Police: Understanding Supply And Demand Key In Battle On Drugs Editor's note: This is the second story focusing on the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a federally-funded group of specialized law enforcement officers charged with taking drugs off the streets of Four Seasons Country. The profile on the task force is part of an ongoing Princeton Times series titled Dealing with Drugs, focusing on the local issues of illegal substance abuse and trade, the crimes they often spark and the ways local authorities and citizens are fighting their presence. [continues 1244 words]
Police: Understanding Supply And Demand Key In Battle On Drugs Editor's note: This is the second story focusing on the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a federally-funded group of specialized law enforcement officers charged with taking drugs off the streets of Four Seasons Country. The profile on the task force is part of an ongoing Princeton Times series titled Dealing with Drugs, focusing on the local issues of illegal substance abuse and trade, the crimes they often spark and the ways local authorities and citizens are fighting their presence. [continues 1248 words]
PRINCETON - The key to successfully investigating drug trading organizations often depends on getting inside the operations, but that's difficult to do in a uniform and a squad car. That's why units such as the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force are critically important in the fight to stem drug deals and demand on the streets of Four Seasons Country, task force Coordinator J. Centeno said this week. The six officers on the three-county force come from a variety of backgrounds and departments. The organization includes one officer each from the West Virginia State Police, Princeton Police Department, Bluefield Police Department, Mercer County Sheriff's Department, Wyoming County Sheriff's Department and the McDowell County Sheriff's Department. [continues 833 words]
Editor's note: This is the conclusion of Methadone in the Mountain State, a series on the powerful opiate painkiller often used to treat withdrawal from other narcotics. Available both through physician prescriptions and clinic treatment programs, methadone is a source of relief for patients in pain or the throes of withdrawal, but for local police, it's also a source of frustration. PRINCETON - It's a powerful prescription painkiller and a recommended treatment for opiate addiction. For people suffering from either chronic pain or the agonizing symptoms of withdrawal, it represents a dose of hope in the form of a pill or a vial of red liquid. It's been called a lifesaver. [continues 769 words]
Editor's note: This story is the third installment in a series on methadone, a controversial painkiller often used to treat opiate addictions. PRINCETON - Imagine preparing for a job interview or trying to fix a broken relationship without any sleep, amid a state of confusion. The room is spinning, your hands are shaking and your stomach is cramping. That's life for someone in the throes of opiate withdrawal. "Withdrawal doesn't kill people, but they wish they were dead," Dr. Michael McNeer, a psychiatrist and addiction specialist, said recently explaining the often-vicious cycle of opiate addiction and withdrawal. [continues 1038 words]
Editor's note: This story is the second in a series on methadone, a controversial narcotic painkiller often used to treat opiate addictions. Pick up the March 4 edition of the Princeton Times for more on methadone maintenance treatment and the government guidelines that lay out the law. PRINCETON - Casey Aust runs a clinic that treats more than 700 patients at any given time, and she said they all just want to "feel normal." Aust, administrator at Beckley Treatment Center, said the methadone maintenance treatment administered at the Beaver clinic helps individuals who are addicted to opiates lead productive lives. [continues 912 words]
Editor's note: This story is the first in a series on methadone, a controversial narcotic painkiller often used to treat other addictions. Pick up the Feb. 25 edition of the Princeton Times for more on methadone maintenance treatment and the clinics that administer the programs. PRINCETON - Tammy Lambert, of Princeton, will never see her son grow old. He died in his sleep a month before his 20th birthday when a lethal combination of prescription drugs caused him to stop breathing. [continues 943 words]
