Pharmacists statewide will soon get information from the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy that will help them explain to patients the need to be careful with the pain drug methadone. Also, the West Virginia Medical Association plans to educate doctors about the risks involved in prescribing methadone, and the state Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is educating addiction counselors about methadone. A Gazette investigation published last week found that methadone is helping to kill more people nationwide than any other prescription narcotic, and West Virginia's methadone death rate is the nation's highest. - advertisement [continues 424 words]
Senators Want Stronger FDA Warning About Methadone Two U.S. senators are calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to respond to thousands of overdose deaths being blamed on the prescription painkiller methadone. A Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation published last week found that methadone is helping to kill more people nationwide than any other prescription narcotic, and West Virginia's methadone death rate is the nation's highest. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the FDA should move quickly to warn doctors and the public about the danger of misusing methadone. - advertisement [continues 923 words]
Methadone ACROSS West Virginia and the nation, patients consume a powerful painkiller called methadone, and an alarming number of them die. The drug -- once used mostly as a heroin substitute to help addicts wean themselves from their habit -- is increasingly prescribed for pain, sometimes because of its effectiveness, sometimes because it's cheap. Nationally, death certificates show that 2,992 Americans were killed by the drug in 2003. But that's a conservative count. Not every family asks for an autopsy and not every cause of death is discovered. The number of deaths has climbed, nearly quadrupling from 790 in 1999. Eighty-two percent of those fatalities were declared accidental. [continues 395 words]
Abuse In Southwest Virginia Is Growing News of growing abuse of the prescription painkiller fentanyl brings another deadly battle to the region's war on drugs. In 2005, fentanyl was the fourth leading cause of overdose deaths in Southwest Virginia, while only three to four years earlier "it wasn't even a blip on the screen," Tazewell County Commonwealth Attorney Dennis Lee said. The first distribution case in Tazewell County for fentanyl came in 2002. Since then, there has been no indication of the drug's decline. In recent months, two more individuals in Tazewell County have been indicted for possession and distribution of the painkiller. [continues 365 words]
THIS week's mass murder in a drug-infested St. Albans suburb raises a troubling thought: Much of America's criminality and gun violence among addicts and illegal drug dealers apparently is spawned by the nation's harsh prohibition of narcotics. Almost a century ago, the United States plunged into Prohibition, the criminalization of alcohol. Immediately, illicit dealers began supplying bootleg booze in the shadows. Gun battles erupted between rival rum-runners. Prisons were crammed with alcohol offenders. Police and judges were bribed to overlook "speakeasy" bars. Street gangs and the Mafia grew in that grotesque time. [continues 447 words]
ACROSS West Virginia and the nation, patients consume a powerful painkiller called methadone, and an alarming number of them die. The drug -- once used mostly as a heroin substitute to help addicts wean themselves from their habit -- is increasingly prescribed for pain, sometimes because of its effectiveness, sometimes because it's cheap. Nationally, death certificates show that 2,992 Americans were killed by the drug in 2003. But that's a conservative count. Not every family asks for an autopsy and not every cause of death is discovered. The number of deaths has climbed, nearly quadrupling from 790 in 1999. Eighty-two percent of those fatalities were declared accidental. - advertisement [continues 390 words]
Suppose another country had almost no drug problem. Suppose that country had less than a small fraction of 1 percent of our drug arrests. And suppose that country had almost no "drug-related crime" and that their robbery rate was a tiny fraction of our robbery rate. Do you suppose it might be wise to carefully observe that other country's drug policy and that we should model that other country's drug policy? Well, there is such a country: The Czech Republic. [continues 158 words]
'ONE PILL CAN KILL' Education, Surveillance Can Prevent Methadone Overdose Deaths On Memorial Day weekend in 2004, a traveling fair came to the small town of Oconto Falls, Wis. Sixteen-year-old Josh Engebregtsen and three of his friends decided to go. His mother, Sue, remembers the night. Everything seemed so normal. Her son called before his 9 p.m. curfew, asked if he could stay at his friend's house. The boys went home, sat up talking until 3 a.m. [continues 1299 words]
Lynda Lee was recuperating in her Texas home following back surgery one day in November 2004. The 59-year-old nurse took the pain medicine her doctor had prescribed -- methadone -- then lay down on the couch in front of the television. Her son found her there several hours later, dead. She had stopped breathing. The medical examiner said the cause of death was acute methadone intoxication. "The coroner said there wasn't much in her system. It could have just been two pills," her daughter, Alisha Regan, told the Gazette. - advertisement [continues 1495 words]
Five years ago, Mike Blake walked into his daughter's bedroom and found his wife lying on the floor, dead from an overdose of methadone and Xanax. The 39-year-old mother of two from Indianapolis had just started taking methadone. A doctor had prescribed it for her back pain, Mike Blake said. "My little girl was only 2 years old when that happened," Blake said in a recent interview with the Gazette. "She doesn't have a mother now." - advertisement [continues 1370 words]
The Sunday Gazette-Mail's investigation of nationwide methadone deaths was prompted by an obscure entry in a West Virginia vital statistics report. Accidental poisoning deaths in the state had shot up dramatically in five years, reporter Scott Finn noticed. He thought it might be toddlers ingesting cleaning supplies, or maybe people overdosing on OxyContin. He called the medical examiner's office to check. No, he was told. The main culprit was a drug called methadone. Reporter Tara Tuckwiller had been reporting on methadone clinics -- treatment centers that sell daily doses of legal methadone to calm addicts' cravings for illegal drugs -- since they began to crop up in West Virginia in 2001. - advertisement [continues 183 words]
Feds Approve Outdated, Potentially Deadly Drug Information One increasingly popular painkiller is helping to kill more people than any other prescription narcotic, a Sunday Gazette-Mail investigation has found. Patients could die if they take the "usual adult dosage" on methadone's package insert -- information that comes with the prescription and was approved by the federal government. Despite knowing about methadone's dangers, federal officials have not strengthened the warnings most doctors and patients receive about methadone, Sunday Gazette-Mail reporters discovered. - advertisement [continues 2299 words]
FDA-Approved Language Called "Extremely Dangerous" The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a "usual adult dosage" on the package insert for methadone that several studies say could be deadly. "The usual adult dosage is 2.5 mg to 10 mg every three or four hours as necessary," reads the drug's package insert under "For Relief of Pain." Someone reading that label could believe it is safe for an adult to consume up to 80 milligrams of methadone a day. - advertisement [continues 1370 words]
What it is: Methadone is a synthetic opiate developed by the Germans during World War II as a substitute for morphine. What it isn't: Methadone often is confused with "meth," or methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant commonly cooked in clandestine labs. Methadone is a completely different -- and legal -- drug. Uses: Until recently, methadone was given mostly to heroin addicts to suppress their cravings. Now, doctors are increasingly prescribing it as a painkiller. Dangers: Methadone acts differently from other painkillers. It can stay in the body for an unusually long time, making it possible for therapeutic doses to build up to a toxic level. [continues 78 words]
Make no mistake about it, Huntington is being attacked by terrorists. Drug dealers, gangs and thugs from Detroit, Columbus and beyond are instituting a reign of terror in our neighborhoods and streets. Further, it is clear that the city of Huntington simply does not have sufficient resources to fight these homegrown terrorists. Where is the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security in this struggle for our city and region? Where is the Drug Enforcement Agency in aiding local efforts to ferret out violent drug dealers? Where is the federal response in terms of manpower and dollars in bringing this wave of terror to a screeching halt? I can only tell you where it is not: Huntington -- a city under attack. Huntington [end]
Bryan Chambers' article, "Drug War Rages" although informative, failed to offer a realistic solution. The use of illegal drugs is certainly a problem, but the so-called war on drugs may be the greater problem. Many of the problems the drug war purports to resolve are in fact caused by the drug war itself. So-called "drug-related" crime is a direct result of drug prohibition's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand. Public health problems such as HIV and hepatitis C are all exacerbated by zero-tolerance laws that restrict access to clean needles. The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. Anaheim, Calif. [end]
FORT GAY -- Just weeks ago, Joetta Hatfield was slicing bologna for a customer in the 60-year-old, family-owned general store when the lady asked if it was true that millions of dollars were stashed in mattresses sold at the business. "I said, 'Do you think I'd be standing here slicing bologna if I had millions in mattressesUKP'" she said. It's been almost three years -- June 2003 -- since police swooped in on the Hatfield family business, arresting her husband, Shannon, and son, Landon, and charging them with selling cocaine. A few months later, they returned and arrested Shannon again. - advertisement [continues 1798 words]
There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. That's as true for cities as it is for individuals in distress. That Huntington has a problem with out-of-town drug dealers setting up shop here has been known for a long time. That they could turn violent and kill innocent people has been known since four teenagers were gunned down on Charleston Avenue on May 22, 2005. Since that terrible morning, local law enforcement agencies have regrouped and spent more time concentrating on the drug trade that threatens to consume some neighborhoods. [continues 228 words]
Appalachia Home To Growing Crime Wave CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Joe Ciccarelli grew up in West Virginia and became a cop, then left for an FBI career taking down narcotics traffickers in St. Louis and south Florida. He spent the 1990s in Miami, working to cut off America's cocaine supply from South America. But in 1998, weary of the city, he transferred back to the Mountain State. Now he sees where that cocaine ends up, on the small-town streets of home. [continues 1868 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Carol Richard recently discovered reality after a 15-year drought. Richard is remembering how good it feels to keep her house in order, to be self-sufficient. She gets excited about the small things in life like taking a hot shower or cooking her children a nutritious meal. She relishes the thought of sitting down with her daughter each night and helping her with some homework. For her, life is something new. At 36-years-old, Richard is finally drug-free. [continues 625 words]
WAYNE -- In 2004, West Virginia was spending $7,577,063 of state funds for drug treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, but is that money being put toward the right services? Not if you ask Debby Hibbard. Hibbard's oldest daughter has a drug problem and lives with her parents. Her abuse began with prescription drug abuse then led to a crack cocaine addiction. Hibbard knows her daughter needs help, but struggles week to week and sometimes day to day to find that assistance. [continues 706 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Detroit drug dealers, who already control most of the crack cocaine market in the Tri-State, are now shipping in a steady stream of heroin, local authorities say. "We haven't made any large seizures as of yet, but it's definitely making a strong comeback," said Doug Adams, a Cabell County Sheriff's deputy and member of the department's drug enforcement unit. "You can now buy heroin at any time of the day on any day of the week in this county." [continues 370 words]
Huntington's problem is being felt in cities and towns across the United States, including several locations in Ohio where their police departments have been battling Detroit-area drug dealers for more than a decade. Here's how they assess their situations: Maj. Bill Collins of the Marion Police Department said his officers could work around the clock and they would not be able to eradicate the problem. ADVERTISEMENT "We're losing, in my opinion," he said. "Back when it started, we could get rid of a three or four of Detroit drug dealers, and it would be a while before others would show up. Now there are just so many here, that we'll never get rid of all the Detroit people. The money is just so good here that it's worth the risk to them." [continues 102 words]
Local magistrates have started setting higher bonds in drug cases, but police say many of the defendants have proven the higher amounts are still within their reach. Many times, that leads to the defendant getting out of jail, returning to his criminal activity and being arrested all over again on new charges. Police say it is a frustrating cycle that unnecessarily places everyone's life at risk. ADVERTISEMENT Steven Ferguson said the community has similar frustrations. "I think once they get them in jail, they ought to keep them in jail," he said. "I mean, they get out too soon, and they get out too easy." [continues 436 words]
Drug Arrests Up, But Uphill Battle Lies Ahead For Thin Police Force HUNTINGTON -- The number of drug-related arrests has increased dramatically, but so has the realization that an uphill battle lies ahead for local police trying to win a war with out-of-town drug dealers. The shooting deaths of four area teens one year ago today sparked parallel police initiatives -- one to find the killers and another to break the back of the drug trafficking that most believe was the root cause of the community tragedy. ADVERTISEMENT [continues 1670 words]
Many local and national officials in Mexico have proven down through the years that they are as interested in waging war against illegal drugs as they are in helping to stop illegal immigrants from getting into this country. That is to say, not at all. New evidence of the Mexican regime's lackadaisical attitude toward illegal drugs is being provided — in the form of a proposed law that would legalize possession of small quantities of many of them. Mexican legislators already have passed a bill doing that. Though President Vicente Fox has not yet signed the measure into law, he is expected to do so. [continues 306 words]
Kanawha County officials say they have condemned 23 houses used to produce methamphetamine since last July when a public nuisance ordinance was passed to address public health issues. The ordinance forces a property owner to either clean the home or hire a contractor to raze the property. If neither is an option, the county will demolish the home and place a lien against the property. Of the 23 houses that have been condemned since the ordinance passed last year, five were demolished, six have been cleaned and are reoccupied, and 12 are being tested and awaiting a final decision. [continues 531 words]
HUNTINGTON -- The number of expulsions in Cabell County has increased at a steady pace during the past three school years. Cabell County had already expelled 40 students in November -- less than halfway through this school year. It had expelled 63 for the entire 2002-2003 school year, according to statistics made available by Cabell County Schools. This school year's records for December, January and February were not yet available. Students at the high school level are often expelled for battery (including battery and assault against employees, but mostly against other students), possession of a controlled substance and possession of a dangerous weapon. More often, though, students are being expelled for simply not following rules, said Todd Alexander, administrative assistant for secondary schools. [continues 793 words]
A state Senate committee approved a bill detailing new licensing rules for methadone clinics in West Virginia. West Virginia has eight clinics that use methadone, a synthetic narcotic, to treat people addicted to opium-based drugs such as heroin, morphine and OxyContin. Methadone helps wean patients off those drugs. All the clinics have opened since 2001. They are in Beckley, Charleston, Clarksburg, Huntington, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Williamson, Mineral County and Wheeling. The bill mirrors emergency licensing rules that the Department of Health and Human Resources enacted in July 2005. [continues 133 words]
Last Monday, Bellaire police were called to a Noble Street home where they found a 45-year-old Wheeling man, dead of what appears to have been a drug overdose. "It looks like he was an addict," commented Bellaire Police Chief Mike Kovalyk. The next day, law enforcement officers were called to Buckeye Local High School, at Rayland. A teacher there had caught five students "huffing" chemicals from an aerosol can. Any questions about why the war on drugs needs to be pursued with vigor? Any questions about why it needs to start at home? [continues 372 words]
WELLSBURG -- Proponents of alternative sentencing programs are looking to overhaul the way the state deals with lawbreakers, and in turn cut down on climbing regional jail costs and prison overcrowding. Jim Lee, a veteran probation officer in Brooke County, has spent the better part of two decades promoting diversion programs such as community service, day reporting centers and drug rehabilitation for convicted criminals. Now that the Legislature and counties across the state are struggling to deal with rising regional jail costs and exploding inmate populations, Lee's ideas might be starting to resonate. [continues 1474 words]
CHARLESTON - Drug abuse inside West Virginia's coal mines is an issue one southern lawmaker says must be addressed in the final weeks of this session. A new bill offered before the House of Delegates deadline by Delegate Eustace Frederick, D-Mercer, would insist on drug and alcohol testing of workers applying for jobs as miners. Once hired, miners would have to submit to periodic retesting to see if any abuse is occurring. As coal operators scramble to find enough workers to fill mining jobs in a workforce that is rapidly aging, Frederick said drug problems are evident among fresh applicants. [continues 245 words]
At a recent National Coal Group meeting, Sen. Robert C. Byrd told audience members that coal needs to play a part in America's new energy policy in the coming years. During this past State of the Union, president Bush outlined a plan that would begin to phase out our reliance on foreign oil and look to more renewable resources. Coal, however, is also a non-renewable resource and is just as bad for the environment. Coal has also been an energy staple in America since the beginning of the 20th century. How then can it be part of a "new" energy policy when it is a dinosaur from the old energy policy? [continues 272 words]
We're all aware of the increase in drug abuse in our area and the problems caused by it. A tremendous amount of our tax dollars are spent on law enforcement, crime-related costs, court costs, jail, medical costs, lost productivity, children of addicts, etc. A lot of our money goes toward the result of drug abuse, but very little toward the treatment. We do not have the treatment facilities needed in our area. What few are here can't meet the need. [continues 128 words]
CLARKSBURG - It has been more than seven months since a state law went into effect limiting the sale of common cold products that can be used to create methamphetamine. And state law enforcement officers are cautious, but optimistic, that the law is working. "The law is a young law, and it appears to be helpful," said Harrison County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Albert Marano. "Just from hearing the narcotics agents talk, it appears that it has become more difficult for these drug makers to obtain over-the-counter ingredients that they typically used before," Marano said. [continues 664 words]
If Huntington is serious about tackling the drug problem, the mayor and City Council need to fund drug treatment. The law enforcement approach is a proven failure. Prison cells are ineffective as deterrents and inappropriate as health interventions. A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars. The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. [continues 118 words]
MOUNDSVILLE -- A Marshall County man maintains he should be allowed to smoke marijuana because of his religion. Steven Schrumpf is charged with misdemeanor offenses of possessing marijuana and driving under the influence of it. According to a motion filed by his attorney, J.K. Chase, Schrumpf should be allowed to smoke marijuana because he is "an active member and practitioner of a religious order known as The Hawai'i Cannabis (THC) Ministry." Schrumpf is also an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church. [continues 219 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Almost every time Aaron Higginbotham sees someone arrested for drug charges, he said it seems that person gets right back out of jail. A review of 2004 Cabell County court records and drug arrests gives some credence to his concerns. Although the complexities of the court system make it difficult to find and follow every drug case, a review of a year's worth of the most common drug trafficking charge shows that only 11 percent of the cases have so far received more than a year behind bars. At least another 18 percent of the cases are still awaiting court action, so the number receiving serious prison time could rise over time. [continues 1805 words]
It happens with increasing regularity, it seems. Law enforcement officers from several agencies conduct a sweep through the area, arresting dozens of people and charging them with dealing drugs. But what happens next? Based on a review by The Herald- Dispatch of drug arrests in 2004, 35 percent of people arrested for drug trafficking saw the charges against them dismissed. Only 11 percent were sentenced to a year or more in prison. Another 2 percent were sentenced to time already served while awaiting trial; in some cases, time served could have been more than a year. About 18 percent of cases are still pending in court. [continues 389 words]
A different breed of criminal works the streets of Huntington now. The small town type of crime has been replaced with a ruthless, urban type of crime that drifted down from Detroit. Until police and prosecutors prove differently, everyone in town will believe the Jan. 7 drive-by shootings were the work of Detroit drug dealers. The same with the May 22, 2005, killings of four teenagers. This deserves a top-to-bottom review of law enforcement strategy and tactics in Huntington. That would include how city police, the state police and federal authorities cooperate on fighting the Detroit-to-Huntington drug connection. [continues 559 words]
PARKERSBURG - Schools in Wood County are eligible to receive more than $20,000 in security systems this year as part of the federal Safe & Drug-Free Schools program. Dianne Boggess, coordinator of the Wood County Safe & Drug-Free Schools program, said schools may apply for the federal funds until March 1 to purchase camera systems, metal detectors and communications systems to help them better monitor and secure their facilities. This is the sixth year the federal funds have been available for area schools and $20,512.51 has been allocated for the equipment purchases. [continues 382 words]
It's about time. Since the beginning of time, well-endowed women have cashed in on their endowments. The benefits ranged from catching a man's eye for marriage to catching tips for exposing those endowments in brothels or on stage. The Bible doesn't comment on Eve's figure, but I think when the Lord made the first woman, he probably gave her pretty full fig leaves. Otherwise, those guys painting naked women eating fruit during the Renaissance would have rendered those gals more like Twiggy than Pamela Anderson. [continues 430 words]
Children of Mothers Using OxyContin, Meth, Methadone Are Born in Withdrawal West Virginia, and particularly its southern counties, is struggling with an increase in births of babies addicted to methamphetamine and OxyContin. Even more common, at least in the Charleston area, are babies born to mothers who are receiving medical doses of methadone - -- also an addictive drug -- to try and get over their other drug addictions. Doctors still are trying to figure out the long-term effects of such substances on newborns, but the short-term side effects seem to be even worse than problems seen with the so-called "crack babies" born in the 1980s, doctors said. [continues 731 words]
An editorial last month discussed the recent increases in drug arrests by local law enforcement and wondered what the results were and whether people were being incarcerated for their drug activity. I believe the entire community agrees this increased law enforcement presence and effort is good and want it to continue. I fully agree and want to compliment our police agencies for reallocating limited manpower to address this problem. The community support and information received has been appreciated, resulted in increased intelligence and has led to additional arrests. [continues 310 words]
PRINCETON - A student's right to carry a Walkman or cell phone to school, to have flowers delivered to their girlfriend or boyfriend on Valentine's Day and what they may wear were all up for debate Tuesday night at the Mercer County Board of Education meeting. The board conducted the first reading of changes to the Student Code of Conduct. Though it was just the first reading, and no vote was taken on the changes, board member Greg Prudich voiced several concerns about the policies. [continues 739 words]
Stronger Enforcement May Be Pushing Drugs To Smaller County, Kanawha Sheriff While area law enforcement agencies are glad for the dramatic drop in methamphetamine lab busts this year, they worry they're merely sweeping the problem to other counties in the state. Upshur County, for example, has seen a surge in meth busts, with 11 labs discovered so far this year. State Police statistics show West Virginia had a decrease in meth labs across the state this year, although nearly two-thirds of all labs were operated in Kanawha County. [continues 504 words]
ONA -- Maggie Bailey's eyes welled with tears as she listened to one of the many stories about the destructive power of methamphetamines. Bailey joined about 90 Cabell Midland High School students to hear a presentation from Bill O' Dell on meth and how it affects the body. Bailey sat wide-eyed as O'Dell told the story of a young police officer who after busting a meth lab went home to his family. "So, the officer went home and held his newborn baby," O' Dell said. "By the next morning, the baby was dead from breathing in fumes off his father's police suit." [continues 197 words]
Recently, while watching MSNBC-TV's Tucker Carlson, I was amazed at retired Seattle Police Chief Norm Stampler indicating that drugs should be legalized. This man was a policeman for 40-some years, and like him, I would agree the war on drugs is never going to be won. Decriminalizing drugs would in fact give the government more control of the drugs and, therefore, keep them out of the black market's hands. Tobacco and alcohol contribute to a lot of deaths, and they are legal. While the black market controls drugs being sold on the street, it makes it so much easier for kids to get them. If drugs were legal and the government had a system like tobacco and alcohol, you would have to be 21 to purchase drugs. Our prisons are overcrowded, and for a land of the free, why are most of the population behind bars for drugs? Since President Nixon, there has been a war on drugs. Wake up America - -- like Vietnam, it's a war being lost. Don Smith Huntington [end]
St. Albans Students Learn About Meth's Instant Addiction One student asked another to help steady her arm in the restroom so she could shoot up meth. Throughout the year, St. Albans High teachers had watched her become thinner and thinner. The girl donned a down jacket most of the time at school - no matter what the weather. After learning about what happened from the other student in the restroom, Vice Principal Robin Francis immediately went on a locker search. Inside the girl's book bag, Francis found the well of a metal spoon, a lighter, a syringe full of the amber-colored drug and tubing to cinch the arm. [continues 697 words]
Tracking down drug dealers, prosecuting them and putting them in jail costs U.S. taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year. Some people believe drug use should be decriminalized, especially for marijuana. Smoking marijuana may be less harmful than drinking beer, wine or liquor. Norm Stamper, former police chief in Seattle, takes the argument a big step further in his Oct. 16 column in the Los Angeles Times. "I don't favor decriminalization. I favor legalization, and not just of pot but of all drugs, including heroin, cocaine, meth, psychotropics, mushrooms and LSD. ... [continues 395 words]
Inside West Virginia
