June 15th Drug Addiction News

ADDICTION – SOUTH AFRICA
DA: Not enough govt action on drug addiction – Mail and Guardian
Key government departments are doing nothing to stop drug addiction, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.

METHADONE – USA
METHADONE - Fast facts – Youngstown Vindicator
Methadone is a synthetic narcotic used for more than 30 years to treat opiate addiction. Here are some other facts associated with the drug.

ALCOHOL – UK
Drink and drugs fuel rise in teen sex disease – Times Online
Rising consumption of drugs and alcohol among teenagers is leading to a surge in sexually transmitted diseases, as young people take more risks when under the influence.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol blamed for half of Russia's premature deaths – The Independent
Excessive drinking causes nearly half of all deaths among Russian men of working age, researchers have found. But it is not just vodka doing the damage.

CANNABIS – UK
Police get high to find cannabis factories – Belfast Telegraph
Ulster's increasing drug trade in home-grown cannabis is being foiled from the sky by police.

ADDERALL – USA
Prescription addiction – News Times SLO
Back in the day, students seeking an academic advantage chose stimulants like coffee, energy drinks and caffeine pills to help them stay up late and cram for final examinations.

OPIUM – BANGLAD
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran agree to stop drug trafficking – The Financial Express
Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan have agreed to work closely to stop drug trafficking along their common borders by building more physical barriers, launching joint counter-narcotic operations and improving communication.

OPIUM – USA
Opium trade impacts military – United Press International
Congress wants the U.S. military to play a bigger role in combating the production of opium in Afghanistan.

COCAINE – USA
Cheap Cocaine: It's a 'Social Thing' – ABC News
Despite 36 Years of Battling, the Government Has Been Unable to Halt Cocaine Use.

DRUGS – USA
"This Gives Me A Reason To Say No" – Pushing Back
Another school board in New Jersey has approved the implementation of a random drug testing program for its students.

June 14th Drug Addiction News

PAINKILLER – IRELAND
Study finds 'worrying' lack of knowledge on medicines – Irish Independent
Almost one in every two people would give aspirin to a child under 16 years - even though it could have fatal consequences, a survey has found.

DRUGS – USA
Duval leads in drug deaths – Florida Times-Union
The Jacksonville area led the state in alprazolam, cocaine and hydrocodone-related deaths in a study released this week by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

DRUGS – USA
Oxycodone deaths double; cocaine declines – TCPalm Local News
The potent pain reliever oxycodone was found at lethal levels in more than twice the number of bodies that crossed the local four-county medical examiner's autopsy tables in 2006 compared to 2005.

METHADONE – ITALY
A ray of hope – Dublin People
In Suluzzo, Northern Italy, a nun named Sister Elvira was concerned by the destruction she saw among young Italians through drug abuse and felt called to do something to help them.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol: A weapon of mass destruction – African Path
They call me alcohol. I live in a bottle but I like swimming in people’s heads. I’m unbeatable. I fail and fall people. I’m a weapon of mass destruction.

ALCOHOL – USA
Winfield board approves policy for alcohol testing – Winfield Daily Courier
Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, students at Winfield High School and their guests at school events will be subject to preliminary breath tests administered by local law enforcement and school officials.

METH –CANADA
Sweet-tasting drug targets children – Today’s Family News
A new type of sweet-tasting methamphetamine, which is intended to lure younger children, may be on its way to Canadian streets.

CANNABIS – UK
Majority of cannabis 'home grown' – BBC News
Many cannabis plants have also been selectively bred, to produce a much stronger drug called super skunk.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Children part of drug solution – Herald Sun
CHILDREN in early primary school must learn about illicit drugs and should be part of their parents' drug treatment programs, experts say.

CANNABIS – AUSTRALIA
Cannabis education centre expected by end of year – ABC News Online
A new research and education centre targeting cannabis is expected to be up and running by the end of this year.

June 13th Drug Addiction News

HEROIN – USA
Deadly $2 heroin targets teens – CNN News
A cheap, highly addictive drug known as "cheese heroin" has killed 21 teenagers in the Dallas area over the past two years, and authorities say they are hoping they can stop the fad before it spreads across the nation.

DRUGS – USA
Report: Drug Deaths On Rise In Florida – Local 10 News
Illegal and prescription drugs were listed as the official cause of death in thousands of Florida autopsies.

CODEINE – UK
WOMEN'S HEALTH RISKS – Mirror News
Painkiller addiction affects 20,000 Britons. Seventy per cent are women, and of those more than half are housewives who started taking the pills to tackle problems such as backache.

METH – USA
So Long Crystal Meth, Hello Cocaine! – STATS
The Sunday Styles section helpfully pointed users and potential users (and presumably police as well) to online advertisements and tried to give the terminally un-hip some clues about current cocaine references in pop culture.

METH – USA
Native group tackles meth problems – KTUU News
According to NCAI delegates, meth manufacturers and dealers are targeting Indian Country because they view the population as more vulnerable and enforcement lenient.

METH – USA
An anti-meth campaign in a rural community – Range News
Willcox, Arizona is not immune to the devastation of methamphetamine, not unlike many other rural communities across the United States.

METH – USA
Tribal leaders unveil new ‘meth toolkit’ – KOB News
Leaders of the National Congress of American Indians say methamphetamine is endangering tribal cultures across the nation. So they’ve unveiled a new “meth toolkit” to help battle the crisis.

COCAINE – USA
Cocaine's Cachet Quietly Rising – Join Together
In certain trendy circles, cocaine use is enjoying a comeback reminiscent of its heyday in the '70s and '80s, the New York Times reported June 10.

DRUGS – UNITED NATIONS
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – UNODC
The slogan of the UNODC anti-drugs campaign to be launched on 26 June, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, is "Do drugs control your life? Your life. Your community. No place for drugs." The slogan will be used for three years and focus on different aspects of drug control.

ALCOHOL – UK
UK drinking habits in flux – The Publican
UK drinking habits are in a state of flux following a period of responsible drinking messages, says a new report.

METH – USA
Montana Meth Ads Maybe Coming to Wichita – WIBW News
Authorities are hoping to crack down on methamphetamine related crimes by convincing kids not to try the drug even once.

June 12th Drug Addiction News

METH – USA
Meth adds scourge to troubled Native American lands – Scientific America
A brutal triple slaying in this remote corner of the vast Navajo reservation brought home what experts have seen coming for years: an explosion in crime on tribal lands linked to the cheap, potent and highly addictive stimulant methamphetamine.

METH – USA
Tribal leaders unveil new 'meth toolkit' – KXMC News
Leaders of the National Congress of American Indians say methamphetamine is endangering tribal cultures across the nation. So they've unveiled a new "meth toolkit" to help battle the crisis.

METH – USA
The Age of Ice Understanding Crystal Meth – Dental Plans
Unlike heroin, the most destructive drug of another generation, "ice," as it is commonly known, is not favored by one class or group of people over another.

HEROIN – USA
State: Alcohol, cocaine, tranquilizers most found drugs in dead – Sun Sentinel
More than 7,700 people who died in Florida in 2006 had drugs or alcohol in their system, with alcohol, cocaine and tranquilizers the most common.

METH – USA
A National Movie-Making Campaign to Stop the Spread of Methamphetamine – Mass Media Distribution LLC
A grassroots campaign is just beginning; one designed to stop methamphetamine with the help of local community youth, their talent and their love for the movies.

COCAINE – USA
Deadly use of cocaine on rise in South Florida, report says – Sun Sentinel
More South Florida residents died with cocaine in their bodies last year than the year before, and fewer died with heroin as a factor contributing to their deaths.

DRUGS – YEMEN
Yemen, UN to start joint efforts on fighting drugs – Yemen News Agency
Yemen and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a discussion session, on Sunday, over promoting cooperation ties in area of fighting drugs, and means of further improving this area of cooperation.

CANNABIS – SWEDEN
More cannabis in Sweden than previously thought – The Local
Swedish authorities have seriously underestimated the size of the country's cannabis market. Around 25-30 tonnes of cannabis are sold in Sweden every year, rather than the 3 tonnes previously estimated.

June 11th Drug Addiction News

OPIUM – NETHERLANDS
United States Opposes Legalizing Opium Poppy Crop in Afghanistan – Press Zoom
Legalizing the opium poppy crop in Afghanistan would be disastrous for that country and for the world, a U.S. State Department official says.

COCAINE – USA
Cocaine: Hidden in Plain Sight – New York Times
Drug-abuse experts say the blasé attitude toward cocaine use is a result of “generational amnesia.”

METH – USA
Hundreds join campaign against meth – Billings Gazette
While areas around this Northern Cheyenne town flooded Friday, the main street was awash in a sea of blue T-shirts as an anti-drug march surged through town.

METH – UK
Coming in a rush: The rise of crystal meth in the UK – Ealing Times
Although the problem of methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is not yet as prevalent in this country as in places like America, Australia, New Zealand and south-east Asia.

METH – USA
Meth leads to no good – Chico Enterprise-Record
Meth and madness go hand in hand, and in the end, there is violence, heartbreak and destruction. Those in the psychotic state that meth eventually brings on do unthinkable things to themselves and others, with a super-human strength the drug provides.

ALCOHOL – USA
Editorial: Do students get message about drugs, alcohol? – Janesville Gazette
In the survey taken in March, 59 percent of seniors said they drank beer in the previous year. That continues a downward trend since 76 percent said they did in the 1994 survey.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Unused Prescription Medicine Drop-Off in Milwaukee – MyFox Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's second Medicine Collection Day gave folks a chance to properly dispose of their unused prescription and over-the-counter medications.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Watch out for abuse of prescription drugs – Arizona Republic
It sits inconspicuously in your medicine cabinet. That prescription from when you broke your ankle, had back pain, a root canal or the time when you suffered from insomnia.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Community Educates Parents and Grandparents to Curb Prescription Abuse – CADCA
Like many communities across the country, rural Armstrong County, Penn. was seeing increasingly more cases of teens abusing prescription medications, such as pain relievers.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Youth on deadly drink trail – The Age
The number of young people being treated for alcohol-related brain damage has grown fivefold in the past decade, prompting calls for urgent action on teenage binge drinking.

ALCOHOL – AUSTRALIA
Alcohol problem surges – Bendigo Advertiser
Recent Federal Government figures show almost one third of young people regularly drink amounts of alcohol that put them at risk or at high risk of alcohol-related harm.

June 9th Drug Addiction News

DRUGS – USA
Overdoses Drive Up Accidental Death Rate in U.S. – Join Together
The rate is rising again, and part of the blame is being focused on accidental overdoses on legal and illicit drugs.

METHADONE – ROMAINIA
Inaction as Methadone Toll Rises – PR Log
Methadone related deaths continue their upward trend in many areas across the
Country. Currently Methadone is the #2 Killer Drug in the United States.

ALCOHOL – USA
Adults face alcohol liability – Columbus Telegram
Under the bill, adults who serve or provide alcohol to minors can be held liable if that individual harms or kills someone.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol use by teens can't be ignored – Hillsboro Argus
School is almost over and idle kids will soon look for some fun. Most of them will be involved in healthy, enriching activities. Unfortunately, a growing number will look to alcohol, typically beer or hard liquor, for their entertainment.

OPIUM – QATAR
Kashmir declares war on poppy as violence ebbs – Gulf Times
Police and soldiers armed with sickles, sticks and guns are swooping on the fields of Jammu and Kashmir, not in a hunt for militants, but to destroy fields of opium poppy, the source of heroin.

METH – USA
Tribal community struggles with meth crisis – Medill Reports
As a drug counselor for United Indian Health Service, Gerald Green tries to show American Indian kids hooked on methamphetamines that the drug ruins everything.

PAINKILLER – USA
Lollipop painkiller generated 47 deaths nationwide – News 8 Austin
This highly addictive lollipop has been linked to 47 deaths across the United States. Although the FDA approved it in 1998 for cancer patients, more then 80 percent of lollipop users don't have cancer.

ADDICTION – USA
Using the "Getting to Outcomes" Approach to Help Communities Prevent Underage Drinking – RAND
This research brief summarizes guides that provide key accountability questions, worksheets, tools, and examples to help communities plan, implement, and evaluate their efforts to reduce and prevent underage drinking.

June 8th Drug Addiction News

METHADONE – UK
Grieving mum's tragic drugs plea – Wigan Observer
A mother whose teenage son died from a lethal dose of methadone says PARENTS must be educated about drugs.

ALCOHOL – USA
New U.K. Alcohol Strategy Includes Adult Drinkers – Join Together
Kids are the typical targets for campaigns to prevent problem drinking, but a new strategy unveiled in Great Britain also includes a focus on older adults who drink at home.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcopop Billboards Banned Around Schools, Parks, Churches – Join Together
The Illinois House last week approved a ban on billboard ads for alcopop drinks within 500 feet of schools, churches, parks and amusement parks.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol Crisis Grips Australia – HULIQ
Alcohol is enfolding Australia in its grip. A new report says that one in eight Aussies drinks at dangerous levels.

ALCOHOL – GERMANY
Powdered Alcohol Causes Legal Dilemma – Short News
Booz2Go, a product developed by students in Holland that contains powdered alcohol, has the potential to be legally purchased by minors.

HEROIN – USA
Cheap heroin gains popularity with teens – The Union of Grass Valley
If you overhear kids talking about "cheese," you may want to listen a little closer - they may not be discussing their favorite pizza topping, but rather, a killer version of heroin popular with teens.

PAINKILLER – CANADA
Painkiller ruled addictive – Straight Goods
The maker of the narcotic painkiller OxyContin and three executives pleaded guilty Thursday to making false claims about the drug's risk of addiction.

METH – USA
Officials: Meth Law Working, More Work Needed – KETV Omaha News
Iowa public safety officials said Wednesday that the state's tough anti-methamphetamine law is working -- but the job isn't done.

June 7th Drug Addiction News

ADDICTION – CANADA
Treating youth addiction must happen 'very quickly'– The Guardian
Providing treatment to Island youth hampered by drug and alcohol addiction will be a priority of the new Liberal government.

METH – USA
Meth and Children – Central Illinois Proud
The state is seeing a growing number of kids being exposed to methamphetamine. That's because they're living with parents who are making and using the drug-- putting them in contact with dangerous chemicals.


METH – USA
High School Hosts Meth-Lab Awareness Class – Whttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifLKY News
City leaders sponsored a meth-lab awareness workshop at Male High School Tuesday night. Last year.

METHADONE – USA
Report Shows Methadone Leading Cause Of Overdose Deaths – WKYT News
Out of nearly 500 overdose deaths in Kentucky last year, the state medical examiner's annual report says more than 40 percent of the autopsies showed the pain killer, Methadone was the leading cause.

ALCOHOL – UK
Call for alcohol alternatives as binge drinking soars – Religious Intelligence
The Department of Health statistics found there are an estimated 7.1 million ‘hazardous and harmful’ drinkers in England, while 1.1 million are ‘dependant drinkers’.

ALCOHOL – NEW ZEALAND
Dutch students develop powdered alcohol – Stuff.nz
Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-coloured and -flavoured drink with just 3 per cent alcohol content.

ALCOHOL – INDIA
New alcohol strategy aims to discourage boozing culture – What is the Word
This new method is being encouraged after it emerged that the cost of alcohol related disorders and crimes is a whooping £20 billion on an annual basis.

ALCOHOL – USA
Australian Rehab Group Calls For Health Warning Labels On Alcohol – All Headline News
An Adelaide-based alcohol rehabilitation group has called for health warning labels on all beer, wine and spirits sold in Australia.

ALCOHOL – USA
Police Sell Blood Alcohol Tests to Public – WIBW News
In it's ongoing mission to curb underage drinking, the Derby Police Department is making take-home breathalyzer tests available to the public.

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol advertising ban on children's replica kits to be implemented in UK – Drinks Business Review
Following the introduction of a new voluntary ban, children's replica sports shirts in the UK will no longer display logos advertising alcoholic drinks.

June 6th Drug Addiction News

PRESCRIPTION – USA
West Frankfort Cracks Down on Prescription Drug Abuse – WISL TV
Law officers and the medical community are teaming up to crack down on prescription drug abuse.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription Drug Addiction Detox Can Be Safe and More Comfortable – PR Web
Prescription drug addiction, abuse and dependency have reached near epidemic proportions. Abuse of prescription drugs is now second only to marijuana, and greater than all illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

METH – USA
Crystal Meth Like Pink Candy, Addiction is Quick – WHAM News
Area schools are warning students about the dangers of a new form of crystal meth that looks like pink candy.

METH – USA
Is it time to worry about meth? – Inside Rockland
According to one legislator who is pushing the Meth Shield Act that will go to public hearing at tonight’s County Legislature meeting.

DRUGS – USA
Drug Use Is Increasing Among Young American Indians – Medical News Today
Overall, American Indian adolescents were found to be at higher risk for trying marijuana than their peers across the country.

DRUGS – USA
Colombian Coca Crop Increases Again – Join Together
The billions of U.S. dollars pouring into Colombian anti-drug efforts have failed for a third straight year to curb cocaine production in the South American country.

ADDICTION – USA
Market for Smoking Treatment to Double, Report Predicts –
A market-research company is predicting that smoking cessation and addiction treatment products will become a $2.3-billion business by 2010, more than double its value in 2005.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Porter County Sees Jump in Prescription Drug Deaths – Fox News
Porter County officials are concerned about a rash of deaths stemming from prescription drug overdoses.

ECSTASY – UK
Ecstasy impairs memory, study shows – The Guardian
Ecstasy can cause lasting damage to the human brain, even if the drug is only taken for a short time, according to new research.

DRUGS – AUSTRALIA
Police should be subject to drug tests – The Age
Why should sports people be tested for drugs when people doing crucial jobs are not?

ADDICTION – SOUTH AFRICA
Tips to prevent drug addiction – Health 24
There are ways that parents can attempt to prevent addiction in their children. Although prevention is never guaranteed, it is often the best chance you may have at keeping them safe.

June 5th Drug Addiction News

METH – USA
FBI: Meth To Blame For Overall Jump In Violent Crime – NBC News
Though violent crime numbers have gone up only modestly, the FBI said there is reason for concern, because the statistics suggest a national methamphetamine epidemic may be pushing those numbers higher.

ALCOHOL – USA
As Students Ready for Prom, Officials Prep to Bolster Alcohol Safety – KPBS
San Diego County high school seniors are gearing up for their proms and grad nights. Administrators say they're gearing up too. Some plan to use alcohol detection devices, while others plan to bolster police presence at big events.

ALCOHOL – UK
Will new labels on alcohol succeed where other campaigns have failed? – Evening Leader
With concern increasing about Britain's binge-drinking culture, Sarah Park asks why we are so different to the rest of Europe and whether warning labels are really the answer.

CANNABIS – UK
Cannabis smokers risk severe damage to lungs – Times Online
Doctors are to investigate the health risks of smoking cannabis after evidence of severe lung disease in young people who use the drug.

ALCOHOL – USA
There Is No Place Like Home, Especially Where Children's Access To Alcohol Is Concerned – Medical News Today
New research suggests that if parents want to keep alcohol away from their middle school children, the best place to start is at home.

ALCOHOL – UK
Ross Fitzgerald: Alcohol abuse is destroying youth, so let's de-glamorize it – The Australian
Perhaps some of the same zeal that has been applied to the anti-smoking cause could be enlisted in a concerted fight against alcohol abuse and misuse.

ADDICTION – ITALY
Light Drugs, Heavy Consequences – Zenit News Agency
Many argue that restrictions on so-called light drugs such as marijuana should be eased. The issue is currently under debate in Italy, where government policy is torn between conflicting tendencies.

METH – USA
Capitan's mothers take stand against meth – KOB New Mexico News
A group in Capitan is taking a stand against methamphetamine by starting a chapter of Mothers Against Meth.

METH – USA
Number Of Iowa Meth Labs Decreases – WHO TV
Iowa's meth problems appear to be improving. In 2006, a new law went into effect, restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, one of the main ingredients used to make meth.

June 4th Drug Addiction News

METHADONE – USA
Stats show pills are a dangerous high – NWI Times
Prescription drugs -- like the heroin replacement drug methadone and the painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin -- are contributing to more fatal drug overdoses.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription for abuse – NWI Times
Medical and addiction professionals say prescriptions can be as damaging as other illicit drugs, causing addiction and even death.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Prescription abuse creating 'scariest time' in region – NWI Times
In March, a 15-year-old girl sat in her Portage High School classroom, crushed up a Flexeril pill, and snorted it off of her desk.

METH – USA
Sheriff, mothers join meth fight – Orlando Sentinel
Community leaders and advocates have decided to address the growing abuse of methamphetamine before it is out of control. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office has agreed to support Mothers Against Methamphetamine, or MAMA

METH – USA
Meth homes can leave neighborhood in a mess – San Francisco Chronicle
Most people know the basics -- the smokable, sniffable, shootable, swallowable intensely addictive drug that ruins all kinds of lives from college students and homeless people to housewives and, increasingly, younger kids.

METH – USA
Gazette Opinion: Meth abuse still clouds Montana – Billings Gazette
The Montana Meth Project has raised public awareness about the ugly consequences of methamphetamine addiction.

OPIUM – CHINA
Police vow to stamp out drugs by Games – China Daily
It could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie. Two police officers dressed in white hazmat suits and transparent gas masks threw bags full of heroin, ice and ketamine into a huge cauldron as a group of armed policemen stood guard.

METH – USA
Fruit drink mixed with meth aims at teens, drug chief says – Huntsville Times
The head of the Marshall County Drug Enforcement Unit says he expects drug dealers in this area may soon try to get young people hooked on methamphetamine through fruit- or chocolate-flavored drinks.

RITALIN – USA
Our teens' pill problem – Longview Daily News
Recent surveys suggest that today's teenagers -- raised in a culture that seems thttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifo pop a pill for any ailment -- abuse prescription medications because they incorrectly believe they aren't as dangerous as illegal drugs and because they're easier to get.

ALCOHOL – UK
Alcohol branding to end – Mid Sussex Today
Alcohol branding on children's replica sports shirts is to end under new rules.
It follows an agreement within the drinks industry that it is unnecessary for logos to be advertised in this manner.

ALCOHOL – USA
Gillette businesses join drug, alcohol testing program – Casper Star Tribune
Businesses here are beginning to take advantage of a new state program that encourages employers to test employees for drug and alcohol use.

June 1st Drug Addiction News

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol and Its Effects on Family Life – Dental Plans
Alcohol and its effects on family life can have life long consequences for those who live under its influence. This is the view point from a child who survived the silent war that alcohol waged upon his family.

METH – CANADA
Restrictions choking meth efforts – Abbotsford News
A plan to choke off the supply of crystal methamphetamine in Surrey is welcome. Unfortunately, such plans are hampered by restrictions on landlords, law enforcement personnel and city staff.

METH – USA
Candy-Flavored Meth Raising Concerns – WLNS News
A candy-flavored drug may be on its way to Michigan, and police are urging parents to be on the lookout.

COCAINE – SOUTH AFRICA
Wake up and smell the cocaine in Italy – Independent Online
An Italian scientific study has found particles of cocaine in Rome's air, Italy's national research council (CNR) said on Thursday.

COCAINE – USA
Study Finds Cocaine, Pot in Rome's Air – Fox News
Researchers may have figured out what makes la vita so dolce in Rome. A report from Italy's National Research Council released Thursday found that there are traces of cocaine and cannabis in the air of the Eternal City.

METH – USA
CrimeStoppers launches anti-methamphetamine campaign – Meridian Star
Local airwaves, television sets and the newspaper in Meridian will soon be flooded with anti-methamphetamine ads — a move that is designed to deter people from ever trying the drug.