Drug News

With newly released data showing that prescription drug misuse now rivals illicit drug use as a cause of emergency department visits, the Food and Drug Administration in June released a long-awaited proposal aimed at curbing recreational use of opioid analgesics. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/07/12/prl20712.htm

Prescott firefighters and LifeLine Ambulance took two men and a teenager to Yavapai Regional Medical Center West Campus this past Tuesday evening after they developed adverse reactions including becoming combative and hallucinations after smoking Spice. http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=83179

Australian police have seized 240 kilograms (530 pounds) of cocaine worth 84 million dollars (73 million US) which was stashed in paving stones, in one of the country’s biggest busts. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iItwcLZN1lhBsaOyTS1R8YhkTpTQ

Desperate heroin users in a few African cities have begun engaging in a practice that is so dangerous it is almost unthinkable: they deliberately inject themselves with another addict’s blood, researchers say, in an effort to share the high or stave off the pangs of withdrawal. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/health/13blood.html?_r=2

A loophole in drug testing laws could allow employees to smoke medical marijuana and go undetected by their boss. http://www.nbc11news.com/news/headlines/97130664.html?ref=664

Researchers report that they’ve discovered tiny molecules that appear to forestall cocaine addiction in rats and may have the same effect in humans. http://health.msn.com/health-topics/addiction/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100261065

When Long Beach voters join other Californians in November to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana, they may also get the chance to decide if it should be taxed. The City Council took a step Tuesday night toward putting a marijuana tax measure on the ballot that would levy a 10 percent tax on the…

What seems like a carefree night of revelry at a “rave” can quickly turn tragic when the club drug ecstasy is involved, finds a new report on one such event from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=117075

Guatemala’s navy captured a makeshift submarine loaded with five metric tons of cocaine bound for the United States, the Guatemalan military said on Sunday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38191413/ns/world_news-americas/

Thailand is losing its latest war on drugs as methamphetamine, heroin, opium, ketamine, cocaine and ecstasy continue to flood across its porous borders. A rise in production and trafficking related to tensions between Myanmar’s military government and narco-trafficking ethnic insurgent groups based near the Thai border have undermined Bangkok’s efforts, according to the United Nations…