Opioid Crisis Fast Facts
Opioid is abuse prescription pain medication that formulate to replicate of opium.
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Free Harvard Medical School E-Courses on Opioid Addiction for Beginners to Healthcare Professionals
Opioid addiction is a major problem in the US.
In this way, Harvard Medical School (HMS) has introduced a new online course entitled OpioidX: The Opioid Crisis in America.
OpioidX is the first free, comprehensive educational programme on...
New Evidence in Mice That Cocaine Makes Brain Cells Cannibalize Themselves
Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have contributed significant new evidence to support the idea that high doses of cocaine kill brain cells by triggering overactive autophagy, a process in which cells literally digest their...
Limited Opportunities? Caring for People with Substance Use Disorders
According to a new study, most health care professionals are given little opportunity to learn about substance abuse in pre-service educational programmes.
Opioids Linked to Increase in Cocaine-Related Overdose Deaths
Heroin and synthetic opioids are propelling an upsurge of late in cocaine-related overdose deaths. This is according to a national survey carried out by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) amongst other drug...
Treating Alcohol Addiction with Positive Relationships
A ‘therapeutic alliance’, or in other words, a positive and trusting relationship between counsellor and patient, could be the key to successful treatment of alcohol addiction, according to a new study. Patients who reported a more positive...
Revealed: The Global Cost of Smoking
Smoking and its related harms cost the world more than $1 trillion and claim the lives of around 6 million people each year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute.
$1 trillion...
Inside a Killer Drug Epidemic: A Look at America’s Opioid Crisis
The New York Times article traces the impact of America's opioid epidemic on Americans of all backgrounds throughout the country. Photos depict the human face of a tragedy that is taking too many lives.
Suicide and Substance Abuse
New research has found a significant link between suicide risk and simultaneous cocaine and alcohol consumption.
The study examined the drug-taking habits of 874 participants hospitalised for displaying suicidal tendencies, ranging from...
Fentanyl Deaths Rise as Curbing Supply Proves Difficult
The November 2016 data chart of overdoses in Massachusetts shows a climbing blue line labeled “fentanyl”. Boston's National Public Radio station reports via article and audio clip on some of the challenges faced by law enforcement and...
This Is Your Brain on Opiates
Prescription drug abuse has become a major public health and safety concern. Research has shown that legal drugs, such as OxyContin, now kill more people than illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. Nowadays, people are constantly being...
U.S. National Report Shows Less Underage Drinking and Smoking, but Overall Substance Use and Mental Illness Levels Remain Constant
Some forms of substance use, such as adolescent (aged 12 to 17) underage drinking and alcohol use among young adults (aged 18 to 25), continued to drop according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA)...
White House Eases Cap on Medication for Opioid Addiction
In the USA, Frontline report on changes in policy to allow doctors to issue more prescriptions for buprenorphine; new rules aimed at improving drug monitoring by federal prescribers treating Native Americans and military veterans
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Linked to Reductions in Opioid Overdose Deaths
Implementation of prescription drug monitoring programs was associated with a reduction in opioid-related overdose deaths