local
A Lethal Dose: The war on synthetic drugs
-
Blaine party survivors: 'All of us could have died that night'
Four young people talk about the synthetic drug that killed their friend and changed their lives. Updated Dec. 19, 2011
-
They carry names like Bliss and TranQuility, but don't be fooled: Synthetic drugs can be deadly. From a small town in Oklahoma to suburban Minnesota, these products have generated unusual violence and physical suffering. States have responded by banning chemicals found in these drugs, but manufacturers remain one step ahead of the law.
Ingredients for making bath salts.
-
Federal investigators squeeze synthetic drug shipments
Article By: DAN BROWNING ,Star Tribune Publish May 7, 2012 2:00 AM / Update May 7, 2012 1:26 PMTwo dozen packages of synthetic drugs from out-of-state are seized as postal inspectors take advantage of new laws in Minnesota, Wisconsin.
related content
Police raided this Duluth head shop in September
-
Cops just can't keep up with latest designer-drug threats
Article By: JAMES WALSH , Star Tribune Publish November 20, 2011 2:00 AM / Update November 21, 2011 2:53 PMThe government didn't see this coming. Now the DEA is scrambling to play catch-up.
Rodger Seratt, above, mixed synthetic drugs in a mobile home lab.
-
Homemade drug labs fuel dangerous craze
Article By: JAMES WALSH , Star Tribune Publish October 9, 2011 2:00 AM / Update October 12, 2011 4:29 PMSynthetic drug makers are working like modern-day moonshiners to cash in on the booming market.
Heather Sharber, 19
-
New drugs fuel wave of violence and death
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish July 24, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 9, 2011 1:10 PMA small town in Oklahoma is grieving for two college students who died after using synthetic drugs this spring. In the past year, more than 20 deaths have been linked to the use of products sold under such innocuous names as bath salts, plant food, herbal incense and research chemicals.
Inmate Chris Heckman talked about how the use of bath salts ruined his...
-
Bath salts hit U.S. 'like a freight train'
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish September 18, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 19, 2011 7:57 AMAlmost unknown in 2009, designer drugs and their psychotic effects alarm police, doctors.
CARLOS GONZALEZ * cgonzalez@startribune.com June 22, 2011, Roseville,...
-
Users play chemical roulette
Article By: LARRY OAKES , Star Tribune Publish September 4, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 8, 2011 10:33 AMSynthetic drugs are widely sold as bath salts and incense. But lab tests reveal substances that can kill.
These drugs were purchased in local shops or over the internet before...
-
Synthetic drug sales booming on Web
Article By: LARRY OAKES , Star Tribune Publish September 11, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 11, 2011 10:57 AMDealers cover their tracks and make misleading claims as online traffic soars.
From the left, counselor Debbie Bolton, Paul McGlynn, director, and student Joe Fischer of Burnsville’s Sober High Charter School.
-
Study: 1 in 9 12th-graders used synthetic marijuana
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish December 15, 2011 2:00 AM / Update December 15, 2011 11:08 PMThe numbers prompt a call for "proactive" response.
A selection of synthetic drugs, on the shelf at the Last Place on Eart...
-
Tips, warning signs for parents
Publish September 18, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 22, 2011 2:43 PMBlock drug-selling websites on your computer. Review credit card bills for unusual purchases. Consider at-home drug test kits. And more...
-
Government provides guide, advice on synthetic drug dangers
Publish February 17, 2012 2:00 AM / Update February 17, 2012 11:13 AMPolice raided this Duluth head shop in September
-
Video: Experts say synthetic drugs lead to deaths, 'bizarre acts'
Article By: Matt Gillmer , Publish / Update February 15, 2012 2:19 AMStar Tribune reporter Pam Louwagie discusses "bath salts," "spice" and other designer drugs with with DEA supervisor Dan Moren and Cody Wiberg from the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
“Our sales are just insane,” said Jim Carlson, owner of Last Place on Earth in Duluth. He sells fake pot and other synthetic drugs.
-
He dares Duluth to shut his head shop
Article By: LARRY OAKES , Star Tribune Publish September 17, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 23, 2011 3:56 PMOwner Jim Carlson has made millions of dollars defying synthetic drug bans.
Police raided The Last Place On Earth head shop in Duluth Wednesday afternoon, and store owner Jim Carlson's son, Joseph Gellerman, was arrested and taken from the store.
-
Head shop raided by Duluth police
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish September 22, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 23, 2011 3:53 PMCops seized more than $50,000 worth of 'herbal incense,' plus guns and cash, owner says.
Jim Carlson, left, owner of "The Last Place On Earth" in downtown Duluth.
-
At the Last Place On Earth
Article By: Tom Wallace , Publish / Update October 12, 2011 1:39 PMJim Carlson, who has owned the Duluth store for 29 years, predicts police will raid the shop he’s owned for 29 years and arrest him over his synthetic drug sales. But every day that doesn’t happen puts another $16,000 or so in his till, Carlson estimates.
Eight Ballz is a bath salt that contains a newly banned chemical.
-
DEA clamps down on synthetic drugs
Article By: LARRY OAKES , Star Tribune Publish September 8, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 8, 2011 4:53 PMFederal authorities moved to outlaw three chemicals found in bath salts, a group of synthetic drugs that have been linked to several deaths and thousands of calls to poison control centers.
Alex Winterhalter
-
Second death in Minnesota is tied to synthetic drugs
Article By: PAUL WALSH , Star Tribune Publish September 9, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 12, 2011 11:02 AMAlex Winterhalter spent his final hours smoking synthetic pot and playing with a gun. He wound up shooting himself in the head.
Jill Robinson
-
Federal prosecutors may bring charges in synthetic drug case
Article By: DAVID CHANEN and PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune staff writers Publish October 22, 2011 2:00 AM / Update October 24, 2011 12:08 PMThey may prosecute 21-year-old facing murder charges in fatal Blaine party. Murder suspect must agree to spend nearly 10 years in prison to avoid possible federal prosecution.
Timothy Lamere
-
Blaine man who supplied synthetic drug charged with murder
Article By: DAVID CHANEN , Star Tribune Publish March 22, 2011 2:00 AM / Update March 22, 2011 9:01 PMTimothy Lamere is accused of supplying drug that left one partygoer dead and 10 others hospitalized.
-
Retailers sue over 'designer' drug ban
Article By: PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish June 28, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 6, 2011 11:10 AMThree state merchants say the new law is too vague and offers no proof of any potential danger.
The Last Place on Earth in Duluth
-
Synthetic drug ban has buyers racing
Article By: LARRY OAKES and PAM LOUWAGIE , Star Tribune Publish July 1, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 8, 2011 10:01 AMRetailers unsuccessfully tried to block law on substances that mimic pot and LSD from taking effect.
Authorities had to dismantle this device, allegedly used to make synthetic marijuana, in order to get it down from the rafters of a garage of a home being built in Alma, Wis., near Winona, Minn.
-
'Naughty Santa’ drug worth $200,000 seized near Winona
Article By: ABBY SIMONS , Star Tribune Publish December 30, 2011 2:00 AM / Update December 30, 2011 10:11 AM$200,000 worth of synthetic marijuana is found near Winona.
-
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Offers & Events
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters