Drug News

ALCOHOL – USA
Parents working together to prevent teen alcohol use
Keeping track of teens can be tough for parents and worrying about whether they are drinking or even doing drugs can be especially worrying, but some parents at Algonquin and Westborough high schools have created a network so they can keep in touch with each other.

METH – USA
The highest highs the lowest lows – The Columbian News
Years before brain scans proved his theory, Dr. Jack Stump figured the toxic brew known as methamphetamine irreversibly damaged the areas that control behavior and emotion.

ALCOHOL – USA
Young Drinkers Turn to Alcohol to Relieve Stress – Join Together
One of the reasons that people who start drinking at a young age tend to become problem drinkers when they get older is that they are more likely to use alcohol for stress relief, the Washington Post reported Jan. 11.

METH – USA
Good and bad news about methamphetamine and other drug abuse – The Advertiser-News
Overall teen drug abuse has dropped 23 percent since 2001 for 8th, 10th and 12th graders combined, with reductions in the use of nearly every drug in every drug prevalence category, according to the University of Michigan’s 2006 Monitoring the Future study, released on Dec. 21.

DRUGS – USA
California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America(R) Launch New Anti-Methamphetamine Public Awareness Campaign – PR Newswire
The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), in conjunction with The Partnership for a Drug-Free America(R), today announced a new public awareness and education advertising campaign aimed at stemming methamphetamine use in California.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction treatment: What are the options? – Sun Gazette
Seeking help for substance abuse or dependency issues can be overwhelming and act as a barrier for getting help. This month, I will discuss what substance abuse treatment is and how to access treatment programs.

COCAINE – USA
Prenatal Cocaine’s Lasting Cellular Effects – Medical News Today
Although the ‘crack baby’ hysteria of the 1980s was greatly exaggerated, cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments — attention deficits, learning disabilities and emotional problems.

METH – USA
Grandparents raising kids as meth spreads – Bradenton Herald
Delta and Paul Cottrell thought they would be empty nesters by the time they reached their 60s. By then, they would have competed the toughest job of their lives - parenting - and a leisurely retirement would be just a few years away.

METH – USA
Working to save kids from effects of meth – Nevada Appeal
After the “Crystal Darkness” anti-methamphetamine documentary aired, I received a good idea from Brenda Kindred-Kipling that I would like to pass on.

ADDICTION - YEMEN
Fighting drug addiction: Roles for the family and government – Yemen Times
Taking drugs spoils the brain and spirit and there are a lot of programs to eliminate drug use. Chief of Taiz’s Security Department and Drugs and Alcohols Combating Administration told Yemen Times about drugs and the hidden battles behind such the problem. Yemen Times spoke to Yahya Al-Haisami, the chief of Taiz security department.

ADDICTION – USA
Powers of addiction, difficulty with withdrawals
Addiction is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as: Compulsive need for and use of a habbit forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal;
Broadly: persistent compulsive use of a substance

METH – USA
Meth in Amador – Ledger Dispatch
This is the first of a three-part series examining the local impact of methamphetamine. Part one examines the impacts of the drug on the county’s law enforcement and court systems.

MENTAL HEALTH – UK
Government defeated over right to refuse mental treatment – Mental Health Foundation
The Government was defeated tonight when peers backed a move to ensure psychiatric patients are able to refuse treatment in the same way as people with physical health problems.

ADDICTION – AUSTRALIA
Ice-addicted mums killing unborn children – The Age
Mothers addicted to the drug ice are killing their unborn children in a plague worse than the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, a doctor has warned.

COCAINE – AUSTRAILIA
Cocaine contaminates Irish banknotes – Cosmos Magazine
Traces of cocaine were found on every banknote tested in an Irish study of drug contamination of currency.

COCAINE – USA
Irish Euro Notes Slathered in Cocaine, Study Reports – Scientific American
In what is already my pick for research paper of the year, Dublin City University researchers report that 28 of 45 sampled Euro notes–5s, 10s, 20s and 50s–currently circulating in the greater Dublin area show a goodly contamination with cocaine.

COCAINE – COLOMBIA
High Bills: Cocaine in Your Change – Shared Responsibility
England and Ireland also tested their banknotes for cocaine. The results? 99.9% of England’s and 100% of Ireland’s had traces of cocaine.

METH – USA
Don’t let film’s anti-meth message disappear – Nevada Appeal
The only real criticism we’ve heard about Tuesday night’s broadcast of “Crystal Darkness: Meth’s deadly assault on Nevada’s Youth” is that it was not long enough.

ADDICTION – USA
Coffee fans discuss their addiction – Tahlequah Daily Press
“People say it’s not as bad as crank or heroin or cocaine. But that’s just because coffee is legal. Make it illegal for just one day and see what kind of social upheaval you cause.”

DRUGS – USA
Cough, cold remedies might be lethal to infants – MSNBC.com
After investigating the deaths of three infants between 1 and 6 months old linked to cough and cold medication use, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are emphasizing that these drugs should be used only after talking with a physician.

ALCOHOL – UK
Dealing with alcohol-related problems at work – Norwich Union Risk Services
A new guide has been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to help small medium-sized businesses deal with alcohol-related problems at work.

METH – USA
Meth problem worth all the attention it receives – Nevada Appeal
It’s possible that nobody you know uses meth, but that doesn’t mean the drug isn’t affecting your life.

ALCOHOL – USA
Binge Drinking Common Among High Schoolers
Researchers working with the CDC and SAMHSA have released their analysis of data that has been culled from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The group was looking into rates of binge drinking, defined as drinking five or more drinks in a row, among high school students.

METH – USA
Meth Call Center
It has become Nevada’s most serious drug problem, and it’s getting worse.

HEROIN – USA
‘Candy’ an articulate look at heroin addiction – Scripps News
Too much of a good thing isn’t much fun. And too much of a bad thing that feels like a good thing for a while - even though you and everyone around you know it’s actually a bad thing - can be deadly.

METH – UK
Frequent methamphetamine use associated with primary NNRTI resistance in gay men – Aids Map
Frequent methamphetamine use is associated with primary resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) in gay men, according to a study conducted in San Francisco and published in the January

METH – USA
‘Meth’ destroys health of mind, body, community – American Air Force
Methamphetamine is a threat to the safety and health of communities around Air Force bases, but Drug Demand Reduction Program offices and local law enforcement agencies are stepping up to combat the threat.

METH – USA
Placer County Unveils Meth DVD – KCRA.com
Placer County officials on Monday unveiled a new weapon in the war on methampheatimine abuse — a new DVD.

ALCOHOL – USA
Dentists Sink Their Teeth Into Fighting Alcoholism, Patients Approve - Study Shows Most Feel Comfortable Discussing Drinking Habits With Their Dentist – Medical News Today
Addiction experts at MUSC say the link between oral cancer and heavy drinking makes dentists ideal sources of alcohol intervention.

ADDICTION – CHINA
China targets primary, middle school students to combat drug addiction
Drug addiction has increased by 54 per cent nationwide in the last seven years but China has achieved some success where it counts most, among primary and middle school students, a senior anti-drug official said on Monday.

ALCOHOL – PHILIPPINES
Alcohol intoxication or poisoning in kids – Sun Star Davao
ETHANOL is the common cause of alcohol intoxication or poisoning. It is mostly present in alcoholic beverages, over the counter medications and cold preparations.

PAINKILLERS – USA
Arthritis sufferers “misusing painkillers” – Park Tribune
Thousands of patients with severe arthritis are adding over-the-counter medication to prescribed drugs because GPs are limiting their doses amid safety fears, it is claimed today.

PRESCRIPTION – INDIA
More Americans Die Due To Side Effects From Prescription Drugs Every Year: Report - Med India
According to a newly published article by genetics and law experts at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, legal liability is a powerful driver that could dramatically hasten the development of personalized medicine.

CODEINE – NEW ZEALAND
Dry Mouth Condition Affecting Younger People – News Wire
A chance discovery by Otago University, in research about a little-known dry mouth condition called xerostomia, is generating interest worldwide.

ALCOHOL – USA
Many Hispanics Shun Help for Alcohol Abuse – Forbes.com (Healthday News)
Hispanics and blacks with alcohol problems are less likely than whites to seek help, a new study finds.

ALCOHOL – UK
Youngest Drinkers Likelier To Use Alcohol For Stress Relief As Adults – Medical News Today
The younger someone starts drinking alcoholic beverages, the more likely he or she is to reach for a drink to relieve stress when older, a large new study suggests.

METH – USA
Meth: The Overstated Assiction – Coastal Post Online
The Department of Justice has declared today National Methamphetamine Awareness Day. What better way to observe it than taking a break from the hype?

ADDICTION – USA
Kicking an addiction, with real people – International Herald Tribune
NEW YORK: Every time they turn around, smokers are being lectured by nonsmokers about health risks and costs to society, but many of them keep smoking anyway, so pharmaceuticals and anti-smoking groups are turning to smokers and ex-smokers themselves to make the point.

OXYCODONE – USA
Drug deaths on the rise – York Daily Record
Drug users walk a razor’s edge between the ultimate high and death, and, in York County last year, the prescription drug Fentanyl became the rage, according to the York County Corner’s Office.

PAINKILLERS – USA
Painkiller’s toll high – Courier Post
A wave of overdoses involving fentanyl, a powerful narcotic often mixed with street drugs, killed at least 98 people in the tri-county area last year, state officials say.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone toll hits W.Va. hardest – Charleston Gazette
A new study reveals that almost 4,000 Americans died of an overdose of the prescription drug methadone in 2004, more than any other prescription narcotic.

ADDICTION – USA
More Legal Controversy Over Zyprexa
The recent $500 million dollar class action settlement on the part of drug manufacturer Eli Lilly makes necessary a reexamination of the industry’s legal responsibility to its customers and the crucial relationships between the FDA, the manufacturers, and the doctors who ultimately prescribe the drugs they make. The company agreed to pay an average of $27,000 to the 18,000 plaintiffs involved in the suit, each of whom claimed to have been damaged by Lilly’s top drug, the antipsychotic Zyprexa.

COCAINE – UK
COCAINE BINGERS ARE DICING WITH DEATH – The Daily Record
RISK-TAKING Scots are endangering their lives by mixing booze and cocaine.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Teen Prescription Drug Use on the Rise – Kait8.com
It’s a growing problem with teens and it’s probably already in your home. According to a University of Michigan study, teen drug use has declined 23% since 2001. While that is an encouraging statistic, not all teen drug use is seeing the same drop.

METH – USA
Commissioners support ‘Meth is Death Week’ in county – Daily World
The Greene County Commissioners went on record Tuesday morning supporting a county-wide methamphetamine public awareness campaign planned later this month.

METH – USA
Meth Scare; Did the last person living in your home smoke meth? Does it matter? –Salt Lake City Weekly
Nicole says her mother watched a local TV news broadcast last November about a do-it-yourself kit to test for meth contamination in homes and became convinced her granddaughter’s earaches were caused by Utah’s scariest drug.

METH – USA
Researcher Studies Meth Exposure on Kids – First Coast News
A University of Montana researcher is exposing laboratory mice to methamphetamine smoke to try to determine the long-term effect of the illegal drug on children who live in houses where meth is manufactured and used.

ALCOHOL – USA
Resolution to imbibe less goes awry — already. Myriad of conflicting medical studies are enough to drive this writer to drink – MSNBC
The fruitcake’s been digested, the gift cards are empty, and now it’s time to face the most grueling holiday task of all: the annual reassessment.

DRUGS – USA
Drug Abuse Rising Among American Adults – Treatment Online
Despite claims to the contrary by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, drug abuse in America is generally not on the decline, and the most dramatic increases in the use of illicit substances and related health problems have been among middle-aged adults. While most report first using illicit substances in their teens or early twenties, the most common age for death by overdose is now around 45.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Alert; Young Adult Drinking - NIAAA
Too often today’s headlines bring news of yet another alcohol-related tragedy involving a young person—a case of fatal alcohol poisoning on a college campus or a late-night drinking–driving crash.

ALCOHOL – USA
Drinking Can Lead To Pancreatic Tissue Death In Patients - Simple Solution Found To Stabilize Pancreatic Attack – Medical News Today
Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption is linked to a variety of health woes, including acute pancreatitis, a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas which can lead to permanent organ damage.