11-12-2024  12:43 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

In Portland, Political Outsider Keith Wilson Elected Mayor After Homelessness-focused Race

Wilson, a Portland native and CEO of a trucking company, ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year of taking office.

‘Black Friday’ Screening Honors Black Portlanders, Encourages Sense of Belonging

The second annual event will be held Nov. 8 at the Hollywood Theatre.

Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson Wins Governor’s Race in Washington

Ferguson came to national prominence by repeatedly suing the administration of former President Donald Trump, including bringing the lawsuit that blocked Trump’s initial travel ban on citizens of several majority Muslim nations. 

African American Alliance On Homeownership Turns 25, Honors The Skanner Cofounder Bernie Foster

AAAH's executive director Cheryl Roberts recalls how the efforts of Bernie Foster led to an organization that now offers one-on-one counseling for prospective home buyers, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention services, estate planning, assistance with down payments and more.

NEWS BRIEFS

Janelle Bynum Statement on Her Victory in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District

"I am proud to be the first – but not the last – Black Member of Congress from Oregon" ...

Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11: Honoring a Legacy of Loyalty and Service and Expanding Benefits for Washington Veterans

Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) is pleased to share the Veterans Day Proclamation and highlight the various...

Nkenge Harmon Johnson honored with PCUN’s Cipriano Ferrel Award

Harmon Johnson recognized for civil rights work in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest ...

Volunteers of America Oregon Announces Retirement CEO, Kay Toran

Toran's tenure at VOA Oregon is marked by decades of dedicated public service in the State of Oregon and unwavering commitment to...

AP Top 25: Oregon remains No. 1 as Big Ten grabs 4 of top 5 spots; Georgia, Miami out of top 10

Oregon was the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the fourth straight week on Sunday as Penn State and Indiana climbed into the top five, Georgia and Miami dropped out of the top 10 and losses by four other ranked teams shuffled the rankings with a month left in the...

Man accused of stabbing at least 5 people in Seattle ordered held on [scripts/homepage/home.php]M bail

SEATTLE (AP) — A 37-year-old man who police say stabbed five people in Seattle in broad daylight Friday and possibly four others the day before made his first court appearance Saturday where a judge ordered him held on [scripts/homepage/home.php] million bail. “People who live in and travel to the...

Grill makes 8 3s, scores career-high 33 points to lead Missouri over Eastern Washington 84-77

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Caleb Grill matched a career best with eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 33 points to lead Missouri to an 84-77 victory over Eastern Washington on Monday night. Grill, who missed Missouri's final 23 games last season with a wrist injury, shot 10 of 13...

Missouri hosts Eastern Washington following Cook's 25-point game

Eastern Washington Eagles (1-1) at Missouri Tigers (1-1) Columbia, Missouri; Monday, 7 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Tigers -18.5; over/under is 155.5 BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Washington visits Missouri after Andrew Cook scored 25 points in Eastern...

OPINION

Why Not Voting Could Deprioritize Black Communities

President Biden’s Justice40 initiative ensures that 40% of federal investment benefits flow to disadvantaged communities, addressing deep-seated inequities. ...

The Skanner News 2024 Presidential Endorsement

It will come as no surprise that we strongly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ...

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer: 2025 Social Security COLA lowest in 10 years

As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is...

The Skanner Endorsements: Oregon State and Local Ballot Measures

Ballots are now being mailed out for this very important election. Election Day is November 5. Ballots must be received or mailed with a valid postmark by 8 p.m. Election Day. View The Skanner's ballot measure endorsements. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Officer injured at Ferguson protest shows improvement, transferred to rehab

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who was badly injured during a protest on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death was moved to a rehabilitation hospital Tuesday, still not speaking but showing significant improvement, according to a family friend. More...

Man jailed after Tuskegee University shooting says he fired his gun, but denies shooting at anyone

A man accused of having a machine gun at Tuskegee University during a hail of gunfire that left one man dead and at least 16 others hurt told a federal agent that he fired his weapon during the shooting, but denied aiming at anyone. The new details are contained in a newly unsealed...

French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal that will increase South American imports

PARIS (AP) — French farmers protested Tuesday against a trade deal that would increase agricultural imports from South America, saying it hurt their livelihoods. The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, reached an...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 17-23

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 17-23: Nov. 17: Singer-songwriter Bob Gaudio of The Four Seasons is 83. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 82. Actor Lauren Hutton is 81. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 80. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels is 80. Actor Stephen...

Movie Review: In Andrea Arnold's 'Bird,' a gritty fairy tale doesn't take flight

“Is it too real for ya?” blares in the background of Andrea Arnold’s latest film, “Bird,” a 12-year-old Bailey (Nykiya Adams) rides with her shirtless, tattoo-covered dad, Bug (Barry Keoghan), on his electric scooter past scenes of poverty in working-class Kent. The song’s...

After 20 years of acting, ‘My Old Ass’ filmmaker Megan Park finds her groove behind the camera

Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs. She didn’t set out to make a tearjerker with “My Old Ass,” now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Church of England head Justin Welby resigns over handling of sex abuse scandal

LONDON (AP) — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the...

Imprisoned Belarus activist resurfaces after no contact with her family for 20 months

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Imprisoned Belarusian opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova has resurfaced after more...

STD epidemic slows as new syphilis and gonorrhea cases fall in US

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia...

Ghana's Supreme Court restores ruling party's parliamentary majority ahead of Dec. 7 election

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s Supreme Court restored the ruling party’s majority in the parliament on Tuesday...

Middle East latest: US won't halt any weapons to Israel over Gaza humanitarian aid situation

Eight international aid groups said Tuesday that Israel has failed to meet U.S. demands for greater humanitarian...

Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees million, holds contractor responsible

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A U.S. jury on Tuesday awarded million to three former detainees of Iraq's notorious...

Rafael Romo Senior Latin American Affairs Editor

(CNN) -- We found him in the foggy mountains of central Chile, near the town of Aguila Sur, conducting a ritual at dusk with two assistants.
Dr. Milton Flores, 58, is not the leader of a religious sect or underground cult. He's a psychiatrist who's unusual in many respects. But in this South American country, it's his crusade to legalize marijuana that has earned him notoriety.
When asked to describe marijuana, he says it's "a tool and a medicine." Flores has used cannabis for years to treat patients with different conditions, including depression and anxiety.
> He also admits he has smoked pot since he was 14.

Flores is Chile's main advocate for the legalization of marijuana and similar drugs including peyote, ayahuasca and San Pedro. Flores and other experts call these drugs entheogens. They're all psychoactive plants that were used in Latin America by shamans and healers in religious ceremonies well before the arrival of European conquerors in the 16th century.

Flores' main contention with these drugs' illegal status is that the state gains nothing by criminalizing individuals who use them for medicinal or spiritual purposes the way he does.

"Cannabis is neither good nor bad," he says. "Its use can be appropriate or inappropriate. It's a tool that can have very significant effects."
Throughout his career, the psychiatrist has spoken publicly about his position regarding these drugs. He's gone to great lengths to make his point.
His property has been raided twice by Chilean authorities.
In March, police confiscated several marijuana plants at his mountain retreat. His case went all the way up to the Chilean Supreme Court, but it was dismissed on a technicality. More recently, Flores was found guilty of growing 116 plants of marijuana on his property in Aguila Sur; he was sentenced last week to 541 days, or more than 18 months, of probation.
"There's no willingness to hear the pleas of a citizen who decides to exercise his freedom of conscience and his freedom to grow what is sacred to care for his life," Flores told CNN. "This to me is the most serious violation that has become evident [by this ruling]."
Not surprisingly, Flores has a significant number of fans among young Chileans, including Oscar Bustamante, a 27-year-old student at the University of Chile in Santiago.
"Consuming marijuana, whatever the reason, is totally and absolutely a personal choice and should not be banned as long as the individual doesn't harm anybody else," Bustamante says.
Some Chilean politicians are sympathetic to Flores' cause.

A few years ago, a government minister acknowledged he smoked marijuana. Some senators and representatives followed suit. And even though smoking marijuana no longer has the stigma it once had, and smoking it is rarely prosecuted, the country still bans the production, sale, distribution and large-scale possession of marijuana.

The Chilean government is getting pressure from two sides.
On the one hand, countries such as the United States and Colombia favor a tough, law-enforcement approach on drugs. On the other hand, liberal politicians advocate making a distinction between public health and national security when it comes to dealing with drugs.
It's a debate that leaders in the United States and other South American countries know well.
Uruguayan legislators have been arguing for nearly a year over a bill that would legalize marijuana. The bill would give the Uruguayan government the power to regulate the production, sale and distribution of marijuana. Leftist President Jose Mujica is said to favor the legislation.
Former Latin American presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Vicente Fox of Mexico have all publicly spoken in favor of legalizing not only marijuana, but several other drugs. The war on drugs, Fox told CNN in November, "costs a lot of money. It costs a lot of lives and blood; it costs a lot of foreign investment lost, a lot of tourism that we have lost in Mexico."

Its effectiveness, the former president says, is questionable at best and countries should take a public health approach to the drug problem.
Patricio Navia, a Chilean-born professor of liberal studies at New York University, says a growing number of legislators in his country favor the idea of decriminalizing marijuana so law enforcement can concentrate efforts on more addictive drugs such as crack.
"The drug problem in Chile has to do with crack," Navia says. "Among the low-income population, crack is the biggest problem that's associated with crime. People who smoke marijuana don't go and assault other people in order to get more money to keep on smoking marijuana."
Flores' biggest fan is, perhaps, his own daughter.
Carola Flores-Fernandez, a 33-year-old anthropology doctoral student at the University of California-Santa Barbara, says her father's crusade has opened an important national debate on drugs -- a topic that used to be taboo.

"I'm very proud, and I think it's something that is slowly changing the perspective of many people in different levels in this country," Flores-Fernandez says.
Back at his mountain retreat near Aguila Sur, Flores says he's no longer growing marijuana, although he keeps small plants of San Pedro and ayahuasca.
His hope is that his crusade will allow him to grow and consume these drugs without fear in the near future.

 

LINKED STORIES
Smoke Clears for Attitudes on Pot, Voters Respond
Elections: Colorado Passes Marijuana Tax and Portland Maine Legalizes Marijuana
Should Marijuana Be Legal? Better People Will Host Discussion Thursday Oct. 3, 2013
Retail Marijuana Stores? in Washington, More Than 300 May Set Up Shop
Video Christie Seeks Changes in New Jersey Medical Marijuana Bill
Chilean Psychiatrist Leads Crusade to Legalize Marijuana
Uruaguay: House Passes Law to Legalize Marijuana
Policy Group Highlights Relative Safety of Marijuana in Comparison to Alcohol
Marijuana Advocates Hope to Rise from 'Prohibition'
Video: Marijuana Use Legal? Voters in Oregon, Colorado and Washington Will Decide
Decriminalization Documentary Extols Virtues of Legalizing Marijuana
Federal Laws on Medical Marijuana -- Science or Hypocrisy?
Legal Marijuana Could Yield Billions in Taxes

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