Legalized Marijuana Comes To Colorado Ski Town..."I Believe I Can Fly"

(Feds issue new Medical Marijuana Policy.)

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Marijuana Moves Into the Open in a Ski Town


High-altitude partying is a deeply carved tradition in ski country, where alcohol in the open and illicit drugs in the shadows have been intertwined for years.

Even before last week’s town vote here that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, one of the best-selling T-shirts at Shirt and Ernie’s on Main Street winked at what it means to live and play 9,600 feet up in the Rockies.

“Dude,” the shirt says, “I think this whole town is high.”

But what the town’s drug ordinance could mean for the local culture and economy, as well as its potential impact on the resort industry if more ski towns go Breckenridge’s way, has become part of the discussion as people scan the skies and wait for snow.

For business owners ever vigilant about the town’s image, safety-minded resort managers and footloose ski and snowboard vagabonds whose ranks have given towns like this a tinge of wildness since the first ski bum washed a dish or waited a table, marijuana is openly discussed as perhaps never before.

The leader of the group that organized the petition drive leading to the vote, Sensible Colorado, said that Breckenridge, where 71 percent of voters approved the marijuana measure on Election Day, was the opening salvo in a town-by-town strategy toward the goal of a vote on statewide legalization within a few years.

Local efforts, said the group’s founder and chairman, Sean T. McAllister, are now organizing or under way in two other Colorado resort towns, Durango and Aspen. After the election, Mr. McAllister said, people in Montana and Washington called seeking advice on starting voter initiatives.

Breckenridge’s part-time Mayor, Dr. John Warner, a dentist who voted against the measure but remained publicly neutral before the election, said the three dozen or so e-mail messages he had received since the vote had been mixed.

About half of the messages were negative, Dr. Warner said, and included comments from people who said they had canceled reservations and would never come back. Other respondents said they were thrilled about the town’s vote and could hardly wait to visit and spend some money.

State and federal law still make marijuana possession a crime in Colorado, but residents here say that local enforcement has not been a high police priority.

A spokeswoman for the Breckenridge Resort Chamber of Commerce, Carly Grimes, said she thought that because of those other laws, little would change. But she said that some chamber members were concerned about perceptions — that the statute could send a message of broader drug tolerance that could turn off visiting families, who remain a cornerstone of the economic base.

“This is not going to become a little Amsterdam,” she said, referring to the Dutch capital, an international symbol of libertarian drug use.

At Vail Resorts, a publicly traded company that owns the Breckenridge resort, a spokeswoman said she expected no change in management practices.

The spokeswoman, Kelly Ladyga, said that resort employees were already trained to be “hypervigilant” in watching people for dangerous behavior from drugs or alcohol and that the company reserved the right to test any employee for drugs if “reasonable suspicions” are raised or an accident occurs.

“We’re a family-friendly resort, and together with the town we remain committed to delivering an exceptional guest experience,” Ms. Ladyga said. “Boarding a lift or using a slope or trail while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited.”

At Home for the Holidays, a year-round Christmas store, the manager, M. Musso, who asked that only her first initial be used, said her customers tended to be older and more conservative. The young and the rowdy, who crowd the bars when the lifts close, usually do not shop for Christmas baubles, she said.

“I don’t think that’s the type of person we want flocking into Breckenridge,” said Ms. Musso, who opposed the ordinance.

But it is also easy to find people like Chelsey Vogt, a 21-year-old snowboarder originally from upstate New York who foresees what she calls change for the better — from local marijuana users’ becoming more open and comfortable to pot-smoking visitors drawn by the town’s new stance.

“It’s been here forever,” said Ms. Vogt, who works for a property maintenance company when not on the mountain. “Now people can just be more comfortable walking down the street having some marijuana in their pocket — definitely including me.”

One Town Council member who supported the ballot measure, Jeffrey J. Bergeron, said he thought history had played a role in assembling a majority of voters. Mr. Bergeron, who has lived in Breckenridge for nearly 30 years, said many longtime residents vividly remembered the 1970s and 1980s, when cocaine use became a rage and then a scourge, destroying lives and businesses before fading in the 1990s. Through that lens, he said, marijuana looks comparatively benign.

But Mr. Bergeron said he had not expected a backlash, and he now worries that business could take a hit.

“It was a gesture in the right direction,” he said. “I just wish some other town had done it.”

Whether the new measure will lead to more accidents on the slopes is anyone’s guess.

Colorado is one of the few states whose legal codes specify that collisions between skiers are not a natural risk of the sport. The provision, passed by the legislature in 1990, imposes what lawyers call a higher standard of care and potential legal liability upon skiers who cause accidents than do most other states with big resort industries.

James H. Chalat, a lawyer in Denver who specializes in personal injury and ski cases, said that of the hundreds of lawsuits stemming from skiing accidents handled by his firm, Chalat Hatten & Koupal, over 29 years, marijuana had been a factor in only one collision between two skiers.

Alcohol, on the other hand, has often been an aggravating cause, with a drunken skier or snowboarder plowing into somebody else, causing injury.

In any accident, though, evidence of marijuana use would be looked at. “If somebody is stoned, that’s not helpful,” Mr. Chalat said. “It’s a dumb thing.”



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Sources: NY Times, MSNBC, Google Maps

Charlotte, NC Has A Serious Heroin Problem...More Crime

(Heroin use is on the rise in Charlotte, NC)




Charlotte Heroin deaths on rise in '09

Heroin overdoses and deaths in Charlotte have more than tripled since last year, a concern to authorities who want to prevent a repeat of the city's drug battles of the early 1990s.

Local officials are particularly concerned that gangs, most of which are connected to Mexican drug organizations, are aggressively targeting teenagers.

"We're talking at the Arboretum. We're talking at Northlake mall. We're talking in downtown Charlotte," Mayor Pat McCrory said Tuesday, when the new statistics were released. "We're talking in every neighborhood. Both private and public schools. This is a serious issue."

In 2008, there were eight heroin overdoses in Charlotte and three deaths from heroin, according to police statistics. This year, with two months to go, there are already 33 overdoses and 10 deaths. And seizures of heroin have quadrupled from 1,075 grams to 4,989 grams.

McCrory and Sheriff Chipp Bailey said they have discussed more drug testing in the county jail to better understand the extent of drug use.

McCrory said authorities need the public's help to keep the city from a repeat of 1993, when a crack cocaine epidemic help push the city's homicide total to a record 129 people.

Officials say they have yet to see an increase in drug-related violence this year, but they fear that could change as drug violence along the border spills over into the United States.

The U.S. Department of Justice's 2009 National Drug Threat Assessment identified Charlotte as one of 230 cities where Mexican traffickers "maintain drug distribution networks" to sell cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin.

Capt. Mike Adams of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's vice and narcotics unit said he could not estimate how many heroin gangs, or drug cells, operate in Charlotte, but said police have shut down seven cells since June.

"The majority are Mexican," he said. "All the black-tar heroin is from Mexico."

Black-tar heroin, made from poppies in western Mexico, gets its name from its color and texture. Police attribute its rise to its cheaper price and the well-run distribution networks developed by Mexican cartels.

In an investigation dubbed "Operation Dirty Girl 3," police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested four men on July 30 and seized more than a pound of black-tar heroin.

From his bar less than a half mile from Starmount Elementary School, Carlos Roman Villanueva sold black-tar heroin to clients throughout South Charlotte, including in Ballantyne, according to court records.

Police say they caught Roman after he purchased $22,560 worth of heroin from a supplier.

After arresting the supplier with the money, police visited Roman. They asked for the drugs.

"He went behind the bar, entered the kitchen and returned to provide 557 grams of black-tar heroin," James Long, of the CMPD vice and narcotics unit, said in an affidavit.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said the traffickers are selling to all demographics, but increasingly are promoting the drug to teenagers who are less fearful of harder drugs.

"Young kids, 17-, 18-year-olds ... are a part of their whole marketing strategy," Monroe said.

Addicts say black tar is easy to find in Charlotte. At $12.50 a dose, it's about half the price of other available forms.

Adams said the drug operations are set up better than some legitimate businesses. They have clear divisions of labor, sales goals and contingency plans to keep the operation running if one of the distributors is arrested.

"I, and many others, had considered heroin to be a drug of the past," McCrory said. "It has now returned to the streets, and homes throughout Charlotte: North, South, East and West."



Forbes: 2009 America's Most Dangerous Cities

No. 14 Charlotte, N.C.

(Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. metropolitan statistical area)

Population: 1,635,133

Violent Crimes per 100,000: 721

(To determine our list, we used violent crime statistics from the FBI's latest uniform crime report, issued in 2008. The violent crime category is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. We evaluated U.S. metropolitan statistical areas--geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics--with more than 500,000 residents.)



Foxx: No property Tax Hike for streetcar; Says Previous Tax Hike helped to Decrease Crime

Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Foxx said Thursday he wouldn't raise property taxes to pay for a streetcar, despite his vote to move ahead with the project and suggestions from city staff that a hike may be needed.

"We aren't proposing or considering any increase in property taxes, and now would be a terrible time to think of that," he told the Observer. "I will not raise property taxes for the streetcar."

The streetcar and property tax issues came up when Foxx and Republican John Lassiter spoke to a luncheon of the Charlotte Regional Mortgage Lenders Association at the Myers Park Country Club.

Lassiter has also opposed property tax increases.

The rivals, both at-large city council members, were on opposite sides last month when council Democrats overrode Mayor Pat McCrory's veto of $4.5 million to start design work on the line.

The project, which would run from Johnson C. Smith University through uptown to Eastland Mall, would cost over $450 million. It's unclear where the money would come from.

"I could not promise to build something I didn't know how to pay for," Lassiter told the mortgage group.

Foxx defended his vote. He said the line would bring economic development to neighborhoods that need it. One study showed new development could generate $112million in new property taxes over 20 years.

"The future of our city is dependent on making every part ... a great place to live in," he told the group.

On Monday the city staff outlined ways to pay for the line to the council's Transportation Committee, which Foxx chairs. One option called for creating a special taxing district along the line and enacting a 4-cent tax hike for every $100 of taxable value. Another called for a citywide tax increase of 2 cents.

The city's current tax rate is 45.86cents.

"By supporting the streetcar, I'm not committing myself to a property tax increase," Foxx said later.

During the meeting, he defended his vote for a 2006 city budget that raised property taxes 9 percent - the first increase in at least a decade. Lassiter voted against the budget.

Foxx said the tax hike helped pay for the 70 new officers the police chief requested, more than in the no-new-tax budget supported by Lassiter and McCrory. It also brought in money for new roads and neighborhood improvements.

He suggested that without the tax hike, Charlotte's crime rate might not have gone down. Police say it's down 20percent from a year ago.

"You can't out a price on (a) family's sense of safety, put a value on the life saved because we had the additional police officers," he told the group.

Lassiter has criticized "unnecessary and unmanaged government spending" that he says had nothing to do with police, roads or neighborhoods.

Thursday he alluded to this year's General Assembly actions that raised the state sales tax by a penny and enacted surcharges of 2 percent or 3percent on some taxpayers. He told the mortgage lenders that he'll keep taxes down.

"We're in a high-taxed city in a high-taxed state," he said. "We've got to right the ship."



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, DEA, Forbes, WCNC, Charmeck.org, Google Maps

Illegal Drugs Flooding U.S. Borders...Pres. Obama, Please Secure Our Borders!

(Drug Smugglers move underground. NBC's Mark Potter takes a close-up look at the increasing use of underground tunnels to transport illegal drugs under the U.S.-Mexico border.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Illegal drugs flow over and under U.S. border


Just before sundown, the nightly ritual here begins. On the south side of the rusting, battered fence which separates the United States from Mexico, young men climb the bluffs overlooking the border. They will serve as spotters for other Mexicans who try to cross the border illegally under cover of night. These hilltop observers watch for U.S. Border Patrol agents guarding the north side of the boundary and alert the smugglers huddled near the fence below when it's safe to attempt a crossing.

Farther west in the vast and rugged Arizona desert, smugglers are also busy and routinely take advantage of what U.S. drug agents describe as wide gaps in the border security system there.

“It is very conducive to smuggling activities,” said Anthony Coulson, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency District Office in Tucson. “Once they've defeated the fence or the car barriers, a vehicle can spread out and go on dirt trails, on washes [dry beds of seasonal streams], up to their stash location where they'll drop off their product.”

That product is often marijuana, but it can also be cocaine, methamphetamine or heroin — all of it paid for by American drug abusers.

The scale of the drug problem was underscored by the DEA's announcement Thursday of what it described as the single largest strike at a Mexican drug cartel operating in the United States on Thursday. More than 300 people suspected of being involved with the La Familia drug cartel were arrested across the country.

Smuggling thousands of tons

The amount of illicit drugs believed to enter Arizona alone each year from Mexico is easily in the thousands of tons, according to U.S. officials.

“Right now, the volume of marijuana that will be seized in southern Arizona will be approximately, we predict, 1.4 million pounds [700 tons] by the end of this calendar year. That is beyond what we've ever seized before,” Coulson said.

While that number is staggering and can be credited to effective and coordinated law enforcement efforts, agents said, it only represents an estimated 20 percent of all the marijuana that will enter the United States through Arizona this year. That means another 7 million pounds (3,500 tons) is being smuggled into the U.S. undetected through this state alone.

“If they get in through Arizona, they're into the highway system of the United States, they're into literally the bloodstream of the United States,” Coulson said. “And once they're in the bloodstream of the United States, it's very hard to root them out.”

Arizona is an attractive target for drug smugglers, because it sits atop a geographic funnel in northwestern Mexico. With the Gulf of California to the west, the Sierra Madre Mountains to the east and a vast illicit drug production area to the south, the Mexican plains lying just south of Arizona are a natural staging area for traffickers bound for the United States.

“The cartels have found this is the most lucrative place to come in the United States,” said Coulson. “We're fighting a corporation, an entity that has resources of $10 billion at their disposal.” The DEA estimates that the drug cartels generate about $10 billion annually from the sale of drugs whcih pass through Arizona alone.

The DEA says two powerful Mexican drug organizations are responsible for the smuggling in Arizona. The Sinaloa cartel, reputedly headed by Ismael Zambada-Garcia and Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, Mexico's most wanted fugitive, is largely involved in smuggling drugs through the state's vast desert area. A second cartel headed by Arturo Beltran Leyva and joined by a murderous enforcement group known as Los Zetas concentrates on smuggling through the Nogales area, a senior agent who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.

Inventive Trafficking Methods

American authorities have seen smugglers use a variety of methods to sneak drugs into the U.S. Often the cartels employ a virtual army of hikers, each of whom carries at least a 40-pound load of marijuana across the desert floor in a homemade burlap knapsack. They stash their loads on the U.S. side, where the drugs are then picked up by transporters.

Another technique involves the use of specially designed trucks with ramps built in the back and front. These trucks pull up next to the barbed-wire border fence and lower one of the ramps over to the U.S. side, while the other ramp slides down the back of the vehicle. Smugglers in SUVs loaded with drugs then drive across these mobile truck-bridges into Arizona without ever touching the fence. From there they race north across the desert to offload their contraband.

Increasingly, ultralight planes are used by daring pilots who fly over the fence to drop drug loads on the U.S. side. In one case, an ultralight plane carrying marijuana bales crashed in an Arizona lettuce field, killing the pilot. Marijuana was still strapped to the frame of the aircraft. According the federal agents, scores of ultralight flights have been detected this year.

Agents said they have also found that the more expensive illegal drugs — cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine — are usually in small packages hidden deeply within passenger cars and trucks and are smuggled through the official U.S. Ports of Entry at Nogales, Douglas and other border towns.

Smuggling Tunnels

Perhaps the most unusual technique for smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants to the U.S. involves tunnels dug below the border. The U.S. Border Patrol reports that 18 tunnels were found in Arizona during the 2009 fiscal year that just finished at the end of September. “If they're not successful going through us, they'll go beneath us,” said Coulson, the DEA supervisor.

Most of the tunnels found this year were in Nogales, Ariz., which shares a massive underground storm drainage system with the city of Nogales, Sonora, on the Mexican side. For years, smugglers have used the large drainage pipes to smuggle groups of people or bundles of drugs into the United States.

“This is a daily threat, it's a daily battle,” said Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Gerardo Durazo, who heads a team of agents that regularly search the tunnels. “We've got to come in here every day and try to discover and see what they they're up to.”

While the U.S. has sealed off much of the access to the storm drains, the smugglers still find ways to get around the barriers. Sometimes they will cut into the wall of the drainage tunnel on the Mexican side and then dig their own parallel tunnel over to the U.S. side, often emerging on the streets of Nogales or inside buildings. “We’ve found [tunnels] in private homes, in businesses, even in community centers where they've tapped in,” said Durazo.

One homemade tunnel went right underneath the heavy traffic lanes at the U.S. Port of Entry and was only discovered after it collapsed. Another tunnel caved in at the playground of a church school in Nogales, several blocks from the border. Agents said it's hard to imagine how many smugglers may have died in such collapses.

Using a flashlight in the pitch darkness, Durazo peered down a narrow corrugated tube which carries storm water from the street into the main drainage tunnel. Smugglers, he said, had crawled deep inside the tiny opening to carve their own perpendicular tunnel. “This is the last tunnel we discovered where they actually penetrated the corrugated tube and cut through the street into the Elks Lodge up top,” Durazo said.

Most of the tunnels are crudely dug and aren't very wide. Occasionally, though, a large, sophisticated tunnel is found. One of those discovered this year was 83 feet long, had wooden planks shoring up the roof and sides and even had a long, green hose providing ventilation. Typically, the smugglers will try to use cement, wood or cardboard to hide the entries to the tunnels so they can be used over and over again for smuggling people and drugs.

Agents: Parts of border unsecure

Recently, outside the drainage system, in the bright southwestern sun, agents said they have also found tunnels dug directly beneath the hulking U.S. border fence and the road next to it.

Waving his arm repeatedly across the road, Senior Border Patrol Agent Mario Escalante pointed out all the areas where illegal tunnels had been found. “They were just digging tunnels, you know, back and forth, I mean from the wall to here. Whether it would be here, maybe one here, another one later here.”

In recognizing the gaps in border security in Arizona and the relentless onslaught from trafficking groups in Mexico, federal officials are pouring more manpower and resources into the state and are reporting record drug seizures and the steady apprehension of smugglers and illegal immigrants.

But, privately, agents working in the field worry it may not be enough, claiming that in many areas here the smugglers still have the upper hand, particularly in the hundreds of square miles of rugged desert and mountains in southwestern Arizona, where it's virtually impossible to monitor and patrol, given current manpower and technical capabilities.

“If the American public had any idea how wide open that border is out there, they'd have a heart attack,” one frustrated U.S. official said.



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Sources: MSNBC, Google Maps

Legalizing Marijuana: Obama Admin. Changes DEA Policy...Cash Crops=State Revenue

(Feds issue new Medical Marijuana Policy.)

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(State law boosts pot as a cash crop. Mendocino marijuana expert and Grow magazine publisher Eric Sligh toured a backyard garden with CNBC's Trish Regan. Northern California's "Emerald Triangle" has become a fertile site for entrepreneurs who are permitted by state law to harvest a limited amount of marijuana for personal and medical use.)

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New Medical Marijuana Policy: Obama Administration Will Not Seek Arrests For People Following State Laws

The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday.

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

California is unique among those for the widespread presence of dispensaries – businesses that sell marijuana and even advertise their services. Colorado also has several dispensaries, and Rhode Island and New Mexico are in the process of licensing providers, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that promotes the decriminalization of marijuana use.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that he wanted federal law enforcement officials to pursue those who violate both federal and state law, but it has not been clear how that goal would be put into practice.

A three-page memo spelling out the policy is expected to be sent Monday to federal prosecutors in the 14 states, and also to top officials at the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The memo, the officials said, emphasizes that prosecutors have wide discretion in choosing which cases to pursue, and says it is not a good use of federal manpower to prosecute those who are without a doubt in compliance with state law.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legal guidance before it is issued.

"This is a major step forward," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "This change in policy moves the federal government dramatically toward respecting scientific and practical reality."

At the same time, the officials said, the government will still prosecute those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activity. The memo particularly warns that some suspects may hide old-fashioned drug dealing or other crimes behind a medical marijuana business.

In particular, the memo urges prosecutors to pursue marijuana cases which involve violence, the illegal use of firearms, selling pot to minors, money laundering or other crimes.

And while the policy memo describes a change in priorities away from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, it does not rule out the possibility that the federal government could still prosecute someone whose activities are allowed under state law.

The memo, officials said, is designed to give a sense of prosecutorial priorities to U.S. Attorneys in the states that allow medical marijuana. It notes that pot sales in the United States are the largest source of money for violent Mexican drug cartels, but adds that federal law enforcement agencies have limited resources.

Medical marijuana advocates have been anxious to see exactly how the administration would implement candidate Barack Obama's repeated promises to change the policy in situations in which state laws allow the use of medical marijuana.

Shortly after Obama took office, DEA agents raided four dispensaries in Los Angeles, prompting confusion about the government's plans.



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Sources: Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNBC, US Dept of Justice, Ventura County Star Blog, Google Maps

Michael Jackson's Doctor One Step Closer To Joining Other Convicted Killers Behind Prison Bars...Greedy, Legalized Drug Pusher

Washington Post, MSNBC
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(Police and drug enforcement officials have executed search warrants at the Las Vegas home and office of Michael Jackson's personal physician. NBC's Jeff Rossen reports.)

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(Law enforcement sources say Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gave the pop icon the powerful sedative propofol before he died. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Legal experts discuss the case against Michael Jackson's doctor.)

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LAS VEGAS -- Federal agents searched the home and office of Michael Jackson's personal physician Tuesday in a widening investigation of whether administering a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid was so reckless that it constitutes manslaughter.

Such charges against a doctor for the death of a patient are extremely rare. Authorities would have to show there was a reckless action that created a risk of death.

After a three hour-search of Dr. Conrad Murray's sprawling home near the 18th hole of a golf course in a private gated community, Los Angeles police and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents carried away five or six plastic storage containers and several thick manila envelopes. Across town authorities searched Murray's medical offices, Global Cardiovascular Associates Inc., for nine hours seeking documents. Investigators removed several boxes but declined to describe what they had seized.

Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, issued a statement saying the sealed search warrant "authorized investigators to look for medical records relating to Michael Jackson and all of his reported aliases."

Murray was present during the search of his home and assisted the officers, who seized cell phones and a computer hard drive, Chernoff said.

Though authorities characterize Murray as the target of the investigation, they have stopped short of labeling him a suspect.

Murray told investigators he administered the anesthetic propofol to Jackson the night he died to help him sleep, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The official told AP that Murray left the bedroom where Jackson was sedated and returned to find the star not breathing. It's unclear how long Murray was out of the room.

The official said investigators are working under the theory that propofol caused Jackson's heart to stop. Toxicology reports that should show what killed Jackson are expected as early as this week.

Propofol typically is used to render patients unconscious for surgery. The drug can depress breathing and lower heart rates and blood pressure.

Home use of propofol is virtually unheard of, and if Murray left Jackson's side he would have violated guidelines for the safe use of the drug drawn up by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Those rules say a physician "should be physically present throughout the sedation and remain immediately available until the patient is medically discharged from the post procedure recovery area."

In considering a manslaughter charge against a doctor, a patient's complicity in taking the risk could reduce the doctor's culpability, said Harland Braun, a prominent Los Angeles defense attorney who has represented doctors in cases involving administering of drugs.

If a doctor is aware of the risk, there might also be an issue of whether the patient knows that risk and decided to take it.

Chernoff has said the doctor "didn't prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson." He declined interview requests Tuesday.

The search of Murray's home and business involved members of the DEA's Los Angeles Tactical Diversion Squad, agency spokesman Jose Martinez said. The team typically looks into cases involving legally prescribed drugs such as narcotic painkillers that are illegally sold or obtained by people not authorized to have them, such as "doctor shoppers" who get medications from several physicians so they can sell the drugs or feed their addiction.

Lt. Greg Strenk of the Los Angeles police robbery and homicide division said outside the medical office that the searches had been completed in Las Vegas but the investigation was ongoing.

The Las Vegas searches were the second time in less than a week that investigators targeted Murray's property. Last week authorities searched his Houston clinic and a storage unit. Court records show they were seeking evidence of whether the doctor committed manslaughter.

Murray, 56, who is licensed in California, Nevada and Texas, became Jackson's personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July.

He was staying with Jackson in the entertainer's rented Los Angeles mansion and, according to Chernoff, "happened to find" Jackson unconscious in his bedroom the morning of June 25. Murray tried to revive him by compressing his chest with one hand while supporting Jackson's back with the other.

It took up to a half hour before paramedics were called, Murray's lawyers have said. The paramedics arrived about three minutes later and tried to revive the pop star for another 42 minutes before taking him to nearby UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was pronounced dead.

Jackson is believed to have been using propofol for about two years and investigators are trying to determine how many other doctors administered it. Murray told investigators he had given Jackson the drug several times before, the law enforcement official told AP.

As investigators try to untangle Jackson's complex medical history they have interviewed at least six doctors who treated him and searched records for transactions involving aliases Jackson may have used to get drugs.

The official said Murray directed investigators to a closet in the room where Jackson slept. In it, they found enough propofol and sedatives to fill two gym bags. The room also contained an IV line and three tanks of oxygen, which would be needed for administration of propofol.



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Sources: Washington Post, MSNBC, Google Maps

Michael Jackson's Killer Is Most Likely Dr. Conrad Murray....I Told You So

MSNBC----


(LAPD and Federal Officials meet again with Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

(Dozens of police and federal agents search the Houston office of Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Meanwhile, questions are swirling over whether Jackson had a fourth child. NBC’s Jeff Rossen reports.)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Michael Jackson's personal doctor is the target of a Manslaughter investigation into the singer's death.

A search warrant approved by a Houston judge allowed authorities to seek "property or items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense."

A receipt for the search warrant detailed items seized when federal drug agents and Los Angeles police descended on Murray's clinic Wednesday. Among them: 27 tablets of the weight loss drug Phentermine, a tablet of the muscle relaxant Clonazepam, two hard drives, notices from the IRS and a controlled substance registration.

Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, referred queries to the statement he made a day earlier in which he confirmed a search warrant had been executed and that none of the items seized had previously been requested by authorities.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Officer Bruce Borihanh said he could confirm a search warrant was served but had no other comment.

Murray, a cardiologist, was hired as Jackson's personal physician not long before he died. He was in Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion when the pop star was found unconscious the morning of June 25 and tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

An official determination of what killed Jackson won't be made until at least next week, when the Los Angeles County coroner expects to have a completed toxicology report.

Jackson had a long history of prescription drug use and investigators are speaking with a number of doctors who treated him. Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, has emerged as an important part of the investigation. Doses of it were found in his mansion, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

Propofol was not listed on the receipt of items filed in the search warrant, which was approved Monday by Harris County District Court Judge Shawna L. Reagin. The warrant was under seal when it was executed Wednesday; its contents were revealed Thursday when the receipt was filed with the court.

A second search warrant, also executed Wednesday, targeted a storage locker Murray rented about five miles from the north Houston clinic. Los Angeles police officers and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration searched the 10-by-15 foot unit, said Sue Lyon, general manager of West 18th Street Self Storage.

Lyon said she didn't know what was taken, though she did notice authorities gave two itemized sheets of paper to Murray's attorneys who were present.

"It was basically all secretive, and nobody put their nose in nobody's business," Lyon said.

Murray rented the unit April 1, according to Lyon, and while he never visited it personally, others from his clinic did six times — the last time the morning of Jackson's death.




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Is Michael Jackson's Homocide Investigation Close To Being Solved?

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(Foul Play was suspected in King of Pop Michael Jackson's death. MSNBC reports.)

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HOUSTON -- Dozens of police and federal agents descended on the Houston clinic of Michael Jackson's doctor Wednesday in what his attorney said was a search for evidence of manslaughter, thrusting the doctor back under suspicion in the King of Pop's death.

Dr. Conrad Murray was with Jackson in his final moments at the singer's rented mansion in Los Angeles and accompanied him to the hospital. He has cooperated with investigators and the search was the clearest indication that authorities are looking for signs of possible wrongdoing.

Police have said little about the probe, neither confirming nor denying the possibility of criminal charges. The Los Angeles Police Department said he was still not considered a suspect, though the raid shows investigators are intensely scrutinizing the doctor.

It's still not known what caused Jackson's death at age 50. The pop star went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom and Murray performed CPR while an ambulance was called, according to Murray's lawyers.

Los Angeles police and agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration went through the Armstrong Medical Clinic on Wednesday for about 2 1/2 hours. Authorities said they were searching for documents.

"The search warrant authorized law enforcement to search for and seize items, including documents, they believed constituted evidence of the offense of manslaughter," Ed Chernoff, Murray's attorney, said in a statement posted on his law firm's Web site. The Harris County warrant remains sealed and unavailable to the media.

Chernoff said agents left with "a forensic image" of a computer hard drive and 21 documents.

About three dozen officers and agents participated in the raid with Houston police surrounding the building as the investigators went inside at about 10:30 CDT. DEA spokeswoman Violet Szeleczky said about 20 people were in the Armstrong Medical Clinic, including employees.

A neighborhood crowd gathered to watch the raid until agents left after 1 p.m. and Houston police told reporters and the onlookers to leave the clinic's property.

Szeleczky said the agents were looking for Murray's records, not drugs, but wouldn't specify further. She declined to say how the search related to Jackson's death.

The search of Murray's office hard drive indicates authorities are looking not just for patient records but also for e-mails either between the doctor and Jackson or orders for prescription drugs, said Harland Braun, a prominent Los Angeles defense attorney who has represented doctors in cases involving administration of drugs.

Meanwhile, investigators in California also sought more information from Murray, according to Chernoff.

In a statement on his site late Tuesday, Chernoff said investigators from the Los Angeles County coroner's office have asked for medical records in addition to those already provided by Murray.

"The coroner wants to clear up the cause of death; we share that goal," Chernoff said in his statement. "Based on Dr. Murray's minute-by-minute and item-by-item description of Michael Jackson's last days, he should not be a target of criminal charges."

An autopsy was conducted but results are not expected until next week. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results also are pending.

Braun said of Wednesday's raid in Houston that by stating they are investigating what they believe is manslaughter, authorities don't need to worry about patient-doctor confidentiality — the right doesn't exist in criminal cases.

To prove a charge of manslaughter, authorities must prove there was a reckless action that created a risk of death or great bodily injury. If a doctor is aware of the risk, there might also be an issue of whether the patient was made aware of that risk and decided to take it. A patient's complicity in taking the risk could reduce the doctor's culpability, Braun said.

Investigators have found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson's home, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. The person is not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. The officials are working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and California attorney general's office to determine how the medications got there.

Also Wednesday, the coroner's office subpoenaed the records of former Jackson nutritionist Cherilyn Lee for information on her treatment of the singer, Lee's spokeswoman said.

Belinda Foster says Lee is cooperating with investigators but required a subpoena because the records were protected by law. Lee treated Jackson between January and April, when she says he began persistently asking her for the anesthetic.

Police detectives have already spoken to Murray twice — once immediately after the singer's death and again two days later. Police investigators say Murray is cooperating in their investigation. The Las Vegas-based doctor is also licensed in California, Nevada and Texas.

Sevcik, Chernoff's spokeswoman, said the interview with coroner's investigators might happen Friday. Murray is currently in Las Vegas and Chernoff would be speaking to investigators without the doctor being present.

There was no sign of activity Wednesday at Murray's medical offices in Las Vegas. Doors were locked and curtains drawn at his practice, Global Cardiovascular Associates.

There was no immediate record of a search warrant for Murray's medical office or his Las Vegas home, said Esther McElhaney, a Las Vegas court spokeswoman.

But she said police would have 10 days to provide a report to a judge in Las Vegas Justice Court about any items or documents seized if they had searched either location recently.

The DEA has assisted in probes into other celebrity deaths, including the 2007 overdose death of Anna Nicole Smith as well as that of actor Heath Ledger.

Jean Rosenbluth, a University of Southern California law professor, says the agency's involvement in the Jackson case suggests authorities are looking into whether drugs came from out of state.

Federal drug regulations include controls over whether and how frequently a doctor can write prescriptions over the phone, and DEA agents could be looking to see if these rules were broken, Rosenbluth said.



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Jackson Had Possession Of The Sedative Diprivan...How Did He Get It? From Whom? Begged Nurse For Some

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LOS ANGELES - The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday.

Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it's administered intravenously and is very unusual to have in a private home.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

Also Thursday, information was released about registering for free tickets for Jackson's public memorial, which is set for Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Authorities are investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. Any criminal charges would depend on whether Jackson had been overly prescribed medications, given drugs inappropriate for his needs, or if doctors knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.

As Jackson recently prepared for a massive series of comeback concerts, he was so distraught over persistent insomnia that he pleaded for Diprivan, according to Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who was working with the singer.

Lee said she repeatedly rejected his demands because the drug was unsafe.

It's still not known what caused Jackson's death at age 50. The pop star went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, performed CPR while an ambulance was called, according to Murray's lawyers. Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect.

An autopsy was conducted but results are not expected for several weeks. The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results also are pending.

Free tickets to Jackson's memorial service can be obtained by registering at Staplescenter.com

There will be 11,000 tickets for seats inside Staples Center and 6,500 for seats in the adjacent Nokia Theatre, where fans can watch a simulcast. There also will be a free worldwide video feed.

After 6 p.m. Saturday, 8,750 names will be randomly selected to receive two tickets each. Notifications will go out on Sunday. Those selected can obtain their tickets via Ticketmaster on Monday.

No details of the memorial service itself have been released.




Former Jackson Nurse States Michael Begged Her For Diprivan

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid.

Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.

But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.

While in Florida on June 21, Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff.

"He called and was very frantic and said, `Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, 'What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background ..., 'One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold,'" Lee said.

"I said, `Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away."

"At that point I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system," she said, adding, "He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out."

Jackson did not go to the hospital. He died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest, his family said. Autopsies have been conducted, but an official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.

"I don't know what happened there. The only thing I can say is he was adamant about this drug," Lee said.

Nurse: Jackson desperate for sleep:

Following Jackson's death, allegations emerged that the 50-year-old King of Pop had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. But Lee said she encountered a man tortured by sleep deprivation and one who expressed opposition to recreational drug use.

"He wasn't looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs," she said. "This was a person who was not on drugs. This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest."

Jackson was rehearsing hard for what would have been his big comeback — his "This Is It" tour, a series of performances that would have strained his aging dancer's body. Also, pain had been a part of his life since 1984, when his scalp was severely burned during a Pepsi commercial shoot.

Several months ago, Jackson had begun badgering Lee about Diprivan, also known as Propofol, Lee said. It is an intravenous anesthetic drug widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. It is generally given through an IV needle in the hand.

Patients given Propofol take less time to regain consciousness than those administered certain other drugs, and they report waking up more clear-headed and refreshed, said University of Chicago psychopharmacologist James Zacny.

It has also been implicated in drug abuse, with people using it to "chill out" or to commit suicide, Zacny said. Accidental deaths linked to abuse have been reported. The powerful drug has a very narrow therapeutic window, meaning it doesn't take doses much larger than the medically recommended amount to stop a person's breathing.

An overdose that stops breathing can result in a buildup of carbon dioxide, causing the heart to beat erratically and leading to cardiac arrest, said Dr. John Dombrowski, a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Because it is given intravenously and is not the kind of prescription drug typically available from pharmacists, abuse cases have involved anesthesiologists, nurses and other hospital staffers with easy access to the drug, Zacny said.

In recent months, Lee said, Jackson waved away her warnings about it.

"I had an IV and when it hit my vein, I was sleeping. That's what I want," Lee said Jackson told her.

"I said, 'Michael, the only problem with you taking this medication' — and I had a chill in my body and tears in my eyes three months ago — 'the only problem is you're going to take it and you're not going to wake up," she recalled.

According to Lee, Jackson said it had been given to him before but he didn't want to discuss the circumstances or identify the doctor involved.

The singer also drew his own distinctions when it came to drugs versus prescription medicine.

"He said, `I don't like drugs. I don't want any drugs. My doctor told me this is a safe medicine,'" Lee said. The next day, she said she brought a copy of the Physician's Desk Reference to show him the section on Diprivan.

"He said, 'No, my doctor said it's safe. It works quick and it's safe as long as somebody's here to monitor me and wake me up. It's going be OK,'" Lee said. She said he did not give the doctor's name.

Lee said at one point, she spent the night with Jackson to monitor him while he slept. She said she gave him herbal remedies and stayed in a corner chair in his vast bedroom.

After he settled in bed, Lee told Jackson to turn down the lights and music — he had classical music playing in the house. "He also had a computer on the bed because he loved Walt Disney," she said. "He was watching Donald Duck and it was ongoing. I said, `Maybe if we put on softer music,' and he said, `No, this is how I go to sleep.'"

Three and a half hours later, Jackson jumped up and looked at Lee, eyes wide open, according to Lee. "This is what happens to me," she quoted him as saying. "All I want is to be able to sleep. I want to be able to sleep eight hours. I know I'll feel better the next day."

Did insomnia have roots in 2005 trial?

Lee, 56, is licensed as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner in California, according to the state Board of Registered Nursing's Web site. She attended Los Angeles Southwest College and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Sciences in Los Angeles.

Comedian Dick Gregory, who knows Lee and her work, said he believes Jackson's insomnia had its roots in the pop star's 2005 trial on child molestation charges. Jackson's health had deteriorated so much that his parents called Gregory, a natural foods proponent, for help.

Gregory said Jackson wasn't eating or drinking at the time, and after he was persuaded by Gregory to undergo testing, ended up hospitalized for severe dehydration.

But Jackson obviously was healthy enough to withstand the level of medical scrutiny needed to insure him for the upcoming high-stakes London concerts, Gregory said. "That you don't trick," he said of the exams.

Lee, who has also worked with Stevie Wonder, Marla Gibbs, Reynaldo Rey and other celebrities, said she was introduced to Jackson by the mother of one of his staff members. Jackson's three children had minor cold symptoms and their pediatrician was out of town.

Lee said she went to the house in January, the first of about 10 visits there through April, and treated the children with vitamins. Michael, intrigued, asked what else she did and took her up on her claim she could boost his energy.

After running blood tests, she devised protein shakes for him and gave him an intravenous vitamin and mineral mixture — known as a "Myers cocktail," after Dr. John Myers — which Lee said she uses routinely in her practice.

"It wasn't that he felt sick," she said. "He just wanted more energy."

Lee said she decided to speak out to protect Jackson's reputation from what she considers unfounded allegations of drug abuse or shortcomings as a parent.

"I think it's so wrong for people to say these things about him," she said. "He was a wonderful, loving father who wanted the best for his children."



What is Diprivan?


Diprivan is used to start or maintain anesthesia during certain surgeries, tests, or procedures. It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Diprivan is a general anesthetic. It is unknown exactly how this medication works.


Do NOT use this medication if:

* you are allergic to any ingredient in this medication
* you are allergic to eggs, egg products, soybeans, or soy products

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.
Before using Diprivan :

Some medical conditions may interact with this medication . Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:

* if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding
* if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
* if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
* if you have inflammation of the pancreas, high lipid levels in the blood, or epilepsy

Some MEDICINES MAY INTERACT with this medication . Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

* Benzodiazepines (eg, alprazolam), narcotic pain relievers (eg, morphine), or other sedatives (eg, chloral hydrate) because they may increase the risk of this medication 's side effects

This may not be a complete list of all interactions that may occur. Ask your health care provider if this medication may interact with other medicines that you take. Check with your health care provider before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.


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