Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted on nonviolent drug charges
The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued.
Drugs
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Naloxone vending machines designed to curb opioid overdose deaths
It took less than a week for Indiana’s first-ever naloxone vending machine to need a restock.
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DOC partnership provides Narcan kits to released inmates
In light of an increase of relapses and overdose numbers, the Indiana Department of Correction this month announced it would start offering naloxone, an agent used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, to every offender released from a DOC facility.
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Web Exclusive: Artwork created by inmates highlights recovery, healing from substance abuse
The biblical words “love is patient, love is kind,” have significant meaning to close friends Lonisha Johnson and Kristy Johnson, both of whom are incarcerated at the Clark County Jail.
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Family ties: Reunification celebration spotlights families who achieve stability
Although many may be skeptical of parents whose children are removed from their care, statistics show that nearly 67% of Hoosier youths exit foster care and are successfully reunited with their moms and dads. Those stories of resilience inspired the Marion Superior Court Juvenile Division and the Marion County Public Defender Agency to celebrate National Reunification Month for the first time in Indiana.
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Articles
Four Indiana men among 11 sentenced in cartel-linked fentanyl trafficking
Authorities said the convictions are tied to defendants’ efforts to distribute nearly 400 pounds of methamphetamine and over seven kilograms of fentanyl between September 2021 and November 2022.
Trump vows tariffs over immigration. What the numbers say about border crossings, drugs and crime
In a Monday evening announcement, President-elect Donald Trump railed against Mexico and Canada, accusing them of allowing thousands of people to enter the U.S.
California man who sold fentanyl-laced pill liable for $5.8 million in death of customer
Brandon McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the parents of the victim have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter.
Longtime Mexican drug cartel leader set to be arraigned in New York
Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the powerful longtime leader of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in New York on a 17-count indictment accusing him of narcotics trafficking and murder.
A decision on a major policy shift on marijuana won’t come until after the presidential election
A decision on whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in the U.S. won’t come until after the November presidential election, a timeline that raises the chances it could be a potent political issue in the closely contested race.
Vanderburgh County jury finds meth dealer guilty
A Vanderburgh County jury found a man guilty Tuesday of dealing methamphetamine.
Fort Wayne man sentenced to 16 years for controlled substance and firearm offenses
Tywan Church, 43, of Fort Wayne, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to distribution of a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Muncie man convicted of cocaine dealing, meth possession
A Delaware County jury convicted a Muncie man of multiple drug-related crimes Wednesday.
Delta-8 legal clarification unlikely as Statehouse stalemate persists
In the nearly six years since a federal law appeared to open the doors to delta-8, the marijuana-like drug has grown into a billion-dollar Hoosier industry. But it’s done so on shaky legal ground.
What marijuana reclassification means for the United States
The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis, but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use.
Muncie woman sentenced to 32 years in prison for drug dealing-related death
A Muncie woman faces 32 years in prison after being sentenced in Delaware Circuit Court Wednesday for dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death.
Many cancer drugs remain unproven 5 years after accelerated approval, a study finds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives?
Woman pleads guilty to giving drugs that killed man in Muncie
A 30-year-old woman pleaded guilty to dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death after a man she gave heroin to died of an overdose, according to the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office.
7th Circuit vacates drug trafficking sentence, finds district court erred
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a man’s sentence for drug trafficking after determining a district court did not account for the difference in mixed and pure substances.
Muncie woman sentenced for drug dealing that resulted in overdose death
A Muncie woman sentenced for dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, the Delaware Prosecutor’s Office announced on Feb. 21.
Dog sniff doesn’t require suppression in drug, firearms case, 7th Circuit affirms
A dog sniff that led to a man’s conviction on drug and firearms charges did not unconstitutionally prolong the underlying traffic stop, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday.
Marijuana, meth convictions reversed for insufficient evidence, double jeopardy
The legalization of hemp has led to the reversal of a man’s possession of marijuana conviction at the Court of Appeals of Indiana, which also vacated a meth-possession conviction on double jeopardy grounds.
Split COA reverses denial of motion for discharge
A trial court should’ve granted a man’s motion for discharge after his drug-related trial was continued multiple times, a split Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled in a reversal.
Appellate court rejects evidentiary challenges to firearm, drug convictions
The Court of Appeals of Indiana declined to reverse a man’s firearm-related convictions, determining that his challenges to the admission of evidence failed.