Sheriff Rick Davis has wisely decided to continue the popular DARE Camp. Campers and counselers get credit for bringing the importance of the anti-drug effort to the attention of the new sheriff. During the fall campaign, Davis, a former sheriff's captain and the Republican sheriff nominee, ruffled feathers when he indicated the Drug Abuse Resistance Education summer camp might be cut. Davis was looking for ways to streamline and reorganize projects such as DARE. The program's main focus -- bringing law officers into the schools to befriend youngsters, give them positive law enforcement role models and teach about dangers of drugs -- was never in question. But some residents worried the camp, during which kids enjoy outdoor and team-building activities, might be on the chopping block when annual fundraising didn't take place [continues 358 words]
North Carolina has a cop problem. This is how bad it is. Up until this year, when flashing blue lights showed up in my rear-view mirror or rolled down my street, I went through a mental checklist of what I might have done wrong. No more. In light of recent history, if a siren is meant for me, I fear for my safety. I take no joy in writing these words. I admire cops. A nephew is a Phoenix, Ariz., beat cop. When people claim a law enforcement officer has roughed them up, my gut reaction is to think the perps probably deserved it. The guff that patrol officers endure from citizens of every economic class is way beyond what you and I would put up with. [continues 610 words]
Arielle James doesn't take drugs. Not now, not ever, she says. The E.E. Smith High School freshman isn't going to start getting stoned, either. And if she ever even thought about it, "You can bet my mom would have something to say about it." Bright and articulate, with shy eyes and a winning smile, the 14-year-old is literally one of the last people in her school you'd expect to be taking a test for illegal drugs. [continues 1042 words]
Consequences Of Behind-The-Counter Rules Medicines On Shelves Called Weaker Stuffed up? You might want to check the label before grabbing your favorite medicine off the drugstore shelf. In response to new laws to curb illegal methamphetamine production, the makers of Sudafed, Tylenol and other drugs have reformulated their cold medications this winter to eliminate the decongestant pseudoephedrine. Its substitute, phenylephrine or PE, isn't as effective and must be taken more frequently, experts say. A study released this fall by Claritin maker Shering-Plough found PE gave as much nasal relief as a placebo. Some consumer advocates and members of Congress want a reluctant Food and Drug Administration to re-examine 30-year-old PE dosage standards. [continues 220 words]
NEWLAND - Kevin Frye takes a call on his ninth day as Avery County's sheriff from someone reporting a neighbor as a drug dealer. Frye asks the caller what the drugs look like, what price they fetch, where the dealer goes when he travels down the mountain for new supplies. He wants his deputies to have the same kind of conversations. "The drug dealers and the thugs out here, they have their community networks," the sheriff said. " . We need the good citizens out there to be our eyes and ears." [continues 495 words]
Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis announced Monday that three Henderson County Schools would be receiving School Resource Officers and by doing this reorganization D.A.R.E. Camp would be continued in the summer. Davis held a press conference Monday morning at Flat Rock Middle School along with Principal Bill Reedy; Beverly Davis, principal of Rugby Middle School; and Carolina Patterson, principal at Apple Valley Middle School. In October, prior to Davis winning the November election, the fate of D.A.R.E. Camp was unknown. [continues 487 words]
The editorial from The Fayetteville Observer, "Random drug testing needed in our schools," (AC-T, Dec. 13), promoting drug testing of students, is flawed in more ways than can be described within the limits of a letter to the editor. One indisputable statement in the editorial is this sentence: "Protecting young people from drugs requires more than a drug test." However, the arguments for drug testing as part of a prevention program are either flawed or fallacious. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has published a guide for parents, educators, and community leaders that sets out 16 principles for effective prevention programs. These principles are based on drug abuse programs that have demonstrated efficacy in reducing alcohol and other drug use. Drug testing does not address these principles, nor is it included in the design of programs that have demonstrated the ability to reduce drug use. [continues 79 words]
Stuffed up? You might want to check the label before grabbing your favorite medicine off the drugstore shelf. In response to new laws to curb illegal methamphetamine production, the makers of Sudafed, Tylenol and other drugs have reformulated their cold medications this winter to eliminate the decongestant pseudoephedrine. Its substitute, phenylephrine or PE, isn't as effective and must be taken more frequently, experts say. A study released this fall by Claritin maker Shering-Plough found PE gave as much nasal relief as a placebo. Some consumer advocates and members of Congress want a reluctant Food and Drug Administration to re-examine 30-year-old PE dosage standards. [continues 222 words]
To the Editor: Richard O'connor's Letter, "Drug War's Cure Worse Than Disease," Printed on Dec. 2, Hit the Nail on the Head. This country has spent at least $1 trillion in the past 40 years fighting a so-called "war on drugs" that cannot and will not be won. That's not counting the billions of dollars and millions of lives put on hold or ruined by getting jailed for possession of drugs. In the past week, two people were jailed -- one with four percocet pills and another with five. If I remember correctly, percocet is a pain killer. In the same week, the former chief of police of Bethel pleaded guilty to distributing crack cocaine. [continues 140 words]
The day Glenn Maynor became Robeson County's sheriff, he fired back at people who had circulated rumors about drug money fueling his campaign. "I immensely dislike drug dealers," Maynor said that December day a dozen years ago. "And to my knowledge, no drug dealer supported me." Today, Maynor's legacy lies in tatters because of a four-year investigation that has exposed his deputies' involvement with drug dealers. Twelve deputies have been charged with colluding with drug dealers, burning homes, kidnapping dealers and stealing money from traffic stops of couriers along Interstate 95. [continues 2092 words]
But Gaston, Lincoln Stay Comparatively Low Reported crimes in Gaston County Schools more than doubled from 2004-05 to 2005-06, according a new state report on school violence. Despite this increase, Gaston County's crime rate is low compared to school districts across the state. Lincoln County Schools' crime rate is also far lower than the state rate of 7.9 crimes per 1,000 students. Lincoln County Schools' rate, 3.5, was among the lowest in the state. Among school districts with 20,000 or more students, Gaston County had the lowest rate -- 4.9. With just a few hundred students less than Gaston, Union County had a rate of 8.4, for example. [continues 667 words]
There are more drugs in our schools than ever before. Drugs are more affordable, accessible and accepted. As parents, we are responsible to censor our children. When parents do not monitor their children, it becomes the responsibility of schools and the community. Do not make the assumption that only kids with "nothing to do after school" are the ones doing drugs. There are no boundaries for drug use. All teenage social groups include kids who experiment with drugs. If you have kids, talk to them. I asked a teenager when he used drugs for the first time. He answered that he first smoked marijuana with his parents when he was 12. [continues 140 words]
Cumberland County students will have to agree to take a drug test next year before they join a sports team or some extracurricular groups. The county Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to start a random drug testing program in the high schools. Not all students will be tested. About 50 percent of the students from randomly selected schools will be required to take the test over the course of the first year, said Kathy Dickson, the associate superintendent for administrative services. [continues 298 words]
The Cumberland County Board of Education could vote today to become the first school system in the Cape Fear region to randomly test some students for drug use. But the practice is common in some smaller, more conservative school districts of western North Carolina. At least seven school districts in the Asheville area are either testing students or have considered starting a program. Some of the districts have been testing students for nearly a decade, almost as long as the U.S. Supreme Court declared the practice legal. The court ruled in 1995 that student athletes could be tested for drugs. In 2002, it expanded the testing pool to include students in competitive extracurricular activities. All students are not allowed to be tested, because they are required to attend school. [continues 707 words]
Drug testing this county's athletes is a misguided approach to a non-existent problem. Yes, I'm sure that if every single player on every single high school team were to be tested, at least a few would come back hot. So would some of your co-workers. What does that prove? I realize that the Board of Education wants to appear pro-active, and no one disputes that drug and alcohol use among students is a problem worthy of tackling. But a policy that presumes guilt by participation is hardly the answer. Any number of studies will reveal what most people already know - that students involved in any type of extracurricular activities, from sports to band to student government to the club of your choice tend to be among the most responsible citizens on campus. [continues 674 words]
The Cumberland County Board of Education needs to educate itself on the limitations of student drug testing. Student involvement in after-school activities like sports has been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they are most likely to get into trouble. Forcing students to undergo degrading urine tests as a prerequisite will only discourage participation. Drug testing may also compel marijuana users to switch to harder drugs to avoid testing positive. Despite a short-lived high, marijuana is the only illegal drug that stays in the human body long enough to make urinalysis a deterrent. Marijuana's organic metabolites are fat-soluble and can linger for days. More dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and prescription pharmaceuticals are water-soluble and exit the body quickly. If you think drug users don't know this, think again. Anyone capable of running an Internet search can find out how to thwart a drug test. [continues 83 words]
Initiative Targets Street-Level Dealers RALEIGH - The Rev. Jim Summey remembered what it used to be like in front of English Road Baptist Church in High Point, where parishioners had to get past the prostitutes to get inside. "I'm a Christian, but I'm not real saintly," he told a packed room of Raleigh residents to make a point of how ticked off he was. That was before High Point police started an initiative that they say turned over ownership of the neighborhood from its drug dealers back to its residents. Now, Raleigh police are introducing their own Drug Market Initiative Pilot Project, which begins with identifying "dangerous street-level drug markets" in the city and picking one as the area for the pilot project. Raleigh police would not specify the target area. [continues 291 words]
Most Incidents Involved Drugs or Alcohol and Few Were Violent, Report From State Says Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools had an increase in crime in 2005-06, though few involved violence, according to a report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. There were 415 acts of crime or violence on the school system's campuses last year, or about 8.4 acts for every 1,000 students, according to data released Thursday by the state. In 2004-05, there were 6.1 acts for every 1,000 students, although school officials said that the data used may have been unreliable. [continues 555 words]
"I gave them a chance to fess up, that's more than I even had to do," Appalachian State University Police officer M. Eric Miller said. He held in his hand the paper work he needed to get a search warrant for a room in Cone Residence Hall. One of the Cone RAs had smelled marijuana smoke coming from the dorm and had called University Police. Miller said he told the students if they turned over whatever drugs they may have had in their possession, he would only write them a university citation instead of a state citation. [continues 500 words]
In his nearly 15-minute hearing, Reginald Laverne Roberts, 41, pleaded guilty to distribution of more than five grams of crack cocaine and aiding and abetting. The nearly five-year veteran of the Bethel Police Department offered few words beyond the yes or no answers he offered U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard. Roberts is expected to be sentenced at the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenville the week of March 12, 2007. He faces a minimum of five and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison without parole and up to a $2 million fine. [continues 338 words]
He Faces As Much As 40 Years in Prison Bethel Man Charged With Distributing Crack Cocaine Intentionally GREENVILLE, N.C. - The former Bethel police chief pleaded guilty Monday to illegally distributing crack cocaine. Reginald Laverne Roberts was the top lawman in the small Pitt County town for about five years before his arrest in October 2005. He pleaded guilty to one charge as part of an agreement that resulted in the dismissal of four other charges. He entered his plea during in a brief hearing in federal court before U.S. Judge Malcolm J. Howard. Sentencing is scheduled in March. [continues 220 words]
I'm writing about Matt Potter's thoughtful letter, "War on some drugs" [Dec. 1]. Certainly marijuana is very benign compared with tobacco and alcohol. So why is marijuana still a criminalized product? Beyond just the use of marijuana as medicine, why do so many of our politicians want to keep a natural herb that has never been documented to kill a single person a criminalized substance? Why do apparently intelligent people want to arrest and jail other people who use or sell this easy-to-grow weed? [continues 197 words]
The conventional wisdom has been that the best place to look for drug crimes in Chapel Hill is in the Northside neighborhood. That's not the case anymore, according to an analysis by The Daily Tar Heel of drug crime arrests in Chapel Hill from Jan. 1 to the end of September. Police presence historically has been heavy in the Northside area, which is behind Rosemary Street and bordered by North Columbia Street and the Carrboro town line. But many of the town's drug busts this year were actually on Franklin and Rosemary streets, according to the analysis. [continues 1034 words]
Cumberland County schools want to get drugs off their campuses, and some administrators are betting that conducting random drug tests on athletes will help them do it. Cumberland County Board of Education members offered no objections to a drug testing plan that was presented by the Policy Committee last week, and are expected to vote in favor of the proposal next week. It's understood why they support the proposal. Similar drug testing programs in a few North Carolina school systems have shown some success with prevention. But testing a select group of students is a tactic, not a strategy. To effectively address the problem of drug use among students, the schools must also develop programs that promote trust and dialogue between students and adults, and they should tailor drug-prevention messages to reach all students - not just athletes. [continues 280 words]
Guilford County's plan to create a drug-treatment center is an important step in the right direction. "It's one step in a long journey," Commissioner Paul Gibson said. Later steps should include building a large new jail containing treatment facilities for inmates. Public Defender Wally Harrelson appreciates the "long journey" aspect of the project. He's been a self-described "recovering person" for the past 23 years. He helped found Alcohol and Drug Services, the organization that occupies -- and doesn't fully utilize -- a county-owned building at Gibson Park on West Wendover Avenue in north High Point. He's pushed for years for the county to get more involved in treating substance abuse, which affects many of the clients his office defends in court. [continues 359 words]
HICKORY - Not long ago, Reva Cook, a former police detective who now helps convicted drug users recover from their addiction, went into a local convenience store to get a soft drink. A man stepped behind her in line at the counter, and she heard him tell the clerk, "Hey man, I need a crack pipe and a lighter." She said the clerk handed the man a disposable lighter and a small glass tube that resembled a sun catcher. "The guy took off and was in his car lighting up by the time I ... left," Cook said. "He looked like a wreck -- like somebody we'd get (in drug treatment court) in a week or two." [continues 884 words]
Cumberland County schools might start randomly testing athletes and students involved in some extracurricular activities. The Board of Education's policy committee is scheduled to discuss a random drug testing program today. The committee does not have the final say on whether the program goes forward. It can only make recommendations to the full Board of Education, which is scheduled to meet on Dec.12. Administrators say drug tests would deter youngsters from using drugs and give them a response to peer pressure. [continues 455 words]
A sampling of Cumberland County coaches, athletes and parents of athletes had few objections to a proposal to conduct random drug tests beginning next year. And all saw benefits to the plan. Among the most outspoken was Gretchen McLean, a junior who plays golf for Douglas Byrd High School. "It's a way to make sure that the students stay safe, which will hopefully keep them alive and healthier," she said. Asked if she thought the testing was an invasion of privacy, McLean said, "I don't see trying to keep you safe and healthier a violation of privacy." A proposal to randomly test athletes and students participating in competitive extracurricular activities is expected to be up for a vote by the Cumberland County Board of Education at its Dec. 12 meeting. Members of the board's Policy Committee offered no objections to the plan during a Thursday meeting. [continues 573 words]
Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement Officials Met Thursday In Henderson County to Discuss the Damaging Effects of Methamphetamine Abuse on Communities As Part of National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Gretchen Shappert joined Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Emerson, Henderson County Sheriff-elect Rick Davis and Caldwell County Sheriff Gary Clark on Thursday morning for a news conference held at the Henderson County Courthouse as part of the U.S. Justice Department's awareness initiative. [continues 284 words]
Drug Ops Have Cut Numbers Drastically Operation Speedflick. Operation Roadrunner. Operation IceMelt. Operation Ice and Iron. They're all responsible for taking methamphetamine out of homes in McDowell and across the western region. U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the western district of North Carolina, joined by agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, McDowell County sheriff's deputies, Marion police officers and other regional law enforcement, held a press conference in Marion Thursday as part of the U.S. Justice Department's National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. [continues 372 words]
RALEIGH - A former sheriff's detective pled guilty Monday to fraud charges related to private work he did for a former elected official while on duty. Gary Warren Odum, 37, of Lumberton, also pled guilty to illegally programming satellite TV cards and selling them. Odum resigned from the Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Two other former deputies, Paul Pittman and Billy Hunt, last month plead guilty to receiving taxpayers' money for helping landscape the yard of a former elected official and working at that person's campaign fund-raiser. The U.S. Attorney's Office didn't name the former elected official in the bill of criminal information, but it has been widely reported that the deputies helped former Sheriff Glenn Maynor while on the clock. Maynor, who has not been charged with a crime, resigned in 2004, citing health reasons. Federal prosecutors say Odum was instructed by his supervisors to record the hours worked for private benefit for Maynor as if he performed his duty as a law enforcement officer. The value of that work exceeded $5,000, according to the statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. [continues 293 words]
Before Mike came to Duke, he was a typical high-achieving student. Like many of his high school classmates, he drank on occasion but had tried little else. By his sophomore year at Duke, Mike had experimented with cocaine, hallucinogenic mushrooms, Viagra and Cialis. And he was smoking marijuana nearly every day. "We tried to make each night as fun as possible," said Mike, reflecting on the behavior of his friends from freshman and sophomore year. Now a junior, Mike said that, in retrospect, the lifestyle took a toll on their academics. [continues 1144 words]
Report: 40% Fewer Labs Found in State This Year Than in '05 Two new reports released yesterday suggest that North Carolina is winning the battle against methamphetamine, even as some urban areas along the East Coast are reporting an increase in its use. N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper released figures that said that the state found 40 percent fewer meth labs between Jan. 15 and Nov. 28 of this year, compared with the same time period last year. Law-enforcement officials confiscated 283 labs in 2005, compared with 172 to date in 2006, the report said. [continues 540 words]
Sgt. Barnwell was quoted by Michael Massey yesterday as saying "We crack down on drugs every day. N.C. State has a no-tolerance policy on drugs." This statement is a fantastic representation of the current state of our drug policy, in that we do not truly have a "war on drugs," but rather a "war on some drugs." After all, Alexander and Bragaw allow for alcohol possession for those 21 and older, and all others in possession of alcohol on campus get little more than a slap on the wrist. This is not only hypocritical. It is stupid, given that alcohol is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. The No. 1 cause of death was tobacco, which is also used widely across our campus. [continues 126 words]
Board of Education members offered no objections Thursday to a plan to randomly test Cumberland County athletes and other students for drugs next year. Members of the Policy Committee did not approve the drug testing proposal during their meeting. But the issue will be up for a vote by the full school board at its Dec. 12 meeting. About 3,000 students could be tested in the first year of the program, said Fred McDaniel, the school system's student activities director. They would be randomly selected from randomly selected schools, said Kathy Dickson, the associate superintendent for administrative services. All students participating in school-sponsored sports or competitive extracurricular activities, such as marching band, would have to sign a consent form agreeing to be tested if they were selected. An outside company would perform the tests. Students would be notified the same day they must produce a urine sample. [continues 268 words]
Many doctors prescribe methadone to avoid the high caused by other painkillers, but the drug has its own risks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a strong advisory this week for methadone, a commonly prescribed pain medicine, warning patients and doctors that the drug can kill. The alert was provoked by reports of overdose deaths among patients who took the medicine to combat chronic pain, the FDA release said. In some patients, particularly new users or those switching from another narcotic pain medicine, methadone can slow breathing to a stop. The FDA warned that it also can cause dangerous changes in heartbeat. [continues 397 words]
Last year marked the largest number of marijuana arrests in U.S. history, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of the 786,545 citizens arrested, 88 percent were charged with possession only. "This should call us to question the amount of money we're putting into the drug war," Clark C. Anderson, Appalachian State University American Civil Liberties Union President, said. "It's still easy to find drugs. The drug war is unsuccessful." The United States has seen a gradual increase in marijuana arrests every year since the 1980s, Kris Krane, executive director of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy in Washington, D.C., said. [continues 468 words]
Meth is a problem, one which law enforcement continues to deal and addicts continue to battle. It affects not only those who choose to do the drug, but their families, landlords, neighbors and many throughout the community. The first step in the battle, as many law enforcement and educational officials will attest, has always been awareness -- that of the drug itself, and the dire and far-reaching effects the drug can have, whether physical, psychological and economical. That importance of such awareness will be expressed thoroughly at an upcoming seminar, to be held this Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Sampson Community College, as well as act as the focal point for National Meth Awareness Day two days later, on Nov. 30. [continues 680 words]
It might look like cocaine or smell like marijuana, but appearance and odor aren't enough. Every time a law enforcement officer makes a drug bust, the evidence must be sent to the state lab for testing to confirm that what officers are alleging the drugs to be is true. Confirmation from a certified chemist is necessary to make drug charges stick in court. But with cases at the state lab in Raleigh constantly backlogged, it could be six to eight months before people charged with drug possession even see a courtroom. [continues 639 words]
ASHEVILLE - It has been a year since Carl Mumpower started handing out hundreds of anti-drug posters from the trunk of his car. Despite mixed reactions to the red posters from the Asheville-Buncombe Drug Commission and not knowing whether the message is really getting out, Mumpower said he has no plans to stop. "We're pulling no punches with our posters," said Mumpower, chairman of the drug commission and city council member. "We're trying to pull the reality of hard drugs into the public eye." [continues 196 words]
The Rev. Melvin Whitley is an activist who does not set his sights low. Quickly successful in his campaign to rid the streets of an innocent- looking but insidious product called "love roses" in Durham, Whitley is now broadening his campaign. He hopes to persuade the N. C. General Assembly to curtail sales of the product statewide. He says freshman local legislator Larry Hall has agreed to introduce the legislation when the General Assembly convenes next year. Whitley, an organizer for the group A New East Durham, and fellow activist and gadfly Bill Anderson first focused public attention on the love roses last summer. [continues 224 words]
DURHAM -- When the Rev. Melvin Whitley introduced his proposed citywide ban on so-called "love roses," an item sold at Durham convenience stores and, according to Whitley, used by addicts to smoke crack, he told reporters that getting City Council members to vote for a ban would be like getting people to vote for apple pie. Everybody loves apple pie, he said. And he was right, apparently. Whitley's campaign, "Operation Pipe Dream," made news in late August when he delivered letters to 31 Durham convenience stores that allegedly sold the love roses, asking them to stop selling the item and informing them of Whitley's intent to seek a citywide ban. [continues 271 words]
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown doesn't really know what the next four years will bring, but he does know what kind of changes he hopes to initiate. In the 16 years Brown has served as sheriff, Onslow County has battled a drug problem. Although detectives have arrested their fair share of drug dealers, the problem continues to escalate, Brown said. He plans to spend his fifth term in office drawing more attention to drug crimes. "It's the No. 1 problem," Brown said. [continues 649 words]
Editor's Note: This is the third article of a four-part series on drug policies. With a strong drug policy reform movement and a former chancellor speaking out against drug laws, Appalachian State University has long been a battleground for drug debate. Since December 2000, the Appalachian American Civil Liberties Union has voiced opposition to the Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty, which denies financial aid to students with one misdemeanor marijuana conviction. Supporters of HEA reform were led by then-Appalachian student Ian Mance, a former ACLU co-president and initiator of a proposal to pass a bill in student government to fight the HEA aid elimination. [continues 564 words]
In the midst of this year's cold season, it may prove more difficult to buy medicine for sore throats and runny noses. Consumers must purchase medicines containing pseudoephedrine as a regulated over-the-counter drug. A prescription is not required for purchase of such medicines, however, due to state and federal regulations, drugs such as Sudafed, Contac and PediaCare must be purchased behind the pharmacy counter. This precaution exists as a byproduct of methamphetamine use, which has increased across the nation and in the Boone area. [continues 393 words]
We recently heard from the Rev. Melvin Whitley that drug pipes are being sold as a product called 'rose in a glass' in Durham community stores, particularly in high-crime areas. They are comprised of a fabric rose in a small glass tube with one open end and one end enclosed by aluminum foil. The sale of the drug pipe is legal because it is not considered drug paraphernalia until the legitimate equipment is modified for drugs. There is a new drug which may employ the drug pipe. The new drug mixture is known on the street as "cheese" and is a so-called "starter form" of heroin. It is believed that "cheese" is manufactured by mixing a small quantity of heroin with a large quantity of crushed Tylenol-PM caplets. [continues 140 words]
A woman who gave her best friend Fentanyl-laced lollipops that caused a fatal overdose pleaded guilty Tuesday in Duplin County Superior Court to involuntary manslaughter. Joan Celeste Fussell, 43, was sentenced by Judge Jay D. Hockenbury to 36 months of supervised probation, along with a 16- to 20-month suspended prison sentence. Glenda Lee, 54, died on July 17, 2005. Both women were neighbors in the Deep Run section of Duplin County. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic narcotic about 80 times more potent than morphine. Recent deaths among heroin users across the United States have been linked to heroin cut with Fentanyl, which is sparingly prescribed for legitimate medical conditions. [continues 285 words]
KENANSVILLE -- A Duplin County woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in a case in which she provided a friend a fatal amount of painkillers. Joan Celeste Fussell, 43, was sentenced to a minimum of 16 months and a maximum of 20 months in the July 2005 death of Glenda Lee, 54. The sentence was suspended for three years, and Ms. Fussell was placed under three years probation. She had no prior criminal record. Ms. Fussell pleaded guilty to providing the drug fentanyl to Mrs. Lee in an amount sufficient to cause her death. [continues 273 words]
The Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty passed into law to discourage students from getting high, but critics say it discourages education. Due to the HEA, one convicted possession of a controlled substance, which can include a small amount of marijuana, makes a student ineligible for federal financial aid for one year. Rep. Mike Souder (R-Ind.), a congress HEA promoter, introduced the aid elimination penalty because he wants to prevent federal money from being spent purchasing drugs, Kris Krane, executive director of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy in Washington, D.C., said. [continues 685 words]