Drug News

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Demi Lovato Opens Up About Drug Abuse: ‘Being A Celebrity Can Be Dangerous – ‎Huffington Post

But the part-Mexican singer, who spent three-months in rehab in November 2010 … how peer pressure and loneliness led her to experiment with drugs in 2010.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse bill wins final passage – WSLS

Kentucky lawmakers have passed a measure that’s intended to curb prescription drug abuse in a state where more people are dying from overdoses than car wrecks. A compromise passed by the House and Senate would require all physicians in the state to use a prescription drug monitoring system so they can more readily spot addicts seeking painkillers.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Saint Jude Retreats Announces Length Of Stay In Drug Rehab Does Matter – PR Web
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The amount of time a guest stays in an alcohol or drug treatment center greatly impacts the outcome of the individuals success in that program.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Experts say communication key to preventing alcohol abuse among teens – Tri Cities
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Communication is the key to preventing alcohol abuse among teenagers. Many teens are exposed to the temptation of underage drinking at an early age, 40 percent of eighth-graders have tried alcohol and one in four is a binge drinker. Around 20 students, school staff and community members gathered for an evening town hall forum entitled “Start Talking, Before They Start Drinking” at Tennessee High School.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Free from drug addiction, former Menard High star returns to baseball – The Town Talk

The young man whose life on drugs careened and collapsed to such a degree that, at one time, he was homeless and nearly committed suicide, has shaken the addiction.

COCAINE – USA
Rihanna Showcases Drug Use, Refuses Rehabilitation? – Christian Post

Rihanna, 24-year-old Barbadian pop singer, recently posted pictures to her Twitter account that showed her breaking down what appeared to be drugs on the head of a man whose shoulders she was seated on in order to see above the crowd

DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT – USA
Veterans who complete intense treatment can have court charges expunged – Post Gazette

Together there are now 80 veterans treatment courts nationwide. In Pennsylvania, recidivism among program participants is just 1 percent. The statistics are even better in Allegheny County, where Judge Zottola can brag about having no recidivism among veterans whose cases he’s heard in treatment court.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Early-intervention program helps teens with alcohol, drug abuse – Longmont Daily Times Call
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Through the clear eyes of sobriety, John Vandegrift looks back on his drug use and sees it for what it was: a coping mechanism. The 21-year-old Littleton resident said he began smoking marijuana as a high school freshman, and two years ago he moved to heavier substances. Heroine became his drug of choice.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Teen Deaths Related to Prescription Drug Abuse Skyrocket – Madison Patch
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Although many teens might otherwise shy away from illegal street drugs, more and more teens are turning to prescription drugs and over the counter medicines to get high.

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.”

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.

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.