Drug News

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A Timeline Of Whitney Houston’s Battle With Drug Abuse – RAPFIX.MTV

Whitney Houston was found dead at the age of 48 on Saturday (February 11) but her legacy will live on, thanks to a celebrated discography. Outside of her success, however, Houston fought a long, public battle with addiction that made her a prime target for tabloid scrutiny over the past few years.

DRUG REHAB – THAILAND
Want to be drug-free? Thai monks prescribe projectile vomiting – WorldBlog

Carrie Jeffers feared she would never kick her heroin addiction after relapsing repeatedly in her native Michigan. Then she flew to Thailand, and her life changed. The rigorous regime includes meditation and the daily ingestion of a foul-tasting herbal drink that induces projectile vomiting to cleanse the body of toxins.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx drugs reportedly killed Houston, but officials still probing possible drowning – Fox News

Relatives of late pop icon Whitney Houston have reportedly been told by coroner officials that the singer died from what appears to be a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol rather than drowning.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Alcohol abuse help unused by some students – MSU State News
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Drinking, partying and hanging with friends was the norm for psychology senior James Dodge when he first arrived at MSU. Since then, he said he’s realized there are other, healthier ways to enjoy the college experience. But for many college-aged people, seeking help might not be a priority.

HEROIN – USA
Experts share horrors of heroin addiction – Seattle Today

On a big screen at Granite City High School was the face of a mother expressing the worst fears any mom could have. “It makes you feel hopeless seeing there’s nothing you can do,” said Sharon Hosford, of Alton, during a video shown during a Feb. 1 forum about drug use.

METHAMPHETAMINE – MEXICO
Mexican army finds 15 tons of pure methamphetamine – CBS News
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The historic seizure of 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in western Mexico, equal to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009, feeds growing speculation that the country could become a world platform for meth production, not just a supplier to the United States.

ECSTASY – UK
Ecstasy and drink warning after Manchester clubbers taken to hospital – BBC News
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Four clubbers were taken to hospital after mixing alcohol with the illegal drug ecstasy in Manchester.

ALCOHOL – USA
Tribe suing beer companies for alcohol problems – Fox News
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An American Indian tribe sued some of the world’s largest beer makers Thursday, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

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
One addict’s story of prescription drug dangers – NCPR

Jennifer Smith’s addiction severely strained her relationship with her family, forced her to quit her job as a nurse, lead to several stints in drug rehabilitation programs and eventually landed her in jail.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Alcohol Abuse: Young People Should Be Educated At Sexual Health Clinics, Say Experts – Huffington Post UK
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Young people should be educated on the dangers of alcohol abuse when they attend sexual health clinics, experts have said. With more than 1.5million young people attending the clinics every year, the NHS has been told it is missing “key opportunities” to tackle the “growing problem” of sexually transmitted diseases and hazardous drinking.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Authorities see rise of prescription drug abuse – NCPR

“Spiraling out of control.” And, “Almost an epidemic.” That’s how police, prosecutors, doctors, pharmacists and drug counselors describe the rise of prescription drug abuse in communities across the North Country.

MARIJUANA – USA
Marijuana use up, alcohol use down among US teens – CBS News
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“One thing we’ve learned over the years is that when young people come to see a drug as dangerous, they’re less likely to use it. That helps to explain why marijuana right now is rising.” It’s the fourth straight year marijuana use grew among teens compared with last decade when pot use declined among teens.

CLUB DRUGS – USA
Club Drugs; A Good Time Or A Death Sentence? – Official Wire
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Since the 1980’s there have been dance parties going on called “Raves”. They first became popular in England and have since gained popularity in the U.S. as well. These parties usually consist of many people coming together to dance to electronic music while neon colored lights flash around the dance floor. These parties are often held in remote location such as barns or warehouses so as to avoid raiding. Aside from dancing, most of the people who attend also use drugs.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Three homes in methamphetamine raid deemed unsafe – Daily Press

Three of five homes where 10 people allegedly produced methamphetamine have been deemed unsafe for habitation because of chemicals found inside the homes that were presumably used to make the drug. The new charges are a result of an “analysis of her other children’s rooms” where trace amounts of meth were found.

HEROIN – USA
Alaska teen who was injected with heroin dies – CBS News

‎An Alaska teenager allegedly injected with heroin by a 26-year-old man died Thursday, almost a week after suffering the drug overdose.

CLUB DRUGS – CAFFEINE MIST – USA
Caffeine Mist Is a ‘Club Drug,’ Says Schumer – ABC News
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A caffeine mist marketed as “breathable energy” may become a health hazard for teens and young people. Aeroshot Pure Energy, made by Breathable Foods in Cambridge, Mass., comes in a lipstick-size tube designed to spray a mist of caffeine and B vitamins that dissolve in the mouth, according to the company. The availability and the company’s marketing could sway teens and young adults to mix it with alcohol, creating a potentially dangerous combination. In a statement, Schumer called the product a “club drug” that is “designed to give users the ability to drink until they drop.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug addiction skyrocketed 430% over past decade; Drug rehab for painkiller abuse soars – New York Daily News

The increase is even more pronounced given that over the same time period the overall rate of substance-abuse-related admissions to rehab facilities has flatlined.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin industry growing in Arizona – Tucson Citizen
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It also has helped push heroin and other opiates past cocaine and amphetamines as the top drug-related reason in Arizona for emergency-room admissions and inpatient hospital discharges.

ALCOHOL – USA
Former Herriman HS teacher arrested for allegedly providing alcohol to minors – Fox 13 Now
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21-year-old Kylie Devey, a special education teacher and assistant softball coach at Herriman High School, is charged with five counts of providing alcohol to minors after parents of a student alerted the school district of the alleged incident.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin drove ex-teacher to steal school computers, rob bank – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

A former school teacher accused of stealing 22 computers from Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing Arts high school pleaded guilty today to robbery, burglary and criminal conspiracy. Her attorney said all of the crimes were driven by the couple’s heroin addiction.

ECSTASY – USA
Ecstasy causes changes in the brain – UPI.com

Recreational use of the illegal drug Ecstasy, which produces feelings of euphoria, is associated with chronic changes in the human brain.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Once-Prominent Colorado Sheriff Now Faces Charges – Fox News
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Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan is accused of using and distributing methamphetamine in exchange for sex, according to authorities.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol diseases double in 7 years – The Independent
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Nearly 1.2 million people in England needed in-patient hospital treatment for alcohol related cancers, liver diseases and poisoning in 2010-11 – a 9 per cent rise on the previous year. There have already been over 7,000 hospital admissions for young people under the age of 18 in 2011.

BATH SALTS/SYNTHETIC DRUGS – USA
House votes to ban so-called ‘bath salts,’ other synthetic drugs that mimic marijuana, cocaine – Washington Post

The House voted Thursday to ban synthetic drugs nicknamed “bath salts” and other compounds that mimic marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse kills more than heroin and cocaine – WAFF
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The Centers for Disease Control reports prescription drug overdoses account for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Special grand jury to probe doctor shopping – Newsday
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A special grand jury will be empaneled in Suffolk County to investigate doctor shopping and the possible criminal conduct of physicians in the prescribing of painkiller pills. DA Thomas Spota said his office has seen a surge in fatal car accidents and criminal activity related to prescription drug abuse.

ECSTASY – USA
Feds nab police captain in coke, Ecstasy ring – Tallahassee Democrat
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A captain with the Opa-Locka Police Department and seven others were indicted Thursday after a two-year federal investigation into a cocaine, Ecstasy and Oxycodone ring operating in South Florida.

HEROIN – USA
Geneva woman has been to 100 funerals for heroin victims – Daily Herald

In the past 10 years, Lea Minalga estimates she’s been to more than 100 funerals in the West and Northwest suburbs — all for young people who overdosed on drugs, mostly heroin. Many of them were teenagers. “Sadly, I know most of them.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Deadly resurgence – Denton Record Chronicle
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Heroin: That was the drug of the old days when junkies nodded on street corners, and it killed entertainers like Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and John Belushi. Heroin: That’s the drug of today, when prescription medication abusers buy is as a cheaper alternative for the same euphoria they get from OxyContin, Vicodin and Dilaudid. It’s the drug of choice for half the abusers in Denton and the North Texas area.

ALCOHOL – USA
Sunday alcohol sales start in some Georgia cities – Anderson Independent Mail
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Retailers in several Georgia cities began ringing up beer, wine and liquor Sunday for the first time since voters in many communities statewide ended more than a century of banning alcohol sales on what many consider a day of worship. Keidra Dobbs of Duluth said she was “definitely excited” to be able to pick up some beer Sunday from a package store near her house before settling down to watch sports. “It’s been kind of an inconvenience,” Dobbs said. “Like last week, when I had to rush to get to the store by 11:45 Saturday night before they stop selling.”

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol causes ‘one in five’ deaths by injury – The West Australian
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Alcohol contributes to one in five of all deaths from injury in WA, including almost one-quarter of all road accident fatalities, new figures show.

CLUB DRUGS – UK
Third of clubbers who take mephedrone may be addicted, survey finds – The Guardian
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Three in 10 clubbers who take the drug mephedrone exhibit symptoms associated with addiction, a study has found. Many users of the banned substance, sometimes called “meow meow”, had several signs of dependence, including withdrawal effects, failed attempts to give up, and taking larger and larger doses.

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
One Young Woman’s Descent Into Prescription Drug Addiction – WGRZ TV

It has become what law enforcement officials are calling an epidemic in Western New York: young people getting addicted to prescription pain medication. One of those young people- Destinee Henderson, one time straight A student and varsity soccer player at Newfane High School agreed to share the story of her addiction, whose eventually led her to selling her body and which nearly cost her her life.

HEROIN – UK
WILL heroin USAGE ROCKET IN A SLUMP? – Wales Online
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HEROIN use in Wales could rocket if the nation slumps further into recession, a leading drugs agency has warned.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Students don’t consider alcohol a drug – SW Iowa News
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Last October, a 17-year-old Harlan high-school student died from acute alcohol intoxication. Earlier this year, police arrested a 15-year-old girl at Storm Lake High School and charged her with possession of alcohol. A report found that nearly half of all high-school students use addictive substances, and 1 in 3 of those users are addicted.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Ga. doctors develop prescription drug abuse prevention program – ‎Atlanta Journal Constitution

The supply chain for abuse of highly addictive drugs often can be traced back to a doctor’s prescription pad. So doctors are capitalizing on their unique position to combat the illegal use of prescription drugs by leading a statewide campaign to keep such medicines out of the wrong hands.

ALCOHOL ABUSE/DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Study: Alcohol, Drug Hospitalizations Rise – Patch.com
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A rising number of young adults nationwide, between ages 18 and 24, have been hospitalized for alcohol and drug overdoses. One out of three hospitalizations for overdoses in young adults involved excessive consumption of alcohol. “Alcohol overdoses alone caused 29,000 hospitalizations, combined alcohol and other drug overdoses caused 29,000, and drug overdoses alone caused another 114,000. The cost of these hospitalizations now exceeds $1.2 billion per year just for 18 to 24-year-olds.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Family Dinners Linked to Less Risky Behavior in Teens – ABC News
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Compared to teens who ate with their families five to seven times a week, teenagers who had fewer than three family dinners a week were almost four times more likely to try tobacco, more than twice as likely to use alcohol and 2.5 times more likely to use marijuana.

ECSTASY – AUSTRALIA
Ecstasy crime ring smashed, says AFP – Sydney Morning Herald

A highly sophisticated drug ring has been smashed by federal authorities with the seizure of a record haul of a precursor drug capable of producing $70 million worth of ecstasy.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
War on prescription drug abuse has a need for speed – Tampa Bay Online

The number leaping from the page whenever the topic turns to prescription drug addiction is seven. Seven is the number of Floridians who suffer prescription-drug-related deaths each day. Seven also is the number of days, under the latest “pill-mill” statute, between reports pharmacies have to make to the state’s new database.

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 ADDICTION – USA
A Real Debate About Drug Policy – ‎Wall Street Journal

Drug use in the US is no lower than in countries with different approaches. We believe that drug addiction is harmful to individuals, impairs health and has adverse societal effects. So we want an effective program to deal with this problem.

SYNTHETIC DRUGS – USA
Police, counselors, hold breath for July 1 law effect – Winona Post

A local 16-year-old boy suffered a seizure after combining his medications with synthetic marijuana often called “K2.” A woman in Kentucky high on “Plant Food” hallucinated that her two-year-old son was a demon, knocked him unconscious with a folding chair and then threw him onto the passing lane of a major highway. In Louisiana, a man seeing visions when using Plant Food opened a skinning knife and repeatedly slit his face and stomach, but he survived.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Former Psychiatrist Gets Probation In ‘Pill Mill’ Case – The Beverly Hills Courier

A former West Hollywood psychiatrist who wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose to make money to pay for his methamphetamine addiction was sentenced today to three years probation.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription pills blamed for ‘Pharmageddon’ in Kentucky – BBC News

In Kentucky 978 people died from prescription drug overdoses in 2009. It’s hard to meet a family in the state which hasn’t been affected in one way or another. Across the state, a number of treatment and rehabilitation centres are trying to deal with the huge numbers of addicts.

HEROIN/PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS – USA
Heroin all too easy to get, DEA agent tells Colchester forum – Norwich Bulletin

But there’s something else in town not so easily seen, and not celebrated: a supply of heroin and prescription painkillers like oxycontin and vicodin. “It’s not that they get these drugs on the street. They get them from grandma’s house,” Hoffman said.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
‘Silk Road’ website called the Amazon, eBay of heroin, cocaine, drug trafficking – ABC Action News

You can get anything on the internet nowadays — cars, homes, and now, black tar heroin. It’s a website boasting thousands of members that was created in February, according to its administrators. On the main page, they proudly and openly sell LSD, marijuana, ecstasy, and most any other drug you can name.

ECSTASY – CANADA
Strathmore teen charged with trafficking after 15-year-old overdoses on ecstasy, dies – Calgary Herald

Herrmann went into “medical distress” and died in hospital last Friday after taking the yellow pills, each bearing a Mickey Mouse design. His friend, 19-year-old Richard Mulvihill, was also taken to hospital after taking up to four pills.

ALCOHOL – USA
Duncan Sheik Postpones Concert Tour to Deal With Alcohol Abuse – Wall Street Journal

Facing an alcohol problem, Duncan Sheik postponed the first week of a concert tour that was scheduled to start on June 8 in New York.