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Another Drug 'Take-Back Day' Scheduled for Saturday

Posted 26 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, April 26 – The fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is scheduled for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says. The event gives Americans an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs. At the third Take-Back Day last October, participants turned in more than 377,000 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications at more than 5,300 sites located in all 50 states. In total, the three Take-Back Days have taken in nearly 1 million pounds of prescription drugs during the past 13 months. "The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the American public during the past three Take-Back Day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs," DEA administrator Michele Leonhart said in an agency news release. "The DEA remains hard at ... Read more

Related support groups: Suboxone, Xanax, Methadone, Oxycodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Adderall, Morphine, Norco, Fentanyl, Klonopin, Lortab, Subutex

Kids of Meth-Using Moms at Risk of Behavioral Woes

Posted 19 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, March 19 – Children exposed to methamphetamine while in the womb face a higher risk of developing behavior problems, a new study suggests. These problems can include depression, anxiousness and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the researchers report. "This is the only study on methamphetamine that looked at children at birth and followed them into childhood," said study author Linda LaGasse, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Brown University School of Medicine. Mothers' prenatal use of methamphetamine, "over and above other bad things that cause trouble with children, has an effect on behavior," LaGasse said. The stimulant drug is thought to be even more potent than cocaine because it lasts longer in the body, she explained. "Methamphetamine goes right into the placenta and affects the brain," she said. The report appears online March 19 and in the ... Read more

Meth Users Much More Likely to Try Suicide

Posted 30 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Dec. 30 – Drug users who inject themselves with methamphetamine are 80 percent more likely to attempt suicide than those abusing other drugs, new research reveals. The magnified risk for meth users is probably rooted in a mixture of social, structural and neurobiological factors, say researchers from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. "Compared to other injection drug users, it is possible that methamphetamine users are more isolated and have poorer social support systems," study author and Mailman postdoctoral fellow Brandon Marshall said in a Columbia news release. Marshall and his colleagues report their findings in the December issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The team used material from interviews involving nearly 1,900 men and women that were conducted in the Vancouver ... Read more

Related support groups: Methamphetamine, Substance Abuse, Desoxyn, Desoxyn Gradumet

Heavy Meth Use Linked to Schizophrenia

Posted 10 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Nov. 10 – Heavy methamphetamine use may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a new study. It also confirmed previous research showing a possible link between marijuana dependence and schizophrenia. Methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants are the second most common type of illicit drug used worldwide. In this study, researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto analyzed the records of patients who were admitted to California hospitals between 1990 and 2000 with a diagnosis of dependence or abuse for methamphetamine, marijuana, alcohol, cocaine or opioids. People who were hospitalized for meth dependence and who had never been diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychotic symptoms at the start of the study had a roughly 1.5- to three-fold higher risk of later being diagnosed with schizophrenia than patients who used ... Read more

Related support groups: Schizophrenia, Methamphetamine, Desoxyn, Desoxyn Gradumet

'Meth' Abuse Ups Risk of HIV Infection in Young Gay Men

Posted 1 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Aug. 1 – Methamphetamine abuse by young adult gay and bisexual males raises their risk of HIV exposure and infection, a new study finds. Prior research has suggested that up to 43 percent of gay or bisexual males age 18 or older have used methamphetamine, which increases the likelihood of sexual behaviors that boost their risk of HIV exposure and infection. However, most research focuses on older gay or bisexual men and little is known about meth use and sexual behavior among younger males, according to the researchers. For this study, researchers led by Peter Freeman of Northwestern University in Chicago looked at data collected between January 2005 and August 2006 from 595 gay or bisexual men aged 12 to 24 living in eight U.S. cities. Of those males, 64 reported methamphetamine use within the previous 90 days. Compared to those who had not used hard drugs, the participants ... Read more

Related support groups: Methamphetamine, HIV Infection, Desoxyn, Desoxyn Gradumet

Methamphetamine Abuse May Raise Parkinson's Risk

Posted 26 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, July 26 – People who abuse methamphetamine or other stimulants are at increased risk for Parkinson's disease, a new study warns. Researchers analyzed the medical records of 40,472 people aged 30 and older in California who were hospitalized because of methamphetamine- or amphetamine-use disorders between 1990 and 2005. They were compared to 207,831 people with no addiction who were admitted for appendicitis and 35,335 admitted for cocaine-use disorders during the same period. The patients with methamphetamine- or amphetamine-use disorders were 76 percent more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those not using the drugs. This means that over 10 years, 21 out of 10,000 people with methamphetamine or amphetamine dependence would develop Parkinson's, compared with 12 out of 10,000 people in the general population. "This study provides evidence of this association for the ... Read more

Related support groups: Parkinson's Disease, Methamphetamine, Desoxyn, Desoxyn Gradumet

Drug Use May Play Role in 25% of Driver Deaths, Study Finds

Posted 25 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, June 24 – Among U.S. drivers who died in a car crash, about one in four tested positive for drugs, a new study has found. Most commonly, the drivers were found to have been using marijuana and stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines, and each of these drugs accounted for one-quarter of the positive tests, according to the report published in the July issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. For their study, the researchers analyzed federal government drug test information from 44,000 drivers who died between 1998 and 2009. It's not certain that the drugs used by the drivers were directly responsible for the fatal crashes, the researchers said. For example, some people who use illegal drugs may simply be reckless drivers, they explained. But they noted that a recent government study found that 14 percent of U.S. drivers who were randomly pulled over tested ... Read more

Surge in Number of Americans Treated for Prescription Painkiller Abuse

Posted 23 Jun 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, June 23 – Rehab admissions related to alcohol, opiates (including prescription painkillers) and marijuana increased in the United States between 1999 and 2009, according to a new national report. However, fewer people sought treatment for problems with cocaine and methamphetamine or amphetamines, the researchers noted. One of the most staggering increases over the 10-year study period: opiate admissions, mostly due to use of prescription opioids, which include painkillers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) or Vicodin (hydrocodone). The findings showed that 96 percent of the nearly 2 million admissions to treatment facilities that occurred in 2009 were related to alcohol (42 percent), opiates (21 percent), marijuana (18 percent), cocaine (9 percent) and methamphetamine/amphetamines (6 percent). The report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ... Read more

Related support groups: Pain, Suboxone, Methadone, Oxycodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Adderall, Morphine, Norco, Fentanyl, Lortab, Subutex, Codeine

Can Prescription Amphetamine Use Raise Parkinson's Risk?

Posted 21 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com

SUNDAY, Feb. 20 – Taking prescription amphetamines may raise your risk of developing Parkinson's disease later, new research suggests. But, the researchers noted that the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship and further investigation is warranted. Study author Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, a senior investigator at the Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, in Oakland, said that people who reported using Benzedrine or Dexedrine at some point in their lives showed a 60 percent greater chance of developing the neurological disorder when compared to those who said they had never taken the medications. "We already know that there are certain risks of amphetamine use," Van Den Eeden said. "This is one concern that is unproven, but we need to take into consideration whether the benefits outweigh the known risks, and maybe potential risks." Amphetamines ... Read more

Prescriptions for Stimulants, Painkillers Soaring Among Youth

Posted 30 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Nov. 30 – The number of prescriptions for controlled medications such as opioids and stimulants has nearly doubled in adolescents and young adults since 1994. The trend, reported in the December issue of Pediatrics, mirrors a similar increase in misuse of these drugs, with adolescents and young adults' illicit use of prescription drugs now outstripping all other illicit drug use except marijuana. The researchers couldn't attribute the increased misuse directly to more prescriptions, but did urge both physicians and patients to be vigilant when considering the use of drugs such as Oxycontin or Ritalin. "Our study did not look at the relationship between prescribing and misuse, but the increased prescribing increases the potential availability [of these drugs]," said study author Dr. Robert Fortuna, an assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of ... Read more

Related support groups: Suboxone, Methadone, Oxycodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Adderall, Morphine, Norco, Fentanyl, Lortab, Subutex, Opana, Phentermine