CEDAR RAPIDS - In the world of synthetic drugs, sometimes it takes a chemistry lesson to get to the bottom of what's in the Mylar packet. Sometimes it takes rats. On Friday, a federal judge heard about both during the penalty phase for a former Cedar Falls man and his mother, an Evansdale resident, who were convicted of selling potpourri and bath salts that mimicked illegal drugs. Authorities said Mary Ann Ramos, 53, sold Alpha-PVP and XLR-11 as a manager at an I-Wireless store in Cedar Rapids. She was found guilty during a June trial. Her son, Earl "E.J." Ramos, 27, pleaded guilty to similar charges in connection with substances sold at Five Star Stacks in Waterloo. [continues 466 words]
WATERLOO | As lawmakers consider expanding medical marijuana laws and cities like Cedar Falls debate decriminalization of the drug, anti-drug advocates are urging Iowans to think of the children and proceed with caution. "When you say, 'I'm not going to enforce these sets of laws,' there's potential unintended consequences to that, and I just want people to think it all through and have a thorough debate on these issues and not make any decisions =C2=85 without being fully informed," said Steven Lukan, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy. [continues 488 words]
CEDAR RAPIDS | In the 18 months leading up to the 2013 Operation Synergy drug raids, a Cedar Rapids store sold more than $1 million worth of herbs that narcotic officers said was sprayed with mind-altering substances. After the raids, the real money started rolling in, according to court records. Officers from local and federal agencies raided the Puff N Stuff II shop in Cedar Rapids and other businesses last year as part of a nationwide crackdown on fake marijuana and cocaine marketed as potpourri and bath salts. [continues 449 words]
WATERLOO, Iowa --- The thump came a few minutes after Tai-Lin Phillips went to the bathroom of his small apartment. When acquaintances who heard the noise went to check on him, they found Phillips on the floor unconscious. One of the people in the apartment, 39-year-old Vonvette "Von" Leroy Sawyers would later tell police and friends he gave Phillips CRP. Someone called 911. Paramedics arrived and took Phillips to Allen Hospital, but he never regained consciousness and was declared dead. [continues 1045 words]
Patients, Doctors Groups Push for Medical Marijuana Research, Treatment CEDAR FALLS - As a local blues musician's CD plays in the background, a man opens a baggie of marijuana and rolls a thin joint. As he puffs, smoke wafts through the detatched garage behind his Cedar Falls home, and he visibly relaxes. But the man - who wouldn't give his name for fear of prosecution for marijuana possession - wasn't looking to get high. Instead, he claims the marijuana relaxes his leg muscles, which have been stiff ever since a spinal cord injury left him in a wheelchair nearly three decades ago. [continues 581 words]
DES MOINES - A parade of Iowans touted the medical benefits of marijuana at a hearing before the Iowa Board of Pharmacy today, which is seeking scientific input on medical marijuana use. Robert Manke of Des Moines told the board that using marijuana helps with severe nausea and pain from migraine headaches and the results of severe car accidents. "I'm not here because I want to get high; I'm here because I want to stop being sick, and I want to stop being persecuted, and I need your help," Manke said. [continues 417 words]
DES MOINES --- Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, 53-year-old Barbara Douglass can no longer walk and uses a scooter. But she has found one way to cope with a condition she calls "ungodly and terrible" and to steady her shaking hands --- smoking marijuana. "It doesn't make it better, but it makes it easier," said Douglass, who also is legally blind. Douglass, of Lakeside, is one of two Iowans who are part of federal program that allows them to smoke marijuana legally for their medical conditions. Each month, Douglass gets a can of pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes from her doctor. She finds she is more active after smoking it. [continues 1018 words]
DES MOINES -- The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has announced the dates and locations of four upcoming public hearings on medical marijuana. The board is seeking scientific evidence on the pros and cons of using marijuana for medical purposes. The board could decide to make a recommendation to the Iowa Legislature based on the information gathered at the hearings. The first hearing is set for Aug. 19 in Des Moines. The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Iowa State Historical Building. [continues 134 words]
WATERLOO --- Local police say the federal government has continued to shrink funding that's the backbone for drug trafficking battles. Now the president has included even more cuts for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program in his recent budget, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The Senate approved $660 million for the program but was forced to reduce the funding due to the threat of a presidential veto, Harkin said Friday during a conference in Waterloo with law enforcement representatives. Current proposals place the Byrne program at only $170 million. This means Iowa agencies, which currently get $4.2 million, would only see $1.5 million. [continues 382 words]
DES MOINES (AP) --- Possible cuts in federal funds could hit drug enforcement programs in Iowa. The U.S. Department of Justice funds drug control programs at local law enforcement agencies through the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. A proposal calls for cutting 70 percent of the $4.22 million that came to Iowa this year. The grants make up a large portion of the Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy's budget, and officials say less money means investigations into narcotic suppliers and dealers would be stalled. [continues 328 words]
There was once a theory in the social sciences that traditional morality is held by the middle class. The rich could be sexually promiscuous and the poor could be promiscuous, but the middle class would find that unacceptable. If we assume this to be true, and if we assume that the rich are thieves as the left typically affirms, should we not then see the poor as thieves as well? No, because political correctness does not allow that conclusion, irrespective of any findings that it may be true or false. [continues 669 words]
WASHINGTON --- More than 2,300 Iowa students --- and nearly 200,000 students nationwide --- have been denied financial aid since the 2000-2001 school year because of drug convictions, a new study shows. The study was released by a group called Students for Sensible Drug Policy, which is working to repeal a federal law that makes college students ineligible for financial aid if they have been convicted of selling or possessing illegal drugs. The law, called the Aid Elimination Penalty, is part of the recently passed Higher Education Act. Under the law, students who acknowledge selling or possessing drugs on a federal loan application are ineligible for aid. [continues 622 words]
DES MOINES -- Despite the state's crackdown on methamphetamine labs, a new study says the number of child welfare cases involving parental meth use in southwest Iowa has remained steady over the past two years at about 49 percent. The study was conducted by Carol Gutchewsky, a social work administrator in western Iowa. She looked at ongoing child welfare cases in the Iowa Department of Human Services' Council Bluffs Service Delivery Area, a 16 county area. Gutchewsky said she did the study because many social workers were reporting an increasing number of child abuse cases where meth was involved. [continues 798 words]
WATERLOO -- Would-be methamphetamine cooks took a crack at the new locks on fertilizer tanks earlier this week. And they went home empty-handed. A farmer noticed on Wednesday afternoon that his anhydrous ammonia tank in the area of Oxley and Wellman roads had been tampered with. The orange shroud on the integrated lock and spigot was cracked, but the thief --- who apparently wanted the chemical to make methamphetamine --- wasn't able to defeat the mechanism, said Black Hawk Deputy Tony Thompson. [continues 226 words]
CEDAR RAPIDS --- A Waterloo man has been sentenced to life in prison for repeat drug offenses. U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade sentenced Robert Junior Smith, 44, after he pleaded guilty to distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a playground after having three prior felony drug convictions. The sentence was handed down Friday at the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids. There is no parole in the federal prison system. A special assessment fee of $100 was also imposed. [continues 110 words]
DES MOINES --- Two justices on Iowa's high court said people should be able to argue they have a medical need for marijuana to defend against criminal drug charges. But the majority of Iowa Supreme Court justices disagreed in a case concerning Lloyd Dean Bonjour, a Floyd County AIDS patient. They upheld Bonjour's conviction for manufacturing marijuana. Justice David Wiggins issued a dissenting opinion, which was backed by Chief Justice Louis Lavorato, stating Bonjour, 64, should have been able to use a "medical necessity" defense when his case went to trial in 2002. [continues 483 words]
WASHINGTON --- Black Hawk County methamphetamine producers have been among the state's most prolific in recent years, but they may have significant new foes in the nation's capital. Some of the top U.S. lawmakers, including Iowa Sens. Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley, proposed bipartisan legislation Wednesday designed to limit consumer access to drugs containing pseudoephedrine, one of the primary ingredients in meth. Because pseudoephedrine can be extracted from such easily available drugs as Sudafed, a popular decongestant, the lawmakers contend the products should be moved behind pharmacy counters where sales can be better monitored. [continues 492 words]
WATERLOO --- Waterloo middle schools are replacing the DARE program with another anti-drug curriculum, but officials stress that police officers will not be left out of the classroom. Local police departments' school resource officers have always taken the lead in teaching the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. As Waterloo Community Schools switches to LifeSkills Training this year, the officers will continue teaching in collaboration with others. Debbie Lee, the district's secondary curriculum coordinator, told the Board of Education last week that when administrators began looking at plans to replace DARE two years ago the officers said they would teach any curriculum chosen. [continues 260 words]
