cocaine – News Stories About cocaine - Page 17

Dec 26, 2007 4:30 PM CST

Slugger Hopes for Shortened Prison Term

Retroactive cuts in crack sentences may aid Willie Mays Aikens

(Newser) - Now that the US Sentencing Commission has agreed to retroactively reduce prison terms for crack cocaine offenses, one of baseball's record-holders stands to benefit. Willie Mays Aikens, the only player to hit multiple homers in multiple games in the same World Series (playing for Kansas City in 1980), may have...

Recent Cases Showcase New Judicial Leeway

Dec 11, 2007 4:19 PM CST

Recent Cases Showcase New Judicial Leeway

Black, Vick decisions illustrate turn from sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - More federal judges are giving themselves wiggle room when it comes to once-strict sentencing guidelines, as evidenced by three recent high-profile court cases. The three—involving Conrad Black, Michael Vick, and a crack cocaine case that made it to the Supreme Court—illustrate how a spate of high-court rulings have...

Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

Dec 10, 2007 1:00 PM CST

Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

Court sides with judicial discretion

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that federal judges can use discretion to order shorter prison sentences in crack cocaine crimes, to lessen a disparity with sentencing for powdered cocaine. It was a win for civil rights advocates, who have long argued that sentencing guidelines call for longer terms in crimes...

Death Airs Hedge-Fund Excesses

Dec 5, 2007 3:00 PM CST

Death Airs Hedge-Fund Excesses

Drowning unleashes rumors of coke binges, male strippers and murder

(Newser) - The legal wrangling that has followed the September death of hedge fund manager Seth Tobias in his Florida swimming pool is sensational enough, the New York Times reports—his wife says he drowned; Tobias' brothers accuse his wife of murder—but details of the high living bankrolled by high finance...

Europeans Go for Coke

Nov 22, 2007 4:46 PM CST

Europeans Go for Coke

2007 EU report says coke use up by one million

(Newser) - Cocaine is "Europe's stimulant of choice," according to a new study that says nearly five million Europeans used coke this year—a million more than last. The Spanish and British used it most, BBC reports, but Danes and Italians increased their usage most in 2007. Two million Europeans...

UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana

Nov 21, 2007 5:05 PM CST

UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana

16-year-olds may spend three years in detention

(Newser) - Two 16-year-olds were found guilty today of attempting to sneak $600,000 of cocaine from Ghana to Britain, the Times reports. The conviction could mean up to three years in a Ghanaian juvenile detention center for the British girls, who claimed they had been set up when they were arrested...

Sentence Cuts In Store for 19,500 Crack Convicts

Nov 12, 2007 12:43 PM CST

Sentence Cuts In Store for 19,500 Crack Convicts

Federal commission mulls rule change

(Newser) - The federal panel that sets sentencing guidelines for judges may decide as soon as tomorrow to cut at least 2 years off the sentences of 19,500 inmates convicted of using crack, the LA Times reports. New rules introduced this month equalize crack and powdered cocaine sentences, and tomorrow will...

Cocaine & Meth Prices Get High

Nov 9, 2007 3:00 AM CST

Cocaine & Meth Prices Get High

Drug fighters encouraged as hefty price hikes signal supply shortage

(Newser) - Prices for cocaine and methamphetamine have jumped for the fourth quarter in a row, indicating a short supply of the dangerous drugs, according to the latest figures from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. A gram of pure cocaine cost $137 in September, up from $93 last year, and meth jumped...

New Standards Reduce Crack Cocaine Terms

Nov 2, 2007 9:35 AM CDT

New Standards Reduce Crack Cocaine Terms

Federal effort tries to bring parity to drug sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - Crack cocaine offenders will receive shorter prison sentences under new federal guidelines, which replaced rules that treated a gram of crack like 100 grams of powder cocaine. The rules introduced yesterday reduce the average sentence to 8 years, 10 months, the Times reports, and may reflect an effort to restore...

Hingis Fails Coke Test, Retires

Nov 1, 2007 1:55 PM CDT

Hingis Fails Coke Test, Retires

Tennis star denies taking drugs, but quits over age and health issues

(Newser) - Tennis star Martina Hingis today admitted that she tested positive for cocaine in a pre-Wimbledon drug test, and announced her retirement, citing age and health problems. The five-time Grand Slam champ denies taking drugs, the AP reports. "I find this accusation so horrendous that I've decided to confront it...

'Preppie Killer' Busted in NYC Drug Sting

Oct 24, 2007 5:17 AM CDT

'Preppie Killer' Busted in NYC Drug Sting

Cops: Dealt cocaine with girlfriend from Manhattan apartment

(Newser) - Robert Chambers, the notorious "preppie killer" who served 15 years in prison for strangling a young woman in Central Park during what he said was rough sex, has been arrested for repeatedly selling cocaine to undercover police, according to law enforcement authorities. Chambers, 41, struggled with police during the...

Colombian Rebel Dodges Justice Again

Oct 5, 2007 3:35 PM CDT

Colombian Rebel Dodges Justice Again

Mistrial declared in US drug-trafficking case against FARC leader

(Newser) - The US Justice Department was unable to gain a conviction against Colombian rebel leader Ricardo Palmera, Reuters reports, with a judge declaring a mistrial yesterday after jurors deadlocked on a drug-trafficking charge. Palmera, captured in Colombia in 2004, was convicted in July in a 2003 kidnapping of American contractors, but...

US Cocaine Supply Plummets

Oct 3, 2007 5:46 AM CDT

US Cocaine Supply Plummets

Prices rocket to highest in 20 years

(Newser) - The cocaine supply has dropped sharply in the last year in 37 US cities, which law enforcement officials attribute to a crackdown on drug cartels by Mexican authorities and a record volume of drugs seized at sea. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco were among major cities experiencing sharp...

Owen Wilson Drops Out of Next Movie

Aug 29, 2007 3:41 PM CDT

Owen Wilson Drops Out of Next Movie

Drugs, heartbreak may have been behind suicide attempt

(Newser) - Owen Wilson won’t appear in Tropic Thunder after an alleged suicide attempt that's made the actor tabloid fodder, Fox News reports. Wilson was to join the production next week in Hawaii but has struck a “mutual agreement” with director Ben Stiller. The news comes on the heels of...

Lohan Sentenced to Day in Jail

Aug 24, 2007 4:48 AM CDT

Lohan Sentenced to Day in Jail

And three days at the morgue

(Newser) - Hollywood wild child Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to a single day in jail as part of a plea deal on misdemeanor charges of drunk driving and cocaine possession, reports AP. The actress was also sentenced to three years probation, ten days of community service, a rehab program, and three days...

Lohan Escapes Drug-Possession Charges

Aug 23, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

Lohan Escapes Drug-Possession Charges

Tabloid queen faces seven misdemeanors after DUI arrests

(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan scored a lucky break today when LA County authorities decided not to bring felony drug-possession charges against the actress in two DUI arrests. She faces seven misdemeanors—including being under the influence of cocaine—but police decided the amounts of coke found at the crime scenes either were...

Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad

Aug 7, 2007 5:13 PM CDT

Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad

But Rolling Stone can’t get cocaine satisfaction

(Newser) - Keith Richards says that—reported denials aside—he did indeed snort his father’s ashes. The Rolling Stones sideman revealed in an interview yesterday that media reports had mixed up the story, and that he’d only meant to deny mixing the remains with a popular opiate. “I said...

Cocaine Tied
to Pitcher's Sudden Death

Aug 1, 2007 7:15 AM CDT

Cocaine Tied to Pitcher's Sudden Death

Police found cocaine in Rod Beck's home; widow confirms habit

(Newser) - Phoenix police found cocaine and drug paraphernalia in the home of former All-Star pitcher Rod Beck following his sudden death in June, they said yesterday. Officials found "large quantities of powder, crack, and rock cocaine," the Arizona Republic reports. Though the medical examiner has not released the...

'I'm Innocent' Lohan Says

Jul 25, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

'I'm Innocent' Lohan Says

Lohan says coke not hers, but lawyer thinks troubled star relapsed

(Newser) - Troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan has proclaimed her innocence after being arrested yesterday for DUI and cocaine possession. In an email to Access Hollywood the 21-year-old said the drugs "were not mine," and that she was "almost hit" in a parking lot car chase with the mother of...

Lohan Arrested on DUI Suspicion

Jul 24, 2007 2:58 PM CDT

Lohan Arrested on DUI Suspicion

Actress in drunken car chase, with cocaine in tow, two weeks after rehab stay

(Newser) - Santa Monica cops booked actress Lindsay Lohan early this morning on five counts, including drunk driving and cocaine possession. The hits keep coming for Lohan: The arrest comes two weeks after she checked out of an chic California rehab clinic and only five days after she was booked on a...