Methamphetamines Social Drug News

Methamphetamines Social Drug News From AOL News

Study: Alcohol More Lethal Than Heroin, Cocaine

LONDON (Oct. 31) -- Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study. British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a...

Illicit Drug Use Hits Highest Levels in a Decade

(Sept. 16) -- Illicit drug use spiked to 9 percent among Americans last year, according to a new national survey that blames the increase on "eroding attitudes" about the potential hazards. The growing popularity of marijuana was chiefly responsible for the rise, along with Ecstasy and methamphetamines. Drug use is now...

Is Portugal's Liberal Drug Policy a Model for US?

LISBON, Portugal (Aug. 14) -- Ten years ago, Portugal had some 100,000 heroin addicts -- about 1 percent of its entire population. HIV infections from injecting drugs were among the highest in Europe. Now the addict count has been cut nearly in half. HIV infections from drug use have fallen more than 90 percent. And the...

Mexican Ex-President's Drug Proposal Stirs Debate

MEXICO CITY (Aug. 10) -- A former Mexican president's proposal to legalize drugs to reduce cartel-related violence is stoking an increasingly desperate policy debate within Mexico and in Washington. Writing on his blog Sunday, Vicente Fox, who was president from 2000 to 2006, criticized the current administration's...

Congress Cuts Sentencing Disparity Between Crack Cocaine and Powder, but How Similar Are the Drugs?

(July 28) -- On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress took the somewhat unusual step of passing legislation to actually make the federal drug laws less severe. Before the new guidelines, a person arrested for possession of 5 grams or more of crack cocaine received an automatic five-year prison sentence. If signed by the...