drugs

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Amid the Pandemic, Another 'Staggering Loss'

93K Americans died of drug overdoses in 2020, a record high

(Newser) - Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. "This is a staggering...

FDA Advisers Quit Over Alzheimer's Drug: 'Sham Process'

They're not happy the agency OK'd Biogen's Aduhelm against panel's recommendation

(Newser) - The week kicked off with controversy swirling around aducanumab, the drug being marketed by Biogen as Aduhelm to treat Alzheimer's disease. The drama continues, with two members of an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration stepping down over the agency's decision to OK the drug against...

FDA Approves Controversial New Alzheimer's Drug

Biogen's aducanumab receives green light, despite questions about effectiveness

(Newser) - Big news in the world of Alzheimer's: The FDA on Monday approved the first new treatment in nearly 20 years, disregarding warnings from independent advisers that the drug hasn't been shown to help slow the brain-destroying disease, per the AP . The drug aducanumab is made by Biogen and...

Bundles of Drugs Keep Washing Up in South Florida

People continue to find cocaine, marijuana on Sunshine State's beaches, especially in the Keys

(Newser) - Last month, a beachgoer in Palm Beach stumbled upon 65 pounds of cocaine along the shoreline, a find worth $1.5 million. But that hasn't been an isolated incident in South Florida, where people continue to discover packages of drugs in the water and on local beaches, especially in...

Cops: Theater 'Patron' Asks for Popcorn, Gets Cocaine Bonus

Police say 'patron' was informant sold drugs hidden in popcorn by movie theater manager in Minn.

(Newser) - When movie patrons ask for a Coke to go with their popcorn, they likely don't mean actual coke (i.e., cocaine). But one such "patron" got exactly that in July at Spotlight Theatres in Mankato, Minn. Per the cops, that supposed customer was actually a police informant who...

This Columbia Prof Has Used Heroin, Regularly, for 5 Years

Carl Hart makes a scientific case in 'Drug Use for Grown-Ups'

(Newser) - Carl Hart is a psychology professor at Columbia University, a well regarded researcher, and "an unapologetic drug user" who has been using heroin regularly for five years. So the 54-year-old reveals in Drug Use for Grown-Ups, which he released in January. Unapologetic is right. As the Guardian reports, Hart...

'Shattered:' TV Host's Son Dies of Drugs Ordered on Snapchat

Dr. Laura Berman hopes speaking out will prevent another child's death

(Newser) - Sex and relationship therapist Dr. Laura Berman, an OWN TV host , says she discovered her 16-year-old son's lifeless body Sunday following an overdose with drugs he purchased on Snapchat. "My beautiful boy is gone. 16 years old. Sheltering at home," Berman writes of Samuel Berman Chapman on...

Drug Decriminalization Takes Effect in Oregon

Voters approved changes in November

(Newser) - Police in Oregon can no longer arrest someone for possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone, and other drugs as a ballot measure that decriminalized them took effect on Monday. Instead, those found in possession would face a $100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to...

Court: Russian Name, Flag Banned From Next 2 Olympics

Punishment for a 2014 Olympics doping scheme

(Newser) - Russia was banned Thursday from using its name, flag, and anthem at the next two Olympics or at any world championships for the next two years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport's ruling also blocked Russia from bidding to host major sporting events for two years, per the AP...

Cops: Mayor Busted With Crack Cocaine After Chase

Tim Currier threw a gram out the window of his car, sheriff's office says

(Newser) - If politicians are involved in a chase, it usually has to do with votes or polling and not the cops, but the latter is the apparent plight of a small-town upstate New York mayor busted in an undercover sting. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office says it arrested 55-year-old...

On Marijuana, a 'Huge, Historic Victory'

UN committee takes cannabis for medical use off of list of most dangerous drugs

(Newser) - Drug policy advocates are celebrating a win this week after a United Nations commission voted to remove marijuana for medical use from a list of the world's most dangerous drugs. In a 27-25 vote, with only Ukraine abstaining, the 53 member states of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs...

Senior Couple Safe After Bizarre Kidnap Plot

Authorties say James and Sandra Helm were taken to Canada, ransomed for cocaine

(Newser) - A senior couple in upstate New York were kidnapped and driven into Canada before their captors demanded the return of 50 kilograms of cocaine or its value, $3.5 million. Prosecutors described the "terrifying ordeal," in which the victims—James Helm Sr., 76, and Sandra Helm, 70—had...

7 First Responders Sickened at Bridge Crash

7 exposed to what authorities believe was fentanyl on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge

(Newser) - A section of the Golden Gate Bridge was deemed an accident scene, a crime scene, and a hazmat scene in one fell swoop over the weekend after first responders started becoming ill while responding to a car crash. Per KGO , officers got a call just before noon on Sunday about...

Critics to Cops: Don't Give Ketamine During Arrests

The drug has led to hospitalizations and even deaths

(Newser) - Police stopped Elijah McClain on the street in suburban Denver last year after deeming the young Black man suspicious. He was thrown into a chokehold, threatened with a dog and stun gun, then subjected to another law enforcement tool before he suffered cardiac arrest and died: a drug called ketamine,...

He Got Life for Selling $30 of Weed. Now, This

Derek Harris, a military veteran, is about to go free

(Newser) - A Louisiana man serving life for selling less than a gram of weed is about to see the light of day, CNN reports. Prosecutors have agreed to free Derek Harris, a military veteran who was arrested in 2008 for selling an officer less than $30 of marijuana. In a Louisiana...

Whistleblowers to SEC: Facebook Is Hiding Illegal Activity

'WaPo' describes claims, including from an ex-Facebook moderator, on drug, child porn sales

(Newser) - A whistleblower complaint filed with the SEC claims Facebook has failed to adequately police illegal activity on its platform, including sales of drugs and child pornography. The complaint filed Tuesday by critics, including a former Facebook content moderator, further claims Facebook has hidden the extent of illegal activity from its...

France: This 'Should Not Be Prescribed' for COVID Patients

Country bans use of hydroxychloroquine

(Newser) - Another negative headline for hydroxychloroquine: France has banned the use of it as a coronavirus treatment. Politico lays out the timeline leading to the move. After the Lancet on Friday published the results of a worldwide study suggesting that the anti-malaria drug doesn't help patients and may well...

This Is the State With the Worst Drug Abuse

Missouri gets unwanted distinction in WalletHub list

(Newser) - As America remains mired in a drug crisis , the added weight of the coronavirus pandemic has only made things harder. That's per WalletHub , which looked at all 50 states and DC to see which areas are affected the most by drug abuse. It looked at nearly two dozen metrics,...

'Best Chance' for Coronavirus Cure? Might Be This Llama

Scientists are trying 'antibody therapies' for near-term coronavirus cure

(Newser) - Llamas are known as sociable animals with pleasantly soft wool—and now, a possible cure for the coronavirus. Scientists say llamas and alpacas at a research farm in Belgium are producing special antibodies that show promise in stopping the coronavirus, the Washington Post reports. A new scientific paper says these...

Popular Heartburn Drug Is Latest Hope on Virus

Test underway involving active ingredient in Pepcid

(Newser) - Next up in the coronavirus drug parade: Pepcid. More specifically, famotidine, the active ingredient in the popular heartburn drug, reports Science Magazine . Hospitals in New York have begun a test involving COVID-19 patients in which roughly half will receive the drug and the rest will get a placebo, per CNN...

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