Drug News

PAINKILLER – BAHRAIN
Alert over skin patch painkiller – Gulf Daily News

PEOPLE in Bahrain are being warned over the use of a skin patch containing a potent painkiller, which health officials say could be fatal.

PAINKILLER – INDIA
J&J Painkiller Patch Can Be Dangerous, Warns FDA – Top News

A second safety warning has been issued by U.S. health officials on the deaths and dangerous fallouts caused by Johnson & Johnson’s Duragesic pain-killing skin patch.

METH – USA
Special Task Force Releases Methamphetamine Report – Las Vegas Now

As methamphetamine continues to ravage Nevada’s communities, the governor has just received a special task force’s blueprint for how our state should battle the meth-abuse problem.

METH – USA
New progress toward solving the meth epidemic – Newport News Times
Assistant County Counsel Rob Bovett provided an update for the Governor’s Meth Task Force on Friday, Dec. 7 regarding recent progress made toward solving the meth epidemic that has plagued families and neighborhoods in Lincoln County and across our nation.

METH – USA
Oklahoma tribes step up fight against meth – Tulsa World

Efforts at training and prevention have increased since the renewed emphasis from the National Congress of American Indians.

METH – USA
Meth Project gets a boost – Helena Independent Record

Thumbs up to members of the Montana Contractors Association who came up with $125,000 to contribute to the Montana Meth Project.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Florida Has Prescription Problem – Tampa Tribune

Athletes aren’t the only ones struggling with addiction and abuse of prescription drugs. The illegal sale of prescription drugs now constitutes the fastest-growing segment of the illicit drug market in Florida

ALCOHOL – USA
Police on holiday alcohol watch; Enforcement targets drunken drivers, underage drinkers – The Daily News of Newburyport

State and local police have already started to crack down on underage drinking and drunken drivers in anticipation of a busy New Year’s weekend.

COCAINE – IRELAND
Cocaine is an A-bomb in our midst – Irish Independent

An Irish atomic bomb, in the form of a substance called ‘cocaine’, has exploded in our midst.

METH – USA
Pharmacies help in the fight against meth production – The Journal Review

As part of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, which went into effect in 2006, several changes went into effect in pharmacies.
 

HEROIN – IRELAND
Middle-class heroin use rising as drug spreads nationwide – Independent

‘It is ironic that the recent publicity about the dangers of cocaine in the past few weeks could also turn drug users to heroin’

PAINKILLER – RUSSIA
J&J opioid painkiller causes more deaths in US – Pravda
A second warning was issued in US concerning deaths and dangerous side effects in those who used Johnson & Johnson’s Duragesic pain-killing skin patch or generic versions.

METH – USA
Meth use continues to be significant problem – KHAS TV News

The methamphetamine problem is sweeping across rural America. And officials say the deadly drug is still on the rise here in Hastings.

METH – USA
Mexican Meth Rules U.S. Drug Market – The Blog of Legal Times

The good news in the just-released National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2008 by the Department of Justice is that domestic production of the illicit drug is down.

METH – USA
Project seeks to end meth use – Bonner County Daily Bee

There has never been a drug as powerful, addictive and quick to destroy lives as methamphetamine.

HEROIN – UK
Treat cocaine as seriously as heroin – Anderson – Derry Journal

Cocaine must be regarded as seriously as heroin if the drug problem is to be effectively tackled, a local MLA has said.

ALCOHOL – USA
Effects of alcohol poisoning – Baltimore Sun
While drinking in moderation can be pleasurable, drinking too much can lead to alcohol poisoning, a severe and potentially fatal reaction to an overdose.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drug crisis among teens – Daily Herald
The study really shows that teenagers are turning away from marijuana and turning instead to dangerous prescription opioid narcotics like OxyContin (one in 20 high school seniors has taken it in the past year) and Vicodin (one in 10).

METH – USA
State releases meth ad campaign figures – The Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2564
The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, which recently announced a $9.8 million methamphetamine awareness campaign.

DRUGS – CHINA
New types of illegal drugs on rise – Shanghai Daily

SALES and production of new types of illegal drugs are on the rise in China, a senior official with the Ministry of Public Security said today.

DRUGS – USA
‘Mind Doping’ Becoming More Common – Slashdot

“The Los Angeles Times is running a story on the growing use of ‘mind drugs’: ‘Forget sports doping. The next frontier is brain doping. …

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol: A deadly threat — ‘Tis the season — to moderate celebrating – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

It’s that time of year, again! That’s right — time for reflection, excitement, and anticipation of a new year — gifts, family and friends, lots of great food, and fun — vehicle crashes, arrests, and gruesome deaths.

COCAINE – FRANCE
Decades later, the notion that crack is far more dangerous than cocaine is widely disputed – International Herald Tribune

During some of the bloodiest years of the drug wars of the 1980s, crack was seen as far more dangerous than powdered cocaine, and that perception was written into the sentencing laws. But now that notion is under attack like never before.

ALCOHOL – UK
Tougher Measures Needed To Reduce Alcohol Related Harm, Say UK Doctors – Medical News Today

Two top doctors have called on the UK government to employ tougher measures to reduce alcohol related harm.

ALCOHOL – UK
Drink Moderately And Stay Safe, Australia – Medical News Today

Christmas and New Year are great times to share one or two drinks with friends, but the AMA is urging people to avoid binge drinking if they want to stay clear of the emergency department this holiday season.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone-related deaths soar – The Tribune-Democrat
A recent report issued by the National Drug Intelligence Center indicates an alarming trend in the number of methadone-related deaths – estimated to be about a 400 percent increase since 1999.

HEROIN – USA
Community wages war against heroin – Macomb Daily
The same group also addressed a recent meeting of a fledgling organization called Families Against Narcotics, formed in response to what authorities say is an increase in heroin addiction in Fraser and surrounding communities.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
NT alcohol consumption on the rise – ABC News Online

The latest alcohol figures show Northern Territorians are drinking more than ever.

ADDICTION – USA
Drug addiction program kicks language barrier – Boston Now

The Latino Recovery program ensures that prisoners who speaks Spanish receive counseling in their native tongue.

ADDICTION – USA
Help for addiction – The Village News
The holidays can be a desperate time of loss and hopelessness for those families stuck in and around addiction. Narconon can help them.
 

HEROIN – USA
Small Town, Big-Time Heroin Use – Hartford Courant
Heroin came to Willimantic nearly 40 years ago and never left. Today, junkies openly shoot up on the town green. Generations have fallen prey to the poison.

PAINKILLERS – USA
FDA renews alert on painkiller patch – Los Angeles Times

The drug, which the agency says has been misused and wrongly prescribed, is a suspect in 3,500 deaths. Heat can increase the absorption rate.

PAINKILLERS – UK
Warning: Deaths From Painkiller Patch – The Associated Press
Improper use of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl is still killing people, the government said Friday — its second warning in two years about the powerful narcotic.

METH – USA
Contractors Donate to Montana Meth – KULR News
A group of statewide contractors have taken Montana Meth Project founder Tom Siebel up on his challenge grant.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
State bill would create database to monitor patients’ prescriptions – Sun-Sentinel
Should Broward County be the state’s first county to have a prescription-drug monitoring program?

ALCOHOL – SINGAPORE
Campaign aimed at getting youths to control alcohol consumption – Channel News Asia
Say no to binge drinking - that is the message a group of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students want to convey in a campaign.

ALCOHOL – UK
Doctors call for alcohol price hike – Reuters
Senior doctors said on Friday the government should raise the price of alcohol as part of a series of tough measures to cut the harm caused by excessive drinking.

ALCOHOL – UK
We are all paying the price for cheap alcohol – The Scotsman
ALCOHOL Focus Scotland believes urgent government action is required to address the ridiculously low price of alcohol.

ALCOHOL – JAMAICA
Road Safety Council wants blood-alcohol limit lowered – Jamaica Observer
VICE chairman of the National Road Safety Council, Dr Lucien Jones, is calling for revised legislation to lower the allowable blood alcohol limit for motorists.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Trains Foreign Addiction Counselor – Trans World News
The orphanage in Honduras took many street children in, only to find that they would run away, back to the streets, to feed their addiction. The safety and comfort of the orphanage were not stronger than the addiction to the glue and the orphanage personnel searched for solutions.

ALCOHOL – UK
Booze, sex are passe; party drugs rule the revelry – Earth Times
Alcohol and sex are passe. Drug cocktails and rave parties have become new mantra of celebration for urban youth with fat wallets.

PAINKILLER – USA
Patients Dying From Improper Use Of Painkiller Patch – Tampa Tribune

Improper use of patches that emit the painkiller fentanyl is still killing people, the government said Friday - its second warning in two years about the powerful narcotic.

CANNABIS – UK
Study Investigates Cannabis Use Among University Students – Medical News Today
New information published in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research explores University students’ motivations for using or not using cannabis and found various factors that might encourage use.
 

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol warning for over 30s – In The News
 Despite being less able to tolerate alcohol people in their 30s and 40s are drinking to excess more than younger people are, a new survey has found.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol, DARE education is necessary effort – Herald Zeitung
Unfortunately, alcohol and drugs are a part of many teenagers lives. They are factors in wrecks that kill and maim teenagers and other drivers, no matter what age the person behind the wheel.

ALCOHOL – USA
Namibia: Tsumeb Tackles Alcohol Abuse – All Africa.com
It is estimated that an average Namibian drinker consumes up to 10 litres of alcohol a week and that the average starting age of drinking is ten years.

DRUGS – USA
Wisconsin school district makes home drug tests available – Minneapolis Star Tribune
Parents with children in a school district east of Duluth can now test their kids for illegal drugs for free — and in private.

METH – USA
New Anti-Meth Campaign Coming Soon – KOLO TV News

The people who brought you “Crystal Darkness” are following it up with a chilling campaign to try and keep kids off methamphetamine.

COCAINE – UK
Cocaine ‘biggest killer of all’ – BBC News

A Dublin coroner has said cocaine abuse is rife in the city, describing the drug as “the biggest killer” of all.

COCAINE – IRELAND
Easier to buy cocaine than a pint – Barkeeper

Cocaine has become socially acceptable and the drug of choice among sections of the middle class.

METH – USA
More anti-meth TV shows planned – Reno Gazette Journal

Building on their successful “Crystal Darkness” program that aired a year ago, Secret Witness officials will begin the new year by training hundreds to teach others about the dangers of methamphetamine.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drug deaths in Port St. Lucie almost double – TC Palm

Police on Thursday said the number of prescription drug overdose deaths this year is almost double that of 2006, with most of this year’s deaths attributed to the painkiller methadone.

ALCOHOL – UK
Younger Drinkers More Responsible Than Older Ones, United Kingdom – Medical News Today

It seems that boozers in their twenties are better able to stay within their drinking limits compared to drinkers over thirty - the worst age appears to be people in their thirties and forties.

ALCOHOL – UK
Addicted.com Offers Help For Those Struggling With Holiday Season – Medical News Today
While most images of the holidays are filled with joy and family activities, there is an underbelly of sadness, depression and addictive behaviors not commonly associated with the holidays that are actually more prevalent during the holiday season than any other time of year.

DRUGS – USA
‘Performance enhancing drugs’ fact of life in schools – Workers World

A 2005 University of Texas study suggests that Ritalin may be carcinogenic. Of the 12 children they gave Ritalin, every single one had an increase in chromosome abnormalities, which have been linked to heightened cancer risk.

CANNABIS – UK
Cannabis supply and young people – Joseph Rowntree Foundation

This report provides a snapshot of how young people in a large city and rural villages obtain cannabis.

ALCOHOL – UK
Over-30s urged to cut back on alcohol over Christmas – The Scotsman

PEOPLE over the age of 30 are being warned to limit the amount of alcohol they drink over Christmas.

ALCOHOL – USA
Study: Kids See Fewer Alcohol Ads – Ad Week

Though youth exposure to alcohol marketing on TV overall and in national magazines has declined roughly 6 percent from 2001 to 2006, exposure to alcohol ads on cable TV has increased, a new study has found.

ALCOHOL – UK
Over-30s ‘ignore alcohol advice’ – BBC News

People in their 30s and 40s are worse than those in their 20s at sticking to their drinking limits, a poll has suggested.

COCAINE – UK
Cocaine ‘biggest killer of all’ – BBC News
A Dublin coroner has said cocaine abuse is rife in the city, describing the drug as “the biggest killer” of all.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drug abuse a growing problem in S. Florida – Sun-Sentinel

The latest report on drug overdose deaths statewide and recent analysis by authorities signal some changes in Florida’s drug trade and drug abuse patterns, particularly in South Florida.

ALCOHOL – BELGIUM
Alcohol platform announces first commitments – Eur Activ

The alcohol industry, doctors, publishers and NGOs alike have pledged a series of actions to promote responsible drinking, curb under-age alcohol consumption and promote behavioural change among adolescents.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol bans proposed for east Arnhem land – ABC Online News
The Northern Territory Licensing Commission has indicated it will declare an area of east Arnhem land, including Nhulunbuy, an alcohol restricted area.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol misuse fears – Crawley Observer

A SHORTAGE of facilities for coping with worsening problems of alcohol misuse in West Sussex was highlighted at a meeting of the joint health overview and scrutiny committee in Chichester.

METH – USA
Ohio attorney general says $2M grant will target meth problems – Wilmington News Journal

Federal funds will be used to help eliminate the manufacture, sale and use of the devastating drug methamphetamine in four communities as part of a program the state attorney general hopes to see spread across Ohio.

PAINKILLER – UK
Party goers in cancer-risk cocaine warning – Preston Citizen
Officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit said that the drug is increasingly being cut with a banned painkiller called Phenacetin, which has been linked to kidney and liver cancers.

METH – USA
NCAI launches national meth awareness campaign – Indian Country Today

To raise awareness of the problems with methamphetamine, the National Congress of American Indians introduced a national campaign at its 64th annual NCAI convention in mid-November.

COCAINE – UK
Cocaine users face added danger – Lancashire Evening Post
Cocaine users in Lancashire are at an increased risk of cancer because the drug is being mixed with another dangerous banned substance.
 

COCAINE – UK
‘Cocaine as available as Smarties’ and ‘readily available’ in Inishowen pubs – Derry Journal
The Irish scourge of cocaine abuse has hit Inishowen - with claims from a number of local pub bosses that the drug is “readily available” - and a Muff drugs counsellor’s warning that the narcotic is “as available as a packet of smarties”.

METH – USA
Facts about methamphetamine – Akron Beacon Journal

Facts about the illegal drug known as methamphetamine or meth.

METH – USA
Highland County to try new anti-meth tool – Chillicothe Gazette

The Highland County Sheriff’s Office will work with several other law enforcement departments in a new effort to combat meth usage and sales in the region.

ALCOHOL – UK
Cheap Alcohol Causing STDs And Unwanted Pregnancies, UK – Medical News Today

The first detailed study of sexual risk and alcohol consumption has confirmed fears that binge drinking, particularly in women, is contributing to an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

COCAINE – USA
Crack cocaine: It affects us all – MLive

It destroys lives. It sparks violence. And, in the 20 years it’s been in Muskegon County, crack cocaine has been a big, ongoing burden on the local criminal-justice system.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
FDA Says Cold Medicine is Not For Children Under 6 – Discover Magazine
In October, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers recommended against the use of most nonprescription cold and cough medicines for children under age 6, citing the lack of evidence of safety or efficacy in this age group.

CANNABIS – UK
Inhaled cannabis is more toxic than tobacco smoke – New Scientist

Cannabis smokers beware: puff for puff, smoke from the plant contains significantly more chemicals and carcinogens than that from tobacco.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
New police powers to quell alcohol-related violence – ABC News
Victoria Police have been given new powers to ban drunks and trouble makers from city and Chapel Street for 24 hours in a bid to stamp-out alcohol related violence.

ALCOHOL – UK
Cheap Alcohol Causing STDs And Unwanted Pregnancies, UK – Medical News Today

The first detailed study of sexual risk and alcohol consumption has confirmed fears that binge drinking, particularly in women, is contributing to an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Age of first-time drug users drops to early teens: report – ABC News

A new report says the average age at which people first try drugs, including alcohol, has dropped dramatically from between 17 to 19 to around 12 to 13.

ALCOHOL – CANADA
Canadians’ thirst for alcohol on the rise – Canada
Across Canada, per capita consumption of our favourite legal psychoactive drug has increased more than 11 per cent over the past decade.

METH – SWEDEN
Ohio AG Announces New Anti-Meth Effort – All American Patriots
Four Jurisdictions Take Part in Ohio Methamphetamine Pilot Initiative.

METH – USA
Midtown neighborhood cleaning up meth problem – KVOA News

A midtown neighborhood, once plagued with methamphetamine and crime, is turning around.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Student users often fly under radar – MLive

Some middle and high school students are bringing prescription drugs from home to sell at school, local law enforcement officials say.

CANNABIS – AUSTRALIA
Illicit drug use, drinking starting at 12 – The Sydney Morning Herald

THE average age of first-time drug users in NSW has dropped to 12½ and alcohol problems have outstripped illicit drug problems for the first time in 30 years, according to Odyssey House’s annual report.

ALCOHOL – USA
Plan ahead when serving alcohol at holiday parties – Statesman Journal

The winter holidays are a time for celebratory gatherings of family and friends, food and drink and high spirits. But there’s one ingredient that can quickly spoil the holiday cheer — alcohol.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol campaign is aimed at festive party-goers – Liverpool Daily Post
A CAMPAIGN to try and make people think about how much they are drinking will be up and running across Wirral this weekend.

ALCOHOL – UK
Let’s bring drinking under control – IC Wales

It may be the season to be jolly but our fondness for bingeing on alcohol is doing more harm than good. David Samuel explores the concept of binge drinking and what Wales needs to do to address the worrying social phenomenon.

ALCOHOL – UK
Largest ever alcohol awareness initiative is launched – The Publican

The largest school alcohol awareness initiative in the country is taking place today, with over 1,000 seven to 13 year-old students taking part.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
NZ group calls for alcohol warnings – ABC Online News
The modern world is full of warnings: there are traffic directions, clothing care labels, food preparation alerts and workplace safety rules, to name just a few. Now another warning could soon join the list.

ALCOHOL – USA
Reasons may help intervention program – Centre Daily Times

High school seniors who dabble with alcohol may be looking for a few different things in those forbidden glass bottles.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol-caffeine drinks can create ‘wide-awake drunks’ – KPC News
So, as the alcohol made my friend sleepy, the caffeine helped him stay awake to continue his pub-crawl.

METH – CANADA
Meth not just criminal problem – The Province
Just as crystal-meth addiction affects an entire community, the solution also lies in a community-based approach, according to a study commissioned by the City of Chilliwack.
 

METH – USA
Despite laws, methamphetamine abuse continues in Central Texas – Waco Tribune Herald

Methamphetamine production in Central Texas is on the decline, two years after state laws limited access to key ingredients, officials say. But at the same time, smugglers bringing in the drug from Mexico have filled the void, and local access to meth has been mostly unaffected.

OPIUM – PAKISTAN
UK to pay to halt opium crop in Afghanistan – Online-International News Network
Britain will pay Afghan farmers to stop growing the opium poppies that are used to make heroin, Gordon Brown is to say. Afghan heroin production has risen to record levels, accounting for 92 per cent of opium production.

ALCOHOL – USA
Fraternity returns to campus sans alcohol – Galesburg

A whole new group of Monmouth College men will embrace the ideals of brotherhood, but they will do it completely free of alcohol.

ALCOHOL – USA
Binge-Drinking Britons May Force Limits on Pub Hours (Update2) – Bloomberg

Across the road, some of the 50,000 revelers who flock to Manchester’s bars every Saturday spill into the streets of what medical researchers say is Britain’s capital of excessive drinking.

METH – USA
Pinal mounting broad effort to contain surging meth use – Arizona Daily Star

Pinal County officials say they are seeing an “extreme” methamphetamine problem across the county.

METH – USA
Anti-meth movement – The Star Beacon
It is a life-death struggle to get meth labs wiped out, says Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann.

METH – USA
Meth’s Toll: Life at the Bottom – KPBS News

This is the face of a teenager who uses crystal meth. The face of Abbie Richardson who started drinking and smoking marijuana at 14-years old. By 16, she was hooked on speed.

DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse a growing problem in S. Florida – Sun Sentinel

The latest report on drug overdose deaths statewide and recent analysis by authorities signal some changes in Florida’s drug trade and drug abuse patterns, particularly in South Florida.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Baby risk labels proposed on alcohol – The Sydney Morning Herald

Alcohol bottles could be slapped with new labels warning pregnant women to steer clear under a new proposal floated by the trans-Tasman food regulator.

METH – USA
Effects Of Meth – KMVT News

Don’t even use once, that’s the motto for a deadly drug that has hit the Magic Valley hard over the past few years. Dr. Eric Jones says, “Its effects are so potent that if you even use once about 90-95 percent of people will become addicted.”