Psychoactive Drugs

Heroin: O'Fallon Mom Speaks of Daughter's Overdose, Rallies Against "The Silent Killer"

On February 4, 2010, Gee Vigna and her husband discovered a horrible sight in the room of their seventeen-year-old daughter, Nicky. "We had no idea she was using any drugs," Gee tells Daily RFT. Nicky had overdosed on heroin. Doctors pointed to track marks on her arm. "That was the beginning of ... More >>

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Afraid of Pot Reform? Show-Me Cannabis Says It Was Denied

Show-Me Cannabis, Missouri's marijuana reform advocacy group, has been spreading the word across the state about the need for more sensible pot policies -- and eventually hopes to push for legalization. Next week, the group was supposed to run a booth at Pointfest, 105.7 the Point's annual festival, ... More >>

Meth Explosion Sends Suspect Running Naked Through Streets

Police say they've located the nude man seen fleeing an explosion early Wednesday morning in Farmington. The suspect, a 22-year-old male from the nearby eastern Missouri town of Bismarck, checked himself into Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis last week and is undergoing treatment for severe burns ... More >>

Parkway Students Caught With Marijuana; KTVI Explores the Dangers of Pot Brownies (VIDEO)

"It's a high that won't result in higher achievement." So says KTVI (Channel 2) which has an earnest, in-depth, punny report on the dangers of marijuana -- after two Parkway West High School students allegedly brought pot brownies to school where they intended to hand them out. From a marijuana a ... More >>

St. Louis Cannabis Conference: Pro-Legalization Police Officer Says "The Public is Waking Up"

Tony Ryan, who served as a police officer for more than three decades, says he's never smoked marijuana in his life -- but now, post-retirement, he's devoting much of his energy to the cause of legalization. "Marijuana is one of the most enforced of the illegal drugs, even though it's the absolute ... More >>

Marijuana: Poll Says Majority of Missourians Favor Legalizing Pot, Regulating Like Alcohol

When advocates of marijuana legalization in Missouri successfully get a measure on the ballot to end pot prohibition -- voters of the state will support it. So says new polling data released by advocacy group Show-Me Cannabis Regulation, which says that the legalization of pot could pass as early ... More >>

Missouri Heroin Epidemic: Would a Drug Monitoring Program Help Curb Rise in Use?

Missouri is the only state in the country that doesn't have a so-called "prescription drug monitoring program" -- a fact that could be contributing to the rapid growth of heroin use in the state, as evidenced by new data we reported on last week. "There are a lot of people who are 'doctor shoppers ... More >>

Meth Lab Hotel? Extended Stay In Springfield, Missouri Site of Two Busts in Two Weeks

As we reported last week, Missouri once again had the most meth lab busts of any state in the country last year -- and folks in Springfield are apparently working to make sure the state is a winner in 2013, too. We've got the details on not one, but two, reportedly unrelated meth busts in the same ... More >>

Photos: Top Twelve Craziest Meth Busts In Missouri, The Meth Capital Of The U.S.

In case you missed it, Missouri is, yet again, number one in the nation for meth lab busts, new data shows. This is not much of a surprise to law enforcement officials in the state who deal with this every day -- especially those in Jefferson County, which has the second highest concentration of met ... More >>

Missouri Leads the Nation in Meth Labs (Again), Jefferson County Second Highest In Country

Toward the start of every new year, the Drug Enforcement Agency adds up the number of "meth incidents" from the previous year and divvies them up by state. More than once, Missouri has come out the state with the highest number of meth lab busts. The latest figures show that 2012 was another banner ... More >>

Madison County Meth Lab: "He Heard a Loud Pop...And Found [His] Home Was On Fire"

Here's one reason to maybe not operate a meth lab out of your home. On Sunday, the Madison County Sheriff's Office and a local fire department were called to respond to a residential fire in Cottage Hills, Illinois. Thankfully, no one was harmed, but an investigation revealed that the the cause wa ... More >>

Want to Make Some Meth? Not With This Sinus Medication...

Looking to abuse your mind and body by cooking up some meth? Better skip the latest nasal decongestant on the St. Louis market: Zephrex-D. Several area pharmacies (including Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS) started carrying "Zephrex-D", a new sinus med from a Maryland Heights-based drug company called ... More >>

Republican State House Candidate Called Out for Support of Marijuana Legalization [UPDATE]

Update: We just heard back from Chairman of the Boone County Republican Central Committee C. Bruce Cornett. Meet Mitch Richards. He's the crazy young Republican candidate for the 47th House District in Columbia. He's pro-gun, he's pro-life, he thinks big government should butt out. But he also has ... More >>

Gregg Williams, Barred from Coaching the Rams, Heads to Thailand

Gregg Williams was supposed to be in St. Louis right now, preparing the Rams' defense for a march toward respectability, or at least some semblance of competence. Instead, Williams was banned from contact with the team by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the season for his role in the New Orleans ... More >>

Eight-Year-Old Finds Mobile Meth Lab Behind East Carondelet Home

An unidentified home owner in East Carondelet, Illinois, allowed some family members and friends to stay at her house, but soon grew suspicious of what they were doing. One of the early signs of trouble was when her children heard a "loud boom" in the woods. Then her eight-year-old child discovered ... More >>

Larry J. Davis Pleads Guilty to Marijuana Distribution Charge

Larry J. Davis, the former St. Louis Police Sergeant who used his official position to run a marijuana distribution operation with his brother Linus Davis, pleaded guilty this morning to one felony count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and one felony count of possession ... More >>

Missouri Meth Lab Seizures Hit New Record; State Leads Nation Again

Confiscated meth equipment.​Once again, Missouri has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in the number of meth labs seized in 2011. Law enforcement uncovered 2,096 labs in Missouri last year, an increase of six percent over the 1,960 discovered in 2010. Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and O ... More >>

Shake-and-Bake Meth Becomes Run-and-Gun

​Bootheel Drug Task Force investigators were in Steele, MO, earlier this week watching a farm house suspected of being an illegal drug manufacturing operation when a vehicle left. The agents pursued the vehicle, which stopped in the middle of the road and then disgorged its driver, who took off on ... More >>

Cop Ganks Dank, Feds Spank

​Here's why your package from Humboldt didn't arrive in time for Christmas: Sergeant Larry J. Davis of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department enjoys his job so much that he allegedly took work home with him on a regular basis. Davis is assigned to the Central Patrol Division-Special Operatio ... More >>

Obama's War on Weed

In a strange about-face, the president tries to hack medical marijuana off at the knees

Marijuana Can't Stay Out of the Food News

Wikimedia CommonsMarijuana can't stay out of food news. ​ There aren't many rules regarding marijuana consumption, except for those laws that make it illegal. In the past week, though, marijuana keeps appearing in food news. And it's not just pot brownies giving people the munchies. Well, in ... More >>

Angela Halliday was a junkie. Does that make her a murderer?

Missourians Are More Sober Than Rest of U.S., Study Shows

​For those who think Missouri is home to a bunch of meth-makers, heroin addicts and beer swillers, the most recent national statistics out of Washington show that, surprisingly, this is far from being true. In fact, when crunching the latest data for both drugs and alcohol, Missouri ranks eith ... More >>

Charlie Sheen's Ex Brooke Mueller to Kick Her Habit With ... Ibogaine

courtesy of the Riverfront TimesShock the Junkie: It's Brooke Mueller's turn, reports TMZ.com.​You gotta love those crackerjack reporters at TMZ.com. Not only are they soo all over the Charlie Sheen saga -- they've actually stayed on top of the equally tragic tale of the mother of his surrogate-sp ... More >>

3 Reasons Why Medical Marijuana is Junk Science, According to Feds

Medical marijuana: You're outta here!​On Friday the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services at long last responded to an 11-year-old petition that asked the federal government to reconsider its stance on the use of medical marijuana. The ruling last week likely won't encourage Missouri to jo ... More >>

Southern Illinois Prosecutor Vows to Get Tough on Heroin

​We've been reporting about the rise in heroin overdoses in the region, and one of the people who's come out strongly against the epidemic is Stephen Wigginton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Last month, Wigginton announced that his office had begun to treat overdose case ... More >>

St. Louis County Police Enact Tougher Policy for Fighting Heroin

​Tim Fitch, chief of the St. Louis County Police Department, stood up at a press conference this morning and recounted the words of a local heroin user who was describing the very first time he ingested it: "I saw God." That user, Fitch says, needed to see God "again and again and again," so ... More >>

Burger King Giving Away 272 Million Chicken Tenders

There's a lot more where that came from!​Burger King has reformulated its chicken tenders to include actual chicken with a new shape and seasoning for the breading. To promote these new tenders, the perpetual fast-food bridesmaid is mailing coupons good for free four-piece servings. Watch your mai ... More >>

Missouri Leads Nation in Meth Lab Busts -- Again

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergMeth lab detritus seized last year in Franklin County.​For the tenth year in a row, Missouri led the nation in the number of meth lab seizures last year. In 2010, Missouri law enforcement busted 1,960 meth labs, a 10 percent increase over the 1,774 busts in 2009 and a 53 ... More >>

Destroyer, The War on Drugs Open the Luminary Center for the Arts' 2011 Season

In the past two years, the Luminary Center for the Arts' Elevator Music Series has brought tons of up-and-coming bands to town -- including (but not limited to) Javelin, Warpaint, Abe Vigoda and Menomena. The 2011 edition of this occasional music series is upholding tradition: The first show of the ... More >>

Dominic Orlando: De Soto Man Busted for Home Meth Lab

Dominic Orlando: His chemistry skills caught up with him yesterday.​Dominic Orlando, 47, was arrested by Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies yesterday and charged with possession of chemicals with intent to distribute.And, this being Missouri, we're not talking about calcium chloride or ferrous su ... More >>

Jay Nixon and Chris Koster Propose Pseudoephedrine Prescription to Cure Missouri's Meth Problem

Image viaLet's hope meth cooks don't have health insurance​The Show-Me State's governor and attorney general announced today that they support a law to require a doctor's prescription to obtain pseudoephedrine, an ingredient found in several types of cold medicine that can be used to manufacture m ... More >>

Ibogaine is a hallucinogen that has helped addicts kick their drug habits. Is it the trip that does the trick?

How Realistic is the Ibogaine Episode of Law & Order: SVU?

Image viaA hallucinogenic cure for drug addiction raises eyebrows -- cast of SVU included​This week's feature story, "Shock the Junkie" takes an in-depth look at ibogaine, a potent hallucinogenic drug that's derived from the roots of an African shrub and used as a treatment for drug addiction.Ibog ... More >>

Seven Arrested in Jefferson County Meth Lab Bust

Meth: It does a body bad.​A meth lab seizure in Jefferson County last week has led to drug charges against five area men and two females. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, deputies arrived last Thursday to a residence in the 12000 block of Big Pine Place in rural Desoto aft ... More >>

Steven Martin: The Second-Most Disturbing Mugshot You'll See This Week

Jesse Driskill, meet Steven Martin:Image sourceWink Wink Steven Martin is in the Clink​Martin (definitely not the banjo-strumming comedian, as the immaculate mugshot above makes clear) was indicted earlier this week for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. A whole lot of methamphetamine.

Whose Relative Embarrassed Them More this Week -- Francis Slay's or Charlie Dooley's?

Dooley and Slay: Not the black sheep of the family. ​So, I'm thinking St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley is probably going to win this one, but we'll throw it out to you -- the reader -- to decide. Dooley and his city counterpart, Mayor Francis Slay, both tangentially made news yesterday fo ... More >>

Illinois Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Up In Smoke

Image sourceRIP Compassionate Use of Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program Act​"Illinois House lawmakers will likely not pass the dutchie until next legislative session."That's lede from an NBC Chicago story today on medical marijuana in the Land of Lincoln about the imminent demise of the Compassionat ... More >>

Missouri Poised to Lead Nation in Meth Lab Busts For Fourth Straight Year

Courtesy of the Missouri State Highway PatrolMissouri busted 1,776 meth labs last year and we're on pace for more than 1,800 in 2010.​Missouri has already done the three-peat -- leading the nation in meth lab seizures for three consecutive years, including a whopping 1,774 busts last year, nearly ... More >>

Alderman Shane Cohn Puts St. Louis Marijuana Decriminalization Rumor To Rest

Shane Cohn: "Certainly the war on drugs has not been the most successful thing in world."​Turns out 56 percent of Daily RFT readers were right: Shane Cohn is the St. Louis alderman considering marijuana decriminalization in St. Louis. Well, sort of.Last week Mayor Slay's website featured several " ... More >>

Dennis Powell: Hannibal Man Sentenced for Drugs Busted Trying to Bring Pot to Prison

hannibal.netDennis Powell​If at first you don't succeed, fail, fail again. That's the lesson learned from Dennis R. Powell. Powell, 19, was being processed at the Marion County Jail in Palmyra, Missouri, this month on a previous drug charge when authorities say they discovered marijuana on the new ... More >>

Are Some Missouri Counties Ignoring Meth Labs?

Provided by the Missouri State Highway PatrolMissouri meth labs in 2009. Click for larger image.​While the focus of this week's RFT feature is meth lab explosions and the impact that injured meth cooks are having on hospitals across the Midwest, the story also touches on the reasons why meth has r ... More >>

The potentially explosive "shake-and-bake" method is burning its way through meth land

Serious Weight: Dealer Sentenced for Moving 8.5 Tons of Pot Over 5 Years

So, exactly how much is 8.5 tons of pot? Obligatory photograph of pot.Answer: 17,000 pounds or 7,711 kilograms or 103 Michael Phelpses or 38,555 copies of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or 453,592 Twinkies or 131,949 White Castle Sliders. That's how much mary jane an East St. Louis drug de ... More >>

"Mayor-Juana" Cottleville's Don Yarber A Hit At Missouri NORML Meeting

photo by Keegan HamiltonDon Yarber's mustache also supports medical marijuana in Missouri​Riverfront Times founder Ray Hartmann had to cancel his speaking engagement Saturday at Missouri NORML's Spring Conference on Cherokee Street.Maybe it was just the mellow attitudes of the two dozen or so peop ... More >>

RFT Founder Ray Hartmann to Speak at Missouri NORML Conference on Saturday

Ray Hartmann at the University of Missouri, his alma mater​If you see smoke wafting out of the Randall Building at 3022A Cherokee Street on Saturday don't call the fire department. It's probably harmless.The Missouri chapter of NORML -- the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law -- ... More >>

Missouri State Troopers Nab 3,700 Pounds of Marijuana

Missouri Highway PatrolA file photo from a 2009 Missouri bust that netted just 1,350 pounds of pot.​Updated: 3:27 p.m.Just spoke to Sgt. Jim Haggett of the Missouri Highway Patrol's Troop E. Haggett informs that while large, Sunday's bust of 3,669 pounds of pot is shy of the record 4,100 pounds of ... More >>

Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber Continues to Blaze A Path to Medical Marijuana in Missouri, Passes Sticky Issue to Voters

Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber and his wife Sylvia​Last time we covered Cottleville, Don Yarber, the city's 70 year-old mayor, was extolling the benefits of medical marijuana (his wife used it to combat the side effects of breast cancer chemotherapy) and cajoling state lawmakers to let voters decide ... More >>

Scary Numbers Part II: Man Has 11 Kids, Gets 13 Years In Jail, For Selling 62.4 Grams of Crack

www.flickr.com/photos/skyzyx​A week ago we crunched the numbers on Christopher Elders, the 30 year-old Affton man who posed as a 17 year-old in order to sodomize a 14 year-old girl. The criminal testing our math skills this time around is Lewis Lawson of East St. Louis. Lawson, 32, was sentenced t ... More >>

Oh, Meth! New Campaign Against Meth Use Hopefully as Catchy as Old One

As we reported last week, U.S. "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikowske is in St. Louis today to unveil the White House Office of National Drug Policy's new anti-meth campaign. Here's hoping the campaign is as good as the last one featured here.  Continue on to view the full press release of today's announ ... More >>