Popular sports supplements
contain meth-like compound
A popular and controversial sports supplement widely sold in
the USA and other countries is secretly spiked with a chemical similar to
methamphetamine that appears to have its origins as an illicit designer
recreational drug, according to new tests by scientists in the USA and South
Korea. The test results on samples of Craze, a pre-workout powder made by New
York-based Driven Sports and marketed as containing only natural ingredients,
raise significant health and regulatory concerns, the researchers said.
Please continue here.
Ritalin Successfully
Treats ADHD in People with Substance Dependence: Study
A new study finds Ritalin can successfully treat attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in people with substance dependence.
People with both conditions often do not respond well to ADHD medication,
according to MedicalXpress. The study by Swedish researchers finds ADHD
treatment in people with substance dependence works well if Ritalin is
administered in higher doses. The drug, methylphenidate, is also sold under
several other brand names, including Concerta. ADHD is much more common in
people with substance dependence issues than in the population at large, the
article notes. It is possible that standard doses of methylphenidate are not
effective in people with both ADHD and long-standing substance dependence
because they have developed a tolerance to the drugs, the researchers said. In
the study, researchers studied the effect of the medication on 54 prison
inmates who had ADHD and dependence on amphetamines. One group of prisoners was
given a placebo, while the other group was given up to double the dose of
methylphenidate used in previous studies. The study lasted for 24 weeks.
Prisoners given the drug had fewer relapses into drug use, fewer symptoms of
ADHD, and adhered to their treatment regimen for longer, compared with
prisoners given a placebo. “We’ve shown for the first time that ADHD in these
patients is treatable,” lead author Dr Maija Konstenius of the Karolinska
Institute said in a news release. “Moreover, the treatment led to fewer
relapses to drug use, which is a very significant finding since a return to
crime is often linked to drug abuse in this group.” The findings are published
in the journal Addiction.
States Try Variety of
Tactics to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
States are trying a variety of strategies to fight
prescription drug abuse, from tightening regulations on pain management clinics
to increasing access to prescription monitoring program databases, USA Today
reports. Indiana has given the state Attorney General increased oversight
powers on pain management clinics. The state is also considering mandatory
yearly drug screenings for people prescribed opioids, to ensure they are taking
the medication as instructed. Alabama’s governor signed into law measures that
provide increased access to the state’s prescription monitoring program
database for medical personnel, as well as the state’s Medicaid agency. The
state has made “doctor shopping” punishable by up to a year in jail. In
Kentucky, law enforcement officials now have greater access to the state’s
prescription drug monitoring database. A law signed by the governor last year
requires doctors to examine patients and check electronic prescription records
before they write a prescription for opioid painkillers. A law enacted last
year in Washington State sets dosage limits for physicians who prescribe
opioids. Prescriptions over a certain amount require a second opinion from a
pain specialist, the article notes. New York has instituted the I-STOP program,
which requires doctors and pharmacists to check the state’s drug monitoring
database before they prescribe opioids. “I think the next big step is to get it
done at the national level so people can’t be moving from state to state and
getting prescriptions that way,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
told the newspaper.
Teens Who Start Puberty
Early More Likely to Experiment with Substance Use
A new survey of teens finds those who start puberty early
are more likely to try cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, compared with those
who begin on time or late. The survey of almost 6,500 boys and girls ages 11 to
17 included questions about substance use in the last three months and the age
when they began puberty, HealthDay reports. “While puberty is often thought of
as a solely biological process, our research has shown that pubertal
development is a combination of biological, psychological and social processes
that all likely interact to influence risk-taking behavior like substance use,”
study author Jessica Duncan Cance of the University of Texas at Austin said in
a university news release. “Our study suggests that being the first girl in the
class to need a bra, for example, prompts or exacerbates existing psychological
and social aspects that can, in turn, lead to substance use and other risky
behaviors early in life,” she said. The findings are published in the journal
Addiction.
“Crazy Clown” and Three
Other Synthetic Drugs Outlawed in Florida
Four new synthetic drugs, including one called “Crazy
Clown,” were outlawed in Florida this week under an emergency rule filed by
state Attorney General Pam Bondi. Under the emergency rule, these drugs are
designated as Schedule I of controlled substances, meaning it is a third-degree
felony to “sell, manufacture, deliver or possess with intent to sell,
manufacture or deliver” these drugs, WCTV reports. Bondi said she will work
with the Florida Legislature to permanently ban these drugs. Cities and
counties throughout South Florida passed bans on synthetic drugs last year. In
December 2012, Bondi signed an emergency rule that outlawed 22 new synthetic
drugs throughout the state. In 2011, the state legislature banned a number of
synthetic drugs. Last year, the legislature banned additional versions of the
drugs. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors around the country are finding
it difficult to win convictions against makers of synthetic drugs, who are
constantly changing the chemistry of the products to stay one step ahead of the
law. In order to convict a synthetic drug maker, officials must prove the
person sold the drug, and that the drug was substantially similar to a
specifically banned substance. All a drug maker has to do is make small
chemical changes to the products so they are not considered “analogues,” or
chemical compounds that are similar to banned drugs.
Only One-Fifth of
Physicians in an Urban Emergency Department Felt Prepared to Treat Patients
with Synthetic Marijuana Intoxication in 2010
During a period of growth in the use of synthetic
cannabinoids, emergency department physicians were unfamiliar and inexperienced
with the nature and effects of the substances, according to a 2010
internet-based survey of emergency physicians at a large urban emergency
department. Synthetic cannabinoid (SC) products, also known as Spice or K2,
were first identified in the U.S. in December 2008 and there were an estimated
11,206 emergency department visits related to SC use in 2010. Despite the
growing prevalence of SC use, less than half of the emergency physicians (EPs)
surveyed in December 2010 had ever heard of Spice (34%) or K2 (49%), and only
20% felt they were prepared to take care of a patient with acute Spice or K2
intoxication. Even those with some knowledge of SC had misconceptions about the
nature of these drugs and their effects. For example, 25% were not aware that
Spice or K2 were synthetic drugs and 47% said that they would not expect to see
anxiety, sedation, or psychosis in a patient who had used SC—all potential
symptoms of SC intoxication. While EPs likely have more knowledge of SC now
than they did at the time of the survey, the findings illustrate the difficulty
physicians face when treating patients who are using any new drugs of abuse.
The medical literature on the effects and complications of using novel drugs is
typically limited, leaving physicians to rely on other sources of information,
such as lay publications, the internet, patients, and colleagues. The authors
suggest that “[w]ith the seemingly limitless designer drug compounds available
for use and with no information on relative toxicity of each compound, [the]
connection to toxicologists, poison centers, or other experts in emerging drugs
of abuse will be crucial to EPs dealing with the constantly changing world of
designer drugs”. SOURCE: Adapted by CESAR from data from Lank,
P.M., Pines, E., Mycyk, M.B., “Emergency Physicians’ Knowledge of Cannabinoid
Designer Drugs,” Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2013.
VA Opiate Overdose Rate
Almost Double the National Average: Report
The death rate from opiate overdoses among Veterans Affairs
(VA) patients is almost double the national average, according to a report by
the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). Prescriptions for hydrocodone,
oxycodone, methadone and morphine have jumped 270 percent in the past 12 years
among VA patients, the report found. The VA continues to prescribe increasing
amounts of opiates to many patients, PBS NewsHour reports. The agency has
issued, on average, more than one opiate prescription per patient for the past
two years. Experts and advocates told CIR the VA is overmedicating patients as
it tries to meet the demand for more complex treatment. “Giving a prescription,
which they know how to do and are trained to do, is almost a default,” said Dr.
Stephen Xenakis, a psychiatrist and retired brigadier general who served as
commanding general of the Army’s Southeast Regional Medical Command. He added
opiates hurt more veterans than they help. The VA said in a statement it is
engaged in multiple, ongoing efforts to address prescription drug abuse among
veterans seen in our healthcare system.” Regulations issued by the agency in
2009 required doctors to follow an integrated approach to helping veterans in
pain. The regulations call for a stronger focus on treating the causes of pain,
instead of using narcotics to reduce symptoms, the article notes. Adoption of
the regulations varies widely across the country. Doctors at a VA hospital in
rural southern Oregon prescribed eight times as many opiates per patient as
those in the VA hospital in Manhattan, N.Y. A study published last year found
veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder were more than twice as likely to
receive opiates compared with veterans without mental health problems. These
patients are at greater risk of overdose and suicide.
Doctors Who Self-Medicate
Want Relief from Physical or Emotional Pain: Study
Doctors who self-medicate with prescription drugs often do
so to relieve physical or emotional pain, or to relieve stress, according to a
survey of doctors in recovery. The survey included 55 doctors who were being
monitored for substance abuse as part of their state’s physician health
program, Science Daily reports. The University of Florida researchers report in
the Journal of Addiction Medicine that 69 percent of the doctors had abused
prescription drugs in addition to alcohol and illicit drugs. Many of the
doctors began abusing prescription drugs while using medications prescribed for
chronic pain after surgery or trauma, the article notes. Some doctors used the
drugs to gain relief from anxiety or depression, while others used them to
relieve stress related to their professional or personal life. Some doctors
said they also used drugs recreationally, while others said they used
prescription medications to treatment symptoms of drug withdrawal. Prevention
efforts that target prescription drug misuse by doctors should begin during
medical training, and continuing education should be required throughout their
careers, the researchers recommend. They wrote, “All physicians should learn
the signs of substance abuse and the procedure for intervening with a colleague
suspected of substance-related impairment.”
College Students’ Drinking
Habits Formed in First Six Weeks of College: Expert
College freshmen’s drinking habits are often formed during
the first six weeks of school, according to an expert from the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). In the first six weeks,
first-semester freshmen often start drinking or increase the amount they drink,
says Aaron White, Program Director of NIAAA’s College and Underage Drinking
Prevention Research. They may drink because of student expectations and social
pressures, he notes. “Students show up with all these expectations about the
role that alcohol is going to play in their lives in college, and they just get
a little bit nuts with the freedom,” he said. In many cases, college freshmen
are living away from their parents for the first time, and they often have
easier access to alcohol, even though drinking is illegal for those under 21.
However, many new college students already have experience with alcohol by the
time they arrive, White said. “Colleges more or less inherit the problem than
create it,” he said. “But the college environment can nurture (it), certainly.”
Students’ drinking often tapers off throughout the rest of a student’s college
years, the Associated Press reports. “You show up (to college) and you start
doing what you think you’re supposed to be doing, and then find out that there’s
no way to sustain that without flunking out,” White observed. About four out of
five college students drink alcohol, according to NIAAA. About half of college
students who drink also consume alcohol through binge drinking. An estimated
1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from
alcohol-related unintentional injuries.
Crystal Meth Use Increases
Risk of Injecting Drugs
A new study finds a link between crystal meth use and an
increased risk of injecting drugs. The Canadian study included 395 young people
living on the street in Vancouver. The study participants, ages 14 to 26,
initially used crystal meth but were not injection drug users. Over the next
five years, 16 percent started injecting drugs for the first time. Crystal meth
was the drug most commonly used in the first injection, HealthDay reports. The
average age when young people began using crystal meth was 14. The findings are
published in CMAJ, the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “Addressing the
impact of crystal methamphetamine use in increasing the risk of injection
initiation among injection-naive street-involved youth represents an urgent
public health priority,” study co-author Dr. Evan Wood of the University of
British Columbia said in a news release. Crystal meth is a very pure, smokeable
form of methamphetamine. It is a powerful and extremely addictive man-made
stimulant. Its use can lead to severe physiological and psychological
dependence. The drug’s effects are similar to those of cocaine, but longer
lasting. Crystal meth can cause erratic, violent behavior among its users. Effects
include suppressed appetite, interference with sleeping behavior, mood swings
and unpredictability, tremors and convulsions, increased blood pressure and
irregular heart rate. Users may also experience homicidal or suicidal thoughts,
prolonged anxiety, paranoia and insomnia.
New York Court to Decide
Whether Drivers Can Be Too Drunk to be Found Guilty
New York State’s highest court this week heard arguments
from lawyers of three drivers who claimed they were too drunk to understand
what they were doing or the threat they posed to others. The judges will decide
whether drivers can be considered too drunk to be found guilty. In all three
cases, juries convicted the drivers of second-degree murder, after prosecutors
successfully argued they had shown a “depraved indifference to human life,” The
New York Times reports. The cases were brought to the Court of Appeals for
review on Tuesday. Prosecutors argued the drivers knew they were endangering
other drivers, but did not care. Several judges seemed hesitant to create a
defense of extreme drunkenness for drivers who caused severe accidents, the
article notes. A decision on the cases is expected next month. In 2006, the New
York Court of Appeals ruled that depraved indifference is a state of mind, forcing
prosecutors to prove a defendant consciously and willingly showed “an utter
disregard for the value of human life” when they are trying to prove
second-degree homicides, particularly in cases pertaining to drunk driving.
Fraternity Group Opposes
Bans on Freshman Rush Designed to Reduce Alcohol Deaths
A group that represents 75 national fraternities has been
successful in opposing college rules that are designed to reduce
alcohol-related deaths by postponing freshman recruiting, according to
Bloomberg. The North-American Interfraternity Conference opposed a rule imposed
by California Polytechnic State University in 2010 that banned fraternities
from recruiting new students. The rule was instituted after a freshman died
from drinking beer, rum and 151-proof liquor in an initiation ritual. The
conference met with college administrators, paid for a study that opposed the
rule, and supported a campaign against it by student leaders. The school lifted
the ban this year. In 2011, nationwide fraternity membership rose to 327,260,
from 253,148 in 2005. Currently only 80 of about 800 U.S. colleges with
fraternities defer recruiting, according to the conference. Aaron White,
program director for college and underage drinking prevention research at the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, says the youngest students
are most likely to engage in binge drinking. White male fraternity members
drink more heavily than any other group of students, he notes. “The first
couple of months of school are a particularly vulnerable time for students with
regard to heavy drinking,” White told Bloomberg. “Delaying rush makes a lot of
sense.” Last year, the Interfraternity Conference opposed a federal anti-hazing
bill. The group encouraged fraternity leaders at Case Western Reserve
University in Cleveland to reject a plan to defer recruiting freshmen. The
conference also supported the decision by fraternities at the University of
Colorado at Boulder to operate without university recognition. The fraternities
chose reduced access to campus facilities in order to avoid deferring
recruitment and accepting live-in advisers. After the conference threatened the
sue the University of Central Florida for violating students’
freedom-of-association rights, the school lifted a recruitment moratorium that
had been put into place in response to excessive drinking at fraternities and
sororities.
College Women: Stop
Getting Drunk
In one awful high-profile case after another—the U.S. Naval
Academy; Steubenville, Ohio; now the allegations in Maryville, Mo.—we read
about a young woman, sometimes only a girl, who goes to a party and ends up
being raped. As soon as the school year begins, so do reports of female
students sexually assaulted by their male classmates. A common denominator in
these cases is alcohol, often copious amounts, enough to render the young woman
incapacitated. But a misplaced fear of blaming the victim has made it somehow
unacceptable to warn inexperienced young women that when they get wasted, they
are putting themselves in potential peril. Continue
here.
College Students’ Use of
Fake IDs May Contribute to Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder
A study of college students finds false ID use may
contribute to the risk of alcohol use disorder by making it easier for students
to drink more frequently. The study found false IDs were used by almost
two-thirds of students who had tried alcohol at least once before starting
college. The study included 1,015 college students who were followed over four
years. Researchers found false ID use led to increases in drinking frequency
and quantity. The researchers noted that while underage students tend to drink
less frequently than older students, using fake IDs may lead to more frequent
drinking and increase their risk of developing an alcohol use disorder,
HealthDay reports. Predictors of how often students used fake IDs included
younger age at first drink of alcohol, greater levels of alcohol and drug
involvement during high school, higher levels of sensation-seeking,
fraternity/sorority involvement and living off-campus. The findings appear in
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. According to a journal news
release, this study is the first to examine the association between false ID
use and subsequent risk for developing alcohol use disorders. “Just knowing how
common the use of false IDs is suggests that this, among other things, is
something that parents should be monitoring and also talking with their kids
about,” said Jennifer Read of the State University of New York at Buffalo, who
was not involved in the study. ”Both parental monitoring and communication have
been shown to buffer against problem drinking outcomes in young adults, and
this is another area where parents might be encouraged to engage in these
practices.”
High Marijuana Taxes Could
Derail Legalization Plans
When Congress banned marijuana in 1937, it did so in the
guise of taxation, imposing a prohibitive levy on cannabis and created criminal
penalties for those who failed to pay it. Marijuana taxes also played a
prominent role in what may be the beginning of the end for pot prohibition: the
legalization measures that voters in Colorado and Washington approved last
fall. Click
here to continue reading.
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