Drug News

DRUG REHAB – USA
Christie tells why rehab trumps jail – Philadelphia Inquirer

Gov. Christie says his plan to send more nonviolent drug offenders into treatment rather than to prison is motivated partly by the successes of smaller-scale versions of the program.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse – Medline Plus

Most people take medicines only for the reasons their doctors prescribe them. But an estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. This is prescription drug abuse. It is a serious and growing problem. You can develop an addiction to narcotic painkillers, sedatives and tranquilizers, stimulants.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine Use Increasing Again, Researchers Find – University of Texas at Austin News

‎Use of methamphetamines is on the rise nationally after a decrease a few years ago, according to university researchers.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Ohio using stories of those affected in campaign against prescription drug abuse – The Republic

Ohio’s governor is launching a campaign aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse by highlighting the stories of those who have been impacted by addictions.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin makes inroads – Charlotte Observer
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“They were 15- and 16-year-olds, and they had heroin at the pool,” he said. “And these are well-off kids in a nice neighborhood. A good environment.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Push to end prescription drug addiction continues in Southwest Florida – Wink News

The battle to end prescription drug abuse in Southwest Florida is ongoing. We’re learning addicts are taking desperate measures to get what they want: even faking illness and going to emergency rooms and making long lines even longer.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Illinois Alcohol Abuse: Midwest ‘Binge Drinking Belt,’ By The Numbers – Huffington Post

The Atlantic’s Richard Florida on Monday dug into data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research showed that binge drinking — or consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more for women on one occasion — continues to be a problem impacting many Americans and contributing to many associated health concerns.

ECSTASY – CANADA
Ecstasy threat real say Nelson police – Nelson Star
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A new form of ecstasy sweeping across British Columbia and Alberta has users in critical condition and has even caused death.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth fills hospitals with burn patients – Atlanta Journal Constitution

A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment — a burden so costly that it’s contributing to the closure of some burn units.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription for abuse: difficulties for reform effort – Crosscut

Too many people are abusing painkillers, many of them young. Very few abusers are in treatment. And it won’t be easy reversing a history of lax oversight. Washington State has made an aggressive attempt to crack down on the prescription drug epidemic by passing strict new rules governing pain management. But even those may not be enough to stanch the flood of deaths from prescription opiates in this state.

DRUG REHAB – USA
A Bridge to Recovery on Campus – New York Times

In their undergrad uniforms of fleece and sweats, a clutch of Rutgers students gathered on the worn red couches of their dorm’s common room and told their stories. A good-looking, fun-loving 23-year-old described arriving at college freshman year with a daily pot-smoking habit and a close relationship with alcohol. He soon followed the lead of his alcoholic father and was binge drinking. For his self-diagnosed anxiety and depression, he secretly began taking Klonopin, which he bought from another student. By sophomore year, he was taking six a day. And when it ran out, he wound up in a hospital to manage withdrawal, followed by nine months of rehab.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Army report: Suicide rate sets record; some alcohol abuse up 54 percent – Christian Science Monitor

The Afghanistan and Iraq wars make up the longest period of conflict in US history. “There are second- and third-order effects that have grown out of this that our nation has never experienced before.” As much as 43 percent of active-duty soldiers reported binge drinking within the past month. 25-35 percent of wounded soldiers are addicted to prescription or illegal drugs while they await medical discharge. Oxycodone accounts for 95 percent of those prescriptions.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Top-ranked, with policies making it worse: Wisconsin once again is first in binge drinking – Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Once again, Wisconsin is No. 1. But this time, we’re No. 1 in binge drinking. This isn’t just embarrassing; it borders on social pathology. A fourth of all adults report they are binge drinkers. That’s 50% higher than the national average. These statistics seem substantially underreported because Wisconsin purchases much more alcohol than it reports drinking. The fact is, we don’t take binge drinking and the alcohol-related problems it creates seriously. It’s cultural. Alcohol abuse and problems associated with alcohol have long been accepted or tolerated in this state.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin’s siren song: A force that’s stronger than will or reason – Post Gazette

Their life circumstances, by many measures, couldn’t be more different — he’s a middle-aged black man from a hardscrabble Mon Valley steel town; she’s a young white woman originally from an affluent suburb of Austin, Texas. But what they have in common — heroin addiction early in life — trumps what they don’t. That’s because heroin is as nondiscriminatory as it is destructive.

CLUB DRUGS – USA
Popular club drug replaced by a more toxic one: Cloud Nine – Pocono Record

A popular club drug has been replaced by a more toxic one — one that’s cheaper, more potent and deadlier. Cloud Nine or C-9 is the newest brand in a category of designer drugs that can cause erratic behavior, serious injuries and addiction. It’s among the newest replacement drugs for Ecstasy. Cloud Nine, based on similar chemicals as so-called “bath salts,” is a hallucinogen and stimulant. It’s sometimes marketed as plant food, insect repellent or fertilizer.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Horror no surprise in the U.S. meth capital; Pure ‘poor man’s cocaine’ blamed in wave of domestic slayings – Bend Bulletin

Chronic use of the harsh chemical compound known as speed or crank can lead to psychosis, which includes hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. The stimulant effect of meth is up to 50 times longer than cocaine, so users stay awake for days on end, impairing cognitive function and contributing to extreme paranoia. “Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous. We’re talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren’t any limits or boundaries.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
How N.J. plans to put a lid on pain pills – NJ.com

All it took was a single pill. A friend encouraged her to try it, then a doctor prescribed it, no questions asked. A single pill of the painkiller OxyContin and Brenna-Ann Haase was hooked, so much so that she stole cash, jewelry, DVDs, anything she could use to feed her addiction.

DRUG ABUSE – Guam
Dancers say no to drugs: Crew helps teenagers stay sober – Guam PDN

A recovering alcoholic and former Department of Youth Affairs corrections officer, is founder and leader of the Just Say No Dance Crew, a growing group of scrappy teenagers popping and locking their way off the streets and away from drugs and alcohol.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse crisis is detailed – Buffalo News

Prescription drugs continuing to result in crime, overdoses and death. State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s 42-page report documents the year-to-year increase in the number of hydrocodone and oxycodone prescriptions being written in New York State, as well as prescription drug-related addiction and death.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
6 Rehab Movies That Will Leave You Fearing Drugs – Screen Junkies

Rehab movies are designed to warn people about the dangers of substance abuse. The highs and lows of the characters consuming these substances help to educate and enlighten audiences. The stories can ultimately be uplifting, but in order to truly inform people, filmmakers often end up depicting drug abuse as a horrible and arduous disease. They litter their films with many gritty and disgusting scenes to fully show off the horrors of abuse. Keeping with that theme, these six rehab movies will leave people fearing drugs and contemplating a life of abstinence.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Wisconsin has high rate of alcohol use by adults, teens – Herald Times Reporter
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Wisconsin has the highest rates of any state in the nation for adult use of alcohol, adult heavy use of alcohol and adult binge drinking.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Op-Ed: Mobile meth labs and meth addiction out of control in U.S. – Digital Journal
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“There is no drug better suited to making horrible decisions about your children than methamphetamine, which keeps you awake for days and then when you crash it’s like the sleep of a coma, during which you have no idea what’s happening with those kids.”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – GLOBAL
Higher alcohol prices may curb drinking: study – Reuters

Findings published in the journal Addiction showed that each 10 percent price hike in the minimum price of beer, liquor and alcoholic beverages led people to drink 3.4 percent less alcohol overall, with consumption of specific types of alcohol falling even more.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Opioid Use a Growing Epidemic in Workers’ Comp – Property Casualty 360

Opioids are intended for short-term use or end-of-life cancer pain. They are meant to be prescribed after major surgeries or major trauma. “Short term” is meant to signify a span of a few days or weeks—not years, as the current trend indicates.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Focus turns to fighting drug abuse – Huntington Herald Dispatch

Prescription drug abuse in West Virginia: The symptoms range from prison overcrowding to a surge in copper thefts to employers who can’t find enough job applicants to pass a drug test.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Narconon Suncoast Rehabilitation Center Earns 100% On FL State License Inspection – PRWeb

Narconon Suncoast Rehabilitation Center received its annual onsite monitoring inspection by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) in accordance with Chapter 397 of the Florida Statues. The stringent inspection awarded the center a performance rating score of 100.00% for the second year.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Doctor arrested in probe of painkiller overdoses – LA Times

Dr. Julio Diaz has been under investigation for allegedly prescribing addictive painkillers and other commonly abused drugs to patients who had no legitimate need for the medications.

DRUG ADDICTION – INDIA
High on designer drugs, youngsters land up in rehabs – Times of India

Snorting coke (cocaine) and heroin could be the latest fad among the young and the rich in the city, a trend that is leading to a steep rise in the number of addicts walking through the doors of Hyderabad’s rehabilitation centres. Until recently, 80 of the 100 inmates in any de-addiction centre were victims of alcohol, now their numbers have dropped to just about 20. The rest are `dope-heads.’

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription narcotic abuse is killing Americans – Greenville Online

The Centers for Disease Control reports that prescription pain medication abuse, and deaths, are at an all-time high in the United States. In the November issue of Vital Signs, a publication of the CDC, prescription pain medication deaths were reported to number 3,000 in 1999, but 15,000 in 2008.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
Use dinnertime to save your kids from drugs, booze – Sentinel and Enterprise

A disturbing trend has emerged since 2008: Parents find themselves powerless to respond to teens’ drug and alcohol use, as underage drinking becomes more of the norm among adolescents. Oh sure, we spend a lot of time talking “at” our children, in between grabbing a bite, getting them off to school, sports, and activities, and doing our own work, until the conversation just becomes a snippet of a roadblock and we don’t get anywhere. And still, no one is having dinner together.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Listing the most abused drugs in U.S. – Salem News

“You need something for that shoulder pain? I can fix you right up.” The woman meant to help someone in pain, but she was doing something illegal: sharing drugs that had been prescribed for her. In this case, the drug was oxycodone (OxyContin), the most abused prescription medication in the United States. And a recent news headline has experts getting ready for what they expect to be an even bigger abuse problem, a pain medication 10 times stronger than Vicodin.

DRUG ABUSE – WORLDWIDE
Worldwide illegal drug use estimated at 200 million people a year – CBS News
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Between 149 million and 271 million people worldwide used an illicit drug at least once in 2009. That translates to 1 in 20 people aged 15 to 64 taking an illegal drug. In North America, nearly 11% of the population aged 15 to 64 used cannabis that year. Between 14 million and 56 million people aged 15 to 64 worldwide used amphetamine-type stimulants, such as speed and crystal meth.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Drinking Frequency Is Quick Test for Youth Alcohol Problems – Medscape

A 3-question survey probing alcohol consumption identifies youth with alcohol-related problems.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
One addict’s story of prescription drug dangers – NCPR

Jennifer Smith’s addiction severely strained her relationship with her family, forced her to quit her job as a nurse, lead to several stints in drug rehabilitation programs and eventually landed her in jail.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Alcohol Abuse: Young People Should Be Educated At Sexual Health Clinics, Say Experts – Huffington Post UK
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Young people should be educated on the dangers of alcohol abuse when they attend sexual health clinics, experts have said. With more than 1.5million young people attending the clinics every year, the NHS has been told it is missing “key opportunities” to tackle the “growing problem” of sexually transmitted diseases and hazardous drinking.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Authorities see rise of prescription drug abuse – NCPR

“Spiraling out of control.” And, “Almost an epidemic.” That’s how police, prosecutors, doctors, pharmacists and drug counselors describe the rise of prescription drug abuse in communities across the North Country.

MARIJUANA – USA
Marijuana use up, alcohol use down among US teens – CBS News
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“One thing we’ve learned over the years is that when young people come to see a drug as dangerous, they’re less likely to use it. That helps to explain why marijuana right now is rising.” It’s the fourth straight year marijuana use grew among teens compared with last decade when pot use declined among teens.

CLUB DRUGS – USA
Club Drugs; A Good Time Or A Death Sentence? – Official Wire
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Since the 1980’s there have been dance parties going on called “Raves”. They first became popular in England and have since gained popularity in the U.S. as well. These parties usually consist of many people coming together to dance to electronic music while neon colored lights flash around the dance floor. These parties are often held in remote location such as barns or warehouses so as to avoid raiding. Aside from dancing, most of the people who attend also use drugs.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Three homes in methamphetamine raid deemed unsafe – Daily Press

Three of five homes where 10 people allegedly produced methamphetamine have been deemed unsafe for habitation because of chemicals found inside the homes that were presumably used to make the drug. The new charges are a result of an “analysis of her other children’s rooms” where trace amounts of meth were found.

HEROIN – USA
Alaska teen who was injected with heroin dies – CBS News

‎An Alaska teenager allegedly injected with heroin by a 26-year-old man died Thursday, almost a week after suffering the drug overdose.

CLUB DRUGS – CAFFEINE MIST – USA
Caffeine Mist Is a ‘Club Drug,’ Says Schumer – ABC News
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A caffeine mist marketed as “breathable energy” may become a health hazard for teens and young people. Aeroshot Pure Energy, made by Breathable Foods in Cambridge, Mass., comes in a lipstick-size tube designed to spray a mist of caffeine and B vitamins that dissolve in the mouth, according to the company. The availability and the company’s marketing could sway teens and young adults to mix it with alcohol, creating a potentially dangerous combination. In a statement, Schumer called the product a “club drug” that is “designed to give users the ability to drink until they drop.”