by Anita Gutierrez-Folch “The sharp increase in teenage heroin use, both in big cities and small towns, has become a grave concern for parents and educators as kids return to school.” http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/september/Heroin-Use-Becomes-a-New-Back-To-School-Concern.html

By Peter Hecht “With a month to go in the growing season, California is shattering records for pot seizures stemming from raids on illicit marijuana gardens. And authorities blame intricate Mexican drug networks that seek remote growing sites, supply and arm workers, and harvest and traffic the product” http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2195235.html

JUNEAU EMPIRE “All opiate medications affect receptors in the brain that are involved in the regulation of pain perception and mood, said Dr. Paul Topol of Southeast Psychiatry. The body naturally produces its own version of opioid compounds known as endorphins and enkalphins in response to stress and exertion, and oxycodone mimics the effects of…

By Arthur BriceCNN “Colombian and Mexican drug cartels have jumped the Atlantic Ocean and expanded into West Africa, working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative European market.” http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/21/africa.drug.cartels/

By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily SentinelWednesday, September 16, 2009 “When authorities found nearly 900 marijuana plants growing on remote private land near Parachute last September, they considered it the largest such discovery ever in Garfield County. But that pot-growing operation, and an even bigger one found in the county in August, are mere gardens…

Local pills highly addictive with methamphetamine added to them: Ottawa police “What we’re seeing here in Ottawa in most of the ecstasy being seized is that there is methamphetamine added to it, for its addictive property,” said Ottawa police Const. J.P. Vincelette. “People using it get addicted to it, and therefore want to buy more.”…

By Jane Velez-Mitchell “Addiction in America has a new face: prescription drugs. Last year, prescription drugs replaced heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of deadly overdoses. And celebrities are showing us that mixing prescription pills — the pills you may have in your home right now — could be just as deadly as shooting…

“Reports say the driver removed the needle and identified herself as 36-year-old Teresa Fowler-Platkin of Windermere, a certified registered anesthetist who works for Kissimmee Surgical Center. Reports say Platkin explained that she had taken the medication from her place of employment.” http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/osceola_news/091109_Police_say_Nurse_arrested

From Nic RobertsonCNN Senior International Correspondent “KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — Afghanistan’s reputation as the world’s leading narcotics supplier is well-known, but in a squalid ruin in Kabul, the country hides a darker secret — a huge home grown drug addiction problem now on the brink of fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic.” http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/28/afghan.opium.den/