KC Chief's defensive back arrested for DUI and more.

This seems to be old news by now but I  thought I would give a little insight about this case.  It looks like he was picked up during a routine traffic stop.  As of now he looks like he is charged with DUI.  DUI is usually charged when it is apparent that the person is intoxicated from alcohol.  It is a much easier case to prove because it is a measurable.  The police can measure how much alcohol is in a person's blood and the law lays out acceptable amounts.  If you are over that amount then it is presumed you are intoxicated.  With Drugs being the alleged intoxicant here it is a more difficult case to prove as it is more difficult to detect and establish that someone was impaired by. 

Now many people will say that he had drugs on him so that is evidence that he was using drugs.  That simply  is not the case.  It may have some circumstantial value but not much.  If they want to charge him with possession then it would be evidence, but not DUI.  DUI is Driving Under the Influence, not driving in possession of drugs. 

If you have been charged with a similar charge and need the help of a DUI defense lawyer feel free to contact our office for a free consult.

Here is the original article.

NFL player arrested in Effingham

Bill Grimes Effingham Daily News

EFFINGHAM — A professional football player apparently passing through the Effingham area was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs and other charges.

    In addition to the DUI charge, Donald David Washington III, 25, was charged with unlawful possession of cannabis, speeding and driving while license suspended. Effingham County State's Attorney Ed Deters said Washington had been stopped Thursday afternoon by an Illinois state trooper for allegedly traveling 86 miles per hour in a 65-mile per hour zone on Interstate 70 about five miles west of Effingham.

    Judge Ericka Sanders set bond at $20,000. The relatively high bond was set because authorities believe more charges might be pending. Deters said police found crushed pills during a search after Washington's arrest and believe they may be a controlled substance. The pills were sent away for testing, he said.

    Sanders told Washington she would not issue an arrest warrant for any new charges related to the pills because of the high bond.  Washington posted $2,000 bail almost immediately after his court appearance.   Washington has been a backup defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs since 2009. He grew up in Indianapolis and played football at Ohio State University.  A complete version of this story will appear in Saturday's print edition of the Effingham Daily News.

Fake Pot is more like PCP than Marijuana

Looks like a drug task force seized some Fake marijuana from some local business people this week.  The police had been buying this stuff from the the store to do some testing on it to determine its chemical composition.  They were doing this to see if it fell within the confines of the prior state ban on such substances.  It did not; however, the sought to have it outlawed under UR 144.  The new substance had been the cause of several people getting admitted to the hospital over the last few weeks.

As it turns out the "potpourri" which is marketed as fake marijuana is actually more like PCP chemically.  Users of the drug believed it to be like pot and more difficult to overdose on.  This misconception led to overuse or the drug and that ended up with several people in the hospital.  Do yourself a favor, and don't use this stuff. It seems dangerous.

If you find yourself in need of a criminal defense lawyer because of possession of this chemical or because of some action you did why under the influence of this chemical please give our office a call.

Here is the article published in the Salina Journal.

SALINA, Kan. — Kansas law enforcement officers seized herbal potpourri from three Salina businesses and one alleged supplier even as federal agents nationwide were embarking on an unrelated crackdown against manufacturers and sellers of synthetic designer drugs.  The Salina Journal (http://bit.ly/SW4gw6) reported Thursday that no arrests were made during the Salina seizures, which were conducted Wednesday by the I-135-I-70 Drug Task Force. Separately, the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday seized more than $36 million in cash and arrested 91 people in the nationwide crackdown.

In Salina, the businesses voluntarily handed over their supplies after being informed of a ban on chemical substance UR 144 that went into effect in Kansas on Monday, Lt. Jim Norton, commander of the I-135-I-70 Drug Task Force, said. Police were holding the seized items as evidence.  "The owners believed they were selling legal drugs that are not controlled," Norton said. "That was true until Monday, when it became controlled."  A local business that was importing large quantities of the substance and supplying it to other stores was notified of that change Wednesday, he said.  While officers were in the stores seizing the synthetic drugs, several people came in seeking to buy herbal potpourri, he said.

Salina police started seeing cases of people overdosing on herbal potpourri, considered an alternative to marijuana, and another designer drug called bath salts in spring 2010.  Salina's police chief testified in January 2011 before a legislative committee against the synthetics, calling them mind-altering, dangerous drugs. The Legislature later passed a bill to make it illegal to manufacture, sell, distribute or possess seven classes of chemicals known to be applied to dried plant material and sold as "herbal potpourri" or "incense."  That law worked to keep local sales of the designer drugs out of Salina for about a year, Norton said. When they started emerging again several months ago, police started buying quantities of the drugs at the three stores for lab testing.

Norton said tests showed the substances being sold were a new class of chemical that wasn't covered by the earlier state ban. That led the police department, Johnson County crime lab and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to seek an emergency order to take them off the streets.  The Kansas Board of Pharmacy approved a temporary ban on UR 144 a week ago; the Legislative Joint Committee on Rules and Regulations voted Monday to put it into effect immediately.  Dr. Keir Swisher, co-medical director of Salina Regional Health Center's emergency department, said large numbers of people having bad reactions to herbal potpourri and bath salts started showing up in the emergency room in September 2000.  Swisher compared patients he was seeing in Salina during the initial wave of herbal potpourri and bath salts usage to PCP and crack addicts he had regularly treated at a Chicago hospital. He said he had no doubt that long-term usage could cause permanent damage to the brain and other body systems.

The Salina hospital hadn't seen an herbal potpourri patient for four or five months before a resurgence that started about six weeks ago. In the last month-and-a-half, Swisher said, an average of two to three patients per week were being brought in, including a 15-year-old who bought the herbal potpourri locally.  Norton said herbal potpourri, with all of its chemicals, is more like PCP than marijuana. But because it's marketed as an alternative to marijuana, users don't realize they can overdose on it.  "It mimics PCP with a rapid heart rate, aggression, agitation and breathing problems," Norton said. "The issues it's causing to people's bodies are unbelievable. It has to be stopped."

Information from: The Salina Journal, http://www.salina.com

 

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/26/2421656/drug-task-force-seizes-herbal.html#storylink=cpy