There are so many acronyms in the substance use world, it can make parents’ heads spin. We’ve assembled some of the more common ones here so that you can become familiar with them, should you come across them in helping your child and family work towards recovery. AA = Alcoholics Anonymous. A worldwide mutual aid …
When a teen becomes an addict, that person you once knew and planned a future for has effectively checked out. What you experience is an addict who will play you better than you can play them. After a period of time, your teen’s brain becomes progressively “hard-wired” to his or her drug of choice, to …
Club Drugs such as GHB, Rohypnol, Ketamine, and Ecstasy are found at raves or night clubs. GHB (gammahydroxybutyrate or gammahydroxybutyric acid) is increasingly used as a recreational drug and hallucinogen. In the dance club/party scene, GHB is often mixed with water and passed around and has been associated with sexual assault. GHB has been marketed in …
Drug withdrawal is the compilation of symptoms that occur from physical drug dependence after the drug has been decreased in dosage or completely stopped. Withdrawal happens through the buildup in the body of a tolerance to the specific drug, as the brain and other organs adjust to the chemical over time. Symptoms of withdrawal vary, …
It’s common knowledge that a brain on booze doesn’t function as well as a sober one. After drinking, people demonstrate slower reaction times and make more mistakes. Now research published online by the journal Science suggests that moderate drinking also interferes with a person’s ability to recognize when he has committed an error. K. Richard …
In addition to triggering life-threatening cardiovascular episodes, cocaine can be deadly in another way. According to a report published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the drug may also lethally impair the body’s ability to cool itself when exposed to elevated temperatures. When used in sweaty settings such as crowded nightclubs and all-night raves, …
A new poll released this month suggests that Americans on both sides of the aisle support including addiction treatment in health care reforms. Furthermore, a great majority of Americans polled are willing to pay to make treatment options more affordable and accessible. The poll, sponsored by the Open Society Institute for Closing the Addiction Treatment …
John Brown experimented with marijuana at age 10, and it wasn’t long before his experimentation grew into a five-year addiction. Turned on to the drug by an older brother, John said, he first started taking “tokes,” or hits, every other week off of blunts – a marijuana cigarette wrapped with cigar leaves. At his peak …
New research finds that smoking three or four marijuana cigarettes a week for six years could harm lung function and destroy antioxidants that protect cells against heart disease and cancer, Reuters reported Dec. 5. “Smoking cannabis on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances an d this may have chronic long-term …
It isn’t a myth: one dose of cocaine is all it takes to prime your brain for addiction. Scientists from the University of California at San Francisco Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center report in today’s issue of Nature that a single exposure to the drug causes a weeklong surge in brain activity associated with …