Negative social interactions and isolation have been linked with heightened risk of drug self-administration and relapse, whereas positive social interactions can act as a protective factor against substance abuse.
Recent research...
Think more than twice before detoxifying from methadone was the message of a study based on the unusually detailed records kept by the Canadian province of British Columbia. It established what seemed the best way to taper from methadone...
The World Health Organisation has estimated that tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) is currently responsible for the death of about six million people globally each year, with many of these deaths occurring prematurely.
Deciding and...
COURSE ON DRUG TREATMENT RESEARCH REACHES ITS CONCLUSION
This instalment ends the 2018 refresh of the Drug Treatment Matrix, reminding you of the issues addressed in its five rows (listed below) intersected by five columns stepping up in...
Adolescence is a time where young people go through dramatic changes in body and behaviour. It is an age where young people are most likely to take risks, partake in reward-seeking activities and experience the first symptoms of mental ill...
Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) has published its latest report, ‘Dying for a drink’.
Scottish people tend to consume more alcohol than people in England and Wales. Alcohol is a harmful substance and, consumed in...
There were over 9000 fatal overdoses in Europe in 2016. Tackling this concerning issues remains a key priority for public health policy.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction has published their latest...
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) transmissions among people who inject drugs (PWID) continue to pose a challenging global health problem. Here, we aimed to analyse a universally applicable...
Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 who are in college are more likely, compared to their non-college peers, to drink to excess. College drinking remains a significant public health concern with consequences including poorer academic...
Cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug worldwide and, with the rise of decriminalisation and legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use, it is expected this will increase even further. There are, however...
Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and the associated risk of overdose and death, is becoming one of the most prevalent threats to health and social wellbeing in the United States. Medication, such as buprenorphine, is the gold standard treatment...
The Public Health Agency of Canada has released its latest report on the state of public health, with a spotlight on the prevention of problematic substance use among youth.
Results from the analysis found that almost 80% of Canadians...
Alcohol is known to affect a region in our brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA), otherwise known as the “pleasure centre”. By activating specific neurones that then go on to release the neurochemical dopamine within this particular...
This blog post by ICUDDR Executive Director, Kim Johnson, discusses a method for measuring national outcomes of efforts to reduce the number of overdose deaths in the United States.
The WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health claims that alcohol consumption contributes to more than 3 million deaths globally every year and is the seventh leading risk factor for premature death and disability.
The World Health...
Cocaine addiction is linked with uncontrollable drug seeking. Cues within the environment act as a constant reminder of the experience and can lead to relapse. Current medication options are limited when it comes to meeting the needs for...
Both alcohol and cannabis misuse is linked with impaired mental functioning. Understanding the impact of substance use is particularly important when studying the developing brain.
A recent piece of research, published in the American...
The Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network has released a set of educational packages that can be used by professionals working with individuals with opioid disorders.
Online booklets, which have been specially designed for peer...
Actualmente Guatemala cuenta con una población de 13,344,770 personas que tiene una elevada tasa de población migrante, tanto nacional como internacional. Relacionado con el abuso de drogas, el país presenta la más alta tasa de consumo de...
People with substance use disorders (SUD) have high rates of hospitalization and readmission, long lengths of stay, and skyrocketing healthcare costs. Yet, models for improving care are extremely limited. We performed a needs...