The intersection of substance use with broader public health concerns.
Public Health
8 Steps Towards Minimising the US Opioid Crisis
Current levels of opioid addiction in the US are so alarming that in July 2017 the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis urgently suggested that President Trump declare a national emergency to free up...

Common Marijuana-Related Cases Encountered in the Emergency Department
In 2000, Colorado voters decriminalized marijuana for medical use; however, because marijuana use remained illegal under federal law, the number of users was low. In 2009, President Obama instructed federal officials not to enforce...
National Academy of Medicine Releases New Special Publication Guide
September 21, 2017 Halting the opioid epidemic requires aggressive action across multiple dimensions, including informed, active, and determined front-line leadership from health clinicians working in every setting throughout the nation...

The Risk of Hypertension and Other Chronic Diseases: Comparing Smokeless Tobacco with Smoking
Background: In the past, studies have compared smokeless tobacco and non-tobacco users for the risk of various chronic diseases. The differences in the risk of chronic diseases between smokeless tobacco user and smokers have not been...
Editorial: Evidence-Based Public Health: Why, What and How
INTRODUCTION In 2009, Brownson et al. (1) noted the growing consensus that evidence-based public health (EBPH) decision-making is influenced by three factors—namely, (1) best available evidence, (2) resources, and (3) population needs...
Syndemic Risk Classes and Substance Use Problems among Adults in High-Risk Urban Areas
Substance use problems tend to co-occur with risk factors that are especially prevalent in urban communities with high rates of poverty. The present study draws on Syndemics Theory to understand profiles of risk and resilience and their...
Methamphetamine Increases Risk of Stroke, Study Finds
The use of methamphetamine, or what is commonly known as ‘speed’, ‘ice’, or ‘meth’, correlates with an increased risk of stroke among young people, according to new research published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. A...
The Brain of Binge Drinkers at Rest
Background: Previous studies have reported anomalous resting brain activity in the electroencephalogram (EEG) of alcoholics, often reflected as increased power in the beta and theta frequency bands. The effects of binge drinking, the most...
Human rights and youth playbook
Last Friday, we launched the new volume in our series of booklets on human rights, the UNISAL-Lorena. I had the joy of organizing such a primer with Dr. Maria Aparecida Alkimim. A realization of the Lorraine Movement for life, in...
