HORNELL –A town hall meeting on the facts about the use of marijuana as a remedy for physical and emotional ailments is set for 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Hornell High School auditorium, 134 Seneca St. "While there are limited appropriate uses of medical marijuana, there are unlimited claims to its ‘remedying’ of many illness and emotional disturbances," said Dr. Mary Nobilski, medical director of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (SCASAS). "But crime rates, impaired driving, collision claims and emergency room poisonings can be measured with increasing sales of products containing marijuana. Unfortunately, the data regarding marijuana use points to a crisis for all ages and sales especially target youth populations." With increasing efforts across the nation to legalize marijuana, people's perceptions of the effect of pot are changing, according to Keith Hoffman, SCASAS senior counselor and onsite supervisor (Hornell). "People view marijuana as less harmful than other drugs or even harmless, believing since it grows naturally there should not be any issue with smoking it, Hoffman said. "But even if grown in a natural state other substances can easily be added to it and are. Marijuana can have things like Fentanyl or other illegal substances placed on it when it is packaged for sale to make it more potent to entice the user to buy from that substance dealer again." Adults pass their perceptions of marijuana’s harmlessness onto younger generations, unaware it is more potent, he said. "I would say that we see people at our clinic, who struggle to abstain from cannabis use, people who are able to readily quit using other substances that are perceived as 'harder' drugs such as heroin," Hoffman said. "These folks themselves are frustrated because they thought marijuana was harmless. Now they wonder why they cannot stop using it or struggling to abstain if it is indeed so harmless." Keynote speaker for the event will be Jennifer Faringer, director of the DePaul National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Rochester Area. City of Hornell Mayor Buckley will introduce speakers at the event, which is hosted by Hornell High School. Participants in the Feb. 28 town hall meeting also include Nobilski and KeithHoffman, Susan Hooker, from Hornell Area Concern for Youth, Norman McCumiskey, Steuben Prevention Coalition program coordinator and Jim Bassage of the Steuben Council on Addictions.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Hornell Town Hall meeting on marijuana set for Feb. 28
HORNELL –A town hall meeting on the facts about the use of marijuana as a remedy for physical and emotional ailments is set for 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Hornell High School auditorium, 134 Seneca St. "While there are limited appropriate uses of medical marijuana, there are unlimited claims to its ‘remedying’ of many illness and emotional disturbances," said Dr. Mary Nobilski, medical director of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (SCASAS). "But crime rates, impaired driving, collision claims and emergency room poisonings can be measured with increasing sales of products containing marijuana. Unfortunately, the data regarding marijuana use points to a crisis for all ages and sales especially target youth populations." With increasing efforts across the nation to legalize marijuana, people's perceptions of the effect of pot are changing, according to Keith Hoffman, SCASAS senior counselor and onsite supervisor (Hornell). "People view marijuana as less harmful than other drugs or even harmless, believing since it grows naturally there should not be any issue with smoking it, Hoffman said. "But even if grown in a natural state other substances can easily be added to it and are. Marijuana can have things like Fentanyl or other illegal substances placed on it when it is packaged for sale to make it more potent to entice the user to buy from that substance dealer again." Adults pass their perceptions of marijuana’s harmlessness onto younger generations, unaware it is more potent, he said. "I would say that we see people at our clinic, who struggle to abstain from cannabis use, people who are able to readily quit using other substances that are perceived as 'harder' drugs such as heroin," Hoffman said. "These folks themselves are frustrated because they thought marijuana was harmless. Now they wonder why they cannot stop using it or struggling to abstain if it is indeed so harmless." Keynote speaker for the event will be Jennifer Faringer, director of the DePaul National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Rochester Area. City of Hornell Mayor Buckley will introduce speakers at the event, which is hosted by Hornell High School. Participants in the Feb. 28 town hall meeting also include Nobilski and KeithHoffman, Susan Hooker, from Hornell Area Concern for Youth, Norman McCumiskey, Steuben Prevention Coalition program coordinator and Jim Bassage of the Steuben Council on Addictions.
