2,500

That’s the number of American kids, between the ages of 12 and 17, who take their first prescription painkiller every single day that wasn’t prescribed to them.  And you might be surprised to discover there are two places they get these prescription strength painkillers: their own medicine cabinets or the medicine cabinets of their friends.  Shocking, yes?

Georgia is on a mission, though.  The Georgia Chapter of Narconon, along with area sheriffs departments, has instituted what’s been named “Operation Medicine Cabinet”.  The goal is to get as many unused and no longer needed prescription drugs out of these medicine cabinets for safe disposal.  Clearly, this is a program that can benefit every community in America.  Keep reading for even more shocking statistics:

• Prescription drugs are abused more often by teens than any street drug other than marijuana.
• Teens are under the impression that using prescription drugs is safer than street drugs
• 1 in 5 teens admit to abusing prescription medications
• 1 in 10 admit to abusing over the counter cough medicines to get high
• “Pharm parties”, defined as a group of teens who get together and toss prescription pills into a bowl, and then randomly select which pills to take with no thought to what they are and how they may interact with other pills they select, is on the rise.

Clearly, as parents, our concerns are generally directed to what our kids come in contact with outside our homes; however, these statistics reveal our battles may begin long before they ever leave the house. 

This practice of abusing prescription drugs has other dangers as well.  Specifically, concerns of these drugs becoming the “gateway drug” that leads to the abuse of other drugs, such as meth and cocaine, are on the rise.  We have all seen the repercussions of those addicted to drugs and the extent addicts will go to ensure their next high.  Theft, prostitution and other illegal behaviors are common and as you might expect, on the rise as well.

For more information on Operation Medicine Cabinet, visit Georgia’s Narconon Chapter.

It’s official.  Usher, a Grammy-winning R&B singer, has filed for divorce less than two years after walking down the aisle.  His wife, however, was more than surprised that divorce was even being considered.  She’s provided an exact date as to their last intimacy and says she believed her marriage was intact.  Tameka Raymond’s lawyer, Randall M. Kessler, has only released one brief statement, “All I can tell you is that my

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client loves her husband and she loves her children.  She’s trying to keep this as private as possible.”  Usher’s lawyers haven’t released any statements, but the divorce papers filed in Atlanta, GA are speaking volumes. 

The reasons for the splitting of the sheets are listed as a hopeless reconciliation and that the marriage is irretrievably broken.  Not only that, but Usher is also seeking at least joint custody of his two sons, one who is less than two years old and another who is six months old.  In the meantime, his wife Tameka has asked the court to ensure her husband continues his financial support until the divorce and custody issues have been decided.  She’s also requested her husband pay her legal fees.

It’s not said where Usher is residing, though it’s most likely outside Atlanta and probably not even in Georgia.  The two were married in August, 2007.  It was his first marriage and her second marriage.  She also has three children from that first marriage.  He says they’ve been separated since July 2008, which, if true, means they separated before they even celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

Tameka Raymond is said to still be recuperating after being hospitalized for severe complications due to liposuction she received in Brazil.  It’s only when the rumors began circulating last week over the imminent filing that she hired Kessler.  The one striking difference in this celebrity divorce and others that have hit the headlines is there doesn’t appear to be any mudslinging….yet.  Hopefully, for the sake of the little ones, these two will remember they’re the adults and that the art of biting one’s tongue will go a long way in the psyches of their kids.

The first court date is set for July 15 in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta.

Once again, assisted suicide is making headlines.  Four members of an organization, Final Exit Network, were arrested this week in Georgia for providing assistance to a man who wished to end his life.  There’s now a multi-state investigation into this group’s activities.  Eight states are looking into deaths they believe might have been assisted with one or more members from this group.  According to its website, this is a group that dedicates itself to serving those suffering from an intolerable condition. 

At least a few of the members are medical doctors, psychologists and other professionals.  They’re now being charged with assisted suicide, evidence tampering and there are other charges relating to racketeering.   The death they’re charged with providing assistance for was a man in northern Georgia who’d suffered from throat and mouth cancer.  According to his mother, he’d been in pain for awhile and was depressed.  He was still facing other surgeries and at least one more round of chemotherapy.  His 85 year old mother then went on to say she knew he was depressed and that although she was in pain, she respected his decision.

This group has over 3,000 members who pay dues each month.  Those who wish to end their lives are provided an exit guide that reveals information for successfully committing suicide.  They’re then told to obtain two helium tanks.  An “exit bag” - a hood that’s worn over the head is provided and once the date has been established, two members of the group arrive at the person’s home to oversee the event.  They insist they don’t participate, but are there to lend support and to ensure there are no problems. 

The eight states investigators have in their crosshairs are: Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Montana, Missouri and Colorado.  There’s at least one specific death being investigated in Arizona.  If the four who were arrested this week are found guilty, they could serve up to five years in prison.

A final note:  Betty Celmer, the mother of the man who successfully carried out his suicide and who the four are charged with assisting, said that she didn’t believe the organization should face charges and that it’s her belief they helped her son end his pain.  She said, “If someone helped him, I think that was in God’s hands”.

Related Links: Criminal Lawyer, Lawyers and Attorneys

Lawyers are hired for many reasons, but each time an attorney is retained, the primary goal of the lawyer is to protect his client and the rights of that client during any legal proceedings. Unfortunately, a bad apple revealed itself by betraying the clients who entrusted her in her role as an attorney. 

Karyn McConnell Hancock, an Ohio lawyer who stole over $600,000 from at least 23 clients, was sentenced today to four years in prison.  This is particularly disturbing since she’s a former council

Karyn McConnell Hancock

member, a bishop’s wife and a judge’s daughter.  She also has a four year old son and has given birth to her second child in the meantime.  Once her lies began unraveling, she devised an elaborate story and became, in her mind, the victim of a kidnapping. 

She claimed she was taken at gunpoint in December, 2007 by two men and a woman and forced to travel from Ohio to Georgia with these phantom kidnappers, only to be released on the roads of Atlanta, GA.  Of course, this was all disproved and she finally came forward and admitted to owing many of her clients hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Her husband has said, in her defense, that she simply became overwhelmed and began to buckle under the pressure. 

That very well might be, but in the process, she managed to destroy the faith her clients had in her, disgraced her husband and father and annihilated a career that she worked so hard for.  Now, it appears she will be missing out on at least a couple years of her children’s lives.  Since 2002, she’d been stealing from one client to replace money stolen from another.  Clearly, that was an exhausting process to maintain for nearly seven years.  It just snowballed from there and finally ended with a nationwide manhunt.  For three days, she allowed her family to believe she’d been kidnapped and left them to believe the worst.  Just as with the financial advisor (read here) earlier this week, the solution these two people thought they’d found only added far more serious consequences to an already desperate situation.  The common denominators in stories like these are the relieved and thankful families who only want to protect them in ways these people wouldn’t - or couldn’t - allow them to do before they made headlines.

Should defamation be a civil or a criminal issue?  If you live in Colorado, it’s a crime.  You should also know an antiquated law that hasn’t been revised since the 19^th century is applicable to those wishing to unleash their rage on anyone they choose. 

A man posted an incredibly hateful rant about an ex-girlfriend on Craigslist last year.  What he posted included accusations of child abuse, welfare fraud and even went so far as to accuse her employer, a lawyer, of being “crooked” and being in a paid sexual relationship with the ex-girlfriend.  This has set the stage for a battle over the law, the annihilation of the 1^st Amendment  and questions as to why the law hasn’t been revised before now.  What’s not clear is whether or not this law’s existence on the books is an overlooked mistake.  It appears as though Colorado left it on the books for a reason.  And if that’s the case, it very well might be the other 16 states have left those same laws on their books for a reason too.  A Georgia communications professor says these prosecutions are like using “a sledgehammer when a scalpel would do the same trick”.   Maybe.  But sometimes sledgehammers are appropriate when dealing with thick skulls and shortsighted people.

Playing the devil’s advocate for just a minute, I can understand how some allow their mouths to overload their…well, they allow their big mouths to get the best of them and too many times, people speak before thinking it through.  But the vulgarities this man spewed on this public message board go so far beyond petty bickering.  His references to her sex life, as well as the accusations of child abuse, go so far past “talking smack”.  It is criminal.  And yes, I realize this goes against everything we cherish in this country, even though that’s not my intent.  I think common sense must kick in at some point with a focus on the potential damage to this woman and her child (not to mention her employment status).  If she hasn’t abused her daughter, consider what she might face having to disprove that accusation.  Her daughter is now in jeopardy of being removed from her mother’s care.  His accusations stand to affect more than just his target.  Imagine the trauma to this child if worse case scenario plays out.  Further, what if the employer is married and this causes unnecessary problems?  Don’t get me wrong - I don’t know if what he said is true, but what I do know is if he believed his own rants, why not go through the proper channels?  If he believes this child is being abused, there are other ways of ensuring the little girl’s safety.  His lack of consideration doesn’t have her best interests at heart.  Clearly, he had less than stellar intentions.  Unfortunately for him, they hit their mark and he’s now found himself facing a criminal trial.  His bad choices have resulted in a set of his very own mug shots at his local police department. The fact this woman chose not to pursue civil remedies is also telling.  Of course, that could change, but regardless of what happens in criminal court, this should serve as a reminder that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Nebraska has had twenty children dropped off at hospitals since July, when their safe haven law took effect. Sadly, some of the abandoned kids are teenagers whose parents either don’t want them or can’t take care of them because they’re “problem kids”. Earlier this week, a woman drove from Georgia to Nebraska to drop off her 12 year old son because she said he was troubled. What awaits these older kids, who clearly know they’re not wanted and will forever carry the knowledge that they were abandoned by their parents - parents they’ve known for years - remains to be seen. Many of these abandoned kids aren’t newborns or even toddlers who have the luxury of not remembering being left on the steps of a hospital. Further, Nebraska’s loophole is putting state officials and medical personnel in a tough position. They don’t know what to do with these older kids, so those who have come from two other states, Missouri and Iowa, have been returned to their home states. Try to put yourself into the mind of a 17 year old whose mother insisted he get into the car, probably with very few of his possessions and possibly with only the clothes he’s wearing. Imagine sitting next to the one person you’re supposed to trust to take care of you and never abandon you for a four hour drive, knowing the destination is the end of the line. You know you will likely never see your parents or siblings again, and you know you’re being dropped off on the street in a city and state you’ve never been to. And then, after getting out of the vehicle, you watch what little safety you’ve known drive away. And then what? Most seventeen year olds would bolt and make a run for a better life. This particular teenager, probably scared to make a run for it to strike out on his own, walked into the hospital and told a hospital official he’d just been abandoned and had nowhere to go. After being the topic of several discussions, the decision is made to return him to his home state. So, once again, he’s on a road trip, having no idea what awaits him but knowing he’ll be once again dropped off with strangers who will determine his immediate future. Because of the way the legislature worded its state safe have laws, the parents can’t be prosecuted. So, in January, state officials are planning to meet and revise the law to apply only to newborns less than three days old.

In the case of the child dropped off this week from Georgia, he was suspended in the first grade and had his own probation officer by the time he was in fifth grade. Something tells me this kid didn’t have a chance. For a probation officer to be involved at such a young age, I’m thinking this “problem child” is a result of a “problem adult”. Hopefully, even though there won’t be any repercussions in Nebraska, there will be consequences in the mother’s home state of Georgia.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often every day with different results, but with a ribbon of heartbreak weaved through each case. In the meantime, Nebraska will be deciding what to do with the twelve year old boy from Georgia.