Drug News

Drug Trafficking – India
Indian sentenced to death in Malaysia for drug trafficking – Thaindian News

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 29 (IANS) A 48-year-old Indian was Friday sentence to death by the Malaysian High Court which convicted him of drug trafficking.

Ecstasy – USA
Texas man sentenced to federal prison for distributing ecstasy – Thaindian News

NEW ORLEANS (BNO NEWS) – A Texas man on Thursday was sentenced to federal prison for his role in an ecstasy drug conspiracy.

Illegal Drugs – USA
Federal Corrections Officer charged with accepting bribes – Thaindian News

MIAMI (BNO NEWS) – A Federal Corrections Officer on Thursday was charged with accepting bribes and attempting to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Drunk Driving – USA
Drunk driver gets into more trouble after posting Facebook photo – The Buffalo News

LOCKPORT — Ashley M. Sullivan is in Niagara County Jail, and Facebook may be to blame as much as the car crash that killed a Niagara Falls man.

Illegal Drugs – USA
Michael Douglas’s son pleads guilty to dealing drugs – Telegraph.co.uk

The son of Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas has admitted in a New York court to possessing heroin and dealing large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine out of his hotel room.

Opium – Canada
Tombstone used to smuggle drugs into Canada! – Thaindian News

Vancouver, Jan 27 (IANS) Canadians police have seized a record quantity of drugs hidden inside a tombstone that was imported from Iran. Though drug smugglers have always been deploying newer methods of smuggling to beat police, this novel method has left many dumbfounded.

Drug Abuse – USA
Ozzy Osbourne: Life of addictions provides a cautionary tale – The Survivors Club

Heavy metal music and TV reality star Ozzy Osbourne has been known for living on the edge, including decades of drug abuse and promiscuous sex. However, in a recent interview the artist opened up about the lessons he learned from his experiences and warned of potential dangers of a similar lifestyle.

Cocaine – USA
Chris Terry ARRESTED: Felony Drug Charge Follows Cocaine Finding – The Huffington Post

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — Chris Terry, a former offensive lineman for Carolina and Kansas City, faces a felony drug charge following a traffic stop in southern Indiana.

Alcohol – USA
Father tells kids to bite officers during his arrest, police say – The Gazette

Colorado Springs police Tased and arrested a man Wednesday afternoon after passing out drunk in a children’s play area and then encouraging his kids to “bite the officers’ faces off.”

Drug Cartel – USA
Phoenix Number Two Kidnapping Capital as Drug Cartel Wars Intensify – Drug Addiction Treatment

Horrible images of kidnap victims tortured and held for ransom have long been the norm in Mexico, the number one kidnapping capital of the world. There, judges, police officers and others are targeted by the Mexican drug cartels and abductions are as common as graffiti-marked buildings. But the kidnapping problem has spilled over to the United States, specifically to Phoenix, Arizona. America’s fifth largest city, Phoenix has a population of 1.6 million people, and covers an area of 517 square miles (larger than Los Angeles).

Meth Lab – USA
Duo get prison time for Stickney meth lab – The Daily Republic

PLANKINTON — Two people arrested for maintaining a methamphetamine lab last year in Stickney were sentenced to prison Wednesday at the Aurora County Courthouse. Lance Calley, 34, was sentenced to four years in the state penitentiary by Judge Sean O’Brien. Calley received credit for 125 days of jail time served since his arrest on Sept. 25.

Cocaine – USA
Man sentenced in Ariz. for cocaine smuggling – azcentral.com

A Mexican citizen has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for trying to smuggle more than $1 million of cocaine into Arizona.

Meth Lab – USA
Meth Lab Found In Kentucky Home – kypost.com

WILDER, KY — Police and investigators from the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force found materials used in the production of methamphetamine at a home on Hillside Drive in Campbell County.

Drug Rehab – Cambodia
Rights Group Alleges Cambodian Drug Rehab Centres are Torture Chambers – MeDIndia

Detainees at Cambodian government-run drug rehabilitation centres suffer “sadistic violence” such as electric shocks, forced labour and rape, a human rights group said Monday.

Marijuana – USA
Major Drug Bust in Berks County – WPMT-TV

Police Seize 100 lbs of Marijuana

Methamphetamine – USA
Prescriptions Required for Cold Medicine? – About.com Alcoholism

Losing the battle against methamphetamine abuse, many states have passed laws requiring pharmacies to place cold and allergy medications behind the counter. Other states require photo identification from anyone purchasing medicines containing pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in making meth.

Cocaine – USA
Woman accused of smuggling cocaine, pot – United Press International, Inc.

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities allege a Guyanese woman was caught trying to smuggle 54 pounds of cocaine through a New York airport.

DUI – USA
Woman Sentenced To Prison For 4th DUI – The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — A Fremont woman who was caught driving drunk with her 5-month-old baby in the back seat has been given 15 to 36 months in prison.

Prescription Drug Addiction – USA
‘Grease’ star Jeff Conaway wants to die at home, planning Viking funeral, says girfriend Vikki Lizzi – NYDailyNews.com

Jeff Conaway can’t break his addiction to prescription drugs and now says he wants to die at home.

Prescription Drug Abuse – USA
Sheriffs push to make drug database mandatory – MarionStar.com

Ohio’s sheriffs have teamed with a state board to draft legislation to coerce doctors into using a program designed to track “doctor-shopping.”

Drug Abuse – Scotland
Drug use falling in Scotland.. but cocaine keeps firm grip – DailyRecord.co.uk

THE number of Scots using cocaine has stayed the same despite overall drug use declining, according to a new study.

Meth Arrest – USA
Rock salt packaged as meth in Newport drug bust – KGW-TV

NEWPORT, Ore. — Deputies in Lincoln County said packaged rock salt was going to be passed off as methamphetamine as part of a drug deal in Newport.

Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths – USA
Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths on the Rise – Ezine @rticles

Increasing steadily from the 1990s, the largest killers were the narcotic drugs, prescription narcotic pain killers, cocaine and heroin. These drugs accounted for nearly half of the deaths in this particular study. Poisoning deaths, of which drug poisoning accounts for about 95%, now run behind only auto accidents as the leading cause of accidental injury death in the US.

Meth – USA
‘One-pot’ method fuels record year for meth incidents in ‘09 - KALAMAZOO NEWS

Four years ago, it was a drug that took hours to make in elaborate labs hidden in basements, apartments and abandoned buildings. Now, in Southwest Michigan, methamphetamine has morphed into an even more prolific drug made in as little as 30 minutes in a plastic soda bottle.  And those cooking the meth have become bolder — setting up shop in the back seats of cars and in underground caves, even bringing ingredients into a patient room at a city hospital.

Crack Cocaine – USA
Police confuse candy for crack – United Press International, Inc.

New York police are refusing to apologize to two men arrested for drug possession and held for a week over what turned out to be a bag of candy.

Drug Rehab – Cambodia
Report Details Torture in Cambodian Drug Rehab Centers – SPHERE

Drug rehabilitation centers in Cambodia are being used to torture and extort money from detainees, according to a report released Monday by the international human rights group Human Rights Watch. The group alleges that the government-run detention centers are not rehabilitating drug users but instead holding them illegally, often at the request of inmates’ families.

Heroin – USA
Pair in Colorado Springs busted with “balloons” of heroin – DenverPost.com

Police in Colorado Springs acting on a tip arrested a suspected drug dealer and buyer who were driving around with 60 balloons containing heroin.

Heroin – Scotland
Anthrax claims eighth drug addict victim in Scotland – DailyRecord.co.uk

THE number of drug addicts who have died after being infected with anthrax has risen to eight, officials said today.

Underage Drinking – USA
Drunk 15-year-old caught for hit-and-run crash – ColoradoConnection.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — An unlicensed, drunk 15-year-old boy was caught by Colorado Springs police officers after he allegedly drove southbound in the northbound lanes of Academy Boulevard Saturday night, then managed to speed onto I-25 with officers in pursuit.

Alcohol – India
Man beaten to death in west Delhi – Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) A man was beaten to death and his younger brother was severely injured by four allegedly drunk men when the duo objected to their urinating on their house’s wall in west Delhi, police said Saturday. One of the assailants has been arrested.

Illicit Drugs – Europe
Illicit drug consumption in Europe – The Medical News

Europeans belong to the largest consumers of illicit drugs, absorbing about one fifth of the global heroin, cocaine and cannabis supply, as well as one third of ecstasy production (UNODC World Drug report, 2008).

Prescription Drugs – USA
Ohio sheriffs’ group seeks better drug monitoring  - The Associated Press

sheriffs says not enough doctors and dentists are checking a prescription drug database before prescribing painkillers and other narcotics.

Binge Drinking – UK
Drunk young women ’stripped of dignity’ by alcohol binges, says police chief – Telegraph

Julia Hodson said there was “no more sobering sight” than a drunken young woman lying in the street with her dignity in tatters and being taken to hospital.

Heroin – Europe
Anthrax-Tainted Heroin in Europe Alarms France – MedIndia

Following the death of eight people in two European countries, the French health ministry issued a warning over using heroin contaminated with anthrax.

Heroin – USA
Robber ‘strung out,’ regrets Walgreens job – KearneyHub.com

KEARNEY — Had he not been strung out on heroin, a Michigan man said, he never would have robbed Kearney’s Walgreens.

Meth Arrest – USA
Man busted hauling meth to Atlanta – The Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — A man charged with possession of 6.8 pounds of methamphetamine in Mississippi allegedly told authorities he was hired to take the drugs from Mexico to Georgia.

Drugs – USA
Drug Peddlers - Fighting Them For Your Childrens’ Lives – Ezine @rticles

When it comes to drug peddlers pushing their products that ensnare our people, our friends and family, we, unfortunately, as a society are “fiddling while Rome burns.” Millions of we solid citizens are going to work every day, heading to our offices, our factories, our other work-places intent on bringing home the money to support selves and family. We fool ourselves into thinking that our youngsters are tucked into their safe school environments, so “not to worry.”

Alcohol – USA
Teen’s Friends Sued Over Drinking Death – About.com

Taylor Meyer was 17 years old when she drowned in a Massachusetts swamp after a night of binge drinking beer and vodka shots with her friends, beginning in the basement of one of her friend’s home. When her body was found Oct. 20, 2008 she had a blood alcohol level of .13.

Drunk Driving – USA
DWI Cop Defense: Vionique Valnord, Victim, Was Drunk – Huffington Post

The attorney for a New York City police officer accused of killing a preacher’s daughter while driving drunk has taken up a “blame the victim” defense.

Heroin – UK
‘Mercy killing’ mother is jailed for life – The Independent

A mother who gave her brain-damaged son a lethal heroin injection to end his “living hell” was told today she must serve at least nine years in jail.

Drugs – USA
Mom, Husband: Drugs Didn’t Kill Murphy – The Associated Press

A month after her sudden death, Brittany Murphy’s mother and husband say they are convinced the actress died of natural causes, not drugs or an eating disorder.

Alcohol – USA
Woman With .708 Blood-alcohol Level Pleads Guilty – The Associated Press

Woman Who Likely Set A South Dakota Record For Blood-alcohol Level Pleads Guilty

Prescription Drugs – USA
Prescribed Opioids: Overdoses Not Uncommon – WebMD

Higher Doses Linked to Higher Risk, Study Finds

Alcohol – UK
Alcohol-fuelled violence ‘has created no go areas’ – Telegraph

One in four people are too scared to go to certain parts of their local area because of the amount of crime and disorder linked to alcohol abuse.

Alcohol – UK
UK Bans Drinking Contests, Other Alcohol Promotions – Huffington Post

LONDON — Officials will ban drinking contests in bars and force pub owners to offer patrons tap water in a bid to help tackle Britain’s boozy culture, the government said Tuesday.

Painkillers – USA
Colo. Woman Tells Of Infecting 36 With Hepatitis C – CBS Broadcasting Inc

A surgery technician who infected three dozen people with hepatitis C and may have exposed thousands of others by switching used syringes with ones filled with a powerful painkiller says she got careless while at two Colorado hospitals and doesn’t expect to be forgiven.

Prescription Drugs – USA
More States Taking in Expired Meds in 2009 – The Associated Press

States are increasingly collecting unused and expired prescription drugs from America’s medicine cabinets, with several reporting a record haul in 2009.

Alcohol – Mexico
Mexico City to Punish Tweets on Police Checkpoints – ABC News

Some Twitter users are revealing the locations of police drunk-driving checkpoints in Mexico City and the people behind the tweets could be prosecuted, police said Monday.

Drug Addiction Help – USA
Ex-drug addict helps others in need in Ky. – heralddispatch.com

SOMERSET, Ky. — Ashlee Steele doesn’t fit the stereotype of a drug addict. At 24, she’s well-spoken, beautiful and friendly — a former cheerleader who is now a wife and mother.

Drunk Driving – USA
Hawthorne, NY officers arrest man for driving drunk with children – Thaindian News

Maureen Montero, 42, was arrested with aggregated Driving While Intoxicated charges under Leandra’s Law, a felony to drive intoxicated with children under the age of 16 in the vehicle.

Underage Drinking – USA
Eugene, OR police arrest teen for drunk driving after causing a head-on collision – Thaindian News

Oregon State Police arrested a Eugene, Oregon resident on Sunday for drunk driving after a two-vehicle crash that resulted in serious injuries to a woman.

Drugs – UK
Teenagers steer clear of drugs – Swindon Advertiser

FEWER teenagers in Swindon are needing treatment for drug addiction especially for heroin and crack abuse.

Drug Abuse – USA
Drug abuse in US prisons is tough to stamp out – The Buffalo News

Richard Pillajo, a wellness education officer at a Florida state prison, strayed beyond his job description, according to investigators who arrested him last year. He allegedly planned to smuggle cocaine, marijuana and hydrocodone pills to inmates for a payoff of $2,500.

Heroin – USA
Westbury Parents Arrested for Heroin Sale – Long Island Press

Nassau police officers searching the car of a Westbury husband and wife arrested for attempting to make a drug sale found the couple’s sleeping toddler and a supply of heroin in her diaper bag.

Ecstasy – USA
Man, 70, sentenced for ecstasy smuggling – UPI.com

A 70-year-old man sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling ecstasy was an ideal “mule” to transport the drug into the United States, a prosecutor says.

Substance Abuse – USA
Maine Releases Substance Abuse Services Report Card – Join Together

The Maine Substance Abuse Services Commission released the first ever Substance Abuse Services Report Card modeled after a 2006 report, Blueprint for the States: Policies to Improve the Ways States Organize and Deliver Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Treatment, published by Join Together, a program of the Boston University School of Public Health.

Mephedrone – UK
Clubbers are ‘turning to new legal high mephedrone’ – BBC Newsbeat

The powerful legal high mephedrone is becoming much more widely used on the British club scene, a survey suggests.

Prescription Drugs – USA
Teen Myth: Prescription Drugs Are Safer – About.com

If you are a teenager, chances are you have heard friends suggest that taking prescription medications is safer than using illegal drugs because, after all, they are medicine. Medicine is good for you, right? But if you think about it, you just might not buy into the myth that all medicine is safe or good for you.

Alcohol – India
Drunk men assault police sub-inspector in Ghaziabad – Thaindian News

Ghaziabad, Jan 15 (IANS) A police sub-inspector was beaten up by a group of drunk men in a crime-prone area of Ghaziabad late Thursday night, police said Friday.

Alcohol – USA
Holiday drunken driving campaign nets 300 arrests across Michigan – MLive.com

Police across Michigan made 300 arrests between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3 as part of the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” campaign, Michigan State Police said.