Collingwood's Gavin Crosisca in action against Carlton in 1999. Photo: Vince Caligiuri THE AFL's three-strike illicit drug policy may be far from perfect, but it is a step in the right direction in stopping players living a secret double life, as Collingwood defender Gavin Crosisca did, said his 1990 premiership teammate Craig Kelly. Crosisca revealed yesterday that he battled a drug and alcohol addiction secretly since he was 16 and throughout his career. After being forced into rehabilitation by his wife Nicole last year, Crosisca finally told a handful of his former teammates what he had hidden for 25 years. ''We always enjoyed a drink but we had no idea what Gavin was going through until he explained it 12 months ago,'' Kelly said. ''He only told a few of us.'' Advertisement Kelly pointed out that in the early 1990s the AFL had no illicit drug policy and no drug tests, which meant Crosisca could hide his habit. ''Although people may argue the three strikes and drug-testing policy is not ideal, it is a step in the right direction to identify examples like Gavin as early as possible,'' Kelly said. The AFL became a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 19, 2012) - The toxicity of drugs is an important concern for pharmaceutical manufacturers, as seen with fairly recent scares such as Vioxx, FenPhen and Baycol -- products that seemed to be free of toxicity challenges during testing but caused damage to patients once launched. For many companies, this means considering these issues early, at the discovery stage, and often requires the assistance of an outsourcing company. Healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information projects that there could be a $1.1 billion market by 2015 for companies that can help pharmaceutical companies with early toxicology services. This projection was made in its most recent report: Early Toxicology: Markets and Approaches. "Toxicity properties are not the same as chemical discovery ones, they are biological and descriptive; they are not as easy to quantify," said Melissa Elder, Kalorama Information analyst and author of the report. "It is common now to turn over this process to specialist companies." At first glance, the discovery ofnew drugs is a straightforward process of screening compound candidates, optimizing leads, performing pre-clinical evaluations and then, with these steps completed, clinical trials can begin. According to the report, the reality is not so neat. These … Continue reading →

19 September 2012 Last updated at 11:55 ET Two men have been jailed after being caught exchanging 40,000 worth of drugs at the scene of an undercover police stakeout in Perth. Perth Sheriff Court heard Scott Kirton, 43, and Kevin Malone, 28, were caught by officers who were monitoring a completely different drugs gang. Sheriff Michael Fletcher told both men he had no option but to send them to prison. Kirton was jailed for four and a half years and Malone given 27 months. The pair were observed passing 40,000 pounds worth of mephedrone and 20,000 in cash by officers in a car parked just yards away at the Travelodge car park in Broxden in Perth. Officers had set up with the intention of catching another drug deal, resulting in them catching both gangs. The accidental discovery also led to a further 15,000 worth of cocaine being discovered in Kirton's home. Officers suspected they might have seen a drugs handover Fiscal depute Catherine Fraser told Perth Sheriff Court: "On 14 October two drug squad officers were on duty in an unmarked police car at the Travelodge on another operation." See the article here: Drugs exchanged in police sight … Continue reading →