In a survey conducted by the National Association of Counties earlier this summer, 58 percent of 500 law-enforcement agencies in 45 states cited methamphetamine as their most significant drug problem. Having spread from the West Coast across the country over the past decade, the highly addictive and easily produced stimulant has ravaged communities throughout the United States. In its wake, meth -- also known as "speed," "crank" or "crystal," -- has left a long trail of addicts, broken families and victims of violence. [continues 994 words]
The Office of National Drug Control Policy has been running ads that stretch the truth about marijuana, experts say. Smoking marijuana funds international terrorism and leads to such horrors as date rape, manslaughter and accidental shootings of children. This is the message put forth in the Office of National Drug Control Policy's ongoing advertising campaign. The only problem, said experts in economics and illegal drugs, is that the message in the ads isn't quite true. When looking at the facts, said Nicolaus Tideman, an economics professor at Virginia Tech, one quickly realizes the alleged link between terrorism and marijuana is just a bunch of smoke. [continues 685 words]
