The 1980s-era movement started by young fans of punk and hardcore music was unapologetically clear-headed: no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs. Now that lifestyle - known as "straight edge" - is making a comeback. Inspired by a song of the same name, the movement developed a reputation for intolerance in the 1990s when a few straight-edgers turned militant, starting fights with anyone who challenged their views. Two were convicted in a 1998 killing in Salt Lake City. These days, a small but growing core of young people who live the straight-edge life, also known by the abbreviation "sXe," are trying to reclaim a more positive image by promoting a range of causes, from pacifism and environmentalism to racial diversity. [continues 643 words]
CEDAR CITY, Utah -Marijuana seized during the arrest of medical-marijuana advocate Dennis Peron and two other San Francisco men has been ruled inadmissible, setting the stage for possible dismissal of the case. Fifth District Judge J. Philip Eves ruled Monday that because police entered the motel room of Peron, 56, John Entwistle, 38, and Kasey Conder, 20, on Nov. 14, 2001, without a search warrant, none of the evidence seized could be used during trial. Peron helped draft California's medical marijuana law and was founder of San Francisco's Cannabis Cultivation Club [continues 225 words]
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The city and county of Santa Cruz has sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Drug Enforcement Administration, demanding that federal agents stay away from a farm that grows marijuana for sick and dying people. "This is an opportunity for us to stand behind the people in our community who are the most needy," said Santa Cruz Mayor Emily Reilly. "This is what we do well in Santa Cruz." The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, comes in response to a DEA raid last September at a small pot farm located on a quiet coastal road about 15 miles north of town. Agents uprooted about 165 plants and arrested the owners, Valerie and Michael Corral. [continues 552 words]
LIMA (AP)--Thousands of poor coca farmers converged on Lima Monday, demanding an end to restrictions on their cocaine-producing crop and the release of one of their prominent leaders. The farmers arrived in several groups, which began marching to Lima about 10 days ago from coca-growing mountainous jungle valleys to the northeast and southeast of the capital. Police arrested Nelson Palomino, head of a national organization of coca producers, on Feb. 20, days after farmers in several rural coca-growing regions began a 10-day protest of government plans to destroy coca bushes. [continues 295 words]
In hopes of stopping federal agents from again raiding a farm that provides marijuana to sick and dying people, Santa Cruz officials said they will file a lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Attorneys representing the city and county of Santa Cruz, as well as seven medical marijuana users, said Monday they plan to file the papers Wednesday in San Jose federal court. "The city of Santa Cruz wants to prevent raids on medical marijuana. This is a public health issue to this community," said Santa Cruz City Attorney John Barisone on Monday. [continues 439 words]
WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Canadian officials said Tuesday they had disrupted a major methamphetamine supply system, netting 67 arrests and tons of illegal chemicals. The 18-month investigation, dubbed "Operation North Star," centered on the shipment of pseudoephedrine -- a common nasal decongestant that in large amounts is a key ingredient in methamphetamine -- from three Canadian companies to large illicit labs in the Southwestern U.S. The charges were brought in indictments unsealed Tuesday in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as cases brought in Canada. Among those charged are six current or former executives with three Canadian companies - -- Frega Inc., Formulex and GC Medical Products -- who allegedly diverted thousands of pounds of pseudoephedrine to the U.S. for illegal use. [continues 383 words]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- An Oregon official overseeing the state's medical marijuana program has told a refugee hearing that her program couldn't protect a pot user from U.S. drug laws. Mary Leverette testified by telephone Wednesday for Immigration Canada in a refugee claim by Steve Kubby, formerly of Lake Tahoe, Calif. Leverette said if a medical user is found with more than one ounce of marijuana, he or she could be arrested and charged. Kubby, 56, says he needs far more than that to treat his rare adrenal cancer. [continues 227 words]
A bill that would reduce criminal penalties for seriously ill people who smoke marijuana is headed to the governor. The state Senate approved a medical marijuana bill on Friday by a vote of 30-16. The legislation would set a maximum fine of $100 and no jail time for defendants who can convince a judge they need to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. Under current state law, possession or use of marijuana can bring penalties of up to a year in prison or a $1,000 fine. [continues 139 words]
TULIA, Texas (AP) - Prosecutors said 38 defendants arrested in a controversial 1999 drug sting won't be retried after a judge ruled their convictions were based on questionable testimony from a single undercover agent accused of racial prejudice. Hours after retired state district Judge Ron Chapman urged the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to grant new trials for the defendants, a special prosecutor vowed Tuesday to dismiss the cases if they were sent back. "We'll dismiss them," said Rod Hobson, a special prosecutor assigned to the case that has spurred probes by the Justice Department and the Texas attorney general. "It would be foolish for us to go forward." [continues 646 words]
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Voters in this college town will decide April 8 whether to soften municipal marijuana penalties and allow medicinal use of pot inside the city limits even though possession is illegal under Missouri law. Supporters of Proposition 1 have set up a campaign fund-raising committee, organized benefit concerts and solicited thousands of dollars from national organizations advocating changes in drug laws. One advocacy group, the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, said Monday that it has committed $10,000 to boost the Columbia campaign and would consider sending more money. The local campaign committee's spokeswoman said another national group, the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, has pledged several thousand dollars. [continues 83 words]
Controversial Legislation Passes On 29-17 Vote; House Has Approved Similar Measure The state Senate approved legislation today to substantially reduce criminal penalties for seriously ill people caught smoking marijuana as a way of easing their symptoms. The Senate bill was approved 29-17 despite the objections of opponents who denounced the measure as a stepping stone to legalizing marijuana altogether. Twenty-four Democrats joined five Republicans in support of the bill, which would set a maximum fine of $100 and no jail time for defendants who can convince a judge they need to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. Nine Republicans and eight Democrats voted against the measure. [continues 524 words]
ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland House of Delegates approved a bill today that would dramatically reduce penalties for Marylanders who use marijuana for medical reasons. The bill had bipartisan support and passed 73 to 62. The legislation would allow people charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana to present evidence that they have a medical condition that is helped by smoking marijuana. The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana for medical purposes would be a $100 fine. There would be no jail term. [continues 105 words]
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Just what the doctor ordered? Pharmacies may fill prescriptions for marijuana and patients can get the cost covered by insurance, according to a law that went into effect Monday. Doctors in the famously liberal Netherlands have long recommended marijuana to cancer patients as an appetite enhancer and to combat pain and nausea. But it is usually bought at one of the country's 800 "coffee shops," where the plant is sold openly while police look the other way. "The health minister said, look, doctors are prescribing marijuana to their patients anyway, and there are many medicinal users, so we may as well regulate it," said Bas Kuik, a spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Health. [continues 268 words]
Montpelier, Vt. -- Senators voted Wednesday to make Vermont the ninth state in the country to legalize using marijuana to treat pain and other symptoms of debilitating diseases. A final vote on the initiative, which still could be amended, is scheduled for Thursday. "It's come so close to being so totally stopped and then it gets a life of its own," said a smiling Debbie Ramsdell of Charlotte, who has been lobbying for the law since her husband Bob died of colon cancer. [continues 455 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge has refused to prohibit the U.S. government from potentially prosecuting two women with painful ailments whose doctors say marijuana is their only medical solace. In the first case of its kind, the two California medical marijuana users sued Attorney General John Ashcroft, seeking a court order allowing them to smoke, grow or obtain marijuana without threat or fear of federal prosecution. U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins expressed sympathy for the women but said federal law required him to rule against them. [continues 277 words]
BOGOTA (AP)--The leader of Colombia's largest right-wing paramilitary army acknowledged Sunday that a U.S. request to extradite him and his associates severely weakened the outlaw organization. Carlos Castano, chief of the feared United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, and two other paramilitary leaders are accused of exporting 17 tons of cocaine into the U.S. and Europe since 1997. The U.S. government said in September that it would seek their extradition to the U.S. to stand trial. [continues 170 words]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's president promised Friday to help Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and guerrillas, labeling the insurgents "terrorists." President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pledged the assistance at the end of a five-hour visit from his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe. "Brazil has committed itself to support Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and terrorists," Silva said. Silva's labeling the guerrillas terrorists came a day after the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador said nations neighboring Colombia could help Uribe by calling the FARC group terrorists because that's "what they are." [continues 262 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General John Ashcroft has shifted gears in 2003, moving the public face of the Justice Department away from an all-consuming fight against terrorism and raising the profile of other agency investigations. In two days this week, Ashcroft held a news conference to announce indictments against 55 people in a drug paraphernalia crackdown, gave a speech about international sex trafficking and held another news conference to outline fraud charges against eight current or former executives of Qwest Communications International. [continues 610 words]
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Far from making poor countries rich, illicit drug production keeps most people in developing countries trapped in poverty, says a United Nations report being released Wednesday. The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board -- an independent U.N. body that monitors the global drug situation -- called the idea that countries grow rich through the production of illegal drugs a dangerous myth. "Generally, only 1 percent of the profits remains in the country of origin," Rainer Wolfgang Schmidt, a member of the INCB's board, told reporters. "Most money is made from the distribution of the drugs in developed countries." [continues 531 words]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand's crackdown on drugs, during which hundreds of suspected dealers have died, has boosted the market for amulets believed to offer magical protection against bullets and other violence. Metal or clay talismans, often picturing Buddhist symbols or monks and worn on a neck chain, are a staple of Thai culture. But amulet sellers say business has accelerated since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government launched its war on drugs, seeking to stem an epidemic of methamphetamine trafficking and abuse. [continues 312 words]
WASHINGTON -- A television commercial challenging the government's ad campaign linking marijuana use to terrorism will begin airing Thursday in the Washington area. The ad is a parody of the "Nick and Norm" spots -- sponsored by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- in which two men discuss whether buying marijuana ultimately funds terrorists. In the spoof, Nick tells Norm says the marijuana trade supports violence only because marijuana is illegal. "If I buy a beer, that doesn't support terror, because beer is legal, right?" Nick asks. When Norm agrees, Nick concludes, "So what you're saying is if we make marijuana legal and regulate it like beer, it wouldn't support violence." [continues 128 words]
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- An international drug watchdog on Wednesday welcomed Myanmar's enactment of an anti-money laundering law but urged its government to implement the legislation without delay. In its annual report for 2002, the Vienna, Austria-based International Narcotic Control Board acknowledged that Myanmar had made progress in fighting money-laundering but remains on a list of countries considered to be "uncooperative in efforts to counter" the practice. Myanmar enacted an anti-money laundering law in June giving authorities wide-ranging powers to investigate and seize assets acquired by criminal means and impose jail terms of at least 10 years for laundering money from narcotics trafficking. [continues 88 words]
GENEVA - Thai authorities must investigate alleged breaches of human rights by law enforcement officials during a government-launched crackdown on the drugs trade, a United Nations expert said Monday. Asma Jahangir, the U.N. expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said Thailand should ensure "the strict limits on the use of lethal force ... are followed rigorously and without exception." There have been nearly 500 slayings, many in murky circumstances, since the crackdown began on the drugs trade on Feb. 1. [continues 156 words]
WASHINGTON - Federal authorities charged 55 people Monday with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia from coast to coast, using both traditional stores and the Internet. A federal grand jury in western Pennsylvania handed up indictments against 27 people as part of "Operation Pipe Dreams," an investigation stretching from Pittsburgh to Phoenix to southern California, Attorney General John Ashcroft said. Another nine people were charged in four grand jury indictments returned in Des Moines, Iowa, under "Operation Headhunter," which involved paraphernalia marketed nationwide by distributors in Michigan, California and Texas. [continues 251 words]
BANGKOK (AP)--Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday he had transferred several police officials, including two senior officers, for obstructing investigations in the country's ongoing war on drugs. More than 300 suspects have been killed in the three-month crackdown launched on Feb. 1 aimed at wiping out Thailand's vast illicit drug trade. While police blame the deaths mostly on gang warfare, human rights advocates fear officers may be following a "shoot-to-kill" policy. Tuesday, seven more suspects were reported shot dead. Police said the victims were killed in gang-related attacks intended to silence potential informants. [continues 310 words]
PHILADELPHIA - A federal jury awarded $1.5 million to two narcotics agents who claimed the Pennsylvania attorney general retaliated against them because they uncovered a drug-trafficking ring they said diverted profits to a CIA (news - web sites)-backed Dominican presidential candidate. John McLaughlin and Charles Micewski sued over their transfer from the Philadelphia office of the state Bureau of Narcotics Investigation in 1996. "They won their lives and their reputations back," said their attorney, Don Bailey. Attorney General Mike Fisher said he will appeal. It was his predecessor, Tom Corbett, who transferred the agents. [continues 153 words]
NEW YORK -(AP)- Although teen use of Ecstasy has leveled off, many American adolescents see no great risk in experimenting with the drug, according to a study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. The partnership's annual study of drug use found that 45% of youths ages 12 to 18 saw a great risk in trying Ecstasy once or twice -- more than the 42% who felt that way in last year's survey. The attitude belies the statistics. In 2001, there were 5,542 emergency-room visits related to Ecstasy use, up from 253 in 1994. [continues 224 words]
NEW YORK - Dude, yer gettin' busted! The actor who gained fame and a cult following as the slacker "Steven" in commercials for Dell computers was arrested buying a small bag of marijuana, police said. Benjamin Curtis, a 22-year-old New York University drama student, was arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor drug possession charge. The charge assumes a suspect is not carrying more than a "use amount" - enough to roll several marijuana cigarettes. Police said he was arrested Sunday night on the Lower East Side after officers on a drug detail spotted him buying a small bag of marijuana from Omar Mendez, 19. Mendez faces drug sale and possession charges. [continues 127 words]
SARAVENA, Colombia - Colombian troops battling leftist rebels are getting inspiration from U.S. Army Green Berets - and from U.S. Gen. George S. Patton. On an edge of a military base amid vast expanses of scrubland in an eastern region dominated by rebels, a sign carries the famed World War II general's words exhorting soldiers to not sacrifice their lives for their country, but to "make the other poor bastard die for his." U.S. Army special forces, wearing wraparound sunglasses and armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers, roll past in Humvees on their way to train Colombian soldiers to set up ambushes and other offensive tactics. [continues 658 words]
NEW YORK -- Egbert Dewgard ran an errand last spring that cost him his life - -- on that point, no one disagrees. But nine months later, the circumstances of Dewgard's death remain a source of strife for his grieving family and the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who faces a rare manslaughter charge in a case that has stunned DEA officials. It is the first time in recent memory that a federal officer was charged in an on-duty shooting on city streets, authorities said. [continues 438 words]
SAN DIEGO - The City Council approved scaled-back medical marijuana guidelines Tuesday night that allow sick people with a doctor's recommendation to possess a pound of marijuana. The guidelines approved under a two-year pilot program represent a limited version of a proposal by the city's own Medical Marijuana Task Force that would have allowed patients to possess up to 3 pounds of pot. The council also eliminated provisions that would have allowed patients to grow marijuana plants outdoors. They can still grow a limited number of plants indoors. [continues 359 words]
In a courtroom crowded with medical marijuana advocates wearing "Free Ed" buttons, a federal judge said Tuesday that convicted marijuana guru Ed Rosenthal is not a flight risk and allowed him to remain free pending his June sentencing. Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer to revoke the bail of Rosenthal, who faces up to an 85-year prison term when he is sentenced June 4. After Breyer refused that request, Rosenthal shook hands and exchanged hugs with many supporters in the courtroom. [continues 586 words]
SAN FRANCISCO An author of how-to books on growing marijuana and avoiding the law was convicted Friday of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges. The jury concluded that Ed Rosenthal, the self-described "Guru of Ganja," was growing more than 1,000 plants, conspiring to cultivate marijuana and maintaining a warehouse for a growing operation. He faces a maximum life term when sentenced June 4. Several people in the courtroom, including Rosenthal's wife and daughter, wept as the verdicts were read by a court clerk. [continues 320 words]
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Convicted of cocaine possession, James DiVietri has spent the past 11 years in prison and expected to spend nearly 10 more years behind bars. But he becomes eligible for parole March 1, along with about 1,250 other first-time, nonviolent drug offenders. As many as 700 of them could be home by September, state prison officials say. A bill signed on Christmas Day by outgoing Gov. John Engler repealed Michigan's tough but widely criticized drug-sentencing law. [continues 460 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -The federal marijuana case against Ed Rosenthal, the self-described "Guru of Ganja," concluded Thursday as prosecutors and the defense wrapped up their cases. Jurors will begin deliberating Friday. Rosenthal, who could face a life sentence if convicted, did not testify. The case represents the latest clash between state and federal authorities over the medical use of marijuana. Rosenthal, 58, an author of how-to books and columns on growing marijuana, says he was growing pot to help the sick, which is legal under a 1996 California law. [continues 88 words]
WASHINGTON -- Special Agent John Brown III has been appointed acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Brown, who most recently has been serving as DEA deputy administrator, takes over the reigns from Asa Hutchinson, who was appointed undersecretary of Transportation and Border Security at the Department of Homeland Security. Brown has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. Brown began his law enforcement career in 1969 as an officer in the Brockport, New York Police Department. He started as a special agent with DEA's former agency, the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1972. [continues 54 words]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Fourth District Judge Ray Harding Jr. has lost an attempt to have drug evidence against him thrown out of court. "I'm looking forward to trial in March," Harding said following the evidence suppression hearing Monday. "I'm sure justice will prevail." Harding's trial on felony drug charges is scheduled for March 18 before 3rd District Judge Timothy Hanson, who ruled Monday that law enforcement officers acted properly in obtaining a warrant to search Harding's Highland home. [continues 307 words]
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (AP) -- The Bolivian government formally opened talks with coca farmers Sunday to end protests that have killed 12 people and shut down the nation's largest highway for nearly two weeks. President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada said the talks would continue into the coming days. But he made no mention of a cease-fire or a possible withdrawal of the thousands of soldiers patrolling the highway and keeping it clear of debris. Since Jan. 14, thousands of protesters have blocked the highway with tree trunks and boulders. in anger over the government's plan to eradicate illegal crops. [continues 150 words]
LIMA -- A court has sentenced Peru's former attorney general - for years accused of protecting once-feared intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos - to 10 years in prison on corruption charges. In addition to the prison term, delivered late Thursday, the criminal court fined former Attorney General Nelida Colan the equivalent of $570,000. The court found Colan guilty of crimes related to receiving $10,000 a month from Montesinos, failing to show how she paid for a $750,000 house and shelving an investigation into a bribery case involving the ex-spy boss. [continues 171 words]
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia --The president began peace talks with coca leaders, 12 days after thousands of growers shut down the nation's largest highway over the government's plan to eradicate illegal crops. President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada began the talks Sunday and said they would continue into the coming days even though coca leaders have not yet lifted the blockade. Since Jan. 14, protesters have blocked the highway with tree trunks and boulders. Coca is the base ingredient of cocaine , but many Bolivians chew the leaves or use them to brew tea. About 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of coca can be cultivated legally, but growers want the limit increased. [continues 181 words]
BEATTYVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The popularity of common painkillers became a big drug problem in a small eastern Kentucky town that affected many, including a former homecoming queen, court officials and local law enforcement. The effects of drugs -- particularly the prescription painkiller OxyContin - -- on the Lee County town of Beattyville was the subject of a story published Sunday by the Lexington Herald Leader. The story was part of a series of articles by the newspaper on drug abuse and its damages in eastern Kentucky. [continues 645 words]
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Clutching a big brown bag of marijuana, an asthma sufferer who said he uses the drug as medicine walked out of a sheriff's station after being allowed to reclaim 15 plants seized from his backyard last year. "I feel justice has been served and it's a good thing," John Watson said Thursday. Watson said he grew the marijuana in a greenhouse for personal use, which is permitted under California's 1996 medical marijuana law if a doctor recommends it. [continues 236 words]
WASHINGTON -The Senate on Thursday confirmed Asa Hutchinson as undersecretary of the new Homeland Security Department, where his responsibilities will range from border control to aviation security. Hutchinson is currently head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. His voice-vote approval came hours after he was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, a day after the Senate approved former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to head the department and a day before the agency formally comes into being. The creation of the department is the biggest federal reorganization in more than half a century. [continues 213 words]
SAN FRANCISCO - The federal marijuana cultivation trial of former High Times columnist Ed Rosenthal began Tuesday like so many drug cases. Prosecutor George Bevan told jurors that agents seized some 3,000 plants growing in Rosenthal's warehouse in Oakland. "It's a federal offense," Bevan said. But this is no routine drug prosecution for a man whose column and books preach the gospel on tips for growing marijuana. Rosenthal, the author of how-to-grow books on growing marijuana and evading the law, says he was growing medical marijuana, "to help the sick," which is legal under California law and eight other states. [continues 153 words]
COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (AP)--Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse scores of protesters Friday in the fifth straight day of demonstrations against a coca eradication program. Protesters since Monday have shut down the main highway linking this key central city to Santa Cruz, 200 miles to the east, by heaping boulders and logs along the roadway. That action continued Friday as thousands turned out to oppose a U.S.-sponsored, government plan to destroy illegal coca crops - the base ingredient used to make cocaine . [continues 137 words]
ATLANTA -- A federal judge has sentenced a former Drug Enforcement Administration analyst to one year in prison for selling restricted government information to a London newspaper. Jonathan Clay Randel, 37, of Roswell, pleaded guilty in June to leaking information about British businessman Michael Ashcroft to The Times in 1999. He was sentenced Jan. 9 and remains free on bond. In a plea agreement, Randel admitted supplying information from DEA data banks to a British television correspondent who freelanced for The Times. Federal prosecutors said Randel sold the information for $13,000. [continues 238 words]
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)--The government has ordered four Swedish women expelled from Bolivia, accusing them of illegal political activism by supporting protests by coca growers. The four women, who have been detained since Monday, were given until Saturday to leave Bolivia. According to the government, Malin Fredenstedt, Malena Wahlin, Ylva Westander and Emma Johansson helped in planning and financing protests that began Monday with a series of blockades on the nation's main highway. The protests have left four people dead in clashes with police and soldiers. [continues 245 words]
KAYARANI, Bolivia (AP)--Two demonstrators were killed in fighting on the nation's largest highway between government forces and thousands of poor protesting Bolivia's plan to eradicate coca crops and other government policies. Soldiers opened fire on demonstrators at a roadblock Tuesday, killing Romulo Gonzalez, 19, who was shot in the neck, the government said in a statement. The incident happened in Aguirre, a small town 260 kilometers (160 miles) to the southeast of La Paz. A second man died from asphyxiation in a clash with soldiers, the government said. Radio reports said the man was overcome by tear gas. [continues 372 words]
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP)--The British government, under pressure to stem the flow of illegal drugs and migrants from Jamaica, may soon require visas for Jamaicans seeking to enter the country, officials said Tuesday. Jamaican and British officials discussed the matter during a private meeting Monday at the British High Commission in Kingston, Jamaican Foreign Ministry spokesman Wilton Dyre said. "The British government is giving urgent consideration to the (visa) issue with a view of making a decision later this week," Dyre said. [continues 338 words]
PAINTSVILLE, Ky. (AP) - In other places, attempts to open methadone clinics for drug addicts have spawned protests, even court fights. Not in Appalachia. Residents and political leaders, grappling with an epidemic of OxyContin addictions, have welcomed at least 10 methadone clinics in a region that previously had none. One of the newest clinics opened in the former office of a Paintsville physician who was arrested last year for allegedly overprescribing OxyContin and other painkillers to patients in eastern Kentucky. The change of tenants has made a dramatic change in the small town. Traffic jams are no longer the norm around Jefferson Avenue where people seeking prescription drugs used to park. Since the methadone clinic opened, the parking lot has remained uncrowded and calm. [continues 702 words]
