Category Archives: Drugs

18 September 2012 Last updated at 11:02 ET The police have apologised for battering down the front door of a house belonging to two 75-year-old pensioners during a search for drugs. The officers broke into the property in Lurgan at about 10:00 BST on Thursday. The couple's son, who did not want to be named, told BBC Radio Ulster's Nolan Show that his elderly mother had been "traumatised" by the incident. He said the officers were instructed to search a house a short distance away but had read the address incorrectly. The couple were not in the house at the time, but the man said his father was in his back garden when he heard "a terrible racket" and thought there had been a car crash at the front of his house. When he went to investigate, he found that his front door had been battered down by up to six PSNI officers. "They had stormed into the house and were in the hallway. The lead police officer then seemingly took a look at my father and, at that stage, I think they realised that they had made a mistake," their son said. "They had been given the correct information … Continue reading →

By Bloomberg News - 2012-09-18T02:28:10Z China cut the maximum retail prices for some cancer, immune and blood system drugs by an average of 17 percent, the countrys top planning agency said. Oncology, immune and blood system drugs are costly and have a greater impact on patients, so lowering their prices can effectively reduce the burden on patients, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement posted on its website today. The price cuts, effective October 8, comes as China seeks to rein in the rising cost of health care for its aging population. Policy makers are also expanding national health insurance coverage to include more major diseases, and adding to its list of essential drugs, for which prices are controlled by the government, Health Minister Chen Zhu said yesterday. This latest move was in-line with past drug price cuts of about 18 and 19 percent, so the market would see this as quite reasonable, said Gideon Lo, an analyst with Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong. China has cut the price of drugs five times since 2009, and more than 20 times since 2000, Lo said in a telephone interview. The latest round of price cuts, which affects … Continue reading →

18 September 2012 Last updated at 11:19 ET MSPs have been hearing about the apparent postcode lottery on the prescribing of new drugs. Holyrood's health committee was told that across Scotland on average a third of requests for new medicines were rejected. Doctors and politicians criticised the process branding it "overly complex". However, the Scottish government rejected the postcode lottery claim, saying patients were treated on a case by case basis. The committee heard from representatives of the Scottish Medicines Consortium, clinicians and drug companies. This is not a 'lottery' - these arrangements provide an opportunity for NHS boards to consider the needs of individual patients on a case by case basis, based on their expert clinical opinion Labour committee member, Dr Richard Simpson said he was concerned about the disparate nature of prescribing, with 14 different bodies making different decisions. He questioned the inconsistency across Scotland by saying: "If you have your heart attack in the west of the country, you will get access to a new drug, if it's in the east, you won't or vice versa, consistency is lacking in the system." Under the current rules, the Scottish Medicines Consortium approves a new medicine and individual doctors … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Accelerating Drugs to Market - Despite Challenges, Adaptive Clinical Trials Reduce Drug Development Costs and Time to Market http://www.reportlinker.com/p0969027/Accelerating-Drugs-to-Market---Despite-Challenges-Adaptive-Clinical-Trials-Reduce-Drug-Development-Costs-and-Time-to-Market.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Drug_Discovery_and_Development Accelerating Drugs to Market - Despite Challenges, Adaptive Clinical Trials Reduce Drug Development Costs and Time to Market Summary GBI Research's new report, "Accelerating Drugs to Market - Despite Challenges, Adaptive Clinical Trials Reduce Drug Development Costs and Time to Market", presents various tools and strategies which can accelerate a drug to the market. In this report, GBI Research has studied various hurdles at different stages of drug development that can halt a drug's development. The report provides detailed information about the need for accelerated drug development. Declining R&D productivity is highlighted as one of the major needs to be addressed. The report outlines misconceptions regarding accelerated drug development; one such major misconception is the cost of development. The cost of an accelerated development program can be effectively managed by implementing a structured and complete program. The report highlights major strategies adopted by pharmaceutical companies to accelerate drug development. The adoption of the latest technologies in lead generation, preclinical stages, and … Continue reading →

Q: Performance-enhancing drugs in sports are one thing, polydactyl pitchers are quite another. In what fascinating sense do the two somewhat overlap? A: While many fans decry the use of such drugs, pointing to the rapid beefing up of Barry Bonds, others ask why "Tommy John" surgery is OK when it's not "natural" either, says Steve Mirsky in Scientific American. John pitched until his arm gave out, but in 1974, orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe replaced his ulnar collateral ligament with a tendon from his arm, allowing him to take the mound for another 15 years. Yet today, "so many pitchers have performed so well after Tommy John surgery, some young pitchers have considered having it done electively." Also, consider these cases: Pitcher Mordecai Brown, nicknamed "Three-Finger" after losing a finger in a farm-equipment accident. Ironically, his curveball became better. "Pitcher Antonio Alfonseca's hereditary polydactyly gave him six fingers per hand. Do we need a five-finger rule?" Mirsky quips. Then there was Finnish Olympic seven-time cross-country skiing medalist Eero Mantyranta, whose genetic condition dramatically increased his red blood cell count and oxygen-carrying capacity. "Which is a pretty terrific thing for an endurance athlete to have." Isn't this a form of blood … Continue reading →

17 September 2012 Last updated at 02:07 ET By Gordon Adair District Journalist How best to fight the war against drugs - try to catch the elusive Mr Bigs or try to disrupt and destroy the sprawling network of dealers selling directly on our streets? The answer, of course, has to be both, but - for the past few weeks - the police in Northern Ireland have been piling the pressure onto street level dealers. The PSNI's Operation Torus been running since August and in just a few weeks, it has seen more than 1,100 searches of people and properties and almost 200 arrests. BBC Northern Ireland district journalist, Gordon Adair, joined one group of officers taking the fight - literally - to the dealers' doors. As he scrambles back to his feet, the uniformed officer counts out the deals. "One, two let me see eight; eight altogether Sarge". Each deal is a small block of cannabis resin, wrapped in silver foil. They were hidden under a hedge in the garden of a terraced house in the Enniskeen estate in Craigavon. Each is worth about 20. A short distance away a small bag of herbal cannabis and, in another hedge, … Continue reading →

17 September 2012 Last updated at 03:59 ET The PSNI has launched an operation aimed at cracking down on street level drug dealing in the North West. It's part of Operation Torus, a Northern Ireland wide initiative, which aims to disrupt and arrest drug dealers involved in the sale and supply of drugs. The police say they have arrested 78 people over the past four weeks. Just last week the PSNI recovered nearly 400,000 worth of drugs in Magherafelt Operation Torus combines police action against dealers on the ground and a media campaign which incorporates billboards, Facebook and washroom advertising that will run until October. Detective Chief Inspector Garry Eaton said, "Drugs are always a priority for us and Operation Torus is a welcome enhancement to our ongoing drugs operations. "We know that street-level drug dealing is happening across our District and we need the help and support of local communities to remove this activity from our streets. "If you know that illegal drugs are being sold or distributed in your area, please pick up the phone and contact your local Neighbourhood Policing Team. "The types of drugs we regularly seize during our operations include cannabis, herbal cannabis, cocaine, mephadrone … Continue reading →

John Alan Brooks, 60, from Blackpool in England, is on trial in Birmingham charged in connection with the seizure of the drugs. Asst Commissioner Tony Quilter this morning told the jury the Irish market for cocaine could not sustain a shipment on this scale. On November 6 2008, in a joint operation involving the Navy, garda and Customs, a Naval Service boarding party from the LE Niamh detained a 65-foot yacht, Dances with Waves, 240km off the Cork coast. The yacht had been tracked by satellite on its journey from the Caribbean. It was carrying 75 bales of cocaine, weighing just over 1.5 tonnes. The three crew members on board the yacht were arrested and charged with possession of the drugs. They were each jailed for ten years in May 2009. Analysis of the cocaine found that it was 70% pure, giving it a street value of 400m, making it the second biggest seizure in the history of the State. Separately, garda had established a joint investigation with the Serious Organised Crime Agency based in London, to track down those behind the shipment. That investigation led to the arrest last November of Mr Brooks. He is now on trial at … Continue reading →

17 September 2012 Last updated at 07:45 ET A mother has appeared in court in Londonderry charged with supplying her son with drugs while he was in Magilligan prison. Brenda Reddy, 42, from Moore Street was released on bail until next month. A police officer told the court the drugs had a street value of 200 but their prison value was 2,000. Ms Reddy faces six charges including possessing and intending to supply ecstasy, and possessing and intending to supply cannabis. A police officer told District Judge Barney McElholm that he believed he could connect the defendant to the charges. He said that on Saturday afternoon police received a call from prison staff at Magilligan stating that they had seen the defendant passing drugs to her son, during a prison visit. The drugs were contained in a tightly-wrapped package to her prisoner son. It was retrieved by the prison staff and the defendant was detained. She was arrested and the police then found a second package containing drugs. Excerpt from: Mother supplied drugs for her son … Continue reading →

16 September 2012 | last updated at 12:58AM The sleeping pill, called Atarax, is also used to suppress anxiety. Johor police chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff said more than RM1 million worth of drugs were seized from a double-storey terrace house at Taman Desa Harmoni at 1.30am on Wednesday. He said two men and a woman, aged 35 to 39, were asleep in the house when police entered. "This is yet another big seizure in Johor, following the seizure of RM68 million worth of drugs in five simultaneous raids in Muar last Sunday. "We believe the Muar and Johor Baru cases are linked. Those involved in illegal businesses are always linked to each other," he said yesterday. The suspects, all locals, are being remanded until Sept 20. A urine test carried out on them showed they were on drugs. They are being investigated under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Among the drugs seized were ketamine powder, ecstasy powder, Ecstasy pills and eramin pills. See the original post here: Drugs worth RM1m seized in raid … Continue reading →