The old "Hide Cocaine in Your Bible" trick
Posted July 14, 2006
Sometimes, a headline grabs you and compels you to read more.
That happened to me this week when I saw an Associated Press story titled "Inmate Pleads Guilty in Bible Drugs Case." Basically, somebody tried to smuggle cocaine into the Huntington County, Indiana jail by hiding it in the spine of a book of sacred writings. Alert law enforcement officials, noting that the spine had been glued shut, discovered the contraband.
While scriptures don't explicitly prohibit the practice, most theologians say it's a bad idea.
Believe it or not, it's not the first time inmates have tried this trick. In 2004, a Syracuse schoolteacher was accused of sending her jailbird husband some marijuana, neatly concealed in the binding of a Bible. Officials discovered the "green leafy substance" during a search of the inmate's cell, The (Syracuse, N.Y.) Post-Standard reported.
Similar incidents have been reported in Wisconsin, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, according to news reports.
Unfortunately, Bible abuse isn't confined to the borders of the United States -- it's becoming an international problem. After the Canadian province of Alberta banned smoking in its jails, demand for the sacred book climbed.
Desperate cigarette-addicted inmates are now making homemade smokes -- with a process that would make health professionals and Gideons cringe.
The recipe, the Calgary Herald reports, is simple: "Peel the ahesive nicotine strip from (a nicotine) patch, boil it in water, place toilet paper in solution and stir. Dry, add small pieces of hardened orange peels if desired, then roll in paper ripped out of Bibles."
Do not try this at home.