Timothy Durden Jr. made it a habit to throw his arms around his grandmother, plant a big kiss on her cheek and proclaim, "I love you, Grannie." The former Park Hill High School basketball and football player had a passion for joking, dancing, lifting weights. But the 18-year-old also enjoyed "smoking his weed," family wrote in his obituary, and that habit cost him his life when he allegedly tried to rob the teenager who was selling him 2 ounces of marijuana in the Northland. [continues 1107 words]
11 Graduate From Clay County Drug Treatment Program Cheers and tears flowed Friday in the crowded Clay County Commission meeting room in Liberty as 11 persons graduated from the county's adult drug court program. That brought the number of graduates to 23 since the program was launched three years ago. It allows minor offenders to avoid jail if they complete an intensive 18 to 24 months of drug treatment, counseling and job training. I can now hold my head up high and be proud of who I am," said Kerry Smith, 38, of Kansas City, North, who said that for several years he battled an addiction to methamphetamine. "Without this program, I would not be clean today." [continues 320 words]
Editor, the Tribune: In an article published Feb. 27, Columbia Police Officers Association President Sterling Infield repeats the assertion that marijuana is a "gateway drug" that leads to the use of harder drugs such as cocaine or heroin. In fact, this groundless claim has been rejected by the scientific and medical community for decades. The "gateway" hypothesis has been thoroughly disproved by compelling evidence, notably that presented in the federally funded 1999 Institute of Medicine report - approved by the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. [continues 179 words]
"Unfortunately, this problem has an important dimension of denial. People don't want to see it. They want to believe it's bigger than it is. They also believe there's nothing they can do. That's wrong." John P. Walters The nation's drug czar is praising the Northland Coalition for its work to reduce illegal drug use and alcohol consumption among area youth. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it is because of work that groups such as the Northland Coalition, who have formed partnerships with schools and local law enforcement agencies, drug use among area teenagers have dropped. Walters was in Kansas City on Friday to present an award to the Northland Coalition for its work in reducing drug and alcohol use among teens. [continues 553 words]
"Unfortunately, this problem has an important dimension of denial. People don't want to see it. They want to believe it's bigger than it is. They also believe there's nothing they can do. That's wrong." The nation's drug czar is praising the Northland Coalition for its work to reduce illegal drug use and alcohol consumption among area youth. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said it is because of work that groups such as the Northland Coalition, who have formed partnerships with schools and local law enforcement agencies, drug use among area teenagers have dropped. Walters was in Kansas City on Friday to present an award to the Northland Coalition for its work in reducing drug and alcohol use among teens. [continues 553 words]
Tracey Blaylock, the new executive director of Jackson County's anti-drug effort, knows firsthand about the horrors of alcohol and drug addiction. She knows the physical and emotional toll. The loss of trust from family and friends. The helplessness and hopelessness. Blaylock, 41, is a recovering addict and alcoholic, sober now for more than 12 years. She is living testimony that people can turn their lives around. "Drugs and alcohol drained me from all motivation," Blaylock said. "It caused problems with me and my family and my ability to be a parent." [continues 477 words]
A Colombian man convicted of killing a drug dealer nearly three years ago was sentenced Monday to die by lethal injection, the first federal death penalty imposed in Kansas City since 1956. Federal jurors in April convicted German C. Sinisterra, 36, and two others of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, use of a firearm resulting in murder in a drug trafficking crime and interstate travel in a murder for hire. Jurors recommended death for Sinisterra and Arboleda Ortiz, 33, but could not agree on death for Plutarco Tello, 35, who faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. [continues 350 words]
