Category Archives: Drug Dependency

SEABROOK, N.J., Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Seabrook House Founder, Margaret "Peg" Diehl, was recently honored with the Standish F. Hansell Award for Excellence in Addiction Treatment. This distinctive recognition lauded her dedication to providing assistance for those struggling with addiction, along with offering support services to a patient's family members. The award is made by Livengrin Foundation, of Bensalem, PA, to acknowledge significant efforts in the field of addiction services and related cultural, medical and policy advances undertaken by its honorees. Mrs. Diehl thus joins the small list of Hansell Award winners who have dedicated themselves to improving the nation's attitudes about, and services for, those challenged by alcoholism and drug dependency. "It was truly an honor to see my mother be recognized for her hard work and dedication over the years by others in the addiction treatment field," said Ed Diehl, President of Seabrook House and son of Peg Diehl. "My mother co-founded Seabrook House in 1974, and has been devoted to a 'family treatment approach.' She saw firsthand the importance of providing support services to spouses, parents and the children of those struggling with addiction. It was her desire to establish a treatment center closer to home in … Continue reading →

Heroin bust signals growing problem in NKY A large heroin bust this week in Florence is the latest sign of the spike in use of the drug in northern Kentucky. "We just talked about it at our last meeting with EMS coordinators, and everybody is seeing the same thing, a big increase in it," said Todd Schulkers, assistant chief of the Erlanger fire department. A half-kilo of the narcotic was seized from two Texas men by federal agents in the parking lot of Walmart on Houston Road, police said. Emergency responders said they regularly treat overdose victims at interstate exits, where addicts returning from buying the drug in Cincinnati stop to use the drug. "It's like they can't wait, so they pull off the exit, pull into a gas station or a restaurant and just shoot up right there," Schulkers said. Tom Garamy, a chemical dependency therapist with St. Elizabeth Hospitals, said more pain pill users are moving to heroin because changes to prescription drugs have made it more difficult for them to get high. Heroin dealers are now catering to what addicts want, he said. "Better quality, better purity, less expensive, and that's really why you're seeing so much … Continue reading →

The research, from the NHS's National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA), showed that, overall, the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction is declining - in line with government figures for wider drug use. However, the one age group that is increasingly seeking treatment is the over-40s. Nearly 62,000 people over 40 are currently receiving treatment for drug addiction in the UK, compared with 58,617 the year before. The over-40s age group is the only one which has seen an increase of people in treatment in the last year, and has the number is almost double that amount in treatment in 2005/2006. It is also leading to an increasing number of deaths in the age range - with 802 dying from drug misuse in 2011 compared to 504 in 2001. The 18-24 age group has seen those in treatment decline from 32,948 in 2005/2006 to 21,290 in 2011/2012. Heroin is the most prolific drug being treated in the over-40s category, followed by combined heroin and crack addiction. Fifty five per cent of over-40s being treated for drug dependency are addicted to heroin, the survey found, with another 32 per cent addicted to a combination of heroin and crack. … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, England, and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 4,2012 /PRNewswire/ --Horizon Discovery Ltd (Horizon), a leading provider of research tools to support the development of personalized medicines, and H3 Biomedicine Inc. today announced the launch of SyntheTx, a technology partnership program aiming to become a major supplier of novel oncology targets and early-stage drug discovery programs to the pharmaceutical industry. H3 Biomedicine, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of targeted patient-specific cancer treatments, is the first partner for the program. Additional biotechnology and/or pharmaceutical partners will be sought in the first 12 to 18 months of the program. Professor Alan Ashworth, Professor of Molecular Biology at the Institute of Cancer research (ICR) and pioneer of synthetic lethality screening, will join Horizon's Scientific Advisory Board to provide oversight of the program. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120430/NY96379LOGO ) Horizon and H3 Biomedicine will screen up to 50 currently "undruggable" but key cancer-driving genotypes, with the aim of identifying a range of targets that will be optioned by Horizon and H3 for further development. Any targets not optioned by H3 Biomedicine or Horizon will be made available on commercial terms to the pharmaceutical industry at the end of the program. The program will also capitalize … Continue reading →

Oct 4 2012 Drug addicts are getting older and more over-40s are dying, health officials have said. But younger adults are becoming more savvy about the dangers of addiction and the number of young heroin addicts has dropped to its lowest recorded level, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) said. Paul Hayes, the NTA's chief executive, also rejected suggestions that the Government should do a "hand-brake turn" and start legalising or decriminalising drugs. "Any move towards legalisation would certainly mean an increase in use, particularly in the most problematic drugs," he said. "It isn't (Sir) Richard Branson having an extra spliff that's an issue. It's people who struggle with life in Liverpool and Manchester and the East End of London who are actually going to bear the consequences." Sir Richard is among high-profile campaigners who have called for changes to the Government's drugs policy. The warning came as NTA figures showed the over-40s now make up almost a third of the whole treatment population in England, with more than 16,000 starting a new course of treatment in 2011/12. More over-40s are also dying from drug misuse, up to 802 last year from 504 in 2001, the figures showed. … Continue reading →

Drug addicts are getting older and more over-40s are dying, health officials have said. But younger adults are becoming more savvy about the dangers of addiction and the number of young heroin addicts has dropped to its lowest recorded level, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) said. Paul Hayes, the NTA's chief executive, also rejected suggestions that the Government should do a "hand-brake turn" and start legalising or decriminalising drugs. "Any move towards legalisation would certainly mean an increase in use, particularly in the most problematic drugs," he said. "It isn't (Sir) Richard Branson having an extra spliff that's an issue. It's people who struggle with life in Liverpool and Manchester and the East End of London who are actually going to bear the consequences." Sir Richard is among high-profile campaigners who have called for changes to the Government's drugs policy. The warning came as NTA figures showed the over-40s now make up almost a third of the whole treatment population in England, with more than 16,000 starting a new course of treatment in 2011/12. More over-40s are also dying from drug misuse, up to 802 last year from 504 in 2001, the figures showed. Heroin also remains … Continue reading →

WORCESTER Since 2007, police have made nearly 1,000 arrests for prostitution-related offenses, but that alone has not been enough to eradicate the problem, especially in the citys Main South area. In fact, things have reached the point in which the City Council recently gave City Manager Michael V. OBrien the go-ahead to file special legislation that would authorize the forfeiture of motor vehicles used in connection with prostitution in the city. Meanwhile, District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera wants the city to tackle prostitution with the same kind of fervor it has with panhandling. She said the city needs to look at prostitution as more than just a public safety issue; she contends it is very much a public health issue as well. Ms. Rivera said the large number of people continuing to get caught through police stings shows prostitution is still a big problem in Worcester. In response to the councils desire to see more done about chronic prostitution, Mr. OBrien said the citys Division of Public Health will soon begin researching possible long-term solutions to the health consequences of prostitution drug dependency and abuse, violence and sexually transmitted diseases. He said those policy recommendations and strategies will be coordinated … Continue reading →

After news broke of the Wednesday death of Sons of Anarchy star Johnny Lewis -- who was also named a murder suspect in the death of his landlady, Catherine Davis -- more details are emerging about the life of the actor, who was 28. Back in 2004, Lewis (who also appeared on The OC, Alien Vs. Predator and American Dream) promoted Narcanon, an anti-drug program created by the Church of Scientology, the Daily News reports. The paper also writes that Lewis' parents were both active Scientologists, with his father, Michael Lewis, appearing in an instructional self-help video based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, the Church's founder. PHOTOS: Stars we've lost Although toxicology reports are pending, authorities are investigating whether Lewis was on a new, synthetic drug known as "Smiles" before the violent rampage at 81-year-old Davis' house in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. On Wednesday, Lewis got into a violent altercation with Davis, neighbor Daniel Blackburn and a handyman; police report that Davis was bludgeoned to death, and Lewis eventually jumped or fell off the roof, leading to his death. PHOTOS: Celeb Scientologists "We still don't have a motive, whether this was just the random act … Continue reading →

The trunk of a vehicle used to smuggle bags of heroin into the United States. Law enforcement experts say the drug, once mostly limited to urban areas, now is available virtually nationwide. Heroin often is taken up by people addicted to prescription pain drugs no longer able to get high on them or unable to afford or find them. Submitted photo Tiny bags of heroin are weighed on a scale at the Lee County Sheriff's Office following a recent bust. Mexican "black tar" heroin ranging in color from dark brown to black, is a less pure form of heroin that tends to be sticky like roofing tar or hard like coal. Because of its consistency, it's usually dissolved and injected or smoked, rather than snorted or sniffed. It's more likely to be distributed in the western and southwestern parts of the United States. Mexican drug gangs are purported to be behind the rise of this type of heroin availability. SHNS photo by Emmanuel Tambakakis Above: Some paraphernalia typically used to inject heroin: needles, syringes, spoons, cotton balls and tiny plastic bags. The parents of a 20-year-old Maryland overdose victim found the material under his bed after he died. The general … Continue reading →

BLOOMINGTON A 1-year-old girl died accidentally of a drug overdose, a McLean County inquest jury ruled Thursday. Laina Stevenson was found unresponsive in her bed by her father, Martin Stevenson, around 5:30 a.m. May 8 after the childs twin sister woke up crying, according to information given to the inquest panel by Coroner Beth Kimmerling. Stevenson, 25, faces felony charges for endangering the health of a child resulting in a death. He is accused of allowing the child access to Suboxone, a drug prescribed to treat opiate dependency. He was arrested Aug. 15 and remains in jail in lieu of $50,025. The coroner said observations during the autopsy pointed to a potential drug overdose. Toxicology reports returned in August turned up evidence of what Kimmerling described as fatal concentrations of Suboxone. Normal Police Det. Nicole Bruno testified thatStevenson and his wife Marta told authorities the children suffered from allergies and were given an allergy medication and a pain reliever before they went to bed. They also reported that Laina had trouble staying awake during her dinner. MartinStevenson admitted to a drug relapse days before the childs death and to obtaining a prescription for Suboxone. According to Bruno, the father initially … Continue reading →