Category Archives: Drug Dependency

Syracuse, NY -- Bath salts is an elusive drug. Its not the Epsom salts available at a bath and body store. Its not a single type of drug. And these days, it may not even be called bath salts. Here are some frequently asked questions about bath salts: What Syracuse can learn from Louisiana's "bath salts" epidemic What is it? Bath salts originally described a synthetic drug sold in crystals that mimicked the effects of amphetamines, also known as speed. The drug was first reported in Europe, including Ireland, in early 2010, according to news accounts. Since then, the drug has branched out to substances beyond Mephedrone and MDPV, the two original drugs. In slang, it now covers any synthetic drug that gives the user a euphoric high. But the term has become so well known to law enforcement that other slang terms are used: plant fertilizer, glass cleaner or research chemicals. Why is it so hard to stop? The major difference between synthetic drugs and their predecessors is that synthetic drugs can be tweaked to avoid detection and the law. Chemical test kits do not test for all drugs; law enforcement must know what drug to test for. So … Continue reading →

MILLARD Pearl River Countys jail soon will house up to 75 more state inmates as they participate in a program that will help them beat drug and alcohol dependency before they are released. The program is administered under the Mississippi Department of Corrections and will generate about $300,000 in additional revenue for the county, said Chief Deputy Shane Tucker. Within a month all of the state prisoners will have arrived at the jail and begin the program. Tucker said the Pearl River County jails recent accreditation by the American Correctional Association has enabled the jail to participate in the program. Tucker said the only other facility in south Mississippi qualified to run the program is in Leakesville in Greene County. The program is a mandate by MDOC before state inmates are released from jail, and uses an intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation curriculum to help break inmates dependency on such substances, Tucker said. Approval of this program by Commissioner Christopher Epps enables the jail to hold up to 75 more state inmates. MDOC will pay the county $20 per day per inmate. Tucker said after the expenses have been factored in to cover each inmates housing, food and the expense … Continue reading →

CINCINNATI - Odds are when you hear of bath salts you think of something soothing and relaxing. But don't. Instead, think of a stimulant drug like cocaine or methamphetamine; a drug growing in popularity primarily among young people. Our Scripps station in Cincinnati sat down with an area mother and daughter who battled the highly addictive drug to finally reach recovery. In order to protect the daughters identity, we will refer to her as Brianna. She loves to sing and has an angelic voice full of life, joy and rebirth. "She's got motivation again. She has a desire to do better. My daughter was also blessed with a beautiful singing voice and she's now singing again," said Roseanne, her mother. What stopped the 25-year-old's singing was a cruel and powerful drug -- deceptively labeled bath salts -- that can turn a beautiful song into the kind of devil's screech seen recently on a variety of YouTube videos from around the country. That behavior has awakened America to the new, bizarre, and often violent reality of bath salts. Brianna says it was never that bad for her, but she did spend days awake and hallucinating. "It was at the point where … Continue reading →

First introduced to the Stilnox in 2003 ... Grant Hackett. Photo: Reuters AS THE Australian Olympic Committee came to terms with revelations the use of sleeping tablet Stilnox was widespread at the Athens and Beijing Games, Australia's four largest sporting codes have said they won't be following John Coates's lead by banning the drug. The AOC moved yesterday to ban all its athletes from using the prescribed sleeping drug after a phone call from disgraced former swimmer Grant Hackett to Coates in which Hackett detailed how rampant the drug's use was in swimming. ''Grant Hackett telephoned me to tell me that he was first introduced to the drug in 2003 at the world swimming championships in Barcelona,'' Coates said yesterday. Advertisement: Story continues below ''He asked the team doctor for the temazepam, which he presumably knew something about, and instead he was prescribed Stilnox. And he told me that that was then being prescribed as normal practice by our swimming and Olympic team doctors in Athens.'' As a result, Coates accepted the blame for not being aware of the issue sooner and implementing change. And he has instructed AOC officials to amend the official medical manual to include the ban … Continue reading →

Wikimedia Commons Yevgeny Roizman, founder of the City Without Drugs Foundation, alongside part of his art collection Police raided thewomen's quarters ofa Yekaterinburg-based drug rehabilitation center Sunday after investigators accused thecenter ofbeating andillegally detaining patients. "They're taking thewomen's center bystorm. Thirty guys fromthe Interior Ministry's rapid-response unit. They tried tosmash inthe door but weren't able to. Thegirls [patients inthe center] opened it themselves," Yevgeny Roizman, founder ofthe Center Without Drugs Foundation, wrote onhis LiveJournal page. According toRoizman, police detained three female patients andone male patient over thecourse ofthe raids. Thehead ofthe press service forthe local branch ofthe Interior Ministry, Valery Gorelykh, later confirmed toRIA-Novosti that raids were taking place "in aso-called rehabilitation center" inconnection with anopen criminal case onkidnapping charges. Gorelykh said officers had sawed down thegrille anddoor ofa cell andseized akey fora set ofhandcuffs. He added that officers had found seven girls inthe center. Police have been searching City Without Drugs Foundation centers since June 17, when one ofthe center's female patients died after being hospitalized. Roizman has claimed that police pressure is the authorities' way of harassing him for his opposition views and said thepatient's drug dependency was toblame, writing onhis blog that her immunity was low as … Continue reading →

A man may have inadvertently thwarted an attempted date rape scenario, thanks to the appeal of a free tequila shot. Nick Fone, 24, said he was out drinking in the small hours of Thursday morning when he was the unsuspecting victim of a spiked drink. "I was just chatting to these girls when a guy came along with a shot of tequila. He offered it to both of them and they both turned it down." Mr Fone said he thought it was weird that even though there were two girls, he approached them with one single shot, "it was pretty ballsy." He said although he doesn't remember what the man looked like, he recalled he was a "big guy, he had one of those green jackets on with a German flag on the shoulder and longish greasy hair." Mr Fone said when the girls declined the tequila shot he volunteered to take it, and it was given to him reluctantly. "After I had it the guy came up to me, the music was blaring and he was saying something to me, I couldn't understand what he was saying and then I finally caught it, 'Rohypnol's in there'." Mr Fone said … Continue reading →

CINCINNATI - Odds are when you hear of bath salts you think of something soothing and relaxing. But don't. Instead, think of a stimulant drug like cocaine or methamphetamine; a drug growing in popularity primarily among young people. And think about a local mother and daughter who battled this highly addictive drug to finally reach recovery. In order to protect the daughters identity, we will refer to her as Brianna. She loves to sing and has an angelic voice full of life, joy and rebirth. "She's got motivation again. She has a desire to do better. My daughter was also blessed with a beautiful singing voice and she's now singing again," said Roseanne, her mother. What stopped the 25-year-old's singing was a cruel and powerful drug -- deceptively labeled bath salts -- that can turn a beautiful song into the kind of devil's screech seen recently on a variety of YouTube videos from around the country. That behavior has awakened America to the new, bizarre, and often violent reality of bath salts. Brianna says it was never that bad for her, but she did spend days awake and hallucinating. "It was at the point where my significant other and I … Continue reading →

CINCINNATI - Odds are when you hear of bath salts you think of something soothing and relaxing. But don't. Instead, think of a stimulant drug like cocaine or methamphetamine; a drug growing in popularity primarily among young people. And think about a local mother and daughter who battled this highly addictive drug to finally reach recovery. In order to protect the daughters identity, we will refer to her as Brianna. She loves to sing and has an angelic voice full of life, joy and rebirth. "She's got motivation again. She has a desire to do better. My daughter was also blessed with a beautiful singing voice and she's now singing again," said Roseanne, her mother. What stopped the 25-year-old's singing was a cruel and powerful drug -- deceptively labeled bath salts -- that can turn a beautiful song into the kind of devil's screech seen recently on a variety of YouTube videos from around the country. That behavior has awakened America to the new, bizarre, and often violent reality of bath salts. Brianna says it was never that bad for her, but she did spend days awake and hallucinating. "It was at the point where my significant other and I … Continue reading →

In the context of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (yesterday) can we hope for improvement in guiding desperate, vulnerable people towards true recovery from addiction? To put the scale of addiction into context, consider the following facts. There are around 10,000 problem drug users of heroin alone. Alcohol, being socially accepted is causing significant problem everywhere. All villages of this small island are affected by alcohol abuse. Addiction devastates our local communities, particularly our poorest areas. It is estimated that the harms arising from substance abuse, including health and social costs, amount to billion yearly. The National Agency for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Substance Abusers (Natresa) was established in December 1996 to co-ordinate and facilitate efforts at National level towards the implementation of programme for the prevention of substance abuse and the treatment, and rehabilitation of substance abusers. It is heartbreaking to find out that after so many years of existence, Natresa has failed in meeting its primary objectives as thousands of children are living in homes where a parent has a serious drug or alcohol problem. CURRENT TARGETS ARE FOR PROCESS, NOT LIFE CHANGE There has been an obsession with getting addicts into treatment … Continue reading →

11:11 a.m. PDT, June 26, 2012 SAN DIEGO -- State and federal officers raided the offices of a private drug treatment clinic Tuesday in connection with allegations that drugs were being overprescribed to patients, sources close to the investigation said. About a dozen agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, the California Medical Board and the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs executed two search warrants at the offices of Bay Recovery Center at 4241 Jutland Drive in Bay Park. The agents arrived at about 9 a.m. and interviewed employees and gather documents. Bay Recovery Center is an inpatient treatment center for chronic pain and drug dependency, according to Dr. Jerry Rand, the program's director. It has 24 beds in three homes overlooking Mission Bay. Agents executed additional search warrants Tuesday at each of the three treatment homes and at Rand's residence, officials said. In June, an amended complaint was filed against Rand with the California Medical Board alleging that he overprescribed drugs to himself and his patients, according to the board's website. The complaint alleges that a woman under Rand's care killed herself at one of the homes in 2008 on her 29th birthday. Rand's brother and an employee … Continue reading →