PENDLETON, Ind. - An Indiana inmate who died of unknown causes was once accused of being a leader of a drug ring operating out of state prisons. Pendleton Correctional Facility Superintendent Dushan Zatecky said 32-year-old [name redacted], of Crawfordsville, died Monday at St. Vincent's Anderson Regional Hospital. Madison County Coroner Marian Dunnichay told The (Anderson) Herald-Bulletin that an autopsy did not find a medical reason for [name redacted]'s death. She said a toxicology report would take three to four weeks. [continues 216 words]
Odds Against Indiana Legislators Backing Medical Marijuana The husband and father was near death from Crohn's Disease in 2009. Over a three-month period, his weight dropped from about 175 pounds to 117 pounds. He had his large intestine, colon and rectum removed, and he was largely confined to his bed or a chair. He had no appetite and was surviving largley on IV fluid. He was so worried about accidentally jarring the stapled incision in his abdomen that his muscles ached from the constant tension. [continues 1159 words]
It would seem that the decision to invite Michelle Alexander, author of the book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," to speak Monday at Saint Mary's College was inspired by stories ripped from recent headlines. Instead, Mana Derakhshani, a French professor and associate director of the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership at Saint Mary's, says part of her interest in the book stemmed from her desire to find good material for a faculty reading group. [continues 667 words]
SOUTH BEND -- Cane in hand, 56-year-old Guy McDaniel listened as a St. Joseph County judge admitted in court that he was in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. That admission, however, comes with limits -- one of them being 52 pounds. In February, police arrested McDaniel at a West Washington Street home after a postal investigator reported finding something suspicious. According to a police reports, the post office inspector contacted narcotics officers after receiving two suspicious packages en route to a South Bend home. [continues 317 words]
DOWAGIAC - Dowagiac officials are one step closer to amending the zoning ordinance to regulate the use of marijuana for medical purposes. During a Dowagiac City Council meeting Monday night, Mayor Don Lyons recognized the controversy surrounding the issue. "I cannot remember an issue that we've had as much debate as this one," he said. The City Council approved the first readings of the proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson said he expects passage at the next City Council meeting on July 25. [continues 217 words]
Cass County Man Seeks to Overturn Verdict The Michigan Attorney General's Office announced Monday that it has filed a brief on behalf of the Cass County Prosecutor's Office and will defend an appeal in the medical marijuana case against Howard Township resident Sylvester Vanderbutts. Vanderbutts was found guilty at a jury trial in April 2010, accused of possessing more than 40 marijuana plants and almost a pound of marijuana, which authorities say is in violation of the limits set for registered medical marijuana patients under Michigan's Medical Marijuana Act (MMMA). [continues 384 words]
Niles Man's Marijuana Use, While Legal, May Cost Him His Home. NILES - On a scale of 1 to 10, says Steve Allain, his pain is somewhere between 4 and 5. On a good day. "When my Crohn's flares up, it's like a saber-toothed badger trying to eat its way out," he said. The 54-year-old Niles man, a victim not only of Crohn's disease but hepatitis C and acute depression, has run the gamut of medications. Just a few months ago, he hit upon a viable alternative: marijuana. [continues 500 words]
ST. JOSEPH - The Berrien County prosecutor said he will dismiss drug charges against seven people after further investigation into the alleged misconduct of a former police officer. Andrew Thomas Collins, 26, a former Benton Harbor police officer, was arrested Dec. 2 on drug trafficking charges, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Grand Rapids. The indictment claimed Collins used his position as an officer to keep the drugs. He was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack cocaine, according to a news release from Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney. Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur J. Cotter said his office met with FBI investigators Monday to review the case. [continues 318 words]
The Berrien County prosecutor is in a haze about Michigan's medical marijuana law. Weeks after voters passed the referendum establishing the program, the state has failed to effectively communicate rules in place or to seek input on details that still must be worked out. That's not the best start for an initiative few law enforcement officials have backed. Sixty-three percent of Michigan voters on Nov. 4 made the state the 13th in nation, as well as the first in the Midwest, to legalize medical marijuana. The vote, of course, failed to end the measure's controversy. [continues 332 words]
Indictment: Shakedown Occurred at Traffic Stop. SOUTH BEND -- A former South Bend police officer has admitted to extorting drugs and money during a traffic stop in 2005. Haven Freeman, 31, pleaded guilty to a charge of using his official position to unlawfully demand property from a person and also to possession of heroin with intent to distribute. He entered into the plea agreement with the government rather than go on trial this week. A federal grand jury indicted Freeman in March on three counts. [continues 229 words]
During 2006, the St. Joseph County Juvenile Justice Center housed 3,798 children. That was some 500 more than in 2005. The change, according to JJC officials, reflects an increase in property crime and offenses against people committed by juveniles. The numbers could cause one to believe that incarceration, along with the threat of incarceration, isn't necessarily an effective deterrent to juvenile crime. Putting kids in jail doesn't seem to reduce the number of kids who are put in jail. [continues 411 words]
The Notre Dame student handbook, duLac, details penalties for student misconduct, including illegal drug use. "Possession, use or misuse of any controlled substance, including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and depressants, is a serious violation. Students who possess, use or misuse such substances shall be subject to disciplinary suspension or permanent dismissal," the handbook states. Disciplinary suspension means separation from the university for at least one semester. The student is eligible to apply for readmission, but it is not automatic. [continues 132 words]
Weeding out the troublemakers is one thing, but this is ridiculous. Kyle McAlarney received a standard pre-trial diversion from the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office. That fit a first-offense of misdemeanor marijuana possession, but only one plea applied to his appearance before the Student Affairs Committee at Notre Dame. No contest. A disciplinary suspension from the university transformed McAlarney from a leader who let down the basketball team into a victim of disproportionate discipline. Even a season-long ban from playing would have been a lot, but at least justifiable under the circumstances. [continues 566 words]
Mcalarney Punishment Hot Topic on Campus SOUTH BEND -- Kyle McAlarney's suspension is what everyone is talking about at the University of Notre Dame. Students think the university acted consistently by suspending the starting point guard on the school's basketball team but are divided over whether the punishment fits the crime. The university's student affairs committee on Monday suspended the sophomore point guard for the spring semester for his late-December arrest and subsequent misdemeanor marijuana possession charge. During a routine traffic stop, McAlarney was arrested and charged with reckless possession. He entered a pretrial diversion program, and the charges will be dropped if he meets the conditions of the program. [continues 58 words]
An Indiana congressman who has led the U.S. House drug policy panel said the country needs to be prepared for a long-term fight against methamphetamine abuse even though the drug's spread seems to have slowed. One frustration Republican Rep. Mark Souder said he has had was that several states, including Indiana, had to pass laws restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient used to cook meth - before Congress took action. The federal Combat Meth Act took effect this year. [continues 231 words]
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan residents could legally use marijuana on private property for recreational or medical purposes under a measure proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot. The Board of State Canvassers on Monday approved the form of a legislative petition proposed by Medical and Recreational Peace, an Eaton Rapids-based group backing the proposal. The measure would make it legal for those 18 and older to use marijuana on private property. Those found using the drug in public would be guilty of a civil infraction punishable by a $50 fine. [continues 246 words]
INDIANAPOLIS -- Authorities say heroin has become increasingly easy to find in Indianapolis and other parts of the state. The Indiana State Police estimate they will investigate nearly 700 heroin cases this year -- twice as many as last year and triple the number of cases in 2004. "I'm seeing a lot, lot more heroin," said Jamie Guilfoy, with the Indianapolis Police Department. Guilfoy and other IPD narcotics investigators have confiscated more than 2 pounds of heroin this year, more than 10 times what they seized in 2005. [continues 213 words]
Red Ribbon Week Inspires Poignant Words From Police Chief BUCHANAN -- A little over a year ago, a 22-year-old man entered Buchanan Police Chief Bill Marx's office, sat down across from him and admitted it. He was hooked. "For an addict to come into a police department and sit down and ask for help," Marx said, "that took a lot." Marx's poignant words hit close to home Friday morning for 10-year-old Jordan York, a Stark Elementary School fifth-grader who's had his share of dealing with a rehabilitating cousin, he said. [continues 675 words]
As many as 74 percent of Americans say that addiction to alcohol has had some impact on them at some point in their lives, whether it was their own personal addiction, that of a friend or family member, or any other experience with addiction. This is an increase from a similar study in 2004, in which a 63 percent majority held that view. Yet many people in treatment and recovery face stigma and discrimination, which can be a barrier to receiving treatment. According to a 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 21.6 percent of the 1.2 million people who felt they needed treatment but did not receive it indicated it was because of reasons related to stigma. [continues 120 words]
Supporters Mark Fifth Anniversary of Campground Standoff. CASSOPOLIS -- Five years after Rainbow Farm burned to the ground, "Rainbow Guitar Joe" -- holding a lime-green poster displaying the names of the two friends he's known since junior high -- remembers only the good times. Joseph Mellott used to play around all the campfires his friends set up during several festivals advocating the decriminalization of marijuana. And the Niles resident was one of the original tractor drivers who hauled hundreds to thousands of visitors into his friends' popular Vandalia campground before the two were gunned down during a police standoff. [continues 537 words]
