Drug News

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Officials warn of prescription drugs in schools – WVLT

Maryville City school officials worry more kids are abusing prescription pills like Oxycontin, Percocet and Adderall.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
No shame, only hope, in fighting your child’s drug addiction – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Really, really good kids become addicted to drugs, and really, really good kids lie, cheat and steal to protect that addiction. The change doesn’t happen overnight.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Lib Dems to vote to decriminalise all drug use – The Independent

The proposed reform is based on legislation in Portugal, where the personal use of any controlled drug is no longer a criminal offense.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Former Judge Richard Baumgartner tells his story of drug use – WBIR-TV

Drug addiction can happen to anyone. A criminal court judge for more than a decade, Richard Baumgartner was a family face at community function focused on the prevention of crime and drugs. However, the shocking revelation of his own addiction forced him to step down from the bench.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Michael Jackson’s doctor sued for fueling his drug addiction – Star Lounge

Michael Jackson’s dermatologist Arnold Klein has been accused of fueling the pop star’s addiction to prescription drugs.

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — The army is increasing its staff of substance abuse counselors by about 30 percent to help the rising number of troops with alcohol problems.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
What Parents Should Know About Party Schools – LifeGoesStrong

Headline-grabbing is list of top party schools put out by Princeton Review inevitably draws protests from administrators at the “winning” schools and probably lots of interest from potential students. But most parents look at this list in horror – as they should. You’re paying a fortune for your kid to get an education, not for partying.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Unscrupulous pain clinic operators give good doctors a bad rap – Knoxville News Sentinel

Every month for two years, Freddie McMahan would get in his Lincoln LS and drive to a nearby pain clinic, where a doctor would prescribe him a cocktail of narcotic drugs. Initial prescriptions for codeine and Demerol to treat McMahan’s scoliosis eventually led to large amounts of OxyContin, Xanax and morphine. By the third week of his month’s supply, McMahan would run out, leaving him scrambling to get his fix somewhere else or go into withdrawal.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Our view: All must join war to put meth labs out of business – Utica Observer Dispatch

It’s time to go to war. Looking the other way is no longer an option because the losers in this fight could very well be your neighbors, your friends or even your own family. This war is against methamphetamine. Perhaps it’s being made right now in a home near yours. Methamphetamine is ugly. Users inject it, smoke it, snort it or swallow it. It affects the central nervous system, and is highly addictive. Results: Anxiety, psychotic and violent behavior, paranoia and brain damage. Addicts can die from continued use, if not before.

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.

MARIJUANA – USA
In Connecticut, Carrying A Small Amount of Marijuana Downgraded from Misdemeanor to Fine – Foxnews.com
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The Connecticut Senate narrowly approved legislation on Saturday that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Oscar De La Hoya Enters Drug Rehab for Substance Abuse – Larry Brown Sports

Former boxer and current promoter Oscar De La Hoya has reportedly entered drug rehab to address a substance problem.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Whitney Houston — 30 Days of Rehab Ain’t Enough! – TMZ.com

Whitney Houston is voluntarily seeking additional treatment for drug and alcohol … TMZ has learned — after completing a 30-day out-patient rehab program earlier this week.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Jeff Conaway Tragedy: Does Dr. Drew Pinsky’s ‘Celebrity Rehab’ Help or Hurt? – foxnews.com

“As usual, Jeff was most likely taking too many medicines. He probably got pneumonia and sat at home too long and was intoxicated by the prescription drugs and didn’t realize he was so sick, and by the time he got to hospital he was in shock. At one point he looked like he was going to make it, but his kidneys shut down.”

DRUG ADDICTION/DRUG COURT – USA
‘I wanted to get off drugs, I just didn’t know how’ – Annapolis Capital

Sharon and Wes Sudduth spent a decade watching as their daughter Melissa Sudduth abused cocaine and heroin and cycled through the county detention center on misdemeanor drug and theft charges.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol abuse and teens – OneNewsNow

11% of the alcohol consumed in the United States is consumed by underage kids. That’s a staggering statistic.

ALCOHOL – SCOTLAND
AFS fears over alcohol abuse in parents – Alcolim

Campaigners in Scotland have raised concerns over the number of parents engaging in high levels of alcohol abuse, it has been revealed. Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS) has called for action against the 330,000 children under 16 living with a binge-drinking parent.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Sen. Schumer wants drug website shutdown – YNN

Senator Charles Schumer is asking the government to shutdown a website he calls a digital black market for drugs. Heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine are among the drugs being anonymously sold and bought on the site known as Silk Road. The Senator says the site launched in February and uses restricted access and several layers of secrecy to avoid detection.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Waukomis woman pleads guilty to contributing to death of her daughter – NewsOK.com

Linda Tucker had 10 times the lethal dose of the drug in her system when she died, a state medical examiner reported. Authorities said she had taken the drug with her mother, older brother and her mother’s boyfriend. She lay unresponsive in the back seat of a vehicle for several hours before her mother went for help, but it was too late.

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 – 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…

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx for Danger: Violent crimes follow prescription-drug abuse – Orlando Sentinel

Their addiction controls them.” An abundance of pain clinics and lax state laws … to 80 percent of the nation’s crime is linked to alcohol or drug abuse. …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
New campaign launched to tackle problem drinking – BBC News

… consuming alcohol to a level that is harming them and 7000 are alcohol dependent. … violence and anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol abuse, …

HEROIN – USA
Heroin Addiction Rose 90 Percent Since 2007, According to SAMHSA – Staho

… and on November 16 it reported a substantial increase in the number of teenagers and young adults seeking treatment for their heroin addiction. …

METHADONE – US
Eminem Says He Almost Died of a Methadone Overdose In 2007 – ‎RWD Online

Eminem has come clean about his Recovery from drug addiction and explains … in December 2007 he came two hours from death when he overdosed on Methadone

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
New supermarket tax plan to tackle alcohol abuse – The Publican

… supermarkets a ‘social responsibility’ tax while cutting VAT paid by pubs to just five per cent could revolutionize the way alcohol abuse is tackled, …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx Addiction: Pain clinics often play role in addiction – WBIR-TV

… unlike illicit drugs, including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. … But she describes the escape from her addiction as a fog being lifted, …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA

David Jentsch Threatened By Anti-Animal Research Extremists – Huffington Post

… which has helped him learn about the biochemical factors that contribute to methamphetamine and tobacco addiction in adolescents, as well as to better …

DRUG LAW REFORM – USA

Supporters to try again for Delaware drug law reform – The News Journal

The goal was to curb minimum mandatory sentences for drug offenses. … occasionally incomprehensible drug laws — like the one that makes it a crime for a …

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. …