In a written decision, Judge Jerome J. Richards ruled that 3 pounds of marijuana found in the car of two Sandwich, Mass., men on May 15 cannot be used in their prosecution. The ruling, which stemmed from a two-day suppression hearing in September, is expected to result in the dismissal of charges against Andrew M. Moodie and John R. Vreeland, both 19. The ruling most likely not be appealed, acting District Attorney Gary W. Miles said. The two men were indicted June 27 on charges of third-degree criminal possession of marijuana. The marijuana was found in Mr. Moodie's 1999Saab, which Mr. Vreeland was driving about 1:30 p.m. on Route 37 in Massena. Both are represented by attorney Charles B. Nash, Canton. [continues 88 words]
Dr. James Latimer's Madrid practice will be closed as a result of allegations by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the refusal of acting District Attorney Gary Miles to except any result other than the surrender of Dr. Latimer's medical license. Questions are being asked. Why would Dr. Latimer surrender his license if he was running an honest practice? The answer is in the methods these officials have used successfully to intimidate doctors into closing their practices. The DEA was created to put doctors prescribing narcotics out of business. Like any government agency, they need numbers to justify their existence and funding to continue operating. The DEA has shut down the practices of over 600 doctors. The DEA sifts through the prescription records, chooses those which may indicate possible overmedication, and indictments are filed. [continues 241 words]
MADRID - A Madrid man says his son, Dr. James Latimer, is being unfairly targeted by investigators looking into prescription drug abuse in St. Lawrence County. "This is McCarthyism. That's what it is. It is very unfair," Glenn "Bud" Latimer said. Dr. Latimer, who has been unavailable for comment, is one of three doctors investigators believe over prescribed narcotics and other prescription drugs. The allegations are based on a review of pharmacy records by a federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent aided by an investigator in the St. Lawrence County District Attorney's office. [continues 327 words]
To The Editor: As the Bush Administration leads America into a long war on terror, let's look at the long on-going (failed) war of the last century: the war on drugs in America, and why. During the years of prohibition and before, you could go into a drug store and buy marijuana, heroin, cocaine as medicine over the counter (and treated as medicine). Were there people addicted to these drugs? Yes. Was it wide spread? No. We have people addicted to alcohol and tobacco products that are legal (because the government is getting its cut in taxes). Were drugs made illegal for your safety? No. [continues 258 words]
Legislation Should Target Users, Producers Cold sufferers, be prepared. Buying a common over-the-counter medication will become more bothersome under a proposal to limit access to some cold remedies. To combat methamphetamine use, legislation sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Jim Talent, R-Mo., will force drugstores and other outlets to take medicines containing pseudoephedrine off the shelf and put them behind the counter with controlled prescription drugs. Pseudoephedrine can be extracted from the medicine to make meth. [continues 329 words]
BUFFALO - Agents seized 54,000 tablets of Ecstasy from a car at the U.S. - Canada border and arrest the Canadian diver, authorities said Friday. Parmvir Rana, 28, was charged Thursday with importation and possession with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance after Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the drugs, with a street value of $1.4 million, hidden in vacuum-sealed bags throughout his car. Rana drew the suspicion of inspectors at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge after telling them he was en route to visit family in Pittsburgh. [end]
WASHINGTON - The Senate unanimously approved a far-reaching bill Friday that would impose tight limits on the sale of cold remedies containing a key ingredient used to make methamphetamine. The bill - opposed by some retailers and drug makers - passed as an amendment to a spending bill that funds federal science, justice and other programs. The House passed a different version of that bill earlier this year, without the meth provisions. The proposal would limit access to Sudafed and other cold pills that contain pseudoephedrine, a primary ingredient in meth, by requiring retailers to put such products behind a pharmacy counter. Consumers would have to sign a log and show an ID to buy them, and sales information would be put into a database to help police track large purchases. [continues 146 words]
Advocates Of New Drug Law Say Some Judges And Prosecutors Oppose Changes In Current Sentences ALBANY - Less than half of those who applied for early release under Rockefeller drug law reforms enacted last year have been released from prison, the state Department of Correctional Services said Wednesday. Through July, 184 of the 446 inmates convicted of A-1 felonies who were eligible to have their prison terms reduced have gone through the process and been resentenced. Of those, 88 have been released, Corrections Department spokeswoman Linda Foglia said. [continues 495 words]
WASHINGTON - Facing growing criticism that the federal government is not doing enough to combat methamphetamine use, the Justice Department on Tuesday announced the results of a week-long raid of drug suppliers and manufacturers and unveiled a Web site aimed at dissuading teenagers from taking up the drug. Operation Wildfire, billed as the first nationally coordinated investigation to target methamphetamine, resulted in more than 400 arrest and the dismantling of 56 clandestine drug laboratories nationwide, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Police and drug agents found 30 children in the makeshift labs when they were raided, officials said. [continues 389 words]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Agents have seized 742,684 plants with an estimated street value of more than $2.6 billion, already surpassing last year's season total by 20 percent, authorities said. The state Department of Justice's annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP, is still a month away from wrapping up operations The raids, many in remote, forested terrain, pit agents against often heavily armed guards protecting their marijuana plots. About three weeks ago, a grower was shot dead and a state Fish and Game warden was wounded during a raid on a 22,000-plant pot farm in the hills above Los Gatos. [end]
Feds Still Ignoring Meth Epidemic The Bush Administration finally responded the other day to congressional charges that it was ignoring methamphetamine abuse around the country. But the response was inadequate to the challenge. Last week, three high-level administration officials traveled to a drug court in Nashville, Tenn., to express their concerns about the problem and offer solutions. "The scourge of methamphetamine demands unconventional thinking and innovative solutions to fight the devastation it leaves behind," declared Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, "I have directed U.S. attorneys to make prosecution of methamphetamine-related crimes a priority and seek the harshest penalties," he added. [continues 216 words]
A decision by Watertown City Court Judge James C. Harberson Jr. published this week in the New York Law Journal found that a trained drug recognition expert was not needed to arrest someone for driving under the influence of marijuana, among other issues. Judge Harberson refused to dismiss a case against Derek J. Dwyer, 19, Dexter, who was charged Feb. 11 in the 400 block of West Mullin Street with driving while ability impaired by drugs, unlicensed operation and failure to stop for a red light and stop signs. The charges against Mr. Dwyer are still pending in City Court. [continues 224 words]
Remove Penalties For Prior Drug Use Congress is reviewing a controversial provision of the Higher Education Act that denies federal financial assistance for the college bound for past drug use. Students can be denied aid for one year for a first-time offence with increasing penalties for other violations. Sale of a controlled substance could make a student ineligible for aid indefinitely. Since the restriction was enacted five years ago, more than 160,000 students have been turned down for federal aid. [continues 170 words]
Oregon Solution Targets Sick The cost of health care cold go up in Oregon following passage by the state House of Representatives of a bill that would require a prescription for some cold medicines now readily available over the counter. The legislation is aimed at curbing methamphetamine production using pseudoephedrine in over-the-counter medicines. Many states and pharmacies have reacted to the meth crisis by restricting access to the medications. Supporters expect the Oregon bill to pass in the Senate: it has the support of the governor. [continues 63 words]
Drug Is Scourge Of Rural Areas, Officials Say Methamphetamine is the nation's biggest law enforcement problem, local officials across the county say. It is worst than cocaine. It is crowding jails. It is leading to increases in other crimes - thefts, violence and domestic abuse. And it's increasing. Officials from the National Association of Counties earlier this week released a survey of 500 local nationwide to emphasize their point. They declared that Washington's focus on terrorism and homeland security had diverted funds and attention from the meth problem. [continues 223 words]
WASHINGTON - Beer maker Anheuser-Busch Cos. May have to reinstate several employees fired for using illegal drugs at work because the company used hidden cameras without informing the employees union, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The brewer fired five workers in 1998 after hidden cameras showed them smoking marijuana in an area where employees sometimes take breaks at one of its St. Louis brewing facilities. Four additional workers were suspended for leaving there work areas. Seven others, observed sleeping or urinating on the building's roof, had to sign "last-chance" agreements saying they could be fired for any further violation of company rules. [continues 247 words]
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The crippling reach of methamphetamine abuse has become the nation's leading drug problem affecting local law-enforcement agencies, according to a survey of 500 sheriffs' departments in 45 states. More than half the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of Counties survey released Tuesday said they consider meth the worst problem facing their departments. "We're finding out that this is bigger problem than we thought," said Larry Naake, executive director of the association. "Folks at the state and federal level need to know about this." [continues 203 words]
Dear Dr. Donohue: I am a very healthy 36-year-old man who was diagnosed with nephrogenic diabetes insipidus at age 2. Because of this, my urine is dilute. Recently I had to undergo a mandatory drug test. The test results came back as being diluted, and I was accused of drinking a lot of water in order to pass the test. My explanation has fallen on deaf ears. Is there any medicine I can take to stop the dilution? M.M. [continues 237 words]
TOKYO - The HIV/AIDS epidemic in China appears to be spreading along drug trafficking routes extending from Yunnan Province, a trading center connecting China to Southeast Asia, researchers said Monday at National Institute of Infectious Disease's International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific. The team headed by Yutaka Takebe from the institute's AIDS Research Center investigated the strains of HIV in patients in Yunnan and estimated their relationship with strains in India and other neighboring counties. The researchers discovered two strains of HIV - one found in Thailand in 1988 and another that was hybrid of strains found in India and Thailand. They also found two new subtypes, both derived from the Indian-Thai hybrid, in Xinjiang Uighur and Guang Xizhuan regions. The researchers believe the strains have traveled from one of the world's largest heroin producing regions, the Golden Triangle, in areas of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. [end]
MEXICO CITY - A man believed to be the leader of Mexico's top drug cartel was arrested in a mall and police were checking his DNA and fingerprints to confirm his identity, the president's spokesman said Monday. If confirmed, the detention of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes would be a major blow to the Juarez cartel, the only drug gang that hasn't had a top leader arrested amid a nationwide crackdown. "Right now, it is likely Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, but it isn't completely confirmed," said Ruben Aguilar, a spokesman for Mexican President Vicente Fox. The suspect went by the name Joaquin Romero. [end]
I would like to express my disappointment in Congressman John McHugh's vote against The Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment to the Science-State-Justice-Commerce Appropriations bill. That amendment sought to prevent the federal government from wasting taxpayer money undermining state medical marijuana laws. More than 20% of the U.S. population lives in a state where patients have legal access to medical marijuana, including residents of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Yet, medical use of marijuana is the only public health issue wherein the key stakeholders have not only been ignored, but actively face prosecution and imprisonment. The medical benefits of marijuana for cancer, AIDS, MS and other patients are well established. The Institute of Medicine has determined that nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety "all can be mitigated by marijuana." [continues 204 words]
SAN FRANCISCO - Authorities described this week's raids on San Francisco pot clubs as one of the largest drug crackdowns in the area in recent memory, and said the arrests were the first step in uncovering a major international drug operation. U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan said agents raided three pot clubs that operated as fronts for marijuana and Ecstasy trafficking, and warned that federal drug laws would be strictly enforced even in cities tolerant of medical marijuana. "We're empathetic to the ill and to the sick, however we cannot disregard federal law," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Javier Pena. "We have the power to enforce federal drug laws even in areas where it might not be popular." [continues 115 words]
ATLANTA - Marijuana-flavored lollipops with names such as Purple Haze, Acapulco Gold and Rasta are showing up on the shelves of convenient stores around the country, angering anti-drug advocates. "It's nothing but dope candy, and that's nothing we need to be training our kids to do," said Georgia State Sen. Vincent Fort, who has persuaded some stores to stop selling the treats. The confections are legal, because they are made with hemp oil, a common ingredient in health food, beauty supplies and other house hold products. The oil imparts marijuana's grassy taste but not the high. [continues 164 words]
BRUSSELS, Belgium - South America's cocaine output rose by 2 percent last year, bucking a five-year downward trend as increases in Peru and Bolivia outpaced Colombia's clampdown on coca cultivation, a U. N. report showed Tuesday. Cocaine production rose 35 percent in Bolivia and 23 percent in Peru from 2003 to 2004, while falling 11 percent in Colombia, according to the annual survey from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The U. N.'s top counter-narcotics official blamed political unrest in Bolivia and lawlessness in two Peruvian regions for the increase in coca leaf cultivation and cocaine production there. [continues 180 words]
TROY - Angry at his marijuana dealer, an upstate New York man said he damaged graves near the burial site of the man who became known as Uncle Sam. Ricky Rockenstire, 32, of Troy pleaded guilty to first-degree cemetery desecration Thursday. He will get a year in Rensselaer County Jail for the March 18 rampage, which authorities said caused more than $6,000 in damage to 50 gravestones and statues around the monument to Samuel Wilson, the Troy meatpacker whose Uncle Sam nickname became a national icon. Rockenstire told the judge Thursday he was mad at his marijuana dealer at the time and just snapped. He has been ordered to pay more than $3,000 in restitution. [end]
WASHINGTON -- The increased potency of today's marijuana and the greater knowledge we have of the dangers of using marijuana justify the increased attention that law enforcement is giving to illegal possession of the drug. But the disappointing reality is that a nearly 30 percent increase in marijuana arrests does not translate into a comparable reduction in use of the drug. Something more is needed. Rudolph Giuliani's success in slashing New York City's crime rate by, among other things, going after low-level street crimes such as smoking and selling small amounts of marijuana inspired many other mayors to follow suit. [continues 886 words]
WASHINGTON - U.S. Officials warned this month in an internal assessment that an American-financed poppy eradication program aimed at curtailing Afghanistan's huge heroin trade had been ineffective, in part because President Hamid Karzai "has been unwilling to assert strong leadership." A cable sent on May 13 from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the Afghan capital, said the provincial officials and village elders, many of whom are suspected of having ties to the drug trade, had impeded destruction of significant poppy acreage and that top Afghan officials, including Karzai, had done little to overcome the local resistance. [continues 333 words]
Charities that help the needy took drastic cuts in funding this year. When crime is at an all time low the U.S., with the largest prison population in the world, managed to increase incarceration by 900 a week. That translates to $1.1 billion less to help the impoverished. Congressman John McHugh on Wednesday May 11 voted for bill H.R. 1279 the "Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act". Bill H. R. 1279 will cost $7 billion taxpayer dollars over 10 years and put 23,600 more people in prison, many of whom would be youths under more 'mandatory minimums'. [continues 145 words]
Buffalo Targets Owners Of Drug Houses Buffalo is getting tough on drug activities. But law enforcement may be going after the wrong target. A new policy is aimed at landlords whose tenants deal drugs. Property owners now must evict drug-dealing tenants within 10 days of an arrest or face a $5,000 fine and eviction themselves. Owners will be notified by the city when a drug arrest is made at a residential property. The policy derives its legal basis from the Bawdy House Law of the early 1900s. It authorizes a landlord to evict a tenant involved in an illegal activity. If the landlord does not act, other parties may demand that a lawbreaker be evicted. [continues 91 words]
Elderly Patients Using Marijuana Say Demonized Drug Is A Blessing Seattle -- Betty Hiatt's morning wake-up call comes with the purr and persistent kneading of the cat atop her bedspread. Under predawn gray, Hiatt blinks awake. It is 6 a.m., and Kato, an opinionated Siamese who Hiatt swears can tell time, wants to be fed. Reaching for a cane, the frail grandmother pads with uncertain steps to the tiny alcove kitchen in her two-room flat. Her feline alarm clock gets his grub, then Hiatt turns to her own needs. [continues 1957 words]
BUFFALO - Police officials and three city judges announced a new get-tough policy aimed at Buffalo landlords who tolerate drug activity. Owners will receive a registered letter when a drug arrest is made at a residential property, officials said. If an owner fails to start eviction proceedings within 10 days, city officials will take the case to court. That could lead to eviction, as well as a $5,000 fine for the owner. Deputy Police Commissioner Robert Chella said eight people were recently arrested at four houses following complains of drug dealing from neighbors. The next morning, the suspects were back in the houses. "It frustrates the community because they think a problem is gone once we make the arrests, he said. [continues 72 words]
A group representing pharmacists nationwide as backed off its opposition to national legislation that would make it more difficult to purchase legal, over-the-counter cold medicines. The U. S. government and several states are considering laws to restrict sales of common medications containing pseudoephedrine, including Sudafed, Nyquil and Sinutab. The ingredients can be extracted to produce illegal methamphetamine, or "speed". The National Association of chain Drug Stores, which represent more than 36,000 pharmacies, has opposed such legislation but now indorses federal action. The report is motivated by self-interest. The group prefers a single national law overriding a hodgepodge of state laws. [continues 131 words]
"If You Kick The Habit, You'll Likely Battle The Addiction For The Rest Of Your Life" Eric Renegar, Anti-Meth Speaker BEAVER FALLS - Between segments of music and humor, Eric Renegar on Tuesday told high school students at Beaver River Central School about the dangers of methamphetamine use. "You use this drug two to three times and, most probably, you'll never come off it," Mr. Renegar said. "If you do kick the habit, you'll likely battle the addiction for the rest of your life." [continues 579 words]
Clinton-Era Colombia Plan Having Little Impact The Clinton administration initiated Plan Colombia to combat drug trafficking and cocaine production in Colombia. But five years and $3 billion later, some officials are questioning the worth of the program. In a dismaying assessment, the New York Times cited a White House Office of Drug Control Policy report in February, saying, "Key indicators of domestic cocaine availability show stable or slightly increase availability in drug markets throughout the county." The South American country, torn apart by an insurgency, continues to provide about 90 percent of the cocaine and half of the heroin used in the United States. [continues 237 words]
Volunteer Anti-Drug Organization CAID Calling It Quits A grass-roots, volunteer organization that fought the spread of illegal drugs is shutting down after seven years of picketing, lobbying and countless late-night interventions trying to persuade one hazed teenager after another to get treatment. "I'm burned out. My family's burned out. That's the bottom line," said Rocco S. Crescenzi, a co-founder and president of Citizens against Illegal Drugs. "I can't go out anymore at three in the morning and talk kids down from a high." [continues 670 words]
Louisville Traffic Stop Led To Prison Sentence ALBANY - A state appeals court panel has overturned the marijuana-possession convictions of a Rochester man who has served 15 months in prison on the charge. John J. Burns, 40, has been serving a three-to six-year sentence in the medium-security Washington Correctional Facility, Comstock, after being convicted of first-degree criminal possession of marijuana Nov. 20, 2003 in St. Lawrence County Court. He would not have been eligible for parole until Jan. 27. [continues 380 words]
BUFFALO - Several Mexican nationals, some of them migrant farm workers, were among more than two dozen people rounded up in a sweep targeting a drug operation that flooded Niagara and Orleans counties with cocaine and methamphetamine, authorities said Monday. The arrest followed a 16-month, multi-agency investigation that netted more than seven kilograms of cocaine and $500,000 cash, U.S. Attorney Michael Battle said. Twenty-five people, including the driver of a drug-laden car stopped over the weekend, were in custody on federal and state charges Monday and six others were being sought, authorities said. [continues 221 words]
WASHINGTON - The admission rate for those who seek treatment for marijuana use nearly tripled between 1992 and 2002, according to the latest data compiled by the federal government. The numbers released Friday reflect a growing use of marijuana in the 1990s and an increase in the potency of marijuana, said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy. "This report makes clear what people in the public health community have known for years, which is marijuana is a much more dangerous drug than many Americans realize," Riley said. [continues 74 words]
ALBANY - Methamphetamine, a scourge in rural areas where it is made in secret labs and a club drug of choice in cities, is giving Albany a rush as state legislators seek to crackdown on meth by updating old laws. Four meth labs were found and raided from 1989 to 1999 in New York. In 2003, 73 labs were raided, according to the Commission of Investigation. The bipartisan commission released a report to the legislature last week calling for laws that will make it criminal to possess the material used in making meth. [continues 312 words]
A convince store owner in one of Dallas's poorest neighborhoods was amazed when she started seeing children from the elementary school across the street buying candy and chips with $100 bills. "One boy came in here with a $100 bill and asked for change," Charlene Williams said of an incident last Saturday. When she told the boy he needed to be careful with his "mama's money," he told he: "This ain't my mama's money." It turned out that a youngster had apparently found tens of thousands of dollars in suspected drug money and was handing it out to others. [continues 518 words]
GOUVERNEUR - Four residents of Canada are facing federal persecution in Vermont after allegedly being found with 46 pounds of hashish in their car at a roadblock here. Jay Pollack, 35, Montreal; Lyle R., Neiman, 43, Pierrefonds, Quebec; Bernard J. Zeesman, 32, Aurora, Ontario, and Mark S. Shatzky, 27, Toronto, were arrested during an investigation that began at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Route 11 in the town of Gouverneur and ended in Burlington, Vt. The investigation began early Sunday when Mr. Zeesman and Mr. Schatzky were found in possession of the hashish at the checkpoint. Its street value estimated at more than $200,000 by the St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force. [continues 175 words]
CANTON - A St. Lawrence County judge ruled Wednesday that a U.S. Border Patrol stop at a checkpoint in May was not legal, which will result in the dismissal of burglary and robbery charges against a Tennessee man. Judge Kathleen M. Rogers ruled that the Border Patrol wrongly stopped Marcus L. Morrow's vehicle on Route 68 in the town of Oswegatchie. Therefore, all evidence seized as a result could not be used. The car contained two rifles, an unregistered 9 mm pistol and marijuana paraphernalia. The weapons seizure led to the discovery of a robbery. [end]
The mandatory sentencing fad that swept the United States beginning in the 1970's has had dramatic consequences - most of them bad. The prison population was driven up tenfold, creating a large and growing felon class - now 13 million strong - that remains locked out of the mainstream and prone to recidivism. Trailing behind the legions of felons are children who grow up visiting their parents behind bars and thinking prison life is perfectly normal. Meanwhile, the cost of building and running prisons has pushed many states near bankruptcy - and forced them to choose between building jails and schools. [continues 811 words]
CHATEAUGAY - Authorities on both sides of the border are continuing to investigate an incident in which a single shot apparently was fired at two U.S. Border Patrol agents. No one was injured in the incident, which took place about dusk Sunday, according to Leslie M. Lawson, assistant chief patrol agent with the Border Patrol in Swanton, VT. The apparent shooting took place after two agents spotted two people dressed in white winter camouflage on the U.S. side of the border in the Franklin County town of Chateaugay. [continues 181 words]
The Editor was quite correct in his assessment of the current drug law enforcement situation in NNY. In his editorial "Use Reasonable Force" he makes two excellent points. One, that multi agencies are used to do the job that state police or sheriffs could easily handle and two, that law enforcement officers are using heavy handed tactics enforcing drug laws. As a resident of St. Lawrence County I am aware of the escalating use of federal law-enforcement officers (border patrol, and US customs) in what should be local law enforcement jurisdiction. Not only is this type of enforcement heavy handed, it is down right expensive to taxpayers. [continues 136 words]
Corrections Officials Wait To See Rockefeller Reform ALBANY - State Department of Correctional Services officials have no idea what effect, if any, recent changes to the so-called Rockefeller drug laws will have on inmate population and staffing at the north country's state prisons. "Nobody would nave any idea said James B. Flateau, a Correctional Services spokesman. The reform measure, which Gov. George E. Pataki signed into law last week, includes reducing sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, allowing retroactive sentencing of the most egregious and unfair cases of offenders sentenced under the existing laws, providing greater access to drug treatment and reducing the weight thresholds for the two highest felony levels of cocaine and heroin possession. The reforms, which the state Legislature approved Dec. 7, go into effect 30 days after the measure is signed. [continues 260 words]
WASHINGTON - Fewer teenagers are smoking cigarettes or using illegal drugs, but a survey released Tuesday shows a troubling increase in the use of inhalants by younger adolescents. The smoking rate among younger teens is half what it was in the mid-1990's, and drug use by that group is down by one-third, according to the University of Michigan study, done for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Less dramatic strides have been made among older teens. Health experts and government officials called the annual survey of eighth, 10th and 12th graders a sign of continued progress in the effort to reduce youth drug use and said further declines would come only with a sustained public education campaign about the consequences of drug abuse. [continues 557 words]
BUFFALO - Two former police detectives were convicted Friday of violating the rights of drug suspects by planting evidence, stealing money and falsifying information to get search warrants. A federal jury convicted Paul Skinner, 46, and Sylvestre Acosta, 50, following a three-week trial. Acosta faces a mandatory prison term of at least 55 years for his conviction on three counts each of deprivation of civil rights, conspiracy and using a firearm in a crime of violence. Skinner faces at least five years in prison after being convicted of one count each of the same charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sentencing was scheduled for March. The two, both of whom received a number of commendations from their department, were indicted in January 2003. Neither testified at trial. A key prosecution witness was Rene Gil, a former police colleague, who earlier took a plea deal to drug trafficking charges. [end]
Tendency Toward Overkill In Drug Enforcement A Potsdam drug bust last week involved the services of seven law-enforcement agencies. Police searched the house of a Potsdam man and allegedly found $80,000 in drugs and 15 rifles. Members of the St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force arrived at the house of Billie B. Merrick last Wednesday evening to arrest him on a County Court warrant. He was previously under indictment on drug-sale and possession charges. The suspect was not home at the time, but police said they noticed marijuana at the residents. The task force then obtained a search warrant and went through the house. [continues 275 words]
KABUL, Afghanistan - Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the source of most of the opium and heroin on Europe's streets, was up sharply this year, reaching the highest levels in the country's history and in the world, the United Nations announced on Thursday. " In Afghanistan, drugs are now a clear and present danger," said Antonio Maria Costa, director of the U.N. Office of Drugs and crime, on the release of the 2004 Afghanistan opium survey. " The fear that Afghanistan might degenerate into a narco-state is becoming a reality. [continues 258 words]
