Warner M, Chen LH, Makuc DM. Increase in fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics in the United States, 1999-2006. NCHS data brief, no 22. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009. “From 1999 through 2006, the number of fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics more than tripled from 4,000 to 13,800 deaths.Opioid analgesics were involved in…

Reported by: Mike McClanahan “Heroin killed seven people in Jefferson County in 2007, but the drug is being blamed for sixteen deaths so far in 2009.The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office made a huge heroin bust earlier this year. Lt. Randy Christian says dealers are trafficking more heroin because of a nationwide clamp down on ephedrine,…

By CARA BUCKLEY “New Jersey has the ignominious distinction of having street heroin that is among the purest in the nation, with purity levels reaching as high as 72 percent. This is largely because the state is home to large ports and a major airport, making it a direct entry point for drugs smuggled from…

“The toxicology report released Tuesday shows the 36-year-old had cocaine, OxyContin, Benadryl and another drug used to cut cocaine in his system.” http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h8FHlg5tiliZMQj9R3ayBI_CaNSwD9B120V81

New Technique of Storing Bomb Materials Inside Body Cavity Nearly Kills a Saudi PrinceBy Sheila MacVicar “Al Qaeda has developed a new tactic that allows suicide bombers to breach even the tightest security. Taking a trick from the narcotics trade – which has long smuggled drugs in body cavities – Asieri had a pound of…

By EILEEN SULLIVAN (AP) “U.S. and Colombian authorities seized $41 million in suspected drug money over the past two weeks — one of the largest seizures in the history of the countries’ joint efforts, law enforcement officials said Monday.” http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hFZuaDk1kg-Mlh8trM02f9M9RhsgD9B0F5D00

“NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Four Volusia County middle school students are recovering after suspected prescription drug abuse left them hospitalized.” http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1257355.html

By Rob Ginter – Staff Writer “An employee of a Morehead liquor store has been arrested for allegedly selling drugs from behind the counter.Forty-seven year old Bonita Jesse of Morehead was taken into police custody after they received a complaint of someone selling drugs at The Freight Station Liquor Store.” http://www.themoreheadnews.com/local/local_story_265134458.html

By Lizbeth Diaz “Mexico’s violent drug gangs are increasingly kidnapping illegal migrants for ransom and forcing them to carry narcotics into the United States as they muscle into the lucrative trade of smuggling people across the border.” http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN22465972