Category Archives: Drugs

Troubled former AFL star Ben Cousins was allegedly carrying drugs inside his body when arrested at an airport in country WA. Cousins, 33, flew back to Perth on Wednesday night after he was released on bail for possession with intent to sell or supply methamphetamine. He had appeared that afternoon in Kalgoorlie Magistrates court via videolink from Esperance, 400km to the south, for breach of bail conditions following his arrest and release. Cousins had tried to leave the coastal town and fly back to Perth in breach of his original bail conditions requiring him to stay in Esperance. He was arrested again but his bail conditions were altered after his court appearance to allow him to be released to an address in Perth. He will appear in Perth Magistrate's Court on Monday, April 2, and is required to report to police three times a week. A confessed methamphetamine addict, Cousins had been attending a drug rehabilitation clinic in Esperance - called Teen Challenge - for the past month. He had flown back to Perth to visit his partner and baby over the weekend, and was returning to Esperance on Tuesday night when two waiting undercover officers arrested and reportedly strip-searched … Continue reading →

AsiaOne Saturday, Apr 07, 2012 SEPANG, Malaysia - Ketamine weighing 12kg hidden in frames of ornamental mirrors were among the drugs worth RM1.83 million (S$752,679)seized by KLIA Customs Department from 3 foreigners in 2 separate cases on Thursday. At 2.30am, an Indian national who arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal from Bangalore with a social visit pass had brought 12 pieces of face mirrors. Scanners revealed suspiciously unidentified objects at the back of the mirrors, which prompted further checks by the Customs enforcement unit. They were twelve 1kg white powder in plastic packs, positively tested to be ketamine worth RM480,000. KLIA Customs Department deputy director Siti Baya Berahan said it was the second time the 26-year-old man from India had entered the country. "He first came to Malaysia last year, in November," she said. The second case involved 2 male tourists from Hong Kong that were found with RM1.43 million of assorted drugs in a raid at a condominium in Kuala Lumpur by the Customs federal narcotic unit and KLIA enforcement unit earlier at 12.30am. "Syabu, ketamine, cannabis with Ecstacy and Eramin-5 pills were found in the unit where the men, aged 56 and 60, stayed," Siti Baya said. … Continue reading →

Enlarge Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Photographer Mick Rock in New York City, 2011 Photographer Mick Rock in New York City, 2011 Mick Rock is really his name though he's Michael to his mother and he is exactly what you might imagine a rock photographer to be: tall and hip with shaggy hair. Shaded Ray-Bans, jean jacket, scarf. Oh, and an English accent to boot so he can drop words like "bloody" and "shag" with allure (though he doesn't shy from the American equivalents, either). "In any other era, dogs wouldn't have pissed on me," he says. "Thank God for Mick and Keith," who helped make lanky, messy Englishmen cool. He's referring to the Rolling Stones, of course. Now in his 60s, Rock remembers the '70s well. Or, parts of them. And it goes without saying that the times have changed. "The world is swamped with media today," he says. "I go to an event and I get photographed. Shoot the bloody photographer? What the hell is that about?" On a recent night in Washington, D.C., for example, the cameras click incessantly (guilty) as Rock gives a few words at the opening of his aptly titled traveling photo show, Rocked. It originated … Continue reading →

SEATTLE U.S. Air Force pilot Patrick Burke's day started in the cockpit of a B-1 bomber near the Persian Gulf and proceeded across nine time zones as he ferried the aircraft home to South Dakota. Every four hours during the 19-hour flight, Burke swallowed a tablet of Dexedrine, the prescribed amphetamine known as "go pills." After landing, he went out for dinner and drinks with a fellow crewman. They were driving back to Ellsworth Air Force Base when Burke began striking his friend in the head. "Jack Bauer told me this was going to happen you guys are trying to kidnap me!" he yelled, as if he were a character in the TV show "24." When the woman giving them a lift pulled the car over, Burke leaped on her and wrestled her to the ground. "Me and my platoon are looking for terrorists," he told her before grabbing her keys, driving away and crashing into a guardrail. Burke was charged with auto theft, drunk driving and two counts of assault. But in October, a court-martial judge found the young lieutenant not guilty "by reason of lack of mental responsibility" the almost unprecedented equivalent, at least in modern-day military courts, … Continue reading →

Courtesy FDA U.S. officials seized Altuzan, a Turkish version of Avastin. The discovery of a second batch of a phony cancer drug in the United States this week has frustrated regulators in California, where the nation's most stringent law to track and trace pharmaceuticals was passed in 2004 but has yet to be implemented. Federal authorities said Tuesday that a counterfeit version of Genentech's best-selling cancer drug Avastin has been found in undisclosed locations - less than two months after another bogus version of the same drug made it to medical offices in Southern California, Texas and Illinois. "It's a situation that really is stunning the medical community right now. Everybody begins to question every drug," said Dan Wood, spokesman for the Medical Board of California, the state agency that regulates physicians. Fake prescription drugs, along with diluted or expired medications, are a growing problem in the United States and around the world. About 11 times as many cases of counterfeit drugs were verified in 2010 as in 2002 - 2,054, up from 196 - according to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, a nonprofit, industry-backed organization that performs the analysis. The World Health Organization estimates that less than 1 percent of … Continue reading →

Ben Cousins is leaving court after he appeared on drugs charges. Ben Cousins' lawyer said it was unlikely his client would face jail even if convicted as the prominent ex-football star made a brief appearance in a Perth court on drugs charges this morning. Cousins was accompanied by his father Bryan and sat silently beside his lawyer Michael Tudori during the hearing at Perth Magistrates Court today. The 33-year-old was arrested on Tuesday night at Esperance Airport, where police were waiting for him to arrive on a flight from Perth, charged with possession of 4.56 grams of methylamphetamine. Advertisement: Story continues below Personal struggle: Ben Cousins. Photo: Joe Armao He was not required to enter a plea, and the matter has been adjourned until June 27 for a committal mention in Perth District Court. Cousins' bail conditions were amended today and he was no longer required to reside at the drug rehabilitation centre Teen Challenge in Esperance, where he had been heading at the time of his arrest. The residential condition was deleted on the basis that Cousins pay a $2000 surety. Mr Tudori told the court that it was unnecessary because he was not likely to face jail time … Continue reading →

LONDON In a nondescript suburb south of London, tucked away behind a big hospital, Paul Workman and fellow scientists are celebrating victory in the "World Cup" of cancer drug research for their work in discovering a stream of new medicines. But the win is bitter-sweet. One of the new drugs behind the coveted prize from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has been deemed too costly to use in state-run British hospitals like the one next door. It is a stark example of the pricing crisis now facing cancer medicines across the globe. In developed and developing countries alike, patients and governments are struggling to pay for modern drugs that are revolutionising cancer care but may cost tens of thousands of dollars a year for each patient. "It's very frustrating," says Workman, who heads up the drug discovery unit at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), which is funded in large part by charities. What is needed, he believes, is a new model that takes advantage of the highly specific nature of modern targeted therapies to slash drug development timelines and costs. In the long term, Workman is convinced that will happen. But for the moment the world is … Continue reading →

Please install the latest Flash player [To view Flash please enable JavaScript and Flash.] Hunters Hill's Hazel and Aggi Theocharous with kids Myles, 4, and James, 11 are delighted they will be paying less for their medicine. Picture: Ella Pellegrini. Source: The Sunday Telegraph THE biggest price cuts in the history of the nation's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme will hit chemist shelves today, delivering big savings to families. Prices will be slashed on 1000 brands of 60 popular prescription medicines by up to $14 per script. Some of the most widely used medications, including scores of antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, cholesterol controllers, laxatives, blood pressure and heart drugs, will fall in price, thanks to a Gillard government move which brings drug costs into line with the market price. A 20-pack of heavy-duty painkiller Panadeine Forte will fall by up to $4.32, a course of antibiotic Augmentin Duo Forte will fall by up to $3.33, a month's supply of anti-depressant Prozac will fall by a maximum of $3.35, and widely used cholesterol tablets Lopid will fall by up to $7.32 for a 60-pack. With an average checkout saving to consumers of $3 per script, the move will save hundreds of dollars per year … Continue reading →

Drugs affecting clock genes could help tackle diabetes and obesity By John von Radowitz Friday, March 30, 2012 Drugs that affect the brains "biological clock" may help combat obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes, research suggests. Two synthetic molecules were used to alter the activity of "clock" genes that control night-and-day based body functions. Most living things, including humans, possess circadian rhythms that respond to 24-hour cycles of light and dark. When the new compounds were given to obese mice, they reduced their fat and cholesterol levels. The mice also became less prone to the high blood sugar condition hyperglycaemia, which can lead to diabetes. "The idea behind this research is that our circadian rhythms are coupled with metabolic processes and that can you modulate them pharmacologically," said lead scientist Professor Thomas Burris, from the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. "As it turns out, the effect of that modulation is surprisingly positive everything has been beneficial so far." The injected compounds, known as SR9011 and SR9009, were administered to the animals twice a day for 12 days. They targeted the hypothalamus, which houses the brains "master clock" that controls circadian rhythms. The drugs activated certain proteins which play a key role … Continue reading →

A DRUGS gang which supplied a serving police officer with cocaine were yesterday given prison sentences totalling 30 years. Det Sgt Paul Thompson was among the customers of a Ponteland-based crime gang headed by Stephen Wood and his brother David Wood. Trusted lieutenant Brian Thompson, a childhood friend of Stephen Wood, provided his brother, police officer Paul Thompson, with drugs. The former detective was cleared of corruption and conspiracy to supply drugs but was convicted of possessing cocaine and making illegal checks on the police database about tenants at properties owned by him and his wife. Now Stephen Wood has been jailed for 12 years, David Wood for eight years, Brian Thompson for six years and courier Stephen Burdett was given four years. When police raided David Woods home they found diaries which showed receipts of just under 1m from drug dealing, while Stephen Wood had invested almost 250,000 with a stockbroker in Leeds. The drugs ring was cracked after an investigation began into Paul Thompson in 2010 in relation to his obtaining of cocaine for his own use. When police put the Thompsons and Woods under surveillance they uncovered a large scale supply chain. Tim Gittins, prosecuting, said: The … Continue reading →