Research/Trends/Statistics

Alcohol is Bad for Pregnant Women

April 6, 2020 / Alcohol, Drugs and the Brain, Medical Consequences, Research/Trends/Statistics, Women and Drugs

The children’s rhyme makes it seem so simple: first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage. Of course this perfect image isn’t always a reality. The hope and expectation is a happy, healthy, bouncing little baby in your arms, but what happens when something, God forbid, goes wrong? Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to many different issues that can hurt both mother and baby, and we strongly urge pregnant women to seek treatment if needed. For decades there has been published advisory information stating that alcohol is bad for pregnant women. A government …

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Cannabis-based Drug, Sativex, Treats Cannabis Withdrawal

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Marijuana, Research/Trends/Statistics

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used recreational drugs, with about 22.2 million users in the United States. Although a seemingly small percentage (7%-9%) of users develop a dependency, the total number of people needing treatment is significant at between 1.5 and 2 million people. Marijuana is designated a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has no potential medical benefits, so medical research on the substance has been extremely difficult. The difficulty in experimenting with cannabis-based products has stagnated the development of pharmacotherapy for cannabis dependence worldwide. Fortunately, the development of the UK drug Sativex, a cannabis-based drug approved …

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Can Neurostimulation Prevent Nicotine Cravings?

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Drugs and the Brain, Research/Trends/Statistics, Tobacco/Nicotine

Only 6% of the 1 billion individuals who try to quit smoking are successful for longer than one month. For this reason, it can be argued that the current tobacco secession tools are inadequate and that there is a need to develop better products/methods to facilitate secession. One of the challenges with quitting any drug is battling cravings. When a person is exposed to certain environmental cues, for instance seeing others smoke or being in a place where the person used to smoke, the urge may return. In response to this issue, researchers are developing neurostimulation techniques that may help …

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A Response to President Obama’s Health Care Reform Article

April 6, 2020 / Public Health, Research/Trends/Statistics

President Obama recently published an article discussing the Affordable Care Act (2010) in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). This publication is monumental for being the first medical article ever to be published in a journal by a president. It is a useful resource for members of the public, especially researchers, who want to gain a better understanding of the president’s perspectives and the progress made with health care reform.   Accomplishments of the Affordable Care Act In this article, President Obama stated that health care reform is necessary because, at the rate health care costs are increasing, …

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What is K-2?

April 7, 2020 / Drug Testing, Marijuana, Research/Trends/Statistics, Synthetic Drugs

K-2, which has been around in the United States since 2008, is becoming more and more popular in recent years and has been linked to multiple drug poisoning outbreaks. If you know someone who is young and adventurous with drugs, you may need to be concerned about K-2. This product is sold in small packets labeled with cutesy names and described as incense. The package carries the disclaimer “not for human consumption,” which many of those working to stop the illegal drug trade consider an unfunny joke. Inhalation is a form of product consumption…how can you not breath in incense? …

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Tools for Tobacco Cessation

April 7, 2020 / Addiction Science, Public Health, Research/Trends/Statistics, Tobacco/Nicotine

Cigarette smoking and nicotine addiction lead to 400,000 deaths annually, despite the fact that the detrimental consequences of smoking are widely known and accepted. While smoking rates have declined considerably since the Surgeon General first announced its health hazards in 1964, still about 21% of the American public continues to smoke. Nicotine addiction is one that is particularly important to treat because it often leads to other addictions and its use has a tremendous impact on health.   Why Quit Smoking? Smoking has been linked to multiple diseases and can worsen many health conditions. Smoking tobacco is responsible for causing …

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Does Ecstasy Cause Susceptibility to Infection?

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Ecstasy/Molly/Club Drugs, Medical Consequences, Public Health, Research/Trends/Statistics

There has been much debate on whether or not ecstasy, also known as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), is capable of causing susceptibility to infection. The evidence of infection is suggestive, but not entirely conclusive. Researchers have been studying the immune cell responses of rodents exposed to ecstasy. In these experiments, there seems to be a reduction in the capabilities of two immune responses: one that is genetically encoded and another that adapts to evolving pathogens (the adaptive immune response).   How the Immune System Works T cells, for example, are a group of cells involved in the adaptive immune response that seem …

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Fentanyl Patches: Pain Relief Leading to Unintentional Opioid Drug Overuse and Addiction

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Heroin and Opioids, Pain, Public Health, Research/Trends/Statistics

The increased access to and overuse of painkillers seen in today’s opioid epidemic was the result of past drug policy changes. In the late 1990s, the laws governing the prescription of opioids became relaxed, giving access to populations besides cancer patients with chronic pain. In 2000, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations introduced new pain management standards, and at the same time many physicians were advocating for changes in practice to increase the use of opioids to treat chronic pain. The opioid drug epidemic was highlighted by the Centers for Disease Control in 2015, but it was actually …

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Opioid Dependence: Patient Care and Public Health Challenges

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Heroin and Opioids, Pain, Research/Trends/Statistics, Suboxone Treatment

Non-medical prescription opioid use is a major public health problem. In 2011, 5.1 million people in the United States were using opioids, 4.5 million of whom were using for non-medical purposes and 620,000 of whom were using heroin. 2.2 million of those using opioids were considered clinically dependent. 1.8 million of these dependent individuals were using for non-medical purposes, and 369,000 were using heroin. On the bright side, 750,000 of the nonmedical users sought treatment for their opioid dependence. It is important to recognize that opioid dependence is a chronic disease, not a moral failing. Dependence causes dysfunction in neural …

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Can Alcohol Cause Diabetes?

April 6, 2020 / Addiction Science, Alcohol, Research/Trends/Statistics

Most of us have heard by now that alcohol can have detrimental effects on our health, but did you know that it significantly raises the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes?   How is blood sugar regulated? The cells in your body use glucose, a simple sugar, as fuel to survive and function. Normally, the body tries to keep a constant supply of glucose in the blood so that your cells don’t overload while you’re eating and starve when you’re between meals. The body maintains this steady blood-sugar level by storing excess glucose as “glycogen” chains within the liver and …

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