Operation Dragon Foundation - Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

April 8, 2011 Arctic Warrior B-9
At the movies
For recorded show and movie times, call 428-1200 or visit the Army and Air Force Exchange Services website at www.aafes.com. Movies are subject to change without notice.
Admission: Adults $4, children $2. Information provided courtesy of AAFES.
Now playing
GNOMEO AND
JULIET
Rated: G
Playing: Saturday at 7
p.m.
Run time: 84 minutes
Starring: James McAvoy,
Emily Blunt, Ashley Jensen,
Michael Caine
Garden gnomes Gnomeo
(voice of James
McAvoy) and Juliet
(voice of Emily Blunt)
have as many obstacles
to overcome as their quasi
namesakes when they
are caught up in a feud
between neighbors in this
William Shakespeareinspired
romp.
But with plastic pink
flamingos and lawnmower
races in the mix, can this
young couple find lasting
happiness?
Now playing
JUSTIN BIEBER:
NEVER SAY
NEVER
Rated: G
Playing: Sunday at 6 p.m.
Run time: 105 minutes
Starring: Justin Bieber
As Justin Bieber himself
explains, “Everyone thinks
this is going to be another 3D
concert movie, but it’s anything
but that. It’s a story of
how my family, friends and
the fans helped me get here
and everyday are helping me
live an impossible dream.”
Bieber plays himself in
his life story. The biopic is
sprinkled with performances
from his current concert tour.
Spice, salvia don’t mix with military service
By Airman 1st Class Jack Sanders
JBER PAO
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
leadership hosted meetings
on March 28 and 29 to promote
knowledge about the newly illegal
substances, ‘Spice’ and salvia, or
salvia divinorum.
The meetings were voluntary
and open to all Department of
Defense ID-card holders.
“We wanted to make it available
to family members across our
base community… and set this up
across our joint base both on the
Richardson side and the Elmendorf
side,” said Air Force Col. Robert
Evans, 673d Air Base Wing commander.
“We made it available to
everyone and we encouraged folks
to attend.”
Evans said one meeting was
in the evening in hopes of capturing
family members who might
otherwise not have been available
during the day.
As of March 1, 2011, the use
of Spice violates federal law since
it is now considered a Schedule 1
substance.
According to the Drug Enforcment
Agency website, salvia
divinorum and salvinorin-A, the
active chemical in the plant, are
not currently controlled under the
Controlled Substances Act. However,
a number of states – and the
military – have placed controls on
the substances.
“With the DEA putting this
under Schedule 1 controlled substance
(status) means that under
the (Uniform Code of Military
Justice) now it could be prosecuted
under Article 112A, which covers
wrongful use and possession of
a controlled substance such as a
drug. In the past, it was prosecuted
under Article 92, which is violation
of a lawful order,” said Todd Sherwood,
an Air Force Reservist and
attorney who spoke at the meeting.
“On JBER, there are courts-martial
pending for this stuff.”
Spice is unlike other drugs
like marijuana for several reasons.
Sometimes it’s seen as clean or
untraceable, since it was legal.
However, it can have chemicals
in it that are hundreds of times
more potent than marijuana’s main
chemical THC – some as high as
800 times more potent, Sherwood
said.
“You can have unbelievably
physical and dangerous reactions
to this,” he said. “… (Spice) is
frequently smoked, but sometimes
it’s put in food, so just how you
hear about marijuana in brownies,
(people) will do the same thing.
So, don’t go to a party where you
don’t know the people well and you
don’t know who has brought which
items. You don’t want to get caught
saying, ‘Well it must have been
something I ate. That must be why
I was positive in this drug test.’”
Identifying the substances isn’t
hard, Sherwood said.
“They come in small packages
and are twice the price of pot, so
there’s big money to be made in
this,” said Sherwood.
“The chemical (in Spice) is a
powder, but they mix it with liquid
and spray it onto (plant material),
and the reason this stuff is so potent
at times is because they don’t
have any quality control with this,”
he said.
“This is totally inconsistent
because they spray it on in a tub
and they mix it up from time to
time. The herb that’s sitting on the
bottom is going to get a lot more of
the chemical than the stuff sitting
on the top.”
Sherwood said while he was
at Royal Air Force – Lakenheath,
England, he saw Spice and salvia
sold in the same types of packaging.
“The packages will always say
“incense: not intended for human
consumption.” It’s a big joke because
everyone knows that’s why
they’re selling them – for human
consumption,” Sherwood said.
“A lot of times you hear about
these two together, Spice and
salvia,” Sherwood said. “They are
different in terms of the reaction
and in terms of what it is.
“In Spice, the herb really
doesn’t matter; it’s the synthetic
chemical that’s sprayed on it.
Salvia is the plant, and the plant is
what causes the high.”