Bernie Ellis Gave Comfort to the Sick and Dying. For That Crime, the Government Means to Take Everything He's Got. Life came unglued for Bernie Ellis on the day drug agents raided his farm like it was the fortified villa of a South American cocaine kingpin. Ellis was bush-hogging around his berry patches when two helicopters swept low over the treetops. Then, rumbling in on four-wheelers, came 10 officers of the Tennessee Marijuana Eradication Task Force. The war on drugs had arrived, literally, in Ellis' backyard. It was a major operation to strike a righteous blow against the devil weed. [continues 3058 words]
State Will Broaden Its Approach To Treating Addiction, Gov. Strickland Says As she stumbled to the Netcare crisis center on Central Avenue, tears streamed down Erica Smith's cheeks. Years of heavy partying, drinking and smoking crack -- along with selling blood plasma and even trying prostitution to get money for drugs -- had taken a cruel toll. Smith could go no lower -- and survive. "As I walked it was like I could feel pieces of my body falling off," she said. "I was so broken up." [continues 1514 words]
The Drug War Claims More Lives Than Drugs Themselves. Now that we have the official 2006 Philadelphia murder tally -- 406 killings -- we can start talking about ways to lower it. But wringing our hands and singing songs of solidarity isn't going to cut it. And it's unlikely that anyone will seriously propose changing the ruinously expensive and counterproductive drug policies that make Philadelphia one of the most violent cities in the country. By the end of January, the U.S. had already spent well over $4 billion just this year trying to prevent people from putting controlled substances up their noses and into their veins. The War on Drugs -- what is it with Americans and declaring war on indefinite nouns? -- creates a predictable netherworld of nefarious suppliers and dealers who turn to violence to settle scores and turf wars. No matter how hard the police may work to disrupt these networks, they end up plowing the sea. And all that drug money leads inevitably to corruption. [continues 532 words]
New Mexico's use of jails run by companies is the highest in the country -- and rising -- but do they live up to their promises? New Mexico leads the nation on another list: We're No. 1 in using private prisons to house inmates. The latest U.S. Justice Department statistics, published in a study called Prisons in 2005, showed 43 percent of New Mexico prisoners were in private lockups. That's well ahead of the 6 percent national rate for privately held state prison inmates. And the percentage in New Mexico is bound to rise even higher in the near future. [continues 1270 words]
A chemical that will prevent methamphetamine makers from using anhydrous ammonia as a raw material for the drug will be added to the widely used nitrogen fertilizer, state officials said Monday. Marvin Van Haaften, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, said the chemical, known as calcium nitrate, can be added to each of the 26,000 tanks used in Iowa for the application of anhydrous ammonia. The discovery of the inhibitor has national and international implications because of the widespread use of methamphetamine, he said. [continues 339 words]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - It looked like Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson would coast toward re-election until Saturday when his little-known Republican opponent dropped out of the race and the GOP named a more aggressive candidate. J.R. Damron, who had no ballot opposition in this month's primary election, never got much traction in his campaign and was so far behind Richardson in fundraising that some GOP insiders questioned whether he could compete against the popular incumbent. The Santa Fe radiologist who has never held elected office addressed delegates at the Republican State Central Committee meeting and left without talking with reporters. [continues 424 words]
ST. LOUIS -- Justin Knox bit down on the bitter-tasting patch, instantly releasing three days' worth of a drug more powerful than morphine. He was dead before he even got to the hospital. The 22-year-old construction worker and addict was another victim in an apparent surge in U.S. overdoses blamed on abuse of the fentanyl patch, a prescription-only product that is intended for cancer patients and others with chronic pain and is designed to dispense the medicine slowly through the skin. [continues 503 words]
ST. LOUIS -- Justin Knox bit down on the bitter-tasting patch, instantly releasing three days' worth of a drug more powerful than morphine. He was dead before he even got to the hospital. The 22-year-old construction worker and addict was another victim in an apparent surge in U.S. overdoses blamed on abuse of the fentanyl patch, a prescription-only product that is intended for cancer patients and others with chronic pain and is designed to dispense the medicine slowly through the skin. [continues 506 words]
