A drug-abuse counselor keeps a photograph of a teen in his office, a reminder of the importance of his work. That teen, Geneva High School graduate Jake Zegart, died at 18 from an overdose of the painkiller oxycodone. "I have a picture of him working on his car," said Chic Williams, the community intervention coordinator for Geneva schools. "It's kind of a reminder of why we do what we do." Although Zegart used the powerful painkiller that day in October 2004, Williams said, prescription drugs were not the usual drugs of choice for Kane County teens. [continues 382 words]
ST. CHARLES - After a young St. Charles man was found dead on a park bench on June 16, two of his friends were charged with leaving him there to die of a drug overdose. Clinton Eash, 30, and Joseph Estok, 29, each face drug-induced homicide charges in 27-year-old Matthew Thies' death. Both have pleaded not guilty and remain in Kane County Jail. Three children found Thies on a bench behind Fox Ridge Elementary School in St. Charles. He was alive when he was placed on the bench, but died soon after from a cocaine and heroin overdose, prosecutors said. It is only the second time the charge has been filed in Kane County. [end]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A Florida man on Thursday sat before an Illinois legislative committee and displayed a tin of prescription marijuana cigarettes, telling lawmakers that medicinal use of the drug shouldn't be viewed as a crime. After his testimony, Capitol police detained him while they called federal officials - a sobering example, proponents say, of why drug laws should be adjusted to medical necessity. The drama ended about 30 minutes later, after police confirmed the man had a legal right to the marijuana under a small federal medical program. [continues 444 words]
