Cocaine Laced With Veterinary Drug Causing Serious Illness

A federal agency warned this week that cocaine laced with levamisole, a veterinary anti-parasitic drug, has caused 20 cases of a serious medical disorder. Officials at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration say they expect to see more cases of people sickened by the adulterated cocaine as doctors learn of the association. The drug mixture … Read more

FDA Panel Recommends Approval of New Oxycodone Formulation

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today An FDA advisory panel voted to recommend approval of a new formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride (OxyContin) that is more difficult to crush or dissolve, and which may deter drug abuse. By a 14-4 margin, with one abstention, the panel recommended that the FDA approve Purdue Pharma’s application … Read more

New Face Of Addiction In America

By Jane Velez-Mitchell Addiction in America has a new face: prescription drugs. Last year, prescription drugs replaced heroin and cocaine as the leading cause of deadly overdoses. And celebrities are showing us that mixing prescription pills — the pills you may have in your home right now — could be just as deadly as shooting … Read more

Harvested To Make Ecstasy, Cambodia’s Trees Are Felled One By One

International drug trade drives illicit safrole-oil factories deep in the Cardamom mountains. By Sam Campbell — Special to GlobalPost “Clandestine factories deep in the Cardamom Mountains of western Cambodia are producing safrole oil — also known as sassafras oil — the main ingredient in the party drug Ecstasy. The recreational drug produces a euphoria its … Read more

Woman Accused Of Stealing Patients’ Morphine, Replacing It With Water

“A Cumberland County nursing home worker is accused of stealing liquid morphine from patients and replacing the pain-relieving drug with water. Link worked at The Bridges at Bent Creek Assisted Living facility in Silver Springs Township. While there, police said Lint stole the morphine and other prescription drugs to feed her own habit.” https://www.wgal.com/cnn-news/20687523/detail.html

Pot ‘Plantations’ on the Rise

Border Crackdown Makes Farming in U.S. Forests Attractive; Cartel Links Suspected By STEPHANIE SIMON “Marijuana growers, many believed to be affiliated with Mexican drug cartels, are aggressively expanding their illegal farming operations in the U.S., clearing land to plant pot in dozens of national forests from coast to coast. Authorities have discovered pot farms in … Read more