HOME

Category: Drugs

  • How much alcohol is too much drinking? Knowing your BAC can be key!

    There has been some research suggesting that training people to better estimate their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), can help reduce accidents and improve risk-taking while drinking among college students (see here and here respectively). I’m including a recent piece from one of our readers, telling us about her first over-21 drinking experience in Las-Vegas. I…

  • Talking to kids about teen smoking: The FTAS (Family Talk About Smoking) paradigm

    Newsflash: Kids don’t like being preached to – especially when it’s done hypocritically A recent study assessed the impact parents have over the decisions their teenagers make concerning whether or not to ‘experiment’ with smoking cigarettes and to continue smoking in the long term, once they have tried it. Experimenting with smoking represents a form…

  • Antisocial personality disorder – Drug policy and court mandated addiction treatment

    A recent study conducted by a group at the University of Maryland found that court-mandated addiction treatment is especially helpful for those with Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Using 236 men, it was found the overall success for participants without ASPD was high (85%) whether the treatment was court mandated or not. However, for those with…

  • Convincing yourself to quit smoking – The influence of personal beliefs on smoking

    A study published in Addictive Behaviors showed that thinking actively about quitting smoking cigarettes allows people to smoke less!!! In the experiment, participants from one group of smokers were asked to think about reasons to quit smoking and write them down on a piece of paper. Participants from a second group of smokers were asked…

  • Body image and medicalization: Socially relevant behavioral “addictions” beyond drug use

    We know that addiction can go beyond drug use, but are we becoming addicted to making our bodies perfect? I put “addiction” in parentheses here because I think it’s important to distinguish substance-related addictions from behavioral ones. There’s no doubt that people’s behavior can become compulsive in the same way addicts become compulsive about using,…

  • Will you get addicted? Signs of drug abuse

    Everyone wants to know if they, or someone they love will get addicted to alcohol or drugs. • Parents want to know if their children are likely to become addicts, especially if there is a family history of addiction. • Teens wonder if trying a drug will lead to a life of crime and shame.…

  • Addiction stories: Hellish Heroin – Bambi’s heroin addiction story

    Addiction stories seem to have an impact that objective research can never have. This is another in a series of addiction stories submitted by our readers. I hope that everyone will benefit from learning about others’ experiences. There’s no doubt that Bambi’s experience of escalation in use from what seemed initially innocent is a common…

  • 420, smoking weed, and drug problems : Marijuana facts

    Co-authored by: Jamie Felzer It’s April 20th, or 4-20, and anyone who smokes marijuana knows what that means – It’s time to smoke weed- a lot of weed! In honor of this “stoner” holiday, or perhaps in reverence of its implications, I wanted to put together a post that explored some recent findings having to…

  • Early drug use problems: Kids, inhalants, and huffing.

    22.9 million Americans report trying inhalants at least once in their lives. When it comes to drug use problems, inhalants are often the first drugs that kids decide to experiment with. The habit is often called huffing. While use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, and other drugs peaks around the 12th grade, inhalant use…

  • Is abstinence the only option? Moderate alcohol drinking is possible and there’s help

    I can’t even think of how many times I’ve heard the notion that complete, total, abstinence should be the only goal for all people who abuse drug or alcohol. This idea is so pervasive that most addiction treatment providers actually expel clients for relapsing, a notion that makes no sense to me especially if you…