Drug Crime

Prescription painkiller abuse by Americans is becoming more and more prevalent as doctors routinely prescribe the medication to patients. The rise in prescription drug abuse is particularly alarming when considering that more people in the U.S. used prescription painkillers than smoked cigarettes last year. A recent study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that approximately 35…

Heroin overdoses are on the rise throughout New Jersey. For example, Camden NJ law enforcement is investigating a recent rash of heroin overdoses related to heroin stamped with “Batman.” According to Camden New Jersey authorities, there have been more than 20 heroin OD victims in the past week who went to Cooper University Health Care in Camden, New Jersey. Doctors at…

The US Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, recently visited New Jersey to talk about the problem of prescription painkiller abuse that is causing countless emergency room visits and overdose deaths all across the country. Prescription opioid abuse is a particular problem in the Garden State, so it is fitting that Murthy came to NJ as part of the Turn the Tide tour.…

With more and more people dying as a result of prescription drug overdoses, law enforcement officials and medical experts now have to worry about a new threat: fake Xanax pills. In recent months, emergency rooms across the United States, including Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania, have started to see an increasing number of patients who have overdosed on counterfeit Xanax, according…

Abuse of prescription drugs can lead to heart attacks and other potentially fatal consequences, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study comes at a time when prescription drug addiction and abuse have generated a lot of media coverage and headlines as more and more people are dying as a result of…

Although people tend to think of cocaine addiction as a problem that merely affects the user, data indicates that global cocaine trafficking has resulted in a significant number of homicides, suggesting the large scope of the impact of drug crimes. The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) recently released the figures on “the human effect that comes…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently responded to the growing epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse by issuing guidelines for prescribing opioids and other painkillers. Prescription painkiller abuse has become a serious problem in the United States as more and more people are using pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate chronic pain. These individuals often start by using legally prescribed painkillers…

The United States Supreme Court has said that it will not hear a case challenging Colorado’s legalized marijuana laws. The lawsuit was filed by Colorado’s neighboring states, Nebraska and Oklahoma, with the plaintiffs alleging that the legalization of pot in Colorado had caused illegal drug activity in their own states as users, and distributors, crossed state borders. Nebraska and Oklahoma sought to…

The NJ Supreme Court recently handed down a decision that potentially expands the ability of state law enforcement to use roving wiretaps in criminal cases. The important decision was issued in the case of Hector Feliciano, a convicted drug dealer who had been accused of trafficking heroin throughout Camden, New Jersey. Camden County prosecutors had argued that Feliciano was the leader of a…

More Americans than ever are addicted to prescription drugs, with prescription drug overdose deaths at an all-time high, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The federal government has responded by pushing states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to require doctors to log in to a national database that tracks painkiller prescriptions. The official drug czar for…