DEA Joins Jackson Death Probe

Medical records will be subpoenaed

(NEWSER) - The investigation into Whitney Houston's death is now turning to her doctors and pharmacies. Investigators are expected in the next few days to serve subpoenas on the singer's physicians and the pharmacies where Houston obtained multiple prescription drugs, reports the Los Angeles Times . Officials aim to determine whether the drugs were dispensed properly, and if the singer was receiving too many prescriptions, a source tells the newspaper. Investigators will likely pore over a state-created database of controlled substances prescribed in California. Tracking celebrity prescription drug use can be complicated because they may regularly use drugs prescribed to aides, according to law enforcement authorities. More»

Xanax, Ativan, Valium found in Whitney Houston's room

(NEWSER) - It will likely be weeks before we know the official cause of Whitney Houston's death, but the fact that bottles of Xanax, Valium, and Ativan were found in her room is shining a light on the dangers of prescription drug abuse, and the real risk of accidental overdose. An estimated 27,000 people died from accidental drug overdoses in the US in 2007, one death every 19 minutes, according to the most recent figures available from the CDC, reports ABC News . Prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastest growing drug problem. More»

Houston's daughter confronts police outside hotel room

(NEWSER) - Specifics are still sketchy in yesterday's sudden death of Whitney Houston . But here's what's beginning to trickle in:

• Houston was found by a member of her entourage on the floor of her Beverly Hills hotel room around 3:30pm, reports the LA Times . Paramedics were called at 3:43pm, and tried CPR for 20 minutes, but were unable to revive her, and she was pronounced dead at 3:55pm.
• No illegal drugs have been found in the room, but TMZ reports that Houston was taking Xanax, and it is possible that she drowned in her bathtub . Combined with alcohol, Xanax can cause extreme sleepiness; the gossip site speculates that Houston fell asleep in the tub.

Transferred cash, drugs across international borders

(NEWSER) - 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 international borders. Over a period of months in 2007, US and Mexican agents worked with that supplier—Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, aka "The Rabbit"—who fed cocaine to cartel leader Arturo Beltran Levya, the New York Times reports. More»

Washington, RI want medical pot regulated as Schedule II drug

(NEWSER) - The governors of Washington state and Rhode Island are petitioning the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana as a drug with accepted medical uses. Washington's Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and Independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee want pot switched from a Schedule I drug to Schedule II, which would allow it to be prescribed or dispensed under regulations. They believe it's the only way to solve the contradiction between states where medical marijuana is legal and the federal government, which outlaws the drug. "State and local governments cannot adopt a regulatory framework to ensure a safe supply for—and limited to—legitimate medical use without putting their employees at risk of violating federal law," the governors wrote. "The situation has become untenable." More»