U.S. District Judge Rodney Webb breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentencing ranges in January.

The congressional mandates reduced judges to "whipping boys" who had little discretion in sentencing criminals, Webb said Wednesday.

"It just galls me that someone would suggest they know more about handling a case before me," he said.

But recent statements by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales show that the struggle between Congress and the judicial branch is far from over, Webb said.

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Program Works With Juveniles To Steer Them Off Drugs, Alcohol

It's been a tough road for 15-year-old Cody since smoking pot and other run-ins with the law landed him in drug court in Grand Forks, a program aimed at intervening in the lives of substance abusing juveniles.

Obeying a curfew, taking random drug tests and meeting regularly with probation, drug treatment and school officials are just the beginning of the straight and narrow that Cody is expected to navigate. Two weeks ago, a slip-up put him in home detention.

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Williston was the first stop of 10 for North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem to explain why getting cold medicine will be more difficult for residents.

Turnout was low at the Monday morning meeting at the Airport International Inn where he detailed stricter access and monitoring of medicine to slow the illegal production of methamphetamine.

The meeting was geared for retailers and the general public, but over half of the 10 attending were law enforcement officials.

Stenehjem said agents will be stopping by each retailer, updating them about the new laws.

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North Dakota's government continues to show support for the federal legalization of industrial hemp with the passing of House Bill 1492.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. David Monson, R-Osnabrock, allows North Dakota State University to store "feral hemp seeds" in preparation for the day it becomes legal to grow industrial hemp in the United States.

Monson has been fighting with the federal government since 1997 to make industrial hemp legal to grow in NDSU research plots. In 1999, North Dakota became the first state to pass hemp farming legislation, but to date the state has not challenged federal supremacy over the issue in the courts.

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When parents or other adults think about drug addiction they may envision pot smokers, cocaine sniffers, and methamphetamine users. But they tend to disregard one very dangerous classification of drug - inhalants.

Gloria Pesek of the Meth Task Force in Valley City urges parents and others to be aware of potential inhalant use by youths. Common, legal products - such as fingernail polish and remover, typewriter correction fluid and gasoline - can prove lethal even for first-time users. Inhaling the gas from helium-filled balloons is also a very dangerous practice common among youths and adults alike to make their voices sound like that of a cartoon character. (Photo submitted)

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The U.S. Supreme Court didn't do badly last week in its two-part decision on mandatory federal prison sentences.

On the one hand, by a 5-4 vote, it found the mandatory sentences to be unconstitutional because judges acting alone do the "fact finding" in certain details that inform the sentences, "such as the amount of drugs involved in a crime, the number of victims in a fraud or whether a defendant committed perjury during trial," wrote Associated Press writer Gina Holland.

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Forty-two less methamphetamine labs were confiscated in 2004 in North Dakota, but that doesn't mean the addiction epidemic is waning.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation reported 255 meth labs were raided last year, compared to 297 for all of 2003.

Williams County alone accounted for 25 percent of the 2004 figures with 64 labs. The combined five-county area in northwest North Dakota makes up 31 percent of total labs with 81, stated the report.

One lab was uncovered in Mountrail County in 2004, compared to four in 2003. Burke County reported zero meth labs busted last year. There were two total in 2003. Divide County tied its 2003 numbers with two meth labs in 2004.

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Some pretty big suits filled chairs in a Bismarck courtroom on Friday morning.

They belonged to names such as Hoeven, Stenehjem and VandeWalle.

But it wasn't North Dakota's governor, attorney general and chief justice who were being celebrated. Nearly 80 people filled the courtroom in support of men and women with lesser-known names. Adrian, Tim and Don. Dennis, Jackie and Melissa.

Bismarck-Mandan's drug court -- the first in North Dakota -- turned 4 years old this week. South Central District Judge Bruce Haskell hosted a party Friday that included several dignitaries, a few drug court graduates and 16 people currently enrolled in the program. People with names like Adrian or Melissa, who are trying to clean up their lives.

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The type and amount of assistance the United States is providing to the disaster ravaged areas of Indonesia is fantastic. The fact that we are able to so quickly respond to such disasters is truly astounding.

Many people deserve accolades for their ability and dedication toward helping others in need. Having folks with these abilities, and matching them with the freedom to demonstrate those abilities, is in my opinion what makes our country the most sought after country in the world in which to live.

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Can there be such a thing as too much law enforcement?

Maybe not, where the laws are good and necessary ones. Certainly, the Tribune believes that laws concerning minors and alcohol, and laws concerning illegal drugs and everybody, fall into that category. But consider three special law-enforcement "busts" that took place locally within the space of seven days.

* On Dec. 3, the Bismarck and Mandan police departments and the Burleigh County sheriff's office had a dozen high-school and college students, ages 18 to 20 years, try to buy alcohol at 102 local bars, restaurants and package stores. The students, all underage, succeeded at 68 of them.

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Lyle Sinclair and his dog, Nick, were among five K-9 units searching for drugs Thursday in the streets and avenues around Bismarck High School.

Another five officers and their dogs were doing the same thing near Century High School.

Usually, local authorities search only one school, but this time they had the manpower to try something different. The North Dakota Highway Patrol and the Bismarck Police Department hosted a training event Thursday for drug dogs. Dog handlers from across the state agreed to help simultaneously search Bismarck's two public high schools.

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Two brave high school students stood up before the Wahpeton City Council Monday night and informed councilmen of the upcoming Red Ribbon Week.

Red ribbons are worn as a sign of intolerance to drugs. Jessica Rick and Ben Mattern are two of six Core members who officiate over the group that will be visiting elementary schools this week to present programs to stem the tide of illegal drug use. The entire group will consist of about 25 high school students who visit Central Elementary on Tuesday and Thursday, and will be at St. John's and Zimmerman elementary schools Wednesday.

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I'm writing about the Herald's thoughtful editorial, "Citizens can fight back against meth".

If Desoxyn, the legal pharmaceutical form of methamphetamine, was legally available to adults without a prescription in local pharmacies for pennies per dose, would we have illegal clandestine meth labs throughout the nation? I don't think so.

Ninety years ago, all types of recreational drugs were legally available in local pharmacies for pennies per dose - including pure pharmaceutical grade Bayer heroin.

Ninety years ago, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist. Neither did drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today.

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North Dakota's hazardous methamphetamine labs are reminiscent of the deadly exploding liquor stills that sprang up throughout the nation during alcohol prohibition. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs such as meth, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime.

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OUR VIEW: Yes, there are effective strategies that voters and the government can use. Here are some.

How bad is the meth problem in our area?

This bad: "Meth is the single most serious law enforcement issue that North Dakota is facing, or has ever faced," attorney general Wayne Stenehjem told the New York Times.

And if you spent any time with Herald staff writer Rona K. Johnson's recent series on meth, you'd agree.

Meth is methamphetamine. First synthesized in 1919 in a Japanese lab, it's a member of the amphetamine family of drugs - a family that became part of the landscape in America and around the world in the early- and mid-1900s.

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It's Dangerous And Deadly For Grown-Ups. For The Children Of Addicts, It's A Living Nightmare.

Children, of course, shouldn't be exposed to methamphetamines or the people who use and sell the drug, but it's not unusual for law enforcement to find children when they bust clandestine meth labs.

"The living conditions, in some cases, are almost subhuman," said a Grand Forks police officer when asked to describe what they sometimes encounter when busting a meth lab. In one residence where meth was being cooked, police found an 18-month-old baby in a child's swing, he said. "The fumes in that place were very prevalent," he said. In some cases, he's seen broken picture frames and glass on the floor and piles of dirty clothes strewn everywhere. "In one house, we went to the basement, and it was partially flooded - there was about six inches of water on the floor," he said.

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Two Meth Users Say Habit Especially Hard On Their Children

Delphine and Jim Baker did whatever they had to do to make people think they were a normal family. But while their children, ages 4, 6 and 8, were upstairs watching television, they were downstairs in the basement behind a locked door using methamphetamine. "In our mind, at the time, we wanted to do this, but we wanted to seem like responsible people," said Delphine. "We did whatever we had to do to look normal to other people and still use the drug." They have a lot in common with another woman who wished to remain anonymous. We'll call her Jane. "My husband and I used to go into the basement and use, and we'd say to the kids, 'Just a minute, we'll be right up,'" said Jane, who started using meth when her son was 5 and her daughter was 2. Both families live in western North Dakota and are in the process of recovering from an addiction that shook their families to the core. The 'dating' period Delphine said she started using meth because she was depressed after losing a baby who lived only nine days. She was overweight and didn't feel good about herself, she said. "You didn't have the appetite anymore.

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Composite America is a natural competitor.

"We have an interest in anything natural," said Scott Greelis, president of the upstart Fargo company.

At its plant at 401 27th St. N.W., Composite America molds fabrics containing hemp, flax and jute into interior panels for machinery, vehicles and airplanes.

The seeds for Composite America were sown in 2000, when Greelis took his idea for turning natural fibers into manufacturing components to Fargo entrepreneur Joe Crary.

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State officials say methamphetamine users have flooded North Dakota's prison population in the past five years.

In that time, the number of inmates claiming meth as their drug of choice has increased from 10 percent of the prison population to 60 percent.

Elaine Little, director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the growth of the prison population can be traced directly to the number of drug offenders coming into the system. (http://oas.lee.net/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/bismarcktribune.com/news/state/10.06287033348974719/1577565279/Middle2/default/empty.gif/34343638393663373430626132306230)

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GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A Canada Border Services Agency officer and another Canadian have been charged with conspiracy after the officer was arrested while allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 22 kgs of marijuana into the U.S., authorities said.

"For law enforcement officers on both sides of the border, it's a sad day when someone in a position of authority violates the public's trust," said Michael Mach, agent-in-charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Grand Forks. Gary Graboski, 35, who worked as a border inspector for the Canadian agency, was arrested May 13. The investigation led to the arrest of Loran Stewart, 37, also a Canadian.

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