Fav Meth Heads of the Day

A Portsmouth man and a Sciotoville woman were among the three people arrested at a meth lab in South Shore, Ky. Alvin Branham, 42, of Portsmouth and Tasmine Hammons, 25, of Sciotoville, are both charged with trafficking in methamphetamine while Dennis Darby, Jr., 45, of South Shore, faces charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, first degree wanton endangerment, and possession of heroin.

On Saturday, at around 8 p.m., Greenup County Sheriff Keith Cooper said the Greenup County Drug Interdiction team discovered a large amount of methamphetamine inside a vehicle in South Shore. Upon further investigation, the Drug Interdiction team responded to 259 Sunshine Lane in South Shore.

Alvin Branham

Frank Lewis

Once at that residence an active methamphetamine lab was located. Inside that residence were Darby and a five-year-old child. There was a large amount of drug paraphernalia and items used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine inside the residence.

During a further search, heroin was found hidden on Darby’s person. All three were lodged in the Greenup County Detention Center.

Cooper said more charges are expected to be forthcoming. He said the case is being investigated by deputies Cody Fuller and Jason Bryant.

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/view/full_story/22567272/article-Two-men-and-a-woman-arrested-in-South-Shore-meth-bust

PETER LLOYD: Health authorities in Victoria are raising the alarm about the skyrocketing use of crystal methamphetamine, or ice.

Ambulance figures show the number of emergencies involving crystal meth more than doubled in the past year.

Simon Lauder reports.

SIMON LAUDER: Crystal methamphetamine, or ice, makes people feel euphoric, excited and energetic. It can also make them paranoid and aggressive.

The coordinator of the emergency department at Melbourne’s Angliss Hospital, Fran Chandler, says ice makes a shift in the emergency ward a lot more challenging.

FRAN CHANDLER: When they are confronted with a patient who is screaming and kicking and punching and spitting, and it is just so frightening. And it happens often.

SIMON LAUDER: Every year the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre collates data from Ambulance Victoria to track drug trends across Melbourne.

The last couple of years has seen a massive increase in ambulance call outs for people on ice. In 2010 there were 136 cases; in 2011 there were 282. Last year, there were 592.

Researcher, Dr Belinda Lloyd.

BELINDA LLOYD: They increased by 110 per cent between 2010-11 and 2011-12, and this follows on from an increase of around 108 per cent between 2009-10 and 2010-11.

And this is of real concern in terms of those acute harms in the population.

SIMON LAUDER: So is that people who have overdosed on the drug?

BELINDA LLOYD: It’s a combination of kinds of attendances. So it may be people who’ve overdosed; people who are experiencing mental health symptoms like psychosis as a result of their use; people who have been either victims or involved in cases of violence; maybe in motor vehicle accidents, so they may have been driving while they were drug affected; or had an accident, another kind of accident, so say falling for example.

SIMON LAUDER: Do you think this means more people are now using ice than before?

BELINDA LLOYD: That’s a difficult thing to assess because population level surveys of the general population don’t show a real increase in new populations using these drugs, but potentially this is being driven by new populations or by people who may have used other drugs in the past or used less frequently, perhaps using more frequently and experiencing more harms associated with their use.

It may also be a marker of increasing purity of a drug or increasing availability. For people who are already using those drugs, their use patterns might change and that may increase harms associated with use.

SIMON LAUDER: Dr Lloyd says the Turning Point study is the only one in the world to collate data from frontline paramedics, so there are no comparable figures for the rest of Australia.

Drug and alcohol counsellor for Odyssey House Victoria, Rene De Sant’Anna, is not surprised to hear ice is causing more harm to people year upon year. He says it’s becoming a mainstream party drug for young people and it’s cheap.

RENE DE SANT’ANNA: It’s seen as a Friday night sort of weekend party drug. The average price that I’m hearing now is around $40 a point of shard. That would keep them going for a good 24 hours or so.

In the scheme of things as a party drug, they do get a lot more bang for their buck.

Pretty much, they feel like they’re six foot tall and bulletproof.

SIMON LAUDER: And what about the long term impact? What are your concerns about what we might be seeing five or 10 years from now?

RENE DE SANT’ANNA: Definitely long term impacts would be depression and psychosis. Also the other issue for society is this whole normalisation of the drug actually becoming popular and normalised in our culture.

SIMON LAUDER: While the ice trend has the paramedics, hospitals and drug counsellors concerned this year, it’s a long way from being their biggest problem.

As always, the number of people who need an ambulance because of alcohol far outstrips anything else and the report released today shows callouts for alcohol related harm increased by 27 per cent in the past year.

PETER LLOYD: Simon Lauder.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3759102.htm

Methamphetamine labs are being found more in Somerset County than in previous years, said Cpl. Dennis Ulery, a supervisor on the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team.

“Last year we had a 40 percent increase statewide and we are on pace with that this year, or possibly ahead of that,” he said in a telephone interview.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that 96 methamphetamine labs were found in Pennsylvania and 11,210 were found nationally in 2012. Southeastern states have had the most labs discovered.

Items seized in a meth lab bust

Ulery will present a program on how meth is “cooked” and the dangers associated with it at 6:30 p.m. May 29 in the Meyersdale Area High School auditorium. Somerset County Drug-Free Communities is coordinating the event because of recent meth lab busts in Meyersdale and Somerset. Other sponsors are the Somerset Single County Authority for Drug and Alcohol, the Twin Lakes Center for Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation and the Pennsylvania State Police. The event is open to the public.

“Methamphetamine is extremely addictive,” Ulery said. “The chemicals are easily accessible and it is easy to process — and highly dangerous. The likelihood of a fire or explosion sometime in the person’s career of cooking meth is very high. They will burn themselves or burn something down.”

One step of the process involves manufacturing a crude hydrogen chloride gas generator. In the final stage of the process, deadly hydrogen chloride gas is present and poses a severe health risk to the person making the methamphetamine and those who live in the same residence or nearby.

At the community meeting, Ulery will explain the warning signs of a nearby meth lab and how people can tell if others are using the synthetic drug.

Erin Howsare, director of the Somerset Single County Authority for Drug and Alcohol, said she is encouraging people to attend the meeting to learn to identify the signs that a meth lab is being operated so they can call the police to take appropriate action.

“We also hope that parents and teachers will be aware of the signs that children may be living in a home where meth is being cooked,” she said.

Methamphetamine, known as speed or meth, can cause psychotic behavior, hallucinations and strokes when used over a long period of time. Howsare said that meth users often don’t sleep, which can lead to psychosis, and people using or making meth may have open sores on their bodies from chemical burns. Meth use, like other drug use, can lead to additional crimes as the drug user needs money for more drugs. Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Greg Keefer said in an earlier interview that at least 90 percent of crimes committed are linked to drug use.

Ronna Yablonski, prevention coordinator at the Twin Lakes Center, said that there are many problems that communities across Somerset County have to face — drug use and abuse, unfortunately, has to be one of them.

“We cannot ignore the problems that drug use causes to our communities, families, children, schools and businesses,” she said. “As concerned citizens of the county, please come and learn all you can about methamphetamine — a very dangerous drug that is having an increasing presence in our county. The more educated the public becomes, the more the problems can be addressed and curtailed.”

http://www.dailyamerican.com/news/somerset/da-ot-community-meeting-set-on-meth-awareness-20130513,0,1996871.story

JONESVILLE — A Pennington Gap man is facing multiple drug charges for allegedly selling and cooking methamphetamine after local, state and federal authorities executed a search warrant on his residence earlier this month.

According to Lee County General District Court records, Jeffery Lynn Fleenor, 56, 237 Hiltons Drive, Pennington Gap, was charged May 8 by Virginia State Police with three drug-related felonies. The charges include distribution of between 28 and 226 grams of methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute between 28 and 226 grams of methamphetamine and manufacturing a controlled substance.

Jeffery Lynn Fleenor

Authorities with knowledge of the investigation said the charges were filed against Fleenor after members of the Drug Enforcement Agency executed a search warrant on his residence, which is located in the Woodway community near Pennington Gap.

The VSP and Lee County Sheriff’s Office assisted with Fleenor’s arrest.

A spokesman with the DEA declined to provide additional details.

Fleenor was arraigned May 8 in Lee County General District Court and is being held at the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail.

http://www.timesnews.net/article/9061966/lee-county-man-facing-drug-charges

A La Crosse man hit his brother in the head with a crowbar multiple times while high on methamphetamine and prescription drugs early Sunday, according to police reports.

Jerry Smith, 26, faces charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, battery and disorderly conduct, all with use of a dangerous weapon, and criminal damage to property in La Crosse County Circuit Court.

Smith was dropped off at his brother’s 10th Street apartment while having a bad experience on drugs. He first threatened brother Raymond Smith, then hit him three to four times with the crowbar, reports stated.

Raymond Smith pushed his brother out of the house. Jerry Smith then threw rocks and bricks through the apartment’s windows and a car before police found him in an alley about 4:30 a.m.

Police took him to a hospital and later to the La Crosse County Jail. His brother also was treated at a hospital for injuries to his head.

Smith returns to court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. He remains jailed on a $10,000 cash bond.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/brother-arrested-for-crowbar-attack-in-la-crosse/article_155268f0-bc3f-11e2-a305-001a4bcf887a.html

Two Effingham County men with a history of drug arrests are back in jail on methamphetamine charges.
Robert Stanley Davis, 30, and James Grover, 44, both of Guyton, were arrested Thursday after the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Drug Suppression Unit got a tip that the two men were in possession of drugs.
Investigators stopped the car Davis and Grover were riding in near the Effingham County Courthouse.

James Grover

 
“Deputies located methamphetamine and roxycodone inside of the vehicle, as well as inside an orifice of Mr. Davis,” said ECSO spokesman Detective David Ehsanipoor.
After further investigation, deputies discovered a methamphetamine lab at Grover’s home in the 200 block of Southern Charm Way. He was charged with possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of pseudoephedrine, and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
Davis was charged with criminal attempt to manufacture methamphetamine, unlawful sale and possession of pseudoephedrine, and possession of methamphetamine.
Both men have been arrested on methamphetamine charges before, including two arrests for Davis last year. Davis was arrested on several meth-related charges including trafficking methamphetamine in April 2012, and on charges including manufacturing methamphetamine in October 2012.
Davis was out on bond at the time of his most recent arrest, which, according to Ehsanipoor, is all-too-common when the ECSO makes a meth arrest. He said the majority of the cases involve people who have had prior arrests, are on probation or are out on bond related to methamphetamine.
“It seems to be an ongoing cycle,” Ehsanipoor said. “It’s a very addictive drug. It’s a very dangerous drug. There are some instances of people getting off meth, but it seems that the majority of people who do it keep doing it.”
With that in mind, Ehsanipoor said, “Our main targets in this county are the people manufacturing meth.”
Both Grover and Davis are being held in the Effingham County Jail.

 http://beta.effinghamherald.net/section/10/article/21386/

Soldiers of the Pha Muang force early Tuesday morning seized 1.66 million methamphetamine pills and 43 kilogrammes of crystal meth, or “ice”, with a total estimated street worth of one billion baht.

After receiving a tip that there would be an attempt to smuggle a large amount of illegal drugs into Thailand through the nearby border, Pha Muang force commander Maj Gen Somsak Nilbanjerdkul sent a special task force to patrol the Mae Sai-Koh Chang road in tambon Mae Sai of Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

The patrol was on the rural road at Ban Wiang Hom when they spotted seven men carrying big fertilizer sacks on their shoulders. They signaled them to stop but the men instead dropped the sacks and fled back over the border to Myanmar.

They opened the abandoned sacks and found 1.66 million methamphetamine pills and 43 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine.

The soldiers believed the smugglers were members of the gang run by the self-styled Lt Col Yise, which brings drugs across the border and then hands them over to other gangs for delivery throughout Thailand.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/349933/fleeing-smugglers-abandon-billion-baht-drug-delivery-on-myanmar-border

A MASSIVE jump in emergency calls due to crystal meth abuse across Melbourne has prompted warnings for authorities to act now before another epidemic occurs.

The latest Ambulance Victoria figures reveal a doubling of call-outs for crystal methamphetamine, known as ice, within a 12-month period.

Paramedics were called to deal with 592 crystal meth cases across the city in 2011-2012, compared with 282 a year earlier and 136 in 2009-2010.

Ambulance call-outs for crystal meth have doubled in Melbourne within 12 months, a new report says.

Dr Belinda Lloyd, from the Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre, says the huge magnitude of the meth increase has pushed it to levels of harm not seen in 15 years.

“It used to be something that was relatively uncommon, and that ongoing increase is an issue,” she said.

All levels of government needed to come up with “innovative responses” to stop the meth increase, she said, including campaigns to boost the public’s understanding of the drug’s many harms.

Meth is highly addictive and has been linked to stroke, heart failure, and violent episodes of psychosis and paranoia.

The federal government’s chief drug adviser, the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), has warned that the supply of the drug is continuing to increase nationwide.

“People don’t realise what they’re getting into,” ANCD executive director Gino Vumbaca said.

“It has the potential to cause a lot of harm to people in the short and long term.”

He said governments needed to take a balanced approach to the problem, with preventative programs, treatment centres and police crackdowns all to be considered.

“If you don’t act, and act early … then it’s likely to increase,” he said of the crystal meth problem.

Use of the drug tends to spike during the weekends, especially in Melbourne’s CBD, and puts pressure on paramedics and emergency wards.

Fran Chandler, an emergency department care coordinator at Angliss Hospital, said nursing staff could face unpredictable and agitated patients.

The community needed to know more about available drug abuse support services, she said.

“It’s just a matter of educating people about the problems and educating them about the resources that are available.”

The annual Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre report, which compiles Ambulance Victoria data, also showed a 27 per cent jump in alcohol call-outs in the city.

In rural Victoria, the rate of call-outs for cannabis and prescription drug abuse was higher than in the city.

Turning Point director Dan Lubman said the data showed an out-of-control drinking culture and a growing methamphetamine problem.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/meth-use-doubles-across-melbourne-report/story-fn3dxiwe-1226641967953

Combine methamphetamine chemicals and a car filled with gasoline and you have the makings of a volatile situation, said a police officer who specializes in drug cases.

Early Saturday those elements came together on Boardman-Canfield Road as officers pulled over a car that eluded them two weeks ago. They found what they think is a rolling methamphetamine lab.

Arrested and being held in the Mahoning County jail until their arraignments today in Mahoning County Court are Donny Thompson, 22, of Fenton Street in Niles; Joshua Curry, 20, of Briggs Road in Leavittsburg; Anthony Smith, 25, of Gillmer Road in Leavittsburg; and Phylicia Chalker, 22, of Robert Street in Vienna.

All face a single count of possession of chemicals used in the manufacturing of a Schedule 1 drug. Thompson, who was the driver, faces an additional count of driving under suspension.

Trumbull County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Orr, who heads the Trumbull-Ashtabula Law Enforcement Group Task Force, which specializes in drug investigations, said he knows of all four people but was not sure of any open investigations in which they may be involved.

Orr said Trumbull County has seen a rise in methamphetamine labs within the last six months, including the rolling kind where chemicals are stored in a vehicle to make the drug. He said the mobile trend has picked up since dealers figured out how to make the drug in a plastic two-liter bottle, which makes it easier to make on the run but also creates a dangerous situation because of the chemicals that are mixed to make it.

“They are way more dangerous,” Orr said of the mobile labs.

Compounding the problem, Orr said, is that often meth dealers also use the drug and sometimes it makes them hard to deal with in a tense situation. “They’re usually very paranoid people.”

Boardman police Sgt. Mike Hughes, who heads the department’s narcotics investigations, said Saturday’s arrest was the first mobile lab he has seen. He said it is not uncommon for meth makers to travel all over to buy the pseudoephedrine in cold medicines for the drug because pharmacies have a limit on the amount of Sudafed-type products a person can buy.

“They try to beat the system,” Hughes said.

Hughes said an average person seeing the assortment of chemicals and pills probably would have no idea what they were being used for.

Reports state officers spotted a car driven by Thompson about 2 a.m. Saturday on Boardman-Canfield Road near Hitchcock Road that was weaving and had no rear license plate light. An officer tried to pull a similar car over last month near the Walgreens on Boardman-Poland Road, but it turned down a side street and got away, reports state. At the time, officers went into the Walgreens and were told that a man had tried to buy a large amount of cold medicine but was not allowed because the computer system had detected repeated purchases of the same items.

After the car was stopped, police found out none of the four inside had a valid driver’s license and they began to check the car. They found a pink liquid known to be used in methamphetamine, a box of cold pills, a pill grinder, brake fluid and starter fluid, reports state. These are ingredients commonly used to make meth, authorities said.

Members of the Canfield post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol also assisted Boardman officers, reports state.

Court records from Trumbull County Common Pleas Court show that Curry, Smith and Thompson all face pending criminal charges. Curry was indicted by a grand jury in April on charges of misuse of credit cards and theft. Smith and Thompson were both indicted in March on charges of breaking and entering into unsecured homes.

Hughes said methamphetamine use is not as prevalent in Mahoning County as it is in some of the surrounding counties, including Summit and Trumbull, but said he has no idea why that is.

In Trumbull County, TAG agents serving a warrant found a meth lab in Leavittsburg on April 26, and portions of a meth lab were found April 23 in a yard on Douglas Street Northwest in Warren. Also, on March 31 in Newton Falls, a family on a walk reported seeing pieces of a meth lab in a wooded area.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/may/14/-nabbed-for-mobile-meth-lab/