Deer hunters in woods bag meth labs

Deer hunters this season are again finding meth labs and the garbage of abandoned meth labs in the woods of Michigan, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and other states. But at least in some areas, the number of labs is down from past years. "Due to a new law that bans sales of pseudoephedrine off the shelf, we have seen an extreme reduction in meth labs," says Rod Slings of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' law enforcement bureau. Source.

Arkansas woman sues over forced 12-step attendance

FAYETTEVILLE -- A federal lawsuit filed Thursday contends being sentenced to a 12-step program for substance abuse amounts to government-forced participation in religion.

Mindy Gayle Offutt sued Rogers District Judge Doug Schrantz in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, claiming the programs have a religious component as their central theme and require everyone to pray at the end of each meeting.

"An individual should be allowed to decide whether or not to accept a particular religion, or whether to accept any religion at all," according to the lawsuit filed by Doug Norwood, Offutt's attorney. "A government authority is prohibited by the First and Fourteenth Amendment from forcing any person to participate in any religious activity." Source.

Offut appears to be on solid constitutional ground; see the Warner, Griffin and Kerr cases and authorities discussed here.