History and cycles of drug use

2013 Northern District Judicial Conference April 12-14, Silverado Resort & Spa, Napa, California. Darryl Inaba is a featured panelist. Click title for more conference information.

Performance-enhancing drugs - used by amateurs as well as professional athletes, crosses many fields of competition, and includes use of anabolic steroids, EPO, blood transfusions, etc. Also, designer drugs in sports and the evolution of testing, which as the Armstrong controversies have shown, can now be done years after the fact.

A look back at 2012, and what 2013 might hold in drug and addiction issues, and treatment ... including the continuing stories of the new synthetics, aka bath salts, incense and potpourri -- also the continued increase in heroin use as pharmaceuticals become more costly and harder to get. And where are we in the evolution of treatment?

...the day that marijuana became legal in Washington is the anniversary of repeal of The Volstead Act, which prohibited the production, sale, and transport, but not private ownership or consumption of "intoxicating liquors". The law, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution ... was significant in the creation of powerful gangs such as those led by Al Capone in Chicago, along with rampant political corruption resulting from the various issues of making, moving and selling liquor. Marijuana was made illegal about 5 years after the repeal,

Heroin has become more popular recently, because the most sought-after prescription drugs are ... much more expensive, and inexpensive heroin, especially from Mexico is filling the gap. We look at the "War on Drugs" started by Nixon, inreaction to the grwoing use of heroin in the 60s, and the current changes in demographics, with the realization that heroin is not just the drug of the inner city, the poor and disenfranchised, but rather crosses all levels of society.

A new drug use survey shows a marked increase in drug use by 18-25 yr olds, especially marijuana, while cocaine and meth use has gone way down. Changing attitudes about pot may come form medical marijuana issues, and also whether alcohol/energy drinks may contribute to the alcohol overdoses.