Addiction World

Former porn star Jenna Jameson has been arrested for drink driving after crashing into a lamppost.

2012-05-25T23:59:00.001+01:00

The 38-year-old was collared after smashing her car into the pole in the City of Westminster in Orange County, California at 12.45am this morning.

She was detained on suspicion of driving under the influence after failing a field sobriety test carried out by officers on the scene.

Arrested: Jenna Jameson has been booked for drink driving after crashing in Orange County this morning

Officer Rachel Archambault said the pornography star, who is now retired, showed signs of intoxication at the scene, which is the reason the test was carried out.

The former stripper, who lives in the Huntington Beach area, suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment.

According to TMZ she was in tears after the accident, telling people, 'I just want to go home.'

Infamous: She became so well known she even appeared in mainstream movies

In a 911 call made by a woman who claimed she witnessed her driving erratically before smashing her Range Rover into the lamppost.

She told the officer on the phone: 'I was actually getting ready to call you guys because she was drunk. Next thing I know she went into the pole.'

The caller asked Jenna if she needed paramedics, to which she replied, 'No, I just want to go.'

She is later be heard in the background saying, 'I'm Jenna Jameson.'

Three officers later attended the scene, where she was arrested after failing the sobriety test.

After her arrest she was booked at the Westminster City Jail and was later cited and released.

The infamous celebrity, who has two young sons with Ultimate Fighting champ Tito Ortiz, smiled for her mugshot, in which she is wearing heavy eye makeup.

Self-styled entrepreneur Jameson was dubbed 'the Queen of Porn’ in her 90s heyday and even appeared in mainstream Hollywood movies such as America's Got Talent judge Howard Stern's biopic Private Parts.

She was involved in another legal tussle two years ago when she claimed Ortiz pushed her into a bathtub and injured her arm during an argument at their home.

The 37-year-old denied abusing her and said she falsely accused him after he confronted her about a suspected Oxycontin addiction.

Jameson later recanted her story, and the couple got back together.

UK Jobseekers who reject help for alcohol and drug addiction face benefits cut

2012-05-23T01:11:00.001+01:00

Unemployed people suspected of suffering from alcoholism or drug addiction will have their benefits cut if they refuse treatment for their condition, the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, will signal on Wednesday. In a sign of the government's new benefits regime, which lies at the heart of Duncan Smith's cost-cutting welfare changes, staff in Jobcentre Plus offices will be encouraged to cut the jobseeker's allowance of claimants who reject treatment for addiction. The new rules will come into place in October 2013 when the universal credit, which is designed to wrap benefits into one payment, is introduced. A new claimant contract lies at the heart of the universal credit reforms. Claimants will have to sign a contract in which they agree to look for work in exchange for an undertaking from the government to support them while they do so. Government sources said the contract would allow Jobcentre Plus staff to say that a suspected addict is in breach of their commitments if they refuse help for alcoholism or drug addiction. Duncan Smith will give a flavour of the new rules when he addresses an event in parliament organised by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). He will say: "The outdated benefits system fails to get people off drugs and put their lives on track. We have started changing how addicts are supported, but we must go further to actively take on the devastation that drugs and alcohol can cause. "Under universal credit we want to do more to encourage and support claimants into rehabilitation for addiction and starting them on the road to recovery and eventually work. Getting people into work and encouraging independence is our ultimate goal. Universal credit will put people on a journey towards a sustainable recovery so they are better placed to look for work in future and we will be outlining our plans shortly." It is understood that the work and pensions secretary will not make a formal announcement on Wednesday of the powers that will be handed to Jobcentre Plus staff. Duncan Smith wants to use the event to focus on what he regards as the positive work AA does in helping to treat alcoholism. A government source said: "Iain wants to focus on the brilliant work Alcoholics Anonymous does in changing people's lives. He really wants to encourage people who have drink problems to go to AA for treatment. It will transform their lives and will help them into work." The source said Duncan Smith believes it is right to give jobcentre staff powers to cut benefits if an addict refuses treatment because they can detect signs of trouble. The source said: "The universal credit will allow staff in Jobcentre Plus offices to say: this person has been unemployed for some time. The staff know if people are addicted to alcohol. They know the people they are dealing with. "But we want this to be positive and to be about signposting people to superb organisations that can help them. This is about changing their lives. It is very important to support addicts into the workplace." But if claimants refuse they will have their benefits docked. "There will be sanctions," the source said, citing cuts to the jobseeker's allowance as an example. Ministers believe that one indicator Jobcentre Plus staff can use to see whether a claimant is an addict is the amount of times they apply for a crisis loan. "If you are applying for that up to 10 times a year then that is a sign of a chaotic life," one source said. Analysis by the Department of Work and Pensions shows that almost 40,000 people claim incapacity benefit with alcoholism declared as their "primary diagnosis". Of these, 13,500 have been claiming for a decade or more. There are about 160,000 "dependent drinkers" in England who receive one or more of the main benefits. There are 1m violent crimes a year that are related to alcoholism and 1.2m admissions to hospitals a year related to alcoholism. Universal credit is the most important element of Duncan Smith's welfare reforms, developed during his years in opposition through his Centre for Social Justice, which is designed to achieve his central goal of encouraging people into work. It will integrate tax credits and out-of-work benefits into one payment, with the aim of smoothing the transition to work. Labour has given the universal credit a cautious welcome, though it has taken issue with the scale of benefit cuts. Lord Low of Dalston, the vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People who sits as a crossbencher, told peers this year: "Though it has some very sensible and progressive things at its core, in the shape of the universal credit, nevertheless it goes too far to most people's consciences in the way in which it takes vital support away from some of the most needy in our society."

An antidote to heroin overdoses should be made widely available without prescription, according to controversial advice from the government'sdrugs advisory body.

2012-05-20T01:46:00.001+01:00

Critics fear that the more widespread availability of naloxone will end up encouraging heroin use. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA

An antidote to heroin overdoses should be made widely available without prescription, according to controversial advice from the government'sdrugs advisory body.

Critics claim that the distribution of naloxone would create a "safety net" for drug users and potentially encourage greater use of class A drugs. But the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) has written to health minister Anne Milton to argue that people working with the UK's estimated 300,000 heroin addicts will be able to save lives if they are given access to the drug.

When a heroin user has an overdose, one injection of naloxone revives them from unconsciousness and gives them enough time for medical help to arrive. It is already used by ambulance crews, casualty staff and out-of-hours GPs.

But the drug is only available on prescription, which means people working with drug users cannot keep stocks or carry them in case of emergency.

The government will be under pressure to ignore the advice, with some claiming naloxone encourages users to indulge in even riskier drug-taking. Others have warned that up to 3% of those receiving naloxone suffer potentially life-threatening side-effects and even that it can be used as a weapon in fights between users.

However, the chairman of the advisory council, Professor Les Iversen, told Milton: "The ACMD is not aware of any significant body of evidence that naloxone provision encourages increased heroin use.

"The ACMD concludes that naloxone provision is an evidence-based intervention, which can save lives. Naloxone provision fits with other measures to promote recovery by encouraging drug users to engage with treatment services, and, ultimately, keep them alive until they are in recovery."

Mike Pattinson, a former probation officer and now the director of operations at the Brighton-based health and social care charity CRI, said: "We know that if people in constant contact with heroin users are able to carry this drug that they will save lives. We would hope that the government acts on this advice because it is compelling."

Trevor Ball, 40, a recovering heroin addict, said he had been saved by naloxone when paramedics had been called but believed others could have been rescued from overdoses if it had been more widely accessible. He said: "Drug users don't think about life and death when they take heroin. It is a case of 'it will never happen to me'', so the idea that access to naloxone will encourage drug use is a nonsense. I have been saved by it and I have seen others go blue, go over, and been saved by it."

Regulations concerning the distribution of naloxone have already been relaxed in Scotland, where the devolved government is funding the distribution of 10,000 units.

Study in rats shows high-fructose diet sabotages learning, memory

2012-05-20T01:43:00.001+01:00

Attention, college students cramming between midterms and finals: Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you stupid. See Also: Health & Medicine Brain Tumor Nutrition Mind & Brain Intelligence Brain Injury Plants & Animals Food Mice Reference High fructose corn syrup Blood sugar Carbohydrate Sugar substitute A new UCLA rat study is the first to show how a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning -- and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. The peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology publishes the findings in its May 15 edition. "Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. "Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage." While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain. The UCLA team zeroed in on high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar, that is commonly added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food. The average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "We're not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants," explained Gomez-Pinilla, who is also a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center. "We're concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative." Gomez-Pinilla and study co-author Rahul Agrawal, a UCLA visiting postdoctoral fellow from India, studied two groups of rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks. The second group also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which protects against damage to the synapses -- the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning. "DHA is essential for synaptic function -- brain cells' ability to transmit signals to one another," Gomez-Pinilla said. "This is the mechanism that makes learning and memory possible. Our bodies can't produce enough DHA, so it must be supplemented through our diet." The animals were fed standard rat chow and trained on a maze twice daily for five days before starting the experimental diet. The UCLA team tested how well the rats were able to navigate the maze, which contained numerous holes but only one exit. The scientists placed visual landmarks in the maze to help the rats learn and remember the way. Six weeks later, the researchers tested the rats' ability to recall the route and escape the maze. What they saw surprised them. "The second group of rats navigated the maze much faster than the rats that did not receive omega-3 fatty acids," Gomez-Pinilla said. "The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats' ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier." The DHA-deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates synaptic function in the brain. A closer look at the rats' brain tissue suggested that insulin had lost much of its power to influence the brain cells. "Because insulin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss," Gomez-Pinilla said. He suspects that fructose is the culprit behind the DHA-deficient rats' brain dysfunction. Eating too much fructose could block insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar for the energy required for processing thoughts and emotions. "Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," he said. "Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new." Gomez-Pinilla, a native of Chile and an exercise enthusiast who practices what he preaches, advises people to keep fructose intake to a minimum and swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek yogurt, which he keeps within arm's reach in a small refrigerator in his office. An occasional bar of dark chocolate that hasn't been processed with a lot of extra sweetener is fine too, he said. Still planning to throw caution to the wind and indulge in a hot-fudge sundae? Then also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds, or take a daily DHA capsule. Gomez-Pinilla recommends one gram of DHA per day. "Our findings suggest that consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose's harmful effects," said Gomez-Pinilla. "It's like saving money in the bank. You want to build a reserve for your brain to tap when it requires extra fuel to fight off future diseases."

Legal highs making the drug war obsolete

2012-05-20T01:41:00.001+01:00

If you want any evidence that drugs have won the drug war, you just need to read the scientific studies on legal highs. If you’re not keeping track of the ‘legal high’ scene it’s important to remember that the first examples, synthetic cannabinoids sold as ‘Spice’ and ‘K2′ incense, were only detected in 2009. Shortly after amphetamine-a-like stimulant drugs, largely based on variations on pipradrol and the cathinones appeared, and now ketamine-like drugs such as methoxetamine have become widespread. Since 1997, 150 new psychoactive substances were reported. Almost a third of those appeared in 2010. Last year, the US government banned several of these drugs although the effect has been minimal as the legal high laboratories have over-run the trenches of the drug warriors. A new study just published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology tracked the chemical composition of legal highs as the bans were introduced. A key question was whether the legal high firms would just try and use the same banned chemicals and sell them under a different name. The research team found that since the ban only 4.9% of the products contained any trace of the recently banned drugs. The remaining 95.1% of products contained drugs not covered by the law. The chemicals in legal highs have fundamentally changed since the 2011 ban and the labs have outrun the authorities in less than a year. Another new study has looked at legal highs derived from pipradrol – a drug developed in 1940s for treating obesity, depression, ADHD and narcolepsy. It was made illegal in made countries during the 70s due to its potential for abuse because it gives an amphetamine-like high. The study found that legal high labs have just been running through variations of the banned drug using simple modifications of the original molecule to make new unregulated versions. The following paragraph is from this study and even if you’re not a chemist, you can get an impression of how the drug is been tweaked in the most minor ways to create new legal versions. Modifications include: addition of halogen, alkyl or alkoxy groups on one or both of the phenyl rings or addition of alkyl, alkenyl, haloalkyl and hydroxyalkyl groups on the nitrogen atom. Other modifications that have been reported include the substitution of a piperidine ring with an azepane ring (7-membered ring), a morpholine ring or a pyridine ring or the fusion of a piperidine ring with a benzene ring. These molecules, producing amphetamine-like effects, increase the choice of new stimulants to be used as legal highs in the coming years. New, unknown and poorly understand psychoactive chemicals are appearing faster than they can be regulated. The market is being driven by a demand for drugs that have the same effects as existing legal highs but won’t get you thrown in prison. The drug war isn’t only being lost, it’s being made obsolete.

Nick Stahl's Wife Says He Is Missing

2012-05-16T16:35:00.001+01:00

Nick Stahl

David Livingston/Getty.

TMZ.com reports that his wife, Rose, filed a missing persons report with the Los Angeles Police Department on Monday. According to her report, Stahl, 32, was last seen on May 9.

UPDATE: LAPD confirms that Stahl's wife reported him missing at 10 a.m. Monday morning. "I can confirm that he's missing," LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera tells PEOPLE. "And, as of now, he is still missing."

In February, Rose allegedly filed court papers saying the couple had been separated since January, and asked a judge to limit Stahl's visitations with their 2-year-old daughter, Marlo, to eight supervised hours per week.

She also reportedly stipulated that the Terminator 3 actor pass a test proving he hadn't used drugs or alcohol in the previous 24 hours before seeing Marlo.

Minimum alcohol price in Scotland to be set at 50p a unit

2012-05-14T12:41:00.001+01:00

Scottish ministers have set the planned minimum price for alcohol in Scotland at 50p a unit in a move which will push a bottle of wine to £4.69 and four cans of basic lager to at least £3.52. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish health secretary, said radical action was needed to tackle the significant health and social costs of alcohol abuse in Scotland. It will be the first time minimum pricing has been tried in the European Union. "Cheap alcohol comes at a price and now is the time to tackle the toll that Scotland's unhealthy relationship with alcohol is taking on our society," she said. "Too many Scots are drinking themselves to death. The problem affects people of all walks of life." The minimum price is higher than all previous proposals, which started with 35p a unit in 2008, after experts at Sheffield University warned Sturgeon that the impact of a lower cost had been reduced by inflation and lower consumption recently. Sir Harry Burns, Scotland's chief medical officer, said: "I strongly support minimum pricing, as part of a wider framework of action, as the best chance we have of reducing Scotland's harmful levels of alcohol consumption. "Alcohol-related disease and violence are costing the NHS millions of pounds every year and this cannot be allowed to continue." The measure has been backed by health experts, doctors, the police and the pub trade following expert evidence it would reduce some hospital admissions and early deaths, alcohol-fuelled crimes and workplace absences. Recent studies published by the Scottish government said endemic alcohol abuse in some parts of Scotland led directly to the deaths of 3,000 Scots each year and cost the economy £3.5bn annually in hospital admissions and lost productivity. But retailers and the drinks industry, including the influential Scotch Whisky Association, have opposed it, warning that there is likely to be legal action to block it under European and global competition and free trade regulations. They insist it unfairly penalises the majority of responsible drinkers. The Scottish Labour party has also resisted the measure, arguing that it would immediately give the supermarkets and other retailers a £130m windfall in increased profits. They say the major flaw in a blanket minimum price is that, unlike a tax or duty, the extra revenues go directly to retailers and not the Treasury. Earlier this year both the Tories and Liberal Democrats dropped their opposition to the measure after it emerged that David Cameron was preparing to announce similar proposals for England and Wales. The UK government is expected to begin a consultation on a 40p minimum price but Sturgeon's announcement is likely to raise pressure on ministers to set it higher, or to match the Scottish proposal. Sir Liam Donaldson, then chief medical officer for the UK government and the BMA, backed the 50p level several years ago. The last Sheffield University study found clear evidence that the lower the basic price, the weaker its effects, and warned that the passage of time had greatly reduced the impact of a low minimum price. In January, researchers at the university's School of Health and Related Research said Sturgeon's previous proposed price of 45p would cut consumption by 3.5%, saving 36 lives in the first year and about 196 a year within a decade. But according to a similar study in 2010, a 45p price imposed then would save 50 lives in year one, and 225 lives annually within 10 years. In contrast, in January this year they found that a 50p basic price would cut consumption by 5.7%, and would most directly affect alcoholics, saving 60 lives in the first year and 318 a year within a decade. At 70p a unit, consumption would fall by 16.9%. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Dr John Holmes, a member of the Sheffield research team, said: "Harmful drinkers' consumption would fall by more than 10%, whereas moderate drinkers would see their consumption fall by just 2.5%. "In terms of how much extra spending that would mean, harmful drinkers would have to spend over £120 extra a year on their alcohol, whereas moderate drinkers would spend just £8 a year more." Sturgeon's officials released a detailed table setting out how the new policy, which will be introduced to the Scottish parliament for approval within days, will affect current prices. The cost of Tesco's basic own-brand vodka would jump from £8.72 to £13.13, a rise of £4.41, while Vladivar and Smirnoff would be unaffected; a standard bottle of Tesco's basic whisky would increase in price by £4.03 to £14.00; four cans of Tesco strong dry cider would more than double in price from £1.80 to £4.67, and Carlsberg Special Brew would now cost £7.92, a rise of £1.13.

What is an Addict?

2012-05-13T18:03:00.001+01:00

I am fond of the definition of addiction which goes, “someone who does something over and over again expecting different results.” The alcoholic goes on a bender entirely convinced that this time will be different. He’ll be able to control his drinking, he won’t get into bar fights, he won’t drive drunk, he won’t cheat on his wife, he won’t do whatever insanely stupid thing he always does when he ingests alcohol. Left untreated, addiction is a progressive disease. If the drunk thinks that whatever trouble he got himself into last time won’t happen the next time he drinks, he’s actually right in the sense that not only will he do the same insanely stupid shit that he did last time but he will do stuff that is even more destructive to himself and the people he loves. Drunks and drug addicts don’t end up unemployed and homeless because they were born that way. It’s the addiction that did it to them. Once addiction is in full swing, nothing—and I mean nothing, not a job, a house, a car, a wife, kids, parents, friends—nothing is as important than getting a fix. That’s where the dishonesty comes in. Addicts lie because all they really want is the booze or the crack or the sex. They will sell their mother to get it. There’s a great scene in The Fighter where Dicky Eckland (played by Christian Bale) is in a crack house and his mother comes looking for him. He jumps out a second story window in a drug induced haze to try to keep his mother from seeing the truth. He lands in a huge pile of trash and he can’t avoid coming face to face with his Ma. But even that doesn’t get him sober. The final definition for addiction is when the thing you are addicted to is ruining your life. Some people can drink tons of booze or even take lots of coke and their life is honestly unaffected. It doesn’t send them into a downward spiral caused by the phenomenon of craving which blots out anything good in their life. A guy jumping out a window to avoid his mom is most likely an addict. But the addict’s mind tells the addict that they are not an addict no matter how complete the breakdown of normal life. That’s why most addicts end up in jail, dead or, despite all odds, getting the help they need to get and stay sober. There’s not a lot of gray in the trajectory of continued use. ♦◊♦ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., is the standard by which mental illness is diagnosed and heath care is provided in the United States. Health Insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, look to the D.S.M. to define standards of care and to establish medical reimbursement. The New York Times reports that the newest D.S.M. will have a much broader definition of addiction than in prior versions. In what could prove to be one of their most far-reaching decisions, psychiatrists and other specialists who are rewriting the manual that serves as the nation’s arbiter of mental illness have agreed to revise the definition of addiction, which could result in millions more people being diagnosed as addicts and pose huge consequences for health insurers and taxpayers. Under the new definition the addictive use of drugs and alcohol will be broadened and the number of activities that can be considered addiction will also be broadened to include such things as gambling for the first time. Currently only 2 million of 22 million addicts, defined under the old D.S.M., get treatment at least in part because they don’t have health insurance. The new definition may increase the number classified as addicts by as much as an additional 20 million. Insurance companies, and many clinicians, are criticizing the expansion of the definition of addiction as costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kelly Osbourne's Healthy Transformation

2012-05-11T07:29:00.001+01:00

As documented on her family's hilarious reality TV show "The Osbournes," Kelly Osbourne used to be a quite the wild child. The daughter of Black Sabbath rocker Ozzy Osbourne and TV personality Sharon Osbourne battled an addiction to pain killers and alcohol for over five years of her young life and entered rehab for treatment three times before finally getting sober in 2009. Now 27, The singer-turned-TV presenter has opened up to CNN's Anderson Cooper about her regret and guilt over the nightmare she put her parents through during her addiction.

"I did a lot of really, really stupid things and it was because it was my way of crying for help," Kelly revealed. "Not just drugs ... Going out and staying out all night, and being disrespectful to my mother, which to me is one of my biggest resentments because I love my mum; my mum's my best friend. I hate the fact that I hurt her and my father," she admitted.

Kelly went on to reveal that her now-sober famous father, who has a staggering 40 years of drug and alcohol abuse under his own belt, blamed himself for his daughter's troubles. "My father, to a certain extent -- now not so much, but at the time -- blamed himself and that killed me."

After feeling the pain she caused her own parents, Osbourne offered up some advice for other parents whose kids are struggling with addiction. "Tough love if you're a parent ... With my mother she didn't wanna believe it, she didn't wanna accept that I wasn't perfect because you love your children, but unfortunately nothing's perfect and as much as it hurts you you have to do the best thing, and you have to send your child to rehab," she advised.

"It is the only way to fix things, to teach you the skills and the coping mechanisms that you need to have a normal life and get your life back again. But having said that, it takes you to do it."

Watch "Kelly Osbourne's Healthy Transformation" Video

Mexican meth production goes on speed

2012-05-10T14:50:00.001+01:00

This swampy township of garbage dumps and junk yards on the edge of Mexico City is hundreds of miles from the traditional drug-producing areas in the Sierra Madre mountains where trafficking gangs have long grown marijuana and opium. But when soldiers stormed a nondescript warehouse in April, they found that a drug cartel had moved into Chalco to churn out tons of their latest hot product, methamphetamine. Behind a sign saying it stocked cleaning goods, a row of huge cauldrons covered in domed glass cooked up barrel-loads of the synthetic white powder, known as crystal meth or ice. The warehouse was one of a record number of super-labs that Mexican authorities have busted in recent months, showing that despite President Felipe Caldron's five-year offensive against drug cartels, Mexican meth production is booming. The burgeoning industry is a major concern to police as it gives cartels a highly profitable product that can be made using legal ingredients in any town, spreading Mexico's brutal drug war to areas that had previously been free of violence. It has also set off alarm bells in the United States, where agents who have spent years battling the effects of the destructive drug fear there may be a sudden surge in supply. In the first quarter of 2012, Mexican soldiers raided 27 industrial meth labs like that in Chalco, twice the number they stormed in the same period of 2011 and their biggest ever total in any three-month period, the attorney general's office said. Their most spectacular meth seizure was in a ranch outside the western city of Guadalajara in February, when they nabbed 15 tons of processed crystal, one of the largest hauls of the drug ever made worldwide. If sold in small doses to U.S. users, known as "tweekers," that meth would have been worth about $1.2 billion. "This industrial production of methamphetamines is worrying as it shows a new phase in drug trafficking," said Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas, head of Mexico's organized crime unit. "Combating these laboratories is a top priority." BATHTUBS Meth used to be made mainly in the United States by biker gangs and others who cooked up the crystal in small makeshift labs, often in trailers or household bathtubs. However, the U.S. Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 made it harder to get hold of precursor chemicals needed to make the drug, including pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, which are used in commercial products such as flu medicine. While that law and a subsequent police offensive have hammered U.S. production, it has been a gift to Mexican cartels. "We are a victim of our own success," says Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona. "When you look at domestic meth labs, those numbers have fallen off the table. But where have they gone? Mexico." The U.S. seizures confirm that increasing amounts of the crystal are being moved north into the United States over the nearly 2,000-mile-long (3,200-km) border it shares with Mexico. In fiscal 2011, U.S. agents brought in 20,000 pounds (9,000 kg) of meth on the southwest border, showing quantities have doubled since 2008, when agents confiscated 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg). Agents also note that U.S. street prices are either flat or down, a sign that supply is high. While Mexico has clamped down on sales of precursors from pharmacies, the cartels are importing their own shipments of chemicals on an industrial scale. In January, Mexican marines seized 32 tons of illegally imported precursors on a ship at the Pacific port of Manzanillo, one of many busts made on that coastline over the past year. The traffickers also use coasts further down into Central America, with Guatemalan authorities making major seizures of precursors linked to Mexican cartels this year. The chemicals in the Manzanillo raid had been manufactured by a company in China. Precursors bound for Mexico have also been manufactured as far afield as Iraq, India and the Central African Republic, according to the International Narcotics Control Board. The chemicals are often imported by seemingly legitimate front companies, making the search more difficult. In April, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted 12 companies in Mexico it accused of bringing in precursors to make meth. SPEED FREAKS Meth attracts users by giving them energy boosts to work or party for long periods without rest. It is also popular for boosting sexual appetite and stamina, former addicts say. But doctors say that meth is one of the most lethal drugs around, even more harmful to many than heroin or cocaine. "Crystal meth may make people feel good for a while but then it totally destroys folks," says Matthew Frances, an emergency room doctor in California, who regularly treats meth users. "People get agitated and paranoid and are screaming and shouting. They can stay up for days without eating and not take care of their kids. They often get in terrible car accidents." Long-term meth use can also lead to heart failure and produce chronic tooth decay, known as "meth mouth." It is unclear yet if the increase in Mexican production will lead to more use in the United States. The most recent U.S. government survey reflects 2010 data, when there were an estimated 357,000 regular meth users, about the same amount as 2007. However, agents believe it is at risk of growing. "I think that you are going to see an increase in meth abuse nationwide," said Doug Coleman, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Phoenix, Arizona. "With the amount that's coming across, it's definitely a concern." Mexican cartels may also be looking at other markets for their product. Meth has risen in popularity globally to become the second-most used type of drug after marijuana, according to a United Nations report on drugs and crime. Mexico itself also has a rising number of meth users given that more than 360,000 people have tried the drug at least once, according to the health ministry. In Chalco, residents complain of dealers selling meth in $3 doses on street corners and out of the barred windows of homes: just enough to get users high for an hour or so before they crave more. SPREADING POISON For decades, Mexico has been a major producer of heroin and marijuana and a trafficker of Colombian cocaine. The move into methamphetamine gives the cartels a product which they can produce anywhere, without having to share profits with their Colombian partners. At first, police bust meth labs in traditional drug-growing areas such as the western states of Michoacan and Sinaloa. But following heavy raids, cartels have shifted production to areas with no history of trafficking, including one massive lab discovered recently in the prosperous city of Queretaro. Mexican agents say the labs in Chalco belonged to La Familia cartel, which has been linked to major meth production since it first surfaced in Michoacan in 2006. Federal police captured a Familia leader in the township recently, sparking a battle in which the traffickers hurled fragmentation grenades and opened fire in broad daylight. La Familia gunmen are also blamed for carrying out execution-style killings and beheadings in Chalco, turning it into yet another flashpoint in Mexico's relentless drug war. All told, more than 50,000 people have been killed in drug related violence in Mexico since Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched a crackdown on traffickers. The incursion of drug gangs into Chalco has made locals worry about their safety, said Gerardo Vazquez, a 41-year old shop owner living close to the raided meth lab. "I just thought it was a normal warehouse and suddenly soldiers turned up," Vazquez said. "This is a big problem. You worry that your kids may get caught up in a shootout."

5 Signs You’re Getting Addicted to Your Pain Medication

2012-05-09T23:12:00.001+01:00

We often read about how to tell if we’re addicted to prescription painkillers and what to do if we are addicted. But what about the early signs – signs that could indicate the need to take action before we become dependent?

Few people wake up one morning suddenly addicted to prescription opiates. The process is typically more gradual, which means there are numerous opportunities for early intervention. Here are the earliest signs that your use of pain medication is beginning to cross the line into addiction:

#1 You’re starting to use your pain medication to feel better, not just to ease pain.

Most people who use prescription opiates have pain as a result of an accident, surgery, illness or other condition, and then take their medicine to relieve that pain. Those who become addicted have pain, take the medicine and find that they not only have less pain but they also feel better in other ways.

Perhaps it helps you sleep, energizes you, makes you feel more confident, or relieves stress or anxiety. When you take the medication, you may find that it numbs emotional pain, allows you to escape from difficult thoughts or feelings, or gives you a sense of pleasure.

A shift occurs where you’re no longer taking the medication because you’re in physical pain but because of the positive effects on your mood or outlook. You’re now taking the drug to get high.

#2 You’re thinking about increasing your dose even though your doctor has not recommended it.

Those who use prescription painkillers long-term for legitimate purposes may need to increase their dose over time because they have built a tolerance to the drug. In most cases, physical dependence can be managed by a prescribing physician with appropriate identification and treatment, but for those who have predisposing factors, tolerance can be a sign of addiction.

The problem starts when you begin venturing outside the recommendations of your physician by using a higher dose than prescribed, using the medication more often than prescribed or using it conjunction with other drugs to amplify the effects. For some, increased usage is intentional, while others may take the medication when they feel they need it and are surprised to find that they continually run out of medication weeks before a refill is due.

#3 You’re starting to take the medication automatically, even though your pain has subsided.

If your pain has largely subsided or your doctor no longer recommends using pain medication and you continue to do so, you may be taking it habitually without recognizing that you are taking the drug for something other than pain.

You may be afraid of the pain coming back, but in actuality, long-term use of opiates can result in what is known as “backlash” pain. You will be better off switching to a non-addictive anti-inflammatory pain reliever such as ibuprofen once the pain is not severe enough to warrant opiate medications.

#4 You’re spending more and more time thinking about and getting medication.

How much time do you spend worrying about refills, keeping track of prescriptions, and traveling to new doctors’ offices or pharmacies? If you’d rather spend time getting and using medication than doing the things you typically enjoy, such as spending time with family or friends, your medication has become your number one priority. In addition to being hard on your loved ones, this imbalance may be a sign of prescription drug addiction.

#5 You’ve lost interest in non-drug pain management options.

Even if your doctor suggests non-drug alternatives, such as acupuncture, massage, yoga or physical therapy, you refuse, preferring instead to take more medication. Skipping doctor’s appointments unless you’re going to get a new prescription is another red flag.

Every year, more than 200 million prescriptions are written for opioid painkillers. Less than 20 percent of Americans will use their medication for non-medical purposes, according to the National Institutes of Health. By staying alert to the indicators of dependency and talking to your doctor at the first warning signs, you increase the chances that you will benefit from the pain relief offered by prescription opiates without falling prey to addiction.

Drug-drivers to face jail time under new law

2012-05-07T05:48:00.001+01:00

Drivers found to have taken drugs face a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to £5,000 under new legislation, ministers reveal on Monday. Plans to make driving while under the influence of drugs an offence will be included in a crime, communications and courts bill that will be in the Queen's speech on Wednesday. Offenders will also face an automatic driving ban. Police forces are to be supplied with devices that will allow them to test drivers for drugs, once the equipment receives approval from the Home Office this year. Under the law at present, the police can only prosecute drivers who have taken drugs if they can show that driving ability has been affected. David Cameron said the government had been encouraged to act by the campaign launched by the parents of Lillian Groves, a 14-year-old from Surrey killed by a speeding motorist who had been smoking cannabis. The driver pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to eight months in prison but was released after just eight weeks. Cameron said: "I found meeting Lillian Groves's family in Downing Street late last year incredibly moving. As they said at the time, it simply can't be right that a schoolgirl … can lose her life and then we discover we don't have the laws or the technology to punish drug-drivers properly. We want to do for drug-driving what drink-driving laws have done for driving under the influence of alcohol. "That's why we're doing what we can to get drugalysers rolled out more quickly. And this week we'll publish a new drug-driving offence so that driving under the influence of drugs itself is a crime, just like it is for drink-driving." The new offence will cover drivers who have taken illegal drugs, but the exact drugs covered and the limits that apply will be determined by a panel of alcohol and drug experts. Mike Penning, the road safety minister, said: "The new offence sends out a clear message – that if you drive while under the influence of drugs you will not get away with it. "We have an enviable record on road safety in this country and I want to keep it that way. This measure will help to rid our roads of the irresponsible minority who would risk the lives of innocent motorists and pedestrians." In the past the Department for Transport has said that one in five drivers killed in road accidents might have had an impairing drug, legal or illegal, in their body. Those thought to be most at risk were young men aged 17 to 29. The government announced at the start of the year that it was assembling a panel of experts to look at introducing a law against taking drugs and driving, and to assess the means of testing and possible legal limits for motorists. The move follows a recommendation in a 2010 review of drink- and drug-driving law by the legal expert Sir Peter North – although his proposals to cut the drink-driving limit were rejected by the previous transport secretary, Philip Hammond. On Wednesday, the Queen's speech will set out the next legislative programme for the new session of parliament. Following the Conservatives' poor performance in the local elections last week, ministers are under pressure to highlight the populist measures in the legislative programme.

Here, we can't lie, because God is watching

2012-05-06T12:10:00.001+01:00

For 30 years, he lived a heroin addict's life, sleeping on streets, getting into trouble with the police and getting in and out of drug-treatment centres. Mr Feisal Fakharudin's habit made him an outcast until he found support from an unlikely source - the Ar Rahman mosque nestled in Kuala Lumpur. After performing his prayers, Mr Feisal slips upstairs away from his fellow worshippers to receive a dose of methadone at a drug-treatment clinic - the world's first to operate in a mosque, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Methadone is widely used in the treatment of drug addiction. "In the past, there was no one to help me," said Mr Feisal, who revealed that he used to feel like the "scum of society", Reuters reported. The treatment worked for Mr Feisal, who first tried heroin when he was 15. The 48-year-old father of four is now a street musician playing in Kuala Lumpur's popular tourist locations. The vicious circle he was trapped in only eased when he enrolled in a government methadone clinic six years ago and later was among 50 patients selected for the Ar Rahman mosque programme. He attributes the success of his treatment to the spiritual guidance he received from mosque clerics, as well as the methadone syrup dispensed twice a week by medical staff. Allowing the mosque to set up the methadone clinic, which started over two years ago, has raised eyebrows in a country that imposes the mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers. Mr Rusdi Abdul Rashid, the chief coordinator of the University of Malaya's Centre for Addiction Sciences (Umcas) that runs the clinic, had to work hard to convince mosque officials and religious authorities to allow the clinic to be set up. Islamic authorities in Malaysia eventually gave the green light for the treatment, deciding that methadone was not a banned substance under Islam. "Methadone is a God-gifted medication. It helps in the long-term treatment of drug addiction and prevents patients from relapsing," said Mr Rusdi, a lecturer and consultant psychiatrist who has been treating patients with methadone for 10 years. Umcas has plans to expand the programme to a third of the country's 6,000 mosques by 2015. Malaysia has an estimated 350,000 drug addicts, which could rise to half a million by 2015 partly because of a high relapse rate, according to Mr Rusdi. The Malaysian government's Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), which enforces Islamic laws, has also joined forces with the centre to combat drug addiction. 'Total treatment' Mr Ghaffar Surip, a Jakim official, believes mosques can be used for the "total treatment" of drug addicts. He said: "The use of methadone is only one part of treating drug addicts because we also have to look at the spiritual, psychological and psychosocial aspects of the patient." The patients are not always well-received; indeed, some who turn up at the Ar Rahman mosque face being stigmatised by the community and by the mosque officials themselves. Said Mr Ghaffar: "People always say that drug addicts are associated with crime and ask why the clinic is there. They think mosques are only for 'good' people." Mr Feisal said: "I prefer to come here (to the mosque) because I feel closer to God. I feel cleansed. It's different having treatment in the mosque compared to normal clinics. "Here, we can't lie, because God is watching."

Here, we can't lie, because God is watching

2012-05-06T12:07:00.001+01:00

Fire at addict rehabilitation center in Peru kills 14 people, 2nd deadly rehab fire of year

2012-05-06T12:05:00.003+01:00

A predawn fire swept through a drug rehabilitation center in a town on Lima’s outskirts Saturday, killing 14 people in the second blaze in Peru this year to claim the lives of addicts trapped behind locked doors in a private treatment residence. The only known survivor of the blaze at the Sacred Heart of Jesus clinic escaped by jumping from the building’s second floor after the blaze broke out about 4 a.m., his brother said. 0 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Local health director Pablo Cespedes said officials don’t yet know what caused the blaze. Thirteen bodies were found in bedrooms on the second floor and one on the first floor of the two-story home in Chosica, about 19 miles (32 kilometers) east of Lima, the coastal capital, he said. Rescue efforts were complicated by locked doors and barred windows, said fire chief Fernando Campos. “The doors were padlocked shut. We had to use tools to get in the front door. On the second floor, the windows have bars,” he told reporters at the scene. The apparent lone survivor, 39-year-old Luis Zevallos, jumped out of the building from a section of the second floor that lacks bars, his brother, Jose Zevallos, told The Associated Press. “His friends were afraid and didn’t.” “He’s got burns on his face but it’s not too serious,” Jose Zevallos said of his brother. “It’s a miracle he’s alive.” The aunt of an 18-year-old who died in the fire, Jennifer Rugel, told the AP that drug rehabilitation centers in Peru, as a rule, “seal their doors with locks because those interned want to escape and are there against their will.” She said by phone from the morgue where police took the 14 bodies that her nephew, Marco Cespedes, had to be interned because he was selling objects from his home in order by buy drugs. The local health director, Cespedes, said the Sacred Heart clinic was licensed but that a 2011 inspection recommended physical improvements to prevent overcrowding and said it needed professional health care workers. The owners of the clinic could not immediately be located for comment. After a Jan. 28 fire at a Lima rehab residents for addicts claimed 29 lives, government officials acknowledged that the state has limited capacity for treating drug addicts. “The state has 700 beds for 100,000 drug-dependent people. That’s the root of the problem,” the country’s drug czar, Carmen Masias, said in radio interview the following day. A 2010 study by the agency she runs, Devida, counted 222 private rehabilitation centers in Peru, 80 percent of them unlicensed and many lacking doctors and psychologists.

Fire at addict rehabilitation center in Peru kills 14 people, 2nd deadly rehab fire of year

2012-05-06T12:05:00.001+01:00

Sugar: A sweet but dangerous addiction

2012-05-05T07:58:00.001+01:00

The concept of food as an addiction is, finally, gaining more recognition in the mainstream media! Earlier this month, 60 Minutes featured a long segment on sugar toxicity. Prominent doctors and scientists explained how the human body reacts to sugar intake. Insulin spikes, the liver works overtime, and the same areas of the brain that respond to cocaine respond to sugar! Sugar "feels good" - but only momentarily. Like a crack addict, you can develop a tolerance for sugar. As time goes by, you will require more and more sugar to get the same "high". If the idea of being "hooked" is not enough to make you take stock of your habits, consider one scientist's explanation of the connection between sugar and cancer. He explained that receptors on tumors may utilize glucose from the bloodstream in order to thrive and grow! But, as a society, we have addictive habits and are constantly seeking a "quick fix". It's the American way! Consider the number of diets and diet products that claim to offer a quick solution to your weight issues. Truth be told, there is no easy fix. It takes discipline and work to develop a healthy lifestyle. (Don't shoot the messenger!) So, how then do we break the habit of emotional eating and sugar addiction? Even the scientists on the 60 Minutes segment didn't offer tools for that! Two of the researchers claimed to have cut back on their own consumption of sugar due to the results they found. However, they had not eliminated sugar entirely. They were, very likely, still hooked and not quite sure how to break the habit themselves. The first step to making any change is to recognize the pattern. Afterwards, you can begin to examine why you are turning to sugar and food for comfort. You need to replace your not-so-healthy habits with healthier coping mechanisms. This takes time, discipline, and commitment. It may be much easier said than done. After all, like the vast majority of Americans, you have probably been "using" sugar for a lifetime. (The scientists on 60 Minutes said that the average American consumes over 130 pounds of sugar per year!) Start by making small changes. Over time, they will lead to big lifestyle changes. Consider cutting back on soda and other sweetened drinks until you eliminate them entirely. Replace the sugary beverages with plain old water, green tea, or herbal tea. Look for things that make you feel good other than eating. Consider adding more exercise into your routine. Join a club or increase time with friends. Read a book or start a home-improvement project. You may require objective support to hold you accountable and offer insight into your addiction. Get the professional support you need and deserve! You will be happier and healthier as a result of your effort!

Malaysia mosque a source of hope for heroin addicts

2012-05-05T07:56:00.001+01:00

For 30 years, Feisal Fakharudin lived a heroin addict's life, sleeping on streets, getting into trouble with police and rotating in and out of drug treatment centers. In Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country where drug addiction is still taboo, his habit made him a social outcast until he found support from an unlikely source -- the Ar Rahman mosque nestled in the bustling capital city of Kuala Lumpur. After performing his prayers, Feisal slips upstairs away from his fellow worshippers to receive a dose of methadone from a drug-treatment clinic -- the world's first to operate in a mosque, according the World Health Organization. "In the past, there was no one to help me," said Feisal, who said he used to feel like the "scum of society." Feisal attributes the success of his treatment to the spiritual guidance he gets from mosque clerics, as well as the methadone syrup dispensed twice a week by medical staff. Allowing the mosque to set up the methadone clinic, which started up over two years ago, has raised eyebrows in a country that imposes the mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers. Those caught in possession of drugs above specified quantities face trafficking charges and are presumed guilty -- laws that human rights groups say contravene international fair trial standards. Rusdi Abdul Rashid, the chief coordinator of the University of Malaya's Center of Addiction Sciences (UMCAS) that runs the clinic, had to work hard to convince mosque officials and religious authorities to allow the clinic. Islamic authorities in Malaysia -- which has been a leading voice of moderate Islam -- eventually gave the green light for the treatment, deciding that methadone was not a banned substance under Islam. "Methadone is a God-gifted medication. It helps with long-term treatment of drug addiction and prevents patients from relapsing," said Rusdi, a lecturer and consultant psychiatrist who has been treating patients with methadone for 10 years. UMCAS has plans to expand the program to a third of the country's 6,000 mosques by 2015, aiming to reach 72,000 heroin users. Malaysia has an estimated 350,000 drug addicts, which could rise to half a million by 2015 partly because of a high relapse rate, according to Rusdi. The center also wants to enlist Christian churches and Hindu temples, starting with the country's iconic Hindu temple at Batu Caves on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The government's Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), which enforces Islamic laws, has also joined forces with the university to combat drug addiction. Ghaffar Surip, an official with Jakim, believes mosques can be used for "total treatment." "The use of methadone is only one part of treating drug addicts because we also have to look at the patient's spiritual, psychological and psychosocial aspects," he said. The patients are not always well-received. Some who turn up at the Ar Rahman mosque face being stigmatized by the community and by the mosque officials themselves. "People always say that drug addicts are associated with crime, and ask why the clinic is there. They think mosques are only for 'good' people," said Ghaffar. The treatment worked for Feisal, who first tried heroin when he was 15. The 48-year-old father of four is now a street musician playing in Kuala Lumpur's popular tourist locations. His vicious cycle only eased when he enrolled in a government methadone clinic six years ago, and later was among 50 patients selected for the Ar Rahman program. "I prefer to come here because I feel closer to God. I feel cleansed," he said. "It's different having treatment in the mosque compared to normal clinics. Here, we can't lie, because God is watching."

1 addict is born each hour in US

2012-05-04T01:43:00.001+01:00

An increased reliance on prescription painkillers and the resulting addiction has now shown up in the most vulnerable patients — America’s newborns, according to a report released Monday. Addicted babies — many suffering from respiratory problems, low-birth weight and seizures — have nearly tripled in less than a decade. That’s one baby every hour in the U.S., according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said Dr. Stephen Patrick, lead author and doctor at the University of Michigan Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Meanwhile, the number of mothers using opiates has increased five-fold, according to the same study. It’s also a burden on public health dollars — and a wake-up call about the need for better prevention, Patrick said. “Instead of a burden … I like to think about as an incentive to do something about it,” he said. Average costs to care for the babies suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, skyrocketed from $39,400 to $53,400 between the same time period — 2000 to 2009, according to the study.

Calvin Klein’s ex checks into rehab post-arrest

2012-05-02T15:15:00.001+01:00

Nick Gruber has left town and entered rehab — and sources close to the 22-year-old are buzzing that his former ex-beau Calvin Klein is picking up the tab. The insiders confirm that Gruber, who split with the 69-year-old fashion mogul in January — headed to an undisclosed rehab program in Arizona on Wednesday after being arrested Tuesday morning for hiding cocaine in his underwear. A visitor to Gruber’s apartment building at 666 Greenwich Street on Wednesday was told that the former erotic model “moved out this afternoon and doesn’t live here anymore.”

Calvin Klein’s ex checks into rehab post-arrest

2012-05-02T15:14:00.001+01:00

Cocaine May Age the Brain

2012-05-02T15:10:00.001+01:00

Cocaine May Age the Brain Add this to the list of reasons not to take cocaine: Chronic use of the drug may speed up the aging process. According to a new imaging study, cocaine abusers in their 30s and 40s show brain changes more commonly seen in people over 60. The finding also calls attention to the special medical needs of older drug users—a group that, until now, hasn't garnered much notice. "Drug abuse is typically considered a young people's problem," says behavioral neuroscientist Karen Ersche at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. But baby boomers, many of whom began experimenting with drugs when they were young, are getting older. And according to Ersche's research, some of them may be getting older faster. Studies show that middle-aged drug abusers often have problems more commonly seen in the elderly, such as memory loss, increased susceptibility to infection, and higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Rates of premature death among drug abusers are up to eight times higher than in the general population, according to some estimates. People addicted to cocaine also perform poorly on tasks that involve an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, such as memory, attention, and reaction time. Because elderly people can have similar mental impairments, Ersche wondered if chronic exposure to cocaine accelerates these changes in the brain. To investigate, she and colleagues studied 120 people between the ages of 18 and 50. About half met criteria for cocaine addiction: They had used cocaine for an average of 10 years and had the drug in their systems on the day of the scan, according to urine tests. The other participants had no history of drug abuse or psychiatric problems. All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans, which the researchers analyzed with specialized software to reveal differences in the volume of brain structures. Brain volume tended to decrease with subjects' age, consistent with other studies that have found that some brain shrinkage occurs normally as people grow older. But among cocaine users, the rate of shrinkage was almost twice that of the non-drug-using group (about 3 milliliters per year versus 1.7 milliliters for the non-drug-users), the team reports today in Molecular Psychiatry. Compared with drug-free people of the same age, the cocaine users also showed proportionally greater volume loss in prefrontal and temporal areas—the very areas that control the functions impaired in drug abusers. Alcohol consumption, which often goes hand-in-hand with cocaine addiction, did not seem to account for these changes. Even when the investigators removed the scans of 16 participants who were dependent on alcohol as well as cocaine, the link between cocaine use and brain volume loss remained. "We are an aging society as it is," says Ersche. "If our young people are aging prematurely due to drug abuse, the public health implications could be huge." "This is the first biological evidence I've seen that cocaine abuse may have an aging effect on the brain," says social scientist Caryl Beynon of Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom. Beynon, who studies drug use in the elderly, notes that people who are growing older while using drugs have needs that may be unrecognized—especially if they have problems typical of those at an even more advanced age. Older drug users tend to be isolated and are often ashamed to admit to their drug problem, she says. Beynon would like to see future research examine the effects of more casual use of cocaine and other drugs, since not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. She'd also like to see scientists track the changes in individuals over time. "It would be good to run a study scanning the participants once a year for a long period," she says.

Cannabis: Britain's growth industry

2012-05-02T09:54:00.001+01:00

Against the steady hum of an extractor fan, the handheld video camera pans over a small forest of green plants. The unmistakable serrated leaves of cannabis flutter as gentle gusts of warm air from a heating unit waft over them. The man who uploaded the video on to YouTube can barely contain his excitement. "There's a lot of branches," he squeaks. "These plants are getting nice and bushy really fast thanks to the hydroponics. It took me about an hour to make this hydroponics kit so if you want me to make you one, let me know." Given the current economic conditions, the Government is keen to encourage all sort of new entrepreneurial initiatives. But the growth of Britain's private cannabis farms is probably not quite what the Treasury had in mind. A clandestine industry has sprung up in the bedrooms, living rooms, cellars and roof tops of Britain. Some do it for personal consumption, others grow cannabis for organised criminal networks who make millions out of what they know is a comparatively low risk, high-profit crime. The expansion of Britain's pot farms has been so rapid that police say they are now raiding as many as 20 illegal plantations a day. More than 7,000 farms were detected last year compared with 3,000 three years earlier. Figures released yesterday by Newcastle University suggest as much as £200m worth of electricity is stolen every year by growers – many of whom are siphoning power directly from the mains supply to avoid suspiciously high electricity bills. In the past week alone raids have reported in Nottingham, Sunderland and Kensington in London. For people like Jim, a 22-year-old mechanic from Yorkshire, the lure of easy money is simply too good an opportunity to pass up. He has been growing cannabis for the past five years, mainly at a friend's house. After learning how to grow plants properly he soon realised he had green fingers which could turn the sticky, sweet smelling buds into hard cash. "I usually just get rid of big amounts, like pounds, at once because it is too risky going little," he told The Independent. "I make around £10,000 every four months." The explosion in cannabis farms has often been portrayed by as a relatively harmless cottage industry that allows pot smokers to steer clear of criminal networks. But the police have little time for such arguments. They say many of the small plantations are linked to criminal organisations involved in harder drugs, prostitution and trafficking. British gangs have increasingly moved into the business, which used to be dominated by South-East Asian gangs. Without the problem of having to elude border controls or high costs of transport, the crops have become attractive to domestic criminals. A national project has found that of 7,000 identified groups of organised criminals, a fifth are involved in cannabis cultivation or trafficking, said Commander Allan Gibson, of the Metropolitan Police. Robberies, burglaries and violence with guns have all increased because of the competition between rival groups. The Association of Chief Police Officers released a report this week analysing the cultivation of cannabis in Britain. Officers found that gangs now try to avoid detection by splitting up large growing factories into a number of smaller plants based in homes. A number of "gardeners" are employed to manage smaller-scale operations across a number of sites. These gardeners typically include criminals forced to work in factories to pay off "debts" to gangs. Others look to hide the factories in industrial areas so the heavy use of electricity is less likely to be spotted. Daniel Lloyd, a businessman who runs an industrial park in Telford, Shropshire, said police recently raided a unit and discovered a secret farm. "We had no idea it was there," he said. "The man told us he needed a place to store gardening equipment and we leased him a unit. When the police raided it we discovered that he had laid out an entire farm with foil sheeting, heat lamps and insulation. Apparently he was shopped by a disgruntled friend." For amateur horticulturalists, the internet has made it easier to grow pot successfully. There are thousands of easily accessible video tutorials and blogs detailing how to successfully nurture plants without getting caught. In one popular series, a man describes how to set up a farm in his basement from start to finish. The success of online seed shops has also made the process easier. Although the cultivation of cannabis is illegal, there is nothing to stop someone buying, selling or importing seeds. Previously growers needed to buy them directly from dealers; now a few clicks will lead to a packet of seeds branded "Dutch passion", "purple wreck" and "cotton candy" arriving through the letterbox in a day. Jim, the part-time grower from Yorkshire, has decided to get out of the trade now that he has landed himself a new job. "This lot is my last," he said. "I got tipped off by my friend who's a cop, saying they have been watching the house I'm growing at. I'm not starting up again because I'm now making good money working so it's not worth it." There will be plenty of others happy to take his place.

GBL, or Gamma-Butyrolactone, is known as “coma in a bottle”.

2012-05-02T08:56:00.001+01:00

-Butyrolactone (GBL)

GBL, or Gamma-Butyrolactone, is known as “coma in a bottle”.

It is used as paint stripper and was banned for consumption in 2009.

GBL is odourless and tasteless when diluted and is sold online for as little as 50p a shot.

The effect is similar to ecstasy but there is a high risk of overdosing.

Some users say it feels as if their muscles are being torn apart.

Medics say it kills six a year, damages organs and leads to psychosis.

It is related to banned date rape drug GHB.

one baby born each hour addicted to opiate drugs in U.S.

2012-05-01T23:25:00.001+01:00

one baby is born every hour addicted to opiate drugs in the United States, according to new research from University of Michigan physicians. See Also: Health & Medicine Infant's Health Today's Healthcare Mind & Brain Child Psychology Addiction Science & Society Public Health Educational Policy Reference Gluten-free, casein-free diet Premature birth Opioid drug Stillbirth In the research published April 30 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, U-M physicians found that diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome, a drug withdrawal syndrome among newborns, almost tripled between 2000 and 2009. By 2009, the estimated number of newborns with the syndrome was 13,539 -- or about one baby born each hour, according to the study that U-M researchers believe is the first to assess national trends in neonatal abstinence syndrome and mothers using opiate drugs. "Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report which found that over the last decade sales for opiate pain relievers like OxyContin and Vicodin have quadrupled," says Stephen W. Patrick, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., lead author of the study and a fellow in the University of Michigan's Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. "Although our study was not able to distinguish the exact opiate used during pregnancy, we do know that the overall use of this class of drugs grew by 5-fold over the last decade and this appears to correspond with much higher rates of withdrawal in their infants." Patrick, a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Michigan, says multiple factors are likely to blame for the dramatic spike in use of opiate pain relievers, from their potential overuse for chronic pain to illegal sales of these drugs on the street. Overall, the U-M study showed that the number of mothers using opiate drugs increased five times over the last decade. "Opiate use in our country is becoming an epidemic. Too often our health system reacts to problems; instead, we must address opiate use as a public health issue. To do this, we must limit opiate pain reliever use through healthcare provider education and statewide systems that watch for abuses, like people going to multiple doctors to get opiate prescriptions," Patrick says. Neonatal abstinence syndrome causes a wide array of symptoms including increased irritability, hypertonia, or heightened muscle tone, tremors, feeding intolerance, seizures, and respiratory distress. In addition, babies with the syndrome are more likely to be born with a low birthweight. "You can often stand in the hallway and know which babies are experiencing withdrawal. They are irritable, their cries are different, and they appear uncomfortable," Patrick says. The majority of the mothers of babies born with the syndrome were covered by Medicaid for health care costs. The average hospital bill for babies with the syndrome increased from $39,400 in 2000 to $53,400 in 2009, a 35 percent increase. By 2009, 77.6 percent of charges for babies with the syndrome were charged to Medicaid. In Florida, where opiate pain reliever death now accounts for four times the number of deaths as illicit drugs, the number of newborns diagnosed with the syndrome has increase five-fold in the last six years. The Florida state House and Senate recently passed legislation to form a task force to evaluate the issue. "Given that newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome experience longer, often medically complex and costly initial hospitalizations, this study highlights the need for increased public health measures to reduce the number of babies exposed to opiate drugs," says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., associate professor in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the U-M Medical School, and associate professor of Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Davis is senior author on the paper and co-director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Program at U-M. "We hope that state leaders will call for more research into the data we've provided because the majority of hospital expenditures for this condition are shouldered by state Medicaid programs."