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AP Photo of border patrol agent speaking to driver of a tractor-trailer

WSFA 12 - The US Customs and Border Protection says officers seized 6.5 tons of methamphetamine valued at $117 million in a single enforcement action, the largest meth seizure recorded at a port of entry. The seizure happened at the Camino Real International Bridge between Mexico and Texas.

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open hand holding two pills with MIND MATTERS: SOCIETY'S ATTITUDE TOWARD ADDICTION

KSLA 12 - Dr. Nicholas Goeders, Executive Director of the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSUHS, discusses how stress and trauma play a role in addiction, signs of addiction to watch out for, early prevention and what steps to take if a loved one is experiencing addiction.

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Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reached historic highs among adults 35 to 50

Past-year use of marijuana and hallucinogens by adults 35 to 50 years old continued a long-term upward trajectory to reach all-time highs in 2022, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study, an annual survey of substance use behaviors and attitudes of adults 19 to 60 years old.

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DEA agent discusses ‘massive’ East Texas meth lab bust, fentanyl trade

"DEA Agents in East Texas uncovered a “massive scale” methamphetamine manufacturing lab near Tyler funded by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) which is based in Mexico. Over 170 kgs. were discovered in this single wide trailer. Agent Sanderson said that this lab was supplying the Dallas Ft. Worth area, something that is usually the other way around - Dallas/Ft. Worth supplying East Texas."

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Study Finds “Staggering Increase” in Methamphetamine Deaths – And It Has No Signs of Slowing Down

SciTech Daily - “We looked at trends from 1999 to 2021 and we saw this staggering increase in methamphetamine mortality accompanied by a proportional increase in those deaths that also involved heroin or fentanyl,” said Rachel Hoopsick, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of kinesiology and community health who led the research.

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Deputies find boy locked in make-shift cage, his sister with meth pipe

ABC6, Logan, Ohio - Children living in deplorable conditions are discovered by deputies investigating a residence where a woman said she was sexually assaulted and robbed. “The one-year-old had a meth pipe walking around with it. The 3-year-old was locked into a pack n play with zip ties so he couldn’t get out of the cage,” Sheriff Lanny North said.

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packages of methamphetamine (CBP)

Fox News - "This is a massive seizure of methamphetamine, it is largest in the history of the port, and it reflects the steadfast commitment of our officers to the CBP border security mission and their effective application of technology, training and experience," said Liliana Flores, director of the Del Rio Port of Entry.

Read More about Border officers in Texas seize nearly $12 million in methamphetamine from tractor trailer (opens in new window/tab)
Getty Images - hand holding bag of meth crystals

OHSU.edu - Study reveals methamphetamine use is common, contributes to the national overdose epidemic in rural America. The national opioid epidemic continues to dominate headlines and accounts for the majority of the more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths recorded in the United States last year, largely due to fentanyl.

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AP

TRT World - The global drugs trade is on fire, having survived the coronavirus pandemic with minimal disruption. Production is increasing in many places, fuelled by instability and economic crises in major drug-producing countries. Traffickers appear to be sending vast shipments, reflected in record-breaking drug seizures.

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LARC: Changing Lives and Healing Community Through Research

Forum News - At the LARC, our goal is to reduce the number of deaths from one of the most preventable causes, drug overdoses, through better education and developing therapies to address the forces underlying Substance Use Disorders. We will also provide avenues for people to stop misusing drugs, thereby reducing crime and bringing families back together. 

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Nicholas Goeders, PhD photo

LSU Office of Research - While almost all research on addiction to stimulants (such as meth and cocaine) remains focused on dopamine and the body’s pleasure-and-reward system, a researcher at LSU Health Shreveport, Nicholas Goeders, took a different approach. Instead of reward, he looked at stress.

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JanOne Inc. Acquires an Option for the Rights to a Worldwide, Exclusive License for a Novel Strategy for Treating Methamphetamine Use Disorder

JanOne Inc., in an agreement with LSU Health Shreveport, along with other intellectual property relating to TSPO's role in treating meth use disorder (MUD), provides JanOne Inc. with an opportunity to identify new drugs to enhance TSPO activity, and by doing so, reducing craving for meth.

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Nora Volkow, MD at podium

AAMC - Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, shares, "Far too often, shame and stigma fuel addiction and prevent treatment. But replacing judgment with compassion can save lives. As a society, we still keep addiction in the shadows, regarding it as something shameful, reflecting lack of character, weakness of will, or even conscious wrongdoing, not a medical issue."

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Methamphetamine-involved overdose deaths nearly tripled between 2015 to 2019, NIH study finds

National Institute on Drug Abuse - Overdose deaths involving methamphetamine nearly tripled from 2015 to 2019 among people ages 18-64 in the United States, according to a study by NIDA. In 2020, more than 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, marking the largest one-year increase in overdose deaths ever recorded.

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Overdose Awareness: Spotlighting a National Crisis

The U.S. is in the grips of an epidemic of drug overdose deaths. Stemming the tide of this crisis is a massive undertaking for the nation’s scientific and health-care communities. The Louisiana Addiction Research Center (LARC) at LSUHS leads a multidisciplinary effort to study and understand the impact of substance use on our citizens. 

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Federal Charges Filed Following Record-Breaking Drug Seizure

United States Drug Enforcement Administration - HSI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Cardell T. Morant shared, “HSI and its law enforcement partners undoubtedly saved lives by preventing this massive drug shipment from entering our communities. We will remain vigilant in our mission to prevent these drugs from crossing the border and entering our communities.”

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US Drug Deaths Explode, Fueled by Mexico Production of Synthetics

Insightcrime.org - The United States saw a record toll in drug overdose deaths last year, driven in part by two powerful synthetic drugs mass-produced in Mexico and then smuggled over the border. The CDC recorded 93,331 drug overdose deaths in 2020. The devastating tally marked a nearly 30 percent increase from 2019.

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Louisiana overdose deaths skyrocket during 2020

KTAL/KMSS - Alarming new data from the CDC shows a drastic increase in drug overdose deaths across the country. Louisiana ranks in the top 5 states with the highest increase of fatalities. “We have to pay attention to it. There are too many lives at risk,” said Dr. Nicholas Goeders, Director of the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport.

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Operation Trojan Shield Drug Investigation (FBI)

KKTV 11 - “Grand totals for the entire investigation include 800 arrests; and seizures of more than 8 tons of cocaine; 22 tons of marijuana; 2 tons of methamphetamine/amphetamine; six tons of precursor chemicals; 250 firearms; and more than $48 million in various worldwide currencies. Dozens of public corruption cases have been initiated over the course of the investigation. And, during the course of the investigation, more than 50 clandestine drug labs have been dismantled. One of the labs hit yesterday was one of the largest clandestine labs in German history.”

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DEA: Meth Crisis, dealers have more of it than they know what to do with

Fox 29 San Antonio - The reason people consume methamphetamine is what it does in your brain releasing large amounts of dopamine, the feel really good chemicals in your brain, says James Miller, Houston Forensic Science Center. Today's meth has never been purer or cheaper, making it all the more difficult for users to resist. And shocking scientists now are lab results showing cocaine is being replaced by meth.

 

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blue containers holding chemicals used to manufacture illicit drugs

CNN - Authorities seized a record 175 tons of meth in 2020 throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia, a new record despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to preliminary UNODC data. Drug prices continued to drop, meaning these major busts are not materially affecting the overall supply of drugs in the region.

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Massive meth bust in Oklahoma stems from Mexican drug ring bringing drugs into the state and its prisons

KFOR - “Often times we’re seeing some of the largest drug shipments in the country coming through Oklahoma because of our highway system and because of our close proximity to the border,” said Mark Woodward, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

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Alcohol bottles

The population level changes for women, younger, and non-Hispanic White individuals highlight that health systems may need to educate consumers through print or online media about increased alcohol use during the pandemic and identify factors associated with susceptibility and resilience to the impacts of COVID-19.

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Department of Justice photo

DEA.gov - “Criminals selling fentanyl on the Darknet should pay attention to Operation DisrupTor,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. “The arrest of 179 of them in seven countries—with the seizure of their drug supplies and their money as well—shows that there will be no safe haven for drug dealing in cyberspace.”

Read More about Intrn'l law enforcement operation targeting opioid traffickers on the Darknet results in over 170 arrests worldwide
Drug warehouse camouflaged with cardboard in Mexicali, Baja California

Borderland Beat reports, "More than 8 tons of various products that would be used for the manufacture of drugs were discovered by elements of the State Security and Investigation Guard (GESI), during an operation carried out in the Heriberto Jara ejido, on September 5 in the Poniente area of Mexicali, Baja California."

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WREG-3 Memphis: Seizures of "hard" drugs spike as Mexican drug cartels change tactics. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security

EL PASO, Texas — Seizures of illegal drugs are on the rise along the U.S.-Mexico border, as drug cartels have adjusted their tactics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. officials say. Quantities of meth seized at the border through August are already double the amount that U.S. border agents came across all of fiscal year 2019; fentanyl seizures are up 30 percent and 24,264 more pounds of marijuana have been seized.

Read More about Drug trafficking organizations have adopted to challenges posed by COVID-19 and now smuggling more meth and fentanyl (opens in new window/tab)
NIH - Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Nora Volkow. www.directorsblog.nih.gov

The NIH Director's Blog: Dr. Nora Volkow shares, "And as I see the movements across the country speaking out against injustice, I would hope that this will also extend to diseases that have been stigmatized. We need to modify our stigma so we provide the same level of importance to treating these diseases and supporting people afflicted by them."

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Millennium-healths-signals-report-covid-19-special-edition-reveals-significant-change

Millennium Health conducted an analysis of over 500,000 definitive urine drug test (UDT) results for non-prescribed fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine in the periods before and after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, March 13, 2020. Nationally, all four drugs had significant increases in positivity.

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WWL News image of coronavirus

The AMA is greatly concerned by an increasing number of reports suggesting increases in opioid-related mortality—particularly from illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. More than 35 states have reported increases in opioid-related mortality as well as ongoing concerns for those with a mental illness or substance use disorder.

Read More about Reports of increases in opioid related overdose and other concerns during COVID pandemic
Ohio County Prosecutor: Pandemic Puts More Stress On Families Dealing With Addiction, NPR News

Vinton County, Ohio, has been on the front lines of the opioid crisis in the U.S. for several years. And even though the county hasn't had high infection rates of the coronavirus, the necessary social restrictions have made it harder to keep people addicted to drugs and their children safe.

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Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse with NIH Director, Francis Collins, courtesy of NIH

Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse shares, "We immediately can recognize the unique challenges of COVID-19 for people having an addiction. Some of these are structural; the healthcare system is not prepared to take care of them. They relate also to stigma and social issues, because it interferes with many of the support systems that can help them to reach recovery." 

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Packages of methamphetamine and cocaine seized in Texas

CBP officers assigned to the World Trade Center on Tuesday observed a 2012 Ford pickup truck hauling a shipment of magnets from Mexico. The officers selected the truck for a secondary inspection, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector CBP officials.

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