WILMINGTON - An object about the size of a AA battery glinted in the dirt. Susan Stroup turned it over with her tongs, revealing milliliter markings along the side. She picked up the broken syringe just a few feet from a jungle gym at the edge of Robert Strange Park. "Yep, that's exactly what that is," said Stroup, an N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition volunteer, as she dropped the syringe into a biohazard container. On Saturday, the coalition hosted an event to collect needles discarded by injection drug users around Wilmington. Volunteers searched areas including Greenfield Lake Park, parts of Orange and Ann Streets, and the railroad tracks near 17th Street and Oleander Drive, finding eight syringes, one crack cocaine pipe and other drug paraphernalia. [continues 315 words]
Anti-marijuana advocates met in Little Rock on Friday to hear from Sgt. Jim Gerhardt, a Colorado police officer who said legalization has caused major problems in his state. The event, held at the state Chamber of Commerce and coordinated by the conservative Arkansas Family Council and law enforcement officials, focused on marijuana-related initiatives proposed for the November ballot. Gerhardt has been a vocal opponent of pro-marijuana efforts in and beyond Colorado. Speaking from his experience with the Thornton (Colo.) Police Department and the Denver-based North Metro Drug Task Force, he urged attendees not to support legalization in Arkansas. [continues 673 words]
