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Drug use & Crime

Huffington Post: Over 5,000 lives were taken in drug related crimes in Mexico in the past year. Drug trade related violence is linked directly to the rising levels of drug use worldwide.

Marijuana use

Bloomberg Businessweek: For the first time since 2002, the number of Americans smoking marijuana rose . Around 12.5% (39 million people) between the ages of 15 and 64, smoked marijuana in 2008, up from 12.3 percent the year before. Medical Marijuana anyone?

Drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes

Science Daily: Drunkenness increases the risk for violent behavior, but only for individuals with a strong inclination to suppress anger. Seems similar to my thesis findings.

Health Day: American teenage girls seem more receptive to drinking alcohol and taking other drugs than in earlier years. Teenage girls reach more than ever for drugs and booze to help them emotionally.

Health Day: There seems to be a connection between parents who smoke and children who weigh more or misbehave more than other children. This speaks to the environmental, as well as genetic, influences on behavior and health.

Cesar Fax: The percentage of high school students who for the first time tried alcohol or cigarettes before the age of 13 has decreased over the last ten years. In 1999, around one-third of high school students had reported drinking alcohol and one-fourth reported smoking a cigarette for the first time before age 13.

Health Day: Smoking may cause certain genetic mutations in older women, and therefore boost the risk of colon cancer in that population. In the general population, there is not much of connection between smoking and a higher risk of colorectal cancer.

Cravings and Brain function in addiction

Science Daily: Recovering addicts who avoid coping with stress succumb easily to substance use cravings, making them more likely to relapse during recovery.

Science Daily: Becoming addicted could result from a persistent impairment of synaptic plasticity in the brain. There exists a correlation between synaptic plasticity and the transition to addiction.