Author: Justin Rood

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: TPMuckracker

Comments: An article of questionable content, but interesting nonetheless. Lawyers for a bomb suspect claim he was forced to ingest either LSD or PCP by the government in an attempt to glean information from him.

Author: Jeffrey Helm

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: AlterNet DrugReporter

Comments: The development of a vaccine against drug addiction is a relatively new area, which promises to help those who want to kick their habit. Unlike traditional vaccines, which target viruses, drug vaccines need to work slightly differently by clumping onto drug molecules, preventing them from crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Author: Wilton D. Alston

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: LewRockwell

Comments: A fairly well written article about the War on Drugs. Raises some interesting questions and debates about why it is not working, and how it makes no sense to wage a war on drugs in the first place.

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: LiveScience

Comments:  Some research shows that there are potential actions from THC that may prevent the formation of abnormal clumps of proteins which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Experiments showed that THC was significantly more effective than two available pharmaceuticals currently used to treat Alzheimer’s.

Location/Region: International

Link: AlterNet DrugReporter

Comments: An article summarizing the current knowledge of addiction-related genes, and the associated ethical issues that will need to be addressed in the future. It emphasizes increased awareness that addiction is not caused by any single gene or sequence of genes, although they can sometimes indicate a risk. Current popular thinking seems to neglect the importance of other factors such as environment, stress and traumatic events in the person’s life.

Location/Region: Worldwide

Link: New Scientist

Comments: A detailed article which raises awareness about legal highs, and their associated issues. Legal status seems to infer trust and safety, even though it is not necessarily the case all the time.  Still, more research needs to be done on these substances.

Location/Region: U.K./Europe

Link: Times Online

Comments:  British soldiers from the 3rd Battalion of Yorkshire have been involved in trading weapons for cocaine. It is said the guns were smuggled from Iraq and sold on the black market in Germany. Some claim up to 60% of soldiers from the company regularly use drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: YouTube

Comments: Something a bit different this time – an ad from the American Office of National Drug Control Policy and Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Surprisingly presents a level perspective on cannabis use, unlike the traditional scare tactics employed for these sort of ads.

Location/Region: U.K. & Europe

Link: The Daily Mail

Comments: One example of how relaxed laws on drug use sometimes makes the drug problem worse than it is. The U.K. has significantly higher levels of drug abuse than any other country in Europe, including Holland, which is best known for its liberal attitude towards drugs.

Location/Region: U.S.

Link: The Ledger

Comments:  An independent study reveals nicotine levels in cigarettes have risen steadily over the past 10 years. Possibly to counteract the amount of anti-smoking resources targeted at smokers, the tobacco industry has quietly been increasing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, making it harder for smokers to quit.