Posted by azdrugrehabctr on June 14, 2017 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News | 
South American and the United States have had a long, tumultuous relationship when it comes to fighting the war on drugs. Traditionally, U.S. citizens have demanded cocaine, and the cartels in South America have been more than willing to supply the drug. Working together, the South American and U.S. governments have made some progress in hindering the passage of drugs across country lines, but things have not always gone smoothly, and a new study shows that there are major environmental repercussions to one of the of the most aggressive campaigns against cocaine.
Drug money is illegal. This means that cartels often have to hide their money in phony businesses or route it through cash paying businesses to hide its original origin. Constant scrutiny, and continuous monitoring by the United States and South American governments have prompted drug cartels to find massive plots of lands that are more remote and further away from prying eyes. However, upon arriving at these areas, cartels then have to eliminate the rain forest that has claimed the spot for thousands of years. In order to facilitate the destruction of thousands of acres of forest at a time, trees are often burned to the ground to make way for the planting of coca plants.
“Starting in the early 2000s, the United States-led drug enforcement in the Caribbean and Mexico pushed drug traffickers into places that were harder to patrol, like the large forested areas of Central America. A flood of illegal drug money entered these places and these drug traffickers needed a way that they could spend it,” explained David Wrathall, an Oregon State University geographer and one of the authors of the study.
Consequently, indigenous people who have worked off the land for generations are now left without work, making them more susceptible to bribes, and job offers by their new cartel neighbors. And perhaps the biggest victim of this type of deforestation is the wildlife that relied on the rainforest for shelter and food. According to the new research, approximately 30% of the total rain forest loss in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua in the last ten years can be traced back to cocaine trafficking.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on October 22, 2016 under Addiction Trends, Opiate Abuse, Prescription Drugs |
In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers in the Division of Rheumatic and Autoimmune Diseases at the University of Minnesota have found that patients with lower back pain are more likely to have a prescription for painkillers as well as use drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. While additional studies have to be conducted to find out more about the connection, this information may be a first step in developing more effective prevention tools for future prescription painkiller abuse.
The researchers compared questionnaires filled out by patients with chronic lower back pain and people without back problems. Volunteers were asked to answer questions regarding the frequency in which they used marijuana, heroin, prescription painkillers, cocaine and methamphetamine. It was found that 22.5% of adults with chronic lower back pain used prescription painkiller regularly compared to 15% of adults without the pain. This in itself isn’t that surprising, though there may be other forms of treatment that would be much better suited, depending on the severity of the pain.
“Americans with chronic low back pain are more likely to use illicit drugs than the general population, particularly the ‘hard’ drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. There are several ways to interpret this relationship. It is possible that illicit drug use makes chronic pain more likely or leads individuals to seek a chronic pain diagnosis to obtain prescription narcotics,” explained Anna Shmagel, MD, MS, and lead author of the study. Shmagel also cautions that there could be a common underlying reason for prescription painkiller addicts and patients with lower back pain, like depression.
Opening up the research to include a more in depth look at if depression plays a role in prescription painkiller addiction is a relatively new avenue for researchers. In the past, the focus has mainly been on patients who have accidentally become addicted to painkillers. However, chronic pain has been shown to cause depression and illicit drugs have long been sought out by people looking to escape or fix their emotional problems.
As more and more research is conducted regarding prescription painkiller use and misuse it is becoming clear that preventing the reasons for taking the drugs in the first place is vital. This means that the medical profession is likely to come up with ways to improve chronic lower back pain treatment in addition to finding new methods to intervene before the back pain requires narcotic painkillers.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on October 9, 2016 under Addiction Trends |
Going away to college for the first time is an exciting time for most teenagers. For many, this is the first time they are living away from home, without the constant supervision of their parents. This newfound freedom, combined with the stressors of college and the influence of hundreds of new classmates, can join together to become catalysts for drug use and excessive alcohol consumption. However, these are mainly assumptions and observations, until now.
A new study being conducted among first-year college students seeks to track the actual influences regarding alcohol and drug use. The researchers at Brown University are also looking at the effects of media and social media on these behaviors as well.
“We know that (peers) become more important than parents as a source of information and a source for modeling. Peers are the most influential when it comes to health-related topics. Social networks allow us to study those connections,” explained Nancy Barnett, professor of behavior and social sciences at the School of Public Health at Brown University.
The project will be called Squad2020 and is being conducted by Barnett and a group of students, who came up with the name. The group specifically wanted to target freshman students because they are still at an age where they are developing their friendships, meeting new people and all share the common experience of drastically changing their social environment.
The researchers hope to be able to publish the results of the study in the spring of 2018. The hope is that the study will highlight how social media impacts new college students and their inclination to use drugs and drink. If researchers can better understand the pressures presented to students, they will be more able to develop new methods of prevention and help students in need.
Colleges students throughout the country are faced with much of the same temptations and anxieties. These feelings, paired with the immediate flood of pictures and posts of other students drinking and using drugs can only exasperate the issue.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on October 15, 2015 under Addiction Trends |
As parents become more educated on drugs and the potential for their children to start abusing different substances, teenagers have gotten craftier when it comes to hiding drugs and paraphernalia. In a recent interview, drug counselors show different methods teenagers have for hiding their stash. This information can be useful when it comes to monitoring potential drug use at home. Parents, educators and healthcare providers who continue to share information with each other will allow for better monitoring when it comes to drug use.
Hiding drugs is not an uncommon thing for anyone to do, especially teenagers. However, what is uncommon, up until now, is that children are able to share their hiding innovations through social media. This quick way to access information is precisely what parents need to watch out for when it comes to making sure their children are not abusing drugs. In addition to keeping tabs on where drugs might be hidden, social media accounts can also be checked.
In an effort to get the word out there, a news report was done to expose the potential hiding places teenagers may use to conceal their drugs. “It looks like lipstick, but it’s actually a one-hit pipe. It looks like a highlighter, but if you open this part of it, it’s a pipe. Look at some of these cans that are false bottom or can open up, same with these dog food cans,” explained a drug counselor during an interview.
The report also went on to say that many parents are unaware of what some drugs even look like. Experts are warning parents that ecstasy often gets mistaken for candy. While this information can seem overwhelming, an effective way to determine if children are under the influence is usually by noticing any changes in behavior or appearance. Teenagers that are abusing or even experimenting with drugs may withdraw from family and friends. They may start hanging out with a different group of people. Drug use often changes a person’s appetite. Sudden weight loss or weight gain can also be a sign that drugs are in the picture.
Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 26, 2015 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News |
People often crave all sorts of foods and snacks after they have smoked marijuana. Scientists have recently looked into this phenomenon to find out why the brain gets affected in this way. Since marijuana is becoming legal in some states and has started to achieve broader acceptance, it is vital that more research is conducted on the drug and how it reacts with the body and what the long-term effects of using marijuana are.
Researchers from Yale University noticed that when people consumed marijuana an interesting thing occurred in the brain. There are neurons that are responsible for telling the body to stop eating. This prevents people from overeating and maintaining a healthier lifestyle. However, when marijuana enters the body the neurons change their job function. Instead of telling the body to stop eating, they tell the body to continue eating.
“It fools the brain’s central feeding system. We were surprised to find that the neurons we thought were responsible for shutting down eating were suddenly being activated and promoting hunger, even when you are full,” explained Tamas Horvath, the lead author on the study.
While this research may not be groundbreaking, it does highlight that the drug has a significant influence over brain chemistry. Altering the job of neurons is a powerful task, and marijuana seems to do it with ease. Many in the science community are calling for more research on the drug to understand all the implications of its use.
