Drug News

DRUGS – USA
U.S. has highest rates of cocaine, marijuana use – USA Today

The United States has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. It also has some of the highest rates of drug use, according to a new World Health Organization report.

DRUGS – NEW ZEALAND
NZ ranks second in cannabis, cocaine use survey – Otago Daily Times
New Zealand ranks second only to the United States in a scientific survey of illegal cocaine and cannabis use in 17 countries.

CANNABIS – INDIA
Cannabis abuse common in Indian call centres – IT Examiner

While the use of drugs such as cannabis is illegal in India, and carries a possible prison sentence, joints are still rolled every night in the high tech villages.

PAINKILLER – USA
Drug Makers Say Safety Focus Is Slowing New Medicines: Report – Therapeutics Daily
Nearly four years after Merck & Co. yanked the painkiller Vioxx off the market, beleaguered pharmaceutical-industry executives say they are facing a tough new regulatory climate that is altering the landscape of drug development.

ALCOHOL – UK
Broad Differences In Alcohol, Tobacco And Illegal Drug Use Across Countries – Medical News Today

A survey conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) research consortium found that the United States had among the highest lifetime rates of tobacco and alcohol use and led in the proportion of participants reporting cannabis (marijuana) or cocaine use at least once during their lifetime.

DRUGS – UK
InterventionTreatment.com Launches Suboxone Treatment Program – Medical News Today

The program will be used to increase Intervention Treatment’s Global mission of providing Intervention and Treatment resources to those affected by alcohol and drug addiction.

DRUGS – USA
U.S. is Tops in Cocaine, Marijuana Use – The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. may lag other countries in measures such as education and health, but we’re out in front on cocaine and marijuana use.

DRUGS – EUROPE
Young People and Drugs among 15-24 years old – European Commission

Analytical report May 2008. 102-page PDF

MARIJUANA – USA
New Report Finds Highest-Ever Levels of THC in U.S. Marijuana – ONDCP

Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi’s Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed that levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - have reached the highest-ever.

ALCOHOL – SOUTH AFRICA
Alarming increase in drug, alcohol abuse – The Herald Eastern Cape

THE number of people who sought advice and treatment for alcohol and tik (methamphetamine) addiction rose by 100 per cent from April last year to March this year.

ALCOHOL – USA
If under 21, alcohol, drug offenses to be reported to parents – Knoxville News Sentinel

Some Tennessee college students may think being 18 means freedom from parent oversight. Those in state schools will need to rethink that assumption.

DRUGS – PAKISTAN
World Anti-Narcotics Day observed – The Nation

Since independence several intoxicating items have been introduced in the country, however, besides heroin, opium and chars, the injections are the newest and easily product available at medical stores, revealed by the experts while commenting on the eve of “International Anti Narcotics Day.”

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Overdose deaths jump 147% in Indiana – Indianapolis Star

The number of Hoosiers who died from drug overdoses increased 147 percent from 1999 to 2004, a trend driven by the growing abuse of prescription medications, according to a new study.

DRUGS – INDIA
‘Awareness needed to curb drug abuse among kids’ – Express India

Why do so many chemists throw caution to wind while selling Schedule-H drugs without prescription?

DRUGS – USA
Calif. Drug-Reform Initiative Approved as Addiction Groups Choose Sides – Join Together

The state of California recently gave final clearance for the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) to appear on the November ballot, but some prominent groups in the addiction community have come out in opposition to the measure, fearing its national implications.

PAINKILLER – USA
As FDA Focuses on Safety, Fewer New Drugs Are Approved – The Wall Street Journal

Why are new drug approvals tapering off? For one, there’s the industry’s research labs, which have produced a leaky pipeline of promising products lately.

DRUGS – USA
PDFA Joins Pharma Co. to Warn Against Prescription Drug Abuse – Join Together

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) has joined with the Abbott pharmaceutical firm to sponsor a new campaign against teen prescription-drug misuse.

HEROIN – IRELAND
Children as young as 14 using heroin – Irish Examiner

CHILDREN as young as 12 years of age are abusing drugs and by the time they reach 14 many are addicted to heroin, a study of teenagers in the Dublin region has found.

ALCOHOL – USA
Anheuser to Stop Selling Alcoholic Energy Drinks – Wall Street Journal

Anheuser-Busch Cos. will stop making and selling caffeinated alcoholic drinks as part of a settlement with 11 state attorneys general, the attorneys general said Thursday.

ALCOHOL – CHINA
Some 50 pilots in India fail alcohol tests yearly – China Daily

Around 50 pilots each year in India are grounded for consuming alcohol before taking a flight, foreign media reported Thursday.

METH – USA
Wyoming Meth Project launches statewide campaign – The Torrington Telegram

On June 16, the Wyoming Meth Project advisory board kicked off a campaign that is patterned after a program started in Montana two years ago.

ALCOHOL – USA
Drug, alcohol abuse study measures the high cost of under-treated addiction – The Los Angeles Times

DRUG AND alcohol abuse sets people on a path toward heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. A study in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment reports that hospital costs for this medical fallout can be substantial.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcoholic-energy drinks: The ups and the downs – Kansas City Star

It’s not a problem of labeling; it’s a problem with the product. Alcoholic-energy drinks, like Anheuser-Busch’s Tilt, pose dangers to more than just teenagers.

ALCOHOL – USA
Student alcohol use at 45% - MLive

The number of Jackson County minors who have consumed alcohol is in line with national averages listed in a federal report released this week.

ADDICTION – INDIA
Cops alert parents on addiction signs – Calcutta Telegraph

When your gangly teenaged son suddenly takes to smelling boot-polish, it’s a cause for worry. For the round tin box may just contain the first signs of more destructive and expensive addictions.

METH – USA
Madigan announces anti-meth program – The Southern

Meth makers in Southern Illinois soon will have one less tactic in getting the materials they need to make the drug.

DRUGS – U
How to Implement a Model to Get Youth Off Drugs and Out of Crime – RWJF
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that more than 1 million youths, ages 12 to 17, needed treatment for an illicit drug problem in 2003, but only one in 10 actually received help.

DRUGS – UK
Human Rights Take Centre Stage on ‘International Day Against Drug Abuse’ – International Harm Reduction Agency
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has used the UN-sponsored International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to focus on the rights of people who use drugs and people in prison for drug offences, declaring that “No one should be stigmatised or discriminated against because of their dependence on drugs”.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Pill Deaths Continue – Tampa Tribune

Three times more Floridians died from prescription pill abuse last year than from a fatal overdose of an illegal drug.

METH – USA
Free home meth test kits at Superday – Wyoming Tribune

Up to 250 testing kits will be provided free at Superday to tenants or property owners concerned about prior methamphetamine use or laboratories in their residence.

ALCOHOL – KENYA
Revealed: Students drowning in alcohol – Daily Nation

The devastating effects of alcohol and drugs on young people in Kenya can be laid bare today.

ALCOHOL – KENYA
Industry invests millions to curb alcohol abuse – Daily Nation

It was not until four years ago that the country’s alcoholic beverage manufacturers stepped up efforts to encourage responsible drinking.

ALCOHOL – INDIA
Alcohol linked to brain damage – Times of India

You might not just realize this while downing a mug of chilled beer on a summer afternoon, but a new study has revealed that too much alcohol can cause permanent damage to brain.

PAINKILLER – USA
Group Sues FDA in Effort to Ban Painkiller – Washington Post

A prescription painkiller sold under names including Darvon and Darvocet is too risky to stay on the market, a consumer advocacy group argued in suing the Food and Drug Administration.

ALCOHOL – USA
NIAAA Publishes Guidelines on Physician Alcohol Interventions – Join Together

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has published new advice for physicians interested in “Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much.”

HEROIN – USA
Oregon fears heroin is tempting more kids – The Oregonain

In the wake of Oregon’s crackdown on methamphetamine, police say, heroin has become a cheaper, more plentiful alternative, especially for kids tempted to venture beyond marijuana and alcohol.

PAINKILLER – USA
Public Citizen Sues FDA for Failure to Act on Darvon – Consumer Affairs

Public Citizen sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today for failing to act on its petition to withdraw Darvon, Darvocet and all drugs containing propoxyphene gradually from the market as is now required in the United Kingdom

Concert focuses on meth problem – Appeal-Democrat

Friday Night Live is planning an all-day concert on Saturday to raise awareness of methamphetamine abuse in the Yuba-Sutter area.

METH – USA
Pharmacology of crystal meth – Eurek Alert

When smoked, crystal meth rapidly achieves high concentrations in the brain without the burdens of the intravenous route. Kish reviews the actions of methamphetamine and explains the potential role of dopamine in methamphetamine craving.

METH – USA
Concert Held in Idaho to Raise Money Against Meth – Local ABC News

This all day all age benefit concert features local bands donating their time and talent.
They held this to try to help raise awareness about the devastating impact of Meth
in Idaho.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Florida Medical Examiner’s report show prescription drugs more deadly – North Florida News Daily

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Medical Examiners Commission released the state’s annual report on Drugs Identified in Deceased Persons.

RITALIN – USA
Enquirer seeks sources for substance abuse series – Battle Creek Enquier

Substance abuse among young people does not afflict just one group. Teens from all walks of life use drugs and alcohol both to tune out and to tune in.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Florida Reports Prescription Drugs Killing Far More People than Illicit Drugs – Join Together

The Florida Medical Examiners Commission says that autopsies show that prescription drugs kill three times more people in Florida than all illicit drugs combined

METH – USA
Anti-meth campaign kicks off – CBS Denver News

The Wyoming Meth Project has launched a campaign to prevent young people from trying the highly addictive drug with a campaign fueled by television, radio and print advertisements.

ALCOHOL – USA
Namibia: Festival Against Drugs and Alcohol – All Africa

The 3rd year social work students of the University of Namibia in conjunction with Bank Windhoek, Coalition on Responsible Drinking, Namibia Breweries, and the Drug Awareness Group are organizing a TADA choir festival that will take place this Saturday.

ALCOHOL – UK
Scottish Suicide And Homicide Rates Fueled By Drink And Drugs – Medical News Today

Alcohol and drug misuse mean Scots are almost twice as likely to kill or take their own life compared to people living in England and Wales, published research reveals.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Help needed to fight prescription drug abuse – Times-Mail

Clear realities and a big question have come from the newspaper’s six-day look at prescription drug abuse in Lawrence County. The most basic reality is this: Prescription drug abuse kills.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescriptions Killed More Floridians Than Street Drugs In 2007 – Injury Board

A report released this week by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Medical Examiner’s Commission, concludes that prescription drugs killed more Floridians in 2007 than illegal drugs.

METH – USA
Meth Dangers to Propane – KARK TV News

Methamphetamine producers are now using propane tanks to store harmful chemicals, something experts say could have deadly consequences.

ALCOHOL – USA
Random alcohol testing proposed for Chicago police officers who fire their weapons – Chicago Tribune

On-duty Chicago police officers and any officers who shoot their weapons, on or off-duty, would be required to submit to random alcohol tests under a contract proposal sent to the union.

ALCOHOL – UK
Supermarket alcohol price cuts ‘fuelling binge drinking’ – Telegraph

Some best-selling drinks now cost 20 per cent less than they did a year ago, new figures reveal.

ALCOHOL – CANADA
Putting a price on alcohol abuse shows a simple first step – Vancouver Sun

No one doubts that alcohol abuse is a major social problem. The evidence — public disorder, drunk driving, failing health and broken homes — confronts us every day.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcopop alarm on children in country areas – Melbourne Herald Sun
Paramedics are reviving 12-year-olds passed out on the streets of rural Victoria after drinking alcopops, a Senate inquiry was told yesterday.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Doctor urges better community alcohol education – ABC News
A Bendigo health emergency specialist says better community education is needed to help curb the number of people admitted to hospital due to alcohol-related problems.

CANNABIS – NEW ZEALAND
Cannabis at highest potency in 30 years – The New Zealand Herald

Marijuana potency increased last year to its highest in more than 30 years, says a report released by the White House.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Heroin, cocaine seizures soar at Australia’s borders – The Age

Heroin seizures at Australia’s borders rose to a record high last financial year, while detections of cocaine also soared, new figures show.

HEROIN – AUSTRALIA
Illicit drugs: get it in the mail – The Sydney Morning Herald

Drug traffickers are increasingly using the mail system to post illicit drugs to Australia, as the number of heroin detections at the border reached the highest on record, a national crime report shows.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
South Florida leads the state in prescription drug deaths – Sun-Sentinel

Prescription drug overdose deaths skyrocketed in South Florida last year, surpassing increases in the state overall.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Pharmaceuticals Kill More Than Street Drugs – News 4 JAX

A report released Thursday by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Medical Examiner’s Commission revealed that common prescription drugs were responsible for more deaths in 2007 than common illegal drugs.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drugs bigger killers than illegal drugs – WWSB TV News
A report says that deaths caused by prescription drugs were three times as high as those caused by illegal drugs in Florida last year.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol abuse placed on joint agenda – Los Altos Town Crier

What should be on the agenda, and why, precipitated a feisty back and forth between council and school board members last month.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol abuse costs each Cdn. $463 annually, study finds – Canada.com

Alcohol abuse costs each Canadian an estimated $463 annually, according to a study by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

MORPHINE – USA
Ethex recalls morphine tablets – Prescribing Reference

Ethex has voluntarily recalled a single lot of morphine sulfate 60mg extended-release tablets due to a report of a tablet with double-thickness which may contain twice the level of active ingredient.

MARIJUANA – UK
Marijuana potency increases in 2007 – The Associated Press

Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.

ADDICTION – USA
Pivotal Breakthrough Made In Alcohol Addiction Treatment – Science Daily

Alcoholism is a devastating disease in part because of the ’symptom’ of heavy drinking but more so due to the extensive harm it causes physical organs, such as the heart and liver.

ALCOHOL – USA
Early Drinking and Adult Alcohol Dependence Increases Among Americans – Join Together

A study of individuals born between 1934 and 1983 found that more Americans began drinking alcohol at an early age over the decades, especially women, and that those who did drink at a younger age were more likely to be alcohol-dependent as adults.

ALCOHOL – USA
Most Binge Drinking Takes Place in Public, Involves Beer – Join Together

About half of all binge drinking takes place in public and in large groups, increasing the risk of injury, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

DRUGS – USA
Students Get the ‘Dirt’ on Drugs – Join Together

A Boston based actor and comedian who performs an irreverent one-man show on drugs and making good choices has become a hit with young audiences.

ADDICTION – USA
More research planned into whether exercise can help prevent addiction – WDBJ News
Studies in both humans and animals suggest that exercise may help prevent drug or alcohol addiction. The government is pumping more money into research to find out.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Popular prescriptions can cause dependence – Whittier Daily News

Physicians prefer the term “dependence” because it describes withdrawal symptoms rather than depravity. Problems with withdrawal don’t occur only with drugs of abuse. Many prescription medications can cause unpleasant symptoms if they are stopped suddenly.

DRUGS – USA
Arlington officials identify drug found in drinking water – KDBC News

Drinking water in Arlington, Texas, tested positive for trace concentrations of the anti-anxiety medication meprobamate. That’s what city officials revealed today in response to a series of public records requests.

METH – USA
Prosecutor Warns About Propane Tanks Used For Meth – WLWT TV News

The Hamilton County prosecutor is asking the public to keep an eye on any propane tanks they buy for their grill this summer.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Binge-drinking linked to increase in harm – News.com.au
BINGE drinking is being blamed for a dramatic increase in alcohol-related harm among young people.

ALCOHOL – UK
Brain protein cuts excessive alcohol drinking – Telegraph

The new approach is remarkable because it prevented relapse - the common tendency found in sober alcoholics to easily return to heavy drinking after just one glass.

METH – USA
Two-thirds of Glenn eighth-graders know someone who uses methamphetamine – Enterprise Record

Though a survey recently completed in Glenn County shows low student methamphetamine use in the middle-school population, it also shows nearly two-thirds of those questioned know someone who uses.

METH – USA
Chinese Now Dominate ‘Ice Distribution’ In Northern Marianas – Pacific Magazine

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Claudio K. Norita and Police Sergeant Alfred Celes, in a press briefing, said Chinese nationals have pushed out the Japanese, Filipinos and locals who used to dominate the distribution of crystal methamphetamine.

COCAINE – UK
High impulsivity predicts the switch to compulsive cocaine-taking – Cambridge Network

Many individuals take addictive drugs at some point in their lives – not just illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, but also legal and commonly available substances such as alcohol and nicotine.

COCAINE – CANADA
Cocaine use rises after three years of decline – Canada Free Press

COCAINE use among young people in Britain is on the rise after three years of decline, a survey showed last week.

METH – USA
Drug measures: Success of Montana Meth project unclear – Southern Idaho Business
It’s been nearly three years since images of strung-out teens flooded Montana primetime TV as part of the statewide Montana Meth Project aimed at warning kids of the dangers of methamphetamine.

ALCOHOL – CANADA
Wine uncorks challenge to beer as alcohol drink of choice: StatsCan – CBC

Beer continues to be Canada’s top alcoholic drink, though a growing number of consumers are favouring wine, according to a Statistics Canada report released Monday.

ALCOHOL – BULGARIA
Bulgaria, Germany Rank First in Europe in Alcohol Consumption – Sofia News Agency

The Bulgarians and the Germans occupy the first place in Europe in the consumption of hard liquor.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin addiction is on the rise in New York State – am New York

Heroin addiction in New York, which ravaged city neighborhoods in the 1970s, has been creeping up again, officials said.

COCAINE – UK
Researchers Learn More About Cocaine Related Brain Damage – Medical New Today

When mothers use cocaine during pregnancy, the exposure of the developing brain to the substance can cause specific neurological and behavioral abnormalities.

METH – USA
Two-thirds of Glenn eighth-graders know someone who uses methamphetamine – Enterprise Record
Though a survey recently completed in Glenn County shows low student methamphetamine use in the middle-school population, it also shows nearly two-thirds of those questioned know someone who uses.

METH – USA
Chinese Now Dominate ‘Ice Distribution’ In Northern Marianas – Pacific Magazine

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Claudio K. Norita and Police Sergeant Alfred Celes, in a press briefing, said Chinese nationals have pushed out the Japanese, Filipinos and locals who used to dominate the distribution of crystal methamphetamine.

COCAINE – UK
High impulsivity predicts the switch to compulsive cocaine-taking – Cambridge Network

Many individuals take addictive drugs at some point in their lives – not just illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, but also legal and commonly available substances such as alcohol and nicotine.

COCAINE – CANADA
Cocaine use rises after three years of decline – Canada Free Press

COCAINE use among young people in Britain is on the rise after three years of decline, a survey showed last week.

METH – USA
Drug measures: Success of Montana Meth project unclear – Southern Idaho Business

It’s been nearly three years since images of strung-out teens flooded Montana primetime TV as part of the statewide Montana Meth Project aimed at warning kids of the dangers of methamphetamine.

ALCOHOL – CANADA
Wine uncorks challenge to beer as alcohol drink of choice: StatsCan – CBC

Beer continues to be Canada’s top alcoholic drink, though a growing number of consumers are favouring wine, according to a Statistics Canada report released Monday.

ALCOHOL – BULGARIA
Bulgaria, Germany Rank First in Europe in Alcohol Consumption – Sofia News Agency

The Bulgarians and the Germans occupy the first place in Europe in the consumption of hard liquor.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin addiction is on the rise in New York State – am New York

Heroin addiction in New York, which ravaged city neighborhoods in the 1970s, has been creeping up again, officials said.

COCAINE – UK
Researchers Learn More About Cocaine Related Brain Damage – Medical New Today

When mothers use cocaine during pregnancy, the exposure of the developing brain to the substance can cause specific neurological and behavioral abnormalities.