Stimulant addiction: stimulants, such as cocaine, present serious health risks--they can damage your brain and your body.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jeremy had always been popular in school. But when he was 13 years old, he began to change. Jeremy started worrying more about whether he was "cool" and if people liked him. "I became shy and introverted," says Jeremy. Around the same time,...

Drug testing kicks off today in Metro schools.
Ten students each from 15 public and private high schools in Metro Manila will undergo random drug tests today following a directive from President Arroyo to the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DoH) to conduct such tests on the country's youth. The Commission...

Taking back the night.
My Kenyan friend made an understandable mistake. Not long after arriving in the U.S., he was pleased to find a church advertising "Prayer Service, 12-1." But the timing puzzled him. The length, he thought, seemed grueling, but perhaps ordinary Americans were very devout. But why was the service starting...

Gordon doubts drug tests in schools helpful.
Senator Richard Gordon opposed yesterday the random drug test program which the government launched last week supposedly to curb the rampant drug addiction among high school students nationwide. He said conducting random drug testing among students is not the best and most effective way of preventing narcotics...

Prosecutors warned on mass leave.
Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez yesterday warned prosecutors against taking a mass leave in protest of the forced leave imposed on four of their colleagues implicated in the "Alabang Boys" controversy. Gonzalez saying they risk being sanctioned if they take a mass leave. As Gonzalez...

Three charged for running alleged ecstasy ring.
Byline: John Weeks CLINTON - Police shut down a New Hampshire-based ecstasy ring on Saturday that had plans to expand its business in Massachusetts. Suny Chanthapho, 19, of 5 South St., New Market, N.H., Michael Nouchanthavong, 22, of 38 Folsom Drive, New Market, N.H., and...

Regional digest.
COLUMN: Regional digest Man accused in Ecstasy case LEOMINSTER - A Lowell man is being held on $1,000 cash bail after being arraigned in Leominster District Court on Wednesday on charges he possessed over 1,000 Ecstasy pills and was going to distribute them. ...

Collateral damage: drug informant outrage.
EARLIER this year, police in Tallahassee, Florida, raided the home of college student Rachel Hoffman. Her friends say Hoffman was a bit of a hippie-ish free spirit, and they concede that she shared and sold small amounts of marijuana and ecstasy within her social circle. Hoffman was at the...

Drug use on the rise in developing nations.
Synthetic drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines and methamphetamines are becoming more popular in developing countries, according to a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. While most synthetic drugs are still consumed in the regions where they are produced, the report found that...

"This is not a rave!" Changes in the commercialised Melbourne rave/dance party scene.
Raves have been the subject of sociological research for many years, with their increasing commercialisation being a key topic of interest. However, little attention has been paid to how young people attending raves view the changes in rave culture. This article examines four of the changes associated with the...