Drug News

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.