During the past five years, law enforcement agencies in Kentucky have found and destroyed an average of more than 450,000 marijuana plants annually, or about one plant for every nine state residents. Through Friday, police throughout the state had seized 10,295 plants so far this year, which is about 500 more than were found during the same period last year. And the main growing season is just beginning. "It's still early in the marijuana growing season," said Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, spokeswoman for the Kentucky State Police. "Within the next few months, we'll find the bulk of the plants we find each year." [continues 846 words]
MIDDLESBORO - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. Some 300 people, many carrying anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall last week, signaling what might be an end to the free pass the clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 600 words]
I don't smoke pot, but I don't see why sick people shouldn't be allowed to if they think it makes them feel better. I also think I correctly ascertained that the Supreme Court's majority opinion intended to reflect not so much drug policy, but the upholding of federal authority over that of the states. That isn't surprising. What surprised me was that three of the Court's conservatives, whom I had assumed were not for states' rights, but for states' rights when convenient, sided against the government. Well, OK, it was a little surprising, too, that the Court's more liberal side voted against pot. It would have been nice to be surprised by Justice Antonin Scalia. Louisville 40207 [end]
The State Narcotic Authority has decided to reschedule today's review of Rehabilitation Drug Services' application to dispense Methadone in order to allow the public to attend the meeting. But, there will be limitations. "It's an open meeting with no public hearing or testimony. They'll let us in and listen to them, but that's good enough," said Dr. Ronald Dubin, founder of M.A.D (Middlesboro Against Drugs). Dubin and his organization have led the fight against the proposed clinic. [continues 270 words]
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. About 300 people, many with anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall last week, signaling what may be an end to the free pass that clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 388 words]
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. Some 300 people, many carrying anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall this month, signaling what may be an end to the free pass the clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 762 words]
The Internet revolutionized the way the world does business. Unfortunately, it also seems to have revolutionized the way drug dealers do business. A series of reports in this week's editions of The Sun has shown how disturbingly easy it is for anybody to get prescription narcotics from online pharmacies. A minimal telephone consultation from a physician's assistant and old medical records were all it took for one online pharmacy to send 90 high-strength painkillers to a Sun reporter recently. One former drug dealer recounted how easy it was for her to get multiple shipments of narcotics shipped straight to her door, which were then put out on the streets, netting her hundreds of thousands of dollars. [continues 439 words]
Did you know that Colombia is second after Sudan for having the most displaced people? Colombia receives the third-largest amount of U.S. foreign aid -- only Israel and Egypt receive more. Despite having the worst humanitarian conditions in our hemisphere, 80 percent of our aid to Colombia is military. Did you know the primary rationale for sending $4 billion to Colombia over the past five years has been to curb the flow of drugs into the United States? Kentucky's U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Ben Chandler are on congressional committees that will decide to either help the Colombian people with humanitarian aid or continue wasting our money on failed military policies. If you are counting on the Herald-Leader for your information, you probably don't know these things. But at least you are well-informed about Michael Jackson and the status of pet monkeys. Regina Wink Swinford Frankfort [end]
Pseudoephedrine cold medicines are now being controlled. And, "although the law may cause an inconvenience for law-abiding citizens . it is a big step forward in curbing the production of meth," Joel Thornbury said. The president of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association goes on to say, "And this is just the beginning . if it works, we may very well end up taking (the inconveniences) further." The national homeland security laws also are "inconveniences" to law-abiding citizens: keeping tabs on library and Internet usage among an abundance of other big brother monitoring. [continues 246 words]
At a recent meth lab bust in Hardin County, Detective Chris Thompson was serving a search warrant when a man came out the back door of a home and tossed ingredients used to make methamphetamine under an air conditioning unit. The chemicals were sucked into the ventilation system, sending fumes into the home. Inside, directly in front of the air conditioner and absorbing the potentially deadly chemicals, were two children under 12 years old. As methamphetamine labs pop up around the country, another trend also is on the rise. Children are now being exposed to meth and its toxic chemicals at an alarming rate as parents manufacture the drug in their homes. [continues 853 words]
Sometimes an investigative reporter's work goes down the toilet - literally. In an effort to determine how easily narcotics can be purchased online, The Sun authorized me to do exactly what a growing number of drug dealers in Clark County do on a regular basis - buy prescription drugs online that would be delivered right to my door. All it took was a simple Internet search to find a list of cyberpharmacies offering pain medication. Twenty-four hours after speaking on the phone with the pharmacy's "doctor," 90 Lortabs - a potent prescription painkiller that is commonly trafficked illegally in Clark County - were delivered to my home in a nondescript FedEx package. [continues 1026 words]
The last legal hurdle to dispensing Methadone at Rehabilitation Drug Services, located in downtown Middlesboro, could be cleared on Friday when the business' application to dispense the drug is reviewed by a state panel. The business successfully submitted their application by the Monday deadline. The review is slated for Friday in Frankfort. According to Dr. Ronald Dubin, founder of M.A.D (Middlesboro Against Drugs), his organization has been told they will not be allowed to take part in the meeting. [continues 217 words]
New Law Puts Common Products 'Behind The Counter' Beginning today, purchasing ingredients to make methamphetamine will be more difficult. Senate Bill 63, like all the bills passed in the last session of the General Assembly, takes effect today, as is dictated by law. SB63 was designed to make it more difficult to purchase what lawmakers deem "meth precursors." Products that contain pseudoephedrine -- one of the main ingredients in methamphetamine production, now only can be sold by licensed pharmacies and are to be stocked behind the counter. [continues 437 words]
Clark County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Gurley slipped on a yellow shirt with a red collar and a DHL logo emblazoned on the chest, a pair of gray short pants and received a crash course in how to deliver a package to somebody's door. If one didn't know better, he could have passed for a DHL employee. That was the whole idea. Gurley's undercover ruse was part of a snare that Capt. Arlen Horton of the sheriff's department hoped would result in half a dozen arrests for trafficking drugs that were bought from on online pharmacy. [continues 1065 words]
Measure Intended To Fight Meth Labs The next time Carol League has an allergy attack, she'll have to show an ID and sign a log at her pharmacy if she wants to buy some relief. But League said she's happy to be inconvenienced if it means Kentucky's new restrictions on cold and allergy pills will make it harder for people to use them to make methamphetamine. "Anything to help Kentucky deal with its drug problems," said League, 57, who assists her husband, George, the pastor of Living Waters Christian Church in Shelby County. [continues 1029 words]
PINEVILLE - The Bell County Drug Court had its first graduation ceremony on Wednesday. The program's first graduate, Julia Hensley, has been in the program for over a year with a perfectly clean record. Hensley had no positive drug tests and no sanctions or reprimands throughout the program. "She's been a real role model for drug court. She has met every requirement," said program specialist Kristy Nelson. Of those who joined the program at the same time as Hensley, three others still have more requirements to meet before graduation and two were terminated from the program due to non-cooperation. [continues 394 words]
MIDDLESBORO - The abuse of prescription medication - OxyContin in particular - continues to be a major problem in Middlesboro and the surrounding area. The owners of Rehabilitation Drug Services Barbara Smith and Pam Wenger say they have already been contacted by over 100 people who hoping to start receiving methadone at the clinic to treat their addiction. One such recovering addict is Amanda Turner of Middlesboro. She attended an open house at Rehabilitation Drug Services Thursday that was planned to contrast the M.A.D. rally. [continues 929 words]
The 35-year-old woman with reddish blonde hair falling just below her shoulders sat on her sofa in her Lexington home, smiling as she recounted a recent trip to Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. For two days, she and her family hiked, camped and swam. She flipped pancakes in the air and watched rainbow trout swim in the lake. "I'm so happy," she exclaimed with a smile that widened as she spoke. Just remembering details of a weekend getaway is something Wendy Gividen Berryman may never again take for granted. Berryman recalls little of an excursion to Natural Bridge State Park in 2002 when she was hooked on painkillers and anxiety medication - a period when taking 10 pills a day was not unusual. She cannot recollect hiking the trail to the bridge or posing atop the stone archway for photographs. The trip is a blur in her consciousness, just as is much of the past three years of her life. [continues 2070 words]
They have stood before cameras and walked the hallways of the General Assembly trying to get-legislation passed that would expunge the criminal records of most non--violent offenders, but members of Bluegrass People Advocating-Recovery have another agenda they are just as passionate about. They want us all to understand that recovering addicts are not-pariahs. Many members of Bluegrass PAR are recovering addicts of-illegal drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, but they don't resemble the stereotypical crackheads in the least. They are law-abiding and tax-paying neighbors and friends who, because of their pasts, can't always find viable employment. [continues 484 words]
Similar Legislation Worked In 1 state FRANKFORT - Kentucky law enforcement officials hope new legislation requiring people to show picture IDs and sign their names when buying medication containing pseudoephedrine will become a useful instrument in their arsenal against methamphetamine. "Without controlling pseudoephedrine, it's going to be really hard to get our arms around the meth problem," said David James, head of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation - an arm of the attorney general's office. "Now that we have some controls on the pseudoephedrine, it will help law enforcement across the state better protect the citizens." [continues 354 words]
Inside Kentucky
