Category Archives: Drug Dependency

Prescribing heroin instead of methadone is more effective and less costly in treating street drug addiction relapses, a new analysis suggests. It was a collaboration with UBC, the University of Montreal and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. "We gave them option of trying methadone or diacetylmorphine [heroin] under medically supervised conditions, and we found people who were getting diacetylmorphine were retained in treatment much, much longer, so they had a much better outcome," said study head Dr. Aslam Anis, director of the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences at St. Pauls Hospital in Vancouver. Most of the savings in the mathematical model were attributed to how those prescribed heroin stayed in treatment longer and spent less time in relapse than those randomly assigned to receive methadone. By staying in treatment, health-care costs were lower when the cost of the drugs, counselling and social supports were added up. "Our model indicated that diacetylmorphine would decrease societal costs, largely by reducing costs associated with crime, and would increase both the duration and quality of life of treatment recipients," the study's authors concluded. While the clinical trial was based on a years worth of data, the researchers considered different timeframes such … Continue reading →

Police discovered a cannabis farm in Ipswich Monday, March 12, 2012 12:15 PM POLICE have found three cannabis farms in Essex folloiwng a crackdown on drug supply this morning. To send a link to this page to a friend, simply enter their email address below. The message will include the name and email address you gave us when you signed up. Send link To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in. Officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate executed four warrants two at industrial units in Witham and Woodham Mortimer and two at residential premises in Woodham Mortimer and Purleigh. Around 50 plants were found in each of the units while another 20 plants were discovered at a house in Woodham Mortimer. A 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis and taken into custody where he is being questioned. Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge, head of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: Todays warrants were carried out as part of our ongoing work to disrupt the sale of illegal drugs and the criminality that goes hand in hand with it. Continued here: Witham: Police find cannabis … Continue reading →

Local law enforcement officials have told the American authorities that Barbados is seeing an increasing number of drug mules ingesting their illegal contraband to get it into the country. Thats according to the recently released 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report compiled by the United States State Department which referred to one incident in August last year when ten passengers on one flight were found to have swallowed drugs. Law enforcement officials report an increasing number of drug couriers arriving via air, notably on flights from Jamaica, smuggling drugs in their stomachs, stated the Drug And Chemical Control section on Barbados. On the drug demand prevention front, it said police believed that the National Council On Substance Abuse (NCSA) and the National Committee for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCPADD) needed to change their strategies. Police contacts assess these entities need to revise their strategy, pointing to continued high levels of cannabis consumption among the populations and increased youth drug, the document stated. Up until October 13, drug hauls in Barbados included 5 000 kilos of cannabis, the vast majority of which was seized at sea; 64 kilos of cocaine, ten per cent of which was made at … Continue reading →

TORONTO - The prescribing of painkillers to seniors for relatively low-pain surgeries may lead to some becoming dependent on opioids such as codeine or oxycodone, a new study suggests. The study, published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that 7.1 per cent of patients were prescribed an opioid within seven days of these low-pain surgeries, and more than 10 per cent of them were using these potent pain medications a year later. The research set out to explore why older adults would start taking a strong morphine-like drug and whether the medical system could possibly be contributing to chronic use. "What we're trying to do is identify how some of the older people might start it, and the idea is that some of the people might start it by just having a casual interaction with the health-care system for a fairly self-limiting illness," said Dr. Chaim Bell, senior author of the paper. "From a patient perspective, do you really need to take the most potent pain reliever, do you need to even take it or to fill it? That's a patient perspective. From a physician's perspective, or from a system perspective, we really need to do a better … Continue reading →

Psychedelic drug LSD could be used as an effective method to treat alcoholism, scientists say. The use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), coupled with relapse prevention treatments, could help alcoholics steer clear of the bottle, research published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests. Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen, who were performing research fellowships at Harvard Medical School in the US, examined a number of previous studies, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s, and found that a number of clinics used LSD to treat alcoholism with some success. They said they found evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of a low dose of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. They examined 536 participants, across six medical trials, and found that 59% of LSD patients had improved compared to 38% of control patients. Researchers said the positive effects of a single dose of the drug, tested by a standardised assessment of problem alcohol use, appeared to last for up to 12 months. However, they suggested the repeated use of the medication, coupled with preventative treatments, might provide more sustained results. Investigators of one trial which was examined said: "It was rather common for patients to claim significant insights into their problems, … Continue reading →

Washington, March 9 (ANI): Taking hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. LSD is used mainly as an entheogen, recreational drug, and as an agent in psychedelic therapy. Several decades ago, a number of clinics used LSD to treat alcoholism with some success. But until now, no research has pulled together the results of these trials to document exactly how effective LSD was. Now a new meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of the drug provides evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen, both affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway, spotted a gap in the understanding of LSD's potential for alcoholism treatment during research fellowships at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Krebs and Johansen set out to independently extract data from previous randomised, controlled clinical trials, pooling their results. They identified six eligible trials, all carried out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These included 536 participants, the vast majority of whom were male in-patients enrolled in alcohol-focused … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Mar. 8, 2012) Several decades ago, a number of clinics used LSD to treat alcoholism with some success. But until now, no research has pulled together the results of these trials to document exactly how effective LSD was. Now a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the drug, available in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE, provides evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. Teri Krebs and Pl-rjan Johansen are both affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. During research fellowships at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, they spotted a gap in the understanding of lysergic acid diethylamide's (LSD's) potential for alcoholism treatment. No researcher had ever performed a quantitative meta-analysis of previous clinical trials using the drug. Krebs and Johansen set out to independently extract data from previous randomized, controlled clinical trials, pooling their results. They identified six eligible trials, all carried out in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These included 536 participants, the vast majority of whom were male in-patients enrolled in alcohol-focused treatment programs. Individuals with a history of schizophrenia or psychosis were excluded from the … Continue reading →

8 March 2012 Last updated at 21:44 ET One dose of the hallucinogenic drug LSD could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s. A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. It said there was a "significant beneficial effect" on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken. An expert said this was "as good as anything we've got". LSD is a class A drug in the UK and is one of the most powerful hallucinogens ever identified. It appears to work by blocking a chemical in the brain, serotonin, which controls functions including perception, behaviour, hunger and mood. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology analysed earlier studies on the drug between 1966 and 1970. Patients were all taking part in alcohol treatment programmes, but some were given a single dose of LSD of between 210 and 800 micrograms. Given the evidence for a beneficial effect of LSD on alcoholism, it is puzzling why this treatment approach has been largely overlooked For the group of patients taking LSD, 59% showed reduced levels of alcohol misuse … Continue reading →

Study: LSD may treat alcoholism By Ella Pickover Friday, March 09, 2012 Psychedelic drug LSD could be used as an effective method to treat alcoholism, scientists say. The use of lysergic acid diethylamide, coupled with relapse prevention treatments, could help alcoholics steer clear of the bottle, research published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology suggests. Teri Krebs and Pal-Orjan Johansen, who were performing research fellowships at Harvard Medical School in the US, examined a number of previous studies, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. They found a number of clinics used the drug to treat alcoholism with some success and discovered evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of a low dose of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. Researchers examined 536 participants, across six medical trials, and found that 59% of LSD patients had improved compared to 38% of control patients. They said the positive effects of a single dose of the drug, tested by a standardised assessment of problem alcohol use, appeared to last for up to 12 months. However, the researchers suggested the repeated use of the medication, coupled with preventative treatments, might provide more sustained results. Go here to see the original: Study: LSD may treat alcoholism … Continue reading →

Jacqui Brown shares a very personal journey as she combats a painful subject - drug dependency. She sets out to conquer her demons, plays the leading role as "Super Mom" and holds everything together in this poignant, cathartic tale. Those seeking guidance and solace will immediately connect with the author's wit and ten year roller coaster ride towards inner peace. "Recovery's A Bi*ch" is a moving, highly charged book, rapt with gut-splitting humor. Her broad audience cannot put this priceless book down. Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 08, 2012 Envision picking glass shards from your body after an explosion. Horrified and unstoppable, but neither can one look away. Its also unclear if leaving the shards in or taking them out will cause more pain, or even death. So one digs deeper into the humorous, witty prose. Yet, when all the bloody pieces are laid on the table, and the catharsis is done, this journey is resolved. Her nonstop rant has accomplished its goal. Brown has shouted and sworn all those words and the previously whispered behind the door concepts of teenage addiction, rehab and relapse out loud for long enough, that the inability to speak of it disappears. A few … Continue reading →