drugs – News Stories About drugs - Page 16

Grocery Workers Open Banana Crates, Find Cocaine

Jan 8, 2014 9:03 AM CST

Grocery Workers Open Banana Crates, Find Cocaine

From Colombia with, uh, oops

(Newser) - Police in Germany say they have seized a large haul of cocaine after smugglers apparently made a mistake that sent the drug to supermarkets. Workers at five stores in and around Berlin were surprised to find cocaine packed into crates of bananas on Monday—a total of about 310 pounds....

Sick Find Key Drugs Missing From ObamaCare Plans

Dec 10, 2013 10:44 AM CST

Sick Find Key Drugs Missing From ObamaCare Plans

AIDS, cancer meds could cost patients thousands each month

(Newser) - Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, heath insurers now can't turn away sick people. That's the good news. The bad news: They don't actually have to cover the drugs those patients need. Key drugs are missing from some plans, the Washington Post reports, in what patient advocates...

FDA Approves Drug
for Penis Curvature

Dec 7, 2013 7:25 AM CST

FDA Approves Drug for Penis Curvature

Xiaflex is a little pricey, though

(Newser) - Men suffering from serious and even painful penis curvature have a new medical option—if they can afford to pay $26,000 or more. The FDA has approved Xiaflex , a drug that targets Peyronie's disease by reducing the build-up of a protein that creates scar tissue in the penis,...

US Sisters: We
Took Flesh-Eating
Drug Krokodil

US Sisters: We Took Flesh-Eating Drug Krokodil

They're among 5 treated for drug-related disease in Chicago-area hospital

(Newser) - More American users of the flesh-rotting Russian street drug Krokodil have emerged. Two sisters from Joliet, Ill., are among five who were treated for the drug's nasty side effects at a Chicago-area hospital last week. Amber and Angie Neitzel, both heroin addicts, say they thought they'd been...

For Users of 'Silk Road'
Drug Site, It's Time to Worry

Oct 8, 2013 12:41 PM CDT

For Users of 'Silk Road' Drug Site, It's Time to Worry

More arrests have followed that of its alleged founder

(Newser) - It's the last thing users of the now-shuttered Silk Road website wanted to hear about: more drug-related arrests. Last week, authorities in San Francisco nabbed the site's alleged leader , Ross Ulbricht. Now it appears that the investigation won't stop there. Eight more alleged drug dealers who used...

Across the Globe, We're Losing the War on Drugs

Planet Losing
the War on Drugs

REPORT SAYS

Oct 1, 2013 6:00 AM CDT

Planet Losing the War on Drugs

Substances getting purer as prices drop: report

(Newser) - In countries around the world, law enforcement is losing the war on drugs, researchers say. Their evidence: Across two decades of data, purity of illegal substances is up and cost is down, the BBC reports. "These findings suggest that expanding efforts at controlling the global illegal drug market through...

'Cartels' Are
Fueling Generic
Drug Shortage

OPINION

Sep 3, 2013 4:27 PM CDT

'Cartels' Are Fueling Generic Drug Shortage

We must ensure a free market: experts

(Newser) - The US generic drugs business is effectively skirting the free market, prompting dangerous shortages that can make the difference between life and death, a group of pharmaceutical experts and activists argue in the New York Times . The US is currently facing shortages of 302 drugs, and a new law last...

World's Most
Popular Drug: Pot

study says

Aug 29, 2013 12:03 AM CDT

World's Most Popular Drug: Pot

But painkillers behind most deaths

(Newser) - Researchers have, for the first time, conducted a worldwide survey on illegal drug use, and they learned that the most popular one on the planet is marijuana. But the drugs that are killing the most people are strong painkillers, Vicodin, OxyContin, and codeine among them, the AP reports, as per...

Cocaine May
'Teach' Addiction
to Brain—Fast

study says

Aug 26, 2013 8:30 AM CDT

Cocaine May 'Teach' Addiction to Brain—Fast

Scientists see changes to mouse brains after 2 hours

(Newser) - Just one dose of cocaine may physically change the brain as the body begins "learning addiction," scientists say. They investigated the effect of the drug on mice, and noted that within two hours of being injected with the drug, brain changes were visible, the BBC reports. After two...

N. Korea's Latest
Demon: Crystal Meth

N. Korea's Latest Demon: Crystal Meth

Country is in throes of 'drug epidemic,' says journal

(Newser) - Illegal drugs are a growing problem in North Korea—and some users are turning to the substances to cure common illnesses, the BBC reports. "The whole of North Korean society is being affected by illegal drugs," a defector tells South Korea's Chosun Ilbo . "Some wealthy people...

Drug-Seeking
Facebook Posts
Sink Florida Frat

Aug 22, 2013 9:24 AM CDT

Drug-Seeking Facebook Posts Sink Florida Frat

Pi Kappa Alpha suspended as campus police investigate

(Newser) - Florida International University's Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity apparently didn't get the memo that social media isn't the place to go shopping for drugs. The frat has been suspended after its private Facebook page was made public via an anonymous email that included screenshots of 70 posts—some...

Guy Tweets Pot Request, Cops Tweet Him Back

Aug 15, 2013 9:09 AM CDT

Guy Tweets Pot Request, Cops Tweet Him Back

'Awesome! Can we come too'

(Newser) - Twitter, it seems, might not be the best place to conduct your weed-related transactions. A worker at an auto shop near Toronto has lost his job after tweeting for pot to be brought to his workplace. "Any dealers in Vaughan wanna make a 20sac chop? Come to Keele/Langstaff Mr....

Seattle Cops'
Job at Pot Fest:
Hand Out Doritos

Aug 15, 2013 7:03 AM CDT

Seattle Cops' Job at Pot Fest: Hand Out Doritos

Bags will feature links to facts on legal marijuana

(Newser) - Who knew? Police have a sense of humor, at least in Seattle. Cops there plan to attend this weekend's Hempfest —where they'll distribute 1,000 bags of Doritos on Saturday. A note affixed to each bag will direct munchers to the SPD's "Marijwhatnow" FAQ , which...

Holder to Ax
'Draconian'
Drug Sentences

Aug 12, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Holder to Ax 'Draconian' Drug Sentences

For low-level offenders not associated with gangs or drug rings

(Newser) - Eric Holder is set to today to reveal what the Washington Post is calling the planned "cornerstone of the rest of his tenure": a revamp of federal prison policy. And one part of the overhaul—a big change to sentencing for low-level drug offenders—is getting a great deal...

Heroin Use Soars in
New England's Towns

Jul 19, 2013 3:49 AM CDT

Heroin Use Soars in New England's Towns

It's 'our biggest problem right now': Vermont cop

(Newser) - Heroin is not just a city drug anymore: Its use is surging in the smaller communities of New England, the New York Times reports. Last year, 21 people died in Maine from the drug—three times as many as the year before. Over the course of a decade, New Hampshire'...

Bath Salts: More
Addictive Than Meth

Study Says

Jul 14, 2013 5:05 PM CDT

Bath Salts: More Addictive Than Meth

Study finds it is for rats, anyway

(Newser) - "Bath salts" may have become the punchline to many bizarre crimes in recent years, but the drug is no joke: a new study has found it may be more addictive than meth. In experiments with rats, the test subjects worked much harder to get doses of methylenedioxypyrovalerone —or...

Are Americans
Giving Up on
Diet Pills?

Jul 2, 2013 12:34 PM CDT

Are Americans Giving Up on Diet Pills?

First prescription obesity drug in more than a decade struggles to sell

(Newser) - Just a few years ago, a drug company CEO predicted anti-obesity pills could rival the sales of drugs like Lipitor. Instead, the first prescription diet pill to arrive in 13 years is barely selling, the New York Times reports. Qsymia maker Vivus spent $45 million to promote the drug in...

Pill Cuts HIV Risk
by 50% in Addicts

STUDY SAYS

Jun 13, 2013 7:53 AM CDT

Pill Cuts HIV Risk by 50% in Addicts

Tenofovir can reduce risk in all populations: source

(Newser) - HIV prevention among drug users has taken a huge step forward in a confirmation that retroviral treatments can cut the risk of transmission across the board: According to a major study published in the Lancet , addicts who took a daily tenofovir pill were 49% less likely to be infected with...

'Crack Babies'
Not Such a Big
Worry After All

study says

May 27, 2013 8:15 AM CDT

'Crack Babies' Not Such a Big Worry After All

Factors other than cocaine may have fueled 1980s fears

(Newser) - All that time spent worrying about "crack babies" in the 1980s may have been for naught: Researchers reviewed 27 previous studies involving some 5,000 teens whose mothers had been cocaine users during pregnancy and found little proof of any major long-term ill effects. Though the kids (all from...

Experts: Decriminalize Drugs—All of Them

May 23, 2013 5:37 PM CDT

Experts: Decriminalize Drugs—All of Them

Canadian group argues that current policies are ineffective

(Newser) - A coalition of Canadian drug policy experts is calling on the country to decriminalize the use of drugs—not just, say, marijuana or other "soft drugs," but all drugs. Thanks to a "stunning display of unimaginative thinking," Canada has been cracking down on drug users, which...