Category Archives: Drugs

RACHEL YOUNG Large quantities of performance and image-enhancing drugs have been found during police raids in Christchurch. An operating pill press, unidentified drugs, prescription medications and large sums of cash were some of the items seized in a series of inter-agency searches of properties throughout the country this week. Waikato Crime Services supervisor Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said police, Customs and Medsafe investigators raided properties in Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton as part of Operation Adder. The search teams found "large quantities" of performance and image-enhancing drugs and unidentified powders in Christchurch. Keall said there would be arrests in Christchurch afterscientific analysis of the unidentified powders and prescription medicines. "Operation Adder involved staff from each of the government agencies and centred on the investigation into a group who are alleged to have been importing the illicit drugs." He said the imported drugs wererepackaged and sold to customers in New Zealand for "considerable profit". The group was responsible for importing over21 kilograms of 4MEC, a common substance in ecstasy pills, which was sufficient to manufacture more than 200,000 pills with a total street value of $8 million. At one Hamilton address, several kilograms of illicit drugs, steroids and prescription medicines were … Continue reading →

RACHEL YOUNG Large quantities of performance and image-enhancing drugs have been found during police raids in Christchurch. An operating pill press, unidentified drugs, prescription medications and large sums of cash were some of the items seized in a series of inter-agency searches of properties throughout the country this week. Waikato Crime Services supervisor Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said police, Customs and Medsafe investigators raided properties in Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton as part of Operation Adder. The search teams found "large quantities" of performance and image-enhancing drugs and unidentified powders in Christchurch. Keall said there would be arrests in Christchurch afterscientific analysis of the unidentified powders and prescription medicines. "Operation Adder involved staff from each of the government agencies and centred on the investigation into a group who are alleged to have been importing the illicit drugs." He said the imported drugs wererepackaged and sold to customers in New Zealand for "considerable profit". The group was responsible for importing over21 kilograms of 4MEC, a common substance in ecstasy pills, which was sufficient to manufacture more than 200,000 pills with a total street value of $8 million. At one Hamilton address, several kilograms of illicit drugs, steroids and prescription medicines were … Continue reading →

Drug treatment has become one of the most important cornerstones of modern medicine, successfully influencing the course of many diseases. But in orthopedic surgery, drugs are still used surprisingly seldom. Technical advances like new fracture fixation devices and joint prostheses have revolutionized the lives of many orthopedic surgery patients. But, even today, some patients experience fractures that fail to heal, despite numerous operations, the most modern fracture devices, or bone transplants. Limb amputations are sometimes the only remaining solution in some of the most severe cases of fractures that do not knit together. Me and my fellow researchers believe that we can offer biological help in both fracture healing and in other diseases affecting bone. There are two main cell types in the bone involved during the healing of a fracture. Osteoclasts are specialized cells involved in resorption the breakdown and cleanup of dead bone in a fractured area so that new bone can be laid down. Osteoblasts are the cells responsible for the production of the new bone. A collaboration and a balance between the two are required, both for a swift response to a fracture, as well for maintenance of a functioning skeleton. Delayed healing or lack of … Continue reading →

Eighty percent of the worlds population today has access only to traditional remedies prepared from local plants as solutions for healing. Pharmaceutical research and its associated industries exploit natural products and materials to search for and prepare active ingredients for use as medicines. It is estimated that more than forty percent of the new drugs registered in the last thirty years were obtained or derived from natural sources, or were inspired by natural compounds. For centuries, humans depended exclusively on nature to find solutions for healing. The study of plant species has brought forth major contributions to medical knowledge and has lead to prototypes of major therapeutic drug classes; for example, cardiac glycosides from foxglove leaves (digitoxin), antimalarial drugs from cinchona bark (quinine), hypno-analgesic drugs from poppy latex (morphine), or anti-inflammatory drugs from white willow bark (salicylic acid). Additional studies have revealed evidence of their physiological receptors. This widespread usefulness may be related to the fact that plants, being sessile organisms, chiefly depend on their own structure and composition to achieve biological, physiological, and ecological functions as well as to adapt and survive. Plants can't move, can't yell to chase away aggressors, and can't fend off predators or parasites. So, … Continue reading →

Illustration: Andrew Dyson. Being tough on criminals may be a vote-winner, but putting addicts behind bars only causes other problems. EACH country gets the drugs problem it deserves.'' This is the view of Antonio Maria Costa, the former head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. His explanation is blunt: countries that rely primarily on law enforcement to deal with drug addicts and their associated crimes, rather than treating users as sufferers, perpetuate an expensive cycle of addiction, crime, incarceration and recidivism. By that measure, Australia deserves its big problem with drugs. Illicit drugs cost the national economy some $9 billion a year. Three-quarters of that is spent on law enforcement of drug offences and crimes committed by drug users. Prevention, treatment and harm reduction account for 10 per cent, 7 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. ''Drug addiction is a health condition,'' says Costa. ''It's a pathology that needs to be addressed not in prisons, therefore not by incarceration of the addict, but in hospitals. Prevention, treatment, rehabilitation programs, and then reintegration into society work better than the criminal justice system.'' Advertisement: Story continues below He is not alone in campaigning for a tectonic shift in … Continue reading →

By Vivienne Moxham-Hall. First published in The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 May 2012 Drugs have become so normalised in today's youth culture the penalties just don't matter as much, writes Vivienne Moxham-Hall. When you get to high school, you are taught that drugs are ''bad''. The teachers show you pictures and tell you the horror stories about drugs, but at that age, you can never really believe that something which looks like a sugar pill can wreak all that damage and the stories never really quench any curiosity. The kids at my high school, and others, started experimenting with drugs about the age of 16, when most of us were in year 9. It was mainly cannabis that they would smoke after school and it was usually the ''cool'' kids. But in years 10 and up, the appeal of drugs widened. Whole groups of friends were made around the rave culture and moved towards harder drug experimentation. Raving is where large groups of young adults of varying ages would dance to electronic beats while ''pinging''. The locations of these raves were often released the same day they occurred to avoid detection. These kids would practice their rave moves in their … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers say the U.S. approved more new medicines in less time than Europe and Canada in the last decade, challenging long-standing criticisms that the Food and Drug Administration lags behind its peers in clearing important new drugs. Between 2001 and 2010, the FDA's typical review of a new drug was about 15 percent faster than those by the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada, its counterparts abroad, according to a study published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine. The analysis by researchers at Yale and the Mayo Clinic is the first to compare the FDA's recent drug review performance to similar agencies around the world. Criticism that the FDA is too slow on drug approvals is a perennial theme for the pharmaceutical industry, which spends more than $50 billion annually to develop new drugs. The complaint has resurfaced in the past year as the industry renegotiates the fees it must pay the FDA to review new drug applications a program which is reauthorized by Congress every five years. The study authors address this issue directly, defending the agency's performance. "Our findings contradict recent criticisms of the speed of review by the FDA and lead to … Continue reading →

Bust ... police with marijuana plants in Melbourne last month. Photo: Jason South The war on drugs has raged for decades with organised crime the only winner. Catherine Armitage reports. Retired Salvation Army officer Brian Watters was startled to see Mick Palmer's name on the recent Australia21 think tank report which declared the war on drugs a failure and called for a national debate on ending drug prohibition. When Major Watters was made prime minister John Howard's key adviser on combating illicit drugs, Palmer, then Australian Federal Police commissioner, was his deputy. Heading the Australian National Council on Drugs from 1998, the two men fought side by side to implement Howard's ''tough on drugs'' policy. Palmer, then part way through what was to be a seven-year stint as head of the AFP, was responsible for implementing many of its beefed-up law enforcement measures. Advertisement: Story continues below Still hardline ... Major Brian Watters backs the tough approach. Photo: Lee Besford "He was just as strongly supportive of the [tough on drugs] approach as myself," said Watters this week. "If he went down the line with the stuff that was put out by Australia21, I would be be very, very surprised." … Continue reading →

Enlarge Keith Srakocic/AP Surplus and expired drugs collected during the DEA's fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. New research suggests it might be better for the environment to dispose of drugs in household trash. Surplus and expired drugs collected during the DEA's fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. New research suggests it might be better for the environment to dispose of drugs in household trash. American homes are filled with unused prescription drugs. Each year we squirrel away 200 million pounds of pharmaceuticals we don't need anymore, according to some estimates. Left in medicine cabinets, those drugs can end up in the hands of children or others who really shouldn't be taking them. Proper and timely disposal can avert those problems. Flushing or trashing drugs has been the norm for decades, but take-back programs have been springing up at pharmacies and police departments lately. The Drug Enforcement Administration has organized four nationwide take-back events since 2010. The most recent, in late April, collected more than 500,000 pounds of unwanted medications. Of course, any disposal method has environmental consequences. Flushing, for instance, has fallen out of favor for all but a handful of drugs because of concerns about water contamination. And … Continue reading →

DALLAS, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Anesthesia Drugs Market (2011 - 2015) - U.S. Market Entry Study" analyzes and studies the U.S. market for intravenous anesthesia drugs with special focus on ketamine, distribution structure of anesthesia drugs in U.S., potential buyers, export & import system for controlled substances in U.S. and U.S. market entry strategy. Browse market data tables and in-depth TOC of"Anesthesia Drugs Market (2011 - 2015) -U.S.Market Entry Study". http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/anesthesia-drugs-ketamine-market-713.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports. This report studies the U.S. Ketamine market over the period of 2007-2015. Ketamine market is expected to grow at a moderate rate from 2011 to 2016. Anesthesia is a condition in which sensation is totally or partially blocked. This enables the patients to undergo medical procedures and surgery. Based on the applications (type of surgery or medical procedure) anesthetic drugs are broadly categorized into two types; i.e. local anesthetic drugs and general anesthetic drugs. Local anesthesia is a condition when sensation within a specific body part in inhibited, where as general anesthesia results in loss of consciousness and sensation. General anesthesia includes blockage of pain, awareness, and memory. Advantages offered by general anesthesia includes - rapid onset of anesthesia, … Continue reading →