Drug News

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug addiction skyrocketed 430% over past decade; Drug rehab for painkiller abuse soars – New York Daily News

The increase is even more pronounced given that over the same time period the overall rate of substance-abuse-related admissions to rehab facilities has flatlined.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin industry growing in Arizona – Tucson Citizen
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It also has helped push heroin and other opiates past cocaine and amphetamines as the top drug-related reason in Arizona for emergency-room admissions and inpatient hospital discharges.

ALCOHOL – USA
Former Herriman HS teacher arrested for allegedly providing alcohol to minors – Fox 13 Now
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21-year-old Kylie Devey, a special education teacher and assistant softball coach at Herriman High School, is charged with five counts of providing alcohol to minors after parents of a student alerted the school district of the alleged incident.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin drove ex-teacher to steal school computers, rob bank – Pittsburgh Post Gazette

A former school teacher accused of stealing 22 computers from Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing Arts high school pleaded guilty today to robbery, burglary and criminal conspiracy. Her attorney said all of the crimes were driven by the couple’s heroin addiction.

ECSTASY – USA
Ecstasy causes changes in the brain – UPI.com

Recreational use of the illegal drug Ecstasy, which produces feelings of euphoria, is associated with chronic changes in the human brain.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Once-Prominent Colorado Sheriff Now Faces Charges – Fox News
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Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan is accused of using and distributing methamphetamine in exchange for sex, according to authorities.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol diseases double in 7 years – The Independent
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Nearly 1.2 million people in England needed in-patient hospital treatment for alcohol related cancers, liver diseases and poisoning in 2010-11 – a 9 per cent rise on the previous year. There have already been over 7,000 hospital admissions for young people under the age of 18 in 2011.

BATH SALTS/SYNTHETIC DRUGS – USA
House votes to ban so-called ‘bath salts,’ other synthetic drugs that mimic marijuana, cocaine – Washington Post

The House voted Thursday to ban synthetic drugs nicknamed “bath salts” and other compounds that mimic marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine tied to schizophrenia: What explains link? – CBS News

Can crystal meth cause madness? Maybe so. Heavy use of methamphetamine is associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia, Canadian researchers say.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin takes heavy toll on users – Seattle Today

Ann Seebeck of Kirkwood visits a tree planted in memory of her son, Chris Seebeck, on Monday Oct. 17, 2011, in Kirkwood Park. Chris Seebeck overdosed in the basement of his parents’ Kirkwood home in 2010 at the age of 27. St. Louis is in the third year of a heroin epidemic that is killing at unprecedented rates.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
November is Alcohol Awareness Month – The Daily Reporter

Alcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverage, despite health problems and negative social consequences.

HEROIN – USA
Heart attack was really a heroin overdose – WDEL
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Once she was revived, it was discovered the Pennsylvania woman drove her car into the CVS on Delaware Avenue as the result of a heroin overdose.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Connecting problems: Heroin and abuse of prescription drugs – Twin Cities Pioneer Press

Before 2000, heroin was a “non-issue” in the state, she says. That’s changed over the last decade, spurred by a “perfect storm” that includes availability here of purer, cheaper heroin and the increased use of prescription painkillers.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION – USA
My Teenager Is A Drug Addict – A Father’s Story – The Patch

“These are not street drugs that have stolen the last two years of my son’s life and put him near death – they are drugs in everyday, ordinary people’s homes that they are leaving exposed and available to our youth in town.”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
Alarm at growing addiction problems among professionals – The Guardian

Experts are calling for urgent action to tackle the “significant challenge” of rising levels of alcoholism and substance abuse among professionals including doctors, dentists and lawyers. Doctors are three times more likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver than the general population.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription meds are becoming stimulants of choice on college campuses – Memphis Commercial Appeal
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Drug abuse on college campuses is no longer limited to binge drinking and illegal drugs. Across the nation, prescription drugs are now the second most-abused drug after marijuana, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse: The New Killer on the Block – Huffington Post

Every 14 minutes a person dies of a drug overdose in the United States. This means more than 35,000 deaths every year, exceeding motor vehicle crashes, homicides and suicides! What once dominated the world of overdoses in the U.S., namely heroin, has been eclipsed by the prescription painkillers.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Mother recounts son’s synthetic drug addiction – The Daily News Journal

Wyant’s son, 20-year-old Dylan Evans, is currently recovering in a drug rehab facility from a year-long addiction to Molly’s Plant Food that ended with Evans overdosing on prescription medication.

DRUG REHAB – THAILAND
Drug rehab programme attracts 500 applicants on first day – The Nation

As many as 500 drug addicts applied for the drug-rehabilitation programme when it was launched yesterday.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Columbia Students Accused of Drug Dealing – New York Daily News

Lawyers for an alleged cartel of Columbia students busted for campus drug dealing complained Tuesday a judge was picking on their clients because they are Ivy Leaguers.

DRUG ADDICTION/REHAB – USA
Giving welfare to drug users just enables abuse – Des Moines Register

Drug abusers instead need to be in programs that treat their addiction. Unfortunately, many people need to hit rock bottom before they enter rehab. Is paying them money to prolong their habit really helping them?

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Pharmaceuticals outpace alcohol as drug of choice in Bay County – The Bay City Times

Bay County has long had a reputation as a home of heavy drinkers, but another demon has edged out alcohol as the most abused substance. In 2010, for the first time ever, more Bay County residents sought treatment for prescription drug abuse than for alcohol addiction.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Binge Drinking Costs U.S. Billions – Ashland Current

The cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States in 2006 reached $223.5 billion or about $1.90 per drink. Researchers found the costs largely resulted from losses in workplace productivity (72 percent of the total cost), health care expenses for problems caused by excessive drinking (11 percent of the total cost), law enforcement and other criminal justice expenses related to excessive alcohol consumption (nine percent of the total cost), and motor vehicle crash costs from impaired driving (six percent of the total cost).

HEROIN – USA
Neighborhood flyers advertise heroin for sale – WNEM

Oregon police say a group of suspected drug dealers handed out flyers advertising “heroin for sale.” Police moved in to the well known “heroin house” and arrested six people. Inside, cops found a small meth lab, drugs, guns and cash.

ECSTASY – UK
Academic attempted suicide over drugs death – The Independent
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A university lecturer has admitted possessing drugs after a teenage girl died when she took ecstasy from his hidden stash during a party thrown by his daughter in his home. Brian Dodgeon, 61, tried to kill himself a week later in remorse.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Alcoholism, Drug Addiction Among Seniors Expected To Triple By 2020 – Huffington Post

The aging boomer population — which is now facing financial strain, job loss, declining health, and grieving the death of a parent — has some addiction experts concerned.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Misuse of legal drugs increasing – The Province

The arrest of more than three dozen people on drug charges at a Boeing military aircraft plant highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in U.S. workers. Even with the gaps in testing, evidence shows that prescription drug abuse on the job is on the rise. Forty per cent more American workers tested positive for opiates, or painkillers.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Ending Drug Prohibition and Emancipating the Addict – the Last Frontier in a Struggle for Enlightenment – Huffington Post

The UK is rife with talk of drug legalisation. First, because most illicit drug use is either benign or at least innocuous. Second, because even when addiction is involved, punishment is not the right answer. Third, because the prohibition of drugs has really been a mess – both costly and futile. Unsurprisingly, many oppose these imminent changes.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
BRiDGES Receives Grant to Address Underage Drinking Among College Students – Madison County Courier

The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez recently announced federal grant awards totaling $100,000 to five statewide prevention providers to address underage drinking among college students.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drug legalization: Wrong lesson of Prohibition – Baltimore Sun
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Prohibition — America’s notoriously “failed social experiment” to rid the country of alcohol — took center stage this past week as PBS broadcast Ken Burns’ highly acclaimed series on the subject. And already, it has been seized on by drug-legalization advocates who say it proves that drug prohibition should be abandoned. But a closer look at what resulted from alcohol prohibition and its relevance to today’s anti-drug effort reveals a far more nuanced picture than the legalization lobby might like to admit.

COCAINE – USA
Colombian Drug Lord Pleads Guilty, Cooperates with Prosecutors – Fox News
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A Colombian drug lord who moved tons of cocaine into the U.S. pleaded guilty – and is now cooperating with authorities. Jaime Alberto Marín-Zamora, 47, who smuggled at least 30 tons of cocaine into the country, pleaded guilty to a single cocaine trafficking conspiracy charge.

PARTY DRUGS – UK
Stonham Aspal/Ipswich: Mother’s party drug warning after son takes his life – East Anglian Daily Times

A mother has warned of the lethal dangers of party drugs after her son killed himself while trying to beat his addiction to the little-known substance GBL.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Drug-awareness training planned for UA freshmen – Arizona Daily Star
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Hundreds of freshmen will get drug-abuse awareness training at the University of Arizona this week. It’s part of a week of educational activities planned by college students, partly in remembrance of a popular fraternity member who died after overdosing on prescription drugs and alcohol at a party in April.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Amy Winehouse’s death: Rising numbers of people checking into rehab – Mirror.co.uk

Soaring numbers of patients have been checking into rehab following the death of Amy Winehouse. “One woman was sobbing saying she knew she needed help and that Amy’s death has brought it all home to her.”

ALCOHOL/DRUG REHAB – USA
Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller together again – HULIQ.com

Sheen and Mueller first broke up in 2009. Reports of drug problems and rehab seemed to fuel their split. Currently Sheen is helping Mueller get through rehab and states he is also getting clean.

HEROIN – USA
35 indicted for participating in major heroin-trafficking ring – WTKR Your NewsChannel 3

Thirty-five individuals have been indicted for participating in a heroin-trafficking organization that transported several kilograms of the narcotic from New York City into the Tidewater area. Each faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

ALCOHOL – USA
Books & booze: Can Iowa schools, students put end to tragedies? – DesMoinesRegister.com

No single intervention will solve the problem,” said Ralph Hingson of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. “If they think just adopting one program is going to do this, it’s not going to happen.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Jerome Block Jr. admits to prescription drug addiction, but won’t resign – KOB.com

Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. says he fighting an addiction to prescription drugs.

ECSTASY – USA
‘Bath Salts’ Have Effects Similar to Meth, Ecstasy – Medscape

Mephedrone is sold as “bath salts” or as other innocuous products in an effort to sidestep drug laws, DEA Special Agent Gary Boggs tells WebMD. “In order to escape law enforcement scrutiny, products are labeled ‘not for human consumption,’ but they know full well it is intended for that.”

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine Abuse May Raise Parkinson’s Risk – U.S. News & World Report

People who abuse methamphetamine or other stimulants are at increased risk for Parkinson’s disease, a new study warns.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
SW Virginia drug abuse cast in workforce terms – Houston Chronicle

A coalition fighting prescription drug abuse in southwest Virginia is casting its battle in economic terms, saying substance abuse has made it more difficult for employers to hire workers. “What we’ve heard, time and time again from employers, is their frustration that so many people they are trying to hire are either unwilling to take, or unable to pass, a drug test.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
Rethinking addiction: Expanding treatment isn’t enough – Baltimore Sun

Each additional life saved from addiction is a tremendous victory, both for the individual and the community. But it is not enough. Recent medical advances and greater access to care have helped many addicts reclaim their lives, but the underlying environmental and social causes of substance abuse remain largely unchanged

DRUG ADDICTION – CANADA
Drug prohibition fuels crime, hurts society – Victoria Times Colonist

Drug prohibition is the true cause of much of the social and personal damage that has historically been attributed to drug use. It is prohibition that makes illegal drugs expensive, while giving criminals a monopoly over their supply.

HEROIN – USA
Grieving family seeks to prevent heroin deaths – Hometownlife.com

They contacted the Livonia Observer to tell the story of their son’s drug use and eventual heroin addiction, which they said led to his taking his own life May 24 at age 22. “He was a good kid, but the drugs made him a totally different. He couldn’t even think straight.”

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION – USA
White House Drug-Control Strategy Focuses on College Students – The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Obama administration’s 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, a report released today, for the first time includes a focus on college students for substance-abuse prevention efforts. “Drug addiction is a disease that too often begins—and can be prevented—on campus.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A 3-point plan to battle prescription drug abuse – Albany Times Union

Chuck Schumer has proposed a three-pronged attack on the rising abuse of prescription drugs: doctor training, law enforcement and information exchange. “I remember back in the ’80s and ’90s when crack began to rear its head and we didn’t do enough.”

HEROIN – USA
Addiction experts defend drug for heroin addicts – KOB.com

KOB Eyewitness news 4 reported about a spike in abuse of a drug used to treat heroin addiction. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s detectives said it is a new trend, but many viewers responded with skepticism. KOB decided to take a closer look at this drug.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription-Drug Abuse Is Focus of U.S. Drug-Control Strategy – Bloomberg

According to a fact sheet accompanying the report, cocaine abuse has fallen 46 percent over the last five years among young adults aged 18 to 25. Prescription drug abuse hasn’t seen the same decline. “We’re seeing more initiation for drug use by young people through the medicine cabinet than through marijuana.”

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcopops tax cuts youth grog abuse, ‘but community-wide reform needed’ – Cowra Community News

The alcopops tax has worked to reduce drinking by young people but broader changes and a comprehensive approach, including taxation reform, are needed to tackle alcohol abuse across the wider community.

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 ADDICTION – USA
Parents have role in kids’ drug decisions – Knoxville News Sentinel

The point of this column is to make clear that we, as parents, have something to say, and something to do, about whether our children are ensnared by drug abuse and addiction. By being proactive and taking simple, commonsense measures, we can go a long way towards protecting our kids.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Children Eat Meth, Thinking It was Candy; Mother Arrested – KTBS

LONGVIEW, Texas — A woman has been arrested after her children told police they tried methamphetamine drugs because they thought it was candy. Amanda Gail Walker, 30, of Hallsville was arrested.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Old habits die hard: Rise in number of alcohol and drug addicts over 50 in the US – Daily Mail

They are not your average alcoholics or drug addicts, and in fact if you looked around the room you would never guess that this is what binds them together. But for the group of over 60s, they know that addictions know no age.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin needles found near kid’s toys – Iowa City Press Citizen

Many of the drug-related items were found in the room belonging to Hinshaw’s child. Inside the room, officers found razor blades with drug residue, packaged marijuana and a “large pile of several hundred used syringes” near piles of the daughter’s toys … the worst case of a child being exposed to drugs the officers had ever seen.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse growing problem in Indiana – Chicago Tribune

Prescription drugs are playing an increasing role in the drug-related crimes that are filling up Indiana’s prisons. “I would say 75 to 80 percent of all cases I handle, whether it be meth or cocaine, also had some sort of prescription drug.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Keith McCants: ‘I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me’ – National Football Post

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Alabama linebacker Keith McCants’ downward spiral is a sad story of self-inflicted blows, a tale of drug addiction, depression, wasted potential, wasted money and wasted opportunities.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Former Celtics Player Discusses Drug Addiction in New Book – Patch.com

Chris Herren, a basketball legend from Fall River, and a Portsmouth resident, realized his dreams by playing for the Boston Celtics in the NBA, only to lose it all to drug addiction.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
FBI to probe Warren drug cases – Iowa City Press Citizen

FBI agents have agreed to investigate Warren County’s handling of drug-related criminal cases in light of a former prosecutor’s methamphetamine arrest.

HEROIN – USA
Seven-year-old ‘gave away heroin at school’ – Ninemsn

A seven-year-old schoolboy has been caught giving free bags of heroin to his classmates in Pittsburgh in the US. Police are investigating after a teacher caught the student with 18 bags of heroin in his backpack and locker at Quentin Roosevelt Elementary School.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse legislation nixes ‘pill mills’ – The Newark Advocate

John Kasich signed legislation Friday afternoon aimed at confronting the supply side of prescription drug abuse. Abuse of medication, especially prescription pain relievers in the opiate family, has been called an “epidemic.”

ALCOHOL – USA
How Marylanders beat the alcohol lobby – Washington Post

The case for the new alcohol tax — a 3-percentage-point addition to the state’s 6 percent sales tax — was strong. It will save lives, prevent crime and help to avert thousands of cases of alcohol abuse or dependence. It will also raise at least $85 million in revenue a year.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Rob Lowe: ‘I loved going to rehab’ – Digital Spy

Lowe, who entered rehab for drug and sex addiction in 1988 after a sex tape scandal, said that it was an “amazing experience”, because he was ready to start living his life the way he wanted. Charlie Sheen is wrong.

HEROIN – CANADA
Canada’s high court to rule on safe-injection site – Toronto Star

Supporters say it also reduces the spread of HIV and hepatitis, and curbs crime and open drug use. The federal government rejects that evidence, arguing the facility fosters addiction and runs counter to its tough-on-crime agenda.

DRUG ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
Our Say: Tackling drugs use in schools – The Cairns Post

THE State Government needs to strike a balance when it comes to dealing with drug use in schools. Educating students on the horrific consequences drugs have on the lives of those suffering addiction and their families would be a good start. Students suspended or expelled for being caught with illegal substances should be given a more intensive insight, no matter how confronting it may be, to try to stem what is a major problem in the community.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Dave Gahan says it’s a myth that musicians need drugs to be creative – Examiner.com

Artists don’t have to suffer to create art, said Depeche Mode’s lead vocalist Dave Gahan, as he discussed drug addiction on the red carpet at the 7th annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit. Later in the evening, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler presented Gahan the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award on behalf of the organization.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
State cash will ease federal cuts for Maine Drug Enforcement Agency – Kennebec Journal

The cuts come at a time when urban police departments cite an increase in violent crime associated with drug addiction and rural agencies struggle with prescription drug diversion — also a byproduct of addiction. “There is not another issue in this state that affects communities and law enforcement as much as the drug issue.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Ex-drug addict Robert Hayes fights his way out of homelessness with comic strip – Philadelphia Inquirer

Together, the two men created “Li’l Addict,” a comic strip that tells Hayes’ life story as rawly as he has lived it. Hayes writes the narrative, creating fictional versions of the unsavory characters that dominated his alcohol- and drug-dependent years.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Carolina DeLuca: Parents must be vigilant against alcohol use – Livingston Daily

‎Terry decided to challenge herself by downing 15 shots. Of course, she became drunk with all the unpleasantness that it entails. Terry’s friend supported her during the whole night as she lay sick on the bathroom floor. The whole night that Terry was struggling, she was actually dying. Erroneously, the parents reasoned that if they monitored what the girls drank, and if Terry stayed overnight, not driving home, that she would be safe. This is not uncommon

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ADDICTION/HEROIN – USA
Pain pill addicts use heroin when money gets tight, drug study says – Middletown Journal

The over prescription of opioid medications — like OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet and methadone — is not only leading to increased overdose rates on those drugs, but may be leading to an increase in heroin use.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Personal stories help parents learn to identify drug warning signs – The Daily Courier

Two-hundred parents learned recently at Prescott Mile High Middle School how easy it is for kids to get hooked on drugs, strategies to keep them drug-free and how to identify commonly used drugs and paraphernalia. Moak’s oldest son hid his addiction to marijuana and cocaine from the family for two years.

DRUG REHAB – USA
NAACP report highlights ‘misplaced priorities’ of jails over schools – Washington Post

Not only are the statistics startling in “Misplaced Priorities: Over Incarcerate, Under Educate,” so is the group of people rallying around the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization’s push to adopt alternatives to incarceration.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Number seeking treatment for meth addiction risen steadily since mid-1990s – Southeast Missourian

Sullivan-Jones and Daugherty are two of the thousands who’ve dealt with drug addiction in Missouri. On average, 58000 Missourians are struggling with an addictive disorder every year, according to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Littlest victims of Rx abuse: Newborns – STLtoday.com

The mother had abused prescription painkillers like OxyContin for the first 12 weeks of her pregnancy, She got the call in the middle of the night: Her 3-day-old baby was going through opiate withdrawal in a hospital.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Alcohol Abuse in College – New York Times
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A study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “Wasting the Best and the Brightest,” found that on college campuses each year, as a result of alcohol abuse about 100000 women are sexually assaulted, 700,000 students are injured and 2,000 students die from violence and accidents.

ECSTASY – USA
Boy, 7, shares Ecstasy pills at South Texas school – Houston Chronicle

Lt. Martin Morales says it does not appear that any of the boys took the pills. The father is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance and five counts of endangering a child. Police recovered nearly 350 pills, believed to be Ecstasy,

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Cracking Down On Prescription Drug Theft – WKBW-TV

At Tile Pharmacy in Cheektowaga, US Senator Charles Schumer announced his plan to crack down on prescription drug theft that is fueling an unprecedented spike in drug abuse in Buffalo and Western NY. In just the first three months of 2011, the Upstate New York Poison Control Center reports that there have been 121 cases of prescription drug abuse in Erie County alone.

COCAINE – USA
Dennis Quaid Admits to Past Drug Addiction – San Diego Entertainer Magazine

Quaid, star of Soul Surfer, The Big Easy, The Right Stuff, and Any Given Sunday talks about his drug addiction. “I was getting an hour of sleep a night,” he writes, “I’d wake up, snort a line, and swear I wasn’t going to do it again that day. But then 4 o’clock rolled around, and I’d be right back down the same road like a little squirrel on one of those treadmills. The lack of sleep made it so my focus wasn’t really there, which affected my acting.”