The term binge drinking is used to identify a pattern of alcohol consumption that results in the rapid appearance of a blood-alcohol content that meets the legal definition of intoxication. Doctors and public health officials already know that this rapid-onset drunkenness increases the likelihood of a range of serious harms for affected individuals. In a …
Why Binge Drinkers Are Slower to Heal From Wounds Read More »
People affected by opioid addiction sometimes receive one of two opioid-based medications, called methadone and buprenorphine, as part of their treatment. Current evidence indicates that significant numbers of people who abuse these medications also get involved in the abuse of common prescription substances called benzodiazepines. In a study published in May 2014 in the journal …
Methadone and Benzodiazepines Deadly Combination Read More »
Methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant drug of abuse known for its ability to trigger addiction in repeated users. Current evidence suggests that a significant number of methamphetamine-using women continue to take the drug when they become pregnant. In a study published in March 2014 in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers from eight U.S. institutions used …
Children Exposed to Methamphetamine Before Birth Struggle in Classroom Read More »
After California became the first state to legalize cannabis for medical purposes in 1996, 19 other states plus the District of Columbia chose to follow its lead. Recent polls show that more than 80 percent of the American public is in favor of the legalization of marijuana for therapeutic purposes, and it may be only …
Marijuana Legalization: Preparing for the Coming Tide Read More »
This year, Easter grass may not only be for lining your basket. Today, Christianity’s holiest day shares the calendar with 4/20, a sort of underground holiday for pot smokers. So while some dressed in their Sunday best, attended sunrise services and watched their children search the yard for colorful Easter eggs, others broke out their bongs, put on …
4/20 Pot Holiday Gives New Meaning to Easter Grass Read More »
Another concertgoer appears to have fallen victim to an overdose, this time a 24-year-old university student attending the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio. Kimchi Truong of Oakland, who was taken to a hospital last weekend after collapsing at the festival, died Thursday as the result of an apparent drug or alcohol overdose, according to the Riverside …
Coachella Concertgoer Dies After Apparent Drug or Alcohol Overdose Read More »
Don’t say you haven’t been warned. New research has found that even casual marijuana use causes critical changes in the brains of young people from which they may never recover and should prompt President Barack Obama to rethink a view he expressed in January about marijuana being no more dangerous than alcohol, one scientist said. The first-of-its-kind study on recreational marijuana, published April 16 …
Even Casual Marijuana Use Harms Young Brain, Study Finds Read More »
Prison terms for certain nonviolent drug offenses will be shortened starting this fall in an attempt to ease overcrowded federal lockups around the nation, a bipartisan commission has decided. The reduction for time spent behind bars will become official Nov. 1 absent action by Congress, and is expected to drop the population in federal prisons by 6,500 inmates, …
U.S. Moves Toward Reduced Sentences for Drug Offenders Read More »
With the changing laws and shifting public attitudes surrounding marijuana use, it is inevitable that as a parent you will have to talk to your children about pot. There are many things to consider when having this discussion, and you should know the facts surrounding this highly popular drug if you’re going to give your kids the best …
Should Parents Tell Kids About Their Own Marijuana Use? Read More »
Binge drinking is largely associated with high school and college-aged people—teenagers and young adults who are just beginning to experiment with alcohol and don’t yet know any better. It is much less associated with older adults, and certainly not with seniors. Seniors, we tend to think, have a wealth of wisdom and experience that discourages …