Drug abuse

October 6, 2009 -- HELENA – Montana's two U.S. Senators and Attorney General have joined forces to combat the growing misuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester along with Attorney General Steve Bullock announced their support Tuesday for designating October as National Medical Abuse Awareness Month. Baucus and Tester have signed on as co-sponsors of a measure in the Senate that will raise awareness of the misuse of over-the-counter and prescription medications and urge communities to implement educational programs associated with medicinal abuse.    » read more »

Legislation Keeps Families Intact As Parents Enter Substance Abuse Treatment

June 22, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Senator Jay Rockefeller today introduced the Keeping Families Safe Act – which allows families to stay together in residential family treatment programs when one parent or both enter substance abuse treatment.

“The statistics are clear – parents are more likely to heal and families have a better chance of remaining intact when they stay together throughout the treatment process,” said Senator Rockefeller. “Keeping families together in a safe environment is immensely important, and it is essential that we maintain successful residential family treatment programs across the nation.”

Background    » read more »

New Initiative Would Target “Doctor Shoppers,” For Rehabilitation Rather Than Criminal Arrest

April 22, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced today that the state is applying for more than $620,000 in federal stimulus grants to hire special durational staff within the Department of Consumer Protection to target individuals who abuse prescription drugs by “doctor shopping,” the practice of seeing multiple physicians and pharmacies to acquire controlled substances for nonmedical use.    » read more »

February 4, 2009 -- The economic cost of methamphetamine use in the United States reached $23.4 billion in 2005, including the burden of addiction, premature death, drug treatment and many other aspects of the drug, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

The RAND study is the first effort to construct a comprehensive national assessment of the costs of the methamphetamine problem in the United States.

"Our findings show that the economic burden of methamphetamine abuse is substantial," said Nancy Nicosia, the study's lead author and an economist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- HELENA - Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath released a report Monday that demonstrates the state continues to make progress against the use of methamphetamine.

Methamphetamine in Montana: A Follow-Up Report on Trends and Progress (PDF) was done in conjunction with the Montana Meth Project. Trends identified in the report are based on data that includes drug task force incident reports, law enforcement statistics, crime lab reports, hospital discharge and admission information, survey results and interviews with participating agencies. McGrath's office released a similar report in early 2007.

McGrath said statistics from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Office of Public Instruction were especially encouraging.    » read more »

Biden: “This is a national problem that is going to require a coordinated, national solution.”

March 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Today U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs and Caucus on International Narcotics Control, held a joint hearing entitled “Generation Rx: The Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs.” The hearing focused on the alarming trends associated with abuse rates of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and the need to robustly fund drug education and prevention programs.    » read more »

Washington, 26 January 2008 (By Mary Morningstar) -- 24-year-old British singer Amy Winehouse entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility on January 24.

A spokesperson from her record label, Universal Music Group, said, "Amy decided to enter the facility after talks with her record label, management, family and doctors. She has come to understand that she requires specialist treatment to continue her ongoing recovery from drug addition."    » read more »

26 January 2008 -- Hollywood movie star Sylvester Stallone admits he used Human Growth Hormone, HGH, to improve the appearance of his body for his latest Rambo movie, and does not think it was wrong to do so.

In an interview with Time magazine, the 61-year-old actor says HGH is not a steroid, and he says everyone over the age of 40 should look into using it because it increases testosterone in the body and improves quality of life.

The latest installment in the Rambo series, which Stallone directed and co-wrote, opened in the United States Friday.    » read more »

Legislation sponsored by Feinstein and Sessions, and included in Biden Crime Bill

January 15, 2008 -- Washington, DC – In his remarks to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Major League Baseball Commission Bud Selig today endorsed legislation to stop controlled substances from being sold online without valid prescriptions.    » read more »

Steroids among positive stories of declining use

12/11/2007, NEW YORK -- The 2007 Monitoring the Future study (MTF) released today in Washington, D.C., reports promising trends with significant declines in the overall use of illicit drugs among teenagers in the past year, as well as a notable reduction in tobacco use among eighth graders. The decreases are the continuation of a larger downward trend for all measured age groups marking steady long‐term reductions in youth drug use over the past six years (2001‐2007).    » read more »

December 11, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today made the following statement in response to President Bush’s speech discussing the results of the Monitoring of the Future Survey, commissioned by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), showing a drop in teen drug abuse except in the cases of prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin. Harkin’s health and education appropriations subcommittee funds NIDA.    » read more »

November 21, 2007 -- Montpelier, Vt. – Vermont Governor Jim Douglas today announced that 23 communities will receive grants to develop, strengthen and maintain substance abuse prevention services throughout the state.

The Governor said each community will receive up to $68,000 for this fiscal year, with the option of continuation funding based on project milestones. The grants will impact underage drinking and high-risk alcohol and marijuana use by Vermonters age 25 and younger.    » read more »

BIDEN Legislation will Restrict Teen Access to Cough and Cold Meds Containing Dextromethorphan (DXM)

October 31, 2007 -- Washington, DC — U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, introduced the Dextromethorphan Abuse Reduction Act of 2007, legislation that will curb the alarming rise in medicine abuse, including the misuse of cough and cold medicines containing Dextromethorphan (DXM).    » read more »

02 October 2007 -- Britney Spears was ordered to relinquish custody of her two young sons by a judge who had cited her drug and alcohol-fueled lifestyle.

In an October 1 ruling, Superior Court Judge Scott M. Gordon switched sole physical custody to Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline. He takes Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, starting October 3 "until further order of the court."    » read more »

October 2, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt announced the state received a three year, $14.5 million federal grant to expand services for Missourians who need help for alcohol and other drug problems.

The Access to Recovery (ATR) grant program offers substance abuse treatment through a system that provides comprehensive assessment, professional treatment on a residential or outpatient basis, and recovery support services from faith-based organizations and other community groups. The recovery support service is a new component that is unique to this grant program.    » read more »