks without a country.
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Comment #20 posted by ekim on June 08, 2006 at 18:02:45 PT
Pete at www.drugwarrant.com has story on vigil
Jun 17 06 Texas LEAP Members Gathering and Hootenanny 10:00 AM Fort Worth Texas USA 
 LEAP will host the first Texas Gathering and Hootenanny at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel at 200 Main St in Ft Worth Texas in the Live Oak 5 Room. The meeting is free and open to all LEAP members. This one day workshop will introduce members to Texas Speaker as well as provide elementary training in public speaking, working with the media and booking LEAP speakers. Learn what you can do to help LEAP in Texas by attending this important event. www.leap.cc/events/ 
http://www.drugwarrant.com
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Comment #19 posted by mayan on June 08, 2006 at 17:24:33 PT
THC Deaths - 0, WOsD Deaths -Countless
How about a vigil to honor children killed by the war on some drugs?Al-Zarqawi? You mean the guy who couldn't even fire his own weapon? Only 40 + dead in Iraq since we got him. Mission accomplished.Pentagon Jettisons US Agent Provocateur Al-Zarqawi:
Musab dies for the umpteenth time but this time its for real says the US government!
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/june2006/080606alzarqawi.htmBush's televised gloating over Zarqawi backfires: 
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2006/06/bushs-televised-gloating-over-zarqawi.html
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 14:24:54 PT
Toker00
Don't tell your wife! LOL! I guess it's ok if I prefer Neil though! LOL!
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Comment #17 posted by Toker00 on June 08, 2006 at 14:22:01 PT
FoM
LWW. I took my NY DC cds to work and played them for the guys. They were more interested in the Dixie Chicks than Neil, but hey, so was I. lol. I love women being bad. I mean ZZ Top Bad. Texas Bad. I have fallen in love with the Dixie Chicks and don't know what to tell my wife. ;)Zarqawi. How many more in the wings just waiting to lead the Jihad against America? But I'm sure Bush's approval rating will start rising again. Thank God it will only be a temporary spike. The NEO Fascist Republicans have got to go. I'm more worried about the Drug War Jihadists than any Arabic terrorist, huh, Kapt.?Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #16 posted by b4daylight on June 08, 2006 at 10:57:20 PT
wtf
2004 report in Journal of the American Medical Association showed that an estimated 17,000 people in the U.S. died from illicit drug use in 2000.I think this shows how ill-logical our government is when they address illicit drug use. /in the real world we call these priorities not morals. keep in mind 42,000 people died from the automobile every year. Yet look at the contrast of the two issues. I could ramble on a whole essay of facts, opinions, and real life case studies and at the end you would be surprised to find out why there is no war on the auto.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 09:46:28 PT
Afterburner and Storm Crow
Get cannabis out of the black market and into the free market! I sure agree!
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Comment #14 posted by runderwo on June 08, 2006 at 09:44:50 PT
children
Funny how this is used as an excuse to prop up prohibition. This will get everyone riled up about doing something about "drugs" - especially when they drag in marijuana for no particular reason - but the real problem is that teens have access to these things before they can make appropriate decisions regarding their use. Why do teens have access to them? Let's think about that for a minute.Also, I am curious, are there any recorded pre-prohibition heroin overdose deaths? I wonder if having instructions on the bottle regarding dosage contributed to safe usage at all.
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Comment #13 posted by afterburner on June 08, 2006 at 09:39:57 PT
Free Market: Dig It, 'Market-Driven' Conservatives
"Cannabis doesn't kill, but our insane prohibition surely killed my friends. We need to get cannabis out of the black market and into the free market." --Storm CrowI don't know of any of my friends who were killed by prohibition, but many have been driven to alcoholism. Some committed suicide, which we now know can be induced by some pharmaceuticals. Prohibition may have been a factor. My brother, however, did lose friends, killed by prohibition. 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 09:33:25 PT
Toker00
When I turned on the news and saw them showing that guys dead body I got so upset. I hate war. Now all hell will break loose. More people will get on board to fight us. I want them to arrest these people but not kill them. Bring them to trial. We are going to visit the Wall on Saturday night. I am listening to LWW. I am so glad I don't live in an area where they use swat teams. We don't have a serious drug problem around this area thankfully.
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Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on June 08, 2006 at 09:14:07 PT
Good point Hope.
There could be an entire movement based on the damage prohibition has done to "the children". Many are Fatherless and Motherless on both sides of the war because the Prohibians won't listen to the truth, simply because it wasn't their idea. Simply because we cannabists are the ones speaking it. They are giving hardheadedness a very bad name.Playing LWW. Pure Neil.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 08:58:41 PT
My Thoughts On Victims of The Drug War
 Tom and Rollie and Jonathan Magbie were killed over marijuana. Drugs can kill people but marijuana has never killed anyone. What a sin. Tom and Rollie Memorial Page:
http://freedomtoexhale.com/rb.htmA Searing Portrait of Abuse:
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21336.shtmlFamily Files Lawsuit in Rainbow Death:
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17896.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on June 08, 2006 at 08:51:29 PT
Children Lost to Prohibition
Children lost to drugs is sad. Children killed and orphaned by prohibitionists is even sadder.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on June 08, 2006 at 08:16:10 PT
Lying for their big vigil...
"The vigil will focus on deaths by substances such as alcohol, inhalants and prescription medicine and by illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and MARIJUANA."Of course they mean something different and slightly "adjusted" to suit their agenda. "...deaths by substances."If they have to lie about it...maybe they should take it off the agenda. Also they might mention that if it were legally obtainable and not a crime to use, the heroin and cocaine overdoses would likely not have happened. But they won't mention that.What about Esequial Hernandaz, Charity and Veronica Bowers, and that fourteen year old girl they mowed down in the streets of Houston?Pete Guither's Vigil for Lost Promisehttp://www.vigilforlostpromise.org/ makes a lot more sense.The DEA may be fooling those parents and families with their spiel...but they aren't fooling me...it's a propaganda and promotion of their agency stunt.They are using the lost to keep up their profitable jobs while contributing to the loss of more and more.What about a Vigil for Lost Promise for all those lost in automobile accidents. What about a vigil for all the kids that have died of influenza or leukemia, or other cancers over the years?Self serving hypocrites is what they are.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 07:48:45 PT
I Muted The TV and Turned on Living With War
LIVING WITH WARI'm living with war everydayI'm living with war in my heart everydayI'm living with war right nowhttp://www.human-highway.org/lyrics/lyrics-47.html#002
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 07:32:08 PT

Just a Note
Storm Crow I removed the extra post. I am only mentioning it because comment 4 is missing and people wonder where it went.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 08, 2006 at 07:29:07 PT

I Turned On the News
They are showing us the dead body of Al-Zarqawi. Our news has really gotten bad to show dead people like they do.
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Comment #3 posted by Storm Crow on June 08, 2006 at 06:52:45 PT

Cannabis is nontoxic, but.....
Way back in 1969(?), the US government came up with "Operation Intercept" which closed down the Mexican border. During the weeks that the border was virtually closed to all traffic, the pot supply dried up totally. Many of the kids I knew, turned to speed and downers as a substitute. Quite a few of them didn't quit their substitute drug when the pot returned. I lost friends then, to drug induced madness and death due to overdoses. Cannabis doesn't kill, but our insane prohibition surely killed my friends. We need to get cannabis out of the black market and into the free market. By removing the cannabis market from the black market, we remove the exposure to other, more harmful, drugs. Who would pay half the price of gold for flowers they could grow in a window box? Legalize it!
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on June 08, 2006 at 06:50:40 PT

C-Span web site will carry this conference
Progressive ideas for the Dem party. Somewhere there has to be a site to blog on Cannabis reform. Does anyone have info on this conference and how to effect change.http://www.dailykos.com/http://www.yearlykos.org/billed as uniting the netroots. yearly convention in Las Vegas now -june 11.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #1 posted by Marc Paquette on June 08, 2006 at 02:37:09 PT:

Who ever died from Marijuana?
"The vigil will focus on deaths by substances such as alcohol, inhalants and prescription medicine and by illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana." But who exactly died from "marijuana" when this medicinal herb is non-toxic?There isn't "1" medical authority in this world who can prove that marijuana ever killed in over 5,000 years of medicinal history!Marc
http://medpot.net/forums
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