Drug News

PAINKILLER – USA
What kills more people than cocaine? Common pain killer oxycodone – The Village

The San Diego County Medical Examiner has found a disturbing new trend: the rising number of accidental deaths due to oxycodone, a painkiller found in brand name medications such as OxyContin and Percocet.

PAINKILLER – USA
Painkiller ban cuts suicides – Scotsman

An end to prescriptions for a common painkiller has led to a drop in suicides involving the drug – without a rise in deaths from other painkillers, researchers said.

PAINKILLER – USA
Doctor calls painkiller abuse in ERs ‘severe’ – The Ironton Tribune

A prominent area doctor said Tuesday that brazen attempts by prescription drug addicts to secure powerful painkillers under false pretense at area emergency rooms are at a level that can only be described at “severe.”

RITALIN – USA
Ritalin May Raise Risk of Sudden Death in Children – Health Know It All

Results of a new study find that children who are given drugs to help control their ADHD are at a 7 fold increased risk of sudden death.

PAINKILLER – USA
More drug testing kits to be offered to parents in Phoenix – WSYR News

Additional drug testing kits will soon be available for parents in Phoenix. The kits became available shortly after a high school student fell ill after taking prescription pills from another girl.

ALCOHOL – USA
Study Links Teen Alcohol, Drug Use To Paternal Drinking – Red Orbit

A U.S. study showed on Thursday that teenagers who live with alcoholic fathers, or even dads who drink in moderation, are more likely to have used drugs or had drinks themselves in the past year, AFP reported.

ALCOHOL – USA
Idaho State conducting alcohol-abuse study – KTRV News

An Idaho State University researcher looking for gender-specific differences in how alcohol affects the brain says experiments on rats appear to show physiological stress responses are much higher in females.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol a Common Factor in Suicides – The New York Times

Alcohol has long been known to play a role in suicides, but there have been little data regarding which victims use it and how often. Now the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in a large sample of suicide victims whose blood alcohol levels were measured post mortem, one in four had been legally drunk.

ALCOHOL – USA
As College Drinking Problems Rise, New Studies Identify Effective Prevention Strategies – Kansas City infoZine

Alcohol-related deaths among U.S. college students rose from 1,440 deaths in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005, along with increases in heavy drinking and drunk driving.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol abuse by GIs soars since ‘03 – USA Today

The rate of Army soldiers enrolled in treatment programs for alcohol dependency or abuse has nearly doubled since 2003 — a sign of the growing stress of repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Army statistics and interviews.