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Teens' Love of Loud Music Tied to Drinking, Drug Abuse
Posted 7 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 21 – In a new study, teens who loved listening to music blasting at high decibels on their MP3 players were also more likely than others to smoke marijuana, while those who listened to loud music at concerts and clubs were more likely to drink heavily and have sex without a condom. Experts stressed that the findings don't prove that loud music or concerts have anything to do with pot smoking, drinking or unprotected sex, only that there is an association. "These risk-taking behaviors do go together, but listening to loud music does not cause drug use and drug use does not cause loud-music listening," said Valerie Stratton, an associate professor emerita of psychology at Penn State Altoona. She was not involved in the new study Still, Stratton said, a better understanding of how various behaviors work together could help researchers develop ways to prevent young people from ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
Kids Most Likely to Start Abusing Painkillers at 16: Study
Posted 7 May 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 7 – Among U.S. adolescents, misuse of prescription painkillers peaks at age 16, earlier than thought, a new large survey analysis reveals. "What our findings suggest is that if we wait until the last year of high school or college to take some kind of action that could prevent the misuse of opioid painkillers, it'll be a case of too little, too late," cautioned study co-author James Anthony, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Many experts consider "extramedical" painkiller abuse – taking pain drugs such as OxyContin (oxycodone) and Vicodin (hydrocodone) to get high rather than to relieve extreme pain – the country's most serious drug challenge. Some kids had already misused these drugs by age 13 or 14, or eighth grade, the researchers found. Anthony and his ... Read more
Related support groups: Pain, Suboxone, Methadone, Oxycodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Morphine, Norco, Fentanyl, Lortab, Subutex, Opana, Codeine
Teen Impulsiveness Has Different Sources in ADHD, Substance Use
Posted 29 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
SUNDAY, April 29 – Teens with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and teens who start using cigarettes, drugs or alcohol tend to share at least one personality trait: impulsiveness, experts say. But a new brain-imaging study of nearly 1,900 14-year-olds finds that the brain networks associated with impulsivity in teens with ADHD are different compared to those who use drugs or alcohol. What that finding suggests is that multiple underlying mechanisms drive impulsivity – in other words, the impulsivity that leads kids to blow off their homework and the impulsiveness that drives kids to take a drag off a joint aren't the same, neurologically speaking. "The behavior of the two groups might look the same, but it's driven by different brain networks," said lead study author Robert Whelan, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Vermont. Moreover, the findings, ... Read more
Related support groups: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Smoking, Smoking Cessation, Substance Abuse, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
Many Who First Misuse Prescription Pills Get Them From Friends, Family: Report
Posted 25 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 25 – A new U.S. government analysis shows that more than 70 percent of people who first misuse prescription medications get those pills from their friends or relatives. "We are in the midst of a public health epidemic driven by prescription drug abuse," Gil Kerlikowske, director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, said during a news conference Wednesday. "Prescription painkiller abuse led to 15,500 overdose deaths in 2009, which is more than cocaine and heroin combined." That year, the tally also exceeded the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents for the first time ever, according to the report. Individuals who frequently abuse prescription drugs were more likely to obtain them from doctors or over the Internet, the new report also showed. To arrive at these conclusions, researchers re-analyzed data from the 2009 and 2010 U.S. National Survey on ... Read more
Related support groups: Opiate Dependence, Drug Dependence, Substance Abuse
Use of Ecstasy, Speed by Teens Tied to Later Depression
Posted 19 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 18 – Teens who use the party drugs ecstasy (MDMA) and speed (methamphetamine and/or amphetamine) appear to face a notably higher risk of depression afterward, new Canadian research suggests. Interviews and mental health assessments conducted among nearly 3,900 10th-grade residents of Quebec revealed that, compared to non-users, adolescents who acknowledged taking either speed or ecstasy had a 60 percent to 70 percent greater risk of experiencing telltale signs of depression a year after their last recorded use. What's more, those who said they had tried both speed and ecstasy showed double the risk for depressive symptoms, when compared to non-users. Nevertheless, study co-author Jean-Sebastien Fallu, an associate professor in the school of educational psychology at the University of Montreal, cautioned that his team cannot draw a specific cause-and-effect line between ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse
Half of Young Cigarette Smokers Also Smoke Pot: Survey
Posted 19 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 18 – More young cigarette smokers may also be lighting up joints than was previously thought, a new study finds. In a survey of young adults aged 18 to 25, more than half said they also use marijuana. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), say that's a big increase from the 35 percent of young adults that, in prior research, had admitted to using both marijuana and tobacco within the past month. One expert said the new findings ring true. "The data presented are far more consistent with what I hear simply by speaking with thousands of students of middle and high school age," noted Stephen Dewey, an addiction researcher and director of the Laboratory for Behavioral and Molecular Neuroimaging at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. "The importance of getting accurate data like these cannot be stressed enough, as ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Substance Abuse
12-Step Meetings May Help Teens Beat Alcohol, Drug Abuse
Posted 16 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 16 – Teens undergoing treatment for alcohol or drug abuse can benefit from the 12-step program used by groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), researchers say. While these programs are widely available, little research has looked at how effective they are for teens. The new study included 127 teen substance abuse-treatment outpatients (95 males, 32 females, aged 14 to 19) who were assessed when they began treatment and three, six and 12 months later. The findings are published online and in the July print issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. "We found that about one-quarter to one-third of the youth attended AA/NA throughout the year-long study period following treatment, and that more meeting attendance was associated with significantly better substance use outcomes – particularly attending meetings at least ... Read more
Related support groups: Alcohol Dependence, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
Drug, Alcohol Abuse Common Among U.S. Teens, Study Finds
Posted 2 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 2 – Alcohol and drug use is common among American teens and more than 15 percent of them meet the criteria for substance abuse, a new study finds. "Once again, we are reminded that in most instances experimentation with alcohol and drugs begins during adolescence," said Bruce Goldman, director of Substance Abuse Services at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. "Unfortunately, many youth are at risk of developing abuse and dependency problems due to factors including genetic predisposition, environmental availability, school difficulties, social/family problems and co-occurring psychiatric or behavioral disorders," added Goldman, who was not involved in the new study. In the study, Joel Swendsen, of the University of Bordeaux in France, and colleagues analyzed data from a U.S. survey of more than 10,000 teens between the ages of 13 and 18. They found that more ... Read more
Related support groups: Alcohol Dependence, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, Acute Alcohol Intoxication
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
Related support groups: Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Methamphetamine, Substance Abuse, Desoxyn, Desoxyn Gradumet
Genes Play a Role in Drug Abuse Risk Among Adopted Kids: Study
Posted 7 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 7 – Adopted kids are at greater risk for drug abuse if their biological parents or siblings had a history of drug abuse, a new study finds. Adopted children whose biological parents were alcoholics, had a major psychiatric illness or had criminal records were also at greater risk of drug abuse, the researchers reported. However, biology and genetics don't tell the whole story, according to study author Dr. Kenneth Kendler, of Virginia Commonwealth University, and his colleagues. The children's environment also played a role in their risk for drug abuse, Kendler's team found. Adopted children who had difficulties in their adoptive families because of death, divorce or other problems were at increased risk of turning to drugs, while the genetic risk wasn't as strong among adopted kids in safe, stable, loving homes. "Adopted children at high genetic risk were more ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse
Mouse Study Shows How Pot Clouds Memory
Posted 1 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 1 – Scientists studying mice say they better understand how marijuana impairs working memory, the ability to momentarily retain and utilize information needed for comprehension and learning. The study, published in the March 2 print issue of Cell, found that THC, the chief psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, impairs memory by affecting passive support cells known as astroglia, not active neurons as previously thought. The memory changes are a major downside to the use of medical marijuana, the researchers said. With these experiments in mice, "we have found that the starting point for this phenomenon – the effect of marijuana on working memory – is the astroglial cells," researcher Giovanni Marsicano, of INSERM in France, said in a journal news release. Evidence is mounting that these cells play a more active role than once believed in connecting neurons, not just ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse, Cannabis
Ecstasy Use During Pregnancy May Harm Fetus: Study
Posted 28 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 – Taking the hallucinogen ecstasy during pregnancy may harm the health of the fetus and lead to poorer motor control in infants, a new study suggests. Researchers asked 96 British women about their substance-abuse history before and during pregnancy. The women were taking part in the University of East London Drugs and Infancy Study, which looks at recreational drug use among pregnant women. Most of the women reported taking a range of illegal drugs both before and during pregnancy. Infant growth, motor control and brain development were assessed at birth and when babies were 4 months old. Infants born to mothers who used ecstasy during pregnancy had worse motor control and poorer hand-eye coordination at 4 months than babies whose mothers didn't use the drug. Other problems among the ecstasy-exposed group included an impaired ability to balance their heads, sit up ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse
Illicit Drug Use May Be Driving Rise in Ectopic Pregnancies in Florida
Posted 16 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 16 – An alarming increase in ectopic pregnancy-related deaths among Florida women is likely caused by illicit drug use and delays in seeking medical care, a U.S. report released Thursday says. The finding that deaths from ectopic pregnancies jumped fourfold in the past decade in Florida points to a need for improved access to health care and greater awareness of the importance of early pregnancy testing, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report published in the Feb. 17 issue of the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "This is the first report of an abrupt increase in ectopic pregnancy deaths identified in the United States in recent times," the CDC researchers said in the report. Ectopic pregnancy is a life-threatening condition that occurs when an egg is fertilized outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse, Ectopic Pregnancy
Recent Pot Use Could Double Risk of Car Crash, Research Shows
Posted 9 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 9 – Getting behind the wheel within three hours after using marijuana nearly doubles a driver's risk of having an accident, a large new research review finds. The risk is especially high for fatal crashes, and the risk is only a little less than that of people who drive drunk, Canadian researchers say. "On the whole, alcohol increases the risk of a crash at a higher level than cannabis [marijuana]," said lead researcher Mark Asbridge, an associate professor in the community health and epidemiology department at Dalhousie University, in Halifax. But marijuana makes it harder to judge distance and drivers often tailgate and swerve from lane to lane, which cuts down their reaction time and leads to crashes, he explained. Although the extent of the problem isn't known, some studies have found that 5 percent of people report driving after using marijuana; and for those under ... Read more
Related support groups: Substance Abuse, Cannabis
Hard Drug Use in Middle Age Could Prove Fatal, Study Finds
Posted 3 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 – People who start using hard drugs – such as cocaine, opiates and amphetamines – as young adults and continue to use them into their 50s have a fivefold increased risk of early death, researchers report. The finding is from an analysis of hard drug use among 4,300 U.S. adults who took part in a long-term study of cardiovascular disease and risk factors. The participants, including blacks, whites, men and women, were recruited when they were 18 to 30 years of age and followed from 1985 to 2006. The University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers compared those who stopped drug use early in life to those who continued, and calculated their risk of premature death. "Fourteen percent of the people in the study reported recent hard-drug use at least once, and of these, half continued using well into middle age," lead author Dr. Stefan Kertesz, an associate professor in the ... Read more
Related support groups: Suboxone, Methadone, Oxycodone, Percocet, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Opiate Dependence, Morphine, Norco, Fentanyl, Lortab, Subutex, Opana, Codeine
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