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Archive for the ‘Drug Use’ Category

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Brain Holds Clues to Addiction

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Brain Holds Clues to AddictionResults from a new study may have us one step closer to unlocking the connection between the brain and root causes of addiction.

Experts have long believed that the brain holds clues to the root causes of addiction. A new National Institutes of Health (NIH) has uncovered an early step in the cascade of brain events leading up to addiction.

Proteins and Addiction

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When Overdose Isn’t Addiction

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

When Overdose Isn't AddictionOverdose isn’t always a sign of addiction, sometimes it’s just a cry for help.

So often, when we hear about an overdose, it’s by someone who is battling a substance abuse problem. Often times those overdoses are accidental, merely the result of an addicted person taking too much of a substance that was stronger than anticipated or laced with something they were unaware of. Other overdoses by addicted persons are a desperate effort to escape the pain of their disease through death.

Overdose isn’t always a sign of drug use, though. Reports recently surfaced that the wife of TV personality Larry King attempted suicide in May 2010 by overdosing on prescription drugs as a result of a purported bout of depression. (more…)

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Will Legal Drugs Fix Mexico?

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Will Legal Drugs Fix Mexico?Is legalization the answer to Mexico’s drug woes? The country’s former president seems to think so.

Amid a growing violence problem in Mexico, due in large part to drug-related gangs, the country’s former president, Vicente Fox, has spoken out in favor of legalizing drugs. In the proposal, published recently on his website, the former Mexican leader argued that legalization would help disrupt the illegal markets responsible for so much violence and death, a trend that has cast a pall over the sunny nation’s travel industry and left more than 28,000 dead.

“So, drug consumption is the responsibility of the person who consumes; of the family who is responsible for educating; and of the education system and the socioeconomic context,” Fox said in his online statement.

Serving as president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, Fox advocated for the legalization of production, sale and distribution of drugs. It’s not a view shared by current president, Felipe Calderon, who has waged an all-out war on the drug cartels. Government reports estimate that the death toll has passed 28,000 since Calderon replaced Fox in 2006. (more…)

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Marijuana and Psychosis

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Marijuana and PsychosisIs there a connection between pot and schizophrenia? A long-held medical belief that there was is being challenged by new science.

Many in the pro-pot movement claim that marijuana has no harmful lasting effects, but scientists have long claimed there was a connection between pot and psychosis. Some new science calls this into question.

Studies have repeatedly shown that people with schizophrenia are about twice as likely to smoke pot as those who are unaffected, CNN reports. The data also suggests that those who smoke cannabis are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as nonsmokers. There was even an alarming research review published in 2007 that seemed to conclude that trying marijuana just once was associated with a 40 percent increase in risk of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. The problem with that is, while marijuana use has become much more widespread, rates of schizophrenia have remained the same, affecting approximately one percent of the population. (more…)

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Multiple Addictions Cause Multiple Problems

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Multiple Addictions Cause Multiple ProblemsWhat unique issues need to be dealt with when an individual is battling more than one addiction?

The same impulses that can make an individual susceptible to one addiction can make them open to other types of addictions as well. Co-addictions can sometimes also be referred to as co-occurring disorders and the term simply means having two or more overlapping addictions, for example opiate addiction and workaholism or alcoholism and compulsive gambling. (more…)

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Ecstasy & PTSD

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Ecstasy & PTSDA new study suggests that Ecstasy may be used to treat post-traumatic stress.

The experts know that those in pain turn to illegal drugs because they work – at least initially. Despite their harmful effects ranging from addiction to overdose to other health hazards, some are successful at numbing the pain from mental disorders including depression, bi-polar and trauma. The trick is to only use drugs as necessary, under a doctor’s care, and in conjunction with alternative methods including therapy to treat these problems.

The study looked at 20 individuals suffering from PTSD related to traumas ranging from sexual assault to combat stress and found that MDMA paired with ongoing counseling was more effective than counseling and a placebo. According to the Journal of Psychopharmacology, five out of six who took the drug improved to the point where they no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, compared to one in four in the placebo group. (more…)

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Synthetic Pot

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Synthetic PotThere’s a new drug in town, and it’s catching on with teens. Worse yet, it’s legal, unregulated and very dangerous.

Are prescription parties becoming passé? The teen trend of sharing pills swiped from their parents’ medicine cabinets has some competition in the form of a new high: Synthetic pot. Also called K2 or Spice, the synthetic substance comes in a variety of flavors and is smoked just like marijuana. It even produces a pot-like high, but unlike marijuana or other illicit drugs, it’s completely legal. (more…)

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Submarines As Drug Smugglers

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Submarines as Drug SmugglersHumans, animals, cars and more have been used to traffic drugs in the past, but submarines? These submersible vehicles may be the hot new way to bring drugs to the U.S.

For many, submarines bring to mind World War II or a ride at Disneyland, but drug smugglers look at them and see an opportunity. The submarine may be the latest mode of transportation used to bring illegal drugs into the U.S.

Brooklyn-based VBS.TV reports that in an attempt to circumvent the military checkpoints in Colombia, barriers funded by billions in U.S. aid that dates back to the Clinton Administration, the ever-creative drug traffickers are turning to something called a “narco-sub.”

Narco-Sub

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Drugs on the Playground

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Drugs on the PlaygroundDespite prevention education programs, drugs and alcohol are still showing up at school in the hands of young children.

You don’t need to live in the big city to know that drugs are a problem, but most of us thought third graders were still safe from temptation for at least a few more years. Not so according to a recent story from Pennsylvania where an eight-year-old boy headed to school with dozens of packets thought to contain heroin.

School officials say the kid wasn’t just “holding,” he was handing the packets out to fellow students in his third grade class. The incident happened in a small town near Pittsburgh, where investigators say they recovered approximately 60 folded packs they believe to contain heroin. As if that weren’t bad enough, 18 more open packets were found in the classroom garbage. No arrests have been made, but Allegheny County Children-Youth and Family service was contacted, and the school has promised to take “swift and appropriate disciplinary action in this case to ensure the continued safety of all children.” (more…)

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Jamaican Drug Lord Captured

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Jamaican Drug Lord CapturedHow does the arrest of Christopher “Dudus” Coke affect the fight against drugs here in the U.S. and why was the battle to catch him so bloody?

Jamaica is just the latest country making the news in the ongoing war on drugs, but the arrest of Christopher “Dudus” Coke late last month outside Kingston came at a price of more than 70 civilians. Innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire between police, military and those on the wrong side of the law, including rival gangs, during the five-week manhunt that eventually led to his arrest. Now, as residents try to get back to life as normal, authorities are making a plea for calm from Coke’s supporters. (more…)

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