A decade after first appearing in the United States, fake weed is seen as a growing health danger. Some marijuana smokers turned to it because it is relatively cheap and not detected in routine drug testing. Dozens of people in New Haven, Conn., went to the hospital this week after overdosing on a batch of synthetic marijuana. A look at the issue: While states have moved to legalize traditional marijuana, fake pot has become a public health threat. Synthetic marijuana is a mind-altering drug made by taking plant material and spraying it with chemicals that can mimic the high from marijuana. It is sold under names like K2, AK47, Spice, Kush, Kronic, and Scooby Snax. [continues 196 words]
A runaway teen to mother: 'I'll be fine mommy. I love you.' Hours later she and two others were dead NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed 21 percent last year, and for the second straight year dragged down how long Americans are expected to live. The government figures released Thursday put drug deaths at 63,600, up from about 52,000 in 2015. For the first time, the powerful painkiller fentanyl and its close opioid cousins played a bigger role in the deaths than any other legal or illegal drug, surpassing prescription pain pills and heroin. [continues 725 words]
Overdoses Spike in 2 Years Across Much of Nation As Users Trade Pills for Needle NEW YORK (AP) - Deaths from heroin overdose doubled in just two years in much of the nation, a new government study says. The annual number of U.S. drug overdose deaths has been growing for more than 20 years. Officials have been most worA-ried about a class of powerful prescription 'opioid' painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. Deaths involving such painkillers continue to be much more common than heroin-related deaths, the study found. [continues 258 words]
ATLANTA -- For the first time, abuse of painkillers and other medication is sending as many people to the emergency room as the use of illegal drugs. In 2008, ERS saw an estimated 1 million visits from people abusing prescription or over-the-counter medicines - mostly painkillers and sedatives. That was about the same number of visits from those overdosing on heroin, cocaine and other illegal drugs, according to a government report released Thursday. Only five years earlier, illegal drug visits outnumbered those from legal medications by a 2-to-1 margin. [continues 326 words]
Doctors must get approval to prescribe OxyContin and certain other drugs to N.C. Medicaid patients, in a cost-cutting move that took effect this week. More than 30 drugs now require prior authorization from a Medicaid contractor. All are considered too expensive or easily abused, said officials with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which runs Medicaid. Budget-crunched state officials are trying to cut spending on Medicaid, the federal-state-county health insurance program for poor and disabled people. N.C. Medicaid enrolls about 1.2 million, including more than 80,000 in Mecklenburg County. [continues 320 words]
TAMPA - Darryl Strawberry's drug problem highlights the potent effects of cocaine use. When he heard baseball star Darryl Strawberry had again tested positive for cocaine use, Ken Thompson wasn't shocked. ``Not a surprise,'' said Thompson, medical director at the Florida Recovery Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville. ``The relapse rate for cocaine is very high,'' he said. Indeed, cocaine is regarded as one of the most addictive of all drugs, by both the clinicians who treat addicts and the chemists who study how drugs affect the brain. [continues 572 words]
