Drug News

DRUG REHAB – USA
Kentucky Doctors Must Join Pill Abuse Fight – Kentucky.com

There has been a 900 percent increase in people seeking treatment for substance addiction in Kentucky in the past decade. More than 25,428 Kentuckians were admitted to drug and alcohol rehab programs in 2010.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drugs, Rehab and Bar Mitzvahs: An Afternoon Chat with Author Moshe Kasher – Laist.com

When I got to middle school I felt even more different, but then I found the fuck-ups at the school and started doing drugs and I forgot that I felt different. That was part of the great seductiveness of drugs at that age – it was not recreational, it was therapeutic.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin ring smuggled drugs from Africa to Maryland, feds say – Washington Examiner
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Four men have been arrested in connection with a heroin-distribution ring that allegedly smuggled the drug from Africa and sold it in Maryland.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Painkillers alter how addicts relate to themselves, others – Seattle Times
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Calling them painkillers is almost a misnomer. They don’t actually relieve the pain so much as they affect the way the brain perceives pain, and their extended use can result in the distortion of the brain’s pain/pleasure responses.

HEROIN – USA
As heroin death toll rises, antidote is available — but hard to find – Seattle Times
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Heroin-overdose deaths are rising in the Northwest, and a prescription opiate antidote was made legal in 2010. Unfortunately, authorities say, almost no pharmacies stock it.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – GLOBAL
Alcohol Abuse Screenings at the Dentist – World Dental

Health experts have warned that people who consume alcohol excessively are exposed to an extremely high risk of developing dental disease and mouth cancer.

HEROIN – USA
New, Deadly Heroin Mix Kills Dozen-Plus in NW – KTVZ
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A new, deadly mix of heroin has been sweeping through the Northwest in the past month, causing numerous deaths in Washington state, while Central Oregon police and fire medics said Friday they also have been grappling with a rising number of heroin overdoses.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
System to Curb Abuse of Prescription Painkillers Goes Unused – The Bay Citizen
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Byung Sik Yuh, the owner of Nichols Hill pharmacy in Oakland, filled more than 5,000 online prescriptions for addictive painkillers before the California State Board of Pharmacy moved last year to revoke his license. The patients who picked up the prescriptions at Yuh’s pharmacy had never met their doctors, nor had physical examinations. They filled out a brief online survey and paid an anonymous doctor to write prescriptions over the Internet.

Heroin – India
Six drug peddlers arrested – Thaindian News

Kolkata, Oct 7 (IANS) Six members of a drug peddling gang, who used to extort money in the guise of Maoists, were arrested Thursday in West Bengal’s ultra-Left-affected West Midnapore district, police said.”Acting on a tipoff, we have arrested six people from Kaju forest near Benageria in Jhargram sub-division. Disguised as Maoists, they used to extort people. We have also recovered cash worth Rs.1.61 lakh, 30 grams of heroin, five mobile phones, SIM cards, firearms and ammunition from them,” Jhargram Police District Superintendent Praveen Tripathi said.

Substance Abuse Prevention – US Navy
Navy, substance abuse center form online program to help with abuse issues – jdnews.com

RICHMOND, Va. — The Navy is teaming up with a highly regarded addiction treatment center to provide Web-based support for thousands of sailors, their families and retired personnel struggling with alcohol and drug abuse.

Drug Use – UK
Drug users are turning to legal highs – report – BBC NEWS HEALTH

Young adults are turning to so-called legal highs as they seek alternatives to other drugs, according to experts.

Methamphetamine – Arizona
Border agents seize bundles of meth – azcentral.com

YUMA – U.S. Border Patrol agents seized several bundles of methamphetamine Tuesday at the Interstate 8 checkpoint east of Yuma.

Alcohol – USA Cancer Study
Poor Habits Double Number of Young Oral Cancer Patients – MeDINDIA

Oral cancer has doubled the number of young people affected because of drinking, smoking and a unhealthy diet, warn experts.

Marijuana – California
Deputies bust drug dealers at medical pot clinics – kmov.com St. Louis

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have seized marijuana and conducted raids at 16 locations across Southern California.

Mephedrone Seizure – Scotland
Police seize £500k haul of mephedrone at Glasgow Airport – DailyRecord.co.uk

POLICE have seized a £500,000 haul of the recently-banned drug mephedrone at an airport – the biggest amount captured in Scotland, it emerged today.

Cameron Douglas Drug Sentencing – New York
Michael Douglas’ Son Gets 5 Years – abc NEWS VIDEO

Cameron Douglas, 31, is sentenced for selling cocaine and crystal meth.

Drug Dealing – India
Goan drug dealer’s assets frozen – Thaindian News

Panaji, April 21 (IANS) Goa police has frozen all the assets, including cash, properties and investments, of a notorious drug peddler, a senior police officer said. It is the first time that such action has been taken against a drug peddler.

Opium & Heroin – Afghanistan
High Levels of Opium and Heroin Detected in Very Young Afghan Children – Drug Addiction Treatment

A team of researchers hired by the US State Department has found staggering levels of opium and heroin in Afghan children as young as 14 months. “I think we’ve opened a can of worms,” said Bruce Goldberger, one of the University of Florida scientists heading up the study, who spoke exclusively with Brian Ross for a report airing on World News with Diane Sawyer and Nightline tonight.

Alcohol Abuse – Research Study
Heavy Alcohol Use Linked to Cancer – HealthScout

WEDNESDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) — Researchers say they’ve gained new insight into a link at the cellular level between alcohol consumption, aging and cancer.

PCP – USA
Driver arrested for driving at 5 mph in a ‘40 mph’ zone – Thaindian News

Farmington, Apr 21 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A driver was arrested in Farmington over the weekend, because he was driving at a speed of 5 mph in a ’40 mph’ zone. The 39 years old Isreal Nieves who belongs to Bloomfield, also had a passenger in the car, who is just 9 years old. When the police arrested Isreal Nieves, then they also found that he had the ‘PCP’ drug in the car.

Prescription Drugs – USA
Mental illness alone not a trigger for violence – Leader-Post

Severe mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression does not make a person more violent than anyone else but adding substance abuse does, researchers said on Monday.

Drugs – UK
Fake drugs trade on the rise – The Independent

The trade in counterfeit medicines in the European Union has exceeded the body’s worst fears, the European industry commissioner said on Monday.

Drugs – UK
Help Those Who Want to Help Themselves – CMSWire

I’ve seen some powerful ads about drug use on UK television recently. They don’t pull any punches. At the end they advise you to go to a website. Do you know what that website is called? No, not “drug-abuse.co.uk”. The website is called talktofrank.com. Who is Frank?

Drugs – USA
Valpo takes aim at drug woes – NWI.com

Valparaiso officials recognize Porter County’s serious drug problem. They are to be commended for taking action on it. Mayor Jon Costas is committing $100,000 of the city’s economic development income tax money to fighting drug abuse, primarily through education efforts aimed at prevention.

Alcohol – USA
Study: Magazine alcohol ads target youth – UPI.com

Alcohol companies are aiming their magazine ads at youth, researchers at Boston University and Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University found.

Binge Drinking – UK
Experts blame alcohol for cancer rise – UPI.com

Binge drinking habits and cheap alcohol are partially to blame for the increasing number of cancer cases in England, medical experts said.

Alcohol – USA
Caffeine Doesn’t Reverse The Negative Cognitive Impact Of Alcohol, Study Shows – Medical News Today

People who drink may want to know that coffee won’t sober them up, according to new laboratory research. Instead, a cup of coffee may make it harder for people to realize they’re drunk…

Prescription Drugs – Canada
Pain relievers linked to more deaths: Study – Leader-Post

When mixed with alcohol or prescription sedatives, prescription pain relievers, called opioids, can have fatal effects, say researchers involved in the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

DRUGS – USA
Wyoming Libraries Get Drug Prevention Book – Join Together

The Wyoming Department of Health has purchased a copy of a new book about raising drug-free kids for every public library in the state.

ALCOHOL – USA
Recurrent Breast Cancer Risk Raised by Smoking, Drinking – Join Together

Breast-cancer survivors have a 120-percent greater risk of suffering a second breast cancer if they continue to smoke, while daily drinkers face a 90-percent increase in risk of cancer returning, according to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

METH – USA
Feds join Wyoming Meth Project fight against drug – KULR News

The federal government is joining with the Wyoming Meth Project in a media campaign to encourage people to avoid the drug.

METH – USA
Feds join Wyo. meth fight – Wyoming Tribune

The federal government is joining with the Wyoming Meth Project to fight one of the state’s nastiest drugs with a media campaign of its own.

DRUGS – USA
New meth formula avoids anti-drug laws – Sand Mountain Reporter

The new formula, called “shake and bake,” is a simpler recipe requiring a two-liter soda bottle, cold pills and chemicals. The maker shakes the bottle and the result is highly addictive meth in powder form.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Sheriff Rambosk: Prescription drug abuse becoming an ‘epidemic’ – Naples Daily News

They are found in a friend’s medicine cabinet or purchased in a local pain clinic. Prescription drugs have eclipsed street narcotics as the most common abused drug in the state, not including alcohol, and the most lethal.

DRUGS – USA
Peoria County Drug Related Deaths Rise Over Last Year – Central Illinois Proud

The Peoria County Coroner’s Office is seeing a rise in the number of drug-related deaths.

ALCOHOL – USA
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day – VOXY Radio News

The message the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) is sending this International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum (FASD) Disorder Awareness Day, is that drinking even a small amount of alcohol during pregnancy is not worth the risk.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Abuse of prescription drugs dips – USA Today

Fewer people abused prescription drugs last year than in 2007, reversing an upward trend in abuse of potent painkillers such as Oxycontin, a federal drug survey found.

ALCOHOL – UK
Young People Fuzzy About Drinking Limits –Medical News Today

325 students completed a questionnaire that tested their understanding of government guidelines on drinking thresholds. The results showed that the students overestimated what constituted binge drinking.

DRUGS – USA
U.S. drug czar warns teens about marijuana, prescription drugs – WWL TV News

The U.S. drug czar got input from young people Tuesday at Covenant House, as he prepares to advise President Obama on a national drug control policy.

METH – USA
Shake and Bake Meth Is Meth Made Easier – Huliq News

Shake and Bake. It’s not just for chicken anymore. The once famous bread crumb coating for chicken and pork is now being used to describe the faster and easier way to make methamphetamine. Shake and bake meth is all the rage, allowing meth users and makers to produce the drug on the run and in smaller doses thereby bypassing the laws intended to stop the production of this deadly drug.

ALCOHOL – UK
Community Hospital Emergency Department Offers Alcohol Abuse Screening/Brief Interventions – Medical News Today

There are an estimated 7.6 million alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits each year in the country. A first step in identifying an alcohol problem is screening all ED patients utilizing two well-researched screening tests.

METH – USA
Easier Way To Make Meth Worries Community – KFDA News

A new way to make methamphetamine called shake and bake is now giving addicts access to the drug cheaper than ever.

ALCOHOL – USA
Wake To Celebrate Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month – My NC

The goal of the kickoff event, which is open to the public, is to promote ongoing discussion in the community about substance use disorders, the effectiveness of treatment and the realistic possibility of recovery.

ALCOHOL – USA
U. of Wis. bans beer ads during sports broadcasts – The Associated Press

Wisconsin football fans listening to games on the radio this fall will hear few, if any, beer ads for the first time in years.

ALCOHOL – USA
Drink Less: Heavy alcohol use may increase risk of prostate cancer – Winston-Salem Journal

Health experts suggest that men consume no more than two alcoholic drinks a day. Drinking more raises the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, violence and injuries, including car wrecks, and can lead to addiction.

RITALIN – USA
Teens Misusing ADHD Medication to get High and Lose Weight – Vitals Spotlight

8 to 12 percent of children are diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) each year.  Yet a much higher percent is raising concern for misuse of the prescription drugs used to treat ADHD.

METH – USA
State Police Keeping Up with New Meth-Making Technique – WIBC Radio News

State police say the “one-pot” or “shake ‘n bake” method is being used by people who are unable to get large amounts of pseudoephedrine due to stricter state laws.

ALCOHOL – USA
Government: Growth in women who drink and drive – The Associated Press

The number of women arrested for drunken driving has jumped nearly 30 percent in the past decade, a dangerous trend that was all too evident when a wrong-way crash involving a woman in New York killed eight people.

ALCOHOL – USA
Crackdown on drunk driving begins Friday – The Capital Times

Hundreds of police officers and deputies will be out in force this weekend, cracking down on drunks who think it’s okay to get behind the wheel.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Rehab and Your Health – Trans World News

The abuse of alcohol, an addiction to alcohol can destroy your life on many different levels.  The number of people who have lost jobs, broken relationships and literally gone broke as a result of their alcohol addiction is huge.

PAINKILLER – USA
Even Pain Killer Addiction Requires Professional Treatment – Trans World News

The chemical nature of painkiller addiction makes it particularly tough to beat. Prescription painkillers like morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are linked to the same kind of drug dependency that underlies heroin abuse.

PAINKILLER – USA
Common painkiller more effective in fracture pain – Press TV

A simple over-the-counter painkiller is reported to be more effective in alleviating pain in children suffering a fracture than the more powerful combinations.

COCAINE – USA
U.S. Currency Contaminated with Cocaine – Join Together

The vast majority of U.S. paper money in circulation contains traces of cocaine, a new study finds. CNN reported Aug. 18 that researchers found that 90 percent of $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills tested had detectable cocaine residue. Bills from major cities were more likely to test positive than those from smaller cities.

DRUGS – USA
More women held for driving while intoxicated, study finds – CNN News

Arrests for women driving under the influence jumped by nearly 30 percent during the decade ending in 2007, according to a study released Wednesday by the U.S. Transportation Department.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Graduate Handles Addiction Permanently – Trans World News

Feeling “helpless, undeserving and pretty hopeless “was what Paul experienced for more than 12 years while addicted to drugs. Paul says the more he used the more his life fell apart to the point that he was so self-destructive, his family finally stepped in to help him.

ALCOHOL – UK
Poor diet and alcohol abuse behind tripling of liver cancer – Wales Online

Poor diet and alcohol consumption, together with drug use are seen as the main factors behind the increase.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Kids May Not Need Prescription Drugs For Pain – WCPO News

Kids may be tougher than we think. Researchers found that children with broken bones did not necessarily need a prescription to deal with pain.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Antibiotic Prescriptions Dip for Kids – Web MD

Doctors aren’t writing prescriptions for certain antibiotics to treat children’s respiratory tract infections as much as they used to, a new study shows. The researchers — who included Carlos Grijalva, MD, MPH, of Vanderbilt University’s medical school — used national data to see if antibiotic use was still declining, a trend that began in the 1990s.

CODEINE – USA
Post-Tonsillectomy Codeine May Pose Dangers – US News and World Report

Giving codeine to children after a tonsillectomy may be deadly, a new report warns.

CODEINE – CANADA
Codeine after tonsil surgery can be fatal for toddlers – Canada.com

The common practice of giving children codeine for pain after tonsil surgery may provoke a fatal reaction in some toddlers, Canadian researchers are reporting.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol abuse behind increase in liver cancer, experts claim – Times Online

Rising rates of obesity and alcohol abuse have fuelled an increase in cases of liver cancer, according to figures published today.

DRUGS – USA
Many Baby Boomers are Continuing Illicit Drug Use into Their Later Years According to New Analytic Publication – SAMHSA

Many baby boomers (Americans in the generation born between 1946 and 1964) are continuing to use illicit drugs as they grow older, causing the rate of illicit drug use to go up within the 50 to 59 year old age segment of the population.

CANNABIS – UK
Teens ‘aware of cannabis harm’ – BBC News

Nearly one in two teenagers knows someone who has suffered from a mental health problem like paranoia after using cannabis, a survey suggests.

DRUGS – UK
Drug drive campaign ignores shock tactics – Talking Drugs

This week the UK Government began a new advertising campaign in an attempt to reduce the amount of people who drive while under the influence of drugs.

ALCOHOL – UK
Survey Shows Over Half Of Drinkers Unaware Of Link Between Alcohol And Sleep Problems, England – Medical News Today

Drinkers across England are losing valuable sleep and disrupting vital brain functions without knowing their boozing is the cause, new research for the Government’s Know Your Limits campaign has revealed.

ALCOHOL – UK
In Young University Students, Attention And Working Memory Affected By Binge Drinking – Medical News Today

Binge drinkers are defined as males who drink five or more standard alcohol drinks, and females who drink four or more, on one occasion and within a two-hour interval.

DRUGS – UK
Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2008 – Scottish Government

Statistics of drug-related deaths in 2008 and earlier years, broken down by cause of death, selected drugs reported, age and sex, includes three tables of figures for Health Board areas.

DRUGS – UK
Older generation blamed as drug deaths soar – The Scotsman

The human cost of long-term drug use was laid bare yesterday, as figures show Scotland’s drug death toll has risen to record levels, with a sharp increase in deaths among older users.

ALCOHOL – UK
Don Shenker: We need action to shield children from alcohol – Yorkshire Post

Last month’s statistics from the NHS revealed the true extent of children’s drinking in England and a worrying pattern which has emerged over recent years.

ALCOHOL – UK
Charity warns over child drinkers – BBC News

Fewer children are drinking but those who do are consuming more than ever before, a charity has warned. Alcohol Concern said the number of under-18s admitted to hospital has risen, and more have liver disease.

DRUGS – UK
Drug experts advise ban on Spice – Guardian

The government’s drug experts today advised the home secretary to ban Spice, a herbal smoking mixture thought to be as strong as some strains of skunk cannabis.

CANNABIS – UK
Heroin laced cannabis heading to Brighton streets, police fear – The Argus

Dealers are lacing cannabis with highly addictive heroin to get users hooked on the deadly drug.

ALCOHOL – USA
Oral Cancer Tied to U.K. Binge Drinking Plague – Join Together

Cases of oral cancer have risen sharply among middle-aged Britons since the mid-1990s, and health experts place the blame on binge drinking and a surge in alcohol consumption in the U.K.

DRUGS – UK
Drug death toll in Scotland reaches record levels with 574 people falling victim last year – Daily Record

Experts believe the death rate is rising partly because of the growing numbers of older drug users, many having been been addicts for several years.

ADDICTION – UK
Report says recession will cause rise in alcoholism and drug addiction – Mirror

Alcoholism, wife-beating and drug addiction will soar with the arrival of a “second wave” of recession, it is warned today.

ALCOHOL – USA
Ford To Speak At Alcohol Awareness Program – KTUL News

Oklahoma State men’s head basketball coach Travis Ford will be the keynote speaker at the fourth-annual Alcohol Awareness Program hosted by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity of OSU.

ALCOHOL – USA
Heavy Alcohol Consumption a Cancer Risk – Wine Spectator

A recent study by Montreal researchers found a strong link between heavy alcohol consumption and six different types of cancer in men.

ALCOHOL – USA
Travis Ford to speak at alcohol awareness event at Oklahoma State – KFSM News

Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford plans to speak next week as part of the annual Alcohol Awareness Program hosted by one of the school’s fraternities.

METH – USA
Recognizing the many faces of methamphetamine – Examiner

If you are expecting to see photographs of people with bad skin and bad teeth, don’t hold your breath because I have found that is not always the case. Meth addiction affects people from all walks of life and it is not always obvious by appearance. Certainly, the signs become more obvious with time, but spotting a meth addict is not such an easy task.

METH – CANADA
Tainted town – Ottawa Citizen

Hawkesbury’s mayor says her town isn’t ‘saturated’ with drugs, and says OPP ought to help with big policing bills by sending more officers free of charge.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Many Adolescents Share Prescription Medication – Modern Medicine

One-fifth of U.S. adolescents report sharing prescription medication, and efforts to reduce this practice may be justified, according to a study published online Aug. 3 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Friends Don’t Give Friends Prescription Drugs – NPR

It’s long been known that some teenagers raid the family medicine cabinet or a friend’s locker for legal drugs that will get them high. But a new survey suggests that’s not their only prescription drug problem.