Tag: Addiction

2/2/20--Steve Grant, who lost both of his children to drug overdoses, his older son at 21 years old and his younger one, five years later, at 24, tells their story in his recent book in hopes of his experience helping others. Read

10/31/19--The prevalence of cannabis use disorder decreased in 2002 to 2016 among frequent users. Changes in social attitudes and the traits of frequent users may explain the decline, according to researchers. This is one of the first studies to examine the general health profile of people using cannabis daily or almost daily and the trends in the prevalence of cannabis use disorder in this population. Read

11/5/18--Robert L. DuPont, M.D., president of the Institute for Behavior and director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, discussed his perspective on the movie, "Beautiful Boy," a new film about the relationship between a good father and his good son as the teenager dives into addiction. According to DuPont, this movie is a cautionary story for teens and families, and one of the many reasons he highly recommends seeing "Beautiful Boy" is because of the riveting, relentless, and powerful portrayal of how addiction hijacks the brain. Read

1/19/18--Because pot is being legalized in more and more states, many young people assume it must be safe. However, when used by people whose brains are still developing (up to age 25), there is an increased risk of developing a mental illness. Recent studies have shown this vulnerability. Not everyone who smokes pot will become psychotic, but it is not harmless. Kids need to be warned about the huge risks associated with teen marijuana use. Read

10/24/17--According to new data from Duke Health researchers, about a quarter of adults whose marijuana use is problematic in early adulthood have anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, also shed light on an estimated 4 percent of adults who endured childhood maltreatment and peer bullying without resorting to chronic marijuana abuse, only to develop problems with the drug between the ages of 26 and 30. Read

6/27/17--Researchers have identified a brain region involved in cocaine addiction. The findings could lead to targeted drugs or improved behavioral treatments for substance addiction, including opioid dependency. Read

6/19/17--This commentary suggests that the problem with identifying addiction as a legitimate medical disorder which should be compassionately addressed as a health problem rather than a criminal justice problem may be in the messaging. Furthermore, it states that it would be more persuasive if addiction was recognized as being different from most medical disorders because of its high negative externalities, and that this makes the public more scared of and angry about addiction than they are about conditions like asthma, type II diabetes, and hypertension. Read

6/6/17--The Associated Press took an important step in recognizing people with addiction as having a medical problem, not a moral one. The new edition of its widely used AP Stylebook declares that “addict” should no longer be used as a noun. “Instead,” it says, “choose phrasing like he was addicted, people with heroin addiction or he used drugs.” In short, separate the person from the disease. The style guide also clarifies other important language to maximize precision and reduce bias in addiction coverage. Read

4/26/17--According to a new study led by Deborah Hasin, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University in New York City, illegal marijuana use has risen faster, in recent years, in states that have legalized medical marijuana than in states without such laws. In addition, the percentage of people with "marijuana use disorders" — people who use the drug in unhealthy ways, or abuse it — has also increased at a higher rate in these states. Read

11/21/16--A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher has found that addiction treatment results improved when teens in a residential program stopped smoking. The findings hold important implications for success in treating addiction since up to three out of four people with such disorders are smokers, a significantly higher proportion than the overall national smoking rate of one out of every four Americans. Read

10/21/16--The more potent the pot is, the more likely a person who uses it is to become dependent on it, a new study from the United Kingdom finds. The researchers found that 43 percent of the participants who preferred high-potency pot were dependent on the drug, compared with 22 percent of the participants who did not prefer high-potency pot. Read

9/20/16--According to a news source, Brad Pitt's love of marijuana tore apart Hollywood's alpha couple. It allegedly created what Jolie considered an inappropriate environment for their children. Over the years Pitt has discussed his lifelong battle with the demon weed, taking pains to distance himself from his youthful stoner image, with unsuccessful results. Read

8/15/16--According to an article published in the Harvard Health Blog, generic the language used by the media is often problematic in addition to the pessimistic portrait painted about addiction. Read