Drug News

DRUG REHAB – USA
Suncoast Rehabilitation Center Takes Narconon Drug Rehab Program To RX Drug Abuse Summit – PRWeb

Suncoast Rehabilitation Center took the Narconon Drug Rehab Program information to the National RX Drug Abuse Summit in Orlando where over 700 participants from around the country meet to address the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Drug use, abuse or addiction? – Wicked Local

My parents own pharmacies (my father’s is in Attleboro and mother’s is in Plainville). Both have had their share of robberies from persons suffering from drug addiction.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Son of addicts, Malone grad turned life around – Canton Rep

At 13, Rodney Long Jr. had priorities. He made sure his younger sister, 4, and brother, 8, had cereal to eat. He often ushered drug dealers and partiers out of his house. And, when a visit from Summit County Children’s Services was pending, he cleaned.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Maine’s Drug Abuse Epidemic Poses Dilemma for Pharmacists – MPBN News
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Escalating diversion and abuse of prescription drugs has put the state’s pharmacists in a tough position. Customers with legitimate chronic pain problems depend on them for timely, reliable access to their medications. But these days, keeping powerful narcotics in stock puts pharmacists at risk of being robbed or duped by fraudulent prescriptions.

ALCOHOL REHAB – USA
Saint Jude Announces The Number One Reason People Fear Alcohol Rehab – PRWeb

“Fear of Failure–This is probably one of the greatest fears regarding rehab.” One of the first steps of the commonly known 12 step program, that are taught at majority of alcohol and drug rehabs in the United States is, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.” In addition, these individuals entering treatment are taught that relapse is part of recovery. This negative message gives substance users the expectation they will fail.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Prescription drug, heroin abuse growing in Montgomery County – Washington Examiner
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Heroin and prescription drug abuse is soaring in Montgomery County, particularly among school-age kids, according to county police. The most popular party pills are painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin, which many kids are swiping from their parents’ medicine cabinets.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Portable Methamphetamine Lab Blows Up In Suspect’s Pants – The Inquisitr

An Oklahoma state trooper stopped an SUV for speeding in Okmulgee County. When the trooper gave the driver a ticket, he caught a whiff of a chemical smell. When the trooper attempted to question the passenger about the smell, he bailed, apparently with meth leaking down his leg. After a brief struggle it was determined there was an active meth lab in his pants that burst during the struggle and got all over his body.

COCAINE – USA
TSA screeners charged in LA drug trafficking probe – Times Union

Two former and current Transportation Security Administration employees have been arrested and indicted on drug conspiracy charges for allegedly allowing large amounts of cocaine and other drugs to pass through security screening at Los Angeles International Airport. Seven people face drug-related charges in a 22-count indictment.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol abuse hits home – The Western Australian

When my uncle Fred walked into a room, he filled it with warmth and positive energy. People gravitated towards him. He was the sprightly adult who piled us kids — his three children and me — in the back of the Subaru and took us on rollicking adventures to Ningaloo Reef, Rottnest or Kalbarri. He was a pillar of strength, in peak physical condition, a terrific father and had worked his way up to achieve a senior role in a major government organisation. He was all of this and more — until alcohol took it away.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – CANADA
Doctor wants action on First Nation drug crisis – CBC News

Some First Nations say 80 per cent of their population is hooked on prescription painkillers. Prescription drug abuse in northern First Nations is a health emergency that chiefs and doctors say Health Canada refuses to take seriously.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG REHAB – USA
‘Nurse Jackie’: Jackie Meets Her Match in Rehab – Hollywood Reporter
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Now that Nurse Jackie’s Jackie Peyton has admitted she has a problem, the drug-addicted nurse will take the next step and head to rehab during Sunday’s episode of the Showtime dramedy.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin vaccine won’t ‘cure’ what ails addicts – LA Times

The idea of an anti-addiction vaccine is not new. For nearly 40 years scientists have been working on vaccines against all kinds of addictions, including nicotine, marijuana and alcohol. There are even trials of vaccines to prevent obesity. None of the anti-addiction vaccines has yet received Food and Drug Administration approval.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse bill dies in Senate – Courier-Journal

The controversial centerpiece of the 2012 General Assembly — a bill to combat prescription drug abuse — died in the Senate on Thursday after weeks of negotiations between the two chambers of the legislature failed to produce a compromise.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Obama Open to Debate on Drug War, But Legalization Is ‘Not the Answer’ – ABC News
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Amid calls from Latin American leaders to legalize drugs, President Obama said today that he is open to the debate but that legalizing narcotics to counter drug trafficking in the Americas could make matters worse.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – SOUTH AFRICA
‘Prohibitionist’ liquor bill angers alcohol industry – Business Day
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A draft bill from the Department of Health that prohibits the advertising and promotion of alcoholic products has been described as “prohibitionist” and “profoundly disappointing” by the alcohol industry.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Experts: ‘Naïve’ teens don’t realize prescription drug dangers – Tampa Bay Online

Teenagers aren’t scared by prescription drugs. Pills must be safe since Mom, Dad and Grandma all take pain killers for chronic pain, they think. And every year, dentists and doctors prescribe them for millions of children with aching teeth and broken bones. Overdoses, addiction and strip mall pill mills dominate conversations in the battle against addictive prescription medications. But adolescent ignorance is increasingly worrisome.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Kentucky Doctors Must Join Pill Abuse Fight – Kentucky.com

There has been a 900 percent increase in people seeking treatment for substance addiction in Kentucky in the past decade. More than 25,428 Kentuckians were admitted to drug and alcohol rehab programs in 2010.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drugs, Rehab and Bar Mitzvahs: An Afternoon Chat with Author Moshe Kasher – Laist.com

When I got to middle school I felt even more different, but then I found the fuck-ups at the school and started doing drugs and I forgot that I felt different. That was part of the great seductiveness of drugs at that age – it was not recreational, it was therapeutic.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin ring smuggled drugs from Africa to Maryland, feds say – Washington Examiner
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Four men have been arrested in connection with a heroin-distribution ring that allegedly smuggled the drug from Africa and sold it in Maryland.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Painkillers alter how addicts relate to themselves, others – Seattle Times
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Calling them painkillers is almost a misnomer. They don’t actually relieve the pain so much as they affect the way the brain perceives pain, and their extended use can result in the distortion of the brain’s pain/pleasure responses.

HEROIN – USA
As heroin death toll rises, antidote is available — but hard to find – Seattle Times
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Heroin-overdose deaths are rising in the Northwest, and a prescription opiate antidote was made legal in 2010. Unfortunately, authorities say, almost no pharmacies stock it.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – GLOBAL
Alcohol Abuse Screenings at the Dentist – World Dental

Health experts have warned that people who consume alcohol excessively are exposed to an extremely high risk of developing dental disease and mouth cancer.

HEROIN – USA
New, Deadly Heroin Mix Kills Dozen-Plus in NW – KTVZ
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A new, deadly mix of heroin has been sweeping through the Northwest in the past month, causing numerous deaths in Washington state, while Central Oregon police and fire medics said Friday they also have been grappling with a rising number of heroin overdoses.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
System to Curb Abuse of Prescription Painkillers Goes Unused – The Bay Citizen
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Byung Sik Yuh, the owner of Nichols Hill pharmacy in Oakland, filled more than 5,000 online prescriptions for addictive painkillers before the California State Board of Pharmacy moved last year to revoke his license. The patients who picked up the prescriptions at Yuh’s pharmacy had never met their doctors, nor had physical examinations. They filled out a brief online survey and paid an anonymous doctor to write prescriptions over the Internet.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse: Governors To Develop Best Practices For States – Huffington Post

The association plans to look at prescription drug abuse from perspectives that include medical, addiction, criminal justice and economic. The issues include trying to end addiction, pill mills, doctor shopping for prescriptions, and robberies of pharmacies. The goal is a comprehensive strategy tackling all aspects of the issue.

HEROIN – USA
Calif. cops dismantle major heroin pipeline – Police News

Police have shut down a heroin pipeline into the city, arresting three suspects. More than 5 pounds of heroin was seized during the investigation, which police said was enough to supply 192 people for a year.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Mom’s Meth Use May Affect Kids’ Behavior – ABC News

At ages 3 and 5, children who had been exposed to methamphetamine in the womb had greater emotional reactivity and higher levels of anxiety and depression than their unexposed peers

ALCOHOL – UK
The alcohol debate: Forget young binge drinkers… middle-aged and middle class are UK’s main ‘legal high’ abusers – Mancunian Matters

“The first thing to say about alcohol is this: Alcohol is a very strong drug. Alcohol has only one use – it’s a recreational drug. Every year in the United Kingdom somewhere around 9,000 to 40,000 people die as a result of drinking alcohol (depending on how the figures are estimated), while about 2,000 die as a result of all illegal drugs put together.”

OPIUM – AFGHANISTAN
Lifting the veil on Afghanistan’s female addicts – Reuters

Smoking opium costs around 200 Afghanis a day ($4), a very expensive habit in a country where a third live beneath the poverty line. Women send their children to collect scrap and bottles to help pay for their habit, or resort to begging, extending a hand to cars from beneath their burqa on busy streets when their husbands have left home.

ALCOHOL – USA
Campaign targets underage drinkers, parents who provide alcohol – The Times and Democrat

Each year, thousands of teens are killed or injured in traffic crashes as a result of underage drinking. In 2006, more than 18 percent of all 15- to 20-year-old drivers and motorcycle operators killed in traffic crashes in South Carolina had blood alcohol concentration levels of .08 or higher, despite the fact that it is illegal for these drivers to drink any alcohol. Parents need to know that hosting a party or buying their kids or their friend’s kids alcohol is not only illegal, but is extremely dangerous for their teens, for others in the community, and for the parents themselves, given the legal ramifications they face.

HEROIN – USA
Affluent suburbs of Sacramento, Calif., see heroin influx – PennLive.com

Heroin, a drug most often associated with the gritty back alleys of big cities, is making a surprising surge in the affluent suburbs of Sacramento, becoming the new drug of choice.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
State attorney general warns of prescription-drug perils – Smithfield Herald

The number of people who abuse drugs prescribed by doctors is on the rise. Teens commonly abuse the drugs, statistics show. One in four high school students will have used narcotics by the time they reach their senior year. Last year, more than 1,000 people in North Carolina died from prescription-drug overdoses.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
9 Hospitalized After Long Island Party Promoting “Blackout” Alcohol Consumption – NBC
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About 1,600 people attended the party Saturday night at the Paramount in Huntington, according to Suffolk County police. Nearly all of those taken out by ambulance crews suffered from alcohol poisoning, said Lt. Joseph Condolff.

HEROIN – USA
Parents finding purpose in heroin deaths – Seattle Today

Parents who have lost children to heroin take some solace in sharing their stories, raising awareness and meeting others who are grieving.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
Wake up parents: Alcohol abuse, other drugs threats to kids – Agri-View
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It’s not rising farm input costs, the animal rights movement or even languishing economies in rural communities that are the most alarming threats to rural America. It’s something way too many farm and rural families don’t necessarily even want to acknowledge. It’s alcohol and drugs.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Suncoast Rehabilitation Center & Narconon Drug Rehab ED Responds to News of Recent Drug 10X Stronger Than Vicodin – Chron.com

Suncoast Rehabilitation Center and Narconon Drug Rehab Executive Director, Tammy Strickling, speaks out with grave concerns over the recent news that Pharmaceutical companies are in the final stages of developing a prescription pain killer 10X Stronger than Vicodin. With the dramatic increase in the large numbers of fatal painkiller overdoses, Strickling asks, “Why the need for another painkiller?”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Rick Scott to Decide on Random Drug Testing for State Employees – Sunshine State News
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State employees would face the chance of being randomly drug tested once every three months under a bill, SB 1358, the Senate approved 26-14 Friday. The bill would also remove provisions that currently prohibit a state agency from firing an employee for failing the test. Employees who fail a test and are required to participate in an alcohol or drug rehabilitation program would have to pay for their treatment.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Study: Movies that show drinking may encourage underage alcohol abuse – ‎NewsChannel

The scientists gave the kids a list of 50 movies, with a varying number of drinking scenes, and asked them which movies they watched. The study linked the amount of alcohol consumed in the films to the prevalence of binge drinking among the 10-to-19-year old participants.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Addiction costs state more than annual budget – Tulsa World
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Addiction costs Oklahoma and its residents an estimated $7.2 billion a year. That’s more than the state government’s budget of $6.7 billion. That’s roughly $1,900 for every man, woman and child in the state. Enough to create about 273,000 median-wage jobs. Enough to build nine skyscrapers like Oklahoma City’s Devon tower. It’s not just a matter of money. The abuse of street and prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances exacts a terrible toll on people’s health, well-being and quality of life.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
One in 10 Americans Recovering From Substance Abuse – Medscape
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Ten percent of adult Americans (23.5 million persons) consider themselves to be in recovery from drug or alcohol abuse, results of a new survey reveal.

DRUG REHAB – USA
From drug user, dealer to mentor – NewsLeader

Hillcrest student Jacquline Lane, 17, with the support of her great-aunt and legal guardian Lulu Washington, has worked hard to turn her life around. After getting in trouble with drugs and alcohol and realizing she wanted to take a different path, she now volunteers at Boys and Girls Clubs and strives to be a positive role model.

OXYCONTIN / HEROIN – USA
Bill aimed at making opiates tougher to alter, abuse – Wicked Local‎

Ever since OxyContin hit the market more than 15 years ago, drug abusers have found ways to beat the time-release nature of the prescription painkiller to get a fast, powerful high. So many followed the recipe that OxyContin abuse created a new wave of addicts, and fueled an epidemic that led to a resurgence of heroin use. The result – thousands of overdose deaths.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol problems not uncommon among surgeons: study – Reuters
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About 15 percent of surgeons have alcohol abuse or dependency problems, a rate that is somewhat higher than the general population.

HEROIN – USA
‘There is hope’: Local woman tells tale of her heroin addiction – BND.com

She is blonde, pretty and dresses as normal as an elementary school secretary. But just a couple of years ago she was living on the streets with one thing on her mind — heroin. “I can honestly say I loved it from the very beginning,” said Jamie, of Alton.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
How prescription drug abuse costs you money – Money.CNN.Com

More than 36,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2008, the most recent year for which data has been analyzed, according to the CDC, only a few thousand shy of the total killed by car crashes. Of those drug overdoses, prescription drugs were involved in over 20,000 cases.

ALCOHOL – USA
George Huguely trial highlights alcohol abuse among college students – Washington Post
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There’s little question that George Huguely V, the former University of Virginia student on trial for murder, had a problem with alcohol. The alcohol abuse starts in high school, with kids imbibing on the weekends, and frequently grows out of control once they’re out from under their parents’ supervision.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Teens may be boozing less but now they’re abusing the prescription drugs found in home medicine cabinets – CultureMap Austin
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Hey parents, I have some good news and bad news. First, the good news. Your teenagers are boozing less and using fewer street drugs like cocaine and Ecstasy than previous generations. Now the bad news, they’re getting high on prescription painkillers like Oxy and Vicodin.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS / ALCOHOL – USA
Deadly Duo: Mixing Alcohol and Prescription Drugs Can Result in Addiction or Accidental Death – Scientific American
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Prescription drugs and alcohol can be a dangerous combination. Painkillers and booze are perhaps the worst to mix, because both slow breathing by different mechanisms and inhibit the coughing reflex, creating “a double-whammy effect” that can stop breathing altogether. Alcohol also interacts with anti-anxiety drugs (including Xanax), antipsychotics, antidepressants, sleep medications and muscle relaxants—intensifying the drugs’ sedative effects, causing drowsiness and dizziness, and making falls and accidents more likely.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A Timeline Of Whitney Houston’s Battle With Drug Abuse – RAPFIX.MTV

Whitney Houston was found dead at the age of 48 on Saturday (February 11) but her legacy will live on, thanks to a celebrated discography. Outside of her success, however, Houston fought a long, public battle with addiction that made her a prime target for tabloid scrutiny over the past few years.

DRUG REHAB – THAILAND
Want to be drug-free? Thai monks prescribe projectile vomiting – WorldBlog

Carrie Jeffers feared she would never kick her heroin addiction after relapsing repeatedly in her native Michigan. Then she flew to Thailand, and her life changed. The rigorous regime includes meditation and the daily ingestion of a foul-tasting herbal drink that induces projectile vomiting to cleanse the body of toxins.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx drugs reportedly killed Houston, but officials still probing possible drowning – Fox News

Relatives of late pop icon Whitney Houston have reportedly been told by coroner officials that the singer died from what appears to be a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol rather than drowning.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Alcohol abuse help unused by some students – MSU State News
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Drinking, partying and hanging with friends was the norm for psychology senior James Dodge when he first arrived at MSU. Since then, he said he’s realized there are other, healthier ways to enjoy the college experience. But for many college-aged people, seeking help might not be a priority.

HEROIN – USA
Experts share horrors of heroin addiction – Seattle Today

On a big screen at Granite City High School was the face of a mother expressing the worst fears any mom could have. “It makes you feel hopeless seeing there’s nothing you can do,” said Sharon Hosford, of Alton, during a video shown during a Feb. 1 forum about drug use.

METHAMPHETAMINE – MEXICO
Mexican army finds 15 tons of pure methamphetamine – CBS News
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The historic seizure of 15 tons of pure methamphetamine in western Mexico, equal to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009, feeds growing speculation that the country could become a world platform for meth production, not just a supplier to the United States.

ECSTASY – UK
Ecstasy and drink warning after Manchester clubbers taken to hospital – BBC News
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Four clubbers were taken to hospital after mixing alcohol with the illegal drug ecstasy in Manchester.

ALCOHOL – USA
Tribe suing beer companies for alcohol problems – Fox News
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An American Indian tribe sued some of the world’s largest beer makers Thursday, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Christie tells why rehab trumps jail – Philadelphia Inquirer

Gov. Christie says his plan to send more nonviolent drug offenders into treatment rather than to prison is motivated partly by the successes of smaller-scale versions of the program.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse – Medline Plus

Most people take medicines only for the reasons their doctors prescribe them. But an estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. This is prescription drug abuse. It is a serious and growing problem. You can develop an addiction to narcotic painkillers, sedatives and tranquilizers, stimulants.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Methamphetamine Use Increasing Again, Researchers Find – University of Texas at Austin News

‎Use of methamphetamines is on the rise nationally after a decrease a few years ago, according to university researchers.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Ohio using stories of those affected in campaign against prescription drug abuse – The Republic

Ohio’s governor is launching a campaign aimed at reducing prescription drug abuse by highlighting the stories of those who have been impacted by addictions.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin makes inroads – Charlotte Observer
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“They were 15- and 16-year-olds, and they had heroin at the pool,” he said. “And these are well-off kids in a nice neighborhood. A good environment.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Push to end prescription drug addiction continues in Southwest Florida – Wink News

The battle to end prescription drug abuse in Southwest Florida is ongoing. We’re learning addicts are taking desperate measures to get what they want: even faking illness and going to emergency rooms and making long lines even longer.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Illinois Alcohol Abuse: Midwest ‘Binge Drinking Belt,’ By The Numbers – Huffington Post

The Atlantic’s Richard Florida on Monday dug into data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research showed that binge drinking — or consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more for women on one occasion — continues to be a problem impacting many Americans and contributing to many associated health concerns.

ECSTASY – CANADA
Ecstasy threat real say Nelson police – Nelson Star
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A new form of ecstasy sweeping across British Columbia and Alberta has users in critical condition and has even caused death.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth fills hospitals with burn patients – Atlanta Journal Constitution

A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to Americans who never get anywhere near the drug: It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment — a burden so costly that it’s contributing to the closure of some burn units.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription for abuse: difficulties for reform effort – Crosscut

Too many people are abusing painkillers, many of them young. Very few abusers are in treatment. And it won’t be easy reversing a history of lax oversight. Washington State has made an aggressive attempt to crack down on the prescription drug epidemic by passing strict new rules governing pain management. But even those may not be enough to stanch the flood of deaths from prescription opiates in this state.

DRUG REHAB – USA
A Bridge to Recovery on Campus – New York Times

In their undergrad uniforms of fleece and sweats, a clutch of Rutgers students gathered on the worn red couches of their dorm’s common room and told their stories. A good-looking, fun-loving 23-year-old described arriving at college freshman year with a daily pot-smoking habit and a close relationship with alcohol. He soon followed the lead of his alcoholic father and was binge drinking. For his self-diagnosed anxiety and depression, he secretly began taking Klonopin, which he bought from another student. By sophomore year, he was taking six a day. And when it ran out, he wound up in a hospital to manage withdrawal, followed by nine months of rehab.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Army report: Suicide rate sets record; some alcohol abuse up 54 percent – Christian Science Monitor

The Afghanistan and Iraq wars make up the longest period of conflict in US history. “There are second- and third-order effects that have grown out of this that our nation has never experienced before.” As much as 43 percent of active-duty soldiers reported binge drinking within the past month. 25-35 percent of wounded soldiers are addicted to prescription or illegal drugs while they await medical discharge. Oxycodone accounts for 95 percent of those prescriptions.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Top-ranked, with policies making it worse: Wisconsin once again is first in binge drinking – Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Once again, Wisconsin is No. 1. But this time, we’re No. 1 in binge drinking. This isn’t just embarrassing; it borders on social pathology. A fourth of all adults report they are binge drinkers. That’s 50% higher than the national average. These statistics seem substantially underreported because Wisconsin purchases much more alcohol than it reports drinking. The fact is, we don’t take binge drinking and the alcohol-related problems it creates seriously. It’s cultural. Alcohol abuse and problems associated with alcohol have long been accepted or tolerated in this state.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin’s siren song: A force that’s stronger than will or reason – Post Gazette

Their life circumstances, by many measures, couldn’t be more different — he’s a middle-aged black man from a hardscrabble Mon Valley steel town; she’s a young white woman originally from an affluent suburb of Austin, Texas. But what they have in common — heroin addiction early in life — trumps what they don’t. That’s because heroin is as nondiscriminatory as it is destructive.

CLUB DRUGS – USA
Popular club drug replaced by a more toxic one: Cloud Nine – Pocono Record

A popular club drug has been replaced by a more toxic one — one that’s cheaper, more potent and deadlier. Cloud Nine or C-9 is the newest brand in a category of designer drugs that can cause erratic behavior, serious injuries and addiction. It’s among the newest replacement drugs for Ecstasy. Cloud Nine, based on similar chemicals as so-called “bath salts,” is a hallucinogen and stimulant. It’s sometimes marketed as plant food, insect repellent or fertilizer.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Horror no surprise in the U.S. meth capital; Pure ‘poor man’s cocaine’ blamed in wave of domestic slayings – Bend Bulletin

Chronic use of the harsh chemical compound known as speed or crank can lead to psychosis, which includes hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. The stimulant effect of meth is up to 50 times longer than cocaine, so users stay awake for days on end, impairing cognitive function and contributing to extreme paranoia. “Once people who are on meth become psychotic, they are very dangerous. We’re talking about very extreme alterations of normal brain function. Once someone becomes triggered to violence, there aren’t any limits or boundaries.”

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.