CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch signed a bill into law Thursday establishing stiff penalties for making and using methamphetamine and for possessing common household chemicals used to make the highly addictive drug. "We are seeing an increase in the production, sale and use of crystal methamphetamine here in New Hampshire," said Lynch. "Left unchecked, the growth in crystal methamphetamine production and use presents a serious threat to the health and safety of our citizens." Over the past two years, police have raided 15 meth labs in the state, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young. [continues 545 words]
CONCORD, N.H. --Gov. John Lynch signed a bill into law Thursday establishing stiff penalties for making and using methamphetamine and for possessing common household chemicals used to make the highly addictive drug. "We are seeing an increase in the production, sale and use of crystal methamphetamine here in New Hampshire," said Lynch. "Left unchecked, the growth in crystal methamphetamine production and use presents a serious threat to the health and safety of our citizens." Over the past two years, police have raided 15 meth labs in the state, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young. [continues 545 words]
CONCORD - A bill that imposes tougher penalties on people convicted of making the drug methamphetamine was approved by lawmakers Thursday and is headed to Gov. John Lynch. The bill sets a prison term of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $500,000, with even longer sentences for repeat offenders. It also allows the court to order restitution be paid when officials or property owners have to clean up the toxic chemicals involved in the drug's manufacture. [continues 69 words]
AMHERST -- One in three Souhegan High School students say they have smoked marijuana or had sex, and two in three say they have used alcohol. But less than 10 percent of the parents of students at the school showed up to talk about those numbers Tuesday night. About 30 parents attended the discussion about the results of the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey held at the school. The survey was taken by 837 students during school last year, which is about 81 percent of the student body. No students attended Tuesday's discussion. [continues 404 words]
Portsmouth educators won't be doing kids or parents any favors if they invite drug-sniffing police dogs into schools. These days, zero tolerance poses a greater threat than drugs. According to the Monitoring the Future survey, more than half of all high school seniors have tried an illicit drug. Denying a majority of the nation's youth an education and the chance to grow up to become productive members of society is not in America's best interest. Most students outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs. An arrest and criminal record, on the other hand, can be life-shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but not inhaling), former President Bill Clinton opened himself up to "soft on drugs" criticism. And thousands of Americans have paid the price in the form of shattered lives. [continues 100 words]
PORTSMOUTH - With a handful of high profile student drug arrests this year, the School Board and Police Commission met Monday to discuss police presence at city schools. The group met in non-public session with City Attorney Bob Sullivan and Assistant City Attorney Kathleen Dwyer to talk about police involvement and drug enforcement, Sullivan said. The meeting was initiated by the Police Commission. "There may be policy changes which arise from this discussion," Sullivan said, before adding that he could not elaborate because it was a nonpublic meeting. He said any changes would have to be approved at subsequent public meetings. [continues 328 words]
BROOKLINE -- If Alex Duhaime did drugs, he might not be able to play basketball, lacrosse, football or baseball. That is one of the things Duhaime, 11, said he learned from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program at his school. "I learned that you should resist drugs and they can harm you in many ways," he said. He and the rest of his fifth-grade class at Capt. Samuel Douglass Academy graduated from the program April 20 with about 150 of their friends and family members watching. They promised Brookline [continues 257 words]
Thanks go to the Students for Sensible Drug Policy for compiling statistics about the number of college students affected by a 1998 law that suspends federal financial aid for students convicted of drug offenses. The numbers don't so much provide convincing evidence of the law's stupidity - that was clear from the start - but rather of the toll that it is taking. According to the information released by the student organization, more than 200,000 students have been denied federal grants, loans and work-study aid in the last six years because of the law. Included in that total are more than 500 New Hampshire and 200 Vermont students. [continues 509 words]
The Goal Is To Replace Jail With Counseling A 16-year-old Concord teenager on probation for marijuana use was back in court last week. He had missed court for three weeks in a row, skipped two classes and, after four months of sobriety, had smoked pot again. But instead of sending the teen to the Youth Detention Center in Manchester, the judge gave him a date book to help him remember appointments. The teen's probation officer vowed to help him find reliable transportation to court, told him to start calling her every night and set up an appointment with a therapist. The probation officer also asked if the teen could be rewarded with a sobriety coin, often given out in Alcoholics Anonymous groups, for not smoking that week. [continues 1320 words]
Another View HOW MANY New Hampshire residents know that Senate Bill 268, the governor's proposal to raise the dropout age to 18, has already been approved by the Senate and is on its way to a House vote tomorrow? If this legislation passes and takes effect in September 2008, the only communities that will receive funding for alternative education programs will be Manchester and Nashua, for a total of $1.2 million over two years. Along the way to this bill becoming law, few legislators have spoken to the students and the people in the "trenches," who are the administrators, teachers and guidance professionals in our schools. If they had spoken to us, they would discover that the dropout rate would actually increase because every other community besides Manchester and Nashua will fund this mandate based on local control. [continues 378 words]
PORTSMOUTH - The season-only clause in the high school's athletic contract means another student facing drug charges will remain on the boys lacrosse team. Travis R. Crosby, 17, of 419 Greenleaf Ave. was one of four students arrested last month in connection with the alleged sale of marijuana to a police informant. Crosby was charged with possession of controlled drugs in a motor vehicle. The sophomore's position on the lacrosse team was not affected because the alleged infraction happened before the season started, coach Chris McGuirk said Wednesday. [continues 514 words]
PORTSMOUTH - A Portsmouth High School student walked out of court Monday with a prison sentence and walked onto the baseball field later that day. Matthew Anderson, a 17-year-old junior, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell marijuana charges at Portsmouth District Court on Monday and will serve a week in jail this summer. Later that evening, he struck out four batters in two hitless innings, helping the Clippers close out a 6-3 season-opening win over Pinkerton Academy. This came four months after the School Board voted to cancel the high school swim team's season in the aftermath of a swim-a-thon fund-raiser when some of the 43 students on the team drank alcohol. [continues 385 words]
CONCORD, N.H. --A methadone clinic planned for vacant office space is close to receiving state and federal approval and could be open by the end of the month. The clinic would treat people addicted to heroin, oxycontin and prescription drugs such as percocet. Neighboring business owners, even city planning, zoning and health officials, said they were not notified about the plan. The clinic was not required to go before the city council or other city boards because the property already was zoned for a medical facility that provides out-patient care. [continues 82 words]
HAMPTON - The results of the Winnacunnet High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey have prompted school officials to look at the health curriculum to see if they can do a better job teaching about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The survey, which was taken last year by high school students, reveals that 71 percent of students have tried alcohol, while 42.6 percent of students smoked marijuana. It also reveals more students are sexually active, and 39.9 percent of students had sex with more than one person in the last three months. [continues 551 words]
Students packed into the Granite State Room Thursday night to listen to a controversial debate about whether or not marijuana should be legalized. "You guys want to talk about some weed?" asked Keith Williams, the Arts and Lecture Director for the Memorial Union Student Organization. The crowd applauded cheerfully, as Williams set the tone for the debate to follow. His speech was followed by a 15-minute video entitled "Heads vs. Feds," which introduced and described the history of the two men who would speak that evening: Steve Hager, author, and editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, and Bob Stutman, a 25-year veteran detective for the DEA. [continues 875 words]
U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley said he will carefully study the need for federal funds to fight the war on drugs in New Hampshire after a meeting in Concord this month with the state associate attorney general, the Rockingham County sheriff, police chiefs and officers. At least two, including Rockingham County Sheriff Daniel Linehan, told Bradley money spent on homeland security grants should be redirected. "One thing interested me during that conversation - the amount of objection everyone had to the amount of money the federal government has spent on grant-supplied equipment after 9/11," Linehan said. "I'm not sure some of that money needed to be spent for that purpose." [continues 867 words]
Drugs, disease, crime, corruption and racial profiling were just some of the subjects covered by retired undercover narcotics officer Jack A. Cole in his discussion about drug legalization on Thursday, March 9th in Marcucella Hall. Four years ago, Cole and four other officers started an international nonprofit organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). The goal of LEAP is to educate the public on the negative consequences of the continuing war on drugs. Cole, LEAP's executive director, gave a presentation that was filled with jaw-dropping statistics, all which back up his belief that the drug war (a term coined by President Nixon in 1968) has caused more problems than it solved. [continues 352 words]
JUST THIS MONTH, Manchester has experienced a kidnapping and attempted murder, a drive-by shooting, and a gangland-style attack in the middle of the night. And the month is only half over. City police believe each of these crimes involved people who knew each other. They have tried to reassure residents that the shootings were not random acts of violence. That's good to know, but it is hardly reassuring. One does not have to be a drug dealer or gang banger to get caught in the crossfire or have one's neighborhood taken over by armed thugs. [continues 114 words]
PORTSMOUTH -- Students said the high school was abuzz Tuesday after learning Principal Forrest Ransdell and Assistant Principal Mike McKenney had resigned. Jennifer Lombard, 16, said word quickly spread after newspapers began reporting the administrators had stepped down. "The school celebrated between third and fourth period," Lombard said, adding that applause filled the hallways. She acknowledged that the reaction had more to do with high-schoolers' attitudes toward authority in general, but said many students did have "personal issues" with Ransdell. The departures of Ransdell and McKenney came after a string of student drug arrests, issues with student drinking, and growing complaints about the athletic program. Administrators have taken flak from students and parents for how they've handled these issues. [continues 313 words]
PORTSMOUTH -- The School Board Tuesday accepted the resignations of high school Principal Forrest Ransdell and Assistant Principal Mike McKenney, but officials would not say why the two men abruptly left the district. Ransdell, principal for almost three years, and McKenney, assistant principal for almost eight years and part-time athletic director for the past three years, submitted their immediate resignations Tuesday morning. Their contracts, which are renewed yearly, would have expired June 30. The contracts were due to be renewed this week. [continues 433 words]
Inside New Hampshire
