Its Effectiveness Is Disputed By Some Collinsville High School's athletes became the exception in the metro-east last week when school leaders decided to randomly test for drugs. Most local high schools don't test, primarily because the effectiveness of using tests to curb student drug use is questioned. But Collinsville High's new principal, Eric Flohr, advocates testing after his experiences at his previous high school, Dwight Township, which tested students in extracurricular activities for about 18 months. Dwight's program did not catch any students, but it did work as a deterrent. [continues 977 words]
St. Bede Academy assistant principal and athletic director Bernie Moore never attended any type of beauty school. Despite a lack beautician's training, in the past four years Moore has turned into a barber of sorts. He has become so popular at the Academy that every student and faculty member has visited his office to get a little off the top. "I've been looking for one of those red and white barber poles, and I swear I tell the kids I'm going to put it on the wall outside my door," Moore says. "I haven't found one yet, but if anyone knows where one is, I'd be glad to buy it from them." [continues 308 words]
CARTERVILLE -- One of the most gripping sessions of the Third Annual Methamphetamine Awareness Conference this week was the effects of meth production on children who are exposed. The chemicals used to cook meth, along with the toxic compounds and byproducts resulting from its manufacture produce toxic fumes, vapors and spills. A child living at a meth lab may inhale or swallow toxic substances or inhale the secondhand smoke of adults who are using meth, receive an injection or an accidental skin prick from discarded needles or other drug paraphernalia, absorb methamphetamine and other toxic substances through the skin following contact with contaminated surfaces; clothing, or food, or become ill after directly ingesting chemicals or an intermediate product. Exposure to low levels of some meth ingredients may produce headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Exposure to high levels can produce shortness of breath, cough; headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Exposure to low levels of some meth ingredients may produce shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, dizziness, lack of coordination, eye and tissue irritation, chemical burns, to the skin, eyes, mouth and nose, and death. Corrosive substances may cause injury through inhalation or contact with skin. Solvents can irritate the skin, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract and and affect the affect the central nervous system. Chronic exposure to the chemicals typically used in meth manufacturing may cause cancer, damage to the brain, liver, kidney, spleen, iummunologic system, and may result in birth defects. [continues 383 words]
ROCKFORD -- A 28-year-old Rockford woman received a 15-year prison sentence Friday for injecting a 20-year-old man with a dose of heroin that killed him. Renee M. Allen pleaded guilty to a felony charge of drug-induced homicide in May. She faced six to 30 years in prison. After hearing testimony from Allen's mother and the victim's father and sister, Judge Joe McGraw said the crime was tragic on many levels, including the loss of Matthew Reafler's life and waste of Allen's. [continues 396 words]
MONMOUTH - Methamphetamine continues to be public enemy number one for law enforcement agencies in the area and across the U.S. Even though the overall number of meth labs seized has decreased in many areas, methamphetamine, also known on the street as crystal meth or crank, is still abundant as well as cheap compared to some drugs. Most law enforcement officials believe the methamphetamine superlabs in the southwest are manufacturing more of the drug to make up for the decreased local production. In the metro areas meth abuse continues to fuel an increase in crimes like robbery and assault, which is straining the workload of local police forces. [continues 473 words]
What runs through your mind when a young black man with a shady background gets shot? Do you think "live by the sword, die by the sword"? Do your thoughts turn to cloaked variations on the "those-people" chant, as in "I would stay in Peoria, but it's not safe"? Or do you pause long enough to think about it at all? James Fairley sighs when he hears the question. He owns The Tee-Shirt King, a custom-printing business along Western Avenue. Fairley understands exactly where the question leads. [continues 636 words]
Overdose deaths across the nation related to fentanyl, a powerful prescription pain-killer that has been pushed into the illegal drug supply, seem to be slowing, a federal official said Tuesday. "We've seen a decline in the number of deaths. I won't say it's definitely over, but it looks like this fight is declining," said John P. Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy. Walters, who was in Chicago for a forum on teen drug use and technology, said the slowdown started a couple of weeks ago. [continues 221 words]
School Board OKs Random Screenings Collinsville High School athletes will be subject to random drug testing, a first for the district. The Unit 10 school board voted 5-1 to approve random screenings for drug use by high school athletes at its meeting Monday. At the cost of about $1,200 a year, to be paid out of drink-machine funds, about 16 students per season will be randomly selected by a computer for mandatory testing. Athletes sign a code of conduct at the beginning of the year promising that they will abstain from drugs and alcohol. Failing the screening would be a violation of the code, which carries lesser penalties than the regular discipline rules: the athlete would be suspended from the team but not from school, and he would have a chance at rehabilitation. [continues 278 words]
Heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, drugs once considered inner-city fare, are showing up in the Illinois Valley, alarming residents and local police. Spring Valley, which gained some notoriety after making a public response to the problem public in the summer of 2003, still may have a dangerous reputation but former police chief Doug Bernabei said the city has made great strides since joining the drug task force. Three years after residents clamored to join Illinois State Police Zone 3/La Salle Drug Task Force, both Bernabei and task force commander Juan De Leon say the city's drug problem is reasonably under control. [continues 1026 words]
I was sentenced to life in prison on June 9 on federal drug charges, and I have one question that I am finding difficult to get an answer for: Why have the powers-that-be in government sat idle for the last 25 years while South American countries grew, processed and then unleashed cocaine and heroin on American society? These two drugs have cost America more than 100 twin towers, and who knows how many more, in lives. Why would any government let this happen to its society? We have a cocaine epidemic in America. Every city has crack houses, every neighborhood has a crack corner. Look what has happened to our society in 25 years. Look at today's youth. You can't put a price tag on society's decline. Why would a government let this happen? Kevin G. Hutchings Knox County Jail Galesburg [end]
Park Ridge police have confirmed that the death in March of a 22-year-old Park Ridge man was caused by a lethal dose of heroin. Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Tom Swoboda said toxicology tests show that Jonathan Krischke died after taking heroin mixed with the narcotic fentanyl on March 9. Krischke, a Maine South graduate, was found unconscious by a family member inside his home, Swoboda said. He was taken to Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, where he was pronounced dead about 30 minues after his arrival, Swoboda said. [continues 166 words]
A spike in drug-related crime in downtrodden East St. Louis and a manpower shortage in the city Police Department have prompted the Illinois State Police and several other agencies to step in and help patrol the city. For more than two years, the State Police have been helping East St. Louis investigate its homicides. When drug-related crime increased last month, Illinois State Police Capt. Craig Koehler contacted East St. Louis Police Chief James Mister with an offer to form a task force of officers from the State Police and other agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwest Illinois. [continues 684 words]
Some Sites Look Academic But Are Run By Criminal Groups And Can Track Visitors. CHICAGO - With a few clicks on his laptop, Detective Rich Wistocki is staring at a man who appears to be smoking marijuana. Wistocki, a police investigator in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill., clicks again: There's another picture of the 22-year-old, nearly hidden under a large pile of what looks like bags of marijuana. Rich Wistocki, a Naperville, Ill., detective, says information from gang Web sites is of limited value as evidence but can help police. [continues 512 words]
As a Colorado Christian citizen who voted to allow sick citizens to use cannabis - marijuana - legally, Pete Guither's letter ("Wanted approval of medical-marijuana," YourViews, July 4) caught my attention. One reason the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, United Church of Christ, Union for Reform Judaism, Progressive National Baptist Convention and the Unitarian Universalist Association actively support the use of medical marijuana, along with 70 percent of Americans, is because God indicated he created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible - see Genesis 1:11-12 and 29-30. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
HARRISBURG - Four sheriffs whose counties will benefit from the $148,048 COPS Methamphetamine Initiative grant acted like kids at Christmas on Friday. The sheriffs were joined at the Harrisburg City Hall by community and other law enforcement leaders from Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Pope and Saline counties at a check presentation and press conference featuring Republican U. S. Rep. John Shimkus, who was instrumental in securing the federal grant. The grant was made to the Southeastern Illinois Planning Commission, which serves the five southeastern Illinois counties. [continues 457 words]
HARRISBURG - Congressman John Shimkus made a stop in Harrisburg City Hall Friday to announce a grant of $150,000 to the five southeasternmost counties of Illinois intended to fund equipment and manpower to fight methamphetamine production. "These are those dreaded earmarks we have so much in Washington, that so much of the time we get lampooned over," Shimkus said. "Many of us point to programs and projects just like this, and I say, 'Go ahead. Go ahead and attack me on earmarks.'" [continues 530 words]
During a press conference at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Chicago office, agent Tim Ogden stated, without apparent irony, that the current threat of Fentanyl-laced heroin, which has been responsible for 150-300 deaths throughout the upper Midwest and the Northeast, was "the biggest threat I have seen in almost 30 years of law enforcement experience." To say that this statement is a bit hyperbolic is putting it mildly. Especially since the "victims," as the news refers to them, are all willing participants who are generally mindful of most of the risks involved with cooking up and injecting a substance like heroin intravenously. [continues 561 words]
MINONK -- The cost of testing could keep Fieldcrest School District from implementing a random drug-testing policy currently under review. The policy only would be used to determine who's eligible to try out and participate in competitive extracurricular activities. "Several people I talked to thought this was a step in the right direction," said board President Joe Kirkpatrick. "To move the bar a little bit and have higher expectations." The proposed policy says the district would pay for all initial random tests or any additional reliability testing and that any retesting or additional testing would be paid for by parents or guardians. [continues 222 words]
Columnist Robert Novak is seemingly incapable of applying basic economic principles to drug policy [''Dems balk at support for Colombia's drug war,'' June 26]. As long as there is a demand for drugs, there will be a supply. Destroy the Colombian coca crop and production will boom in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Destroy every last plant in South America and domestic methamphetamine production will increase to meet the demand for cocaine-like drugs. Instead of waging a futile supply-side drug war abroad, we should be funding cost-effective drug treatment here at home. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
On June 28, Rep. Jerry Weller voted to continue wasting our tax dollars on harassing sick people in other states who are following their doctors' instructions and state law. Eleven states have made it legal for patients with cancer, AIDS or other serious diseases to use medical marijuana under a doctor's supervision if it works for them. And we have plenty of things on which to spend tax money that are much more important than sending federal agents to those 11 states to lock up grandma in her wheelchair. [continues 204 words]
His first love, first car and first full-time job marked the beginning of his adult years. But it was David Konen's first encounter with fentanyl that caused their abrupt end. The 18-year-old Streamwood resident was found unconscious in his bed - -- an unfinished line of heroin and a bloodied dollar bill on the table beside it. "He didn't know the heroin was laced," said David's mother, Carin Konen. "He never would have done it." David was pronounced dead later that Mother's Day at St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. [continues 1191 words]
ILLINOIS: Madigan praises Walgreens for creating national database Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan praised Walgreens last week for the effectiveness of its new electronic database that enforces legal limits on how much of the stimulant pseudoephedrine an individual can purchase. The first of its kind, Walgreens' national database improves on the old-fashioned system of logging pseudoephedrine purchases on paper. Pseudoephedrine is used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. According to Phil Burgess, Walgreens' national director of Pharmacy Affairs, the paper-based tracking system proved ineffective partly because of the difficulty of keeping accurate handwritten records. [continues 208 words]
MT. VERNON - Although methamphetamine usage is still a problem for the area, the number of labs and arrests related to the drug is down drastically, according to area law enforcers. "The meth cases we're getting are lower," Mt. Vernon Police Chief Chris Mendenall said. "I attribute it to the law changes, but it could be even better. I believe that the ingredients that are used to make meth in cough medicines should only be available by prescription. That would really change things." [continues 602 words]
Police Chief Says Drug Users Are Apparently Making Shift To Heroin Use CENTRALIA - A recently-enacted law which makes it more difficult to buy Sudafed or pseudoephedrine, which can be a precursor to the manufacture of methamphetamine, seems to be making a positive impact in Centralia, according to Police Chief Larry Evans. However, he said statistics suggest that some drug abusers may be switching to other drugs, including heroin. On Jan. 15, the Illinois Legislature enacted a law saying people buying these medicines must sign for them and the quantities sold are limited. [continues 411 words]
Interim Police Chief Wants City To Work Independent Of State Police The city's interim police chief, Bill Doster, told council members this week he would like to see Canton adopt its own drug-enforcement task force. "We have a significant drug problem with crack cocaine in Canton," Doster told council members during Tuesday's committee meeting. Doster proposed hiring two additional officers to be trained for drug enforcement, which would allow city police to serve their own search warrants. Canton police now rely on Illinois State Police to issue warrants, which can take hours to receive, Doster said. [continues 368 words]
Use of fentanyl-laced heroin is rising, as law officers work to ID the origin of the painkiller. CHICAGO - Jimbo tries to be cautious these days. The middle-age heroin user says he buys only from dealers he knows - a hedge against getting heroin mixed with the pain-reliever fentanyl, a concoction that has killed at least 150 people in recent months. Many of his friends, though, seek out fentanyl-laced heroin for its potent high, swapping information about where the latest overdose victim got his dope. [continues 870 words]
A 14-year-old boy said that after his mother started using methamphetamine, she no longer acted like a mom should. In contrast, his 13-year-old brother believes the government is persecuting their father unfairly. Their observations are among comments collected from children in foster care because their parents have used methamphetamine. Such children face extra difficulties in foster care, according to a team of researchers looking at children from homes where parents have used meth. The team includes professionals from the University of Illinois School of Social Work, Department of Children and Family Services and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Related Meth measures signed into law (6/6/06) [continues 975 words]
Plight of recent murder victims spurs Peoria pastor into action PEORIA - What struck the Rev. Tim Criss hardest about the eight women Larry Bright killed over 15 months was the similarities of their problems. As police began to discover women's bodies dumped or buried by Bright in 2003 and 2004, one of the first links was that most of them led lives of prostitution. That's not what Criss found so striking. "We did some research with the family and once we got a chance to know some of them, we found out that with many of the ladies, their common denominator was not prostitution. Prostitution was a means to which they were able to finance their drug addiction. That was the key issue," he said. [continues 457 words]
MARIQUITA, Colombia -- At the Colombian National Police base here last Wednesday morning, a small air fleet took off. Hours earlier, a Fairchild Metroliner intelligence plane scouted poppy fields in the jungles 40 miles northward. Now several well-armed Huey helicopters embarked. They were followed by three Turbo fixed-wing aircraft spraying the fields to eradicate plants producing narcotics destined for U.S. and European users. Taking off last to complete the day's operation was a Blackhawk helicopter, fulfilling "search and rescue" requirements. [continues 649 words]
CHICAGO . Federal prosecutors Wednesday charged more than three dozen members of a Chicago street gang with running a drug ring that sold crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the potentially lethal prescription painkiller fentanyl. Fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for more than 200 overdose-related deaths across the eastern half of the country in recent months, at least 70 in the Chicago area. But while much of the fentanyl seized in the investigation was packaged for individual use, none of the seized heroin was found to be mixed with fentanyl, authorities said. The painkiller is 80 times stronger than morphine. [continues 165 words]
47 members charged, 30 arrested; officials say drug ring sold deadly fentanyl-laced heroin CHICAGO -- Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged more than three dozen members of a Chicago street gang with running a drug ring that sold crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the potentially lethal prescription painkiller fentanyl. Fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for more than 200 overdose-related deaths across the eastern half of the country in recent months, at least 70 of them in the Chicago area. But while much of the fentanyl seized in the investigation was packaged for individual use, none of the seized heroin was found to be mixed with fentanyl, authorities said. The legally produced painkiller is 80 times stronger than morphine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro alleged that the gang marketed its drugs to take advantage of the deadly heroin's notoriety, selling products with names such as "Max Pain," "Lethal Injection," "Fear Factor," "Drop Dead" and "Final Call." He said none of the defendants had been charged in any of the fentanyl deaths. In a series of raids Wednesday, agents seized more than 100 kilograms of heroin, five firearms, four vehicles and an undetermined amount of cash, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 400 federal and local law enforcement officers were involved. The criminal complaint Wednesday charges 47 members and associates of the Mickey Cobras gang. By early afternoon, 30 people had been arrested, including a Chicago police officer. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said many of the arrests took place at the Dearborn Homes public housing complex, a Mickey Cobras stronghold a few miles south of the Loop, but that the drug ring extended to nearby states. [end]
CHICAGO -- Federal prosecutors Wednesday charged more than three dozen members of a Chicago street gang with running a drug ring that sold crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the potentially lethal prescription painkiller fentanyl. Fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for more than 200 overdose-related deaths across the eastern half of the country in recent months, at least 70 in the Chicago area. But while much of the fentanyl seized in the investigation was packaged for individual use, none of the seized heroin was found to be mixed with fentanyl, authorities said. The legally produced painkiller is 80 times stronger than morphine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro alleged that the Mickey Cobras gang marketed its drugs to take advantage of the deadly heroin's notoriety, selling products with names such as "Max Pain," "Lethal Injection," "Fear Factor," "Drop Dead" and "Final Call." "They carry niche marketing to its extreme," Shapiro said. "They sell branded heroin." None of the defendants had been charged with the fentanyl deaths, he said. In a series of raids Wednesday, agents seized more than 100 kilograms of heroin, five firearms, four vehicles and an undetermined amount of cash, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. More than 400 federal and local law enforcement officers were involved. The criminal complaint charged 47 members and associates of the gang with conspiracy to possess and distribute heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and fentanyl. [continues 106 words]
ROCKFORD -- The home of a needle exchange and condom distribution program is no longer at the north gateway of the fledgling Seventh Street business district, but it's not that far away. To be exact, the Total Health Awareness Team, or THAT Place, is setting up shop in an abandoned gas station six blocks south of where the agency tried to move in last year but was told no. The social service program is having a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. today at its new 824 Seventh St. storefront. [continues 358 words]
A Chicago Police officer and a key Mickey Cobras street gang leader were among 47 people charged Wednesday with running a major drug operation out of the Dearborn Homes housing project -- but no charges involved a rash of fatal overdoses involving fentanyl-laced heroin linked to the same area. According to a 213-page federal complaint, Prairie District Officer Tashika Sledge, 29, helped Lynn Barksdale, a member of the gang's board of directors, by hiding his drug sales paraphernalia. Mickey Cobras arrested [continues 568 words]
Basketball Star's Overdose Hijacked by War on Crack Cocaine WASHINGTON -- Twenty years have passed since the cocaine-induced death of basketball wizard Len Bias touched off a war against drugs. His legacy, in the odd way that politics plays out, is harsher penalties for crack cocaine, which is not quite the same drug that he used. On June 19, 1986, two nights after the Boston Celtics selected him as a first-round draft pick, he died of a cocaine overdose. He was 22. Eight days later Don Rogers, a defensive player for the Cleveland Browns, also died of a cocaine overdose. [continues 695 words]
CHICAGO -- Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged more than three dozen members of a Chicago street gang with running a drug ring that sold crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin and the potentially lethal prescription painkiller fentanyl. In recent months, fentanyl-laced heroin has been blamed for more than 200 overdose-related deaths across the eastern half of the country, including at least 70 in the Chicago area. Much of the fentanyl seized in the investigation was packaged for individual use, but none of the seized heroin was found to be mixed with fentanyl, authorities said. The legally produced painkiller is 80 times stronger than morphine. [continues 304 words]
CHICAGO -- Hundreds of law enforcement officers raided a public housing project here shortly after dawn on Wednesday, taking aim at what they described as a sophisticated drug ring that may be responsible for some of 70 recent fatal overdoses in Chicago and its suburbs. The overdoses were caused by fentanyl, a dangerously potent heroin additive that has also led hundreds of other people to overdose in cities including Detroit, Camden, N.J., and Philadelphia. The authorities here said they viewed Wednesday's action as a first significant attack on what has become the deadliest drug combination in years. [continues 478 words]
Summer Camp Decision Comes After Drug Arrests Three Sisters Park has had enough of Summer Camp. The annual outdoor music festival more than doubles the population of Chillicothe, with concertgoers from across the country trekking to this Peoria County town. For three days and nights last month, more than 8,000 Summer Camp attendees reveled in jam band harmony while shelling out their tourist dollars to many of the local businesses. Unfortunately, the concert also has come to symbolize a draw for illegal drug users, distributors and potential life-threatening consequences. [continues 582 words]
Chicago Police Officer Among Dozens Arrested in 3 States CHICAGO -- More than 30 people with alleged ties to a Chicago gang were arrested before noon Wednesday in raids that took aim at a drug ring accused of distributing a potent form of heroin that has killed more than 130 people in recent weeks. Among those arrested in the raids -- which also took place in Texas and Ohio -- was Tashika Sledge, 29, a Chicago police officer. Court papers allege that she had a relationship with a gang member and informed the group about law enforcement activities. [continues 690 words]
CHICAGO -- Faced with the demolition of public housing projects used as hideouts and a crackdown by city police, Chicago street gangs are increasingly setting up shop in the suburbs, according to a report by the Chicago Crime Commission. The 272-page report, released Monday, also found that Chicago area gangs were engaging in more white-collar crime and increasingly working with instead of against each other to make more money. "It's a huge, significant problem which I would classify as our enemy within," said James W. Wagner, president of the commission, a nonprofit public safety organization that conducted the study as a training tool for law enforcement agencies and the public. [continues 451 words]
CHICAGO -- Hundreds of federal agents and Chicago police officers carried out mass raids across the city and nearby suburbs before dawn today, aimed at what they said was one of the deadliest drug rings seen in years. Among the dozens of people arrested in the raids was a female Chicago police officer described as a conspirator, according to the police. A person said to be a ranking member of the drug ring was arrested in Ohio late Tuesday night, before the raids began. [continues 559 words]
URBANA - It took Jeanine Wright a little longer than her teachers had hoped, but on Monday she will graduate from one of the toughest schools in the world – Champaign County's drug court. Wright, 30, of Urbana is among seven – the largest class ever– to have completed the program designed to get people whose crimes are linked to their drug addiction back on the straight and narrow. "She has had numerous issues – mental health, family, medical, medication. We have gotten her through all of that, and she told me yesterday she's gotten a job," Champaign County Judge Jeff Ford said earlier this week of one of his pupils. [continues 292 words]
Police made a key arrest Thursday in their investigation into the deadly drugs hitting the streets, nabbing a West Side dealer who could lead to a supplier of fentanyl-laced heroin that has killed more than 60 people in Cook County. Chicago Police have so far rounded up more than 100 suspected dealers during their two-month probe, but Thursday's arrest of an alleged gang member is considered the most significant so far. "This is one of our best leads to track how this fentanyl is coming in and being put on the heroin," said a source familiar with the arrest. [continues 730 words]
CHIGAGO -- Just one hundred and twenty-five micrograms -- the equivalent of six grains of salt -- is enough fentanyl to kill. Mix it with heroin or cocaine, and you have a high to die for -- literally. In Pittsburgh, heroin mixed with fentanyl is being marketed on the street under the name "get high or die tryin.' " In metro Detroit, so far this year, 83 people have died trying. The seriousness of the spreading threat drew more than 125 law enforcement officials, scientists, public health officials and emergency first responders from seven cities and Mexico to Chicago on Wednesday and Thursday to learn about the potentially lethal painkiller and where it's coming from. Even Scott Burns, deputy drug czar, in the Bush administration was on hand. [continues 453 words]
A self-described drug addict stood by a vacant lot on the city's South Side Thursday and pointed down the block where he says more than a dozen of his friends and acquaintances died after using fentanyl-laced heroin. "Joe died down there, and then there was Rita, Cherlyn, Marvin died somewhere over there - and Chico there," said Don Howard, 59, flanked by rows of derelict buildings and a sign atop a lamppost that read, "Chicago Blues District." Several miles away, police and drug enforcement officials from around the country ended two days of discussions Thursday on the possible source of the bad heroin that killed Don's friends and at least 100 others from Chicago to Philadelphia. [continues 556 words]
CHICAGO - A self-described drug addict stood by a vacant lot on the city's South Side and pointed down the block. There, he says, more than a dozen of his friends and acquaintances died after using heroin laced with a strong painkiller. Several miles away, police and drug enforcement officials ended two days of discussions on the possible source of the bad heroin that killed Howard's friends and at least 100 others from Chicago to Philadelphia. The summit that ended Thursday provided officials from 12 states and Washington, D.C., the chance to coordinate their investigations into the spike of fentanyl-related deaths since the beginning of this year, Ogden said at a news conference. [continues 250 words]
CHICAGO - A self-described drug addict stood by a vacant lot on the city's South Side and pointed down the block. There, he says, more than a dozen of his friends and acquaintances died after using heroin laced with a strong painkiller. "Joe died down there, and then there was Rita, Cherlyn, Marvin died somewhere over there - and Chico there," said Don Howard, 59, flanked by rows of derelict buildings and a sign atop a lamppost that read, "Chicago Blues District." [continues 587 words]
We wish we could be as confident as Gov. Rod Blagojevich that the state is "making a difference" on the methamphetamine problem. Arrest statistics don't prove his contention. Last week, the governor said in a prepared statement that the special Illinois State Police unit formed to track down methamphetamine labs had arrested 653 people in its first full year of operation. The unit was created in May 2005. At this time, there are no comparable statistics by which to measure this unit's success. And total meth arrests in Illinois over the past two calendar years show a decline in 2005. [continues 588 words]
Joint Effort Targets Mexican Suppliers At the end of a two-day conference on the painkiller fentanyl, police and federal drug investigators said they are better informed about the growing crisis and are aggressively working to cut off the Mexican supply of the drug, which has tainted the U.S. heroin market and killed hundreds of people. Chicago police and Drug Enforcement Administration officials held the summit in the DEA's office here Wednesday and Thursday in order to bring together investigators, scientists and public health officials working on the problem around the country. [continues 355 words]
Thanks for publishing James E. Gierach's outstanding guest column, "Shocking tolerance of drug-war casualties" (June 9). I'd like to add that when pure pharmaceutical-grade Bayer heroin was legally sold in pharmacies and grocery stores, deaths from drugs like heroin were very rare. That's because the drugs were of known quality, known purity and known potency -- just the opposite of today's bootleg, black-market drugs. And today's illegal black-market drugs are untaxed, unregulated and controlled by criminal gangs -- just like alcohol was when it was illegal. Please, for the sake of our children, re-legalize all drugs so they can be regulated, controlled and taxed by our government -- not criminal gangs. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Inside Illinois
