Salem-News.com Drugs articles Page 31

Cops, Crime and Drugs

1,066 minors were slain in drug war-related incidents from December 2006 to December 2010. Increasingly targeted for killing, children also fell victim to cross-fire in the streets and slippery triggers at military checkpoints.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - Constant headlines about the security situation in Mexico rivet the US media. Statements, questions, policy assessments and more questions echo from Capitol Hill and the White House, feeding a constant video and audio stream of punditry.

Is Mexico a national security threat to the US? Does criminal violence constitute a narco-insurgency? Will drug cartels team up with Al Qaeda?

Suspects Arrested in Murder-for-Hire Plot Commissioned by Mexican Drug Cartel

"I applaud our agents and law enforcement partners for their good work in uncovering and thwarting this murder-for-hire plot" - California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris

(PALMDALE, Calif.) - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the arrest today of three suspects in a foiled murder-for-hire plot commissioned by a Tijuana drug cartel.

Dozens of special agents from the California Department of Justice armed with a search warrant conducted the early morning raid at a residence in Palmdale, California.

Border Activists Under Siege

A demonstration against attacks on human rights activists and violence and militarization in general, will be held Friday at the Bridge of Americas at high noon.

(CIUDAD, Juarez Mexico) - The sister of a murdered woman from Ciudad Juarez is the latest activist in the border city to suffer an aggression against her person or property.

OxyContin and Purdue: Dancing with the Devil in Ohio

"The individual is handicapped by coming face to face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists"- J. Edgar Hoover

(AKRON) - State of Ohio - If you think the "Cavalry" is riding into Ohio to cure your OxyContin epidemic, think again.

White Supremacists Arrested for Smuggling Heroin Secreted into California Prison

Reported gang members said to have imported drug in Glue Strips of Envelopes into Susanville State Prison.

(YUBA CITY) - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today the arrests of five members of a white supremacist gang based in Yuba County.

The gang members were arrested on charges of smuggling heroin into Susanville State Prison in the glue strips of letters mailed to inmates associated with the "New Order" gang.

Mexican Political Transition Underway

The political mix is a volatile one, with politicians jumping from party-to-party and forging alliances that once seemed unthinkable.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - As recent comments by Hillary Clinton and Janet Napolitano reaffirm, the Obama administration is wagering that Mexican President Felipe Calderon can largely dismantle powerful organized crime groups in the 22 months the conservative leader has left in office.

But in Mexico, the calendar operates in different ways than up north, and the post-Calderon years are already in swing.

New Wave of Cross-Border Activism

"You can't have Juarez without El Paso and you can't have El Paso without Juarez" - Ana Morales - Peace and Justice without Borders

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - If anything marks the first weeks of 2011 in Mexico and the Paso del Norte border region, it is the growth of citizen activism in response to femicide, human rights violations and a broad range of atrocities stemming from the so-called drug war.

Galvanized by the recent murders of two women from Ciudad Juarez, activist mother Marisela Escobedo and poet Susana Chavez, public demonstrations were held in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua City, Monterrey, Culiacan, Pachuca and Mexico City.

FDA Implements Changes for Acetaminophen, What About Oxycontin?

"I never give them hell -- I just tell the truth -- and they think it's hell" - Harry S. Truman

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - On 13 January 2011, the FDA announced that it is asking manufacturers of prescription acetaminophen combination products to limit the maximum amount of acetaminophen in these products to 325 mg per tablet, capsule, or other dosage unit.

The FDA believes that limiting the amount of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule, or other dosage unit in prescription products will reduce the risk of severe liver injury from acetaminophen overdosing...

`HATS OFF` TO Patrick O`Brien Rolleston Jr.

Today's "The Good Stuff" award goes to Patrick O'Brien Rolleston Jr. and Urban Young Life.

(CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) - I met someone I can’t wait to tell you about. I hope you meet him one day too because his eyes are so kind and blue, words don't do them justice.

His voice has a hint of his Appalachian roots. His sandy hair and beard must be from the Patrick O'Brien side, but the Rolleston in him makes you feel as if he could wrap you up in a warm bear hug.

University of Toronto Kicks Purdue Pharma out of Pain Class

Medical students at the University of Toronto were provided a book on managing chronic pain that was funded and copyrighted by the maker of the highly addictive narcotic, OxyContin - Purdue Pharma

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - The drug industry's perceived role in a pain management course for medical students at the the University of Toronto, has led to a complaint, and a revamp in the school's pain management course curriculum.

The complaint led to a recent informal inquiry. A student brought the matter forward, along with two physicians in the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto.