Drug News You Can Use

Harford’s newest drug epidemic also a national problem

Abuse of painkillers, other prescription drugs on the rise, police say.

Prescription drugs have become the drug of choice to abuse in Harford County, over both cocaine and heroin, police and others who work in the drug abuse field say. The abuse is at epidemic levels in Harford County and police say the illegal sale of prescriptions brings its own set of challenges for the community and law enforcement.

The investigation and last week’s arrests of more than a dozen people police believe were illegally selling prescription medications, brought Harford County’s problem with prescription drug sales and addiction into focus. Police say the prescription drug abuse and trade has been growing over the past few years, but by how much has caught them by surprise.

The story is the same nationally, where abuse of pain killers and other prescription medications has risen to epidemic proportions in scores of small towns and counties, particularly among younger people in the teens, 20s and 30s.

“This is much more of a problem than even law enforcement realized,” Harford County Sheriff Jesse Bane said Thursday.

7 Middle School Students Caught With Marijuana

Seven students from Park Middle School have been caught possessing and buying marijuana from an adult who lives within 1,000 feet of their Kennewick school, police reported Thursday. A police investigation began just before 10 a.m. Wednesday at the school after students were caught with marijuana, said Kennewick officer Tony Valdez.

A joint investigation with officers and school officials identified three 13-year-old boys, two 12-year-old boys, a 12-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy as being involved with possessing and purchasing pot, Valdez said.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/04/22/1460755/park-middle-school-students-caught.html#ixzz1KYxKWjnn

Driving under influence of drugs? Watch out

If you get behind the wheel with traces of illegal drugs in your body, you potentially could face a prison sentence.

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday handed down the opinion in People v. Martin, reinstating Aaron Martin’s original conviction of aggravated driving under the influence and a six-year prison sentence.

Peoria County Circuit Court prosecutors convicted Martin of a charge of aggravated DUI because he was driving with methamphetamine in his body when his car crashed into an oncoming car, killing two people on Christmas night 2004.

Prescription Drug Abuse Spikes In Maine

Maine, the New England state better known for its striking coastline and wilderness, has the country’s highest rate of residents in treatment to kick OxyContin, the brand name for oxycodone, and has suffered one of the nation’s biggest spikes in pharmacy robberies.

The highly addictive opiate has been blamed for a rash of drug store break-ins by desperate addicts and drug dealers who hawk the valuable pills on the black market, authorities say.

One 80-milligram tablet of OxyContin, sometimes called “OC” or “hillbilly heroin,” fetches up to $100 on the street.

Seniors deal with ‘silent’ substance abuse

New research shows increasing numbers of seniors and the elderly are far from sober. It’s called a ‘silent addiction.’

By the year 2020, The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the number of seniors with alcohol or other drug problems to leap 150 percent. And the issue goes unnoticed.

“We become more isolated to those public sectors that would identify us,” said Edward Harper, coordinator for senior services at Blount Memorial Hospital.

Research shows while some users are continuing a lifelong habits, others are late onset abusers, where generational differences, even physical changes related to aging, play a role.