Drug News

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
The Situation in drug treatment – The Hour
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The party is on hold for The Situation. The “Jersey Shore” cast member is getting treatment for prescription medication use. Mike Sorrentino says he’s voluntarily seeking to “take control” of medication he was taking to deal with exhaustion.

COCAINE – USA
Celebrity addicts: Who dies, who survives, and why? – 9NEWS.com
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Singer Whitney Houston’s death last month from accidental drowning from the effects of cocaine use and heart disease throws bright light on a dark corner of the world of celebrities who wrestle with substance abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Vital Signs: Start young to prevent substance abuse – The Daily Progress
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Children who begin drinking before the age of 15 are seven times more likely to develop substance abuse problems as adults. Postponing or preventing children and adolescents from using alcohol is an important way to assure that children will not have to struggle with addiction as adults.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prosecutor: Ex-Miss Russia is getting in pill trouble in NYC drug rehab program – Washington Post

Prosecutors say a former Miss Russia has been hoarding pills to try to get high while in court-ordered drug treatment. A New York City judge said Tuesday that Anna Malova can stay in a residential rehabilitation program for now. But she may have to go to trial if she gets another bad behavior report at a May 1 court date.

BATH SALTS – USA
Local popularity of designer drug bath salts grows – Utica Observer Dispatch
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Dr. Tim Page has seen ER patients on hallucinogenic highs that last for days. Sometimes, they become so violent they need physical restraints to protect them. But they haven’t taken common drugs such as LSD, coke or amphetamines. They have taken designer drugs known as bath salts.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Narconon Freedom Center Actively Supports Governor Snyder’s Efforts to Reinvent Michigan – PR Web
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Narconon Freedom Center, an alcohol and drug rehab facility that also provides community drug prevention education, actively supports Governor Snyder’s efforts to take back Michigan cities overwhelmed by unemployment, drugs and crime.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol abuse contributes to big rise in deaths from liver disease – The Guardian
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Heavy drinking is a major cause of a 25% increase in deaths from liver disease in England in under a decade, according to the government’s specialist NHS unit on terminal care.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Pill mills’ effects showing up in neonatal units, doctors say – Bellingham Herald
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On any given day, more than one-third of the babies in the neonatal intensive care unit at Manatee Memorial Hospital have been exposed to drugs. Their mothers have passed the curse of substance abuse to their newborns.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Amy Winehouse’s death: Rising numbers of people checking into rehab – Mirror.co.uk

Soaring numbers of patients have been checking into rehab following the death of Amy Winehouse. “One woman was sobbing saying she knew she needed help and that Amy’s death has brought it all home to her.”

ALCOHOL/DRUG REHAB – USA
Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller together again – HULIQ.com

Sheen and Mueller first broke up in 2009. Reports of drug problems and rehab seemed to fuel their split. Currently Sheen is helping Mueller get through rehab and states he is also getting clean.

HEROIN – USA
35 indicted for participating in major heroin-trafficking ring – WTKR Your NewsChannel 3

Thirty-five individuals have been indicted for participating in a heroin-trafficking organization that transported several kilograms of the narcotic from New York City into the Tidewater area. Each faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

ALCOHOL – USA
Books & booze: Can Iowa schools, students put end to tragedies? – DesMoinesRegister.com

No single intervention will solve the problem,” said Ralph Hingson of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “If they think just adopting one program is going to do this, it’s not going to happen.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Jerome Block Jr. admits to prescription drug addiction, but won’t resign – KOB.com

Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. says he fighting an addiction to prescription drugs.

ECSTASY – USA
‘Bath Salts’ Have Effects Similar to Meth, Ecstasy – Medscape

Mephedrone is sold as “bath salts” or as other innocuous products in an effort to sidestep drug laws, DEA Special Agent Gary Boggs tells WebMD. “In order to escape law enforcement scrutiny, products are labeled ‘not for human consumption,’ but they know full well it is intended for that.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine Abuse May Raise Parkinson’s Risk – U.S. News & World Report

People who abuse methamphetamine or other stimulants are at increased risk for Parkinson’s disease, a new study warns.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
SW Virginia drug abuse cast in workforce terms – Houston Chronicle

A coalition fighting prescription drug abuse in southwest Virginia is casting its battle in economic terms, saying substance abuse has made it more difficult for employers to hire workers. “What we’ve heard, time and time again from employers, is their frustration that so many people they are trying to hire are either unwilling to take, or unable to pass, a drug test.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
“Glee” Star Cory Monteith Talks Drug Problems, Rehab At 19 – Popdust

Monteith cites stealing money from a family member as his turning point, which led to rehab at 19 and ultimately to pursue acting.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Sen. Chuck Schumer’s proposal: Crack down on prescription drug abuse and pharmacy heists – New York Daily News

Schumer’s proposal, which comes in the wake of the Long Island pharmacy robbery that left four people dead, would limit the number of prescriptions doctors can write for addictive painkillers – and boost penalties for their theft.

DRUG ADDICTION – RUSSIA
The Curse of the Crocodile: Russia’s Deadly Designer Drug – TIME

There is no good medical explanation for why Pavlova survived her addiction. She developed a speech impediment, her pale blue eyes have something of a lobotomy patient’s vacant gaze, and her motor skills are shot from the brain damage.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Vigilance needed to battle prescription drug abuse – Knoxville News Sentinel

Prescription drug abuse is a community problem. Each of us plays an integral role in prevention. We can no longer stand idly by as our friends, family members and neighbors suffer the consequences of prescription drug abuse.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Close ties can help with booze – Noosa News

Close relationships between teenagers and their parents may discourage teenagers from alcohol use according to research conducted by The University of Queensland’s Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research and the Centre for Adolescent Health in Melbourne.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Oregon a test case for pseudoephedrine drug law – Tulsa World

Pharmaceutical lobbyists argued that the state’s existing law – essentially the same restrictions that are in place in Oklahoma now – were sufficient. Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, decided to test the situation. In one hour they had enough pseudoephedrine to make 200 hits of methamphetamine.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Supermarkets take the lead on alcohol abuse in Alice Springs – ABC Online

The supermarket chain, which owns many major liquor outlets, will set its own floor price as a way to stop the flood of cheap wine into certain markets. From July 1 in Alice Springs it won’t be possible to buy a bottle of wine for less than eight dollars and two litre casks will be phased out.

ECSTASY – USA
Authorities link 2nd death to Dallas rave – BusinessWeek

A second death has been linked to a weekend electronic music festival in Dallas where a 22-year-old man died after running into freeway traffic on his way home. His friend told police that they bought what they thought was Ecstasy at the June 18-19 event “because they were at a rave.” He threw the second away because it didn’t feel like Ecstasy.