Drug News

Illegal Prescription Drug Distribution – USA
South Carolina doctor sentenced for illegal drug distribution – Thaindian News

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) – A doctor, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, was sentenced to 41 months of supervised release for conspiring to illegally distribute oxycodone, U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald announced on Friday.

Drug Prevention – USA & Mexico
U.S. and Mexico issued a declaration of drug demand reduction cooperation – Thaindian News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – The White House announced on Friday that government officials from the U.S. and Mexico issued a declaration of drug demand reduction cooperation.

Drug Rehabilitation – World News
Narconon network celebrates its 44th birthday – Behavioral Health Central

The Narconon drug rehabilitation program began on February 19th, 1966, based on a decision by Arizona State Prison inmate by the name of William Benitez. After reading a book by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, “The Fundamentals of Thought”, Benitez recognized there could be a whole new approach to curing himself and helping others get permanently off drugs – concentrate on your abilities, rather than your addiction. It sounds simple now, but it wasn’t to an inmate who had tried every other method to get off drugs way back in ’66.

Prescription Drug Abuse – USA
Superwoman syndrome credited to popping prescription pills – Thaindian News

New York, Feb 26 (ANI): A survey has revealed that most women, who are overwhelmed by jobs, kids and commitments, pop prescription pills to boost their energy, calm them down or for any other non medical reason.

Drunk Driving – USA
Police: Drunk man drove off with gas hose – UPI.com

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Feb. 25 (UPI) — Indiana police said they arrested an alleged drunk driver who drove away from a gas station with the nozzle and hose still attached to his vehicle.

Drug Related Incarceration – USA
Michael Douglas’ son Cameron to stay in jail until sentencing – Thaindian News

New York, Feb 26 (ANI): It has emerged that actor Michael Douglas’ drug-dealing son, Cameron, will remain in jail until he is sentenced in April.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
FDA issues dosage alert for Tamiflu prescriptions – News OK

The Food and Drug Administration is asking doctors and pharmacists to be alert for dosing errors with the oral version of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
New Prescription Drug Research Shows Bad Reaction in Children – WTVY News

New research shows more than half a million children have bad reactions from prescription drugs. Children younger than age five are most commonly affected. Penicillin and other prescription antibiotics are among drugs causing the most problems.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Use Can Lead To Relapse – Trans World News

Narconon also has a unique method of handling substance abuse on two levels. First through a detoxification program that removes drug resides from the body and reduces physical drug cravings to tackle and physical aspect. Then, Narconon uses an approach that raises the ability of the individual by giving them life skills to help keep them off drugs permanently.

HEROIN – UK
Heroin use a ‘national crisis’ - drugs group – RTE

Heroin use is now a national crisis, according to a group that provides assistance to drug users and the homeless.

HEROIN – USA
Meth Abuse Down – Heroin On the Rise – CBS News

Heroin killed seven people in Jefferson County in 2007, but the drug is being blamed for sixteen deaths so far in 2009.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made a huge heroin bust earlier this year. Lt. Randy Christian says dealers are trafficking more heroin because of a nationwide clamp down on ephedrine, the raw material needed to make meth.

HEROIN – IRELAND
Heroin use a ‘national crisis’, says charity chief – Irish Times

HEROIN USE has become a national crisis, the chief executive of drug addiction and homelessness charity Merchants Quay Ireland has said.

COCAINE – USA
Tainted Cocaine Raises Health Risk Concerns – FOX News

At Minnesota Poison Control, they’re on the look out for a deadly side-effect you won’t find on any warning label. The problem is with powder and crack cocaine, laced with a drug called levamisole.

COCAINE – AUSTRALIA
Ice usage down, cocaine usage up: research – ABC News

New research has revealed there has been a dramatic fall in the number of people using the drug ice in Australia. But the drop has coincided with an increase in the use of cocaine. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has today released its 2009 statistics on illegal drugs.

ALCOHOL – USA
Campaign targets military teens’ alcohol, drug use – The Associated Press

Concerned about drug and alcohol use among teens in military families, three organizations are undertaking an online educational campaign on Wednesday to encourage parents and children to talk about substance abuse.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Interlocks Are Gaining Traction – New York Times

Earlier this month, in response to a Wheels post on the increase in arrests among women driving under the influence, one reader wrote that in Australia drunken driving is addressed much more aggressively than in the United States.

ALCOHOL – USA
Commentary: Drinking age of 21 saves lives – CNN News

The national policy that set a minimum legal drinking age of 21 is being questioned by a group of 135 college and university presidents through an effort called the Amethyst Initiative.

DRUGS – USA
Drug addicts march for recovery – KXLY News

Millions of Americans are enslaved by their addiction to drugs, and this month may provide them with the motivation they need to recover.

ADDICTION – USA
Former Addicts Hold Rally To Celebrate Recovery – NY1 News

Recovering from any type of addiction is often a long road, but the participants in the second annual Recovery Rally on Saturday made great strides.

HEROIN – USA
Painkiller addicts turning to heroin when prescriptions run out – Bristol Press

Bristol Police Detective Sgt. Chris Lennon of the narcotics division, says heroin is the second most prevalent drug his unit runs into, after marijuana.

METH – USA
Wing Fest helps fight meth use – Redwood Times

This is a family friendly event to increase public awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine use and to assist agencies that provide medical and psychological help for members of our community that have been affected by this illegal and damaging drug.

ADDICTION – USA
Forum: Addiction plagues U.S. health – Traverse City Record-Eagle

All you have to do is read the newspaper to be reminded that many Americans suffer from the reality of an addiction every day. From the outside, addiction is not always evident in any given individual. Substance abuse is one of the most severe health and social problems facing our county.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Problems – NBC News

Prescription drugs are ruining lives, hurting our kids and leaving police without many options. Now a Reedsburg teenager is stepping in where adults have failed. Quite literally, these are poison pills. Prescription drugs, no longer needed, laying around and too often in the wrong hands.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Addict Recovers Through Narconon – Trans World News

Because of her addiction to pills, Tanya Mesa didn’t have much of a life. She lost her job, her physical health was deteriorating, and worst of all she lost the love and respect of her family.

HEROIN – USA
Elmhurst police, schools crack down on teen heroin use – Chicago Tribune

A couple hundred parents who attended a community forum at York Community High School in Elmhurst Sept. 10 learned that Elmhurst police and schools are cracking down on heroin use among teens after a student confessed late last school year to using the drug.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Reedsburg Teen Organizes Prescription Drug Disposal Program – WISC News

Scientists say that drinking water across the country contains traces of prescription drugs.
Now, one Reedsburg teenager is trying to do something about that alarming fact.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Disrupts Body Clock, Sleep, Study Demonstrates – Join Together

Alcohol use can disrupt the body’s natural clock and sleeping patterns for days after consumption ends, according to a new animal study.

ALCOHOL – USA
Government: Growth in women who drink and drive – The Associated Press

The number of women arrested for drunken driving has jumped nearly 30 percent in the past decade, a dangerous trend that was all too evident when a wrong-way crash involving a woman in New York killed eight people.

ALCOHOL – USA
Crackdown on drunk driving begins Friday – The Capital Times

Hundreds of police officers and deputies will be out in force this weekend, cracking down on drunks who think it’s okay to get behind the wheel.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Rehab and Your Health – Trans World News

The abuse of alcohol, an addiction to alcohol can destroy your life on many different levels.  The number of people who have lost jobs, broken relationships and literally gone broke as a result of their alcohol addiction is huge.

PAINKILLER – USA
Even Pain Killer Addiction Requires Professional Treatment – Trans World News

The chemical nature of painkiller addiction makes it particularly tough to beat. Prescription painkillers like morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are linked to the same kind of drug dependency that underlies heroin abuse.

PAINKILLER – USA
Common painkiller more effective in fracture pain – Press TV

A simple over-the-counter painkiller is reported to be more effective in alleviating pain in children suffering a fracture than the more powerful combinations.

COCAINE – USA
U.S. Currency Contaminated with Cocaine – Join Together

The vast majority of U.S. paper money in circulation contains traces of cocaine, a new study finds. CNN reported Aug. 18 that researchers found that 90 percent of $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills tested had detectable cocaine residue. Bills from major cities were more likely to test positive than those from smaller cities.

DRUGS – USA
More women held for driving while intoxicated, study finds – CNN News

Arrests for women driving under the influence jumped by nearly 30 percent during the decade ending in 2007, according to a study released Wednesday by the U.S. Transportation Department.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Graduate Handles Addiction Permanently – Trans World News

Feeling “helpless, undeserving and pretty hopeless “was what Paul experienced for more than 12 years while addicted to drugs. Paul says the more he used the more his life fell apart to the point that he was so self-destructive, his family finally stepped in to help him.

ALCOHOL – UK
Poor diet and alcohol abuse behind tripling of liver cancer – Wales Online

Poor diet and alcohol consumption, together with drug use are seen as the main factors behind the increase.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin high here getting cheaper – The Columbus Dispatch

Mexican drug cartels have saturated Columbus’ heroin market, pushing down the price of a kilogram and hooking a larger share of the city’s users.

PAINKILLER – USA
70,000 U.S. kids overdose each year — accidentally — on everyday household meds – TIME

Some 100,000 kids end up in U.S. emergency rooms each year because they’ve accidentally been poisoned. No, they’re not all raiding the cupboard full of cleaning supplies.

ADDICTION – USA
10 reasons to kick addictions – Desert News

Making the decision to give up an addiction may seem like a simple act to those who have never struggled with the issue. The truth is that sobriety is a process that, for those who follow the path, will last a lifetime. The great news is that by enduring and eventually embracing the process, you will also have a life. Here are 10 reasons to get started.

DRUGS – USA
Rescue Ink helps young people striving to quit drugs, alcohol – Zanesville Times Recorder

Smith along with her husband, Richard, have opened a new store in New Lexington with that idea in mind. Rescue Ink, at 126 Main St., has clothes, bikes, shoes and other items at prices that are affordable to those families and teens finding themselves in financial crisis.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Abuse Is Treated With The Most Extensive Treatment Programs – Trans World News

Sunset Malibu, an exclusive treatment center on the California coast, has long been a transformational force in the field of rehabilitation and recovery. Now, Sunset is announcing its redoubled efforts in the fight against alcohol dependency.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Your prescription drugs can kill – Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Iowa health officials warn of the growing threat of unintentional poisoning. A University of Iowa report shows the state’s number of unintentional poisoning deaths rose from 67 in 2002 to 160 in 2008.

ADDICTION – USA
Campaign focuses on addiction awareness – Scarlet Scuttlebutt

NCADD’S eighth annual Tree of Hope campaign is designed to raise the consciousness in Middlesex County to the fact that addiction is an illness from which many do recover, and to celebrate those recoveries.

ADDICTION – INDIA
Drug addiction among adolescents on the rise – Indian Express

The alarming trend of adolescents taking to drugs, including sniffing petroleum products, cigarettes, alcohol and even smack, has caught up across all economic strata in the city, doctors dealing with such cases say.

MARIJUANA – USA
Smoking Marijuana Damages Cells, DNA, Study Suggests – Join Together

Researchers who compared the effects of marijuana smoke to tobacco smoke concluded that smoking marijuana did as much cellular and genetic damage as smoking cigarettes, although only tobacco smoke damaged chromosomes.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon Graduate Lives to Tell Story of Addiction – Ex-addict’s Journey with Prescriptions to Heroin Told on CNN – Newswire

Every day American citizens are being legally given prescription medications for injuries and illnesses, but given the abuse potential many wind up getting hooked on these drugs and moving on to street drugs to feed their habits.

DRUGS – USA
How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents – Straight Dope for Parents

Every day, you work hard to be a good parent, doing hundreds of things to make a healthy, productive future come true for your child. But sometimes it’s hard to know if all the big and little things you do make any difference.

ALCOHOL – USA
Binge drinking affects later cognitive performance – Los Angeles Times

College students who describe themselves as regular binge drinkers performed considerably worse on a test measuring attention and memory skills compared with students who didn’t binge. The test, by the way, was conducted while all the students were sober.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Responsible for 50 Percent of Russian Deaths – FOX News

Russia is grappling with a major public health crisis in which residents are essentially drinking and smoking themselves to death, according to the country’s public health officials.

ALCOHOL – USA
More Research Links Alcohol Intake to Cancer Risk – Modern Medicine

Men who drink moderate or high amounts of alcohol over their lifetime may face a higher risk of several types of cancer, according to research published in the current issue of Cancer Detection and Prevention.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol link to huge rise in oral cancers among people in their 40s – Mirror

Alcohol is behind a huge rise in oral cancers among people in their 40s, experts said yesterday. The number of men getting tumours of the mouth, tongue, lip and throat has shot up 28% since the mid-90s and women 24%.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Older drivers unaware of prescription risks – USA News

Many older drivers who take medications that could affect their performance behind the wheel are unaware of the risks associated with those drugs, according to a new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

DRUGS – UK
Drug death toll at record levels – BBC News

Scotland’s drug death toll has risen by more than a quarter in the last year, new figures have suggested.

METH – USA
National campaign uses Utah’s anti-meth ads – Deseret News

Three television ads produced for Utah’s anti-methamphetamine campaign, End Meth Now, are being incorporated into a revamped public education effort by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

DRUGS – UK
Moving towards Real Impact Drug Enforcement – UKDPC

This briefing is aimed at key strategy and policy makers and influencers. It highlights the implications of our review Refocusing Drug-Related Law Enforcement to Address Harms.

DRUGS – UK
Drug use amongst young people in England in 2008 – Drug Education Forum

The third in the series of presentations drawn from the statistics provided the Information Centre’s annual report into Smoking, drinking and drug use amongst young people in England in 2008.

METH – USA
Blount County pharmacies recognized in battle on meth – Blount Today

Local and state law enforcement gathered on Tuesday, July 28, to recognized area pharmacies that have helped in the battle against methamphetamine use.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drugs back in the spotlight – Tampa Bay Online

Prescription drugs accounted for five of the top seven substances involved in lethal overdoses in Florida.

HEROIN – USA
Heroin on Long Island – The New York Times

Heroin is back on Long Island, and it is killing people at a record pace. There were 46 heroin deaths last year in Nassau County and 50 in Suffolk. The related damage from the epidemic — in overdoses, drug arrests, calls to addiction hotlines — is also up drastically, officials in both counties report.

DRUGS – USA
Drug Rehab in Connecticut – Methadone death toll is rising quickly – Trans World News

A recent study published by the NDIC indicates a 390% increase in deaths due to methadone since 1999. Increase in methadone deaths attributed to the drugs immerging popularity for use with chronic pain sufferers as well as increased diversion (stealing from legitimate sources and diverting to the street for illegal consumption).

ALCOHOL – USA
Pancreas: Alcoholic Pancreatitis—It’s the Alcohol, Stupid – Medscape

The management of alcoholic pancreatitis is mostly reactive; little is done to prevent disease progression. It is time for physicians to pay attention to the root cause of the condition—that is, alcohol—rather than just responding to its effects.

ALCOHOL – USA
Hospitals in joint plan for alcohol treatment – Toledo Blade

Toledo Hospital and Arrowhead Behavioral Health have formed a joint venture so that their patients needing help with alcohol and substance abuse will be treated at the Maumee behavioral health hospital, the health-care providers announced yesterday.

METH – USA
Why Mexican crystal meth is America’s problem – Reuters

Here in the heat of northern Mexico, the factory churned out record amounts of methamphetamine — known on the American streets as crystal meth, or ice.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise – WTVQ News

There is a growing problem in many Kentucky communities related to prescription drugs, and authorities tell us that I-75 may be an illegal supply line.

ALCOHOL – USA
Italy Starts Cracking Down on Underage Drinking – CNN Time

This let’s-go-get-loaded spirit might not seem so strange in countries that have long battled excessive youth drinking and alcoholism.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription drug abuse growing at an alarming rate in the U.S. – Examiner

Death due to prescription drug abuse is in the headlines now because of the death of Michael Jackson. The media also harkens back to the death of Elvis Presley and other celebrities who have died from drug overdoses.

ADDICTION – USA
Drug addiction Skyrocketing – Trans World News

Almost every young person knows someone who is a drug addict if they know at least five people, according to statistics. 21.1 % of Americans ages 18 to 25 have alcohol or other drug problems serious enough to require addiction treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

ALCOHOL – USA
UND employs approach to combat student alcohol use – Grand Forks Herald

Like North Dakota State University, UND also employs a multipronged approach to alcohol use among students.

CANNABIS – AUSTRALIA
New highsnlows short film gets young people talking about cannabis – Drug Info

The second animated film in the “Is your high getting you low?” campaign was launched today. While the first animated film looked at some of the potential effects cannabis can have on mental health, the second film encourages young people to talk to their friends about cannabis use.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Rapid detox for prescription drug addiction – Examiner

Prescription drug abuse has led to unprecedented numbers of people becoming addicted. Pain killers and opiods are among the most abused drugs.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Pills: The New Drug of Choice for Teens – San Francisco Chronicle

Statistically, too, the officers had reason to worry. Although high school drug use is down across the country, in the past 10 years the rate of prescription drug abuse among teens has risen steadily.

DRUGS – USA
Anti-Drug Campaigns Shift Focus from Marijuana to Prescription Drugs – Join Together

After years of focusing primarily on marijuana use, antidrug campaigns from both the private and public sector have turned their attention to what’s seen as a more urgent problem: prescription-drug misuse.

PRESCRIPTION – UK
Different Sources In Adolescent Prescription Drug Misuse May Indicate Likelihood Of Concurrent Substance Abuse – Medical News Today

The misuse of prescription medications by adolescents is surpassed only by illicit use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana.

DRUGS – USA
Roadside Driver Checks Reveal Less Drinking, More Evidence of Drug Use – Join Together

Random tests of U.S. drivers revealed that fewer Americans are driving drunk, but more have traces of illicit drugs in their bodies.

ADDICTION – USA
Narconon offers help for drug addiction – The Beaufort Gazette

Narconon, an international organization promoting drug abuse awareness and rehabilitiation, says abuse of addictive pharmaceutical drugs is on the rise. The group says families should learn to recognize the signs of drug abuse and get their loved ones help if they are at risk.

ADDICTION – IRELAND
Increase in number of girls seeking addiction treatment – Irish Times

An Increase in the number of 15-year-old girls seeking drug and alcohol treatment over the last year has been reported by the country’s main residential treatment centre.

DRUGS – UK
Recovery and drug dependency: a new deal for families – Drug Scope

The true meaning of recovery and the effect of drug use on the family are two topics of debate in the drug sector, but so far have not been sufficiently addressed as intertwining issues.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Abuse –

Prescription drug abuse continues to be a growing concern in light of celebrities gone too soon. And a growing number of local drug-seekers

MORPHINE – USA
After Decades of Doing Nothing, FDA Warns Drug Companies to Stop Selling Illegal Narcotics – Natural News

The FDA has sent letters to nine companies, warning them to cease all marketing of 14 narcotic painkillers that have not received regulatory approval.

PAINKILLER – USA
Proposed law seeks to limit painkiller abuse – Bangor Daily News

Doctors and other professionals who prescribe narcotics in Maine have begun to develop new rules aimed at reducing the amount of prescription painkillers available for abuse and diversion.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription narcotics – killing the pain or killing us – Bozeman Daily Chronicle

According to statistics kept by the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, more than 2,000 people died from prescription drug overdoses in Montana between 2001 and 2008.

DRUGS – USA
Rx drugs leading cause of King County drug deaths – KOMO News

Deaths from prescription drugs have surpassed illegal drugs as the leading cause of drug-related deaths in King County, according to a new report released on Wednesday.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription painkillers cause most King County drug deaths – Seattle Post Intelligencer

Abuse of prescription drugs is the leading cause of drug-related deaths in King County, a new report has found. In 2008, prescription opiates caused 153 of 256 drug-related deaths in King County.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Dentists Seen as Source for Prescription Pain Pills – Join Together

Individuals addicted to prescription pain medications often turn to dentists as a source for drugs like codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin.

HEROIN – USA
Narconon Trois-Rivieres Cites ‘Hillbilly Heroin’ as Canadian Drug Addiction Crisis – PR Newswire

Legally prescribed by doctors and different medical practices, this narcotic is also regularly bought on the street and by methods of doctor-to-doctor shopping.

ALCOHOL – USA
Task force meets about campus alcohol problems – University Daily Kansas

The new University Alcohol Task Force is considering several proposals to change policies regarding alcohol on campus. The task force, which includes a variety of University staff, officials and students, held its first meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss ways to curb alcohol use in light of recent alcohol-related student deaths.

ALCOHOL – USA
Survey reveals drug, alcohol use at L-S – Lincoln Journal

Drug and alcohol use and abuse is a problem, not only at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, but also at high schools across the region, the state and the nation.

ALCOHOL – UK
Thousands of children drinking seven pints a week – Telegraph

A third of children aged 11 to 15 who drink, consume more than 15 units in a week, the equivalent of seven pints of lager or one and a half bottles of average strength wine.

HEROIN – USA
Walpole chief: Heroin use on the rise – Daily News Transcript

Cheap heroin has flooded the streets of Walpole and the area in the past few months, causing some painkiller addicts to turn to the notorious drug – occasionally with lethal consequences.

MARIJUANA – USA
Chart of the Day: Marijuana/alcohol biggest problem for youth – Seattle Post Intelligencer

Most people under the age of 18 admitted to drug-assistance programs in King County last year were admitted for marijuana use, according to a report released Wednesday.