cocaine

‘Flying High’: Australia’s Love Affair With Stimulants

According to the 2014 World Drug Report published by the United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC), Australia has some of the highest rates of stimulant use in the world. It should be noted that it is problematic to compare one country to another when it comes to illicit drug use as data is collected in different ways and community attitudes and policing methods vary [...]

By |2020-10-30T12:47:49+11:00April 21st, 2016|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

Cocaine Changes the Brain and Makes Relapse More Common in Addicts

New research published today in The Journal of Neuroscience identifies a molecular mechanism in the reward centre of the brain that influences how recovering cocaine addicts might relapse after stressful events. Importantly, the study identifies a potential mechanism for protecting against such relapses with treatment. - University of East Anglia Source: Cocaine changes the brain and [...]

By |2020-10-30T17:44:36+11:00May 3rd, 2015|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments

Legal Highs – A Look at the Growing Use of Synthetic Drugs

In recent years, hundreds of new synthetic recreational drugs have emerged – drugs that neither the general public nor the scientific community know very much about. Many of these new synthetic drugs – often referred to as “legal highs” – are dangerous and continue to lead to poisonings throughout the US and the rest of [...]

The Perfect Storm: Alcohol, Drugs, And Depression

Robin Williams’ death earlier this week has unleashed an outpouring of grief. It’s undeniable that Williams brought much joy and laughter to the world, but he also talked openly about his depression and problems with alcohol and cocaine. Depression, alcohol and drug dependence are killers – and they’re indiscriminate killers. It doesn’t matter how wealthy, [...]

New Silk Road online drug bazaar opens

A new anonymous internet marketplace for illegal drugs has debuted with the same name and appearance as the Silk Road website shut down by US law enforcement a month ago. Like its predecessor, the new Silk Road listed hundreds of advertisements for marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and other illegal drugs available for purchase from independent sellers [...]

Drugs that cause most harm: Scoring drugs

MOST people would agree that some drugs are worse than others: heroin is probably considered to be more dangerous than marijuana, for instance. Because governments formulate criminal and social policies based upon classifications of harm, a new study published by the Lancet on November 1st makes interesting reading. Researchers led by Professor David Nutt, a [...]

Synthetic drugs to be outlawed in NSW

Synthetic drugs will be outlawed in NSW under new laws that carry jail terms of up to two years and fines of more than $2000. The drug believed to have contributed to the death of Sydney student Henry Kwan is banned under the new legislation. The NSW government said the laws are the first of [...]

Pop neuroscience is bunk!

By now you’ve seen the pretty pictures: Color-drenched brain scans capturing Buddhist monks meditating, addicts craving cocaine, and college sophomores choosing Coke over Pepsi. The media—and even some neuroscientists, it seems—love to invoke the neural foundations of human behavior to explain everything from the Bernie Madoff financial fiasco to slavish devotion to our iPhones, the [...]

Alcohol harms society more than drugs

A UK study has found that consuming alcohol is more destructive than taking drugs in the long term for both drinkers and society as a whole. The study was paid for by Britain's Centre for Crime and Justice Studies and recently published online in the medical journal The Lancet. Experts in the UK studied the effects [...]

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