Drug News

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Good for something: TSA scanner finds passenger’s meth – McClatchy Washington Bureau

Rhonda Renee Simmons is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 12 on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance after police say she got caught with about a gram of methamphetamine in her pocket Tuesday night at the Boise Airport.

MARIJUANA – USA
Experts worry that medical-pot laws promote teen use – Denver Post ‎

The experts say they especially worry that increasingly permissive attitudes surrounding marijuana use might be leading to higher teenage drug use and …

HEROIN – USA
Man sentenced to 6 years in heroin overdose death – Chicago Tribune‎

A southwestern Illinois man has been ordered to spend six years in prison after he admitted his role in the heroin overdose death of another man.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Limits on over-the-counter decongestants could aid fight against meth – The Tennessean

Authorities’ reasoning is that pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in the decongestants, is also a critical element for making methamphetamine.

METHAPHETAMINE – USA
Man told police he was high on meth when he stole car with baby inside – Pioneer Press‎

… with stealing a car in St. Paul last week with a baby inside told police he was “really high” on methamphetamine at the time, a criminal complaint said. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
State expands ID check for drugs – Boston Globe ‎

“The rising number of overdose deaths from prescription drug abuse is a very significant problem in Massachusetts.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse ‘epidemic,’ local doctor says – Beckley Register-Herald‎

Nearly half of all emergency room visits result from prescription drug abuse involving opioid-related medicine, or for a combination of illicit substances, …

ALCOHOL – USA
Students fight back on alcohol abuse – MiamiHerald.com‎

The poster is part of an innovative campaign called “Project Brain” to help change students’ perceptions about alcohol abuse. Having lost several friends …

DRUG REHAB – USA
Art program at Johnson Museum helps addiction recovery effort – Ithaca Journal ‎

Groups of about 20 from CARS and the Van Dyke Addiction Treatment Center in Ovid come to the museum twice a month. Ryan takes the groups on a tour and …

DRUG REHAB – IRAQ
Iran plans to set up 5 drug rehab centers – Press TV

Iran plans to set up five new rehabilitation centers to treat thousands of drug addicts in the provinces of Isfahan, Kerman, Khorasan, Sistan-Baluchestan, …

HEROIN/COCAINE – USA/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Trio of Royal Caribbean Crewmembers Charged With Smuggling Heroin and Cocaine – Cruise Critic

While Baltimore was spared from the worst of the weekend snow, crewmembers from Royal Caribbean’s Charm City-based Enchantment of the Seas were charged on Tuesday in connection with another sort of white powder.

HEROIN – IRELAND
Galway in grip of growing heroin crisis – Galway Bay FM

The scale of Ireland’s heroin problem has been brought into sharp focus by a new pan-European report which concluded that seven in every 1000 people in Ireland are heroin users.

METH LABS – USA
Cheyenne officials try to deal with ‘meth house’ – Billings Gazette ‎

Associated Press Eric Wade Miller pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine lab equipment in his former residence in Cheyenne, Wyo., following a probe …

PARTY DRUGS – UK
Fears over new legal party drugs that are ‘as dangerous as cocaine’ – Daily Mail ‎

‘It is becoming increasingly clear that ‘legal highs’ are far from harmless and can have similar health risks to drugs like cocaine, Ecstasy and speed. …

COCAINE – USA
Cocaine Eggs Found at LAX – NBC Los Angeles

Agents said the traveler told them the eggs were for his two children

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
The Pill Mill Problem in Florida: Fighting Prescription Abuse Amid Rise of “Pill Tourism” – Catholic Online‎

This investigation has shed light on the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in Florida. Florida leads the nation in dispensing oxycodone, …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse is fastest-growing drug problem in country – Chicago Sun-Times

The Highland Park couple has since made a full-time job of educating teens and their parents about prescription drug abuse, the fastest-growing drug problem …

DRUG REHAB – GLOBAL
Eric Clapton auctions guitars for drug rehab clinic – Seer Press‎

Legendary musician Eric Clapton will be selling 150 items, including 70 guitars, for his drug rehab clinic in Antigua. This will mark the third time Clapton …

DRUG COURT – CANADA
Drug treatment court aims to break cycle of crime – Waterloo Record ‎

Kitchener is about to join a handful of cities across Canada who have drug treatment courts. The weekly court, to begin Feb. 2, will be held in Ontario …

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Substance abuse treatment admission rates show dramatic shifts from 1998 to 2008 – Examiner.com ‎

Drug treatment admission rates, as well as types of drugs involved during the period of 1998 to 2008 shows dramatic shifts says a new study out by the …

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION/TREATMENT – PORTUGAL
Switch succeeds – Scranton Times-Tribune ‎

Users are sent to counseling and for treatment rather than to prison. After 10 years, Portugal has reported a 20 percent increase in drug treatment and a 66 …

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION/TREATMENT – USA
Portugal’s drug policy and how USA is looking to do same – Planet News World ‎

10 years past, the Lisbon locality was a hell on earth, a “drug supermarket” wherever roughly 5000 users lined up each day to purchase heroin and slipped …

ALCOHOL – USA
Wine, strong beer idea questioned by Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws – NewsOK.com ‎

The Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission worries putting wine and strong beer in grocery stores will cause alcohol abuse to increase. …

ALCOHOL – GLOBAL
SIDS rate spikes 33 percent for New Year’s Day, study says – StandardNet ‎

A large-scale study looking at the connection between SIDS and alcohol was conducted by University of California sociologist David Phillips from 1973 to …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Social Issue – Pill Mills – Florida Newsmakers of the Year – Florida Trend ‎

Prescription drug deaths climbed to 2488 in 2009 — a rate of seven deaths per day — making prescription drug abuse the No. 1 Killer of Middle-Aged Floridians.

DRUG TREATMENT – RUSSIA
Medvedev warns against forceful treatment of drug addicts – RIA Novosti

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Friday against illegal and forceful methods of drug addiction treatment in …

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Janice Dickinson Suffers Panic Attack on ‘Celebrity Rehab’ – Gather Celebs News Channel

Drug addiction is no laughing matter, and some people think that just because people aren’t smoking crack or shooting heroin they don’t have real drug problems.

DRUG TREATMENT/DRUG COURT – USA
Drug Court Coming to McHenry County – Patch‎

“There’s a buzz because it could really help lighten the load in the court system and reduce drug addiction,” he said. Another outcome of drug court is that …

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
New Study Shows Dramatic Shifts in Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions – Newswise ‎

“This substantial rise in drug treatment admissions for illicit drugs, particularly for marijuana and misuse of prescription drugs, shines a necessary spotlight on these problems and the need for early intervention, treatment, and recovery support services…

DRUG COURT/TREATMENT – USA
NH federal court gives drug addicts second chance – WCAX‎

Convicted drug addicts are getting a second chance under an innovative New Hampshire federal drug court …

HEROIN – USA
Man allegedly shoots heroin while driving – Laconia Citizen

Police Department arrested a local man on several charges after he barely evaded a head-on collision while apparently trying inject himself with heroin.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth project gets matching grant – Twin Falls Times-News ‎

State officials are encouraging donations to the Idaho Meth Project to take advantage of a matching grant offered this month. In the two years since the statewide prevention campaign began, teen meth use in Idaho has dropped by 52 percent.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Ohio county fights extreme pill addiction problem – Washington Post

Health officials say nine of every 10 fatal drug overdoses in Scioto (pronounced sy-OH’-toh) County are caused by prescription drugs.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION – USA
So many need to go to rehab, but Gov. Herbert’s budget says no, no – Salt Lake City Weekly

State data show that nearly 80,000 Utahns are in need but can’t access substance-abuse treatment (see the document below). Gov. Gary Herbert’s 2012 budget plan, which proposes cutting the $3 million in funding for the Drug Offender Reform Act, or DORA, would let more addicts go untreated each year..

CLUB DRUGS – USA
California legislation would ban raves at publicly owned venues – Los Angeles Times

A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that found that many teenagers attending raves use so-called club drugs, including Ecstasy, GHB, … Raves would be outlawed at publicly owned venues in California under a proposal made Wednesday by a lawmaker after the death of a teenager and scores of injuries at rave events in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

HEROIN – USA
Teens are seeking heroin treatment at steady pace – Dallas Morning News

The number of local teens seeking treatment for heroin addiction remains high three years after a series of fatal overdoses from a mixture of heroin and sleep aids, according to a new report released by the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Medical: Studies find binge drinking on the increase – The Republic

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism notes that two or three times more people die in alcohol-related traffic accidents around Christmas …

CLUB DRUGS – USA
Northern border drug control bill goes to Obama – Wall Street Journal

Far more of those drugs come across the southern border, but agents seize eight times the amount of the club drug Ecstasy up north than they do on the …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Operation Growing Pains’ targets prescription drug abuse, nets 135 arrests – Florida Times-Union

The first phase of what’s described as a long-term crackdown on the epidemic of prescription drug abuse has led to 135 arrests. …

COCAINE – USA/CANADA
Too many air fresheners leads to massive drug bust at border – National Post ‎

CBSA officers seized 37-kilograms of cocaine after becoming suspicious about the number of air fresheners a driver was using in the cab of his truck. …

COCAINE/HEROIN – MEXICO/USA
Cocaine, heroin, $120000 seized at Nogales border crossing – AZ Central.com

Border Patrol officers in Nogales seized over $700000 in heroin and cocaine and more than $120000 in undeclared cash in less than an hour.

HEROIN – GLOBAL
WikiLeaks cables: ‘Taliban treats heroin stocks like savings accounts’ – The Guardian

The United Nations’ drugs czar told Nato that Afghan insurgents were withholding thousands of tonnes of heroin and treating their drugs like “savings …

METH LAB – USA
Hawkins deputies wrangle monkeys at meth lab raid – Kingsport Times News ‎

The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office is well trained and experienced in a variety of meth lab scenarios, but they entered …

COCAINE, HEROIN – AUSTRALIA
Sailors use Navy ships to ‘import cocaine, heroin’ – ABC Online ‎

The Navy has been rocked by allegations of an organized drug ring, with claims that kilos of cocaine and heroin have been brought …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Polk County Narcotics Enforcement Team respond to meth lab explosion – Examiner.com ‎

On the evening of December 17, 2010, the Polk County Police Department was called to the scene of a meth lab explosion at 2050 Old Cedartown Road, …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – FLORIDA
Detectives investigate doctors in prescription-abuse fight – Orlando Sentinel ‎

But, authorities say, the probes are necessary to help curb the state’s prescription-drug-abuse epidemic and help stop overdoses in Central Florida. …

ECSTASY – UK
THIS is the huge haul of dangerous drugs seized by police after raids in South Tyneside – Jarrow & Hebburn Gazette‎

The pills are part of a potentially fatal batch of club drug Ecstasy that left five people in hospital after taking the pills on Saturday night. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
‘Smart drug’ abuse rising on Wisconsin campuses – WisconsinWatch.org

However, he cautions the actual number of students suffering from prescription drug abuse is greater than the number seeking help.

ALCOHOL – USA
How to have a less boozy holiday – Times LIVE ‎

The US-based National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offers some common sense guidelines for keep your drinking in check. …

DRUG TREATMENT/DRUG COURT – USA
CA’s Budget Woes Put the Squeeze on Drug Offender Treatment – Newstalk1290 KPAY

California’s budget crisis is putting the squeeze on a novel approach that sent low-level drug offenders to treatment programs instead of prisons or …

HEROIN – UK
New record set as heroin worth £2m is seized – Herald Scotland

Police in Edinburgh have made their largest single haul of heroin after seizing £2 million-worth of the drug in a raid. About a dozen officers from Lothian …

HEROIN – USA
USC employee says heroin made him do it – The State

Addiction to heroin led former University of South Carolina employee Lawrence Godwin III to steal some $179000 from the …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth offender, 80, sentenced to 10 years – Seattle Post Intelligencer

The US attorney’s office says an 80-year-old man arrested after trying to ship 23 pounds of methamphetamine from Washington state to Alaska by car has been …

HEROIN/COCAINE/DRUG LAW REFORM – UK
Drugs law reform can get rid of dealers, insists Coventry MP Bob Ainsworth – Birmingham Post

Former Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth said he wanted to “replace dealers with doctors” as he argued for radical reform of drug laws in the House of Commons.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drugs may lead to abuse – St. George Daily Spectrum

According to the Utah Department of Health, Utah leads the nation in prescription drug abuse. Six percent of Utah residents use painkillers non-medically. …

HEROIN – USA
Dealing with heroin’s stigma – St. George Daily Spectrum

Being known as a community with a growing heroin problem is not a reputation Southern Utah is looking to cultivate and addicts and experts agree …

DRUG REHAB – CANADA
‘Fetal rights’ mom: Drug rehab a ‘miracle’ – UPI.com

A Canadian woman involved in a landmark fetal rights case in 1996 says facing forced drug treatment led to the “miracle” of her getting free from addiction.

MARIJUANA – USA
Teen marijuana use rising after years of decline – San Francisco Chronicle
‎
… who noted that in California, more teenagers are admitted to inpatient addiction programs for marijuana use than for any other drug, including alcohol. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Funds awarded for addiction treatment – Youngstown Vindicator

Alcohol and drug addiction programs in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will receive shares of $5 million to be dispersed to all counties in Ohio. …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Fighting a Culture of Drunkenness – WBAY
Wisconsin’s culture of drinking has turned into a culture of drunkenness

“We really have our heads in the sand, and I’m hoping this paper will bring more attention and more focus to the problem so that we can address it and stop pretending that it isn’t a serious problem.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Our addiction fuels the Mexican drug war – NMPolitics.net ‎

America has a ravenous appetite for drugs, legal and illegal. There’s a drug store on nearly every corner. When we have a problem, we generally don’t think about exercise, or eating better. We want to pop a pill and get on with things.

DRUG LEGALIZATION – USA
The decriminalization of heroin – The Periscope Post

All drugs, including heroin and cocaine, should be legalized according to MP Bob Ainsworth, the former Defence Secretary. Ainsworth argued that it is better …

HEROIN – KOSOVO
Prime Minister of Kosovo Accused of Leading a Heroin and Organ-Stealing Ring – Gawker ‎

… of exerting “violent control” over Eastern Europe’s heroin trade and conducting “assassinations, detentions, beatings and interrogations. …

CLUB DRUGS – USA
6 charged in theft of drugs from animal hospitals – Pittsburgh Post Gazette‎

The attorney general’s office said it has become “a popular club drug among teens and young adults at dance clubs and raves.” In high doses…

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise across Texas – Houston Chronicle

Texans seeking treatment for addiction to pain medications rose from 890 in 2000 to 5844 in 2008.

DRUG TREATMENT – USA
Report says cuts putting ‘justice In jeopardy’ – Hawaii News Now ‎

In some cases, the cuts may actually be costing money by keeping some drug offenders in prison longer while they wait to go into treatment programs. …

METHAMPHETAMINE – NEW ZEALAND
Grandmother jailed 6 years for drug possession – Radio New Zealand

A grandmother who was carrying the largest amount of methamphetamine found on a domestic passenger at Wellington Airport has been jailed. …

METHAMPHETAMINE/THREE STRIKES LAW – USA
Stanford law students appeal three-strike cases – Washington Post

Too often the law fails to distinguish the violent career criminal from bumbling, drug addicted defendants who are sent away for at least 25 years for a nonviolent felony conviction. Nearly 15 years after sentencing, an inmate is getting an unexpected chance at freedom – and the judge a shot at redemption – thanks to Stanford Law School’s Three Srikes Clinic.

HEROIN – USA
Enormous Heroine Stash In Drug Bust Named After Lil Wayne – HipHopDX

According to local news page kspr.com, a drug bust which produced 500 bricks of heroin, hidden inside a side panel of an SUV, had certain bricks named after …

METHADONE – WALES
Party drink may have been spiked with methadone – WalesOnline ‎

A party-goer’s death is being investigated by police after claims her drink had been laced with a heroin substitute. Gemma Thomas, 26, was taken to …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Eye on Health: Drug Addiction Cure – WRCB-TV ‎

Close to 2-million Americans are addicted to prescription drugs. That’s according to The National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Prescription pills turned into …

MEDICAL MARIJUANA/PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Medical marijuana a new challenge for schools – AZ Central.com

Medical marijuana will be yet another challenge to schools as they urge students to stay away from drugs, especially since prescription-drug abuse is most …

ECSTASY/LSD – USA
Columbia University student from Beach Haven is charged with selling LSD – The Star-Ledger

… along with four other students, with selling undercover investigators nearly $11000 worth of drugs since July, including ecstasy and LSD-spiked candy.

HEROIN – USA
Hooked on heroin – St. George Daily Spectrum

As our reporters investigated heroin abuse for a series of stories that begins today in The Spectrum Daily News, we learned that there are no simple answers.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drugs provide fix when addicts can’t get heroin – Bridgewater Independent

Heroin busts are also turning up prescription drugs as addicts use pills as “fillers” when they can’t get heroin, police said. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
The ‘typical’ drug user Others’ views – istockAnalyst.com ‎

Whatever your idea of a “typical” drug abuser, you would likely be wrong, especially when it comes to prescription drugs. Abuse is a potential problem in …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Teen drug overdoses on rise – KFOR ‎

Just because it’s a prescription drug, it can be every bit as dangerous and deadly as anything they buy on the streets.” At Eagle Ridge Institute in …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse hinders academic success – The Kentucky Kernel

A popular type of medication college students abuse are stimulants, which include Adderall and Ritalin, or other common names such as Concerta, Focalin, Dexedrine and Vyvanse.

COCAINE – USA/COLOMBIA
New Data Show Cocaine Market Under Significant Stress – Foster Folly News

According to new US Government estimates conducted annually, the potential production capacity for pure cocaine in Colombia has declined for yet another …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Fla. officials say prescription pill abuse rivals ’80s crack cocaine epidemic – The Florida Independent

Florida law enforcement and drug officials Thursday compared a spike in deaths associated with prescription drug abuse.