When she visits schools, drug counselor Darcy Jensen hears kids tell stories of how meth provides a burst of energy and causes dramatic weight loss. Then she tells the part the kids don't hear -- where you often become hooked on the first hit and eventually die. "In the beginning, you have more energy because meth is a stimulant. You are changing the brain chemistry. People are not sleeping for two or three days at a time," Jensen said. "You lose weight because you're not eating when you are high. When you have more of a patterned (meth) use, there is weight loss that could be anywhere from 20 to 40-plus pounds (in two months)." [continues 1525 words]
"Meth Is Going to Be a Big Problem for Some Time to Come," Concedes Yankton Police Chief Duane Heeney. Despite increased public awareness of its devastating consequences and law enforcement efforts to combat the problem, methamphetamine use continues to plague much of the Midwest. And the progression of its long trail of desperation -- littered with broken bodies and broken homes -- shows few signs of slowing down. South Dakota, and the Yankton area in particular, has not been spared. According to the Yankton Police Department, it had 38 meth-related arrests in 2006 -- a number that Det. Neal Anderson says is about average. [continues 825 words]
PIERRE - Drug abuse awareness and education is an integral part of school curricula nationwide. For this reason local educators are pleased at the results reported in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which shows the number of high school students in South Dakota who have used some types of drugs has decreased since 1997. The information was recently reprinted in the South Dakota "Kids Count Factbook," which is published every January by the University of South Dakota. The survey itself has been performed every two years since 1991 by the South Dakota Department of Education. [continues 383 words]
RAPID CITY -- After a year of wrangling with the petition-circulation policy at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the city council may end up leaving it basically unchanged. The policy allows people to circulate petitions outside the building 15 feet from entrances. It was challenged a year ago when Bob Newland, a petitioner seeking the legalization of medical marijuana, was arrested inside the civic center during the Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo for refusing to circulate his petitions outside. He was charged with failure to vacate, a misdemeanor. [continues 442 words]
Despite More Busts, Work Increasing For Brown County Drug Task Force Two parcels confiscated from an Aberdeen residence last summer contained more methamphetamine than Brian Locke of the Brown County Sheriff's Department has seen since the county's Drug Task Force was formed nearly six years ago. On June 8, law enforcers confiscated more than two and a half pounds of meth from an Aberdeen home, one of the biggest drug busts in the city's history. The amount of meth confiscated in most busts is measured in grams, said Mark McNeary, Brown County state's attorney. There are 28 grams in an ounce and a bust yielding more than an ounce is significant, McNeary said. Two pounds isn't just a big amount for Aberdeen, it's a big amount period, he said. [continues 971 words]
In 1971, when Richard Nixon declared his "War on Drugs," calling for harsher penalties and stricter enforcement of drug laws, the renowned Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman had a John Lennon moment. He suggested we give peace a chance. To Friedman, who died earlier this month at 94, drug prohibition was unsound public policy, economic insanity and inherently immoral. It wasn't the drug user who was immoral, as the political world asserted, the immorality stemmed from making users into criminals. [continues 589 words]
Being an American comes with many rights. The rights to free speech, religion and general freedom to live our lives (within legal limit) as we please are among the countless many we are privileged enough to enjoy. However, we have responsibilities for these luxuries. Paying taxes and abiding by the law are a couple of the measures required of us as citizens. The opportunities we are afforded require us to be held accountable for our actions. Bearing this in mind, consider the following scenario: A young man in college is convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. Part of his punishment for the crime is losing his eligibility for federal financial aid for one year. Crime, then punishment. Seems simple enough, right? [continues 601 words]
WASHINGTON -- South Dakota student Kraig Selken has turned to Congress in his effort to soften laws that punish student drug offenders, but he won't get much help from his state's congressional delegation. Selken, a student at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., traveled to Washington last week to lobby Republican Sen. John Thune, Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth. He and other students say a law banning some convicted drug offenders from obtaining student loans is wrong and should be repealed. [continues 375 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) -- South Dakota student Kraig Selken has turned to Congress in his effort to soften laws that punish student drug offenders, but he won't get much help from his state's congressional delegation. Selken, a student at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., traveled to Washington last week to lobby Republican Sen. John Thune, Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth. He and other students say a law banning some convicted drug offenders from obtaining student loans is wrong and should be repealed. [continues 374 words]
Once again, kids have astounded us with their ingenuity. It seems they are now able to thwart the law and go online to purchase cigarettes. The federal government is asking the U.S. Postal Service to discontinue delivering boxes of cigarettes to minors. So, what's up with kids these days? It seems that there are daily crises reported: childhood obesity at near-epidemic proportions, binge-drinking, date-rape drugs, the list could go on and on. "It's tougher to raise kids than it used to be," observed the parent of two teenagers. "They have challenges we didn't have when we were growing up. Drugs, sex, Internet dangers. They're constantly on the run. If it's not soccer and dance lessons, it's school sporting events. They're hardly ever home." [continues 683 words]
SPEARFISH - As officials from Lawrence County school districts become increasingly aware that drug and alcohol use among youth is more of a community-wide problem, rather than just a school problem, schools are taking a more active approach in prevention and taking an active role in helping children make healthy choices. That's where YouthWise comes in. Based in Spearfish, this organization funded by the South Dakota Division of Drug and Alcohol, has contracted with Spearfish and Lead-Deadwood Schools to provide programming and curriculum designed to help students make healthier choices and stay drug free. Currently the organization is working to support existing school programs such as peer helpers and the youth advisory council, as well as provide additional programming such as speakers and after-school activities to help teach kids about healthy lifestyles. [continues 517 words]
Opponents Concerned About Controlling Use A movement to legalize the use of marijuana for medical uses was headed for defeat with partial election results available late Tuesday. South Dakota's Initiated Measure 4 was patterned after laws in 11 states. Passage looked doubtful at 11 p.m. with 141,734 votes against legalized use compared with 127,713 votes in favor, a 53-47 margin, with 743 precincts out of 818 reporting. Those against the measure said approval would have led to open use, and the public might think that it is the only medicine effective for certain ailments. [continues 259 words]
Initiated Measure 4 is a compassionate measure to protect sick and dying people from arrest. I'm one of them, a Gulf War veteran who was exposed to nerve agents during my service. As a result, I suffer from a degenerative muscular disease that ended my career and will likely cut my life short. I've been prescribed virtually every FDA-approved narcotic and opiate on the market. These prescription painkillers not only have failed to relieve my deep inner-muscle pain, they left me in a fog, unable to function. I could even not remember what my family said the day before. [continues 113 words]
I have read and listened to various views on Initiated Measure 4, the medical marijuana initiative, and what I've noticed from the folks against this is that their only real message is fear. This is for sick and dying people, not people with routine medical concerns. Someone with chronic pain usually has a severe medical condition that causes it, a condition that by definition can't be cured or relieved by ordinary treatments. I'm one of them, a Gulf War veteran exposed to nerve agents. As a result, I suffer from a degenerative muscular disease that ended my career and will likely cut my life short. [continues 234 words]
As one of the many seriously ill South Dakotans depending on the medical marijuana initiative's passage, I want to thank you for your support for this compassionate measure. If it does not pass, I could end up in jail for trying to live as normally as possible. For 20 years, I have had multiple sclerosis. I have tried numerous prescription medications, but none of them have worked on my incredible stiffness and spasms. When I wake up, I am nearly paralyzed, unable to move. [continues 118 words]
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A medical marijuana ballot issue in South Dakota is being supported by people who want to legalize drugs, a top federal drug official said Friday. John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, said people who have been trying to legalize marijuana are exploiting the suffering of genuinely sick people to further their political ends. South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to smoke marijuana to ease their pain and other medical problems if voters approve Initiated Measure 4 on Tuesday. [continues 296 words]
A medical marijuana ballot issue in South Dakota is being supported by people who want to legalize drugs, a top federal drug official said Friday. John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, said people who have been trying to legalize marijuana are exploiting the suffering of genuinely sick people to further their political ends. South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to smoke marijuana to ease their pain and other medical problems if voters approve Initiated Measure 4 on Tuesday. [continues 296 words]
RAPID CITY -- Two Stevens High School seniors who wore T-shirts to school advocating the passage of Initiated Measure 4, the medical marijuana ballot issue, say their rights to political free speech were violated when the school principal confiscated the shirts, which were decorated with the image of a marijuana leaf. David Valenzuela, 17, and Chris Fuentes, 18, were told by a Stevens security guard to remove the shirts as they entered their first-period class Oct. 20. Principal Katie Bray confiscated the shirts a short time later. [continues 519 words]
Editor's note: This is another in a series of stories on ballot issues and candidates facing South Dakota voters in the Nov. 7 general election. Voters will decide next week whether South Dakota citizens should legally be allowed to use medical marijuana to treat symptoms caused by certain medical conditions. The controversial Initiated Measure 4 would allow people with "debilitating" medical conditions to grow, possess and use small amounts of medical marijuana. Proponents say the bill would enable those who have painful conditions to legally ease their pain. [continues 759 words]
Regarding your thoughtful editorial on medical marijuana (Press & Dakotan, Oct. 11), if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican migration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. [continues 99 words]
I'm responding to John Cornette's letter, "Medical Marijuana A Pipe Dream." (Press & Dakotan, Oct. 13) He attacks South Dakota's medical ballot measure which would allow sick, suffering people another option to mainstream pharmaceutical medications. As a medical marijuana patient in Oregon, I can tell you how important this ballot measure is. Without medical marijuana, I'd be unable to function due to disabling health conditions. Mr. Cornette's statements about plant production are wrong. As a licensed medical marijuana patient who grows my own medicine and regularly donates marijuana to AIDS and MS patients, I've never reached my limit of 24 ounces, and I'm allowed to grow six mature plants at any one time. There's never enough medicine to help everyone. [continues 56 words]
A White house drug official, the state attorney general and local law officials panned a proposed measure to legalize medical marijuana at a news conference Thursday at the Rapid City Police Department. "This is about asking yourself whether making more drugs available in the state of South Dakota to young people is a good thing," deputy drug czar Scott Burns said of Initiated Measure 4, which, if passed on Nov. 7, would legalize marijuana for medicinal use. That would include those with debilitating illness such as cancer and glaucoma. [continues 652 words]
SIOUX FALLS -- South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to smoke marijuana to ease their pain and other medical problems if voters approve Initiated Measure 4 on Nov. 7. Diseases and conditions that would be covered include: cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms and multiple sclerosis. The state Department of Health also could approve other medical conditions. Though some states permit medical marijuana, residents still can be prosecuted in federal court. [continues 424 words]
Benefits, Side Effects of Drug on Society Debated South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to smoke marijuana to ease their pain and other medical problems if voters approve Initiated Measure 4 on Nov. 7. Diseases and conditions that would be covered include: cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms and multiple sclerosis. The state Department of Health also could approve other medical conditions. Though some states permit medical marijuana, residents still can be prosecuted in federal court. [continues 421 words]
But Supporters of Measure Say Pot Offers Relief The nation's deputy drug czar on Friday said proponents of the medical marijuana initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot are playing to voters' sympathies to pass a dangerous measure. "It's a step backwards in South Dakota and a step backwards nationally," said Scott Burns, deputy director of White House National Drug Control Policy, who spoke to reporters Friday. "Do not fall for the con." If voters approve Initiated Measure 4, South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to grow and smoke marijuana to help ease their medical problems. Residents of those states still can face federal drug charges. [continues 291 words]
I am glad to hear of John Cornette's expertise on marijuana and legalization (Press & Dakotan, Oct. 13). Therefore, I have a question for him: In the past 100 years, there have been numerous government commissions around the world that have studied the marijuana laws and made recommendations for changes. Can you name any such study that supports your point of view? I have already collected all the ones I could find, and I posted the full text of them at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer under Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy. The collection includes the largest studies ever done by the governments of the U.S., the UK, Canada, and Australia, just to mention a few. [continues 56 words]
I'm writing about Thomas D. Griffith's thoughtful letter: "Medical marijuana matters" (Press & Dakotan, Oct. 16). I'd like to add that I support your medical marijuana amendment. However, it should not be necessary. It seems to me that adult citizens of a so-called free country should not need permission from their government to smoke, swallow, snort or inject any substance that they want -- especially in the privacy of their own homes. If adult citizens are not free to choose for themselves what goes into their own bodies -- even in the privacy of their own homes, then the word freedom is meaningless, empty and hallow. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Pot Violations Now Outstrip Those for Alcohol The suspension of four Lincoln High School students Tuesday for breaking rules on controlled substances continues a pattern showing more violations for marijuana than alcohol. Of the 23 alcohol and drug arrests involving Sioux Falls public schoolchildren this fall, 21 have related to possessing marijuana or paraphernalia. "There's been a shift. It was more alcohol. Now more kids use marijuana," said Bill Smith, the school district's director of instructional support services. "It's easier to get than it used to be, and it's easier to conceal." [continues 219 words]
I've served as South Dakota Elks' Drug Awareness chairman for 25 years. It's been my responsibility to make Elks lodges and communities more aware of the dangers involved in using illegal drugs. I'm against any kind of legalization of marijuana. I've seen how devastating the use of this drug can be. Should marijuana be made legal for medicinal use? I could write a considerable amount on why this is a bad idea. In the states that have such laws, five plants have been allowed to be grown in the homes of those who've received a prescription. One marijuana plant produces approximately one pound of useable marijuana, which equals approximately 1,176 marijuana cigarettes. [continues 65 words]
I'd like to thank the Press and Dakotan for its editorial in support of Initiated Measure 4 (Oct. 11). I want to clarify a couple of points which may cause confusion. First, many national medical and public health groups support medical marijuana. But these organizations generally don't take positions on individual state ballot measures, and haven't specifically stated a position on Measure 4. Second, federal law prevents South Dakota from authorizing distribution through pharmacies. Measure 4 adopts the same strict controls used in other states: Patients must be seriously ill, have a physician certification and register with the state. They're then permitted to grow a small amount of marijuana or to designate a caregiver to grow it for them if they are unable to. The maximum permitted is six plants -- a minimal amount, producing less usable medicine than the U.S. government currently provides to the five patients now receiving government-grown medical marijuana each month in a program now closed to new patients. [continues 52 words]
Next month, South Dakota voters have an opportunity to embrace what might be considered an act of compassion by passing Initiated Measure 4, which would provide certain seriously ill individuals with access to marijuana for medical purposes. The motivation behind the law is not marijuana, but such things as cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis or other maladies -- and, in some cases, the treatment thereof -- that can seriously debilitate individuals. Reports by the American Public Health Association and the Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate that the use of marijuana by some severely ill patients may relieve such symptoms as nausea and vomiting, and generally give some of these people some semblance of a normal life again. [continues 467 words]
Banker Hopes To Help Others Get Off Drugs Kristi Metzger had it all: a job she loved as a bank vice president, loving family and friends, community activities, a house to shelter her at the end of a productive day. And a secret. Metzger was addicted to the prescription pain reliever Vicodin. After 10 surgeries in 15 years in a fruitless effort to relieve chronic pain caused by endometriosis, Metzger had almost quadrupled the maximum number of Vicodin she was allowed. And to keep her secret, she had turned into a liar. [continues 1255 words]
NORTHERN HILLS - After seeing the Safe and Drug Free Schools program continue to lose funding over the years, the state has stepped up and is granting both Lead-Deadwood and Spearfish school districts with $100,000 to use toward community-based programs. Students throughout both communities, along with their younger siblings, will benefit because of this additional funding. School Project Leader Jackie Rans, told school board members this month that it's taken about four years of hard work on behalf of the district and the state to make this happen, but prevention activities will be a lot easier to finance because of this grant. [continues 309 words]
PIERRE -- A circuit judge told South Dakota officials Friday to make substantial changes in the language that will appear on the November ballot to explain a proposal that would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Voters in November will decide whether to legalize marijuana for people who have certain medical conditions such as cancer, AIDS or chronic pain. The ballot explanation by Attorney General Larry Long will guide voters. In a ruling issued Friday, Circuit Judge Max Gors of Pierre gave Long the option of either using a new explanation written by the judge or making substantial changes to the explanation Long had written. [continues 448 words]
Chairman: More Police Needed To Fight Drugs PIERRE - The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is $30 million in the hole and desperately in need of a cash infusion to beef up its anemic police force in the face of a surge in drug-related crime, Chairman Lester Thompson Jr. says. Thompson, who took office in May, recently issued a report to tribal members outlining the severity of the tribe's financial woes. It included notice that the tribe owes the Internal Revenue Service almost $4 million in unpaid taxes and penalty fees. [continues 351 words]
The Aberdeen school board wants to know if parents are interested in starting random testing of Central High School students for drugs in their bodies. The tests would be random only among those students whose parents have enrolled their kids in the program. It would also allow for discretionary testing whereby parents would call Central and request that their child be tested on a particular day. The Sioux Falls school district has participated in these programs of Prairie View Prevention Services of Sioux Falls for a number of years, said Darcy Jensen of Prairie View. About a third of Sioux Falls high school students are part of the random/discretionary testing, she said. [continues 362 words]
Proposals Include Medical Marijuana Use, Airplane Limits PIERRE - South Dakota voters this fall will decide the fate of ballot measures that seek to boost the tax on cigarettes, allow marijuana for medical purposes, prohibit an early starting date for school and limit the use of state airplanes, a state official announced Thursday. Secretary of State Chris Nelson had announced in May that sufficient petition signatures had been filed to put the tobacco tax and school starting date measures on the November ballot. [continues 415 words]
A federal appeals court said Thursday that authorities were correct to confiscate industrial hemp grown on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The crop comes from the same plant as marijuana but doesn't contain the chemical that's responsible for the drug's high. Members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe maintained that federal drug laws don't apply to industrial hemp and that tribal sovereignty gives them a right to harvest the plants. The tribal council legalized industrial hemp in 1998, but federal agents destroyed three consecutive years of crops grown by the White Plume family. [continues 54 words]
Federal Court Rules Against Indians Who Planted Crops SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - An American Indian treaty and United States law do not allow for the cultivation of industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Alex White Plume, vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and members of his family planted hemp on their property, but it was cut down and confiscated by federal agents. Industrial hemp is related to marijuana and is used to make rope and other products. It has only a trace of the drug in marijuana, but it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. [continues 134 words]
SIOUX FALLS -- An American Indian treaty and United States law do not allow for the cultivation of industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Alex White Plume, who is vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and members of his family planted hemp on their property but it was cut down and confiscated by federal agents. Industrial hemp,which is related to marijuana, is used to make rope and other products. It has only a trace of the drug in marijuana, but it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. [continues 322 words]
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- An American Indian treaty and United States law do not allow for the cultivation of industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. Alex White Plume, vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and members of his family planted hemp on their property but it was cut down and confiscated by federal agents. Industrial hemp is related to marijuana and is used to make rope and other products. It has only a trace of the drug in marijuana, but it is illegal to grow hemp in the United States. [continues 349 words]
PIERRE -- The South Dakota Supreme Court was asked Tuesday to throw out the convictions of a woman who was caught near Sioux Falls last year with 53 pounds of marijuana in her car. Sioux Falls lawyer Mike Butler said the evidence should have been suppressed because a state Highway Patrol dog did not give any clear signal that it had detected the odor of marijuana in the car driven by Tam Thi Thu Nguyen, 23, of Renton, Wash. The search was illegal because the trooper had no probable cause to search the car, he said. [continues 634 words]
SIOUX FALLS - A South Dakota student is among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union that challenges a provision of federal law that denies financial aid to convicted drug offenders. In its class-action lawsuit, the ACLU says the provision is unconstitutional because it punishes people twice for the same crime and creates a class of people deemed unworthy of receiving federal financial aid for college without a good reason. About 200,000 people nationwide have been denied financial aid since the provision went into effect in 2000, Adam Wolf, a lawyer for the ACLU, said. [continues 94 words]
SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- A South Dakota student is among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit planned by the American Civil Liberties Union that challenges a provision of federal law that denies financial aid to convicted drug offenders. In its class-action lawsuit, the ACLU says the provision is unconstitutional because it punishes people twice for the same crime and creates a class of people deemed unworthy of receiving federal financial aid for college without a good reason. "While any non-drug offender, from a murderer to a shoplifter, can receive financial aid, an individual who is caught with any amount of a controlled substance, including a small amount of marijuana, is automatically denied aid by the federal government," the complaint states. [continues 139 words]
There were 389 women in South Dakota's state prison system Wednesday, an all-time high that forced 43 minimum security prisoners into the former Department of Criminal Investigations dormitories in Pierre. And the number is growing. The state Department of Corrections estimates that the average daily number of female prisoners will grow by 20 percent this year. The trend's cause is obvious to many, both in and out of law enforcement: methamphetamine. "We punish meth," South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long said Wednesday. Long wasn't aware of the new corrections statistics, but said he was not surprised by them. "If you use it or distribute it, we don't have a sense of humor about that." [continues 513 words]
An open letter to the people of Yankton County, one of the few counties in this state designated by our federal government as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area: The U.S. has been losing a devastating war on drugs, and now our local politicians and administrators are making silly arguments about how good such a misguided bill like HB1147 would be for our youth. These politicians are trying to change the definition of a key word here, but don't be fooled when they talk about children making "mistakes." A crime by any other name is still a crime. [continues 246 words]
He also found himself under arrest for violating restrictions on gathering petition signatures inside Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Newland was arrested Tuesday by Rapid City police officers and booked for failure to vacate. He is scheduled to appear in 7th Circuit Court at 8 a.m. Wednesday. "I'll plead not guilty and ask for a trial as quickly as possible," Newland said Tuesday evening after being released on bond. "My view is that this is just wrong. Anybody can go into those public hallways and talk about anything at anytime. It's owned by the public." [continues 344 words]
A Meth Disaster Looms In Your Own Backyard Editor's Note: Methamphetamine is ripping apart the fabric of our community. From the 5-year old child charged with taking care of her infant brother because her mother is passed out from the drug, to the rental property owner confronted with the cost of cleaning up a meth lab, to the addict in the state pen for a crime he committed while high on the drug, few people remain unaffected. Starting today and running through next week, the Pioneer will examine this growing problem with a series called, "Meth: Everyone's Problem." [continues 1126 words]
Realtors Against Meth (RAM) is sponsoring meth awareness presentations throughout the Northern Hills which will begin this week in Spearfish. SPEARFISH: A community leaders' luncheon will be held in Spearfish at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, in the Northern Hills Holiday Inn and then at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday a parents' and adults' session will be held at the high school. STURGIS: Then on Tuesday, Jan. 17, presentations will begin in Sturgis at 9 a.m. in the Sturgis Middle School and at 1:30 p.m. at the high school. At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, there will be a no-host community luncheon at the Sturgis Armory and then at 6:30 p.m. there will be a parents' and community session at the Sturgis Community Center Theater. [continues 1244 words]
Editor's Note: The following is a part of the full story of a mother who lost her daughter to methamphetamine use. Mary Haydal will be in the Northern Hills area to personally share her experiences with adults and children this month. Adults will receive drug education during the presentation, and the children will view a memorial video for Cassie and a two-minute DVD of Cassie taken two weeks before she collapsed from meth use. Haydal's next presentation will be held Jan. 10 at Spearfish High School. ----------------------------------- Last edit: October 7, 2003 -- I can tell you the last beautiful fall day of the year 2000. It was Nov. 4. The weather was crisp. [continues 1909 words]
Inside South Dakota
