A Persons Hig…
posted by ATS
A study that examined the influence of LR in conjunction with other characteristics like family history of AUDs and age of drinking onset has found that LR is a unique risk factor for AUDs across adulthood and is not simply a reflection of a broader range of risk factors. If…
Drexel University: Misuse of Pain Medication Is Pa…
posted by ATS
A new study by researchers at Drexel Universitys School of Public Health suggests that abuse of prescription painkillers may be an important gateway to the use of injected drugs such as heroin, among people with a history of using both types of drugs. The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, explores factors surrounding young injection drug users initiation into the misuse of opioid drugs. Common factors identified in this group included a family history of drug misuse and receiving prescriptions for opioid drugs in the past. The results support a need for efforts to prevent misuse of prescription…
Opioid Addiction And…
posted by ATS
In the United States today, there are more than two million jail and prison inmates, of whom about 15 percent have histories of heroin dependence. Few inmates receive drug abuse treatment while incarcerated or immediately upon release. Research has shown that this population, once released…
Almost One-Quarter o…
posted by ATS
Almost one-quarter of Americans age 12 or older say they participated in binge drinking in the previous month, according to a government survey. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found binge drinking rates varied among states, ranging from 14.1 percent in Utah, to 29.8 percent in…
Bath Salts Have Da…
posted by ATS
Emergency rooms are seeing a growing number of people high on bath salts, new stimulant drugs that can cause long-lasting and dangerous effects. The New York Times reports that doctors are trying to determine the best way to treat people high on these synthetic drugs.Bath salts have…
Majority of U.S. Ecstasy-Related Emergency Departm…
posted by ATS
Nearly three-fourths of ecstasy-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2009 also involved other drugs, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Of the estimated 22,816 ecstasy-related ED visits in 2009, approximately one-fourth (26%) involved ecstasy only. One-third involved one other drug, 23% involved two other drugs, and 18% involved three or more drugs. The drugs most commonly involved were alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine (data not shown). These findings, combined with recent increases in indicators of ecstasy use (see CESAR FAX, Volume 20, Issue 12), highlight the importance of prevention efforts…
K2 Causing Hallucina…
posted by ATS
Teens are getting high on an emerging drug called fake weed, a concoction also known as K2 and spice that is also causing hallucinations, vomiting, agitation and other dangerous effects.In the last month, Dr. Anthony Scalzo, a professor of toxicology at Saint Louis…
Back Pain: Medication and Addiction
posted by ATS
How can we balance the risk of drug abuse with the suffering caused by untreated back pain?People living with serious back pain have to sort through a lot of mixed messages about opioid or narcotic painkillers.On the one hand, youve heard stories about the seeming epidemic of addiction to these drugs, like OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin. All those celebrities checking into rehab for painkiller addiction may give you the impression that the lure of these drugs is irresistible, that were all just a few pills away from addiction.But on the other hand, you might have heard that pain is chronically…
Scientists Create Vaccine Against Heroin High
posted by ATS
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have developed a highly successful vaccine against a heroin high and have proven its therapeutic potential in animal models.The new study, published recently online ahead of print by the American Chemical Societys Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, demonstrates how a novel vaccine produces antibodies (a kind of immune molecule) that stop not only heroin but also other psychoactive compounds metabolized from heroin from reaching the brain to produce euphoric effects.In my 25 years of making drug-of-abuse vaccines, I havent seen such a strong immune response as I have with…
Nearly All ER Visits…
posted by ATS
There were an estimated 1,199 emergency department (ED) visits related to the accidental ingestion of buprenorphine in 2009more than double the number of visits in 2008 and representing 5% of all buprenorphine-related ED visits in 2009 (see CESAR FAX, Volume 20, Issue 26). According to data…
