`One-Pot' Cooking Gains Popularity Alabama is seeing a resurgence in methamphetamine labs, a reversal from the decrease that followed a 2005 state law that made it harder to buy the main ingredients, drug enforcement agents say. More meth cooks in the past year have started using a simpler, "one-pot" cooking method that takes fewer ingredients and can be mostly completed in a two-liter plastic soft drink bottle, authorities say. Jason Murray, commander of the Talladega County Drug Task Force, said his agents have found 70 of the "one-pot," or "shake and bake," meth labs since October. [continues 595 words]
At one time, Jeremy Smith was a handsome boy. A high school football player in Arab, he had his pick of girls, said his mother, Dorothy York. That was before methamphetamine. Before Smith lost almost 50 pounds. Before his teeth started falling out. Before his gaunt appearance drove his father to set up his arrest. "I'd a lot rather see him down in the county jail than dead," Ellis York said. So when Smith asked for a ride to Huntsville, his father said yes, then called police instead. Smith wore long sleeves that day last August, an attempt to hide the marks that track his path since he first injected the drug five years ago during a drunken ride to the short-track races at Talladega. [continues 2207 words]
Methamphetamine is most often a powder, usually white or off-white. It can be snorted, smoked, injected or taken orally. Another form, methamphetamine hydrochloride, comes in chunks like rock candy and is called ice, crystal or glass. It is purer and more expensive than powdered meth. There are no legitimate medical uses for meth, said Jack Como, a pharmacist who is director of drug information for UAB Hospital. The drug is not produced commercially. Meth is a chemical cousin of amphetamines, which were used in over-the-counter "pep pills" in the 1950s and now are available only by prescription. [continues 416 words]
About 30 Alabama drug task forces face cutbacks this year and possible elimination next year unless local governments pitch in to make up for reduced federal funds. Some officials say drug crimes will rise if task forces are scaled back. They say it's a bad time to cut task forces, partly because of the spread of methamphetamine, an addictive, illegal stimulant used heavily in some rural areas. "Within the past month, we've taken off the street way over a million dollars worth of drugs," said Paul Kilgore, director of the Walker County drug task force. "We've recovered over 20 pounds of meth. These drugs we're taking off the street aren't going to the kids." [continues 611 words]
ALBERTVILLE - Nancy Stancil wonders why her son became a drug addict who sank low enough to steal from his parents. She is so baffled by methamphetamine's power over him that she told her doctor she had thought of trying the drug herself, just to understand. "I've been racking my brain since this came up," said Nancy Stancil, an assertive woman with striking blue eyes. "What makes people willing to lose everything they have? They just can't quit doing the dope." [continues 839 words]
Attorney General Troy King on Wednesday announced the formation of a task force to fight what he described as the "plague" of methamphetamine. King held a news conference in Birmingham and released the names of 26 prosecutors, law enforcement officers, doctors, child advocates and others who will serve on the task force. The group's first meeting will be Wednesday at the State House. King said the federal Drug Enforcement Administration rates meth as Alabama's No. 1 drug threat. He said use and manufacture of the drug is spreading. [continues 406 words]
In April, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles began "special docket" parole hearings for nonviolent offenders as a way to relieve prison crowding. Gov. Bob Riley wants to continue that process with an expanded parole board. To be eligible for early paroles, inmates must meet the following criteria: Not serving a split sentence (in which judge divides the sentence between prison time and non-prison time) No convictions for a Class A felony (violent crime against a person) Must not have had three revocations of probation or parole within last five years No violations involving use or threatened use of a knife or gun Not serving time for an offense involving a victim injury Not serving time for domestic violence No convictions for drug trafficking No convictions for sexual offenses No history of child abuse convictions [continues 907 words]
Gov. Bob Riley on Friday offered a plan to reduce overcrowding at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women by sending some inmates out of state, increasing paroles of nonviolent offenders and taking other steps. Riley submitted the plan to U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, who ruled in December that the prison was so dangerous and overcrowded that it violated the U.S. Constitution. "This is the first step in trying to solve a problem that has plagued Alabama for a long time," said Troy King, the governor's legal adviser. [continues 543 words]
A Commission Says The State Must Find Better Ways To Deal With Overcrowding Alabama must be smarter in the way it punishes nonviolent criminals, said a key member of a panel that will soon advise the Legislature on how to fix the state's prison system. The Alabama Sentencing Commission, created by lawmakers three years ago, will issue its recommendations during the legislative session that begins March 4. "Alabama is doing a good job with the murderers, robbers and rapists," said Chief Assistant Attorney General Rosa Davis, who serves on the 15-member commission. "Where we have a problem is with the lower-level offenders." [continues 364 words]
AUBURN -- Taylor Noggle knows that science can help convict the guilty, clear the innocent and protect the public. Noggle, the new director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, wants to make sure Alabama uses that power to its potential. Noggle plans to ask the Alabama Legislature to nearly double the agency's funding for next year. The state faces budget problems, but Noggle said the increase to $24 million, up from about $14 million this year, is justified. The money would be used to bolster staff and reduce case backlogs that add to a bottleneck in the criminal justice system. [continues 905 words]
