Drug News

METH – USA
Meth takes back seat to cocaine in Boise – Idaho Staesman

It may be temporary, but it is still a surprise: Cocaine has unseated methamphetamine as the most prevalent hard drug in Boise, police say.

ALCOHOL – USA
Spotlight on teens at risk – Boston Globe

Drinking and drug use among teens is getting fresh attention in the Pentucket Regional School District following surveys that have heightened concerns about the problem.

ALCOHOL – UK
Scots unaware of safe alcohol limit – The Press Association

Many Scots remain ignorant of how much it is safe to drink or how much alcohol their beverages contain, a survey revealed.

DRUGS – USA
A grimmer reaper: Prescription drugs take too many lives – Salt Lake Tribune

“Use only as directed,” the pill bottles read. It’s advice you can live by. But too many Utahns are failing to heed that warning.

ALCOHOL – UK
Scots ‘ignorant’ of drink levels – BBC News

Many Scots remain ignorant of how much it is safe to drink or how much alcohol drinks contain, a survey has suggested.

ALCOHOL – UK
Most Scots think alcohol is worse than heroin – The Herald

A majority of Scots think alcohol is the drug that causes most harm to society, newly published survey results show. Some 51% of respondents to a module from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007 said alcohol was the drug which causes most problems for Scotland, compared with 22% who said heroin and 9% who said tobacco.

METH – USA
Old Drug is New Leader Among Users in Treasure Valley – KBOI News

Police in Boise say cocaine has surpassed methamphetamine as the most prevalent illegal hard drug in the area.
MARIJUANA – USA
Get Message Out About Marijuana – Red Orbit

As a Baby Boomer and now a mother of teenagers, I was very interested in the research done on the marijuana available today. A University of Mississippi research project found an increased potency of the drug — double what it was in the ’70s and ’80s! We parents all need to hear that.

ALCOHOL – USA
Excessive Drinking May Exacerbate Metabolic Syndrome Risk – Join Together

A new study has found that individuals who drink in amounts exceeding federal dietary guidelines have an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome associated with cardiovascular disease.

HEROIN – UK
Warning over bug found in contaminated heroin batches – The Herald

A nationwide alert has been issued after a new batch of contaminated heroin, which previously killed more than 40 people mostly in Scotland, was discovered.

PAINKILLER – USA
Finding the right substance abuse rehab for you! – Trans World News

Every substance abuse treatment center offers nominally different rehab programs for different types of addiction. Too often, though, the differences between those programs are only superficial, and the benefits of them are, in practice, nonexistent.

METH – USA
AG steamed over ‘meth coffee’ – World Net Daily

You can “chew them whole, snort the powder dry, cook it over a lighter and huff,” a San Francisco-based Meth Coffee company claims, but Illinois Attorney-General Lisa Madigan is brewing with anger over a marketing campaign that she says promotes drug use.

ALCOHOL – USA
Recovery Month Toolkits Available Now – Join Together

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

DRUGS – USA
Drug-related deaths in Utah reach a new high – KSL TV News

A report from the state medical examiner says drugs killed 519 people in Utah last year. That breaks the previous record of 485. The report also shows a disturbing and growing trend: Prescription drugs are now behind the majority of drug-related deaths in Utah.

HEROIN – USA
As the price of heroin drops, the drug is attracting younger users – Farmingham

The first time he dabbled with the drug he was a teen in the late 1960s, when a bag of heroin was about $30-$40 per bag, he recalls.

ALCOHOL – USA
OHSU working on drug that takes the pleasure out of drinking alcohol – KPIC

Oregon Health & Sciences University is developing a drug that could take the buzz out of drinking alcohol, raising the question of whether alcoholism could be cured with a simple pill.

COCAINE – UK
UCSF Study Shows That Cocaine Addiction Is Linked To Voluntary Drug Use And Cellular Memory – Medical News Today

Rats that voluntarily use cocaine show a persistent cellular memory in the brain’s reward center even after several months of abstinence from the drug, while their involuntary counterparts had no such memory, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

COCAINE – UK
New Study Finds Persistent Brain Changes In Response To Cocaine Depend On The Expectation Of Reward – Medical News Today

Drug addiction dramatically shifts a person’s attention, priorities, and behaviors towards a focus almost entirely on seeking out and taking drugs.

HEROIN – UK
Most Scots think alcohol is worse than heroin – Sunday Herald

A majority of Scots think alcohol is the drug that causes most harm to society, newly published survey results show. Some 51% of respondents to a module from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007 said alcohol was the drug which causes most problems for Scotland, compared with 22% who said heroin and 9% who said tobacco.

DRUGS – USA
Drug-related deaths hit new high in Utah – Salt Lake Tribune

Even as the state is trying to reduce the number of drug-related deaths, Utah has set another record for people killed by pills, powders and needles.

METH – USA
Crystal Methamphetamine - The New Drug of Choice – American Chronicle
Crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, crank, glass and shards, is today’s street drug of choice.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drugs May Increase Falls Among Seniors – NBC News

University of North Carolina researchers have released a list of prescription drugs that may increase the risk for falls among seniors who take at least four medications on a regular basis.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription for Disaster – Injury Board

A recent study shows that prescription medication related deaths have drastically increased in the last two decades.

METH – UK
Warning over crystal meth – The Press Association

Ireland must pull together to stop the drug crystal meth ravaging the country, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy warned.

METH – IRELAND
Crystal meth explosion feared – Limerick Post

Limerick must prepare itself for an explosion of crystal meth abuse, and put measures in place to prevent large scale addiction, a city councillor has warned.

METH – USA
Meth Coffee fails to amuse Madigan – Sun Times

“Parody or not, it’s still glorifying drug use and it’s sending a terrible message,” said Madigan’s spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler.
PRESCRIPTION – USA
Report Underscores Fatal Risk of Combining Prescriptions, Other Substances at Home – Join Together

While medication-related fatalities in clinical settings have long captured the attention of researchers and health authorities, skyrocketing rates of deaths at home from combining medications and other substances have gone largely unnoticed

HEROIN – UK
Heroin batch death risk warning – BBC News

A warning has been issued to drug users about poor quality “red heroin” circulating in southern Scotland.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Girls smoke dope just as much as boys – The Age

While men in their 20s and 30s are still more likely to smoke the drug than their female counterparts, the gender difference has disappeared among teenagers.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Growing prescription drug abuse in U.S – Reuters

U.S. state, federal and local authorities across the United States are struggling to contain a rising tide of prescription drug abuse, which federal data show is now the single-biggest cause for an increase in drug overdose deaths.

DRUGS – UK
Deaths From Combining Drugs And/or Alcohol Skyrocket – Medical News Today

In the first large-scale study of home medication consumption, sociologists at the University of California, San Diego have found a 3,196 percent increase in fatal domestic medication errors involving alcohol and/or street drugs.

ALCOHOL – UK
Why The Alcopop Tax Is Working - Australian Drug Foundation – Medical News Today

The Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) took aim at the liquor lobby for misleading the public about the Federal Government’s tax increase on ready-to-drink beverages.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol Dependence And Hispanics – Medical News Today

A large survey conducted by researchers at The University of Texas School of Public Health Dallas Regional Campus, which examined alcohol abuse and dependence among Hispanic male populations in the United States, will be expanded to Mexican males living along the U.S.-Mexico border.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Southern Oregon residents dropping off unwanted pills – The Oregonian

Police Department has taken many drugs off the street. The southwest Oregon community recently became the first in Douglas County to start an unused pharmaceutical take-back program.

DRUGS – USA
Health officials warn of contaminated drugs – WRAL News

A dozen people have gone to Wake County emergency rooms in the past week after ingesting cocaine or heroin that might have contaminated, public health officials said Tuesday.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Oregon keeping prescriptions drugs off streets, out of environment – Seattle Post Intelligencer

The southwest Oregon community recently became the first in Douglas County to start an unused pharmaceutical take-back program. To keep prescription drugs away from teens and the water supply, residents are asked to check their medicine cabinets and drop off any unused pills at the police department.

HEROIN – USA
Citizens offer ideas to curb drugsPortage residents respond after heroin overdose death – Kalamazoo Gazette

About 60 people gathered at Portage City Hall for the brainstorming session, motivated by the June death of an 18-year-old Portage woman from a heroin overdose.

ALCOHOL – IRELAND
New regulations on sale of alcohol come into force today – Irish Times

STRICT NEW regulations governing the sale and possession of alcohol, which aim to curb public disorder and eliminate underage drinking, come into force today.

METH – CANADA
Meth ingredients easy to find – Barrie Advance

After the bust of a would-be meth lab in Essa Township last week, The Advance wanted to see how easily ingredients needed to create the drug could be obtained in Barrie.

METH – USA
Meth cravings are really intense – Barrie Advance

It’s known as speed, meth, chalk, ice, crystal, or crystal meth but no matter what it’s called, methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug.

METH – USA
Fantastic Freebies: Me Not Meth T-shirts – Wallet Pop

If you give register for a free account with http://www.menotmeth.org, and then fill out this form, the organization will send you up to 2 free Me-Not-Meth t-shirts or tank tops.

DRUGS – USA
Effective Border Enforcement Spurs More Addiction in Mexico – Join Together

Better border enforcement that is making it increasingly difficult for Mexican cartels to transport illegal drugs into the United States is being cited as the reason for a spike in drug addiction in Mexico.

PAINKILLER – FRANCE
US fentanyl deaths topped 1,000 over 2 years – International Herald Tribune

More than 1,000 people died over two years from an illegal version of the painkiller fentanyl, the government reported Thursday in its first national tally of those deaths.

PAINKILLER – USA
Feds blame at least 1,000 deaths on overdoses from illegal fentanyl – The Star-Ledger

At least 1,000 people nationwide died from overdosing on fentanyl created in illegal laboratories, according to a federal investigation that began after a cluster of the deaths was reported in New Jersey two years ago.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription medication teens’ drug of choice – Ventura County Star

The most popular pills include anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax and Valium, pain pills including Oxycontin and Vicodin, drugs for attention deficit disorder like Adderall and Ritalin, and Soma, a muscle relaxant.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
4 ways to keep your teens from abusing prescription drugs – Indianapolis Star

One in five teenagers admits to having used prescription drugs to get high, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Today there are more new abusers of prescription drugs than of marijuana.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Deaths From Prescription Drugs, Alcohol Mix Increase Greatly – Chattah Box

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine has shown that more people than ever are dying from accidental drug overdoses. These are being caused by mixing prescription drugs with street drugs, and alcohol.

ADDICTION – USA
Pain pill abuse serious – Muskogee Daily Phoenix

Oklahoma was recently ranked worst in the nation for pain reliever abuse by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

COCAINE – IRELAND
How the cocaine trade is spreading – Irish Times

It also gives a revealing glimpse into the huge transatlantic cocaine trade from Latin America now targeting Ireland as a transit point and destination. The case shows how this country has joined certain West African states, together with Spain and Portugal as parts of those smuggling routes.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Drug, alcohol violence surge at Albany Hospital – ABC News

The WA Country Health Service says there has been an increasing level of violence towards staff at the Albany Hospital from drug- or alcohol-affected patients.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol limit for boaters to be reduced in line with drivers – Kansas City Star

Boaters beware: The legal blood-alcohol content for driving a watercraft will go from 0.10 to 0.08 beginning Aug. 28 under legislation sent to Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri.

RITALIN – USA
Liddell Laboratories Sends Open Letter to Consumer Reports - In Defense of Homeopathy – Market Watch

The British Homeopathic Journal, Frei & Thurneysen, 2001, This study was performed on 115 children (average age 8.3 years) comparing homeopathic treatment with that of methylphenidate (Ritalin) for children suffering from ADHD symptoms.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin deaths prompt warning – Lebanon Daily News

A rash of heroin-overdose deaths — at least three in the past week — have prompted the Lebanon County coroner to issue a warning to users. Dr. Jeffrey Yocum said yesterday that tests are being done to determine if the heroin is especially pure or if it is laced with another deadly substance.

HEROIN – USA
U.S. fentanyl deaths top 1,000 over 2 years – USA Today

More than 1,000 people died over two years from an illegal version of the painkiller fentanyl, the government reported Thursday in its first national tally of those deaths.

HEROIN – USA
More than 1,000 fentanyl deaths tracked to Mexican drug operation – Detroit Free Press

More than 1,000 deaths linked to the painkiller fentanyl were reported nationally during a two-year span, traced to a drug operation in Mexico, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

PAINKILLER – USA
Number of overdoses from painkiller peak – ABC Local News

Three years ago, doctors in Chicago started noticing a wave of overdoses of the painkiller Fentanyl.

PAINKILLER – USA
Report: Wayne County third in nation for fentanyl deaths over two-year period – Det News

Wayne County was third in the nation in fentanyl-related deaths during the worst epidemic of fatal overdoses involving the potent painkiller, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription for addiction: Health Department to create drug abuse focus group – The Missoulian

The hydra-headed problem of prescription drug abuse has struck a chord with the Missoula City-County Health Department, and the agency is developing a focus group to address the crisis.

PRESCRIPTION – ROMANIA
Prescription Drug Addiction and Recovery, “The Night is Always Darkest Before the Dawn” – PR Log

SouthCoast Recovery believes it’s imperative for clients to learn how to have fun without drugs and alcohol, often taking their clients to the filming of television shows, on fishing trips, or to other events to help them transition back into a sober way of life.

RITALIN – UK
How smart are ’smart drugs’? – Times Online

There’s a buzz about modafinil, meant to make you brighter and more energized. But does it work, and at what cost?

METHAMPHETAMINES – USA
Amphetamines: Killer Stimulants – Trans World News

Amphetamines, whether prescription drugs, such as Adderall® or Dexedrine®, or illegal methamphetamine, can cause drug addiction that ruins the drug addict’s life.

METH – USA
Prescription for addiction: Abuse of painkillers fastest-growing drug problem in Montana – Missoulian

While gruesome images of meth addicts grab the billboards, the number of people abusing prescription painkillers statewide has skyrocketed, with a startling increase in fatal overdoses.

METH – USA
Meth coalition to hear update on treatments – Rapid City Journal

Trends in treating methamphetamine addiction will be reviewed at a public program Thursday, July 24. Donita Reeves of the Rapid City-Pennington County Alcohol & Drug Programs will be the featured speaker.

METH – USA
War on meth focuses on pseudoephedrine – WFIE TV News

In the war on meth, police have been trying to control access to pseudoephedrine. In the past month, EPD has filed over 70 summons against customers buying illegal amounts of the drug at local pharmacies.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Warning: Recall of Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution – Market Watch

Health Canada is warning consumers not to use the prescription drug Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution in 0.25% and 0.5% strengths, because some bottles may contain more of the active ingredient (timolol maleate) than indicated on the label, exposing patients to an increased risk of adverse events.

METH – USA
Meth lab cleanup rules changed – Louisville Courier-Journal

State legislators in the last session beefed up a law that guides the cleanup of methamphetamine labs.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol education scheme launched – BBC News

A campaign to educate the public about alcohol units and responsible drinking has been launched by retailers.

CANNABIS – IRELAND
Cannabis far more toxic to the adolescent brain – The Independent
CANNABIS is far more toxic to the brains of young people who are exposed to the drug, than it is to adults, according to ground-breaking new Irish research.

METH – USA
Prosecutors seek help in anti-meth campaign – Visalia Times Delta

The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office is seeking volunteers to help put on a public awareness campaign about the Central Valley’s problem with crystal methamphetamine.

METH – USA
Crackdown on meth has made cocaine cheaper – Grand Junction Sentinel

Nearly anyone these days can recognize the hollowed-out features, skinny limbs and pockmarked skin that characterize someone hooked on methamphetamine, thanks in part to intensive local education campaigns.

ALCOHOL – USA
Prenatal Drinking, Environmental Enrichment: Effects On Neurotrophins Are Independent Of Each Other – Science Daily

Prenatal alcohol exposure may be particularly destructive for neurotrophins, a family of peptides that influence the growth, development and functional plasticity of the fetal brain.

ALCOHOL – USA
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Endangers Neurotrophin Levels – US News and World Report

Exposure to alcohol prenatally could specifically be harmful to neurotrophins, peptides which are involved in the growth and development of the fetal brain, a new study shows.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol + loud music = more alcohol – Los Angeles Times

Trying to limit your alcohol intake is tougher when you’re drinking in a bar with loud music, according to a new study.

ALCOHOL – UK
Loud music in bars makes customers drink more, say scientists – Telegraph

The study, to be published later this year in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, said the drinks industry already knows that music can have an effect on how long people stay in bars.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin deaths worry health officials – KEX

An increase of 32-percent in heroin deaths this year has Multnomah County health officials worried.

HEROIN – USA
Methadone Use is on the Rise, and the Effects are Deadly – Injury Board

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, overdoses caused by prescription painkillers are increasing, and Methadone abuse is escalating more rapidly than any other drug.

MWTHADONE – USA
FDA addresses Methadone Dangers – Injury Board

Issued back in 2006, this Health Advisory from the FDA warns against the dangers of methadone and includes important prescribing information for its safe use.

MARIJUANA – USA
Marijuana Mouth Spray: The New Pain Reliever? – Fox News

A new marijuana mouth spray aimed at relieving pain is being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in clinical trials, USA Today reported.

PAINKILLER – USA
Painkiller Patch Fentanyl May Have Killed 3,500 People, Warns FDA – Natural News

The popular patch version of the pain killer fentanyl is suspected in more than 3,500 deaths, and the FDA has issued a new warning about its use.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction helps hide what’s within – Republican Eagle

In the past year I have written several letters about meth addiction and some of the feelings that go along with it. More and more people have come to me commenting on how they substitute the word alcohol in place of meth.

ADDICTION – CANADA
Regular exercise may counter addiction – Calgary Herald

A Davidson College study in drug and alcohol dependence compared self-administered cocaine use between two groups of caged rats — those with an exercise wheel and the rest without.

ADDICTION – USA
STAGES of Recovery program addresses addiction – Lubbock Online

According to a Texas Department of State and Health Services survey of college students conducted in spring 2005, 11 percent of Texas college students were frequent binge drinkers.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol impact area proves power of community – The News Tribune

Neighborliness is a powerful thing. A few years ago, when Whitman area resident Pat McGregor started noticing his neighborhood declining around him, he knew that stopping the degradation would require cutting off the supply of cheap booze that keeps street drunks plastered.

ALCOHOL – UK
Bachelot seeks under-18 alcohol ban – The Press Association
France’s health minister said she is working on a Bill which would prevent under-18s drinking in bars or buying alcohol at supermarkets.

ALCOHOL – UK
Risky Drinking In Over 55s Becomes The Focus Of New Research – Medical News Today

A new study led by Simon Coulton, Professor of Health Services Research at the Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent, aims to improve services for over 55s caught up in ‘risky drinking’.

ALCOHOL – USA
U.K. Health Official Wants Zero Tolerance for Alcohol Use by Young Drivers – Join Together

Drivers ages 17 to 20 should not be allowed to legally operate motor vehicles with any detectable level of alcohol in their bodies, according to Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer in England.

DRUGS – UK
Hair tests for drugs wins award – BBC News

Cardiff-based TrichoTech will receive royal recognition for work developing new ways of testing for substance misuse over periods of months.

DRUGS – UK
Drug Use, Smoking and Drinking among young people in England 2007 – NHS

This report contains results from an annual survey of secondary school pupils aged in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15). Overall, 7,831 pupils in 273 schools in England completed questionnaires in the autumn term of 2007.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drugs-causing more pain and suffering than comfort and relief – Trans World News

No two addicts are ever exactly alike. Neither are any two types of addiction. That’s why it’s so important that individual drug and alcohol rehab programs be constructed on a case-by-cases basis.

CODEINE – AUSTRALIA
Painkillers linked to kidney failure – News.com.au

Codeine combination medicines such as Nurofen Plus, available over the counter in pharmacies, have again been linked to serious medical complications.

CODEINE – AUSTRALIA
Painkiller link to bleeding ulcers, renal failure – The West Australian

Powerful painkillers containing codeine have been linked to dozens of fresh cases of bleeding stomach ulcers and renal failure, reinvigorating debate about abuse of the popular drugs.

ALCOHOL – USA
Underage Overconsumption of Alcohol Targeted in France – Join Together

French youth are not demurely sipping wine in Paris cafes: rather, experts say, they are drinking more like their U.S. counterparts and bingeing with the intention of getting drunk.

ALCOHOL – USA
Study Says Bingeing Worse at Colleges with Big Drinking Culture, Lax Rules – Join Together

The college environment plays a key role in student binge drinking, researchers say, with bingeing rates higher at schools that have a strong drinking culture, few alcohol-control policies, weak enforcement, and easy access to alcohol.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol: Do you know if you’re safe to drive? – Newsday

So you just had a quick happy hour with your colleagues and are ready to hit the road. You think you are safe to drive after having had just two drinks. But if you’re pulled over, you may be blowing a lot more alcohol into the Breathalyzer than you think.

ALCOHOL – UK
Road safety: Impose total alcohol ban for teenage drivers, says chief medical officer – Guardian

A zero drink-driving limit should be imposed on all drivers under 20, the chief medical officer recommended yesterday, saying that such a ban would save lives.

ALCOHOL – UK
Conditions In The College Environment Encourage Binge Drinking – Medical News Today

Heavy alcohol use, or binge drinking, among college students in the United States is tied to conditions in the college environment.

PAINKILLER – AUSTRALIA
Painkiller linked to bleeding ulcers – Canberra Times

Powerful painkillers containing codeine have been linked to dozens of fresh cases of bleeding stomach ulcers and renal failure, reinvigorating debate about abuse of the popular drugs.