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.