On Any Given Day In Shelby County, 2,000 Find Themselves Without A Place To Live MEMPHIS - Under the stench of urine and an unwashed blanket, Johnnie Jones dug a wedding band out of his jeans pocket and slipped it on his left ring finger. Addiction robbed him of his marriage years ago. "It's alcohol. Not crack," the homeless 45-year-old said. Jones has been on the streets for the past two decades, a mainstay at the soup kitchen and day-labor line. [continues 691 words]
As Tennessee prepares to start the new year, some old acquaintances will not be forgotten. Despite tougher laws and increased enforcement efforts, the drug problem in Tennessee continues to be strong with both domestically produced drugs as wells as trafficking operations throughout the state. "The drug problems we find here in Tennessee, throughout the state, cocaine remains a problem, methamphetamine is a huge problem and here in East Tennessee, marijuana is a problem because it is a natural grow area for marijuana," said Harry Sommers, special agent in charge for Drug Enforcement Administration operations in Tennessee. [continues 646 words]
Following a recent intense statewide conference on the problems dealing with methamphetamines, figures show that 25 children in Franklin County have been removed their families by law enforcement and the Department of Child Services. According to Cindy Kilpatrick of the Department of Child Services (DCS), from January to November of this year, the department has taken custody of 78 children this year in the county and of that number, 25 were removed from homes where meth was being produced. "There have been some children who were removed but were placed with relatives, rather than us taking them," Kilpatrick explained. [continues 660 words]
Judge Orders New Trial for Defendants Convicted on Coked-Up Testimony If you're testifying for the prosecution on a drug case, here's a bit of advice: don't be hooked on the stuff yourself. Last week, in a ruling that somehow slipped under the radar, Criminal Court Judge Randall Wyatt granted a new trial to six Hispanic defendants convicted on conspiracy to sell over 70 pounds of marijuana in April 2001. The judge ruled that a key prosecution witness, T.B.I. agent Patrick Howell, was addicted to cocaine during the investigation and proceedings of the case. Wyatt set aside a 15-year-sentence for each of the defendants, who had been ordered to serve their entire sentence because they were arrested within 1,000 feet of a school zone. [continues 476 words]
With methamphetamine production having developed into a major problem in Tennessee, a resolution is making its way through county legislative bodies with the aim of seeking tougher state penalties. Both the McMinn County Commission and the Meigs County Commission adopted their versions of the resolution during meetings last week. Commissioner J.W. McPhail, who introduced the measure at the McMinn County meeting, said it had already been adopted by other county commissions. McPhail added "there's a lot of interest" in creating a stiff deterrent to methamphetamine manufacturing and sales. [continues 308 words]
What does your family do on Saturday mornings? Chores? Grocery shopping? Sleep in? A few families may spend the morning in a team shopping effort with the children searching out such items as iodine, hydrogen peroxide, distilled water, coffee filters, Draino and camp-stove fuel. Later, the parents will use these items, and others, to make up a batch of methamphetamine. The children exposed to the chemicals in these labs may eventually suffer from breathing problems, seizures and learning disabilities. If their parents are caught processing 'meth,' the children will automatically be removed from their custody and put into foster care. [continues 919 words]
Just For Today The holidays can be treacherous times for those in recovery. Loneliness and emptiness are common feelings for a lot of people during the Christmas season, but when your life hangs in the balance if you choose to get high, those feelings can be deadly. For a lot of us, it's easy to look back at everything we've lost and not see everything we have. If we're alone, it seems that all we see are couples and families, smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves. If we're financially strapped, all we notice are the people pushing shopping carts full of presents out to their nice cars. If we're just getting into recovery, every bar catches our eye, the men and women going inside seeming so jovial and good-spirited. [continues 585 words]
The war in the Upper Cumberland region against methamphetamine usage got a large boost recently with the announcement of a $500,000 Community Oriented Policing (COPS) grant which will be used for training and setting up a special prosecutorial team. "In the seven-county district (13th Judicial District), the heart of the meth problem is in Cumberland, Putnam and White," said Assistant District Attorney General Gary McKenzie. In fact, the last figures McKenzie has seen show that more meth labs have been seized in Cumberland than in the nearby Cookeville area. [continues 482 words]
BLOUNTVILLE - Positions on methamphetamine use, homeland security, concealed weapons, gay marriage and abortion were outlined statewide by Tennessee House Republicans in two components of their "New Vision for Tennessee" Thursday. One component titled "Safe Homes, Safe Neighborhoods and a Safe Tennessee" called for tougher penalties for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine. "We will push for civil liability against drug dealers so that families and communities that are affected by the parasites who profit from drugs will be able to recover damages that results from their crimes," state Rep. Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol, said in remarks distributed to reporters at the Sullivan County Health/Education Building. [continues 472 words]
Caterer Who Mailed Himself 200 Grams Of 'Medical' Pot Waives Preliminary Hearing Premier Place Catering owner Carl Jones will have his marijuana possession case heard by a grand jury in March, while charges against his wife, Angel, were dropped Tuesday. The 45-year-old businessman waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Madison County General Sessions Court. He admitted in a November interview with The Jackson Sun that he suffers from a marijuana addiction. He's charged with felony possession of marijuana with the intent to resell and possession of drug paraphernalia. [continues 186 words]
The solution to the current methamphetamine crisis is both simple and obvious: immediate restriction of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to prescription-only status. This would deprive illicit methamphetamine manufacturers of their key ingredient, directly causing cessation of production. Since the over-the-counter availability of these feedstock chemicals represents a clear and immediate danger to the public health and welfare, one wonders why the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Agency have perfervidly procrastinated acting on this matter. John C. Horner Morristown [end]
Labs Present Health Hazard in More Ways Than One. For most people, methamphetamine -- or "meth," as it is more commonly known -- is a drug they've read about in the newspaper, but it is not something that has directly touched their lives. But it's out there and has an effect, one way or the other, on all of us. Tennessee has the sad distinction of being No. 1 in meth production labs. Here in Montgomery County, 15 of these labs were discovered last year. [continues 227 words]
"We're blessed that this county takes the threat seriously. The business community, the city governments, law enforcement are all trying to get a handle on this epidemic," Deputy Investigator J.R. Scott told about 35 people at the Baxter City Hall last Friday. He was talking about the struggle going on countywide to lessen the growing numbers of people in the area who are getting hooked on methamphetamine. "A lot of counties are not able to fight this because they don't have enough officers or people willing to get involved," he said. [continues 878 words]
The recent death of a Scott County police officer during a raid on a mobile home where the manufacture of methamphetamine was suspected is a tragically powerful reminder of the dangers posed by the scourge of this illegal drug: Its impact can claim the innocent. It is all the more tragic that the fatal shot that struck Sgt. Hubert "John John" Yancey was fired by a colleague - Deputy Marty Carson, who was unaware that Yancey had entered the dimly lighted mobile home. [continues 223 words]
Committee Feels Ordinance On Methadone Treatment Facilities Needs More Work Knox County wants to extend a moratorium on methadone treatment facilities while it develops an ordinance on the matter. The County Commission is expected to approve a four-month extension of the ban on new clinics while an ordinance is drawn-up to meet the concerns of some of the commissioners. If the commission approves the ordinance, the sometimes-controversial clinics would be subject to legislative oversight. The commission slapped a six-month ban on methadone clinics last June after a nonresidential clinic was proposed on Chapman Highway in South Knox County. [continues 285 words]
MADISONVILLE - The Monroe County Coordinating Council for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment announced during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2 that the process had begun for the county to get an adult drug court. The court would be used for drug related criminal charges and would allow offenders to receive treatment. Judge Carroll Ross is the acting judge for the drug court, which would cover Monroe, McMinn and Polk counties. It is expected to take one year to get the court running. A planning group will meet in January. [continues 265 words]
To the Editor: The disappearance of Dru Sjodin, a young college student in North Dakota, illustrates why most people still support the death penalty for violent criminals. Alfonso Rodriguez, a three-time convicted sex offender, is charged with her abduction and, with her DNA-matched blood in his car, almost certainly her death. Those who oppose capital punishment say incarcerate such a violent offender for the rest of his life. That would be a viable alternative to a death sentence if it were done, but it is not, as the case of Mr. Rodriguez illustrates. [continues 120 words]
Taxpayer Sandra Browning doesn't want to pay for the health care costs of methamphetamine users. She heard about the increased cost of East Tennessee inmates' dental work to repair damage caused by the cheaply made synthetic drug that affects the central nervous system. Browning said a seminar sponsored by Premier Safety to educate people about the dangers of meth will be a great way to increase awareness, so people will know the indicators of meth and assist law enforcement. The class, scheduled for 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, is open to the public. It will focus on the hazards of meth, the risks of exposure and how to recognize the labs. [continues 442 words]
Two attorneys with the 13th Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office walked out of court on Thursday after one complained of feeling sick. The attorneys believe at least one source of the poor air quality comes from meth fumes brought into the courtroom on the clothes of several defendants appearing in court. "Thursday afternoon they did inform me that one of them - Ms. Lyons - was feeling sick and that they were leaving," General Sessions Court Judge Steven Douglas said. As a result, some cases on the docket had to be continued. [continues 312 words]
HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. - A grand jury will review drug charges against four people authorities say were at an alleged methamphetamine lab when Scott County Deputy Hubert "John John" Yancey was accidentally killed by a fellow officer. After a lengthy hearing Thursday, Sessions Court Judge James Cotton sent the cases against Mark Edward Rector, 35; Ryan Douglas Clark, 28; Penny Annette Carpenter, 28; and Nicole Windle, 26, to the grand jury. All are charged with three counts of manufacturing methamphetamine. None faces state charges related to the death of Yancey, 35, who was shot inside a mobile home where the four reportedly were staying and making meth. Rector and Carpenter also have meth-related charges pending in other counties, Assistant Attorney General James Galloway said. [continues 296 words]
"We're number one! We're number one!" We imagine that many of you remember chanting this during your high school years, cheering on the hometown team with the notion that your city or county was superior in every way to others. Unfortunately, Franklin County is number one in an area that we should be ashamed of. That's because according to figures maintained by the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Franklin County is now considered the top producer of the illegal drug methamphetamine in the state of Tennessee. [continues 492 words]
"We're number one! We're number one!" We imagine that many of you remember chanting this during your high school years, cheering on the hometown team with the notion that your city or county was superior in every way to others. Unfortunately, Franklin County is number one in an area that we should be ashamed of. That's because according to figures maintained by the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Franklin County is now considered the top producer of the illegal drug methamphetamine in the state of Tennessee. Figures show that as of the middle of last week, 52 labs have been found in rural Franklin County. Also, Winchester police officials states that they have confiscated 32 so far this year. But this is no surprise to anyone who reads this paper on a regular basis. Arrests involve homemade labs occur so often in this county that many have become accustomed to seeing the words "meth" in nearly any recent edition of this publication. Considering 1,154 clandestine meth labs were found statewide in fiscal 2003 compared to 235 in fiscal 2000, it's obvious this problem is growing. This is a plague that affects not only the people who become addicted to it, but also their children, who often are placed in state custody because meth users can no longer care for them. All meth makers need is a house, apartment, out-of-the-way trailer or shed and ingredients such as cold pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaner and matches. With a concoction made of those substances, it is little wonder people who use it are on the fast track to a grave, jails or hospitals. State Representative Judd Matheny says meth use is spreading like wild fire in southern middle Tennessee and he's already working on tough new legislation aimed at cracking down on makers and users. Matheny, a Tullahoma Republican, says he is working to raise criminal penalties for meth makers and users to a tougher Class D felony offense that would fetch longer jail terms and higher fines. He also wants legislation that would limit the wholesale and retail sales of common household and over-the-counter medications used to make the drug. His proposed bill would require a photo i.d., signature, and statement of use from anyone buying large amounts of cold medications, rubbing alcohol or machines. Raising the penalties against the makers of the drug would be a great idea...and it's one that we have discussed before. Too often, the amount of bond that is set for suspects charged with making meth in this county is far too low. The ones who get nabbed are often out of jail in less than 24 hours and go right back and start making the drug again. However, some people who have been arrested multiple times for making meth now have to face federal prosecution. It's a much different game in this ballpark. [continues 84 words]
Whether it's methamphetamine, prescription pain medication, alcohol or other illicit drugs, addiction and alcoholism are a blight on our society. Addiction, including alcoholism, is a disease that destroys the user's mind and body. But it also takes its toll on society. Drug and alcohol abuse leads to higher crime rates, increases the spread of diseases like AIDS and hepatitis, increases the instances of domestic violence, and generally decreases the quality of life for everyone. But in all reality, many addicts and alcoholics themselves don't approve of their own behavior when under the influence of a drug or when trying to get more. The addiction has grown beyond their control, causing them to behave in ways shocking to their family, themselves and society in general. [continues 260 words]
As of this week there are no active permits from Dr. Steven Richie to open methadone clinics in Northeast Tennessee cities. But that doesn't mean he has given up hope. A Nashville attorney who represents the Knoxville doctor contends there is a need for such a clinic in East Tennessee. In 2002, Richie attempted to bring a methadone clinic to downtown Johnson City. Richie currently operates methadone clinics in Nashville and Memphis. The Johnson City Addiction Research and Treatment Center received a certificate of need from the now-defunct Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, but that decision was overturned in May on appeal. [continues 292 words]
The recent death of a Scott County police officer during a raid on a mobile home where the manufacture of methamphetamine was suspected is a tragically powerful reminder of the dangers posed by the scourge of this illegal drug: Its impact can claim the innocent. It is all the more tragic that the fatal shot that struck Sgt. Hubert "John John" Yancey was fired by a colleague - Deputy Marty Carson, who was unaware that Yancey had entered the dimly lighted mobile home. It was fitting that, at the funeral of Yancey, the officer's wife requested that Carson serve as a pallbearer. [continues 337 words]
Health Workers Urged To Protect Themselves Against Toxic Fumes NASHVILLE - The Hippocratic Oath tells doctors: First, do no harm. But when dealing with methamphetamine users it must be amended to read: First, protect yourself. Dr. Barry S. Wagner, director of medical recruiting at Emergency Coverage Corp. in Knoxville and a member of the Cumberland Medical Center in Crossville, said health care professionals have been sickened by the stench of a drug user's clothes and chemicals found in bodily fluids. "We don't have all the answers because all the answers don't exist," he said Tuesday during a panel discussion at the three-day Methamphetamine Response Conference. "If you treat this as a typical diagnostic problem, you're going to come out on the short end of the stick." [continues 537 words]
I commend the News Sentinel for its accurate presentation of methamphetamine addiction treatment, "Limited treatment options available in rural areas to meth users," Nov. 18. Contrary to enforcement officials' unsubstantiated claims of treatment's ineffectiveness, a recent large study in the western United States shows nearly half of treated meth addicts to be drug-free after a year. There are no indications that relapsed patients cannot be salvaged or that better results cannot be achieved through improved techniques and greater treatment availability. [continues 142 words]
Others Complain Of Court's Air Quality; Tests Done CROSSVILLE, Tenn. - Two public defenders walked out of court last week after one complained of feeling sick, and attorneys say part of the blame lies in the fumes from several defendants charged with making the homemade drug methamphetamine. ''Thursday afternoon they did inform me that one of them - Ms. Lyons - was feeling sick and that they were leaving,'' General Sessions Judge Steven Douglas said. As a result, some cases on the docket for that day had to be postponed. [continues 370 words]
The rise of methamphetamine use in Sevier County is cutting the lives of addicts short and damaging their bodies severely along the way. Methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug, has been around for years but did not become a problem in Tennessee until the mid-1990s. In the last five years, the problem has skyrocketed, with a dramatic increase within the last year. The 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimated 8.8 million people, or four percent of the population, have tried meth at some point in their lives. [continues 1209 words]
As the use and manufacture of methamphetamine in Sevier County grows, so do the hazards associated with the drug. The hazards of methamphetamine include dangers to the community in general, the officers busting the labs, health personnel, the environment, and to the meth makers, meth addicts and their families. Crime factor As with other drugs, meth manufacturing and use often leads to other crimes, so as meth use rises, so does the potential for an increase in other associated crimes. Methamphetamine users experience an intense "crash" after the drug wears off, and will often turn to crime to fund their habit, according to law enforcement officials. [continues 1195 words]
Remember the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s? Cocaine is still around, but it's been replaced in rural Tennessee by methamphetamine or "crank," which is highly addictive, long lasting, cheap and deadly. Indeed, it is a plague that affects not only the people who become addicted to it, but also their children, who often are placed in state custody because crank junkies can no longer care for them. All crank cooks need is an out-of-the-way trailer or shed and ingredients such as cold pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaner, salt and matches. [continues 145 words]
Regarding the article "'Coerced' contribution returned" in the Nov. 29 edition: If a person has money in his possession, he is automatically guilty? What nonsense. Only because of the mindset of the police, which is, everyone is guilty until proven innocent. Only the police say that the dog alerted, and even if it did, which I doubt, dogs can make mistakes, too. What is to stop any cop from extorting money from any of us? Those cracker cops should be fired and the whole war on drugs dismantled. Then civil rights might actually mean something. I thank my lucky stars that I don't live in the formerly free USA but in the truly free country of Canada, where that kind of thing is not known. Bruce Symington Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada [end]
State Rep. Judd Matheny told the Tullahoma Drug Task Force that methamphetamine abuse in Tennessee is "spreading like wildfire," and he is currently working on legislation to strengthen the penalties for meth labs and put stricter controls on the chemicals used to make meth. Matheny, who was attending a three-day Methamphetamine Response Conference in Nashville, took time to attend the luncheon meeting of the Tullahoma Drug Task Force Tuesday. Tullahoma Police Chief J.C. Ferrell, Coffee County District Attorney Mickey Layne, members of the Mayor's Youth Council and other community groups listened to Matheny discuss ways methamphetamine use and manufacture is costing the state lives and money. [continues 542 words]
Remember the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s? Cocaine is still around, but it's been replaced in rural Tennessee by methamphetamine or "crank," which is highly addictive, long lasting, cheap and deadly. Indeed, it is a plague that affects not only the people who become addicted to it, but also their children, who often are placed in state custody because crank junkies can no longer care for them. All crank cooks need is an out-of-the-way trailer or shed and ingredients such as cold pills containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaner, salt and matches. [continues 146 words]
A Nashville-based group hoping to build a methadone clinic near downtown Johnson City has abandoned its effort and will now look at another part of the state, City Commissioner Steve Darden said Thursday. "The legal battle to prevent a methadone clinic from setting up shop in Johnson City is over," Darden said during a news conference at City Hall. "And we have won." The Johnson City Addiction Research and Treatment Center LLC - which owns another clinic in Nashville - announced plans in 2002 to build the clinic at 200 W. Fairview Ave. [continues 255 words]
As methamphetamine spreads throughout the state - Tennessee is ranked second in the nation in meth production - it is good to see retailers and law enforcement take a stand together to battle the drug. Methamphetamine, also called meth, crystal, crystal meth, speed and crank (not to be confused with crack, which is a pure form of cocaine), is a highly addictive and dangerous central nervous system stimulant that is made from household chemicals widely available at a variety of retailers. There are several ways to make meth, and some of the ingredients include salt, rubbing alcohol, drain cleaner, red phosphorous (which comes from the striking pads of matchbooks) and ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, usually marketed as bronchodilators or cold medicine. [continues 208 words]
Tennessee's first statewide conference on methamphetamine labs is under way in Nashville - a timely recognition of a problem that has grown with menacing speed. While meth labs seem to have begun in California and later migrated to the Midwest, it is to Tennessee, and in particular the scenic and secluded hollows of our region, where the addictive stimulant's concentration seems especially acute. Tennessee now leads the nation in meth lab busts. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) spent approximately $22 million last year just to clean up the health hazard created by clandestine meth labs across the nation. Last year in Tennessee, 804 labs were discovered and confiscated by authorities. The cleanup cost was $3.1 million. This year, 1,083 labs have been identified by local, state or federal officials. [continues 399 words]
HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. - In the confusion and screams of a methamphetamine raid last week, a sheriff's officer fired a shot that killed his deputy partner, a prosecutor said yesterday. Sgt. Hubert ''John John'' Yancey, 35, was killed Friday night when he and drug Officer Marty Carson, son of Scott County Sheriff Jim Carson, entered a mobile home near Oneida where they believed meth was being made. According to District Attorney General Paul Phillips, Carson entered the trailer first with a resident's permission and didn't know that Yancey had followed. [continues 220 words]
Could fumes from defendants using methamphetamine be making public defenders ill? Public Defender David Brady, who serves the seven-county 13th Judicial District, thinks so. Two public defenders who work in the Cumberland County Courthouse and Justice Center have reported feeling sick, apparently from meth fumes brought in from clients they defend. Brady said, "I have given them instructions that if they feel the symptoms again they are to go to the hospital to be checked out." Brady said two public defenders assigned to cases in Cumberland County began experiencing symptoms, including burning eyes, nose, mouth and skin, and nausea, headaches, disorientation and inability to concentrate, about a month ago. The situation was brought to Brady's attention last week, and he sent a letter to judges in Cumberland County saying he had instructed the public defenders to leave the courtroom when they feel sick or intoxicated. Monday was the first court date in Cumberland County since those instructions were given. [continues 234 words]
Exploring possible solutions Anderson County Sheriff Bill White spent two days at the Methamphetamine Response conference in Nashville, where he learned what issues other agencies are having with the manufacturing of meth and discussed ways to resolve some of those issues. The conference, called Methamphetamine Response: A Multidiscipline Approach to Protecting Tennessee Communities, was held Monday through Wednesday in Nashville. The conference was sponsored by many Tennessee agencies and organizations whose offices have been affected by the growing number of clandestine labs found in Tennessee or the people making the illegal and volatile drug. [continues 494 words]
Scott Officer Fired Fatal Shot During Meth Raid HUNTSVILLE, Tenn. - A tragic mistake, made in a stress-filled split second by a Scott County deputy inside a dimly lit mobile home where a meth raid was going wrong, cost another deputy his life, authorities said Wednesday. Deputy Marty Carson, 31, the son of Sheriff Jim Carson, believed he was being confronted by a suspect armed with a shotgun when he fired a single shot from his department-issued Glock 40-caliber handgun, District Attorney General Paul Phillips said at a press conference called to reveal details of the Friday night incident. [continues 797 words]
The U.S. Supreme Court's reasonable ruling on police searches should allow law enforcement officers to use their common sense instead of a stopwatch. The case involved a suspected drug dealer, LaShawn Banks. Police in Las Vegas, armed with a search warrant, knocked on his apartment door. When he didn't answer in 20 seconds, they broke it down. The issue before the court was whether the time interval was reasonable. Banks' attorney convinced a federal appeals court that 20 seconds was such a short period of time that it violated Banks' constitutional protection against unreasonable search. [continues 230 words]
It's going to take a lot more than flowers, paint and public assistance to make the 13 Streets work again. At least one group of Hall Community residents wants to make that clear. To resurrect the community, the members of the community must be provided the means to help themselves. That means, first and foremost, jobs. "I'd buy my own flowers if I had a job,'' said Freda Dean, a native of the 13 Streets who recently moved back to the family home on West Watt Street. "The only money out here is drug money.'' [continues 1729 words]
Clerks To Call In Suspicious Buys Of Ingredients Tennessee's store clerks, drugstore cashiers and market workers will be the eyes and ears of drug enforcement agents as part of a new effort to stem methamphetamine production in the state. At the Tennessee Meth-amphetamine Response Conference, which opened yesterday and continues through tomorrow at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, TBI Acting Director David Jennings unveiled a new voluntary program called ''Meth Watch.'' Under the program, store employees will soon notice a poster that lists and shows the products used to make meth, a highly addictive drug that can be produced in a kitchen using a variety of common products, such as drain opener, muriatic acid and cold pills. Stores affected include convenience stores, drugstores, discount retailers such as Wal-Marts, grocery stores, and the like. [continues 348 words]
The illegal drug methamphetamine has spawned a new problem -- it's making the attorneys who defend those arrested for using meth sick as well. And 13th Judicial District Public Defender David Brady of Cookeville is offering what he says is a short-term solution to the problem -- instructing his attorneys to leave the courtroom when they feel sick or intoxicated by meth fumes. For the past month, two attorneys working out of Brady's office have reported feeling sick or "high" apparently from the meth fumes brought in from the clients they defend in the Cumberland County Courthouse and the Cumberland County Justice Center, according to Brady. [continues 521 words]
MEMPHIS - Under the stench of urine and an unwashed blanket, Johnnie Jones dug a wedding band out of his jeans pocket and slipped it on his left ring finger. Addiction robbed him of his marriage years ago. "It's alcohol. Not crack," the homeless 45-year-old said. Jones has been on the streets for the past two decades, a mainstay at the soup kitchen and day-labor line. His family now consists of the other blanket-covered heaps of humanity dotting the Memphis landscape on a frosty November night. [continues 671 words]
NASHVILLE - Tennessee retailers are teaming with law enforcement to fight what is being called an epidemic of methamphetamine usage that is wreaking havoc in families, courtrooms, jails and hospitals. David Jennings, interim director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, told people at a statewide conference Monday that the "Tennessee Meth Watch" initiative will begin later this week. Employees at small stores and big chains will be asked to call a toll-free number - 1-877-TNN-METH - to report suspicious purchases of household items used to make the illegal drug. [continues 449 words]
Four area law enforcement officials will join medical professionals and advocates for children and crime victims in Nashville this week who are taking part in the first annual Methamphetamine Conference. Estill Springs Police Chief David Cook, Winchester Public Safety Director Dennis Young, Franklin County Sheriff's Investigators Mike Bell and Bruce Elliott will be among more than 500 who will meet at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville to hear Gov. Phil Bredesen, First Lady Andrea Conte, Reps. Lincoln Davis and Zach Wamp and 50 speakers and panelists this week. [continues 167 words]
NASHVILLE - Tennessee retailers are teaming with law enforcement to fight what is being called an epidemic of methamphetamine usage that is wreaking havoc in families, courtrooms, jails and hospitals. David Jennings, interim director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, told attendees at a statewide conference Monday that the "Tennessee Meth Watch" initiative will begin later this week. Employees at small stores and big chains will be asked to call a toll-free number - 1 (877) TNN-METH - to report suspicious purchases of household items that are used to make the illegal drug. [continues 494 words]
Inside Tennessee
