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Calling bullshit on addiction treatment bullies
About three years ago, I was attending a national conference on public health (American Public Health Association) and presenting my posters on the relationship between drug use and violence, and sexually transmitted infections and injecting drugs. As I walked the aisles I ran into a woman who runs a Florida addiction “treatment” facility. We talked…
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Drug abuse statistics: American drug abuse and addiction
In looking up some numbers for a recent post I put up on TakePart, I uncovered some amazing addiction and drug abuse statistics (most from 2007, so they’re probably higher by now). Addiction statistics highlights: Slightly more than half of Americans surveyed indicated that they are current drinkers (I thought it’d be higher) – Meaning…
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Addiction brain effects : Opiate addiction – Heroin, oxycontin and more
Okay, we’ve talked about crystal meth and cocaine and how they affect the brain during drug use. As I mentioned, both cocaine and meth interfere with the way the brain stores and cleans up important neurotransmitters, including, most importantly, Dopamine and Norepinephrine. The class of drugs known as opiates, which includes morphine, heroin, codeine, and…