While walking her dogs, Dr. Elizabeth Berry sees brightly colored containers of bath salts littering Syracuses Elmwood Park. The illegal drug easily found on the Internet or from dealers for less than $30 an ounce has hit the community like a tornado, said Berry, a drug treatment psychologist at Crouse Hospital. Much different than traditional bath salts, this synthetic drug is so named because its sold in crystals and appears relatively harmless. Its very frightening, said Berry who has seen usage spike in the last six months. People (on the drug) get very paranoid, she said. Theyre very easily threatened, a very high level of aggression, hard to calm. Their reality testing is so impaired, theyre not reasonable. Their reactions dont make sense. Syracuses Upstate New York Poison Center, which covers 54 Upstate counties, has seen an explosion of so-called bath salts cases. Before 2011, there hadnt been a single case reported. In 2011, there were 118 cases. This year, there have already been 165 cases through mid-June. This month, Central New York authorities have linked three high-profile cases to bath salts: The bizarre behavior of people on bath salts makes them dangerous to others. The Miami man accused of … Continue reading →

June 20, 2012 in City Charles RobertWallace (Full-size photo) The suspected heroin trafficker believed to have shot two sheriffs deputies before killing himself Tuesday was supposed to be in drug treatment in Spokane Valley but had been missing for at least a week, according toauthorities. U.S. Marshals had been looking for Charles Robert Wallace, 41, since hearing hed left American Behavior RehabilitationServices. Its unclear if deputies knew about Wallaces fugitive status when they contacted him during a traffic stop at North Newport Highway and East Elm Road Tuesday about 4:15p.m. Wallace was arrested in Clayton, Wash., on April 24 on a federal charge that accuses him and five others of distributing at least 100 grams of heroin in Spokane from April 2011 to thisFebruary. Federal prosecutors wanted him to stay in jail to await trial, but U.S. Magistrate Cynthia Imbrogno allowed him to leave so he could participate in inpatient treatment for chemical dependency. She signed the order on May 25. Wallace was to report for a status hearing on Monday, but he never showedup. Imbrogno imposed conditions that prohibited Wallace from committing further crimes, carrying firearms or other weapons. He was not required to postbond. Wallaces criminal history stretches … Continue reading →

Sergei Porter / Vedomosti Chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko Chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko said Wednesday that Russia should introduce apolicy offorcibly treating some drug addicts. "It is obvious that humane, mandatory [treatment] is essential. Who, how andunder what conditions those are questions that must be answered," Onishchenko told Interfax. But Onishchenko stressed that compulsory treatment should be one ofa set oftools used tocontrol drug-addiction levels. "Forced treatment should not be auniversal cure but one ofmany measures," he said. Other measures tolimit addiction mentioned byOnishchenko included ad campaigns promoting ahealthy lifestyle andefforts tocrack down ondrug traffickers. Earlier Wednesday, theFederal Drug Control Service released thelatest data onthe prevalence ofdrug dependency. According tothe research, 8.5 million Russians regularly or occasionally use drugs, asignificant increase over thefigure of5 million cited inthe agency's last report. Onishchenko's backing offorced drug-addiction treatment is thelatest indication that thegovernment is toughening its narcotics policy. Follow this link: Addicts Should Be Forcibly Treated, Chief Sanitary Doctor Says … Continue reading →

EDMONTON, ALBERTA--(Marketwire -06/20/12)- Representatives of Alberta's energy and construction industries today announced their participation in a Drug and Alcohol Risk Reduction Pilot Project (DARRPP), a two-year initiative to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of comprehensive workplace alcohol and drug programs that will include random workplace testing. DARRPP is led by a multi-stakeholder working group with broad representation that includes major oil sands industry employers and labour providers. The project's mandate is to establish best practices for random workplace alcohol and drug testing for safety sensitive sites and positions and develop guidelines for processes such as case management, assessment and follow-up. Working from a shared model, participating employers will introduce and monitor random workplace testing programs and share statistics related to their implementation. Random workplace testing will not begin immediately. Over the summer and early fall, participating companies will be putting appropriate testing systems and processes in place, with implementation of pilot testing programs expected in late 2012 and early 2013. DARRPP will report its findings and recommendations to the participants, government and other stakeholders in 2014, with a goal of recommending a useful industry policy framework based on the results of the pilot. "Alcohol and drug abuse in the … Continue reading →