Cocaine is on the rise in Europe, EU drug agency says

Different types of drugs are becoming popular today. However, this popularity is not a good thing. Instead, this can be a threat to the lives of the people. This could mean that more lives will be put in danger and perhaps, the number of drug-addicted people will be on the rise once again. This would call for more addiction treatment centers to help these people.

The European Union agency that monitors illicit drug use says cocaine is becoming more widely available on the continent. The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction said in a report on Thursday that social media, the darknet and encryption are helping small gangs and individuals to sell drugs undetected.

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The agency says authorities have identified “cocaine call centers” which use couriers providing quick and adaptable delivery networks.

The Lisbon-based agency says authorities are fighting back, with the amount of cocaine seized in Europe setting records. In 2017, the latest with full-year data available, authorities seized more than 140 metric tons of cocaine. That was almost double the quantity seized the previous year.

Despite the growth of cocaine, cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug in Europe.

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Marietta police testing new opioid intervention program

Intervention is very important for drug-addicted people. The number of drug users keeps increasing each day, especially opioid users. This is becoming a serious problem that affects society. In order to save the users and others, seeking help and intervention is a must. In Metro Atlanta, a police department has announced a new opioid addiction intervention program as deaths from overdoses in Cobb County appear to be on the decline.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the new program by Marietta police will create an alert system where authorities are notified when someone is revived using medication, like naloxone, that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Two plain clothes officers will then visit survivors and try to convince them to seek treatment. Officers will also receive training on how to best approach the sensitive conversations.

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Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said the program arose from the success the department has had in using naloxone to combat overdose deaths. Between police, fire and ambulance services, naloxone was given 100 times in Marietta last year.

Flynn wants to expand on that success by figuring out how to engage with people after overdoses and break the cycle of addiction.

“Do we think we’re going to get some doors slammed in our face by people saying ‘You don’t have a warrant, get lost?’ Yeah,” Flynn said. “But some people will say, ‘I want to hear more.'”

The program will be judged by how many people police can persuade to enter treatment and will be evaluated after six months and again after a year.

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Drug trafficker faces prison sentence

One reason why there are so many drug-addicted people in the world is because of the fact that there are also a lot of drug dealers and drug traffickers going around. Since people have access to illegal substances, they are likely to use them. When they get addicted to it, they commit different crimes and acts in a way that is against the law of society.

A man who law enforcement officials have called the primary illicit drug supplier on the North Olympic Peninsula pleaded guilty in federal court this week and faces up to 20 years in prison. Nicolas “Nico” Orozco-Cruz, who was the head of a drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and in the plea agreement attorneys recommend he face 46 to 71 months in prison.

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Orozco-Cruz, Elizabeth Ann McKean and Jessica Elen Christman were all arrested last year after a year-long Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team and Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into Orozco-Cruz’s drug trafficking organization, which officials believed was the primary supplier of Mexican-produced heroin and methamphetamine on the Olympic Peninsula.

Court papers say he was in the United States illegally.

Orozco-Cruz was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, six counts of distribution of a controlled substance and alien in possession of a firearm.

Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop six distribution charges as part of the plea agreement.

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Woman recovering from methamphetamine addiction says she used while giving birth

We know for a fact that not only men use and get addicted to drugs, but even women as well. Especially in this present time, the number of women abusing drugs is increasing and the worse part is, there are mothers who even use drugs. There are those who are pregnant but still, they decided to use them. Here is a woman who is recovering from methamphetamine addiction and admitted to using while giving birth.

A recovering methamphetamine addict says she was so hooked on the drug she even used while she was in labour. In an interview with NZME, as part of its series on New Zealand’s meth crisis, Darnell Rumbal said the addiction was “stronger than my will to stop”.

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“With my youngest boy, even during pregnancy I used. I couldn’t stop using,” she told NZME.

“I went into labour six weeks early … When I went to the hospital and I was being monitored my friend turned up and had gear. I knew he had gear and even though I was in labour and even though I knew I was risking my child and I was in the hospital, I still said to him, have you got a puff? And he said yes, so we went into the toilets and I got high,” she told NZME.

Rumbal, of Bay of Plenty, is now more than a year clean.

Last year, the number of charges for the use and supply of methamphetamine hit at a 10-year high.

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Would you recognize the signs of drug addiction in your child?

Anyone can be an addict. At times we can immediately determine if one is under drugs or not. In some cases, without our knowledge that someone close to us- friends or acquaintance, or even our child can be on drugs. When children are involved, it can be very alarming and parents should know about it before it’s too late.

But if you are a parent, how would you know if your child is using drugs, or worse, addicted to it? A seminar happening Monday night in Huntsville is promising to give parents information they need to get their children to help if they become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Phil Plant, a recovery and intervention specialist based in Nashville, is hosting an event called Pushing Past Parental Paralysis.

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“It is really hard to really admit, to say, ‘my child is using drugs’. You want it to be anything else. So parent paralysis is a parent’s inability to help a child, they don’t know what to do, so they’re stuck and they don’t do anything which can lead to enabling which can really make the disease prolonged.”

Plant named off the usual signs parents need to be aware of, but warns, if a parent is in denial, it may be hard to start getting them help. “It’s important to recognize that addiction is a family disease. It’s not just the addict that is struggling. It affects every family member. Self care, with the family, and not just a focus on the person who’s addicted.”

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Several city health centers now equipped with prescription drug drop boxes

The abuse of prescription drugs is becoming a serious problem in many parts of the world. Also, there are a lot of people who do not exactly know how to properly dispose of their unneeded or expired prescription drugs. Given this, in Cincinnati, several of the city’s primary care centers are now equipped with prescription drug drop boxes, the health department announced Monday.

Health Commissioner Melba Moore said the boxes allow for a responsible means of disposing of unneeded or expired prescription drugs. “We believe that the easy access to the drug take-back boxes will be yet another drug abuse prevention measure to help curb the addiction crisis,” Moore said in a written statement.

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The organization PreventionFIRST! worked with city officials to purchase the prescription drop boxes through a grant from the Ohio Department of Health.

“Many homes have unwanted or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications,” said Mary Haag, president and CEO of PreventionFIRST! “When these medicines are no longer needed, they should be disposed of promptly and safely to reduce the chance of someone accidentally or intentionally misusing these medications.”

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Two rival politicians accused each other of using drugs

Drugs are everywhere. This also means that everyone talks about it and anyone can be involved in it. Whoever you are and regardless of your status in the society, you can be a victim of drugs or if not, you might be using them. Drugs can be in any setting, even in politics. Here are two rival politicians who are accusing each other of using drugs.

It’s been described as a “political pissing contest” — literally. Two feuding politicians in Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, spent much of the past week accusing each other of being on mind-altering substances after getting into an ugly fight in the comments section of a local political blog. Naturally, they could only settle their dispute one way: by challenging each other to a public drug test.

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Calling it a “modern twist on the classic political duel,” the Connecticut Post reported on Monday that Bridgeport City Councilman Ernest Newton and Board of Education member Maria Pereira had both handed over plastic cups of urine and passed their respective tests.

As it turns out, they’re not the first ones to go through the humiliating ritual. Both front-runners in Ukraine’s presidential election submitted to live-streamed drug tests earlier this month, and the state of Georgia once made screenings mandatory for candidates running for state office.

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