Drug News

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription pills fuel crime, treatment in Maine – Portland Daily Sun

A recent string of pharmacy robberies in the Portland area has seized the attention of local law enforcement. City investigators are still working to identify the people or single individual responsible for demanding an undisclosed amount and type of pharmaceutical drug from three Portland CVS pharmacies.

HEROIN/PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Pain pills and heroin ravaging the suburbs – The Seattle Times
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“The drugs completely take over,” Stelcher said. “It was killing me. If I’d had it my way, I would have been dead.” His wife got him into rehab.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Massive cuts could close almost every state drug rehab – Northwest Cable News
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Proposed cuts from DSHS would close almost every outpatient drug treatment center, methadone clinic and detox facility in Washington.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Medical professionals deal with patients’ suffering, addiction – The Mountain Press
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“The problem is the prescription drug abuse is so out of control, we see patients who are there (in the emergency room) for the wrong reasons on an hourly basis.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
Matt Hardy Now Facing Drug Charges – Southern Pines Pilot
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On Monday, Matt Hardy (Hardy Boyz – six-time World Wrestling Entertainment World Tag Team Champions) posted a video online saying that the last two months have “definitely been the worst months of my career” and that he plans to seek treatment. “I have made the voluntary decision to go to rehab and get myself together.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – USA
WWU has launched two campaigns to address student drinking, drug use – The News Tribune

BELLINGHAM – In the longstanding struggle to curb alcohol abuse among college students, Western Washington University launched two campaigns this year to provide students with accurate, non-judgmental information about alcohol and drugs.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Steel Magnolia’s Joshua Scott Jones enters rehab – CBS News
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Jones, the male half of duo Steel Magnolia, has entered treatment for alcohol and substance abuse.

MARIJUANA – USA
Relaxed state laws blamed for increase in marijuana use – Contra Costa Times
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“It is disturbing to see an increase among kids,” Jones said. “Society is getting to the point where (marijuana is) more and more acceptable. It’s why we’re so adamant not to allow it. We want to keep it out of the hands of kids.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Boeing arrest points to US workplace drug problems – Reuters
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The arrest of more than three dozen people on drug charges at a Boeing (BA.N) military aircraft plant highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse by U.S. workers, experts said on Friday.

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 DECRIMINALIZATION – PORTUGAL
Drug experiment – Boston Globe ‎

Street teams of Portugal’s Institute for Drugs and Drug Addiction exchange used needles for new ones and try to direct drug addicts to treatment centers. …

MARIJUANA – USA
Medical pot laws result in increased teen drug use – White Mountain Independent

Experts in Colorado are starting to study the impact medical marijuana has had on teen drug use in their state. …

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION – USA
Bid to legalize marijuana all smoke and mirrors – Los Angeles Times

Think that’s why Holland’s heroin addiction rate has tripled since it legalized marijuana? Do we really need more drug addicts in America? No.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
US Government (Sorta) Reconsiders Poisoning Drug Addicts for their Own Good – Reason Online

Pure hydrocodone is a Schedule II drug under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, whereas hydrocodone compounded with acetaminophen is a more loosely …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Drinking, driving problem remains – Green Bay Press Gazette‎

These types of efforts are building blocks toward creating a necessary cultural shift around the issue of alcohol abuse generally, and drunken driving …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Woman finds drugs packed inside vacuum cleaner – Green Bay Press Gazette

Green Bay woman surprised on Dec. 25 when refurbished vacuum cleaner she’d received as gift contained two pounds of crystal methamphetamine and 2.2 pounds of cocaine.

HEROIN – USA
30 accused in heroin ring – News-Herald.com‎

A federal grand jury returned a 110-count indictment on Thursday against 30 people who are accused of running a large-scale heroin trafficking ring that …

KETAMINE – UK
Sex change keeps drug dealer out of jail – Telegraph

But his lawyers pleaded with Judge Mark Horton to spare him a jail term because he is at a crucial stage in becoming a woman and would find it ”difficult” in a male prison.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Good for something: TSA scanner finds passenger’s meth – McClatchy Washington Bureau

Rhonda Renee Simmons is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 12 on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance after police say she got caught with about a gram of methamphetamine in her pocket Tuesday night at the Boise Airport.

MARIJUANA – USA
Experts worry that medical-pot laws promote teen use – Denver Post ‎

The experts say they especially worry that increasingly permissive attitudes surrounding marijuana use might be leading to higher teenage drug use and …

HEROIN – USA
Man sentenced to 6 years in heroin overdose death – Chicago Tribune‎

A southwestern Illinois man has been ordered to spend six years in prison after he admitted his role in the heroin overdose death of another man.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Limits on over-the-counter decongestants could aid fight against meth – The Tennessean

Authorities’ reasoning is that pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in the decongestants, is also a critical element for making methamphetamine.

METHAPHETAMINE – USA
Man told police he was high on meth when he stole car with baby inside – Pioneer Press‎

… with stealing a car in St. Paul last week with a baby inside told police he was “really high” on methamphetamine at the time, a criminal complaint said. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
State expands ID check for drugs – Boston Globe ‎

“The rising number of overdose deaths from prescription drug abuse is a very significant problem in Massachusetts.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse ‘epidemic,’ local doctor says – Beckley Register-Herald‎

Nearly half of all emergency room visits result from prescription drug abuse involving opioid-related medicine, or for a combination of illicit substances, …

ALCOHOL – USA
Students fight back on alcohol abuse – MiamiHerald.com‎

The poster is part of an innovative campaign called “Project Brain” to help change students’ perceptions about alcohol abuse. Having lost several friends …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise across Texas – Houston Chronicle

Texans seeking treatment for addiction to pain medications rose from 890 in 2000 to 5844 in 2008.

DRUG TREATMENT – USA
Report says cuts putting ‘justice In jeopardy’ – Hawaii News Now ‎

In some cases, the cuts may actually be costing money by keeping some drug offenders in prison longer while they wait to go into treatment programs. …

METHAMPHETAMINE – NEW ZEALAND
Grandmother jailed 6 years for drug possession – Radio New Zealand

A grandmother who was carrying the largest amount of methamphetamine found on a domestic passenger at Wellington Airport has been jailed. …

METHAMPHETAMINE/THREE STRIKES LAW – USA
Stanford law students appeal three-strike cases – Washington Post

Too often the law fails to distinguish the violent career criminal from bumbling, drug addicted defendants who are sent away for at least 25 years for a nonviolent felony conviction. Nearly 15 years after sentencing, an inmate is getting an unexpected chance at freedom – and the judge a shot at redemption – thanks to Stanford Law School’s Three Srikes Clinic.

HEROIN – USA
Enormous Heroine Stash In Drug Bust Named After Lil Wayne – HipHopDX

According to local news page kspr.com, a drug bust which produced 500 bricks of heroin, hidden inside a side panel of an SUV, had certain bricks named after …

METHADONE – WALES
Party drink may have been spiked with methadone – WalesOnline ‎

A party-goer’s death is being investigated by police after claims her drink had been laced with a heroin substitute. Gemma Thomas, 26, was taken to …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Eye on Health: Drug Addiction Cure – WRCB-TV ‎

Close to 2-million Americans are addicted to prescription drugs. That’s according to The National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Prescription pills turned into …

MEDICAL MARIJUANA/PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Medical marijuana a new challenge for schools – AZ Central.com

Medical marijuana will be yet another challenge to schools as they urge students to stay away from drugs, especially since prescription-drug abuse is most …