DEA Officials to Hold Media Briefing on Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic

Washington, D.C.) – DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart will join Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) for a media briefing on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 to release a new data analysis revealing the source of abused prescription drugs in America and urge Americans to take advantage of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s upcoming National Take Back Day on Saturday, April 28th.

Administrator Leonhart and Director Kerlikowske will be joined by Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Ileana Arias, Principal Deputy Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Administration officials will also discuss significant progress being made to combat the Nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic one year after the release of the Obama Administration’s comprehensive action plan to address the threat. 

The CDC has classified prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. Poisoning deaths, primarily driven by drug overdoses, are the leading cause of injury death in the United States. In 2009, deaths from drug overdoses outnumbered deaths from motor vehicle traffic crashes for the first time. 

 

Who:

Michele Leonhart, Administrator, DEA

Gil Kerlikowske, Director, ONDCP 

Dr. Ileana Arias, Principal Deputy Director, CDC

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, FDA 

     

What:             Pen and Pad Media Briefing on New Prescription Drug Abuse Data

Call in number available upon request

News media must RSVP to MediaInquiry@ondcp.eop.gov

Television and radio interviews available upon request

 

When:             Wednesday April 25th, 10:00 a.m. EDT

           

Where:           Office of National Drug Control Policy

750 17th Street NW - 8th Floor Conference Room    

Washington DC, 20006

 

For more information about the Office of National Drug Control Policy, visit Whitehouse.gov/ONDCP

DEA to Hold Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day April 28

On Saturday, April 28th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time the fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place at thousands of locations across the country. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. Americans participating in DEA’s three previous Take-Back Days turned in nearly a million pounds of prescription drugs.

“Prescription drug abuse is a major epidemic across the country and DEA is committed to reducing the potential for misuse by providing a safe and secure method for Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of unwanted, unneeded, or expired medications,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.  “Americans responded overwhelmingly to DEA’s first three Take-Back Day events, disposing of nearly 500 tons of medication in the past two years.  This nationwide community effort prevents home medicine cabinets from becoming sources of dangerous – and even deadly – drugs."

The public can find nearby collection sites by visiting DEA.gov

U.S. Attorneys Announce Successful State-Wide Prescription Drug Abuse Summit

The following post appears courtesy of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky  

Kentucky’s U.S. Attorneys Kerry B. Harvey and David J. Hale, in conjunction with the University of Kentucky (UK), hosted Kentucky’s first Prescription Drug Abuse Summit earlier this month.  The one-day event was attended by more than 300 health care providers, educators, law enforcement officers, public officials and high school students.  The summit focused on increasing collaboration across disciplines to combat prescription drug abuse, one of the Kentucky’s most urgent, destructive and widespread challenges.

During the day-long conference, the audience heard from approximately 30 speakers including the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo Ferrer. Because south Florida pain clinics have historically been a primary source of illegal prescription narcotics in Kentucky, U.S. Attorney Ferrer was invited to address the conference.  U.S. Attorney Ferrer highlighted the recent successes Florida authorities to investigate, prosecute and close rogue pill mills.

A number of faculty members from UK’s Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy and Dentistry spoke along with Kentucky’s Governor and Attorney General.   The event incorporated panel discussions led by experts in law enforcement, health care, mental health and education who shared their experiences with the pernicious effects of prescription narcotic abuse.  The three U.S. Attorneys held a private meeting with the approximately 50 high school students from across the state who attended the Summit. These students are involved in their schools’ mass media programs and covered the Summit for their respective school newspapers, yearbooks and television outlets.     In addition to warning them of the dangers of prescription drug abuse, U.S. Attorneys Harvey, Hale and Ferrer fielded questions from the students.

Summit attendees heard a first-hand account from a U.S. Military Veteran who battled a severe addiction with prescription drugs.   Dustin Gross was a Marine Lance Corporal in the Iraqi War and suffered serious injuries after being hit by a roadside bomb.  Thanks to the treatment and counseling he received at the Louisville veterans hospital, Dustin now lives without narcotics, and is an inspiring example to others.

Law enforcement in Kentucky has made prescription pill abuse one of its highest priorities.  In 2010 and 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky prosecuted approximately 120 cases related to prescription pills, more than double the prosecutions involving any other type of drug.  In the Western District of Kentucky, the number of defendants charged with prescription narcotics trafficking more than doubled in 2011 over the previous year.

East St. Louis Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Heroin Overdose Death

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Tavis D. Doyle, 43, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced today in United States District Court to prison for the rest of his life for the offense of Distribution of Heroin Resulting in Death. A jury previously convicted Doyle, on February 22, 2011, at the conclusion of a 2-week jury trial.

Doyle also received concurrent sentences of 60 years for Distribution of a Controlled Substance to a Person Under 21, and 20 years for Maintaining Drug-Involved Premises.

“Heroin distributors, such as Mr. Doyle, are no better than cold-blooded murders. Mr. Doyle’s actions reflect this fact and his sentence properly punishes his actions. My office will continue to pursue the distributors of illegal drugs and to bring them to justice for their crimes.” said United States Attorney Wigginton. “I have said in many places, at many events, that drug dealers are on notice – the poison you dispense kills people. You will be held responsible for your actions, even if you do not intend to kill. If convicted, your punishment will be severe, as Mr. Doyle has discovered.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Doyle sold heroin to Jonathan “J.J.” Ward on May 28, 2009, at a crack house which Doyle maintained on Walter Street in East St. Louis. Ward, an Effingham, Illinois, resident who was 30 years old when he died, was pronounced “dead on arrival” at Barnes Hospital on May 29, 2009. Witnesses testified that Doyle had refused to allow anyone at his residence to call 9-1-1 when Ward collapsed. Instead, Doyle attempted (unsuccessfully) to revive Ward by placing frozen meat in Ward’s pants. Doyle then insisted for several hours that Ward “just needed to sleep it off.” Acquaintances of Ward eventually transported Ward to Barnes, approximately twelve hours after Ward’s collapse.

In addition, according to witnesses who testified at trial, Doyle provided copious quantities of crack to a 17-year-old female runaway from rural Kentucky who lived with Doyle during the summer and fall of 2008.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert L. Garrison and Michael J. Quinley.

STOP.THINK.CONNECT. CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH D.A.R.E. AMERICA

On July 26, 2011, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign announced its partnership with Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America.  “In today’s world, Americans can use technology to engage with communities around the globe,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  “Now, more than ever, it is important that all Americans – adults and children alike – learn to protect themselves online and do their part to ensure that cyberspace is a safe and secure environment for all internet users.”  Echoing Secretary Napolitano, D.A.R.E. Chief Executive Officer Charlie Parsons said, “We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Homeland Security on these important efforts to keep our children and America safe.”

The partnership was announced while the Campaign participated in the D.A.R.E. International Training Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The Campaign provided Stop.Think.Connect. Community Outreach Toolkits to all conference participants and trained D.A.R.E. officers to use the toolkits in their communities. 

STOP.THINK.CONNECT. CAMPAIGN REACHES 10,000 FRIENDS

The Department of Homeland Security’s Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign is pleased to announce that the Friends of the Campaign Program has reached over 10,000 participants.  Friends receive cyber tips, tools, and information from the Campaign via email as well as access to Campaign resources, including talking points, PowerPoint presentations, and the Stop.Think.Connect. Community Outreach Toolkit.  Friends are a key component to the Campaign, as they promote cybersecurity awareness every day in their communities.  We encourage Friends to share their accomplishments and best practices with the Campaign by sending an email to stopthinkconnect@dhs.gov. 

Albuquerque Man Receives One-Year Prison Sentence for Tampering with Court-Ordered Drug Testing

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court in Albuquerque, a United States District Judge sentenced Albuquerque resident Brandon Ortiz, 29, to a year and a day prison term to be followed by two years of supervised release for his conviction for tampering with a witness by misleading conduct. The court permitted Ortiz to voluntarily surrender himself to a federal correctional facility to be designated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Ortiz remains on release under pretrial supervision pending designation of the correctional facility.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Ortiz was arrested on July 19, 2010 on charges in a 15-count indictment alleging that he violated a federal law that prohibits obstructive conduct intended unlawfully to affect the presentation of evidence in federal proceedings. On February 14, 2011, Ortiz entered a guilty plea to count one of the indictment. Specifically, Ortiz pled guilty to helping a criminal defendant cheat on a urinalysis test, thus preventing the U.S. Probation Department from reporting a possible violation of supervision to the federal court.

According to the indictment, Ortiz’s former employer, Relevancy, Inc., (“Relevancy”) collected urine samples for drug testing from criminal defendants who were supervised by U.S. Probation and were required by court order to undergo drug testing as a condition of their supervision. Under its contract with U.S. Probation, Relevancy was required accurately and honestly to label the urine samples with the names of criminal defendants providing the samples and then to transfer the properly labeled samples to the U.S. Probation laboratory where the samples were analyzed. With the expectation that urine samples were properly labeled, U.S. Probation routinely relied on the results of drug testing on the urine samples it received from Relevancy to prepare reports on criminal defendants that it submitted to federal judges, and the federal judges relied on the reports to determine whether criminal defendants had violated the conditions of their supervision.

The indictment charged Ortiz with 12 counts of helping criminal defendants cheat on urinalysis tests by discarding their urine samples and three counts of permitting criminal defendants to bring in substitute samples instead of providing their own urine samples for the drug tests. Ortiz entered his plea to count one, charging him with permitting a criminal defendant to substitute a urine sample. As required by the plea agreement, the court dismissed counts two through 15 of the indictment at the conclusion of Ortiz’s sentencing hearing.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel R. Meyers.

Methamphetamine - Community Prevention Tactics

June 20, 2008, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) On June 27, 2008, Conversations with Cops at the Watering Hole will feature a conversation with Former San Francisco Police Department Inspector Linda Flanders and Red Wing Police Department Chief of Police Tim Sletten about community prevention tactics and methamphetamine addiction.

Program Date: June 27, 2008
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Methamphetamine - Community Prevention Tactics
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2008/06/28/Methamphetamine-Community-Prevention-Tactics

About the Guests
In the 1970s, Linda Flanders was the first female police officer to join the Mill Valley police Department (California). By 1980, she had moved across the bay and joined the San Francisco Police Department. During her career she was promoted to the rank of Inspector and trained as a Child Interview Specialist. Linda Flanders worked for several years in the Juvenile Division’s Child Sexual Assault Detail.

Linda Flanders has a degree in Criminal Justice and became a Movement Education Teacher in 1991. Since 1999, she has worked as an independent educational filmmaker and, co-developed the “The Movie Making Process©” as a learning and teaching tool for today’s kids. Using a mix of art education, pop-culture and digital technology the process has developed into the 21st Century Prevention Program. The original work, “The Movie Making Process”© was recently nominated by the State of Wisconsin as their “Most Promising Prevention Program”.

Linda Flanders has published several articles on alternative learning styles and children who exhibit atypical behavior. And, is the author of the self-help Cinema-therapy book for teens Hollywood Endings and How To Get One. The prevention program for communities is called The Northern Lights; Shining The Light on the Meth-edemic and mixes entertainment and education to deal with methamphetamine specifically and addiction in general. Linda Flanders’ current project is to work with communities nationwide on the prevention program and evaluation, document it in a peer-reviewed article and submit the findings to the National Institute of Health as a model program. She is actively looking for communities to join this endeavor. www.taprootinc.com

Chief of Police Tim Sletten worked his way up through the ranks of the Red Wing Police Department (Minnesota) and was appointed Chief in 2004. He is very active with the town’s community groups and a visual presence at all events. As a small town Chief, he’s learning quickly how to deal with global issues at the local level. He’s an advocate for up-to date training, known for addressing community concerns immediately and recognizes the need to connect with young people through their own interests. Of The Northern Lights; Shining The Light on the Meth-edemic project, Chief Tim Sletten said, “This is the first thing I’ve ever seen that was created specifically for the kids.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530