THC | Addiction Treatment Strategies

Cannabis use is associated with disturbances in concentration and memory. New research by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol, published in the Journal of Neuroscience [Oct. 25], has found that brain activity becomes uncoordinated and inaccurate during these altered states of mind, leading to neurophysiological and behavioural impairments reminiscent of those seen in schizophrenia.
 
The collaborative study, led by Dr Matt Jones from the University’s School of Physiology and Pharmacology, tested whether the detrimental effects of cannabis on memory and cognition could be the result of ‘disorchestrated’ brain…

Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used by teenagers and adults around the world. Nearly a third of high school students in the United States report smoking it, and most high schoolers say they have access to the drug.
To many people, smoking pot is no big deal. They cite reasons such as: “it isn’t dangerous or addictive” and “everybody is doing it.”
Denise Walker, co-director of the University of Washington’s Innovative Programs Research Group, disagrees.
“It’s not a risk-free drug,” she said. “Lots of people who use it do so without problems. But there are others who use…

Young people who are genetically vulnerable to depression should be extra careful about using cannabis: smoking cannabis leads to an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms. This has emerged from research carried out by Roy Otten at the Behavioural Science Institute of Radboud University Nijmegen that is published in the online version of the scientific journal Addiction Biology. Two-thirds of the population have the gene variant that makes one sensitive to depression.
 
Many young people in the Netherlands use cannabis. Nearly 30% of 16-year-olds indicate that they have used cannabis on at least one occasion, and 12% that…

The Dutch government said Friday it would move to classify high-potency marijuana alongside hard drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy, the latest step in the country’s ongoing reversal of its famed tolerance policies.
 
The decision means most of the cannabis now sold in the Netherlands’ weed cafes would have to be replaced by milder variants. But skeptics said the move would be difficult to enforce, and that it could simply lead many users to smoke more of the less potent weed.
 
Possession of marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police do not prosecute people for possession of small amounts, and it…

The estimated number of people using marijuana for the first time appears to be increasing, according to data from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). More than 2.4 million persons ages 12 or older used marijuana for the first time in 2010, compared to the most recent low of 2.1 million in 2006. While the number of first-time nonmedical users of prescription pain relievers continues to rival that of marijuana, the 2010 estimate of 2.0 million is significantly lower than most recent high of 2.5 million in 2003. The number of new ecstasy users has been increasing since 2005, reaching slightly more than 1.1 million in 2009….

Marijuana is at once an interesting area of inquiry and a subject of practical concern for young adults in the United States. Though used within minority groups (e.g., urban Blacks, including musicians, artists, and the general population) in the first half of the twentieth century, it wasn’t until majority youth (white college students, and then high-schoolers, from suburban and even rural areas) began smoking pot in the 1960s that marijuana gained widespread attention. Marijuana is America’s most commonly used illegal drug; more than 1/3 of the U.S. population ages 12 and older have tried marijuana at least once.
Marijuana has always…