Drug News

DRUG ADDICTION – KENYA
Kenya: UN Promises to Help Country Treat Drug Addicts – AllAfrica.com‎

The UN has pledged to support Kenya treat drug addicts. Visiting United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime executive director Yury Fedotov said drug dependence is a disease that must be dealt with.”UNODC recognizes that drug dependence is a disease and …

ECSTASY – USA
Greater brain risks from “real-world” ecstasy use – Los Angeles Times‎

For a glimpse into real-world drug use, Australian researchers went to parties where people were using a drug known as ecstasy – and discovered that users’ brains were at far more risk from the drug than anyone had suspected …

DRUG COURTS – USA
In Drug Courts, Judges Practice Their Own Version of Justice – And “Treatment” – AlterNet‎

Drug courts must be standardized, they must be held accountable and they must not be our primary policy approach to drug use and addiction. Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Drugs headlines via email.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Exeter PD takes back Rx – Foothills Sun Gazette‎

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the US are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Is statewide database needed to battle prescription abuse? – Central Florida News 13 ‎

Atkins survived and is talking to classrooms about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Now he wants law enforcement and state leaders to shut down pill mills. “Because this is killing so many people.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING – USA
Floridians Are Maybe Starting To Understand Their Governor Is A Grifter – Huffington Post

This is the most important weapon in the fight against prescription drug abuse…” Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who has been a champion of efforts to fight prescription drug abuse and sponsored the drug monitoring legislation.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA – USA
Should medical marijuana be regulated like other prescription drugs? – ConnectMidMichigan.com‎

In 2008, Michigan voters approved the use of medical marijuana. Since then, there hasn’t been a lot of accountability. Prescription drug commercials tout the benefits of their products, but they also come with warnings.

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA – USA
Kerlikowske opposes legalizing marijuana – Buffalo News‎

And while prescription painkiller drugs also are legal, Kerlikowske said, abuse of those drugs is skyrocketing throughout the nation, causing a major public health problem. “Prescription drug use is legal . . . and we can’t control it.”

HEROIN – USA
St. Louis A “Hot Spot” In Battle With Heroin – FOX2now.com
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A top agent with the US Drug Enforcement Agency says St. Louis is among the “hot spots” nationally in a growing fight against heroin. Michael Kress, a supervisory special agent with the DEA, says the drug is flourishing here.

DRUG REHAB – USA
The Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr opens up about ‘hardcore’ drug problem – NME.com‎

The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. has opened up about the drug rehab treatment he received while the band recorded their new album ‘Angles’. Hammond Jr didn’t name the specific type of drug he was being treated for, but called his ordeal …

DRUG ADDICTION – NEW ZEALAND
Is alcohol addiction a growing problem for NZ teens? – New Zealand Herald‎

Children as young as nine are among hundreds of people under 16 being treated by specialist clinics for alcoholics and drug addicts in greater Auckland. The number of children being treated by the region’s Community Alcohol and Drug Services increased …

DRUG ADDICTION – AUSTRALIA
WA top cop opens up about son’s addiction – Sydney Morning Herald‎

Mr O’Callaghan wrote to The Sunday Times newspaper explaining his personal pain dealing with a son suffering from a chronic drug-addiction. “For me, the problem was amplified by the very public airing of the most private of feelings,” he said. …

DRUG ABUSE – USA
W.Va. drug abuse hotline runs short of money – NECN‎

Administrators say money is running out for a phone service that helps people find treatment for prescription drug abuse. Clinical supervisor Laura Lander tells The Charleston Gazette that the $1 million funding for the West Virginia …

HEROIN – USA
Police: Teen Had 170 Bags of Heroin – Patch.com ‎

Patch Two teens were arrested after a motor vehicle stop Tuesday at Adams and Vaughn avenues, in which police said they found 170 bags of suspected heroin.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Expert: Teens use ‘party drugs’ to deal with stress – Arizona Republic‎

“In the last two or three years, we’ve had a significant surge in alcohol, ecstasy, prescription drugs and marijuana use among teens. And you notice that those are all the party drugs,” said researcher and substance-abuse treatment expert Karol Kumpher.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – WORLDWIDE
The WHO alert on alcohol abuse – Daily Sun‎

The grave danger that alcohol abuse poses to human health and wellbeing has again been highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently disclosed that abuse of the substance causes nearly four percent more than the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and tuberculosis, worldwide.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – CANADA
Driving while high almost as common as drunk driving, survey suggests – Vancouver Sun

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse’s British Columbia Roadside Survey 2010 found 7.2 per cent of the drivers tested turned out to be positive for drug use and 9.9 per cent of drivers tested positive for alcohol use.

HEROIN – USA
Family of Valerie Butler believe heroin may have played role in death – KSDK
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Her family believes she may have overdosed on heroin. Heroin has become the number one cause of accidental deaths in St. Louis County.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Downey Helped Me Play An Addict: Paltrow – NDTV.com

Gwyneth Paltrow says Iron Man star Robert Downey, who has over his battle with drug addiction, helped her to better understand her role as an alcoholic singer in new movie Country Strong.

ALCOHOL ADDICTION – USA
Alcohol May Play Dual Role in Some Cases of Elder Abuse – U.S. News & World Report

The analysis revealed that 29 percent of abuse victims tested positive for alcohol, compared to 13 percent of the control group. “Past studies have shown that alcohol abuse by the perpetrator plays a substantial role and is strongly associated with physical abuse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Maryland Prescription Abuse Predicted to Grow Without Legislation – Patch.com ‎

Dr. Peter R. Cohen, medical director for the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, said Tauraso, whose license was suspended in August 2010, is indicative of a growing problem in Maryland: doctors who overprescribe pain killers to patients.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin arrest made as part of ‘white supremacist’ probe in San Diego County – Los Angeles Times

An Oceanside man on probation for drug offenses has been arrested as part of an investigation into the role of white-supremacists in dealing heroin in northern San Diego County.

2C-E – USA
Emotional bail hearing for Blaine man charged in drug overdose death – Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Life has changed dramatically for the 21-year-old, who a week ago was enjoying a party with friends at a Blaine home. He’s now accused of buying and supplying the illegal drug that caused 11 partygoers to overdose and the death of college student and the death of college student and new father Trevor Robinson.

HEROIN – USA
Russell Brand: ‘Using heroin means death’ – Digital Spy‎

Russell Brand has insisted that he will never go back to using drugs. The comedian, who attends regular AA meetings and uses transcendental meditation to help him stay clean, told Details he is aware that relapsing into heroin use would eventually lead to his own death as it takes away a person’s sense of reality.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone may impair memory in humans – AHN | All Headline News

Long-term use of the synthetic drug methadone, designed to wean addicts off heroin, could be damaging to the brain, according to a new report. Researchers with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health say the drug affects the brain and impairs attention in laboratory animals.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
DeWine: Prescription drug addiction not limited to rural counties – WTAM.com ‎

According to DeWine, four people die in Ohio every day from drug overdoses, mostly from precription drugs. The AG’s office has been pointing out for weeks now the growing problem of prescription drug addiction in rural counties, but DeWine says it’s still a problem in urban counties as well.

ECSTASY – USA
ER Visits From Ecstasy Jump 75 Percent, US Study Finds – U.S. News & World Report
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Its reputation as a “club” or party drug belies the medical and mental dangers of even casual use, the report authors said. Addiction, blurred vision, high blood pressure, heat stroke, muscle cramping and kidney failure are also linked to Ecstasy use.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Dr. Conrad Murray Blames Dr. Arnold Klein For Michael Jackson Drug Addiction – The Hollywood Gossip

Murray’s legal team claims Klein fueled MJ’s addiction as recently as 2009 by giving him scores of Demerol injections in the months prior to his death. He may have a point there. In the months before Jackson died, Dr. Arnold Klein gave Jackson 51 Demerol injections.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
The Bong Biz—Drug Awareness Training for Parents – Patch.com ‎

Of kids who use drugs or alcohol, 15% will end up with a diagnosable problem, and 7-12% of all adolescent users will need significant medical help to overcome addiction, where the “choices are reduced to two: death or treatment.” He noted that there is no way of knowing which kids will end up in that tragic 7-12%.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Navy chief sceptical of drug eradication – ABC Online
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Australia’s 14000 Navy personnel took 10 minutes off today to hear their boss warn of alcohol bans, compulsory drug testing and curfews, unless there’s wholesale change to the culture of alcohol abuse.

HEROIN – USA
Western NY authorities warn of heroin overdoses – Wall Street Journal‎

Law enforcement officials in western New York are warning heroin users that the drugs they’re buying may be laced with deadly fillers. Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda says police have seen two fatal heroin overdoses this month and possibly a third, plus several other, non-fatal overdoses.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse up among Valley youths – Fresno Bee ‎

Josh had an addiction to prescription medication and had gone through several treatment programs. He relapsed and overdosed on heroin. “Josh desperately wanted to get clean,” his mother says.

HEROIN – USA
Police: Woman Hid 54 Bags of Heroin, Money in Her Vagina – AOL News ‎

Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a 27-year-old woman who they say hid more than 100 items — including 54 bags of heroin and loose change — in her vagina. Investigators took Karin Mackaliunas into custody last weekend after she was involved in a …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Funding to clean meth labs dries up: Portage officials look for alternatives – Ravenna Record Courier

Federal funding that once helped local law enforcement pay for cleanup efforts following the discovery of hazardous, illegal methamphetamine laboratories in Portage County and the rest of Ohio has dried up.

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Minn. overdoses show gray area around party drugs – Alexandria Town Talk
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After nearly a dozen teenagers overdosed and one died from taking a hallucinogen at a house party, investigators determined the substance was a version of a banned rave-party drug that can be purchased online. But the case of the concoction called 2C-E …

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
British officials declare defeat on war on drugs – AHN | All Headline News ‎

Various British leaders have virtually admitted defeat on the country’s war against drugs. Despite large amounts of cash allocated to stopping the sale and use of drugs, the illegal trade goes on and drugs had become more accessible to Britons.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Inhalant Abuse: Right Under Our Noses – VillageSoup
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National surveys have shown that the overall lifetime rate of inhalant use for six to twelve graders is close to 10%. Data from the 2008 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS) showed that the rate for inhalant use in Maine was even …

COCAINE – USA
DC Fourth Grader Brings Cocaine to School – The New American ‎

In what amounts to a highly disturbing case, a fourth grader in Washington D.C. was charged with drug possession after allegedly bringing cocaine to school and sharing it with his classmates, according to authorities.

INHALANTS – USA
More Adults Treated for Inhalant Abuse Than Kids – JoinTogether.org ‎

Last year, data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicated that approximately 1.1 million adults over age 18 had used inhalants in the past year — more than the number of adults who used crack cocaine, LSD, heroin, or PCP.

BATH SALTS – USA
N.J. Legislators Sponsor Bill To Ban ‘Bath Salts’ – Patch.com ‎

Everyone knew he was a drug addict, everyone that knew him.” Laface said he saw Parisio last on March 9, and said he was very edgy. “Bill wasn’t his usual self, he seemed paranoid. I suggested that he’d check himself into a hospital.”

DRUG ADDICTION – INDIA
Chidambaram Expressed Concern Over Drug Addiction Among Indian Youth – MedIndia ‎

Union Home Minister P. Chidamabaram expressed concern over the growing drug addiction among the youth, saying that India has turned into a big market of narcotics.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Charlie Sheen’s rants and the early symptoms of drug addiction – Tulsa World‎

Sheen has convinced himself that he is his own higher power, on a drug called Charlie Sheen, which is a symptom I have seen all too often in drug addicts. Sheen’s tirades might be caused by his long-term drug use.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Bid to sterilize drug addicts sparks fury – Herald.ie ‎

She has already paid more than 1200 American female drug addicts to be sterlized and 26 British addicts to have contraceptive coils fitted. She has now turned her attention to Ireland and says she is looking for donations to expand into this country.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Md. health official decries prescription drug abuse – Washington Examiner‎

According to Dr. Fran Phillips, there is ample evidence of a major public health concern from prescription drug abuse. If the bill is passed, a database would be created to track prescriptions of potentially dangerous drugs like OxyContin.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – SOUTH AFRICA
Poverty fuelling drug and alcohol abuse – Times LIVE

The widespread poverty and unemployment in South Africa is fuelling drug and alcohol abuse. “Unless we can offer hope to our youth, we will never to able to wean them away from practices which promise some short-term escape, but inflict deadly long-term damage to their bodies and minds.”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Early drinkers more likely to use booze to cope – Independent

“We found that the impact of stressful life events on drinking behavior depends on the age at first drink. The earlier they start with alcohol use, the stronger the association between life stress and drinking.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Federal sting nets 25 in meth-distribution ring – Salt Lake Tribune

Two indictments unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court name 25 people connected to a methamphetamine distribution ring that investigators believe has been operating in Utah since 2009.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Bills would decriminalize pot, increase penalties for cocaine – Bangor Daily News ‎

“The lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key approach isn’t working,” said Melnick said in a news release. “Prison is expensive and does not treat the root causes of drug abuse and addiction.”

HEROIN – USA
Heroin overdoses to now be investigated as potential homicides – KMOV.com
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Heroin use is rising in St. Louis suburbs, and it’s becoming the drug of choice. According to officials, heroin-related overdoses and deaths have spiked from last year.

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Overdose leaves Minn. teen dead, 10 hospitalized – The Associated Press
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One teen died and 10 teenagers and young adults were hospitalized Thursday after an apparent mass overdose on a designer hallucinogen at a suburban Minneapolis home.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Coronado sixth graders get lesson on addiction – San Diego Union Tribune
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Students watch as their peer is busted, brought to jail, appears in court and receives counseling, before arriving at a party and is pressured to drink and take more drugs.

ECSTASY – USA
Customs agent pleads guilty to funneling guns, drug money through airport – Atlanta Journal Constitution ‎

A customs agent from Stockbridge, nabbed in one of the biggest ecstasy seizures in US history, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to launder drug money and attempting to smuggle guns onto an airplane.

ECSTASY – USA
Ecstasy growing in popularity among teens – The Downey Patriot ‎

The Downey Police Department would like to make the public aware of a recent trend indicating that use of the drug ecstasy is on the rise with teenage children.

ALCOHOL – USA
Boy, 10, treated for alcohol abuse – This Is Cheshire
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Children as young as 10 have visited A&E or been admitted to Warrington Hospital with alcohol related problems.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
OxyContin abuse spreads from Appalachia across U.S. – Bellingham Herald
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Nearly every family in eastern Kentucky has been touched by prescription drug addiction and death. In the late 1990s, it was easier to find OxyContin – pure oxycodone with a time release – in Kentucky. The pills’ maker, Purdue Pharma, was selling it “hand over fist” to doctors in eastern Kentucky, rich with coal mine injuries and government health care cards.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Bill Aims to Ban Common Cold Remedy Without a Prescription – KLAS-TV

Senator Leslie says it’s a solution to a growing drug abuse problem in Nevada. She claims it is a proven option and cited Mississippi, which took pseudoephedrine off the market six months ago. She says the state has seen a 90 percent drop in crime …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
City, county, school officials ready drug drop-off – Republican & Herald‎

More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Each day, approximately, 2500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Health bodies attack government alcohol abuse campaign – ShareCast ‎

A group of health organizations are refusing to sign up for the government’s campaign to tackle alcohol abuse as they feel it does not go far enough.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Doctors Lax in Monitoring Prescription Drug Users – About ‎

The same doctors who are prescribing powerful pain-killing pills to an estimated 48 million Americans are lax in monitoring those patients to determine if they are abusing the drugs, even those who are at high risk for opioid misuse.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
3-year-old Diagnosed as Youngest Ever Alcoholic – Fox 31 KDVR.com ‎

“This is an extreme case and definitely one of the youngest cases of alcoholism we have heard of. However, it does raise the issue of the accessibility of alcohol and how normal it has become.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Bills target meth ingredients; ignore drug, alcohol addiction – The Daily News

Synthetic meth drugs such as methylone, MCPV, mephedrone, methedrone, flephedrone and 3-FMC, which are basically the same substance and are labeled not for human consumption, could be purchased legally until the state began targeting them last week.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Proposal would require drug testing for recipients of public assistance – NewsChannel 9 WSYR

If the person fails the drug test, he or she would be required to join a drug rehabilitation program. While attending rehab, they will then receive public assistance. Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli opposes the idea. He says the cost will outweigh the benefits.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Stopping “One Size Fits All” Drug Sentences – WCTV ‎

A new proposal would scrap all minimum mandatory sentences for those accused of non-violent drug offenses. Critics say these minimum mandatory sentences target drug traffickers.

DRUG EDUCATION – USA
Narconon Rehabilitation Program Battles Addiction Through Drug Education – PR Web

Through rehabilitation, corporate and community drug education, Narconon Arrowhead is working to help those affected by drug use. Narconon Arrowhead, one of the world’s largest and most successful rehabilitation programs, has set out on a drug education campaign to help battle the recent up rise of drug abuse across the country.

MARIJUANA – USA
Marijuana Use in High School – New York Times

About 40 percent of high school students have tried marijuana, although teenagers who take part in sports or other extracurricular activities are less likely to use the drug, a new study shows.

DRUG ADDICTION – IRELAND
Community Group Helps Underage Addicts – Build.ie ‎

Community workers responding to drug and alcohol misuse in Ballymun, Dublin, have reported treating school children from as young as 10, who exhibit patterns of addiction.

SALVIA – CANADA
Government proposes ban on salvia – Gauntlet ‎

It is unknown when salvia use began in Canada as a recreational drug but its increase in popularity has been gradual and recent. According to the 2009 Canadian alcohol and drug use monitoring survey, the first study measuring the use of the plant.

MARIJUANA – USA
Former Ashley worker loses jobless benefit case over drug use – Winona Daily News ‎

Galindo tried to collect unemployment, contending he couldn’t be fired for misconduct because he had an uncontrollable drug addiction.

ALCOHOL – USA
Attacking alcohol abuse is the key to ending misconduct in the fleet – NavyTimes.com ‎

And while chiefs face the boot for a range of misconduct, including fraternization or acts of dishonesty, it’s no stretch to say that alcohol abuse played a role in many, many cases. The Navy continues to be afflicted with a deep-rooted subculture of problem drinking.

DRUG REHAB – ANTIGUA
Clapton memorabilia auction nets $1.77 million for drug rehab center – CNN International‎

The auction of Eric Clapton items, including several of his guitars, raised $1.77 million for a drug treatment center.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Genes May Affect Severity of Drug Addiction – U.S. News & World Report
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Treatment for drug addiction is affected by a person’s genetic makeup and the duration of substance abuse, US scientists report. A research team at the Brookhaven National Laboratory found that drug addicts who have …

DRUG REHAB – USA
Why it’s time to shut down “Celebrity Rehab” – Salon‎

The emphasis of the show has shifted from drug and alcohol treatment to creating the perfect storm of volatile and absurd characters in order to remain entertaining and bring viewers back week to week. And that’s not helping anyone recover.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
‘Pill mill’ bill moves quickly to Senate – Columbus Dispatch‎

Terry Johnson got a close-up look at the devastating impact that prescription-drug addiction was having on his county, where drug-overdose deaths increased 360 percent from 1999 to 2008. “That got me into a sad and dark, ugly underbelly.”

HEROIN – USA
What Do You Do When Hubby’s on the Junk? – Seattle Weekly
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Do you have any ideas on what to do about a drug-addicted spouse? A very good friend is going through a tough time right now with her husband, whom I also adore. She knew about his past heroin addiction, but truly believed it was ancient history when …

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Pummeled by life, East Bay student decides to fight the system – San Jose Mercury News‎

After all, Panzer, 48, watched his happy life fall apart around him as his methamphetamine addiction took hold in 2001. He lost his job as a fundraiser for nonprofits, his partner, his San Francisco home. And then the kicker: In 2005, his drug use led to an HIV infection.

ALCOHOL – SCOTLAND
Alcohol abuse: More than 3000 children harmed in related incidents – stv.tv

Scottish Ambulance Service figures reveals the ‘shocking’ extent of alcohol abuse over the last two years. Since 2009, more than 3000 youngsters have been seen by emergency crews after either ingesting alcohol or being injured by someone who had.