“MEXICO CITY — Gunmen mowed down the family of a Mexican marine just hours after the military honored him as a national hero for losing his life during a raid that took down powerful drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva.” http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMi5B2USfJStXxfqgWWr2xjRYpOgD9COGH200

“New York’s top court today upheld random drug testing of New York City police officers through hair samples, a method considered much more effective than urine tests. “To ensure sobriety by the department for its own safety and to instill confidence in the community, we wanted to be able to use hair testing,” he said.”…

“Highlighting the broad powers of the New York City police commissioner to set policy, the state’s highest court on Thursday ruled that using human hair samples is acceptable for random drug tests for officers.” http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/court-upholds-police-commissioners-authority-on-discipline/

“Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre has completed a study that suggests smoking pot on a daily basis can cause depression and anxiety.” http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/12/18/marijuana-tough-on-teenage-brain/10288.html

“The effects of daily cannabis use on teenage brains is worse than originally thought and the long-term effects appear to be irreversible, new research from McGill University suggests.” http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/life/health/79569512.html

“The state’s new “Prescription Drug Take Back” pilot program has proven overwhelmingly popular with North Dakota residents. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem launched the program in conjunction with his Prescription Drug Abuse summit held last week.” http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/100850/group/home/

“Federal officials believe that drug traffickers are seeking to exploit those ties more than ever, urging family and friends on the American side to take advantage of the hiring rush for customs agents. The majority of agents and officers stay out of crime. But smuggling can be appealing. The average officer makes $70,000 a year,…

“Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — Two-thirds of cocaine smuggled into the U.S. is laced with a cattle-worming drug linked to a rare immune disorder in a rash of cases, a report says.” http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aN454DsoGaj4

“According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as of July 2009, 69% of seized cocaine lots coming into the United States contained levamisole as an added agent. This report summarizes the investigations in New Mexico and Washington, which suggested that levamisole in cocaine was the likely cause of the agranulocytosis. Health-care providers should consider these…

http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-prescription-problem-story,0,4455860.story