1. The Scotsman (UK) – Now experts say cannabis should be legal. “CANNABIS should be legalised and taxed, an influential Scottish think tank recommended yesterday, just weeks after the Government hardened its attitude towards the drug, reclassifying it as a class B substance. The Scottish Futures Forum yesterday published a report on drugs and alcohol in Scotland, saying one way to tackle the problem of addiction to harder drugs was to tax and regulate cannabis.”

2. Associated Press (USA) – Can exercise help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol? “Sure, exercise is good for your waistline, your heart, your bones — but might it also help prevent addiction to drugs or alcohol? There are some tantalizing clues that physical activity might spur changes in the brain to do just that. Now the government is beginning a push for hard research to prove it. This is not about getting average people to achieve the so-called runner’s high, a feat of pretty intense athletics.”

3. Arab News – Youth Problems Need Everyone’s Attention. “The welfare of our youth has been compromised by many factors that should be given more serious attention to protect the future of our next generation. Among them are the increasing rates of divorce, drug addiction, juvenile delinquency, terrorism, unemployment, low wages and the high cost of living. To begin with, the alarming rate of divorce is a painful reality that needs to be addressed immediately. Family disputes are a source of pain for our children and have caused enormous difficulties that adversely impact the welfare of our society.”

4. CNN – IBN (India) – J&K: Drug addiction on rise as cops remain aloof. “Jammu and Kashmir has seen prolonged conflict and high levels of stress, but now a new report by the state’s psychiatric hospital has found out that young people in rural areas are increasingly taking to drugs.
“I have been taking drugs since last 10 year. I get it from different people whenever I require it. I am not afraid of police, I fear nobody,” is the brazen confession of a 32-year-old drug addict from south Kashmir, Shabir Ahmad.”

5. The Ottawa Citizen (Canada) – An irrational and stupid drug policy. “The government’s handling of drug policy is so ignorant and foolish it is a challenge to explain why in a newspaper column. To expound on stupidity of this magnitude requires a very long book. But two images from this week do come close to capturing the full absurdity. The first is Tony Clement appearing before a Commons committee to declare his government’s opposition to the current operation of Insite, the Vancouver safe-injection pilot project.”

6. University of Cambridge (UK) – High impulsivity predicts the switch to compulsive cocaine-taking. “Scientists at the University of Cambridge have found impulsivity, a trait often associated with addicts’ behaviour, predicts whether casual drug use will lead to compulsive drug use. Their findings are reported in last week’s edition of ‘Science’.
Many individuals take addictive drugs at some point in their lives – not just illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, but also legal and commonly available substances such as alcohol and nicotine. But only a sub-group of those who take drugs eventually lose control over their drug use and become ‘addicted’. ”

7. BBC News (UK) – Alcohol craving reduced by drugs. “Twin research projects have offered both present and future hope to people suffering from alcohol addiction. US researchers say that epilepsy drug topiramate boosts general health as well as cutting the craving for drink. A UK specialist said the potential side-effects of topiramate still merited caution. A separate project showed that a single injection of a protein into the brains of rats almost immediately stopped them wanting alcohol.”

8. Adelaide Now (Australia) – Rebadged bong to beat SA drug pipe ban. “AN Adelaide business is rebadging outlawed cannabis bongs to beat tough new laws making the sale of drug implements illegal. Attorney-General Michael Atkinson and a reformed cannabis addict say they saw illegal bongs on sale at Off Ya Tree in Hindley St, but they were labelled water-pourers.”

9. Antigua Sun (West Indies) – Drug abuse concern in Barbuda. “Substance abuse prevention activities will be extended to Barbuda for the first time this year as news of extensive youth drug abuse on the island comes to light. On 26 June, the Substance Abuse Prevention Division will be hosting its annual Walk Against Drugs in honour of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.”

10. New York Times (USA) – Making Light of Drug Abuse, to Make a Point. “VERY spring they crop up, dark and worrisome as nightshade amid the tea roses of prom corsages: High school safety assemblies. Most often they are earnest and sobering “scared straight” campaigns against drug and alcohol use and drunken driving. But this year, Avon High School parents and school administrators tried out a new weapon in the war against bad choices: laughter. Gloriously irreverent laughter.”