The breakthrough that could lead to huge advances in addiction medicine has come from a seemingly unlikely source, research of stroke victims. Scientists have known for some time that stroke victims were incredibly important for nuero-research. The brain is incredibly complex. Sometimes the only way to know what a part of the brain does is […]
Is Addiction Really a Disease? Who cares?
Is addiction really a disease? Is it a lack of moral fortitude? Whatever the heck it is, it’s probably one of the most confounding issues that humanity may ever face. So many of us want to define addiction. We want to know. We want an explanation. By definition, the term disease is extremely vague. You […]
Synthetic Marijuana is Killing People in Record Numbers
You may remember seeing some stories in the news around April this year about over 100 people in Alabama being sent to the emergency room for synthetic marijuana use. There was also a scare in New York around the same time that involved 160 people being sent to the emergency room in a week long […]
The Next Time You’re Driving; Look to Your Left, Look to Your Right, One of You is Drunk
Alright, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but a new study from the CDC showed that over 120 million people drive drunk every year. That’s roughly one in three people. Furthermore, over four million people even admitted to driving drunk in the past month alone after being polled by a stranger. This is […]
Can’t Stop Shooting Heroin? Yup, There’s an App for That!
In the era of smartphones, wi-fi, and social media, a new heroin epidemic is taking hold of a seemingly unlikely group of people. It used to be that heroin use only affected the poor, urban communities; the outliers of society. Today, heroin is gaining a foothold in the suburbs. Story after story unfolds across suburban […]
Will Flakka Be the Next ‘Crack?’
Flakka is a synthetic drug that is similar in chemical composition to that of the highly addictive drug, bath salts. It is a street drug, being synthesized locally in Florida, and seems to be making headlines at a record pace. In just the past year, a girl in South Florida, covered in blood, accosted two […]
Aldon Smith Can’t Stop Drinking
As if Aldon Smith didn’t have enough problems, he was arrested last Thursday night for DUI, vandalism, and hit-and-run. After the 49ers released the star defensive end, Coach Jim Tomsula was recorded saying, “Although Aldon won’t be playing football here, we will be supporting him. He will not be alone.” To an untrained eye, it […]
Macklemore Relapsed
The rapper, ‘Macklemore’ recently revealed that he relapsed on marijuana and pills in 2014. Shocking? No. Unfortunate? Yes. It’s always sad to hear of a relapse of anyone. At least it seems that he is on the right path now. Macklemore reports, “I held it together for a while. But, eventually, I stopped going to […]
Expanding Substance Abuse Treatment is now a ‘Thing’
It’s no secret that substance abuse treatment has been severely lacking in America. However, it seems that people are finally starting to notice that this issue needs a solution. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is making this hot button issue a major aspect of her campaign. As opiate and methamphetamine addiction seep into the historically unaffected suburban communities […]
An Interesting Discovery on the Addiction Front
New light has recently been shown on the methods that are commonplace for treating addiction. I’m sure that the reader remembers hearing the story of this experiment at some point in their life: A scientist puts several rats in cages with two water bottles. One is filled with regular drinking water, while the other has drinking […]