Drug News

By Karl Penhaul, CNN “Story Highlights:* Colombian hitmen talk about their careers to CNN* One says a kill costs between $2,000 and $10,000* Second hitman: After the first kill you panic, the second is a medicine* They live in Medellin, the Colombian city in the middle of a drug war” http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/14/colombia.hitmen/index.html

By Karl Penhaul, CNN “Medellin is once again in the grip of a vicious drug war. In January to September this year, city authorities say the murder rate has more than doubled with almost 2,000 killings. Officials at the Medellin public prosecutor’s offices say the vast majority of victims were shot, likely victims of rival…

By DUDLEY ALTHAUSHOUSTON CHRONICLE “CIUDAD NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Mexico — Tangled in the front line trenches of Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s anti-narcotics campaign are the country’s growing legions of addicts, who find themselves sought by gangsters as both customers and sometime targets of their violence.” http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6652182.html

By Bruce Bower “Depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol dependence and marijuana dependence affect roughly twice as many people as had previously been estimated, a new study finds. Nearly 60 percent of the population experiences at least one of these mental disorders by age 32, say study directors and psychologists Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi, both of…

By: Kytja Weir “Eight Metrobus drivers failed drug and alcohol tests after accidents, according to the most recent year of data from the transit agency.And Metrobus drivers were more likely to fail the tests than other Metro employees in the past five years, according to an Examiner analysis of data current through May.” http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/8-bus-drivers-fail-drug-tests-after-crashes-8354694.html

By John Hoeffel “Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said Thursday he will prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries for over-the-counter sales, targeting a practice that has become commonplace under an initiative approved by California voters more than a decade ago.”The vast, vast, vast majority, about 100%, of dispensaries in Los Angeles County and the city…

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor “Taking cocaine has become ‘normal’ for young people going to pubs and clubs, Paul Hayes, chief executive of the National Treatment Agency said.He said: “Evidence seems to suggest most of the increase in powder cocaine use is part of a lifestyle rather than a consequence of problems associated with poverty…

“CHAPEL HILL — In a college town where booze is king and pot is popular, the recent arrests of seven current or former UNC-Chapel Hill students on cocaine charges created a stir.” http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/135960.html

“The fact is, heroin has become a blight on Long Island. People you would never expect to see using such a retrograde drug – bright, suburban teens with good homes and excellent prospects – are getting arrested for possession and dealing. They are dying of overdoses. The message in that for families like yours is…