Psychoactive Drugs

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Finally Gets Hearing on Last Day of Missouri Session

A proposal to decriminalize marijuana across the state will have a hearing this morning at the Missouri House of Representatives -- which appears to be the farthest this effort has ever gone in the legislature. It will not, however, make it much farther this time around given that today is the las ... More >>

Marijuana Reform Now Law in St. Louis, Chief Sam Dotson Says Will Improve Prosecutions

Last month, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a measure to reform local marijuana laws so that minor possession cases will be handled as fines in city court and not misdemeanor charges in state court. Mayor Francis Slay officially signed the bill into law last week, his spoke ... More >>

Meth: Anti-Smurfing Campaign Comes to St. Louis To Discourage Illegal Medicine Sales

St. Louis police want to make it a little bit harder for cooks to make meth -- by scaring those who illegally secure ingredients for them. The state attorney general's office partnered with the metro police department in announcement yesterday that a so-called "Anti-Smurfing Campaign" is coming to ... More >>

Heroin: Huge Jump in Missouri, More White, Suburban, Female Users, Worse Than Meth

Missouri may be the Meth Capital of the United States -- but the state may have an even bigger problem when it comes to heroin use. So says a new study released this week that shows that heroin is, in some ways, more of a concern for law-enforcement officials than meth -- and overdose rates have inc ... More >>

Video: Illinois Family Accused of Running Meth Lab Is Actually Just Making Maple Syrup

Yesterday, we told you about the consequences of running a secret math lab in your home -- one being that you might accidentally destroy your home, as was the case with a Madison County fire-turned-drug-bust. But today, we have for you a different meth lesson -- one about the dangers of doing someth ... More >>

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill: How Many Cases Does St. Louis Circuit Attorney Handle?

One of the more contentious proposals making headlines this month at the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen is an initiative to decriminalize marijuana in the city -- by pushing law enforcement agencies to avoid harsh prosecutions of those caught with small amounts of pot. Some new amendments are ex ... More >>

Two Twenty-Somethings in Godfrey Caught With Lots of Drugs

Investigators at the Madison County Sheriff's Office say they got tipped off on Friday about a big ol' stash of drugs at 2704 Queen Street in Godfrey. So they secured a search warrant and visited the residence. Sure enough, they foundEight pounds of potSeventeen grams of cocaineForty-six doses of LS ... More >>

Yes, the County Has Made a Dent in Youth Heroin Deaths. But Work Remains

In 2011, as heroin deaths surged in St. Louis County, folks from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse non-profit teamed up with state officials and county law enforcers to launch the "Not Even Once" campaign. The point was to let young people know -- through speeches, moive and bus ads ... More >>

Study: Marijuana Legalization Would Put $149 Million in Missouri's Pocket

Imagine a world where pot is legal, regulated, and taxed. In this world, Missouri is rolling around in a giant pile of money and making it rain all over the place. That's according to a new study released by the National Cannabis Coalition in conjunction with Show-Me Cannabis. The group commissione ... More >>

Jimmy Tebeau Was Sentenced Today and Will Play at Old Rock House Tonight [Update]

Update, 4:50 p.m.: Jimmy Tebeau has been sentenced to "30 months on one felony count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, fined $50,000, and ordered to serve 200 hours of community service. He has also agreed to forfeit to the United States approximately 350 acres in Shannon County, Missouri, k ... More >>

Red Roof Inn: Free Local Calls, Continental Breakfast and a Meth Lab

So, in addition to worrying about who's effluvia is all over the bed sheets and if there's a spy-cam under the sink when you check in to a motel, now you have to be aware that the folks in the room by the ice machine could be running a meth lab.

Linus R. Davis: Pleads Guilty to Drug Conspiracy Charges

​Linus R. Davis, 43, the St. Louis County man who was charged with diverting seized packages containing marijuana for distribution and sale, has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and one felony count  possession with intent to dist ... More >>

Proposals Seek to Legalize Marijuana in Missouri

Is Missouri going to pot?​Missourians could get to vote on whether to legalize marijuana if two recently filed initiatives get enough signatures to land on the November 2012 ballot. On Monday the Missouri Secretary of State's Office approved the wording for the petitions that would legalize the pu ... More >>

Illinois State Police Uncover Massive Marijuana Shipments in Metro East

​Illinois State Police have seized 743 pounds of cannabis valued in excess of $3.4 million during two traffic stops along Interstate 70 in metro East St. Louis within the past 30 days. On August 29, District 11 troopers stopped a silver Ford pickup on I-70 near Troy and located 633 pounds of can ... More >>

Kindergartener Brings Mom's Meth, Crack Pipe to Show-and-Tell

Mommy calls this her "little helper."​Here's yet further proof that Missouri lives up to its billing as the "Meth Capital of the United States": A kindergartner in western Missouri recently brought his mom's crack pipe and $3,700 worth of crystal meth to his school's show-and-tell. According to KC ... More >>

D'oh! Dealer Texts Sheriff About Drugs for Sale

Hey officer -- wanna buy some weed?​We've heard of stupid criminals, but your average dumbass has nothing on Amy R. Horman.According to the Southeast Missourian, this rocket scientist actually sent a sheriff's deputy a text message, asking if he'd like to buy some dope. Naturally enough, the dude ... More >>

!!! (DJ Set)

8:30 p.m. Sunday, August 28. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

The Drug Cocktails That Might Fuel Five Of Our Favorite Musicians

Big Boi mugs for the camera.​Did you hear the one about the rapper who got busted for Ecstasy and Viagra? Earlier this week, Outkast rapper Big Boi got pinched for MDMA powder, Ecstasy pills, and an illegal prescription of the little blue pill for his disco stick. Which got us thinking -- what ... More >>

Bridgeton Cop Sentenced For Taking Bribe From Dealer

​The United States Attorney for Eastern Missouri announced yesterday a two-year sentence for William Scott Haenel, 38, a former Bridgeton cop who admitted to accepting a $5,000 bribe from a drug dealer he didn't realize was working for the feds. Court documents reveal that Haenel, who also w ... More >>

St. Louis Heroin "Epidemic" Topic of Forum Tonight at Pattonville High School

Smoking (and snorting) heroin has increased its popularity.​For the second time this year, St. Louis area police chiefs and drug counselors will gather together to discuss what's been called an "epidemic" of heroin use in the region. As we reported earlier this year, the number of heroin overdoses ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Up In Smoke In Illinois

​Illinois won't become the sixteenth state in the nation to pass a medical-marijuana law. Yesterday a bill that would have allowed the state to institute a three-year pilot program to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana failed in the Illinois House by a vote of 53 to 61. The bill faced steep o ... More >>

Comment of the Day: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Legislature

Today's comment comes in response to Chad Garrison's post about the Illinois Legislature scuttling plans to give medical marijuana a try. Our favorite comment came from Daily RFT regular Handsome Jimmy, who writes,It seems to me that there is a rather easy access to high quality herb anyway, so fuc ... More >>

Dump Unwanted Prescription Drugs This Saturday

​In recent years, the act of raiding mom and dad's liquor cabinet has spun off into raiding grandma's medicine cabinet for kids who want to get buzzed. "Pharm parties" have cropped up across the nation, involving prescription drugs like Oxycodone, Fentanyl and Percoset. Opiate-drug addictions, ... More >>

Press Conference Today to Address Rise of Heroin in St. Louis County

Heroin now accounts for 46 percent of police drug buys in St. Louis County.​Members of the St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association along with the DEA, prosecuting attorneys and local drug treatment centers will host a news conference today addressing the problem of heroin in the St. Louis area. ... More >>

Meth Lab Used as Molotov Cocktail Against Missouri Sheriff's Deputy

openclipart.orgMeth: Not just for getting high anymore. ​Here at Riverfront Times we've chronicled just how dangerous the "shake-and-bake" method of making meth can be, with junkies creating the highly flammable drug inside plastic bottles. Now comes the first incident we know of in which a mobile ... More >>

Meth-Fighting Missouri Pseudoephedrine Ban Could Face Filibuster

Sudafed shouldn't need a 'scrip, says State Senator Rob Schaaf.​In hopes of combating the state's never-ending meth problem, state legislators have been pushing a bill to make cold medicines that include pseudoephedrine available by prescription only.That would include Sudafed, Claritin and a host ... More >>

Heroin Getting Out of Control in Metro East, Says U.S. Attorney

Zia Nizami / AP Attorney Wigginton​The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois has declared a war on heroin. The drug, once limited in the number of victims it reached, has hit the St. Louis region like a tidal wave in the last three years, leaving both low-income and af ... More >>

Carlos Boles: Felon Who Killed U.S. Marshal Had Lengthy Rap Sheet

Fox 2Carlos Boles​As you've likely heard by now, one of the U.S. marshals shot yesterday while trying to arrest a suspect yesterday in St. Louis on drug and assault charges is now dead. John Perry, 48, succumbed to a bullet wound around 7 p.m. Tuesday at Saint Louis University Hospital. Another ma ... More >>

Cops Bust Truck Hauling Tomatoes and 600 Pounds of Pot on I-55/70

​On Monday morning, February 14, Illinois State Police found 600 pounds of marijuana in a tractor-trailer hauling tomatoes on Interstate 55/70 near Highway 159 in Collinsville. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Jose A. Martinez of Glendale, Arizona, and Manuel Medrano of Merced, Calif ... More >>

Missouri's New Growth Industry: Pill Brokers

Hot new career opportunity: Popping blister packs in your car.​Unemployment got you down? There's a hot new career opportunity in Missouri -- and all it takes is a little initiative and a tiny amount of overhead.Enough overhead, that is, to buy cold medicine.As the AP reports in a story out today, ... More >>

Camp Zoe Update: Highway Patrol Busted Thousands En Route To Festivals

Image viaSince 2007, state troopers have arrested more than 2,000 people at checkpoints near Camp Zoe ​Just after midnight on October 29, 2008, the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulled over a 1989 Ford van on Route 19 in Eminence, Missouri. The driver, a 23-year-old from Desoto named Joseph Wayne ... More >>

Roadblock: Highway Patrol Busted Thousands En Route To Camp Zoe

Image viaSince 2007, state troopers have arrested more than 2,000 people at checkpoints near Camp Zoe ​Just after midnight on October 29, 2008, the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulled over a 1989 Ford van on Route 19 in Eminence, Missouri. The driver, a 23-year-old from Desoto named Joseph Wayne ... More >>

Sick: America's Most Profitable Drugs Don't Cure Anything

Image viaDrug money​If you read this week's feature story on the addiction-curing hallucinogenic drug ibogaine and non-hallucinogenic alternatives like 18-MC, you might have been left wondering, "If this stuff works as well as everybody says it does, why hasn't a pharmaceutical company started sel ... More >>

How to Solve Missouri's Meth Problem

Image viaElectronic tracking of cold meds can't stop Shake'n Bake​Remember that fancy new electronic database Missouri pharmacies were required to install earlier this year so police could have access to personal information of people who buy cold medicine that contains the drug pseudoephedrine, t ... More >>

Missouri on Pace to Lead Nation in Meth Lab Seizures -- Again

Image ViaA "shake and bake" lab.​It's looking like 2010 will mark the 10th consecutive year that Missouri leads the nation in the number meth labs confiscated by police. As the Southeast Missourian reports today, Missouri law enforcement has seized more than 1,400 meth labs through September -- an ... More >>

Surprise! Missouri's K2 Ban is Completely Ineffective

Image viaClearly, arresting people will stop them from using drugs.​The Post-Dispatch reports today that Missouri's recently enacted ban on synthetic marijuana (marketed as K2, Spice and a dozen other brand names) is about as effective as, well, the law that prohibits people from smoking real mari ... More >>

Reggie Moses: Convicted of Robbing Drug Dealers, Impersonating Omar From The Wire

Image viaOmar Little or Reggie Moses?​"Let's say we had a disagreement.""A disagreement over...?""Well, you see, Mike-Mike thought he should keep that cocaine he was slingin' and the money he was makin' from slingin' it. I thought otherwise."That's an excerpt from the famous courtroom scene in the ... More >>

Police Discover 35 Meth Labs in One Home In Franklin County

Image sourceNeither delicious nor nutritious​Ok, "meth lab" might be a bit of a misnomer in this case. The tweaker in question was using the "shake and bake" recipe for cooking the drug. The Franklin County Narcotics Enforcement Unit reportedly found at least 35 plastic bottles containing residue ... More >>

A Common Sense Approach to Meth Finally Comes Before Congress

Russ Carnahan​"After decades of failed methamphetamine policy - from increased sentences for nonviolent meth-related offenses to making every American show ID to buy cough medicine - Congress is finally learning what teenagers learn in high school economics: as long as there is a demand for someth ... More >>

Shots and Books

Deaths Stun St. Louis Medical Marijuana Community

Two men actively involved in campaigning for medical cannabis in Missouri died in recent weeks, saddening St. Louis' tight-knit community of marijuana activists.Gary Davey, former president of the Greater St. Louis chapter of NORML, died Sunday, May 9, of a heart attack. He was 48.Rik Ebner, manager ... More >>

Lobbyist For Illinois Police Chiefs: Medical Marijuana = Meth

Meth and Marijuana: a match made...absolutely nowhere.​His name is Limey Nargalenes (no, really that's his name) and he is trying to stop the Illinois General Assembly from passing Senate Bill 1381. The law would allow primary caregivers for people with "debilitating medical conditions" to prescri ... More >>

Denver Westword Writer Waxes Poetic Over Dream Gig: Pot Reviewer

Image source​Last fall Westword, our sister paper in Denver, garnered national attention by advertising for the nation's very first marijuana critic. Yep -- they would be paying a writer to toke up and write about it. Oh, and also critique the atmosphere of various medical marijuana dispensaries a ... More >>

Missouri Lawmakers To Meet With Medical Marijuana Patients Next Week

image via Group wants state senators to support Sour Diesel​Next Wednesday, February 10, members of the group Sensible Missouri -- self-described as "patients having a diagnosis that could be ameliorated through the use of cannabis" -- will travel to Jefferson City and lobby state lead ... More >>

Missouri: Nation's Meth Capital, Again

Did ya here? We're No. 1!​Missouri has once again been ranked as the nation's biggest meth-producing state based on the number of drug labs busted last year. According to Missouri Highway Patrol figures published today in the Post-Dispatch, law enforcement seized 1,774 meth labs in 2009 -- up 20 p ... More >>

A Trip to the Sprawling Weed Fields of...Nebraska?

Remember ditch weed? That lowly form of cannabis that the Missouri Highway Patrol loves to spend time and money eradicating? Well, here's a little history lesson on the stuff for you, courtesy of local pot activist Mark Pedersen and plant geneticist Dr. Dave West.The pair were traveling through east ... More >>

"Club TV One" Owner Pleads Guilty to Having 418 lbs. of Pot, Transporting Stolen Goods

An advertisement for Club TV One from earlier this year.​Last time we mentioned Robert Williams here on Daily RFT, the 46-year-old Kirkwood resident had just earned a nomination in one of our first Ass Clown of the Week competitions. That was back in April when law enforcement raided his East St. ... More >>

St. Louis NORML Chapter Holding "Prince of Pot" Protest Tomorrow

www.seattleweekly.comMarc Emery: The Baron of the Bong​Marc Emery calls himself "The Prince of Pot." Others have dubbed him "The Johnny Appleseed of the Sticky." The Vancouver, British Columbia native has earned both titles. He is the editor of Cannabis Culture magazine and the founder o ... More >>

U.S. Drug Czar to Unveil New Anti-Meth Campaign in Drug's Hotspot: St. Louis

​Whatever your feelings about the Obama administration, you can't say that the president's office ignores St. Louis. Obama chose to visit the nearby suburb of Arnold for his 100th day in office. A couple month's later the prez returned to St. Louis to throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game ... More >>

This Explains a Lot Really

Carnival barker and pitchman extraordinaire Billy Mays died from complications brought on -- in part -- by cocaine use, reports CNN.No wonder he could get so excited about products like this...