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Nearly one third of the miners on a synthetic form of cannabis

New research has revealed that a synthetic form of cannabis is being consumed and has shown up in one in ten West Australian mine workers’ urine samples. The state's ChemCentre provides forensic testing for police and the State Coroner. They have been given the contract on an increasing basis by private companies in mining regions to test their workers for the substance, known as Kronic.

12 May 2011

Scientists develop promising vaccine formulations to treat methamphetamine addiction

Scientists are reporting development of three promising formulations that could be used in a vaccine to treat methamphetamine addiction - one of the most serious drug abuse problems in the U.S. The report appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

12 May 2011

School-based prevention programs can help reduce alcohol problems in young people

School prevention programs aimed at curbing alcohol misuse in children are somewhat helpful, enough so to deserve consideration for widespread use, according to a large, international systematic review.

12 May 2011

Couples having marital difficulties may have infants with sleep problems

Couples having marital difficulties may have infants who are losing sleep, according to a new study - and that may have a continuing impact on the children.

11 May 2011

Researchers design new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code

Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code. A team led by Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., succeeded in switching individual genes off and on in zebrafish, then observing embryonic and juvenile development.

10 May 2011

Teen drinkers spend more time on computers frequenting social networking sites

Teenagers who drink alcohol spend more time on their computers for recreational use, including social networking and downloading and listening to music, compared with their peers who don't drink.

10 May 2011

Ecstasy use falls while synthetic versions grow in popularity

Where on one hand the use of ecstasy is falling in Australia, experts are warning that the use of dangerous designer synthetic drugs, which can be made legally, may begin to rise. Ecstasy, one of the most popular “recreational” drugs in Australia over the past two decades is becoming less popular with regular users, consistent with global trends, say the authors of a new report from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.

10 May 2011

Teen alcohol consumption associated with computer use

Teenagers who drink alcohol spend more time on their computers for recreational use, including social networking and downloading and listening to music, compared with their peers who don't drink.

9 May 2011

When Government usurps responsibility, people are more likely to abdicate

We hear much talk about preventive care, but nobody has defined it. From the content of the discussions, I deduce that what the health bureaucrats actually refer to would be better characterized as “early detection.” Early detection is what occurs when a physician finds a disease in its early stages that might have been prevented by earlier measures. But who can take those measures? Not the physician, only the patient. There is only one person living the patient’s life; it is the patient. I cannot live his life for him.

9 May 2011

Researchers use computer screens to detect how human brain performs visual search

In the wild, mammals survive because they can see and evade predators lurking in the shadowy bushes. That ability translates to the human world. Transportation Security Administration screeners can pick out dangerous objects in an image of our messy and stuffed suitcases. We get out of the house every morning because we find our car keys on that cluttered shelf next to the door.

9 May 2011

Omeros' PDE7 program expands addiction franchise

Omeros Corporation today announced that its phosphodiesterase 7 inhibitors demonstrated robust efficacy in animal models of nicotine addiction.

6 May 2011

Ecstasy may cause long-term brain damage

Ecstasy - the illegal "rave" drug that produces feelings of euphoria and emotional warmth - has been in the news recently as a potential therapeutic. Clinical trials are testing Ecstasy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

4 May 2011

Marijuana licensing laws vetoed by Washington Governor

Current laws regarding marijuana have come under the scanner. US attorneys have warned states that those who are licensed to grow marijuana or even those who regulate it could be subjected to prosecution. Because of this, several states have begun to change their existing laws for medical marijuana.

4 May 2011

Study shows how secondhand smoke may increase vulnerability to nicotine addiction

Exposure to secondhand smoke, such as a person can get by riding in an enclosed car while someone else smokes, has a direct, measurable impact on the brain-and the effect is similar to what happens in the brain of the person doing the smoking.

3 May 2011

CT with 3D scanning can effectively identify contraband smuggling

With the high prevalence of drug abuse and trafficking in major cities throughout the world, one new study shows how advanced CT with 3D scanning can help radiologists better identify ingested or hidden contraband items more effectively.

2 May 2011

Brain function variations may increase person's risk of drug abuse

One can look at drug addiction as a moral issue, a social ill, or a criminal problem. But Lynn Oswald's experience studying the neuroscience of addiction tells her that it is something else entirely: a disease of the brain.

30 Apr 2011

Missouri American Water supports DEA's prescription drug collection program

Missouri American Water is providing information about the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day to more than 150,000 households across Missouri through their water bills.

30 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Taking the deficit seriously; despite low numbers, high-risk pools are succeeding

The deficit debate, now fully engaged, is also an evaluation of political seriousness. House Republican leaders have passed the test, supporting a politically risky budget that changes Medicare into a premium-support program and eventually returns federal spending to sustainable levels.

28 Apr 2011

'Harm-minimization' approach can lead to high teen alcohol consumption

Allowing adolescents to drink alcohol under adult supervision does not appear to teach responsible drinking as teens get older. In fact, such a "harm-minimization" approach may actually lead to more drinking and alcohol-related consequences, according to a new study in the May 2011 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

28 Apr 2011

Positive results from Shire's Vyvanse clinical trial in schizophrenia

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive results from a signal-finding study of Vyvanse(R) Capsules assessing its effect in a prospective examination of adults with negative symptom predominant schizophrenia.

28 Apr 2011