Russia's war on drugs: tackling heroin problem means going back to Afghanistan - Telegraph

Russia's war on drugs: tackling heroin problem means going back to Afghanistan - Telegraph: "tens of thousands of drug-related deaths in Russia each year. Sveta Makhnenko could easily have been one of that number
Sveta has vague memories of finding herself on the floor, her nose broken, her limbs numb, intolerable pain pinching every single muscle of her skinny body. As her consciousness cleared, as if somebody turned the light on, a nurse said: 'This one will pass away by tomorrow morning. Let's not even bother moving her to the ward.'"

Injecting drug use is driving the fastest-growing Aids epidemic in the world

Injecting drug use is driving the fastest-growing Aids epidemic in the world. It's happening in eastern Europe. The number of HIV-infected people in Russia, for instance, has grown tenfold over the past decade from around 100,000 to one million, most of whom are under the age of 30.

heroin prescribing on the NHS

Dr Peter Carter, of the Royal College of Nursing, has spoken approvingly of heroin prescribing on the NHS. This sounds shocking, perhaps. All I can do is gently point out that every trial ever done on diamorphine prescribing has shown it to work well in restoring previously hopeless addicts to being effective members of society. Their health improves dramatically. They give up crime. They get jobs.
Besides, many opioid addicts can’t stand methadone, the current preferred treatment. It rots teeth and can be generally burdensome. If you give addicts free heroin you remove at a stroke their principle motive for committing theft or going into prostitution.
It has shown excellent outcomes in trials in Europe and recently in Canada , though the Americans are adamantly opposed to heroin and will not even use it in medicine. Very often what happens in practice is that addicts get bored of prescribed medication and give up altogether on a prescription.
So maybe we should think the unthinkable. At the very least policy must be grounded in evidence, not in prejudice. Substitute prescribing is accepted in tobacco addiction. Why not heroin?

Oregon prosecutors demand 'zero tolerance' for drugs at Reed College | OregonLive.com

Oregon prosecutors demand 'zero tolerance' for drugs at Reed College OregonLive.com: "Four top Oregon prosecutors have put Reed College on notice that they want a 'zero-tolerance' policy for all illegal drugs -- including marijuana -- on the famously nonconformist campus."

Heroin in Western Massachusetts: Drug's popularity linked to death, crime | Massachusetts Local News - MassLive.com

Heroin in Western Massachusetts: Drug's popularity linked to death, crime Massachusetts Local News - MassLive.com: "Sara J. Seymour knows the horrors of heroin addiction firsthand. The drug caused Seymour to lose her job and a place to live. But, the worst loss, says the 18-year-old, was the death of her boyfriend, who hanged himself in jail earlier this year after an arrest for heroin possession.
“It just brings you down a bad road,” said Seymour recently."

Did Michael Douglas' Son Get Celeb Treatment With Reduced Sentence? - E! Online

Did Michael Douglas' Son Get Celeb Treatment With Reduced Sentence? - E! Online: "Michael Douglas' son was sentenced to five years in prison today, just half of what is otherwise (like, for offenders without famous relatives) a minimum—yes, minimum—10-year term. But earlier today all parties agreed, on the record, that Douglas was not bound by mandatory minimums because he cooperated with authorities."

The Associated Press: Michael Douglas' son is sentenced to 5-year term

The Associated Press: Michael Douglas' son is sentenced to 5-year term: "sentenced Michael Douglas' son to five years in prison on drug charges, calling it his 'last chance to make it.'
Federal Judge Richard Berman announced the sentence Tuesday after hearing Cameron Douglas apologize and admit that he had squandered a lot of opportunities to turn his life around.
The judge said earlier that he did not have confidence that Douglas would turn his back on drugs after pleading guilty in January to drug charges.
The troubled 31-year-old son of the Academy Award-winning actor admitted to dealing methamphetamine and cocaine. He had faced a 10-year term."

Jersey user reveals mephedrone dangers » News » This Is Jersey

Jersey user reveals mephedrone dangers » News » This Is Jersey: "shocking and dangerous effects of the dance drug mephedrone have been revealed by a user in Jersey for the first time.
The 29-year-old man wants to warn Islanders that they risk catching deadly viruses such as HIV, from sharing the same ‘snorting’ device, as well as turning violent and paranoid after taking the drug.
In an interview published in today’s JEP, he also revealed that Islanders are ordering the drug, which is illegal in Jersey, over the internet and posting it to places where they can pick it up without being traced."

Gazette Live - News - Local News - Three arrested in first mephedrone drug raids

Gazette Live - News - Local News - Three arrested in first mephedrone drug raids: "– Nightingale Road in Eston and West Dyke Road in Redcar.
The three people arrested from Nightingale Road are two women aged 40 and 25 and a 24-year-old man, all on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class B drugs.
A quantity of what are believed to be Class B drugs were seized with paraphernalia and a quantity of cash.
All were taken into custody and are helping with inquiries at Middlesbrough Police HQ.
Det Inspector Dave Mead, of Redcar and Cleveland Police, led the operation.
He said: “Our message is we’re cracking down hard - and will continue to do so.”"

Former Mexican President Fox Advocates Legalizing Prohibited Drugs | AHN

Former Mexican President Fox Advocates Legalizing Prohibited Drugs AHN: "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox this week suggested legalizing the kinds of drugs that have prompted violence among smugglers and police along the border with the United States"

This is Not Your Typical Prison Book | Criminal Justice | Change.org

This is Not Your Typical Prison Book Criminal Justice Change.org: "Piper Kerman thought she had left her brief, tangential connection to an international drug ring safely in the past. She had severed ties with the group of charming, jet-setting smugglers she'd known in the early 1990s, and was working in New York as a communications professional. She was engaged to be married. But in 1998, that changed when police rang Kerman’s buzzer. Suddenly, she was off to federal prison.
In her new memoir, Orange is the New Black"

Daily Herald | 'Dial-A-Rock' arrests show cocaine's popularity in the suburbs

Daily Herald 'Dial-A-Rock' arrests show cocaine's popularity in the suburbs: "cocaine is still king.
It's cheap, easy to distribute and as popular as ever as this week's 'Dial-A-Rock' drug bust show, according to drug enforcement authorities.
For the past 10 years, the drug ring distributed cocaine in small amounts all over the Northwest suburbs from a stash house in Schaumburg.
'It's cheap, a quick fix costs about $40,' said Cmdr. Ken Galinski of the Arlington Heights Police Department. 'We see a lot of cocaine and marijuana arrests around here.'
Will Taylor, a special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said cocaine has been a suburban problem for decades."

Lennon’s LSD stash ‘discovered’ - Touching The Void

Lennon’s LSD stash ‘discovered’ - Touching The Void: "stash of drugs John Lennon supposedly buried in his garden in 1967. The rock legend is said to have dug a hole for a vast quantity of LSD at Kenwood, in Weybridge, Surrey only to then forget where he'd put them, leaving the illegal bounty hidden underground forever.
It has now emerged that a group of builders working at the estate, where Lennon lived between 1964 and 1968, have made an amazing and potentially decisive discovery while digging up the lawn. They are reported to have found a leather holdall containing several large, broken glass bottles, plus one that has not smashed."

Signs Of Heroin Addiction | TreatmentForHeroin.net

Signs Of Heroin Addiction TreatmentForHeroin.net: "Heroin is a narcotic and an illegal drug that is typically injected or snorted by users though it can be smoked. The manner in which the drug, from the opiates family, is ingested has little bearing on the potential for addiction. The fact is that repeated use leads to addiction, whether you are using needles or not.
What is Heroin Addiction Pennsylvania?
A person who is a heroin addict continues to use the drug, even though they are experiencing negative consequences in their life as a result. They are not able to choose whether they are going to use heroin. Instead, they experience a “need” for it that becomes a driving force in their life.
Signs of Heroin Dependence Pennsylvania
Heroin addicts have similar experiences when they have become dependent on the drug, including:"

CAMERON DOUGLAS ARRESTED IN CRYSTL METH STING

Maria Clyne's story of how alcohol affected her health | Mail Online

Maria Clyne's story of how alcohol affected her health Mail Online: "Alcohol had been a constant feature in Maria Clyne's career as an IT trainer. Drink-fuelled lunches were followed by after-work bottles of wine and lazy Sundays were whiled away in the pub. Throughout her 30s, alcohol was the crutch that saw her through the breakdown of her marriage. But for Maria, the amount she drank was to have devastating consequences. At the age of 38, having suffered from irregular periods for five years, she discovered she had experienced an early menopause, a fact that her doctor said was most likely caused, and without doubt contributed to, by her binge-drinking. At her lowest point she was drinking two bottles of wine a day - 18 units, when the recommended weekly limit is 14 units. 'When I look back at my younger self, I want to take her by the shoulders and shake her,' says Maria, 42, now a practising addiction specialist based on London's Harley Street.
'I used to think getting drunk all the time was fun, I used to think it was just what young women did with their lives. 'From the time I turned 30, you could see the damage alcohol was doing to my body in terms of my skin being dry and blotchy, and I often felt exhausted and"

BBCW: Heroin Use Up in Missouri: Maybe Governor Jay Nixon Will Issue a Heroin Use Guide like NYC's

BBCW: Heroin Use Up in Missouri: Maybe Governor Jay Nixon Will Issue a Heroin Use Guide like NYC's: "Heroin treatment centers in Missouri have seen a 51% increase in heroin cases in Missouri over the last few years. Heroin death cases in Missouri rose 66% in 2007 and 2008. The DEA believes the problem has stretched far beyond the St. Louis city and metropolitan area.

Of course, much if this is coming across the border from Mexico, which once was a hot bed for cocaine trafficking, but heroine is easier to come by these days. Interstate 44 has become a major artery of drug trafficking leading the drugs to Chicago."

Corby applies for clemency citing depression

Corby applies for clemency citing depression: "Australian Schapelle Corby, serving a 20-year jail term in Indonesia for drug smuggling, has applied for presidential clemency, saying she is suffering from depression that could endanger her life.
Corby was convicted in May 2005 of smuggling marijuana onto the resort island of Bali.
A registrar at the Denpasar District Court on Monday said that Corby had filed a clemency application late last month citing her poor mental state and asking for her sentenced to be reduced.
Clemency decisions in Indonesian can take months."

The Canadian Press: Quebec health officials warn of lethal mix of cocaine, anti-parasite drug

The Canadian Press: Quebec health officials warn of lethal mix of cocaine, anti-parasite drug: "warning that cocaine cut with an anti-parasitic medication is hitting the streets in the province and can cause a severe adverse reaction in illicit drug users.
The pharmaceutical levamisole - most commonly used by veterinarians to treat worm infestations-has been cropping up in the U.S. and Canada as a common adulterant to cut cocaine for street level consumption.
Use of the anti-parasitic drug by humans can cause nausea, dizziness and diarrhoea and - with repeated exposure - can lead to a reduced white blood cell count and a suppressed immune system.
The dangerous mix can also cause high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat.
Last November, U.S. health authorities launched a health alert about the dangers of the blend after finding some 70 per cent of cocaine tested by drug enforcement authorities in July 2009 was positive for levamisole.
In a Quebec study, the public health institute found the presence of levamisole in eight out of ten blood samples taken from known drug users.
Cases have also cropped up in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia."

The Growth of the Heroin Trade in Afghanistan: How Afghanistan and the Golden Crescent Supply the World with Heroin

The Growth of the Heroin Trade in Afghanistan: How Afghanistan and the Golden Crescent Supply the World with Heroin: "Afghanistan has become known in recent years as the heroin capital of the world. The notorious Helmand Province alone produces enough heroin to meet almost half of global demand, and Afghanistan as a whole supplies 92% of the world's opiates. In 2008, it's estimated that 8,200 tonnes of heroin was cultivated and processed in the country, which has a 'farmgate' value of around a billion dollars. This is around double the amount of heroin the country was producing just three years previously."

Bill to legalize medical use of marijuana advances in Senate - baltimoresun.com

Bill to legalize medical use of marijuana advances in Senate - baltimoresun.com: "bill that would legalize medical marijuana.

Senators backed a procedural move on Friday that will allow a final vote on the measure.

The proposal would allow pharmacies to distribute marijuana to patients who receive authorization from a physician with whom they have had ongoing medical relationships. It would also re-categorize marijuana as a highly regulated pain medication like morphine instead of keeping it in the same category of drugs like heroin.

The bill has bipartisan support. An aide to House Speaker Michael Busch says members of a House group studying a similar bill will probably hold it for review during the months before next year's session, meaning the measure is not likely to become law this year."

more than 900000 Afghans are hooked on heroin

While Afghanistan is blamed for the vast majority of heroin that’s trafficked around the world, the level of addiction at home is a growing problem. Official figures show more than 900000 Afghans are hooked on heroin, and nearly a quarter of those addicts are women and children. Alan Fisher reports from Kabul on a new clinic dedicating its efforts to helping women and girls get clean. – world news

METH DECAY

close down methadone treatment the community can anticipate more overdose deaths, more HIV and more crime.

methadone should be readily available to all addicts seeking help.

If policymakers were to heed the critics' advice to close down methadone treatment the community can anticipate more overdose deaths, more HIV and more crime. Letter to The Scotsman International panel of experts

The group - which includes university professors and doctors who treat addicts - wrote in the letter: "No treatment in medicine works every time but methadone treatment has helped more people in the world overcome their problems with heroin than any other."
It went on: "If policy makers were to heed the critics' advice to close down methadone treatment or impose an arbitrary time limit on its administration, the community can anticipate more overdose deaths, more HIV and more crime."
The letter is a response to comments from Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, who said last week more effort was needed to get people off drugs, including methadone, through abstinence.
Professor McKeganey has defended his views and claimed the signatories to the letter did not understand the extent of the drugs problem in Scotland, where 22,000 addicts are on methadone.
State of dependency
He said: "Much of the methadone programme in Scotland is not about getting people off, it's about continuing them in a state of dependency."
He claimed there were now parts of Scotland where there were more addict deaths associated with methadone than heroin.
"We don't see the evidence of stabilised addicts. You walk around the streets, you see people in the most desperate of circumstances."
But the man who organised the letter in The Scotsman, Dr Roy Robertson from the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, said removing methadone would cause many more problems.
He told BBC Scotland: "A decrease in availability of methadone would give rise to all sorts of things - increasing sudden deaths, blood-borne virus spread, HIV infection, hepatitis C infection and all that social problem area that ends up with people in custody, and causes violence and criminality.
"There's a huge amount of unhappiness for people and their families and lives and communities blighted and devastated by the problems related to drug use."
The letter in The Scotsman ends by calling on policymakers to be clear about the value and importance of methadone treatment.

Cocaine vs. Amphetamine

Difference Between Cocaine and Amphetamine

Cocaine and amphetamine are two different drug forms, with varying specific mechanisms of action. They are perhaps viewed with much confusion, because their general effects on the user are somewhat similar.

It is ironic to note that cocaine in itself is an illegal drug. Its distribution and sale, especially for non medical or non government authorized purposes, is purely prohibited. However, it is also a known fact that cocaine is a drug that is widely used among many social classes and races throughout the world.Amphetamine, like cocaine, is a drug that can induce euphoria. It increases one’s alertness and initial concentration by lessening the levels of fatigue. This increased wakefulness can however reduce one’s appetite. Because of this nature, the drug has been a popular fad for those who wish to lose weight and control their food cravings. Otherwise known as ‘speed’, amphetamine stimulates the nervous system, particularly the CNS. For medical reasons, it is used for the therapeutic management of ADHD, narcolepsy and severe cases of prolonged fatigue.

Other physical effects of using amphetamine includes: Pupil dilation, skin flushing, dryness of the mouth, headaches, heightened BP, increased heart rate and even erectile dysfunction among men. In more critical scenarios, convulsions may occur, most especially when the drug is taken in high dosages. Continuous drug abuse of such can also lead to heart attacks, which is also seen in cocaine overdose.

In terms of the more in-depth physical mechanism of cocaine, it can bind directly with a DAT1 transporter with greater efficacy than that of amphetamine. It also has a half life of only an hour, whereas amphetamine lasts from 12 to 13 hours.

Amphetamine can be taken in any of the following routes of administration: PO (oral), IV (intravenous), vaporization, rectal, sub-lingual (below the tongue) and also insufflation. Cocaine can be taken topically aside from PO, insufflation and intravenously.

Although both amphetamine and cocaine stimulates the CNS to cause euphoria, and possibly decrease appetite, these drugs differ in the following aspects:

1. Cocaine has greater efficacy than amphetamine.

2. Cocaine can be taken topically, unlike amphetamine.

3. Amphetamine has a longer half life compared to cocaine.

Concerned workers at the National Primate Research Center said Bobo, a 5-year-old chimpanzee participating in a 16-month cocaine study, was observed this week lying to the faces of friends, family, and staff.

Concerned workers at the National Primate Research Center said Bobo, a 5-year-old chimpanzee participating in a 16-month cocaine study, was observed this week lying to the faces of friends, family, and staff.
"Our goal was to determine how large doses of the stimulant would improve or impair the chimpanzee's ability to perform memory and language tasks," said primatologist Daniel Martin, the project's lead researcher. "What we found was that cocaine not only disrupted Bobo's concentration and recall, but it also caused him to lie, cheat, and emotionally manipulate those around him."
Continued Martin, "Essentially, Bobo has become an asshole."
According to researchers, initial results of the study were promising, with Bobo energetically completing cognition tests in record times.
Within weeks, however, he reportedly began to develop violent mood swings, delusions of grandeur, and other troubling behaviors, such as begging his fellow participants to let him take their place in line so he could score a double dose of the drug he craved.
Enlarge ImageA researcher chronicles Bobo's descent into thievery and lies.
Witnesses said that once Bobo began taking advantage of the chimps in his life, family and friends further enabled his behavior by always giving him "one last chance."
"How many times can Bobo aggressively lash out at them, become contrite, act sorrowful, and then lash out again before they realize he has a problem?" research assistant Karen Grant said. "His life is spinning out of control, and they need to confront him about it. If they don't, one day they'll find him facedown under the tire swing—dead from an overdose."
By the third week of the study, Bobo had turned to theft to feed his growing habit: The addicted primate was observed stealing bananas from his loved ones, lying about it, and then attempting to conceal his misdeed by actually pretending to help them search for the missing fruit.
"Deceitful behaviors such as theft are highly unusual for primates," Martin said. "But the fact that Bobo approached us that same night and tried to exchange the stolen bananas for more cocaine is what's truly astonishing."
"It's like he's a different Bobo now," he added.
Early in the study, Bobo's elevated mood and excessive chattering made him quite popular among the other chimpanzees. But researchers claimed that his increased irritability, short temper, and absenteeism at the jungle gym did not go unnoticed.
According to laboratory sources, when Martin and his team began injecting Bobo with highly concentrated solutions of cocaine, the chimp took to skipping meals altogether, often covering up for his lack of appetite by signing to friends that he had eaten a big lunch that day and wasn't hungry.
Last February, Bobo reportedly grew so self-deluded that he believed he had become the group's alpha male. In reality, however, his rank in the dominance hierarchy had reached a new low, especially after several cocaine-fueled episodes in which he threatened other males and then made forceful, awkward advances toward uninterested females.
"It was embarrassing," Martin said. "A lot of our researchers have been unable to look at Bobo the same way since."
Chimp sources confirmed that in recent weeks Bobo has stopped hanging out with friends in the control group, who only receive a placebo.
"Fight. Mad. Bobo. Please more juice drink," Pipa, a 6-year-old chimpanzee, told reporters by pressing symbols on a specially designed keyboard. "Pipa scared. Old Bobo. We want back."
Claiming they don't even know who the chimpanzee is anymore, researchers hypothesized that the constant ingestion of cocaine may have taken a physical toll on Bobo, who now staggers around on all fours, grunts nonsensically, and has been spotted trying to groom insects that aren't actually there.
Martin acknowledged that Bobo's cognitive abilities have also suffered, saying that the restless primate no longer shows any interest in finishing his assigned tasks and often does little more than flip off the researchers.
"We definitely didn't teach him to do that," Martin said. "That's totally the cocaine."
As of press time, Bobo was reportedly sprawled out on the floor of the laboratory, begging for more cocaine and offering to give researchers hand jobs in exchange for some.

Overcoming cocaine addiction is a difficult task but it is not impossible.

Anyone is capable of getting addicted to cocaine if he or she consumes the drug on a regular basis. Overcoming cocaine addiction is a difficult task but it is not impossible. It needs an incredible amount of will power for a user to quit their habit when they have surpassed the limits of recreational drug use into addiction.
Addiction is a condition whereby the sufferer gets the urge to consume the harmful substance in high quantities. Often, the concerned person is aware of the harmful effects of addiction, but is not willing to accept that he or she is addicted.
In severe addiction cases, the effect of the drug is so bad that the addict is even willing to give up on his or her family to continue abusing the body.
Many factors are responsible for cocaine addiction. Some use the drug due to peer pressure or a heavy party lifestyle, others use it to escape stress, depression, career related problems and still others use cocaine for confidence. With frequent use of cocaine, the body builds a tolerance to it. Higher doses are then need to satisfy the addicts’ cravings.
It is important to seek treatment for cocaine addiction as soon as it becomes evident that you are unable to stop using the drug