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CHATTANOOGA - County Commission members are backing further away from signing up for a tax free program for seniors. Commission Chairman Bill Hullander suggested the commission instead beef up the existing senior tax relief program, but some commissioners did not go along.

Commissioner Richard Casavant said, "I am very concerned about the county getting into income redistribution. It's a road I feel we shouldn't travel."  Commissioner Fred Skillern said seniors have unrealistic expectations for the tax freeze program. He said, "Some think they are never going to have to pay taxes again on anything."

Commissioner Skillern said such a program might lead some families to have younger members transfer their homes to seniors. Commissioner Hullander said the tax freeze program would not help any seniors until the commission passed a tax increase.

WASHINGTON - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.  A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed.

"Marijuana is a more consequential substance of abuse than our culture has treated it in the last 20 years," said John Walters, director of the office. "This is not just youthful experimentation that they'll get over as we used to think in the past."

Smoking marijuana can lead to more serious problems, Walters said in an interview. For example, using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers, it said.