The misuse of prescription pills among adolescents has been on the rise in New Jersey, and experts are speaking out about its link to heroin addiction. A special state task force is scheduled to address the problem at Daytop New Jersey, a drug treatment center for adolescents, in Mendham. Death from prescription drugs tripled between…

Listening to music, watching TV, late nights, sleeping in, and no homework … no wonder teenagers can’t wait until summer. The trouble with summer is that teens are more likely to try drugs during this time. A recent study found that during the summer months, teenagers are more likely to try alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana…

Irvington police officer Detective Kevin Johnson has been a member of the Greenburgh Drug and Alcohol Task Force since 2006. Since that time, he has charged more teens and young adults not only for posession of marijuana and alcohol, but also for un-prescribed pills like Benzodiazepines—anti-anxiety medication—pain killers and sleep aids, such as Ambien. “It’s…

IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — Ninety percent of all addicted adults began using as teens, a substance abuse expert told an audience of 70 at the Ionia County Intermediate School District building. Parents and professionals from schools, hospitals, law enforcement, courts and treatment facilities across the county and the state attended a workshop on “Emerging Drug…

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, Jun 20, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Representatives of Alberta’s energy and construction industries today announced their participation in a Drug and Alcohol Risk Reduction Pilot Project (DARRPP), a two-year initiative to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of comprehensive workplace alcohol and drug programs that will include random workplace testing. DARRPP is…

Heroin has become the deadly crest of a wave of addictive drug use in communities around the country. With addicts desperate for a cheaper high than prescription drugs or seeking a more powerful fix, experts are seeing heroin addiction treatment admissions, overdoses and fatalities rising in nearly every region, including areas where the drug has…

Teens are much more likely to try alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs for the first time during the summer months, according to a new survey. Researchers found first-time use of these substances, as well as marijuana and hallucinogens, peaks during June and July, with thousands more youths trying them each day compared to other months.…

New Zealand employers have welcomed the Government’s plan to drug test people on the jobseeking benefit, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says. Bennett told TV ONE’s Breakfast this morning that many employers view the cost of drug testing applicants as beneficial to their business in the long term. “Get on with it is the word…

World’s largest hair analysis drug testing company establishes another first: FDA approval of immunoassays that are equivalent to radioimmunoassays. ACTON, Mass., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Psychemedics Corporation, hair testing pioneer and global leader for twenty-five years, announced that after a rigorous and thorough review, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the…

BP’s Texas City oil refinery has pioneered a new employee drug-testing program known as VECTOR (for Vendor Employer Compliance Testing Organization). Recognizing that failing to identify and screen out illicit drug users results in high costs and low productivity, the refinery started a program in 2007 that required contractors to pass a hair-based drug test…