March 2012 Archives

By Jennifer Garcia

Chris Klein became an overnight heartthrob after starring in Election and the 1999 breakout hit American Pie.

"It was nothing short of magic," says the actor, of his early stardom - something he quickly learned wouldn't last forever.

Klein slid into a battle with alcoholism that nearly cost him his career - and his life.

"I would have died, and I think about that every single day," the actor, 33, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive new interview.

After two DUI arrests and a jail sentence, the Nebraska-reared actor knew he had to turn his life around. Now nearly 19 months sober, Klein opens about his struggles for the first time.

Continue Reading: people.com

Heavy consumption increases risk up to 50 percent, new review finds

By Kathleen Doheny

Just one alcoholic drink a day can boost a woman's risk of breast cancer by about 5 percent, according to a new review of existing research.

Heavier drinking -- three or more drinks a day -- can increase risk up to 50 percent, according to researchers from Germany, France and Italy.

"Alcohol consumption is causally related with breast cancer," the study authors concluded after reviewing 113 prior studies. They attributed 2 percent of breast cancer cases in Europe and North America to light drinking alone, and about 50,000 cases worldwide to heavy drinking.

The research seems to confirm the expert advice for women to minimize drinking, said study leader Dr. Helmut Seitz, professor of medicine, gastroenterology and alcohol research at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The findings suggest that healthy women at average risk of breast cancer should not consume more than one alcoholic drink a day, the authors said.

"Women at an elevated risk for breast cancer should avoid alcohol or consume alcohol only occasionally," the researchers wrote. Those at increased risk include those with a family history of breast cancer.

The link between alcohol and breast cancer was first suggested in the early 1980s, the authors said. To update the research, they searched for studies published before November 2011. They found more than 3,400 studies in all and narrowed their focus to 113 that examined the effects of light drinking on breast cancer risk.

The review will be published March 29 in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Continue Reading: msn.com

By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA

EL PASO, Texas -- Two men with Army ties - including an active-duty sergeant - sought to work with a Mexican drug cartel in a murder-for-hire scheme in which they would kill rival gang members and recover stolen cocaine for $50,000 and drugs, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Sgt. Samuel Walker, 28, and former Lt. Kevin Corley, 29, believed they were meeting with members of the Zetas drug cartel last weekend in Texas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Instead, they were dealing with undercover federal agents who arrested the men along with another man, Shavar Davis, on Saturday in Laredo. A third suspect, Corley's cousin Jerome Corley, was fatally shot during the arrests.

Kevin Corley also is accused of selling military-grade weapons to the agents and offering to train cartel members.

Walker is stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado, and Kevin Corley was stationed at the post before he was discharged from the Army two weeks ago.

Investigators said the three men, along with Shavar Davis, were meeting Saturday with undercover agents posing as members of the Zetas to discuss details of the murder-for-hire scheme. After agreeing on payment, federal agents moved in. Kevin Corley, Walker and Davis were arrested, while Jerome Corley was shot several times. He died at a local hospital.

Continue Reading: huffingtonpost.com

But others say despite the potential helpfulness of the book, "almost alcoholic" is another term that can create confusion.

"We run the risk of having too many terms -- alcohol abuse, alcohol misuse, risky drinking, unhealthy use, almost alcoholic," said Dr. James Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The experts also weighed in on the variety of treatment options available depending on the severity of a person's problem drinking. As the book recommends, finding social support and talking through the problem can be helpful for almost alcoholics and others who have not yet reached the point of full-blown alcoholism.

"I try to treat the underlying issues like anxiety," said Dr. Edwin Salsitz, an attending physician specializing in chemical dependency at Beth Israel Medical Center. "That is very helpful in stopping the progression of alcoholism, but also in general for helping a person have a better life."

"Individuals with unhealthy alcohol use may benefit from brief advice and counseling," Garbutt said. "Individuals with alcoholism, especially if severe, may need inpatient treatment followed by specialized treatment, including medication."

But before seeking treatment, people need to recognize that almost alcoholism is a problem they may never have realized they had, Silver and Doyle said. That's where the book can have its biggest impact.

Continue Reading: abcnews.com

Bobby Brown has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Authorities pulled over the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston on Monday afternoon at 12:20 PM at the intersection of Victory Blvd. and Wilbur in the Van Nuys/Tarzana, Calif., neighborhood, Access Hollywood has confirmed.

Brown was pulled over for talking on his cell phone, but officers gave him a field sobriety test, according to Officer Mike Harris of the California Highway Patrol.

The New Edition singer allegedly failed the sobriety test and was taken to the Van Nuys jail where he was charged and booked for suspicion of DUI.

Continue Reading: yahoonews.com

Does your breathalyzer...

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    That's because only one breathalyzer does.

Watch The Video

Continue Reading: soberlink.net

By STEVE GRIFFIN

Editors' note: This post follows one on Thursday that discussed alcohol use and regulation in combat zones. Alcohol clearly looms large in the minds of some service members in the wake of the killing of Afghan civilians in the Panjwai district of Kandahar Province and accusations that the man accused in the shootings, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales had been drinking.

It is Sunday, Day 2 of Reintegration -- the Army's program to socialize soldiers back into society after a year's worth of combat. I am sitting in a large auditorium listening to some civilian -- who is probably not a veteran, or at least not a combat veteran -- drone on about substance abuse and how bad it is. It is not the first time I have heard this speech. To my right, a buck sergeant sitting two seats down from me, is passed out in his chair, drooling all over himself. I stand up and walk outside to check on one of my soldiers who is on all fours vomiting in the grass six feet from the front door. I take it that he has decided to be nice and not mess up the toilets for everyone else.

Fast-forward two months. All the canned briefings are over, our 30-day post-deployment leave has passed, and some sort of normalcy has returned to garrison life in the Army. It is a Saturday night, and I am sitting down to a nice dinner with my wife at a local restaurant. As I take my seat, my battalion sergeant major sees me from across the room and runs over to tell me the big news. He asks me if I heard what happened to one of my staff officers, a captain, the night before. I cringe in anticipation as I see the letters slowly roll off his tongue, "D ... U... I."

What is the obvious common denominator here? Alcohol. The powerful, dangerous, yet legal substance, obtainable in so many ways, that contributes to some of the worst disciplinary problems for units returning from combat. Drunken driving, battery, domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide are just some of the more common alcohol-induced episodes that are seen on almost a weekly basis. Yet, so many soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines continue to partake at levels far beyond what is considered normal.

In full disclosure, yes, I drink, and I drank while I was a soldier. The military has a long history of alcohol use, dating back long before my time. Some might say it is part of the tradition, part of the culture, or just part of being a soldier. Serving in our military is a hard way of life, and this perpetual hardship contributes to a "work hard, party hard" mentality that resonates throughout the force at all ranks and echelons.

Continue Reading: nytimes.com

By Maria Puente

Singer Whitney Houston's death last month from accidental drowning from the effects of cocaine use and heart disease throws bright light on a dark corner of the world of celebrities who wrestle with substance abuse.

The toll of celebrity addiction -- to street drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol or a mix -- is long and mournful, and seems particularly heavy right now thanks to the deaths of Houston, 48, and Amy Winehouse, 27 .

And not just them: In recent years, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith have succumbed to overdoses; going back further, the list includes John Belushi, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Judy Garland.

Americans these days can't escape the steady stream of news about celebrities and their controlled substances. Take Lindsay Lohan, 25. After years of erratic behavior, multiple arrests and five stints in rehab, Lohan says she's finally cleaned up her act. She promises to stay away from drugs and alcohol , and even completed her comeback gig hosting Saturday Night Live March 3 (the ratings were good but the reviews were mixed).

Recent weeks also brought news that Scottish actor Gerard Butler (300), 42, and comedian Artie Lange,44 , both successfully completed rehab for addiction and are back working. But actress Demi Moore, 49, who was hospitalized after smoking something that gave her convulsions , sought "professional assistance" for her problem. And Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin, star of CBS's Hawaii Five-0, has announced he would take time off to get "supervised treatment" for pain drugs prescribed after a recent shoulder injury.

This sort of thing is not uncommon in Hollywood: Actress Tatum O'Neal, 48, who comes from a family of addicts and has long battled to overcome substance abuse, also is in "supervised treatment" to prevent a recurrence of addiction, to painkillers recently prescribed for back surgery. "She will always seek supervision when taking prescription medication that has addictive potential," according to a statement issued by her manager, Angela Cheng Caplan.

But it's fair to ask: Is there a fatal attraction between celebs and controlled substances? Why do some survive and some die? How do you step away from addiction when the spotlight is always on?

"It's that caustic mix of sudden celebrity and being strung out and it being condoned by the people around you," says Duff McKagan, 48, the original bass player for rock band Guns N' Roses and a longtime drug and alcohol addict who had to nearly die from an exploding pancreas in 1994 at age 30 before he was motivated to get help. His mother weeping in her wheelchair over her youngest child, and his eventual discovery of the physical and spiritual strengths of martial arts also helped, he says.

Continue Reading: usatoday.com

Study suggests feeling close to a teacher may make a difference for kids

The connections youth have with their teachers may help prevent kids from experimenting with alcohol and drugs at an early age, a new study suggests.

The researchers found that students in middle school who felt more emotional support from teachers had a lower risk of early alcohol and illicit drug use. The students defined teacher support as feeling close to a teacher or being able to discuss problems with a teacher.

"Our results were surprising," Carolyn McCarty, of Seattle Children's Research Institute, said in an institute news release. "We have known that middle school teachers are important in the lives of young people, but this is the first data-driven study which shows that teacher support is associated with lower levels of early alcohol use."

Parental ties also mattered, according to the study. The researchers explained that youth who are close to or who have separation anxiety from their parents may be less susceptible to negative peer influences, including experimentation with risky behavior such as alcohol use.

"Teens in general seek new sensations or experiences and they take more risks when they are with peers," said McCarty, who is also a research associate professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. "Youth with separation-anxiety symptoms may be protected by virtue of their intense connection to their parents, making them less likely to be in settings where substance-use initiation is possible."

The study also found that middle school students who began using alcohol and illicit drugs before sixth grade had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, which suggests that depression may be a consequence of very early use of alcohol or drugs. It also may indicate that depression is a risk factor for alcohol and drug use before middle school, the researchers said.

The findings from the study of 521 youth in Seattle public schools appears online in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

Continue Reading: usnews.com

By IAN LOVETT

LOS ANGELES -- The singer Whitney Houston, who was found dead in her hotel room on the eve of the Grammy Awards last month, accidentally drowned in a bathtub, the Los Angeles County coroner said on Thursday. Cocaine and heart disease also played a role in her death, the coroner said.

Ms. Houston, 48, was found submerged in a bathtub in her suite at the Beverly Hilton hotel on Feb. 11 and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The coroner's announcement ends a month of speculation over the cause of Ms. Houston's sudden death. She had publicly battled drug and alcohol abuse for years, leading many people to suspect that drug use had led to her death.

The autopsy revealed that a host of prescription and illegal drugs were in her system when she died -- cocaine and marijuana; Xanax, which is usually prescribed for anxiety; Flexeril, a muscle relaxant; and Benadryl, an over-the-counter antihistamine.

The cocaine contributed to her death, according to the coroner's announcement, which did not provide further details. Atherosclerotic heart disease was also listed as a contributing factor. No trauma or foul play is suspected, and the full coroner's report is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

Continue Reading: nytimes.com

By Whit Johnson

(CBS News) A teenager whose camera was rolling as her two friends died in a drunk driving crash wants other young people to see and hear the video. She was inside the car when she took the video and is the sole survivor.

The video first aired on CBS Washington, D.C. affiliate WUSA.

The video shows three young women - one drunk behind the wheel - headed home from a Maryland nightclub on December 29th, 2011.

The video of the crash captures one of the women in the car saying, "We're driving drunk."

The video also captured the crash and desperate rescue attempts.

The 22-year-old driver and 19-year-old passenger were both killed. Desaleen James, 18, who videotaped the entire night, survived, suffering a broken hip. She was buckled up in the front passenger seat.

In the video, a voice can be heard saying, "My friend. My friend just crashed. My friend just crashed."

"She's not moving," a voice said. "She looks dead. Oh my God. She looks dead."

Continue Reading: cbsnews.com

By Dan Rys, New York

Jerry Cantrell, guitarist and singer from grunge metal band Alice in Chains, will be honored at the MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert along with Sony/ATV Music Publishing's Neil Lasher.

Cantrell, whose Alice In Chains bandmate Layne Staley died of a heroin overdose in 2002, will receive the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his support of the MAP Fund and support and help for artists fighting addiction and recovery. Lasher, a certified interventionist, will receive the From The Heart Award for friendship to the organization and dedication to its mission.

MusiCares is an organization established by the Recording Academy in 1989 that aims to help musicians and artists who require financial assistance for living or medical expenses. The MAP Fund is centered on giving artists and musicians access to rehab and recovery centers for drug and alcohol abuse by holding weekly addiction support groups, funding a sober tutoring network, and raising money through benefit concerts and events. During this year's Grammy Week, MusiCares honored Paul McCartney as its 2012 Person of the Year.

This year's event, which will be held May 31 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, will be hosted by Steve-O and will feature a performance by Alice in Chains and a DJ set by Moby, with more artists scheduled to be announced at a later date. General admission seats start at $55, and all ticketing packages will go on sale starting at 10 am PT March 23 via Ticketmaster.

Continue Reading: billboard.biz

Grammy-winning R&B crooner El DeBarge was arrested in Encino on suspicion of drug possession with intent to sell, LAPD officials told our sister blog L.A. Now on Wednesday.

According to reports, undercover narcotics officers were conducting an investigation near the 101 Freeway on Monday when they spotted the singer and another male acting suspiciously. Officers recovered narcotics from an area where DeBarge had been, and the singer was booked on suspicion of possession of drugs for sale.

The arrest is a major blow to DeBarge, who had tried desperately to clean up his act. In the last year and a half he had showed the true power of public redemption with a high-profile comeback -- 2010's Grammy-nominated, "Second Chance," his first album in nearly two decades.
Once the lead singer of the popular '80s Motown family group DeBarge, he transitioned that early success into a solo career. But it became an afterthought when addiction -- which he has battled for more than two decades and has also plagued a number of his siblings -- and a laundry lists of legal troubles, including arrests on cocaine possession and domestic violence charges, crippled a once-thriving career.

His dependence on heroin and crack ultimately landed him in prison, where he spent 13 months before his release in 2009. But the new album gave him a renewed outlook on life.

"Second Chance," DeBarge's first release on new label home Geffen, boasted production from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Babyface, and collaborations with Faith Evans, 50 Cent and Fabolous. It was nominated for R&B album at this year's Grammys, but was bested by Chris Brown.

It appeared the singer had slipped back into old habits shortly after the album's release. Last year he dropped out of a tour with KEM and Lesidi to enter rehab to deal with substance abuse issues. "I hate to disappoint my fans, but it is necessary for me to take the time to work on me so that I may continue to share my music and my story with everyone," DeBarge said in a statement after that cancellation.

Continue Reading: latimes.com

'Jersey Shore' star The Situation has reportedly checked into a facility for 'rest and recuperation.'

News comes a day after MTV announced sixth season of 'Jersey Shore'

By Nancy Dillon AND Rheana Murray

Mike (The Situation) Sorrentino has added rest -- not rehab -- to his gym/ tan/ laundry routine, his representative said Tuesday.

"The word 'rehab' is incorrect," the spokeswoman for the "Jersey Shore" star told the Daily News after TMZ reported Sorrentino had checked into an inpatient program for substance abuse.

"He has spent the past several weeks at an undisclosed location for much needed rest and recuperation after his extensive production and appearance schedule," the spokeswoman said.

Sorrentino, the guido-glorifying star of the show's five seasons on MTV, also seemed to address the rehab rumor on Twitter.

"Don't believe everything you read or hear," he tweeted late Tuesday.

"Getting in amazing shape for season 6!" he posted earlier in the day.

MTV recently announced the popular show would return for a sixth season, bringing the gang back together for filming in Seaside Heights, N.J.

The announcement came hot on the heels of news that his pint-sized co-star, Snooki, is pregnant


Continue Reading: nydailynews.com

Resident look on after six men were shot dead in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, on Monday. While four of the dead were suspected drug gang members, a fifth worked at a nearby car dealership and a sixth was offering to clean the windows of passing cars, according to local media. The graffiti on the wall reads "Cartels united."

By msnbc.com and news services

A car bomb exploded outside the offices of a newspaper in the capital of Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas on Monday night, according to the state government, the latest in a spate of violent incidents to rock the country.

Earlier on Monday, six men were shot dead in Monterrey, in the neighboring state of Nuevo Leon. Four were suspected drug gang members and two innocent bystanders, Reuters reported, quoting local media.

On Sunday, 12 police were killed in a mountain highway ambush hours after the severed heads of 10 people were dumped in a small town in a key illegal-drug-growing region in the southern state of Guerrero. Armed assailants opened fire on a police convoy, killing the dozen officers and wounding 11 more, said Arturo Martinez, spokesman for the state government, according to Reuters.

The ambush took place on a rural highway near the town of Teloloapan, located between the beach resort of Acapulco and Mexico City. Earlier Sunday, the severed heads of 10 people were lined along a street outside a slaughterhouse in the center of Teloloapan.

Continue Reading: msnbc.com

By: Scott Meslow

Television drunks were once mined for laughs; now characters like Don Draper and Tommy Gavin make us feel compassion for them in their struggles with drinking.

Television saw the comedy in drunkenness long before it saw the tragedy. From Shakespeare's Falstaff to Mark Twain's Pap Finn, the "town drunk" has been a source of amuse, ridicule, and scorn for centuries--and the small screen was once no different. Television's greatest early example is The Andy Griffith Show's Otis Campbell--a man described by Barney Fife as "smashed, buzzed, tiddly, gassed, off the wagon and back on the sauce, or just plain drunk." Otis' drunkenness was the one-note source of a thousand jokes over the series' 249-episode, seven-year run, until its finale in 1967.

But as The Andy Griffith Show was ending, public perception of alcoholism was beginning to change. In 1973, Alcoholics Anonymous referred to alcoholism as a "disease" in its official literature for the first time. The American Psychiatric Association followed suit in 1980, dividing what was formerly called "alcoholism" into two categories: alcohol abuse ("repeated use despite recurrent adverse consequences") and alcohol dependence (alcohol abuse "combined with tolerance, withdrawal, and an uncontrollable drive to drink"). As the American public got used to the idea that alcoholism was an actual disease, alcoholics gained widespread sympathy and support. Cultural attitudes about alcohol abuse had changed enough that by the release of 1986's TV movie sequel to The Andy Griffith Show, Return to Mayberry, Otis had sobered up and taken a steady job as town's ice cream man.

America's internal conflict about alcohol use is best summed up, appropriately enough, by Homer Simpson, who once called beer "the cause of--and solution to--all of life's problems." As both doctors and the American public as a whole have begun to take alcoholism more seriously, TV has walked an uneasy line, alternately playing up the comedy of alcohol use and the tragedy of alcohol abuse. Critiques continue today; in a 2010 article for the New York Times, critic Alessandra Stanley argued that "television has a drinking problem," saying that contemporary depictions of alcohol use on TV create "a conflicted, all-or-nothing portrait that isn't realistic" but is rather an example of "the American love-hate relationship with liquor--all or Prohibition."

Continue Reading: theatlantic.com

By Mark McDonald

HONG KONG -- Nearly every combat outpost in Afghanistan is automatically part of a volatile mix: a hardened enemy, increasingly sophisticated and deadly land mines, nervous young soldiers, powerful weapons and machinery, suicide bombers, the stress of multiple deployments, searing heat, unfriendly locals, unfamiliar languages.

The U.S. Army has concluded that adding alcohol to that mix is unwise.

But now, with the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, alcohol has been suggested as a possible causal factor in the killings, along with other stressors. Inquiries into the tragedy are ongoing; the facts remain unclear.

The banning of alcohol in war zones became an issue when the United States military entered combat situations in Muslim countries that frown on drinking, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. (Still, alcohol was easy to get in the Green Zone in Baghdad, for example, or in the more tolerant Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.)

The military's General Order No. 1 prohibits the possession or consumption of alcohol in five countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. When I embedded with U.S. Army cavalry units operating out of Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan, alcohol was banned for the American soldiers there. Consequently, the pile of empty cans of nonalcoholic beer at the base was routinely the size of a couple of Abrams tanks.

Still, alcohol finds its way onto bases and outposts, either passed from soldiers from other countries, smuggled in from local markets or delivered in care packages from home. Sometimes the alcohol is disguised as mouthwash -- usually gin or vodka doctored with blue-green food coloring.

The military has identified the alleged killer in Afghanistan as Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a 38-year-old father of two who had been wounded twice in combat over the course of four deployments. My colleague James Dao reports that a senior government official said Sergeant Bales had been drinking alcohol before the killings.

"When it all comes out, it will be a combination of stress, alcohol and domestic issues -- he just snapped," the official said.

Sergeant Bales's attorney has disputed those assertions, telling reporters that the sergeant's marriage was sound, and he questioned the reports about drinking.

Continue Reading: nytimes.com

By: The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- The first study to look at methamphetamine's potential lasting effects on children whose mothers used it in pregnancy finds these kids at higher risk for behavior problems than other children.

The behavior differences -- anxiety, depression, moodiness -- weren't huge, but lead researcher Linda LaGasse called them "very worrisome."

Methamphetamine is a stimulant like crack cocaine, and earlier research showed meth babies have similarities to so-called "crack babies" -- smaller in size and prone to drowsiness and stress. Results in long-term studies conflict on whether children of cocaine-using mothers have lasting behavior problems.

Whether problems persist in young children of meth users is unknown. But LaGasse, who does research at Brown University's Center of the Study of Children at Risk, said methamphetamine has stronger effects on the brain so it may be more likely to cause lasting effects in children.

The study was published online Monday in Pediatrics. The National Institutes of Health paid for the research, including a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Government data suggest more than 10 million Americans have used meth; fewer than 1 percent of pregnant women are users.

Continue Reading: washingtonpost.com

Written By Jennifer Welsh

After a night of heavy partying, you might need a few clues to piece together your night. New research suggests that some people are more susceptible than others to blackouts and memory loss after tossing a few back.

The differences between the two "party types" are visible in their brains, with those prone to blackouts showing different responses in brain areas involved in memory and attention processes after ingesting just a slight amount of alcohol, compared with people who don't blackout.

"It could be that their brains are just wired differently. Or it could be underlying things going on, like differences in dopamine levels," study researcher Reagan Wetherill, Ph.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, told LiveScience. "Some people are made differently and are able to handle things such as alcohol and others just aren't."

Forgetful Mr. Drinksalot

The researchers are studying what's technically called an "alcohol-induced fragmentary blackout" -- what some might call a brownout -- a time when memories get spotty due to alcohol drinking.

"The fragmentary blackout is basically partial memory loss after a drinking episode. You can remember bits and pieces of things, once you are given clues," Wetherill said. "You are conscious and participating in these complex behaviors, but the brain isn't necessarily online, taking in the information and remembering what's going on."

These blackouts can have negative consequences, like not remembering risky sex or driving while intoxicated and not remembering it. They aren't studying full-on blackouts, but those would be a logical extension of this work: The more alcohol, the more complete the blackout, Wetherill said.


Continue Reading: foxnews.com

Written by Kate McGinty

Strapped for cash? Maybe you should start reporting drunken drivers.

State Sen. Robert Calderon, a Montebello Democrat, has proposed legislation that would give tipsters $100 if they report a drunken driver who is convicted.

And for a little poetic justice: Calderon would have the court order the drunken driver to pay the reward.

"By engaging civilians to report drunk drivers, this bill would directly and immediately lower the number of roadway deaths," Calderon said about the bill. "Killing or injuring someone as a result of drunk driving is a horrendous crime that can easily be avoided. This bill is one step closer to ensuring that our roads and highways are safe from drunk drivers."

In 2010, 791 people were killed in DUI crashes on state roadways, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Less drinking, less crime

Speaking of drinking, it's decreased alcohol consumption -- and not tougher sentencing policies -- that have led to a drop in crime nationwide, a new study concluded.

In fact, the state's three-strikes law has contributed significantly to the state's financial woes because more people spend time in prison, says Robert Nash Parker, a sociologist and director of the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies at University of California, Riverside.

Continue Reading: desertsun.com

Physical, sexual, emotional abuse reported by many people in detox

(HealthDay News) -- A history of childhood trauma is common among people undergoing treatment for alcoholism and may be a factor in the development of the disorder, a new study indicates.

Childhood trauma can include sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well physical or emotional neglect, according to the study published online and in the June print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The study included 196 men and women undergoing inpatient detoxification and treatment for alcohol dependence.

Among the findings:

    • Patients being treated for alcoholism were likely to have experienced one or more types of childhood abuse or neglect.
    • Sexual abuse was associated with an increased likelihood of anxiety disorders in addition to alcoholism, while emotional abuse was associated with an increased likelihood of depression.
    • Alcoholics who experienced childhood physical abuse may be more likely to have a history of suicide attempts.
    • Alcoholics who experienced more than one type of abuse or neglect are especially at risk for developing a psychiatric disorder or for attempting suicide.

Previous studies have found that alcoholics have higher self-reported rates of physical and sexual abuse in childhood than people in the general population, Markus Heilig, clinical director at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a journal news release.

"A recent national survey estimated rates of 8.4 percent for physical abuse and 6 percent for sexual abuse in the general population," Heilig said.

"Among alcoholic patients, rates for physical abuse were reported at 24 percent and 33 percent for men and women, respectively, while rates for sexual abuse were reported at 12 percent and 49 percent for men and women, respectively," he added. "Importantly, 5 percent of men and 23 percent of women experienced both types of abuse, physical and sexual, suggesting that co-occurrence of different abuse types may be important as well."

Continue Reading: health.usnews.com

By: Josh Sanburn

So say the latest reports about a "crime wave" sweeping the nation. According to multiple news sources, theft of Tide Detergent is soaring across the country, forcing retailers like CVS to consider placing alarms on each bottle as cities establish special task forces to put a halt to the thefts.

The popular detergent has apparently become a kind of currency on the black market. Tide, which sells for about $12 for a 100-oz. bottle and around $18 for 150 oz., reportedly goes for about half that on the streets. Some thieves have resold stolen bottles to stores, and the detergent has supposedly even been showing up in the homes of busted drug dealers.

One law enforcement official in Maryland told The Daily: "We sent in an informant to buy drugs. The dealer said, 'I don't have drugs, but I could sell you 15 bottles of Tide.' ... Upstairs in the drug dealer's bedroom was about 14 bottles of Tide laundry soap. We think [users] are trading it for drugs."

Another policeman in Oregon said that Tide thieves buy heroin and meth with it.  In one drug raid, more Tide than cocaine was found, and one man reportedly stole $25,000 of the detergent over a 15-month period before he was finally busted.

The detergent is described as "liquid gold" by the authorities who are pursuing the thieves, which has so far proved difficult. "There's no serial numbers and it's impossible to track," a Kentucky police officer told The Daily. "It's the item to steal."

And those thieves are brazen. Some simply walk into a supermarket, fill up their carts and then dart toward a getaway vehicle outside. In one incident, a security video showed a man who had made off with a cart full of Tide reselling the detergent hours later.


Continue Reading: time.com

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Luis Alberto is only 14 but has the wizened gaze of a grown-up hardened by life. He never met his father, worked as a child, was hired by a gang to sell drugs and then got addicted to them.

In October he checked into Cirad, a rehab center west of this border city that handles about 500 drug addicts at a time, a fifth of them younger than 17.

"They brought me here because I was using and selling 'criloco,'" Luis Alberto said, referring to methamphetamine, the drug of choice for 90 percent of adolescents in detox because of its low cost and easy availability.

Luis Alberto is just one of an increasing number of young people being used as "mules" to ferry drugs across the border into the U.S. or sell them in nearby Mexican towns, said Victor Clark, an anthropologist who studies drug trafficking.

"Minors are cheap labor and expendable for organized crime in an area where there are few job opportunities or places for recreation, and where the distribution and consumption of drugs have grown fast," Clark said.

Mexican authorities say they are aware of the problem, but there are no official figures on the number of adolescents detained for selling or distributing drugs because the law forbids keeping criminal records for minors.

Continue Reading: washingtonpost.com

By Gregg Zoroya

Despite high rates of alcohol abuse, the Army has delayed for nearly three years a plan to offer all soldiers access to confidential counseling for drinking problems, a move that leaders in alcohol abuse treatment say is a mistake.

The Army began a pilot program in 2009 for confidential treatment, but it continues debating what to do next because of a high dropout rate.

One in four GIs now have a drinking problem, and alcohol has been linked to record numbers of suicides, sexual assaults and domestic abuse cases, Army research shows. In addition, alcohol has become a form of self-medication for soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, studies say.

More than 95,000 troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan last year, including 63,000 soldiers, admitted during health screenings months after coming home that they may have a problem with alcohol, according to Pentagon data.

Many refuse to seek counseling for alcohol abuse because military policy requires that their commanders be notified, says Col. John Stasinos, addiction consultant to the Army Surgeon General.

Confidential counseling for alcoholism has for decades been a routine part of civilian employee-assistance programs. Without confidentiality, those who abuse alcohol delay seeking help until the problem becomes more serious, says H. Westley Clark, head of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Continue Reading: usatoday.com

Treating heroin addiction with more heroin may be cheaper than methadone

By Maia Szalavitz

What's the best way to treat the most serious heroin addiction? Giving addicts therapeutic doses of heroin itself may be cheaper and more effective than methadone, according to a new Canadian study.

Researchers divided a group of heroin addicts in two Canadian cities who had repeatedly not been helped by conventional treatment, into two therapy groups. One was provided heroin plus intensive social and medical support while the other received an equally enhanced methadone program as part of the clinical trial.

The new analysis showed that even though heroin treatment can be as much as ten times more expensive than methadone, lifetime social costs related to chronic addiction were cut by an average of $40,000 Canadian for each of these previously untreatable heroin patients. The research also suggested that addicted people given heroin under medical supervision would live a year longer on average than those in methadone treatment.

The differences are mainly due to the fact that heroin therapy tends to keep patients in treatment for much longer periods of time. This leads to larger drops in drug use and crime, and improved health. The new analysis extrapolated lifetime costs for both types of treatment based on the clinical trial results and earlier research on the costs of repeat treatment sessions when patients relapsed.

"We found that a treatment strategy featuring [heroin] may be more effective and less costly than methadone maintenance among people with chronic opioid dependence refractory to treatment," the authors conclude, "Our model indicates that [heroin] would decrease societal costs, largely by reducing costs associated with crime and would increase both the duration and quality of life of treatment recipients."

Continue Reading: time.com

By Karin Halperin

Parents already panicky about the amount of time their teenage children spend online may now have something new to worry about: All those hours spent Web surfing, chatting, gaming, texting and posting to Facebook could be a warning sign of substance abuse, according to a new study in the March issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Greek researchers found that teenagers with "pathologic" Internet use were more likely to admit to drug abuse, and as excessive Internet use  increased, so did the likelihood of substance abuse. The study also linked substance abuse and excessive Internet use to such personality traits as nonconformity, aggressiveness, recklessness and impulsiveness.

"Not only did we find that specific personality attributes were important in both substance abuse and Internet addiction, but that Internet addiction remained an important predictor of substance abuse," study co-author Georgios Floros, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, said in an email to ABCNews.com.

Floros and colleagues surveyed 1,271 students between the ages of 14 and 19 on the Aegean island of Kos about their Internet use, substance use and personality. To determine who was "Internet addicted," the researchers administered  a 20-question "Internet addiction test" that asked how often the students  stayed online longer than they'd intended, how often their grades or studies slipped because of the amount of line spent online, how often they'd "yell, snap or act annoyed" if someone bothered them while they were online.

When they compared the mean values of "illicit substance abuse" among the teenage participants, the researchers  found that those who reported substance abuse  had "significantly" higher mean scores on the Internet addiction test, and that those scores were important predictors for substance use, either past or present.

Continue Reading: abcnews.com

By Douglas Stanglin

Four Amish youth have been arrested on alcohol-possession charges in western New York state after a sheriff's patrol car hit a buggy while responding to a report of underage drinking, The Buffalo News reports.

Chautauqua County deputies say several containers of alcoholic beverages were found in two buggies, including the one that flipped. A passenger in the buggy suffered minor injuries.

Deputies say other buggies fled the scene, The News reports.

The buggy was hit after two of the vehicles switched lanes as the patrol car approached, the Erie Times-News reports.

The 20-year-old driver of the overturned buggy was charged with unlawfully dealing with a child. Deputies say he had allegedly been hosting the illegal drinking party, the Times-News says.

Continue Reading: usatoday.com

By STEPHEN DIBENEDETTO

Galesburg's high school and middle schools are taking creative, varying approaches to tackle and treat social and emotional issues like bullying and alcohol use that have plagued teenagers for decades.

Churchill Junior High, Lombard Middle School and Galesburg High School have all used programs, incentives and curriculum in the past decade to combat the effects of peer pressure and misinformation about behaviors, like substance abuse and teen sex.

"A lot of times information is coming from other kids and that's dangerous," said Bart Arthur, principal at Churchill Junior High. "The more we can inform them, the better we can do with instruction, the better they can do as far as decision-making, we hope."

Students and parents can witness the schools' creative approaches on center stage March 15. The performance "STAND UP! Change Teen Statistics" will be put on for Churchill and Lombard students.

Supported by the Chicago-based R.Ed.I Foundation, the production is a series of sketches that address teen issues, like bullying, depression and alcohol use, in a creative way. The play is performed by teens for teens, and the sketches are inspired by real-life interviews from teens across the Midwest who have grappled with those emotional issues.

"It's done in their language, and it's done in their music," said Kimberly Farah, the foundation's executive director. "We are doing the exact same thing as any speech is saying, but we are just doing it in a format that they can relate to and get excited about."

The creative approach to informing teens about the hazards of certain actions is a deviation for teens, who often times are lectured by authority figures about the dangers of various behaviors. But Churchill and Lombard don't simply rely on outside groups to spread information about bullying, drug use and teen sex.

Continue Reading: galesburg.com

By: BILL ROSENBERGER

CHARLESTON -- A late-evening compromise between members of the House and Senate and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and his staff saved the substance abuse bill.

The bill is described as among the most comprehensive substance abuse legislation passed by legislators. But it was hung up on the medicine used in production of methamphetamine.

House members were adamant to include an annual cap on the amount of decongestant medicine containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine that could be purchased. The Senate version only included a daily and monthly cap.

But no one wanted to see the bill, which includes so many other substance abuse components, die on the final night of the session.

"We potentially could have lost the entire bill," said Del. Don Perdue, D-Wayne, who was instrumental in getting the legislation completed Saturday night. "There's a lot of really good things, probably 85 percent that doesn't deal with pseudoephedrine."

The agreed-upon version puts in place a 48-gram annual limit while also decreasing the current legal limit per month, from 9 grams to 7.2 grams.

Perdue said deliberations between the governor's staff and members of the Senate and House also netted an additional $2.5 million for substance abuse programs, brining the governor's budgetary total to $7.5 million.

The Senate version, which passed unanimously on crossover day, had 7.5 grams, while the House Health and Human Resources Committee -- chaired by Perdue -- wanted 3.6. That was nixed by the House Judiciary Committee, along with amendments to include a Division of Motor Vehicle check for purchasers and allowing the local sheriff's offices greater access to the prescription monitoring system.

Continue Reading: heralddispatch.com

(HealthDay News) -- The hallucinogenic drug LSD may help treat alcoholism, new research suggests.

A number of studies examining the use of LSD to treat a variety of disorders, including alcoholism, were conducted in the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

In a new analysis, Norwegian researchers examined six studies of LSD and alcoholism that were conducted in the United States and Canada between 1966 and 1970.

The analysis of data from the 536 patients in the studies showed that a single dose of LSD helped heavy alcoholics quit and reduced their risk of resuming drinking, according to the meta-analysis appearing online March 8 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Patients who received a full dose of the controversial drug did the best. On average, 59 percent of those patients showed a clear improvement, compared with 38 percent of patients in other groups, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology researchers said.

The beneficial effect of LSD was greatest during the first few months of treatment, but the effect gradually decreased over time.
 
Continue Reading: philly.com

There are times, Demi Lovato admits in a revealing MTV documentary, when she doesn't think she's going to beat her addictions.

"There's days where you're going to struggle," she says in "Demi Lovato: Stay Strong," airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. "I cannot tell you that I have not thrown up since treatment. I cannot tell you I've not cut myself since treatment. I'm not perfect. This is a daily battle that I will face for the rest of my life."

Any doubt that Lovato's MTV special would be just another piece of celebrity fluff should be gone after that moment, which happens early in the program.

Lovato is a Texas-born teen who's superstardom rocket ride launched with a starring role in Disney Channel's film "Camp Rock" alongside the Jonas Brothers.

The part earned her legions of fans and more work. But the craziness also masked her struggles with body image and depression. She turned to drugs and cutting herself.

She says she was "maybe, possibly, out of control" and that her underlying issues "literally ended up driving me insane."

In October 2010, after an altercation with a dancer while on tour with the Jonas Brothers, Lovato's parents confronted her in an intervention. She agreed to seek help and entered a treatment facility.

The documentary picks up last fall as Lovato is launching a concert tour and heading home for Thanksgiving.

As a young girl, she says, she struggled with how she looked. She also battled depression early on and says there was never a time whe she felt "good enough or worthy enough."

Continue Reading: nydailynews.com

The actress Kristen Johnston, author of a memoir about her addiction, in her West Village apartment, with Pinky.

By MEGAN ANGELO

IT is hard to steal a show from Kristen Johnston. On a recent Wednesday night, at the Triad Theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a crowd howled as she posed and mugged, barefoot, reading from an old magazine diary written by the model Cindy Crawford. Ten minutes later, the same crowd was utterly still as Dillon Eaton, a 21-year-old from Boston, spoke haltingly about the recovery high school he credited with saving his life. The applause he received afterward made it clear -- he had won the night.

Yes, it is hard to steal a show from Ms. Johnston, who hugged him fiercely as he came off the stage, unless she plans it that way. And she had.

She had planned the whole event, wrangling America Ferrera, Andy Cohen and Bobby Cannavale for dramatic readings of celebrity autobiographies, distributing plaques and emceeing auctions. The night was a benefit for SLAM (Sobriety, Learning and Motivation), an organization aimed at starting New York's first addiction-recovery high school. The Broadway and television actress Ms. Johnston ( "The Exes," "Third Rock From the Sun" and "The Women," on Broadway), is the organization's founder and executive director.

"Wasn't that a fun night?" she asked, weeks later, in her colorful West Village apartment. "It was so joyful." It was, because she had calibrated it that way, not just in the interest of entertaining an audience but also to put a star-studded face on an unpopular cause.

Joe Schrank, founder of TheFix.com and Williamsburg's sober living facility Loft 107, is a longtime friend of Ms. Johnston's. "I've been part of recovery culture for most of my life," he said. "It's dreary. It's church basements and stale cookies. For her to pull together celebrities and flashing cameras -- we don't have events like that. It made me feel like, maybe we're on our way."

Continue Reading: nytimes.com

A general says as planes and ships have been diverted to operations around the world, the number of Latin America-U.S. drug interdictions has fallen.

By Brian Bennett, Los Angeles Times

Despite intensified counter-narcotics efforts over the last five years, the military's ability to stop drug smuggling into the U.S. from Latin America has declined as planes and ships have been diverted to combat operations around the globe, according to a senior military officer.

As a result, the Navy and Coast Guard are stopping one of three suspected seaborne drug shipments headed to American shores, Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, told reporters Wednesday.

The Navy has four frigates on patrol in the Caribbean and along the Pacific coast of Central America -- one more than usual -- as the U.S. works with regional allies in an anti-drug operation aimed at pushing smugglers further offshore.

But other military craft used to track or interdict drug shipments have been diverted to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the NATO-led air campaign last year in Libya, the coast of Somalia to hunt pirates and the Persian Gulf to beef up the Navy's presence as tensions build with Iran.

"It's really the capacity to intercept that we are really lacking," Fraser said.

The military has spent $6.1 billion since 2005 to help detect drug payloads heading to the U.S., as well as on surveillance and other intelligence operations, according to a report last year by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Continue Reading: latimes.com

Photo: An investigator examines the car in which Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two companions were killed by a drunk driver in April 2009. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

By Jerry Hirsch

Drunk drivers receiving their first conviction were less likely to repeat the crime if they were forced to have alcohol interlock devices on their vehicles, according to an insurance industry study.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studied driver records for people with convictions related to alcohol-impaired driving in Washington. When the state expanded its interlock requirement to everyone convicted of driving under the influence eight years ago, the rate of repeat offenders fell by 12%, the study found.

Previously, Washington required the device, which a driver must blow into before starting the vehicle, for repeat offenders, drivers caught with high blood alcohol levels and those who refused an alcohol test.

"Drivers with previous impaired-driving convictions are overrepresented in alcohol-related fatal crashes, so deterring people from reoffending is a good first step to reduce the death toll," said Anne McCartt, the institute's senior vice president for research and the study's main author. "As this study shows, the more offenders are covered by an interlock law, the better it works."

The institute is supporting federal legislation that would push states to require interlocks as a result of all impaired-driving convictions, by linking receipt of federal highway funds to such action. Opponents say the device should only be used for repeat offenders and people with alcohol levels almost double the legal limit.

Washington is one of 15 states that require everyone convicted of drunk driving to install an interlock for some period of time if they want to drive, the insurance group said. Twenty-two other states require the device for repeat offenders and those with high blood alcohol levels.

Continue Reading: latimes.com

The streets of Whiteclay, Neb., just across the state border from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, often include groups of people in various states of inebriation.

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

WHITECLAY, Neb. -- Four rickety metal shacks that line the main road in this town of maybe 10 people sell an average of 13,000 cans of beer and malt liquor a day. The nearest sizable city is two hours north. But just 240 yards north -- across the state line in South Dakota -- is the sprawling Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol has been banned since the 1970s.

Nearly all the alcohol bought in Whiteclay winds up on Pine Ridge or is consumed by its residents, tribal officials say. Pine Ridge is home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and is one of the poorest places in the country, according to 2010 census data.

In February, the Oglala Sioux filed a federal lawsuit against the stores, and Anheuser-Busch and several other large American brewing companies, accusing them of encouraging the illegal purchase, possession, transport and consumption of alcohol on the reservation. Fetal alcohol syndrome, fatal drunken driving accidents and beer-fueled murders have cast a pall over Pine Ridge for decades.

After the lawsuit was filed, Whiteclay's two-lane road, Highway 87, bustled with traffic driving to and from the beer stores. Dozens of people in various states of inebriation wandered along the road. Other men and women were passed out in front of abandoned buildings. A Hank Williams Jr. 45, "I'd Rather Be Gone," was among the detritus along the road, as well as empty liquor bottles, a copy of "Tabernacle Hymns No. 3," soiled clothing and a dead puppy.

Continue Reading: newyorktimes.com

Photo: Members of the armed forces have drinks and cigars at a bar together after returning to Fort Hood, Texas, from Iraq in December.

By: Nathan Hodge

NORFOLK, Va.--The Navy and Marines said Monday they plan to introduce random breath tests of personnel on duty as part of a broader health-and-safety push, a move officials concede will be a tough sell with weary troops after a decade of war.

The U.S. military already randomly tests members of all branches for illegal drug use. But resorting to breath tests--which detect blood alcohol levels from a breath sample--represents a first for military personnel.

Some Navy crew members, for instance, will have to take a breath test when reporting aboard a ship for duty and other sailors will be subjected to random inspections.

Officials described the alcohol-testing program as an "inspection and prevention" tool to identify sailors or Marines who may need counseling or treatment. Service members who test positive for alcohol won't be allowed to go on duty, but won't be penalized with a permanent record of the result. The Army and the Air Force don't have policies on breath tests.

The program is part of a larger series of personnel policies that the Navy and Marine Corps are promoting to discourage substance abuse and promote fitness--and to keep sailors, Marines and their families ready for deployment.

Among other things, the program will promote safe driving and motorcycle safety. As part of a push to cut down on tobacco use, which contributes to rising military health-care costs, the Navy and Marines will end discounts on cigarettes at base stores. Tobacco use among service members is higher than in the general population.

Continue Reading: wsj.com

The Costa Concordia and other cruise ships owned by the same company were hotbeds of sexual harassment, drinking and drug abuse, former crew members have claimed.

Two female ex-crew members have reportedly told Italian prosecutors leading the investigation into the sinking of the vessel six weeks ago that they saw officers snorting cocaine, drinking to the point of inebriation and harassing female staff.

Captain Francesco Schettino, the commander of the vessel, "used women as goods to be exchanged", one of the women said, according to two Italian dailies.

The two women, one a nurse and the other a passenger rep, worked on the Costa Concordia and other ships owned by Costa Cruises in 2009 and 2010.

Their claims are reportedly contained in 5000 pages of evidence.

The nurse, identified only as Valentina B., said she worked with Schettino on the Costa Atlantica in January and February 2010, but resigned because she had encountered "corruption, drugs and prostitution".


Continue Reading: timeslive.com

A Customs search of Nigerian woman who flew in from France showed she caried 25 pellets of heroin in her intestinal tract

By John Marzulli

A drug mule who said she was three months pregnant gave birth at Kennedy Airport -- to a stash of heroin, authorities said.

Afolake Awoyemi, a Nigerian national, attracted the attention of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector as soon as she waddled off Air France flight No. 6 from Paris last Wednesday.

Awoyemi, 42, wearing a "loose-fitting dress" was asked whether she was pregnant, and the woman replied that she was three months along, Homeland Security special agent John Moloney stated in a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

The customs inspector noted that Awoyemi appeared nervous, so she was selected for a pat-down search. After feeling a "bulge" in Awoyemi's groin area, the situation escalated to a partial strip-search, according to the complaint.

When she dropped her drawers, Awoyemi's scheme fell apart. Pellets containing brown powder began dropping from her groin area -- and the substance tested positive for heroin.

Awoyemi was taken to a medical facility at the airport, where the federal cops administered a pregnancy test that came back negative.

An X-ray showed more pellets in her intestinal tract, and by the end of the day she had passed about 25 pellets of heroin in a special commode that Customs officials have dubbed the "Drug Loo." The high-tech toilet sanitizes the incriminating evidence.

Continue Reading: nydailynews.com

A drunken man in an SUV briefly closed Philadelphia International Airport by driving through a chain-link fence and onto several runways, according to news reports.

A passenger jet was just seconds away from landing, according to CNN, citing an air traffic controller. The scare also forced a number of other planes to circle the area.

The man, named by ABC News as Kenneth Richard Mazik, 24, of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, led police on a high-speed chase up one entire runway before crossing over onto a parallel runway and driving back.

Mazik headed directly for the landing area just as U.S. Airways Flight 3137 was about to land, the authorities reportedly said. A controller ordered the pilot to pull up as the last minute.

"We've got a rogue vehicle driving around on the airport," ABC quoted one controller as saying, advising other aircraft of the incident and a likely delay. "We got to catch him. We're not moving anybody until we find this guy."

Continue Reading: globalpost.com

By Elysa Gardner

Demi Moore has apparently left Utah's Cirque Lodge. E reported on Thursday that the famously troubled actress has checked out of the exclusive treatment center she entered after suffering a seizure-like episode in January and is "on vacation" at an undisclosed location.

It was never confirmed what exactly led Moore to seek professional help, and her rep did not issue a statement about her release. But rumors of addiction struggles abounded and were confirmed by one source cited by E, along with an eating disorder. The source gave no clues to Moore's present whereabouts, except to say, "She's in no rush to get back to L.A."

Continue Reading: usatoday.com

A Rowland Heights doctor accused of recklessly prescribing narcotic painkillers and other addictive drugs has been charged with murder in connection with three fatal overdoses, a rare attempt to hold a physician criminally liable for patients' deaths.

Hsiu-Ying "Lisa" Tseng, 42, was arrested Thursday and led handcuffed from her office in a strip mall off the 60 Freeway where authorities say patients -- many of them men in their 20s -- once came to get prescriptions for drugs as potent as heroin.

The charges represent a bold move sure to spur debate in the medical and legal communities and come as public health and law enforcement authorities are grappling with rising prescription drug deaths.

"Prescription drug overdose deaths have reached epidemic proportions," Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said in a statement issued shortly after Tseng's arrest. "Enough is enough. Doctors are not above the law."

As she was escorted from her second-floor clinic by sheriff's deputies and state medical board investigators, Tseng stared at the ground and shook her head when asked by a reporter for comment.
In an interview with The Times in 2010, Tseng acknowledged that she had been confronted about her prescribing habits by her patients' loved ones, but insisted she had done nothing wrong.

"They call me all sorts of names -- drug doctor, drug-dealing doctor.... I tell parents a lot of times it's their problem," she said.

Tseng is being held on $3-million bail and is expected to be arraigned Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Continue Reading: latimes.com

Belfast man Joby Murphy, whose funeral took place yesterday, is a high profile victim of our cheap booze culture but, as Jane Hardy finds out, it poses as great a risk to young girls as to men

We all know how the ladette culture of the '90s brought in the notion that it's not just ok for women to drink, but actually positively cool for them to get completely sozzled. As Zoe Ball swagged from a bottle of Jack Daniels on the way to her wedding, booze became the drug of choice for young, and underage, girls in cities across the UK.

Zoe is now famously teetotal but have other young women learned about the perils of too much booze? It seems not. Last year Amy Winehouse fell victim to a life of excess while Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding recently completed a stint in rehab. But why do young girls do it? It can be insecurity, the feeling of wanting to belong to the gang, or a way of blotting out problems at home or school. Ardglass teenager Kelly McNabb, who is trying to help other young people avoid alcoholism, says that young people drink "to hide something, it's a coping mechanism".

Of course, young men, too, are at risk from drinking. Today the Murphy family from Belfast are holding the funeral of their 20-year-old son Joby. Tragically, he drowned in the River Lagan in the early hours of January 26 after spending an evening after the Snow Patrol gig with mates in the Beach Club consuming £1 vodka shots. His body was only found last weekend.

Our drug of choice is alcohol, and youth overindulgence -- and underage drinking -- is in part fuelled by the availability of cheap alcohol in cut-price booze promotions and on supermarket shelves. Joe Murphy, Joby's father, has spoken out against flexible licensing laws that permit the prices that tempt young drinkers to over-indulge. He welcomed Nelson McCausland's intention to ban irresponsible cheap drink promotions, adding: "Parents have their fears when their children go out. You used to worry about drugs, but now it's drink, it's frightening."

Minimum pricing is one possible solution and the authorities here have discussed an all-Ireland minimum price strategy for alcohol with a suggested price tag of 50p per unit of alcohol. That would raise the price of a large bottle of cider from around £2.30 to nearer £7.

Health Minister Edwin Poots has said: "In real terms alcohol is 62% more affordable today than it was in 1980 and as the relative price of alcohol falls, consumption and misuse increases."

Local addiction agencies, who deal with the fall-out from happy hours that turn sour, share the Assembly's concern.

Jim Weir, head of youth services at the Forum for Action on Substance Abuse (FASA) says: "Minimum pricing is only part of the story. Youth drinking is crazy and we honestly haven't had a real impact on this issue. Alcoholism costs Northern Ireland between £500m-£900m annually, when you count the resulting crime, absenteeism, hospital costs and cancers. That's a lot for a population of 1.7m."

Continue Reading: belfasttelegraph.com

By LACI KYLES

The growing trend of prescription drug misuse for recreational purposes, along with alcohol consumption and the use of other drugs, has become a problem for college students over the years.

Michelle LaFleur, grant support specialist for alcohol and drug education, said one of the more serious problems on the rise at Mississippi State University is the practice of mixing energy drinks with alcohol, as well as mixing alcohol with prescription drugs. Drinking too much alcohol in general is dangerous enough without adding other drugs.

"Students need to realize they don't have to drink to be accepted," she said.

LaFleur said binge drinking is defined as four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men. One drink is defined as a 12 ounce beer, five ounces of wine or one ounce of hard liquor. Red Solo cups are dangerous because they can hold 16 ounces and the type of alcohol inside those cups varies. Several programs are available through health and wellness that offer help for students.

"The GAIN program, which stands for Goal-Driven Alcohol and Drug Intervention Network, is a completely confidential program where students come in and take a 30-minute survey, get their results and get help," LaFleur said.

Joyce Yates, health education and wellness director, said marijuana is still the most prevalent drug of choice among college students, but the use of prescription drugs, especially Adderall, is on the rise.

"To me, I think we're going to see a growing trend (of prescription drug addiction)," she said. "People don't realize how dangerous they are."

While alcohol remains the most abused, Yates said prescription drugs are increasingly popular due to their availability. Students can easily buy them online without a prescription.

"One in 20 people in the U.S. age 12 or older have used prescription painkillers non-medically," Yates said, citing a 2010 Center for Disease Control survey.

She said studies conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show full-time college students are twice as likely to use a stimulant for non-medical reasons, compared to those who are not in college or are part-time. Students sometimes believe prescription drugs are safer than illicit drugs, but the abuse of these medications can lead to seizures, heart attack, stroke or death.

Continue Reading: reflectoronline.com

By Loretta Park

SALT LAKE CITY -- A bill requiring those who reapply for unemployment benefits to undergo drug screening made it out of the House.

House Bill 155, sponsored by Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, was approved by the House 62-10 with three absent, on Thursday. It now goes to the Senate.

The bill requires substance-abuse screening for those who reapply after being sanctioned by the Department of Workforce Services for noncompliance with requirements of the unemployment benefits program.

Those who do not pass a written screening test would then be given a urine test to screen for drug use.

Continue Reading: standard.net

A congressional commission partially approved a bill yesterday regulating the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but congressmen remained divided on whether to allow the sale of alcohol at games during the month-long tournament, dealing a setback to Fifa and local organisers.

Fifa says Brazil has to allow the sale of beer inside stadiums during the World Cup and Confederations Cup next year, but some congressmen are against it because alcohol sales in Brazilian stadiums have been against the law for years.

The issue will be voted on separately today, along with other changes which have been generating controversy in Brazil, including giving cheaper tickets to the elderly, another guarantee currently allowed by Brazilian law.

Fifa secretary General Jerome Valcke said recently that he hoped the bill setting the legal framework for the World Cup would soon be approved in its entirety.

Football's governing body wants the proposed law to take effect by the end of March, allowing organisers to get on with the job of preparing for the tournament.

The sale of alcohol is the main sticking point, as Budweiser is a major World Cup sponsor.

Critics say it took Brazil a long time to ban alcohol from its stadiums, a move they say reduced fan violence in Latin America's biggest country.

Continue Reading: nzherald.com