Drug News

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.