Drug News

Oklahoma has six of the 15 regions in the country with the highest rates of nonmedical pain-reliever use, according to a new report. Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20100819_16_A1_WASHIN811498&allcom=1

Nearly a third of students aged 12 to 17 in public schools say their schools are “infected” with both gangs and drugs, according to a survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). According to the report, 66 percent of high school students said their schools were drug-infected, a…

Two Walgreens employees are facing drug trafficking charges, after Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers said they stole nearly 7,000 Hydracodone pills from the Dunn Avenue store. http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=163079

Dion credits his drug and alcohol free workplace for the success of the company and its people. “We retain the best people of all. When good people come to Bear Slashing, they stay because it is a drug-free environment,” Dion says. This strict policy leads to better safety for all employees. http://www.prlog.org/10869210-bear-slashings-drug-free-policy-has-led-to-the-companys-success.html

A surge of drug violence in Mexico’s business capital and richest city has prompted an outcry from business leaders who on Wednesday took out full-page ads asking President Felipe Calderón to send in more soldiers to stem the violence. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704557704575437762646209270.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories

State health regulators yesterday unanimously approved the new detection system designed to stop “doctor shopping’’ by addicted patients who try to dupe doctors into prescribing narcotics. The practice, specialists said, has fueled a surge in drug-related deaths in Massachusetts, where abuse of painkillers poses a health threat that rivals heroin and other street drugs. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/12/mass_oks__tool_to_detect_prescription_drug_abuse/

The U.S. Department of Transportation has amended its drug testing procedures, including adding initial and confirmation testing for Ecstasy, lowering the initial and confirmation cutoff concentrations for amphetamines and cocaine, and new rules affecting heroin testing. http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=85685

Expanding on the success of its online Drug Facts Chat Day, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced on August 16th, 2010 it is launching National Drug Facts Week, a new national awareness week designed to bring together teens and scientific experts to discuss the facts about drug abuse. http://techcombo.com/2010/08/17/national-drug-facts-week-123/

There are different approaches to dealing with drugs around the world. Some countries place a greater emphasis on law enforcement – while others do not. Here is a snapshot of some of the systems in countries where the issue has prompted major public debates. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11001803

The California Chamber of Commerce and other groups representing employers are starting to line up to oppose the initiative to legalize marijuana, charging that Proposition 19 would allow pot smokers to light up on the job and operate dangerous equipment while stoned. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-workplace-20100813,0,3183676.story