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Drug News

 Newport,Pennsylvania Township police arrest three after discovering meth lab.
Newport,Pennsylvania Township police have arrested three people on drug charges following the discovery of a ...
 Utah state officials propose drug-testing in workplace.
SALT LAKE CITY,Utah -- A proposed drug-testing program for state employees would be narrowly focused ...
 Major police operation ends in drugs haul.
Police in Medway,England believe they have effectively taken out a suspected major drugs network. The ...
 Conference focuses on link between diversity and drug abuse
Acting as a seeming counterbalance to the notorious debauchery of Spring Break, today's Seventh Annual ...
 The fight against drug addiction
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has introduced a program that would fund acupuncture detoxification and prescription ...
 Police arrest ex-Heartland doctor on drug charge
A former Heartland Regional Medical Center doctor was arrested late Tuesday for possessing a drug ...
 Woman sentenced for helping drug ring
The former co-owner of a nonprofit company that helped Hawai'i residents resolve their credit problems ...
 Their child was abducted - by drug addiction
A father walks into his son's room. He looks around at the stuff teen-age boys ...
 Drugs Cocaine
Sat, 03/15/03 Cocaine is now top street drug by Claire Connolly Doyle DRUG squad members ...
 Teaching the dangers of drug addiction
It's not always easy for parents to admit they need to learn more about illegal ...
 Concerned parents look at drug abuse
About 60 parents got an eye-opening education Tuesday on what their kids might be doing ...



Drug Facts

From 1997 to 2000 cocaine was the most common drug reported in emergency room episodes.

Physical addiction is characterized by the presence of tolerance (needing more and more of the drug to achieve the same effect).

The average addict has to steal an average of $1,000.00 worth of property and goods to raise the $200.00.

In 1994 the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 63 meth labs. That figure climbed to 879 in 1996 and 1,627 in 1998.




Cocaine Addiction
Cocaine addiction can occur very quickly and can be very difficult to break. Animal studies have shown that animals will work very hard (press a bar over 10,000 times) for a single injection of cocaine, choose cocaine over food and water, and take cocaine even when this behavior is punished. Animals must have their access to cocaine limited in order to prevent them from taking toxic or even lethal doses. People addicted to cocaine behave similarly. They will go to great lengths to get cocaine and continue to take it even when it hurts their school/job performance and their relationships with loved ones.

Attempts to stop using the drugs can fail simply because the resulting depression can be overwhelming, causing the addict to use more cocaine in an attempt to overcome his depression. This overpowering addiction can cause the addict to do anything to get cocaine. Recent studies on cocaine addiction have shown some interesting results. During periods of abstinence from cocaine use, the memory of the euphoria associated with cocaine, or mere exposure to cues associated with cocaine use, can trigger tremendous craving and relapse to cocaine, even after long periods of abstinence.

Researchers have found that cocaine stimulates the brain's reward system inducing an even greater feeling of pleasure than natural functions. In turn, its influence on the reward circuit can lead a user to bypass survival activities and repeat drug use. Chronic cocaine use can lead to a cocaine addiction and in some cases damage the brain and other organs. An addict will continue to use cocaine even when faced with adverse consequences. Cocaine and crack cocaine continue to be the most frequently mentioned illicit substance in U.S. emergency departments (ED), present in 30% of ED drug episodes during 2001. From 2000 to 2001, the number of ED cocaine mentions increased ten percent from 174,881 in 2000 to 193,034 in 2001.

"Crack" is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Crack cocaine looks like white to tan pellets or chunks that resemble rock salt or soap. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water which is heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate. Research studies regarding crack and addiction, have shown crack to have more addictive properties than cocaine. This is due to its chemical makeup and method of use.





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