By Daniel Simmons-Ritchie, The World
Coos County's struggle with drugs is poised to get worse. Experts fear that heroin will soon replace meth as the scourge of the South Coast, bringing with it a new level of disease, dependency and desperation. Heroin-related arrests in the region jumped to 41 in the past year - five years ago, police arrested only two people for crimes linked to the drug. » More

Reports Cites Increased Heroin Use by Teens

Reporter: Jeff Todd
A recent report prepared for the city of Albuquerque showed that teen use of heroin and other opioids is dramatically higher here than in the rest of the nation.

Heroin use by high schoolers in Albuquerque is nearly double the national average for high school kids, and now the Mayor Richard J. Berry wants to see more action.  » More

More workers use heroin on the job than previously thought. Some of them fly planes. A sobering look at some of the latest workplace drug use stats.
By Anne Fisher; Fortune, CNNMoney.com Contributor
First, the good news, such as it is: The number of Americans using cocaine while at work has declined sharply in the past couple of years, falling 29% between 2008 and 2009 alone, to about .29% of the population. Now, the more disquieting news: Since the federal government tightened testing requirements last October, drug testing of employees like pilots, airplane mechanics, and train operators has revealed that twice as many employees as previously believed are using heroin and the use of prescription painkillers on the job is soaring. » More

By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press
In this Dec. 1, 2010 photo, Dale Kasprzyk, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Buffalo stands next to a compilation chart of suspects in a recent prescription drug ring arrest raid in Buffalo, N.Y.
BUFFALO — Ethel Johnson couldn’t get her prescription for pain medication filled fast enough. The 60-year-old Buffalo woman was hurting — but investigators say that wasn’t the reason for the rush. According to secretly recorded telephone conversations, the sooner Johnson could pick up her pills, the more quickly she could sell them to her dealer. Her pain pills were destined for the street. » More

The Malta Independent Online; By Annaliza Borg
An average of 20 drug addicts become pregnant every year in Malta and are prescribed the opioid substitute methadone during pregnancy, Agenzija Sedqa clinical director and acting operations director Dr. George Grech told The Malta Independent on Sunday. » More