When Jimmy Dunn was a state trooper the big threat in the 1980s was crack cocaine, and today there are equally dangerous drugs he told the Newport Kiwanis Club.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney General Dunn alerted club members to the increasing problem of crime caused by synthetic drugs, and abuse of prescription drugs.

The justice system is already dealing with the results caused by those using "bath salts" and other synthetic drugs whose composition and affects on humans is unknown, said Dunn.

He referred to a case in Hawkins County in mid October when a man wielding a hammer walked into a church and started threatening people.

For more details, please see the weekend edition of the Newport Plain Talk.