FRESNO -- Sen. Barbara Boxer wants to double the amount of federal money budgeted for drug treatment and put millions of dollars into state drug-treatment programs such as those mandated by California's Proposition 36. After Wednesday's second Central Valley Methamphetamine Summit in Fresno, Boxer said she might need to allocate more than $125 million a year in the proposed Treatment on Demand Assistance Act for Proposition 36 and other state-mandated programs. Proposition 36, which takes effect July 1, will require judges to send nonviolent drug offenders to treatment programs instead of jail or prison. [continues 445 words]
Lawmakers, Police Stress Need To Curb Valley Output FRESNO -- The Central Valley will remain the capital of U.S. methamphetamine production unless the region can score a bigger share of federal and state drug-fighting dollars, law enforcement representatives told elected officials Tuesday. About one-third of the meth labs seized are in California, but the state is home to an estimated 97 percent of so-called superlabs that produce large quantities of methamphetamine. The Central Valley needs to spend money on equipment such as surveillance aircraft and meth lab-sniffing machines, but money is especially needed to hire more personnel, officials said. [continues 385 words]
Got the sniffles? Pseudoephedrine is a popular cold medication that dries up congested sinuses, but you won't find it on the shelves of some Stockton drugstores. Pseudoephedrine, sold under brand names like Sudafed and Actifed, is one of the primary ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine, an illegal stimulant. At Longs Drug Store on Quail Lakes Drive, pseudoephedrine products are stored in a locked glass case that can be opened only by a pharmacist or Jennifer Schneitman, an over-the-counter specialist. [continues 563 words]
Consuming kava tea and then going for a drive in San Mateo County can get you busted for driving while under the influence. The San Francisco Peninsula county has already put one Polynesian driver on trial and is preparing to prosecute another. But Stockton attorney Scott Ennis, who successfully defended Taufui Piutau, a 47-year-old San Bruno resident, says the kava prosecutions are misguided and racist, targeting Pacific Islanders whose culture includes a ritualistic consumption of kava. Kava is a Polynesian plant that has gained popularity around the world as an herbal supplement that helps reduce anxiety and sleeplessness. The plant's effects have been compared to the effects of prescription tranquilizers such as Valium and Xanax. [continues 734 words]
Prop. 36 Would Offer Some Addicts Shot At Treatment Over Prison America's war on drugs will enter a new battlefield Nov. 7 when California voters decide whether convicted drug addicts should go to prison or to drug-treatment programs. Proponents say Proposition 36 will devote $120 million annually to provide much-needed drug treatment for tens of thousands of drug addicts in California, many of whom are serving time in state prisons for drug-related crimes. Opponents contend the ballot measure will legalize hard-core drugs like methamphetamine, crack cocaine and PCP and damage the state's budding drug-court program, which requires that defendants undergo drug testing and carries the threat of incarceration for failed drug tests. [continues 1583 words]
