Washington - As a college student in Virginia, Corey Jacobs started selling drugs with the help of a group of friends to make some extra money. A Bronx native, Mr. Jacobs was no kingpin, and no aspect of their drug conspiracy involved violence. Now age 46, Mr. Jacobs has served 16 years of a sentence of life without parole in the federal system. No question, Corey Jacobs should have gone to prison for his felony. But does he deserve to die there? [continues 1176 words]
The Aug. 2 Health & Science article "Cause of death" showed the human face and family tragedy of heroin addiction. The heart-wrenching stories of the fatal overdoses of Jordan Roche and Kelsea Brandt, among others, revealed that those who succumb to addiction aren't criminals. Rather, those who forsake their families, friends, careers, health and futures suffer from a bona fide disease of the brain. Brandt and Roche lived in Harford County, Md., where I'm privileged to work with our drug courts. Every day, our elected and appointed officials, treatment providers, law enforcement officers, education officials, faith-based groups and nonprofit agencies work to overcome the stigmas of substance-use disorder. They work to discourage and prevent drug use by children, youths, pregnant women, those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and others. [continues 57 words]
We now know the scope of the prescription painkiller and heroin problem in Butte County. It's imperative that we do more to address it. A seven-part series by reporter Ashiah Scharaga that ended Saturday, "Overdose Nation," studied the issue in depth. The use of opioids is a problem nationwide but it's more pronounced locally. Of California's 58 counties, Butte has the third-highest rate of drug-induced deaths. More than half of those drug-induced deaths are from opioids. [continues 552 words]
We've been reporting a lot about the chaos fentanyl has brought to our nation's streets and alleyways, particularly here in Surrey where overdoses are happening daily. A Surrey judge noted that in the first three months of 2016 there have been more than 200 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in B.C. Illegal drug users are playing pharmaceutical Russian Roulette with heroin these days as it might be cut with fentanyl. Three tiny grains of the stuff is enough to kill. [continues 120 words]
About this series The nation is in the midst of a prescription opioid and heroin overdose epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 44 people in the U.S. die every day from an overdose of prescription painkillers alone. This series examines how the epidemic is affecting Butte County and how it will respond. Today: How did Butte County end up with one of the worst drug-induced death rates in the state? Tomorrow: A man who died from an alcohol and opioid overdose is remembered by his mother and a friend. [continues 1286 words]
Billy Robbins wanted out of jail to deal with his drug addiction. The judge wanted to use his sad case to prove a point. "Your case highlights the struggles . . . in this courthouse with the dissolution of the drug treatment court and the position of the Crown attorney not to participate in the program," Ontario Court Justice Wayne Rabley said before sentencing Robbins to more jail time. Rabley oversaw the drug court for six years until it was put on hiatus last month. Main reason for halting the non-traditional justice program appears to be a lack of federal prosecution resources. [continues 505 words]
London drug treatment court, where addicts can avoid jail, suspends work, faces uncertain future London's highly-touted drug treatment court is suspending its work this week, at least temporarily, raising concerns from the judge who's overseen it since it began six years ago. Ontario Court Justice Wayne Rabley, in a written decision to send Darren Falconer, a crystal meth trafficker and user to prison for four years, said the court "is being shut down." "Sadly, we live in a time where Crown resources are scarce and the need to focus on enforcement is understandably a priority," he wrote. [continues 853 words]
Six New England governors called on health care professionals Tuesday to work with government officials to combat the opioid epidemic and control prescriptions, describing a grim reality of addiction across the region they govern. "There is not an issue more pressing I know for all of us at this table," said Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, addressing an audience at Harvard Medical School. "We are losing good people to the opioid crisis that is sweeping across America, and we need your help." [continues 542 words]
Editor's note: This is day two of a four-day series that examines the impact heroin is having on the community through the eyes of the addicts, their families, law enforcement and the groups that provide treatment. DECATUR The scars on Lori Caldwell's arms are still there, though they've begun to lighten. Caldwell wishes she could say the same for her mental and emotional scars. Caldwell's voice becomes a whisper as she tries to talk through her tears while recounting her plunge into addictions to heroin and crack cocaine. [continues 2706 words]
Editor's note: This is day one of a four-day series that examines the impact heroin is having on the community through the eyes of the addicts, their families, law enforcement and the groups that provide treatment. DECATUR Eric Buntain described the feeling of injecting heroin into his vein as "warm, euphoric, comfortable and relaxing: It feels great." About 30 seconds after injecting heroin, there's a surge of warmth coming from the low spinal area, a rush of sensation and an overriding sense of well-being. [continues 1448 words]
Lebanon, Va. - LATE on Christmas night 2013, April Hileman was summoned for a drug test. She had broken the curfew imposed on her by a drug court and relapsed with the opioid pills she'd been hooked on for six years. Earlier that day, Ms. Hileman had driven to a neighbor's house here in far southwestern Virginia to buy a handful of Suboxone pills, or "Box," as the drug is sometimes called. After she tested positive, Judge Michael Moore of Russell County ordered her to jail, and her 3-year-old daughter spent the rest of the holidays with relatives. [continues 1888 words]
There are no "safe heroin injection sites." The only "safe" approach to heroin is not to take it. For addicts, the humane public health response is to help them get and stay sober, or at the very least, opioid replacement therapy in sustained treatment. Any approach without these goals is cruel and dehumanizing - not healing, but perpetuating harm. Addiction is a treatable disease. Millions of Americans are in recovery - living healthy, productive lives. Supporting addicts' heroin use maintains their disease, administering the poison that causes their illness and diminishes their lives. A government-approved place for unlimited heroin injection creates the conditions for neverending addiction and gives government a drug dealer's power over the addicted. [continues 217 words]
The tomato seedlings in the urban garden were sprouting. The basketball court was filled with men in blue, gray, and brown uniforms shooting hoops and doing pushups. Inside, at vocational classes, men learned the art of tailoring a suit while a group of women studied toward their GEDs. In many ways, the South Bay House of Correction has become a microcosm of the country's evolving attitudes toward drug abuse and drug-related crimes. The facility just off Interstate 93 in Boston is a different place compared with the early 1990s, when leaders in Washington passed a stringent crime bill that authorized stiff penalties for drug crimes and nearly doubled the country's prison population. [continues 1055 words]
Authorities Are Filing More Drug-Induced Homicide Charges, but Complex Cases Show It's Hard to Decide Whether Offenders Deserve Prison or Treatment When police and paramedics arrived at her aunt's apartment in Carol Stream, Adrianna Diana told them she and her friend Christopher Houdek had cooked and shot up heroin the night before. Diana, 20, said she awoke covered in vomit, with Houdek, 21, next to her, unresponsive and "cool to the touch." Her aunt called 911. Paramedics rushed Houdek to a hospital, where he died. The DuPage County coroner ruled his 2013 death an accident by "heroin intoxication." But prosecutors decided it was homicide- and charged Diana and two heroin dealers. [continues 1911 words]
Pot ticket option, fewer cops lead to lowest narcotic bust numbers in three decades, but special unit arrests up ' considerably' The war on drugs may not be over in Chicago, but it's in retreat. In 2015, total drug-related arrests dropped to the lowest level in three decades, a Chicago Sun- Times analysis of city crime data found. And the rate of drug busts plunged more sharply in the first four months of 2016. Chicago Police are on pace to make 13,000 narcotics arrests by year's end. That would be the smallest annual tally since 1973, two years after President Richard Nixon declared a national war on drugs. [continues 967 words]
Social workers across Massachusetts are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. We work in treatment programs, community-based coalitions, sheriffs' departments, jails, drug courts, and hospitals. Every day we live with the newly released data on opioid and heroin deaths ( "Heroin, prescription drugs weigh heavily on Mass," Page A1, May 2) as our clients die. These drastic numbers, unique across the country, cry out for new solutions. Our historic attempts to prevent and reduce substance use through harsh penal sanctions have failed. [continues 140 words]
This just in: Overdose deaths in Massachusetts increased 7 percent last year. That figure is significant because the rise in deaths is slower than previous years, an indication that greater awareness and legislation are making a small dent in the epidemic. And the comprehensive opioid legislation signed by Governor Charlie Baker two months ago, including the first law in the nation establishing a seven-day supply limit on first-time opioid prescriptions, should help make a difference over time. Still, there were nearly 1,400 lives lost statewide last year to opioid and heroin abuse, an unconscionable toll that shows there's more to be done. Policy makers must turn their focus to what happens to addicts after they detox or get treatment, a vulnerable population in dire need of community-based, sustainable pathways to recovery. Legislative action must address the real needs for additional services or the Commonwealth risks losing addicts in an overwhelmed provider network. [continues 511 words]
With Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Coming Soon, the Debate Shifts to Decriminalizing Some Drugs Thirteen years after Hawaii legalized medical marijuana, the state is finally forging ahead with licensing marijuana dispensaries, issuing licenses to eight applicants on Friday. As it has in other states, that policy shift could usher in a new era of social norms. Back in 1973, Oregon was the first state to decriminalize small amounts of cannibas for recreational use. Four decades later, Oregon voters said yes to legalizing marijuana, as Colorado and Washington had already done in 2012. Twenty states and Washington, D.C., have decriminalized marijuana possession. [continues 1148 words]
To the Editor: Re "Outrageous Sentences for Marijuana" (editorial, April 14): Whether or not the Supreme Court rules that draconian mandatory sentences for marijuana use are constitutional, they are an ineffective, harmful and extremely costly policy approach to substance use. Marijuana use should be treated as a public health problem, not a crime. Incarcerating people for using marijuana serves neither the individual's nor the public's interest. Having a criminal record for marijuana use is damaging to people's livelihoods and life opportunities, particularly for youths. [continues 96 words]
A sentencing hearing for a Portage woman charged with reckless homicide overflowed with emotional testimony, culminating in a decision in which the judge lamented the court being ill-equipped to deal with such cases in the absence of a drug treatment court. [name1 redacted], 27, of Portage, was accused of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime in connection with the August death of [name2 redacted], 27, of Lodi. The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded Aug. 18 to a Lodi-area home for a death investigation. [continues 885 words]
