Drug News

MARIJUANA – USA
Illinois Senate approves medical marijuana bill – KXAN.com

“For every touching story that we have heard about the benefits of those in pain, I remind you today that there are a thousand times more parents who will never be relieved from the pain of losing a child due to addiction.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
I-Team: NYC Targets Pain Pills as Latest Health Scourge – NBC New York

To combat pain pill addiction, Farley’s office is launching a campaign that looks … “For a toothache, do I really need something like OxyContin?”

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Are Women Bigger Binge Drinkers Than Men? – Cosmopolitan

According to new research, female college students tend to exceed the drinking guidelines created by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Wrongful Death Suit Brings Attention to Prescription Pain Medication – Albany Times Union

After spending six seasons in the NHL, Derek Boogaard earned a reputation for being one of the toughest professional hockey players in the league. When he died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in 2011, Boogaard showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain ailment caused by repeated blows to the head, as well as a high level of alcohol in his blood.

HEROIN – USA
Killer Heroin Use Widespread, Will Education Cut Use? – Cape May County Herald

Heroin in Cape May County is killing young adults from “good” families in “nice” neighborhoods. In the last month, the county has experienced nine heroin overdoses with five of them fatal.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – SWITZERLAND
Alcohol abuse linked to domestic violence – SwissInfo.ch

Almost every second woman who is subject to abuse says that alcohol consumption is a problem in her relationship, according to a study.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin dealer hopes others learn from his mistakes – KRCG

Week after week, heroin makes headlines. Overdoses are all-to common and dealer arrests have become the norm.
Right now, there are about 31,250 people incarcerated in Missouri. Many of those struggling with a alcohol and/or drug abuse problems.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Gateway Drugs that Every Mom Must Know About – Hive Health Media

However, doctors report that the use of opioid drugs like Oxycontin has been shown to very easily lead to heroin use and addiction, partly due to a decrease in the cost of heroin.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Treatment needed to keep Rx abuse from leading to heroin – Marion Star

In 2011, the most recent year statistics are available, 1,765 Ohio residents died from unintentional drug overdoses. More than 65 percent had opiates — a family of drugs that include brand name pills such as Percocet and Vicodin, legitimate but highly abusable medicines, and heroin — in their system.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Funding Restored to Prince William’s Jailhouse Drug Rehab Program – Potomac Local

Over the last four years, the recidivism rate [for inmates who don’t complete the DORM program] was 55%… the recidivism rate for inmates who complete the DORM program for the same four years…it’s an overall average of 27%.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
GIRLS as young as 13 are undergoing rehab for alcohol addiction – Perth Now.com

The girls are getting younger, they are coming in at 13 or 14 and have been drinking for a couple of years already. “Eventually we will need to start going out to primary schools if we want to prevent this.We would have to go back to eight and nine-year-olds and start working with them.”

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong – Take Part

David Sheff’s new book, ‘Clean,’ aims to completely change how we think about the epidemic that takes thousands of lives every year.

ALCOHOL ADDICTION – UK
Dog given award for helping Sleaford man beat alcohol addiction – This is Lincolnshire

A dog that helped a Sleaford man kick alcohol addiction has been given an award for bravery. “Before, I was in the pit of despair and hardly left my flat. Now, she gets me out of the house for walks and we meet people and I now have something to get out of bed for.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Rx. drug scourge: Staten Island is the front line in the war on prescription drugs – Silive.com

An urgent wake-up call has gone out to doctors on Staten Island: More than ever, this borough is Ground Zero in the deadly abuse citywide of prescription painkillers.

ALCOHOL – UK
Blue’s Lee Ryan: I loved going into rehab for my alcohol addiction – Now Magazine Online

Blue’s Lee Ryan has confessed that he recently went to rehab – and loved it. The outspoken star struggled with an addiction to alcohol for a long time but it became much worse last year after he split from fiancée Samantha Miller, the mother of his son Rain, 4. Lee quietly checked himself into rehab after the break-up caused his booze problems to spiral out of control.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
OxyContin abuse: can it be slowed? – The Grio

Millions of OxyContin prescriptions are written each year and it is an oft-abused medication. But, OxyContin is not alone. Nearly 1.8 million Americans were addicted to some form of prescription pain reliever in 2011, much more than those addicted to cocaine and heroin combined.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Octomom Nadya Suleman: ‘Rehab Has Changed My Life’ – Celeb Buzz

She’s back — and touting a dramatic change in her life. The woman known as Octomom, Nadya Suleman, ended a 28-day rehabilitation program in time to spend Thanksgiving with her family. “I am looking forward to my future and still feel I have a lot of work to do on myself, therefore I will be continuing my treatment.”

ALCOHOL – INDIA
‘Alcohol abuse behind rise in liver ailments among youth’ – Times of India

Liver ailments have become common among youngsters, say doctors, while attributing this condition to growing alcohol consumption among this generation.

DRUG REHAB – UK
‘I grew cannabis farm to fund son’s drug rehab’: Pensioner just wanted to help his ‘suffering’ – Mirror

A pensioner grew cannabis worth £12,000 to wean his son off drugs with a rehab course. Former oil rig worker Frank Jones, 74, admitted producing nearly 400 grammes of the drug which he told magistrates he believed was worth up to £3,000. After the hearing in Barnsley, he said: “You tell me any parent who sees their son suffering, who would not do just about anything to help them?

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – CANADA
Pregnant drug users need treatment, rehab for two – Windsor Star

Dawn recalled what it was like to come down off oxycodone: after the rush of energy, she would get “dope sick” – nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anxiety. “That’s the worst feeling in the world.” She can’t imagine what being dope sick is like for an infant, Dawn said, cradling her rounding middle.

ALCOHOL – USA
UW-Stevens Point mulls banning alcohol from dorms – Janesville Gazette

One year after a student drowned in a river after a night of drinking, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is considering banning alcohol consumption in the dorms, even for students of legal drinking age.

MARIJUANA – USA
Thiago Silva Fails UFC on Fuel TV 6 Drug Test, Fighter Suspended – 411 Mania

UFC has released a statement regarding light heavyewight fighter Thiago Silva (14-3, MMA; 5-3, 2NC, UFC) who failed a drug test for marijuna following his fight with Stanislav Nedkov at UFC on Fuel TV 6: Franklin vs. Le. His win over Nedkov has also been overturned to a no contest.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Special courts aim to keep vets clean, out of jail – Greenville News

When a knee injury left him on disability and reliant on pain medication, Army veteran Clarence Johnson hit a wall. Out of his prescription drugs, the New York City native was arrested during a visit to South Carolina last year after buying narcotics on the street.

DRUG ADDICTION – UK
Doherty seeking treatment next year – KOKI Fox 23

Rocker Pete Doherty is planning a return to rehab in the New Year after cutting short a stint in a Thailand clinic over the summer, because he wasn’t mentally ready to “commit” to the program.

ALCOHOL / DRUG ADDICTION
Former Patriot shares story of addiction – Metro West Daily News

It was a moment that should have been the pinnacle of his career. But after winning Super Bowl XXXVI, New England Patriot Chris Sullivan instead faced a dark reality. “I go back to my hotel room … and I remember thinking I should be happy,” he said. “And I wasn’t.” Already tormented by his anxiety and burgeoning substance abuse, Sullivan proceeded to fall into a downward spiral

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
‘Why can’t modern medicine invent an anti-addiction pill?’ – New York Daily News

Blocking some of the pleasure of the addiction is only part of the equation, you also have to replace what the addiction was doing for them when they were using.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Drugs and Drinking Still a Deadly Problem for our Youth – Legal Examiner

The next time your son or daughter heads out for the night, make sure they are educated in the potential dangers that they may encounter. America is facing an epidemic of deaths, specifically in teens, related to the recreational use of prescription medication.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Hopeful Drug Addiction Solution Pill Vigabatrin, Fails Trial Study – San Francisco Chronicle

Vigabatrin a proposed drug addiction “solution” for cocaine and methamphetamine dependence fails to provide results when recently tested. St Jude Retreat’s theory on replacement therapy drugs stands correct. According to a trial study released by Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, after being tested, treatment by vigabatrin was lackluster and did not lead to a “significant amount of cocaine free subjects.”

MARIJUANA – USA
Matt Riddle wants marijuana use rules changes in MMA; UFC’s Marc Ratner likes rehab system – MMA Mania

Matt Riddle doesn’t hold any of his opinions back when he talks about marijuana. The welterweight fighter is a medical marijuana patient in the state of Nevada; however, he wants to see the rules regarding the use of the drug in MMA to be changed, while UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Marc Ratner, prefers rehabilitation.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
The Fight Against Prescription Drug Death Epidemic – Z6Mag

When using prescription drugs, mostly people who use them have no intention of dying; yet, this is something that happens more than 20,000 times in a year. On average, this breaks down to someone dying because of an accidental overdose every 19 minutes.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Drug charges dropped against Jon Bon Jovi’s daughter – Music Mix

Stephanie Bongiovi was found unresponsive by medics after she apparently overdosed on heroin in a Hamilton College dorm early Wednesday. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said he was dismissing the charges.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription Monitoring Programs help fight prescription drug abuse – The Virginian Pilot

If you have ever been in pain, then you know the benefits of taking something to help ease your discomfort. Most patients receiving pain medication prefer to be rid of the pain more than they desire to continue taking the drug. However, most will also tell you that breaking free from needing the drug to alter the pain is a difficult process, especially once relief’s received.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Drug rehab center in Thailand shows out British rocker Pete Doherty, says he wouldn’t commit – Washington Post

Troubled British rocker Pete Doherty was asked to cut short his one-month stay at a high-end drug rehabilitation center in Thailand because he would not forswear his desire for drugs, an official at the center said Thursday.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Deadly dangers of prescription painkiller addiction – Carolina Live

Both women say they didn’t recognize the signs of prescription drug addiction initially, but eventually became educated about it and realized their loved ones had a problem. Now, they’re working together to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol abuse in final year a factor in 78 per cent of suicide deaths – Irish Times

Nearly four out of five people who died through suicide in a 2½-year period in Cork had been abusing alcohol in the year prior to their death.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Gov. Christie signs bill that gives non-violent drug offenders rehab instead of jail time – The Star-Ledger‎

The measure expands the types of crimes that can be considered as criteria for inmates eligible for drug court and it makes it mandatory not voluntary as had previously been the case for those who qualify.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Do ‘Study Drugs’ Breed a Nation of Winners — or Cheaters? – Huffington Post
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Performance-enhancing drugs used to be a “sports” problem. Now they are an issue for anyone who wants to stay competitive in school. Disproportionately, it is the teens earning As and Bs, striving to get into the nation’s top universities — not the stereotypical druggies — who are finding themselves sidelined by a stint in drug rehab for prescription drug abuse.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin use surging in America – WPTV
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With addicts desperate for a cheaper high than prescription drugs or seeking a more powerful fix, experts are seeing heroin addiction treatment admissions, overdoses and fatalities rising in nearly every region, including areas where the drug has seldom been seen before.

BATH SALTS – USA
Bath salts: Treating users new territory for hospitals, rehab – Utica Observer Dispatch
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As bath salts use has skyrocketed in the area, there’s no physician’s manual for treating patients on these drugs that have only been around since late 2010. Emergency room doctors sometimes have given patients high on bath salts 50 times the standard dose of a sedative.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE – UK
Elton John Regrets Past Drug And Alcohol Abuse – RTT News
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In a new interview with the Today Show’s Matt Lauer, Elton John admitted to regretting his past drug abuse. “You know, I was having people die right, left and center around me, friends,” he said. “And yet, I didn’t stop the life that I had, which is the terrible thing about addiction. It’s that — you know, it’s that bad of a disease.”

DRUG REHAB – USA
Doherty’s rehab stay a PR coup – Celeb News Now – San Francisco Luxury News

Earlier this week former Libertines lead singer Pete Doherty cancelled a number of summer festival appearances in the UK via a note on his website, informing fans he was retreating to Thailand’s Cabin Chiang Mai rehab centre to kick his heroin and crack cocaine habits once and for all.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
DRS. OZ AND ROIZEN: Non-drug ways to put the brakes on big pain – Oregon Live

For … other types of pain — chronic headaches, nerve pain, backaches, arthritis or muscle and tendon pain — we’re here with good news. There are many non-drug ways to put the brakes on big pain.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
N.J. Senate passes bill creating mandatory treatment program for nonviolent drug offenders – New Jersey Real Time News

The state Senate has given final approval to a measure that would create a pilot program requiring nonviolent drug offenders to enter treatment, sending it on to the governor’s desk.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Drug war A wake-up call for Congress – BDT Online

U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., says his fellow lawmakers in Congress must act, and “act swiftly,” in helping the states and communities combat the scourge of prescription drug abuse. Lawmakers received their marching orders last April during the National Prescription Drug Abuse summit in Orlando, Fla. They were told to enlist, organize and share resources and talents to combat the prescription drug abuse epidemic.

ALCOHOL – UK
Adele admits being dumped by gay boyfriend, alcohol abuse in biography – Examiner

Adele says that despite knowing that her lover was bisexual, in being hopelessly in love, she tried to make things work. However, when he broke things off, she turned to alcohol, just as her father did when she was younger. In fact, in the biography, Shapiro talks about how Adele nearly fell off the stage during her first tour, while under the influence of alcohol. The volatile relationship and the alcohol abuse nearly ruined her career and life.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Charlie Sheen Still Drinks, Says Doesn’t Believe in Rehab – ABC News

Charlie says he is not on any drugs, but hasn’t been able to kick his other habit, alcohol. “We live in a country where it’s always Miller Time so what are you going to do? It’s happy hour somewhere in the world,” Sheen said.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Feds to tackle prescription drug abuse on reserves – CNews
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“The abuse of certain prescription drugs has become an epidemic in First Nations communities. The epidemic is affecting communities and family structures through increased violence, theft, divorce, loss of needed human resources plus a host of other negative social problems.”

ALCOHOL – UK
£7m Big Lottery funding to tackle alcohol abuse – BBC News
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The Big Lottery Fund is giving £7m in grants to help tackle alcohol abuse in Northern Ireland. The money is to be used to tackle a range of issues that result from alcohol misuse.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Courts & Rehab: Some local, state officials at odds over how to treat drug offender – Anniston Star

Every year, Calhoun County judges send hundreds of people who plead guilty to drug crimes to in-patient rehabilitation facilities rather than to prison. But judges aren’t just sending these defendants to state-certified programs with highly regulated requirements for treatment. Local judges are also approving the placement of drug offenders in rehab programs that don’t follow state or federal guidelines.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
OxyContin, not Bath Salts, is the drug of choice of Appalachian addicts – Washington Times

Appalachia that a new word has been created just to describe those addicted to the abuse of prescription drugs: Pillbillies. A pillbilly is a person addicted to and obsessed with the acquisition and use of opioids, medicines normally prescribed for pain, but sadly widely abused in the Appalachian region. West Virginia and Kentucky are consistently in the top ten for the number of fatal drug overdoses involving painkillers.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Brooke Mueller back in rehab after relapse – New York Daily News

Brooke Mueller is back in rehab – reportedly after an extended reunion with ex-hubby Charlie Sheen. “As Brooke told the court a couple of weeks ago, she will spend the rest of her life trying to stay sober, with every day being a struggle.”

SUBSTANCE ABUSE – USA
Keeping kids off drugs, alcohol – Buffalo News

As a wife and mother, Wanat talks openly and often about the dangers of substance abuse with her three young sons. There is good reason why she believes so strongly in the power of prevention.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
To cut down on abuse, Mass. insurer limits painkiller prescriptions – Bangor Daily News

In an effort to curb abuse of powerful painkillers, Massachusetts’s largest insurer is going to restrict doctors’ ability to write new prescriptions to 30 days’ worth of pills before a mandatory review by the insurer.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Drug czar wants to treat addiction rather than wage ‘war’ – The Desert Sun‎

Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, whose job is mostly associated with the so-called “war on drugs,” wants to dramatically alter how the U.S. approaches drug addiction. “People don’t talk about recovery. It’s something that’s been kept in the dark.”

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Mom Tells Troopers About Oxycontin Addiction; Arrested for Child Neglect – WSAZ

Cooper, 25, told the troopers she was addicted to Oxycontin. She said that earlier in the day she drove to an undisclosed location in Huntington with her 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son in the car to buy Oxycontin and left her children in the vehicle while making the purchase.

ALCOHOL – CANADA
Alcohol addiction team wants higher energy drink prices – CBC
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Mixing alcohol with caffeine-rich energy beverages is a trend that is continuing to rise in Canada, despite repeated warnings that the combination is unsafe.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Indiana doctor’s medical license limited after drug rehab – Indianapolis Star

A Fort Wayne doctor’s medical license has been placed on indefinite probation after he was charged with leading police on a high-speed chase while on illegal drugs.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Missing ‘Terminator 3′ actor Nick Stahl tells friends he checked into drug rehab – New York Post

Actor Nick Stahl, who was reported missing by his wife, emailed friends to tell them he has checked into drug rehab.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
19-year-old awaiting trial on torture charges asks for drug rehab – Union Leader

A 19-year-old who is awaiting trial on torture-related charges went before a judge Wednesday to ask to be let out of jail so he could enroll in a drug-rehab program geared toward teenagers.

ALCOHOL – USA
Turning a Blind Eye to Underage Drinking – Huffington Post

Just as Twitter and Facebook have enabled young revolutionaries in Egypt and Iran to gather together for instant protests, social media has helped modern American kids mobilize promptly against their common enemy, snooping grown-ups. Ubiquitous cell phones allow kids to get the word out about which house lacks nosy adults, allowing kids to descend quickly on the vacant home and drink in peace. In the two hours it takes for Mom and Dad to go out for Italian or see The Avengers, friends from all around can come over, get wasted and flee.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
A Game to Help Doctors Ask Tough Questions – New York Times

A 31-year-old emergency room physician listens patiently as the man tells her that “every morning I wake up in pain,” describing the agony he continues to endure, three years after being injured in a car wreck. He has tried physical therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic treatment, he says. Nothing works except pills, he insists, as his voice grows louder and more demanding.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino Opens Up About Drugs And Rehab – Huffington Post
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Nearly six weeks after “Jersey Shore” cast member Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino left rehab, he’s now speaking candidly about his struggle with drug abuse.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prosecutor Faults Doctors for Prescription-Drug Addiction – Wall Street Journal

A top Long Island prosecutor on Thursday blamed the medical establishment for an epidemic of prescription drug addiction that has exploded in the region over the last decade.

DRUG ADDICTION – USA
The Case of Cameron Douglas: Prison Is Not Rehab, Say Addiction Experts – Time Healthland

The case of Cameron Douglas could be an unlikely turning point in this country’s endless war on drugs. Douglas, the 33-year-old son of actor Michael Douglas who is currently serving a five-year sentence for possessing and distributing drugs, was slammed in December with an additional 4.5-year term for possession of heroin and Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, while imprisoned.

ALCOHOL – USA
Study: Nearly a quarter of US suicide victims intoxicated at time of death – Fox News

A large-scale study has found that nearly a quarter of U.S. suicide victims are legally intoxicated when they die. These victims are also much more likely than their sober counterparts to commit suicide by violent means such as using a firearm, hanging themselves or falling to their deaths. Less than half of the victims had a problem with alcohol dependence or alcoholism or a history of prior suicide-related behaviors.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Demi Lovato Opens Up About Drug Abuse: ‘Being A Celebrity Can Be Dangerous – ‎Huffington Post

But the part-Mexican singer, who spent three-months in rehab in November 2010 … how peer pressure and loneliness led her to experiment with drugs in 2010.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Prescription drug abuse bill wins final passage – WSLS

Kentucky lawmakers have passed a measure that’s intended to curb prescription drug abuse in a state where more people are dying from overdoses than car wrecks. A compromise passed by the House and Senate would require all physicians in the state to use a prescription drug monitoring system so they can more readily spot addicts seeking painkillers.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Saint Jude Retreats Announces Length Of Stay In Drug Rehab Does Matter – PR Web
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The amount of time a guest stays in an alcohol or drug treatment center greatly impacts the outcome of the individuals success in that program.

ALCOHOL ABUSE – USA
Experts say communication key to preventing alcohol abuse among teens – Tri Cities
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Communication is the key to preventing alcohol abuse among teenagers. Many teens are exposed to the temptation of underage drinking at an early age, 40 percent of eighth-graders have tried alcohol and one in four is a binge drinker. Around 20 students, school staff and community members gathered for an evening town hall forum entitled “Start Talking, Before They Start Drinking” at Tennessee High School.

DRUG REHAB – USA
Free from drug addiction, former Menard High star returns to baseball – The Town Talk

The young man whose life on drugs careened and collapsed to such a degree that, at one time, he was homeless and nearly committed suicide, has shaken the addiction.

COCAINE – USA
Rihanna Showcases Drug Use, Refuses Rehabilitation? – Christian Post

Rihanna, 24-year-old Barbadian pop singer, recently posted pictures to her Twitter account that showed her breaking down what appeared to be drugs on the head of a man whose shoulders she was seated on in order to see above the crowd

DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT – USA
Veterans who complete intense treatment can have court charges expunged – Post Gazette

Together there are now 80 veterans treatment courts nationwide. In Pennsylvania, recidivism among program participants is just 1 percent. The statistics are even better in Allegheny County, where Judge Zottola can brag about having no recidivism among veterans whose cases he’s heard in treatment court.

DRUG ABUSE – USA
Early-intervention program helps teens with alcohol, drug abuse – Longmont Daily Times Call
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Through the clear eyes of sobriety, John Vandegrift looks back on his drug use and sees it for what it was: a coping mechanism. The 21-year-old Littleton resident said he began smoking marijuana as a high school freshman, and two years ago he moved to heavier substances. Heroine became his drug of choice.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS – USA
Teen Deaths Related to Prescription Drug Abuse Skyrocket – Madison Patch
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Although many teens might otherwise shy away from illegal street drugs, more and more teens are turning to prescription drugs and over the counter medicines to get high.

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.