Drug News

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Opana spikes overdose deaths – Bluefield Daily Telegraph

During the press conference, Bluefield, Va., Police Chief Harry Cundiff said that the drug trade often to leads to crimes such as breaking and entry, metal thefts and passing bad checks. “If you take away drug addiction, it would put us out of a job.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Woman finds hope in recovery from prescription pill abuse – Sacramento Bee

A 2009 study found that 16 million Americans ages 12 and older took prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes at least once in the prior year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA/PORTUGAL
Portugal takes proper approach to ‘drug war’ – The Detroit News

Despite more than $40 billion spent every year on the US drug war and 500000 people behind bars on drug related offenses, drugs are as available as ever. But what is the alternative? What would happen if a society decided to treat drug use as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue? What if we stopped the futile effort of using force to decrease drug consumption? What if we decriminalized drugs, not just marijuana, but all drugs like heroin, cocaine and meth?

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
CSI Star Charged With Hillbilly Heroin Possession – antiMUSIC.com

Former “CSI” star Gary Dourdan has been charged with drug possession — after officials determined he was carrying oxycontin when he smashed into several parked cars in Hollywood on June 13.

MARIJUANA/HEROIN – USA
Drug Enforcement Administration Says Marijuana Same As Heroin – ThirdAge

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) ruled on July 8, 2011 that marijuana has no accepted medical use and will remain classified as an addictive and dangerous drug, similar to heroin.

ALCOHOL – USA
New alcohol education program may avert binge drinking abuse – Oregon Daily Emerald

More than other schools, the University has its fair share of alcohol abuse. In fact, according to the American College Health Association, the number of University students who had used alcohol within the past month was 12 percent higher than students surveyed nationwide.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Abuse of Prescription Drugs by Young Teens on the Rise – Patch.com

There is good news coming from the 2010-2011 Pride Survey of young teen drug and alcohol use in Rockland County. But there is also disturbing information about the gradual increase in the abuse of prescription drugs by 10th graders and even 8th grade students.

ECSTASY – SCOTLAND
Fear over killer Ecstasy pills at music festival – Scotland on Sunday

POLICE have warned revellers at the T in the Park festival to beware of any drugs bought on the site after officers seized a shipment of Ecstasy with a street value of £80000. Police warned that Ecstasy tablets six times stronger than normal have been sold in the west of Scotland.

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION – PORTUGAL
Mixed Results For Portugal’s Great Drug Experiment – NPR
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When Portugal decriminalized all illegal drugs in 2000, officials hoped to reduce addiction rates and drug-related violence. Today, more users are in rehab, …

DRUG REHAB – USA
Woman says drug court changed her life – WALA-TV FOX10

Phipps appeared before Judge Wilters, who gave her the choice to join the drug court rehab program in place of a Class “C” Felony drug charge. She agreed. …

DRUG REHAB – USA
Eric Clapton memorabilia goes on sale – ITN
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Rock legend Eric Clapton puts more than 70 guitars and 70 amplifiers up for auction to raise money for his drug and alcohol rehab charity. …

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Exercise and drug use: What do they have in common? – Slate Magazine
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But if exercise works as a treatment for drug addiction, we don’t know exactly why. It’s possible that a sweaty session at the club merely serves as a …

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Survey: Drug, alcohol use among youth increasing – My West Texas

A mother tearfully talks about her son’s drug addiction. Ford Smith and Jeaneen Pruitt were among speakers Thursday night at a drug prevention forum …

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Local medical officials learn more about drug addiction – WKYT
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Operation UNITE held a meeting in Prestonsburg where the officials learned more about addiction and what they can do to not become part of the problem. …

DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT – USA
Senate Committee Clears Syringe-Access Bill – The Jersey City Independent

… and the sale of any syringe would have to be accompanied by information about the safe disposal of syringes and drug addiction treatment. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Pasco gets boost in fight against prescription drug abuse – Tbo.com

NEW PORT RICHEY – Pasco officials hoping to curb the raging prescription drug epidemic just got a dose of good news. …

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION – PORTUGAL
Drug experiment – Boston Globe ‎

Street teams of Portugal’s Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction exchange used needles for new ones and try to direct drug addicts to treatment centers. …

MARIJUANA – USA
Medical pot laws result in increased teen drug use – White Mountain Independent

Experts in Colorado are starting to study the impact medical marijuana has had on teen drug use in their state. …

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION – USA
Bid to legalize marijuana all smoke and mirrors – Los Angeles Times

Think that’s why Holland’s heroin addiction rate has tripled since it legalized marijuana? Do we really need more drug addicts in America? No.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
US Government (Sorta) Reconsiders Poisoning Drug Addicts for their Own Good – Reason Online

Pure hydrocodone is a Schedule II drug under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, whereas hydrocodone compounded with acetaminophen is a more loosely …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Drinking, driving problem remains – Green Bay Press Gazette‎

These types of efforts are building blocks toward creating a necessary cultural shift around the issue of alcohol abuse generally, and drunken driving …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Woman finds drugs packed inside vacuum cleaner – Green Bay Press Gazette

Green Bay woman surprised on Dec. 25 when refurbished vacuum cleaner she’d received as gift contained two pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 2.2 pounds of cocaine.

HEROIN – USA
30 accused in heroin ring – News-Herald.com‎

A federal grand jury returned a 110-count indictment on Thursday against 30 people who are accused of running a large-scale heroin trafficking ring that …

KETAMINE – UK
Sex change keeps drug dealer out of jail – Telegraph

But his lawyers pleaded with Judge Mark Horton to spare him a jail term because he is at a crucial stage in becoming a woman and would find it ”difficult” in a male prison.

DRUG REHAB – GLOBAL
Eric Clapton auctions guitars for drug rehab clinic – Seer Press‎

Legendary musician Eric Clapton will be selling 150 items, including 70 guitars, for his drug rehab clinic in Antigua. This will mark the third time Clapton …

DRUG COURT – CANADA
Drug treatment court aims to break cycle of crime – Waterloo Record ‎

Kitchener is about to join a handful of cities across Canada who have drug treatment courts. The weekly court, to begin Feb. 2, will be held in Ontario …

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Substance abuse treatment admission rates show dramatic shifts from 1998 to 2008 – Examiner.com ‎

Drug treatment admission rates, as well as types of drugs involved during the period of 1998 to 2008 shows dramatic shifts says a new study out by the …

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION/TREATMENT – PORTUGAL
Switch succeeds – Scranton Times-Tribune ‎

Users are sent to counseling and for treatment rather than to prison. After 10 years, Portugal has reported a 20 percent increase in drug treatment and a 66 …

DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION/TREATMENT – USA
Portugal’s drug policy and how USA is looking to do same – Planet News World ‎

10 years past, the Lisbon locality was a hell on earth, a “drug supermarket” wherever roughly 5000 users lined up each day to purchase heroin and slipped …

ALCOHOL – USA
Wine, strong beer idea questioned by Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws – NewsOK.com ‎

The Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission worries putting wine and strong beer in grocery stores will cause alcohol abuse to increase. …

ALCOHOL – GLOBAL
SIDS rate spikes 33 percent for New Year’s Day, study says – StandardNet ‎

A large-scale study looking at the connection between SIDS and alcohol was conducted by University of California sociologist David Phillips from 1973 to …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Social Issue – Pill Mills – Florida Newsmakers of the Year – Florida Trend ‎

Prescription drug deaths climbed to 2488 in 2009 — a rate of seven deaths per day — making prescription drug abuse the No. 1 Killer of Middle-Aged Floridians.

DRUG TREATMENT/DRUG COURT – USA
CA’s Budget Woes Put the Squeeze on Drug Offender Treatment – Newstalk1290 KPAY

California’s budget crisis is putting the squeeze on a novel approach that sent low-level drug offenders to treatment programs instead of prisons or …

HEROIN – UK
New record set as heroin worth £2m is seized – Herald Scotland

Police in Edinburgh have made their largest single haul of heroin after seizing £2 million-worth of the drug in a raid. About a dozen officers from Lothian …

HEROIN – USA
USC employee says heroin made him do it – The State

Addiction to heroin led former University of South Carolina employee Lawrence Godwin III to steal some $179000 from the …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth offender, 80, sentenced to 10 years – Seattle Post Intelligencer

The US attorney’s office says an 80-year-old man arrested after trying to ship 23 pounds of methamphetamine from Washington state to Alaska by car has been …

HEROIN/COCAINE/DRUG LAW REFORM – UK
Drugs law reform can get rid of dealers, insists Coventry MP Bob Ainsworth – Birmingham Post

Former Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth said he wanted to “replace dealers with doctors” as he argued for radical reform of drug laws in the House of Commons.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drugs may lead to abuse – St. George Daily Spectrum

According to the Utah Department of Health, Utah leads the nation in prescription drug abuse. Six percent of Utah residents use painkillers non-medically. …

HEROIN – USA
Dealing with heroin’s stigma – St. George Daily Spectrum

Being known as a community with a growing heroin problem is not a reputation Southern Utah is looking to cultivate and addicts and experts agree …

DRUG REHAB – CANADA
‘Fetal rights’ mom: Drug rehab a ‘miracle’ – UPI.com

A Canadian woman involved in a landmark fetal rights case in 1996 says facing forced drug treatment led to the “miracle” of her getting free from addiction.

MARIJUANA – USA
Teen marijuana use rising after years of decline – San Francisco Chronicle
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… who noted that in California, more teenagers are admitted to inpatient addiction programs for marijuana use than for any other drug, including alcohol. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Funds awarded for addiction treatment – Youngstown Vindicator

Alcohol and drug addiction programs in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will receive shares of $5 million to be dispersed to all counties in Ohio. …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Fighting a Culture of Drunkenness – WBAY
Wisconsin’s culture of drinking has turned into a culture of drunkenness

“We really have our heads in the sand, and I’m hoping this paper will bring more attention and more focus to the problem so that we can address it and stop pretending that it isn’t a serious problem.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Our addiction fuels the Mexican drug war – NMPolitics.net ‎

America has a ravenous appetite for drugs, legal and illegal. There’s a drug store on nearly every corner. When we have a problem, we generally don’t think about exercise, or eating better. We want to pop a pill and get on with things.

DRUG LEGALIZATION – USA
The decriminalization of heroin – The Periscope Post

All drugs, including heroin and cocaine, should be legalized according to MP Bob Ainsworth, the former Defence Secretary. Ainsworth argued that it is better …

HEROIN – KOSOVO
Prime Minister of Kosovo Accused of Leading a Heroin and Organ-Stealing Ring – Gawker ‎

… of exerting “violent control” over Eastern Europe’s heroin trade and conducting “assassinations, detentions, beatings and interrogations. …

CLUB DRUGS – USA
6 charged in theft of drugs from animal hospitals – Pittsburgh Post Gazette‎

The attorney general’s office said it has become “a popular club drug among teens and young adults at dance clubs and raves.” In high doses…

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
AL MVP: Josh Hamilton Overcomes Drug Addiction To Win – Bleacher Report
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For Hamilton, it was a tremendous accomplishment in his career which was derailed by alcohol and drug abuse problems. “I would say a 99 percent chance that …

DRUG LEGALIZATION – PORTUGAL
Portugal’s Drug Experience: New Study Confirms Decriminalization – TIME
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After nearly a decade, according to a study published in the November issue of the British Journal of Criminology: less teen drug use, fewer HIV infections, fewer AIDS cases and more drugs seized by law enforcement.

DRUG REHAB – U.K.
Study supports call to allow addicts to shape treatment – The Guardian
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Yet of 152 drug and alcohol addicts and recovering users surveyed by the RSA, half of those who had received treatment did not finish their programme and …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Energy drinks fuel teens’ alcohol abuse – NDTV

College students who routinely consume highly caffeinated energy drinks have a higher risk of becoming alcohol-dependent. Some students consume the …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
Northern Territory Law Society calls for ban on alcohol … – News-Medical.net
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According to the Northern Territory Law Society, pubs, bars and breweries should be stopped from sponsoring sport. …

DRUG / ALCOHOL RECOVERY – USA
15-year-old who battled drugs, alcohol now helps other teens find – The Tennessean
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All of the 10 teens in the group have parents who battle drug and alcohol addictions. Most of them have at least one parent in prison. …

HEROIN – USA
Human Smugglers Switch To Cargo Of Heroin – KPHO Phoenix
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PHOENIX — Officials from US Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol said they are seeing an increased number of heroin shipments coming from …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Painkiller addiction is growing problem with serious consequences – The Spokesman Review

They now take more lives than heroin and cocaine combined. … a drug used to treat alcoholism, to treat addiction to heroin and Schedule II painkillers. …