Police Chief Greg Tabor's one-man war on drugs is nothing more than a war against the poor and minorities of Washington and Madison counties. How much money does the Fayetteville Police Department or 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force get in federal grants? Is the amount of these grants dependent on the number of arrests and convictions they make? Where do the assets and money forfeited in these busts go? Do they go back into the service of the community, or are they funneled back into Fayetteville's own department? [continues 51 words]
I'm reminded of the Taliban every time I read an article about the socalled evils of a natural herb any of us could grow in our own garden. However, if we did, the Feds or local law enforcement could come and take our property and our freedom from us even if it was only being used medicinally instead of the more common recreational use. I'm from the class of 1965, and I've read and studied the pros and cons for almost 50 years; the pros outweigh the cons a hundred times. The "War on Drugs" (all of them) has been a farce. I believe it's been far worse than Prohibition was, and has been going on far too long. The coming vote on making it less of a crime to use marijuana medicinally will just drag this so-called war on a bit longer. [continues 106 words]
ROGERS -- Combating methamphetamine's effects will not be truly effective until those fighting the battle merge treatment, prevention and awareness efforts into multidimensional approaches, the state's drug czar said Friday. " Much of our success depends on our ability to knock down those silos, " Arkansas Drug Director Fran Flener said, referring to the perceived walls that separate those involved in drug-control efforts. " We can't allow the lack of collaboration to prevent us from being successful. " Flener joined U. S. Attorney Bob Balfe and Congressman John Boozman, R-Ark., in addressing a group of lawenforcement officials, drugtreatment counselors and community leaders gathered for the Methamphetamine Awareness Luncheon. The event was sponsored by Drug Free Rogers-Lowell as a wrap-up for the group's Methamphetamine Awareness Month. [continues 360 words]
ROGERS - People respond to the pervasive methamphetamine problem in the county for different reasons. Some respond to personal stories from former addicts and from recovery counselors. Others feel the tinge of conviction when they see graphic photos of rotting teeth and sore-marked skin typical of the drug's users. Some respond strongest when the drug problem is detailed not in use and enforcement, but in dollars and cents. Whether or not Benton County residents know someone who uses the drug, the cost of meth is affecting them indirectly, stretching public resources and making private businesses less efficient, said Megan Cuddy, coordinator of the Benton County Methamphetamine Task Force. After presenting more personalized presentations to local businesses, the group made an effort to show the pervasive economic impact of meth use, commissioning a 2005 University of Arkansas study. The numbers woke people up. " We kind of got to them at a different angle, " Cuddy said. " I hope that they are taking it more seriously. " [continues 429 words]
ROGERS -- Go see a movie at a theater here and you will likely see more than a few previews before the feature starts. In between the warnings to shut off your cell phone and advertisements for local businesses, a campaign to dispel myths about methamphetamine use aims to educate young people about how the drug could change their body and social relationships. Over the last few years, the fight against meth has shifted from the floors of state and national legislative bodies to the minds of middle school and junior-high school students because users have grown younger, said Mike Maloney. [continues 876 words]
BENTON COUNTY - The first time Jeremy tried methamphetamine, he felt a tingling start at the tip of his scalp and rush out to his fingertips in a surge of energy. " It was like I was blasting off, " he said. Years later, all he could feel was the dryness in his mouth - cracked, bleeding lips and a tongue like 80-grit sandpaper that came after days of drinking little or no water. When Jeremy was using meth, he didn't have time to think about anything else. He wouldn't stop to eat, drink or sleep. He would slap himself on the back of the head or pound his chest with his fist to stay awake so he could get another fix, staying awake for days. Survival took a backseat to staying high. [continues 1082 words]
BENTONVILLE -- Tammy Murray is proud of two of her latest achievements. She completed drug court and earned the respect of her children. " I lost my self respect, " Murray said minutes after being recognized as a graduate of the Benton County Drug-Treatment Court. " I have my self respect back, but I got the respect of my kids. " Murray is one of the 14 drug court graduates that were recognized Friday night during a program at the Bentonville Church of Christ's activity room. [continues 641 words]
BENTONVILLE -- People must make decisions every day about what they do and who they spend time with, Joe Falcon told students Friday at Spring Hill Middle School. Falcon is a corporal with the Bentonville Police Department and a Bentonville Board of Education member. He shared perspectives from both entities about how important it is to keep students away from drugs. His talk closed a week of drug awareness throughout the country called Red Ribbon Week. " Every day you have to make choices about who you're with, " Falcon said of spending time with people who might do drugs or drink alcohol. " Don't put yourself in a situation where you suffer repercussions for their poor choices. " [continues 90 words]
BENTONVILLE -- You are the meth solution. That's the simple message members of the Benton County Methamphetamine Task Force and Drug Free Rogers-Lowell want to spread as they recognize October as Methamphetamine Awareness Month. " This is a terrible problem in our community, and we have to do something about it, " Bentonville Police Chief James Allen said Tuesday. " It's a community problem, and it will take the community to solve it. " Allen and Congressman John Boozman, R-Ark., were the two speakers during Monday's kickoff ceremony to focus on methamphetamine abuse during the month. [continues 351 words]
WEST FORK -- Members of a group seeking to legalize the medical use of marijuana by people suffering the severe, chronic pain of cancer or other diseases will soon be making some phone calls all around the state and, in the process, moving toward a decision to be made by the group this year, said Denele Campbell, executive director of Arkansans for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas, as well as executive director of the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana. "We're in the process of making telephone calls to hundreds of supporters across the state to see if we can get a commitment from people to contact their legislators. If people are not going to contact their legislators and ask them to support a bill, then we're not going to push for a bill. It can't come from us. It has to come from the people. The primary objective is to see if they're willing to contact their elected representatives in the state of Arkansas and federally. You know, the federal government could save us all a whole lot of trouble and take some action on this issue," Campbell said. "We are in the process of doing that. It's probably going to take us a couple of months, with our team of volunteers, to make all these phone calls, but that's what we're working on. What we're asking people is, No. 1, will you call your legislators? And then, No. 2, will people work in teams in your part of the state to turn out other people and generate phone calls (to lawmakers)?" she said. [continues 147 words]
BENTONVILLE -- Ronnie Lee Smith may be one of the last people in Benton County to be required to serve 70 percent of his prison sentence for committing methamphetamine-related offenses. In July, a jury found Smith guilty of possession of drug paraphernalia with the intent to manufacture, a class B felony punishable with five to 20 years in prison. The jury recommended that Smith serve 15 years. He would be required to serve 70 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole. "He (Smith) will be one of the last people sentenced under the 70 percent law," Deputy Prosecutor Drew Ledbetter said. "There will be a few more, but he's one of the last major ones." [continues 343 words]
BENTON COUNTY -- A member of the Arkansas Realtors Association hopes a legislative committee will set some standards that will protect property owners when it comes to the issue of who pays to clean up houses where controlled substances have been manufactured. "The Arkansas Realtors Association is the conscience for property rights on this committee," said Larry Kelly, a member of the association's Legislative Committee and a Bentonville Realtor. Kelly and Arkansas Realtors Association President Sharla Lau of Fort Smith will represent the association in the state General Assembly's Manufactured Drug Inspection and Cleanup Study Committee. The committee was formed under Act 1996, which was introduced in the 2005 regular session by State Sen. Shane Broadway (D-Bryant). [continues 184 words]
BENTONVILLE - A Benton County man wants deputies to return items supposedly seized from him when he was arrested for growing marijuana in his home. Larry James Yale filed a motion earlier this month seeking the return of guns, money, medication and other items that were seized by deputies. Yale was arrested June 19, 2003, after authorities received a tip that he was supposedly growing marijuana at his home in the Avoca area, according to documents related to Yale's arrest. Yale, 57, supposedly had an indoor marijuana-growing operation and had smaller plants outside his residence, the documents state. [continues 322 words]
Fayetteville -- It was the right decision to continue the drive for approval of medical marijuana for people in pain, Denele Campbell said. Campbell is executive director of the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas, the campaign committee that has been working to get a medical marijuana proposal on Arkansas ballots this year. The group will continue the effort, even after losing the participation of one of its coalition partners, Campbell said Monday. "When we filed this petition last fall, Marijuana Policy Projects' financial commitment to this campaign provided quite a boost to our prospects. [continues 438 words]
Appearing each Saturday, "All Thumbs" is The Benton County Daily Record's take on the people, events and issues deserving a "thumbs up" for a noteworthy accomplishment or good deed or a "thumbs down" for damaging conduct or boneheaded buffoonery. Thumbs up to Rockwell Transportation in Gentry and the Benton County Sheriff's Office for teaming up on one of the biggest drug busts in Benton County history - even if none of the culprits were from the area. A truck from Rockwell had been hired to take a load of electronics from Laredo, Texas, to the Chicago area, but Rockwell's owner became suspicious when there was trouble with payments and the shipper couldn't be contacted. [continues 83 words]
Noelle Bush spent three days in a Florida jail last week because she violated the terms of her court-ordered drug treatment program. She is the daughter of Jeb Bush, Florida's governor, and the niece of President Bush. Rather than gawk, it makes more sense to learn. Glimpses of Noelle's struggle and her parents' pain have sparked concern that could be useful in the public debate on addiction and substance abuse treatment. Noelle was arrested in January when she tried to obtain Xanax, an antianxiety drug, by phoning in a fake prescription. In February she entered a drug treatment program. This month she was found with prescription drugs that were allegedly taken from a cabinet at the center. A staff member at her drug treatment center alerted Judge Reginald Whitehead, who found Noelle to be in contempt of court for violating the rules of her treatment program. Gov. Bush notified reporters. Noelle was jailed on Wednesday and released on Friday. The judge ruled that she should return to the treatment center. [continues 278 words]
Governor, Lawmakers Need To Be Cautious With Their Plans To Decrease The Number Behind Bars After education, one of the chief issues the Arkansas Legislature will have to tackle when it meets in 2003 is prison overcrowding. It's an issue Gov. Mike Huckabee brought to the forefront in a speech to the Arkansas Bar Association last month. Saying he wants to look at ways to reduce the prison population, he advocated such things as expanding the system of drug courts and helping drug addicts break their cycle of addiction and become productive members of society. [continues 683 words]
Appearing each Saturday, "All Thumbs" is The Benton County Daily Record's take on the people and events deserving a "thumbs up" for a noteworthy accomplishment or good deed, or a "thumbs down" for damaging conduct or boneheaded buffoonery: Thumbs down to the city of Bentonville for its lack of planning ahead for fireworks for the city's Independence Day celebration. Make no mistake, the night sky over Memorial Park will be aglow come July 4. With the help of donat tions from the Walton Foundation and the Bentonville Advertising and Promotion Commission, the city purchased $22,000 worth of fireworks from Arkansas Pyrotechnic Products. [continues 727 words]
BENTONVILLE -- On Sept. 16, 1999, officers from several different agencies converged on a 40-acre farm west of Pea Ridge on Benton County Road 40. The officers split into four teams that converged on the house and surrounding outbuilding. They suspected a meth lab was being operated on the property. The action resulted in the arrest of Kevin Bray, along with his wife, Regina Bray, Timothy Pearson and George Julian. They were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, manufacturing a controlled substance, and other drug-related offenses. [continues 1454 words]
The seminar was a part of an educational effort to spread the word about proposed legislation on the medical use of marijuana. BENTONVILLE -- Playing to a less than packed house at the Rogers Public Library on Saturday, Delene Campbell, founder of the Alliance for Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas and the Drug Policy Education Group Inc., conducted a seminar on the medical use of marijuana. "I first became interested in this subject when a friend had been diagnosed with breast cancer and her doctor prescribed marijuana but warned her that she could get arrested if she were caught using it," she said. "I felt that wasn't right." [continues 314 words]
