Featured Drug Articles

MSNBC reported Sept. 18 that police in Georgia and elsewhere have been hit by a wave of imported, high-quality meth as drug cartels moved to fill the void in local markets after local labs shut down.

A recent survey of teens conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that one in four questioned said they had a friend or class mate whom they knew had used Ecstasy, and 17% said they knew more than one user. Often referred to as this decade’s version of LSD, Ecstasy is, according to some of its users “the hottest drug going now.â€

Family and social pressure, not arrests, have been successful in fighting drug crime in one North Carolina community, the Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 27.

Children often believe that common household substances like glue, nail polish or gasoline are harmless. In fact, using inhalants can cause sudden sniffing death from heart or lung failure, asphyxiation, paralysis of breathing mechanisms or accidental from intoxication. Long-term effects include: brain, respiratory, liver, kidney and bone marrow damage; short-term memory loss; and hearing impairment.

Just two of 44 federal scientists found to have violated ethics rules in their dealings with drug or biotech companies have been subject to criminal investigation, while the others were either allowed to quietly retire or kept their jobs, the Associated Press reported Sept. 12.

Hospital admissions for heart attacks among people under age 60 fell 11 percent in Italy's Piedmont region after the Italian government imposed a ban on indoor smoking, researchers from the University of Turin said.

Alcohol is "the No. 1 drug of choice" for teen-agers in the United States. By their senior year in high school, 80% of the nation's teen-agers have tried alcohol, compared with 47% who have experimented with marijuana and 29% who have tried another illegal drug. Just-released study suggests many adults' ambivalance about the danger of alcohol is a major contributing factor.

Researchers say that drugs may create "extreme" memories by overstimulating the brain's dopamine system. When drugs cause an overabundance of dopamine it may cause the brain to "overlearn," creating a memory of drugs as "good."

Heavy drinking is especially dangerous for teenagers whose brains are still developing, and alcohol-related damage incurred at a young age can have long-term effects.

A $1-million award to a smoker in a negligent-design lawsuit against two major tobacco companies has been upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals, reported Sept. 29.

According to a new survey released July 18, 2006 by the National Association of Counties (NACo), county law enforcement officials across 44 states reported that methamphetamine remains the number one drug problem in their county.

New Jersey is the only U.S. state that still bans the distribution of clean needles by government programs to prevent the spread of AIDS among drug users, but lawmakers may vote to change that next week, the New York Times reported Sept. 25.

In recent national surveys about a third of high school seniors and 42 percent of college students reported at least one occasion of binge drinking within the previous 2 weeks. Alcohol poisoning – a severe and potentially fatal physical reaction to an alcohol overdose – is the most serious consequence of binge drinking.

According to a just-released government report, smoking by pregnant women dropped by one-third in the 1990s, with a particularly sharp decline among women in their late 20s and early 30s. Health officials are, however, concerned by the growing numbers of expecting teenagers who are acting counter to this healthy trend.

Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) and Democrat Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) come from different ends of the political spectrum but have forged a close personal bond because of their struggles with addiction and recovery, the New York Times reported Sept. 19.

Smoke Less Ohio, a group that is pushing a weaker alternative to a tough indoor-smoking proposal endorsed by health groups, failed to report to the Secretary of State's office that the vast majority of its funding comes from tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds, the Toledo Blade reported Sept. 14.

A new survey finds that 19 percent of teens drive under the influence of alcohol, 15 percent drive after using marijuana, and 7 percent report driving under the influence of other drugs.

More young American women are drinking to get drunk, and are putting themselves at risk by trying to "keep up with the boys" when it comes to alcohol use, Newsweek recently reported.

Research from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio finds that babies born to mothers who used cocaine heavily during pregnancy do not have lower IQ scores than other children, as originally believed, Reuters reported May 26.

People on probation because of drug convictions will be banned from Los Angeles' "skid row" area under a new policy unveiled by the city's district attorney, the Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 27.