Narcotics

Senator Says Progress Has Been Made, More Needs To Be Done To Stamp Out Meth, Other Drug Use

April 22, 2008 -- (Washington, D.C.) – Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus and others today urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide $235 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, which helps drug tasks forces coordinate efforts to curb drug trafficking.

Anti-methamphetamine graffiti on a house near Billings, Montana: Photo by Eric Chan (CC)    » read more »

April 17, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp today announced the steady decline in youth drug use since 2000, as he rolled out the results of the 2007 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey. The Florida Office of Drug Control Policy, state agencies, law enforcement and substance abuse prevention coalitions have partnered to reduce substance abuse across the state.

“Florida’s children are a treasure, one that we must protect,” said Lt. Governor Kottkamp. “Drug use threatens the safety and security of our children. The survey is vital to understanding how to prevent drug use.”

According to the survey, Florida’s youth drug use is down in 20 out of 21 areas measured. Among the findings:    » read more »

Flooding brain with "pleasure chemical" receptors works on cocaine, as on alcohol

April 16, 2008 -- UPTON, NY - Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have shown that increasing the brain level of receptors for dopamine, a pleasure-related chemical, can reduce use of cocaine by 75 percent in rats trained to self-administer it.

Peter Thanos: Photo courtesy Brookhaven Labs    » read more »

April 7, 2008 -- ALLENTOWN - Fifteen suspected drug dealers and users were charged today by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office with passing fraudulent prescriptions, illegally distributing Percocet and exchanging heroin for prescription drugs.

Pennsylvania prescription drug ring

Attorney General Tom Corbett said the investigation, known as "Operation Bad Scripts," began in January 2008 and focused on the illegal prescription distribution ring of Melinda Miller, 26, 318 Johnsonville Road, Bangor, Northampton County.

Opr Bad Scripts chartEvidence and testimony regarding the case was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges being filed today.    » 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 »

March 19, 2008 -- HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General narcotics agents today arrested three men involved in a $1.6 million cocaine distributing operation in Harrisburg. One of the accused is a Pennsylvania Department of Revenue employee.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said that this investigation, known as "Operation High Stakes," put an end to John Hollins' alleged distribution scheme, which had been operating since 1987.

Pennsylvania Attorney General announces Operation High Stakes: 3 arrested in $1.6 million cocaine distributing operation bust in Harrisburg.    » read more »

Eight arrested, methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, hash, guns, U.S. currency seized

March 13, 2008 -- SANTA ROSA -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that California Department of Justice agents yesterday arrested eight suspects in connection with a Santa Rosa drug distribution ring and methamphetamine laboratory in the town of Winton.    » read more »

Ruthless Insurgency, Fragile Government Institutions, Massive Illegal Drug Economy

Head of Peacekeeping Says United Nations Mission Does Not Need Additional Powers, but, in Face of Evolving Situation, Mandate Must Be Sharpened    » read more »

March 1, 2008 -- DIRECTOR WALTERS: Welcome to everybody on the call. I will just give a brief summary, and then I'll be happy to take your questions on any of the topics we touch on, or others related to the drug control strategy.    » read more »

Biden Legislation to Completely Eliminate the Unjust 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Structure and Replace with 1-to-1 System

February 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – At a hearing addressing the federal cocaine sentencing laws today, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) called for an end to the current crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. Currently, it takes 100 times more powder cocaine than crack to trigger the five- and ten-year mandatory minimum sentences under federal law.    » read more »

ANNAPOLIS, MD (February 8, 2008) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, joined by Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan and other officials, today hosted a ceremony honoring the efforts of four Maryland state troopers and their K-9 partner who made a record recovery of heroin during a traffic stop in Cecil County earlier this week.    » read more »

Newark narcotics network supplied OxyContin to Bronx, N.Y., ring

February 4, 2008 -- TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that a mother and son pleaded guilty today to racketeering charges for their roles in a Newark-based narcotics ring that distributed millions of dollars a year in illegal prescription painkillers such as OxyContin.    » read more »

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The crew of the 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, homeported in Wilmington, N.C., helped interdict two suspected drug smugglers and seized 4,400 pounds of cocaine off the Nicaragua coast Jan. 23.

The Diligence crew launched a boat crew from the cutter and began pursuing the go-fast transiting west toward Nicaragua. A maritime law enforcement team with the 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, homeported in Portsmouth, Va., also chased the vessel.    » read more »

02/01/2008 -- Aiming to build on the success of the partnership between the U.S. Border Patrol and the California National Guard, California Governor Schwarzenegger urged President George W. Bush to continue Operation Jump Start. The Governor requested, in the following letter, that the President maintain full federal funding until the mission is complete, so the shared goal of a strong and secure border can be realized.    » read more »

Additional Clinical Trial Sites To Be Added -- Fast Track Status With FDA

CORAL GABLES, FL - January 25, 2008 -- Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPRX), a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, in-licenses, develops and commercializes prescription drugs for the treatment of drug addiction, today announced that it has initiated enrollment of patients for its 180- patient, U.S. Phase II clinical trial evaluating the use of CPP-109 in treating patients with cocaine addiction.    » read more »