Drug News

Illegal Prescription Drug Distribution – USA
South Carolina doctor sentenced for illegal drug distribution – Thaindian News

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) – A doctor, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was sentenced to 41 months of supervised release for conspiring to illegally distribute oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald announced on Friday.

Drug Prevention – USA & Mexico
U.S. and Mexico issued a declaration of drug demand reduction cooperation – Thaindian News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – The White House announced on Friday that government officials from the U.S. and Mexico issued a declaration of drug demand reduction cooperation.

Drug Rehabilitation – World News
Narconon network celebrates its 44th birthday – Behavioral Health Central

The Narconon drug rehabilitation program began on February 19th, 1966, based on a decision by Arizona State Prison inmate by the name of William Benitez. After reading a book by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, “The Fundamentals of Thought”, Benitez recognized there could be a whole new approach to curing himself and helping others get permanently off drugs – concentrate on your abilities, rather than your addiction. It sounds simple now, but it wasn’t to an inmate who had tried every other method to get off drugs way back in ’66.

Prescription Drug Abuse – USA
Superwoman syndrome credited to popping prescription pills – Thaindian News

New York, Feb 26 (ANI): A survey has revealed that most women, who are overwhelmed by jobs, kids and commitments, pop prescription pills to boost their energy, calm them down or for any other non medical reason.

Drunk Driving – USA
Police: Drunk man drove off with gas hose – UPI.com

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Feb. 25 (UPI) — Indiana police said they arrested an alleged drunk driver who drove away from a gas station with the nozzle and hose still attached to his vehicle.

Drug Related Incarceration – USA
Michael Douglas’ son Cameron to stay in jail until sentencing – Thaindian News

New York, Feb 26 (ANI): It has emerged that actor Michael Douglas’ drug-dealing son, Cameron, will remain in jail until he is sentenced in April.

PAINKILLER – USA
Painkiller overdose deaths gaining on traffic fatalities – Examiner

During a decade when doctors wrote more prescriptions for drugs like OxyContin and fentanyl and the diversion of those medications to the illegal market increased, the number of overdoses from opioid analgesics also spiked.

ADDICTION – USA
Take Rehab Seriously Or Run The Risk Of Never Beating Addiction – Trans World News

Sunset Malibu, an exclusive treatment center on the California coast, has long been a transformational force in the field of rehabilitation and recovery. Now, Sunset is announcing its redoubled efforts in the pursuit of sustainable holistic recovery.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Officials Say Prescription Drugs Are a Top Killer in Montana – KECI News

Montana’s top attorney says prescription drug abuse is such a serious problem, he’s set up a task force to combat it. Attorney General Steve Bullock says nearly 42 percent of drug cases prosecuted this year involved prescription drugs. That’s up from only seven percent in 2003.

HEROIN – USA
Smithtown grapples with rise in teenage heroin use – Newsday

Teens like DiBartolo have been snorting or shooting heroin in alarming numbers across Long Island in the last few years, its use hidden behind the suburban veil of afternoon ball games and bike riding.

DRUGS – USA
Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month Celebrated by Narconon Trois-Rivières – PR Web

Narconon Trois-Rivieres celebrated Recovery Month 2009 to raise awareness on the misery of drug and alcohol addiction which serves to educate the public on the benefits of the treatment options available throughout recovery centers.

DRUGS – USA
Lifelines: Red Ribbon Week — what it means – Argus Observer

They have seen the ads on television that show the junkie robbing people, the girl in the shower whose skin is rotting, the frying pan and the egg. We’ve all seen the ads so much the shock value seems to be wearing off. They are shocking and scary.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Report finds prescription drug use increased in nearly all Kentucky counties – WHAS News

The rate of prescriptions dispensed for controlled substances increased in 118 of Kentucky’s 120 counties between 2005 and 2007, according to a recent report of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and five Kentucky counties – Clinton, Magoffin, Whitley, Bell and Owsley – averaged more than four controlled substance prescriptions dispensed per resident.

HEROIN – CANADA
“Hillbilly heroin” a growing problem in B.C.’s small communities – The Canadian Press

Small communities in British Columbia largely untouched by the scourge of hard drugs are discovering a similar danger that some consider even tougher to tackle because it’s handed out with a doctor’s blessing.

PAINKILLER – USA
CDC Report Spells Out Dangers of Opioid Painkillers – Finding Dulcinea

A CDC report found that deaths caused by opioid analgesics such as methadone and OxyContin more than tripled between 1999 and 2006. The federal government is trying to cut down on the prescribed use of opioids, which began to be used widely as painkillers in the 1990s.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Program to Dispose of Expired Prescription Drugs – WYTV News

Expired prescription drugs can pose a danger to both people and the environment. Here’s your chance to clean out the medicine chest and get rid of old prescriptions safely.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
FDA issues dosage alert for Tamiflu prescriptions – News OK

The Food and Drug Administration is asking doctors and pharmacists to be alert for dosing errors with the oral version of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
New Prescription Drug Research Shows Bad Reaction in Children – WTVY News

New research shows more than half a million children have bad reactions from prescription drugs. Children younger than age five are most commonly affected. Penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among drugs causing the most problems.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Use Can Lead To Relapse – Trans World News

Narconon also has a unique method of handling substance abuse on two levels. First through a detoxification program that removes drug resides from the body and reduces physical drug cravings to tackle and physical aspect. Then, Narconon uses an approach that raises the ability of the individual by giving them life skills to help keep them off drugs permanently.

HEROIN – UK
Heroin use a ‘national crisis’ - drugs group – RTE

Heroin use is now a national crisis, according to a group that provides assistance to drug users and the homeless.

HEROIN – USA
Meth Abuse Down – Heroin On the Rise – CBS News

Heroin killed seven people in Jefferson County in 2007, but the drug is being blamed for sixteen deaths so far in 2009.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made a huge heroin bust earlier this year. Lt. Randy Christian says dealers are trafficking more heroin because of a nationwide clamp down on ephedrine, the raw material needed to make meth.

HEROIN – IRELAND
Heroin use a ‘national crisis’, says charity chief – Irish Times

HEROIN USE has become a national crisis, the chief executive of drug addiction and homelessness charity Merchants Quay Ireland has said.

COCAINE – USA
Tainted Cocaine Raises Health Risk Concerns – FOX News

At Minnesota Poison Control, they’re on the look out for a deadly side-effect you won’t find on any warning label. The problem is with powder and crack cocaine, laced with a drug called levamisole.

COCAINE – AUSTRALIA
Ice usage down, cocaine usage up: research – ABC News

New research has revealed there has been a dramatic fall in the number of people using the drug ice in Australia. But the drop has coincided with an increase in the use of cocaine. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has today released its 2009 statistics on illegal drugs.

ALCOHOL – USA
Campaign targets military teens’ alcohol, drug use – The Associated Press

Concerned about drug and alcohol use among teens in military families, three organizations are undertaking an online educational campaign on Wednesday to encourage parents and children to talk about substance abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Interlocks Are Gaining Traction – New York Times

Earlier this month, in response to a Wheels post on the increase in arrests among women driving under the influence, one reader wrote that in Australia drunken driving is addressed much more aggressively than in the United States.

ALCOHOL – USA
Commentary: Drinking age of 21 saves lives – CNN News

The national policy that set a minimum legal drinking age of 21 is being questioned by a group of 135 college and university presidents through an effort called the Amethyst Initiative.

ADDICTION – NETHERLANDS
Teenage cannabis addiction on the rise – Expatica

The number of Dutch under-18s addicted to cannabis is on the increase. Many of them begin smoking pot regularly at age thirteen, and get into such difficulties that they have to be admitted to a rehab clinic.

COCAINE – USA
Cocaine’s detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system – Staten Island Advance

After marijuana, cocaine is the second most used illicit drug in the United States. It has been shown to have many detrimental effects; many of these effects involve the heart.

COCAINE – USA
DEA Warns of Tainted Cocaine; But it’s Government’s Fault – Opposing Views

This week the federal government warned that “substantial levels of cocaine” may be contaminated by levasimole hydrochloride, an anti-parasitic agent used in animals that kills white blood cells, leaving people vulnerable to potentially fatal infections.

COCAINE – USA
Crack Cocaine: Danville’s drug of choice – Madison Messenger

Crack cocaine breaks all social, economic and racial barriers as dealers supply addicts in affluent neighborhoods and impoverished housing projects.

METHADONE – USA
Oklahoma authorities say methadone use on the rise – KFSM News

Oklahoma authorities say the number of people dying from methadone use is growing. Last year, 110 people in Oklahoma died from either methadone overdoses or overdoses in which methadone was used in combination with other drugs.

ADDICTION – USA
Russia Heroin Addiction “Spreads Like Wildfire” – Addiction Inbox

Last week, both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times declared that heroin addiction has reached epidemic proportions in Russia. However, Soviet drug enforcement officials have a plan: They have called on the United States to defoliate Afghanistan.

ADDERALL – USA
Adderall abuse not worth it in the long run – Chicago Flame

Now that the semester is well underway all us students have reached that big hurdle of surviving the first round of exams for the classes we have. Even though the college life is a high-pressure lifestyle many students are capable of making the grade through honest studying and dedication.

HEROIN – USA
Young and Suburban, and Falling for Heroin – New York Times

The kids weren’t all right. They lived in the same comfortable Long Island town and were barely in their teens when they took their first hit of marijuana or sip of alcohol, propelling them on dark journeys they couldn’t seem to escape. Within a couple of years, they were in heroin’s grip.

METH – USA
Idaho Meth Project targets minorities – FOX Idaho News

A year after a campaign was launched to warn teens and young adults away from methamphetamine through graphic television, radio, print and billboard ads, the Idaho Meth Project is targeting minority groups.

METH – USA
Shaken or cooked, meth can still kill – San Marcos Daily Record

It hasn’t been seen on the local level yet, but narcotics authorities are on the lookout for a new generation of methamphetamine that is said to be easier and cheaper to make, but just as dangerous as old-style “cooking” operations.

ALCOHOL – USA
Internet Can Help Curb Drinking Among College Students – US News and World Report

Heavy drinking is a growing problem among university students, but an Internet-based intervention may help them control their alcohol use, a new study finds.

ADDICTION – USA
Addicts Celebrate Continuing Recovery – WSMV News

Hundreds of people in middle Tennessee are battling addictions, whether it be to drugs or alcohol. In honor of this month being National Recovery Month, hundreds met at Centennial Park Tuesday to celebrate their continuing recovery from addiction.

ALCOHOL – USA
College Drinking Reduced by Online Interventions – Join Together

College students who received Internet-based screening and brief interventions were less likely to drink alcohol.

ALCOHOL – UK
Scottish alcohol death toll up to six times UK average – The Scotsman

Deaths linked to alcohol in some areas of Scotland are six times higher than the UK average, new figures reveal. The death rate in Glasgow Shettleston last year was 574 per cent of the UK national average.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Louisiana: The Solution To The Drug Addiction Epidemic – Trans World News

Narconon Louisiana, a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, opened its doors in 2006 as a resource for locals struggling with addiction. In an area that had seen some of the worst devastation in years after Hurricane Katrina, there was no real solution in place for the rampant drug use.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
OPD takes prescription drug abuse fight statewide – WFIE News

Owensboro Police will be joining the so-called Drug Diversion Task Force set up by the Kentucky Attorney General to fight prescription drug abuse. Police say it’s a growing problem.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Calif. Drug Database to Target Prescription Abuse – ABC News

California is about to join 20 other states who have a database to monitor people abusing prescription drugs. The idea is to prevent people from going to different doctors to get their drugs.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
What parents should know about teen use of prescription – The Plain Dealer

The fact of the matter is that teens are abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs in alarming numbers. This is the first of two columns about that abuse, and what parents need to know.

DRUGS – USA
Drug addicts march for recovery – KXLY News

Millions of Americans are enslaved by their addiction to drugs, and this month may provide them with the motivation they need to recover.

ADDICTION – USA
Former Addicts Hold Rally To Celebrate Recovery – NY1 News

Recovering from any type of addiction is often a long road, but the participants in the second annual Recovery Rally on Saturday made great strides.

HEROIN – USA
Painkiller addicts turning to heroin when prescriptions run out – Bristol Press

Bristol Police Detective Sgt. Chris Lennon of the narcotics division, says heroin is the second most prevalent drug his unit runs into, after marijuana.

METH – USA
Wing Fest helps fight meth use – Redwood Times

This is a family friendly event to increase public awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine use and to assist agencies that provide medical and psychological help for members of our community that have been affected by this illegal and damaging drug.

ADDICTION – USA
Forum: Addiction plagues U.S. health – Traverse City Record-Eagle

All you have to do is read the newspaper to be reminded that many Americans suffer from the reality of an addiction every day. From the outside, addiction is not always evident in any given individual. Substance abuse is one of the most severe health and social problems facing our county.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Problems – NBC News

Prescription drugs are ruining lives, hurting our kids and leaving police without many options. Now a Reedsburg teenager is stepping in where adults have failed. Quite literally, these are poison pills. Prescription drugs, no longer needed, laying around and too often in the wrong hands.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Addict Recovers Through Narconon – Trans World News

Because of her addiction to pills, Tanya Mesa didn’t have much of a life. She lost her job, her physical health was deteriorating, and worst of all she lost the love and respect of her family.

HEROIN – USA
Elmhurst police, schools crack down on teen heroin use – Chicago Tribune

A couple hundred parents who attended a community forum at York Community High School in Elmhurst Sept. 10 learned that Elmhurst police and schools are cracking down on heroin use among teens after a student confessed late last school year to using the drug.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Reedsburg Teen Organizes Prescription Drug Disposal Program – WISC News

Scientists say that drinking water across the country contains traces of prescription drugs.
Now, one Reedsburg teenager is trying to do something about that alarming fact.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Disrupts Body Clock, Sleep, Study Demonstrates – Join Together

Alcohol use can disrupt the body’s natural clock and sleeping patterns for days after consumption ends, according to a new animal study.

ALCOHOL – USA
Government: Growth in women who drink and drive – The Associated Press

The number of women arrested for drunken driving has jumped nearly 30 percent in the past decade, a dangerous trend that was all too evident when a wrong-way crash involving a woman in New York killed eight people.

ALCOHOL – USA
Crackdown on drunk driving begins Friday – The Capital Times

Hundreds of police officers and deputies will be out in force this weekend, cracking down on drunks who think it’s okay to get behind the wheel.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Rehab and Your Health – Trans World News

The abuse of alcohol, an addiction to alcohol can destroy your life on many different levels.  The number of people who have lost jobs, broken relationships and literally gone broke as a result of their alcohol addiction is huge.

PAINKILLER – USA
Even Pain Killer Addiction Requires Professional Treatment – Trans World News

The chemical nature of painkiller addiction makes it particularly tough to beat. Prescription painkillers like morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are linked to the same kind of drug dependency that underlies heroin abuse.

PAINKILLER – USA
Common painkiller more effective in fracture pain – Press TV

A simple over-the-counter painkiller is reported to be more effective in alleviating pain in children suffering a fracture than the more powerful combinations.

COCAINE – USA
U.S. Currency Contaminated with Cocaine – Join Together

The vast majority of U.S. paper money in circulation contains traces of cocaine, a new study finds. CNN reported Aug. 18 that researchers found that 90 percent of $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills tested had detectable cocaine residue. Bills from major cities were more likely to test positive than those from smaller cities.

DRUGS – USA
More women held for driving while intoxicated, study finds – CNN News

Arrests for women driving under the influence jumped by nearly 30 percent during the decade ending in 2007, according to a study released Wednesday by the U.S. Transportation Department.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Graduate Handles Addiction Permanently – Trans World News

Feeling “helpless, undeserving and pretty hopeless “was what Paul experienced for more than 12 years while addicted to drugs. Paul says the more he used the more his life fell apart to the point that he was so self-destructive, his family finally stepped in to help him.

ALCOHOL – UK
Poor diet and alcohol abuse behind tripling of liver cancer – Wales Online

Poor diet and alcohol consumption, together with drug use are seen as the main factors behind the increase.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin high here getting cheaper – The Columbus Dispatch

Mexican drug cartels have saturated Columbus’ heroin market, pushing down the price of a kilogram and hooking a larger share of the city’s users.

PAINKILLER – USA
70,000 U.S. kids overdose each year — accidentally — on everyday household meds – TIME

Some 100,000 kids end up in U.S. emergency rooms each year because they’ve accidentally been poisoned. No, they’re not all raiding the cupboard full of cleaning supplies.

ADDICTION – USA
10 reasons to kick addictions – Desert News

Making the decision to give up an addiction may seem like a simple act to those who have never struggled with the issue. The truth is that sobriety is a process that, for those who follow the path, will last a lifetime. The great news is that by enduring and eventually embracing the process, you will also have a life. Here are 10 reasons to get started.

DRUGS – USA
Rescue Ink helps young people striving to quit drugs, alcohol – Zanesville Times Recorder

Smith along with her husband, Richard, have opened a new store in New Lexington with that idea in mind. Rescue Ink, at 126 Main St., has clothes, bikes, shoes and other items at prices that are affordable to those families and teens finding themselves in financial crisis.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Abuse Is Treated With The Most Extensive Treatment Programs – Trans World News

Sunset Malibu, an exclusive treatment center on the California coast, has long been a transformational force in the field of rehabilitation and recovery. Now, Sunset is announcing its redoubled efforts in the fight against alcohol dependency.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Your prescription drugs can kill – Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Iowa health officials warn of the growing threat of unintentional poisoning. A University of Iowa report shows the state’s number of unintentional poisoning deaths rose from 67 in 2002 to 160 in 2008.

ADDICTION – USA
Campaign focuses on addiction awareness – Scarlet Scuttlebutt

NCADD’S eighth annual Tree of Hope campaign is designed to raise the consciousness in Middlesex County to the fact that addiction is an illness from which many do recover, and to celebrate those recoveries.

ADDICTION – INDIA
Drug addiction among adolescents on the rise – Indian Express

The alarming trend of adolescents taking to drugs, including sniffing petroleum products, cigarettes, alcohol and even smack, has caught up across all economic strata in the city, doctors dealing with such cases say.

DRUGS – USA
Drug abuse large part of crime in North Port – Sarasota Herald Tribune

A police report to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows violent crimes essentially level compared with 2008, and property crimes such a burglary dropped by 9 percent.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin: More Than A Big City Problem – NBC News

It’s no longer thought of as just a “big city problem.” Heroin is showing up in smaller communities all over our area. Mt. Horeb is known for a lot of things. Heroin would probably not be one of them. But police are seeing it here as well. And just like other areas in south central Wisconsin, it’s got their attention.

ALCOHOL – USA
Women and Men in Drug Rehab or Alcohol Treatment – Trans World News

Studies and surveys conducted by various state and federal agencies have shown that the ratio of males to females who enter drug rehab or alcohol treatment is 2.3 to 1 respectively. Recent census data indicates an almost even number of men and women in the US.

METH – USA
The dangers of methamphetamine – Richmond Register

Representatives of state and federal law enforcement agencies gathered with media members in an airplane hangar Wednesday morning to discuss the rise in methamphetamine production.

DRUGS – USA
Substance Abuse Treatment Facilitator Locator – SAMHSA

To locate the drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs nearest you, find your State on the map below and click on it.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Study urges action to get patients to follow prescriptions – Boston Globe

Patients who do not take their medications as prescribed pay a price in poorer health, more frequent hospitalizations, and a higher risk of death.

DRUGS – USA
Drugs 101: Introduction to Marijuana – Examiner

When I was in high school, so many, many years ago, marijuana was the drug of choice. Cocaine was around, but it was expensive. Speed was available, as was LSD and mushrooms, all cheap and easy to obtain. Methamphetamine, crack cocaine, MDMA, GHB and ecstasy, were not around yet.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
1 in 5 teens shares prescriptions – USA Today

About 20% of U.S. teens exchange prescription drugs such as antibiotics and allergy medications with friends, a practice that can be dangerous and potentially deadly, warns a new study.

ALCOHOL – UK
Reducing Drinking And Preventing Relapse Using A Synthetic Derivative Of The Kudzu Vine – Medical News Today

Kudzu and its extracts and flowers have been used in traditional Chinese folk medicine to treat alcoholism for about 1,000 years.

MARIJUANA – USA
Smoking Marijuana Damages Cells, DNA, Study Suggests – Join Together

Researchers who compared the effects of marijuana smoke to tobacco smoke concluded that smoking marijuana did as much cellular and genetic damage as smoking cigarettes, although only tobacco smoke damaged chromosomes.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Graduate Lives to Tell Story of Addiction – Ex-addict’s Journey with Prescriptions to Heroin Told on CNN – Newswire

Every day American citizens are being legally given prescription medications for injuries and illnesses, but given the abuse potential many wind up getting hooked on these drugs and moving on to street drugs to feed their habits.

DRUGS – USA
How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents – Straight Dope for Parents

Every day, you work hard to be a good parent, doing hundreds of things to make a healthy, productive future come true for your child. But sometimes it’s hard to know if all the big and little things you do make any difference.

ALCOHOL – USA
Binge drinking affects later cognitive performance – Los Angeles Times

College students who describe themselves as regular binge drinkers performed considerably worse on a test measuring attention and memory skills compared with students who didn’t binge. The test, by the way, was conducted while all the students were sober.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Responsible for 50 Percent of Russian Deaths – FOX News

Russia is grappling with a major public health crisis in which residents are essentially drinking and smoking themselves to death, according to the country’s public health officials.

ALCOHOL – USA
More Research Links Alcohol Intake to Cancer Risk – Modern Medicine

Men who drink moderate or high amounts of alcohol over their lifetime may face a higher risk of several types of cancer, according to research published in the current issue of Cancer Detection and Prevention.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol link to huge rise in oral cancers among people in their 40s – Mirror

Alcohol is behind a huge rise in oral cancers among people in their 40s, experts said yesterday. The number of men getting tumours of the mouth, tongue, lip and throat has shot up 28% since the mid-90s and women 24%.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Older drivers unaware of prescription risks – USA News

Many older drivers who take medications that could affect their performance behind the wheel are unaware of the risks associated with those drugs, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

DRUGS – UK
Drug death toll at record levels – BBC News

Scotland’s drug death toll has risen by more than a quarter in the last year, new figures have suggested.