March 13 Drug Headlines

PAINKILLERS – USA
Hunting new option in balance between painkiller's help, and abuse – South Coast Today
Scientists are hunting new ways to help millions of pain sufferers — from addiction-resistant narcotics to using brain scanners for biofeedback — amid a worrisome rise in abuse of today's top prescription painkillers.

ADICTION – USA
On TV: 'Addiction' takes pains to show us real drug abuse – Seattle Post Intelligencer
Addiction is a demon that can slip into anyone's house without warning. Once inside, it can take a lifetime to evict.

DRUGS – UK
Just Say No to this ‘radical rethink’ on drugs – Spiked
The ‘Get Unhooked’ adverts offer a powerful endorsement of the myths underlying both current drugs policy and the RSA’s radical rethink.

PRESCRIPTION – AUSTRALIA
Prescription drug abuse on the rise: report – The World Today
It's usually illicit drugs that capture the headlines but research in Melbourne shows it is the abuse of prescription drugs that should be arousing real concern across the nation.

RITALIN – USA
Ritalin Bill "Not Perfect, but Good Step for Parents" – KCPW
After a five-year battle, parents' rights advocates got a victory late Friday when Governor Huntsman signed the so-called "Ritalin Bill."

METH – USA
Meth slide – Daily Journal
With meth arrests down by more than 30 percent in Northeast Mississippi in 2006, it appears that new laws designed to slow the manufacturing of the drug may be working.

CANNIBIS – NEW ZEALAND
Cannabis 'greatest enemy' – The Nelson Mail
A Golden Bay man whose son started taking cannabis at 15 says drugs are the "greatest enemy for parents in the world".

PAINKILLERS – USA
Scientists explore abuse-resistant painkillers – MSNBC
Growing misuse of pain meds drives hunt for drugs with no exploitation risk.

Feb 15 Drug Headlines

METH – USA
Come together to fight meth – Montrose Daily Press
The toll of methamphetamine use can be felt in all aspects of the community and at all levels. Meth is a highly addictive drug that has a devastating impact on the individual as well as their families. And no one is immune from it.

METH – USA
Candy-Looking Meth Hits Streets – WVNS-TV
Methamphetamine production and addiction is a continuing problem, especially in rural areas. Now, there's a troubling new development. Drug dealers are now targeting children with flavored, candy-colored versions of the drug.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Report: Teens Using Prescription Drugs – Sci-Tech Today
While teen use of marijuana declined, the use of OxyContin, a painkiller, increased from 2.7 percent to 3.5 percent over the same period.

METHADONE – USA
METHADONE DEATHS – NBC Newschannel
The highly-addictive drug methadone was initially used to help heroin addicts break their addiction. A few years ago, Idaho became one of the first states to see methadone also being prescribed for chronic pain.

RITALIN – USA
Prescription Drug Use Among Students Growing – City on a Hill Press
According to the Greater Dallas Council on Alcoholic and Drug Abuse website, Ritalin ranks in the top 10 most frequently reported controlled pharmaceuticals stolen from licensed handlers.

PRESCRIPTION – CANADA
Teens Continue To Abuse Prescription Drugs – E Canada Now
Though U.S. teen use of some drugs is in decline their use of prescription drugs is going strong and increasing in certain areas.

PRESCRIPTION – CANADA
Teens Turning to Prescription Drugs
More and more US teens are turning away from marijuana in favor of prescription drugs from their own medicine cabinets.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Teen abuse of prescription drugs holds steady – MSNBC
According to an analysis of national surveys prepared by Walters’ office, 2.1 million teenagers abused prescription drugs in 2005.

DRUGS – USA
Dobbs: The war within, killing ourselves – CNN
We're losing the War on Drugs, and we've been in retreat for three decades.

MARIJUANA – USA
Parents are urged to learn about today's marijuana – Amador Ledger Dispatch
Today's marijuana is not yesterday's marijuana. I find this to be very interesting information for parents, teachers and anyone who has had the questions asked or will be asked: What's so wrong with smoking marijuana? It's not a drug? Right?

METHADONE – USA
Methadone Deaths More Common – Post Chronicle
A study finds that U.S. deaths from methadone, the prescription drug often used to treat heroin addicts, almost quadrupled between 1999 and 2004.

OPIUM – USA
Afghanistan: What the United States Has Spent – ABC News
Despite Billions Spent, and Lives Lost, Opium Trade Thrives and Fuels Insurgent Attacks.

OPIUM – USA
Losing Afghanistan to opium? – The Washington Times
The spring opium harvest will soon begin in Afghanistan. So will a murderous spring offensive by the Taliban and its allies against U.S. and coalition troops. The two events are directly related.

Feb 6 Drug Headlines

COCAINE – ITALY
Cocaine use on the rise – Wanted in Rome
Cocaine use has more than doubled in Italy between 2001-2005.

METH – USA
Meth addicts stealing sprinkler heads – KVBC News
Thieves are after another metal for drug money. And they've already targeted two neighborhoods in the valley.

ALCOHOL – UK
FTBs willing to sacrifice alcohol and holidays to get on first rung – Assetz News
The pleasures of boozy nights and holidays, sometimes at the same time, go out of the window for many first time buyers trying to get on to the property ladder, claims new research.

PRESCRIPTION – USA
Overdoses of prescription drugs skyrocket – Yakima Herald Republic online
Statewide deaths linked to prescription drugs such as hydrocodone and methadone increased by more than 800 percent in a 10-year period, according to new research.

METH – USA
Crackdown slows meth labs: Sheriff: Mexican ice, a purer form of methamphetamine, takes up slack – Texarkana Gazette
Laws limiting the sale of cold medications containing pseudoephedrine, a precursor to methamphetamine production, have decreased the number of meth labs law enforcement finds in this area.

METH – USA
Small crowd, many questions about meth – Dunn County News
A small crowd asked some big questions at the follow-up community forum on methamphetamine at Colfax High School Tuesday evening.

METH – USA
Second National Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV, and Hepatitis Underway in Salt Lake City – Stop the Drug War
Around a thousand people, including some of the nation's foremost experts in treating, researching and developing responses to methamphetamine use, gathered at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City

METH – USA
Meth Destroying Teeth of Prisoners, Causing Dental Budget to Soar – KRNV News
Methamphetamine use can turn a healthy set of teeth into a rotting mess. And its widespread use is causing a surge in the dental budget of Nevada's prison system.

CANNABIS – UK
YOUNGSTERS INFORMED ABOUT DANGERS OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL MISUSE – Isle of Man Today
Young people are helping to shape the future of drug and alcohol education.

RITALIN – USA
Public School Bonanza – The American Daily
Here are ten reasons why parents should keep their kids in public schools

Feb 2 Drug Headlines

ALCOHOL – USA
Alcohol In Hand Sanitizer Poses Abuse Risk – CBS
Prison officials and poison control centers can add a new substance to their list of intoxicants — hand sanitizer.

ALCOHOL – USA
S.C. bill would ban alcohol vaporizer – Star News Online
A device that turns liquor into a breathable vapor of oxygen and alcohol would be banned under new South Carolina legislation, even though the product is unknown to some law enforcement groups.

METH – USA
Dismantled meth labs doubled in '06 – Herald Journal
The youth said he believed the contents of the bag were suspicious, based on what he had learned at a meth presentation at the school earlier in the year.

ALCOHOL – UK
'Worrying trends' in drink study – BBC News
East Sussex has the highest rate for under-18s having treatment for alcohol in the South East, a report has shown.

PRESCRIPTION – UK
Drug company 'hid' suicide link – BBC News
Secret emails reveal that the UK's biggest drug company distorted trial results of an anti-depressant, covering up a link with suicide in teenagers.

DRUGS – USA
No Child Left Untested? – Newsweek
The White House wants more schools to adopt random student drug-testing programs. NEWSWEEK talks to advocates on both sides of the issue.

METH – AUSTRALIA
Fight drugs at primary school – The Daily Telegraph
PRIMARY students should be taught about the dangers of drugs along with the alphabet and times tables, the Federal Government's chief drug adviser says.

RITALIN – USA
Senate committee advances Ritalin bill – Salt Lake Tribune
The so-called Ritalin bill that would prohibit school employees from recommending psychiatric medication for students passed the Senate Education Committee Thursday and is now only a floor vote and governor's signature away from becoming law.