Drug News

HEROIN – UK
Pete Doherty: who will stop the Pied Piper of heroin? – Telegraph.co.uk

Three children, three bright futures, three pairs of grief-stricken parents. And one man linking them all: Pete Doherty, the singer – the not-so-angelic singer. Thirty-two years old, 15 court appearances in eight years, 25 drugs convictions, plus three more for burglary, driving without insurance and assault.

METHADONE/HEROIN – UK
Failure to help drug addicts is costing Britain £3.6bn a year – The Independent

Its author, Kathy Gyngell, said: “By sponsoring addiction, drug treatment has entrenched a costly dual dependency – on drugs and on welfare.” Three-quarters of those in treatment programmes are on methadone, amounting to 150000 people.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS/HEROIN – USA
Atlantic County narcotics officer says teen drug use rising – Press of Atlantic City

An Atlantic County narcotics investigator told a state commission investigating the rise in drug use among teenagers that he has seen many high school students progress from getting drugs from their parents to buying heroin on the streets.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Local drug addict speaks out about success of Georgia Meth Project – WRDW TV

They are graphic commercials, showing drug use at its worst, but
new research shows The Georgia Meth Project is working. Information released by Governor Deal today shows, more teenagers believe meth is dangerous, and they say the ads are sending a message loud and clear.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol is teen drug of choice – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Teens reported consuming alcohol more than any other drug. They also reported having the lowest levels of perceived harm from drinking alcohol.

ALCOHOL – USA
Gun Owners More Likely to Abuse Alcohol – Laboratory Equipment

Binge drinking, chronic heavy alcohol use and drinking and driving are all more common among gun owners than among non-owners, even after adjusting for age.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Teens’ toxic combo: Boredom, alcohol and drugs – St. Augustine Record

Summer is often a point of concern for parents as their young people tend to have more free time and less adult supervision. These two factors can be a toxic combination fueled by boredom and risky decision making when it comes to alcohol and other drug use.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A County Takes Down Prescription ‘Pill Mills’ – NPR

Behind her is a memorial to victims of prescription drug abuse. Many of the clinics are blamed for prescription drug abuse in a state where the leading cause of accidental death is unintentional drug overdose.

HEROIN – USA
Russell Brand: ‘Using heroin means death’ – Digital Spy‎

Russell Brand has insisted that he will never go back to using drugs. The comedian, who attends regular AA meetings and uses transcendental meditation to help him stay clean, told Details he is aware that relapsing into heroin use would eventually lead to his own death as it takes away a person’s sense of reality.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone may impair memory in humans – AHN | All Headline News

Long-term use of the synthetic drug methadone, designed to wean addicts off heroin, could be damaging to the brain, according to a new report. Researchers with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health say the drug affects the brain and impairs attention in laboratory animals.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
DeWine: Prescription drug addiction not limited to rural counties – WTAM.com ‎

According to DeWine, four people die in Ohio every day from drug overdoses, mostly from precription drugs. The AG’s office has been pointing out for weeks now the growing problem of prescription drug addiction in rural counties, but DeWine says it’s still a problem in urban counties as well.

ECSTASY – USA
ER Visits From Ecstasy Jump 75 Percent, US Study Finds – U.S. News & World Report
‎
Its reputation as a “club” or party drug belies the medical and mental dangers of even casual use, the report authors said. Addiction, blurred vision, high blood pressure, heat stroke, muscle cramping and kidney failure are also linked to Ecstasy use.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Dr. Conrad Murray Blames Dr. Arnold Klein For Michael Jackson Drug Addiction – The Hollywood Gossip

Murray’s legal team claims Klein fueled MJ’s addiction as recently as 2009 by giving him scores of Demerol injections in the months prior to his death. He may have a point there. In the months before Jackson died, Dr. Arnold Klein gave Jackson 51 Demerol injections.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
The Bong Biz—Drug Awareness Training for Parents – Patch.com ‎

Of kids who use drugs or alcohol, 15% will end up with a diagnosable problem, and 7-12% of all adolescent users will need significant medical help to overcome addiction, where the “choices are reduced to two: death or treatment.” He noted that there is no way of knowing which kids will end up in that tragic 7-12%.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Navy chief sceptical of drug eradication – ABC Online
‎
Australia’s 14000 Navy personnel took 10 minutes off today to hear their boss warn of alcohol bans, compulsory drug testing and curfews, unless there’s wholesale change to the culture of alcohol abuse.

HEROIN – USA
Western NY authorities warn of heroin overdoses – Wall Street Journal‎

Law enforcement officials in western New York are warning heroin users that the drugs they’re buying may be laced with deadly fillers. Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda says police have seen two fatal heroin overdoses this month and possibly a third, plus several other, non-fatal overdoses.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Lindsay Lohan’s legal woes: The timeline – CNN

Well, here’s a timeline: January, 2007: Lindsay Lohan entered a drug rehab program for the first time. She continued work on the movie “I Know Who Killed …

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Woman on mission to help babies born with drug addictions – KOMO News

Wendy White of Mill Creek is on a mission to help babies born with a drug addiction by calling on doctors and nurses to help open a nursery …

DRUG ABUSE – SCOTLAND
The myth and the reality – Glasgow Evening Times

The Scottish Government has increased the money it spends on tackling drug addiction, upping it by 20% to £28.6million since 2006. …

HEROIN – USA
In the Name of Heroin: Pearce Describes Drug-Induced Robbery – Fairfield Patch

Nicole Pearce described in detail the couple’s heroin addiction that was supported by a robbery/killing spree. The jury in the double murder trial of …

METHADONE – USA
Mother pleads guilty to overdosing girl – TheNewsTribune.com

A recovering heroin addict has pleaded guilty to giving her 12-year-old daughter a fatal dose of methadone. A recovering heroin addict has pleaded guilty to …

ALCOHOL – USA
House advances proposed ban on energy drinks – Live 5 News

“Alcohol and energy drinks, its just a bad combination. … When you hear about those energy drinks with alcohol, you hear about the ‘craze. …

ALCOHOL – UK
Girl, six, rushed to hospital after getting dangerously drunk – Daily Mail

It is not known how she got hold of the alcohol or what she drank. But health and welfare officers said they were investigating whether the girl was in need …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Florida Pain Clinic Society Opposes Rx Monitoring System Repeal – PR Newswire

… proposal to repeal the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). The PDMP system is the single most important weapon in the war on Rx drug abuse, …

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 …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx for Danger: Violent crimes follow prescription-drug abuse – Orlando Sentinel

Their addiction controls them.” An abundance of pain clinics and lax state laws … to 80 percent of the nation’s crime is linked to alcohol or drug abuse. …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
New campaign launched to tackle problem drinking – BBC News

… consuming alcohol to a level that is harming them and 7000 are alcohol dependent. … violence and anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol abuse, …

HEROIN – USA
Heroin Addiction Rose 90 Percent Since 2007, According to SAMHSA – Staho

… and on November 16 it reported a substantial increase in the number of teenagers and young adults seeking treatment for their heroin addiction. …

METHADONE – US
Eminem Says He Almost Died of a Methadone Overdose In 2007 – ‎RWD Online

Eminem has come clean about his Recovery from drug addiction and explains … in December 2007 he came two hours from death when he overdosed on Methadone

ALCOHOL ABUSE – UK
New supermarket tax plan to tackle alcohol abuse – The Publican

… supermarkets a ‘social responsibility’ tax while cutting VAT paid by pubs to just five per cent could revolutionize the way alcohol abuse is tackled, …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx Addiction: Pain clinics often play role in addiction – WBIR-TV

… unlike illicit drugs, including heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. … But she describes the escape from her addiction as a fog being lifted, …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA

David Jentsch Threatened By Anti-Animal Research Extremists – Huffington Post

… which has helped him learn about the biochemical factors that contribute to methamphetamine and tobacco addiction in adolescents, as well as to better …

DRUG LAW REFORM – USA

Supporters to try again for Delaware drug law reform – The News Journal

The goal was to curb minimum mandatory sentences for drug offenses. … occasionally incomprehensible drug laws — like the one that makes it a crime for a …

Marijuana – Arizona
Arizona man sentenced to 30 years for distributing over 10 tons of marijuana – Thaindian News

TUCSON, ARIZONA (BNO NEWS) — An Arizona man on Wednesday was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for drug trafficking related offenses, prosecutors said.

Methadone – Nevada
Mom found guilty of murder in drug death of child – MY NEWS 3

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Jurors found a mother guilty of second-degree murder in the 2009 methadone poisoning death of her 3-year-old daughter.

Heroin – USA
Heroin Hits the Suburbs – abc NEWS VIDEO

An epidemic of teen heroin abuse is sweeping the nation.

Drug Arrests – Wisconsin
Police arrest 11 more in Wis. drug ring – WKBT.com

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Police have arrested 11 more people they believe are connected to a massive drug ring on St. Croix Chippewa tribal lands.

Drug Trafficking – India
Seven arrested for drug trafficking in Ghaziabad – Thaindian News

Ghaziabad, Oct 20 (IANS) Seven people, including five students, were arrested for supplying brown sugar in different educational institutes of Ghaziabad, police said Wednesday.

Drug Bust Gone Bad – Missouri
Suspect killed, police hurt in drug bust – UPI.com

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 20 (UPI) — An undercover policeman was wounded and a drug suspect shot to death outside St. Louis, police said Wednesday.

Alcohol – New York
Rise in EMS calls leads to concern over student drinking habits – The Miscellany News

Alcoholic, caffeinated beverages partially blamed for trend

Cocaine Detection – Study
New Method To Detect Cocaine Stored In Alcohol – From Outside The Bottle – Medical News TODAY

In two landmark studies published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis (DTA), UK and Swiss research teams reveal two techniques proven to identify dissolved cocaine in bottles of wine or rum. These tools will allow customs officials to quickly identify bottles being used to smuggle cocaine, without the need to open or disturb the container.

Overdose Related Death – USA Celebrity
Comedian Greg Giraldo Passes Away At 44 – Thaindian News

Sep 30, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Highly acclaimed American comedian Greg Giraldo breathed his last on Wednesday after spending about five days in a medical facility where he was admitted over the weekend for drug overdose. The comedy artist passed away, due to complications that arose from the overdose of drugs, at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in the presence of family members as well as friends. Greg Giraldo was 44 years old at the time of his demise.

Drug & Alcohol Death – UK
Brit man on dance drug dies after downing pint of vodka in 4 seconds – Thaindian News

London, Sept 30 (ANI): A Brit drinker who had taken the dance drug mephedrone died after downing a pint of vodka in four seconds, an inquest heard.

Drug Smuggler Fooled Employer – New Zealand
Drug smuggler hid past to get New Zealand hospital job – Thaindian News

Wellington, Sep 30 (IANS) A Nigerian drug smuggler who fooled immigration officials to get a job as a psychiatrist in a New Zealand hospital has been jailed for 16 months.

Methadone – Scotland
Time to get off methadone – Record View, Scotland’s Voice

The continuing rise in the cost of the country’s methadone programme is alarming. More than £105million over four years boils down to a massive £67,000-plus every single day.

Drug Addiction – Former Miss USA
Former Miss USA Tara Conner Talks About Her Drug Addiction On “Oprah Winfrey Show” – Thaindian News

Apr 29, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Former Miss USA Tara Conner created quite a buzz on Wednesday night when she appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and gave revealing insights into her addiction to drugs and how it had affected her in more ways than one.

Needle Sharing Leads to Syphilis – USA Study
Sharing needles may play major role in transmission of syphilis – Thaindian News

Washington, April 29 (ANI): A new study has discovered that female sex workers who inject drugs and share needles are at a greater danger of contracting syphilis than those who don’t.

Drug Trafficking – Ohio
Ravennans arrested for trafficking: Face felony charges for heroin, Oxycontin  – recordpub.com

Following a two-month-long investigation, the Portage County Drug Task Force arrested two Ravenna men Monday on drug trafficking charges.

Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness – Arizona
Mother talks about son’s tragic drug abuse – Eastern Arizona Courier

Tough love and a drug rehabilitation program couldn’t save the life of Adam Hall, who died eight years ago from an overdose of methadone and vicodin.

Anti-Meth Ad Campaign – New Mexico
Ad campaign targets meth use in Indian Country – FoxNews.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials are launching a national advertising campaign aimed at curbing methamphetamine use in American Indian communities.

Heroin Seizure – Africa
Nigerian arrested with 2.5 kg heroin – Thaindian News

Panipat (Haryana), April 29 (IANS) A 26-year-old Nigerian man was arrested in this Haryana town and over 2.5 kg heroin seized from him, police said Thursday.

Methadone – USA
Making a Killing Off of Methadone Clinics – Ezine @rticles

For years now, people have started noticing that methadone may not be all it is cracked up to be. In fact, thousands of people have discovered that methadone addiction is worse than heroin addiction.

Drug Trafficking – USA
Missing child’s cousin sentenced to prison – UPI.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 28 (UPI) — A teenage relative of Haleigh Cummings has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in a drug trafficking case involving the missing Florida child’s father.

Alcohol Related Health Risks – Study
One in Three Elderly Drinkers Face High Risk of Harm, Study Finds – Join Together

One-third of American drinkers over age 60 consume excessive amounts of alcohol, are at risk of dangerous interactions between alcohol and medications, or have illnesses that can be exacerbated by drinking, according to researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Prescription Drug Abuse – Study
Gender differences found in risk factors for pain drug abuse – Thaindian News

Washington, April 28 (ANI): A new research has shown that there are distinct gender differences underlying the risks for abuse of prescription pain drugs.

Illegal Drug Bust – Nebraska
Drug Investigation Nabs 12 In North Platte – KETV.com

OMAHA, Neb. — A join operation task force nabbed 12 people in North Platte suspected of distributing cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and prescription drugs.

Marijuana – Georgia
Cops: DUI chase leads to Gwinnett marijuana grow house – ajc

A fleeing DUI suspect led police on Saturday to his Gwinnett County marijuana grow house, authorities said.

Prescription Drug Abuse – USA
Hospitalizations for Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise – Drug Addiction Treatment

Prescription drug poisoning is now the second leading cause of death from injury in the US. A recent study by the Injury Control Research Center in West Virginia showed that hospitalizations for accidental overdoses of painkillers and sedatives rose by one-third from 1999 to 2006.

Drug Arrest – New York
Six Arrested in Three-County Drug Bust – 13 WHAM.COM

Lyons, N.Y. — The Wayne County Narcotics Enforcement Team says that they, along with other law enforcement agencies, have arrested six people and seized “a significant amount of marijuana… along with numerous weapons” as part of a major drug investigation in Wayne, Cayuga and Seneca counties.

Meth & Ecstasy – Michigan
Kent County inmate dies after medical emergency at hospital, prompting investigation – mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS — A man charged with possession of meth and ecstasy died in a Kalamazoo hospital after he was being taken from the Kent County Jail Monday evening, prompting an investigation into the circumstances.

Cocaine – Panama
1.5 tonnes of cocaine seized in Panama – Thaindian News

Panama City, April 14 (IANS/EFE) Three Colombians were arrested and 1.5 tonnes of cocaine was seized from Panama’s Pacific coast, a police official said.

Underage Drinking – USA
AAP Policy Statement: Underage Drinking And Associated Risks – Medical News TODAY

Although the minimum legal drinking age is 21 years, alcohol use by youth continues to be a major problem in the United States. Alcohol consumption can interfere with adolescent brain development, and use of alcohol early in life is associated with future alcohol-related problems.

Methadone – Warning
New Warnings About Methadone Poisoning – Drug Addiction Treatment

The dangers associated with overuse, overdose and unintended deaths due to methadone poisoning have long been known. But recent increases in the numbers of methadone-related deaths have prompted new warnings about methadone poisoning.