Failed Drug Fight Is Undermining West's Security Poppies were the first thing that British army Capt. Leo Docherty noticed when he arrived in Afghanistan's turbulent Helmand province in April 2006. "They were growing right outside the gate of our Forward Operating Base," he told me. Within two weeks of his deployment to the remote town of Sangin, he realized that "poppy is the economic mainstay and everyone is involved right up to the higher echelons of the local government." [continues 1973 words]
When school desegregation was ended in 1954 with the Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court decision, many hoped this was the beginning of a colorblind country. More than 50 years later, we are far from colorblind, and the Supreme Court is showing us just how far we have to go when it comes to civil rights, and not just those based on race issues. The court, in its first full session under Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., has taken on a decidedly conservative bent. This alone is not a problem. However, that direction has led to decisions that favor government and business over the rights of the individual. It's a direction that is very uncomfortable. [continues 777 words]
Prosecutors Have Already Said That Identifying Victims Of The Deceptively Marketed Drug Would Be Difficult 981-3239 Those wishing to speak at the July 20 hearing must notify the U.S. Attorney's Office in Abingdon by July 18. Before sentencing three pharmaceutical executives for overpromoting OxyContin, a federal judge wants to hear from the victims of what prosecutors are calling one of the greatest prescription drug failures in U.S. history. In an order filed Monday, U.S. District Judge James Jones said he will allow brief statements at a July 20 sentencing hearing from any of those who consider themselves a victim of Purdue Pharma's crimes. [continues 495 words]
Attorneys Consider Whether CWA Discussion Broke Law Focus on the Family attorneys are researching state law to see if there could be a criminal case against Conference on World Affairs panelists involved in a discussion about sex and drugs with teens at Boulder High. Gary Schneeberger, spokesman for the Colorado Springs-based Christian organization, said his group is looking into the "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" statute. "We just ask the question, 'If someone encourages students to take drugs, could that be viewed as encouraging them to violate state law?' " he said. [continues 713 words]
Students' minds lit up during the first of several debates hosted by University of Louisville Properties. Groups for and against legalizing marijuana debated last Tuesday night in Kurz Hall. Sgt. Steve Salyers of the Louisville Metro Police Narcotics/Vice unit moderated the event, and a panel of university faculty, staff and students, including a representative from the Commonwealth Attorney's Office, judged it. "I coordinated this program to encourage residents to explore a hot button topic in a different manner that gives them access to both sides of an issue," said Lamont Johnson, assistant community manager for ULP. "It will also help students develop good research and public speaking skills." [continues 229 words]
BOULDER -- The Boulder County Drug Task Force is investigating an increase in heroin-related activity that officers say is illustrated by five fatal overdoses over the past five months. The task force's chief, Sheriff's Cmdr. Steve Prentup, said a review of Boulder police and county coroner's records for the period between Oct. 1 and this past Wednesday showed: Five heroin-related deaths: four in Boulder and one in Longmont. Two heroin-related overdoses in which users were revived and treated in Boulder. [continues 367 words]
Two days after graduating from high school last June, Jonathan Pope left his home in Miamisburg, Ohio, to join a traveling magazine sales crew, thinking he would get to "talk to people, party at night and see the country." Over the next six months, he and about 20 other crew members crossed 10 states, peddling subscriptions door to door, 10 to 14 hours a day, six days a week. Sleeping three to a room in cheap motels, lowest seller on the floor, they survived some days on less than $10 in food money while their earnings were kept "on the books" for later payment. [continues 3234 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]
During my 18 years of service as a police officer, I was dispatched to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. The majority of officers will do a 30-year police career and never go to one. Adult use is not a societal problem. Associate Judge Frieling and Lafayette Mayor Pro Tem Strungis must be congratulated for their courage to speak out against the increase in penalties. If it passes, watch for more marijuana busts and fewer arrests for DUI, as the officers will concentrate on the wrong "criminals." We are a Thin Blue Line. Where do you want us to go? Officer Howard J. Wooldridge (retired) Louisville [end]
Two companies that asked the state for permission to build addiction-treatment centers dispensing methadone in New Albany have been denied because local officials did not support the plans. Rhode Island-based Discovery House proposed locating next to Wal-Mart at 2820 Grant Line Road, while Colonial Management Group of Florida sought a home downtown at 700 Pearl St. Both companies received rejection letters in mid-January, said Dennis Rosebrough, spokesman for the state's Family and Social Services Administration. Neither company could persuade a local official to send the state a letter of recommendation, which is one of the requirements for eligibility the state cemented in December. [continues 218 words]
The Greene County Commissioners went on record Tuesday morning supporting a county-wide methamphetamine public awareness campaign planned later this month. The commissioners approved and signed a resolution of support for what is being billed as "Meth is Death Week" in Greene County. The campaign is sponsored by Greene United Against Meth (GUAM), a pro-active grassroots organization that has been involved in educating the public about the perils of methamphetamine-use in the community for more than three years. The campaign is set for Jan. 21-27. [continues 827 words]
What could possibly be the connection between school desegregation and the mystifying phrase "Bong Hits 4 Jesus?" Something critically important, it turns out. Both have spurred legal battles that have risen to the U.S. Supreme Court, and both demonstrate that a public school system that demands everyone's support but can only reflect some people's values will inevitably lead to conflict. In mid-December, the Court heard arguments on school integration cases from Seattle and Louisville, Ky., in which plaintiffs challenge enrollment policies that consider race in deciding who can attend specific public schools. [continues 713 words]
INDIANAPOLIS -- Heroin has become increasingly easy to find in Indianapolis and other parts of the state, authorities say. The Indiana State Police estimate they will investigate nearly 700 heroin cases this year -- twice as many as last year and triple the number of cases in 2004. "I'm seeing a lot, lot more heroin," said Jamie Guilfoy of the Indianapolis Police Department. Guilfoy and other Indianapolis narcotics investigators have confiscated more than 2 pounds of heroin this year, more than 10 times what they seized last year. [continues 211 words]
Spotters Spent More Time in Air Extra time in the air by spotters helped authorities destroy more marijuana growing outdoors in Kentucky this year than in more than a decade. Police cut and burned 557,276 plants this year, up nearly 50,000 from 2005 and the most since 1995. Arrests also were up: 475 in 2006 compared with 452 in 2005. If each destroyed plant had produced one pound of pot with an estimated worth of $2,000, that would mean $1 billion was prevented from entering the illegal drug market. [continues 544 words]
THE JOKE'S OVER Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me. By Ralph Steadman. Illustrated. 396 pp. Harcourt. $26. The illustrator Ralph Steadman is a brave man. Not only did he survive humiliation, gunplay and hallucinatory despair through decades of collaboration with the legendarily difficult journalist Hunter S. Thompson, he decided to include as the epigraph to his memoir of those adventures a remark of Thompson's: "Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family." To follow this with a 400-page ramble is the sort of dare the prank-loving Thompson, who committed suicide last year, might have appreciated. For the sake of the Steadman family's honor, it should be said that "The Joke's Over" features a lot of Steadman's drawings, though reduced too much from their original size. True, these pictures don't exactly constitute writing, but they are brilliant. Splattery explosions of ink, detonated in the presence of politicians and stolid middle-class citizens, they stand as the mangling visions of a 20th-century Hogarth. When they originally appeared (usually in Rolling Stone), lodged amid Thompson's prose, the images served as the visual equivalent of the writer's "gonzo" -- a term Steadman defines as "controlled madness" -- explorations of America. [continues 903 words]
Depending whether you believe the state or outside experts, Michigan prisons hold 7,000 to 18,000 inmates infected with hepatitis C. That's 14-40% -- and most of them don't even know they have the disease. Contagious and potentially fatal, hepatitis C attacks the liver. The prison epidemic affects everyone. Practically all of those infected - -- more than 95% -- will go home, carrying their infections and health problems with them, and in some cases spreading them. As a public health problem, the level of hepatitis C in the prison system demands the attention of not only the Department of Corrections but also the Department of Community Health and the Legislature. [continues 780 words]
Kentuckians' civil liberties are a little safer today thanks to a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling handed down last week. In March 2003, Paducah residents Frederick Carl "Fritz" Krause III and Joe Yamada pleaded guilty to cocaine and marijuana charges after Kentucky State Police Detective Jason Manar came to their house in the middle of the night and found drug paraphernalia. Manar told Krause a young girl had been raped inside the house, and that he needed to see if furniture matched the girl's descriptions. But there was no rape and no young girl - the officer was lying. [continues 124 words]
During my 18 years of police service near Lansing, Mich., I went to zero calls for service generated by the use of marijuana. As I focused on the deadly threat of DUI drivers, too many of my colleagues like Tom Gorman (editorial, Oct. 10) spent their shift trying to find a baggie of marijuana. Please end marijuana prohibition and allow my colleagues to focus on DUI, child molesters and other public-safety threats. Howard J. Wooldridge Louisville [end]
BOULDER - A 22-year-old man who died after a police officer shot him with a stun gun had appeared to be grabbing a knife clipped to his pants, Lafayette police said. Ryan Wilson died Aug. 4 after running more than a half-mile from officers responding to a tip that marijuana was being grown in a field in Louisville. Boulder County Coroner Thomas Faure concluded Wilson died of an irregular heartbeat caused by a combination of exertion, the stun-gun shock and a heart condition present since birth. [continues 109 words]
SUV Flees During Attempted Drug Sting One man died after an alleged undercover drug deal with police led to a chase yesterday. The incident began about 2 p.m. near West Manslick and Mount Holly roads when undercover Metro Narcotics officers were attempting to make a drug buy from three people in a white Chevrolet Suburban, said Officer Dwight Mitchell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman. Metro Narcotics includes officers from metro police and other agencies, including the Kentucky State Police, Mitchell said. [continues 197 words]
