News tagged with 'Drug Abuse'

Purdue Pharma has received approval of a new formulation of OxyContin to cut down on use by drug abusers.

A number of doctors warn that the sedative drug, Diprivan, is not for home use. A study two years ago found a 100 percent death rate for most abusers. Michael Jackson's dermatologist tells CNN he never gave it to Jackson, although Diprivan was reportedly found in the home at the time of his death.

Michael Jackson reportedly wanted the sedative, Diprivan so he could sleep, his personal nurse reports. He told her he was experiencing both hot and cold sides of his body days before his death, the same symptoms that sparked an FDA ALERT concerning Diprivan two years ago, IB News finds in this exclusive report. 

The doctor who was Michael Jackson's personal physician says he never injected him with the highly addictive Demerol about an hour before his death.  The family wants to know why the doctor failed to sign a death certificate and went missing after Jackson died. 

The FDA is stepping up efforts to reduce the misuse of 24 powerful painkillers, which cause hundreds of deaths each year. Letters have been sent to 16 drug companies that collectively manufacture opioid drugs that are subject to review.

This report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, indicates that half of high school seniors will have tried a prescription drug for recreational use before they graduate high school. While marijuana and alcohol use has declined, the painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin use has increased among primarily white, middle-class teens.  

New research in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms the growing dangers posed by the abuse of prescription painkillers and calls on clinicians to help prevent future cases of addiction and overdose.

While use of illegal drugs is down among teenagers, prescription drugs, with a low cost and high availability, are still the first choice for teenagers looking to get high.  A national survey of 67,000 finds that Baby Boomers are increasingly using illicit prescription drugs as they age.

43 percent of teens responding to an annual survey on drug attitudes, say they can get their hands on prescription drugs within an hour, and it's easier than getting beer. The report blames "passive parents" who don't know where their children are, and keep prescription drugs available at home assuming they've been approved so they're safe.