Addiction Treatment Strategies – Part 11

A new system that ranks drugs on the basis of harm caused to both the user and others places alcohol as the most harmful drug, above heroin and crack. The scale, developed by drug experts led by Professor David Nutt of Imperial College London, is published online in The Lancet.
Drugs including alcohol and tobacco products are a major cause of harms to individuals and society. To provide better guidance to policy makers in health, policing, and social care, the harms that drugs cause need to be properly assessed. This task is not easy because of the wide range of ways in which drugs can cause harm, the researchers say.
When Professor Nutt…

People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who did not, in a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
 The researchers examined almost 300,000 hospital records from California covering 16 years. Patients admitted to hospital for methamphetamine or amphetamine-use disorders had a 76 per cent higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease compared to those with no disorder.
Globally, methamphetamine and similar stimulants are the second most commonly used class of illicit drugs.
“This study provides evidence of this…

New research sheds light on how cocaine regulates gene expression in a crucial reward region of the brain to elicit long-lasting changes in behavior. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides exciting insight into the molecular pathways regulated by cocaine and may lead to new strategies for battling drug addiction.
 It is well established that addictive drugs induce persistent changes in the brain’s reward circuits. Previous research has indicated that addiction to drugs such as cocaine is associated with altered gene expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a region of the brain that…

Young drinkers are more likely than other underage drinkers to get alcohol from their family, according to data from the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Nearly one-half of youths ages 12 to 14 who drank alcohol in the past month obtained the alcohol from a parent, guardian, or other adult family member* (31%) or took the alcohol from their own home (15%). In contrast, 27% of underage drinkers ages 15 to 17 and 18% of those ages 18 to 20 reported getting alcohol from family or their home the last time they drank. These findings suggest the need for increased parental education on the effects of early alcohol use as well…

A new study of teens undergoing substance abuse treatment finds helping others helps the adolescent helper by reducing cravings for alcohol and drugs, a major precipitator of relapse. These novel findings stem from the “Helping Others” study led by Maria Pagano, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
 
Results of this large investigation involving 195 substance dependent juvenile offenders reveal that helping others in 12-step programs significantly improves adolescent treatment response. Featured in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, this…

Often, for people suffering with drug addiction meditation has never been a matter for contemplation. As soon as they experience any feelings of restlessness, anxiety or depression, they usually turn to their drug of choice to alter their state. Although the truth is that for many people world wide suffering from drug addiction meditation has achieved a safe and natural cure for them. For people going into rehabilitation for drug addiction meditation provides an alternative method for recovering.Going through drug rehabilitation is probably the hardest thing anyone could have to do in their life, and the physical discomfort, pain and…

A controversial law requiring adults applying for welfare assistance to undergo drug screening has gone into effect in Florida.
Saying it is “unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction,” Gov. Rick Scott signed the legislation in June.
“It’s the right thing for taxpayers,” Scott said after signing the measure. “It’s the right thing for citizens of this state that need public assistance. We don’t want to waste tax dollars. And also, we want to give people an incentive to not use drugs.”
Under the law, which went into effect on Friday, the Florida Department of Children and…

Individuals addicted to prescription painkillers are more likely to succeed in treatment with the aid of the medication buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone), report McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers in the online edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
 
“Adjunctive Counseling During Brief and Extended Buprenorphine-Naloxone Treatment for Prescription Opioid Dependence,” is the first large-scale study to address treatment of prescription opioid addiction. According to lead author Roger Weiss, MD, Chief of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse at McLean Hospital, most studies examining treatments for…

Often, for people suffering with drug addiction meditation has never been a matter for contemplation.  As soon as they experience any feelings of restlessness, anxiety or depression, they usually turn to their drug of choice to alter their state. Although the truth is that for many people world wide suffering from drug addiction meditation has achieved a safe and natural cure for them. For people going into rehabilitation for drug addiction meditation provides an alternative method for recovering.
Going through drug rehabilitation is probably the hardest thing anyone could have to do in their life, and the physical discomfort, pain and…

Regular cannabis users who start using the drug before the age of 15 perform worse on brain tests than those who start later, according to new research published in the June issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Researchers from the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo say their study suggests that early cannabis use may have more harmful effects on people’s cognitive functioning.
The researchers asked 104 chronic cannabis users to take part in a series of neuropsychological tasks. These tested their executive functioning, attention, perseverance, ability to form abstract concepts, visual and motor skills, and mental…