Father Kills 2-Year-Old With GHB; Then Fails At Own Suicide

According to the December 7, 2006, Mercury News, San Jose, California--A 32-year-old San Jose man is accused of killing his 2-year-old daughter by deliberately giving her a deadly dose of a date-rape drug in her sippy cup. Minh Phu Le poisoned Skyla and the attempted suicide with via GHB in order to punish his mistress -- the girl's mother -- for trying to leave him, investigators are quoted as saying.

Less than a week earlier he bailed out of jail on a domestic-violence charge against the girl's mother. He was also on probation for tearing apart a couch with scissors in another rage. Police were quoted as saying they have evidence that Le is a GHB and ``ecstasy'' dealer -- selling the drugs in nightclubs. Le's wife and mistress both told police he kept GHB in his apartment, court records show.

Police, who have interviewed Le, believe he first tried to spike the little girl's bottle, mixing three times the amount adults use to get high in with her juice drink. But Skyla wouldn't drink it. Then he put the straight liquid drug in a sippy cup. Police suspect he made her drink that. Le could face the death penalty for his alleged crime, marked by a note saying he was ``taking her with me'' and ``she didn't suffer,'' according to a police report filed by detective Sgt. Timothy Porter.

But the article notes that Skyla did suffer. She vomited blood, authorities said, as her body tried to cope with the toxic drug.

The girl's mother -- Le's girlfriend of five years -- came home Friday after Le left her an ominous voice-mail message. He warned she had better call him and that he had a ``surprise'' for her when she returned home, the court document said. Serena Garcia found her little girl foaming at the mouth Friday night in the downstairs apartment Le shared with his wife. Le was unconscious nearby.

Police found a green sippy cup next to the couch and a flowered baby bottle half-filled with green liquid. Police are testing both containers, but they are both suspected to contain high concentrations of GHB.

``After this one I have seen it all,'' said police Lt. Jr. Gamez, who heads the city's homicide unit. ``Here is an absolute 2-year-old angel that falls victim to a person that is supposed to be protecting her.'' Court documents indicate that Le had threatened to hurt the child many times before, telling Skyla's mother he would hurt her ``in the worst possible way'' by poisoning the child with a drug. Garcia told police that she doubted he ever would follow through.

Student's Drowning Now Deemed A Homicide

According to the Nov 18, 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn., the apparent 2002 Halloween night drowning death of a University of Minnesota student has been reclassified as a murder. Lt. Greg Reinhardt, a police spokesman, is quoted as saying that the death of 21-year-old Christopher Jenkins is now listed as a homicide.

Late February 2003, Chris Jenkins' body was found in the Mississippi River near St. Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis. The U-M senior was last seen being kicked out of the Lone Tree Bar & Grill near midnight the previous Halloween.

Loesch said doctors didn't find any obvious signs of foul play, but also did not find any reason to conclude the death was by natural causes. The exact manner of his death had been listed as "undetermined." Steve Jenkins said in 2003 the blood-alcohol concentration in his son's heart tissue was only 0.12 percent. Tests also found a high level of GHB in his son's system. Police had never classified the death as a crime until now.

Trial Ordered For NSU Student's Accused Killer

According to the November 17, 2006, Aberdeen American News, South Dakota, a man accused of strangling a Northern State University student will stand trial for murder in Pennsylvania. William F. Smithson, 41, is accused of killing Jason Shephard after Shephard resisted Smithson's sexual advances.

Smithson was a sales manager for Brookings-based Daktronics, a manufacturer of scoreboards and video screens. Authorities believe he slipped GHB into Shephard's drink during a Sept. 18 dinner. Shephard, 23, was taking a semester off from NSU to do an internship for Daktronics. He was on a three-day business trip. His body was found wrapped in bed sheets and belts in the basement of Smithson's home three days later.

Smithson, who managed the Edgmont office of Daktronics, is charged with first-, second- and third-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted rape, abuse of a corpse, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and administration of an intoxicant.

Stranger's Drink Leads To Complications And Hospital Visit

According to the Nov 17, 2006, Oxford Press, Ohio, 22-year-old Alicia Castle became ill and blacked out, while at an Uptown bar on Nov 1. Castle's boyfriend took her home; she told police days later she felt sick for the next three days. She didn’t go to the hospital until Nov. 4, where a physician told her that she was possibly slipped GHB.

Castle told police she did not remember many of the events of that night after consuming a shot from a man only known as Mark at the SkyBox Bar. While it is unclear whether the alcoholic drink led to the 22-year-old Miami student's sickness, police said if there was GHB she was lucky she made it home safely. "It can lead to illness," Oxford police Sgt. Jim Squance said, "but it could also possibly lead to some kind of sexual assault."

If GHB is suspected, victims should immediately seek medical attention because the drug passes through the body quickly. In Castle's case, Squance explained she waited too long for doctors to definitively determine if she was a victim of GHB.

Officials Say Many Rapes On Washington State U. Campus Go Unreported

According to the Nov 15, 2006, Daily Evergreen, Washington State University:
“Imagine a classroom of 100 students. Now imagine 10 students out of that group have been victims of attempted rape. Out of those 10, it is unlikely even one of them has reported the crime.”

Those statistics hold true on the WSU campus, according to a report released from a spring 2005 survey on WSU safety. "Our guess is less than 1 percent are reported formally to the WSU Police Department, Pullman Police Department," said psychology professor Thomas Brigham. "We're sure this figure holds through to other campuses and other organizations." Brigham said WSU's reported sexual-assault rate is lower than rates at similar universities, but the number is still too high for the university's standards.

Sexual assault includes any unwanted sexual contact without prior consent, according to Washington law. Consent can be verbal or physical, and cannot be granted when a person is under the influence of a substance, impaired or mentally incapacitated. Most types of sexual assault at WSU occur without the use of a drug but typically involve alcohol, and are between two people who are acquainted. First-year students are at the highest risk because they are most likely to consume alcohol without understanding their personal tolerance for it, said Cassandra Nichols, sexual assault response coordinator at Counseling Services.

Nichols said there are no excuses for sexual assault. "A woman has the right to be at a party dancing on the table in a bathing suit," Nichols said. "Even if she is drinking and underage, she still did not ask to be sexually assaulted."

Prescription Sleep Aid Doubles As Rape Drug

According to the Nov. 13, 2006, Daily Mississippian, University of Mississippi, and other sources, Ambien sleeping pills are increasingly used to facilitate sexual assault. More than 40 drugs have been used in drug-facilitated sexual assaults, but Ambien is carving out its own niche. More than 250,000 prescriptions were written for Ambien in the last year alone. The drug's abundance provides easy access for predators who do not have access to the more traditional rape drugs.

"We receive about four calls per month from Ole Miss students who have been raped," said Lea Anne Lemmons, executive director of the Family Crisis Services of Northwest Mississippi. "I haven't heard of any rapes on campus occurring as a result of Ambien doping, but if a woman does not seek medical attention directly after a rape occurs, she may never know what drug she was affected by."

On the street, the drug goes by names like "A-minus" or "zombie pills." While Ambien is safe when taken properly, the drug can be abused easily by mixing it with alcohol or increasing the prescribed dosage, opening the door for rape, according to the DEA.
When mixed with alcohol, Ambien can cause side effects such as increased drowsiness and dizziness, memory loss, loss of consciousness and even respiratory depression, which can be deadly, according to the agency.

"If you think that you have been given a rape drug, go to the police station or hospital right away," she said. "Don't urinate before getting help, and get a urine test as soon as possible. Also, don't douche, bathe or change clothes before getting help."


Slick Lines Eased 'Date Rape' Ploy -- Suspect Said To Pose As Doc, Spy, Astronaut

According to the Nov 4., 2006, Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee:
“He was an online dater's dream: Tall, clean-cut, with a fashionable address and a taste for upscale bars and restaurants. He said he was a doctor, an astronaut, a spy - though he was really an on-and-off nursing student. With woman after woman, he would slip something in their drinks and then rape them, police say.”

Jeffrey Marsalis, 33, is facing trial on nine rape counts involving eight women. A 10th charge is pending in Sun Valley, Idaho. He met victims through a popular online dating site. In court during his preliminary hearing, the women told similar stories of meeting smooth-talking Marsalis between 2003 and 2005, then feeling unusually intoxicated after returning from the bathroom or letting him buy a round from the bar. They woke up hours later, back at his apartment - groggy, sometimes undressed - after an apparent sexual encounter or even in the middle of intercourse. "It was like waking up from surgery," one woman said. "My body was there, and I could see what was going on around me, but I couldn't move."

Marsalis' lawyer is quoted as saying that the women simply regret being duped about his accomplishments and dumped after consensual sex. "Some of this may be buyer's remorse," defense lawyer Kathleen Martin said Thursday. None of the Philadelphia victims - most of them well-educated professionals - went to police or a hospital afterward, Martin pointed out. Instead, police sought the women out after they seized Marsalis' computer as part of an earlier case.

Marsalis was acquitted of three similar assaults at a trial in Philadelphia in January. Before he could leave the courtroom, however, he was handcuffed by police for the new charges.

Women Describe Alleged Rapes By Navy Football Player

According to the Nov. 3, 2006, Associated Press Archive: Two women said that a former U.S. Naval Academy football player had sex with them against their will -- alleged assaults that military prosecutors said were aided by the use of a rape drug.

Testifying in the military version of a grand jury hearing for Kenny Ray Morrison, the women described separate incidents in which Morrison allegedly raped them. One told an officer hearing evidence in the case that she had sex with Morrison three times in a Washington hotel room. But she was so groggy and weak that she was unable to resist him, despite telling him repeatedly to stop.

In the second case, a former midshipman who is now a Marine Corps officer described blacking out after Morrison gave her a beer in an Annapolis, Md., bar. She awoke naked and in bed with Morrison, unable to recall anything from the previous night and believing that Morrison had sex with her without her consent.

Morrison, 24, of Kingwood, Texas, is charged with rape, distribution of a controlled substance, assault and conduct unbecoming an officer for the two incidents.
His attorney, William Ferris, challenged the women's stories during his cross-examination, questioning the accuracy of their memories of the nights when they drank alcohol. Both also said they did not see Morrison put anything in their drinks.

If convicted, Morrison could be sentenced to life in a military prison. Hair tests on both women showed the presence of GHB.

Defendant Pleads Not Guilty In SIUE Student Overdose Death

According to the Nov. 2, 2006, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a St. Louis man pleaded not guilty to charges connecting him with the rape drug overdose death of a SIUE senior in 2002. John F. Berger, 36, was arraigned on charges of possession with intent to distribute 1,4-butanediol (BD—an analog of GHB) with a resulting death; possession with intent to distribute BD for human consumption; cocaine distribution; and possession with intent to distribute BD for human consumption with death resulting.

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said that investigators believe Berger supplied the drug that killed Tressa Gross on April 7, 2002. Hanaway announced the charges against Berger in a press conference, complete with pictures of Berger and a plea for any potential victims or witnesses to come forward.

NY Sweep Nets 11 In 'Club Drugs' Scene

According to the Oct. 25, 2006, Buffalo News, New York, the drug-fueled club and house-party scene in Buffalo and Rochester took a significant hit Tuesday with the federal roundup of 11 people accused of smuggling "club drugs" from the Toronto area and distributing them in Western New York.

Following a 20-month investigation led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn announced the felony complaints accusing the 11 people of smuggling and selling Ecstasy, GHB, ketamine and crystal methamphetamine. The ages of the suspects reflected the young crowd these drugs appeal to; all 11 people charged are in their 20s, with most in their early 20s. During the roundup at 17 sites in Buffalo and Rochester, federal agents confiscated approximately 2,000 Ecstasy tablets, some other drugs and cash.

Date-rape drug still being used in Tarrant

According to the October 8, 2006, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Hershel Tebay knows firsthand about Tarrant County's problem with GHB, one of the drugs used in this country to overpower victims in date rapes. Tebay is commander of the Tarrant County Narcotics Unit and has seen the seizures. "Last year, GHB was hot," he said. "Federal and state control of the drug has made it harder to get this year." But the drug continues to pop up at parties, clubs and social events throughout the area, officials said.

In Tarrant County during the 2005-06 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the narcotics unit seized 1,683 grams (about 3.7 pounds) of GHB worth about $25,000. At the end of September, Denton County authorities seized 14 pounds of GHB from two residences in Dallas.

The Dallas Fire Department is ranked second nationally for emergency-room runs related to GHB and Rohypnol, another date-rape drug, according to the most recent DEA statistics.

GHB is a synthetic drug that acts as a depressant. Its effects can be felt within 15 minutes. It can cause intense drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, confusion and seizures. The drug can also cause a form of amnesia. Generally, someone secretly drops the drug into a drink. The drug becomes colorless and odorless, and in some cases tasteless, drug experts said. Within minutes, the victim is incapacitated. When the drug wears off, a victim may not remember what happened, experts said.

A local rape-crisis counselor said that in many cases, the targets are high school and college-age girls. But there are many cases in which older women have been given the drug, said Debra Caddy, program director for Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program of the Women's Center of Tarrant County. "Everyone should be on guard," Caddy said.

Denton County sheriff's office narcotics and special crimes investigators seized the largest cache of GHB in county history, along with other narcotics and cash. Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Wawro said the drug enforcement unit began an investigation in Denton County that led to two locations in Dallas where authorities said people were working to distribute narcotics. Officers seized 6,000 grams of the GHB, along with cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and ecstasy, he said. They also seized $3,000 and computer equipment. "This was one of the major suppliers of GHB and other illegal drugs in Denton County," Capt. Wawro said. One of the locations was surrounded by two fences topped with razor wire and was monitored by security cameras, he said. Officers arrested three people on charges associated with delivery of a controlled substance.

Man pleads not guilty in drugging, sex assault

According to the September 29, 2006, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois), a Kildeer man charged with raping a woman he had covertly drugged pleaded not guilty in Lake County Circuit Court. Ryan Burke, 28, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and possession of several controlled substances in the May 31 incident.

Assistant State's Attorney Bolling Haxall said the victim, a 19- year-old from Kenosha, was among a group of people who met Burke at a nightclub in Palatine. Burke invited the group back to his house at 21052 Valley Drive where he gave them drinks and marijuana, Haxall said. The victim passed out, Haxall said, and later told police she regained consciousness twice and found Burke was raping her.

Police brought a search warrant to Burke's house and discovered a small amount of GHB. Haxall said police also found ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines and methamphetamine in Burke's house. Burke faces six to 30 years if convicted.

Nashua 'Ecstasy' Probe Nets Arrest

According to the Nov. 30, 2006, New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, NH), a two-month investigation has resulted in the arrest of a Massachusetts man considered to be a mid to high-level drug dealer, according to the Nashua Police Department.
Members of the Nashua Police Department's Special Reaction Team arrested Anthony Huertas, 26, of 21 Stone St., Dracut, Mass., on Tuesday and charged him with four counts of sale of a controlled drug, MDMA; and one count of possession of a controlled drug, MDMA, with intent to sell, police said. Narcotics detectives bought approximately 600 MDMA pills, also known as Ecstasy, from Huertas over the course of the investigation with a street value of $12,000, police said.

Memory loss seen in Ecstasy users

According to the Nov. 29 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News: Studies have shown that the recreational drug Ecstasy can cause brain damage when used often, but a new study suggests that even a few doses of the illegal substance can alter the brain's memory system and that the changes may be long-lasting. "We didn't expect to find such changes," said Dr. Maartje De Win, a resident in radiology at the Academic Medicine Center in Amsterdam. She and her colleagues tested the effects of the popular drug on 188 young adults (average age 22) they recruited who said they had intentions of trying Ecstasy but had not done so yet.

The volunteers were given initial brain scans and followed for 18 months. By that time, 59 had used an average of six tablets. They were invited back into the scanning machines, along with another 59 of the volunteers who had not yet experimented with the drug.
The scientists found that the people who experimented with Ecstasy showed subtle memory loss and a decrease in brain blood circulation based on tests they were given. The scans and the psychological tests were done anywhere from two to 18 weeks after they had taken the drug.

Ecstasy, MDMA, selectively targets a brain chemical called serotonin that has many jobs from regulating mood and memories to helping blood circulate. People who take the drug say it heightens their sensory perceptions and makes them feel more uninhibited and energetic. "They say they can dance all night," De Win said. "They also say they feel more love for others."

There was no damage to the neurons that make serotonin, as was observed in studies done on chronic Ecstasy users. "In heavy Ecstasy users, the effects are more clear," De Win said. "But even in incidental users, we saw small effects. We don't know whether the blood flow changes are some kind of brain adaptation to the drug, or whether it will be reversible."

The scientists also conducted other types of brain scans and showed that there are structural changes in the cells even in those who have only taken Ecstasy a few times.
The findings were presented earlier at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago. The scientists say they hope to follow these people for a year to see if the changes persist.

Two Volusia County Men Indicted For Ecstasy Distribution

According to the November 16, 2006, Daytona Beach News-Journal (Florida), two Volusia County men are among eight Central Floridians indicted on federal drug charges, authorities said Wednesday. Matthew Traun Allen, 26, Jorge D. Cervantes, 45, and six others were charged with conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy and possession with intent to distribute the drug MDMA, federal officials said.

Study: Ecstasy May Benefit Terminal Cancer Patients' Anxiety

According to the Nov. 7, 2006, Independent Florida Alligator, (University of Florida): Some people associate Ecstasy with crowded clubs, glow sticks and wide-eyed youths, but one Harvard researcher thinks the drug may benefit cancer patients. Harvard Medical School has recently received the necessary MDMA -- better known as the club drug Ecstasy -- for a study on the drug's effects on cancer patients, according to a report from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

The study will involve subjects diagnosed with cancer who have less than a year to live. Participants will be individuals who have failed to respond to or refuse to take anti-anxiety medications. The research will determine whether a controlled dose of Ecstasy will reduce anxiety and improve their quality of life.

"When a patient is given a prognosis of 12 months or less, our intentions of therapy are to control symptoms and make the best of their time left," said Dr. Thomas George, assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine Division of Hematology/Oncology.

Anti-anxiety drugs such as Valium and Ativan are generally effective, but George said they can render side effects such as sleepiness, dry mouth and sexual dysfunction.
"Managing patients' mental health is something that doesn't get a lot of attention," George said. "But it is every bit as critical as treating the cancer itself."

Like any illegal drug, MDMA has its share of risks and side effects ranging from nausea to permanent brain damage. "MDMA is probably going to do some damage (to the patients)," said Matt Warren, a medical student at UF who has researched the effect of MDMA on the brain. "The benefits these patients could receive might outweigh the risks for these specific people," he said.

Family's Killing Linked to Drugs And Money

According to the October 28, 2006, Stuart News (Florida): WEST PALM BEACH -- Two weeks after a family of four was gunned down on the side of Florida's Turnpike, investigators said the crime was related to the theft of drugs and money and named several "people of interest" believed connected to the killings. Four of five people arrested on federal drug charges in West Palm Beach remain "people of interest" in the Oct. 13 slaying of the Escobedo family. "We are looking at these individuals as being connected to the murders," Mascara said during a news conference in Palm Beach County on Friday.

The family's execution was not random or a revenge killing but "a deliberate act of premeditated murder" related to the "ongoing" theft of drugs, money or both that "culminated" on the side of the turnpike, Mascara said. After the Escobedo family was shot to death, investigators searched their home and found hundreds of grams of cocaine powder and crack cocaine in various rooms, along with tablets of MDMA, also known as ecstasy. Thirteen guns, including an AK-47 in a closet, were found in the house.

Police Seize Almost 900 Ecstasy Tablets In PA Bust

According to the Oct. 27, 2006, Knight-Ridder/Beaumont Enterprise (Texas), a Port Arthur man was awaiting arraignment after law enforcers seized almost 900 tablets of Ecstasy (MDMA) at his home. Greg Morris Taylor, 22, was charged with second-degree felony possession of a controlled substance. A two-month undercover investigation ended in his arrest at his home, said Ron Hobbs, a deputy chief with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "We got some complaints of drug activity there and introduced some confidential informants and some undercover officers and made some buys, then got a warrant," said Hobbs.

Ecstasy May Restore Parkinson's Damage

According to the Oct. 23, 2006, Blade (Toledo, Ohio) -- Only a few years ago, Maryland researchers made national headlines with the news that the drug Ecstasy could cause Parkinson's disease. Now an Ohio researcher has shown how the club drug may actually lead to a way to restore the parts of the brain that deteriorate in Parkinson's, the neurological disorder that makes hands unsteady, movement stiff, walking difficult, and even erase facial expression.

While the Maryland study was withdrawn when scientists realized they used the wrong drug, other labs were discovering Ecstasy could ease Parkinson's symptoms in animals.
Jack Lipton, professor of psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, told a gathering at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Atlanta last week that Ecstasy's impact may go beyond a reduction of symptoms. His research found Ecstasy actually increased the survival of neurons in rat fetal brain cells by 70 percent to 300 percent.

Most important for Parkinson's patients, these long-lived neurons are the same ones that deteriorate in Parkinson's - those that transmit the neurochemical dopamine. Dopamine is famous for its role in feelings of pleasure, but it also plays an important role in movement. "We're really excited about this,'' said Mr. Lipton. "Who would have thought you could take a drug that's abused, and find therapeutic properties?''

No one is advocating Parkinson's patients find a street supplier, however. Ecstasy may damage neurons that transport seratonin, which regulates mood and sleep. Long-term use can lead to anxiety or depression, and it can cause fatal hyperthermia.
Researchers instead hope that the chemical structure of Ecstasy - known as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA - will serve as a basis for new compounds that produce Ecstasy's benefits without its deleterious effects.

Mr. Lipton's discovery of increased dopamine cell survival is an extension of his work in rats. He gave pregnant rats MDMA, then looked at the brains of the offspring 21 days after birth. He wanted to see what would happen to dopamine neurons, which produce long spindly fibers along which they send out signals to other parts of the brain. His MDMA-exposed rats showed a three-fold to five-fold increase in the number of dopamine nerve fibers, compared to MDMA-free rats.

"I don't think I've ever seen a drug, any drug, produce dopamine fiber innervation in an animal. No one has seen it before. I know because I searched for it,'' Mr. Lipton said.
Mr. Lipton's research "has shown for the first time that an MDMA-like molecule could actually stop the death of dopamine cells. This is very exciting,'' said Jonathan Brotchie, a senior scientist at Toronto Western Hospital who works on MDMA-based compounds for Parkinson's treatment. He is also chief executive officer of Atuka Ltd., a company that develops Parkinson's drugs.

Ultimately, the development of MDMA for Parkinson's could come from a number of directions. Mr. Brotchie said he has developed compounds that curb Parkinson's symptoms in animals, but he believes those compounds work through serotonin neurons, not dopamine neurons.

Last year, researchers at Duke University in Durham, N.C., discovered that Ecstasy could reduce Parkinson's symptoms in mice. That group proposed neither serotonin action, nor dopamine activity as the reason, but suggested yet another chemical reaction behind the reduced symptoms. “It's complicated,'' Mr. Brotchie said. "Brain science is harder than rocket science.''

Multi-State Pot Ring Indictment Focuses On Colorado’s Amendment 44

According to the Oct. 20, 2006, Rocky Mountain News: “Nineteen days before Colorado voters decide whether to legalize possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, state and federal drug enforcers waded into the debate Thursday with the announcement of a high-profile drug-ring indictment. Federal Drug Enforcement Administration personnel were joined by officials of several state jurisdictions to tout the results of Operation Berthoud, a 152-count indictment by a Denver grand jury of 38 individuals in an alleged multistate network trafficking in ‘BC Bud,’ a highly potent strain of marijuana.”

The network, charged with moving 50- to 100-pound monthly shipments from Northern California and the Seattle area to Denver, is also alleged to have trafficked in ecstasy (MDMA), developed sophisticated local growing operations, and armed itself with high-powered weaponry and bulletproof vests.

In a news conference announcing the indictment, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey D. Sweetin brought up Colorado's proposed Amendment 44, before any reporter had done so. "In the event that Colorado decides very soon that marijuana is OK in Colorado, there will be many more of these" organizations, Sweetin said. "So I think this is something we need to consider. Anytime you have bulletproof vests, guns and counterfeiting, I think we have to look at that with our eyes wide open." He conceded that no acts of violence are included in the indictment.

Sweetin, who has spoken out against Amendment 44 on several other occasions in recent weeks, was asked if there was any political significance to the timing of Thursday's news conference, given that 13 people named in the indictment were still at large when the news conference began. "Most of the cases that we've put out in front of you don't have 100 percent arrests by the time" they are announced, said Sweetin, who cited a public duty to disclose why more than two-dozen people were suddenly behind bars. "As far as it being a political announcement, I don't consider it a political announcement," he said. "I consider it a real eye-opener for people that believe marijuana operates different than organized crime. So, to that extent, is it a message? It wasn't timed to be a message, but, yeah, I think it's a message."

Tossed Cigarette Lands On Police Car, Leads To Charges

According to the Oct. 13, 2006, Neighbors South Edition of the Daytona Beach News-Journal (Florida), Lyndon Lloyd Golding, 30, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of MDMA, possession of oxycodone, trafficking in oxycodones, possession of drug paraphernalia and use of a vehicle in commission of a felony.

According to reports, a police officer on patrol was behind a car driven by Golding when a passenger, Randy Williams, 39, of Wildwood Avenue in Edgewater, threw a cigarette butt out of his window. The butt hit the police car behind them, so the officer pulled them over and asked Golding and Williams for their driver's licenses.

Williams had an open failure-to-appear warrant referencing petty theft, so he was taken to Volusia County Branch Jail. Since Williams was under arrest, police searched Golding and his car and found a cigarette box containing red tablets, later identified as MDMA, or Ecstasy. A search of the vehicle also yielded 17.4 grams of cocaine in plastic baggies; 18 tablets later identified as oxycodone; four packages of clear plastic baggies; a digital scale and silver-colored nail clippers, both with white powder on them that tested positive for cocaine; and $1,210 in cash.

Former Biloxi Officer Faces 30 Years in Prison For Selling Ecstasy

According to the Oct. 13, 2006, Sun Hearld (Biloxi, Mississippi), a former Biloxi police officer, who resigned after his arrest, has pleaded guilty to selling Ecstasy (MDMA). Darrell D. Cvitanovich Jr. faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to one of two drug charges on Thursday. The K-9 officer and 14-year veteran of the Biloxi Police Department told the judge he obtained the drugs from someone he didn't know at Just Us Lounge and sold four tablets to a friend.

Cvitanovich told the judge he used illegal drugs in the past. The judge said he has known the defendant's father for many years. D.D. Cvitanovich Sr., a retired state trooper, was Biloxi's police chief from 1989 to 1993.

Common Cold Medicines Send Growing Number Of Teens 'Robotripping'

According to the Dec 5, 2006, Biloxi Sun Herald & Los Angeles Times & other sources, teen use of over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to get a cheap high -- a practice known as "robotripping" - is rising 50 percent a year and becoming one of the fastest-growing drug-abuse problems in the U.S., according to a study released Monday.

Since 1999, teen abuse of Coricidin pills, Robitussin syrup and other common medications has risen tenfold, data from the California Poison Control System show. The widely available and inexpensive medicines are growing in popularity, according to the report.

"Hey, Mom and Dad, pay attention," said Marilyn MacDougall, executive director of the Orange County Sheriff Department's drug abuse prevention program. "Over-the-counter medicines are the upcoming way your kids are going to abuse drugs."

Abusers are seeking dextromethorphan, which can cause hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and, in extreme cases, death. The drug, known by kids as DXM or Dex, was first abused in the 1960s when it was in a cough medicine called Romilar, withdrawn from the market in 1973. Health officials spotted a revival in the late 1990s. About two-thirds of abusers now take Coricidin HBP Cold & Cough, whose candy-red tablets are nicknamed CCC, triple C and skittles. Robotripping takes its name from Robitussin, the second most popular drug. A study in May by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America estimated that 2.4 million teens - about 1 in 10 - got high on cough medicines in 2005. That puts it on a par with cocaine and slightly above methamphetamines.

School administrators are learning of the craze the hard way. In El Dorado, a community of apple orchards and Christmas tree farms outside of Sacramento, Calif., seven high school students were rushed to the emergency room in October after taking Coricidin. The Union Mine High School students had purchased several boxes at a dollar store and swallowed five to eight tablets each during their morning snack time. Administrators learned of it after one student started vomiting in class. "This is new to us -- it caught a lot of people by surprise," Principal Carl Fickle said. "It didn't catch the kids by surprise."

The latest study, published in the December issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that the growth of dextromethorphan abuse is being driven by children between the ages of 9 and 17. Abuse is most common among 15- and 16-year-olds, the study found. The number of 12- and 13-year-olds using the drug exceeds the number of 18-year-olds, indicating that it is popular in middle schools as well as high schools, according to senior author Ilene B. Anderson, a toxicology management specialist at the California Poison Control System in San Francisco. "I did not expect 12-year-olds to be abusing it," Anderson said.

The study was based on a review of 1,382 calls made to the California Poison Control Center over a six-year period involving cases of dextromethorphan exposure. Those calls were generally made in emergency situations, usually by physicians treating overdose patients in hospitals. They represent only a fraction of overall drug use, Anderson said.
"If someone is abusing dextro and gets a high, they don't call us," she said. "I think it is grossly underreported."

Dextromethorphan appeals to teens because it "is easily and legally available in most pharmacies and large grocery stores," Anderson said. "It's relatively inexpensive -- in many cases, one package can cause hallucinations."

Web sites offer testimonials about the buzz the drug provides. Dextromethorphan users can consult online calculators -- where they enter their weight, brand of medicine and "plateau" of high they want to achieve -- to determine how big a dose to take.

When taken in large quantities, dextromethorphan can make the heart race and blood pressure rise. Some users become agitated while others become lethargic, confused, dizzy or act as if they are inebriated. Life-threatening side-effects include seizures and elevated body temperature, Anderson said.

Users also can have adverse reactions from overdosing on other ingredients in the cold remedies. High quantities of pseudoephedrine and antihistamines, for example, can cause irregular heart beats, high blood pressure and seizures, Anderson said. "The one that scares me the most is acetaminophen (the medicine in Tylenol) because it can cause liver failure," she said.

In 2005, there were five DXM overdose deaths of teens in Florida, Washington and Virginia.

Ever-Evolving Drug Slang Tests Parents' Knowledge

Quoted from the Dec. 4 article by Nichole Dobo in The Citizen’s Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania:

“Cotton. Fry stick. Special K.

If this list of terms seems like nothing other than a list of common household items, think again. Cotton is code for the powerful painkiller OxyContin. That fry stick? It's a marijuana cigarette dipped into formaldehyde and laced with PCP. Special K has nothing to do with breakfast cereal. It's ketamine, a drug taken for its hallucinogenic powers.”

The drug world has an evolving list of seemingly innocuous terms to talk about illicit drugs. It's slang that parents might want to read up on, experts say. "If there is anything you are mystified with in a child's conversation, take a step to find out what it is," Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Gerry Dessoye said.

Every generation has its own slang, harmless or not. It is important for parents not to ignore what they don't understand, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. To find out what your child is talking about, ask a young adult you trust for a translation or call the local police to see if the slang is drug- or gang-related, Dessoye said. Besides drugs, children could be using slang to talk about gangs, sex or other behaviors parents should be concerned about, Dessoye said. And don't count on just overhearing it when children are on the phone or have friends over to the house. Check out Internet conversations and Web sites frequented by your children, Dessoye said.

A recent study indicates most parents underestimate their children's experiences with alcohol and illegal drugs. Nearly a quarter of adolescents admit to smoking marijuana, while only about half of those children's parents were aware of it, according to a study from The Menninger Clinic in Houston. And those children are experimenting with drugs at a younger age.

INDICTMENTS OF SHERIFF AND 12 DEPUTIES HAVE SHAKEN RESIDENTS

According to the Nov 18, 2006, Washington Post--The indictment of the Henry County sheriff and 12 former and current deputies in a drug-trafficking ring has only deepened the gloom in this small town. A federal grand jury in Abingdon has charged Henry County Sheriff H.F. "Frank" Cassell and 12 former and current employees with participating in a criminal enterprise that dealt in cocaine, marijuana, steroids and ketamine.

The 48-count indictment alleges crime after crime since 1998: Defendants dealt or stole confiscated weapons; they took money and property seized during investigations; they lied to federal investigators; and a drug dealer threatened to shoot a deputy in the conspiracy if the deputy snitched. The indictment charges 20 people, including a postal service employee, a state probation officer and high-ranking deputies. Cassell, a 68-year-old grandfather who planned to retire after his current term, is charged with looking the other way, covering up and lying to federal investigators.

At the center of the scandal are Cassell and sheriff's Sgt. James A. Vaught. A father of three who spent 11 years on the force, Vaught, 33, was snared early in the investigation. He resigned in March 2005, agreed to cooperate and secretly began recording Cassell and other defendants.