Drug Court Graduates Kicking Bad Habits About 250 people attended a drug court graduation ceremony Monday at the Southwest Mississippi Community College student union. Eight people graduated from drug court, five of whom had their records cleared, while 50 others moved to higher levels within the system. "There's no more rewarding aspect of judging than this," said Circuit Court Judge Mike Taylor, who took over the program after its founder, Keith Starrett, was appointed a federal judge. "Drug court is not about forgiveness. We're judges; we can't forgive anyone," Taylor said. "It's about redemption." [continues 324 words]
Some Suspended, Expelled Students Will Be Tested LIBERTY - Amite County seventh-to 12th-graders who are suspended or expelled from school for more than 10 days will now be required to take a drug test before being allowed to return to school. Amite School District trustees on Monday amended the drug policy adopted in June to include the mandatory testing of students who receive out-of-school suspension or who have been expelled. In June, trustees adopted a drug policy subjecting students in grades 7 through 12 who participate in extracurricular activities to drug testing. Football players underwent drug tests on Monday during their physicals. [continues 154 words]
A bill that has wide support in the Oregon Legislature would take another step in fighting the scourge of crystal methamphetamine, the home-cooked drug made with popular over-the-counter cold medications. The question is whether Oregon, if this particular law is passed, would take the wrong step in its efforts to restrict access to medications that contain pseudo-ephedrine, a key ingredient of crystal meth. The state House of Representatives this week approved, by a 55-4 vote, a measure to require people to have a doctor's prescription if they want to buy medicine that contains pseudo-ephedrine. Observers expect the bill to pass the Senate, and the governor also supports it. [continues 297 words]
There should be no missed opportunity to praise the work of the state's drug courts, which give drug users who have been convicted of crimes a chance to get their lives together without going to prison. The ongoing drug court in Pike, Amite and Walthall counties, which is run by the circuit court judges, has reformed dozens of local residents. Many more are on their way to that goal by their current participation in the program. Drug court gives people a chance to clean up their own lives, which is enough reason to support the program. But it also keeps taxpayer costs down by requiring participants to find work and stay clean during their time in drug court -- all of which is a lot less expensive than putting an addict in prison for a couple of years. The topic arose last week when the drug court in Jackson, George and Greene counties "graduated" its first nine participants. The court won't save all the addicts. But it did save nine. That's a start. [end]
The governor of Tennessee on Thursday unveiled a harsh proposal to more strictly control access to over-the-counter cold medications used to make the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine. While that state's Legislature still must act on it, rural Mississippians should pay attention to the issue, as it is clear we have a meth problem of our own. First, a look at what has prompted Tennessee to attempt such drastic measures. The state ranks among the nation's leaders in the amount of money spent to clean up labs where meth, a highly addictive stimulant is cooked, usually using fairly common household products. One of those products is medicine that contains pseudoephedrine, a decongestant. [continues 507 words]
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column urging the circuit judge appointed to replace Keith Starrett in Pike, Walthall and Lincoln counties to continue the drug court that is helping a number of former addicts regain control of their lives. Good news: Mike Taylor, the Lincoln County attorney appointed this month as circuit judge, also will take over Starrett's role in charge of drug court. The district's other judge, Mike Smith, stepped in at drug court after Starrett departed for a federal judgeship. [continues 806 words]
For college football fans, the name Dontae Walker has been familiar over the years for a couple of reasons. First, the former Clinton High School star gained national recognition in the late 1990s as one of the top schoolboy running backs in the nation his senior year. Universities across the country offered scholarships for Walker to suit up for their football team. He ultimately chose to stay in the magnolia state and wear the maroon and white of Mississippi State University. [continues 159 words]
Here's a suggestion for Mike Taylor, the Lincoln County attorney Gov. Haley Barbour appointed last week to succeed Keith Starrett as circuit judge. Continue the drug court that Starrett set up. The drug court has helped a lot of people in Pike, Walthall and Lincoln counties regain control of their lives. It has done this at a low cost to taxpayers when compared to the expense of prison, and probably has a much better success rate than prison ever will. [continues 792 words]
If Mississippi follows Oklahoma's lead, getting relief from the common cold will become slightly more complicated. Hidden in some popular cold medicines is pseudoephedrine, a chemical that's part of the recipe for cooking methamphetamine, a highly potent illegal drug that gives users instant and long-lasting euphoria. Methamphetamine - also called speed, crank and ice - was popularized by bikers and truckers in the late 1980s. Since then, it has spread across the nation, leaving a trail of wrecked lives, orphaned children and environmental contamination. [continues 452 words]
Not the worst of the inconveniences and expenses passed on to the general public by drug abusers is the prospect of finding it more difficult to purchase certain over the counter cold and allergy medicines. Some of the remedies for a stuffy nose contain pseudoephedrine, a chemical that's part of the recipe for cooking methamphetamine, a highly potent illegal drug that gives users instant and long-lasting euphoria. So legislators are looking for ways to control and/or restrict sales of drugs containing the chemical in an effort to curtail its illegal use. This is bound to have an adverse effect on innocent consumers who occasionally take cold and hay fever remedies. Again, there are worse consequences of the drug trade, such as murder, theft and tragic accidents. But this one isn't to be sneezed at. Or is it? [end]
The ingenuity of illegal drug manufacturers and drug users continues to threaten the existence of products that Americans have used safely for years. For example, it's a lot more difficult these days to find Crystal Drano, the drainpipe cleaner. Sure, an alternative is available - Liquid Drano - but the crystal product just seems to work better. Unfortunately, Crystal Drano is one of the ingredients used to make crystal methamphetamine, an unusually addictive concoction that has wreaked havoc in many rural communities across the nation. Many stores won't stock Crystal Drano, choosing not to contribute, however unwittingly, to the drug trade. [continues 284 words]
Addicts Finding Ways To Obtain Potent Pharmaceuticals It's as simple as changing the numbers on a prescription. Or stealing prescription drug pads from a doctor's office. The abuse of prescription medications is becoming more prevalent in Pike County and southwest Mississippi, according to local narcotics officials. To help fight prescription drug fraud, Purdue Pharma Technologies on Connecticut gave the city a $10,000 grant earlier this year. That money went to the McComb Police Department before finally winding up in the budget of the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Enforcement Unit. [continues 1240 words]
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Dr. Mary Holley knows firsthand the ravages of methamphetamine. As an obstetrician in Albertville, Ala., she estimates about 10 percent of her pregnant patients are addicted. One was "high as a kite. Comes in dilated 9 centimeters. She is pushing out her baby. I am trying to get the clothes off this woman so I can deliver this baby and a gun falls out of her bra," Holley said. But the methamphetamine epidemic in Appalachia has now become a personal crusade for Holley. Four years ago, her brother Jim shot and killed himself after a struggle with meth addiction. [continues 329 words]
Six Students Tested Positive for Marijuana When it comes to drug testing students from the seventh grade on up, there's nothing like getting that first year out of the way to work the kinks out. That's the sentiments of McComb High School head football coach and athletic director Ted Milton, put in charge of overseeing the efforts to detect drugs such as marijuana and cocaine in the district's students. Milton said students who participate in extracurricular activities, such as sports, choir, band or even the Tiger Rag student newspaper, were subject to drug tests. [continues 616 words]
New Clean And Sober Class Passes Through Pike Drug Court Drug court, which got its start in Judge Keith Starrett's Magnolia courtroom five years ago, saw its latest batch of successful participants graduate from the rigorous multi-level program Monday morning amid tears and cheers. Twenty-one individuals were given a second chance on a clean life, free from drug and alcohol addiction, completing the strict four-year program in which participants are drug tested and appear in court before Starrett regularly. [continues 455 words]
Twenty-one individuals from southwest Mississippi will graduate from Judge Keith Starrett's drug court Monday morning after undergoing strict supervision and treatment. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith Jr. will be the guest speaker for the 11:30 a.m. ceremony at the courthouse in Magnolia. Monday's graduates bring the total number of successful participants to 56. Starrett founded the drug court in 1999. Some of the graduates have been to prison before and were in trouble again because of drugs and alcohol, according to Starrett, who created drug court in an effort to stem the tide of repeat criminal offenders. [continues 212 words]
District 39 State Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, D-Brookhaven, has introduced a bill to create a state drug court fund that would receive money from fines paid by citizens who violate traffic, litter, game and fish, and implied consent laws, as well as other misdemeanors and felonies. Senate Bill 2892 would provide supplemental money to all drug courts in the state and would be distributed by the State Treasurer's office. The funds would assist both youth and drug courts. Funds from other sources would be distributed equally to the drug courts in the state based on a formula set by the State Drug Courts Advisory Committee. The fund would be a permanent one and not subject to fiscal-year limitations. [continues 323 words]
A bill introduced in the state House of Representatives would allow the Mississippi Board of Pharmacy to establish and maintain a controlled substance prescription monitoring program and could eliminate the major supply chain to the prescription drug black market. House Bill 1187, proposed by Rep. Jim Barnett, a medical doctor, is currently being reviewed by the Public Health and Human Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee. McComb physician David Smith said he has been following the legislation and is in favor of the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Act, which would require pharmacists to input a patient's name, prescription, its quantity and the date dispensed into an electronic database accessible by the state pharmacy board. The board can then monitor narcotic prescriptions and prevent an individual from going to several doctors to load up on the drugs either for personal use or for illegal sale on the street. [continues 291 words]
City officials in Magnolia have given Police Chief Ray Reynolds permission to assign one of his officers to assist the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Enforcement Unit on a part-time basis. The agreement between police and SMNEU is meant to help root out drug activity in Magnolia by sharing information more readily. The Magnolia SMNEU officer is expected to initiate drug investigations within the city limits. No direct costs come with the agreement, but some aldermen were concerned that overtime pay issues may arise. Reynolds said he planned to monitor the officer's work schedule to prevent overtime. Still, aldermen want to review the agreement in 60 days before deciding to continue the agreement. [continues 161 words]
A McComb woman said she will contest the forfeiture of money seized by McComb police in December. Police filed suit in Pike County Circuit Court in January seeking a judge's approval of the seizure. Angela Harris said police seized $19,490 from her purse Dec. 31 after her husband Paul was charged with aggravated assault and conspiracy. But she was not charged in the incident and said police don't have a right to the money. Mrs. Harris said she and her husband had taken $19,000 out of the bank to pay for a new house before the end of the year, and she had an additional $490 to get her truck out of the repair shop. [continues 283 words]
