Community-Coalition On Drug Awareness

STATE/LOCAL NEWS 

Montana’s Drug Superhighway: Troopers form specialized team to stop interstate drug loads 

“There is a significant drug problem in Montana,” said Sgt. Jim Sanderson of the Montana Highway Patrol. “We know that most all meth comes from Mexico. 

On the interstate, the Montana Highway Patrol acts as the first line of defense in the fight against Montana’s meth epidemic. Because that’s where traffickers are driving the drugs in. 

Police reveal drug traffickers secrets to smuggle meth into Montana

Drugs such as meth and heroin are causing a spike in violent crimes. In Billings, meth-driven crimes have increased by 75 percent.

Belgrade methadone clinic helping patients get past opioid addiction

Methadone clinics treat people who are addicted to opioids, said Rowen Schuler, the Belgrade clinic’s manager. The clinic provides structure and help for people trying to stop, she said. 

Changing a culture: Montana grapples with lenient drunk driving laws

Montan's DUI laws have been criticized as some of the most lenient in the country.  The Montana Department of Justice has drafted legislation for the 2019 Legislature to strengthen them. 

Crowded Butte jail makes conditions difficult for staff and inmates 

“We see a lot of crime associated with methamphetamine, both possession, and usage of methamphetamine, but we also have all the spinoff crimes that are property related or financial related that people use to finance their habits for methamphetamine and now we have the influx of opiates as well.”   

Sheriff Ed Lester, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement

Drug Take Back Day: How to get rid of unused prescription drugs

Over the last 15 Drug Take Back events, the DEA has collected 10 million pounds of prescription drugs. Chairman Rick Gale said the Montana Elks Drug Awareness Program is partnering with the Missouri Rive Drug Task Force for National Drug take Back Day.

“I think most of us know that we are in the middle of an opioid epidemic through out the country and here in Montana as well. So this is a way to make sure those drugs are disposed of and don’t end up in the wrong hands,” said Gale.

Task forces recommend tougher DUI laws

 “We’re killing a lot of people in our state,” Becky Sturdevant with Mothers Against Drunk Driving told legislators on the Law and Justice Interim Committee in Helena last month. “These crashes are not accidents. They are totally preventable. And we should be doing more to prevent them.

The report notes that Montana has had the nation’s highest percentage of fatal crashes caused by impaired drives in three of the last five years.

Montana Highway Patrol team seizes record amount of drugs in first year

Our Montana Highway Patrol and Division of Criminal Investigation, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, have once again helped remove drugs, guns and hardened criminals from our streets. 

Never before has it been more critical for Montana’s law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts to crack down on organized criminal enterprises trafficking drugs in our state.

-Tim Fox, Montana Attorney General

Trio accused of distributing drugs after arrest at Motel 6 in Bozeman

Three people face felony charges after police allegedly found them in possession of methamphetamine and other drugs.

Day care worker built ‘drug den’ inside cabinet to smoke meth, Montana cops say

The laundry room cabinet at the YMCA Learning Center in Missoula, Mont., had been outfitted with a battery-powered light, makeshift curtains, shelves, an air filter, eye hooks to lock the doors from the inside – and a small glitter case containing snort tubes, lighters, a glass pipe and a vial of methamphetamine.

Every room at the center tested positive for meth contamination, including the infant room, and estimated cleanup costs at $80,000.

Woman's fatal overdose spurs synthetic drug education

Natalie Dietrich died in a bathroom of a Bozeman music venue after taking U-44770, a syntetic drug. 

MADD says Montana’s drunk driving laws are worst in the country

“The fact that Montana is rated by MADD as the lowest in the nation in overall legislative measures and progress toward ending drunk driving is not a surprise to us and is also not something we’re proud of,” said Kelley Parker-Wathne, coordinator of the Gallatin County DUI Task Force.

Bozeman man sentenced for sexually assaulting two women, drug possession

In November, as part of a plea deal Dillingham pleaded guilty to the drug charge for possessing MDMA.

MDMA (ALSO KNOWN AS MOLLY) is a synthetic psychoactive drug that acts as a stimulant and a hallucinogen.