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Enforcement Vs. Prevention and Treatment – Solving our addiction problem requires all three
The U.S. policy regarding the drug problem is still centered mainly on the enforcement of its drug laws and intervention in the drug supply both within the U.S. and in neighboring countries. There is no question that this “crusade” has had an impact. Importing a kilogram of cocaine into the US costs approx $15000 (an…
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NY Times and Dr. McLellan – Two giants, great story about addiction
When the NY Times picked a focus for their most recent story on addiction policy and research, they couldn’t have asked for a better representative than Dr. McLellan who after decades of addiction research is now helping to form U.S. drug policy. The man is one of my personal idols and believes, like I do, that…
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Crystal meth and cocaine, Agassi and Gasquet- The reality of drug use in our society.
After Andre Agassi’s recent confessions in a tell-tale book about his use of crystal meth during his playing days, Richard Gasquet, who recently made it to the Wimbledon semifinals has just tested positive for cocaine. He says he was contaminated with the drug when he kissed a woman who was using it. Right. Unless the…
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Reduce HIV Transmission – Shooting up, clean needles, and addiction treatment
Co-authored by: Jamie Felzer We’ve talked often on this site about many of the negative things that often come along with heavy drug use. We’ve not yet talked about any of the factors that make injection drug use even worse. Users inject cocaine, crystal meth, and heroin, or any combination of these. Shooting up and…
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Drug use memories and relapse: Can medication provide addiction help?
About a year ago, while sitting in a lecture on learning and memory, the idea that certain drugs can affect the emotional responses to memory long after the memory itself has been formed came up. As someone interested in addiction research, the implication for treatment immediately came up in my head: Could we reduce the…
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Proteins and cocaine: Addiction is a disease, not a question of morality.
While there are some people who still argue about whether drug addiction is a disease or a condition that results from the moral failing of an individual, most of the scientific community has long agreed that there are at least some influences on it that are far beyond a person’s control. I’ve mentioned the genetic…