In June 2003, an Athens County jury acquitted an Athens area woman of aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with a car crash that killed a Shade man. A blood test allegedly showed that Farah Holter had chemical byproducts of recent cocaine use in her system at the time of the crash. Her attorney, however, using expert medical testimony, persuaded the jury that those byproducts, or "metabolites," were not impairing Holter's ability to drive. Holter was convicted of only a misdemeanor charge of negligent manslaughter. If her case came up today, however, the outcome might be different. [continues 848 words]
In regard to your Aug. 24 story about Ohio's new drugged-driving law, does this mean we get to test our politicians for drug use as well? I mean, they are in control of something far more dangerous than drugs! Why can't we have a law like that? Better yet, how about extensive lie-detector tests for them? Where is this erosion of our civil rights going to end? Royal Lake Circle Orlando, Fla. [end]
Examining a Silly Law Last Friday night, I met up with a buddy downtown, went to a bar and had a few drinks. Well, let's say my friend had a few. The vodka and tonics were tasting pretty good, and maybe I overdid it a bit too. We both live fairly close to one another and both believe in public transportation. While walking the four blocks to catch the bus back home, my friend took a joint from his shirt pocket and lit it. As he inhaled deeply and coughed, he wanted to know if I wanted a hit. I said no. I was already feeling pretty good from the alcohol. [continues 709 words]
LISBON - The number of drug-related deaths in Columbiana County increased again in 2005, with Coroner Dr. William Graham saying this year's numbers could keep the trend rising. "It's sad this county's infested with drugs," the East Liverpool resident said, adding it's "...sad to have my community noteworthy for the wrong reason." According to the just-released coroner's annual report for 2005, East Liverpool accounted for 32 percent of the drug-related deaths in the county, with Lisbon second at 21 percent and Salem coming in third with 16 percent. Columbiana was shown with 11 percent, with East Palestine, Hanoverton, Salineville and Wellsville all shown with 5 percent. [continues 620 words]
Surveys Show Teens, Folks Out Of Synch, Out Of Touch A comparison of two recent surveys shows parents apparently don't have a clue about their teenagers' use of drugs and alcohol. The surveys also show that, although parents say they talk to their children about drugs and alcohol, their teenage children aren't listening. Results of the surveys - one by the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati and the other of parents by the Child Policy Research Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center - illustrate the gap: [continues 610 words]
130 Arrested, Including In Ohio, On Charges Of Selling Mexican Drug The hunger for heroin has brought a new form of the drug to Columbus and smaller central Ohio towns from Mexico, law-enforcement officials said. Yesterday, law-enforcement agents nationwide launched Operation Black Gold Rush in an attempt to shut down a ring pushing black tar heroin. Mexican immigrants were recruited to bring the dark, sticky form of the drug into the U.S. and to ferry cash back to its makers in the Mexican state of Nayarit on the Pacific coast, said Fred Alverson, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Columbus. [continues 547 words]
Dear Editor: Tuesday, July 25, 2006, was mandatory drug testing day for all Pleasant students that participate in extracurricular activities or who will be driving to school this school year. There is not a Right to Privacy form to be signed, only a number scheme to identify each student that was tested. How does one expect students who are on drugs to get to school? They will ride the school bus or will ride with a student who had to be drug tested, since this program does not include those students. Why aren't all Pleasant students tested? When this question was asked to administrators, the answer was, "The State of Ohio law will not permit every student in junior high or high school to be drug tested." Only those with extracurricular activities and students that drive to school can be tested to meet the approved number scheme. Parents must pay $30 for the privilege of having each student tested. Twenty-six dollars is paid to the vendor for doing the tests and $4 goes to the Pleasant School. Additional fees to be able to play sports or be in band, chorus, etc., is a part of being able to participate in extra curricular activities as well. [continues 333 words]
Tooth decay has always been in existence. In today's world it is even more prevalent due to the amount of sugar that is in everyday foods. In the person who uses methamphetamine, decay is rampant and the destruction of the teeth and gums is swift, irreversible and in many cases, unrestorable. Methamphetamine is extremely addictive and causes feelings of pleasure and euphoria. At the time it is used, it can seem like a dream but, in fact, it will be your worst nightmare. [continues 256 words]
Methamphetamine use is becoming an epidemic in rural areas around the nation and the people of Clermont and Brown counties are experiencing the effects of the drug on their communities. If you are like me, your knowledge of the drug is limited to what we read in the newspaper and hear on TV nightly. I don't have experience with drug usage, but I wanted to know more about this growing problem and what communities can do about it. I recently spoke with representatives of Talbert House and Brown County Recovery Services to find out more about this epidemic. I wanted to know what the physical affects of the drug are and found out that meth is the most addictive drug known to man. Users develop a tolerance quickly needing larger amounts to get high. It is a form of "speed" and users may stay awake for days or weeks before their bodies finally crash and they sleep. When using meth, addicts have no desire to eat or sleep and only want more of the drug every few hours "binging" for days. [continues 421 words]
It started when a deputy in a county jail in Oregon wanted to get a good look at the woman's face who was in the holding cell. She could not hold still long enough for him to see her and he went to the computer to pull up a previous mug shot. The difference in her was so dramatic because of methamphetamine addiction that he was prompted to create a slide show using before and after mug shots of meth addicts to show the devastation of the drug. These photos and his story can be found online at www.facesofmeth.us. [continues 389 words]
On May 20, 2005, my husband and I received the dreaded late night call ... the halfway house our son was staying at called to say they had found him dead in bed of a heroin overdose. Our wonderful, loving son struggled with this chronic, progressive, incurable disease for the last five years of his life. But he lost his battle on that day. His struggles are over, but ours are just beginning. Wake up Cincinnati; wake up America. What do you think is causing all of these shootings? What do you think is causing your jails to be busting at the seams? What do you think is causing all of these break-ins, drive-by shootings, robberies and crazy automobile accidents? What do you think is causing these innocent children being killed in crossfire? [continues 716 words]
Added to Jail Time in Homicide Case WEST CHESTER TWP. -- One of West Chester's biggest pot dealers was sentenced to two decades in prison Friday for the 429 pounds of marijuana found in his Quail Woods Court home last year. Judge Andrew Nastoff, of Butler County Common Pleas Court, tacked the time onto the eight years Jason Jones, 32, already is serving on a drug-related homicide in Hamilton County. Police found $50,000, several guns and 429 pounds of marijuana in two deep freezers in Jones' home in May 2005 when they searched the house looking for Jones and James Marshall, 33, of Kennedy Heights. [continues 91 words]
LORAIN -- Drug charges against an Amherst school board member were dismissed in June because the small amount of pot found in his car "wasn't his," the board member's attorney said yesterday. Nicholas Dimacchia was arrested May 22 for possession of a scheduled substance, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and tinted windows, according to the Lorain Municipal Court Web site. The latter three charges were dropped June 22 in court, but Dimacchia pleaded no contest to possession of a scheduled substance and was ordered to pay $217 in fines and court costs. [continues 318 words]
WHILE school districts in northwest Ohio dabble their toes in the murky waters of drug testing for students, a school in southern England has dived right in. That has caught the eye of Washington, with the White House talking of testing as a "public health measure." The Abbey School, in the southern England town of Faversham, has instituted a remarkably broad policy. Children, some as young as 11, are subject to random drug tests for heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. So far, nearly 600 students have been tested, and only one has tested positive - for marijuana. [continues 425 words]
The Events Can Expose Participants To A Potentially Deadly Mix Of Drugs YOUNGSTOWN -- They call it pharming, but young people who engage in the practice aren't planting a field of corn or plowing the back 40 acres. They're taking prescription drugs from the family medicine cabinet or from grandma's nightstand to take to a pharm party. Pharm is short for pharmaceuticals, which can cover a wide variety of prescription medications. These might include painkillers like OxyContin, Fentanyl and Vicodin and sedatives like Xanax. Mind-altering drugs like Zoloft or Prozac might also be added to the mix. [continues 703 words]
Family of UA Student Who Killed Self Expected to Sue Just outside the doors of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Akron -- where the music from a rousing revival filtered into the warm Sunday night air -- volunteers tried to collect 1,000 signatures in the name of Charles Plinton. A private investigator is expected to fly the petition to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to make it part of a civil-rights complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of a group of 30 African-American pastors and community leaders. [continues 382 words]
Higher burden of proof recommended in disciplinary hearings for students The University of Akron should have to provide more proof than it does now that a student has violated school rules, and it should use felon informants on campus "with extreme caution and only in rare circumstances." Those are among 40 recommendations an independent policy review commission submitted to the UA president Wednesday with the intent of assuring a fairer, more transparent and more accountable disciplinary process. University President Luis Proenza appointed the independent commission in April in response to Akron Beacon Journal articles about Charles Plinton, a former graduate student who was suspended from the university on an allegation of dealing drugs to a confidential informant despite his acquittal by a jury in a criminal trial. [continues 909 words]
Akron - The family of a graduate student who committed suicide last year filed a $25,000 wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the University of Akron. The family also plans to file a federal civil rights violation lawsuit against the university on Friday, said lawyer Edward Gilbert, who represents the family. The wrongful death lawsuit filed in the Court of Claims in Columbus contends that there is a direct correlation between Charles Plinton's death and the university's action against him. [continues 157 words]
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed, Federal Civil Suit Expected Today on Behalf of Former Student The parents of Charles Theodore Plinton are suing the University of Akron and the Summit County Sheriff for the death of their son, claiming he was denied his constitutional rights. A wrongful death civil suit was filed Thursday against the university and two former UA police officers in the Ohio Court of Claims in Columbus, which handles civil lawsuits filed against the state and its agencies. A federal civil rights suit naming the university and Summit County is expected to be filed in U.S. District Court in Akron this morning. [continues 573 words]
What's Behind the Proposed Tax Hike? For all the millions of words in newspapers and hours of over-heated remarks on talk radio about Hamilton County's jail overcrowding crisis, some common myths about the issue still persist among the public: . Myth No. 1: Violent criminals are being released early, before their sentences are completed, and put back onto Cincinnati's streets because of a lack of available jail cells. . Myth No. 2: A proposal to raise the county's sales tax by a quarter-cent for 20 years to build a $225 million jail amounts to a tax shift, instead of a tax hike, because it will be offset by a property tax rollback and planned reductions in property tax levies. [continues 3306 words]
Authorities pulled $221,000 worth of marijuana plants grown in rural and agricultural areas across Ottawa County, the largest seizure in recent years, a drug task force agent said. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and Ottawa County Drug Task Force used a helicopter to spot the plants during the annual Marijuana Eradication program. A ground crew of agents then pushed through weeds and cornfields to dig up the plants. Each plant is worth an estimated $1,000 a piece and could yield two pounds of marijuana, said Don St. Clair, Ottawa County Drug Task Force agent. [continues 163 words]
Authorities pulled $221,000 worth of marijuana plants grown in rural and agricultural areas across Ottawa County, the largest seizure in recent years, a drug task force agent said. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and Ottawa County Drug Task Force used a helicopter to spot the plants during the annual Marijuana Eradication program. A ground crew of agents then pushed through weeds and cornfields to dig up the plants. Each plant is worth an estimated $1,000 and could yield two pounds of marijuana, said Don St. Clair, Ottawa County Drug Task Force agent. "In Ottawa County, two pounds would go for $2,000 to $2,800," St. Clair said. [continues 148 words]
When I first read of Milford High School's plan to drug-test students who participate in extracurricular activities and/or apply for parking permits, I thought Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. must have been elected Milford's superintendent. Nevertheless, I vehemently disagree with the program both on common sense principle and hypothetical legal precedent, respectively. First, on hypothetical legal precedent, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guards against search and seizure of property without warrant or probable cause to believe a criminal misdeed has been committed. Here, the U.S. Supreme Court has derived a general and inalienable right to privacy. [continues 263 words]
MILFORD -- While some students don't seem to mind random drug test in schools, some parents don't see it as being quite so harmless. The school board of the Milford Exempted Village School District voted at the regular meeting July 20 to approve a new policy to randomly drug test during the 2006-2007 school year. "It's not really that big a deal," said Kristin Gunn, sophomore, who participates in volleyball. "I don't really care. I mean, it's good; if someone is doing drugs, I think it's a good thing." [continues 696 words]
(This is a copy of a letter sent to Milford Board of Education President Carol Ball.) My husband and Iare adamantly opposed to the new random drug testing policy at Milford High Schoolapproved at the school board meeting tonight (Thursday July 20, 2006 ).We don't want our local, state, orfederaltaxes wasted on bad policies. We are parents of a Milford High School honor student, and have voted for all of the Milford school levies.We are not impressed that the district will pay for this new drug testing through the Drug Free School federal grant monies. We are extremely disappointed that you have decided to adopt bad policy that will waste our tax dollars ( yes, we pay federal taxes too) and do a lot of harm to the school our daughter attends. It will be a huge distraction from the job you should be doing. Most importantly , rigorous scientific studies have shown that high school drug testing policies simply do notwork -- there is no reduction in drug use in schools that have random testing compared to schools that don't do drug testing. (see the study summary abstract attached, full study at: http://www.yesresearch.org/publications/occpapers/YESOccPaper2.pdf ). [continues 304 words]
Teachers, Administrators Sign On For Testing ... Same As Students MARION - Teachers and administrators will join students as Pleasant Local Schools takes its drug-free pledge to another level. The Pleasant Education Association, which represents 83 teachers, has agreed to drug testing as part of its new three-year contract. Pleasant Board of Education President Gary Sims and Superintendent John Bruno said the board also plans to pass a policy that would require administrators to be tested. "We want to make sure we have a drug-free campus," said Bruno. "If we expect to be role models, we must agree to a level of accountability." [continues 362 words]
Students in Activities, Drivers Subject to Random Checks MILFORD - When Milford High School resumes classes Aug. 28, more than half of the 1,900 students will be subject to random drug tests. The Milford School Board on Thursday approved a policy that requires students participating in any co-curricular (band/chorus) or extracurricular (sports, groups) activities and students who apply for a parking permit to be subject to random drug testing. No parents or students spoke about the policy at the board meeting. [continues 1089 words]
Rossford High students who want to participate in athletics or extracurricular activities this coming school year must first pass a mandatory drug test. The Rossford Board of Education approved implementing a drug-testing policy at its meeting Monday, and plans to soon name an outside agency to administer the testing, Rossford communications liaison Diana Hersch said. "We're going to have a little teeth in our zero-tolerance approach," she said. Superintendent Luci Gernot said she recommended the program to the board after seeing an increase in the number of Rossford students reportedly using marijuana, according to a recent survey in Wood County commissioned by Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. In 2004, 33.8 percent of 12th graders reported using marijuana in the past year. That number jumped to 47.2 percent in 2006. [continues 278 words]
In his June 30 Forum column, "Former drug czars believe their war has been won," John Burnham asserted that, when the first drug czar was appointed in 1971, the serious effects of pot smoking were largely unknown. True, but among these serious effects, scientists have since found an anti-emetic for chemotherapy, an anti-spasmodic for multiple sclerosis, a neuroprotectant for head injury, and even a potential anti-cancer agent, all with few side effects compared to the myriad other pharmaceutical drugs developed and marketed since then. [continues 140 words]
M.A.P.S. Blitz Produces Positive Results With Locals Many Ross County residents are hoping the law enforcement agencies keep up the spirit of Operation M.A.P.S. and do sweeps of the county on a regular basis. Janice Manring lives on Scioto Avenue where at least one person was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. Although she is pleased with what was done, she said there is more to be done, especially in her neighborhood. "I think they should do it all the time. If they crack down on them constantly, then they'll go somewhere else," Manring said. "But you've got to enforce it, though. They just give them a slap on the wrist." Tom Young, who lives on Park Street, agreed. [continues 433 words]
Drug use and abuse continue to be a scourge and a plague on our American society. Ask a classroom full of students if they know someone who uses drugs and almost all of the hands are raised in the air. Many people prefer to label themselves as recreational drug users, while others have crossed that imaginary line from recreation into full-blown addicts or alcoholics. There is an insanity about drug use because of the compulsion to use and the inability to stop on your own. [continues 542 words]
Ohio High Court Throws Out Drug Evidence COLUMBUS - The Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state constitution provides greater protection against self-incrimination than the U.S. Constitution as it threw out evidence that helped to convict a motorist of possessing drug paraphernalia. In reversing two lower-court rulings, the high court split 4-3 in finding that evidence obtained from the search of a vehicle's trunk could not be used against the driver when the search was based on questioning begun before the suspect had been read his constitutional rights. [continues 527 words]
Shock. With the teen's death, everyone felt it. Some knew Rusty Marvin, the ever-smiling, much-hailed St. John's Jesuit High School varsity football player, to be equally addicted to God and cocaine. They'd heard him tell of how the second helped him discover the first; how the first implored him to abandon the second. But a year ago today, when the senior who school officials touted as a class leader and prayer group founder was found dead in his garage of a cocaine overdose, it struck them all like a thunderclap. [continues 2166 words]
Prescription Pill-Popping Parties Are Increasing Among Youth Drug counselors across the United States are beginning to hear about pill-popping parties, which are part of a rapidly developing underground culture that surrounds the increasing abuse of prescription drugs by teens and young adults. It's a culture with its own lingo: Bowls and baggies of random pills often are called "trail mix," and collecting pills from the family medicine chest is called "pharming." Pharm parties are "simply everyone pooling whatever pills they have together and having a good time on a Saturday night. Kids ... don't think about the consequences," said Carol Falkowski, director of research communications for the Hazelden Foundation. Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force Capt. Bruce Myers said he doesn't know of any type of prescription medication not being abused in Licking County. He said Percocet commonly is abused. [continues 423 words]
Addicts Of Prescription Drugs Are Increasingly Turning To Heroin, Which Is Easier To Obtain In Most Cities DAYTON -- Drug users rank Dayton and Columbus as the two Ohio cities where heroin in most available, according to a study done for the state's monitoring network. ToolsPrint this pageE-mail this pageMost popularTop 5 stories Judge: Camera that catches speeders is unconstitutional WSU to get new president in '07 Police: Woman overpowers paramedics, then steals ambulance Wreck rolls truck, spilling grain along U.S. 42 Lighter may have set off Thursday blast RSS headlines available [continues 521 words]
Congress rejected a proposal June 29 to ban federal prosecutions of medical marijuana patients in the 11 states where medical marijuana is legal. But the 259-163 vote contained some good news, according to Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). The vote included 18 "yes" votes from Republicans, up from 15 last year. "Although the measure failed to pass ... medical marijuana advocates hailed the record vote as the result of a growing groundswell of support for medical marijuana from across the political spectrum," Mirken said. "Last summer the amendment received 161 votes, which was the previous record until today's vote." [continues 321 words]
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A chemical that helps farmers grow their crops also is a key ingredient in methamphetamine, resulting in a rash of thefts that has state officials studying how to keep the fertilizer more secure. "Anhydrous theft is a huge problem in Ohio," said Scott Duff, the state's leading investigator of methamphetamine. "There is no such thing as a minor theft of anhydrous ammonia." State agriculture and law enforcement officials think up to 10,000 valve locks could help keep thieves out of anhydrous ammonia tanks on farms and at agribusinesses, but they're trying to figure out how to pay for them. The locks cost about $40 each. The fertilizer often is stolen by drug users who siphon out what they need and leave tank valves broken or dripping, said Duff, with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. That raises safety concerns because anhydrous ammonia can cause blindness within seconds and lead to severe skin burns. [end]
I am a concerned parent trying to figure out the justice system. Case in point: In the court news of the June 25 edition of The Advocate, my son was sentenced to 10 months in prison for non-payment of child support. And there were two other sentences for selling crack cocaine. The people selling crack cocaine received five years probation for selling illegal drugs. These are felons. And my son goes to prison for non-payment of child support? These people probably will be back on the streets selling drugs as soon as court is over. But my son is getting further behind in his support payments because of the imprisonment. Now he's a felon. And in Licking County, he won't be able to get a job once he is released because he is labeled a felon. Where's the justice in that? Brenda J. Scott Newark [end]
PORT CLINTON -- The Port Clinton City School District plans two community meetings this month to discuss a proposed student drug screening program and the hire of a company that specializes in screening student athletes. The meetings will be at 7 p.m. July 13 and 20 in the Port Clinton High School media center. Sport Safe will present its program for screening students for illicit drugs. The school board is considering screening student-athletes, similar to programs used by other school districts in Ohio. [end]
Stories that proclaim methamphetamine use at epidemic levels in the United States are commonplace in today's news media. Not so fast, says the Sentencing Project, a non-profit Washington, D.C., advocacy group which claims meth use reports are overblown and that cocaine and marijuana abuse are far more significant problems in our society. Overstating the meth problem, the group contends, leads to a misapplication of crime-fighting resources. Stark County criminal court figures appear to support that contention. Sgt. John Oliver, of Stark County's Metro Drug unit, reports only three or four arrests last year involving meth. While meth labs are given a high priority by law enforcement officials because of the dangerous and explosive chemicals involved in the manufacture of the drug, cocaine and marijuana are far more popular among drug abusers. [continues 507 words]
Methamphetamine use is declining in most areas, and is not at an "epidemic" level described by some law enforcement and news agencies, according to a study released this month. "I would estimate there are probably 50 to 100 individuals in this area addicted to meth," said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks. "As long as there is one person producing or using meth I'm going to dedicate resources toward eradicating the problem." Mincks said meth use is not a victimless crime. [continues 683 words]
CHILLICOTHE -- A Ross County man was charged with two counts of felonious assault after he sprayed a corrosive chemical in an apparent drug-related incident at an apartment complex today. David W. Howard Jr., 29, of South Salem, was charged by Chillicothe police in connection with the 3 a.m. incident in the 900 block of Sherman Park. Capt. Tom Hewitt said Howard is the person who threw the chemical on a man and woman, now at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, where they were taken by medical helicopter after the incident. [continues 197 words]
CHILLICOTHE -- Police say a chemical attack by a man Thursday once again illustrates the dangerous nature of the chemicals used to make illegal drugs. David W. Howard Jr., 29, of South Salem, has been charged with two counts of felonious assault as a result of the 3 a.m. attack at an apartment complex. Police Capt. Tom Hewitt said Howard is the person who threw an unknown chemical on a man and a woman and caused them to be sent to a Columbus hospital with chemical burns. [continues 235 words]
Chillicothe police say a chemical attack by a South Salem man Thursday illustrates the dangerous nature of the elements used to make illegal drugs. David W. Howard Jr., 29, of 8674 Lower Twin Road, is charged with two counts of felonious assault as a result of the 3 a.m. attack at the Sherman Park apartment complex. Capt. Tom Hewitt said Howard is the person who threw an unknown chemical on a man and woman causing them to be sent to a Columbus hospital with chemical burns. [continues 476 words]
The United States has won the war against illegal drugs. That was the conclusion of a unique gathering on June 17, which marked the 35th anniversary of the war's beginning in 1971 with the appointment of Dr. Jerome H. Jaffe, a psychiatrist, as the first White House drug czar. Jaffe was joined at the the anniversary gatheing in by six other former czars, Dr. Robert L. Du Pont, Dr. Peter G. Bourne, Lee I. Dogoloff, Dr. Donald Ian Mac-Donald, Lee Brown and retired Army Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey. Also attending were 20 former staff members and a handful of experts, including me, a specialist historian. [continues 687 words]
An editorial in the June 17 Enquirer stated that "the root causes of violence in our community (are) lack of economic opportunity, poor education and moral depravity." These are only results of the real cause, which is the illegal drug market - and this is never going to be destroyed by police action. The money we spend trying to stop urban violence through police action is a waste of resources. For every step taken forward in this battle we take two back. The real answer for stopping this type of urban crime requires a trip back in history. [continues 314 words]
The belief that heroin has a foothold in Tuscarawas County was validated once again at Monday's county commissioners' meeting. Commissioners approved an $8,000 appropriation that potentially could improve the safety and effectiveness of the county's court-ordered treatment program. Kory Halter Kochera, director of the community corrections program, explained the treatment program had to extend its hours as drug use and drug-related court cases have skyrocketed. "My first request would be the additional funding for security so that we have a presence in the Courthouse Annex during drug treatment times, after regular hours," she said. [continues 306 words]
A national survey of high schoolers shows teens are using drugs and alcohol less than a decade ago, but there are increases in the use of marijuana, cocaine and in students selling or being sold drugs on school property. The survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that while fewer students are drinking alcohol, 43 percent are current drinkers and 74.3 percent have had alcohol. That number jumps to 76.5 percent in Ohio. Marijuana use has jumped from 31.3 percent in 1991 to 38.4 percent in 2005, although it's down from 47.2 percent in 1999. [continues 1400 words]
In 05, The State Spent About $700,000 To Clean Up Messes From A Record Number Of Meth Labs A year ago, thefts of anhydrous ammonia, the farm fertilizer also used to make methamphetamine, were prevalent in Beaver Township. Thieves would bring along containers and siphon the ammonia from farmers' tanks, said Beaver Chief Carl N. Frost. Once township farmers added a pinkish liquid fluorescent dye called GloTell to their supplies of anhydrous ammonia, the thefts stopped, Frost said. GloTell stains whatever it touches and even if washed off can be detected by ultraviolet light, according to Agrium, its manufacturer. Police like the product because anhydrous ammonia thieves with pink hands are easy to spot. [continues 994 words]
Troop Aims To Teach Fathers And Girls Responsibility Lima Ohio -- The convicts stand in a circle, three fingers pointed skyward, nine faces set in stone, their deepk, male voices raised in slow recitiation: "On my honor, I will try, "To serve God and my country, "To help people at all times, "And to live by the Girl Scout Law." At their sides stand their daughters, their small fingers also raised in the Girl Scout salute. This is the regular monthly meeting of Troop 994 -- not in a school, not in a church, but at the Allen Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison rising from the rolling farmlands of northwestern Ohio. [continues 592 words]
Inside Ohio
