drugs

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Only the Good Die Young
Only the Good Die Young

Only the Good Die Young

Musicians who make it big twice as likely to bow out early

(Newser) - The cliché "live fast, die young" now has backing from science. More than 1,000 American and European musicians active from 1956 through 1999 came under British researchers' scrutiny, and the stats are grim: The performers were twice as likely as civilians to die young, with drug and alcohol...

Crime Rocks New Orleans
Crime Rocks New Orleans

Crime Rocks New Orleans

Two years after Katrina, criminals flood city

(Newser) - Only two-thirds of the population of New Orleans has returned since Hurricane Katrina destroyed large parts of the city two years ago—but crime has returned full force. The murder rate in the Big Easy is rocketing, crime is a constant fear among citizens and many are arming themselves for...

Family Pleads: Don't Buy CDs
Family Pleads:
Don't Buy CDs

Family Pleads: Don't Buy CDs

Winehouse drama escalates as in-laws call singer, husband 'drug addicts' on BBC

(Newser) - The continuing drama surrounding "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse took a bizarre new turn this morning when her in-laws, in an plea broadcast on the BBC, begged fans not to buy her records. Her husband's parents called for a boycott to force the couple into rehab, the Guardian reports. "...

Afghanistan Supplies 93% of World's Opiates

Poppy crop jumps 34% over last year

(Newser) - Afghanistan's opium production has soared over the last year and the country now supplies 93% of the world's opiates. Most of the poppies are grown along the country's southern border with Pakistan, where the insurgency is strong, security is weak, and the Taliban continues to use its drug profits to...

The Life and Times of Crystal Meth
The Life and Times of
Crystal Meth

The Life and Times of Crystal Meth

A new book traces the drug's history, from panacea to pandemic

(Newser) - Even when it has the word "crystal" in front of it, meth is a downmarket drug, which summons up images of makeshift drug labs in run-down trailer parks. But meth, Salon notes in an essay on Frank Owen's new book, "No Speed Limit," has a rich history...

Feds Crack Down on California Pot Operations

Raids stepped up on medicinal marijuana dispensaries considered legal by the state

(Newser) - The federal Drug Enforcement Agency is stepping up raids on California's medicinal marijuana distributors, confiscating drugs and arresting vendors at ten Los Angeles operations last month alone, Reuters reports. California legalized medicinal marijuana use more than ten years ago, but possession of the drug violates federal law. Federal officials argue...

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs
Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Cheap alternatives to brand-name meds appear as patents expire

(Newser) - Scores of prescription drugs are getting cheaper, as name-brand patents expire and open the door to generic imitators. That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies, the Times reports, but it means that an aging population ever more reliant on drugs will be paying as much as 80 percent less for them.

Lohan Hopes Third Time's a Charm in Rehab

Starlet takes substance-abuse woes to posh Utah lodge

(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan checked into a luxe Utah rehab facility over the weekend, the Insider reports, on the heels of an arrest for drunk driving and drug possession. Boasting a battery of therapies and a price tag of at least $30K, the Cirque Lodge is rumored to have hosted celebs David...

US Nears Deal to Fight Mexican Drug Cartels

Aid package would signal new level of cooperation

(Newser) - The Bush administration will send hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Mexico to combat drug cartels in a deal that's on the verge of approval, the Washington Post reports. The package, which would include equipment and training for anti-drug teams, represents a new level of cooperation. "The...

FBI Mellows Out on Drug Standards
FBI Mellows Out on Drug Standards

FBI Mellows Out on Drug Standards

Holistic approach to applicants gives casual users a break

(Newser) - The FBI no longer disqualifies applicants who admit to past drug use, the Washington Post reports. The agency previously turned away wannabes who acknowledged smoking marijuana more than 15 times, but times have changed. Potential employees must still swear they have not partaken in recent years, and the FBI's policy...

Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad
Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad

Keith Did, In Fact, Snort Dad

But Rolling Stone can’t get cocaine satisfaction

(Newser) - Keith Richards says that—reported denials aside—he did indeed snort his father’s ashes. The Rolling Stones sideman revealed in an interview yesterday that media reports had mixed up the story, and that he’d only meant to deny mixing the remains with a popular opiate. “I said...

US Troops High on Afghan Heroin
US Troops
High on
Afghan Heroin

US Troops High on Afghan Heroin

Boredom, frustration drive soldiers to cheap, ubiquitous drug

(Newser) - Bored US soldiers have easy access to heroin in poppy-rich Afghanistan, and few fear punishment if they're caught using it, Salon reports. Filmmaker Shaun McCanna says he was able to score heroin easily on over a dozen occasions during his two trips to the war-torn country.

MLB Suspends Perez for 80 More Games

Former Gold Glover out for the season after failing his third drug test

(Newser) - Major League Baseball put the brakes on Detroit Tigers infielder Neifi Perez today, saying he couldn’t return from a drug suspension because he had failed his third stimulant test. The penalty, sitting out 80 more games, finishes his season. His second suspension of 25 games was slated to end...

Cocaine Tied to Pitcher's Sudden Death

Police found cocaine in Rod Beck's home; widow confirms habit

(Newser) - Phoenix police found cocaine and drug paraphernalia in the home of former All-Star pitcher Rod Beck following his sudden death in June, they said yesterday. Officials found "large quantities of powder, crack, and rock cocaine,"  the Arizona Republic reports. Though the medical examiner has not released the...

FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Shelves

Controversial diabetes drug still faces heart-attack link

(Newser) - An FDA panel said today that GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia should remain in drugstores, despite earlier evidence the pill ups heart failure risks. Glaxo has defended its drug, countering that the risks associated with the popular Avandia are the same as those of other diabetes drugs.

Al Gore III Pleads Guilty in Drug Bust

Ex-VP's son picks rehab stint over prison after latest brush with law

(Newser) - Al Gore III pleaded guilty to four drug charges today and elected to enter a rehab program to avoid prison time, People reports. The ex-VP's 24-year-old youngest child was busted with marijuana and prescription drugs—including Vicodin, Xanax and Valium—after being pulled over in southern California for speeding in...

Harsh Reality: Richie Draws 4-Day Sentence

Wrong-way starlet pleads guilty to DUI

(Newser) - Giving the cast of The Simple Life an 0-for-2 record in the California courts, Nicole Richie was sentenced to 4 days in jail today after pleading guilty to driving the wrong way on an LA freeway while under the influence of drugs. The skeletal starlet must attend 21 days of...

Reefer Madness: Marijuana Ups Psychosis Risk

New study reveals that pot smokers have a 41% increased chance of psychosis

(Newser) - Smoking pot increases your risk of developing schizophrenia and other forms of psychotic illness later in life, according to a new study. Partakers had a 41% higher chance of developing psychosis with hallucinations or delusions—a risk that only increased with heavy use. The findings may push the UK to...

Celebs Turning Rehab Into Joke: Experts

Lohan, Spears 'waltzing' in and out of treatment sends wrong message

(Newser) - The debauched lifestyles of celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears are turning substance-abuse rehab into a punch line, making light of a process that helps thousands of people each year, say experts. Lohan was arrested on suspicion of DUI this week just days after finishing rehab; in February, Spears...

Cartels Come Down Hard on Mexican Cops

Local law enforcement wages drug war within and without

(Newser) - Despite the Mexican government's vow to crack down on drug cartels, local police forces are outmanned, outmaneuvered, and outgunned by the more sophisticated trafficking organizations, the Los Angeles Time reports. The ill-prepared and often corrupt community police have emerged as the weakest link in the offensive against drug trafficking on...

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