drug abuse

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Mom: Britney Had Booze, Sex, Drugs ... All by Age 15

Lynne Spears' new memoir reveals daughter's downward spiral

(Newser) - Britney Spears started boozing at 13, lost her virginity at 14, and took drugs at 15, mother Lynne Spears writes in her upcoming memoir, Through the Storm. The Sun reports that in the book due Sept. 16, Lynne expresses regret for letting her daughter become a sex object and believes...

Officials Probe 3 Deaths, Rape at Dr. Drew's Hospital

Doc to the star directs substance facility

(Newser) - California officials are investigating three deaths and a rape at a Pasadena hospital that's home to a rehab facility run by physician-to-the-stars "Dr. Drew" Pinsky. The deaths occurred at Aurora Las Encinas Hospital, where Pinsky is co-director of the chemical dependency program. Two of the patients died of drug...

Anthrax Suspect Was on Brink Before Suicide

As feds closed in, Ivins drank, popped pills, perhaps planned to kill

(Newser) - As FBI agents closed in on Bruce Ivins last fall, the anthrax suspect’s life was falling apart, the Washington Post reports. Ivins would sometimes drink a liter of vodka while downing sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs. He “was emailing me late at night with gobbledygook, ranting and raving,...

Let's Legalize Drug Use: Argentine Prez

In US, Rep. Barney Frank leads lawmakers on marijuana crusade

(Newser) - Argentina's president is seeking to legalize drug use and a crack down on dealing and trafficking, CNN reports. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's plan follows similar moves by European and Latin American nations, where decriminalization has not increased drug use, one expert said. Mexico proposed such a law several years...

Ex-Broadcom Boss Charged With Drugging Exec Drinks

Dozens of drug, fraud charges for billionaire

(Newser) - Broadcom's co-founder has been indicted on an astounding spate of federal fraud and narcotics charges, the Wall Street Journal reports. Henry Nicholas III is accused of using and distributing drugs over a seven-year period while directing a criminal stock options-backdating conspiracy that cost the firm billions. Prosecutors claim he secretly...

Tatum O'Neal Nabbed in Crack Bust

Oscar-winner arrested buying drugs near NYC apartment

(Newser) - Troubled actress Tatum O'Neal, who wrote a book on her addiction to drugs and alcohol, was arrested last night for buying crack cocaine down the block from her Manhattan luxury condo, the New York Post reports. O'Neal, who at 10 was the youngest person to win an Oscar, for Paper ...

Winehouse Busted Again
 Winehouse Busted Again

Winehouse Busted Again

Star busted after cops view 'drug video'

(Newser) - Addled singer Amy Winehouse is out on bail after being arrested again for suspected drug offenses yesterday, the Guardian reports. London police questioned her after a video surfaced that allegedly shows her taking drugs. Winehouse's last arrest was less than two weeks ago, when she was cautioned about an assault.

Winehouse Faces Jail After Violent Bender

Booze, drugs said to fuel fists of fury from 'snarling tigress'

(Newser) - Amy Winehouse will be arrested, sources tell the Sun, after assaulting two men during a booze- and drug-induced rampage last night in London. The 24-year-old singer allegedly headbutted a man who was trying to hail a cab for her, and earlier punched a man for refusing to give up his...

I Used Cocaine: NY Governor
 I Used Cocaine: NY Governor 

I Used Cocaine: NY Governor

Spitzer's successor under fire again

(Newser) - One week after revealing he had extramarital affairs, New York Gov. David Paterson has also admitted using marijuana and cocaine. Patterson used drugs in the 70s when he was 23, he said in an interview on TV news channel New York 1. Paterson, the state's first black and first blind...

Feds Map Drug and Mental Problems by State

Vermonters smoke a lot of pot, Utah adults suffer high rate of mental ills

(Newser) - Vermonters smoke the most pot and Utah has the lowest drinking and marijuana rates among young people in the nation—but the highest rates of adults reporting mental health problems. Those are some of the nuggets uncovered in a fascinating new report by government researchers who made a state-by-state examination...

Drunkorexia On Rise in Women
Drunkorexia On Rise in Women

Drunkorexia On Rise in Women

Eating disorders increasingly blending with substance abuse, experts say

(Newser) - Drunkorexia isn't an official medical term, reports the New York Times, but the disorder is on a growing list of afflictions that combine societal acceptance of substance abuse and pressure to be thin. Drunkorexics, who are typically college-age women, shun food to prevent weight gain and to offset the calories...

Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs
Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs

Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs

Insider says Ledger was hooked on cocaine, heroin for past year

(Newser) - Heath Ledger's cocaine and heroin use became so bad over the past year that girlfriend Michelle Williams kicked him out of their Brooklyn home and threatened to take custody of daughter Matilda, the New York Post reports. A "drug pal" described partying bouts just as two TV shows decided...

Winehouse Whines About Jailed Hubby, Cancels Tour

Can't do songs justice without 'my Blake'

(Newser) - Walking disaster Amy Winehouse canceled all remaining tour dates for the rest of the year, for what her label is calling "health issues." The singer says she can't perform while husband Blake Fielder-Civil is in prison. "I can't give it my all without my Blake," she...

Filling Jails Doesn't Cut Crime
Filling Jails Doesn't
Cut Crime

Filling Jails Doesn't Cut Crime

Study concludes that longer sentences don't make streets safer

(Newser) - Getting tough on criminals through longer prison terms—at an annual cost of tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars—hasn't made a major impact on crime, concludes a study released yesterday. The US prison population has increased 800% since 1970—giving the nation has the world's highest incarceration rate—...

Clapton Recounts Pain, Triumph
Clapton Recounts Pain, Triumph

Clapton Recounts Pain, Triumph

Addictions, death of son brought guitar legend to his knees

(Newser) - "Slowhand" takes up a pen in Clapton: The Autobiography. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll—it’s all there in guitar legend Eric Clapton’s memoir. There’s also the death of a child and more than one journey to sobriety. Vanity Fair excerpts the poignant tale of...

Teen Smokers More Likely to Drink, Do Drugs: Study

Also at higher risk for depression, anxiety

(Newser) - Teenagers who smoke cigarettes are five times more likely to drink and 13 times more likely to smoke pot, according to a new study by a Columbia University addiction center. The report also linked adolescent smoking to higher rates of binge drinking and hard drug use, along with a greater...

Painkiller Is Denied to Poor
Painkiller Is Denied to Poor

Painkiller Is Denied to Poor

Morphine is cheap and available, but it's withheld because of 'opoid phobia'

(Newser) - Though morphine is cheap, effective, and widely available, most people sufferering extreme pain don't  get it, the New York Times reports. The poorest 80% of the world’s population consumes only 6% of the pain-killer. Why? Because health care workers in poor countries are afraid to prescribe morphine, or not...

Chase Parks Lohan in Court
Chase Parks Lohan in Court

Chase Parks Lohan in Court

Driver sues starlet over alleged drunken car pursuit

(Newser) - An apparent drunken car chase has already landed starlet Lindsay Lohan in trouble for drugs and in rehab—when she gets out she'll have small claims court on her busy docket. A passenger in the other car is suing, claiming the alleged pursuit was "one of the most frightening...

Hamas Launches Navy in Gaza
Hamas Launches Navy in Gaza

Hamas Launches Navy in Gaza

Palestinian faction is recruiting sailors; now all they need is a ship

(Newser) - Hamas, the Palestinian faction that seized power in the Gaza Strip in June, is launching a naval defense force, reports the Times. They're busy recruiting sailors—even though they don't have any ships.  “The requirements to join are that you have to be a good soldier, be fit,...

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