drugs

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US Army Sees Record Number of Fatal ODs From This Drug

Fentanyl is hitting all military branches, but none as hard as the Army, and loved ones want answers

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Congress received some sobering data from the Department of Defense showing that fentanyl was involved in 88% of the 2021 deaths of US troops who'd died of drug overdoses—up from just 36% five years earlier. "Our military is not immune to the opioid epidemic,...

US to Study Controversial Idea for Drug Users

$5M will go toward looking at 2 'safe injection sites' in New York and Rhode Island

(Newser) - For the first time, the US government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. As the AP reports, the grant provides more...

US Declares FAAX an Emerging Drug Threat

Drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta promises nationwide plan

(Newser) - The Biden administration is cracking down on xylazine or "tranq," labeling the combination of it and fentanyl an "emerging threat." The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation on Wednesday, per the Guardian . It's the first time an administration has added a substance...

Scientists Uncover 3K-Year-Old Drug Trip
Scientists Uncover
3K-Year-Old Drug Trip
NEW STUDY
Apr 7, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

Scientists Uncover 3K-Year-Old Drug Trip

Human hair containing hallucinogens offers first direct evidence of prehistoric drug use in Europe

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered what's being touted as the first direct evidence of drug use in ancient Europe. The Bronze-Age inhabitants of what is now the Spanish island of Menorca ingested hallucinogens derived from plants, according to analysis of 3,000-year-old human hairs found in a cave that served as...

FDA Makes Move Against 'Zombie Dope'

Xylazine, or 'tranq', increasingly found in illicit drug mixes, is subject of new import alert

(Newser) - The FDA is taking action to restrict unlawful imports of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer increasingly used in the illicit drug market , where it's commonly known as "tranq" or "zombie dope" due to its tendency to cause flesh to rot and die. Horror stories accompany the sedative, which...

Cops: UPS Workers Made Some Very Illegal Deliveries

Two workers accused in drug trafficking scheme out of Texas

(Newser) - Some UPS drivers encounter trouble with snow, others with a very different kind of white powder. Two UPS employees are facing up to life in prison for "knowingly" transporting cocaine, federal authorities say . An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Texas describes the drug trafficking scheme that involved...

Murdaugh's Drug Habit Cost $50K—Per Week

Admission triggers a blow to South Carolina lawyer's murder defense

(Newser) - The judge in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial made a dramatic reversal Wednesday after defense attorneys claimed authorities had failed to investigate lines of evidence that could point to other possible killers in the June 2021 murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. During cross-examination, defense attorney Jim Griffin asked SLED...

Hong Kong Has a New 'Dangerous Drug': CBD

The possession, use, and sale of it is now criminalized

(Newser) - Elsewhere in the world, a loosening of drug laws—and a big tightening. The latter refers to Hong Kong, which as of Wednesday now criminalizes the possession, consumption, and selling of the "dangerous drug" cannabidiol, or CBD. As CBS News notes, that means CBD has the same classification as...

'Tranq' Is Making Fentanyl Scarier—and More Grotesque

The animal sedative, increasingly used as a cutting agent, causes skin to blacken and die

(Newser) - Veterinarians know it as xylazine; some users know it as "zombie dope," and Jan Hoffman's piece for the New York Times makes it clear why. As one user put it, "my arms were dying." That's no exaggeration. The animal tranquilizer—most commonly referred to...

One State Is Training Magic Mushroom 'Facilitators'

Oregon, set to be the first state to offer controlled use of psilocybin, is training students

(Newser) - At a woodsy retreat center in Oregon, some 30 men and women are seated or lying down, masks covering their eyes and listening to serene music. They're among the first crop of students being trained on how to accompany patients tripping on psilocybin, as Oregon prepares to become the...

Teenager Thought He Bought a Percocet. It Killed Him

Zach Didier lost his life to fentanyl

(Newser) - In the wake of a 17-year-old's perplexing death, a soccer teammate offered his parents a clue. Zach Didier—an Eagle Scout and school-musical star who died of a suspected overdose—had no history of drug use or any evidence of drugs in his bedroom. But he had once said...

Dad: My Baby ODed on Fentanyl at Public Park

10-month-old now OK; San Francisco city officials, media trying to confirm exactly what happened

(Newser) - A nanny's trip this week to a Bay Area public park with 10-month-old twins in her care turned terrifying, with the family and local authorities sharing that one of the boys was exposed to fentanyl during their visit. Wendy Marroqui tells NBC Bay Area that she took Senna and...

The FDA Has Just Approved a Drug That Costs $3.5M a Dose

Hemgenix is a one-time treatment for the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia

(Newser) - US health regulators on Tuesday approved the first gene therapy for hemophilia, a $3.5 million one-time treatment for the blood-clotting disorder. The FDA cleared Hemgenix: It's an IV treatment for adults with hemophilia B, the less common form of the genetic disorder, reports the AP . Currently, patients receive...

Trial Raises Hope for Psilocybin as Depression Treatment

Regulatory approval could come 'potentially within a few years' time'

(Newser) - One or two doses of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, has been found to help people with cancer , alcohol problems , anxiety, and depression , and now those with a severe, treatment-resistant form of depression, according to researchers. A phase 2 randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 233 people with treatment-resistant...

Those Weren't Bottles of Water That Arrived in Hong Kong

City makes biggest-ever meth bust, seizing $140M worth of liquid meth labeled as 'coconut water'

(Newser) - Hong Kong customs seized 2 tons of liquid methamphetamine in the city's biggest-ever meth bust, authorities said Saturday. The drugs, which were seized Oct. 23, had been concealed in bottles labeled as coconut water in a cargo shipment that arrived in Hong Kong by sea, according to a government...

After Aduhelm Debacle, New Alzheimer's Drug Emerges

Biogen, partner Eisai: Clinical trial for lecanemab shows promising 27% slowing of cognitive decline

(Newser) - Last year, the FDA approved aducanumab , marketed as Aduhelm , a controversial drug made by Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai to treat Alzheimer's. Things didn't go well, though, with expert opposition to the costly medication and a final death blow to its place in the market after Medicare...

Somehow We All Missed This Wild Cameron Diaz Story

'Drug mule' detail from 2020 podcast interview surfaces

(Newser) - Before she made eyes at Jim Carrey in The Mask, Cameron Diaz may have had another job that no one (not even Diaz) was fully aware of. In one of those unexplained "why are we just finding out about this now?" items, a Second Life podcast Diaz appeared on...

California Will Start Making Its Own Insulin

Governor says costs will significantly drop, plus jobs will be created

(Newser) - For diabetics in California, economic relief may soon be on the way. On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a groundbreaking initiative that will allow the state to manufacture its own insulin, reports KION-TV . Half of the earmarked $100 million will go toward developing affordable insulin products, and the other $50...

For Spanish Police, a Drug-Smuggling First

Cops say they seized 3 underwater drones meant to carry 'large quantities of cocaine'

(Newser) - A probe that lasted more than a year has led to the arrest of eight and the seizure of three underwater drones that were apparently built to smuggle drugs across the Strait of Gibraltar. The BBC reports Spain's police force seized the unmanned submersibles—one completed and two still...

Canada Takes Bold Step to 'Remove the Shame' on Drugs

Small amounts of 'hard' drugs to be temporarily decriminalized in British Columbia to fight ODs

(Newser) - If you're busted in British Columbia with a small amount of hard drugs, you could soon see some grace, thanks to an innovative new program designed to deal with the OD crisis. The BBC reports that, starting at the end of January, drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), and...

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