Almost 12 percent of deaths among American Indians are alcohol-related, more than three times the rate in the general U.S. population, a federal survey has found.

In the first national survey of its kind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday said the majority of alcohol-related deaths among Indians were centered in the Indian Health Service's Northern Plains region, which stretches from Montana to Michigan and includes North Dakota and Minnesota

One producer of caffeinated alcoholic drinks is cooperating and has removed its product from the market, while a second is uncooperative, according to Attorney General Jim Hood.

Hood warned parents on Friday that caffeinated alcoholic drinks are very dangerous to young people

A group of college and university presidents and chancellors from around the United States would like to see the drinking age lowered somewhere closer to 18, the typical age of college freshmen.

More than 100 university presidents and chancellors have signed the Amethyst Initiative, a statement encouraging legislators to evaluate the effectiveness of the 21-year-old drinking age

- Methadone, a drug commonly used to wean heroin users away from their addictions, is increasingly being prescribed by doctors to combat severe pain, but many are unaware of the dangers of the synthetic opiate.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Methadone has become the fastest growing cause of narcotic death, quickly surpassing Oxycontin and Vicodin, two widely prescribed pain killers

Alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more common in U.S. National Guard and military reserve soldiers who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan than active-duty soldiers, a new military study suggests.

The study, published in the August 13 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that lack of preparation for dealing with the stress of combat and reduced access to support services at home is to be blamed for alcohol abuse among soldiers. There was also increased stress among individuals and their families who were deployed, according to the report