Addiction Treatment Strategies

Nearly one-third (30.5%) of alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits made by underage youth and young adults also involved illicit or pharmaceutical drugs in 2009, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The most prevalent drug reported was marijuana (51.0%), followed by sedatives/hypnotics (17.5%), cocaine (14.3%), and narcotic pain relievers (11.4%). Slightly more than 6% of underage alcohol-related ED visits involved ecstasy—more than twice as many as in 2008. All other drugs made up less than 5%. The study also found that nearly two-thirds (64.4%) of these visits that involved other drugs did not receive…

Young Adults Aged 18 to 25In 2010, the rate of current illicit drug use was higher among young adults aged 18 to 25 (21.5 percent) than among youths aged 12 to 17 (10.1 percent) and adults aged 26 or older (6.6 percent). Among young adults, the rates were 18.5 percent for marijuana, 5.9 percent for nonmedical use of psychotherapeutic drugs, 2.0 percent for hallucinogens, and 1.5 percent for cocaine (Figure 2.7). Figure 2.7 Past Month Use of Selected Illicit Drugs among Young Adults Aged 18 to 25: 2002-2010+ Difference between this estimate and the 2010 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.The…

From heroin and cocaine to sex and lies, Tetris and the ponies, the spectrum of human addictions is vast. But for Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the neuroscientist in charge of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, they all boil down to pretty much the same thing. She must say it a dozen times a day: Addiction is all about the dopamine. The pleasure, pain and devilish problem of control are simply the detritus left by waves of this little molecule surging and retreating deep in the brain.A driven worker with a colorful family history and a bad chocolate problem of her own, Dr. Volkow, 55, has devoted her career to studying this chemical tide. And…

The cost of excessive alcohol consumption in the United States in 2006 reached $223.5 billion or about $1.90 per drink, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost three–quarters of these costs were due to binge drinking, consuming four or more alcoholic beverages per occasion for women or five or more drinks per occasion for men, the report said.Excessive alcohol consumption, or heavy drinking, is defined as consuming an average of more than one  alcoholic beverage per day for women, and an average of more than two alcoholic beverages per day for men, and any drinking by pregnant women or…

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…

Research links frequent prescribing to opioid-related deathsTORONTO, Ont., March 14, 2011 — Some physicians are prescribing opioids such as OxyContin 55 times as often as others, according to a new study led by St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). The study found most opioid-related deaths occur among patients treated by physicians who frequently prescribe opioids, suggesting doctors who prescribe a lot of opioids may not be doing so safely.“We found that the 20 per cent of family doctors who are frequent prescribers wrote 55 times as many prescriptions as the 20 per cent of…

According to a new report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), admissions for alcohol abuse treatment have remained the same in parts of the South and the Midwest, whereas they have dropped elsewhere in the United States. However, admission rates for illegal drugs are increasing across the United States, especially for marijuana abuse.  From 1998 to 2008, the overall rate of substance abuse admissions in the United States remained stable at about 770 admissions per 100,000 people. Admissions for alcohol abuse dropped by 15 percent nationally, but remained stable in Arkansas, Iowa,…

It’s considered a rite of passage among young people acting out their independence through heavy, episodic drinking. But a new University of Cincinnati study, the first of its kind nationally, is showing how binge drinking among adolescents and young adults could be causing serious damage to a brain that’s still under development at this age.Researcher Tim McQueeny, a doctoral student in the UC Department of Psychology, is presenting the findings this week at the 34th annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Atlanta.High-resolution brain scans on a sample of 29 weekend binge drinkers, aged 18 to 25, found that…

Admissions for treatment of benzodiazepine abuse nearly tripled in the United States between 1998 and 2008, while overall admissions for substance abuse rose only 11 percent, according to a government study released Thursday.Benzodiazepines — a class of drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia and seizure disorders — include Valium, Halcion, Xanax, Ativan and Librium. Abuse of benzodiazepines, which were introduced in the 1950s to replace barbiturates, can lead to addiction, injury and death.The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study found that admissions for treatment of benzodiazepine…

Despite warnings about borrowing medication prescribed to other people, past studies have demonstrated that many Americans say they have used someone else’s medication at least once in a given year. In low income, urban populations, this rate was stereotypically thought to be higher due to a number of factors, including a perceived lack of access to health care and higher rates of crime and drug abuse.However, a study led by Temple researchers has found the rates of using someone else’s medication among this population were about on par with the rest of the country.“The trend of borrowing or using someone…