MWISD developing testing policy for students in extracurricular activities Mineral Wells ISD trustees gave the district's School Health Advisory Committee the green light to further develop a student drug testing policy to potentially implement in the next school year. Lead Nurse and SHAC Chair Wanda Voelcker informed trustees that committee members visited with the police chief and drug task force and believe that adopting a policy to randomly test students involved in extracurricular activities might help deter some students from using drugs. [continues 471 words]
MINERAL WELLS - Mineral Wells City Council on Tuesday will decide whether to follow the lead of other North Texas cities, and cities across the state and nation banning the K2, marketed and sold as incense but popular as a synthetic form of marijuana. Available in different forms, synthetic marijuana is a combination of different ingredients. Cities including Dallas, Frisco, Allen, Mansfield and Watagua have deemed the substance dangerous. There are reports of people requiring medical treatment after smoking K2 or synthetic marijuana. [continues 208 words]
Cocaine poses the "most significant drug threat" in a five-state area that includes Pennsylvania, while heroin also remains a major problem, a new federal report has found. At the same time, pharmaceutical abuse is rising and methadone-related overdoses are increasing in the region, the 2008 National Drug Threat Assessment says. The document, produced by the Johnstown-based National Drug Intelligence Center, does not have any specific information on Cambria or Somerset counties. Local drug trends vary, although authorities agree with many of the study's conclusions. And they say an unprecedented level of in-school drug education is just as important as enforcement in the battle against abuse. [continues 710 words]
BRENTWOOD, Mass. -- The man accused of giving a fatal dose of heroin to his 19-year-old girlfriend last year was found guilty Wednesday. But his lawyer plans to move for a dismissal of the verdict. Meanwhile, Dante Silva, 21, of Highland St., Newton, who could face life in prison, is free on bail. Silva was found guilty of providing the heroin that killed Caitlyn Brady of Kingston, his on-and-off girlfriend of several years. Brady was pronounced dead March 15 last year, after she was discovered in Silva's bedroom by his grandmother around noon. The state's medical examiner said Brady died from a heroin overdose, according to several officials. [continues 718 words]
Dear Editor, I'm writing about Colleen Minter's outstanding letter (Letters, April 16) about the harms and dangers of our drug prohibition policies. I'd like to add that there is only one country in the world that is actually winning the drug war: The Czech Republic. And they use dramatically different strategies to do so. The Czech Republic is the only country in the world where adult citizens can legally use, possess and grow small quantities of marijuana. (In the Netherlands, marijuana is quasi-legal - not officially legal.) [continues 156 words]
Dear Editor, As with the Fugitive Slave Act and the Volstead Act, the time has come again for juries to not convict, this time on "drug crime." Encouraging children to snitch on their parents; getting parents to drug test and rat on their children; harassing the sick and dying is despicable and against American ideals. Prohibition ruins young lives! It destroys families without compunction or compassion. When any drug's production and distribution is left to gangsters and cartels it triggers more danger to the user and society by increasing violent crime and corruption of public officials. [continues 433 words]
Red Ribbon Week, which encourages all Texas school children to stay away from drugs and live healthy lifestyles, began Oct. 23 and ends Oct. 31. The week began in honor of Enrique "Kiki" Camraena, drug enforcement agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Camraena was kidnapped and killed while investigating drug traffickers in Mexico. Since then, Texas schools focus on providing students education and encouragement to stay away from drugs. Mineral Wells Independent School District has scheduled activities at all campuses every day next week. [continues 198 words]
