HAVRE - Drug traffickers hide narcotics in many unlikely places.

Car seats. Vehicle engines. Baby formula bottles. Secret compartments in semi trucks.

Drug task force member Jerry Nystrom has seen it all while patrolling Montana's Hi-Line along the U.S.-Canadian border.

The oddest place he has seen someone smuggle drugs is in bodies, especially a woman's nether regions - something people might believe only happens in movies.

"They think we wouldn't look there," said Havre Police Lt. Nystrom, Tri-Agency Safe Trails Task Force team leader.

[continues 507 words]

A massive anti-drug media campaign has turned many Montana teens away from methamphetamine.

The latest Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows a remarkable decline in the number of high school students who say they have used meth one or more times during their lives. The percentage of Montana high school students saying they'd used meth had been dropping slowly since 1999 until the Montana Meth Project started running its edgy ads in 2005 on TV, radio and billboards and in newspapers. The percentage of students saying they used meth dropped an amazing 45 percent in the 2007 survey, compared with the 2005 survey. In 2005, 8.3 percent of students said they'd used meth; in 2007, it was 4.6 percent. That steep decline coincided with the Montana Meth Project's "Not Even Once" campaign. The private, nonprofit organization obviously is succeeding in effort to discourage teens from trying meth "even once."

[continues 376 words]

Five years ago, I starved myself to bring attention to the plight of the sick in Montana that need medical marijuana. Two years later, I worked hard on the campaign for our state medical marijuana initiative, which passed with more support than any other.

Two years after that, Missoula voters passed the low-priority law, which directs law enforcement to put the lowest priority on marijuana. When city commissioners wanted to put restrictions on the amounts possessed, citizens lined the aisles to voice complaint.

[continues 339 words]

HELENA -- The nation's drug policy "is a little bit crazy," Montana Meth Project founder Tom Siebel said Thursday.

Far too much money and effort goes toward imprisoning drug users, and too little toward prevention and treatment, Siebel said during an address before a Hometown Helena civic group meeting.

Pointing out that the skyrocketing rate of incarceration is mostly because of drug offenses, Siebel said, "it used to be that we put people in jail who we were scared of. Now we put people in jail we're mad at."

[continues 524 words]

I'm writing about the outstanding letter from Edwin L. Stickney, MD: "Keep Clawson, stop the drug war" ( April 5 ).

The so-called war on drugs was lost before it began. No matter how much money we throw down the drug war rat hole, we will never be able to nullify the immutable law of supply and demand. As long as people want recreational drugs and they are willing to pay a substantial price for the drugs, somebody will produce them and somebody else will get the drugs to the willing buyers.

[continues 214 words]

Because Robin Prosser uses prescribed marijuana to ease her chronic pain and illness, she calls it medicine.

Because Jeff Sweetin is a federal agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, he calls it a dangerous drug.

And because federal law supersedes state law, making it illegal to grow, sell, purchase or use marijuana, even for health-related reasons, Prosser is out of luck. "From the DEA's standpoint, it's not medical marijuana, it's just plain marijuana," said Sweetin, special agent in charge of the DEA's Rocky Mountain Field Division.

[continues 1144 words]

[Roger] Clawson's article on Nichole's bad choices [Outpost, March 29] should not go unrewarded or unnoticed. His narrative of her life so far was marvelously empathic, sensitive and, above all, medically accurate. Congratulations, Roger!

But I do want to point out another aspect that the article dwelt on briefly - that of our nation's great psychosis - the Drug War or, more accurately, Drug Prohibition. Being incarcerated instead of being diagnosed and treated means that her possibilities of a successful life become ever more remote.

[continues 86 words]

The timing was good Monday for the Rimrock Foundation's annual educational forum, which dealt with alternatives to incarcerating criminals.

Just three weeks ago, the Pew Charitable Trusts issued a study saying Montana would see the fastest prison population growth in the country by 2011 unless it changes its prisoner-release and sentencing practices.

'Astonishing Statistic'

Bill Lamdin, president of the Rimrock Foundation's Board of Directors, said that "astonishing statistic" and the explosion in the number of criminal offenders who have drug problems point to the need to do something besides build more prisons.

[continues 834 words]

The war on drugs is a dismal failure and should end, a former Washington state prosecutor said on Saturday.

In a speech before the American Civil Liberties Union in Helena, Jim Doherty said it's time to stop arresting people for possession of drugs like marijuana, heroin and even methamphetamine. Instead of putting these people in jail, they could be put in treatment programs, using the money spent in the war on drugs for rehabilitation and education.

"Nixon made the war on drugs a priority, and he may have had good intentions ... but for whatever reasons, the escalation and criminalization has only made the problem worse," Doherty said. "We have taken people with a social or medical problem and stamped them as criminals. We put them into prison and make it almost impossible for them to re-integrate into society."

[continues 460 words]

As a former felony public defender in Oregon and a prosecutor in Washington State and American Samoa, Jim Doherty says he has done his part sending people to jail for illegal drug infractions.

"I did my job. I've helped lock people up. I've helped prosecute people," Doherty said.

But in a public speech delivered to a crowd in UC room 331 at the University of Montana Thursday night, Doherty says he is through with America's War on Drugs and "being a pawn in the game."

[continues 469 words]

A strong, perhaps spiritual force is driving the ongoing battle against the reappearing drug methamphetamine and its producers.

Armed with experience in highly specialized law enforcement divisions, Lamar Associates has brought some heavy artillery to the front line with the Methamphetamine Response and Investigation Training held at the Great Northern Inn the past three days. The training has gathered concerned community members, informed service providers, interested educators and trained tribal police officers in a united effort to join strength and knowledge together against it's enemy, methamphetamine.

[continues 510 words]

Experienced law enforcement officials are coming to Havre to share their knowledge with locals and strengthen their fight against the devastating drug methamphetamine. A three-day course titled "Methamphetamine Response and Investigation" will specifically address and localize collaboration protocol for meth users and dealers in north-central Montana.

Hosted by highly recommended professional Lamar Associates trainers with years of experience in policing, patrol, administration and detective division, the course provides proactive field interview techniques, surveillance, search warrants, arrest procedures and developing drug cases.

[continues 462 words]

Having assembled a committee to monitor Missoula County's new marijuana deprioritization initiative, the board of commissioners has scheduled a March 21 public hearing to discuss amendments to the measure.

In December, County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg urged the commissioners to amend the measure so it excludes felony marijuana offenses. Van Valkenburg argues that voters didn't understand the full scope of the initiative when they supported it in November, and said the consequences of counting felony marijuana cases as "lowest law enforcement priority" will be more serious than people realize.

[continues 702 words]

One night of smoking pot can have lasting consequences on your education. Get convicted of drug possession while enrolled in school, and your federal financial aid will be taken away.

"Drug convictions are the only convictions that will cause you to lose financial aid," said Kris Krane, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Since Congress enacted the "Aid Elimination Act" in 1998, students who apply for federal financial aid are required to disclose drug convictions when filling out their FAFSAs.

[continues 506 words]

A plan to expand the state's 2004 medical-marijuana law was shelved in committee today.

Supporters of the provision wanted to let patients grow more plants and possess more marijuana. Voters passed the medical-marijuana law two years ago after the Legislature initially rejected it.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee led an effort to table the bill, House Bill 311, sponsored by Rep. Ron Erickson, D-Missoula. They argued the current law has protections built into it to make sure marijuana is not abused.

[continues 97 words]

HELENA - Methamphetamine use in Montana appears to be declining, a new report shows, although the social costs of the addictive drug remain very high, costing the state about

$10 million a year. "We have a long way to go," said Attorney General Mike McGrath, who unveiled the report Wednesday. "This doesn't mean we've necessarily turned the corner, but we're certainly going around the bend."

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug "cooked" from some cold medicines and a laundry list of other ingredients. Compared to other drugs, meth is relatively new, but quickly gained foothold in Montana in the past 15 years. The destructive drug now plays a major role in Montana crime and has pumped up costs of the state's social welfare and correctional systems.

[continues 485 words]

HELENA -- Methamphetamine use in Montana seems to be declining, a new report shows, although the social costs of the addictive drug remain very high, costing the state about $10 million a year.

"We have a long way to go," said Attorney General Mike McGrath, who unveiled the report Wednesday. "This doesn't mean we've necessarily turned the corner, but we're certainly going around the bend."

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug "cooked" from some cold medicines and a laundry list of other ingredients. Compared to other drugs, meth is relatively new, but quickly gained foothold in Montana in the last 15 years and now plays a major role in Montana crime and has pumped up costs of the state's social welfare and correctional systems.

[continues 486 words]

HELENA -- The Montana attorney general and the Montana Meth Project released a report Wednesday they say shows attitudes in the state are turning against meth and appears to indicate use of the drug is declining.

The joint report found that Montana employees testing positive for meth fell more than 70 percent between 2005 and 2006, which they said was the largest decrease in the country.

ADVERTISEMENT Attorney General Mike McGrath said that there were 15 clandestine meth labs in the state in 2006, but since October only one has been reported by the Drug Enforcement Administration. He said the report was drawn from information from drug task force incident reports, law enforcement statistics, crime lab reports, hospital discharge and admission information, survey results and interviews with agencies.

[continues 123 words]

HELENA - Methamphetamine use in Montana seems to be declining, a new report shows, although the social costs of the addictive drug remain very high, costing the state about $10 million a year.

"We have a long way to go," said Attorney General Mike McGrath, who announced the report Wednesday. "This doesn't mean we've necessarily turned the corner, but we're certainly going around the bend."

Major Role In Crime

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug "cooked" from some cold medicines and a laundry list of other ingredients. Compared with other drugs, meth is relatively new, but it quickly gained foothold in Montana in the past 15 years. It plays a major role in Montana crime and has pumped up costs of the state's social welfare and correctional systems. In recent years, however, lawmakers and private people have tried to get a handle on the drug. Beginning in 2005, the privately funded Montana Meth Project began airing graphic television, radio and billboard ads driving home the unglamorous realities of meth use.

[continues 438 words]

Next week, students in all three Billings public high schools and two of its middle schools will take a survey drafted by the Montana Meth Project.

It will be used to measure students' methamphetamine use and exposure to the drug and the effectiveness of the project's campaign against methamphetamine use.

The Billings School District 2 board of trustees approved the survey Friday at a special board meeting.

"I did have serious pause looking at the nature of some of the questions," Superintendent Jack Copps said, adding that he was at first going to recommend that the district not participate.

[continues 208 words]