Drug News

DRUG REHAB – VIETNAM
Vietnam’s Drug Rehab Centers Under Fire – Voice of America

Rights advocates in Vietnam are criticizing a form of treatment used by the government to rehabilitate illegal drug users. The government says the work keeps addicts away from the temptations of the outside world while giving them useful jobs. Human Rights Watch says the centers are “little more than forced labor camps,” designed as profit-making machines for businesses.

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Meth investigation nets unlikely dealers – Richmond Times Dispatch

Its street names include “bikers’ coffee” and “poor man’s cocaine,” but an ongoing investigation into a loosely confederated group of area meth dealers shows the drug cuts across all social lines, hooking some unlikely players. Many of the 16 defendants sentenced thus far had little or no prior criminal records and led lives far removed from the dangerous, makeshift rural meth labs and renegade biker gangs popularly associated with the drug.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
For seniors, addiction often begins with prescription drugs – Miami Herald

According to the latest report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the phenomenon of elderly addicts has grown exponentially in the last decade and it requires doubling the number of centers of specialized treatment before 2020.

DRUG ADDICTION – THAILAND
Yingluck’s drive to ‘reduce drugs scourge by 80%’ – The Nation

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday launched a comprehensive campaign against the drug scourge called the Force of the Land, aiming to reduce the problem by 80 per cent within a year by getting state agencies to work together systematically. Yingluck said statistics showed that the country had 490,000 illegal drug users in 2007 and their population had tripled within four years. Drug abuse has spread to 60,000 of the country’s 80,000 villages.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Rowan seeks to head off alcohol abuse among students – Today’s Sunbeam

All first-year students must also take the school’s Alcohol-Wise online course before attending classes. “What we really try to do is debunk the whole Animal House image of the college experience,” said Rowan Dean of Students Richard Jones. The effort begins with orientation for incoming freshmen, Jones explained. The newbies and their parents learn about Rowan’s policy on drinking and drug use. parents’ participation in a big key, as they’re supposed to be “allies,” he said, of the university in making sure students intend to follow the straight and narrow.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
UW-Madison changes policy on alcohol citations – Chicago Tribune

University of Wisconsin-Madison is now requiring most students who get an alcohol-related citation to take a course on the risks of alcohol abuse. Now, if a student gets an underage drinking ticket, a trip to detox, or an alcohol-fueled disorderly conduct citation he or she is required to enroll in the program. Students will be flagged by UW police or referred by Madison police officers.

ECSTASY – USA
LA Coliseum, Insomniac sued by parents of dead teenager – Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and the event company Insomniac were sued Thursday by the parents of a teenage girl who died of an Ecstasy overdose after attending a Coliseum rave.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin a deadly draw in ‘Bluff’ – Atlanta Journal Constitution

He has seen a steady stream of suburban heroin users slip in and out of the neighborhood. More young Caucasians are traveling from suburban counties into the city to buy heroin. They buy a gram for about $160 and return home to abuse the drug and sell the leftovers.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
A Real Debate About Drug Policy – ‎Wall Street Journal

Drug use in the US is no lower than in countries with different approaches. We believe that drug addiction is harmful to individuals, impairs health and has adverse societal effects. So we want an effective program to deal with this problem.

SYNTHETIC DRUGS – USA
Police, counselors, hold breath for July 1 law effect – Winona Post

A local 16-year-old boy suffered a seizure after combining his medications with synthetic marijuana often called “K2.” A woman in Kentucky high on “Plant Food” hallucinated that her two-year-old son was a demon, knocked him unconscious with a folding chair and then threw him onto the passing lane of a major highway. In Louisiana, a man seeing visions when using Plant Food opened a skinning knife and repeatedly slit his face and stomach, but he survived.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Former Psychiatrist Gets Probation In ‘Pill Mill’ Case – The Beverly Hills Courier

A former West Hollywood psychiatrist who wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose to make money to pay for his methamphetamine addiction was sentenced today to three years probation.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription pills blamed for ‘Pharmageddon’ in Kentucky – BBC News

In Kentucky 978 people died from prescription drug overdoses in 2009. It’s hard to meet a family in the state which hasn’t been affected in one way or another. Across the state, a number of treatment and rehabilitation centres are trying to deal with the huge numbers of addicts.

HEROIN/PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS – USA
Heroin all too easy to get, DEA agent tells Colchester forum – Norwich Bulletin

But there’s something else in town not so easily seen, and not celebrated: a supply of heroin and prescription painkillers like oxycontin and vicodin. “It’s not that they get these drugs on the street. They get them from grandma’s house,” Hoffman said.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
‘Silk Road’ website called the Amazon, eBay of heroin, cocaine, drug trafficking – ABC Action News

You can get anything on the internet nowadays — cars, homes, and now, black tar heroin. It’s a website boasting thousands of members that was created in February, according to its administrators. On the main page, they proudly and openly sell LSD, marijuana, ecstasy, and most any other drug you can name.

ECSTASY – CANADA
Strathmore teen charged with trafficking after 15-year-old overdoses on ecstasy, dies – Calgary Herald

Herrmann went into “medical distress” and died in hospital last Friday after taking the yellow pills, each bearing a Mickey Mouse design. His friend, 19-year-old Richard Mulvihill, was also taken to hospital after taking up to four pills.

ALCOHOL – USA
Duncan Sheik Postpones Concert Tour to Deal With Alcohol Abuse – Wall Street Journal

Facing an alcohol problem, Duncan Sheik postponed the first week of a concert tour that was scheduled to start on June 8 in New York.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse up among Valley youths – Fresno Bee ‎

Josh had an addiction to prescription medication and had gone through several treatment programs. He relapsed and overdosed on heroin. “Josh desperately wanted to get clean,” his mother says.

HEROIN – USA
Police: Woman Hid 54 Bags of Heroin, Money in Her Vagina – AOL News ‎

Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a 27-year-old woman who they say hid more than 100 items — including 54 bags of heroin and loose change — in her vagina. Investigators took Karin Mackaliunas into custody last weekend after she was involved in a …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Funding to clean meth labs dries up: Portage officials look for alternatives – Ravenna Record Courier

Federal funding that once helped local law enforcement pay for cleanup efforts following the discovery of hazardous, illegal methamphetamine laboratories in Portage County and the rest of Ohio has dried up.

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Minn. overdoses show gray area around party drugs – Alexandria Town Talk
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After nearly a dozen teenagers overdosed and one died from taking a hallucinogen at a house party, investigators determined the substance was a version of a banned rave-party drug that can be purchased online. But the case of the concoction called 2C-E …

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
British officials declare defeat on war on drugs – AHN | All Headline News ‎

Various British leaders have virtually admitted defeat on the country’s war against drugs. Despite large amounts of cash allocated to stopping the sale and use of drugs, the illegal trade goes on and drugs had become more accessible to Britons.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Inhalant Abuse: Right Under Our Noses – VillageSoup
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National surveys have shown that the overall lifetime rate of inhalant use for six to twelve graders is close to 10%. Data from the 2008 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS) showed that the rate for inhalant use in Maine was even …

COCAINE – USA
DC Fourth Grader Brings Cocaine to School – The New American ‎

In what amounts to a highly disturbing case, a fourth grader in Washington D.C. was charged with drug possession after allegedly bringing cocaine to school and sharing it with his classmates, according to authorities.

INHALANTS – USA
More Adults Treated for Inhalant Abuse Than Kids – JoinTogether.org ‎

Last year, data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicated that approximately 1.1 million adults over age 18 had used inhalants in the past year — more than the number of adults who used crack cocaine, LSD, heroin, or PCP.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Bills would decriminalize pot, increase penalties for cocaine – Bangor Daily News ‎

“The lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key approach isn’t working,” said Melnick said in a news release. “Prison is expensive and does not treat the root causes of drug abuse and addiction.”

HEROIN – USA
Heroin overdoses to now be investigated as potential homicides – KMOV.com
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Heroin use is rising in St. Louis suburbs, and it’s becoming the drug of choice. According to officials, heroin-related overdoses and deaths have spiked from last year.

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Overdose leaves Minn. teen dead, 10 hospitalized – The Associated Press
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One teen died and 10 teenagers and young adults were hospitalized Thursday after an apparent mass overdose on a designer hallucinogen at a suburban Minneapolis home.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Coronado sixth graders get lesson on addiction – San Diego Union Tribune
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Students watch as their peer is busted, brought to jail, appears in court and receives counseling, before arriving at a party and is pressured to drink and take more drugs.

ECSTASY – USA
Customs agent pleads guilty to funneling guns, drug money through airport – Atlanta Journal Constitution ‎

A customs agent from Stockbridge, nabbed in one of the biggest ecstasy seizures in US history, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to launder drug money and attempting to smuggle guns onto an airplane.

ECSTASY – USA
Ecstasy growing in popularity among teens – The Downey Patriot ‎

The Downey Police Department would like to make the public aware of a recent trend indicating that use of the drug ecstasy is on the rise with teenage children.

ALCOHOL – USA
Boy, 10, treated for alcohol abuse – This Is Cheshire
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Children as young as 10 have visited A&E or been admitted to Warrington Hospital with alcohol related problems.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Quotes: Charlie Sheen On His ‘Drug Use’ – TIME‎

CHARLIE SHEEN, speaking about his latest “drug” of choice to 20/20, dodging rumors that he’s still battling addiction. CBS pulled the plug on this season of Two and a Half Men after Sheen’s radio tirade last week against the show’s creator.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Drug addiction in Utah: Families devastated by prescription pain meds abuse – Fox 13 Now‎

Erin Johnson from the Utah Department of Health shares with FOX 13 how her study gauges drug addiction in Utah and what her results may mean. Her conclusions touch on the culture, religion and family dynamic.

PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS – Canada
Prescription pill addiction ruining lives – Toronto Sun‎

A drug addict since his early 20s, Steven started popping Dexedrine and Ritalin — both stimulants — in 2005 after he ran out of money for cocaine. Steven was crushing up to 30 pills a day and snorting them. With that came vomiting and tremors.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drug addiction hijacks several areas of the brain — and almost all of one’s life – Los Angeles Times‎

More recent research, however, indicates that addiction targets more than the reward system of the brain. Imaging studies show that the brain’s cognitive systems in the prefrontal cortex area are disrupted by drug addiction.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
$125,000 grant awarded to Blount County Substance Abuse Prevention Action Team – Blount Today‎

According to a 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 46 percent of 6th to 12th graders drank more than a few sips of alcohol before the age of 15; 29 percent confirmed the use of alcohol in the last 30 days; and 19 percent of 6th to 12th graders had …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera must face challenges of alcohol abuse – MLive.com‎

He will say that he is taking steps to address his alcohol problem, which became evident Wednesday night, when he was arrested and charged with DUI, resisting an officer without violence and having an open bottle of James Buchanan Scotch in his Land Rover.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Underage Alcohol Use Starts at Home – About – News & Issues‎

“Parents and other adults need to be aware that providing alcohol to children can expose them to an increased risk for alcohol abuse and set them on a path with increased potential for addiction.”

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Rave at Salt Palace results in nearly a dozen arrests – Deseret News‎

It’s the second time in two months that officers have made multiple drug-related arrests at a rave party hosted at the Salt Palace. Prompted by calls from concerned parents, Sgt. Shawn Josephson said the Vice Squad and the Narcotics Unit ..

PARTY DRUGS – CANADA
Police uncover new party drug in GTA raid- CityNews ‎

“This is our first seizure and it does concern us as it is one more drug out on the street. It is a recreational drug and a party drug. It produces a similar effect as MDMA (ecstasy), amphetamines and cocaine. The street price is similar to cocaine.

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE – UK
I strolled into riot jail and found inmates taking drugs & boozing – The Sun

As one inmate gleefully told me: “It’s still party time at Ford, man.” Last month a senior prison officer at the jail told me anonymously that security at McDonald’s was tougher than at Ford. So I decided to put it to the test. …

DRUG TREATMENT – USA
County to drop Prop. 36 drug treatment: Lack of state funding ends program for minor drug offenders – Santa Cruz Sentinel‎

SANTA CRUZ — The county’s Proposition 36 drug treatment program, which provides counseling services to minor drug offenders, will be phased out by March 1 due to a lack of state funding, officials said. Under the 2000 state voter …

HEROIN – USA
Few options for drug treatment – WLFI.com ‎

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – After three people overdosed on heroin last weekend, officials are raising concerns about the lack of treatment for the drug in our area.

DRUG COURT – USA
KY bill sends criminals to rehab, not jail – 14WFIE.com ‎

The cost for correctional facilities has increased by $300 million in the past 20 years, the house believes criminals with low level drug offenses should be considered for treatment instead of jail time to cut costs.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcoholism and Drug Use in Baseball – BoSox Injection ‎

Cabrera spent 3-months undergoing alcohol abuse treatment at the end of 2009 and into 2010, but now faces a relapse and more issues related to his disease. Many fans are outraged and want him suspended, but what issue does a suspension solve?

ALCOHOL – USA
Many Kids Who Drink Get Liquor From Home: Report – BusinessWeek ‎

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately 5000 youngsters and teens under the age of 21 die each year as a result of underage drinking, including deaths from falls, burns and drowning. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING – USA
Rogers urges Fla. governor not to cancel drug monitoring system – Lexington Herald Leader ‎

“On behalf of my constituents, who continue to suffer from out-of-control and escalating prescription drug diversion originating from your state, I respectfully ask that you reverse your position on the value of and unquestionable need for” the monitoring system.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Florida hospitals see rise in drug-addicted newborns – AZ Central.com‎

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s prescription-drug epidemic – already responsible for nearly seven deaths a day – is taking its toll on the youngest, most vulnerable in its communities: newborns. In 2009, nearly 1,000 babies born in Florida hospitals were treated for drug-withdrawal syndrome.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Road to OxyContin Addiction – Opposing Views‎

Narconon Trois-Rivieres helped Cliff to end his life of OxyContin addiction by providing holistic treatment which did not involve the use of other drugs. Others are not so fortunate. There are many rehab centers which substitute one drug for another …

DRUG TREATMENT – USA
Bills aim to cut prison costs, improve drug treatment – Louisville Courier-Journal‎

After months of study, the General Assembly will begin considering proposals next week aimed at reducing Kentucky’s soaring prison population and thereby curbing costs through such things as better drug treatment and alternatives to incarceration.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – WORLDWIDE
WHO: Alcohol Abuse Kills 2.5 Million People Each Year – VOANEWS.com

The World Health Organization is calling for action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, which kills 2.5 million people every year.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
NASCAR Needs Ounce of Prevention in Substance Abuse Policy – SpeedwayMedia.com‎

They are also stunned when they learn of the amount of alcohol that it takes for their particular body type to be considered legally and functionally impaired. NASCAR must consider being more proactive when it comes to prevention of substance abuse in …

PARTY DRUGS – USA
Husband Slips Ecstasy Into Wife’s Dinner – Cleveland Scene Weekly ‎

Who knows what would drive a man to slip some Ecstasy into his wife’s food. Maybe he thought she’d be more fun high. Maybe he thought it would kick up her sex drive. Maybe he wanted to have a dance party later in the night. …

HEROIN – USA
Heroin overdoses soar in Boston – Boston Herald‎

An apparent spike in heroin overdoses in the Hub has health officials deploying resources to keep the number from rising higher. Heroin overdoses have killed five people in Boston so far this year, said Rita Nieves, Substance Abuse

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Jefferson County sheriff: Several children taken from meth lab home – KMOV.com ‎

The Jefferson County sheriff’s department discovered a meth lab inside a home early Tuesday morning. Residents called the authorities after smelling a strange odor coming from a home on Meadow Drive at Jarvis Road in Joachim, Missouri.

DRUG REHAB – AUSTRALIA
Opposition’s $10m rehab pledge aims for total cure – Sydney Morning Herald
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Ms Hewett said the Kamira Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre for Women she managed on the central coast had received no adjustment for inflation in the …

DRUG ADDICTION – RUSSIA
Perspective: To Prevent AIDS in Russia, Drug Addicts Need Care – TIME

In the not too distant past, New York was the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic among America’s drug addicts. In the early 1990s, at least half of all …

DRUG ADDICTION – SCOTLAND
Austerity ‘could raise drug use’ – BBC News
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Mr Liddell said about 55000 people in Scotland were classed as problem drug users. He said poverty and deprivation were strongly related to drug addiction. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Military’s drug policy threatens troops’ health, doctors say – Nextgov

Army leaders are increasingly concerned about the growing use and abuse of prescription drugs by soldiers, but a Nextgov investigation shows a U.S. Central Command policy that allows troops a 90- or 180-day supply of highly addictive psychotropic drugs before they deploy to combat contributes to the problem.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
RUSD schedules ‘Prescription Drug Abuse Kills’ presentation – Ramona Sentinel

If you have kids, this is a must-see, counselor Chuck Lopez says of the “Prescription Drug Abuse Kills” presentation scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Prescription drug abuse a real danger – Marietta Times‎

Abuse of prescription drugs has become a nationwide problem, but it is even more of a concern in West Virginia and Ohio. The US Centers for Disease Control …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
19 pounds of meth seized in Sutter County sting – San Francisco Chronicle

Authorities have seized 19 pounds of methamphetamine and arrested four men after a six-month narcotics investigation in Sutter County. …

PARTY DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Big Day Out fans warned of new party drug – Stuff.co.nz

Fans attending the Big Day Out concert on Friday at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium have been warned to stay away from a dangerous new party drug, …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Some resolutions for Big Country residents may include rehab – Abilene Reporter-News‎

Upper middle class abusers, for example, may be more prone to prescription drug abuse than certain others because they tend to have access to physicians and …

DRUG REHAB – USA
Repeat burglar released from jail into drug rehab – Maui News
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A Kihei man convicted of a half-dozen break-ins at businesses last year will be released from jail to enter a 2-year drug rehabilitation program. …

SALVIA DIVINORUM – USA
Shooting Suspect Had Been Known to Use Potent, and Legal, Hallucinogen – New York Times

(Some researchers have said the herb holds promise for developing new medicine to control pain and treat drug addiction.) Smoked, the effect is shorter and …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Medical community grapples with prescription drug abuse epidemic – Charleston Gazette

This is the second in a four-part series examining prescription drug abuse in West Virginia. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
ER Visits Rise For Prescription Drug Abuse – RTT News

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy, says: “Prescription drug abuse is our Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem, with shocking …

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE – USA
Former WWE Star Launches Site For Drug Abuse Awareness – Wrestlezone

Former WWE star Val Venis, real name Sean Morley, has opened a new drug abuse awareness website called ScriptDanger.com. The site is intended to raise awareness to the dangers of abusing prescription drugs.

PARTY DRUGS – UK
Fears party drugs are damaging mental health – St. Helens Star
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The deterioration in some teenage patients’ mental state is believed to be linked to their use of drugs such as mephedrone – more commonly known as meow …

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
New Efforts In Dane County To Confront Alcohol Abuse In New Year – WMTV

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced today work she’s leading to reduce the harms of alcohol abuse among middle school students will expand into …

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Maine tops nation in prescription drug abuse – Bangor Daily News ‎

Recent studies show that rates of prescription drug addiction have surpassed those of alcohol abuse, she said. But traditional treatment communities, …

HEROIN – USA
Children as young as 10 taking heroin – The National

One specialist at the NRC revealed that there are 10-year-old children who are using heroin. The announcement was made on the sidelines of a regional …

K2/METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
Jon Bruning unveils legislative agenda – Lincoln Journal Star ‎

The meth bill would implement a statewide electronic tracking system for purchases of methamphetamine precursor chemicals at the point of sale. …

METHAMPHETAMINE – USA
No Meth Found in Child’s System – WILX-TV ‎

New information on the child found in the backseat of a vehicle that was being used as a mobile meth lab… The Jackson County Prosecutor says blood test …

PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS – USA
Bleak numbers add up in Ohio painkiller epidemic – Dayton Daily News

Most of the drugs driving this increase in accidental deaths are prescription painkillers. — Ohio’s rate of accidental drug overdoses, almost 13 per 100000 …

ECSTASY – USA
Parents file claim over teen’s death during a rave party in LA – DigitalJournal.com

Rodriguez was among the 120 attendees that were rushed to nearby hospitals during the rave party as a result of drug intoxication. …

K2 – USA
New law pulls marijuana-like substance off shelves – Chicago Daily Herald‎

As was the case with BZP, sold as a legal alternative to the club drug ecstasy until it too was outlawed last year, some law enforcement officials predict …

MARIJUANA – USA
Pat Robertson Backs Away From Marijuana Legalization Comment – Drug War Chronicle ‎

“I’m not exactly for the use of drugs — don’t get me wrong — but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few …