Drug News

Drug Trafficking – USA
Michael Douglas In ‘Vanity Fair’: I Put Career Over Fathering Cameron – The Huffington Post

Michael Douglas covers the new Vanity Fair and inside he opens up about his son Cameron, who faces at least ten years in prison for trafficking meth, and trying to get fatherhood right the second time around with his family with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Marijuana – USA
AP IMPACT: Drug Gangs Taking Over US Public Lands – abcNEWS/U.S.

Not far from Yosemite’s waterfalls and in the middle of California’s redwood forests, Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering U.S. public land to grow millions of marijuana plants and using smuggled immigrants to cultivate them.

Drug Overdose – USA
Three Cave Creek girls sent to hospital for overdose – azcentral.com

Three middle-school girls in Cave Creek were transported to a hospital Friday afternoon, after they apparently overdosed on Tylenol cold medicine while at school, according to Deputy Chief Frank Salomon of the Phoenix Fire Department.

Drunk Driving – Australia
90-year-old loses licence for speeding, drunk driving – Thaindian News

Melbourne, Feb 28 (IANS) A 90-year-old man lost his driving licence in Australia’s Victoria state after he was clocked over-speeding and detected with double the alcohol limit, police said.

Meth – USA
Great-grandmother gets 5 years on meth charges – The Associated Press

A Northern California great-grandmother has been sentenced to prison after being convicted on methamphetamine charges.

Heroin – USA
Abington Heights drug policy working, officials say, but heroin problem remains – thetimes-tribune.com

Two years after Abington Heights School District officials began responding to a growing heroin problem, statistics show a slight drop in the number of students in trouble over drug and alcohol abuse.

Prescription Drugs – Canada
Addiction often starts in hospital – Leader-Post

Prescription drugs are suspected in the death of singer Michael Jackson. If the toxicology report from the autopsy confirms this, he joins a growing number of people falling victim to prescription-drug abuse.

Prescription Drugs – USA
More Americans taking drugs for mental illness – Leader-Post

In America, 73 percent more adults and 50 percent more children are using drugs to treat mental illness than in 1996.

Ecstasy – USA
Obama Ecstasy Pills Hit the Streets – CBS News

Police in Texas have seized a batch of Ecstasy pills that are shaped in the image of President Barack Obama (see photos). Because Ecstasy is not a prescription drug, but manufactured only illegally, it comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Alcohol – USA
NFL Seeks Limits on Tailgating to Curb Drinking – Join Together

The National Football League (NFL) would like teams to limit tailgating to 3-1/2 hours prior to kickoff, but so far only the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have adopted such a policy.

Methamphetamine – San Diego, CA
Border Officials See Increase In Seized Drugs – 10news.com

The amount methamphetamine seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the San Diego sector skyrocketed in fiscal 2009, while the number of illegal immigrants caught dropped 27 percent, federal officials said Wednesday.

Drugs – USA
Deputies use backhoe to find drugs in septic tank – The Boston Globe

Flushed evidence doesn’t go far if your toilet’s on a septic system. DeSoto Parish sheriff’s Lt. Toni Joe Morris said Tuesday that deputies brought in a backhoe when drug agents raided a home and business and met the owner coming out of a bathroom.

Cough Medicine – San Francisco, CA USA
Teens’ abuse of cough medications soaring – SFGate.com - San Francisco Chronicle

Teenage abuse of common cough medications has grown ominously in recent years, according to San Francisco researchers who found a fifteenfold increase in calls to poison control centers since 1999 for teens made sick by overdosing on household drugs that can cause hallucinogenic highs.

Ecstasy – UK
Ecstasy harms brain on first use, study finds – Guardian.co.uk

People who use ecstasy for the first time could suffer impaired memory and harm to their brains, a new study of the dance drug’s effects reveals.

Alcohol – World News
Cruise Liner Slammed for Introducing ‘All You can Drink’ Packages – MedIndia

A major cruise liner has come under fire for encouraging passengers to consume alcohol by introducing “all you can drink” packages.

Alcohol – USA
Courts Urged To Make More Use Of Ankle Bracelets To Monitor Alcohol Offenders During The Holiday Season – Medical News Today

A company that makes personal electronic alcohol monitors that secure to the ankle like a bracelet, is urging courts in the US to make more use of the devices over the holiday season, when there is usually a peak in the rate of alcohol-related offenses.

Prescription Drugs – USA
Many teens share prescription drugs: Study – Leader-Post

Many teenagers may be sharing their prescription medications with their friends, putting them at risk of drug side effects or having a health problem go undiagnosed, a new survey finds.

Alcohol – UK
Mixing Alcohol And Sex Puts Young People At Risk – Medical News Today

Drinking alcohol increases the chances of young people taking risks, including with their sexual health, according to new research from alcohol charity Drinkaware and sexual health charity Brook…

Underage Drinking – Peoria, IL USA
88 ticketed at underage drinking party – PJStar.com

Eighty-eight underage revelers - 70 of them Bradley University students - were cited at an underage drinking party held at a college-owned rental home early Sunday.

Meth – USA
Meth labs abundant this hunting season – USA Today

Hunters stalking deer and pheasant also are finding methamphetamine labs or their remnants in remote areas this fall.

Cannabis – UK
Cannabis ‘affecting young minds’ – BBC News

Half of young people using cannabis suffer side effects such as paranoia and blackouts, a UK survey suggests.

Cough Medicine – USA
Youths risk death in latest drug abuse trend – USAToday.com

Emergency rooms and schools across the nation are reporting that waves of youths are overdosing on non-prescription cough and cold medicines that are widely available in drugstores and supermarkets.

Prescriptions – USA
Sharing Prescriptions Can Bring Harm, Not Healing – U.S. News & World Report

Sharing prescription medication with a family member or friend who needs care may seem like the right thing to do, even an act of kindness. But new research highlights the potential hazards of passing these medicines around.

DRUGS – CANADA
Local substance abuse meetings prove a success – Revelstoke Times Review

A series of presentations by Dan Reist of the Centre for Addictions Research of BC, an organization based at the University of Victoria, drew a solid turnout this week.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Silent Killer: prescription drug overdoses killing more people than car accidents, shootings, or stabbings – WPEC TV News

“There are more people in this county that die of drug overdose deaths than die from homicide, suicide and motor vehicle fatalities,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff’s detective Gary Martin, who oversees all investigations of overdose deaths.

DRUGS – USA
Abuse of over-the-counter cold medications top methamphetamine – Press Enterprise

Cough and cold medicines are available at any grocery or drug store, but parents and teens shouldn’t think they’re completely safe, says Deb Beckwith, a contractor with La Vista Prevention Services in Hemet.

METH – USA
Salt Lake PD launches new ads for Meth Initiative Campaign – KSL TV News

The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Meth Initiative has launched a new public awareness advertising campaign for 2009. Revolving around the “know more… kNOw DRUGS” theme, the ads started appearing on UTA buses and TRAX trains this month.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol may increase breast cancer risk – Tampa Bay News

Researchers say it’s a level of consumption that has been associated with low risk of harm. But many previous studies have found that alcohol appears to increase not only breast cancer, but other cancers as well.

ALCOHOL – FRANCE
France moves to ban sale of alcohol to minors – International Herald Tribune

French lawmakers passed an amendment Monday to ban the sale of alcohol to minors, part of an effort to tackle the rise of binge drinking in a country known for a relaxed attitude toward a little libation.

ALCOHOL – USA
France moves to ban sale of alcohol to minors – Houston Chronicle

The change, if passed in its final form, could mark the beginning of a cultural shift. The French are among the world’s top consumers of wine but proud of their tradition of moderation. And some give their children watered wine with dinner from a young age.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Rx drug abuse a teen epidemic here – Staten Island Advance

At first glance, the numbers seem jarring — 21,000 prescription painkillers put into the hands of teens and young adults, bought and sold by a makeshift cabal of nearly two dozen Staten Islanders, most in their early 20s.

PAINKILLER – DENMARK
More girls attempt suicide with painkillers – Copenhagen Post

New figures from the National Patient Registry obtained by Politiken newspaper show a substantial increase in the number of teenage girls being admitted to hospital after an overdose of painkillers.

METHADONE – USA
Spike in Methadone Prescriptions, Deaths – Join Together
Methadone now ranks as the fastest-growing source of narcotic deaths in the country, and many experts believe lack of federal oversight and dangerous prescribing practices by physicians are largely to blame.

ALCOHOL – USA
England Broadens Estimate of Alcohol-Related Deaths – Join Together

Researchers in England have discovered that by looking at the prevalence of deaths related to alcohol use in a different way, the national numbers they arrive at are close to double what officials in the country previously have cited.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin Abuse Up for Many Ohio Youth – Join Together

An increase in treatment admissions for heroin abuse among young people in Ohio is being attributed to problems that often start with prescription drug abuse.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Parents’ prescription drugs pose risk to teens – San Francisco Chronicle

Parents who don’t safeguard their medications are putting their teenagers at serious risk of addiction to prescription drugs, according to a national survey.

ADDICTION – INDIA
Drug addiction of prescribed drugs increasing in teenagers – Top News

Previous studies have shown that prescription drugs can take life if not handled properly. Despite the alarm raised by various government authorities against the misuse of prescription drugs, these drugs are easily available to teenagers.

METHADONE – USA
More and More Deaths Because of Methadone Overdoses –

Methadone is a form of opium but is cheaper and longer lasting. The drug is a powerful painkiller and despite its curing of millions of people it has also increased the death rate because of the overdoses or the combination with other drugs.

METHADONE – INDIA
Methadone a double-edged painkiller – domain-B
The drug is a synthetic form of opium that is a long lasting and powerful pain reliever. Being cost effective, it has helped millions of people, but is also one of the fastest growing cause of narcotic deaths in the US.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone Use as Painkiller Raises, Methadone-Related Deaths As Well – eFluxMedia

The number of narcotic-related deaths has increased lately forcing the US Food and Drug Administration to take quick measures. However, the agency is facing major problems, as the use of methadone has been extended.

PAINKILLER – USA
Home tests help parents monitor drug use – Daily Times

Marijuana, cocaine, methamph-etamine and Ecstacy. These are the drugs that most likely come to mind when hearing the word “addiction.” But some addictive drugs come straight from a prescription bottle.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone Overdose a Growing Problem – News Inferno

Once mainly used to treat heroin addiction, Methadone is being prescribed by family doctors, osteopaths, and nurse practitioners for some types of severe pain. Methadone, a synthetic form of opium, is powerful, cheap, and long lasting.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Attorney general warns of prescription drug abuse – Peninsula Daily News

There’s a drug that works like heroin, can kill like heroin, and is found in a lot of homes on and off the North Olympic Peninsula. The stuff has made its way into high schools and become a “huge problem,” Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna told the Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club on Friday.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Teens and Prescription Medications and Other Health News – US News and World Report

An increasing number of teens say they have an easier time obtaining prescription medications illegally than buying beer, cigarettes, or marijuana.

ADDICTION – USA
All You Need To Know About Alcohol Addiction & Treatment – Trans World News

If you or your loved one is suffering from alcohol addiction then you are reading the right article. In this article you can get enough information alcohol treatment and rehabilitation. Addiction can be treated if the person decides to get rid of this problem. You have to do some research for finding the right alcohol treatment center.

DRUGS – CUBA
US Teens Have Easy Access to Drugs – Prensa Latina

An increasing number of US teens gets, illegally, medicines that should be obtained under prescription, something considered in the threshold of consuming drugs like heroine, said a research revealed on Thursday.

PRESCRIPTION – CANADA
Survey Finds Teens Have Easy Access to Prescription Drugs – Chatter Shmatter

Gaining access to dangerous prescription drugs is becoming easier than buying beer for US teenagers according to the results of a new survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Easier For Teens To Get Prescription Drugs Easier Than Beer – Chattah Box

A new report released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, has found that it is easier for teenagers in the U.S. to get prescription drugs, compared to getting alcohol, such as beer.

DRUGS – UK
Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2008 – Information Center

This annual statistical report presents information on drug misuse among both adults and children. It includes a focus on young adults.

ALCOHOL – UK
Industry body releases guidance on tackling public underage drinking – Alcohol Policy

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has released a new guidance document ‘A New Way of Tackling Public Underage Drinking: Community Alcohol Partnerships’ which claims to be a new model for local enforcement to tackle underage drinking.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Are Americans in Denial about the Widespread Abuse of Prescription Drugs? – Pushing Back

As youth drug use continues to decline nationwide, we very concerned about the increasing rates of prescription drug abuse among teens.

DRUGS – UK
Drug treatment outcomes tool: fit for purpose and delivering world-beating data – NTA

The Treatment Outcomes Profile (TOP) – the tool used for monitoring the effectiveness of substance misuse treatment in England – has been assessed by peer-review as fit for purpose and is published in the journal, Addiction, (September edition, 2008) this week.

DRUGS – USA
Parents’ prescription drugs pose risk to teens – San Francisco Chronicle

The survey, released Thursday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, found that parents are dropping the ball on preventing their kids from using drugs, drinking and smoking. Teenagers surveyed said it’s easier to buy narcotics than beer.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drugs Easier To Get Than Beer – Injury Board

Kids assume drugs are safe. After all, they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and they are in their parents’ medicine chests.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Youngsters Can Procure Prescription Drugs Easier Than Beer – eFlux Media

More youngsters say it’s easier for them to get prescription drugs than it is to acquire beer, shows a new survey released today by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

DRUGS – USA
Youth access to drugs increases – Christian Science Monitor
Teenagers can get their hands on marijuana and prescription drugs more rapidly and easily this year than last, according to a new study. However, greater drug availability has not yet translated into greater drug abuse in the group – marijuana use among teens continues to decline.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Teens Easily, Illegally Access Prescription Drugs – eMax Health

Teens report it’s easier for them to access prescription drugs than beer, a fact that urges parents to be more attentive. Thirty four percent of teenagers abuse prescription drugs and harm their health without realizing it.

DRUGS – UK
Back To School: More Stressful Than Parents Think – Medical News Today

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America recently released a survey showing that the number one reason for teenage drug and alcohol abuse is to deal with school-related pressures.

DRUGS – UK
CHILDREN’S DRUG SURVEY – Life Education

One in five 10 year olds (19%), think that heroin is legal, according to a new survey from leading children’s health education charity Life Education.

ALCOHOL – UK
CHILDREN’ ALCOHOL SURVEY – Life Education

Almost a third of children (30%) think that for adults who drink wine, drinking five or more glasses of wine in one night is normal drinking behaviour, says a new survey from leading children’s health education charity Life Education.

METH – USA
McMaster eyes program to steer youths from meth – Greenville News

The images are raw, gut-wrenchingly akin to those black-and-white images of highway carnage that traffic courts once forced offenders to watch. Others ads show the physical toll the drug takes, oozing sores, rotting, falling out teeth, hallucinations, and raw skin from scratching at bugs that exist only in the mind.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Be aware of prescription drug abuse – Vineland Daily Journal

August was recently designated as National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. With the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) reporting that about 9 million people use prescription medication for nonmedical uses, the timing couldn’t have been better.

DRUGS – INDIA
Worrying Trend of Drug Related Deaths in Scotland – Med India

As per the latest report, drug related deaths had reached a record high of 455 during the past year, 8% higher than the previous year and double in 10 years.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol energy drinks a threat to teens – Santa Fe - New Mexican

Alcohol and caffeine is a dangerous mix because the caffeine masks, but does not counteract, alcohol’s effects, resulting in a “wide-awake drunk.” The combination increases the likelihood of drunken driving, unsafe sex, assaults and other alcohol problems.

ALCOHOL – USA
Utah colleges pushing for ban on beer commercials – Salt Lake Tribune

College officials in Utah are among those calling for an end to beer commercials during televised NCAA sporting events.

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.

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.