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Tension is mounting on the expiration of OxyContin, which is set to mark Tuesday. Where the Food Drug Administration is making plans to approve generic versions of the drug.

Lawmakers, substance abuse counselors and anti-drug community groups have reason of concern if the generic drug goes public. As this will pose new dangers for abuse of the prescription painkillers.

READ MORE ON FEATURE STORY: Staten Island Live

A quick Google search will tell you everything you need to know about the significance of April, 20th (420) to marijuana smokers. In short, three important points for the uninitiated are.

A new study says just tasting beer increases a person’s desire to get drunk.

According to New York Daily News , the study found that people who only tasted beer, without any effect from the alcohol itself, had dopamine, a brain neurotransmitter associated with alcohol and other abused drugs, released into the brain.

READ FULL ARTICLE FEATURE: New York Daily News

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — How do you spell I-N-E-B-R-I-A-T-E-D?

Just ask participants of Last Exit Bar's Slurring Bee competition. Spelling bees can be intimidating in the traditional form, but the Slurring Bee goes to new extremes in that participants must take a shot before each round. And spellers tend to go through phases during the competition — often starting with bravado and ending up somewhere else, says organizer Billy Parker.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today that it is launching a new round of its nationwide media campaign – Tips from Former Smokers (TIPS) – to encourage smokers to quit and prevent children from starting to smoke. We applaud the CDC for continuing this highly effective campaign for a second year, and for recognizing that winning the fight against tobacco requires a sustained commitment and investment of resources.

A beef over a midnight curfew for serving booze in Bushwick has stirred up the age-old battle of hipsters against veteran residents in a feud over a peaceful night’s sleep. Community Board 4 quietly rolled out a recommendation in February asking bar and restaurant owners applying for a liquor licence, or renewing their old one, to stop selling alcohol on Sundays by midnight. “Sunday, that’s the day when people rest,” said district manager Nadine Whitted. “We have to be fair to everybody. It’s not a hard thing to do.”

A $10M oxycodone ring is topping news headlines this week, as NBC New York reported this Thursday, March 28, that a New York doctor was recently charged with leading a giant smuggling ring that spanned several states, where the police investigation led to the biggest prescription drug mass arrest in the history of Pennsylvania.

READ MORE: NBC New York

A new report by the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Arrest Research Project documents the astonishing number of hours the New York City Police Department has spent arresting and processing people for low-level misdemeanor marijuana possession over the last 11 years. The report, “One Million Police Hours,” finds that the NYPD used approximately 1 million hours of police officer time to make marijuana possession arrests during the tenure of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens and preteens with a parent deployed in the military may be more likely to binge drink or misuse prescription drugs, according to a new study.

Previous studies have found that with a parent's multiple deployments come higher levels of depression and more thoughts of suicide among children. But the new study is the first to focus on alcohol and drug use, senior author Stephan Arndt told Reuters Health.

A Long Island couple has been arrested after police say a 16-year-old became ill with alcohol poisoning during a party at their home.

Police responded to the home on Old Broadway in Sayville after receiving a 911 call around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

According to news reports, about two dozen teenagers were partying in an apartment separate from the main house. Police said many of the teens were visibly intoxicated.

FULL ARTICLE: MyFoxNY.com