Tom McHale overdosed after battling addiction

Washington Post Nov 9, 08 5:43 PM CST
(Newser)
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The drug-fueled depression of 9-year NFL veteran Tom McHale crept up on friends who considered him a font of generosity and enthusiasm, the Washington Post reports. His upbeat post-football life, running restaurants and working in real estate around Tampa, Fla., seemed unlikely to end in an accidental overdose. But the playful 282-pound former guard and tackle became addicted to oxycodone nearly the first day he took it.
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Lynne Spears' new memoir reveals daughter's downward spiral

Sun (UK) Sep 4, 08 12:58 PM CDT
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Britney Spears started boozing at 13, lost her virginity at 14, and took drugs at 15, mother Lynne Spears writes in her upcoming memoir, T hrough the Storm . The Sun reports that in the book due Sept. 16, Lynne expresses regret for letting her daughter become a sex object and believes that exploitation is the root of her eldest daughter’s current problems.
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Doc to the star directs substance facility

ABC News Aug 25, 08 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
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California officials are investigating three deaths and a rape at a Pasadena hospital that's home to a rehab facility run by physician-to-the-stars "Dr. Drew" Pinsky. The deaths occurred at Aurora Las Encinas Hospital, where Pinsky is co-director of the chemical dependency program. Two of the patients died of drug overdoses in the substance abuse facility, the Los Angeles Times has reported.
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As feds closed in, Ivins drank, popped pills, perhaps planned to kill

Washington Post Aug 6, 08 10:34 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As FBI agents closed in on Bruce Ivins last fall, the anthrax suspect’s life was falling apart, the Washington Post reports. Ivins would sometimes drink a liter of vodka while downing sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs. He “was emailing me late at night with gobbledygook, ranting and raving,” a fellow scientist said. Ivins went to rehab twice before his death, as the scientist tried to help him through a 12-step recovery program.
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In US, Rep. Barney Frank leads lawmakers on marijuana crusade

CNN Aug 3, 08 6:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Argentina's president is seeking to legalize drug use and a crack down on dealing and trafficking, CNN reports. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's plan follows similar moves by European and Latin American nations, where decriminalization has not increased drug use, one expert said. Mexico proposed such a law several years ago, but backed down when Washington reacted harshly.
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Dozens of drug, fraud charges for billionaire

Wall Street Journal Jun 6, 08 5:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Broadcom's co-founder has been indicted on an astounding spate of federal fraud and narcotics charges, the Wall Street Journal reports. Henry Nicholas III is accused of using and distributing drugs over a seven-year period while directing a criminal stock options-backdating conspiracy that cost the firm billions. Prosecutors claim he secretly spiked the drinks of technology executives and customers with Ecstacy.
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Oscar-winner arrested buying drugs near NYC apartment

New York Post Jun 2, 08 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Troubled actress Tatum O'Neal, who wrote a book on her addiction to drugs and alcohol, was arrested last night for buying crack cocaine down the block from her Manhattan luxury condo, the New York Post reports. O'Neal, who at 10 was the youngest person to win an Oscar, for Paper Moon , was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
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Star busted after cops view 'drug video'

Guardian (UK) May 8, 08 2:30 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Addled singer Amy Winehouse is out on bail after being arrested again for suspected drug offenses yesterday, the Guardian reports. London police questioned her after a video surfaced that allegedly shows her taking drugs. Winehouse's last arrest was less than two weeks ago, when she was cautioned about an assault.
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Booze, drugs said to fuel fists of fury from 'snarling tigress'

Sun (UK) Apr 24, 08 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Amy Winehouse will be arrested, sources tell the Sun , after assaulting two men during a booze- and drug-induced rampage last night in London. The 24-year-old singer allegedly headbutted a man who was trying to hail a cab for her, and earlier punched a man for refusing to give up his pool table.
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Spitzer's successor under fire again

NY1 Mar 25, 08 4:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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One week after revealing he had extramarital affairs, New York Gov. David Paterson has also admitted using marijuana and cocaine. Patterson used drugs in the 70s when he was 23, he said in an interview on TV news channel New York 1. Paterson, the state's first black and first blind governor, succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in a call-girl scandal.
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Vermonters smoke a lot of pot, Utah adults suffer high rate of mental ills

Reuters Mar 6, 08 8:25 AM CST
(Newser)
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Vermonters smoke the most pot and Utah has the lowest drinking and marijuana rates among young people in the nation—but the highest rates of adults reporting mental health problems. Those are some of the nuggets uncovered in a fascinating new report by government researchers who made a state-by-state examination of substance abuse and mental health problems, Reuters reports.
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Eating disorders increasingly blending with substance abuse, experts say

New York Times Mar 2, 08 11:57 AM CST
(Newser)
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Drunkorexia isn't an official medical term, reports the New York Times, but the disorder is on a growing list of afflictions that combine societal acceptance of substance abuse and pressure to be thin. Drunkorexics, who are typically college-age women, shun food to prevent weight gain and to offset the calories they consume in alcohol.
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Insider says Ledger was hooked on cocaine, heroin for past year

New York Post Jan 31, 08 12:49 PM CST
(Newser)
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Heath Ledger's cocaine and heroin use became so bad over the past year that girlfriend Michelle Williams kicked him out of their Brooklyn home and threatened to take custody of daughter Matilda, the New York Post reports. A "drug pal" described partying bouts just as two TV shows decided not to air video of the late actor snorting cocaine two years ago.
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Can't do songs justice without 'my Blake'

Guardian (UK) Nov 28, 07 12:12 AM CST
(Newser)
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Walking disaster Amy Winehouse canceled all remaining tour dates for the rest of the year, for what her label is calling "health issues." The singer says she can't perform while husband Blake Fielder-Civil is in prison. "I can't give it my all without my Blake," she said. "I don't want to do the shows half-heartedly; I love singing."
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