Drug News

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today “An FDA advisory panel voted to recommend approval of a new formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride (OxyContin) that is more difficult to crush or dissolve, and which may deter drug abuse.” http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/PainManagement/16132

By: Lily Jamali “Members of the law enforcement community say the city’s youth are the latest victims of a growing heroin epidemic. Brennan says people in their teens and 20s seem to be turning to heroin in large numbers. For years, studies showed the typical user was older.” http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/law_enforcement/100810/heroin-making-dangerous-comeback-among-city-s-youth/Default.aspx

by Anita Gutierrez-Folch “The sharp increase in teenage heroin use, both in big cities and small towns, has become a grave concern for parents and educators as kids return to school.” http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/september/Heroin-Use-Becomes-a-New-Back-To-School-Concern.html

By Peter Hecht “With a month to go in the growing season, California is shattering records for pot seizures stemming from raids on illicit marijuana gardens. And authorities blame intricate Mexican drug networks that seek remote growing sites, supply and arm workers, and harvest and traffic the product” http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2195235.html

JUNEAU EMPIRE “All opiate medications affect receptors in the brain that are involved in the regulation of pain perception and mood, said Dr. Paul Topol of Southeast Psychiatry. The body naturally produces its own version of opioid compounds known as endorphins and enkalphins in response to stress and exertion, and oxycodone mimics the effects of…

By Arthur BriceCNN “Colombian and Mexican drug cartels have jumped the Atlantic Ocean and expanded into West Africa, working closely with local criminal gangs to carve out a staging area for an assault on the lucrative European market.” http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/21/africa.drug.cartels/

By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily SentinelWednesday, September 16, 2009 “When authorities found nearly 900 marijuana plants growing on remote private land near Parachute last September, they considered it the largest such discovery ever in Garfield County. But that pot-growing operation, and an even bigger one found in the county in August, are mere gardens…

Local pills highly addictive with methamphetamine added to them: Ottawa police “What we’re seeing here in Ottawa in most of the ecstasy being seized is that there is methamphetamine added to it, for its addictive property,” said Ottawa police Const. J.P. Vincelette. “People using it get addicted to it, and therefore want to buy more.”…