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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: OxyContin

OxyContin stories: 20 news summaries
OH BROTHER


 Big Brother 
 Winner 
 Nabbed for 
 Peddling Oxy 

Jasinski says he used $500K prize to buy, sell painkillers

Oct 20, 09 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski made his first court appearance today in Massachusetts after being charged with trying to sell 2,000 prescription painkiller pills. After a brief struggle with agents, the DEA says Jasinski waived his Miranda rights and confessed to using his $500,000 winnings from... More »

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reality TV • OxyContin • DEA • prescription drugs • Drug Enforcement Administration • Oxycodone • Big Brother • contestants • prescription painkillers • Adam Jasinski • winner

 DJ AM Buried in Los Angeles 


Sep 2, 09 9:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Friends and celebrity mourners including Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker attended a funeral for DJ AM today in Los Angeles, Us Weekly reports. The disc jockey, also known as Adam Goldstein, died last week at age 36, of an apparent drug overdose. The ceremony at Hillside Memorial Park, the area’s... More »

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entertainment • OxyContin • Los Angeles • Travis Barker • DJ AM • Adam Goldstein • celebrity breakup • celebrity suicide • drug overdose • Hillside Memorial Park

DJ AM Gobbled 9 OxyContin Before Death: Source

Law enforcement source says Valentine's card from Hayley Wood found on table

Sep 2, 09 2:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - DJ AM was found dead with eight OxyContin pills in his stomach and another in his mouth, supporting the theory that he committed suicide, a law enforcement source tells People. He wanted to die," the source said. "He was going unconscious when he took the last one. He... More »

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OxyContin • overdose • prescription drugs • crack cocaine • DJ AM • Adam Goldstein • Hayley Wood

 Levi's Mom Pleads, 
 Will Likely Get 3 Years 

Takes a plea deal in exchange for shorter sentence

Aug 20, 09 7:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sherry Johnston, the woman the world has to thank for the existence of Levi Johnston, is headed off to the pokey after taking a plea deal yesterday in her OxyContin-dealing case that will likely land her behind bars for three years, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Johnston pleaded guilty... More »

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drugs • prison • OxyContin • guilty plea • Levi Johnston • Sherry Johnston • plea deal

(Newser) - Michael Jackson's personal doctor lacks a license to prescribe controlled medicines in California, federal authorities tell Fox News. Conrad Murray didn't register with the DEA in the singer's home state, officials say, meaning it would have been illegal for him to prescribe or administer Demerol, OxyContin, or even strong cough... More »

MORE ABOUT:
OxyContin • DEA • prescription drugs • Drug Enforcement Administration • Michael Jackson • Demerol • Conrad Murray

(Newser) - The doctor with Michael Jackson the night he died is stonewalling questions about whether he provided the singer with the dangerous anesthesia Propofol, reports TMZ. The attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray has denied that the physician gave Jackson OxyContin or Demerol. But as for the Porpofol found in Jackson's home,... More »

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drugs • OxyContin • Los Angeles • heart attack • Michael Jackson • Demerol • Conrad Murray • Los Angeles Police Department • Propofol

Levi's Mom Admits Pill Addiction: 'I'm Still in Pain'

Sherry Johnston, grandmother to Bristol Palin's newborn son, spills on OxyContin

Jan 8, 09 4:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s fellow grandmother says she’s getting a bad rap in the press over her recent drug arrest. Sherry Johnston—mother of Levi, who recently fathered a son with Bristol Palin—tells People she has been addicted to OxyContin since a hysterectomy 8 years ago. “I was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
OxyContin • prescription painkillers • Sarah Palin • Bristol Palin • Levi Johnston • Sherry Johnston • hysterectomy

Cops Didn't Wait on Palin Run to Bust Levi's Mom: Probe

Baby daddy's mommy pleads not guilty

Jan 6, 09 11:27 AM CST
(Newser) - The drug case against Bristol Palin’s future mother-in-law wasn’t slowed for political reasons, an investigation found yesterday. A state trooper had suggested as much in an email, prompting a flurry of national concern, the Anchorage Daily News reports. But a probe by the union representing troopers found that... More »

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Alaska • OxyContin • plea • Sarah Palin • state troopers • drug charges • Bristol Palin • Levi Johnston • Sherry Johnston

Alaska Drug Case Delayed for Palin Campaign: Trooper

Mom of Bristol Palin's boyfriend busted after election

Jan 5, 09 3:49 AM CST
(Newser) - The Alaska drug arrest of Bristol Palin's future mother-in-law was deliberately delayed until after the November election to spare Sarah Palin embarrassment, an investigator involved in the case claims. Representatives of the state troopers' union—which has clashed with Gov. Palin over other issues—say a number of investigators have... More »

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Alaska • OxyContin • Sarah Palin • state troopers • drug charges • Bristol Palin • Sherry Johnston

Palin's Run
Hurt Wasilla
Drug Deals

Media circus cramped operations for mom of Bristol's beau: affidavit

Dec 25, 08 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Bristol Palin’s future mother-in-law complained to clients that Sarah Palin’s campaign was hampering her drug-dealing business, a police affidavit alleges. Sherry Johnston, mother of pregnant Bristol’s fiancé Levi, faces six charges of drug sale and possession after Alaska state troopers caught her using text messages to arrange... More »

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Alaska • drugs • OxyContin • drug dealing • Sarah Palin • Bristol Palin • Levi Johnston • Sherry Johnston

Enquirer: Palin's Son Addicted to Painkillers

Tab claims would-be VP kicked pregnant Bristol out of house

Sep 10, 08 11:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s Iraq-bound 19-year-old son, Track, was addicted to the painkiller OxyContin and binged on cocaine before joining the army last year, the National Enquirer reports. The supermarket tab also claims the Alaska governor kicked 17-year-old daughter Bristol—also supposedly a party animal—out of the house and made... More »

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Alaska • drug addiction • OxyContin • teen pregnancy • teen health • teen drinking • Sarah Palin • Bristol Palin • Track Palin

 Feds Close Ledger Case 

Mary-Kate Olsen will not have to testify

Aug 6, 08 10:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Federal prosecutors have closed their investigation into the death of Heath Ledger without filing charges, meaning Mary-Kate Olsen will not have to testify, People reports. The US attorney's office in Manhattan had been trying to determine whether the painkillers Ledger took were obtained illegally. More »

MORE ABOUT:
US attorney • OxyContin • DEA • Vicodin • Heath Ledger • Mary-Kate Olsen • Michelle Williams • Diana Wolozin • Helena Christiansen

 Overdose Deaths Spike

Problem linked to patients sent home early with powerful prescriptions

Jul 29, 08 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of deaths caused by fatal combinations of prescription medications with alcohol or street drugs has exploded in recent years in part because patients are being released from hospitals early, according to researchers. Such deaths rocketed from 92 in 1983 to 3,792 in 2004, reports MSNBC. More »

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alcohol • OxyContin • marijuana • prescription drugs • Vicodin • fatal combinations • street drugs • David P. Phillips

 After Drug Arrest, 
 Pats Lineman
 Aids in Bust 

Kaczur helps cops nab dealer of prescription painkiller OxyContin

Jun 5, 08 12:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - New England Patriots offensive tackle Nicholas Kaczur wore a wire to help authorities nail a drug dealer after he was arrested in April for possession of prescription painkillers, the Boston Globe reported yesterday. The 28-year-old starter secretly recorded three $3,900 OxyContin transactions with Daniel Ekasala, sources say. But Kaczur... More »

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New England Patriots • OxyContin • football • DEA • drug dealer • Nicholas Kaczur

Accidental OD Killed Ledger

Autopsy results cite combo of sleeping pills, painkillers, and anti-anxiety meds

Feb 6, 08 9:26 AM CST
(Newser) - Actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, painkillers, and anti-anxiety medication, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office ruled today. OxyContin, Valium, Xanax, Restoril, Unisom, and ibuprofen combined to result in a lethal "acute intoxication," an ME spokeswoman told the AP.  More »

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OxyContin • autopsy • overdose • prescription drugs • Xanax • Valium • Heath Ledger • Brokeback Mountain • Restoril • Unisom • ibuprofen • Kim Ledger

War Hero Wants His Pot Back

Prosecutor says soldier is licensed grower

Dec 19, 07 10:15 AM CST
(Newser) - A former Marine arrested for growing marijuana plants turns out to be a wounded Gulf War hero—and a licensed grower of pot for medicinal purposes. The 39-year-old former lieutenant corporal is insisting Denver area police return his plants, worth more than $100,000. Kevin Dickes uses marijuana to control... More »

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OxyContin • medical marijuana • marijuana • Gulf War • Kevin Dickes • Percodine

Americans Double Use
of Pain Meds

Led by Oxycodone, sales of painkillers soared 90% in 8 years

Aug 20, 07 9:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Retail sales of five major painkillers rose a whopping 90% from 1997 to 2005, a new AP analysis of DEA statistics shows. The increase is driven by Oxycodone, the chemical used in OxyContin, which has seen sales increase nearly 600%. Causes include an aging population, huge new drug marketing campaigns,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medicine • OxyContin • patient • Americans • painkiller • Oxycodone

US Attorney Targeted After DoJ Brushoff

Lawyer put on pink-slip list after refusal to slow case vs. drugmaker

Aug 1, 07 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A US attorney testified yesterday that he found himself on a firings list after rebuffing DoJ pressure to slow a case—on the eve of a guilty plea. The Post reports a Justice higher-up urged John Brownlee to stall proceedings against the manufacturer of an addictive painkiller hours before it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Alberto Gonzales • Department of Justice • US attorney • OxyContin • John Brownlee

OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty

Manufacturer, execs admit misleading public about risky painkiller

May 10, 07 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - The company that makes OxyContin pleaded guilty today to misleading the public about the effects of the potent painkiller. Purdue Pharma and three executives will pay $634.5 million in civil and criminal fines. Federal prosecutors accused the firm of "misbranding" the drug, marketing it as a less addictive... More »

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medicine • health • crime • OxyContin • pharmaceutical companies • Purdue Pharma • prescription drugs • lawsuit

Ouch—Doc's Trial Highlights Pain Issues

Was he trafficking narcotics or treating  chronic pain?

Apr 24, 07 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The drug-trafficking trial of a Virginia pain specialist demonstrates the slippery slope between treating chronic conditions and enabling addicts. Dr. William Hurwitz's jury heard the story of a patient with deblitating migraines who had been treated with anxiety medication that actually caused headaches—by another doctor who happened to be... More »

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medicine • health • drugs • William Hurwitz • OxyContin • opioids • chronic pain • addiction

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