Drug News

CANNABIS – AUSTRALIA
Cannabis linked to ice use among young adults – New.com.au
Previous drug use, rather than being depressed or coming from an underprivileged background, is driving the growing use of amphetamines by young adults.

ALCOHOL – USA
14 Million Workers Abuse Drugs, Alcohol – Web MD
The ranks of America’s full-time workforce include at least 14 million workers who abuse drugs or alcohol, according to a federal study released Monday.

HEROIN – USA
Stores stop selling medicines that contain ‘cheese’ ingredient – The Dallas Morning News
Managers of the Fiesta supermarket at Webb Chapel Road and Lombardy Lane noticed that Tylenol PM and other drugs with the same ingredients were flying off the shelves. But after learning that the cause was shoplifting – not brisk sales – they stopped selling the over-the-counter medicines.

METH – USA
Children in Meth Homes Topic of Seminars – KBIA Public Broadcasting News
Missouri’s high rate of meth labs incidents spurs gathering of law enforcement officers, health professionals, and children’s service officials in Columbia for a seminar to discuss what to do when children are found in homes where methamphetamine is produced.

OPIUM – AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan set for record opium poppy crop: U.S. – The Star
Afghanistan’s illicit heroin-producing poppy crop set another record this growing season, besting even last year’s haul despite stepped-up efforts to combat the trade.

DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION – USA
New Survey Shows Workplace Drug Addiction Remains Major Issue – Associated Content
A new survey conducted by the nonprofit Hazelden Foundation found that while many employers acknowledge the seriousness of the problem of drug abuse and addiction in the workplace, the majority of those employers do little to address the problem.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL – USA
Survey: Many Workers Use Drugs, Alcohol – CBN News
An estimated 16.4 million across the country admit to using illegal drugs, and 15 million say they are heavy alcohol drinkers. Most have full-time jobs.

ALCOHOL – AFRICA
Kenya: Alcohol Guidelines Proof of Regulation Failure – All Africa
The recent guidelines for alcohol business cannot go unchallenged. First, there is no such thing as responsible drinking! Consuming alcohol products at the age of 18 and above does not make alcohol safer.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Ice and alcohol bingeing linked to anxiety – News.com.au
BINGEING on the party drug ice and alcohol together creates a potent synergy that fuels anxiety and panic attacks, tests on rats suggest.

DRUGS – USA
1 in 12 full-time workers admits using drugs – MSNBC
One in 12 full-time workers in the United States acknowledges having used illegal drugs in the past month, the government reports.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Increasing illicit prescription drug use on campus – The Chicago Flame
Illicit use of prescription medication is rising at an alarming rate on college campuses, but few are hearing of it.

METH – USA
Dianne Feinstein: Candy-flavored drugs: A danger to kids – Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento, California area has been hit by the latest trend in illicit drugs: candy and fruit flavoring used to market drugs to youngsters.

MARIJUANA – CANADA
Getting high: Quebecers push Canada to top of list – The Gazette
Quebec’s prodigious pot use puts Canada in first place in a United Nations drug study of marijuana use in the industrialized world.

ALCOHOL – UK
All day boozing sees hospitals swamped – IC Wales
“Binge drinking is causing great damage to society. Instead of introducing measures to combat alcohol abuse, the Government unleashed 24-hour drinking on our towns and communities. “ Welsh hospitals have seen a massive surge in adults and children admitted for drink problems following the introduction of 24-hour drinking.

ALCOHOL – USA
OKC nightclub offers alcohol- and drug-free alternative to addicts – Tulsa World
A new Oklahoma City nightclub is designed to offer an alternative to people who are trying to recover from alcohol and drug addictions.

ADDICTION – USA
Jim Bender helps youth battle drug addiction – Lancaster Online
Lancaster County Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse helps local residents battle drug and alcohol addiction.

DRUGS – USA
Drug swaps on rise – Chippewa Valley News
Prescription drug swapping by youths is on the rise. There are what’s called “Pharm parties,” when a variety of prescription drugs are placed in bowl that is then passed around.

METH – USA
Discussion to focus on meth’s effect on children – Suburban Journals
More than half of all children placed in foster care in Jefferson County, Missouri, are put there because of drug abuse in their families. The effects on children in the homes of meth users and cooks to be discussed at a public forum sponsored by the county’s Methamphetamine Action Coalition on July 25.

ALCOHOL – UK
Love your liver to live longer – BBC News
The liver is a hardy organ but it’s prone to abuse. Most people think their livers can cope with regular alcohol consumption, fatty food and a sedentary lifestyle, but liver disease is on the rise in the UK and its sufferers are getting younger.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin a growing problem in small towns – The Daily News of Newburyport
Over time, one can see heroin addiction spreading like a plague in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It starts in the New England cities, then makes its way to small towns and finally moves into rural areas.

HEROIN – AUSTRALIA
Police boss warns of rising heroin use – ABC News
A senior police officer has warned that heroin use is rising.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol ‘at the heart of violence’ – The Australian
Alcohol abuse has been pinpointed as the most explicit cause of violence and sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities in an analysis of national crime statistics to be released today.

ALCOHOL – UK
Staff education on underage alcohol sales – Somerset County Gazette
People selling alcohol to underage customers could be sent on a course rather than being fined under an initiative being introduced in Somerset.

ALCOHOL – SOUTH AFRICA
About 40% of SA youth have had alcohol – Independent Online
In the Western Cape almost 20 percent of children start drinking before they are 13.

ALCOHOL – USA
NCSU freshmen to take alcohol quiz – The Charlotte Observer
N.C. State University will require incoming freshmen under 21 to take a three-hour alcohol awareness exam before starting classes this fall.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
New law allows unused prescription drugs to be returned… – KXMC News
The state Pharmacy Board is getting ready for a new law that allows people to return leftover prescription drugs to their pharmacists.

ALCOHOL – USA
Industry Alcohol Warnings Overlooked by Teens – Join Together
Alcohol-industry sponsored “responsible drinking” messages are usually overlooked or ignored by teens, according to researchers at Brigham Young University.

ALCOHOL – UK
Duchess hosting anti-drug tours – BBC News
Children were able to see the effects of drug and alcohol abuse during visits to a Northumberland tourist attraction.

CANNABIS – UK
Cannabis use trebles in France – The Telegraph
French teenagers see wine and alcohol as “old France” and are increasingly turning to cannabis to let their hair down, according to a national study on its consumption.

METH – USA
District judge organizes meth program – Grayson County News Gazette
District Judge Shan Embry hopes the Grayson County Meth Watch forum scheduled for July 19 will help bring some awareness to a plague of illegal drug use affecting county residents.

METH – USA
Local Youth Among First Statewide to Sign Arizona Meth Project Youth Pledge – Earth Times
Nearly 100 local youth joined Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley on Tuesday to sign a pledge to stay away from Meth forever.

ADDICTION – USA
National study to treat addiction to prescription pain medications – News Medical
Researchers funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the first large-scale national study evaluating a treatment for addiction to prescription opioid analgesics (i.e., painkillers) such as Vicodin and OxyContin.

ADDICTION – ITALY
Drug Addiction: Italian Market Number Two in Europe – Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
During 2006, the Italian market has been supplied mainly by cocaine coming from Colombia, by Afghani heroin, hashish from Morocco, Albanian marijuana and synthetic drugs mainly originating in Holland. Italy is considered the second main consumer of cocaine in Europe after Spain.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol blamed for rise in violence – The Scotsman
Binge-drinking and growing inequality has been blamed for the spike in violence.

METH – USA
Hooley announces meth legislation – Clackamas Review
It started with the west coast – but now the rest of the country is ready to take notice.

METH – USA
Arizona teens sign pledge to stay away from meth – The Arizona Republic
The effort is part of the Arizona Meth Project, which launched in April with a graphic ad campaign. The idea is to persuade teens not to try the highly-addictive drug - “not even once.”

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription-drug abuse on the rise – The Daily Iowan
Sometimes coffee just isn’t enough. After their energy has perished and they’re in over their heads with finals, some students skip the caffeine and find new ways to stay awake.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drugs being abused in Sarasota – Tampa Bay News
Sarasota, Florida-Sarasota is one of the most beautiful places in the Bay area. But throughout different neighborhoods in this city, undercover officers say there’s a very ugly problem that’s absolutely heartbreaking, “It is sad and it is surprising when you see young kids addicted to drugs.”

METH – USA
Meth Use Among Youth Higher Than Expected – The Real Truth
A study published in the journal Addiction found that crystal methamphetamine use among young adults was twice as high as originally expected.

METH – UK
Crystal meth yet to take off in Britain, say police – The Guardian
Crystal meth, predicted by some to become Britain’s deadliest drug, has so far failed to take off in the UK because cocaine remains so cheap and popular, according to senior police officers.

DRUGS – UK
Clubbers face random drug tests – BBC News
A device that tests people to see if they have recently been in contact with drugs has been used by police for the first time in Oxfordshire.

DRUGS – UK
Campaign shows how to spot teen drug abuse – Scotsman
Youth workers are being trained to spot the telltale signs of drug abuse among teenagers.

ALCOHOL – USA
California State University Campuses report success in efforts to reduce drinking – San Francisco Chronicle
The campuses have seen a decrease in drunken driving and binge drinking by students as well as fewer incidents of alcohol-related medical emergencies and alcohol-fueled misconduct.

ALCOHOL – KENYA
Alcohol advertisers agree on controls – The Standard
Advertising of all alcohol brands on television will now run after 8.30pm, while radio advertising will run after 1pm. The use of cartoons or fairy tale characters in advertisements or sponsorship of children’s events has also been banned with immediate effect.

PAINKILLER – USA
Lollipop Painkiller Linked To Abuse, Overdoses – WFTV News
It looks like a lollipop, but it’s actually a potent painkiller designed to help seriously ill cancer patients. The only problem, other people are abusing it… and with deadly consequences.

METH – USA
Midtown meth fight looks for leadership – Arizona Daily Star
Over the past year, the Dodge Flower Neighborhood Association has received national attention for its fight against the meth use and related crime that have plagued its streets.

METH – USA
Grants available to fight meth, tobacco use – Honolulu Advertiser
The first of several meetings for nonprofit organizations interested in applying for grants for tobacco prevention and cessation will be held today in Hilo on the Big Island.

ALCOHOL – USA
Ads Against Drinking Speak Only Faintly – The New York Times
The amount of money spent by alcohol companies on television advertising grew by nearly a third from 2001 to 2005, rising from $780 million to more than $1 billion. But at the same time, liquor companies shaved about $2 million from their yearly spending on public service ads.

CANADA – CANNABIS
Canada ranked fifth in cannabis use, UN report says – 680 News
Canadians use marijuana at four times the world average, making Canada the leader of the industrialized world in cannabis consumption.

MARIJUANA – CANADA
Canada enjoys marijuana, like, a lot – National Post
The 2007 World Drug Report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says that 16.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 64 smoked marijuana or used another cannabis product in 2006. The world average is 3.8 per cent.

ALCOHOL – UK
Youth organisation calls for increase in tax on alcohol – Belefast Telegraph
A leading youth organisation has called on the government to raise taxes on alcohol in an effort to cut alcohol abuse.

METH – AUSTRALIA
Putting cause and effect on ice to work on solutions – The Sydney Morning Herald
Ice’s ability to invoke hostility appears strongly related to this drug-induced paranoia. Users of the drug become hostile towards people because they feel paranoid, and think people are giving them a hard time or may hurt them.

METH – USA
No place for drugs in our community – YourHub News
Drug abuse has disastrous effects on our children and community. It is so far reaching that few families haven’t been touch by this terrible menace. This is not just a community or state-wide problem but is an international scourge.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Experts: Pills becoming the new marijuana on campus – CNN News
The prescription drugs allegedly found in Al Gore III’s possession this week are favorites among young people, according to drug abuse experts, who say prescription drugs may soon overtake street drugs in popularity.

METH – USA
Meth Use Can Trigger Heart Disease, Researchers Find – Join Together
Methamphetamine use can trigger faulty immune responses that can lead to cardiovascular diseases like inflammation of blood vessels.

ALCOHOL – USA
Nearly One in Three Americans Has History of Alcohol Problems – Join Together
More than 30 percent of Americans have met the criteria for an alcohol-use disorder sometime in their lives, according to a new report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

ALCOHOL – NEW ZEALAND
War on drink-driving failing – Stuff News
Drink-driving rates are climbing despite a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, bringing fresh calls for a lower legal limit.

ALCOHOL – USA
Teens don’t catch alcohol warnings – The Cincinnati Post
A new study by Brigham Young University researchers suggests teenagers miss the “Drink responsibly” messages when looking at alcohol ads.

METH – AUSTRALIA
Women lead in ‘ice’ use – Advertiser Adelaide
THE level of methamphetamine use among people detained by police in Adelaide is among the highest in the country, with women outstripping men in use of the drug.

CANNABIS – UK
Tories highlight cannabis dangers in drug blueprint – Guardian Unlimited
The health risks of cannabis are so great that it should now be reclassified as a class B drug, carrying much greater penalties for possession and trafficking, says David Cameron’s new blueprint for dealing with Britain’s growing addiction problems.

ALCOHOL – USA
Painkiller Abuse Continues To Grow; New Treatments Offer Hope – Medical News Today
Increasingly, drug abusers are getting their next fix from their medicine cabinets, instead of from drug dealers.

PRESCRIPTION - USA
Teen Prescription Drug Abuse On Rise – Keloland TV News
More teenagers are turning away from street drugs, and using prescription medications to get their high. That’s according to a recent national survey that shows prescription drug abuse is on the rise.

COCAINE – UK
Africa - new front in drugs war – BBC News
How can you hope to battle organised, rich and ruthless international drugs gangs when there is not even a proper prison in the country? This is the problem faced by the authorities in Guinea-Bissau, which some fear could be on its way to becoming Africa’s first “narco-state”.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Drug deaths surge higher – Birmingham News
A rising number of deaths from illegal and prescription drugs is hitting Alabama, and in some areas, including Jefferson and Shelby counties, fatalities caused by drugs are now surpassing those caused by traffic accidents.

ALCOHOL – UK
Staff face a work hours alcohol ban – Times Online
Lunchtime drinking could be stopped under new plans to make Britain more healthy.

COCAINE – UK
Ireland’s cocaine coast – The Guardian
A recent bust in the ‘Irish box’ shows drug smugglers are ruling over the Cork shore.

OPIUM – CANADA
UN: World Drug Problem Stabilizing - MWC NEWS
Efforts to tackle the world’s drug problems appear to be having some success as cultivation, production and abuse have stabilised worldwide, according to a United Nations agency.

METH – USA
Communities should look out for meth – The Lake County Echo
Chasing the almighty dollar is the reason that some drug dealers begin dealing methamphetamine. Cass County Sheriff Investigator Mike Diekmann shared that fact with the Backus City Council and community members gathered July 2.

METH – USA
‘Strawberry Quick’ meth aimed at children – South Bend Tribune
Police are warning parents about a new type of methamphetamine being marketed toward kids. The drug’s street name is Strawberry Quick, and police say it looks and tastes like candy.

METH – USA
Boys and Girls Clubs hope to deter meth use – Glendale Star
Methamphetamine, or “meth,” is popular, available and deadly. That is the message the Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs hopes to get across to Arizona’s children and teens.

HEROIN – USA
Minnesota college town has heroin problem among high schoolers… – KXMB News
Police in the upscale college town of Northfield say they’re fighting an unusual heroin epidemic among local high school kids.