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.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drug-testing proposal for welfare recipients debated – New Philadelphia Times Reporter

A proposal to require welfare recipients to pass a drug test — an idea being pushed by GOP lawmakers in Ohio and other states — is being questioned as an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Chris Rene says he’d use ‘The X Factor’ prize money to create a rehab center – OnTheRedCarpet.com

Chris Rene says if he wins “The X Factor” he’ll take the $5 million prize money and use it to create a rehab center for individuals like himself.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Long struggles with drugs ended in death – StarNewsOnline.com

Prescription drug abusers do not fit neatly into a profile or a stereotype, but range from the teenager stealing bottles from the medicine cabinet to the senior chewing pills to quell chronic pain.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Drug Tampering Cases Show Gaps in Nurse Regulation in Kansas – Insurance Journal

A nurse with a prior felony conviction for forging prescriptions dilutes morphine solutions for five Halstead, Kan., nursing home patients. Another nurse convicted of stealing drugs from patients at an Emporia home gets another job in Topeka, where she adds tap water to a painkiller prescribed for a 105-year-old patient. Still another nurse …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Adolescent drinking may be as important a risk factor for criminal activity as illicit drug use – Eureka Alert

Alcohol use has often been linked to criminal activity on the part of both perpetrators as well as victims. While this relationship has been well documented among adults, fewer studies have explored this relationship among adolescents. A new study has found a strong relationship between drinking during adolescence and the commission of crimes, and criminal victimization, for both genders.

DRUG REHAB – USA
A young woman struggles with oxy addiction and recovery – Tampabay.com

When her mom came to pick her up for drug court that morning, Stacy Nicholson was still high. She staggered to the door, fumbled with the bungee cord that kept it closed, blinked back the sunlight.

ECSTASY – SCOTLAND
Warning over ecstasy pills that raise overdose risk – BBC News

Police have issued a warning about an ingredient in some ecstasy tablets which could lead to overdosing. partygoers should be aware of the potentially fatal risks. Tablets which look like ecstasy have been found to contain a drug called PMMA. The substance has been blamed for several deaths across Europe.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Narconon East US Director Has Holiday Tips For Intervention And Drug Rehab Alternatives – PR Web

Narconon East US Executive Director, Yvonne Rodgers, has lifesaving holiday tips of an unusual nature. Her tips are for the loved ones and parents of those struggling with substance abuse and cover drug abuse intervention and drug rehab as an alternative to jail.

HEROIN – USA
Tennessee authorities expect surge in heroin use – ‎Houston Chronicle

Law enforcement agents around Tennessee are bracing for a resurgence of heroin use as prescription drug users turn to the drug, fueled by users’ need for a low-cost alternative and dealers’ aggressive marketing techniques.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
New Drug Tests Target the Poor – In These Times

This year alone, at least 30 state legislatures (including Louisiana, Massachusetts and Illinois) have considered bills that would require people to pass a drug test to become eligible to receive welfare benefits.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Abuse of Pills Jumps in City, Report Shows – Wall Street Journal

Next to marijuana, painkillers are the drugs that New Yorkers are taking illegally more than any other, according to a drug survey by the city’s Department of Health that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
Social Networking Tied to Teen Drug, Alcohol Use – WebMD
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Teens who spend time on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking sites may be more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and use drugs. But it’s not the fact that teens visit social network sites that makes them more likely to abuse alcohol or other drugs. Instead, the issue seems to be what they view on those sites.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
The risks of meth labs – Norman Transcript
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Although legislation has reduced the number of illegal methamphetamine labs around the state, the danger of fire and explosion remains. A case reported on by the Tulsa World reminds us of the risks meth cooks take.

DRUG/ALCOHOL ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
NSW firies blazing over drug tests – ABC Online
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New South Wales fire fighters are threatening industrial action over a State Government plan to introduce random drug and alcohol testing. The Fire Brigade Employees Unions says there is no evidence of drug and alcohol abuse to justify the intrusions of its members’ privacy.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Army hiring more counselors for alcohol abuse – The Associated Press

Washington – The army is increasing its staff of substance abuse counselors by about 30 percent to help the rising number of troops with alcohol problems.

ECSTASY – USA
‘Ecstasy pill’ kills exam party girl, 16 – The Sun

A teenage girl has died of a suspected ecstasy overdose while with a group of pals celebrating their exam results — just days before her 17th birthday. Serena Harding is believed to have suffered a heart attack after taking a tablet at a beauty spot.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
‘Pill-mill’ doctors responsible for much prescription-drug abuse – TC Palm
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How about a “zero tolerance” policy for the pill-mill doctors? Let’s levy a fine closer to $100,000 than $10,000, permanently revoke their medical license, and deliver a mandatory prison term for homicide. In the “war against drugs,” these doctors are the worst kind of war criminal.

BATH SALTS – USA
Bath salts: America’s newest drug addiction – Examiner.com

Synthetic drugs, being sold under the facade of “bath salts,” have quickly become a cause for alarm with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and federal authorities.

COCAINE – BRAZIL
Outrage: Rio Drug Dealers Sell Amy Winehouse Brand Cocaine‎ – Student Operated Press

Drug dealers in the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro are packaging their product with pictures of Amy Winehouse in a bid to make the drug more attractive to younger users.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Campus Life 101: Staying Sober – Fox News

As a high school senior, Aaron Weir decided to attend Texas Tech University in Lubbock, not for any particular academic program but for the hospitality that school extends toward students in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. “I was 16 years old when I got clean and sober and I want to stay that way in college.”

HEROIN – USA
Heroin ‘lamp shades’ lead to arrest – Washington Post

Upon closer inspection, the officers noticed that the frames contained a “brown powdery substance” that tested positive for heroin. A lot of it.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Arrests won’t solve prescription drug problem, leaders say‎ – Charleston Gazette

“Law enforcement cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Smithers said. “It’s way beyond that.” West Virginia has the nation’s highest rate of drug overdose deaths. More than 90 percent involve prescription drugs.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Teens take road to addiction early in life – Times Free Press

The road to teen addiction often begins when children are still young enough to climb into their parents’ laps. The majority of alcohol and drug abuse begins right before adulthood, Columbia researchers said, but small children who see their parents smoking, drinking or pill-popping are more likely to give it a whirl during their teenage years.

HEROIN – USA
Richland man charged in 3rd heroin-related death – The News Tribune

A 35-year-old alleged drug dealer now is charged with the deaths of three Tri-Citians who overdosed after using his heroin. In the newest case filed against Brian Haney Burt, the Richland man reportedly found the victim in a poor condition but panicked and left without getting help.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
The Life of Amy Winehouse: A Timeline (Sept. 14, 1983-July 23, 2011) – E! Online

June 17, 2009: Winehouse’s parents, Janis and Mitch, make a public plea to try to get their daughter the help she needs, saying that she was still drinking while in a drug treatment program.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin’s siren song: Son achieves stability after years of addiction – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

We didn’t find it in the same route; we both ended up drug addicts by our own means, but we used together. I snorted it a couple of times. I went intravenous pretty quickly. We’re all good at hiding it for an extended period of time.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Robbery case, toddler’s death highlight Florida’s prescription drug problem – Tampabay.com

Prescription drug abuse remains rampant in Florida, even as local and state officials continue their crackdowns. So-called pill mills, the unscrupulous pain management clinics with on-site pharmacies accepting cash payments, have been the main supply line for oxycodone and other prescription painkillers flooding the streets in a state where an average of seven people die each day from prescription drug overdoses.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Northern California woman to stand trial in meth breast milk death – San Jose Mercury News

A Humboldt County judge has ordered a woman to stand trial in the death of her newborn son after he drank her methamphetamine-laced breast milk.

ECSTASY – USA
Some say ecstasy may be to blame for psychotic behavior – ABC Action News

Now, one of Hadley’s best friends says he admitted to taking three ecstasy pills around the time of the murders. Ecstasy is a drug typically used at raves or concerts.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse in Vermont ‘a problem of epidemic proportions’ – BurlingtonFreePress.com

The overview: Vermont’s prescription drug abuse problem is getting worse. Monday: The medical angle: Doctors have become a source of opiates for the state’s addicts.

ALCOHOL – USA
Adults who allow underage alcohol consumption face stiff consequences – Livingston Daily

Teens often take their cues about acceptance of alcohol consumption from their parents, who may adopt the attitude that they drank alcohol as teens and survived.

LSD – CANADA
Teens and LSD – Patch.com

It is this lack of inoculation of the current generation with regard to the risks of LSD that makes them vulnerable if the drug returns to popularity. The controversial psychedelic drug LSD may soon leave the underground world of illegal self-discovery.