Drug Addiction Treatment in the United States

Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings, using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological approaches.


Drug addiction is a complex disorder that can involve virtually every aspect of an individual's functioning—in the family, at work and school, and in the community.

Because of addiction's complexity and pervasive consequences, drug addiction treatment typically must involve many components. Some of those components focus directly on the individual's drug use; others, like employment training, focus on restoring the addicted individual to productive membership in the family and society (See diagram "Components of Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment"), enabling him or her to experience the rewards associated with abstinence.

Treatment for drug abuse and addiction is delivered in many different settings using a variety of behavioral and pharmacological approaches. In the United States, more than 14,500 specialized drug treatment facilities provide counseling, behavioral therapy, medication, case management, and other types of services to persons with substance use disorders.

Along with specialized drug treatment facilities, drug abuse and addiction are treated in physicians' offices and mental health clinics by a variety of providers, including counselors, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, and social workers. Treatment is delivered in outpatient, inpatient, and residential settings. Although specific treatment approaches often are associated with particular treatment settings, a variety of therapeutic interventions or services can be included in any given setting.

Because drug abuse and addiction are major public health problems, a large portion of drug treatment is funded by local, State, and Federal governments. Private and employer-subsidized health plans also may provide coverage for treatment of addiction and its medical consequences. Unfortunately, managed care has resulted in shorter average stays, while a historical lack of or insufficient coverage for substance abuse treatment has curtailed the number of operational programs. The recent passage of parity for insurance coverage of mental health and substance abuse problems will hopefully improve this state of affairs. Health Care Reform (i.e., the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, "ACA") also stands to increase the demand for drug abuse treatment services and presents an opportunity to study how innovations in service delivery, organization, and financing can improve access to and use of them.

USA Drug rehab centers

Children Treated For Drug And Alcohol Abuse

Children as young as four are being referred to specialist drug and alcohol treatment services in the UK, an investigation has revealed.

Hundreds of youngsters have been flagged as being at risk of becoming addicts or have even started abusing alcohol and substances themselves, leading charities to call for improved education in schools.
Freedom of Information requests sent to all councils in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland reveal children as young as four have been referred to specialists in South Ayrshire.
Eight year olds have been flagged up to services in Waltham Forest and East Ayrshire, while Herefordshire, Liverpool, Oxfordshire, Rutland, the Scottish Borders and West Berkshire have all seen nine year olds referred.
Bury, Calderdale, Halton, Hull, Monmouthshire and Rochdale councils have referred 10 year olds.
The figures were uncovered by the Press Association.
A referral can either mean the child is vulnerable to drug and alcohol misuse through exposure from a parent or relative, or could have started abusing them on their own.
The most common reason for children to come into contact with drugs and alcohol is through their parents, according to experts.
Preventative work is key to heading off the problem among youngsters, they say.
According to the most recent statistics from Public Health England, 366 children aged 12 or under were referred for treatment in 2012/13, compared with 433 in 2011/12.
More than half of under-13s - 59% - received treatment for cannabis misuse.
A third were treated for alcohol misuse, with a small number abusing solvents.
Andrew Brown, director of programmes at the charity Mentor UK, which seeks to protect children from drug and alcohol misuse, said it was "vital" education surrounding alcohol and drugs is improved.
Evidence suggests the "norm" of having one or two lessons on the subject a year is not sufficient, he added.
One of the Government's official drug advisers, Professor Simon Gibbons, recently said more needed to be done on drugs education in primary and middle schools.
By law, schools must cover the harmful effects of drugs on behaviour and health as part of the national science curriculum.
A new curriculum being introduced in September states that pupils in year six - those aged 10 and 11 - must learn to "recognise the impact of diet, exercise and drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function".
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) lessons remain non-compulsory, although the Department for Education recommends schools schedule time for them and use the lessons to expand the knowledge pupils get in science lessons.
A Government spokeswoman said: "Both the old and the new curriculum are clear that all pupils should be taught about how drugs and other substances can be harmful to the human body.
"The science curriculum also covers how drugs can affect people's health and lifestyle.
"Teachers are also free to use their professional judgement to address any specific issues that meet the needs of their pupils through PSHE."

Children Treated For Drug And Alcohol Abuse

Heroin Has Expanded Its User Base

Compared with 50 years ago, today's heroin user is whiter, more suburban and had prescription opioids for a gateway. Dina Fine Maron reports

In the last half century, heroin contributed to thousands of deaths, from Janis Joplin to Philip Seymour Hoffman to legions of people now remembered only by their friends and families. But compared with 50 years ago, the drug’s consumers look strikingly different now. Back then, a typical user was often an inner-city minority male whose first drug experience was with heroin, at about the age of 17. Today’s users are mostly non-urban white men and women in their late twenties whose gateway drug was a prescription opioid. The findings come from surveys of some 2,800 heroin users who self-reported demographic information and other data when they entered treatment centers. The results are in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. [Theodore J. Cicero et al, The Changing Face of Heroin Use in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of the Past 50 Years] Up until 1980, whites and non-white sought treatment in equal numbers. But in the last decade, nearly 90 percent of treatment center patients were white. Recent users said that heroin became their drug of choice because it was both cheaper and easier to get than prescription drugs. Half of today’s users said that if they could they’d prefer prescription drugs because those opioids are “cleaner.” The researchers note that their study is limited because it includes only users who sought treatment. But the data seem to confirm the growing suspicion that heroin has left the city and is now comfortably ensconced in the suburbs.
—Dina Fine Maron
Heroin Has Expanded Its User Base

Robert Downey Jr

Former addict Robert Downey Jr. 'producing Showtime drama centered on a Venice Beach drug rehab center'

Showtime has 'put in development' a drama produced by Robert Downey Jr. and his wife Susan, and penned by Gary Lennon (Orange Is the New Black). According to Deadline, the cable network landed the untitled project in a 'competitive situation.' The drama would be set in 1983 at a colourful Venice Beach rehab/therapeutic community. Addiction and recovery is all too familiar territory for the two-time Oscar nominee, whose taste for cocaine and heroin landed him in court-ordered rehab twice. In 1999, the troubled 49-year-old spent nearly a year at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran. Two years later, he landed at Promises - also known as the 'Malibu Motel' - which has treated celebs like Charlie Sheen, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan. 'When someone says, "I really wonder if maybe I should go to rehab?" Well, uh, you're a wreck, you just lost your job, and your wife left you. Uh, you might want to give it a shot,' Robert told Oprah Winfrey in 2004. Back in 1987, Downey earned some of the best reviews of his career as Hollywood junkie Julian in Less Than Zero also featuring Brat Pack actors Andrew McCarthy and James Spader. The Iron Man star credits his sobriety to his wife, therapy, meditation, 12-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Venice beach drug rehab

Fire kills eight at Russia drug rehab centre

Eight people have been killed after fire swept through a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in Russia's eastern Altai region, officials say. Six people were injured in the Chisty List centre near the Krasilovo lake. The officials say the blaze caused the collapse of the roof of the building. A criminal investigation into suspected safety rules violations in now under way. Similar tragedies in the past have raised questions over safety standards in Russia's medical centres. Last September, 37 people died in a fire that engulfed a psychiatric hospital in the north-western Novgorod region. Several months earlier, a blaze at another psychiatric hospital near Moscow killed 38 people. In 2009, 23 people died at an old people's home in the north-west Komi region, while in 2007, 63 were killed at a home in Krasnodar, southern Russia. In 2006, a fire at a Moscow drug rehabilitation clinic killed 45 women. Drug rehab fire

Sky Sports report, number of drugs impossible to detect.

Leading figures in the global fight against doping gather in London today for a major conference to discuss how to clean up sport. However, Sky Sports has found that a number of drugs which are widely available are still impossible to detect, leaving the anti-doping authorities sometimes years behind the cheats. Sky Sports News' Orla Chennaoui discovered that the next generation of performance enhancing drugs are widely available online and being offered to athletes. "At the Winter Olympics one Russian scientist was caught trying to sell a new muscle-building drug on the black market," said Chennauoi. "The World Anti-Doping Agency expressed surprise, but a version of the drug named MGF has been around for years." Number of drugs impossible to detect

Addiction treatment difficult, but possible

Jackson's heroin problem persists, fuelled by prescription drug abuse; addiction treatment difficult, but possible

JACKSON, MI – Almost every person with an addiction to heroin knows someone whose use has killed them. Most have overdosed or been near death, but this often isn’t enough to convince them to stop or seek help, those who work in substance abuse treatment report. “It is amazing. It is incredible, the power of opiates. It controls you. You do not control it,” said Mike Hirst, who lost his son to heroin in 2010 and now does much heroin-related education and community outreach. He and others have gained some ground, but the problem persists in Jackson and elsewhere, affecting people across a broad spectrum of classes and circumstances. “It’s not going away,” Michigan State Police Detective Lt. Dave Cook said of the drug. “It’s cheap, and it’s the best fix out there.” About twice a week, officers or informants working for the Jackson Narcotics Enforcement Team buy heroin in Jackson County, said Cook, who heads the team. Since 2009, they have seized 3,047 grams of heroin in the county. The number increased every year from 2009 to 2011, when it took a big jump because of a large bust. Last year, the narcotics team removed less heroin from the streets than any of the previous three years, but Cook said this does not mean the drug is no longer an issue. Occasionally, officers arrest a significant trafficker, but the take-down never slows the supply for long, he said. “The sad truth is we are not going to put them out of business. As long as there is a need, these guys are going to be slinging heroin because there is a lot of money to be made in it,” Cook said. He said the drug made a resurgence from 2000 to 2005, and its use and prevalence has not slowed. “I’d say it picked up.” There were about twice the number of people in the United States who depended on or abused heroin in 2012 than there were in 2002, according to the most recent statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the addiction is difficult to treat. Jackson County Recovery Court, which aims to help felony offenders with drug or alcohol dependencies, has the least success with those who are struggling with opiate addictions. They require more intensive treatment the court does not always have the resources to provide. The program has had some success with users who are more mature, who have more to lose, said Newell Turpel, court recovery coach. “Young people are our hardest target population.” Most with addictions to heroin are in their 20s, recovery court officials say, and the court now has some federal grant money designated for a pilot program to increase the help it offers opiate users. Usually, their troubles begin with prescription drugs, such as Vicodin or Oxycontin, a synthetic version of heroin. They had an injury or a dental procedure and a doctor wrote them a prescription, or they started taking pills to get high. People become hooked on the pills and gravitate to heroin, which is less expensive. It cost about $20 for a “bindle,” a tenth of a gram, which amounts to about one usage, Cook said. Until communities have a handle on the prescription drug problem, the heroin problem will persist, said Hirst, who speaks at schools and, with his family, started a nonprofit foundation, Andy’s Angels, in honor of his son. “Everybody has access to prescription drugs anymore.” Deaths result. From 1999 to 2012, the latest included year, there were 2,033 heroin-related deaths in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. The number from 2010 to 2012 was 728, up from the 271 reported from 1999 to 2002. In Jackson County, there have been five such deaths from 1999 to 2012, the agency reports, but local information suggests there have been far more. Hirst knows of as many as four heroin deaths in the last three months. Jessica Neeley, a 27-year-old recovering from a heroin addiction, went to a memorial just last week. “There are people dying every single day that aren’t famous,” she said during a recent conversation about actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died of a heroin overdose in February. Neeley would rather people hear the success stories. Some recover from their addiction, but it takes motivation and work. “They have to do it on their own, and they have to really want to do it on their own,” Hirst said. “They have to want to get better Addiction treatment possible

'I'm a drug addict and I enjoy being high'

Drug Rehab News Friday 7th March,

'I'm a drug addict and I enjoy being high': Top baseball prospect, 22, opens up about his battle with addiction and checking himself into rehab

Jon Singleton, 22, from California, is considered the top first base prospect in baseball Currently playing in the big league spring training games for the Houston Astros After failing two drug tests, has opened up about his struggle with marijuana Says that first trying as a teenager drove his addiction Checked himself into rehab and has been clean for a year Determined for Houston's first base job Jon Singleton – the top first base prospect in baseball at the moment who is expected to bring the Houston Astros out of an extended slump – has spoken for the first time about his drug addiction. The 22-year-old, who has become known as a dynamic left-handed hitter, has opened up about his battle with marijuana since first trying it as a teenager and a recent one-month stay at a rehabilitation center to straighten out his life. ‘At this point it's pretty evident to me that I'm a drug addict,’ he told The Associated Press. ‘I don't openly tell everyone that, but it's pretty apparent to myself. ‘I know that I enjoy smoking weed, I enjoy being high and I can't block that out of my mind that I enjoy that. Drug rehab news

Back To Rehab For You Mate

Chris Brown Ordered Back To Rehab By Judge

The R&B star has been ordered to return to rehab for another two months to deal with anger management issues.

A Los Angeles judge has ordered Chris Brown to stay in an anger-management and drug rehab programme for another two months and then return to court. The R&B singer started the programme at a rehab centre in LA three months ago following his arrest over allegations he punched a man. The Grammy winner is still on probation following his attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, and several subsequent incidents have risked violating the terms of his probation. The judge in California on Friday scheduled Brown's next court hearing in LA for April 23. It would come after what is expected to be a brief assault trial in Washington DC earlier that month. In that incident, Brown and his bodyguard are accused of punching a photographer and breaking his nose outside a hotel where he had a nightclub appearance. Brown, 24, denies the charge. Brown's lawyers have asked the judge to await the outcome of the Washington case before hearing evidence on whether the musician should go to jail for a probation violation. Drug Rehab

Eight men charged over £950,000 drugs seizure

Eight men have been charged in connection with the seizure of drugs worth almost £1m, police said. The men, aged between 33 and 55, were detained as part of a Scotland-wide crackdown on serious and organised crime over the past two weeks. Detectives were investigating the seizure of £950,000 worth of diamorphine between August last year and January. Most of the men were detained in Hamilton and Blantyre in Lanarkshire. They have been charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act and are due to appear in court at a later date. Det Ch Inspector Colin Boyle said: "As a result of the investigation, almost £1 million worth of diamorphine was seized before it could cause untold harm on our communities. "Our inquiries have resulted in eight men subsequently being charged with drug offences and these arrests should send a clear message that Police Scotland will continue to act on information from the public to tackle serious and organised crime whenever it arises." Drugs seizure

Mexican Drug Lord's Secret Tunnel Network

Authorities in Mexico have released video footage of a secret tunnel network used by drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman to avoid capture. The footage, released by Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam, shows hidden passageways and staircases the drug lord had built to navigate between his homes. Known as "El Chapo", or Shorty, 5ft 6in Guzman was seized by Mexican marines with the help of US agents in a condo in the resort city of Mazatlan. His arrest was a significant victory for Mexico and the US in the war on drugs, according to the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Michael McCaul said he was encouraging Mexican authorities to send the 56-year-old to America, where he faces at least seven indictments. The US had offered a $5m (£3m) reward for information leading to Guzman's capture, with "multiple indictments in multiple cities" from New York to San Diego. He has also been branded "public enemy number one" in Chicago. Republican Representative Mr McCaul told ABC News it was up to Mexico to decide where the suspect is prosecuted. But he noted Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 - by hiding in a laundry basket - eluding authorities for 13 years. Mr McCaul said Guzman would end up "in a super-max prison" in the US from which he could not escape. Asked if he would like to see him hauled before US courts the politician said: "I would. I think the normal sequence is Mexico, being a sovereign nation, has the first prosecution. "However, there's a history here. He escaped from a prison in 2001. There is corruption in that country." "I would ask that the Mexicans consider extraditing him to the United States, where he will be put in a super-max prison under tight security where he cannot escape, and be brought to justice with a life imprisonment sentence. "I think that would be the best course for not only Mexico, but also the United States, in ensuring that what happened in 2001 does not happen again." Guzman, who arrived at the Mexico City airport after his arrest and was being taken directly to prison, was the most wanted drug baron on the planet. He runs Mexico's infamous Sinaloa Cartel and his fortune has grown to more than $1bn, according to Forbes magazine. It listed him among the "world's most powerful people" and ranked him above the presidents of France and Venezuela. Guzman was found with an unidentified woman and no shots were fired during his capture. His cartel has smuggled billions of dollars-worth of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamines into the US, and fought vicious turf wars with other Mexican gangs. He pioneered the use of sophisticated underground tunnels to smuggle drug shipments across the border and also became a major narcotics exporter to Europe and Asia. Nearly 80,000 people have been killed in the last seven years with much of the violence in western and northern regions that have long been major smuggling routes. Drug lords secret tunnels

Russell Brand calls for change in drug laws in wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death

Comic actor and former heroin addict Russell Brand says the recent death of Philip Seymour Hoffman makes the case that drug laws need to be changed. Writing for the British newspaper The Guardian, Brand argues that drug addiction is a “mental illness” and should therefore be treated as a medical condition in hopes of preventing tragedies such as Hoffman, who was found dead in his apartment this past weekend from a suspected heroin overdose. Asks Brand: “Would Hoffman have died if this disease were not so enmeshed in stigma? If we weren’t invited to believe that people who suffer from addiction deserve to suffer? Would he have OD’d if drugs were regulated, controlled and professionally administered?” Change drug laws

Are the "Northern Ireland drug deaths 'different from rest of UK' really"

Drugs-related deaths in Northern Ireland are mostly linked to prescription drugs, unlike other regions of the UK, a study suggests. Whereas the vast majority of drug-related deaths in the UK are linked to opiates such as heroin and morphine, in NI most relate to other drugs. The research was carried out by St George's, University of London. It found there was a small decrease in the overall number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland. There were 78 such deaths in 2012 as opposed to 82 in 2011. In Northern Ireland, higher proportions of deaths were attributed to the misuse of drugs such as Tramadol, benzodiazepines and anti-depressants. Northern Ireland also displayed a substantially lower proportion of deaths attributed to heroin/morphine and methadone than other regions of the UK, such as the south of England, the midlands and London. Drug deaths

The UK should abandon its current drugs policy

The UK should abandon its current drugs policy because the war on drugs is not being won, Nick Clegg has said. Speaking on a visit to Colombia, the deputy prime minister said different approaches were needed although he did not back full legalisation. The Lib Dem leader said his party would publish a report on an alternative strategy later this year. The Home Office said there was no need to review Britain's drug laws, pointing out that illegal drug use is falling. BBC home editor Mark Easton said Mr Clegg had long argued that current UK drugs policy is not working. 'Terrible conflict' But he said Mr Clegg was frustrated by the Conservatives' refusal to set up a Royal Commission on the issue and had asked the current drugs minister, Lib Dem Norman Baker, to complete an international review. Speaking after meeting former guerrilla fighters and victims of what he called the "terrible conflict" in Colombia, he said the war on drugs had cost tens of thousands of lives, destroyed communities and forced people to live in constant fear. Mr Clegg said British politicians owed it to young people in the UK and countries like Colombia to look at different approaches - although he insisted he was not advocating full legalisation. Nevertheless, his party review will look at the impact of legalisation of marijuana in Uruguay and some US states, as well as the decriminalisation of all drugs in Portugal. 'Conspiracy of silence' In December 2012, Mr Clegg backed a Royal Commission on drugs, just days after PM David Cameron rejected the idea. A Royal Commission is a public inquiry, established by the head of state, into a defined subject and overseen by a commissioner who has quasi-judicial powers. Mr Clegg has said he wants to break "the conspiracy of silence" of politicians, while in government, refusing to consider alternatives to the war on drugs because it is "all too controversial". "If you are anti-drugs, you should be pro-reform," he has said. abandon drugs policy

What makes someone relapse into addiction after rehabilitation and recovery ?

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman reportedly died after taking drugs, having apparently been clean for more than two decades. But what causes relapses like this, asks Ed Ram. Philip Seymour Hoffman first checked himself into rehab after graduating in drama from New York University in 1989. He was a heroin user and addicted to alcohol. In an interview in 2011 he said that problem was "pretty serious" at the time. "I know, deep down, I still look at the idea of drinking with the same ferocity that I did back then. It's still pretty tangible," he told the Guardian. "Just because all that time's passed doesn't mean maybe it was just a phase. That's you know, that's who I am," he added. While it might strike most non-addicts as strange that someone would revert to destructive behaviour after years of sobriety, it is actually common. "Heroin abuse is a persistent and pernicious disorder and it's difficult to break free from it," says John Marsden, a doctor in addiction psychology at King's College London. "A relapse is common." The fundamental issue is the long-term nature of the problem. "It's addiction that is the problem," says Mark Johnson, a former heroin user and the founder of ex-offender charity User Voice. "It's an illness that doesn't go away. You put down the drugs and everyone thinks that you have stopped the problem but that's not the case." The mental and physiological problem of addiction need to be put into the same realm as depression, says Elliot Elam, from drug and alcohol treatment charity Addaction. "It simmers in the background - people can learn to cope with it or overcome it but it's not a problem that can be cured." Particular triggers can spark a relapse, like with any addiction, such as smoking. The trigger could be a stressful day at work, a break up or a couple of drinks - the same pattern of relapse can be seen in the use of drugs like heroin, says Elam. "We often see problems of family troubles, losing a job, long-term illness, bereavement, relationship issues, stress, and so on." Equally a trigger could be through association, Marsden explains. A former addict could have seen someone picking up some drugs that they used to take, have had a familiar drink, or even seen an old friend from the time that they were using. Whatever the situation, a relapse is always a conscious decision, Johnson insists. It starts with an emotional relapse that can start months before use. "Hoffman would have known that he was going to do it - it doesn't just happen." And giving in to the trigger is often down to complacency. "Sometimes when people have been clean for a while they think they have overcome the illness of addiction," says Johnson. This just isn't the case. They think they can deal with the drug because they have managed to control themselves for so long, Johnson suggests. Their ability to control themselves to the extent of not taking the drug then erroneously leads them to believe they could therefore handle taking the drug. This can result in a relapse into drug use. To some extent, most experts agree, addiction is forever. relapse after rehabilitation

Wiltshire and London drugs raids lead to 45 arrests

Dozens of people have been arrested by police during drugs raids at 70 properties in Wiltshire and London. Thirty-nine arrests were made in the Swindon area, by officers investigating the supply of class A drugs in Wiltshire, and six arrests in London. A large amount of drugs have been seized along with weapons, cash, illegal tobacco and electrical goods. Wiltshire Police said more than 400 staff and 50 vehicles were involved in its "biggest single day of action". The force made a smaller number of arrests in Wiltshire in November, also as part of Operation Harness, when 17 properties were raided. drug arrests

High-speed sea chase nets $37m cocaine haul

A huge cocaine haul worth an estimated US $37m has been seized from a go-fast boat in the Caribbean, US authorities announced on Tuesday. A US Coast Guard helicopter was launched from the UK's Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight to intercept the suspected drug smugglers on 22 January, south of the Dominican Republic. Lieutenant Commander Gabe Somma, Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer, said that four suspects were arrested during the operation. cocaine haul

Nigella Lawson: No action to be taken by the police over drug allegations

Police will take no further action against Nigella Lawson after she admitted taking drugs, Scotland Yard has said. The TV cook made the confession during the trial of her two former assistants - Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo - on fraud charges. They were alleged to have used company credit cards to buy items for themselves, including designer shoes and clothes, but were found not guilty of fraud. The 53-year-old revealed she took the Class A drug cocaine with her late husband John Diamond when he discovered he had terminal cancer, and in July 2010 when she claimed she was the subject of "intimate terrorism" by former husband Charles Saatchi. She also admitted she started using cannabis during the final year of her marriage to Mr Saatchi, which ended last year. drug allegations link

Australia Raid On Drugs Linked To Terror

Australian authorities have seized more than Aus $580m (£300m) worth of drugs and assets as part of an investigation into money laundering that could be linked to terrorist activities. The haul included $26m (£13.5m) in cash. The Australian Crime Commission (ACC), which has tracked a global network of criminals in more than 20 countries for a year through special covert taskforce Eligo, says funds were syphoned off to groups such as Hizbollah. Paul Jevtovic, acting chief executive of the ACC, said: "This money, we need to be very clear, was destined to facilitate further criminal activity such as drug importations and drug trafficking which affects our nation both in a harm context of our citizens and of course, our economy. "The reality is - and it's well-recorded - that terrorist groups have relied on these exchange houses located all over the world and are involved with them. "What our operation has indicated to date is that the monies that we have been following do go to these very same exchange houses." Raid on drugs link here

Indonesia drug smuggler Andrea Waldeck jailed for 14 years

A British woman who smuggled 1.4kg (3lb) of crystal methamphetamine into Indonesia has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Former PCSO Andrea Waldeck, 43, from Gloucestershire, was found guilty of smuggling and also fined £100,000. Her lawyer previously told the court she was "a victim" of a drugs gang. Waldeck, who is originally from Talgarth in Powys, had faced a possible death sentence after being arrested at a hotel in East Java in April 2013. Last year, she told a court in Surabaya city that she had been coerced into carrying the drugs from China. click here

India's Shashi Tharoor wife 'overdosed on drugs'

The death of the wife of Indian minister Shashi Tharoor may have been caused by an overdose of drugs, doctors who carried out the autopsy say. Sunanda Pushkar was found in a hotel room in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Friday. The couple became embroiled in a row on Wednesday after Twitter messages suggested he was having an affair. The autopsy also found "injury marks" on Ms Pushkar's body, but did not say if they were linked to her death. Dr Amit Gupta, spokesperson of Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where the autopsy was conducted, told BBC Hindi that the "preliminary report shows there was drug overdose". The autopsy report has been submitted to a magistrate, media reports say. A public row broke out on Wednesday when seemingly private messages between Mr Tharoor and Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar were published on his Twitter feed. Link here