The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released the findings from its annual survey on drug and alcohol use in the US. The report presents detailed results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, […]
You may think your children aren’t listening, but research shows that parents play a critical role in preventing their kids from using drugs. Even armed with those statistics, though, it can be hard to have a conversation with your teen or pre-teen about substance use. Fortunately, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has launched […]
All too often, the drug war seems like a losing battle. And even when we’re able to bring down dealers or traffickers on US soil, the problem persists around the globe, frequently in impoverished areas where the lure of fast cash is impossible to turn down. In the slums of Rio, in a metropolitan area […]
As teens head back to school, it’s a good time to remind parents to be aware of trends in drug and alcohol abuse among students – even when it comes to the misuse of legal drugs. Mixing substances is also a dangerous practice that high school and college kids are doing without always being aware […]
Not everyone who becomes dependent on or addicted to prescription painkillers will graduate to illegal drugs, but MSNBC recently reported that while prescription addiction continues at epidemic proportions in the US, the nationwide crackdown on prescription painkillers may be creating another dangerous situation. Individuals who never thought they’d even consider turning to street drugs are […]
Recent news of a brutal attack in Miami that has been attributed to the use of bath salts has many showing new interest in these dangerous synthetic drugs. A naked Florida man with only a minor arrest record was reportedly found chewing on the face of an elderly homeless man. When police arrived, he growled […]
Chances are you’ve taken acetaminophen in the past year. After all, it’s a common medication found in a host of popular over-the-counter products, including cold and flu medications. While these seem harmless (they’re available over the counter, after all!), acetaminophen overdose is currently the leading cause of liver failure in the US. The problem isn’t […]
We’ve all heard the expression “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.” From the foundations of rock, there have been references to drug use and speculation that lyrics were referring to using drugs. Veiled (or not so veiled) references to drug use appear in songs by everyone from Jefferson Airplane and The Doors to The Rolling […]
We all know meth is dangerous. Adults who are chronic users can even bear telltale signs like discolored skin and rotten or missing teeth. Then there are the locations where meth is manufactured. You hear stories on the news of busts happening in seemingly quiet rural or suburban neighborhoods, or worse, of explosions when the […]
When athletes are caught violating a sport’s drug policy, we usually comment on the impact it has on their career and the sport overall. Rarely do we talk about the substance use itself. It’s almost as if drug use to enhance performance is put in a different category than other types of drug abuse. The […]