Drug News

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise – KLAS TV News
A frightening trend in the national spotlight is also a growing problem in Las Vegas. More and more young people are abusing prescription drugs — some with deadly consequences.

HEROIN – USA
Oakland in the Heroin Economy – NovoMetro

Several weeks ago, the police chief held a press conference to announce that a two-year operation by local and federal law enforcement agencies dismantled a network of Oakland-based heroin traffickers and removed nine pounds of Mexican heroin from the streets.

ALCOHOL – USA
Donor Alcohol Use May Cause Lung Transplant Rejections – Associated Content
Alcohol abuse on the part of the donor increases the chance of a patient rejecting a lung transplant according to a recent study conducted at the Emory University School of Medicine.

ALCOHOL – USA
Mixing sex and alcohol blurs line of rape – SJU The Hawk

“You can’t give consent when you’re under the influence,” said Courtney Gleckner, ‘08, a Rape Education and Prevention Program (REPP) member.

COEDIENE – USA
Walgreen’s accepts unused drugs for safe disposal – Mohave Daily News
The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2002 that its testing of 139 streams showed 80 percent were contaminated with traces of acetaminophen, steroids, hormones, codeine, antibiotics and ibuprofen.

ALCOHOL – USA
New Program For Helping College Students To Cope Finds Safer Ways Than Drinking – Medical News Today

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati are reporting on a pilot program aimed at curbing alcohol abuse among college students.

ALCOHOL – USA
Adolescent Alcohol Use Influenced By Both Gender And Friendship – Medical News Today

Adolescents who drink alcohol, smoke and/or use drugs tend to have peers who do the same.

DRUGS – USA
National Institute On Drug Abuse Launches Public Service Campaign For Hispanic Youth On The Link Between Non-Injection Drugs And HIV – Medical News Today
The new Hispanic spots, “After the Party,” build on an earlier English series, but continue the storyline from the point of view of a teen who used drugs and alcohol, engaged in risky behavior and now has HIV.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Behind The Scenes Of Rx Drug Dealing – CBS News
n paradise - around Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. - there’s an epidemic.
 

DRUGS – USA
OxyContin abuse on rise in S.D. – Sioux Falls Argus Leader
When Phyllis Bauerle needed to feed her drug addiction, she didn’t go to a street dealer. She went to the doctor.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Battling The Prescription Drug Epidemic – CBS News

In the war on drugs, according to most national surveys, teenage smoking, alcohol and marijuana use is down. The bad news is that abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is going up.

ALCOHOL – USA
Both Gender And Friendship Can Influence Adolescent Alcohol Use – Science Daily

Adolescents who drink alcohol, smoke and/or use drugs tend to have peers who do the same. A new study that looked at other factors which may moderate the influence of peers has found that gender, and gender of friends, can also affect this association.

ALCOHOL – USA
Energy drinks, alcohol a dangerous mix – WJBF News

In homes and dorm rooms across the country, young people are mixing a new kind of cocktail: energy drinks and alcohol.

ADDERALL – USA
Piss tests for all valedictorians – The Current

What do Barry Bonds and the over-achieving brown-nose of your high school class that beat you to Valedictorian and got accepted to an Ivy League school potentially have in common? Performance enhancing drugs.

CANNABIS – CANADA
Cannabis most common drug – The Mayo News

CANNABIS is the most commonly used drug in Mayo, while a high detection rate for both cannabis and cocaine was recorded in the past year, according to a top-ranking Garda official.
METH – USA
Canine cop visits Boys & Girls Club for Meth Awareness Week – Log Cabin Democrat

Conway Police Officer Clay Smith and his four-legged partner visited the Boys and Girls Club of Faulkner County on Monday to explain how useful dogs can be when it comes to fighting crime.

HEROIN – USA
It’s the heroin, not the ‘cheese’ – Star Telegram

Toxicologists at the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office are re-reviewing the autopsies of drug overdose victims after federal authorities requested statistics on “cheese” heroin deaths.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drugs latest target of teens, young adults – Brockton Enterprise

Teenagers and young adults are swiping prescription pain killers from the medicine cabinets of parents and grandparents, then pooling and swapping the medications in what are called “pharm parties.”

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Doctor: Prescription drug overdoses a growing threat in Trumbull County – Tribune-Chronicle
Every drug is a poison, but it’s the dosage that determines lethality. That statement sums up what forensic pathologist Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk sees as a growing problem in Trumbull County — drug overdoses.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol-related hospital admissions rising – The Age
VICTORIA has the fastest-growing rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions in Australia, sparking renewed calls for action on binge drinking.

METH – USA
Fruita student’s movie on meth to be shown – Grand Junction Sentinel

Vinny Castellini knew nothing about teenagers using methamphetamine. Until he made a movie about it.

PAINKILLER – CANADA
Illicit drug use among students plateaus, but painkiller increase a concern – The Canadian Press

Crack, meth and crystal meth use among Ontario high-school students is on the decline, according to a new survey that suggests teens in the province who use illicit drugs may be finding them in their household medicine cabinet.

ALCOHOL – USA
Early Binge Drinking Linked to Later Health Problems – Join Together

Youths and young adults who binge on alcohol raise their risk of developing myriad serious health problems later in life, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Inventory Prevents Prescription Drug Abuse – North Country Gazette
A resource to help prevent prescription drug abuse in homes across New York is being provided by the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS).

DRUGS – USA
Start drug education earlier – DesMoines Register

Democratic presidential contender Chris Dodd said today he think thinks children as young as first grade should hear more warnings about the dangers of drugs.

METH – USA
U.S. Attorney speaks on drug problem, listens to solutions – The Molokai Times

U.S. Attorney for Hawaii Ed Kubo opened his speech last Tuesday at Kaunakakai Elementary with some harsh statistics about his home state.
 

ALCOHOL – IRELAND
Youth council seeks more alcohol controls – RTE News

A National Youth Council conference has heard that education alone will not solve the growing problem of alcohol related harm among young people.

ALCOHOL – UK
Council considers alcohol control zones – IC Wales
A WELSH local authority is considering introducing county-wide restrictions on drinking in public to crack down on alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.

ALCOHOL – UK
Drink education for youngsters – Unlimited Guardian
New government guidelines on alcohol education will recommend giving children as young as five lessons on the dangers of drinking, according to reports.

ALCOHOL – UK
Rise in treatment for alcohol misuse – IC Wales
Welsh Assembly Government figures released yesterday showed the number of people being treated for alcohol misuse in Wales had gone up by more than 40% this year.

METH – NETHERLANDS
Meth: New, Hip and Disastrous – The Van Der Galiën Gazette
Meth is one of the worst drugs ever created my mankind. It’s highly addictive and completely destroys the lives of those who use it. Once people use meth, it’s almost impossible for them to quit (on their own).

PAINKILLERS – CANADA
Student use of painkillers on the rise – The Globe and Mail

More than 20 per cent of Ontario students in Grades 7 to 12 have taken painkillers such as Percocet and Demerol without a prescription, with most getting the pills straight from their parents’ supply.

CANNABIS – UK
One in seven under-13s have tried cannabis – Guardian Unlimited
The study, reported by the EU’s drug agency, says there has been an explosion in the number of children under 15 going into drug treatment across Europe.

ALCOHOL – UK
Brown calls for “cultural shift” on alcohol – The Publican

Gordon Brown has told the drinks industry a “cultural shift” is needed if the battle against underage and binge-drinking is to be won.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin deaths alarm officials – The Arizona Republic

An old narcotic on the brink of a comeback has state and local officials concerned it’s seeping into the hands of Arizona teens.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
San Jose pharmacy takes unused medicine – San Jose Mercury News

A San Jose pharmacy will now accept unused or expired prescription drugs and will safely dispose of them.

METH – USA
New form of meth targets youths – In-Forum

A new form of meth aimed at children and teens is making its way across the country and is known to be available in Minnesota.

METH – USA
Help celebrate National Methamphetamine Awareness Day – Reno Gazette Journal

The U.S. Department of Justice has declared next Friday,November 30, as National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.

CANNABIS – FRANCE
EU report: cannabis No. 1 drug in Europe, cocaine on the rise – International Herald Tribune

Cannabis remains the most widely used drug in Europe, but cocaine abuse rose sharply last year despite record amounts of the drug being seized.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Canadian Teens Using Prescription Painkillers More – Medical News Today

21% of Canadian teenagers in grades 7 to 12 said in a survey that they had used prescription painkillers (opioid drugs), such as Tylenol No. 3 and Percocet at least once during the previous twelve months for recreational purposes.

ALCOHOL – USA
President’s Comment On PM Alcohol Seminar, UK – Medical News Today

Professor Ian Gilmore was pleased to represent both the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) as its President and the Alcohol Health Alliance UK as its Chairman at a meeting arranged by the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street this morning to tackle alcohol misuse, particularly in the young.

ADDICTION – USA
Dealing with addiction – Scripps News

More than 10 percent of American men and six percent of American women are chronic drug abusers. Fifteen million are dependent on alcohol. In the space of a year 1.3 million Americans are treated in hospital emergency rooms for drug abuse, one in four of them for a combination of drugs and alcohol.

DRUGS – TAIWAN
Premier calls for a new plan to fight drug abuse – Radio Taiwan International

Premier Chang Jun-hsiung is calling for a new plan to fight drug abuse. He has put the Justice Ministry and Education Ministry to map out a plan to deal with the problem.

COCAINE – UK
As drug use soars in EU, young Britons are the keenest to try cocaine – Times Online

More young Britons have tried cocaine than contempories in any other European country, amid a sharp increase in use of the Class-A drug across the Continent.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Some college kids using prescription drugs, energy drinks to stay focused – The Standard Democrat

With the late hours and large task ahead of them, most need something to help them concentrate. While some turn to sodas and coffee, others use prescription drugs — such as Ritalin and Adderall, prescribed for those with Attention Deficit Disorder — to get that extra focus.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Most prescription drugs for children still are not tested on them – San Francisco Chronicle

A decade after the government began trying to ensure that prescription drugs used to treat children are effective and safe, doctors still have scant information to guide them when they administer many medications to kids.

METH – USA
Money Toward Meth Prevention – KOMU News

State funding will continue to help prevent methamphetamine production.

METH – USA
Recent laws curb meth production – Springfield State Journal Register

A few years after methamphetamine spread across the fields and towns of central Illinois, authorities believe they have stunted the growth of small-time meth manufacturing , thanks to collaboration between police and lawmakers.

METH – AUSTRALIA
Study finds ice patients violent, aggressive – ABC Online News
There’s more evidence of the violence and aggression of crystal methamphetamine or “ice” addicts who turn up at emergency departments.

ALCOHOL – IRELAND
HSE calls for tax rise on alcohol – RTE News

The Health Service Executive has recommended a 10% rise in excise duty on alcohol in the forthcoming budget.

PAINKILLER – CANADA
Illicit drug use among students steady, but painkiller use up – The Globe and Mail
A new survey shows the use of prescription painkillers by Ontario high school students may be a cause for concern.

METH – USA
Nelson Sponsors Methamphetamine Awareness Month – Southwest Nebraska News

Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson praised the passage of a resolution designating November “National Methamphetamine Awareness Month”.

PRESCRIPTION – CANADA
Drug and Alcohol Use Stabilizes, but Prescription Pain Relievers Emerge as a Concern – Canada Newswire
While alcohol, cannabis and other drug use among Ontario teens has remained stable or decreased, the misuse of prescription opioid drugs may be a cause for concern according to the 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.

PAINKILLER – CANADA
Painkiller use among students a concern: survey – CTV News
Ontario secondary school students are looking more and more to prescription drugs to get high, according to a new survey.

DRUGS – USA
Stemming the tide of drug abuse – TriCities News

Prescription painkillers are both blessing and curse. When used appropriately, they relieve suffering. When misused, addiction and overdose deaths are the unhappy result.
 

METH – USA
County Meth Action Team plans workshops Nov. 29 – The Columbian

Local residents can learn how to fight the pervasive illegal stimulant in free public workshops on Thursday, Nov. 29, sponsored by the Clark County Meth Action Team.

METH – USA
Early addictions: Former meth user recalls drug’s first days in Carlsbad – North County Times
The teenage boys sat at the late-night Carlsbad coffee shop, twitching and anxious, laughing and loud, out of their minds on methamphetamine and oblivious to the police officers sitting in the next booth.

METH – USA
White powder a recipe for disaster – AL News

Alabama and Arkansas are reputed to be among the leaders in the nation in the production of methamphetamine. Just what both states need - something that takes what few teeth remain among their citizens.

METH – AUSTRALIA
World focus on `ice’ care – The Advertiser

SA experts designed a treatment plan for the World Health Organisation to separate delusional, paranoid and agitated methamphetamine users from other patients.

ALCOHOL – UK
Booze Tobacco And Drugs, A Reality For Many British School Kids – Medical News Today

20% of British school children regularly get drunk, while approximately 14% of them have experimented with illegal drugs, according to a survey carried out by Ofsted.

ALCOHOL – USA
More teens test positive for drugs, alcohol at sick care visits – American Medical News

Physicians may need to screen 12- to 18-year-olds for possible drug and alcohol abuse issues any time they present for care and not just at checkups, as recommended by many medical societies, including the American Medical Association. This concept was the take-home message of a study in the November Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

ADDICTION – USA
Addictions Awareness Week: What does it take to kick the habit? – Opinion 250 News
  November 18th to 24th is Addictions Awareness Week, with that in mind, we offer this article by Andrew Burton, an Alcohol and Drug Counsellor with Northern Health.

ADDICTION – BELGUIM
International conference on addiction – Cordis News
An international conference entitled ‘Our Addictions: the Pleasure and the Pain’ will be held on 30 November at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK.

ADDICTION – USA
Mother and daughter discuss drug addiction – Towson Jeffersonian

How does a Jewish honors student from one of Los Angeles’ top prep schools end up shooting heroin in the back of a skinhead’s van in rural Indiana?

ALCOHOL – USA
Rockville students to be checked for alcohol at playoff game – Business Gazette

In an effort to crack down on student alcohol use, bags and pockets of all Rockville High School students will be checked at tonight’s first-round regional semifinal football game at Clarksburg High School.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Schoolies booze vigil on parents – Courier Mail
POLICE will use closed-circuit television to catch irresponsible parents buying booze for the 30,000 schoolies descending on the Gold Coast.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drug abuse climbing among teens, young adults – WALB News

The Albany Dougherty Drug Unit says prescription drug abuse among teens in South Georgia has tripled in the last several years.

METH – USA
Meth use down, coke use up – KSWO News

Meth use is down in Lawton since lawmakers passed the Nik Green Law which limits the sale of pseudo-ephedrine - a key ingredient for manufacturing meth.  But, now other illegal drug use, trafficking and sales are up - it’s being replaced by crack and cocaine.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction hurts more than just one person – Holland Sentinel

Ottagan Addictions Recovery is launching its Community and Family Program on Monday because addiction is more than just a problem for the addict.

ALCOHOL – USA
The National Institute On Drug Abuse Offers Summer Internship Opportunities – Medical News Today
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that kicks off the application period for summer research training opportunities at its Intramural Program (IRP) facility in Baltimore, Maryland.
METH – USA
Sioux City’s Meth Training Center Will Re-Open – KTIV News

Sioux City’s national meth training center may soon re-open thanks to the Sioux City Police Department.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Getting Prescription Drugs Off The Streets – WTAP News

In the fight to pluck prescription pills out of the wrong hands, area authorities have recovered over 250,000 pharmaceutical pills, including Percocet and Oxycontin.

ALCOHOL – UK
Child survey reveals drug abuse – In The News
A government survey on the lifestyles and concerns of children between the age of ten and 15 has revealed drug and alcohol abuse problems.

ALCOHOL – UK
TV adverts ‘making alcohol attractive to young people’ – Times Online
The number of alcohol advertisements on television has increased and some of them make drinking attractive to young people, a report has found.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol locks could be fitted to cars – News

Alcohol locks that prevent cars starting if the driver is over the limit are being considered for Europe’s largest car market.

METH – USA
Anti-meth drive aimed at Indian youth – The Durango Herald
Indian leaders unveiled the first anti-methamphetamine ad campaign targeted at natives on Wednesday. The ads will start appearing in print and on radio in January.

ALCOHOL – USA
New poll suggests Americans believe drugs and alcohol are mostly to blame for homelessness – WLNS News

More than eight in 10 people surveyed believe abuse of alcohol and drugs is the major cause of homelessness.

ALCOHOL – UK
Children admit to alcohol abuse – BBC News
One in seven 12 to 15-year-olds has tried illegal drugs and a fifth have been drunk, the Ofsted research on lifestyle, habits and concerns shows.

ALCOHOL – UK
Warn your children: alcohol is a killer – The Telegraph

Primary school pupils are learning to multiply by reckoning up how many alcopops they need for a weekend, and to divide by working out how many cans of lager they can buy with their pocket money.

MARIJUANA – USA
Chem Lab: Fun Facts about Sweat-Absorbing Drug Test Patches and Marijuana – Wired News

Although the somewhat Orwellian products have been on the market for years, Marilyn A. Huestis and her colleagues at the National Institute on Drug Abuse have recently evaluated them as a means to continuously monitor potheads.

ADDICTION – CANADA
Amino-acid therapy claims massive success in treating drug addiction – Georgia Straight
In 2002, Gold had been practising naturopathic medicine for 15 years. When her son died, she focused all her energy on researching addiction and eventually found something called amino-acid therapy.

ADDICTION – BANGLADESH
Call to save society from drug addiction – The New Nation

Speakers at a colloquium titled “Say No To Drug” on Sunday urged all to save the society from the clutch of the deadly drugs.

COCAINE – USA
Officers Say Cocaine Use is Up on Ole Miss Campus – Eyewitness News Memphis

Narcotics officers in Lafayette County, Mississippi say more and more students at the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, are using and selling cocaine.

COCAINE – USA
Next step to close the cocaine gap – Christian Science Monitor

Three times in 12 years the US Sentencing Commission has condemned wide disparities between crack and powder cocaine penalties. On Nov. 1, Congress finally let the commission adjust its sentencing guidelines.

RITALIN – UK
Children who need parents, not pills – Daily Mail
One psychologist told the BBC there was no excuse for giving children drugs with such terrible side-effects: ‘A generous understanding would be to say that doctors don’t know what else to offer, and they haven’t got the right support to help parents in difficult circumstances.

ALCOHOL – UK
New Coalition Calls For Tougher Measures On Alcohol, UK – Medical News Today
A new coalition launched today is calling on the Government to do more to prevent the rise in alcohol-related diseases.

METH – USA
Greenlee ‘meth gun’ draws national interest – Eastern Arizona Courier

That high-tech is the “meth gun” and is being tested by the Greenlee County Sheriff’s Office to detect methamphetamine, the deadly illicit drug that has become a national scourge.

METH – USA
‘Meth gun’ intrigues police – The Daily Iowan
A “gun” that detects methamphetamine is expected to become another tool to bust drug labs, and Iowa City police Sgt. Troy Kelsay said its purported benefits have “some promise,” despite legal concerns.