The first round of an ambitious sweep that included Lodi police officers netted 34 arrests, 22 guns and about five pounds of marijuana this week.

A Stockton doctor has quietly opened Lodi's first methadone clinic in Lodi Memorial Hospital's Urgent Care office, raising concerns due to the proximity to a local school.

Lodi police detectives watched for three hours, staking out a home on Adobe Court in Lodi. They were waiting to search a house that was suspected of being a place for drug buys.

Dear Pharmacist: I live in chronic pain, it’s usually my joints, but now my nerves are involved. My tests are all normal, and my doctor gives me Celebrex, Vicodin and Flexeril. I feel doped up, and still live in pain. What else can I do? — B.C., Sanibel Island, Fla.

A bartender at California Street Pub was arrested early Sunday morning on suspicion of selling hydrocodone — similar to Vicodin — and possessing marijuana at the bar, according to Lodi police.

Dear Readers: Recently, I asked my Facebook fans to share their favorite folk remedies. These homegrown tips are not intended to take the place of your physician’s advice, nor does my printing them imply effectiveness. So don’t email me if you wind up smelling like lasagna or a speed stick! Here is a sampling of the submissions: 

Dear Pharmacist: I’m having trouble sleeping and I’m wondering if it has something to do with my new medications. I’ve begun taking sertraline (Zoloft) for depression at night and hydrocodone for pain which I take every morning. The problem is that I feel like a zombie at work but I stay up all night. Is this normal?

He was a nurse. Then he became a minister. Then he went into banking. Now he's a federal prison inmate, charged with 12 armed bank robberies.

Over the course of a little more than one year, Galt residents have saved about $5,000 on prescriptions through a discount medical card program offered through the city.

Dear Straight Talk: My brother is 25. He's always been moody and used to have a bad temper. Now he's sometimes manic, sometimes drowsy.

Christmas Eve performances tonight

Dear Straight Talk: I'm concerned for friends who buy Adderall and Ritalin at school in order to stay up late studying. Parents have no idea that you get any drug you want at school. These drugs and very popular and kids selling them don't understand that pharmaceuticals can react badly with other prescriptions. What can be done about this?

Dear Pharmacist: I am stressed out that I may not be able to get my pain medication, Vicodin. I've taken it for years, following a work accident. I'm not addicted. I really have pain but the pharmacist told me that it's going off the market. Please tell me he's wrong. I can't live without it.

Another Monday, and school is the last place a child wants to be - or maybe it is!

Dear Straight Talk: I was best friends with "Abby" until she got new friends and started drinking and taking drugs. It scared me because my dad was a heroin addict and I don't see him anymore. I made a new best friend, "Suzie", and for the first time I felt happy and fit in. Then, on school trip, Suzie, Abby and I were placed together. This prompted Abby and I to become closer again, but Suzie didn't like Abby, so Suzie dumped me and I was so hurt I hated her for it. I doubted my friendship with Abby would survive, but I had nobody else. Sure enough, Abby lashed out at me horribly when I expressed concern for another friend, "Gina," (who sleeps around, has a drinking problem, and has done heroin a few times). She called Gina's lifestyle "liberating" and accused me of being "up myself." Also, Abby kept telling me she wanted to corrupt me, which made me realize what a bad friend she was. Now I've separated myself from Abby and Gina and want to be friends with Suzie again. Crawling back to Suzie might not be the best choice, but she was the best friend I ever had. What should I do? And why did Abby want to corrupt me? - "Sarah"

Mark Walberg has been a pharmacist since 2006. He feels the profession adds a good balance to his life.

In the 24 hours after 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Lodi Police Department handled 141 calls for service. The following is a sample of calls received by dispatchers:

The Lodi dentist who was arrested after investigators allegedly found an envelope containing methamphetamine in a patient's file posted bail but remains jailed on an unrelated fraud warrant from Nevada.

A Lodi dentist under investigation for writing Vicodin prescriptions for her boyfriend was arrested Wednesday after investigators allegedly found methamphetamine in her office.

Q: I had a staph infection and was in the hospital. Upon release, I was prescribed an antibiotic and then another. My pharmacist warned me not to stop taking the drug, but it made me terribly sick, so I quit taking it. Tell me honestly, what happens when antibiotics are stopped early and please don't place fear in people if we don't want to take artificial drugs.

She says she's not addicted, but a local 15-year-old Tokay High sophomore has been smoking crystal methamphetamine since she was 13.

Administrators at Lodi High School say the drug problem on campus has become so bad they are considering using drug-sniffing dogs to stem the problem.

A survey released Tuesday by the state Attorney General's Office and the Department of Education indicates a rising popularity of pharmaceuticals among California's youth.

Lodi man arraigned by judge who married him

Police crack down on gang violence