Drug News

HEROIN – USA
Tennessee authorities expect surge in heroin use – ‎Houston Chronicle

Law enforcement agents around Tennessee are bracing for a resurgence of heroin use as prescription drug users turn to the drug, fueled by users’ need for a low-cost alternative and dealers’ aggressive marketing techniques.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
New Drug Tests Target the Poor – In These Times

This year alone, at least 30 state legislatures (including Louisiana, Massachusetts and Illinois) have considered bills that would require people to pass a drug test to become eligible to receive welfare benefits.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Abuse of Pills Jumps in City, Report Shows – Wall Street Journal

Next to marijuana, painkillers are the drugs that New Yorkers are taking illegally more than any other, according to a drug survey by the city’s Department of Health that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
Social Networking Tied to Teen Drug, Alcohol Use – WebMD
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Teens who spend time on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking sites may be more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and use drugs. But it’s not the fact that teens visit social network sites that makes them more likely to abuse alcohol or other drugs. Instead, the issue seems to be what they view on those sites.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
The risks of meth labs – Norman Transcript
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Although legislation has reduced the number of illegal methamphetamine labs around the state, the danger of fire and explosion remains. A case reported on by the Tulsa World reminds us of the risks meth cooks take.

DRUG/ALCOHOL ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
NSW firies blazing over drug tests – ABC Online
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New South Wales fire fighters are threatening industrial action over a State Government plan to introduce random drug and alcohol testing. The Fire Brigade Employees Unions says there is no evidence of drug and alcohol abuse to justify the intrusions of its members’ privacy.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Army hiring more counselors for alcohol abuse – The Associated Press

Washington – The army is increasing its staff of substance abuse counselors by about 30 percent to help the rising number of troops with alcohol problems.

ECSTASY – USA
‘Ecstasy pill’ kills exam party girl, 16 – The Sun

A teenage girl has died of a suspected ecstasy overdose while with a group of pals celebrating their exam results — just days before her 17th birthday. Serena Harding is believed to have suffered a heart attack after taking a tablet at a beauty spot.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Amy Winehouse’s death: Rising numbers of people checking into rehab – Mirror.co.uk

Soaring numbers of patients have been checking into rehab following the death of Amy Winehouse. “One woman was sobbing saying she knew she needed help and that Amy’s death has brought it all home to her.”

ALCOHOL/DRUG REHAB – USA
Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller together again – HULIQ.com

Sheen and Mueller first broke up in 2009. Reports of drug problems and rehab seemed to fuel their split. Currently Sheen is helping Mueller get through rehab and states he is also getting clean.

HEROIN – USA
35 indicted for participating in major heroin-trafficking ring – WTKR Your NewsChannel 3

Thirty-five individuals have been indicted for participating in a heroin-trafficking organization that transported several kilograms of the narcotic from New York City into the Tidewater area. Each faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

ALCOHOL – USA
Books & booze: Can Iowa schools, students put end to tragedies? – DesMoinesRegister.com

No single intervention will solve the problem,” said Ralph Hingson of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “If they think just adopting one program is going to do this, it’s not going to happen.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Jerome Block Jr. admits to prescription drug addiction, but won’t resign – KOB.com

Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. says he fighting an addiction to prescription drugs.

ECSTASY – USA
‘Bath Salts’ Have Effects Similar to Meth, Ecstasy – Medscape

Mephedrone is sold as “bath salts” or as other innocuous products in an effort to sidestep drug laws, DEA Special Agent Gary Boggs tells WebMD. “In order to escape law enforcement scrutiny, products are labeled ‘not for human consumption,’ but they know full well it is intended for that.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine Abuse May Raise Parkinson’s Risk – U.S. News & World Report

People who abuse methamphetamine or other stimulants are at increased risk for Parkinson’s disease, a new study warns.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
SW Virginia drug abuse cast in workforce terms – Houston Chronicle

A coalition fighting prescription drug abuse in southwest Virginia is casting its battle in economic terms, saying substance abuse has made it more difficult for employers to hire workers. “What we’ve heard, time and time again from employers, is their frustration that so many people they are trying to hire are either unwilling to take, or unable to pass, a drug test.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
‘Pill-mill’ doctors responsible for much prescription-drug abuse – TC Palm
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How about a “zero tolerance” policy for the pill-mill doctors? Let’s levy a fine closer to $100,000 than $10,000, permanently revoke their medical license, and deliver a mandatory prison term for homicide. In the “war against drugs,” these doctors are the worst kind of war criminal.

BATH SALTS – USA
Bath salts: America’s newest drug addiction – Examiner.com

Synthetic drugs, being sold under the facade of “bath salts,” have quickly become a cause for alarm with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and federal authorities.

COCAINE – BRAZIL
Outrage: Rio Drug Dealers Sell Amy Winehouse Brand Cocaine‎ – Student Operated Press

Drug dealers in the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro are packaging their product with pictures of Amy Winehouse in a bid to make the drug more attractive to younger users.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Campus Life 101: Staying Sober – Fox News

As a high school senior, Aaron Weir decided to attend Texas Tech University in Lubbock, not for any particular academic program but for the hospitality that school extends toward students in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. “I was 16 years old when I got clean and sober and I want to stay that way in college.”

HEROIN – USA
Heroin ‘lamp shades’ lead to arrest – Washington Post

Upon closer inspection, the officers noticed that the frames contained a “brown powdery substance” that tested positive for heroin. A lot of it.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Arrests won’t solve prescription drug problem, leaders say‎ – Charleston Gazette

“Law enforcement cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Smithers said. “It’s way beyond that.” West Virginia has the nation’s highest rate of drug overdose deaths. More than 90 percent involve prescription drugs.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Teens take road to addiction early in life – Times Free Press

The road to teen addiction often begins when children are still young enough to climb into their parents’ laps. The majority of alcohol and drug abuse begins right before adulthood, Columbia researchers said, but small children who see their parents smoking, drinking or pill-popping are more likely to give it a whirl during their teenage years.

HEROIN – USA
Richland man charged in 3rd heroin-related death – The News Tribune

A 35-year-old alleged drug dealer now is charged with the deaths of three Tri-Citians who overdosed after using his heroin. In the newest case filed against Brian Haney Burt, the Richland man reportedly found the victim in a poor condition but panicked and left without getting help.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Officials warn of prescription drugs in schools – WVLT

Maryville City school officials worry more kids are abusing prescription pills like Oxycontin, Percocet and Adderall.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
No shame, only hope, in fighting your child’s drug addiction – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Really, really good kids become addicted to drugs, and really, really good kids lie, cheat and steal to protect that addiction. The change doesn’t happen overnight.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Lib Dems to vote to decriminalise all drug use – The Independent

The proposed reform is based on legislation in Portugal, where the personal use of any controlled drug is no longer a criminal offense.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Former Judge Richard Baumgartner tells his story of drug use – WBIR-TV

Drug addiction can happen to anyone. A criminal court judge for more than a decade, Richard Baumgartner was a family face at community function focused on the prevention of crime and drugs. However, the shocking revelation of his own addiction forced him to step down from the bench.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Michael Jackson’s doctor sued for fueling his drug addiction – Star Lounge

Michael Jackson’s dermatologist Arnold Klein has been accused of fueling the pop star’s addiction to prescription drugs.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Army hiring more counselors for alcohol abuse – ‎The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The army is increasing its staff of substance abuse counselors by about 30 percent to help the rising number of troops with alcohol problems.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
What Parents Should Know About Party Schools – LifeGoesStrong

Headline-grabbing is list of top party schools put out by Princeton Review inevitably draws protests from administrators at the “winning” schools and probably lots of interest from potential students. But most parents look at this list in horror – as they should. You’re paying a fortune for your kid to get an education, not for partying.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Unscrupulous pain clinic operators give good doctors a bad rap – Knoxville News Sentinel

Every month for two years, Freddie McMahan would get in his Lincoln LS and drive to a nearby pain clinic, where a doctor would prescribe him a cocktail of narcotic drugs. Initial prescriptions for codeine and Demerol to treat McMahan’s scoliosis eventually led to large amounts of OxyContin, Xanax and morphine. By the third week of his month’s supply, McMahan would run out, leaving him scrambling to get his fix somewhere else or go into withdrawal.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Our view: All must join war to put meth labs out of business – Utica Observer Dispatch

It’s time to go to war. Looking the other way is no longer an option because the losers in this fight could very well be your neighbors, your friends or even your own family. This war is against methamphetamine. Perhaps it’s being made right now in a home near yours. Methamphetamine is ugly. Users inject it, smoke it, snort it or swallow it. It affects the central nervous system, and is highly addictive. Results: Anxiety, psychotic and violent behavior, paranoia and brain damage. Addicts can die from continued use, if not before.