Drug News

Drug-Related Deaths – Mexico
At least 5 dead after drug-related clashes in northern Mexico – Thaindian News

MONTERREY, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) — At least five people were killed and three others were wounded during deadly clashes between Mexican Marines and drug gangs in the northern region of Mexico.

Illegal Drugs – UK
Drug dealer stripped of £550,000 assets – THE INDEPENDENT

A jailed drug dealer was stripped of more than half a million pounds of assets today – including his house, yacht and three flats.

Youth Drug Treatment Services – Canada
Government Of Canada Works With Alberta To Improve Drug Treatment Services Aimed At Youth – Medical News TODAY

Laurie Hawn, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, announced today, on behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, $6,488,367 in funding support for an early intervention drug treatment services project aimed at youth.

Prescription Drug Database – USA
States Linking Prescription Databases, Fight Abuse – abc NEWS/Technology

Starting next year, dozens of states will begin knitting together databases to watch prescription drug abuse, from powerful painkillers to diet pills.

Cocaine – Australia
Half-ton of cocaine found on sloop – UPI.com

BRISBANE, Australia, Oct. 15 (UPI) — About a half-ton of cocaine was found on a 40-foot sloop raided shortly after its arrival in Brisbane, Australian police said.

Synthetic Marijuana – Florida
Florida battles ‘legal’ marijuana – UPI.com

LANTANA, Fla., Oct. 15 (UPI) — Police in Florida are asking convenience store owners to stop selling synthetic marijuana, legal in the state because it’s sold as “incense,” authorities say.

Illegal Drugs – USA High School
Grafton High Faculty Learns How To Spot Illegal Drugs – msnbc.com

Authorities in Taylor County say that the drug problem in the county isn’t getting any better.

Date Rape Drug – Washington
Cops Investigating Overdoses of 12 Teens on Spiked Drinks – abc NEWS / Health

Date Rape Drug Suspected After 12 People, Mostly Women, Overdose at College Party

Cocaine Addiction Treatment – USA Celebrity
Lohan under ‘cocaine dependence’ treatment – Thaindian News

London, Oct 12 (IANS) Actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly being treated for cocaine addiction at the Betty Ford Clinic in Los Angeles. She is undergoing a rehab treatment programme as she has a dependency for the Class A drug.

Meth Lab Fire – Michigan
Man killed in fire early Tuesday in St. Joseph County; police say blaze may have been sparked by meth lab – Mlive.com

STURGIS TOWNSHIP — A man was killed early Tuesday in a garage fire that police say may have been sparked by a methamphetamine lab.

Drunk Driving – Nebraska
Coach: Husker Nation Affected By Drunken Driving Crash – KETV.com

OMAHA, Neb. — A teenager suspected of driving drunk and causing a chain-reaction crash on Saturday put four people in a hospital, including an assistant coach for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln golf team.

Marijuana – Nebraska
145 Pounds Of Pot Uncovered During Traffic Stop – KETV.com

OMAHA, Neb. — The Nebraska State Patrol said a Texas man was arrested Saturday on Interstate 80 when a trooper found 145 pounds of marijuana in the bed of his pickup truck.

Illegal Drugs – Retired US Judge
Retired U.S. judge busted in drug case – UPI.com

ATLANTA, Oct. 4 (UPI) — A retired U.S. judge in Georgia was released on bond Monday following his arrest on federal drug charges arising from an alleged relationship with a lap dancer.

Drug Testing Scandle – Illinois
Woman paid boy $1 for urine: cops – CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

A West Side woman has been charged with having a 9-year-old boy urinate in a cup for her drug test to get a new job.

Safer Behavior – Massachusetts Students
Students spread the word about safe sex and alcohol abuse – The Daily Free Press

“Sex on the Beach” went off with a bang as Boston University students learned about the negative repercussions of unsafe sex and alcohol abuse on Thursday.

Mephedrone – UK
Experts Report Big Rise In Enquiries About Recreational Drug Mephedrone In 2009-10, UK – Medical News TODAY

The Health Protection Agency’s National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) has reported a large increase in enquiries related to the recreational drug mephedrone in 2009-10.

Methamphetamine Lab – Florida
Two arrested after fatal motel shooting – nwfdailynews.com

PENSACOLA — Two people who were in a motel room during a fatal gunfight last week have been arrested on drug charges.

Youth Drug Rehabs Needed – South Africa
Concern over lack of youth rehabs – The Herald

FAMILIES of drug-addicted children in the Eastern Cape are being drained financially and emotionally by the absence of a government rehabilitation centre in the province, with some being forced to pay as much as R30000 a year at private facilities.

Teen Substance Abuse Prevention – USA
Frequent Family Dinners Linked To Lower Tobacco, Alcohol And Marijuana Use Among Teens – Medical News TODAY

American teenagers who regularly have family dinners are much less likely to have used drugs, alcohol or marijuana compared to their peers who have family dinners infrequently, according to a new study – The Importance of Family Dinners VI – carried out by researchers from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), Columbia University. Those defined as having family dinners frequently did so from five to seven times per week, while those who had family dinners fewer than three times a week had infrequent family dinners.

Prescription Medication Collection – USA
The Push to Empty Medicine Cabinets – abc NEWS VIDEO

DEA sets up “take-back” locations where people can dispose of unused medication.

Cocaine – UK
Flight attendant jailed for drug smuggling – Brighouse ECHO

A flight attendant who tried to smuggle cocaine into the UK, via Heathrow, by hiding it in her bra and knickers has been jailed for seven years.

Rehab – USA Celebrity
Lindsay Lohan to check into rehab once again – Thaindian News

Sep 27 (THAINDIAN NEWS) After her release from the Lynwood jail on Friday night on a $300,000 bail, actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly taking her recovery from drug addiction to another level.

Drug Troubles in USA – Jamaican Musician
Buju Banton’s drug trial the talk of Jamaica – klewtv.com3

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) – The U.S. drug trial of reggae star Buju Banton is the talk of Jamaica, where islanders are debating his guilt or innocence on street corners, in offices, in letters to the editor and on social networking websites.

Substance Use Prevention For Adolescents – USA
Ban Tobacco Ads And Restrict Alcohol And Erectile Dysfunction Ads, Urges The American Academy Of Pediatrics – Medical News TODAY

The monumental task of persuading children and adolescents to say “No” to drugs, alcohol and tobacco is being constantly undermined by the $25 billions’ worth of advertising and marketing each year, which has precisely the opposite effect, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP adds that children should not be exposed to erectile dysfunction ads before ten at night.

Drug Sniffing Dog For Rent – Arizona
Ahwatukee woman has drug-sniffing dog for rent – azcentral.com

An Ahwatukee woman is turning the war on drugs into a business with the help of her specially trained dog.

Drug Paraphernalia – Florida
Lawmaker pushes ban on drug paraphernalia – THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD

TALLAHASSEE — A reformed crack addict-turned-lawmaker is targeting the instrument of his affliction: the glass pipe.

Drug Rehabilitation – USA Actor
Antonio Banderas praises wife for kicking drug habit – Thaindian News

London, April 12 (ANI): Spanish actor Antonio Banderas has praised his wife Melanie Griffith for the courage she has shown in her ongoing battle with addiction.

Prescription Drug Abuse – USA
Complicating Doctors’ Work: Prescription Drug Scams And Excessive Paper Work – Kaiser Health News

News outlets examine two issues affecting doctors’ work: patients fraudulently seeking prescriptions and overwhelming paper work.

Drink Specials Banned – UK
U.K. Bar Owners Face Jail Time for Drink Specials – Join Together

Bars in the U.K. are being banned from running “all you can drink” specials, and owners who violate the new rules could face six months in prison and more than $30,000 in fines, the Telegraph reported April 6.

Meth Lab – South Carolina
Police Searching for Meth Lab Suspect – abc NEWS Charleston

Berkeley County, SC – Authorities need your help looking for a man they say was running a meth lab out of his home with his child inside. Drug agents busted a home on Beauregard Street near Summerville Friday night.

Drug & Alcohol Rehab – USA
‘Two and a Half Men’ star Charlie Sheen goes into rehab – Norwalk Reflector

LOS ANGELES (MCT) – In a surprise development Tuesday that casts doubt on the rest of its season, television’s top-rated sitcom, “Two and a Half Men,” halted production after its star Charlie Sheen announced he was checking into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic.

Heroin – UK
Drug addict’s ‘letter to heroin’ published after her death –Telegraph.co.uk

The family of a teenage drug addict who wrote a moving letter to heroin days before she overdosed have released her words in the hope of inspiring other youngsters to steer clear of drugs.

Drug Addiction – USA
Kelly O: Drugs worse than being fat – Press Association

Kelly Osbourne claims she was looked down on for being overweight more than she was for her drug addiction.

Drug Testing – USA
Cubs minor leaguer says bring on testing – MESA, Ariz. – Southtown Star

While major league players, through their union, have resisted blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs, the Cubs’ top draft pick from last year said he’s all for baseball’s plan to start blood-testing minor leaguers for HGH.

Drug Prevention – USA
More Than $1.1 Million In Grants Available For Community-Based Drug Prevention Coalitions – Medical News TODAY

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing the availability of more than $1.1 million for new Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring program (DFC Mentoring) grants. An estimated 15 new Mentoring grants will be awarded (up to $75,000 per grant, per year) to drug and alcohol prevention community coalitions from across the nation. The length of the project period is up to two years.

Prescription Drug Abuse – Nepal
Date rape drugs, prescription pill abuse rising, warns report – Thaindian News

Kathmandu, Feb 25 (IANS) The use of “date rape drugs” as well as abuse of prescription drugs is rising with India emerging as one of the main sources of drugs sold through illegal Internet pharmacies, drugs watchdog International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has warned.

Imitation Marijuana – USA
Cops: Imitation pot as bad as the real thing – The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – There may be nothing like the real thing, but some industrious marijuana users have seized on an obscure but easily accessible substance that mimics the drug’s effects on the brain – creating a popular trade in legal dope that has stymied law enforcement authorities.

Prescription Drug Addiction – USA
Lindsay Lohan Needs Three Months Of Rehab, Says Her Dad – RADARonline.com

“I’ve been trying to get into court with the judge for a long time,” Lohan told RadarOnline.com. “The last time she was in court the judge should have drug tested her. If she had, I know Lindsay would have come up dirty and she would have been thrown into rehab.”

Tax Increase For Substance Abuse Programs – USA
Beer tax increase discussed in House – The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Beer drinkers in West Virginia could pay 3 cents more per bottle or can under a House of Delegates proposal that seeks to raise money for substance-abuse programs.

Drug Trafficking – Colombia
Colombian navy destroys submarine meant for carrying drugs – Thaindian News

Bogota, Feb 18 (IANS/EFE) The Colombian navy found and destroyed a semi-submersible vessel with the capacity to carry between eight and 10 tons of cocaine in the province of Narino, but no arrests were made, a senior official said. The vessel was found in the town of Mosquera, near the Pacific, hidden in dense vegetation, Pacific Joint Command chief Gen. Justo Eliseo Pena told EFE.

Drunk Driving – Global News
Drunk Young Women Involved in Fatal Car Crashes in US on the Rise – MeDIndia

The number of young women driving under the influence of alcohol and involved in fatal car crashes is increasing, indicates research published in Injury Prevention.

Alcohol Fueled Violence – USA
Linda Newstrom: Mom Charged With Assaulting Son With Baseball Bat – The Huffington Post

CHARLEROI, Pa. — A southwestern Pennsylvania woman was charged with hitting her adult son with a Louisville Slugger after she allegedly came home drunk. Linda Newstrom, 49, faces a preliminary hearing Feb. 25 on simple assault and other crimes in Valentine’s Day incident.

Marijuana – USA
Study Shows Pot More Popular Among Teenagers – The Associated Press

Obama Drug Czar: Pot-smoking Keeps Increasing Among US Teens; Cigarettes, Binge Drinking Drops

Addiction Recovery – USA
Addicts Balance Life, Surfboard at FleaHab – MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc.

Champion Surfer Darryl Virostko Shows How Riding Waves Helped Him Recover From Addiction

Drug Trafficking – USA
Drug Trafficker Gets 5 Life Prison Terms In Ariz. – The Associated Press

Drug Trafficker Who Had His Fingerprints Altered Sentenced In Arizona To 5 Life Prison Terms

Cocaine – USA
Reggae Star Buju Banton Facing Drug Charge In Fla. – The Associated Press

Jamaican Reggae Star Buju Banton In US Custody, Facing Cocaine Conspiracy Charge In Miami

Meth – Mexico City
Old School Meth: Mexican Cartels Go Back To Basics – The Associated Press

Mexican Cartels Return To Meth’s Roots To Keep Supplying US, Despite Ingredient Crackdown

Marijuana – USA
Teen marijuana use tilts up, while some drugs decline in use – The Monitoring the Future Study, the University of Michigan

New 2009 Press Release shows statistics on illicit drugs use among teens in the US.

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.

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.