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FDA warns about mix-it-vourself drugs r by Lauran Neergaard Associated Press WASHINGTON — Michael Tiedemann was pretty prompt for a 15-year-old, so when his blaring alarm clock and a friend’s phone call didn’t rouse him for school, his stepfather got a bad feeling. When he opened the bedroom door, he found Michael dead. Just lying there in bed, a kind of white froth at his lips and nose the only clue to why he died. An easy-to-get or mix-it-yourself drug, a growing craze for teens and young adults, killed Michael, who was described by his parents as an honor-roll student who loved karate and wanted to become a doctor. The drug GHB is luring even people who insist they’d never touch “real drugs” like cocaine, who say it provides that relaxed, uninhibited feeling of a few drinks but faster, cheaper and without the telltale alcohol smell. But GHB, usually sold as a colorless and odorless liquid but sometimes as a powder, is dangerous. It causes sudden comas and seizures. Originally developed as a surgical anesthetic, it depresses breathing. Hospitals from Maryland to Colorado are reporting GHB poisonings suddenly ris ing in the past year. Nobody really keeps count, but the government estimates at least 32 people have died and 3,500 others have needed treatment for overdoses since 1990. The coroner determined Michael vom ited while in a deep, GHB-induced sleep and consequently, unable to awaken or turn over as he could during normal sleep, suffocated. His parents told Michael’s story in hopes others will heed GHB’s dangers, but they contend even Michael’s classmates in Fort Pierce, Fla., still use the drug. “They just don’t think it will happen to them,” said his mother, Debbie Alumbaugh. ‘ ‘If we can get this through to the kids, and one more child does not die, then our child will not have died for nothing.” Some teens say they were never warned. “You tell us about marijuana and alcohol every day. You should have told us about GHB, ’ ’ a Michigan teen-ager told school of ficials there last spring after a 15-year-old classmate also died from GHB. Body builders first abused GHB in the early ’90s. Then, easy to slip into drinks, it became a date-rape drug. Today, it’s the latest trend, touted as a party drug or even a sex enhancer. “It is something that just doesn’t seem to go away,” says John Taylor of the Food and Drug Administration, which banned the *0 drug’s sale nationwide in 1991. Just this year, the FDA has seized or or dered destroyed thousands of vials of GHB sold under such names as Invigorate, Longevi ty and Blue Nitro, shut down companies that sold GHB-mixing kits on the Internet, and begun prosecuting distributors. But the FDA can crack down only on makers or distributors. Twenty states make GHB possession by an individual illegal, and Congress is debating a similar federal law. But enforcement varies widely; Forida is one of those states, but Michael Tiedemann’s parents complain the police never could fer ret out who gave him GHB. GHB is hard to stop, because people can mix up quarts at a kitchen sink. Recipes abound on the Internet. All it takes are some common chemicals; the main ingredient is a paint thinner. One Internet recipe recommends stor ing GHB in glass in the refrigerator, a very dangerous recommendation because it’s so easy to confuse with water. A Tennessee woman died in June after apparently un knowingly drinking GHB from a water bot tle in a friend’s car. But experts say most people willingly use GHB, hunting a quick high. It’s de rigeur on some nightclub scenes, where GHB’s po tency is made far worse by alcohol. “It’s very easy to overdose,” warns San dra Frazier of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, whose emergency room in a single week treated six people in their 20s for GHB poisonings at area nightclubs. Indeed, because one GHB batch can dif fer greatly from the next, a dose that gave you a mild buzz one day could kill you the next, Frazier warns. Bush responds to drug questions by Ron Fournier Associated Press George W. Bush is the front runner for the Republican nomination for president. He is currently the gov ernor of Texas. WASHINGTON — Why now? For months, Geoige W. Bush successfully dodged questions about whether he used drugs with an artful reply that he acted irresponsibly in his youth. His sudden deci sion to offer partial, unsatisfying answers is baffling. The hubbub over have-you-ever ques tions squandered momentum Bush Harlhnilt u/ithaCOr vincing victory in Iowa’s straw poll last Saturday. It also ex posed weaknesses that were ignored or unnoticed while his campaign rocketed almost effortlessly to the top of the Republican field. The shift of strategy left veteran politi cal consultants shaking their heads. “He didn’t need to be talking about this,” said Ed Gillespie, a Republican operative. Even supporters who commended Bush for talking about the subject said he did so clum sily. By Friday, he was back on message and would only say: “I told the American people that years qgo I made some mistakes. I’ve learned from those mistakes.” After Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle suggested that Bush’s background was getting less scrutiny than President Clin ton’s, the questions about drugs started pick ing up. News organizations surveyed the oth er candidates about past drug usage. Bush alone refused to answer. Though there is no evidence or credible allegation that he has ever violated drug laws, Bush kept getting peppered with the ques tions. He finally lost his cool during a home state news conference. Leveling dark ac cusations against unnamed rivals who “plant ed” the rumors, Bush vowed not to answer the questions. “The people of America are sick and tired of this kind of politics,” he said. “And I’m not participating.” Hours later, he decided to participate, after all. The Dallas Morning News wanted to know if he could answer the question posed to federal employees in standard background checks: Did he use illegal drugs in the last seven years? Bush sought clarification of the ques tion, which a senior adviser later said was confusing. That gave him a little time to con sider whether to reply — and how to frame his answer. The adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush decided it was fair to expect a presidential candidate to answer the same question posed to federal employees. He also felt it would be a political benefit to put some distance between his campaign and any “mistakes” he refuses to talk about. And, finally, Bush assumed the headlines would be that he was committed to federal back ground checks and would live by the same standards. The Bush team was surprised the next day when news reports focused on him say ing he hadn’t used illegal drugs in seven years. That left open the possibility that he had bro ken thp law when his fathpr was in the White House. A news conference Thursday allowed Bush to cast any past drug usage as a more distant memory. He used a more stringent 15-year standard set by the Bush White House. The news conference also gave televi sion networks footage of Bush calmly dis cussing the matter, replacing the heated ex change networks had on videotape from the day before. In his opening remarks, Bush said he could meet the anti-drug standards of his fa ther’s White House. At least one top aide thought that meant he was ruling out drug usage for the last 15 years. When a reporter asked whether he could have passed the test when his father was pres ident, Bush said yes. That was the fust clue for some aides that Bush was going back 25 years. It raised more questions. What about when his father was vice president? Why not answer the question posed to current White House employees? The FBI asks them if they used drugs since their 18th birthday. Bush said he must draw the line some where. Aides insist that will be the last Bush will say about the matter. But he has already redrawn the lines. Seven years. Fifteen years. Twenty-five years. Bush might be able to finesse the drug issue throughout the campaign, political con sultants in both parties say. But the episode revealed what can happen to a cautious, coached candidate when he is knocked off message; he changed course twice in two days, lost his cool and is still open to accu sations that he won’t play by the rules set for White House workers. IMovie release V^pschools Violence found 'appalling' by David Germain Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Miramax Films picked the worst possible time, back-to-school season, to release ‘ ‘Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” a black comedy about teens who hold their mean-spirited teacher hostage, education groups say. The movie’s Friday opening comes four days after classes resumed at Columbine High School in Colorado for the first time since two students gunned down 12 schoolmates and a teacher and wounded 23 others before killing themselves last spring. “The timing is really unfortunate,” said Kathleen Lyons, spokeswoman for the National Education Association. “We find it appalling that Miramax would release a movie about kids hunting down teachers.” Miramax did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press, but sent a fax detailing the plot and a comment from first-time director Kevin Williamson, who has written sev eral horror screenplays, including ‘ ‘Scream ’ ’ and ‘ ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer.” * T hope audiences find this movie to be funny, wicked and in credibly entertaining, but in addition I hope they take away the idea that we have all had bad experiences that can later become assets in life. You can turn the tables,’ ’ he said. “Mrs. Tingle” stars Helen Mirren as a malevolent teacher who is kidnapped by three students. Originally called “Killing Mis. Tingle,' ’ the movie’s title was toned down after the Columbine shootings. The teacher is not killed, although she’s injured and several scenes involve a menacing crossbow. Since Columbine, the entertainment industry has faced criti cism that the violence in films, television and video games con tributes to real-life violence. President Clinton and Congress have appealed to Hollywood to show more restraint. “There’s a lot of talk about Hollywood’s role in this atmos phere of school violence,” said David Griffith, director of gov ernmental and public affairs for the National Association of State Boards of Education. “This is turning a tin ear to pick the worst time to put this movie out.” The criticism may boost the box office for “Mrs. Tingle,” which has not caught much advance attention from moviegoers, said Robert Bucksbaum, a film analyst for Reel Source Inc. The movie is a fairly harmless movie and has a happy ending, „ (joined Bucksbaum. who saw it at an advance screening “If anything, teachers do have a right to go crazy about this movie because they’re not represented well by Helen Mirren’s character, ’ ’ Bucksbaum said. ‘ ‘She really is the worst of the worst. ’ ’ State law requires use of courtesy titles in schools by Natalie Gott Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — Students who fail to address their teachers with courtesy ti tles will be disciplined under a state law taking effect when classes start this year, but many school officials have yet to de cide just how mete out the punishment. Believed to be the first in the nation mandating respectful conversation, the law requires students in kindergarten through fifth grade to address teachers and other school employees as “ma’am” or “sir,” or to use the appropriate titles, like Mr. or Ms. Each of the state’s 66 public school sys tems is supposed to decide how to punish impolite students. The law’s only restric tion on school officials saying that they can’t expel or suspend violators. New Orleans schools have a commit tee looking into policy changes but it has not settled on anything, even with classes starting Thursday, said spokesman Walt Pierce. “We just received the legislative up date and we will bring it up,” said Beaure gard Superintendent Joe Aguillard. He said he does not expect the law to be difficult to enforce, thanks to a program it already set up a few years back to teach students about respect. Bossier Parish also does not antici pate any problems because of its Care to Education program, which encourages stu dents to respect their teachers, administra tors, and each other on a daily basis, said Betty McCauley, director of student ser vices. Some schools have established disci plinary guidelines. East Baton Rouge Parish schools adopt ed a policy that will consider a violation of the rule as a minor offense. That means teachers will warn the students first. If the problem continues, they will contact the parent by telephone or request a con ference. Notes will be sent to the student’s parents if the problem persists. “Students should not be forced to say it, but they should follow the rules,” said Julie Madere, a spokeswoman for East Ba ton Rouge Parish public schools. Most East Baton Rouge teachers al ready require students to address them as “ma’am” and “sir,” Madere added. Cliff Friedman, superintendent in Jef ferson Davis Parish, suggested letting prin cipals at each school handle any violations. “I don’t really see a situation where punishment is going to be a major prob lem,” Friedman said. “Good teachers know how to handle those types of situations with out a major distraction.” Sue Hall, who has taught in New Or leans schools for 28 years, said most stu dents do not address her as ma’am, but that doesn’t mean they lack respect. “It’s a nice (law) in theory, but not in reality,” said Hall, who teaches fifth grade at Gentilly Terrace. “As long as children are respectful of me, and I am respectful of them, we have no problems.” Welfare reform leaving poorest families poorer "More Americans are enjoying the freedom of inde pendence from the chains of welfare." Bill Archer Texas Representive by Laura Meckler Associated Press WASHMGTON — Welfare reform has driven the poor est families deeper into poverty, while slightly raising the incomes of those who are a little better off, say re searchers who hope to broaden the debate over what constitutes success. The biggest problem, opposing camps agree, is that many families leaving welfare aren’t getting food stamps although they remain eligible. In 1995,88 percent of poor kids received food stamps. By last year, it had fallen to 70 percent. “The conventional wisdom here in Washington is that welfare reform is an unqualified success because caseload reductions have been so dramatic,” said Wen dell Primus, a researcher at the liberal-leaning Center for Budee' and Policv Priorities, which released tho report Sunday. Welfare caseloads have been cut nearly in half since peaking in 1994. “We are not saying in this report that welfare re form is terrible. We’re saying we have to bring more balance to what welfare reform is all about,” added * Primus, who resigned a tyip post with the Department of Health and Human Services to protest President Clin ton’s signing of the welfare bill three years ago Sun day. Enthusiasts of the reforms argue that, overall, most families are better off. “More Americans are enjoying the freedom of in dependence from the chains of welfare,” said a state ment from Rep. Bill Archer, R-Texas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversaw the reforms. Still, even reform backers acknowledge problems. A report from the Ways and Means Committee and tes timony from the Clinton administration earlier this year acknowledged that the poor are losing ground, and Sun day’s study is the most extensive documentation of these suspicions. ‘ ‘There are people at the bottom who are worse off. We need to do something about that,” said Ron Hask ins. staff director for the rommittee’s welfare panel, who helped write the welfare law. But he argued that more people are better off. The report, which used Census and caseload data, examined families headed by single women and found their economic situations generally improved between 1993 and 1995. But over ihe next two years, the poorest 20 percent of these families lost an average of $577 per year, with incomes falling to $8,047 annually. Typically, these are families that left wel fare but had not made up lost benefits with wages. The situation was particularly bad for the poorest 10 percent, who lost an average of 1A npr vp:tr The problem, both sides explained, is people who are forced off the rolls but haven’t figured out how to support themselves. “In the old days, nobody cared about them. They just stayed on welfare forever,” Haskins said. “Now, even to stay on welfare you need a certain level of com petence. There are things you must do. If not, they cut your benefits.” The report also examined families in the next in come tier—those making between 75 and 112 percent of the poverty line. They came out ahead, but only by an average of $110 per year, bringing their average in come up to $15,857 per year. Essentially, these families were able to replace wel fare with work and come out ahead, if only slightly, but would have fared better had they kept the food stamps they were entitled to. They lost an average of $530 in stamps between 1995 and 1997. Primus suggested that, given the strong economy, they would be doing even better. Haskins said the law was designed so people would replace welfare with work: “The system is working exactly the way you drew it up on the chalkboard,” he said. President Clinton also expressed concern about de clining food stamp rolls. Speaking at a welfare-to-work conference in Chicago this month, he called it “the on ly piece of troubling news in this whole happy scenario.” He said the administration has been unable to figure out why the rolls are falling, though some suspect fam ilies do not know they remain eligible for food help when drey leave welfare. “We have to work on that.” Clin ton said. Briefs ■ Bomb threat clears Jehovah’s Witness conference MOSCOW (AP) — About 15,000 Jeho vah’s Witnesses were evacuated Saturday from Moscow’s Olympic Stadium because of a bomb threat against their conference, church officials said. The congress of church followers from Moscow and surrounding regions cleared out calmly in four minutes after the anony mous call, Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesman Alexei Nazarichev said. Police were search ing the stadium for explosives. Earlier this week, the Jehovah’s Wit nesses almost canceled the congress when stadium officials said they were under pres sure from the Moscow city government to bar the meeting. After last-minute ne gotiations, the stadium agreed to host the congress. City officials have denied trying to block the congress. The Moscow city prosecutor’s office has been trying to outlaw the U.S.-based church, using a provision in Russia’s con troversial religion law that gives courts the right to ban religious groups found guilty of inciting hatred or intolerant behavior. The restrictive religion law has drawn criticism from human rights groups and for eign religious organizations active in Rus sia ■ Republicans oppose homosexual adoption WASHINGTON (AP) — Several Repub lican presidential candidates have pledged to oppose allowing gay or lesbian couples to adopt and to promote the rights of oiga nizations such as the Boy Scouts to exclude homosexuals, a gay rights group said Friday. Human Rights Campaign said former Vice President Dan Quayle, radio host Alan Keyes, publisher Steve Forbes, conserva tive activist Gary Bauer, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and commentator Pat Buchanan signed the pledge before last week’s Iowa straw poll. Officials at the Forbes and Hatch cam paigns confirmed their candidates had signed; Bauer’s campaign could not be reached; and officials at the Buchanan, Keyes and Quayle organizations said they hadn’t heard about it, indicating those candidates hadn’t signed it. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former American Red Cross head Elizabeth Dole and the GOP front-runner. Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, did not sign, Human Rights Campaign said in a statement. Neither did Democratic candidates vice-president Al Gore, or Bill Bradley, the former U.S. sen ator from New Jersey. The pledge was sponsored by more than a dozen groups that publicly abhor homo ■ sexuality. It has provisions opposing in cluding same-sex relationships under the term “marriage,” opposing discussion of homosexuality in schools, and federal laws to specifically protect homosexuals from discrimination. ■ Online company halts sale of Mein Kampf BERLIN (AP)—German media giant Ber telsmann has stopped selling Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in its online bookstore, a spokesman said Saturday. BOL International's German and Dutch services never offered the book because it is banned in those countries, but its British and French services did, company spokesman Christof Ehrhart said. He said those sales were ended this week t» block Germans or Dutch from buying the book, which Hitler wrote in prison a few years before leading the Nazis to power in 1933. Under German law, books espousing Nazi philosophy are banned from public dis play or sale, punishable by up to five years in prison. BOL’s move came after German au thorities said they were investigating com plaints that Germans could circumvent laws against the sale of books such as “Mein Kampf ’ by ordering them hem online book- ^ sellers in the United States. Bertelsmann has asked its U.S.-based Internet bookselling partner bamesandno ble.com not to ship banned Nazi titles to customers in Germany. ■ Rodman arrested NEWPORT BEACH, Caif. (AP)—Flam boyant basketball star Dennis Rodman was arrested for allegedly being drunk in public and causing a disturbance at a restaurant, police said yesterday. The former NBA all-star, known for his brightly dyed hair and numerous body pierc ings, spent a few hours in the city jail be fore being released without bail early Sun day, police Sgt. Jim Kaminsky said. The owner of Woody’s Wharf restau rant-bar called police Saturday night and “alleged that Mr. Rodman was intoxicated and causing a disturbance, ’ ’ Kaminsky said. ^ The sergeant said he had no other de tails on the distuibance. Rodman played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls be fore joining the Los Angeles Lakers for a brief stint last season. The Lakers waived him in Aprifl *