Dec 2 Drug Headlines

HEROIN - AFGHAN
Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record - Washington Post
Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday.

HEROIN - PORTUGAL
Heroin use on the rise in Portugal - The Portugal News
The findings of a report issued last week reveal that heroin use is on the increase in Portugal as well as Spain and Greece.

OPIUM - PORTUGAL
Lisbon on red alert over Afghan bumper opium crop - The Portugal News
The mayor of Lisbon was last week warned by the United Nations to expect a sharp increase in heroin overdoses among the citys drug users as Afghanistans record opium poppy crop begins flooding on to the European market.

ALCOHOL - UK
Do you drink much more than you think? - The UK Times
Know your limit. As wines get stronger and glasses larger, many of us are knocking back more than we should.

METH - MEXICO
Meth Labs Proliferate in Mexico - Join Together
A crackdown on U.S. methamphetamine labs has sparked a proliferation of meth production in Mexico, from ranches in Baja California to industrial parks in Guadalajara, the Los Angeles Times reported Nov. 26.

OTC - US
Officials seeing a new drug abuse
It may not have been what police were looking for in Bedford North Lawrence High School’s drug search Friday, but an over-the-counter substance recently has put the school on alert.

PRESCRIPTION - US
Thieves snatch pharmacy narcotics - The Birmingham News
Three men smashed out the window of a Mount Olive pharmacy Thursday night and stole $3,000 worth of pain pills, authorities said Friday. The thieves were in and out of the store in less than two minutes, making off with a haul of hydrocodone and oxycodone stuffed into a pillowcase, said Jefferson County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Randy Christian.

PRESCRIPTION - UK
Inside story: swapping prescription drugs - UK Times Online
There’s a dangerous new practice in Britain: swapping prescription drugs. The people who are doing it won’t talk about it on the record. Health authorities won’t acknowledge it. The only way to broach the subject was to ask someone who trades painkillers for sleeping pills to write about his experiences (under a pseudonym). He explains why people are ignoring what the doctor ordered — for health and, sometimes, just for kicks.

HEROIN - UK
Warning over rogue heroin in city - BBC
Police in Bristol have warned drug users to steer clear of a batch of rogue heroin they believe has claimed the lives of three men.

METH - US
Mothers Against Meth, other groups work to combat epidemic - TribStar
Susan Gehring is joining with mothers of methamphetamine users in an attempt to help combat the meth epidemic in the Wabash Valley.

COCAINE - US
Cocaine users at risk of contracting Hepatitis C - Magic Statistics
And they may not know it until twenty or thirty years after their drug-using days are over. The risk is so high that a US study recommended that everyone who has ever snorted cocaine or other drugs should be tested.