From the Baltimore Sun Opioid overdoses in Maryland increased 14.8 percent in first six months of 2018 by Andrea K. McDaniels The number of opioid overdoses in Maryland increased 14.8 percent in the first half of the year as public health officials and others continue to struggle to get a handle on the epidemic.Opioid overdoses […]
Alcohol
#RedRibbonWeek
Promising therapy’ for alcohol abuse
From Science Daily. Alcohol abuse is among the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 88,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That total is higher than the combined death tolls of HIV/AIDS, gun violence and car crashes. Despite this, current medications are not highly effective […]
Surprise added benefit of an alcohol addiction medication
From Yale News Drug to Treat Alcohol Addiction Also Helps with Suppression of HIV by Ziba Kashef A medication commonly prescribed to treat alcohol use disorder also appears to help maintain or improve suppression of HIV among individuals at risk for relapse receiving HIV antiretroviral treatment, Yale researchers said. In a new study, a research […]
Fatal Car Crashes Happen More Often Than Usual on 4/20, Study Finds
From Time by Alexandra Sifferlin April 20 is known as a popular “4/20” holiday for marijuana enthusiasts, but researchers argue that the festivities may have serious consequences, including an increased risk of fatal traffic crashes. In a research letter published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, Canadian researchers looked at 25 years of data on fatal crashes […]
NCADD and Facing Addiction Have Merged
From NCADD. Facing Addiction and The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) are proud to announce the merger of our organizations – creating a national leader in turning the tide on the addiction epidemic. The merged organization will be called: See the full announcement.
Google Bans Sketchy UK Ads for Profiteering Addiction Helplines
From Engadget. Click here for original article. Google’s not having the best start to the year, as it’s already been called out, yet again, for unscrupulous advertising practices. An investigation by The Sunday Times shed light on a significant money-making machine, which played out through Google ads, targeting people seeking help for substance abuse issues. Someone entering relevant […]
NIH study shows steep increase in rate of alcohol-related ER visits
From NIH. Increases were larger among females than males, providing more evidence of narrowing gender gaps in alcohol-related harms in the U.S. The rate of alcohol-related visits to U.S. emergency departments (ED) increased by nearly 50 percent between 2006 and 2014, especially among females and drinkers who are middle-aged or older, according to a new […]