In the heartland: Powder heroin No. 1 drug

Powder heroin is the drug of choice in Shelby, Ohio, says police Capt. Lance Combs.

"We're seeing a lot more property crime, which I think we can attribute to heroin abuse," Combs said. "We see a lot of thefts of checks and forgeries and smash-and-grabs from vehicles. They just run out of money."

Death from overdose is not uncommon. Combs said Shelby, a town of 9,000 people, has had five fatal overdoses in the last two years.

"The availability of it is what kills us," Combs said. "We try to focus on the people who are selling it as much as we can."

But that's not easy. -- Read details in the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum.

Ney asks for alcohol treatment (and time off)

Former Rep. Bob Ney (R.-Ohio), caught and convicted as part of the Jack Abramoff pay-for-play Congressional lobbying scandal, claimed that alcohol contributed to his misdeeds and asked for referral to an addiction treatment program in prison.

Hint: Completion of the treatment program would shave a year off his sentence. Source.

Cincinnati warns firefighters after DUI killing

Cincinnati authorities delivered a new directive to firefighters today: if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, do not show up at your firehouse.

The order comes two days after six-year firefighter Joseph Dance allegedly drove his vehicle head-on into Lisa Kreutzer, 25, killing her, while under the influence of alcohol. Dance was indicted Thursday for aggravated vehicular homicide. He was believed to be on his way to the firehouse to sleep it off. Details.

Cincinnati: Parents of heroin victims march for awareness

Cincinnati: Family members who have lost loved ones to drug addiction took to downtown streets Wednesday as part of a new awareness campaign.

Carol Wagner of Northern Kentucky lost her son to a heroin overdose in May of 2005, and organized the march.

This year she had a billboard reading "Drugs killed my boy." placed in Over The Rhine and other drug hot spots.

Her goal is to educate others about addiction in hopes of saving others.

The group marched through the streets of downtown not far from areas where drug dealers are known to do their business.

Charlotte Wethington said, "My son Casey died of a heroin overdose. Heroin he purchased on Republic street here in Cincinnati."

Casey was 23 years old. His mom took to the streets with a sign asking for treatment to become a top priority.

More from WCPO.com. One of the parents has started a foundation.

Students defeat trademark for "Cocaine" drink

A group of law students at Cleveland State University's College of Law shot down an application by a Las Vegas company to register "Cocaine" as a federal trademark for a soft drink. Enrolled in Prof. Michael Davis' intellectual property class, the students filed an opposition to the application on the ground that the proposed mark was 'immoral and scandalous,' a statutory ground for refusal. After initially approving the application, the Trademark Office reversed itself and issued a denial, subject to appeal.

According to Irina Vinogradsky and Angela Simmons, they and the three other students were partly motivated by personal feelings against the name “Cocaine.” “It’s not just academic to everyone in the group,” said Ms. Vinogradsky, adding that the students shared a “very strong feeling that it’s immoral.”

Read details in the New York Times. The students also claimed that the label was deceptive. The maker claims that the drink contains 280 mg of caffeine plus a confidential ingredient that supposedly provides a lasting "energy buzz." Source.

The drink's inventor, James Kirby, 42, says, “We had little money for marketing and advertising, so we chose a way to get as much as we could for free." The strategy worked; the notoriety and controversy surrounding the name got priceless headlines, including the New York Times story.

The Food and Drug Administration hasn't been heard from yet. You can't legally label iced tea "Whiskey." And the Coca-Cola Company hasn't weighed in yet, either; Kirby's new bright red beverage containers bear a remarkable resemblance to Coke, whose original formula actually contained what Kirby's drink only pretends to.

For one trademark lawyer's commentary, see this blog.

He thought she was Lindsay Lohan

A Columbus OH man has been arrested and charged with molesting an 8-year-old girl at the New Life Christian Center last month, Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said yesterday.

Randall B. Tharp, 23, is charged with two counts of kidnapping and single counts of abduction, attempted rape and gross sexual imposition, all felonies, Phalen said. He was arrested about 6 p.m. in Whitehall and taken to the Fairfield County jail.

Tharp was at the church along Rt. 33 just north of Lancaster on Nov. 29 while his friend attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting there, Phalen said. Tharp allegedly grabbed the girl, took her into a bathroom and attacked her. The girl screamed and the man ran away, Phalen said. Source.

Alcohol bracelet impresses judge

Troy, OH: "To my astonishment, nobody drank alcohol," Miami County Judge Mel Kemmer told county commissioners in his evaluation of ten alcohol-detection bracelets purchased as an experiment in drunk driving cases. The bracelets, sold under the commercial name SCRAM, are worn on the ankle and measure alcohol in perspiration. A miniaturized transmitter and modem relay results to a central server at the court house. Source.

A less enthusiastic review of the devices appears on the website of a drinking driver defense lawyers' group, here.

Bar owners, AA club unite to fight smoking ban

Toledo, OH: A raucous, smoke-choked barroom meeting found bar owners and AA members united in opposition to a smoking ban passed by the state's voters and effective today. A lawyer hired by the bar owners advised the crowd to file a lawsuit against the measure, and meanwhile to defy the law and keep puffing.

United with the bar owners in opposition to the smoking ban was a member of the local AA club. The Toledo Blade reports:

Roy A. said he was misled.

He was certain that Idle Time, 2044 Genesee, a club for Alcoholics Anonymous members, was protected from the ban, so he voted for it. (Alcoholics Anonymous requires its members to remain anonymous.)

"I voted only because I thought it wasn't going to affect us. I thought us, the bowling alleys, and the VFW, and The Eagles, were exempt," he said, adding that almost all of the club's 200 members smoke. While they do not permit smoking at AA meetings, they allow it afterward. The law would change that. He intends to support the move to challenge the law.

Source. The statement echoes the stance of an Omaha AA group reported here earlier.

Dead priest was drunk

CINCINNATI: A coroner's report says a Roman Catholic priest who died in a one-car crash early Tuesday was drunk when his car ran off Interstate-75 north of Cincinnati.

The Butler County coroner says the Reverend Charles Mentrup had an estimated blood-alcohol level three times higher than the legal limit of point-zero-eight percent.

The coroner says the 47-year-old priest died of a skull fracture when his car hit an embankment and he was thrown from the vehicle. Source.

Media underreport role of alcohol in crime, accidents

COLUMBUS , Ohio – The news media seriously underreport the role alcohol plays in violent crimes, injuries and traffic accidents, according to a new national study.

While alcohol is believed to play a role in about one-third of homicides and fatal motor vehicle accidents, media reports linked alcohol to specific accidents or crimes significantly less frequently.

Some of the largest discrepancies occurred in reporting alcohol use in violent crimes, particularly for television news. Only 1.4 percent of television news stories in the sample mentioned the role of alcohol in their reporting of homicides, according to Michael Slater, co-author of the study and professor of communication at Ohio State University Source.

Slater, working on a grant from the NIAAA, doesn't ask why this underreporting happens. Might it have something to do with publishers' reluctance to risk offending alcohol industry advertisers?