Drug News

ALCOHOL – UK
Youth Binge Drinking Culture Must End, Australian Medical Association – Medical News Today

The AMA is calling for a partnership between Government, industry, health professionals and the community to end the binge drinking culture that is damaging the health of young Australians.

METH – USA
Coalition For A Drug Free Hawaii Backyard Jam – KHNL News

Once again, there’s another startling statistic when it comes to crystal methamphetamine in the islands. Experts say “ice” use is on the rise, but one group is doing its part to stop the spread of this drug.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Combating prescription drug abuse – The Citizen of Laconia

With the story of Ledger fresh in so many people’s minds it is apropos that the Laconia Police, in collaboration with the Belknap County Sheriff’s Department, are launching a program to deal with the rising incidence of prescription drug abuse in Greater Laconia.

METH – USA
Wise way to spend a million bucks: Scaring teens, stopping meth – The Anniston Star

Meth is a killer, a man-made destroyer of human flesh that’s as impossible for an addict to flee as it is for a swimmer to remain dry. It rots teeth, influences moods, creates profound bouts of depression and anxiety, generates wild, sci-fi-like hallucinations and clutches users with a seemingly iron and inescapable hand.

METH – USA
Fifth-graders get anti-meth lesson: Rotary Club hitting local schools with strong message – Farmington Daily Times

Backed by corporate sponsors, the San Juan Rotary Club visits every fifth-grader in the county every year. That’s more than 2,000 students in dozens of elementary schools from Blanco to Crownpoint, McQueary said.

METH – CANADA
Students hear meth message – Prince George Citizen

Mark McLaughlin of the Crystal Meth Society of B.C. spent last week touring local schools doing the first meth recognition and prevention presentations that the society does routinely around Victoria and the Lower Mainland.

METH – USA
The Flavors of Meth – KETKNBC News

Drug dealers are using Cool-Aide and Nestle Quick to hook kids on a powerful and addicting drug.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Youth Binge Drinking Culture Must End – AMA

The AMA is today calling for a partnership between Government, industry, health professionals and the community to end the binge drinking culture that is damaging the health of young Australians.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Silent killer: Prescription drug abuse – AZ Family

Prescription drug abuse has reached statistical highs but is it leading to societal lows. The death of a young movie star forced people to take a closer look.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Drug Combinations A Risky Mix – Hartford Courant

Accidental poisonings from prescription-drug use are on the rise, especially among middle-age adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise – Trans World News

The FDA has recently released information to health care professional warning of the dangers of abuse with OxyContin and other prescription drugs.  Abuse of these painkillers can lead to addiction, overdose, and even death.  Narconon Drug Rehab believes the public should be aware of these dangers.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Teens Abusing Prescription Drugs – The Ledger

Prescription drug abuse among teens is bringing about the country’s next cultural change and Polk County is no exception to the trend, drug expert Robert Stutman told about 100 parents and community members Monday.

DRUGS – USA
Xanax Drug Abuse Poses Serious Threat – Trans World News

Xanax withdrawal is particularly dangerous, and even life threatening. Because central nervous system depressants work by slowing down the brain’s normal activity, if a person stops taking the drug, the brain can react by racing out of control.

DRUGS – USA
Meth dealers target kids, officials say – Lufkin Daily News

Get involved. That was the message on Tuesday night at the Lufkin Middle School Auditorium, where “Be Safe Child” and area coordinator Dr. Sharon Young hosted a drug/truancy awareness seminar for parents.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Sweet alcohol fools teenagers – Herald Sun

ONE in four teens surveyed couldn’t taste alcohol in sweetened ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, new research has revealed.

DRUGS – UK
Drug suspect assets to be seized – BBC News

Suspected drug dealers’ assets could be seized on arrest rather than conviction under new plans for England and Wales.

DRUGS – UK
Drug use in England and Wales – BBC News

Table showing the estimated number of users of different drugs in the past year, according to the British Crime Survey.

DRUGS – UK
Drug giants warned: Tell the truth on medicines – The Independent

The pharmaceutical industry came under assault from senior figures in medical research yesterday over its practice of withholding information to protect profits, exposing patients to drugs which could be useless or harmful.

PRESCRIPTION – UK
Prescription drugs: legal and lethal – Times Online

Forget heroin and cocaine. The dangerous drugs claiming the lives and minds of the stars are prescription painkillers and a new class of happy pills that doctors are handing out by the million

ALCOHOL – UK
Women drinkers to be target of ad campaign – Observer

Women in their thirties and forties are to be targeted in a government anti-drinking advertising campaign featuring graphic warnings that their behaviour could lead to breast cancer or liver failure.

ALCOHOL – UK
Drink sends 1,000 children a year to hospital – Telegraph

More than 1,000 children under the age of 14 are being admitted to hospital every year as a result of binge drinking, new figures show.

RITALIN – NERTHLANDS
Ritalin abuse on campus – Africa News

Medical students are apparently abusing Ritalin to help them cope with the vast amount of work that they need to study. Ritalin, with the street name of Kibbles and Bits or Pineapple, is normally prescribed to children who suffer from attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Families of drug abusers need help: ANCD – The Age

The alarming report shows about one tenth of teenagers have abused alcohol in the past week, while 67,000 high school students have taken amphetamines in the last year.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Experts Say Prescription Drug Use On Rise – KETV News

One in five teenagers have reported using prescription drugs illegally, national statistics show. The local number is lower, according to the advocacy group PRIDE-Omaha, but the numbers are rising.

ADDICITON – UK
Musical brings home truth about drug addiction – Crewe Guardian

FORMER drug addicts will be revealing the true horrors and trauma of dependence in a special event in Crewe next week. Hard-hitting musical The Journey will be staged by Teen-Challenge UK at the New Life Community Church at Fuller Driver on Tuesday evening.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction painting helps attract artists – Frederick News Post

A few years ago, Johnsville artist Margaret Dowell realized she could no longer communicate with a friend who was addicted to drugs. So Dowell turned to her art, and that took her to Joan Jenkins, a Frederick model she worked with in the past.

DRUGS – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Travellers warned to obey Dubai’s drug laws – AME Info

Dubai is considered one of the most liberal cities in the Middle East, but travellers to the emirate are often unaware that it has very strict laws regarding possession of illegal drugs.

DRUGS – UK
Charity says illegal drug users cost taxpayers £16bn last year - but only £3bn was spent tackling addiction – Daily Mail

Illegal drug use cost Britain an estimated £110billion over the past decade - and more than £16billion last year alone, research revealed yesterday. But only £3billion of the total has gone on actually tackling addiction, according to drug and alcohol charity Addiction.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Children as young as 12 seek help over drinking – The Age

CHILDREN as young as 12 are seeking help for alcohol abuse as new figures from a major Melbourne drug treatment centre reveal a six-fold increase in cases of young people with drinking problems.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Australia’s alcohol toll described as a national disaster – Herald Sun

A new report - released today by the Australian National Council on Drugs - has found that one in 10 young people aged 12 to 17 had abused alcohol in the past week.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription For Danger – WSAV News

One out of ten people will develop some type of substance addiction in their life, that’s according to a doctor at Memorial Health.  If not taken correctly, prescription pills can be dangerous, even deadly.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drugs a common factor in shootings – Southtown Star

American’s war on drugs might need to move in a new direction. It’s becoming more clear with each school shooting that prescription drugs may be more of a problem in our country than illegal street narcotics.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Each file is a drug death I can’t forget – St. Petersburg Times

I have seven file drawers at my desk. Each one is stuffed with green folders. Each folder is a death. For the last year or so, I have been investigating the surge of fatal prescription drug overdoses in Tampa Bay.

METH – USA
Stow considers meth database – Akron Beacon Journal

A city councilman is pushing legislation to make it easier for home buyers to know whether they are purchasing a house that once served as a meth lab.

METH – USA
State unveils anti-meth campaign – Daily Home Online

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, the state congressional delegation and all of the state’s district attorneys on Friday officially launched Zerometh, a multimedia methamphetamine awareness program that will include broadcast and print ads, billboards and a Web site using cutting edge design to deliver its message to teens and young adults.

METH – USA
Buyers can check meth background of new home before purchase –

The Floyd County Health Department has a new system for homebuyers to check if the property they’re interested in has a history as a meth lab.

ALCOHOL – UK
‘Crime soars amid 24-hour drinking’ – The Press Association

Police officers are facing thousands more alcohol-related crimes a month than they did before 24-hour licensing laws were introduced, it was reported.

COCAINE – UK
Cocaine campaign – Liverpool Daily Post

COCAINE users in Merseyside are getting younger and mixing the drug with a cocktail of alcohol and cannabis.

ALCOHOL – UK
Women drinkers to be target of ad campaign – Guardian Unlimited

Women in their thirties and forties are to be targeted in a government anti-drinking advertising campaign featuring graphic warnings that their behaviour could lead to breast cancer or liver failure.

ALCOHOL – UK
Put shame back into boozing – Times Online

Unless I have been living in a parallel universe for the past few decades, there never used to be anything remotely glamorous about alcoholism.

METH – USA
Anti-drug campaign kicks off – Andalusia Star-News

Top Alabama leaders announced Thursday the implementation of a new statewide methamphetamine awareness campaign, known as ZEROMETH, that will start today.

PRESCRIPTION – AUSTRALIA
Medication addicts ‘the big problem’ – News Aus

PARAMEDICS are treating almost 8000 Melburnians a year for overdoses of prescription and over-the-counter drugs - 11 times the figure for heroin.

DRUGS – USA
Celebrity Addictions: Painkillers and Hollywood – ABC News

What started as a problem among the rural poor in America has now spread across the nation and into the Hollywood spotlight. The effective chemicals in prescription painkillers — called opioids — are derived from the same poppy plant used to make opium and heroin. Painkillers give a feeling of euphoria and, just like heroin or opium, carry a high risk for abuse and recreational use.

DRUGS – USA
Students speak about drug abuse – The Reflector

According to a March 2007 article in High Times magazine, prescription drug abuse is about to exceed the use of illicit street drugs in the U.S. “The high and increasing level of abuse of prescription drugs by both adolescents and adults is a serious cause for concern,” according to the International Narcotics Control Board.

ALCOHOL – UK
Stronger government action needed to tackle the epidemic of alcohol misuse, says new BMA report – British Medical Association

A new hard-hitting report1 ‘Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic’ launched today (Thursday 21 February 2008) by the BMA calls on the government to show leadership and implement a full range of effective control policies that will reduce the burden of alcohol misuse.

ALCOHOL – UK
The problem of ‘demon drink’ – BBC News

The British Medical Association (BMA) report shows alcohol now kills more people every month than heroin does in a year.

ALCOHOL – UK
How much do you drink? – NHS Choices

Are you concerned you might be drinking too much? Answer these simple questions and find out what kind of a relationship you have with alcohol.

ALCOHOL – UK
Using the law to curb Britain’s binge-drinking – Telegraph

Modern Britain is like an alcoholic who, after years of ruining family gatherings, has finally admitted that he has a problem. But no one has much confidence that he will be able to break the cycle of destructive drinking.

PAINKILLER – USA
Painkiller patches recalled – Monterey County Herald

Patches containing the prescription painkiller fentanyl were recalled for the second time in a week Monday, because of a flaw that could cause patients or caregivers to overdose on the potent drug inside.

PAINKILLER – USA
Fentanyl painkiller patches recalled for second time in a week – KLAS TV News

Another recall for patches containing the painkiller fentanyl. Patches sold by Actavis South Atlantic are being recalled because of a defect that could cause them to leak, putting patients or caregivers at risk of overdose.

ALCOHOL – USA
Teens – especially girls – drinking alcohol marketed toward them – Capitol Weekly

“Underage drinking is a problem in this country, and stopping it is critically important to all of us,” said Guy Smith, writing for alcohol giant Diageo in a recent issue of Capitol Weekly.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Purple drank: Prescription cough syrup key in drug abuse trend – Jackson Clarion Ledger

Mississippi authorities say a drug commonly known as “purple drank,” “lean,” or “sippin’ syrup” is becoming more visible in the state.

PRESCRIPTION – SOUTH AFRICA
Death on prescription – Health 24

This is not limited to movie stars and rock stars: it’s something that is perceived to be a growing problem in South Africa, and many experts believe it is not given the attention it deserves. There are multiple dangers associated with mixing - and, of course, abusing - prescription medication and over-the-counter drugs.

ALCOHOL – UK
New Report Reveals Treatment Admissions For Methamphetamine, Prescription Drug And Marijuana Abuse Are On The Rise – Medical News Today

Problems with alcohol as a primary substance of abuse accounted for 40 percent of the 1.8 million admissions in 2006 for substance abuse treatment in the United States according to a report based on the latest nationwide survey of treatment facilities.

METH – USA
Meth Users Stealing Identities – KKTV News

Do you worry about your car getting stolen or even your identity? If you don’t think you’ll be affected, Colorado Springs police said think again. These crimes are growing in our community and they say they can be tied to one common factor: methamphetamine.

COCAINE – UK
Cocaine danger warning – Liverpool Echo

A CAMPAIGN to stop young people using cocaine has been launched. Residents aged 20-24 are the focus of a new “Cocaine is not all it is wrapped up to be” drive in Knowsley.

DRUGS – SOUTH AFRICA
Schools can search and test pupils for drugs – Dispatch

SCHOOLS are preparing for random drug testing on pupils after government recently passed a law to allow such tests.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA

Binge drinking ‘epidemic’ worries Rudd – The Sydney Morning Herald

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is looking at ways to tackle what he says is a worsening “epidemic” of binge drinking.

RITALIN – USA

Ritalin abuse growing by word of mouth – Examiner

Two of three people who abuse Ritalin or other medications attention disorders get the drugs free from a family member or friend, a new report says.

ALCOHOL – UK

Alcoholics Underestimate The Risk Of Bleeding – Medical News Today

Gastrointestinal bleeding can be fatal something which is not known to many alcoholics. This was the conclusion reached by the Leipzig gastroenterologist Niels Teich and his colleagues, on the basis of a survey in the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

PRESCRIPTION – USA

Prescription drugs endanger students – The Collegian Online

When coffee and cold showers fail to stimulate stressed students, it can be tempting to use prescription drugs to focus, stay awake or de-stress. However, there are many side-effects and consequences of using pharmaceuticals that students may not be aware of.

METH – CANADA

Students hear message about meth – Prince George Citizen

The only people who can push drugs out of schools are students, that’s part of the message the Crystal Meth Society of B.C. is delivering in Prince George all week.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA

Prime Minister concerned about ‘epidemic of binge drinking’ – ABC Online

The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he’s concerned by what he calls an “epidemic of binge drinking” across the country.

PRESCRIPTION – USA

Rising attention on prescription abuse – Daily Pennsylvanian

It has killed a Hollywood actor and been the subject of a Superbowl ad - prescription drug abuse is definitely on the national radar.

ALCOHOL – USA

Mixing stimulants with alcohol is worse than alcohol consumption alone – Ball State Daily News

When students launch shots of hard liquor into caffeinated energy drinks, they are in for more than just a buzz, according to David Pearson, director of the strength and research laboratory.

METH – UK

Crystal meth danger fears – York Press

POLICE in North Yorkshire are keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of the highly addictive drug “crystal meth”. The drug could become as big a problem as crack cocaine within the next four years, according to a new police report.

PAINKILLERS – USA

More painkiller patches recalled, this time by Actavis – The Star-Ledger

Patches containing the prescription painkiller fentanyl were recalled for the second time in a week today, because of a flaw that could cause patients or caregivers to overdose on the potent drug inside, the Associated Press reported.

 
HEROIN – USA

Valley kids on heroin – AZ Central

Heroin is making a come-back in the Valley, not with junkies on the street, but with teenagers in high schools in nice neighborhoods. 

HEROIN – AUSTRALIA

Heroin use on the rise in Newcastle – ABC News

Figures from the Hunter’s Drug Arm show that while amphetamine use in Newcastle has declined, addicts are turning to heroin in huge numbers.

ALCOHOL – UK

Drink and drugs can damage men’s sperm, study suggests – Guardian

Men should not smoke, drink or take unnecessary drugs if they are planning to become fathers to avoid causing health problems for their children, a health expert has warned.

PRESCRIPTION – USA

Prescription drug abuse on the rise among suburban women – WNYT News

It’s not just a problem for the rich and famous. Hydrocodone is fast becoming one of the most widely abused drugs not in the inner city but in the suburbs.

COCAINE – UK
Survey reveals cocaine use – The Press Association

More than 10% of Scotland’s 16 to 19-year-olds have taken cocaine, it was claimed.

COCAINE – UK
Scotland’s youth cocaine crisis – Scotland on Sunday

ONE in 10 Scottish teenagers over the age of 16 is now taking cocaine as the cost of the illegal drug has fallen following record harvests in South America.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Officials say teens should be surveyed about prescription drugs – Boston Globe

A recent statewide survey of teenagers showed a decline in drug and alcohol use, but school officials say it missed a growing problem: the abuse of prescription medication.

PRESCRIPTION – USA\
Advice on Avoiding Bad Prescription Drugs – Injury Board

After a few years in this business of representing patients/clients who have been injured by defective drugs, it appears that:

METH – USA
Idaho Meth Project seeks end to drug’s use – Bonner County Daily Bee

Not even once is Idaho Meth Project motto. The reason: 95 percent of first-time meth users will use the drug again and again and again, said project director Megan Ronk. She spoke at Thursday’s general Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce meeting held at Cedar Hills Church.

METH – UK
Crystal meth: A menace that’s crystal clear – Telegraph

Crystal meth - variously known as Tina, tweak, speed and ice - is a known menace in America and Australia. Worldwide, it is estimated to have 35 million users - five times as many as heroin - and it is now beginning to cause havoc in Britain.