News: April 2011 Archives

ANALYSIS: DRUGS WAR IGNITES MEXICAN FURY AT U.S. INDIFFERENCE

Article from: reuters.com

Apr 30, 2011

By: Dave Graham

(Reuters) - The United States has spent over $1 trillion promoting democracy in far-flung Iraq and Afghanistan while friendly neighbor Mexico gets a fraction of that to fight drug gangs and prevent a slide into chaos.

Mexico's frustration with the priority Washington grants to a shared crackdown on drug gangs has plunged ties between the two allies to their lowest ebb in years.

Last year alone, the U.S.-backed campaign launched in late 2006 by President Felipe Calderon claimed the lives of over 15,000 people in Mexico. That was more than double the combined civilian deaths reported in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the United States has spent over $1.2 trillion in the past decade.

In contrast, Washington has pledged just $1.3 billion under the so-called Merida Initiative to help Mexico fight the traffickers.

"The Merida Initiative is almost an insult," leading Mexican historian Enrique Krauze told Reuters. "America spends a trillion dollars in Iraq and a hundred million or so on Merida: Beautiful."

"Things aren't moving forward and I have no hope they will. We're looking at ten years of war in Mexico. On our own. The Obama administration has been a huge disappointment for us."

Continue Reading: reuters.com

CT COLLEGE AWARDED $22,000 CT STATEWIDE HEALTHY CAMPUS INITIATIVE GRANT

Article from: theday.com

Apr 30, 2011 | No Comments

By: Karen L.

Connecticut College has been awarded a $22,000 Connecticut Statewide Healthy Campus Initiative grant from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to support substance abuse prevention programs.

"Connecticut College is committed to educating students about healthy lifestyles and the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse," C.C. Curtiss, the college's director of student wellness and alcohol/ drug education. "This grant will allow us to implement new strategies to ensure a healthy campus, strengthen our community collaborations and provide more alcohol-free options for students."

Connecticut College takes a proactive approach to alcohol and drug abuse prevention. Education programs include an orientation workshop for all incoming students, health and wellness training for more than 200 student leaders each year and more than 30 annual workshops and educational programs focusing on student wellness, including "Think Outside the Bottle Day," an event focused on alcohol facts and alternate activities, and "Don't Cancel That Class," a collaboration between faculty and the student wellness office to provide alcohol and wellness education when professors can't attend class.

Continue Reading: theday.com

KIDS, COPS VOW TO 'TAKE BACK' AREA PARK (video)

Article from: kpic.com

Apr 30, 2011 | No Comments

By: Dan Bain

ROSEBURG, Ore. -- Kids from Umpqua Partners for a Drug Free Future and the Roseburg Police Department got together Wednesday to begin cleaning up a park that's turned into a crime and drug infested area.

Volunteers were out at the little known Charles Gardner Park just east of Wal-Mart in north Roseburg.

They wanted to clean up the trash in the park, which ranged from cans and bottles to drug paraphernalia.

The idea is to 'take back the park,' and make it safe for people to visit.

The kids from Umpqua Partners Prevention Team spearheaded the cleanup.

Sgt. Aaron Dunbar of the Roseburg police says the park is getting known for criminal activity. "What they're trying to do is clean the park, and basically provide a fresh start. We've had a lot of alcohol-related criminal activity and disorderly conduct in this park in the past summers, and so we're trying to change this park," he said.

Continue Reading: kpic.com

WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN BREAK CYCLE OF METH ADDICTION

Article from: staradvertiser.com

Apr 30, 2011 | No Comments

By: Cindy Adams

Behind many of the recent headlines describing violent crimes are stories of individuals acting under the influence of crystal meth or being driven by their need to feed their addiction.

However, it is not just anecdotal evidence that tells us that ice use continues to be our biggest drug problem. Ninety percent of Hawaii's federally sentenced drug cases involve methamphetamine and 48 percent of treatment admissions are meth-related.

This affects the families of those involved and all of us as taxpayers. The cost of meth abuse to Hawaii is estimated to be $500 million a year.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the purity level of ice is at its highest and the price per gram at its lowest since 2005. This increases its attraction to repeat users and young first-time users looking for a cheaper and better high.

Continue Reading: staradvertiser.com

DRUG ABUSE COORDINATOR: 'WE'RE FACING AN EMERGENCY'

Article from: parkandparadiseenterprise.com

Apr 30, 2011 | No Comments

Misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs have seen a "phenomenal increase" since 1990, Jay Jaffee, a drug and alcohol prevention coordinator, told a group assembled Monday night at St. Joseph's.

The statement was not surprising to many. Those attending were professionals who work in the field or are recovering addicts.

"We're facing an emergency," said a representative from the White Earth Band.
"The problem is, we are the suppliers of most of these drugs," said Jaffee, of the Minnesota Department of Health.

The dilemma may have new names, but the issue spans centuries.

Jaffee presented an historical view of patented medications that create addiction. A Coca Cola ad, targeting women, declared the soda to be "the ideal brain tonic," cocaine the key ingredient prior to the 1904 Controlled Substance Act.

Heroin, he noted, was invented by Bayer, who saw it as a wonder drug.

And an 1885 advertisement, with a graphic of children playing, proclaimed cocaine toothache drops to be the "instantaneous cure."

Fast forward to 2011. "The non-medical use and abuse is the same," he said.

Continue Reading: parkrapidsenterprise.com

FATAL ADDICTION (video)

Article from: kdfm.com

Apr 30, 2011 | No Comments

By: Lindsey Kovacevich

BUNA (UPDATE) - It's a fatal addiction striking from coast to coast, in America's heartland and in Southeast Texas. The addiction is affecting a staggering number of people across the nation, including a family in Southeast Texas that says a husband and father lost his job and his life because of his addiction to bath salts and K-2.

K-2 is synthetic marijuana. Bath salts, not the type sold for decades at markets, but a new type sold in small packages at convenience stores. It mimics the effects of cocaine. They can cause hallucinations lasting days, weeks, and can kill.

Richard Kerkau of Buna shot himself on March 28 at the family's home in Buna. His family says he was smoking K-2 and snorting bath salts.

Continue Reading: kfdm.com

NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY THIS SATURDAY

Article from: usnews.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

FRIDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Americans can turn in unused prescription drugs at more than 4,700 sites nationwide on Saturday as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

The free event, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, gives people an opportunity to safely dispose of expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs that could be stolen and misused if left in a home's medicine cabinet.

Collection sites can be found by going to the DEA Web site (www.dea.gov) and clicking the "Got Drugs?" banner. You can search for your closet collection site by zip code, city or county.

More Americans abuse prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that the drugs are often obtained from family and friends.

Last year, more than 242,000 pounds -- 121 tons -- of prescription drugs were collected at nearly 4,100 sites operated by government, community, public health and law enforcement partners, according to a DEA news release.

Continue Reading: usnews.com

METRO AIRPORT EMPLOYEES CHARGED IN DRUG SMUGGLING SCHEMES

Article from: freep.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tresa Baldas

The drug-filled suitcases, complete with passenger tags, were obvious inside jobs, federal authorities say.

Two major drug smuggling operations landed 12 people behind bars Thursday, all charged in schemes that relied on Northwest/Delta airlines baggage handlers to sneak marijuana and cocaine aboard flights headed for Detroit Metro Airport.

One of the operations shuttled in drugs from Jamaica, while the other involved marijuana flown in from Houston.

According to court documents, drug-filled suitcases would arrive in Detroit, either marked with a red X or with white or black plastic bags tied to their handles for easy identification. The suitcases went from the bellies of the planes to the conveyor belts and then the carousels, documents show. There, drug-trafficking suspects or their hired helpers would scoop them up, then head to airport curbside pickup and drive off with the goods in the trunk, according to documents.

Continue Reading: freep.com

DRUG FORUM TO BE HELD AT LA CUEVA HIGH (video)

Article from: koat.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- La Cueva High School will hold Albuquerque Public Schools' first Power Of Parents meeting on Thursday night, centering on drug use in schools.

The meetings are a part of Mothers Against Drunken Driving pilot program. MADD said it wants parents to know that they can influence your child.

"It's a tough conversation to have with your kids," MADD member Al Foster said. La Cueva has been in the news several times recently for drug and alcohol issues at the school. Thursday night's message will be aimed at parents.

Continue Reading: koat.com

CRACK COCAINE A MAJOR CONCERN FOR POLICE IN SOUTHER MAINE (video)

Article from: wcsh6.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tim Goff

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Crack cocaine may sound like a problem of major metropolitan areas, but law enforcement officials in southern Maine say not only is it a problem here, but in some places, eradicating the drug is their highest priority.

"In the city of Portland, cocaine is the drug that is creating the most trouble," stated Portland Police Chief James Craig. "What are we seeing in Portland? We are seeing an increase in homicides that are not related to domestic incidents - like what we saw in years past, and when we really analyze the crime, there is this underlink to drugs."

"No one is going to argue the point that substance abuse drives crime, and drugs as a substance is right at the heart of the thefts, the robberies, the burglaries," explained Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. "It just goes on."

To help combat the rise in violent crime, members of the legislature are currently working on a bill which would make the possession of any amount of cocaine, crack cocaine or cocaine base a felony. Currently Maine law makes the posession of up to seven ounces of cocaine a misdemeanor.

Continue Reading: wcsh6.com

SUMMIT REVEALS THE DEVASTATION OF ONE BAD DECISION

Article from: northjersey.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

By: Cindy Forrest

Forty-one percent of students say they have consumed alcohol by eighth grade, and 63 percent of them initially got their alcohol from their own or friend's homes.

Fifty percent of students say they tried an illicit drug by the time they've finished high school. Twenty-eight percent of teens say they know a classmate or friend who has used ecstasy.

The statistics are staggering but even more important is that with all of the numerous outreach efforts and educational programs taking place, the numbers continue to grow as the years go by.

Locally at least two groups continue to fight hard for kids. Through education and programs designed to prepare, scare and make kids aware of how a few bad decisions can ruin their lives, they are trying to turn the tide on drug and alcohol abuse.

Continue Reading: northjersey.com

STATEWIDE DUI TRACKING SYSTEM TO BE FUNDED

Article from: kansas.com

Apr 29, 2011 | No Comments

By: Deb Gruver

TOPEKA -- Two state agencies -- KDOT and the KBI -- are working together to pay for a central repository aimed at keeping better tabs on people who drive drunk, with the aim of preventing accidents such as one in Wichita that killed a 4-year-old girl and her mother.

That's welcome news to the Kansas DUI Commission, which met for two years to make recommendations on how to reduce DUIs, only to find they might not be used because of the state's budget crisis.

The commission began meeting after a drunken driver crashed into Claudia Mijares and her daughter Gisele while they were walking across the street to school in 2008.

Prosecutors charged the driver with his fifth DUI after the accident, state and county records show. But because of gaps in reporting, the state driver's license database showed only two of those convictions. That led to serious questions about how meaningful the state's DUI laws can be if law enforcement, prosecutors and judges don't know how many times a driver has gotten behind the wheel while under the influence.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Transportation confirmed Thursday that the agency is working with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to get a central tracking system up and running.

Continue Reading: kansas.com

DOCTOR LABELED 'CANDY MAN'

Article from: theday.com

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Karen Florin

Drug addicts called Dr. Scott W. Houghton "the candy man" because he readily wrote out prescriptions for the controlled substances they sought, according to a court document.

The warrant for his arrest says that Houghton, who practiced for six years in Old Saybrook and more recently in Westbrook, sometimes didn't require patients to enter an examining room during their office visits. He would meet them in the hallway and hand them their prescriptions. If they ran out of drugs before their next scheduled visit, he would simply write them another prescription. Rarely would he require drug-addicted patients to prove they were undergoing the required counseling, and most of the time he didn't even take their blood pressure or pulse, according to the warrant.

"He was just in it for the money," one of his former patients told investigators.

Houghton admitted to an investigator that he accepted free concert tickets and hotel stays from a high roller at Mohegan Sun who came into his office up to three times a day for injections of the pain reliever Demerol. He conceded that the gifts, including tickets to REO Speedwagon/Styx and Beyonce concerts, may have "skewed" his view of the patient when prescribing her narcotics.

Continue Reading: theday.com

MONTHLY SHOT STAVES OFF OPIOID ADDICTION

Article from: medpagetoday.com

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Kristina Fiore

An injectable long-acting form of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (Vivitrol) kept more addicts off opioids than placebo did, a randomized trial found.

The six-month study of 250 patients found that 90% of those who received a monthly injection of naltrexone stayed off opioids, compared with 35% of those in the placebo group (P=0.0002), reported Evgeny Krupitsky, MD, of St. Petersburg Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute in Russia, and colleagues.

The abstinence of the opioid-dependent patients -- many of whom were long-term heroin addicts -- with naltrexone treatment was confirmed by a urine screen, Krupitsky and his co-authors wrote in the Lancet.

The once-a-month treatment, initially approved in the U.S. in 2006 for alcohol dependence, won FDA approval in October for treating opioid addiction as well.

Continue Reading: medpagetoday.com

MOUSE STUDY SUGGESTS WHY ADDICTIONS ARE HARD TO FORGET

Article from: scientificamerican.com

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Nina Bai

Recovering addicts are often told to avoid the people, places, and things connected with their addiction--tried-and-true advice that may be gaining support from neuroscience. A view widely accepted among addiction researchers is that drug abuse can cause the brain to form persistent, enduring associations between a drug and the environment in which it is purchased and consumed. These mental ties represent a subconscious form of learning and contribute to the tenacious grip of addictions.??

"There's a growing consensus in the addiction field that addiction is a learning and memory disorder. We learn behavior associated with these drugs too well." says Hitoshi Morikawa, a neurobiologist at the University of Texas at Austin. New research from Morikawa's lab, published April 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that repeated use of alcohol can make the brain more susceptible to forming reward-based associations. Mice given a weeklong binge of alcohol were more likely to remember the environment in which they later received cocaine. In human addicts similar associations could explain why certain environments are apt to trigger relapse.

Continue Reading: scientificamerican.com

DRUG PREVENTION COSTS LESS THAN ENFORCEMENT

Article from: kpbs.org

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Andres Barraza

The debate over how to best combat drug use in San Diego County has taken a shift toward prevention over enforcement. County officials and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) conducted a study that followed a single meth user starting at age 14. After eight years of following a pattern of drug abuse, crime, and incarceration, the subject known as "Dan," 31, cost county taxpayers more than $190,000.

During that time, Dan received minimal treatment for his addiction, which led to relapses into further meth abuse and crime. Dan is serving two years in a state prison.

In contrast to Dan's story, the County Office of Health and Human Services presented a treatment success story. Christina Manis, 27, spent 10 years of her life in a situation similar to Dan's. She has been clean since 2009, is employed and an advocate for meth treatment -- the defining factor that led to the end of a life of meth abuse, auto theft and burglary.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said that in Dan's case, stints in prison over the course of the last eight years cost exponentially more than any preventative or intervention measures.

"The treatment and prevention programs are critical," Jacob said, "If we can keep that 14 year old out of a drug habit, we're going to save that life early on and get that individual on the right track to becoming a productive member of society, not a costly burden on taxpayers."

Continue Reading: kpbs.org

HEROIN USE BY YOUNG ADULTS DEVASTATES OUTER SUBURBS

Article from: detnews.com

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Mark Hicks and Valerie Olander

When Ron Schlosser talks to young people about the effects of heroin, his message is simple: There is no such thing as a casual user, and few can easily escape its grip.

He knows this firsthand. His daughter, Erika, died Feb. 16, days shy of her 20th birthday, after a nearly two-year struggle to kick her habit through rehabilitation.

"It's a one-time deal and that one time could be your last," Schlosser told students at Lake Fenton High School at a town hall meeting by Community Parent, a group that recently formed to address teen drug use.

He and others are reeling from a surge in heroin use in Michigan, where the number of people seeking treatment in state-sponsored programs has nearly doubled since 2003.

In Genesee County, about 50 miles north of Detroit, more youths like Erika have injected, snorted or smoked the drug in the last decade.

The percentage of uninsured people treated for heroin at Genesee County Community Mental Health ages 18-29 has increased sixfold to 28 percent since 2003.

The state-funded agency for substance abuse services refers uninsured, underinsured and Medicaid recipients to facilities and programs for treatment.

"It's a pretty huge increase," said Kristie Schmiege, director of substance abuse services for the agency.

Continue Reading: detnews.com

MARIN VOICE: AWARENESS ABOUT ALCOHOL ABUSE

Article from: marinij.com

Apr 28, 2011 | No Comments

By: Condy L. Myers

APRIL IS ALCOHOL Awareness Month, a time to raise personal and community awareness of the impacts of alcohol use and abuse.

Marin is the healthiest county in California, according to a study released by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

How does that square with the data from California Healthy Kids Survey that show Marin's binge-drinking rates are well above state and national averages?

What these data bring into sharp relief is alcohol abuse is one of the biggest threats to our community's health. Marin residents would benefit from deepening their knowledge about the effects of alcohol and an awareness of the role alcohol plays in their lives.

For instance, one drink per day (beer, wine or spirits) is considered "moderate usage" for women. Women's bodies process alcohol differently than men's.

As a treatment professional once told me, "Women get sicker quicker on liquor."
The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater the likelihood that you'll become alcoholic.

One reason we're so adamant about teen drinking is because we now know that adolescent brains are still developing in ways that are jeopardized by alcohol consumption.

Continue Reading: marinij.com

STEVEN TYLER SAYS HE'S SOBER AND "GRATEFUL"

Article from: cbsnews.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

(CBS/AP) He may say some crazy things on "American Idol," but Steven Tyler says he isn't high on anything but adrenaline.

The Aerosmith frontman and "Idol" judge told People magazine that he's been sober for a year and a half and is "grateful" he's survived his hard-partying past.

Pictures: Steven Tyler

"Left up to my own devices," he told the magazine, "I probably would have been dead several times over."

Tyler, 63, referenced those issues in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, in which he claims that he and Joe Perry did drugs together in 2008 after years of sobriety. Aerosmith had been working on an album, which was never developed.

Tyler told the magazine Perry was so impaired by snorting pills, he couldn't even play his instrument. Tyler said he was no better - he couldn't sing.

Continue Reading: cbsnews.com

DUI DEAL: INTERLOCKS MORE LIKELY

Article from: omaha.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

By: Henry J. Cordes

Aaron Danoff's driver's license had been suspended days before, but that didn't stop him last Oct. 9 from pounding beer and then smashing into a car driven by Jessica Bedient, killing the Omaha newlywed.

There's little in Nebraska law today to stop a drunken driver bent on returning to the road.

But under a compromise bill worked out in the Legislature, most drunken drivers would be given a major incentive almost immediately upon arrest to get an ignition interlock device installed on their cars. Interlocks keep a car from starting if the driver has alcohol on his breath.

Omaha City Prosecutor Marty Conboy said Tuesday he thinks that if the proposed change had been on the books last fall, the 26-year-old Bedient would be alive today.

"This is a huge step forward,'' Conboy said. "That case alone is enough to see how this would have worked."

Continue Reading: omaha.com

SURVEY: WASHINGTON COUNTY YOUTHS ABUSE DRUGS AT HIGHER RATE THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE

Article from: poststar.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

Washington County Youths Abuse Drugs.jpg

By: Thomas Dimopoulos

Alcohol and marijuana use sharply declined among area youths over the past seven years, though nearly one in four 12th-grade students in Washington County say they have taken prescription drugs for non-medical uses.

"It varies with each community, but for the most part, countywide, we're higher than the national numbers," said Jolene Corlew, supervisor for the Council for Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. The Prevention Council began conducting student surveys in 2004.

Nationally, 13 percent of high school seniors surveyed reported they had used pain relievers for non-medical reasons, compared with 24 percent of high school seniors in Washington County.

In a recent survey of the Cambridge Central School District, 34 percent of 12th-grade respondents said they had used pain relievers, 66 percent said they had tried marijuana, and 88 percent said they have had alcohol, all higher percentages than both the national and county averages.

The most recent survey was conducted from December of 2009 to February of 2011 and gathered responses from 2,743 students in grades six through 12 at eight Washington County schools.

Continue Reading: poststar.com

GRADUATE STUDENT DERIDES ALCOHOLIC ENERGY DRINKS AT CONFERENCE

Article from: iowastatedaily.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

By: Cristobal Matibag

Ashley Hunter, Thielen Health Center graduate assistant, warned students, teachers and prevention specialists Tuesday about the dangers of mixing energy drinks and alcohol.

Hunter, graduate in public administration, delivered a presentation titled "Energy Drinks And Alcohol: What is All of the Buzz About?" at Risky Business, an annual conference organized by Youth & Shelter Services.

Problems associated with alcohol and energy drinks tend to occur and reoccur in a college setting, Hunter said.

Before addressing the current availability and popularity of alcoholic energy drinks, Hunter reviewed the history of the beverages.

Hunter accused beverage makers of trying to obscure information about their products' alcohol content by printing it in tiny, cluttered type on containers. She also said they had designed the containers to resemble those of non-alcoholic beverages like soft drinks.

"It's really hard to know how much alcohol you're drinking when they try to hide it from you," she said.

Continue Reading: Ioawstatedaily.com

HEROIN USE A LOCAL EPIDEMIC

Article from: heraldnews.suntimes.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

By: Cindy Wojdyla Cain

One Thursday last month, a 17-year-old heroin user announced he was opting out of the Will County Drug Court program.

The Naperville teen was scheduled to reappear in court the following Monday to discuss options that would be less intense than drug court, which requires weekly drug testing, counseling and court appearances for a year.

"He overdosed on Saturday night," said drug court coordinator Julie McCabe-Sterr.

It was the first overdose death by a drug court participant.

"Everyone took it hard," she said. "There were a lot of tears."

But the cause of death was not a surprise.

Will County law enforcement and substance abuse professions agree heroin is a big problem here and it seems to be getting worse.

Continue Reading: HeraldNews.Suntimes.com

TEACHER CAN LEAVE JAIL, GO TO REHAB FOR HER DRUG HABIT

Article from: wtae.com

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

PITTSBURGH -- A suspended high school science teacher who's charged in a bank robbery and with taking more than 10 laptop computers from the Pittsburgh School for the Creative and Performing Arts can enter a rehab center for heroin addiction.

Philicia Barbieri, 25, waived her preliminary hearing Tuesday and will be released from the Allegheny County Jail on bond so she can enter what could be up to a 90-day program in Butler.

"She understands the seriousness of what occurred here, and the impact it's going to have on her life," defense attorney Pat Thomassey said.

The Shadyside woman made a quick appearance before District Judge Nathan Firestone in Municipal Court and did not speak.

According to her attorney, an expensive four-month-old heroin addiction fueled Barbieri's actions.

"When people are addicted to feed their habit, they have to have money. She had a $100-a-day habit. That's a lot of money for a school teacher," Thomassey said. "It happens all the time that people who would never, ever think of violating the law commit these crimes, become addicted to drugs and commit felonies. It's awful."

Continue Reading: wtae.com (video)

REPORT RECOMMENDS DOCTORS TRY OTHER OPTIONS BEFORE PRESCRIBING OPIOIDS

Article from: drugfree.org

Apr 27, 2011 | No Comments

An estimated 27,500 people died in 2007 from unintentional drug overdoses, many of them involving prescription opioids, according to a report that recommends doctors try other pain control options before prescribing opioid medications.

The report, by doctors affiliated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Duke University Medical Center, notes that in 2007 accidental deaths due to prescription opioid painkillers were involved in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

The report recommends that before prescribing opioids, physicians should first try non-narcotic medications, as well as non-drug treatments such as physical therapy, psychotherapy and exercise, according to the article in Medical News Today. The authors suggest that these methods be given an adequate trial before a physician decides to prescribe opioids.

Continue Reading: drugfree.org

PARENTS HOLD THE "POWER" IN FIGHT AGAINST UNDERAGE DRINKING

Article from: wben.com

Apr 26, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rachel Kingston

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) -- With prom and graduation season fast approaching, advocates are mounting an annual campaign: the one to keep teenagers from from drinking (and driving).

Every year, they use a mix of methods to try to get the message across - from scare-tactic ads to law enforcement blitzes.

Locally, one ad campaign is being mounted by The Martin Group, Tuxedo Junction and Lamar Advertising.

The trio have come up with a series of 40 billboards which, starting today, will appear in and around the Buffalo area. They bear a simple message aimed at high school kids, showing a picture of a couple at prom, accompanied by the words "Don't let this be your last photo. Don't drink & drive this prom."

Ads like these are attention-getters, and do help increase awareness of the issue. But Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is pushing to supplement them with an even more direct method for stopping and/or preventing teens' risky behavior: parental involvement.

On April 21, MADD launched a national campaign it's calling "Power Talk."

Continue Reading: wben.com

KENYA: POLICE FACE UPHILL TASK IN DRUGS WAR AS BARONS FIGHT BACK AND CHANGE TACK

Article from: allafrica.com

Apr 26, 2011 | No Comments

By: Anthony Kitimo and Philip Muyanga

Nairobi -- Mombasa and other coastal towns have earned Kenya a bad name as a major route for heroin and cocaine to other local markets in the country.

The town has also been hardest hit by drug addiction among young people.

As dangerous gangs flash cash from the illicit trade, police are expressing frustration in the war against drugs, pointing to intimidation, bribery and threats of dismissal from powerful cartels.

Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere earlier confirmed that powerful drug barons were retaliating against the ongoing war on narcotics trafficking and wanted detectives off their trail.

He disclosed that the anti-narcotics team he appointed was being "intimidated" by the drug cartels, hoping the officers would yield to pressure and abandon investigations.

The latest seizure of 102 kilos of heroin valued at Sh204 million in Shanzu, Mombasa County, last month where three Kenyans, two Iranians and a Pakistani were arrested was among the largest haul.

Continue Reading: allafrica.com

ADDICTS GETTING DESPERATE: RISE IN CRIME FEARED AS PRESCRIPTION PILLS BECOME SCARCE

Article from: thechronicleherald.ca

Apr 26, 2011 | No Comments

By: Gordon Delaney

KENTVILLE -- Members of the group fighting drug addiction in the Annapolis Valley are warning of a possible rash of crimes as increased pressure from police, doctors and the provincial prescription monitoring program reduces the supply of pills on the street.

"Some people are starting to get very desperate," Amy Graves, spokeswoman for Annapolis Valley Fighting Addictions, said in an interview Monday.

"Demand is high, and supply is dwindling."

A young man and woman, both in their late 20s, were arrested and taken into custody by Kentville police after an armed robbery at the Clinic Pharmacy on Saturday morning. It is believed prescription pills were taken.

The man and woman, who have not been identified, are expected to be arraigned in Kentville provincial court today on armed robbery charges. Police recovered a quantity of pills.

Continue Reading: thechronicleherald.ca

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS RISK FACTORS FOR UNDERAGE DRINKING

Article from: taipeitimes.com

Apr 26, 2011 | No Comments

Although selling alcohol to minors is illegal, a recent study found that one in every nine elementary school students had purchased alcohol, researchers said on Sunday.

It was also found that students who did not taken part in after-school tutorials, who came from single-parent families or who did not live with their parents were more likely to do so.

The findings were published by researchers from the Institute of Population Health Sciences under the National Health Research -Institutes in the April 1 edition of the international journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Continue Reading: taipeitimes.com

KIDS WITH ADHD MORE LIKELY TO USE DRUGS, ANALYSIS FINDS

Article from: usatoday.com

Apr 26, 2011 | No Comments

By: Sophie Terbush

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are up to three times more likely than other kids to use, abuse or become dependent on substances such as nicotine, cocaine and marijuana in adolescence and as young adults, new research suggests.

Adolescents with ADHD also were more likely to experiment with nicotine and illegal substances at earlier ages than those without ADHD, according to an analysis of 27 long-term studies that followed 4,100 ADHD and 6,800 non-ADHD children into young adulthood -- in some cases for 10 years or more.

The study, by psychologists at the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of South Carolina-Columbia, was funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It was published online in the journal Clinical Psychology Review and will appear in the journal's print edition this summer.

Continue Reading: usatoday.com

DRUG GANGS MUSCLE INTO NEW TERRITORY: CENTRAL AMERICA

Article from: The Kansas City Star

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tim Johnson

Even by the brazen standards of cocaine cowboys, what happened a few months ago at an air force base here set new levels for audacity: Drug traffickers snuck onto the heavily guarded base and retrieved a confiscated plane.

Confederates at the airbase had already fueled and warmed up the motors of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200, a workhorse of the cocaine trade. Within days, it would be hauling dope from South America again.

The stunt was a black eye for the Honduran military, and just one of many signs that parts of Central America have fallen into the maw of international organized crime, threatening decades of U.S. efforts to stanch the tidal wave of drugs headed to American cities and towns.

Washington has spent billions of dollars to help push drug cartels out of Colombia, and to confront them in Mexico. Now they've muscled their way into Central America, opening a new chapter in the drug war that almost certainly will exact further cost on U.S. taxpayers as American authorities confront drug gangs on a new frontier.

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MOLECULAR MOVEMENTS OF NEURAL TRANSPORTERS: NEW DISCOVERIES MAY LEAD TO INSIGHTS INTO DRUG ABUSE AND DEPRESSION | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

A team of scientists from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College has shed light on the molecular workings of transporter proteins, molecular machines embedded in the cell membranes of neurons that modulate the transfer of signals between cells and recycle neurotransmitters.

The research, published in the journal Nature, reveals with unprecedented detail how the molecule performs its task, says one of the senior authors, Dr. Jonathan Javitch, the Lieber Professor of Experimental Therapeutics in Psychiatry and professor of pharmacology in the Center for Molecular Recognition at Columbia University Medical Center. "This level of understanding may ultimately lead to improved treatments for psychiatric disorders and increase our understanding of how drugs such as cocaine work."

In the brain, one neuron communicates to another by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters into the gap between them, called the synapse. To stop the signal, specialized transporters must remove the released neurotransmitter from the synapse by pumping it back into the releasing cell. In the treatment of some diseases it is beneficial, however, to allow the neurotransmitters to build up in the synapses. Antidepressants make this possible by interfering with particular transporters, as do stimulant drugs like cocaine and amphetamines.

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FACEBOOK USED TO NAB UNDERAGE DRINKERS | buffalonews.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Stephen T. Watson

When a teen wanted to advertise a beer-soaked "Cabin Fever" party that drew more than 30 young people to a Chautauqua County cabin, state police say he used Facebook.

And when troopers wanted to track down the organizer and underage drinkers from the raucous, three-day party, photos posted by the guests on Facebook came in handy as evidence.

State police announced this weekend they have arrested a Fredonia teen for throwing the shindig in a cabin he doesn't own, and 13 others for underage drinking during the beer bash.

The lengthy investigation, which began in late March, isn't over yet because troopers still want to find out who provided the alcohol, said Trooper Dennis Gould of the Fredonia barracks.

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PAINKILLER ABUSE EDUCATION PART OF FDA PLAN | latimes.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Marissa Cevallos

The FDA is asking companies that make painkillers to create educational materials, written in simple language, on how to safely use and throw away opiates as part of the government's new effort to curtail prescription drug abuse.

Opiate-drug makers will also have to propose a plan in 120 days on how they will train doctors to manage pain and screen patients, the FDA announced Tuesday.

Certain drugs the companies sell are being abused-- a lot, says the FDA in a consumer update:

"FDA experts say extended-release and long-acting opioids--including OxyContin, Avinza, Dolophine, Duragesic and eight other brand names--are extensively misprescribed, misused, and abused, leading to overdoses, addiction and even deaths across the United States."

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THE STATEN ISLAND MENTAL HEALTH SOCIETY'S TEEN CENTER HELPS YOUTHS STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE | silive.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Andrea Boyarsky

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Jane Smith started noticing changes in her son Joe last year. Once a 90-average student, the high school junior's grades began to drop. Money and jewelry disappeared from the family's South Shore home and Joe went from a happy teen to someone who couldn't control his aggression.

Joe confessed he smoked pot every once in a while, but his parents suspected there was more. A drug test eventually revealed he was under the influence of opiates and a search of his room turned up Vicodin and Percocet -- pills he was never prescribed.

Mrs. Smith searched for treatment programs for her son, who was quickly transforming into a person she didn't recognize. While reading the Advance, she found an article about the Staten Island Mental Health Society's Teen Center, which caters to youths, ages 12 to 21, facing drug and alcohol addiction.

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PUTTING ASIDE POLITICS TO TRANSFORM LIVES | kentucky.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Al Smith

Kentucky's struggle to help its citizens who suffer from dependency on drugs and alcohol recently reached an impressive goal when leaders of that struggle who are prominent in different political parties celebrated the official opening of a $5 million treatment center in Western Kentucky.

Housing 100 residents with addiction problems, the CenterPoint Recovery Center for Men in Paducah is the last of 10 supportive housing facilities -- half for men, half for women -- planned in the administration of Gov. Ernie Fletcher and finished by his successor Gov. Steve Beshear.

In one of the most acrimonious decades of national and state politics since Vietnam and Watergate, First Lady Jane Beshear, wife of the Democratic governor, and Don Ball, the Lexington developer and Republican fund-raiser, left politics behind and flew to Paducah together in a rainstorm in Ball's plane to cheer the center's staff and residents and present a $900,000 grant for operational expenses.

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REGISTRY TO HELP KEEP TABS ON DRUG ABUSERS | onlineathens.com

Apr 25, 2011 | No Comments

By: Merritt Melancon

More than 500 people in Georgia die each year of prescription drug overdoses, so doctors, pharmacists and law enforcement officials welcome a new prescription drug database that will help them curb abuse and save lives.

"It's about time, now that everyone's half-dead," said Jim Hinzman, chief administrator for the Athens Area Commencement Center, which weans addicts off potent opiate drugs. "(Prescription drug abuse is) epidemic; it's the biggest epidemic I've ever seen (in 30 years of addiction counseling)."

Hinzman watched the number of deaths jump from 503 in 2007 to 682 in 2009 and watched the numbers of addicts coming into his treatment center swell.

The problem is deadlier and more widespread than the cocaine epidemic he saw swamp the state in the 1980s, he said.

Despite the problem, Georgia is the last state in the Southeast - the 35th in the nation - to set up such a registry.

Continue Reading: onlineathens.com

TIMES IN-DEPTH: ERIE-AREA SCHOOLS STRUGGLE TO KEEP SUBSTANCE-ABUSE PREVENTION ALIVE | goerie.com

Apr 24, 2011 | No Comments

By Lindsey Poisson

Getting rid of drugs in schools hasn't been as easy as just saying "no."

After first lady Nancy Reagan uttered her famous phrase during a visit to an elementary school in Oakland, Calif., in 1982, she became a champion in the fight against substance abuse among America's youth.

As the "war on drugs" gained momentum in the early 1980s, substance-abuse prevention swept the nation and spurred popular programs.

In 1983, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates created the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., which partnered law enforcement officers with schools to teach children how to avoid drugs and violence.

Community organizations including the Chemical People -- based on a PBS documentary of the same name that aired in 1983 and featured Nancy Reagan -- also grew popular.

Continue Reading: goerie.com

POLICE CHARGE 2 FOR TEXTING FOR DRUGS | press-citizen.com

Apr 24, 2011 | No Comments

By: B.A. Morelli

Iowa City police have cited two men, one of them nicknamed Peter Pan, for allegedly text messaging for marijuana.

Todd Joseph Schockemoehl, aka Peter Pan, 720 N. Dubuque St. No. 11, and a second man, Mokotsi Butare Rukundo, 24, of 1631 Rushmore Drive, were each charged with solicitation to commit a felony, which is a Class D felony charge, for incidents on Thursday evening.

According to police reports, Iowa City's street crimes unit had seized the cell phone of a suspected drug dealer via a search warrant Wednesday night. The suspect was not named and has not yet been charged, according to police.
Separately, Schockemoehl and Rukundo texted the cell phone Thursday night seeking marijuana -- one gram by Rukundo and $60 worth by Schockemoehl, according to police.

Police said they responded to the text and had the men meet them across from the Iowa City police station at the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp. Police said an undercover officer met with the men to complete the transaction, and police took them into custody.

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A DRUNK DRIVER TOOK AWAY HER SON; MADD GAVE HER SOMETHING BACK | thechronicleherald.ca

Apr 24, 2011 | No Comments

By: Kelly Shiers

BRUCE MILLER had just spent the weekend at home in Shubenacadie with his parents, Margaret and Robert.

As he stood at the doorway to go, he was an imposing sight: 26 years old, six-foot-three, 240 pounds, an athlete dressed in motorcycle gear, ready to jump on his Suzuki for the ride back to Springhill, where he worked at his dream job as a police officer.

He hugged his mother. He was solid, strong, like a brick wall.

"Drive safely," she said to him, as if anyone would have to tell their youngest child, that dairy farm boy who had always been more responsible than his years would suggest, to take care.

"I love you."

It was Easter weekend seven years ago.

And it would be the last time the Millers saw their son alive.

Continue Reading: thechronicleherald.ca

PERSPECTIVE: WHY COMPARING PAINKILLER ADDICTION TO CRACK WORSENS THE PROBLEM | time.com

Apr 23, 2011 | No Comments

By: Maia Szalavitz

As the Obama administration and the media increasingly promote the idea that prescription drug misuse is this generation's crack epidemic, I want to take a few minutes to note how irresponsible and off-base this idea is.

First, there is a widespread misunderstanding about how the crack epidemic affected society. People tend to see crack as the destroyer of inner cities, yet it was actually the government's crack-related policies that did the most harm.

Consider that although whites use and sell cocaine at exactly the same rates as blacks, the U.S. puts 1 in 3 young African American men in their 20s under criminal justice supervision, largely as a result of the drug war--a number many times that for young white men. At any given time, 7% of all young African American men are incarcerated. Despite equal rates of drug use and sales among whites and ethnic minorities, 90% of state prisoners who are sentenced for drug crimes are black or Hispanic.

Continue Reading: time.com

COACHING CHILDREN TO SHUN ALCOHOL, SUBSTANCE ABUSE | medindia.net

Apr 23, 2011 | No Comments

By: Savitha C. Muppala

A team of scientists have come out with a program to assist children and young adults to abstain from alcohol and substance abuse.

Dr Karina Weichold of the Jena University (Germany) feels that information alone is not good enough, as even children know that alcohol consumption and smoking can cause health damage.

So the developmental scientists, together with colleagues from the Institute of Psychology and the Center for Applied Developmental Science of the Jena University, came up with their specially developed prevention programme IPSY.

In a new study based on about 1700 school children, aged between 10 and 15 years from Thuringia (Germany), the Jena psychologists were able to show how effective their school-based training and information programme is in the prevention of alcohol and nicotine abuse among school children and adolescents.

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CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY ON RX DRUG ABUSE | drugree.org

Apr 23, 2011 | No Comments

By: Josie Feliz

Sean Clarkin, our Director of Strategy and Program Management, testified recently on our behalf, about the abuse of prescription (Rx) drugs, at a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.

Subcommittee Chair Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) convened the hearing and called four panels of expert witnesses, including two parents who work closely with us - Phil Bauer of our Parent Advisory Board and April Rovero, one of our new Parent Ambassadors. Representative Bono Mack has been a dedicated champion in helping prevent Rx drug abuse, and the abuse of prescription opioids such as Oxycontin. Dr. Amelia Arria, of our Science Advisory Board, also testified on the abuse of prescription stimulants by college students.
In addition, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Gil Kerlikowske, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart, Governors Steve Beshear and Rick Scott of Kentucky and Florida, respectively, and General Art Dean of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America testified, as did representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.

Continue Reading: drugfree.org

HEROIN HABIT GROWS AMONG OHIO'S YOUTH | dispatch.com

Apr 23, 2011 | No Comments

By: Alan Johnson

Call it "boy" or "dog food," but heroin is a growing problem in central Ohio and throughout the state, a new report says.

The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network, which compiles information from eight regions in the state, assesses the type of drugs and quantities available statewide. The report distributed by the Ohio Department of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Services covers June 2010 through January 2011.

In all eight regions, including Columbus, the study says there is "an increased availability of heroin." Black tar heroin is the most common form of the drug in central Ohio, although a brown powder version is available in other parts of the state.

More troubling is who is using the powerful and addictive drug.

Continue Reading: dispatch.com

DOZENS OF CHILDREN HELPED WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS | dgstandard.co.uk

Apr 22, 2011 | No Comments

Dozens of children being helped with substance abuse problems.jpg

By: Julie Watt

FORTY-NINE children from Dumfries and Galloway are being helped with either drink or drug problems.

And a further 32 youngsters are living with users.

Officials admit that's probably less than half the real number across the region.

Jim Parker, lead officer for Alcohol and Drugs Action Team (ADAT), told the Standard: "The majority of children we are helping are aged between 14 to 16-years-old. They are either receiving help for an addiction to drugs or alcohol."

The children come under the wing of the Integrated Substance Service for children and young people.

Mr Parker said: "The figures relate to the children we are aware of - the ones that are known to the service. Unfortunately there could be dozens of other children out there, either drug users themselves or they are affected by the misuse of others."

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MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS INFESTING U.S., EVEN OUR NATIONAL PARKS | aolnews.com

Apr 22, 2011 | No Comments

By: Dana Kennedy

Lost in the rhetoric about illegal immigration are new reports that Mexican drug cartels have moved into the United States, gaining a major foothold here that may be the start of a permanent expansion onto this side of the border. They're even growing marijuana in our national parks, one expert says.

Mexico's cartel families and their associates have moved into cities in the southwestern U.S. as part of their ongoing drug selling and distribution operations, according to an alert from the U.S. Justice Department's Drug Intelligence Center, first reported April 11 by Mexican media.

Roberta Jacobson, deputy secretary of state for Mexico and Canada, said on April 12 that Mexican drug cartels are now operating in 230 American cities. Drug trafficking "is not a crisis that affects only the border," Jacobson said. ""It's a crisis in our cities across the country."

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STUDY EXPLORES WHOLE-BODY EFFECTS OF METH IN FRUIT FLIES | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 22, 2011 | No Comments

By: Diana Yates

A new study in fruit flies offers a broad view of the potent and sometimes devastating molecular events that occur throughout the body as a result of methamphetamine exposure.

The study, described in the journal PLoS ONE, tracks changes in the expression of genes and proteins in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) exposed to meth.

Unlike most studies of meth, which focus on the brain, the new analysis looked at molecular changes throughout the body, said University of Illinois entomology professor Barry Pittendrigh, who led the research.

"One of the great things about working with fruit flies is that because they're small, we can work with the whole organism and then look at the great diversity of tissues that are being impacted," Pittendrigh said. "This is important because we know that methamphetamine influences cellular processes associated with aging, it affects spermatogenesis, and it impacts the heart. One could almost call meth a perfect storm toxin because it does so much damage to so many different tissues in the body."

Continue Reading: medicalnewstoday.com

PRESCRIPTION MONITORING PROGRAMS: FIGHTING THE PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIC | drugfree.org

Apr 22, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tom Clark

Prescription drug abuse is a growing national epidemic. In a recent presentation, Dr. Leonard Paulozzi of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of unintentional overdose deaths per year involving opioid pain relievers (e.g., oxycodone and hydrocodone) nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2007, rising from 2,900 to 11,500. Overdose deaths due to these opioids in 2007 were nearly twice that of cocaine-related deaths and more than five times that of heroin-related deaths. Data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network show that from 2004 to 2009 emergency department visits related to the misuse or abuse of oxycodone rose 242 percent, hydrocodone 124 percent and all pharmaceuticals 98 percent, while those for illicit drugs declined slightly.

Continue Reading: Drugfree.org

HOW TO TALK WITH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT ALCOHOL | patch.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

By: Brenda Badger

In honor of today's PowerTalk 21 event, Hopkins Patch invited a local expert to share some tips for how parents can talk with their children about alcohol.

The Hopkins Community Coalition: ONE VOICE for Reducing Youth Chemical Use urges parents and caregivers to participate in PowerTalk 21, sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving on April 21st. PowerTalk 21 is a national day, started by MADD for parents to start talking with their kids about alcohol.

MADD has created an excellent handbook for parents called, Power of Parents, It's Your Influence to help parents have these important conversations to help keep their child safe, legal and healthy.

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STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL URGES PABST TO HALT "BINGE IN A CAN" CAMPAIGN | chattanoogan.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper has joined several other attorneys general who are asking Pabst Brewing Company to re-evaluate the current manufacturing and marketing of its Blast by Colt 45, which contains 12 percent alcohol in a single 23.5 ounce can. The attorneys general further urge the company to take steps to ensure that its marketing of Blast by Colt 45 does not target underage youth.

In a joint letter to the company's CEO and chairman, the attorneys general noted that such a highly concentrated alcoholic drink, manufactured and marketed as a single serving, amounts to a "binge in a can." The 23.5 ounce can of Blast contains 4.7 servings of alcohol when compared to 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol in one standard serving, and drinking such a quantity in a short period of time amounts to binge drinking. It also typically results in acute intoxication that can be harmful for a variety of reasons, including impaired brain function, resulting in poor judgment, reduced reaction time, loss of balance and motor skills, and slurred speech. Coma and death can occur if alcohol is consumed rapidly and in large amounts, the letter stated.

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ELENA FORD PLEADS GUILTY IN DUI CASE, GETS PROBATION | detnews.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

By: Mike Martindale

Ferndale -- The great-great-granddaughter of auto pioneer Henry Ford was placed on probation today after pleading guilty to drunken driving while a child under 16 years old -- her 11-year-old son -- was a passenger in the vehicle.

Elena Ford, 44, of Birmingham was sentenced to 24 months probation, ordered to attend counseling sessions and perform 240 hours of community service and fined $1,518 in court costs by Ferndale District Judge Joseph Longo.

The charge stemmed from an incident in which she was stopped April 3 for speeding along Woodward Avenue and driving up onto the median. Longo set aside a 93-day jail sentence pending successful completion of her probation, which will also require her to be drug and alcohol free and submit to random screenings.

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DANGEROUS WHEELS: DRUNK DRIVING AND TEXTING SIMULATION SOBERS STUDENTS | kenyoncollegian.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

By: Eric Geller

In collaboration with the Ohio Department of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) and The BACCHUS Network, Kenyon provided an opportunity for students to safely experiment with simulated texting while driving and drunk driving last Thursday, April 14 on Ransom Lawn. As part of the two organizations' "Arrive Alive" tour, the College played host to a car that used special technology to immerse students in the dangerous world of impaired driving.

Anne Vleck, assistant director of student activities and program manager of Kenyon's ODADAS grant, explained that the car worked in tandem with a virtual reality headset to create this experience. "You could actually step on the gas or brake and turn the wheels to steer the car," she said. "You were given a virtual reality headset and it was kind of like a video game."

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NIDA'S NEW THEATER PROJECT EDUCATES CLINICIANS ON ADDICTION | cadca.org

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) this month launched the Addiction Performance Project, a theater-based continued medical education program focused on breaking down the stigma associated with addiction.

The program includes dramatic interpretation of a family's struggle with addiction, followed by a dialogue among participants aimed to foster compassion, cooperation, and understanding for patients living with this disease.

Of the 23.5 million patients who needed specialized treatment for a drug or alcohol problem in 2009, nearly 90 percent had not received it. Research suggests that primary care providers could significantly help reduce drug use, before it escalates to abuse or addiction. However, many express concern that they do not have the experience or tools to identify drug use in their patients.

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FOUR-PILLAR APPROACH TO PREVENT DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE IN CITY | kenoradailyminerandnews.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

After several months of working behind the scenes, Kenora's Substance Abuse Task Force made its first public presentation to city council at its regular meeting Monday.

Operating with a provincial best practices four-pillar approach to prevent and reduce drug and alcohol abuse in the community -- prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement -- the group has already rolled out after school and family programs in an effort to strengthen families in Kenora.

The task force is made up of a partnership number of area agencies and service providers, from the police to the Kenora Chiefs Advisory Council, and is open for involvement from any member of the community interested in pitching in.

Continue Reading: kenoradailyminerandnews.com

WORKSHOP AIMED AT CURBING UNDERAGE DRINKING SET FOR THURSDAY | signonsandiego.com

Apr 21, 2011 | No Comments

By: Debbi Baker

SAN DIEGO -- In an effort to bring awareness to the problem of underage drinking officials with Mothers Against Drunk Driving have declared April 21 as a national day for parents to talk to their children about alcohol.

Dubbed PowerTalk 21 day, officials hope that families will take the time to have a conversation with their teens on the dangers associated with drinking.
According to MADD, parents are the number one influence in their child's decisions when it come to alcohol consumption.

Continue Reading: signonsandiego.com

GROUP: PROGRAM CUTS WOULD JEOPARDIZE 31,000 | unionleader.com

Apr 20, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tom Fahey

CONCORD - Cuts to alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention funding in the House-passed state budget would leave 31,000 people without access to programs, according to New Futures, a non-profit group that works on addiction problems.

Linda Saunders Paquette, New Futures executive director, said the 55 percent cut in funding would leave 20,000 young people without access to prevention.

It would also bring a cut in federal funding, force 30 programs to close and cost 100 people their jobs.

New Hampshire expects to sell $1.2 billion at state liquor stores in the next two years, and make a profit of $367 million, Paquette said. Total spending on prevention and treatment will be $3.3 million over that period, less than 1 percent of profits.

At the same time, she said, a national report states that nearly one in 10 New Hampshire adults has a drug or drinking problem, Paquette said. That is roughly 2.5 percent higher than the national average, she said.

Continue Reading: unionleader.com

FAMILY DINNER, THE ANTI-DRUG | patch.com

Apr 20, 2011 | No Comments

By: Jessica Hollomon

Keeping their offspring from the well-beaten path to drug abuse is a goal of most -- dare I say -- all parents. While there are no easy answers or guarantees, it seems simple family dinners could be a key component in keeping your "Hallie Parker" from becoming a "Lindsay Lohan."

A report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggests teens who don't chow down with their family on a regular basis are much more likely to use alcohol, marijuana or tobacco, compared to teens who do endure the family dinner.

Teenagers who have less than two family dinners a week were shown to be three times more likely to try marijuana. They were 2� times more likely to smoke cigarettes and 1� times more likely to drink alcohol.

Those are a lot of numbers to process if you're stoned, drunk and can't find your smokes. Kathleen Ferrigno, CASA's director of marketing makes it clear: "With the recent rise in the number of Americans age 12 and older who are using drugs, it is more important than ever to sit down to dinner and engage your children in conversation about their lives, their friends, school -- just talk."

Continue Reading: patch.com

ALCOHOL DRINKING AND CANCER RISK | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 20, 2011 | No Comments

A large group of distinguished scientists published a very detailed and rather complex paper describing the association between alcohol consumption and cancer in the BMJ. It is based on data from the EPIC study in Europe, with a mean follow up of 8.8 years for more than 300,000 subjects.

The authors describe an increase in risk of many cancers from alcohol intake, but do not give data permitting the detection of a threshold of intake for an adverse effect on cancer risk. The investigators conclude that "In western Europe, an important proportion of cases of cancer can be attributable to alcohol consumption, especially consumption higher than the recommended upper limits."

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AMERICA'S FASTEST-GROWING DRUG PROBLEM: PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE | cbsnews.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

Prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastest-growing drug problem, according to the office of National Drug Control Policy.

It is now the second-most abused category of drugs after marijuana, and the second leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. after car accidents.

In a joint press conference today, representatives from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the Obama administration's new National Prescription Drug Abuse Plan aimed at saving lives and stemming the abuse.

"America is in the midst of a health epidemic driven by prescription drugs," said Gil Kerlikowske, the White House Director of National Drug Control Policy (NDCP), adding that the number of people who overdose on prescription drugs now exceeds the number who die of gunshot wounds.

Continue Reading: cbsnews.com

STUDY ON TEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR SCREENING AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS | drugfree.org

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

A new study showing marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy over the past three years underscores the importance of incorporating screening and prevention programs into all health care interactions with adolescents and their parents, says a leading expert on adolescent substance abuse treatment.

"Any time professionals have an option to work with parents or teenagers, even if it's not directly about a substance abuse issue, they should be putting drug use on the radar screen," says Ken Winters, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, and Research Scientist at Treatment Research Institute. "Many health care settings don't have the luxury of specialized and expensive drug treatment, but a quick screening and a brief discussion about drug use should be more achievable in pediatric and other adolescent health settings."

Continue Reading: drugfree.org

FIRST STEP HELP PREGNANT WOMEN WITH ADDICTIONS | heraldtribune.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

By: Barbara Peters Smith

SARASOTA - Lisa Brown tried her first Xanax at age 14, graduating to prescription painkillers. Eight years later, pregnant with her first child and convicted of possession, Brown faced a choice: jail, or a unique residential therapy for addicts expecting babies.

Brown chose the combined addiction treatment and parenting education program at First Step of Sarasota last fall. She gave birth to son Logan in December, one of 16 women addicted to opiates who have given birth to drug-free babies under the program in the past two years.

Continue Reading: heraldtribune.com

PRESCRIPTION DRUG COLLECTION PROGRAM AIMS TO CURB ABUSE, ADDICTION | gazettenet.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

By: Laura Rodley

CUMMINGTON - The misuse of prescription drugs is a growing problem nationally. Teenagers often use prescription drugs from family medicine cabinets to get high for the first time - 2,500 teenagers a day, according to a survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

That survey also reports that more than 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. With an eye to helping people avoid over-using or abusing the expired prescription drugs found in most every home, the government will hold a Drug Take Back Day on April 30.

A pilot program held last September collected 21 tons of outdated prescription medication nationwide.

"That's a staggering amount," said David Fenton, a deputy sheriff in the Hampshire County Sheriff's Office, who is helping to coordinate the coming event, which presents an easy alternative to improper pill disposal.

Continue Reading: gazettenet.com

MODESTO POLICE: DUI RECIDIVISM A PROBLEM | modbee.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rosalio Ahumada

You'll be handcuffed, booked at the jail, forced to appear in court and face months in jail or years in prison.

You'll pay thousands of dollars in fines, spend months taking courses and lose time at work.

All this awaits people convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Anytime you're driving under the influence and someone dies, you could be charged with murder," said Stanislaus County public defender Rafael Bito, who is assigned 40 to 50 DUI cases per month.

It happened this month when a Patterson man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and felony DUI. The California Highway Patrol said the man's car drifted into an oncoming lane in Patterson and collided with a minivan, killing a pregnant woman.

The man has a DUI conviction, making him eligible for the murder charges.

Recidivism is a serious problem, Modesto police traffic unit Sgt. Brian Findlen said.

Continue Reading: modbee.com

IGNITION INTERLOCK BILL IS A WIN | baltimoresun.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

By: Michael Dresser

It might not look that way now, but MADD and its allies won a battle in the war against drunken driving during the General Assembly session that ended a week ago.

The bill that passed in Annapolis will increase the number of drunken drivers who are compelled to go on an ignition interlock program, where they must mount a device in their vehicles that won't let them start the engine unless their breath is free of any significant amount of alcohol.

It wasn't a pretty victory, and it falls short of MADD's goals, but last-minute changes that grew out of House-Senate negotiations made real progress toward narrowing two of the biggest loopholes in the state's drunken-driving laws.

Continue Reading: baltimoresun.com

TEEN ADDICTS (video) | au.news.yahoo.com

Apr 19, 2011 | No Comments

Figures obtained by 7News indicate that the number of teenagers addicted to drugs and alcohol has risen dramatically.

Over the last three years, the number of those addicted have jumped by up to 300 percent.

The most common addictions are alcohol, methanphetamines and marijuana, but rehab centre director Robert Mittiga says, the best form of help is early intervention.

Continue Reading: au.news.yahoo.com

'MORE WILL DIE': MEXICO DRUG WARS CLAIM U.S. LIVES | msnbc.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

By: Sevil Omer

Some who have died were themselves working for the drug cartels. But more and more often, experts say, the casualties are U.S. law enforcement officers and innocent victims who died simply because they ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"These cartels will stop at nothing," said Tiffany Hartley, who became an anti-cartel crusader after her husband, David, apparently was gunned down on Sept. 30 by Mexican drug gang members on Falcon Lake, a dammed section of the Rio Grande straddling the Texas-Mexico border. "The violence is not going to stop and more will die at the unforgiving hands of cartels."

Continue Reading: msnbc.com

CANADIAN DRUG FACILITY CUT OVERDOSE DEATHS: STUDY | reuters.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

By: Allan Dowd

(Reuters) - North America's only sanctioned facility for injection of illegal drugs has cut overdose deaths and should be used as a model in other cities, according to a study published on Monday in the Lancet medical journal.

The study came as Canada's highest court prepared to hear a lawsuit over the federal government's attempt to close down the Insite facility in Vancouver despite calls by local health officials and police to keep it open.

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RUSSIAN PRES URGES FOR RESOLUTE MEASURES IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUG ADDICTION | itar-tass.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

IRKUTSK, April 18 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev emphasized on Monday a need for drastic measures in fight against drug addiction among the youth.

Opening a session of the Russian State Council presidium on that problem, he called the growing drug addition in Russia a "serious threat", admitting that despite the measures that are taken "changes for the better are very and very small". He also cited United Nations data, according to which over 100 million people in the world abuse drugs.

"Most civilized nations constantly fight that evil, and we must also do this," said Medvedev, calling the problem of drug addiction "a threat to national security".

Continue Reading: itar-tass.com

INSPIRATION, HOPE FOUND IN 'A NIGHT IN RECOVERY' | dixiesunlink.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tom Betar

Forcing some individuals to wind up in jail or homeless next a dumpster, addictions are surprisingly prevalent in society and require the strong support and belief systems of multiple parties in order to overcome them.

A community event was held in St. George that was designed to bring an innovative approach to the addiction recovery process, which many people struggle with every day. The event "A night in recovery" was held Saturday night at the Dixie Center and featured inspirational music and personal stories that were intended to help community members of all ages cope with their various addictions.

Continue Reading: dixiesunlink.com

ENERGY DRINK USE MAY LEAD TO ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE | together.us.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

A hallmark of college life is staying up late to study for an exam the following morning, and many students stay awake by consuming an energy drink. Also increasing in popularity is the practice of mixing alcohol with energy drinks. But these drinks are highly caffeinated and can lead to other problems, in addition to losing sleep.?Unfortunately, the contents of energy drinks are not regulated.

New research indicates that individuals who have a high frequency of energy drink consumption (52 or more times within a year) were at a statistically significant higher risk for alcohol dependence and episodes of heavy drinking.

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DEA: MOST PRESCRIPTION DRUGS YOUTHS ABUSE ARE FROM OWN MEDICINE CABINETS | saipantribune.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

By: Ferdie de la Torre

One of the Drug Enforcement Administration's major priorities is addressing the concerns that most of the prescription drugs that youths are abusing are actually coming from their own family's medicine cabinets, according to a DEA official.

Michael Puralewski, DEA resident in charge for Guam and the CNMI, said the priorities shift, but right now they are focusing on the National Prescription Drug Take Back Campaign.

"That is why it is important that we work with the other law enforcement agencies-the U.S. Attorney's Office-to actually make that program successful," Puralewski told Saipan Tribune after a press conference on Friday about the CNMI's participation in this year's National Take Back Initiative.

Continue Reading: saipantribune.com

SEN. LAUTENBERG INTRODUCES BILL TO PREVENT UNDERAGE DRINKING | thestatecolumn.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

During Alcohol Awareness Month, U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-34) introduced the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Reauthorization Act. The legislation builds on the success of the original STOP Act signed into law in 2006, and seeks to reduce and prevent underage drinking in the United States.

"Underage drinking poses a significant threat to public health and safety. One death from underage drinking is too many, yet as many as 5,000 youth die each year as a result of alcohol consumption," said Senator Lautenberg, who authored the law that changed the legal drinking age to 21. "Since 2006, the STOP Act has helped put the brakes on underage drinking. This reauthorization would continue funding prevention programs that make a real impact in communities across the country. The sad truth is that underage drinking remains widespread, and we must redouble our efforts to address the problem."

Continue Reading: thestatecolumn.com

IMPAIRMENT GOGGLES TEACH HAWAII TEENS THE DANGERS OF DRUNK DRIVING (video) | khon2.com

Apr 18, 2011 | No Comments

By: Vanessa Stewart

Dozens of teens from public schools around the state got a real wake up call.

For the first time ever, goggles were used to show teens what it was like to drive drunk.

And the new tool drove home a strong message.

Dozens of cones set-up in the Aloha Stadium parking lot make a driving course for teens.

"They have a chance to put on the impaired goggles with these carts and it's better than getting these kids drunk and telling them to drive," says Waynette Mitchell, Hawaii Association of Safety Traffic Education.

This is the view from behind the goggles of what twice the legal limit looks like.

Continue Reading: khon2.com

CHILDREN INCREASINGLY TARGETED IN MEXICO DRUG WARS | sfgate.com

Apr 17, 2011 | No Comments

By: Anne-Marie O'connor & William Booth

On a sunny afternoon last week, when the streets of this mountain mining city were filled with schoolchildren and parents hurrying home from work, gunmen entered a tiny apartment and started firing methodically.

The assassins killed everyone: the family matriarch and her adult son; her daughter and son-in-law, and finally, her 22-month-old granddaughter.

The child was not killed by mistake. Preliminary forensics indicate that the gunmen, unchallenged, pointed a pistol at Scarlett Ramirez and fired.

In Mexico's brutal drug war, children are increasingly victims, innocents caught in the crossfire, shot dead alongside their parents - and intentionally targeted.

Continue Reading: sfgate.com

ALCOHOL-DEPENDENCE IMPULSIVITY LINKED TO BRAIN ANOMALIES | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 17, 2011 | No Comments

By: Eric D. Claus & Daniel W. Hommer

Researchers already know that alcohol dependence (AD) is strongly associated with impaired impulse control or, more precisely, the inability to choose large, delayed rewards rather than smaller but more immediate rewards. Findings from a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of impulsive choice among individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) suggest that impulsive choice in AD may be the result of functional anomalies in widely distributed but interconnected brain regions that are involved in cognitive and emotional control.

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CHILDREN: THE QUIET VICTIMS OF ADDICTION | napavalleyregister.com

Apr 17, 2011 | No Comments

By: Alisha Wyman

It's hardly a child's playground.

Dishes piled up. Overflowing toilets. Piles of dirty clothing.

Cockroaches. Maggots. Rodents. Pet waste. Trash scattered throughout the home.

Yet this is a scene drug agents encounter again and again in the most serious cases of drug abuse as they attempt to root out methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana production from Napa County, said Kenneth Stevenson, a deputy probation officer assigned to the county's Special Investigations Bureau drug task force.

During a majority of drug raids, children are present, sleeping on couches or in sleeping bags because their rooms are overflowing with filth. Or they are playing among the meth pipes and spoons painted with traces of the drug, Stevenson said.

Continue Reading: napavalleyregister.com

HEROIN ADDICTION ON THE RISE IN PAKISTAN (video) | aljazeera.net

Apr 17, 2011 | No Comments

Islamabad struggles to cope with the spike in heroin addiction across the country.

Pakistani government may be making a steady progress in its battle against the Taliban in the tribal territories.

But it seems the country has already lost the battle against the growing menace of heroin addiction, which is on the rise.

Continue Reading: aljazeera.net

ALCOHOLIC PARENTS MAY PREDISPOSE KIDS TO DRINKING PROBLEM | usnews.com

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

SATURDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Children of parents with an alcohol use disorder (AUD) are at increased risk for the same type of problem, says a new study from Denmark.
The risk of an alcohol use disorder, which includes alcoholism and alcohol abuse, was higher among those whose parents had an AUD. The increased risk was independent of other major predictors, such as gender, parents' social status and the psychiatric hospitalization of parents, the researchers noted.

"Furthermore, this association appeared to be stronger among female than male offspring, which suggests that inherited factors related to AUDs are at least as important among daughters as among sons," study corresponding author Erik Lykke Mortensen, associate professor in medical psychology at the University of Copenhagen, said in a journal news release.

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STICKERS AIM TO CURB TEEN DRINKING | nwherald.com

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

By: Katie Anerson

ALGONQUIN - Local police, high school students and package liquor sellers will work together this month to combat underage drinking.

As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, the group will travel around Algonquin today passing out stickers and signs aimed at discouraging shoppers from buying alcohol for people younger than 21. Another group will work in McHenry on April 30.

The campaign, called Project Sticker Shock, includes attaching fluorescent labels to bags, countertops, glass refrigerator doors and packages of liquor in stores. The stickers are supposed to remind shoppers that providing alcohol to minors is Illegal and unhealthy, Algonquin Police Sgt. Rob Salazar said.

Continue Reading: nwherald.com

ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS EXACERBATE HEALTH CARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

Hospital patients with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are at an increased risk of developing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which affect 1.7 million patients annually in the United States. HAIs are infections that patients acquire during their hospitalization and that were not present at the time of admission to the hospital. A new study has found that people with AUDs who develop HAIs have longer hospital stays, thousands of dollars of higher hospital costs, and much greater odds of dying.

Continue Reading: medicalnewstoday.com

SUTTON TEEN'S INSIRING ROAD TO RECOVERY | chad.co.uk

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

JUST over a year ago, Sutton teenager Nancy Wilson was struggling to cope with homelessness and alcohol addiction.

Living in a hostel for homeless people, she also had a criminal record and had recently become pregnant.

But having a baby turned out to be the motivation Nancy needed to turn her life around and become a good role model, not just to her own son, but also to other young mums.

Now her work is being recognised and she is in line for a top award after being nominated for the first Nottinghamshire Outstanding Achievement 4Uth Award.

The awards, which are run by Nottinghamshire County Council, aim to highlight the achievements of young people.

Nancy said: "Working with the Youth Service has turned my life around and has helped to give me the confidence to make something of my life.

Continue Reading: chad.co.uk

BEER COMPANY DRIVING HOME THE WRONG MESSAGE, MADD SAYS | vancouversun.com

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

By: Gillian Shaw

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is asking Labatt to rethink its ad campaign featuring images implying it's okay for young people to get drunk and sleep in a park or other unsafe location, as long as they don't drink and drive.

The campaign, which is dubbed Take the Pledge and enlists the support of such high profile participants as Canada's National Defence Minister Peter MacKay and former Olympic figure skater Elizabeth Manley, is aimed at convincing youth not to drink and drive.

But Bob Rorison, president of MADD Metro Vancouver, said the images deliver the message that it's okay to drink so much that you could end up sleeping under a tree or in a playground.

Continue Reading: vancouversun.com

SENIORS DEAL WITH 'SILENT' SUBSTANCE ABUSE (video) | volunteertv.com

Apr 16, 2011 | No Comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- You may worry about kids and substance abuse, but what about older adults?

New research shows increasing numbers of seniors and the elderly are far from sober. It's called a 'silent addiction.'

Thorne Glander, 70, likes to stay busy -- it's how he stays on track.

"I went to AA. I went into AA in 1983," said Glander. Glander has been sober for decades, but he's not surprised to hear his generation of baby boomers are likely users.

"Since I was an alcoholic and a drug addict, and I am 70, a lot of my friends were. And by the way a lot of them are dead, as the result," he said.

"Seniors may have a problem with their prescription drugs, and they may have a problem with alcohol," said Claudia Jewell, a registered nurse and health services specialist for the O'Connor Senior Center.

By the year 2020, The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the number of seniors with alcohol or other drug problems to leap 150 percent. And the issue goes unnoticed.

Continue Reading: volunteertv.com

APRIL IS ALCOHOL AWARENESS MONTH | drugfree.org

Apr 15, 2011 | No Comments

By: Josie Feliz

Alcohol Awareness month raises awareness about alcohol abuse, while encouraging people to make healthy and safe choices when it comes to use of alcohol. It also opens a window of opportunity to address underage drinking, which is one of the reasons Alcohol Awareness Month is recognized in April - the beginning of prom and graduation season.

Our newly released Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, confirms a disturbing trend that has emerged among American teens and highlights that underage drinking has become more normalized among adolescents.

The PATS new data underscore alarming patterns in early adolescent alcohol use and found that teens view drinking alcohol - even heavy drinking - as less risky than using other substances.

Continue Reading: drugfree.org

WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO SELF-MEDICATE | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 15, 2011 | No Comments

Approximately 20% of Spaniards take non-prescribed medication and women are the group most inclined towards this practice. This is the conclusion of a research study carried out by experts from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid, which also links this habit to nationality, income level and alcohol and tobacco consumption amongst the population.

"In spite of the negative connotations generally associated with the idea of self-medication, it is actually the most significant method of self-care for the population", explains Pilar Carrasco, main author of the study and head of the department of Preventative Medicine, Public Health, Immunology and Microbiology at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.

According to the research, published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 20.17% of Spaniards use medication without a medical prescription. Of those, it is the women that self-medicate more than the men (with a prevalence of 16.93% compared to 14.46%).

This gender-based difference can be explained by referring to the exposure to the consumption of medication, which is higher in women than in men. This is due to the fact that "women are more likely to suffer from emotional disorders and are more vulnerable in our society", says Carrasco. She adds: "This may be due to a greater disposition among women to acknowledge and voice their symptoms".

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ONE-FIFTH OF SMOKERS THINK SOME CIGARETTE BRANDS LESS HARMFUL THAN OTHERS | drugfree.org

Apr 15, 2011 | No Comments

Twenty percent of smokers incorrectly assume that lighter colors of cigarette packs--silver, gold or white--are less dangerous than black or red brands, a new study shows. Science Daily reports that the study of more than 8,000 smokers from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom found that American smokers were mostly likely to hold his false belief.

The researchers note in the journal Addiction that the words 'light' and 'mild' are prohibited in cigarette marketing in more than 50 countries. Science Daily says that all conventional brands of cigarettes present an equal level of risk to smokers, including 'mild' and 'low-tar' brands. The article notes that the confusion among smokers may come from brands that changed their 'light' cigarette brands to 'silver' and 'gold' brands; Marlboro Lights, for instance, became Marlboro Gold.

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GRAPHIC DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM TO KICK OFF IN CONNECTICUT | courant.com

Apr 15, 2011 | No Comments

By: Ron DeJohn

"The Graphic Truth," the controversial drug/alcohol prevention program so urgently requested by local superintendents and school officials makes it debut.

Currently, the death rate among 12 -18 year old students is at the highest in Connecticut's history and schools have run out of viable options.

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TAMAULIPAS: 'FAILED STATE' IN MEXICO'S WAR ON DRUGS | bbc.co.uk

Apr 14, 2011 | No Comments

By: Julian Miglierini

The discovery of at least 116 bodies in mass graves in the north-eastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas has become the most gruesome incident in the country's four-year war against drug cartels.

The city of San Fernando, about 150km (93 miles) from the border with Texas, has previously been hit by drug-related violence on a massive scale and efforts to control the situation there appear futile.

Last August the bodies of 72 Central and South American migrants were found on the outskirts of the city.

The migrants, making their way to the border, were killed by drug gang members after they refused to work for them.

Continue Reading: bbc.co.uk

DRINKING AND DYING IN RUSSIA: STANFORD RESEARCH CASTS SOBER LIGHT ON RUSSIA'S MORTALITY CRISIS | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 14, 2011 | No Comments

By: Adam Gorlick

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians were faced with more than the demise of a political system. Working-age men began dying in droves, and the country saw a 40 percent surge in deaths between 1990 and 1994.

The killer was often alcohol - that much was clear. And for years, many economists and political scientists have blamed Russia's lurch toward democracy and capitalism for driving those men to drink. They reasoned that privatization left many people unskilled and unemployable, ushering in a sense of listlessness and depression that mixed too easily with cheap vodka.

But Stanford researchers have dug up evidence that helps get democracy and capitalism off the hook and points to a new culprit: the end of an anti-alcohol campaign that contributed to a plunge in mortality rates during its short life in the Gorbachev era.

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MEETING DISCUSSES ALCOHOL AND HIV | newera.com

Apr 14, 2011 | No Comments

By: Mathias Haufiku

WINDHOEK - African delegates are gathered in Windhoek for a technical consultative meeting on alcohol and HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.

The delegates are from Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Petrina Haingura, yesterday officially opened the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) Southern and Eastern Technical Consultation on Alcohol and HIV Prevention.

Continue Reading: newera.com

POLICE: DRUNK DRIVING IS A NEVER ENDING PROBLEM (video) | 9and10news.com

Apr 14, 2011 | No Comments

By: Ryan Raiche

Recent arrests in the Traverse City area highlight an on-going problem with drunk driving.

Early Tuesday morning Traverse City Police arrested a man for driving drunk downtown -- it was his forth offense.

Then last week, sheriff's deputies in Grand Traverse County chased down a suspected drunk driver who was also a repeat offender.

Drunk driving numbers are down slightly in the city, but the numbers are up overall in the county.

There were more than 130 arrests in Grand Traverse County in the first quarter of this year -- it's the most since 2007.

Continue Reading: 9and10news.com

SAMHSA ANNOUNCES NEW APPROACH FOR BLOCK GRANTS IN LIGHT OF HEALTH CARE REFORM | drugfree.org

Apr 14, 2011 | No Comments

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced a change to the Substance Abuse Prevent and Treatment and Mental Health Services Block Grants, Occupational Health & Safety reports.

The change comes in response to the new federal health care reform law. The 2012/2013 grants are designed to get state behavioral health systems ready for 2014, when more people will be insured through Medicaid or third party insurance.

According to a recent SAMHSA press release, states will be able to use block grant money for prevention, treatment, recovery and other services that supplement those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.

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IS A DIP IN COCAINE USE A DRUG WAR VICTORY? | miller-mccune.com

Apr 13, 2011 | No Comments

By: Michael Scott Moore

Washington remains optimistic about the war on drugs based on dips in the importation of cocaine. But even the "good news" derived from comparisons with Europe is distressing.

When The New York Times ran a review last summer of a book about legalizing coke, Tom Feiling's Cocaine Nation, the head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy wrote an old-fashioned letter to the editor.

The review "correctly states that the Obama administration has moved beyond 'war on drugs' rhetoric to a comprehensive public health and public safety approach ... to reduce drug use and its consequences," Gil Kerlikowske wrote. "What is not mentioned is the fact that since 2007, cocaine use has decreased sharply in the United States, while in Europe it has risen."

This remark suggests that something the U.S. has done recently modified cocaine use among Americans, while European policy has slipped. But Reason magazine pointed out that Kerlikowske exaggerated the statistics. "Sharply" was not the word for the decrease in America, except maybe among teenagers, and the striking rises in Europe were restricted to the U.K. and Spain.

It's probably true that cocaine use has eased over the last few years. Trends have headed downward since the 1980s, when cocaine was fashionable among both rich and poor, as well as readily available in big cities. The Justice Department's own World Drug Report in 2010 said that every indicator on cocaine since 2006 -- from seizures at the border to drug tests at the office -- has pointed to a shrinking market.

Continue Reading: miller-mccune.com

A TEEN'S FRIENDS ARE A POWERFUL INFLUENCE | latimes.com

Apr 13, 2011 | No Comments

By: Valerie Ulene

Behavior is almost contagious among teenagers. Good behavior by peers can spread through the group. But bad behavior can also be modeled.

My parents had it pretty easy with me when I was a teenager. I was a bit of a nerd. I earned straight A's in school, ran for student government and spent much of my free time watching reruns of "Little House on the Prairie." And they had little to complain about when it came to my friends -- most of them were as straight as I was. My mom and dad considered them a positive influence.

Many parents aren't nearly this lucky. Their teens run with kids who prefer partying to homework or fistfights to team sports. It's only natural for these parents to worry about the way their children are being influenced. And it's only logical for them to wonder: Should I allow my child to spend time with these kids at all?

"It's a tricky issue," says Mitch Prinstein, director of clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and editor of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. "It's a fair and appropriate question for parents to be asking themselves."

Continue Reading: latimes.com

TREATMENT CENTERS OVERWHELMED BY HEROIN ADDICTS (video) | kplr11.com

Apr 13, 2011 | No Comments

By: Paul Schankman

ST. LOUIS, MO -- There has been an amazing growth of heroin addiction in the St. Louis Metro area. At least one person a day in St. Louis dies from an overdose of heroin. So how can such a rapidly growing number of addicts all find help?

The answer is, they can not.

"In Missouri at any given time close to 3000 people cannot find a bed for treatment, that's pretty scary," according to Percy Menzies, the president of a drug and alcohol treatment center called ARCA.

"The demand has exploded," Menzies said.

Continue Reading: klpr11.com

MADD ANNOUNCES FIRST ANNUAL POWER TALK 21 DAY AND BRAND REFRESH | yahoo.com

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: yahoo.com

As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) unveils a new logo today in advance of next week's first annual PowerTalk 21� day on April 21, the national day for parents to start talking with their kids about alcohol. In an effort to get the conversation started between parents and teens across the U.S., MADD -- along with National Presenting Sponsor Nationwide Insurance -- is urging families to get a free Power of Parents, It's Your Influence� handbook at www.madd.org/powertalk21.

Rest of story: yahoo.com

NEW LINK BETWEEN GENETICS, ALCOHOLISM AND THE BRAIN EXPLORED BY SCIENTISTS | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

By: Ian Demsky & Nicole Fawcett
Original Source: medicalnewstoday.com

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have uncovered a new link between genetic variations associated with alcoholism, impulsive behavior and a region of the brain involved in craving and anxiety.

The results, published online April 12 in Molecular Psychiatry, suggest that variations in the GABRA2 gene contribute to the risk of alcoholism by influencing impulsive behaviors, at least in part through a portion of the cerebral cortex known as the insula, says study senior author Margit Burmeister, Ph.D., research professor at U-M's Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute.

Rest of story: medicalnewstoday.com

PARENTING: TALK TO TEENS ABOUT ALCOHOL | usatoday.com

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

By: Kim Painter
Original Source: usatoday.com

And they should: About 70% of teens drink during high school years, and 23% of seniors admitted to binge drinking in 2010, researchers at the University of Michigan say. Today's teens drink less than many of their parents did, but alcohol remains a major killer, especially for teens who drink and drive or get into cars with drunken drivers.

Ask an emergency room doctor about the effect of teen drinking -- as I did this week -- and you'll hear stories that will haunt you.

"It is so unbelievably painful to go out and tell a parent that their child has been hurt badly by something that was preventable," says Sandra Schneider, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Rest of story: usatoday.com

SCREENING RESOURCE LAUNCHED TO HELP CLINICIANS ADVISE SUBSTANCE-ABUSING PATIENTS | addictionpro.com

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: addictionpro.com

A free, nationwide service has been launched to help primary care providers seeking to identify and advise substance-abusing patients. The service, Physician Clinical Support System for Primary Care (PCSS-P), offers peer-to-peer mentorship and resources on incorporating screening and follow-up into regular patient care. PCSS-P is a project of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

NIDA also launched a quick screening tool to help health care providers identify these patients.

The warm line service--"warm" because the response is within 24 hours rather than an immediate response typical of a hotline--is available to physicians and other health care providers at no cost. Providers register with PCSS-P and receive the contact information of a mentor who is a specialist in screening, brief intervention, treatment and referral for patients with substance abuse problems.

Rest of story: addictionpro.com

HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS YOUR MEMORY | empowher.com

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

By: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch
Original Source: empowher.com

In the United States, 52 percent of adults ages 18 and over are current regular drinkers, meaning they consumed at least 12 alcoholic beverages in the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While in moderation alcohol has its benefits, too much can cause negative effects, including causing issues with memory.

Rest of story: empowher.com

NEWLY-RELEASED STUDY ON TEEN DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE (video) | drugfree.org

Apr 12, 2011 | No Comments

By: Josie Feliz
Original Source: drugfree.org

News of our recently released 2010 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) on teen/parent attitudes about teen drug and alcohol use received some exciting television coverage on network and local news broadcasts across the country.

Rest of story: drugfree.org

GRAND ALTERNATIVE PROMOTES SOBER FUN (video) | wlfi.com

Apr 11, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: wlfi.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - As Purdue's spring semester nears an end, the students are readying for Grand Prix Week.

In conjunction with the traditional Grand Prix events, the Office of the Dean of Students is heading up Grand Alternative week. This program offers substance-free activities for students throughout the week.

??Events include concerts, barbecues and a talent show. ??It was kicked off Sunday with a golf tournament at the Purdue golf course where 144 students played a round for free.

Rest of story: wlfi.com

20 SECRET SIGNS OF ADDICTION | yahoo.net

Apr 11, 2011 | No Comments

By: Melanie Haiken

Original Source: yahoo.net

Knowing whether someone you love has a problem with alcohol or drugs isn't as straightforward as it sounds. Despite the stereotypes of the staggering drunk or the emaciated addict, most people who overuse alcohol and drugs become adept at disguising their behavior. Shame, embarrassment, and fear of consequences are powerful motivators. And in many cases, the person who's drinking too much or using drugs doesn't want to recognize or admit that he's not in control of the situation.

14 Things Your Eyes Say About Your Health

Sadly, many times we don't find out until a tragedy, such as a drunk driving accident or an overdose, has occurred. And then we're left wondering why we didn't spot the signs of addiction earlier. Knowing these 20 secret signs of addiction can help you prevent that from happening.

1. Quantity control

Over time, a higher tolerance to alcohol or drugs leads people with addiction problems to increase the quantity and frequency of their substance of choice without showing signs of being out of control. You might notice that someone refills his or her glass more often than anyone else or is always the one to suggest opening another bottle of wine. Prescription drug users will start going through a prescription faster, complaining that they "ran out" or that "the doctor forgot to renew my prescription."

Rest of story: yahoo.net

STATE TO RAISE TAXES ON ALCOHOL- MD | thetowerlight.com

Apr 11, 2011 | No Comments

By: Lisa Shanty

Original Source: TheTowerlight.com

The Maryland Senate voted 27-19 Wednesday to gradually increase Maryland's alcohol sales tax from six percent to nine percent over the next three years.

The bill will now advance through hearings within the House of Delegates.

Adam Fogel, chief of staff and spokesperson for the Democratic party, District 18, Montgomery County and Maryland Senator Richard Madaleno, said a portion of the

funds raised, projected to be about $90 million per year, will go to programs supporting the developmentally disabled, mental health, and the prevention and treatment of alcohol and substance abusers. A large portion of the funds will also go to Prince George's County and Baltimore City schools.

The alcohol tax has not been raised on spirits since the 1950s, and it has not been raised on beer and wine since the 1970s.

Rest of story: TheTowerlight.com

YOUTH HOLD CONFERENCE FOR YOUTH | guampdm.com

Apr 10, 2011 | No Comments

By: Shaun Bevan
Original Source: guampdm.com

Today wraps up a conference on underage drinking, substance abuse and suicide prevention hosted by the island's youth.

The three-day 21st Youth for Youth Conference held at the Hyatt Regency Guam brought together approximately 400 students and 100 adults for workshops and presentations about issues that youths go through every day.

"What each day is dedicated to is a way that they can educate themselves and strengthen, not just them, but their community that they live in," said Devin Frazier, a young adult adviser and adult chairman of the Youth for Youth committee. "So they can educate others and direct them toward services available that support healthy living and lifestyles."

Rest of story: guampdm.com

NUMBER SEEKING TREATMENT FOR METH ADDICTION RISEN STEADILY SINCE MID - 1990s | semissourian.com

Apr 10, 2011 | No Comments

By: Erin Hevern
Original Source: semissourian.com

Without her mother, Stacy Sullivan-Jones wouldn't have ever overcome a 17-year addiction to methamphetamine.

Without her mother, Sullivan-Jones wouldn't have ever gotten high. Her mother, Karen Daugherty, a drug user for as long as she'd known her, gave her a hit of meth when she was 16.

Using meth was just for fun for Sullivan-Jones at first -- she could go days without sleep and finish numerous projects -- but after a while getting high became an obsession.

"The addiction just takes you further and further. You're not happy with snorting it anymore, so you smoke it. You're not happy with smoking it anymore, so then you're shooting it," said Sullivan-Jones, a recovering addict since 2006.

Rest of story: semissourian.com

'MY LIFE WAS FALLING APART': DENNIS QUAID ON THE COCAINE ADDICTION THAT ALMOST RUINED HIS CAREER | dailymail.co.uk

Apr 10, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: dailymail.co.uk

Dennis Quaid has spoken for the first time about his cocaine addiction that threatened to wreck his career.

The Dragonheart star said the drug was so prevalent in Hollywood that it was even included in many movie budgets.

Quaid said producers would make cocaine available to stars and write it off as 'petty cash' on their budgets.

The actor, who was formerly married to Meg Ryan, said his addiction became so bad he could only start the day by snorting a line of the drug.

Rest of story: dailymail.co.uk

MAN RUNS 24 HOURS STRAIGHT FOR ADDICTION AWARENESS (video) | 9news.com

Apr 10, 2011 | No Comments

By: Nelson Garcia
Original Source: 9news.com

WESTMINSTER - David Clark is a messenger running with a lesson for teens or anyone who'd care to listen. That's why he's spending a whole day on a treadmill starting at 10 a.m. Saturday morning.

"So, I try to figure out what would be the most horrific thing I could imagine in my mind," said Clark.

Clark is running for 24 hours straight inside the Lifetime Fitness in Westminster. He says he wants to create a visual.

"If these kids can think, alcohol awareness, sobriety, booze, drugs, and think of this run, then that's that visual I'm hoping for," said Clark.

Rest of story: 9news.com

ALCOHOL MAY BE LINKED TO CANCER | latimes.com

Apr 9, 2011 | No Comments

By Marissa Cevallos
Original Source: latimes.com

The latest alarming headlines warn that alcohol may raise your risk for certain cancers--not exactly a finding to which to raise your glass tonight. But don't abandon those evening plans just yet.

A team of European researchers who tracked about 364,000 people in eight countries found that overall cancer risk increases with every extra daily drink, at least in regular drinkers. Overall, some 10% of cancers in men and 3% of cancers in women may be linked to alcohol, they calculated. The findings were published online Thursday in the British Medical Journal.

Rest of story: latimes.com

REDUCING DRUG USE REQUIRES TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION | drugfree.org

Apr 9, 2011 | No Comments

By: R. Gil Kerlikowske
Original Source: drugfree.org

Congratulations to The Partnership at Drugfree.org on your collaboration with the Boston University School of Public Health to continue providing Join Together. Your work to spread knowledge and promote collaboration among the many fields and professions committed to reducing the toll of drug use and its consequences is vital.

Your audience and members, from the addiction prevention, treatment and recovery communities, to advocates, researchers, policy makers, educators and health care professionals, are the most valuable resource we have to help identify, develop and promote effective and evidenced-based solutions to a problem that affects us all.

Rest of story: drugfree.org

MOST ALCOHOL ABUSERS DON'T THINK THEY NEED TREATMENT | drugfree.org

Apr 8, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: drugfree.org

Only 1.2 percent of the 7.4 million American adults whose alcohol abuse is untreated think they need help, a new report shows. The results were released by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as part of National Alcohol Screening Day on Thursday, HealthDay reports.

The findings come from SAMHSA's 2006-2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey also found that only 7.8 percent of the nearly 6 million American adults with untreated alcohol dependence, which is more serious than alcohol abuse, realize they need treatment.

Rest of Story: drugfree.org

WASTED YOUTH: JUSTICE & DIVERSION | durhamregion.com

Apr 8, 2011 | No Comments

By: Jillian Follert
Original Source:

durhamregion.com

DURHAM -- When Mike saw the red flashing lights of a police cruiser in his rearview mirror, his heart sank.

Not because he was whizzing along Ritson Road in Oshawa at over 80 km/h and sure to get a ticket -- but because there was no way to hide the distinctive marijuana smell wafting from his clothes, or the baggie of pot and rolling papers in the back pocket of his jeans.

Rest of story: durhamregion.com

SCIENTISTS FIND GENE LINKED TO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION | sciencecentric.com

Apr 7, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: sciencecentric.com

Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a role in regulating how much alcohol people drink, in a study of over 47,000 people published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers say that finding a common genetic variation influencing levels of alcohol consumption may lead to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying alcohol drinking behaviour in the general population.

The gene, called 'autism susceptibility candidate 2,' or AUTS2, has previously been linked to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but its function is not known.

Rest of story: sciencecentric.com

SYNTHETIC DRUGS SEND THOUSANDS TO ER | yahoo.com

Apr 6, 2011 | No Comments

By: Jim Salter and Jim Suhr

Original Source: news.yahoo.com

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Synthetic substances that mimic marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs are making users across the nation seriously ill, causing seizures and hallucinations and even killing some people.

The products are often packaged as incense or bath salts and can be obtained for as little as $10 at many head shops. As more people experiment with them, the results are becoming evident at hospitals: a sharp spike in the number of users who show up with problems ranging from labored breathing and rapid heartbeats to extreme paranoia and delusions. The symptoms can persist for days.

Rest of Story: news.yahoo.com

Photo by Svenstorm

NATIONAL STUDY CONFIRMS TEEN DRUG USE TRENDING IN WRONG DIRECTION | heraldonline.com

Apr 6, 2011 | No Comments

Original Source: heraldonline.com

62 Percent of Teens Who Reported Alcohol Use Had First Drink by Age 15

Following a decade of steady declines, a new national study released today by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation indicates that teen drug and alcohol use is headed in the wrong direction, with marked increases in teen use of marijuana and Ecstasy over the past three years. The 22nd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, affirms a disturbing trend that has emerged among American teens since 2008 and highlights that as underage drinking becomes more normalized among adolescents, parents feel unable to respond to the negative shifts in teen drug and alcohol use.

According to the three-year trend confirmed in this year's 2010 PATS data, there was a significant 67 percent increase in the number of teens who reported using Ecstasy in the past year (from 6 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2010). Similarly, past-year marijuana use among teens increased by a disturbing 22 percent (from 32 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2010).

Rest of Story: heraldonline.com

STUDY: TEENS SEE BINGE DRINKING AS NO BIG DEAL | cbsnews.com

Apr 6, 2011 | No Comments

By: The Associated Press
Original Source: cbsnews.com

Downing five or more alcoholic drinks nearly every day isn't seen as a big problem for many of the nation's teens, says a new report.

When asked if they see "great risk" in drinking that much, almost half the teens questioned -- 45 percent -- didn't see it as a big deal.

The study released Wednesday by The Partnership at Drugfree.org also showed upward trends in marijuana and Ecstasy use among young people in grades 9 through 12.

Rest of story: cbsnews.com

VOLKOW DISCUSSES ADDICTION AND NEUROBIOLOGY IN TALK | dailyprincetonian.com

Apr 6, 2011 | No Comments

By: Kathy Sun
Original Source: dailyprincetonian.com

Students and community members gathered on Tuesday night in McCosh 50 for a talk titled "The Neurobiology of Drug Addiction" given by Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Volkow, whose research focuses on drug addiction in a neurobiological context, shared the most recent insights in her field while reflecting on preconceptions about drug addiction.

"Drug addiction is a disease of the brain," Volkow said, noting that our society often treats the problem as "criminal behavior" rather than a "medical disorder."

Rest of story: dailyprincetonian.com

AN EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF DR. DREW'S NEW SHOW | seattlepi.com

Apr 5, 2011 | No Comments

By: Damian Holbrook
Original Source: seattlepi.com

For a new show, Dr. Drew sure spent a lot of time covering old news. Last night, Celebrity Rehab guru (and licensed physician) Dr. Drew Pinsky launched his eponymous HLN show and like a fun drunk at a wedding trying to do the Chicken Dance, it was both entertaining and uneven.

"I will be addressing a whole range of related topics that impact each and every one of us," he promised at the outset. "That's family, relationships, sex."

Rest or story: seattlepi.com

FIREFIGHTERS, STUDENTS DELIVER ANTI-DWI MESSAGE | timesunion.com

Apr 5, 2011 | No Comments

By: Paul Buckowski
Original Source: timesunion.com

BETHLEHEM -- Firefighters and students gathered Tuesday at Bethlehem High School to simulate a collision between a car and bus, part of an effort to discourage drinking and driving at Saturday's junior prom.

Students played the part of injured passengers.

The event was organized by the school's Students Against Destructive Decisions chapter. Students from SADD and the drama club played the parts of the dead and injured.

Rest of story: timesunion.com

NEW LEADS ON THE CAUSES OF ALCOHOLISM | medicalnewstoday.com

Apr 5, 2011 | No Comments

By: PeiPei Chau
Original Source: medicalnewstoday.com

In order to develop new medications for alcoholism, researchers need to understand how alcohol acts on the brain's reward system. A previously unknown mechanism has been shown to block the rewarding effects of alcohol on the brain, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Rest of story: medicalnewstoday.com

UNDERAGE BINGE DRINKING CAN CREATE LASTING BRAIN CHANGES | sciencedaily.com

Apr 4, 2011 | No Comments

By: Fulton T. Crews
Original Source: sciencedaily.com

Adolescents represent the majority of people who binge drink. This may come as a surprise to some, but recent surveys indicate that episodes of heavy alcohol drinking within the previous two weeks are reported by 12 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, 28 percent of 12th grade seniors and 44 percent of college students.

Rest of story: sciencedaily.com

ADDICTION TO FOOD, DRUGS SIMILAR IN THE BRAIN | cnn.com

Apr 4, 2011 | No Comments

By: Matt McMillen
Original Source: cnn.com

(Health.com) -- Ice cream and other tasty, high-calorie foods would seem to have little in common with cocaine, but in some people's brains they can elicit cravings and trigger responses similar to those caused by addictive drugs, a new study suggests.

Women whose relationship to food resembles dependence or addiction -- those who often lose control and eat more than they'd planned, for example -- appear to anticipate food in much the same way that drug addicts anticipate a fix, according to the study, which used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans.

Rest of story: cnn.com

'RELAPSE,' GRIPPING STORIES OF ADDICTION | medialifemagazine.com

Apr 4, 2011 | No Comments

By: Tom Conroy
Original Source: medialifemagazine.com

Whether from personal experience or through the media, most of us know that one of the greatest sources of frustration for concerned friends and family members of addicts is the addicts' repeated insistence that this time things are going to be different.

A&E's new documentary series "Relapse," as its title suggests, is about substance abusers who have tried and failed to kick drugs or alcohol. Their families have called in "sober coaches" to work with the addicts one on one for a week. Even if the show can't quite convince us that this time rehab will work, the intimate and wrenching looks at the lives of the clients make for worthwhile, compelling TV.

Rest of story: medialifemagazine.com

FROM DRUG ADDICT TO EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR (video) | journalnow.com

Apr 3, 2011 | No Comments

By: Annette Fuller
Original Source: journalnow.com

Lester Davis was on the run, being chased by a couple of pit bulls led by drug-dealing men with baseball bats and guns. Buzzing from a crack-cocaine high and bleeding from a bat smack to his head, he stumbled through the dark.

The men thought Davis snitched on them to police, and they were ready to finish the job.

It was a 17-degree, snowy January night in 2006.

"Thank God for the snow, because the dogs couldn't catch my scent," Davis said.

He threw himself on the ground behind some houses on Jackson Street, covered himself with snow and leaves, and prayed in rock-bottom desperation.

Rest of story: journalnow.com

BAR SCENE GIVES HUNTINGTON BEACH BOTH HEADACHES AND HEARTY REVENUE BOOST | latimes.com

Article from:

Apr 3, 2011

By: Nicole Santa Cruz
Original Source: latimes.com

With a high DUI rate and residents complaining of drunks on the streets, the city has imposed restrictions and employed new police tactics. But the tax money generated by partyers is much needed, city leaders say.

Rest of story: latimes.com

WOMAN FACES TRIAL FOR BABY'S ADDICTION | fredericksburg.com

Apr 2, 2011 | No Comments

By: Keith Epps
Original Source: fredericksburg.com

A woman who is accused of delivering a heroin-addicted baby earlier this year was denied bond yesterday in Stafford Circuit Court.

Krystal Lynn Woodson, 23, gave birth to the boy on Feb. 5. Prosecutor Teresa Polinske said the baby is still in the hospital being treated for his heroin addiction.

Polinske said Woodson used drugs throughout the pregnancy and used heroin and OxyContin after going into labor. It was her ninth pregnancy, Polinske said.

Rest of story: fredericksbrug.com

AC/DC DRUMMER'S DRUG CONVICTION OVERTURNED IN NZ | sun-sentinel.com

Apr 1, 2011 | No Comments

By: Dean Goodman
Original Source: sunsentinel.com

LOS ANGELES--The drummer with rock band AC/DC has had his cannabis conviction quashed by a court in his adopted homeland of New Zealand on the grounds that it would have interfered with his globe-trotting exploits.

Phil Rudd, 56, appeared in Tauranga District Court on Thursday seeking to have his 2010 conviction for possession of 27 grams (0.95 ounces) of marijuana wiped from his record, according to the Bay of Plenty Times.

Rest of Story: sunsentinel.com