Drug News

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.

HEROIN – UK
Pete Doherty: who will stop the Pied Piper of heroin? – Telegraph.co.uk

Three children, three bright futures, three pairs of grief-stricken parents. And one man linking them all: Pete Doherty, the singer – the not-so-angelic singer. Thirty-two years old, 15 court appearances in eight years, 25 drugs convictions, plus three more for burglary, driving without insurance and assault.

METHADONE/HEROIN – UK
Failure to help drug addicts is costing Britain £3.6bn a year – The Independent

Its author, Kathy Gyngell, said: “By sponsoring addiction, drug treatment has entrenched a costly dual dependency – on drugs and on welfare.” Three-quarters of those in treatment programmes are on methadone, amounting to 150000 people.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Atlantic County narcotics officer says teen drug use rising – Press of Atlantic City

An Atlantic County narcotics investigator told a state commission investigating the rise in drug use among teenagers that he has seen many high school students progress from getting drugs from their parents to buying heroin on the streets.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Local drug addict speaks out about success of Georgia Meth Project – WRDW TV

They are graphic commercials, showing drug use at its worst, but
new research shows The Georgia Meth Project is working. Information released by Governor Deal today shows, more teenagers believe meth is dangerous, and they say the ads are sending a message loud and clear.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol is teen drug of choice – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Teens reported consuming alcohol more than any other drug. They also reported having the lowest levels of perceived harm from drinking alcohol.

ALCOHOL – USA
Gun Owners More Likely to Abuse Alcohol – Laboratory Equipment

Binge drinking, chronic heavy alcohol use and drinking and driving are all more common among gun owners than among non-owners, even after adjusting for age.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Teens’ toxic combo: Boredom, alcohol and drugs – St. Augustine Record

Summer is often a point of concern for parents as their young people tend to have more free time and less adult supervision. These two factors can be a toxic combination fueled by boredom and risky decision making when it comes to alcohol and other drug use.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A County Takes Down Prescription ‘Pill Mills’ – NPR

Behind her is a memorial to victims of prescription drug abuse. Many of the clinics are blamed for prescription drug abuse in a state where the leading cause of accidental death is unintentional drug overdose.

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.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Rob Lowe: ‘I loved going to rehab’ – Digital Spy

Lowe, who entered rehab for drug and sex addiction in 1988 after a sex tape scandal, said that it was an “amazing experience”, because he was ready to start living his life the way he wanted. Charlie Sheen is wrong.

HEROIN – CANADA
Canada’s high court to rule on safe-injection site – Toronto Star

Supporters say it also reduces the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and curbs crime and open drug use. The federal government rejects that evidence, arguing the facility fosters addiction and runs counter to its tough-on-crime agenda.

DRUG ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
Our Say: Tackling drugs use in schools – The Cairns Post

THE State Government needs to strike a balance when it comes to dealing with drug use in schools. Educating students on the horrific consequences drugs have on the lives of those suffering addiction and their families would be a good start. Students suspended or expelled for being caught with illegal substances should be given a more intensive insight, no matter how confronting it may be, to try to stem what is a major problem in the community.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Dave Gahan says it’s a myth that musicians need drugs to be creative – Examiner.com

Artists don’t have to suffer to create art, said Depeche Mode’s lead vocalist Dave Gahan, as he discussed drug addiction on the red carpet at the 7th annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit. Later in the evening, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler presented Gahan the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award on behalf of the organization.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
State cash will ease federal cuts for Maine Drug Enforcement Agency – Kennebec Journal

The cuts come at a time when urban police departments cite an increase in violent crime associated with drug addiction and rural agencies struggle with prescription drug diversion — also a byproduct of addiction. “There is not another issue in this state that affects communities and law enforcement as much as the drug issue.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Ex-drug addict Robert Hayes fights his way out of homelessness with comic strip – Philadelphia Inquirer

Together, the two men created “Li’l Addict,” a comic strip that tells Hayes’ life story as rawly as he has lived it. Hayes writes the narrative, creating fictional versions of the unsavory characters that dominated his alcohol- and drug-dependent years.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Carolina DeLuca: Parents must be vigilant against alcohol use – Livingston Daily

‎Terry decided to challenge herself by downing 15 shots. Of course, she became drunk with all the unpleasantness that it entails. Terry’s friend supported her during the whole night as she lay sick on the bathroom floor. The whole night that Terry was struggling, she was actually dying. Erroneously, the parents reasoned that if they monitored what the girls drank, and if Terry stayed overnight, not driving home, that she would be safe. This is not uncommon

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION/HEROIN – USA
Pain pill addicts use heroin when money gets tight, drug study says – Middletown Journal

The over prescription of opioid medications — like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and methadone — is not only leading to increased overdose rates on those drugs, but may be leading to an increase in heroin use.

HEROIN – USA
Cops say they’ve busted huge Park Slope heroin ring – BrooklynPapers.com

Federal investigators say that several “brands” of Heroin like this one called “Cream,” were readily available on the streets of Park Slope. The brownstone neighborhood is slowly getting a reputation as a one-stop shopping destination for drug buyers.

COCAINE – USA
Officials push for stiffer penalties for cocaine possession – WLBZ-TV

“In the city of Portland, cocaine is the drug that is creating the most trouble, we have many stories of how the cocaine has ravaged communities, neighborhoods and families. This law is a policy statement that the state of Maine does not condone drug use,” explained Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Ex-Drug Addict: I’m Forever Grateful to David Wilkerson – Christian Post

“The gang members became drug addicts. The same young men we knew as gang members, we started to know them as drug addicts,” explained Wilkerson, who still directs Teen Challenge Brooklyn.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth lab found in Loup City – Grand Island Independent

LOUP CITY — A 48-year-old Loup City man was arrested Tuesday when the components of a methamphetamine lab were found in downtown Loup City. Jeffrey Arnold was arrested on felony charges.

ALCOHOL – USA
Now is time to talk to teens about alcohol – Marietta Times

Youth who begin drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to develop alcohol dependency or abuse alcohol later in life. When drinking is delayed until 21, a person’s risk of serious alcohol problems is reduced by 70%.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Territory doctors tackle alcohol abuse debate – ABC Online

We get lots of people who suffer injuries as a result of alcohol related violence but we also see the effects of long term alcohol use and very young people with chronic illness of many forms relating to alcohol from chronic brain injuries, from recurrent infections which are likely worsened by alcohol, chronic liver disease, acute pancreatitis.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug drop-off points being set up throughout county – The Flint Journal

The drugs eventually will be incinerated by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. With a rise in opiate abuse in the area and after a string of fatal overdoses, preventing prescription drug abuse is the major motivation for the drug take-back.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Police investigation leads to major bust – StarPhoenix

In total, 53 grams of cocaine, five pounds of marijuana, numerous prescription pills, a small amount of ecstasy, a large amount of cash and a weapon were seized, along with three vehicles. “We’re sending a clear message to those who choose to deal drugs. It is unacceptable to the good people that choose to live, work and raise their families in our part of the world. This is just the start.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drug-prevention seminars offered through June 1 – Canton Repository

The Stark County Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Outreach Project will present free drug preventional and educational seminars on Wednesdays, Wednesday, April 13, through June 1.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION – CANADA
Addict tells students the hard facts about drug and alcohol use – Sault Star
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Christie, a 30-year recovering alcoholic and drug addict, is in Sault Ste. Marie this week speaking to senior elementary and secondary school students on the consequences of experimenting with drugs and alcohol. “Elementary school is the right time for this talk. By high school it’s too late, the kids have likely made their choices,”

HEROIN – USA
Heroin deaths nearly triple in Lake County – Chicago Tribune

The death rate from heroin in Lake County has nearly tripled since 2007, and the sheriff believes it’s because heroin is relatively cheap and potent. Sheriff Mark Curran says there has been “an explosion” of heroin overdose deaths.

HEROIN – UK
Heroin overdose antidote should be given to prisoners, ministers told – The Guardian

One in eight prisoners take a heroin overdose within two weeks of leaving jail, Les Iversen said. The government’s official drug advisers are urging ministers to provide all prisoners at risk of overdosing with a “magic medicine” that could save up to 500 lives a year.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Alcohol Awareness Goes Hand in Hand With April – Patch.com

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. The Community Parent Center encourages parents to educate themselves and then talk to their teens about alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and other risky behaviors.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Inside Slant: Alcohol abuse at the ballpark is not acceptable behavior – The Desert Sun

Several witnesses told police the attackers of the Giants fan were drunk. As long as alcohol abuse continues to be treated as acceptable behavior in our ballparks and on our roads, people will continue to suffer the consequences.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
An Issue of Influence: Alcohol, drugs can lead to domestic abuse – Park Rapids Enterprise

The annual cost to the nation of untreated abuse of alcohol and other drugs is $276 billion, yet only $3 billion is spent on prevention, treatment, and research of substance abuse of all types – with only a small amount designated for child welfare cases.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
No booze if ID on ban list – NTNews.com.au

Problem drinkers will be banned from buying alcohol at takeaway bottleshops in the Territory if their name appears on a banned list. All Territorians will have their ID scanned at bottleshop registers in an attempt to curb alcohol abuse.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Baseball world shocked as Ramirez retires – AFP

LOS ANGELES — The American baseball community expressed surprise and shock that disgraced slugger Manny Ramirez chose to retire rather than take part in the league’s drug rehab programme for a second time. The Tampa Bay player called it a day Friday,

DRUG REHAB – USA
School nurse pushing for Mineral County youth drug rehab – Keyser Mineral Daily News Tribune

By Liz Beavers FORT ASHBY – As a school nurse at three schools in the Frankfort District, Tammy Hansford can see a very clear need for drug and alcohol rehabilitation services for adolescents. Noting that there is a normal waiting period of six weeks. “Once somebody decides they want help, you have to get them help,” she said.

ALCOHOL – USA
Few Alcoholics Realize They Need Help – WebMD
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that of the nation’s 7.4 million adults aged 21 and 64 who have untreated alcohol abuse, only 1.2% believe they could benefit from treatment. And only 7.8% recognize that they need treatment.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Here’s to me – Sydney Morning Herald
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After four years documenting the nation’s escalating toll of alcohol abuse as a health writer, I knew more than most about the consequences of risky drinking. But it didn’t deter me. I was first on the dance floor, last to leave the party and winner of the inaugural ”Jill Stark drinking award” at last year’s staff Christmas bash.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Pregnant women could face ban on buying alcohol – ABC Online
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The Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation owns three shops in Alice Springs and is concerned about the effects of foetal alcohol syndrome in babies. The corporation’s Darryl Pearce says Alice Springs is facing many problems associated with alcohol abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Abuse – Effect Of Underage Binge Drinking To Brain Development Disclosed – Star Global Tribune‎

This may come as a surprise to some, but recent surveys indicate that episodes of heavy alcohol drinking within the previous two weeks are reported by 12 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, 28 percent of 12th grade seniors and 44 …

ECSTASY – CANADA
Bad ecstasy puts several in hospital – TheChronicleHerald
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Several young Haligonians have gotten seriously ill after ingesting bad ecstasy and at least one is still in hospital, Halifax drug officers said Thursday. “They were in a serious medical condition,” said Constable David Lane.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Sheriff: Mobile meth labs create ‘toxic’ dangers to highway cleanup crews – Muskegon Chronicle
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The toxic residue is found on paraphernalia used to make “mobile” methamphetamine labs, said Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler. Mobile meth labs are operated out of vehicles and then discarded along highways statewide, Roesler said.

MARIJUANA AND ECSTASY – UK
More teens on drugs: After 10 year decline marijuana and ecstasy use rises – Daily Mail

‘We encourage parents and caregivers to pay attention to the warning signs of teen drinking and other drug use, in order to intervene early and effectively. ‘If you suspect a problem, do not wait to get help for a child who is struggling with substance abuse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
$36M to be used to fight prescription drug abuse in Ohio – Dayton Daily News

John Kasich on Tuesday announced $36 million in federal and local funds would be used to fight the scourge of prescription drug abuse, which now accounts for more deaths statewide than car accidents or suicides.

DRUG REHAB – AUSTRALIA
User had not fallen far enough to qualify for rehab – Logan West Leader

With no permanent home, Deborah has been “couch surfing” with her child for 12 months, mostly at the homes of other drug addicts. She was turned away from the city’s only residential rehabilitation centre because her addiction “wasn’t bad enough”.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
The end of racing’s drug addiction? – ESPN

Something big, bigger than a press release from RCI, needs to happen now, something to really build up momentum for the anti-drug cause. And the Breeders’ Cup is exactly the organization that should lead the way.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – INDIA
More city schoolchildren get hooked to whiteners – Times of India

CHENNAI: Counsellors working among alcoholics and drug addicts in the city are seeing a rise in the number of youngsters addicted to whiteners and other inhalants. At least 20 children are undergoing de-addiction from whiteners in the city.

DRUG ABUSE – SOUTH AFRICA
Painful accounts of drugs at tribute – Independent Online

Orgill lost her only son, Troy, three years ago when he committed suicide because of his drug addiction. She said: “One day he told me he loved me and an hour later I was cutting a rope from his neck trying to breathe life into him.”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
State invites Alaska community coalitions to apply for alcohol abuse prevention grant – Greenfield Daily Reporter

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska officials are encouraging community coalitions statewide to apply for grants to develop alcohol prevention programs. The state is planning to issue six grants for programs focusing on alcohol use among residents.

ALCOHOL – USA
Program aimed at preventing teen alcohol fatalities – Dothan Eagle
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The Houston County Substance Abuse Partnership staged a mock fatal car accident for seniors and juniors at Rehobeth High School on Wednesday morning.

DRUG REHAB – USA
The Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr opens up about ‘hardcore’ drug problem – NME.com‎

The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. has opened up about the drug rehab treatment he received while the band recorded their new album ‘Angles’. Hammond Jr didn’t name the specific type of drug he was being treated for, but called his ordeal …

DRUG ADDICTION – NEW ZEALAND
Is alcohol addiction a growing problem for NZ teens? – New Zealand Herald‎

Children as young as nine are among hundreds of people under 16 being treated by specialist clinics for alcoholics and drug addicts in greater Auckland. The number of children being treated by the region’s Community Alcohol and Drug Services increased …

DRUG ADDICTION – AUSTRALIA
WA top cop opens up about son’s addiction – Sydney Morning Herald‎

Mr O’Callaghan wrote to The Sunday Times newspaper explaining his personal pain dealing with a son suffering from a chronic drug-addiction. “For me, the problem was amplified by the very public airing of the most private of feelings,” he said. …

DRUG ABUSE – USA
W.Va. drug abuse hotline runs short of money – NECN‎

Administrators say money is running out for a phone service that helps people find treatment for prescription drug abuse. Clinical supervisor Laura Lander tells The Charleston Gazette that the $1 million funding for the West Virginia …

HEROIN – USA
Police: Teen Had 170 Bags of Heroin – Patch.com ‎

Patch Two teens were arrested after a motor vehicle stop Tuesday at Adams and Vaughn avenues, in which police said they found 170 bags of suspected heroin.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Expert: Teens use ‘party drugs’ to deal with stress – Arizona Republic‎

“In the last two or three years, we’ve had a significant surge in alcohol, ecstasy, prescription drugs and marijuana use among teens. And you notice that those are all the party drugs,” said researcher and substance-abuse treatment expert Karol Kumpher.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – WORLDWIDE
The WHO alert on alcohol abuse – Daily Sun‎

The grave danger that alcohol abuse poses to human health and wellbeing has again been highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently disclosed that abuse of the substance causes nearly four percent more than the dreaded Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and tuberculosis, worldwide.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – CANADA
Driving while high almost as common as drunk driving, survey suggests – Vancouver Sun

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse’s British Columbia Roadside Survey 2010 found 7.2 per cent of the drivers tested turned out to be positive for drug use and 9.9 per cent of drivers tested positive for alcohol use.

BATH SALTS – USA
N.J. Legislators Sponsor Bill To Ban ‘Bath Salts’ – Patch.com ‎

Everyone knew he was a drug addict, everyone that knew him.” Laface said he saw Parisio last on March 9, and said he was very edgy. “Bill wasn’t his usual self, he seemed paranoid. I suggested that he’d check himself into a hospital.”

DRUG ADDICTION – INDIA
Chidambaram Expressed Concern Over Drug Addiction Among Indian Youth – MedIndia ‎

Union Home Minister P. Chidamabaram expressed concern over the growing drug addiction among the youth, saying that India has turned into a big market of narcotics.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Charlie Sheen’s rants and the early symptoms of drug addiction – Tulsa World‎

Sheen has convinced himself that he is his own higher power, on a drug called Charlie Sheen, which is a symptom I have seen all too often in drug addicts. Sheen’s tirades might be caused by his long-term drug use.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Bid to sterilize drug addicts sparks fury – Herald.ie ‎

She has already paid more than 1200 American female drug addicts to be sterlized and 26 British addicts to have contraceptive coils fitted. She has now turned her attention to Ireland and says she is looking for donations to expand into this country.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Md. health official decries prescription drug abuse – Washington Examiner‎

According to Dr. Fran Phillips, there is ample evidence of a major public health concern from prescription drug abuse. If the bill is passed, a database would be created to track prescriptions of potentially dangerous drugs like OxyContin.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – SOUTH AFRICA
Poverty fuelling drug and alcohol abuse – Times LIVE

The widespread poverty and unemployment in South Africa is fuelling drug and alcohol abuse. “Unless we can offer hope to our youth, we will never to able to wean them away from practices which promise some short-term escape, but inflict deadly long-term damage to their bodies and minds.”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Early drinkers more likely to use booze to cope – Independent

“We found that the impact of stressful life events on drinking behavior depends on the age at first drink. The earlier they start with alcohol use, the stronger the association between life stress and drinking.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Federal sting nets 25 in meth-distribution ring – Salt Lake Tribune

Two indictments unsealed Friday in U.S. District Court name 25 people connected to a methamphetamine distribution ring that investigators believe has been operating in Utah since 2009.