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To avoid prison, she must get cleanBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COM"I messed up," reads the plea in careful, girlish script. "I used. I don't know why or what's wrong with me. ... I thought I didn't have a problem, that I could just quit. But I'm wrong. How can all those other people just quit? ... What if I can't get better? I don't want to be this way anymore. ... I want to be normal again." The 'carrot' is help; the 'stick' is jailBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMDuring the past decade, the number of participants in Kentucky's drug courts has grown from 16 to more than 1,726. By the end of 2007, drug courts will serve every Kentucky county. A limited few get the limited resourcesBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMIf you don't have health insurance, prepare for a long wait for drug or alcohol treatment in Kentucky. Partly that's because those in drug court and others get first dibs on limited government funds. |
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In God she trusts — for nowBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMDon Lloyd — Brother Lloyd — stalks across the church basement, pacing in front of a small kitchen used by ladies on Sunday to heat casseroles and pies. But Brother Lloyd's message is food for the soul." This is your brain on drugs: haywireBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMUnderstanding the reaction of the brain to drugs is key to successfully addressing substance abuse — a disease that annually causes nearly 120,000 deaths in the United States and costs billions of dollars, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. |
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'Go ahead and kill me'By Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMHer husband said he was going to kill her. That's what Dawn Nicole Smith writes when she fills out a request for an emergency protective order after a fight with her husband, Tony. She claims that he threw her on the bed, choking her, and told her this was her end. 'You can't teach them hope'By Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMTreating female alcoholics or drug addicts often requires unraveling the damage of physical and mental abuse that began long before the first drink or drug. About Dawn's storyChapter three of six: Four months after being sentenced to Fayette County Drug Court, Dawn Nicole Smith finds out her husband is leaving, and, at 22, she’s pregnant with their fourth child. |
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A fragile holdBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMMary Caitlin Smith, affectionately called Sissy Boo, is born in Lexington on Feb. 24, 2005. She has curly hair like her brother David, and a deep dimple on one cheek. Testing is vital to drug courtEach week, the freedom, family unity and financial security of thousands of Kentuckians hinge on what happens when chemicals contact urine during a drug test. There's a lot at stake in drug tests, and they're not perfectBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMEvery week, the freedom, family unity and financial security of thousands of Kentuckians hinge on what happens when chemicals come into contact with urine for a drug test. About Dawn's storyChapter four of six: After giving birth to her fourth child, Dawn Nicole Smith, almost 23, has a brief respite from the rigorous regimen required by Fayette County Drug Court. |
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Nowhere else to goBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMDawn Nicole Smith gets $20 for selling an old red Nissan, the same car that took her to jail so long ago. Dawn's story so farFebruary 2003: Dawn Nicole Smith steals a prescription pad from a UK dentist's office. About Dawn's storyChapter five of six: With her stepfather jailed and charged with incest, a pregnant Dawn Nicole Smith, almost 24, is ordered by Fayette County Drug Court to move with her four children to the safety of a Lexington homeless shelter. |
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When all is lostBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMTonio Smith stares mutely out the window as his mother, Dawn Nicole Smith, slumps, smoking, in a stained chair. The 8-year-old's eyes are solemn beneath black bangs as his mother stares unseeing into some middle distance. When should drug users lose their kids?By Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMDrug court caseworkers seek to maintain a difficult balance between what's best for parents trying to get off drugs and the welfare of their children. With drug court's help, some people do get their lives backBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMTough-looking guys with long ponytails and leather jackets leaned forward, heads in hands, as the audience in the auditorium hushed to absolute silence. Prescription tracker could raise red flagBy Mary MeehanMMEEHAN1@HERALD-LEADER.COMWhile in drug court, Dawn Nicole Smith says, she used her state Medicaid card to pay for painkillers. So, essentially, taxpayers were paying for her treatment for addiction and for her drugs. |
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