CRITIC OF PRISON DRUG DETECTOR WON'T BE PROSECUTED

McMINNVILLE - A Portland health care advocate arrested last month after she
was singled out by a prison drug detector will not face charges, a
prosecutor said Thursday.

Mariah Taylor was arrested Aug. 24 at the federal prison at Sheridan. She
was visiting her son when a scanning machine indicated she was carrying
illegal substances.

Taylor, who turned in her own son for dealing drugs, said she did not have
any narcotics and refused to leave the prison.

She was to have been arraigned Sept. 10 in Yamhill County on charges of
criminal trespassing.

Taylor is founder and director of the North Portland Nurse Practitioner
Community Health Clinic. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and
received an honorary doctorate from Linfield College for her work.

Taylor is one of several prison visitors who have complained in recent
weeks that the ion detection device used at the Sheridan prison is so
powerful it finds tiny quantities of drug residue unknowingly picked up
from sources such as currency and taxi seats.

Several visitors have offered to undergo strip searches or take urine
tests. Some have commissioned urine tests on their own to prove they are
not carrying or consuming drugs.

Citing federal regulations, prison officials have refused to make any
allowances or hear any appeals.

Yamhill County District Attorney Brad Berry said Thursday that Taylor will
not be prosecuted. He said his decision was based partly on her involvement
in the community, and the fact that she does not have any criminal record.