Entries for August 2011

The number of narcotic-related emergency room visits in New York City jumped 40 percent between 2004 and 2009, according to a survey by the city’s Department of Health.

While many states are being forced to pull back on methamphetamine lab cleanups because of federal funding cuts, Indiana has been able to buck the trend. The state has increased the number of meth labs it has found and destroyed by 33 percent in the first half of this year compared with 2008.

Mandated drug testing for convicted criminals in Pennsylvania generally does not include the newly banned “bath salts,” WNEP-TV reports. A state law banning the synthetic drugs went into effect in this week.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a new law this week that will suspend school bus driver permits for three years for those who refuse to submit to a drug or alcohol test. The law also suspends permits for drivers who submit to a test that shows the presence of drugs or alcohol in their system.

From "pharming" to pill parties, teens are abusing prescription drugs in dangerous ways, and can become addicted quickly, warns an adolescent substance abuse specialist at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Four states—Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia—have created the Interstate Prescription Drug Task Force to fight the region’s prescription drug abuse problem.

A Michigan appeals court ruled Wednesday that medical marijuana cannot be sold in private shops or dispensaries. The Associated Press calls the ruling a major decision.

A U.S. judge said he will hear the tobacco industry’s request for a preliminary injunction on the Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that cigarette packages carry graphic warning labels on September 21.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie this week signed legislation that bans sale of synthetic drugs such as “bath salts.”

Smokers with drug, alcohol or mental disorders are five times as likely to quit smoking if they receive counseling from their primary care physician, a new study finds.