Drug Abuse

Printed on bank note quality paper, they measure about 8 by 5 inches. Each bears a number. Doctors and dentists are required to sign them. Copies go to the state. They are called "triplicate" prescription forms, and never has a pad of paper so small ignited so much political heat. Law enforcement officials contend that triplicates help them track pill-pushing doctors, deter prescription forgery and put a dent in drug abuse.

A 30-year-old man who sideswiped a Harbor Patrol boat with his skiff was later arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and methamphetamine, authorities said Wednesday. John Harold Torres of Long Beach was in a 14-foot rental skiff in the federal navigation channel off Bay Island about 1:30 p.m.

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Drug use by teenagers has more than doubled in the last four years, with nearly 11% now claiming to use drugs each month, according to a new government survey that touched off a heated exchange Tuesday between the presidential campaigns. An annual survey by the Department of Health and Human Services found that, when asked, more than 2.4 million youths between the ages of 12 and 17 admitted using an illicit drug at least once during the previous month. The comparable figure in 1992 was about 1.

A town hall meeting Saturday sponsored by the San Fernando/Sylmar Community Council Parent Group will focus on drug, alcohol and crime problems in the area. The parent group, which functions under the auspices of the San Fernando Valley Partnership, a substance-abuse prevention organization, will also release the findings of a survey it took recently to identify residents' concerns in San Fernando.

As part of a wide-ranging investigation into the overdose death of Hollywood producer Don Simpson, authorities Friday raided the offices of two Westside psychiatrists who prescribed him large quantities of addictive drugs. The two doctors are among as many as 15 at the center of a seven-month probe triggered by the Jan. 19 death of Simpson, who produced such box-office hits as "Top Gun" and "Beverly Hills Cop."

Terry James Parker, the ex-convict who shot a CHP officer before being killed by police, had used cocaine before the early morning confrontation, according to a toxicology report. "He was apparently under the influence of cocaine at the time," said Scott Carrier, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner. "Any measurable amount of cocaine is significant. This is significant."

A former FBI agent told Congress that White House aides used drugs as recently as President Clinton's inaugural festivities, according to a deposition released Friday by a congressional panel. The White House immediately denied the report and denounced its source, former FBI agent Dennis Sculimbrene, who had performed background checks on White House employees for almost 20 years.

Since the release this week of a federal study finding that teenage drug use has more than doubled in four years (one in 10 now say they use drugs each month), political fingers have been pointing in partisan frenzy. "The statistics confirm an upward spiral of drug abuse across the nation since President Clinton took office," declared Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah).

The order allegedly came from the top. Employees at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Van Nuys allege in court documents that during a visit to Los Angeles last year, the company's CEO, August Busch III, got wind of suspected drug use there. On Aug. 18 of last year, with the help of drug sniffing dogs, a random drug search and seizure was ordered. Security guards locked exit gates and refused to let employees off the grounds while the dogs patrolled the parking lots.