Taking Drugs

San Francisco Giants hitting coach Bobby Bonds and manager Dusty Baker criticized Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda for saying he was surprised that the New York Yankees would sign anybody who was suspended for taking drugs -- Darryl Strawberry, for instance."

WASHINGTON -- After a cross-country train trip and a weekend family gathering here, 15-year-old James Acton will pursue tomorrow his own civics lesson, with the Supreme Court as his teacher.He will be in the audience as the justices hold a hearing on his case and its central issue: the constitutionality of compulsory drug testing at school. James was told, as a 12-year-old seventh-grader in Oregon, that he, along with others, had to submit to a urine test even though no one suspected him of using drugs.

From strip-searching correctional officers to banning thermoses, Patuxent Institution administrators have turned their attention from inmates to staff in bolstering security after an inmate's escape in August.The prison's director is investigating whether employees have been smuggling drugs into the Jessup prison. As a result of the crackdown, one officer already has been charged with drug possession and suspended since the escape.But the searches and new rules have angered a number of officers, who believe they're scapegoats in the first escape from behind the maximum security prison's walls in 14 years.

If patience is a virtue, Angela M. Brodie has waited long enough to be a saint.After more than 15 years of painstaking work, the University of Maryland biochemist and pharmacologist has just seen her research move to the marketplace as a drug to treat breast cancer in post-menopausal women. The drug is aimed at stemming the course of the disease in women whose tumors have failed to shrink after conventional treatments.Over the winter, Ciba-Geigy Corp. received approval to begin marketing the drug, called formestane, in Britain.

Drugs and track and moneyDrug abuse is still rife in track and field despite attempts to crack down, world mile record-holder Steve Cram of Britain says."

A man wearing a camouflage rain poncho escaped with cash and drugs Tuesday night after robbing a Columbia drug store, county police said.Police said the man, believed to have been carrying a gun, entered the People's Drug store in the 8600 block of Guilford Road shortly before 8:20 p.m. and jumped behind the prescription counter, police said.He then ordered the pharmacist to open the safe and give him the cash from the register, police said.The man then took an unknown amount of prescription drugs from the safe.

The Annapolis City Council may decide tonight whether city taxicab drivers and owners should be required to take drug tests.Meanwhile, the cabbies and operators have formed the Annapolis City Taxicab Association and hired attorney Jody Buccellato to represent them. They say the tests may be unconstitutional and they object to a requirement that they pay for the procedures.Alderman Wayne C. Turner, R-Ward 6, and Transportation Director James Chase proposed testing drivers and owners for drug use last yearafter several people applying for taxicab licenses were found to have drug records.

From kindergarten to 12th grade, Carroll students are persuading their peers to "say no to drugs" and bombarding Gov. William Donald Schaefer with ideas to combat substance abuse.Four students were selected as county age-group winners in the "Maryland You Are Beautiful" student literacy writing competition.Top honors went to Blair Mersinger, a Hampstead Elementary first-grader; Anna Hill, a fifth-grader at Robert Moton Elementary; HeatherHopple, an eighth-grader at Mount Airy Middle; and Todd Dickensheets, who is in the 10th grade at Westminster High.

County police are looking for two hold-up men who fled a Millersville drug store with prescription drugs and cash Saturday.Police said the pair walked into the Revco drug store in the 600 block of Old Mill Road at about 7:45 p.m. and demanded the drugs and the money.The first man took the money and the pharmacist gave the second robber an unknown amount of Dilaudid tablets.The men then left thestore. Police gave no description of the robbers.GUNMAN ROBS HIGH'SWITH BLUE AUTOMATICA man armed with an automatic handgun robbed a Millersville convenience store Sunday.

White Sox send 2 to Expos for RainesTim Raines was traded from the Montreal Expos to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Ivan Calderon and Barry Jones, The Associated Press learned.The deal, which had been discussed since the winter meetings earlier this month, was completed when Raines agreed to a three-year contract worth more than $10 million.Sources in both California and Chicago confirmed the trade, which is scheduled to be announced today.As part of the deal, Chicago will get Jeff Carter, a minor-league pitcher, and another minor-league player to be determined.