Tatum O'Neal Arrested For Drug Possession

Police say Academy Award-winning actress Tatum O'Neal has been arrested after buying crack cocaine near her home in Manhattan.
Police say the 44-year-old actress was seen making the illicit purchase at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. She is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
O'Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal, appears regularly on the cable television series "Rescue Me" and was the youngest person to win an Oscar for her role in 1973's "Paper Moon."
She chronicled her struggles with addiction in her memoir, "A Paper Life."
Police could not say whether she had an attorney. Messages left for a publicist were not returned early Monday

Man accused of handing pot to court security

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A man was arrested after pulling marijuana from his pocket at a security check at a court. The man was visiting the courts section of the Bradley County Justice Center on Monday when he was asked to empty his pockets into a plastic bowl, a standard procedure.
Sheriff Tim Gobble said the items he placed in the bowl included marijuana and rolling papers. When questioned, the man ran from the building, but officers captured him within minutes.
`The man faces charges of having contraband in a penal institution and evading arrest

16 Year Old Dies After Taking Oxycodone, Friend gets Charged

CATOOSA COUNTY, GA-The Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department took a 15-year-old white male from Ringgold into custody Monday night, March 3. The juvenile, whose name has not been released, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of 16-year-old Timothy Lebron Smith, three counts of distributing prescription drugs and one count of possession of prescription drugs.

The suspect is believed to have supplied 80 mg. Oxycodone pills to three friends at Ringgold High School on Friday, Feb. 29 and retained several pills for his own use, police said. Investigators believe the teen took the Oxycodone from his grandfather, who has cancer, lockbox.

According to Summers, four students consumed the pills, two of them became seriously ill from taking two pills, another was hospitalized from taking three pills, and Timothy Lebron Smith, who consumed four pills, was found dead on Saturday, March 1, at his friends house where he had spent the night. The juvenile charged with voluntary manslaughter was one of the four students.

According to Summers, the 15-year-old will be prosecuted as a juvenile and there are no plans to seek prosecution as an adult. According to drug intelligence, the suspect has not been involved in a situation like this before.

“I don’t think a lot of kids understand the ramifications of taking drugs from home,” said Sheriff Summers. “Oxycodone is a time-released drug,” explained Sheriff Summers. “They were probably uneducated about the drug, took a couple pills and when they felt no effect, they took more. By the time they knew something was wrong, it was too late.”

State to Ban Hallucinogenic Plant! Will more Follow?

On January 1st a law will take effect in Illinois that will make possession or sale of a plant called Salvia divinorum a felony.

The plant can cause hallucinations within seconds after it’s smoked or ingested. Violators could face harsh legal consequences.

Due to the change in the law, people are stocking up on it. Salvia, apparently is a type of hallucinogenic that can be similar to LSD although, this comparison is not well supported by people that use Salvia.

Federal drug laws do not address the substance, so some states are choosing to adopt laws regulating it.

Several people are going to their local retailers to stock up on the herb before the law goes into effect.
Other States with similar laws are: Tennessee, Delaware, North Dakota and Missouri. Louisiana, Maine and Oklahoma, also have laws controlling Salvia.