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http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=3353252 Link to article below on Heroin Abuse
Kids say heroin readily available to them
May 20th, 2008 @ 10:04pm
Courtney Orton reporting

An alarming trend is being noticed in emergency rooms in Utah as kids as young as 12 years old are overdosing on heroin. It's a drug once confined to inner-city neighborhoods that's turning up in upper-middle class suburbia in towns like St. George. Kids say they have no trouble finding a fix, even in the schoolyard.

Sometimes it starts at home with pain pills from their parents' medicine cabinet, soon they're hooked and graduate to street drugs. Other kids are introduced by their friends. Either way, drug use among teenagers is no longer shocking; but now, there are cases involving kids fresh out of elementary school.

Kylee told us, "The more I did it and didn't have it, I would start throwing up." She was addicted to heroin. "I was in ninth grade."

Ninth grade, a time when most girls are worried about teenage crushes or making the soccer team, Kylee worried about getting her next fix. "It ruins your life. It kills. It's jut not worth it," she says.

It's happening even younger. Kylee told us, "I've heard of some seventh graders doing it." They're kids too young to appreciate the risk. In fact, her best friend died of an overdose in his bedroom. "No one ever thought that anyone would die, and then someone did," she says.

Last August, another 13-year-old St. George girl was arrested

Utah Heroin Epidemic MAY 2008

Kids say heroin readily available to them
May 20th, 2008 @ 10:04pm
Courtney Orton reporting

An alarming trend is being noticed in emergency rooms in Utah as kids as young as 12 years old are overdosing on heroin. It's a drug once confined to inner-city neighborhoods that's turning up in upper-middle class suburbia in towns like St. George. Kids say they have no trouble finding a fix, even in the schoolyard.

Sometimes it starts at home with pain pills from their parents' medicine cabinet, soon they're hooked and graduate to street drugs. Other kids are introduced by their friends. Either way, drug use among teenagers is no longer shocking; but now, there are cases involving kids fresh out of elementary school.

Kylee told us, "The more I did it and didn't have it, I would start throwing up." She was addicted to heroin. "I was in ninth grade."

Ninth grade, a time when most girls are worried about teenage crushes or making the soccer team, Kylee worried about getting her next fix. "It ruins your life. It kills. It's jut not worth it," she says.

It's happening even younger. Kylee told us, "I've heard of some seventh graders doing it." They're kids too young to appreciate the risk. In fact, her best friend died of an overdose in his bedroom. "No one ever thought that anyone would die, and then someone did," she says.

Last August, another 13-year-old St. George girl was arrested for having heroin at school. Students reported seeing her using a syringe in the bathroom. It's a tale that is alarmingly common, even in the upper-middle-class neighborhoods of St. George.

In all of 2006, emergency room doctors at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George treated two teens ages 13-18 for heroin overdoses. In 2007 they treated four. And in the first five months of this year, ER doctors have already treated three.

Dr. Robb Benson, with Dixie Regional Medical Center, says, "I don't know how statistically significant that is, but anecdotally it is definitely evidence of an increase."

Narcotics officers say heroin use among middle school kids, while alarming, is not a surprising trend -- drug dealers don't discriminate on age.

Lt. Rich Ferguson with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, said, "They don't care who they deal to. They don't care about age, they just care that you have money."

Just ten dollars for a balloon of heroin --- in some cases, it's easier to come by in St. George than a six-pack of beer. "You just meet people that do it too, and then they have dealers. You meet the dealers. I'd just do it wherever, in my house, at my friends' houses," Kylee said.

Officially, police in St. George told us they are not aware of a widespread problem among middle school kids, but they admit drug dealers from the Las Vegas area are doing business in St. George.

The kids themselves say it should be a wakeup call for parents who need to know these harder drugs are out there, in schools and in just about every neighborhood.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080409/media_nm/newyork50cent_lawsuit_dc

50 Cent Universal Lawsuit 50 Cent and Universal sued for pushing "gangsta" life By Edith Honan
Wed Apr 9, 4:06 PM ET

Hip hop mogul 50 Cent, Universal Music Group and several of its record labels were sued on Wednesday for promoting a "gangsta lifestyle" by a 14-year-old boy who says friends of the rapper assaulted him.

The lawsuit filed by James Rosemond and his mother, Cynthia Reed, says Universal Music Group -- owned by Vivendi SA -- and its labels Interscope Records, G-Unit Records and Shady Records, bear responsibility for the assault because they encourage artists to pursue violent, criminal lifestyles.

The lawsuit also names 50 Cent -- whose real name is Curtis Jackson -- Violator Management, Violator CEO Chris Lighty, Tony Yayo, a rapper and a member of 50 Cent's G-Unit hip hop group, and Lowell Fletcher, an employee of Yayo.

All defendants declined to comment.

Rosemond says he was assaulted on a Manhattan sidewalk in March 2007 by four men including Yayo and Fletcher.

The lawsuit claims Rosemond was targeted because he was wearing a T-shirt by Czar Entertainment, a management company that represents The Game. The Game is a former G-Unit rapper who fell out with the group and had become a rival rapper.

In February, Yayo, whose real name is Marvin Bernard, pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to ten days of community service. Fletcher pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to 9 months in jail.

"The members of G-Unit, including defendants Yayo and 50 Cent, encouraged, sanctioned, approved and condoned its members threatening violence, and or engaging in violent acts in furtherance of its business," the lawsuit said.

The attack on Rosemond was intended to "promote and maintain Yayo and 50 Cent's 'gangsta' image," which was "promoted, marketed and advertised" by record labels.

(Editing by Michelle Nichols and Todd Eastham)

50 Cent Recently played for the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous Crowd during the past Sundance Film Festival in Utah. I enjoy his music but do not support in any way gang banging.

WHen I travel thru Salt Lake City and much of Utah, I am reminded of the power of street gangs. Many people deny that we have any type of a crime problem in Utah. It is very unfortunate, because the major street gangs seem to really like the (easy pickins) here. The brave men and women of Pubic Safety risk their lives everyday and go unnoticed. The legislature and the powers that be, ignore the problem and do not fund for what is needed to continue to keep Utah a wonderful place to live. Spring is here and the major California and Utah hybrid gangs are begining to tag all over the place. What course will we let the communities that we live in stay on?

Why Gang Graffiti Is Dangerous

The purpose of gang graffiti is to glorify the gang. Gang graffiti is meant to create a sense of intimidation and may increase the sense of fear within a neighborhood. Gang members use graffiti to mark their territory or turf, declare their allegiance to the gang, advertise a gang’s status or power, and to challenge rivals. Graffiti is used to communicate messages between gangs using codes with common meaning.

Of greater concern is the inherent violence associated with gang graffiti. When a neighborhood is marked with graffiti indicating territorial dominance, the entire area and its inhabitants become targets for violence. Anyone in the street or in their home is fair game for drive-by attacks by rival gang members. A rival gang identifies everyone in a neighborhood as a potential threat. Consequently, innocent residents are often subjected to gang violence by the mere presence of graffiti in their neighborhood.

Description of Plot:
In a land filled with mostly white conservative hard working religious people -

ABSTRACT FROM HAPPY VALLEY THE MOVIE:
Deep from the heart of Utah, commonly referred to as "Happy Valley," comes a silent cry from the graves. Here, at least one teen per week dies from drug overdose. Surprised? Unconditional love, forgiveness, acceptance... even transformation emerge from what began as a single father seeking to reunite his daughter with her addicted mother.

http://streaming.myfoxutah.com/video.html?show=YFL102 PANIC: Heroin In Utah, Part 2 Most experts agree: acknowledging you have a problem is the first step in fixing it. Residents of Spanish Fork know they have a heroin problem, and they're trying to fix it. But those who know best say it will likely get worse before it gets better. FOX13's Scott McKane has part 2 of PANIC: Heroin in Utah. http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=2251563 PANIC: Heroin In Utah, Part 1 Drug dealing is a daily occurence along the Wasatch Front. FOX13's Scott McKane has a special report on heroin in Utah. http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentId=2251285

Heroin Addiction in Utah: When Rx drugs like oxycontin, and percocet abuse are replaced with street tar heroin.
http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=BF89D23DAC83427753F359C22485E3B8?contentId=4973040&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

Heroin on myfoxutah November 18th, 2007