New Survey:
Hispanic Teen Drug Use Significantly Higher Than Other Ethnic Groups, Substance
Abuse Becoming Normalized Behavior Among Latino Youth
The Partnership at Drugfree.org
released new research from the latest Partnership Attitude Tracking Study
(PATS), a nationally projectable survey that tracks teen drug and alcohol use
and parent attitudes toward substance abuse among teens. The research,
sponsored by MetLife Foundation, shows that Hispanic teens are using drugs at
alarmingly higher levels when compared to teens from other ethnic groups. It
confirms that substance abuse has become a normalized behavior among Latino
youth. Continue
reading here.
Common genes
may underlie alcohol dependence, eating disorders
People with alcohol dependence
may be more genetically susceptible to certain types of eating disorders, and
vice-versa, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of
Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. In a study of nearly 6,000 adult twins,
researchers found that common genetic factors seemed to underlie both
alcoholism and certain eating disorder symptoms—namely, binge eating and
purging habits, such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse. Genes appeared
to explain 38 percent to 53 percent of the risk of developing those disorders.
Read the rest of this article here.
Federal Drug
Agency Denies Marijuana Is Less Toxic Than Alcohol
The National Institute on Drug
Abuse released an eyebrow-raising statement to PolitiFact on Monday, denying
that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol. "Claiming that marijuana is
less toxic than alcohol cannot be substantiated since each possess their own
unique set of risks and consequences for a given individual," wrote the
institute. NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health, funds
government-backed scientific research and has a stated mission "to lead
the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and
addiction." The statement was in response to a declaration by the pro-pot
policy group Marijuana Policy Project that marijuana is less harmful than
alcohol –- a claim that was the centerpiece of a controversial pro-marijuana
commercial aired during a NASCAR race last month. Continue
here.
Do the same
genes cause alcohol dependence and eating disorders?
A new statistical analysis
suggests that alcohol dependence and binging and purging behaviors, all
believed to be influenced by genetic factors, may actually be influenced by the
same genes. Writing in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Washington
University School of Medicine postdoctoral researcher Melissa Munn-Chernoff and
colleagues reported that genetic risk factors that make people susceptible to
alcoholism also appear to influence risk for binge eating in both men and women
and for “compensatory behaviors” such as starvation, laxative use and
self-induced vomiting in women.
More here.
Advice on
Addiction in Boomers, Part 1
Readers have been sending
questions about baby boomers and addiction to Dr. Barbara Krantz, an addiction
expert at the Hanley Center, a nonprofit addiction recovery center in West Palm
Beach, Fla. This is Part 1 of her answers; more will appear next Wednesday.
Because of the volume of questions, not all of them may be answered. Keep
reading here.
NIDA and Lightlake Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for addictions and conducting clinical trials with intranasal naloxone for the treatment of binge eating disorder, have entered into a partnership to apply this technology towards the treatment of opioid overdose. Clinical trials are expected to begin fall 2013. Naloxone is an injectable medicine that can rapidly reverse the overdose of prescription and illicit opioids. An intranasal delivery system for naloxone could widely expand its availability and use in preventing opioid overdose deaths, a public health problem of epidemic proportion in the U.S. For more on the role of naloxone in preventing opioid overdose deaths, see: www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/NewsEvents/UCM318909.pdf (PDF, 29KB) To learn more about NIDA’s medications development program, go to: www.drugabuse.gov/about-nida/organization/divisions/division-pharmacotherapies-medical-consequences-drug-abuse-dpmcda.
Full-Time
College Students Less Likely to Use Synthetic Cannabinoids or Cathinones
Than Other Young Adults
Young adults not in college are
more than twice as likely to report using synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic
cathinones than those attending college full time, according to the most recent
data from the national Monitoring the Future survey. Nearly one in ten high
school graduates who were one to four years out of high school reported using
synthetic cannabinoids, also known as spice or K2, in the past year, compared
to 4.3% of full-time college students. Similarly, 3.5% of young adults not
attending college reported using synthetic cathinones, also known as bath
salts, compared to 0.2% of full-time college students. While there are
currently 18 synthetic cannabinoids and 3 synthetic cathinones illegal at the
federal level, these laws are often circumvented by the production, sale, and
use of new synthetic cannabinoid and cathinone metabolites not covered by
current legislation. SOURCE: Adapted by CESAR from Johnston, L.D., O’Malley,
P.M., Bachman, J.G., and Schulenberg, J.E., Monitoring the Future National
Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2012, Volume 2: College Students and Adults
Ages 19-50, 2013.
New SAMHSA
report shows when times are tough, public funding for behavioral health
treatment is even more critical
A new report from the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows the importance
of public funding for mental health services and substance abuse during
difficult economic times, when it helps those who might otherwise be unable to
afford the help they need. Continue
here.
Tackling
Underage Binge Drinking in College [AUDIO] - NJ101.5
From Animal House to Old School,
college and alcohol cultures have been intrinsically linked, however, when it
comes to underage and binge drinking, advocates are trying to disassociate the
two entities for the safety of many young adults. Steven Liga, President and
CEO of the Middlesex County chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence, says because of the cultural association of college and
drinking, incoming freshmen often come in with the assumption that drinking
heavily is expected of them. But, he points out as students age, they actually
find out that’s not the case. Read/listen
to the complete piece here.
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