drugs news stories on Newser

Worries Dog HIV-Blocking Little Blue Pill

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:10:20 CDT

A drug designed to block HIV infection comes with a little hitch: Used incorrectly, it could invite infection or create a resistant strain that renders the drug useless. The very FDA panel that recommended approval for the drug, Truvada, tangled with these dilemmas, the New York Times reports: What if...

Look Out, Viagra: Testosterone Drugs Gain Popularity

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:25:54 CDT

New drugs designed in part to save the sex lives of aging men could become the biggest thing since Viagra, reports Bloomberg . The problem is that the testosterone boosters from Eli Lilly and Abbott are becoming so popular that doctors worry men who don't need them for strictly medical reasons...

Cops: LAX Screeners Let Drugs Go Through

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:39:05 CDT

The feds busted four TSA agents for allegedly helping drug traffickers smuggle suitcases packed with cocaine, marijuana, and meth through security at Los Angeles International Airport. The screeners are accused of accepting up to $2,400 in bribes for allowing the drugs to pass through X-ray machines and checkpoints, reports...

El Salvador Has First Murder-Free Day Since 2009

Kevin Spak — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:57:33 CDT

Saturday was a banner day in El Salvador, because as far as anyone can tell, not a single person was violently killed. That may not sound like much of an accomplishment, but for El Salvador it is; the last time the country had a homicide-free day was 2009, Reuters reports....

Cocaine Found in Whitney's Hotel Room

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:38:18 CDT

Police did indeed find cocaine in the hotel room where Whitney Houston died, reports TMZ . Official documents list "white, powdery remnants" found in the Beverly Hills room, and sources tell the website that the powder tested positive for cocaine. Earlier this month, the LA county coroner declared the singer's death...

LA Cops Make Huge Drug Bust: $100M of PCP

John Johnson — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:34:22 CST

They'd been tipped off by the DEA, but Los Angeles cops weren't expecting the drug bust to be this big: Police seized $100 million worth of PCP in various locations, reports the Los Angeles Times . That translates to 130 gallons, an amount "I can't even get my head around," said...

Pot Smoking Doubles Risk of Car Accident

Matt Cantor — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:40:05 CST

Smoking marijuana three hours or less before getting behind the wheel nearly doubles your chance of a major car crash, a study suggests. It's the first study to look at the link between cannabis and crash risk, the Canadian researchers believe. They examined study data for more than 49,000...

Brain Scans of Addicts' Siblings Offer a Clue

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:46:09 CST

New hope in the treatment of addiction? A study shows that people hooked on drugs or alcohol have abnormalities in the brain that make them more susceptible. Researchers were able to determine that the abnormalities existed before the addiction set in because they found the same abnormalities in the brains...

Feds Helped Mexican Drug Honcho Move Millions

Matt Cantor — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:48:44 CST

The New York Times last month revealed that undercover US agents have laundered and smuggled millions of dollars for Mexico's drug cartels—and today the paper shines a light on one such operation, in which federal agents helped one drug trafficker and his Colombian supplier move cash and cocaine across...