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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Who knew that ditch weed was such a problem? It is, at least to the Brookings County commissioners. They recently approved a resolution, being sent to the South Dakota Association of County Commissioners, urging that the state list domestic cannabis as a noxious weed and requiring that landowners take care of the problem themselves. Brookings is one of only a handful of state counties that uses state money to spray for the wild marijuana on private land. Commissioners feel that should be the landowner's responsibility, not the county's. [continues 75 words]
A Sioux Falls teenager accused of selling drugs to other students is going to prison. A Minnehaha County judge Thursday sentenced Cuong Nguyen, 18, of 237 N. Cliff Ave. to seven years, with an additional eight years suspended. Nguyen was a senior at Washington High School when he was arrested this spring. Police said he was a major drug supplier for local youths. Nguyen pleaded guilty May 5 to possession of a controlled substance and possession of more than 1 pound of marijuana with intent to distribute. [continues 77 words]
Sailors from the Navy Reserve Center in Sioux Falls will speak at 2 p.m. today at a student assembly at Laura Wilder Elementary School in Sioux Falls about the dangers of illegal drugs. The objective of the Navy Reserve's Campaign Drug Free program is to use Navy and Marine Corps members as a community-outreach resource for schools and youth groups. In 1988, Congress passed legislation directing the Department of Defense to play a larger role in the war against drugs. Sioux Falls sailors distribute items that include coloring books, rulers and dog tags that carry the "Say no to drugs" message. - - From staff reports [end]
Drug Wears Out Teeth, Budget For Dental Care The cost for dental treatment for inmates in the Minnehaha County Jail has nearly doubled during the past two years, due in part to a side effect of methamphetamine abuse - a condition called meth mouth. "Our dentist tells us as soon as they (inmates) open up their mouths, he is able to recognize the rotting and brittle teeth, all symptoms of meth mouth," Sheriff Mike Milstead said. Many of the teeth become unsalvageable, said assistant sheriff Michelle Boyd.In 2002, Minnehaha County paid $18,000 for dental treatment for inmates. The cost grew to $32,000 in 2004, Milstead said. Dental costs are a part of the overall medical budget. [continues 965 words]
I owe my life to places like Transitional Living Corp. If it was not for a treatment facility I would still be a drugged up zombie. I say thanks every day that they gave me the chance for a nice house, great job and beautiful wife. It took three separate 30-day programs to clean me up, so I can speak with some confidence about what goes on in these types of facilities. In-patient treatment centers do not belong near residential housing. Especially ones with little or no security. Bad things do happen in and around these centers. There were fights, theft, vandalism, and that's just the beginning. This was not in some big city like L.A., it was right here in South Dakota. [continues 89 words]
New County Facility Promotes Lasting Changes Minnehaha County residents needing detoxification soon will be able to get help at a new center housed in what once was the county jail. The finishing touches are being put on an $800,000 detox center to provide beds for 25 people in early May. "They're going to have a program that is much more comprehensive," said Randy DeRaad, the Avera McKennan employee who will direct the center. "If you just lock them up until they sober up, you have accomplished nothing."Originally, the county had planned to open a center to hold those who hadn't necessarily broken a law but were picked up for intoxication. The price tag for that center was estimated at $85,000. [continues 440 words]
I truly hope that the Transitional Living Corp. and Lincoln County can come to a positive conclusion and allow the new facility. Substance abuse impacts all economic and age groups. This treatment facility is badly needed. I saw a woman on television who said her concerns centered on loss of tax revenue, on water use and on road use. While these are serious concerns, I find it hard to believe that these are the real issues. If the applicant were a church wanting to open a spiritual retreat center for teens, would questions of tax status or water and road use even be mentioned? I doubt it. Let's discuss our real concerns. Only by bringing things out in the open will we be able to remove destructive stereotypes and irrational fears from the process of making decisions. Sioux Falls [end]
We've done it again my morally inclined friends. We've struck a very good blow to the proposed rehab center in southern Sioux Falls. We, the neighbors adjoining the land they wish to use, don't believe the traffic this center would bring to the area validates the help these people would receive. We, the citizens of Lincoln County, don't believe that drugs are a problem in this great state. Besides how could we ever spare the water resources? We feel for these people, we really do, but if we're going to give them a place to get better. (Besides the mindless drug addicts might rob our homes to pay for their habit) Tea [end]
PIERRE - A drug bust on the heels of a lawman stopping a car for going 3 mph over the speed limit was legal, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled 3-2 Thursday. The decision upholds the conviction of Carl O. Lockstedt of Houston, Texas, who was riding in a car driven by Billy C. Kinnamon on Oct. 21, 2002. Seventeen bags of marijuana, weighing a pound apiece, were found in the trunk. Kinnamon, 31, was stopped after a state trooper became suspicious when pulling alongside the pair because Kinnamon was leaning his head against the driver's side window, and neither man made eye contact with the lawman. [continues 403 words]
The Argus Leader briefly quotes the attorney general's lobbyist, Charlie McGuigan, in its March 21 story, "S.D. medical marijuana proposal forming." McGuigan was testifying against a bill to allow therapeutic cannabis use in the 2005 legislature. McGuigan's testimony was actually quite a yuck, beginning with his recitation that "carciginians" and "carciginocens" are found in cannabis. He said marijuana has "no medical value," and that the usable cannabis allowed by the bill would be "as much as 280 joints, tantamount to a year's supply," failing to mention that the FDA currently sends 300 rolled cannabis cigarettes to each of seven patients each month. [continues 102 words]
Marijuana: Signatures Needed To Reach Ballot PIERRE - A Hermosa man who supported an unsuccessful attempt to legalize industrial hemp in 2002 said last week he is preparing a ballot initiative to allow medical marijuana in South Dakota. Robert Newland, who also ran for attorney general as a Libertarian candidate in 2002, said Montana voters in November legalized marijuana for medical uses. "When I saw that Montana did it, I decided to start a campaign in South Dakota," Newland said. "There is no question we can get the signatures in fairly short order. The fact is, medical use has never failed on an initiative." [continues 450 words]
Law Could Address Teen Drinking PIERRE - A legislative leader says he may try to include alcohol in a pending bill that would give South Dakota students a second chance at high school activities after being suspended for drug use. House Republican Leader Bill Peterson of Sioux Falls said he's working on a number of possible changes to the bill, which had its first committee hearing last week but didn't reach a vote. "The issue of whether to include alcohol with other drugs in the bill's coverage is one of the things I'm looking at," Peterson said. "There were some arguments that the more prevalent problem in our schools is alcohol abuse. It may be something to consider." [continues 705 words]
PIERRE - A school-based prevention program that Sioux Falls officials say has helped reduce drug use among students is being expanded to Rapid City and could be offered statewide. Gib Sudbeck of the South Dakota Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said results from Sioux Falls show a 5 percent drop in alcohol and drug use since 1999. "I think we're all very, very happy with the Sioux Falls project,'' Sudbeck said. "Having services in the school means if a kid gets in trouble, you have a person right on the scene to offer help. What sense does it make to send the kid home if you can help?'' [continues 309 words]
PIERRE - Legislators questioned on Friday whether a bill aimed at giving a second chance to students dropped from school activities for drug violations should treat users and dealers differently. The bill, authored by Republican Rep. Casey Murschel of Sioux Falls, is similar to one that failed a year ago. It would alter a 1997 law pushed by then-Gov. Bill Janklow that requires a one-year suspension from athletics and activities for a drug conviction. A second violation sidelines a student for the rest of his/her school years. [continues 900 words]
Number Needing Help On Rise PIERRE - Treatment programs for methamphetamine addicts can take six times as long to be effective as those for most other drugs, state Human Services Secretary Betty Oldenkamp told legislators Wednesday. Responding to the growing use of meth, and the resulting need for treatment, will be one of the greatest challenges of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in her department, Oldenkamp said. "We're seeing numbers doubling over a year ago in terms of people using that drug and in trouble with the law or needing services," she told members of the House Health and Human Services Committee. The comments came during an overview of the department's programs and agencies. [continues 467 words]
