Drug News

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.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Mother recounts son’s synthetic drug addiction – The Daily News Journal

Wyant’s son, 20-year-old Dylan Evans, is currently recovering in a drug rehab facility from a year-long addiction to Molly’s Plant Food that ended with Evans overdosing on prescription medication.

DRUG REHAB – THAILAND
Drug rehab programme attracts 500 applicants on first day – The Nation

As many as 500 drug addicts applied for the drug-rehabilitation programme when it was launched yesterday.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Columbia Students Accused of Drug Dealing – New York Daily News

Lawyers for an alleged cartel of Columbia students busted for campus drug dealing complained Tuesday a judge was picking on their clients because they are Ivy Leaguers.

DRUG ADDICTION/REHAB – USA
Giving welfare to drug users just enables abuse – Des Moines Register

Drug abusers instead need to be in programs that treat their addiction. Unfortunately, many people need to hit rock bottom before they enter rehab. Is paying them money to prolong their habit really helping them?

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Pharmaceuticals outpace alcohol as drug of choice in Bay County – The Bay City Times

Bay County has long had a reputation as a home of heavy drinkers, but another demon has edged out alcohol as the most abused substance. In 2010, for the first time ever, more Bay County residents sought treatment for prescription drug abuse than for alcohol addiction.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Binge Drinking Costs U.S. Billions – Ashland Current

The cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States in 2006 reached $223.5 billion or about $1.90 per drink. Researchers found the costs largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72 percent of the total cost), health care expenses for problems caused by excessive drinking (11 percent of the total cost), law enforcement and other criminal justice expenses related to excessive alcohol consumption (nine percent of the total cost), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (six percent of the total cost).

HEROIN – USA
Neighborhood flyers advertise heroin for sale – WNEM

Oregon police say a group of suspected drug dealers handed out flyers advertising “heroin for sale.” Police moved in to the well known “heroin house” and arrested six people. Inside, cops found a small meth lab, drugs, guns and cash.

ECSTASY – UK
Academic attempted suicide over drugs death – The Independent
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A university lecturer has admitted possessing drugs after a teenage girl died when she took ecstasy from his hidden stash during a party thrown by his daughter in his home. Brian Dodgeon, 61, tried to kill himself a week later in remorse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription pills fuel crime, treatment in Maine – Portland Daily Sun

A recent string of pharmacy robberies in the Portland area has seized the attention of local law enforcement. City investigators are still working to identify the people or single individual responsible for demanding an undisclosed amount and type of pharmaceutical drug from three Portland CVS pharmacies.

HEROIN/PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Pain pills and heroin ravaging the suburbs – The Seattle Times
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“The drugs completely take over,” Stelcher said. “It was killing me. If I’d had it my way, I would have been dead.” His wife got him into rehab.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Massive cuts could close almost every state drug rehab – Northwest Cable News
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Proposed cuts from DSHS would close almost every outpatient drug treatment center, methadone clinic and detox facility in Washington.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Medical professionals deal with patients’ suffering, addiction – The Mountain Press
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“The problem is the prescription drug abuse is so out of control, we see patients who are there (in the emergency room) for the wrong reasons on an hourly basis.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
Matt Hardy Now Facing Drug Charges – Southern Pines Pilot
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On Monday, Matt Hardy (Hardy Boyz – six-time World Wrestling Entertainment World Tag Team Champions) posted a video online saying that the last two months have “definitely been the worst months of my career” and that he plans to seek treatment. “I have made the voluntary decision to go to rehab and get myself together.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
WWU has launched two campaigns to address student drinking, drug use – The News Tribune

BELLINGHAM – In the longstanding struggle to curb alcohol abuse among college students, Western Washington University launched two campaigns this year to provide students with accurate, non-judgmental information about alcohol and drugs.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Steel Magnolia’s Joshua Scott Jones enters rehab – CBS News
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Jones, the male half of duo Steel Magnolia, has entered treatment for alcohol and substance abuse.

MARIJUANA – USA
Relaxed state laws blamed for increase in marijuana use – Contra Costa Times
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“It is disturbing to see an increase among kids,” Jones said. “Society is getting to the point where (marijuana is) more and more acceptable. It’s why we’re so adamant not to allow it. We want to keep it out of the hands of kids.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Boeing arrest points to US workplace drug problems – Reuters
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The arrest of more than three dozen people on drug charges at a Boeing (BA.N) military aircraft plant highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by U.S. workers, experts said on Friday.

DRUG REHAB – VIETNAM
Vietnam’s Drug Rehab Centers Under Fire – Voice of America

Rights advocates in Vietnam are criticizing a form of treatment used by the government to rehabilitate illegal drug users. The government says the work keeps addicts away from the temptations of the outside world while giving them useful jobs. Human Rights Watch says the centers are “little more than forced labor camps,” designed as profit-making machines for businesses.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth investigation nets unlikely dealers – Richmond Times Dispatch

Its street names include “bikers’ coffee” and “poor man’s cocaine,” but an ongoing investigation into a loosely confederated group of area meth dealers shows the drug cuts across all social lines, hooking some unlikely players. Many of the 16 defendants sentenced thus far had little or no prior criminal records and led lives far removed from the dangerous, makeshift rural meth labs and renegade biker gangs popularly associated with the drug.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
For seniors, addiction often begins with prescription drugs – Miami Herald

According to the latest report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the phenomenon of elderly addicts has grown exponentially in the last decade and it requires doubling the number of centers of specialized treatment before 2020.

DRUG ADDICTION – THAILAND
Yingluck’s drive to ‘reduce drugs scourge by 80%’ – The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday launched a comprehensive campaign against the drug scourge called the Force of the Land, aiming to reduce the problem by 80 per cent within a year by getting state agencies to work together systematically. Yingluck said statistics showed that the country had 490,000 illegal drug users in 2007 and their population had tripled within four years. Drug abuse has spread to 60,000 of the country’s 80,000 villages.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Rowan seeks to head off alcohol abuse among students – Today’s Sunbeam

All first-year students must also take the school’s Alcohol-Wise online course before attending classes. “What we really try to do is debunk the whole Animal House image of the college experience,” said Rowan Dean of Students Richard Jones. The effort begins with orientation for incoming freshmen, Jones explained. The newbies and their parents learn about Rowan’s policy on drinking and drug use. parents’ participation in a big key, as they’re supposed to be “allies,” he said, of the university in making sure students intend to follow the straight and narrow.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
UW-Madison changes policy on alcohol citations – Chicago Tribune

University of Wisconsin-Madison is now requiring most students who get an alcohol-related citation to take a course on the risks of alcohol abuse. Now, if a student gets an underage drinking ticket, a trip to detox, or an alcohol-fueled disorderly conduct citation he or she is required to enroll in the program. Students will be flagged by UW police or referred by Madison police officers.

ECSTASY – USA
LA Coliseum, Insomniac sued by parents of dead teenager – Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and the event company Insomniac were sued Thursday by the parents of a teenage girl who died of an Ecstasy overdose after attending a Coliseum rave.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin a deadly draw in ‘Bluff’ – Atlanta Journal Constitution

He has seen a steady stream of suburban heroin users slip in and out of the neighborhood. More young Caucasians are traveling from suburban counties into the city to buy heroin. They buy a gram for about $160 and return home to abuse the drug and sell the leftovers.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Authorities raid suspected ‘prescription mills’ – Los Angeles Times

Federal and local law enforcement officials close four medical clinics in the San Fernando Valley suspected of catering to addicts seeking heroin-like painkillers and other drugs.

ALCOHOL – USA
Online Course Helps Reduce Harmful College Drinking – Kansas City infoZine

Researchers found that students who took the online course reported significantly reduced alcohol use and binge drinking during the fall semester, compared with control students. These beneficial effects, however, did not persist into the spring semester.

DRUG REHAB – RUSSIA
In Russia, Harsh Remedy for Addiction Gains Favor – New York Times
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The treatment center does not handcuff addicts to their beds anymore. But caged together on double-decker bunks with no way out, they have no choice but to endure the agonies of withdrawal, the first step in a harsh, coercive approach to drug treatment that has gained wide support in Russia.

ALCOHOL – USA
Government Sues Trucking Company for Taking Keys Away From Alcoholic Driver – FOX News

Citing a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Obama administration is suing a trucking company for taking the keys away from an Arkansas driver

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Workplace methamphetamine use is higher in West – Los Angeles Times

Overall, positive methamphetamine screens in the workplace stands at 0.10% nationally. Hawaii ranked first in the highest rates of positive screens for methamphetamine–410% greater than the national average. The rates in Arkansas and Oklahoma were also high, 280% and 240% above the national average, respectively. California’s rate was 140% above the average.

ECSTASY – USA
Ecstasy drug transported through Utah – StandardNet

OGDEN — The Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force seized 79,321 pills of the party drug Ecstasy during 2010. The total is four times the average taken off the street annually for the entire state of Utah, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drug User Fee Act: New Fee Agreement Led By FDA – Third Age

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act may include a new fee agreement, after the FDA agreed to work toward faster, more predictable reviews of new prescription drugs. Under the draft agreement unveiled by the agency Thursday, the FDA will, in turn, receive millions of dollars in additional fees from drugmakers.

COCAINE – USA
Oscar de la Hoya Admits to Cheating, Cocaine and Cross-Dressing – International Business Times
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Oscar de la Hoya publicly admitted to cheating on his wife, using cocaine and cross-dressing in a recent interview about his ongoing treatment for alcohol abuse and thoughts of suicide. “I am tired now of lying, of lying to the public and of lying to myself.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
Rethinking addiction: Expanding treatment isn’t enough – Baltimore Sun

Each additional life saved from addiction is a tremendous victory, both for the individual and the community. But it is not enough. Recent medical advances and greater access to care have helped many addicts reclaim their lives, but the underlying environmental and social causes of substance abuse remain largely unchanged

DRUG ADDICTION – CANADA
Drug prohibition fuels crime, hurts society – Victoria Times Colonist

Drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes illegal drugs expensive, while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply.

HEROIN – USA
Grieving family seeks to prevent heroin deaths – Hometownlife.com

They contacted the Livonia Observer to tell the story of their son’s drug use and eventual heroin addiction, which they said led to his taking his own life May 24 at age 22. “He was a good kid, but the drugs made him a totally different. He couldn’t even think straight.”

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION – USA
White House Drug-Control Strategy Focuses on College Students – The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Obama administration’s 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, a report released today, for the first time includes a focus on college students for substance-abuse prevention efforts. “Drug addiction is a disease that too often begins—and can be prevented—on campus.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A 3-point plan to battle prescription drug abuse – Albany Times Union

Chuck Schumer has proposed a three-pronged attack on the rising abuse of prescription drugs: doctor training, law enforcement and information exchange. “I remember back in the ’80s and ’90s when crack began to rear its head and we didn’t do enough.”

HEROIN – USA
Addiction experts defend drug for heroin addicts – KOB.com

KOB Eyewitness news 4 reported about a spike in abuse of a drug used to treat heroin addiction. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s detectives said it is a new trend, but many viewers responded with skepticism. KOB decided to take a closer look at this drug.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription-Drug Abuse Is Focus of U.S. Drug-Control Strategy – Bloomberg

According to a fact sheet accompanying the report, cocaine abuse has fallen 46 percent over the last five years among young adults aged 18 to 25. Prescription drug abuse hasn’t seen the same decline. “We’re seeing more initiation for drug use by young people through the medicine cabinet than through marijuana.”

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcopops tax cuts youth grog abuse, ‘but community-wide reform needed’ – Cowra Community News

The alcopops tax has worked to reduce drinking by young people but broader changes and a comprehensive approach, including taxation reform, are needed to tackle alcohol abuse across the wider community.

DRUG REHAB – USA
“Glee” Star Cory Monteith Talks Drug Problems, Rehab At 19 – Popdust

Monteith cites stealing money from a family member as his turning point, which led to rehab at 19 and ultimately to pursue acting.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Sen. Chuck Schumer’s proposal: Crack down on prescription drug abuse and pharmacy heists – New York Daily News

Schumer’s proposal, which comes in the wake of the Long Island pharmacy robbery that left four people dead, would limit the number of prescriptions doctors can write for addictive painkillers – and boost penalties for their theft.

DRUG ADDICTION – RUSSIA
The Curse of the Crocodile: Russia’s Deadly Designer Drug – TIME

There is no good medical explanation for why Pavlova survived her addiction. She developed a speech impediment, her pale blue eyes have something of a lobotomy patient’s vacant gaze, and her motor skills are shot from the brain damage.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Vigilance needed to battle prescription drug abuse – Knoxville News Sentinel

Prescription drug abuse is a community problem. Each of us plays an integral role in prevention. We can no longer stand idly by as our friends, family members and neighbors suffer the consequences of prescription drug abuse.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Close ties can help with booze – Noosa News

Close relationships between teenagers and their parents may discourage teenagers from alcohol use according to research conducted by The University of Queensland’s Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research and the Centre for Adolescent Health in Melbourne.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Oregon a test case for pseudoephedrine drug law – Tulsa World

Pharmaceutical lobbyists argued that the state’s existing law – essentially the same restrictions that are in place in Oklahoma now – were sufficient. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, decided to test the situation. In one hour they had enough pseudoephedrine to make 200 hits of methamphetamine.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Supermarkets take the lead on alcohol abuse in Alice Springs – ABC Online

The supermarket chain, which owns many major liquor outlets, will set its own floor price as a way to stop the flood of cheap wine into certain markets. From July 1 in Alice Springs it won’t be possible to buy a bottle of wine for less than eight dollars and two litre casks will be phased out.

ECSTASY – USA
Authorities link 2nd death to Dallas rave – BusinessWeek

A second death has been linked to a weekend electronic music festival in Dallas where a 22-year-old man died after running into freeway traffic on his way home. His friend told police that they bought what they thought was Ecstasy at the June 18-19 event “because they were at a rave.” He threw the second away because it didn’t feel like Ecstasy.

HEROIN – UK
Pete Doherty: who will stop the Pied Piper of heroin? – Telegraph.co.uk

Three children, three bright futures, three pairs of grief-stricken parents. And one man linking them all: Pete Doherty, the singer – the not-so-angelic singer. Thirty-two years old, 15 court appearances in eight years, 25 drugs convictions, plus three more for burglary, driving without insurance and assault.

METHADONE/HEROIN – UK
Failure to help drug addicts is costing Britain £3.6bn a year – The Independent

Its author, Kathy Gyngell, said: “By sponsoring addiction, drug treatment has entrenched a costly dual dependency – on drugs and on welfare.” Three-quarters of those in treatment programmes are on methadone, amounting to 150000 people.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Atlantic County narcotics officer says teen drug use rising – Press of Atlantic City

An Atlantic County narcotics investigator told a state commission investigating the rise in drug use among teenagers that he has seen many high school students progress from getting drugs from their parents to buying heroin on the streets.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Local drug addict speaks out about success of Georgia Meth Project – WRDW TV

They are graphic commercials, showing drug use at its worst, but
new research shows The Georgia Meth Project is working. Information released by Governor Deal today shows, more teenagers believe meth is dangerous, and they say the ads are sending a message loud and clear.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol is teen drug of choice – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Teens reported consuming alcohol more than any other drug. They also reported having the lowest levels of perceived harm from drinking alcohol.

ALCOHOL – USA
Gun Owners More Likely to Abuse Alcohol – Laboratory Equipment

Binge drinking, chronic heavy alcohol use and drinking and driving are all more common among gun owners than among non-owners, even after adjusting for age.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Teens’ toxic combo: Boredom, alcohol and drugs – St. Augustine Record

Summer is often a point of concern for parents as their young people tend to have more free time and less adult supervision. These two factors can be a toxic combination fueled by boredom and risky decision making when it comes to alcohol and other drug use.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A County Takes Down Prescription ‘Pill Mills’ – NPR

Behind her is a memorial to victims of prescription drug abuse. Many of the clinics are blamed for prescription drug abuse in a state where the leading cause of accidental death is unintentional drug overdose.

MARIJUANA – USA
In Connecticut, Carrying A Small Amount of Marijuana Downgraded from Misdemeanor to Fine – Foxnews.com
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The Connecticut Senate narrowly approved legislation on Saturday that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Oscar De La Hoya Enters Drug Rehab for Substance Abuse – Larry Brown Sports

Former boxer and current promoter Oscar De La Hoya has reportedly entered drug rehab to address a substance problem.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Whitney Houston — 30 Days of Rehab Ain’t Enough! – TMZ.com

Whitney Houston is voluntarily seeking additional treatment for drug and alcohol … TMZ has learned — after completing a 30-day out-patient rehab program earlier this week.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Jeff Conaway Tragedy: Does Dr. Drew Pinsky’s ‘Celebrity Rehab’ Help or Hurt? – foxnews.com

“As usual, Jeff was most likely taking too many medicines. He probably got pneumonia and sat at home too long and was intoxicated by the prescription drugs and didn’t realize he was so sick, and by the time he got to hospital he was in shock. At one point he looked like he was going to make it, but his kidneys shut down.”

DRUG ADDICTION/DRUG COURT – USA
‘I wanted to get off drugs, I just didn’t know how’ – Annapolis Capital

Sharon and Wes Sudduth spent a decade watching as their daughter Melissa Sudduth abused cocaine and heroin and cycled through the county detention center on misdemeanor drug and theft charges.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol abuse and teens – OneNewsNow

11% of the alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by underage kids. That’s a staggering statistic.

ALCOHOL – SCOTLAND
AFS fears over alcohol abuse in parents – Alcolim

Campaigners in Scotland have raised concerns over the number of parents engaging in high levels of alcohol abuse, it has been revealed. Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) has called for action against the 330,000 children under 16 living with a binge-drinking parent.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Sen. Schumer wants drug website shutdown – YNN

Senator Charles Schumer is asking the government to shutdown a website he calls a digital black market for drugs. Heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine are among the drugs being anonymously sold and bought on the site known as Silk Road. The Senator says the site launched in February and uses restricted access and several layers of secrecy to avoid detection.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Waukomis woman pleads guilty to contributing to death of her daughter – NewsOK.com

Linda Tucker had 10 times the lethal dose of the drug in her system when she died, a state medical examiner reported. Authorities said she had taken the drug with her mother, older brother and her mother’s boyfriend. She lay unresponsive in the back seat of a vehicle for several hours before her mother went for help, but it was too late.