Drug News

COCAINE – USA
Tainted Cocaine Draws Nationwide Health Alert – About-News and Issues

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a nationwide public health alert warning of “substantial levels” of cocaine laced with the veterinary anti-parasitic drug levamisole.

ALCOHOL – USA
Teens Who Eat Infrequent Family Dinners Likelier to Drink, Smoke, Use Drugs – Join Together

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana; more than one and a half times likelier to use alcohol; and twice as likely to expect to try drugs in the future.

DRUGS – USA
Text Messages Could Prevent Fatal Overdoses – Join Together

A drug-treatment program in the U.K. has set up a text-messaging system for drug users, who can receive texts on what to do in case of an overdose as well as tips on harm reduction.

ADDICTION – USA
Addicts March to Disprove Stereotype – KWCH News

Dozens of people gathered at Wichita’s Old Town Square to spread a message Tuesday evening, asking to “End the Stigma.” It was part of what organizers call a “Recovery Parade”. This was for anyone recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. About 50 people met at Miracles Inc., at 2nd and Wabash. Many brought signs to define them as something as other than a person in recovery – a mother, a wife, a tax payer.

DRUGS – USA
Drug Detox Protocol Gives New Hope – Trans World News

Novus Medical Detox Center has developed new protocols that have succeeded with patients who have failed to complete their detox at other medical detox centers.  These new protocols combine the use of medications with natural supplements and the use of intravenous treatments and allow a more comfortable detox than ever before.

ALCOHOL – USA
Sorority joins fight against alcohol poisoning – Stillwater News Press

One Oklahoma State University sorority is joining people from 134 other universities, high schools and middle schools to raise awareness of alcohol poisoning Thursday.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Survey finds women drink alcohol to be more confident having sex – NEWS.com.au

Millions of women drink alcohol before having sex because they lack confidence in their bodies, a study suggests.

ALCOHOL – USA
Spreading awareness about alcohol, drug addiction – The Stanly News and Press

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, which is an incredibly important but little known declaration by our nation’s government.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Sheriff Takes Aim At Prescription Drugs – WKRC TV News

Right now, the abuse of prescription drugs like oxycontin and percocet is growing like a tidal wave across the country. In many communities, pills have edged out other drugs like marijuana and cocaine.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol Awareness Study 2009 – Salvation Army

The results from this study suggest that the awareness of the consequences of underage drinking, as set out in the NHMRC guidelines, is low amongst Australians and in particular, young people.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic – British Medical Association

A term of common use and variable meaning, generally taken to refer to chronic continual drinking or periodic consumption of alcohol which is characterized by impaired control over drinking, frequent episodes of intoxication, preoccupation with alcohol, and the use of alcohol despite adverse consequences.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol firms not encouraging underage drinking despite growth in online ads – Guardian

Despite a doubling in the amount of alcohol ads running online, advertisers are not breaking marketing restrictions designed to protect under-18s, according to a report from the advertising regulator.

METH – USA
Report: Iowa meth and marijuana on rise – Mason City Globe Gazette

Iowa’s top state drug enforcement official says Iowa is not ready for medical marijuana, meth is making a comeback, and the newest drug threat is lurking in your medicine cabinet.

ALCOHOL – UK
Focus: Drunk and disorderly – Times Online

Just in case you missed it, this week was supposed to herald the start of a new dawn of moderation and temperance among Scotland’s drinkers.

METH – USA
‘Shake-N-Bake’ Meth Dangerous – Fort Smith Times Record

Clandestine methamphetamine labs referred to as “Shake-n-Bake” are cropping up across the country, but have yet to become a prevalent problem in local areas.

ADDERALL – USA
Up to 25% of college students use stimulants to get by – Examiner

Anyone who has gone to college knows students must balance an active social life with studying, and sleep. College students in their prime, meet people, make connections–and in the end, the physiological need for sleep can sometimes prevent simple studying and class attendance.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction recovery group now meets in Edmond – Edmond Sun

You know you have a drug addiction. But you don’t know where to get help. One option to consider is Edmond Drug Addicts Anonymous, a new 12-step recovery group. Group members want to reach individuals who may be suffering from an addiction.

ADDICTION – USA
Addiction recovery and nutritional supplements – Examiner

It is a time to help people understand that substance abuse is a health crisis on a national scale. It is also important to recognize that a person suffering from addiction can be treated and that recovery is possible.

OXYCOTIN – USA
How to tell if someone is abusing Oxycontin or other pain medications – Examiner

Most Americans have recently become familiar with the relatively new pharmaceutical drug Oxycontin. This powerful opioid painkiller has become very popular on the streets as a drug of abuse, though Heroin is still very much available and in demand.

METH – IRELAND
County drug use increases dramatically – Meath Chronicle

Plans for a new drugs prevention and advisory service centre for Meath and surrounding counties should be ready by the end of the summer.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
New program focuses on prescription drug disposal – The Citizen-Journal

Sheriff George T. Lasater and Liaison Officer William D. Schneider of the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office announced a new program for the disposal of prescription drugs.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Abuse of prescription painkillers spurs move for online database – Ventura County Star

Pain patients understand why California’s attorney general says he needs to raise $3.5 million to stop addicts and drug dealers who use doctors to stockpile Vicodin and OxyContin.

CODEINE – USA
Australian Researchers Find Serious Side-Effect to Codeine – WCAV News

Australian researchers have found a dangerous new side-effect from using too much Codeine. Approved usage of the opiate has been for severe cough, diarrhea, mild pain, and irritable bowel syndrome. However, Australian researchers have discovered that Codeine can cause hearing impairment.

ALCOHOL – USA
Games Contribute to Youths Drinking Themselves to Death – Join Together

An analysis of federal records shows that 157 college-age individuals drank themselves to death between 1999 and 2005, and a separate analysis of news reports showed that many of the victims were extremely intoxicated.

MORPHINE – CANADA
Warning: Ratio-Morphine Tablets Recalled in Canada Due to Risk of Accidental Overdose – Market Wire

Some tablets may contain more morphine than the label indicates, exposing patients to the potential risk of accidental overdose.

DRUGS – USA
Most drug Web sites breaking federal law – San Francisco Chronicle

The online trade is stoking the rising abuse of addictive and dangerous prescription drugs, the authors and federal officials say.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcoholism-Associated Molecular Adaptations In Brain Neurocognitive Circuits – Medical News Today

After many years of heavy drinking, alcohol produces pathological alterations in the brain. In many alcoholics these changes culminate in massive social deterioration and disorders of memory and learning.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Kids find it easy to get alcohol, drugs – The Australian

MORE than 40 per cent of Year 11 students find it easy to obtain alcohol and drugs, and one in three is more interested in “sensation-seeking” than respecting accepted standards of behaviour.

ALCOHOL – USA
Rising Alcohol Abuse Seen Among Returning Veterans – Join Together

Veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars are increasingly turning to alcohol when they return home to cope with the lingering stress of their combat experiences, sometimes with tragic consequences.

DRUGS – USA
Multiple Drugs Cause Most Overdoses – Join Together

METH – USA
Preventing Meth Use in the Central Valley – KMPH TV News

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, methamphetamine is the primary drug threat in California. And much of it is made right here in the Central Valley. The Kings County Partnership for Prevention is a group that is fighting against meth, and trying to prevent people from getting addicted.

COCAINE – UK
COCAINE TRACES FOUND IN ‘MOST’ STUDENT BARS – Evening Post

Tests have proved there is widespread use of cocaine in most Bristol University student bars. Students have used specialist swab tests to find traces of the Class-A drug at six out of seven bars at halls of residence in leafy Stoke Bishop.

MARIJUANA – AUSTRALIA
Marijuana flavoured candy banned – The Sydney Morning Herald

A new law in the US state of Georgia makes it illegal to sell sweets and other products made to taste like marijuana to minors, in what may be the first such ban in the country.

ADDICTION – USA
Town hall meeting outlines dangers of drug addiction – Northwest Arkansas Times

Circuit Court Judge Mary Ann Gunn emphasized prevention as the key to solving Northwest Arkansas’ drug problem.

METH – USA
U.S. Drug Czar Hosts Meth Conference In St. Louis – KSDK TV News

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and John Walters, the U.S. Drug Czar will host high-ranking officials from the world’s largest producing and some of the principal consuming nations of methamphetamine and meth precursor chemicals in St. Louis on Wednesday.

ALCOHOL – UK
London’s mayor bans alcohol on trains, buses – Reuters

London’s new mayor Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that alcohol would be banned on the capital’s transport system from next month.

ALCOHOL – UK
Boris bans booze on buses – The Press Association

New London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an alcohol ban on transport in the capital.

ALCOHOL – UK
Johnson bans drink on transport – BBC News

Plans to ban the drinking of alcohol on London’s transport system have been unveiled by new mayor Boris Johnson.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
National Campaign to Prevent Misuse of Cough Medicine – Join Together

Five women have launched a national campaign to raise awareness of the problem of cough-medicine abuse, aided by a manufacturer’s association.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Pontiac High School recognized for prescription recycling program – WJBC News

Just in time for Earth Day, a group of Pontiac High School students are being recognized for their efforts to cleanup the environment.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
St. Cloud man uses Web to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse – Fort Mill Times

A St. Cloud man is using the Internet to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse after his son died of an overdose.

DRUGS – INDIA
Keeping your child from Internet drugs – Sify

The number of Americans involved in abuse of controlled prescription substances has more than doubled over the past decade or so, to nearly 17 million.

ADDICTION – USA
Conference on Saturday will address addiction, counseling – Democrat and Chronicle

People interested in addictions counseling or affected by addiction are welcome at Monroe Community College’s annual human services conference.

METHADONE – USA
Methadone Deaths Continue to Rise – About

Deaths due to the misuse of the painkilling drug methadone increased 600 percent from 1999 to 2005, according to the latest statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics. Deaths from methadone overdoes increased from 786 in 1999 to 4,462 in 2005, the agency reported.

ALCOHOL – UK
Conference to address alcohol and drug abuse amoung teens – Gazette and Herald

HEROIN dependence is the most common addiction among teenagers being treated by Swindon council’s youth drug and alcohol abuse service.

ALCOHOL – USA
Sting Reveals Jump In Underage Alcohol Sales – KPTV News

An alcohol sting involving underage decoys revealed a rise in the number of stores that sold alcohol to minors, according to an organization aimed at keeping minors from drinking.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Lighting the way to curb alcohol-related violence – Bathurst Western Advocate

A survey just released shows most Australians believe there is a direct link between increased binge drinking and increased alcohol-related violence.

ALCOHOL – USA
Drivers Back Lower Alcohol Limit – Gather

The majority of drivers would welcome tougher drink-drive laws, according to new research. Motorist breath tested by police. Two-thirds of those questioned by the AA said they backed a reduction in the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

METH – USA
Meth Use Becoming a Growing Problem in Michiana – FOX 28 News

Indiana State Police say the number of meth lab discoveries are up. 820 labs were discovered last year compared to 766 in 2006. That’s a seven percent increase, which reverses a two year decline in the Hoosier State.

METH – USA
Moms Off Meth head to national conference Friday – Mt. Pleasant News

The Moms Off Meth National Conference is set April 25 at Ottumwa’s Bridgeview Center and nine local residents will be attending. There will be an informal get-together at Hotel Ottumwa 5-10 p.m. April 24 for MOM groups from all over.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Capitol Hill Watch | Prescription Drug Television Ads Should Be Required To Include Toll-Free Number, Web Site for Consumers To Report Serious Side Effects to FDA, Lawmakers Say – Kaiser Network

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) on Wednesday asked FDA to mandate that all prescription drug television advertisements include information for consumers to report serious side effects to the agency.

METH – USA
Montana Meth Project releases new ads – Montana Kaimin

Revealed Tuesday, the newest series of the print, radio and television campaign on behalf of the non-profit organization intends to use more stark images to reach their target demographic, which the new executive director of the Montana Meth Project, Dennis Taylor, said is working.

DRUGS – USA
Drug poisoning deaths on the rise – USA Today

Poisoning continues to be the second-leading cause of injury deaths in the USA, outstripping deaths caused by firearms for the second year in a row, a federal report says.

METH – USA
Stop meth in its tracks! – Cherokee County Herald

The Cherokee County Narcotics Unit is a division of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s office, which includes the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office working in cooperation with all area law enforcement. The Unit assists other law enforcement agencies in this county where and whenever it can.
ALCOHOL – UK
Police apply litmus test to foil underage alcohol consumption – ic Sefton and West Lancs

POLICE using litmus tests have helped to confiscate more than a thousand alcoholic drinks from youngsters in Sefton. The council is heralding the success of a campaign tackling young people buying and drinking alcohol.

ALCOHOL – INDIA
Study Says “tweens” Benefit from Alcohol-prevention Programs – Med India

Early alcohol abuse prevention program for kids between 8 and 12 years of age may prove beneficial in the long run especially as many young users are taking to the spirits in a big way, a new study has revealed.

ALCOHOL – USA
Teengers say it’s easy to get alcohol – Joliet Herald News

Teens attending the meeting were taken to a separate room and asked questions by volunteer coaches. When they returned, the teens admitted that around 98 percent of teens they knew drank.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol drug of choice for teens – Sun Sentinel

Alcohol is the drug most frequently used by American teenagers. Young people drink alcohol more frequently than they use all other illicit drugs combined, and alcohol is the drug responsible for more than 6,500 deaths per year.

ALCOHOL – USA
Teen alcohol use focus of forums – The Olympian

Alcohol-awareness groups and parents gathered Wednesday to discuss changing adult drinking habits — similar to the way tobacco habits have changed — as a way to curb underage alcohol abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Early alcohol prevention programs for ‘tweens’ is imperative: Study – Daily India

With an increasing number of youngsters getting addicted to booze, a new study has looked at how important it is to have early alcohol preventive programs for teens, or kids between 8 to 12 years.