Drug News

National Methamphetamine Awareness Day - November 30, 2006

ALCOHOL - AUSTRALIA
Schoolies’ dangerous drinking - Herald Sun
Alcohol is clearly the drug of choice among school leavers celebrating on the Gold Coast, with almost a quarter drinking to the point where they are physically sick. More than 85 per cent of schoolies surveyed by drug education centre DRUG ARM said they had consumed alcohol within the past 24 hours.

ALCOHOL - US
Alcohol Involved in One-Third of Suicides - Join Together
A third of suicide victims in a recent study had alcohol in their system, and about 10 percent tested positive for other drugs, such as opiates, cocaine, marijuana, or amphetamines, according to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

OPIUM - AFGHANISTAN
War on drugs strengthens Afghan mafia
Afghanistan’s war on drugs has been marred by corruption that has strengthened the grip of an increasingly powerful mafia on the country’s narcotics trade, a report by the World Bank and United Nations said. Over the past five years, the British-led counter-narcotics strategy had penalised the country’s poorest farmers and strengthened networks of organised crime, consolidating the trade among a tiny elite of traffickers, the damning report said.

ECSTASY - AUSTRALIA
Ecstasy study turns dance floor into lab - ABC Australia
The idea of being followed around a nightclub by a researcher bent on taking a blood sample and measuring your temperature may not be your idea of a good time.

COCAINE - US
Test Strips For The Rapid Detection Of Cocaine
Saving the life of a poisoning victim is often a matter of minutes. It is best when the emergency doctor can perform a reliable diagnosis on the spot to determine which poison or what type of drug overdose a patient is suffering from.

PAINKILLER - US
Methadone Use for Pain Control May Result in Death and Life-Threatening Changes in Breathing and Heart Beat - FDA Public Health Advisory
FDA has received reports of death and life-threatening side effects in patients taking methadone. These deaths and life-threatening side effects have occurred in patients newly starting methadone for pain control and in patients who have switched to methadone after being treated for pain with other strong narcotic pain relievers.

PAINKILLER - US
Deaths, side effects prompt new methadone warning - CNN
People starting treatment with methadone have died and suffered life-threatening side effects, health officials said Monday in warning of the dangers of overdosing on the painkiller.

PAINKILLER - US
Warning issued on dangers of methadone - Seatle PI
People starting treatment with methadone have died and suffered life-threatening side effects, health officials said Monday in warning of the dangers of overdosing on the painkiller.

PAINKILLER - US
FDA Issues New Methadone Warning - CBN News
It’s a drug that’s been used to treat heroin addiction — and, increasingly, as a pain-reliever. And now, the government is warning of the dangers of using too much methadone.

HEROIN - US
Police: Heroin cases rise sharply in state - Chicago Tribune
Authorities say heroin has become increasingly easy to find in Indianapolis and other parts of the state. The Indiana State Police estimate they will investigate nearly 700 heroin cases this year — twice as many as last year and triple the number of cases in 2004.

GENERAL - BANGKOK
Asean aims to be drug-free by 2015 - Bangkok Post
Representatives of Asean member countries and local, regional and international NGOs are meeting now in Bangkok to seek concrete solutions to the drug problem in the region, with a goal of making Asean a drug-free region in 2015.

MARIJUANA - US
Marijuana petition drive for 2008 ballot is under way - Wood TV
Michigan residents could legally use marijuana on private property for recreational or medical purposes under a measure proposed for the 2008 statewide ballot.

MARIJUANA - US
Petition drive seeks to legalize marijuana use in Michigan - WZZM 13
Michigan residents could legally use marijuana on private property under a measure proposed for the 2008 ballot.

GENERAL - UK
Annual report 2006: the state of the drugs problem in Europe
Contains: Overview of the European drugs phenomenon in 29 countries. Drug facts, figures and analyses: across Europe and by country. Latest trends and social, legal and political responses.

GENERAL - UK
The really tough way to control drugs is to license them - Times Online
The latest figures from the European drug monitoring agency indicate that Britain leads the continent in cocaine and heroin use and is equalled only by Denmark for cannabis. Given how often prohibitionists abuse Holland’s proactive drugs policy, it is worth noting that twice as many Britons as Dutch use cocaine and a third more use cannabis.

HEROIN & OPIUM - CANADA
Prescription Opioid Abuse More Prevalent Than Heroin, OPICAN Study In 7 Canadian Cities Reveals
A new study conducted in seven Canadian cities reveals that prescription opioids, and not heroin, are the major form of illicit opioid use. These findings raise questions about the current focus of Canada’s drug control policy and treatment programs.

OPIUM - AFGHAN
Afghanistan Produces 92% of Illegal Opium - The Media Line
A staggering 92 percent of the illicit opium worldwide is being produced in Afghanistan, a United Nations narcotics researcher said.

HEROIN - US
Heroin use rising in Indy
While the drug still makes up a minority of the cases at Indianapolis’ drug court, heroin is increasingly easy to find on the city’s streets, according to police, as it is elsewhere in Indiana and the nation.

COCAINE - US
Clinics on the way for wealthy cocaine-users
Clinics targeted at treating cocaine addicts from middle-class and professional backgrounds may open in business districts or wealthy suburbs around the country under proposals from two government bodies.

CANNABIS - MALTA
Malta has one of lowest rates of cannabis use in Europe
Malta has one of the lowest prevalence rates of once in a lifetime use of cannabis (3.5 per cent) in Europe even though it is the most commonly used illegal substance in Europe, according to the recently published 2005 Annual Report of European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

METH - MEXICO
Mexican meth production on rise
Successful U.S. efforts to control the sale of chemicals used to produce methamphetamine has led to a mushrooming production of the drug in Mexico.

GENERAL - US
Addiction Awareness a Yearly Affair
There is a special program underway in the Prince George area, but it isn’t just because of Addiction Awareness week. The poster at left, shows not just a message about saying no to drinking and driving, it also features a stylized marijuana leaf, and some “pills”. It is spreading the word that driving sober means more than just keeping clear of booze.

HEROIN - UK
Quick fix for the heroin epidemic is a counsel of despair - The Scotsman
Today, there are an estimated 240,000 heroin addicts in the UK, committing an average of 435 crimes a year each to raise the £30,000 it costs to keep them in the drug.

COCAINE - UK
Powder to the people - Guardian Unlimited
Cocaine has conquered Britain. This angry little island is in thrall to an angry little drug.

ALCOHOL - US
Tests find alcohol in many suicides - Washington Times
More than a third of those who committed suicide in 2004 tested positive for alcohol, according to a federal study. The test results, taken from suicide victims in 13 states, also showed that 10 percent had opiates, cocaine, marijuana or amphetamines in their system, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in the report, which was released Thursday.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Drug ghouls prey on the schoolies - Herald Sun
More than half the schoolies surveyed by the Herald Sun yesterday said they had been offered drugs. Most said they had been asked whether they wanted ecstasy or cannabis, but some also said they had been offered cocaine, speed and acid.

CANNABIS - UK
‘I’ll fight on to save youths from drugs
A magistrate who is calling for the reclassification of cannabis has said he will continue to work to protect youths from the drug after receiving support from the Magistrates’ Association.

MARIJUANA - US
After 20 years, war on marijuana changes - Kentucky
Police destroyed more marijuana growing outdoors in Kentucky this year than they had in more than a decade, according to numbers compiled by state police.

New Articles

GENERAL - AFGHAN
Afghan Drug Boom Fuels Child Addiction Rates
Doctors estimate that there are more than 2,000 drug-addicted children in the western city of Herat alone.

GENERAL - UK
Addicted to Failure - The Times
The most optimistic reading of the remarks by Europe’s top anti-drugs official yesterday was that the war against drugs is in a quagmire. In Britain, new government statistics suggest that there is a serious and growing drug problem. Although the illicit nature of drug use means that no calculation can ever be wholly accurate, the Home Office estimates are probably more robust, and more alarming, than anything previously published.

METH - MEXICO
Mexico Produces Most of Methamphetamine Coming into US
As methamphetamine abuse continues its scourge of the country, state and federal elected officials have worked over the last two years to pass laws restricting sales of over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine.

Original Articles

ALCOHOL - US
CDC Says Alcohol a Factor in One of Three Suicides - Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that post-mortem toxicology screenings found alcohol present in 33% of suicides across 13 states. Opiates were involved in 16%. Maybe most worrisome is that, as Reuters reports, the number of suicide deaths that involved drugs and alcohol didn’t change even when drugs were the suspected method of suicide.

CANNABIS - UK
Cannabis is linked to rising child crime and harder drugs - Times Online
Magistrates are calling for tougher laws on cannabis to halt a crime wave among children who are stealing to buy drugs and graduating to more dangerous drugs. The demand for the Government to move the drug back to Class B from Class C for young offenders came yesterday as two reports showed that Britain’s drug problems continue unabated.

GENERAL - UK
Britain’s £5.9bn a year drug habit - THe Guardian
The UK has 327,466 hardcore “problem drug users” who are regularly using either heroin, crack or cocaine, research revealed yesterday. The figure is far higher than a previous estimate of 270,000.

HEROIN - UK
Killer heroin on our streets - Get Reading UK
Police fear a batch of killer heroin is in circulation following the deaths of two men in two days. They have issued an urgent warning to heroin users to beware shooting up a deadly dose of the drug.

HEROIN - UK
BAD HABIT TO GIVE ADDICTS HEROIN - Daily Record UK
TRYING awfully hard to understand the logic behind prescribing heroin for druggies on the NHS. It would, according to the police, cut burglaries, muggings and shop-lifting by half because the junkies wouldn’t have to steal to feed their habits. Except some might think, at a time when medication is being denied to those suffering from early stage Alzheimer’s, that shelling out £15,000 a year for each addict is not maybe the best use of our resources.

HEROIN - UK
NHS to give addicts free drugs - The Argus
Drug addicts are to be prescribed heroin on the NHS in a controversial plan to cut crime and get users off drugs. Addicts would be allowed to inject themselves under supervision as part of a scheme costing £12,000 to £15,000 a year for every user.

OPIUM - UK & AFGHANISTAN
British troops wary of joining Afghan war on drugs - Daily Times
Despite being urged to do so by Afghan and western counter-narcotics chiefs, British troops are wary of joining the offensive against the drugs trade in Afghanistan, The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday. British commanders reportedly stand accused of taking too soft a line on opium farmers, and forces in the southern Helmand province – where the majority of British soldiers are based – are being asked to bomb or ambush drug smugglers.

COCAINE - UK
Britain leads Europe in cocaine use
A study finds that cocaine use in Europe is highest in England and Wales with Spain ranking second. In England and Wales, cocaine use has tripled among all adults and quadrupled among those aged 15 to 24 in the past 10 years, the BBC reported.

COCAINE - UK
Cancerous substance in cocaine? - Female First
Drug users have been cautioned that the drug is more commonly being cut with a chemical which places them at a ‘very high risk of getting cancer’.

COCAINE - UK
Britain leads Europe in cocaine use - Washington Times
A study finds that cocaine use in Europe is highest in England and Wales with Spain ranking second. In England and Wales, cocaine use has tripled among all adults and quadrupled among those aged 15 to 24 in the past 10 years, the BBC reported.

METH - US
‘Meth is Death Week’ planned for Jan. 21-27 - Daily Citizen
Plans are coming together for a planned county-wide week-long observance in January to raise the local awareness about the continuing methamphetamine problem in Greene County. Tabbed “Meth is Death Week” - the public awareness campaign is sponsored by Greene United Against Meth (GUAM), a pro-active grassroots organization, that has been involved in educating the public about the perils of meth use in the community for more than three years.

GENERAL - UK
Rising drug addiction costs UK £15 billion annually - Earth Times
The rise of drug abuse in the UK is costing its tax payers £15 billion. This figure has arisen in a Home Office study that was published recently. The amount is made up of drug related crimes, health service usage, drug-related deaths and the socio-economic care of addicts.

MARIJUANA - CANADA
Marijuana more addictive for youth
Young people can easily become dependent on marijuana because their brain is still developing, says an expert on youth substance abuse.

New Articles

GENERAL - UK
Measuring Different Aspects of Problem Drug Use: Methodological Developments - Drugs UK Government
This report brings together the results of three studies which provide robust updated estimates of the size of the illegal drug use problem, from different perspectives.

Original Articles

ALCOHOL - US
Disclosure Of Advertising Tactics Reduces Odds Kids Will Drink - Medical News
A new research report from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business finds that modest in-school lessons revealing the goals and effects of alcohol advertising can reduce the likelihood that adolescents will drink.

GENERAL - AFGHANISTAN
Rising Illicit Injection Drug Use In Afghanistan Might Contribute To Spread Of HIV, Health Official Says - Medical News
The increasing use of illicit injection drugs in Afghanistan might be fueling the spread of HIV in the country, Afghan Health Minister Saifour Rehman said recently, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Welfare voucher plan for addict parents - The Age
Welfare activists gave federal Community Services Minister Mal Brough a frosty reception as he outlined his plan to quarantine welfare payments from irresponsible parents. Cabinet has agreed in principle to Mr Brough’s plan to provide food and clothing vouchers to parents who might otherwise spend their welfare payments on drugs, alcohol and gambling.

COCAINE & HEROIN - EUROPE
Cocaine and heroin prices falling in Europe - New Zealand Herald
Illegal drugs may be cheaper than ever before in Europe, with prices of heroin slumping 45 per cent and cocaine down 22 per cent over five years, according to the first Europe-wide report of its kind on drug prices.

COCAINE - UK
Festive warning over cocaine use - BBC
Almost 50 pubs and clubs have joined forces in Edinburgh to warn festive party-goers of the dangers of taking cocaine. Licensees in premises across Edinburgh will help spread the message over the weekend that even occasional cocaine use carries major health risks.

MARIJUANA - US
Marijuana and Its Effect on Fertility
Marijuana causes obstruction in sperm mobility and can reduce the sperm count, thus decreasing its effectiveness. It also decreases the volume of seminal fluid.

MARIJUANA - US
Teens quicker to become marijuana dependent, expert says
Teenagers can quickly become dependent on marijuana because their brain is still developing, says an expert on youth substance abuse.

METH - US
Are you addicted to crystal meth? Trying the drug is akin to Russian roulette - Richmond Review
While crystal meth can be deadly addictive for many, not everyone who uses the drug will become helplessly hooked.

COCAINE - SCOTLAND
Venues back blitz on cocaine - The Scotsman
Nearly 50 pubs and clubs in Edinburgh are taking part in a hard-hitting campaign warning festive revellers of the dangers of cocaine. The popular city centre venues will target 18 to 26-y

COCAINE - UK
Cocaine cut with cancerous drugs - Metro
Cocaine users were warned the drug is increasingly being cut with a chemical which puts them at a ‘very high risk of getting cancer’.

ALCOHOL - US
Britons ‘in denial’ over alcohol - BBC
Britons are in denial about the effect of drinking excess alcohol on their health, according to a survey. Only 12% of adults questioned worried about the effect of drinking too much alcohol on their health, according to insurer Legal & General.

OPIUM - UK
Smoking opium could make a comeback in Britain - Times Online
Opium smoking much beloved by Victorian intellectuals could be making a comeback in Britain a national drugs conference was warned yesterday. International drugs experts believe that traffickers faced with off-loading a record crop of opium poppies in Afghanistan are not bothering to refine opium into heroin but smuggling it direct for sale.

ECSTASY - UK
Call for ecstasy to be downgraded - BBC
Ecstasy and LSD should be downgraded from Class A to Class B, a government adviser on drugs law has proposed. Professor David Nutt, who chairs a committee of a drugs advisory council, said grouping the drugs with others in Class A, like heroin, was an “anomaly”.

GENERAL - NEW ZEALAND
Cultural Differences Blamed For Maori Drug Addiction - Newswire
A new study reveals that Maori are twice as likely as non-Maori to become addicted to drugs.

OPIUM - UK
Smoking opium could make a comeback in Britain - Times Online
Opium smoking much beloved by Victorian intellectuals could be making a comeback in Britain a national drugs conference was warned yesterday. International drugs experts believe that traffickers faced with off-loading a record crop of opium poppies in Afghanistan are not bothering to refine opium into heroin but smuggling it direct for sale.

GENERAL - IRAN
One person dies every two hours from drug addiction in Iran - Iran Focus
One person dies every two hours from drug addiction-related illnesses in Iran, according to new statistics released by the government.

PAINKILLER - SWEDEN
Painkiller addiction kills two youngsters - The Local, Swedens News in English
Police are concerned about the use of highly addictive painkiller Tradolan among young people in Tierp, north of Stockholm. The deaths of two 17-year old boys have been linked to the drug Expressen reports. Police say both boys hade high amounts of Tradolan in their bodies at the time of death.

GENERAL - US
Changing Your Diet Can Improve Your Mood - NBC 11
Kim Goldman’s despair was so bad she couldn’t work. Even prescription anti-depressants failed to pull her out of a deep depression.

COCAINE - US
Love Your Heart: Just Say ‘No’ to Cocaine - The Crimson
Sinners, take note. Sex won’t increase your risk of a heart attack—but cocaine could up your chances nearly 24 times over, according to two Harvard researchers.

PRESCRIPION - CANADA
Prescription Opioid Abuse More Prevalent Than Heroin, Canadian Study Reveals - Science Daily
A new study conducted in seven Canadian cities reveals that prescription opioids, and not heroin, are the major form of illicit opioid use. These findings raise questions about the current focus of Canada’s drug control policy and treatment programs.

ALCOHOL - US
US push for drink detectors in cars - The Age
ALCOHOL detectors may be fitted to all vehicles in the US after private and government experts agreed that the deterrence tactic used against drink-drivers for the past 20 years was no longer working.

GENERAL - US
Relapse Rates Lower When Treatment Follows Detox - Join Together
Patients who received addiction treatment within 30 days of going through detoxification took 40 percent longer to relapse if they fell off the wagon at all, according to research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

GENERAL - NEW ZEALAND
Maori ‘twice as likely’ to develop drug addiction - New Zealand Herald
Maori are more at risk of developing drug addictions than other ethnic groups, an addiction expert says. National Addiction Centre director Professor Doug Sellman said today that after considering variables such as age, gender, education and household income, Maori were twice as likely to have lifetime substance use disorders than other ethnic groups.

GENERAL - UK
Police chiefs to debate drugs fight - The Guardian
Britain’s top police officers are beginning a two-day conference to discuss the battle against illegal drugs. The Association of Chief Police Officers event will focus on future opportunities, challenges and threats facing law enforcement officers and communities.

METH - UK
Crystal meth: Britain’s deadliest drug problem - Independent
Britain is under threat from a highly addictive drug, known as crystal meth or “ice”, which has the potential to rival crack cocaine as the country’s most dangerous drug, police chiefs are warning.

HEROIN - US
Heroin use rate descending - CJOB
Heroin is apparently no longer the drug of choice among many substance abusers in Canada. A study has found prescription narcotics such as morphine and OxyContin are taking the place of the illicit drug.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Call to screen drug-addicted mothers - The Age
A Tasmanian doctor wants the mothers of babies drug-addicted at birth to be screened for illicit substances before being allowed to take their babies home.

COCAINE - UK
A nation addicted: Cocaine - Britain’s deadly habit
A major new report shows that 1.75 million young adults use a drug that most think is harmless. But 171 people have died from its use last year, an increase of 300 per cent in five years.

OPIUM - AFGHANISTAN
As opium poppies flourish, Karzai’s resolve seems to wilt - Baltimore Sun
Five years ago this month, Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was liberated from the tyranny of the Taliban regime and its “guests,” al-Qaida. Five years later, Afghanistan, and indeed the world, lives under the threat of another brutal tyrant: the narcotics trade and the terrorism it funds.

Updated Articles

PAINKILLER - CANADA
Canadians abusing prescription painkillers more than heroin
According to recent research, which was sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadians have been abusing prescription painkillers in greater numbers than they have heroin.

PRESCRIPTION - US
Adderall Growing Addiction on Campus
Marijuana and alcohol are two substances long considered the biggest abuse worries among college students. But a new danger is sneaking its way onto campuses, including those in Hawaii.

Original Post

PAINKILLER - CANADA
Painkiller abuse more common in America than heroin - China View
A new study conducted in seven Canadian cities has revealed that abuse of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin or Demerol is becoming more prevalent than heroin.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Babies born on ‘ice’ - News.com.au
Nineteen babies born at the Royal Hobart Hospital had to be given morphine last year to withdraw from hard drugs including the deadly illicit amphetamine cocktail ice.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Liberals take hard line on ’soft’ drugs - The Age
MINIMUM sentences for drug traffickers and a specialist unit to treat “ice” addicts are the cornerstones of the Liberals’ policy to crack down on drugs.

PRESCRIPTION - UK
Legal but dangerous - Times On-line
Concerns are growing over the safety of so-called legal highs following the publication of a report which questioned their safety. The New Zealand Medical Association stated that herbal party pills, which are being used increasingly by students, have a range of serious side effects and should be avoided. Party pills, which contain the ingredient benzylpiperazine (BZP) have become cheaply and widely available in the UK, often being sold at mainstream club nights.

GENERAL - CANADA
Parents Helping Parents to Prevent Drug Abuse as Part of National Addiction Awareness Week - Canadian Home and School Federation
The Canadian Home & School Federation (CHSF), the country’s first established voice for parents, is busy helping parent leaders across Canada to inform parents to prevent substance abuse.

HEROIN & PRESCRIPTION - US
More students seeking help for addiction to heroin mixture - KLTV
A growing number of Dallas children have become addicted to a combination of heroin and over-the-counter cold medicine they call “cheese.”

PRESCRIPTION & HEROIN - CANADA
OPICAN study in seven Canadian cities reveals prescription opioid abuse more prevalent than heroin - EurekAlert
A new study conducted in seven Canadian cities reveals that prescription opioids, and not heroin, are the major form of illicit opioid use. These findings raise questions about the current focus of Canada’s drug control policy and treatment programs.

GENERAL - US
Drugs: Family Docs Join the Drug War - Newsweek
In the war on drugs, the White House has tried just about every weapon—punitive policy, rehab programs, ads featuring fried eggs. For its next strike, it has some new recruits: family doctors. Seventeen states currently have simple, federally funded drug-and-alcohol-screening programs in place at major trauma centers.

PRESCRIPTION - US
Ritalin not right for children - Press Connects
Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), are not “Ritalin deficient,” so why are they given this addictive drug with serious side effects to suppress symptoms instead of looking for what is causing the symptoms? Hidden food allergies have proved to be culprits, especially wheat and sugar. Environmental sensitivities, such as perfume and pollens, “set off” susceptible children.

METH - US
National Methamphetamine Awareness Day planned for November 30 - CCH Internet Research NetWork
In efforts to generate awareness about the damaging effects of methamphetamine abuse on individuals, families and American communities, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that it will sponsor National Methamphetamine Awareness Day on November 30, 2006.

METH - US
Tribes take on meth - The Norman Transcript
Some Oklahoma Native American tribes — a few flush with money from gaming operations — have stepped up their spending on combating methamphetamine use.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Babies born addicted to ‘ice’, doctor says - ABC.net.au
The doctor at the Royal Hobart Hospital in charge of caring for babies born to drug-addicted mothers is calling for parents to be screened before they take their children home. Every year up to 20 newborn babies are treated at the hospital for severe drug addictions.

ALCOHOL - UK
Underage Alcohol Poisoning Increases In UK - Medical News
During the last five years the number of under-eighteens admitted to hospital for alcohol poisoning has gone up by 20%, according to a BBC Panorama programme, called “Booze: What Teenagers Need to Know”.

GENERAL - AUSTRALIA
Lib pledge minimum terms for drug dealers - The Age
Minimum sentences for drug dealers will be introduced in Victoria if the Liberals win next Saturday’s state election, Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu says.

METH - AUSTRALIA
State hit by methamphetamine crisis - News.com.au
Ice is destroying the lives of thousands of ordinary West Australians. An investigation by The Sunday Times has revealed the extent of the damage caused by the powerful crystal form of methamphetamine, which is up to 85 per cent pure.

HEROIN - US
Dallas struggles with heroin use among pre-teens
A growing number of children, some as young as 11, have become addicted to a combination of heroin and over-the-counter cold medicine they call “cheese,” officials said.

HEROIN - US
More students seeking help for addiction to heroin mixture
A growing number of Dallas children have become addicted to a combination of heroin and over-the-counter cold medicine they call “cheese.”

MARIJUANA - US
Pot users in New York get marijuana delivered to their door
In a city where you can get just about anything delivered to your door — groceries, dry cleaning, Chinese food — pot smokers are increasingly ordering takeout marijuana from drug rings that operate with remarkable corporate-style attention to customer satisfaction.

COCAINE - US
Editorial: Restoring fairness, sanity to cocaine drug war - Sacramento Bee
What’s the difference between crack cocaine and the powdered form of the same drug? Ask people who have been convicted of selling one or the other. Conviction for possession of only 5 grams of crack carries a mandatory minimum five years in prison. A drug dealer would have to be caught with 500 grams of powder cocaine to draw that same sentence.

COCAINE - UK
Cocaine use among young reaches shocking levels
The number of people in the UK addicted to the ‘celebrity’ drug cocaine is out of control and has reached shocking levels, a new report has shown.

METH - US
Funding the fight against meth
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department won a $1.65 million state grant for a new task force that will go after methamphetamine manufacturers and distributors in the county.

COCAINE - UK
UK is Europe’s worst offender for cocaine use
Britain’s drug users take more cocaine than people in almost every other country in Europe a comprehensive study is expected to reveal.