Sports & doping – its not just Armstrong
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.
Treatment – Where are we and where are we going …
Where we stand in addiction treatment – starting with a scorecard using the Principles of Effective Treatment released in 2009 by NIDA. Also what impact the Affordable Health Care Act and Mental Health Parity and the Addiction Equity Act may have, along with some radical treatment approaches showing up in China and Russia.
Trends in Drug Use and Treatment
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?
New marijuana laws start 79 years after Prohibition ends
…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,
Is Cellphone Obsession Close to Addiction?
…High volume instant messaging and texting may be like shopping addiction, with aspects of materialism and impulsiveness that show signs of becoming an addiction. In a recent study, Americans check their phones once an hour — at least– and nearly three out of four respondents said that losing their phone would make them feel “panicked.”
Addicted to foods and caffeine candy for kiddies?
The holidays … enjoying feasts of food and spirits … and once again hearing the ideas of addictions to foods. Also the news of caffeine (an addictive substance) now being put into candies intended for kids. And the Minnesota Model – one of the oldest treatment models in the country, is for the first time tentatively allowing alternative, replacement therapies, such as buprenorphine to be used rather than being adamantly strict about abstinence.