Mississippi For Cannabis Has Received The Ballot Initiative Petition From The Secretary Of State's Office, Meaning The Group Can Now Begin Collecting Signatures. It Needs More Than 106,165 Signatures. Go, go, go sign the petition is the message a group wanting to make weed legal in Mississippi is telling voters after everything has been cleared for the group to begin collecting signatures to try to have an initiative placed on the November 2016 ballot. Mississippi for Cannabis has received the ballot initiative petition from the Secretary of State's office, meaning the group can now begin collecting signatures. [continues 266 words]
State's Units Investigate Street-Level Trafficking, Homicides And Burglaries The future of the state's 14 multijurisdictional narcotics task forces was left in limbo Friday with uncertainty over funding for the new fiscal year that begins Monday. A committee appointed by Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner George Phillips has not approved funding for the task forces, said Claiborne County Sheriff Frank Davis, whose county is a member of the North Central Narcotics Task Force. The task forces attack street-level drug trafficking and also investigate major crimes such as homicides and burglaries. [continues 360 words]
If Programs Are Created, Time In Treatment Program Would Be Alternative To Jail Jackson and Hinds County officials are seeking to save money and alter nonviolent drug and alcohol offenders' lives by creating a drug court in both jurisdictions. "If we can intervene in one person's life, we will make a difference," Hinds County District 1 Justice Court Judge Nicki Boland said. "In almost every misdemeanor, there is an alcohol and drug problem at the base of it. Just paying a fine to Hinds County doesn't do anything to solve the problem." [continues 649 words]
David Clark, 23, Of Jackson Graduated Tuesday Night. His graduation wasn't from college, like hundreds of Mississippi students will do within the next two weeks. Clark graduated from the Hinds County Drug Court Diversion Program in a ceremony at the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson. "I now know there's life out there after drugs and alcohol," said Clark, one of four students who completed the two-year program. The Legislature on Tuesday added its endorsement of the program by approving funding for drug courts statewide. Ten other Circuit and Youth court districts use the program, and five others are trying to develop drug courts. [continues 361 words]
A new joint federal, state and local initiative is under way in Jackson and Vicksburg to sweep illegal drug users off the streets. "The individual drug user is a big part of our nation's drug problem," Southern District U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton said during a news conference today in Jackson. "Without the demand for illegal drugs, there would be no drug cartels, no property crimes to finance an addict's drug habit, no turf wars over who sells drugs where, and no deaths on our highways caused by drivers impaired by drugs." [continues 289 words]
A drug court is being proposed for Leake, Neshoba, Newton and Scott counties to address both drug addiction and related crime. Drug courts Programs operate in: 2nd Circuit serving Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties; 4th Circuit of Leflore, Sunflower and Washington counties; 7th Circuit serving Hinds County; 11th Circuit of Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman and Tunica counties; 12th Circuit of Forrest and Perry counties; 14th Circuit court district of Lincoln, Walthall and Pike counties; 19th Circuit of George and Greene counties; Adams County Youth Court; [continues 455 words]
Cost Is $5,000 For Drug Program Compared To $16,800 To Keep Offender In Prison The number of drug courts in Mississippi is growing as judges seek treatment instead of prison for those convicted of narcotics charges. Serving more of the state New drug courts have been proposed for: The 12th Circuit Court District, covering Forrest and Perry counties. The 2nd Circuit Court District, covering Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties. The 11th Circuit Court District of Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman and Tunica counties. [continues 344 words]
House Version Only Allows Controlled Substance Offenders An amendment to a statewide drug court bill limits participants to those convicted of possession of a controlled substance. But statewide drug court system supporters say the amendment will slam the door on the success of alternative drug courts. "It is absolutely gutted in its present form," said Circuit Judge Keith Starrett, who started the state's first alternative drug court program in 1999. Drug court programs seek treatment for offenders with drug problems rather than incarceration. Starrett's program for Lincoln, Walthall and Pike counties allows individuals who plead guilty to such crimes as prescription drug forgery, DUI, larceny and embezzlement to participate if it's determined their crimes were due to drug or alcohol abuse. [continues 244 words]
System Could Save More Than $5 Million a Year, Auditor Says The state could save more than $5 million annually by going to a statewide drug court system that seeks treatment over incarceration, state Auditor Phil Bryant said Monday. Bryant, flanked by court officials and legislators at the state Capitol, called for the creation of such a program. "We are simply stating, from a financial position, the drug court system, if properly implemented, will save taxpayer dollars," Bryant said. Bryant said an audit done by his office on the feasibility of extending drug courts statewide shows it costs roughly $16,757 annually to house a convicted drug offender in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. [continues 302 words]
Nolan McElroy said the Hinds County Drug Court Diversion Program literally saved his life. "It has meant everything to me," McElroy said after being one of 11 people graduating from the program Tuesday at the Hinds County Courthouse. "It has given me a new perspective on life. I was a true alcoholic when I entered the program." McElroy could have been in jail or prison on felony DUI charges, but instead he said he is a better husband and better father to his five children because of the alternative Drug Court program. [continues 473 words]
In 2 Years, Hinds County Program Has Had 4 Judges In two years, Hinds County Drug Court has had almost as many judges as graduates. Since March 2000, when the first gavel pounded in the program for mostly first-time drug possession offenders, four judges have been at the helm with five participants graduating and completing all requirements, including paying fines and earning a high school equivalency degree. "You can never get use to one judge because they're always changing," said Drug Court participant Tommy Engram of Jackson, who has to complete all requirements of the program, which stresses treatment over incarceration. "I think having one judge would add stability." [continues 903 words]
Teen, Now In Prison, Alleges Drug Led To Cocaine Habit A Jefferson County teenager serving a manslaughter sentence blames his cocaine addiction on Ritalin and is suing the physician who prescribed the medication. The lawsuit being heard in Fayette in Jefferson County Circuit Court claims Dr. Brian Stretch was negligent in treating Roderick Frye with Ritalin and not explaining how he should be withdrawn from the prescription drug used to treat Attention-Deficit Disorder. Jim Shannon, attorney for Frye and his mother, Brenda Doss, says Ritalin is addictive and a child is supposed to be gradually weaned from the drug. He said the boy's mother took him off cold turkey, causing his addiction to crack cocaine. [continues 300 words]
Rural sheriff's agencies getting bulk of bust proceeds By Jimmie E. Gates Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer The Lawrence County Sheriff's Department is eager to collect its 80 percent of $3,900 in cash seized during a recent drug bust in the county by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. The approximately $3,120 the department will receive may not seem like much money to some, but Sheriff Joel Thames sees it as means of securing bullet-resistant vests or an Intoxilyzer machine. [continues 339 words]
But Auditor Cites Areas Of Concern With Program Since the first gavel sounded in the Hinds County Drug Court in March 2000, the treatment program for first-time offenders has struggled through less than stellar results - less than 20 percent success - and fitful leadership. The special judge assigned to hear the cases resigned nine months after taking office during an inquiry over her residency. She lives in Madison County. And the judge who took over the program is retiring, leaving who will run the court in question. [continues 340 words]
'It's Killing People,' State Narcotics Official Says Prescription drug fraud could become an epidemic in Mississippi, an official with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics says. "It's a tremendous problem," said Frank Altieri, group supervisor for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Pharmaceutical Diversion Unit. Once-rare prescription drug cases are now growing in the state, Altieri and others say. Altieri said the cases have always been there - but no one focused on them because they were considered "victimless" crimes that hurt no one but the perpetrator. [continues 854 words]
Man Accused In Cocaine Shipment To Jackson Starsky Redd was defending his cocaine the night he exchanged gunfire with narcotics agents and was shot, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday during closing arguments in Redd's trial. But Redd's attorney said his client had no idea he was going to meet a semi-truck loaded down with drugs when he volunteered to give a friend a ride. Redd is accused of attempting to have 22 pounds of cocaine delivered from Dallas to Jackson in November 2000. [continues 517 words]
Cocaine trafficking trial gets under way in U.S. District Court Starsky Redd masterminded a plan to have 757 pounds of marijuana and more than 22 pounds of cocaine delivered in the Jackson area, a federal prosecutor told a jury Wednesday. "We ask you to find him guilty," Assistant U.S. Attorney Al Jernigan said. "The drugs were delivered to a site where his mother has a business." But Redd's attorney, Ishmael Rasheed Muhammad, said his client was a victim, duped by a friend into giving him a ride to the drug drop site. [continues 577 words]
A police detective testified Monday that he thinks an attempt to steal drugs or money ended in a Dec. 18 double homicide. Christopher "Smilie" Walker, 19, charged with murder in the shootings of Beth Anderson, 37, and Samuel L. Berry, 34, both of Jackson, went to a house in the 2100 block of Mobile Avenue with Berry to rob those at the house, Jackson Police Detective Will Gardner speculated during a preliminary hearing Monday. Two other individuals, Parish Turner, 29, and Otha Cromwell, 28, were wounded. Walker is charged with aggravated assault in the shooting of Cromwell. [continues 268 words]
PRENTISS - Prentiss BP gas station owner Ginger Swales wiped tears as she left the grave site of police officer Ron Jones. "It's like a piece of the town is gone," Swales said. Swales and hundreds of others came together Saturday in this small city about 60 miles south of Jackson in Jefferson Davis County to say farewell to Jones. Mourners included law enforcement officers from across the state and one from Louisiana as well as 4th District U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows, D-Bassfield, who is from the area. [continues 646 words]
Ron Jones Was Son Of Prentiss Police Chief PRENTISS - Police Officer Ron Jones devoted himself to stopping the flow of drugs in this city of about 1,500 people where his father is police chief, the city's mayor said Thursday. That devotion led to his shooting death about midnight Wednesday while attempting to serve a warrant. "We're deeply saddened," Mayor Charley Dumas said. "This is a small community. I have known Ron all my life." Jones, 29, the son of Police Chief Ronald Jones, was shot once in the abdomen while he and members of a south Mississippi drug task force were serving a search warrant seeking drugs at a duplex less than a mile from the police department. [continues 567 words]
